The Ocean Continues – In Gita Verse 14.3 The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, and it is that Brahman that I impregnate, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata.
Within the profound teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna offers insights that transform our perception of existence. He likens our being to waves on the grand canvas of the universe – an analogy I contemplated deeply in my reflection on Bhagavad Gita Verse 14.2. There, I described the wave’s nature: “A wave on the ocean’s surface may appear a discrete phenomenon, yet at its core, it is but an extension of the ocean. In its depths, there is no wave – there is only the ocean.” This ebb and flow, this ‘waving’, embodies not permanence but the ocean’s dynamic, fleeting articulation.
A wave, considered alone, presents a semblance of uniqueness. It bears distinct attributes – some waves tower with might, others whisper gently along the breeze. They rise and fall, seemingly separate, but just beneath their crests and troughs lies their true kinship: all part of the ocean’s fabric. The perceived differences among waves are superficial, born of form and perception, not of their true essence.
The predicament we face is when we consider the wave to be separate from the ocean. Such a notion fosters the fear of an end, for all waves eventually fade. This fear only gains ground if we fixate on our wave-like identity, neglecting the truth that we are intrinsically part of the vast ocean’s fabric.
Let us, then, immerse ourselves in this understanding: that the form is transient and perishable, and the formless is eternal. As we witness the unrelenting transformation within ourselves, we recognise that our forms – our childhood, youth, and old age – are transient waves atop the ceaseless ocean of Brahman.
As the venerable sage Shankaracharya expounded, mistaking our form as the sole reality is Maya – the illusion behind suffering. Krishna’s wisdom beckons us to surpass this deceit, to understand that while the wave’s form may vanish, the ocean – which is our true, formless self – is immortal.
Embrace this vision across your every action. In life’s myriad ebbs and flows, recall that the solidity you perceive, the thoughts you affiliate with, and even the emotions that sway you, are all transient waves. Beneath them rests the ocean of consciousness – timeless and expansive.
Acknowledging the movements in our life as fleeting waves, we unveil a grander truth: a stillness underpinning the motion, a vastness that encompasses fleeting forms. Each moment signals the passing of one aspect of us and the birth of another. Our physicalities renew in perpetuity, mirroring the eternal cycle of creation that encompasses all manifest forms.
Krishna urges us not merely to observe the rise and fall of waves within the ocean of existence but to realise our unification with the ocean itself. For peace, for the transcendence of fear and anguish, for the awakening to our own splendour, we must perceive the evanescent dance of form with the knowledge of our immutable, eternal essence.
As we navigate this journey, enlightened by the profound teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, let’s carry with us the understanding that while forms are born and then dissipate, the ultimate self, the essence, is akin to the ocean – eternal, enduring, and ever-present.
Tags: The Ocean Continues
