The Elephant and the Crocodile

[Guest guest]

The Elephant and the Crocodile - Swami JyotirmayanandaThis episode portrays the love that God has for his suffering devotees

 

 

Once, in a vast forest in the valley of the exquisite Trikuta mountain, there lived an elephant king named Gajendra. That elephant king was so powerful and majestic that all the animals trembled before him. Even lions, tigers and bears were afraid of him. His joy was unobstructed. He roamed freely wherever he liked in that vast forest, surrounded by many she-elephants and his entire large family.

 

 

One day Gajendra felt very thirsty and went towards a lake that had cool and sweet water. He stepped into it and the whole herd of elephants followed. As he went deeper and deeper, Gajendra had great delight in drinking the water and spraying his whole body with his trunk. He felt as if he were at the height of his glory.

 

 

But right at that time, suddenly, one of his feet was caught by a terrible crocodile. Now his joy turned into sorrow. All his relatives and friends looked on, but could do nothing as that crocodile went on pulling Gajendra deeper into the water. In spite of his immense strength, the elephant king could not tear himself away from the jaws of that vicious crocodile.

 

 

A Thousand-Year Drama

 

 

At times Gajendra dragged the crocodile with all his might close to the shore, but then the crocodile would regain his strength and drag the elephant back into the deep part of the lake. This drama continued day after day, year after year. A thousand years passed. Naturally, his relatives all went their way, while he struggled alone. He used all his intelligence, all his skill, but he could not succeed in ridding himself of the crocodile.

 

 

Plea to God

 

 

Finally, Gajendra lost all his strength and realized that there was no help for him from this world. That is when his mind turned to God. "O Lord," he cried out, "You alone are my help. I do not want to exist as an elephant. I want to be free of this embodied condition." Thus saying, Gajendra plucked a lotus and offered it to the Divine Self.

 

 

Responding instantly to the elephant’s heartfelt prayer, Lord Vishnu appeared before him riding on Garuda. Then the Lord drew both the elephant and the crocodile out of the waters. His discus flashed from his finger, cutting off the head of the crocodile, thereby freeing the elephant from his predicament.

 

 

As the crocodile died, out of his body there emerged a light, and it entered the Lord. Gajendra, in turn, gave up his elephant form and emerged as a celestial being. He accompanied, Lord Vishnu to his abode and became his constant attendant.

 

 

Mighty and Weak

 

 

This tale is the allegorical story of every soul. The soul essentially is divine, and its might and majesty are beyond imagination. However, led by craving, the soul enters into the world-process. There the crocodile of mortality overpowers the soul and it experiences birth and death again and again.

 

 

Dragged by the crocodile of mortality, which is an aspect of avidya (ignorance), the soul moves into different parts of this lake of the world-process. Led by its karma, sometimes it rises high; sometimes it sinks to the depths of degradation.

 

 

The crocodile is constantly after you, birth after birth, leading you to higher levels of attainment due to good karma, dragging you down through negative karmas. You are constantly in a tug of war with that crocodile, intent on attaining a state wherein you could be completely free and absolutely happy.

 

 

However, in this world-process there is no such situation. No attainment, no development can give you absolute peace and fulfillment.

 

 

Intense Devotion

 

 

When your mind finally realizes that you may go on reincarnating endlessly in this world without ever finding abiding happiness, then paravairagya (supreme dispassion) dawns. With that supreme dispassion comes intense devotion to God.

 

 

Once you turn towards God with your whole heart and mind, in perfect surrender that renounces the ego forever, the response is immediate. You are drawn out of the lake of the world-process, and the divine discus of intuitional knowledge severs the head of the crocodile of mortality.

 

 

You then realize that the crocodile of mortality was also an aspect of God—playing a negative role for the purpose of urging the soul to develop devotion to God. As a result, you become free from the cycles of birth and death and enjoy the unending bliss of the Self.