Question::
Why is “human body” considered the highest form of evolution?
(or)
Why is a Perfect Master called the ‘Ocean of Truth’?
(or)
Why can’t we dictate our own bodies? From where does the ‘human body’ gets its directive power?
(or)
What are “sanskaras”/ How do they influence our daily lives?
(or)
Why should one give oneself to his Master, COMPLETELY? What does that “complete surrender” mean?
(or)
Why Perfect Masters are rare? Why are they called the ‘real saviours of humanity’ and ‘the Masters of the Unlimited’?
(or)
Why coconut is offered to a Master, in the East? What does it symbolize, EXACTLY?
(or)
Does ‘destruction of body’ through physical death solve any problem? Why so?
(or)
What sort of subtleties are involved in “Perfect Master’s help”? How can Master’s help UNITE ‘God’ and ‘man’?
(or)
In what way, ‘Yogis’ and ‘advanced souls’ different from ‘ordinary men’?
(or)
What does ‘bestowal of God-realization’ or ‘true knowledge’ constitute?
Answer::
(Extracted from Meher Baba’s literature, which is a copyright of Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust[©AMBPPCT], Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, Bharat/India)
The infinite God, in His original state, may be compared to the ocean.
When the ocean is completely still, it cannot know itself as ‘might’, since it is bereft of all movements. In order to realize itself as a mighty ocean, with all the immensity of its stored-up energy, there must come into existence some ‘movement’ within it.
Now the ‘wind’ that creates a stir in the ocean of God is the “impulse” which God has in His original state for realizing the ‘fullness’ and ‘immensity’ of His own infinite being.
This ‘wind’ created bubbles of different dimensions in the ocean. They correspond to the innumerable forms of evolving life from ‘atom’ to ‘man’.
The highest bubble is perfect in ‘consciousness’ and may be compared to a boat. It is the ‘human body’. The ‘driving force of the evolution’ is the same as the ‘original impulse to attain self-knowledge’. But it gets wrapped up in diverse impressional dispositions. Therefore,
that ‘impulse’ which has been likened to the wind, now expresses itself as ingrained ‘mental dispositions’ or ‘active inscriptions’– which each ‘action’ or ‘experience’ scrawls on the evolving mind.
The ‘wind’ that drives the boat of the human body gets its directions from the determinative ‘mental imprints’.
The ‘impressions’ left by “experience” and “action” on the evolving mind are not mere idle imprints or entries. They have stored in themselves inexorable driving power or directional force.
The average man occupies the boat of his body; but he has no control over the driving of the boat. In the boat, his hands and feet are, as it were tied down by his accumulated ‘impressional dispositions’. He cannot himself drive the boat as he pleases. But he finds that the boat of his body is driven hither and tither by his ingrained ‘impressional dispositions.’
As he breathes, he adds to the wind, i.e., he creates further new impressional dispositions. It is not himself but these freshly acquired dispositions, which have the determinative power for driving the boat.
If the man has ‘good actions’ to his credit, the wind of good impressional dispositions leads the boat to a boatman, who can not only freely guide the boat on the surface of the ocean, but even knows all the ins-and-outs of the ocean. The Boatman can– not only lead on the surface, but also to the very bottom of the ocean. He knows the immensity of the ocean in its fullness.
It should never be forgotten that it is the ocean itself which becomes the ‘man’ in the boat, the ‘boat’ and the ‘Boatman’. The moment the man drowns himself in the ocean, he gets lost in the ocean, like a sugar-doll; and he realizes: “I was and am the ocean, though previously I knew it not.”
The Boatman, who has perfected himself in the “supreme knowledge” of the Truth, occupies and drives his ‘own boat’ and also drives the boats of other bound souls, dragging them along. Such Boatman are rare!
There are many souls who become one with the Truth. But they retain no special connection with the sailing boats of men on the surface, though they are themselves one with the ocean. Only a few rise to the surface, plying their own boats– with hands and feet completely free, and helping other boats of bound souls to reach their goal.
These Boatmen derive their inspirational strength– not from any ‘impressionary dispositions’, but from the Truth itself. They not only steer the boats of other men who are on the surface, but lead them to their destination of being dissolved in the infinite depths of the ocean of life.
