Namasthe- Clever fisherman and poor fish

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

Sree Ramakrishna Paramahamsar compared the world to a fishing net. We are all fish swimming around looking for food to quench all kinds of hunger and desires. Clever fisherman is called Maaya. He has all kinds of baits hanging from his hooks and he uses them appropriately to attract every individual . We get attracted and often led to disaster by him.

 

When caught, some fish just stay in the net and try to eat the bait in front of them and soon succumb to misery and death. They are not even able to think about the situation they are in and hence do not even try to escape.

 

Another set of fish try hard to escape through the small holes of the net. But almost all of them fail to do that except once in a blue moon, a lucky one may escape breaking the already damaged hole. But, even though late, they are at least aware of the dangers of " athyaasakthi " or strong attachment to this material life. Because their vaasanaas are purified during their suffering and prayers, as Krishna promises, they will be born again with some realization and this will help them to progress in their spiritual path. Do we all belong to this group? Only Krishna knows.

 

Realizing the situation, some healthy matured ones jump high enough to get out of the net and land on the water with a big splash. This noisy escape helps to motivate a few others to follow their footsteps. After this escape they get never attracted by the clever fisherman's fresh baits. These are the sages and saints who walk out of this worldly life after realizing the transient nature of everything including themselves.

 

The cleverest group of fish like Naradaji, Sukamuni, Sankarachaarya etc (one in millions) can see the fisherman's magic net and they altogether avoid it. They know that even passing near the net is dangerous and they stay away cautiously protecting themselves. Also they are kind and considerate to the less fortunate, desire-bound beings around them. They advise and help others to follow their path. That is the secret behind the birth of Narada Bhakthi Sutra, Bhaja Govindam and millions of other sthuthis, manthras and keerthanaas.

 

Then there are another type of fish. They listen to the advises like Bhaja Govindam and like the Gopis of Vrindavanam they are oblivious of their predicament. They do not know whether they are in the net, whether they will be caught, whether they will be free, whether they will be killed. The only thing they know is that all their love is flowing towards Krishna or their Ishtadevatha and that is very sweet. They feel they do not need to know anything other than the sweet presence of their Ishtadevatha in them. They belong to Him. They are the Parama Bhagavathas like Gopis, Uddhava, Hanuman, Bhaktha Meera, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Poonthanam and many many others!

 

Regards an dprayers

 

Savitri