Eternal India Encyclopedia

PERCEPTIONS

Eternal India encyclopedia

SAMUDRA MANTHANA (CHURNING OF OCEAN)

QUANTUM ROPE

Matter and anti-matter create the quantum chatter, Action and counter action make vectors change directions, Forces and counter forces influence the event's courses, Letter and counter letter are needed to settle the matter, Thesis and anti thesis you look for the synthesis, You wonder at the basis of the manthan and oasis, You reach for new solutions

After the venomous poison had been effectively consumed, the Devas and the Asuras resumed the churning of the ocean till the elixir emerged : the Amrit Kalasa. Though this parable occurred thousands of years ago, yet it can be symbolically interpreted in today's materialistic world. The Devas are exemplified as our good qualities, thoughts, words and deeds. The Asuras are reflected in our bad qualities, thoughts, words and deeds. The churning of the ocean is occurring in our mind — it is the churning of our intelligence. Mount Meru — the churning rod is our viveka — our power of discrimination. Vasuki is symbolically represented by our endless trail of thoughts which come and go.. Whenever a thought process occurs there is a churning taking place. If our inherent tendencies ( vasanas and gunas) are predominantly good, then our thought — flow process creates good thoughts. As a result good deeds are a natural outcome and vice versa. Awareness of the constant processes of the Samudra Manthana taking place in our minds is the first step. Very often, we make decisions unconsciously, we act in ignorance. We get tossed on the waves of sorrow and joy, pleasure and pain. We have to learn from the Samudra Manthana to throw out all evil tendencies, bad qualities so that only Amrit remains. - (H.M.S.)

The Puranas narrate this educative parable which occurred thousands of years ago. The Devas (Gods) were in search of Amrit — that ambrosial nectar which would make them immortal so that they could reign forever. To assist them in their search for this elixir, they took the help of the Asuras (demons). They used Mount Meru as the churning rod and the king of serpents, Vasuki, as the rope. They churned the ocean for years and then the gifts began to appear : Uccaihsrava, the divine horse; Kamadhenu, the divine cow, Kalpavruksha, the wish-fulfilling tree; Airavata, the six-tusked elephant. Suddenly the ocean began to simmer and erupt with a terrible poison — the Garla. The Devas and Asuras fled since neither of them had any earlier knowledge of this venomous poison, which was spreading rapidly and threatening to annhiliate creation. However due to Lord Shiva's divine in- tervention the poison was effectively consumed and integrated into His being. His throat turned blue when the poison reached there (Lord Shiva is also worshipped as Neelkanth ...the black- throated Lord). At that glorious moment, He began His Tandav Nritya ....so that the poison would remain in His throat and not reach His heart where Lord Vishnu resided (In this form Lord Shiva is worshipped as Nataraja : the Lord of the Dance).

and ways of resolution, many long for revolution from manthan's evolution, Churning of the ocean By the quantum rope Poison shows its motion And nectar is the hope.

— "Trikenu" 'Quantum"Rop e'

Shanka or the Conch : Vishnu is depicted as holding the Conch in one of his four arms as he sleeps in the primeval ocean on the thousand- headed snake Shesha. From the conch issued the primordial creative sound OM, which is the Word made manifest. The Conch is not only in the upper be- nevolent left hand of Lord Mahavishnu, but it is a child of the Ocean, like his consort Lakshmi. The Conch is such a marvel, that the higher octaves of all the notes of Shankar-abharana and Harikambhoji figure in various degrees. The Conch is amazing, because it is built in the form of an equiangular spiral, a mathematical figure which shows up on its top or head, as you look vertically down over its head. Many seashells have this spiral shape too. The Conch is also an essential part of ritualistic pooja.

Atom and the Aatman : A New Samudra Manthana "It seems to me that science and technology have similarly caused this great churning of human consciousness. We have remarkable gifts; we can fly beyond the moon to the planets, beyond the planets to the stars. There are marvellous miracles of technology ...at the same time the poison is there and it is beginning to emerge, ... In the final analysis, the power of the atom and the power of the Aatman are pitted against each other. If in the heart of the atom such tremendous destructive power can be found, cannot we find in the heart of the Aatman an equally great and beneficent power which would help us to meet this tremendous challenge?"

— Dr. Karan Singh "Essays on Hinduism"