These Masters or Boatmen relieve the surface sailors of all unnecessary fears, free them from the distracting temptations of the surface and ultimately win them over to getting themselves drowned and lost in the infinite ocean of Truth. They come to be known in the world and are the real Saviours of humanity. They take them away from the superficiality of human life to the depths of unending divinity or the infinite knowledge, bliss and power in the indivisible Truth of Being.
These Boatmen are not only the Masters of the ‘unlimited’, but also the Masters of all that is ‘finite’. Their experience is all-comprehensive, leaving nothing outside its scope.
However, in order that the Boatmen should be able to discharge their duty towards the bound sailors in the surface-boats, the sailors have to give themselves over to these boatmen. The ‘surrender’ must be complete.
The sailors whose hands and feet are tied, have to hand over completely the charge of their own boats to these Boatmen. The bound souls have to transfer the charge not only of the ‘gross body’, but also of their ‘subtle’ and ‘mental bodies’. They must not retain anything for themselves. This complete surrender of ‘body’, ‘desires’, and ‘ego-mind’ is something symbolized in the East by offering to the Master– a coconut.
The symbolism of the coconut fruit, conventionally offered to the Master in certain areas, may be explained as follows::
- The ‘outer threads’ on the hard cover of the coconut represent the ‘physical body.’
- The ‘outer hard covering’ represents the ‘subtle body’ with all its surging impressional desires.
- The ‘inner kernel’ in the coconut represents the ‘mind with seeds of impressions.
- And the innermost water is essentially not different from the water of the ocean, from which it is ultimately soaked up by the roots of the trees on the shore. It may therefore be likened to a portion of “divinity” itself.
Now, because of the sheaths of the inner kernel, the outer cover and the thick layer of threads– the ‘innermost water’ remains completely hidden from view; and the identity of the ‘inmost being’ of the coconut with ocean itself is not even suspected. So the coconut, with all the covers, is symbolically offered to the Master in order that he may reveal the ‘inmost essence of the soul’ as it is.
The Master takes off the threads on the exterior one by one. This is like relieving the burdened mind of ordinary men. It corresponds to taking from them all ‘bodily attachments’ one by one and ultimately taking away from them ‘the attachment to body’ itself.
Destruction of the body through ‘physical death’ does not solve any problem, because the ‘ego-mind’ grows ‘new bodies’ in new incarnations.
Through ‘utter non-attachment to the physical body’, the soul is relieved of the limitations of the outermost covering symbolized by the threads of the coconuts.
When the hindrance of the ‘physical body’ is removed, the body begins to function consciously. This is the state of the Yogis.
But the sheath of the ‘subtle body’– with all its surging desires– has also to be shed. This corresponds to the Master’s breaking open the ‘outer hard covering’ of the coconut. And
when the hindrance of the ‘subtle body’ is removed, the soul begins to function consciously through its mental ‘ego-body’. This is the stage of the “advanced souls”.
The “ego-mind” corresponds to the ‘inner kernel’ of the coconut; and the Master has to break open even this ‘inner kernel’ to take the soul to its own essence, which in this analogy, corresponds to the ‘inmost water’ in the coconut.
Breaking the inner kernel means that– the ‘mind’ of the person ceases to function completely. It comes to a standstill since the ‘seeds’ that activate the ‘ego-mind’ are all burnt up.
When the hindrance of the ‘ego-mind’ is removed, the Master, as it were, drinks the inmost sweet water and makes it unite with the ‘ocean of life’ that he is. Lover and beloved have become one, consciously.
When the Master enables the soul to get at its real essence by shedding its sheaths of bodies, it may be said to have the innermost water of the coconut. The Master now takes that water, which is the essence of the coconut and mixes it up with the water of the ocean itself, by showing that it is not any different. This is like drinking the water and making it unite with the ocean of life, which the Master is.
The water has not been destroyed; it has become united with its source. The ‘lover’ and the ‘beloved’ have become one. This is the bestowal of “God-realization” and the true knowledge and the enjoyment of the unbounded ocean of Truth.
The “soul” has now gone back exactly to the state from where it started, with the only difference that IT NOW KNOWS ITSELF to be the mighty ‘ocean of Truth’, whereas in the beginning, it was unconscious of this fact.
– Meher Baba
Source::
Sparks of the Truth, Pg:: 11-14
© AMBPPCT, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India/Bharat
