The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.
Read H for Health here.
Here, Krishna
says, just as smoke (dhuma) covers the fire (vahni), dust (mal) covers a mirror
(darsa) and the womb (ulbena) covers the foetus (garbha), similarly, knowledge
covers ignorance. This is such a beautiful thought. It says that knowledge is
not absent, it is always there. It is covered or hidden under ignorance.
The Gita
treats ignorance not simply as lack of knowledge, but as a veil that hides
reality and leads to confusion, doubt, and suffering. Knowledge, on the other
hand, brings about transformation.
The story of Varaha
The
Srimad Bhagavatam narrates the story of Varaha, the boar incarnation of Shri
Maha Vishnu.
The demon
Hiranyaksha had hidden the Earth (Bhudevi) in the depths of the cosmic ocean. The
world plunged into darkness and chaos. Brahma’s son, Swayambhuva Manu complained
that there was no place for him to live and start his family. No one knew where
to find Earth. That is when the gods invoked Shri Vishnu. Vishnu took avatar as
Varaha and fought against the demon. Earth finally came back into light, when
the demon was killed.
What it means symbolically…
Interpreted
symbolically, when our consciousness (Earth) is plunged into confusion (cosmic
ocean) due to ignorance (Hiranyaksha), only the divine (Varaha) can restore our
awareness and take us from ignorance to knowledge.
Hiranyaksha
embodies ego and arrogance, that covers our consciousness and keeps us trapped.
Once the veil is removed, knowledge dawns.
Knowledge is merely hidden under the cover of ignorance.
The Gita calls
for lifting the cover of ignorance to reveal knowledge which is already there.
And the one who can rescue our consciousness from this ignorance is Krishna alone.
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At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Deep gratitude to those who have lit that flame within me! Your comments are appreciated.