For this however,
it is essential to discipline and train the senses. When the desire for
enjoyment goes and the holy outlook of love is gained, then we shall see God alone in all
objects. This idea is described beautifully in the Upanishads. What is the color
of the atman? What can we say
about this? The rishi says, with love:
"yathaa ayam indragopah."
The atman is like this scarlet silk-soft insect the indragopa. When one looks at the indragopa, what joy
there is! What is the source of this joy? That which exists in me, exists
in the indragopa too. If there is no kinship between us, how could there be joy? The beautiful atman
within me is within the indragopa too. Hence, the comparison. Why do we use similes? Why do we find
joy in them? We use similes because things are alike, and we find joy in the likeness. If the things
compared have nothing in common, where is the joy in it?
If someone says that salt is like pepper, we
should think him mad. But if someone says that the stars are like flowers, we see the likeness
and enjoy it. When we say, "Salt is like pepper," we do not experience
the likeness, but to one whose vision has become wide enough to see the same Lord in the salt and in
the pepper, the question, "What is salt like?" and the answer, "It is like
pepper," will bring an experience of joy. The warp and the woof of all
the objects in the world in the Lord's form. To see it, where is the
need for the vision of the cosmic form? |
