Mental poison in the world
Cosmologically we have to remember the world creation is a mental process. It has a relevance as seen in the Ramayana to the fortunes of a nation and a group. Then again, it has relevance to the fortunes of an individual practising spiritual training. All the elements cooperate, the gods and the demons. In man himself, the dark aspects of the personality, cooperate – they wish to get something from the practice of spiritual discipline. The gods and the demons put aside their hostility for the time being, and they put this great mountain in the ocean as a churning rod. We don’t churn our milk nowadays but [in the old days] the milk was there and it was churned around. Something is spun in it and finally the butter emerges. So they got the mountain and they persuaded a great snake, who’s referred to in the Gita, Vasuki, the king of the snakes, to cooperate as the rope which was around the mountain in a half-hitch. Then the demons after some dispute took the head end of the snake which they felt was the better, more honourable end, and the gods took the tail – and they pulled alternately. Just as in the human personality there’s a struggle going on in cycles so, in the spiritual discipline, the motives are mixed and there are cycles. This churns the personality.
The first thing that comes out after a thousand years of effort, after a long time, is a terrible poison which begins to consume everything, the whole world – gods, demons, mountains, ocean, everything. The poison is going to consume the world, and the god Shiva, to save the world, drinks the poison. It corrodes his throat, so that his throat turns blue, and this is one of his names, Nilakantha, the blue throat. In this story, this corresponds to the crucifixion, where the god takes on himself the suffering in order to save the world. It makes it clear that it’s a terrible corrosion and suffering, but the god, who symbolises detachment, is able to endure it in detachment. He drinks the poison and then he goes back to the mountain where he lives.
In this Ramayana, Rama is the younger son of the King, but outstanding in virtue, and his elder brother, who is normally the first in line for the throne, is a great devotee of Rama and has no wish to inherit. Everyone is agreed that Rama should inherit the throne and the king is about to proclaim him heir when suddenly a poison, a venom, appears from nowhere. It’s begun by the servant of the mother of Bharata, one of the queens. It’s not clear what her motivation is. It’s said that when she heard that Rama was to be declared heir a terrible anger and jealousy came over her. She had no reason for this. She had a hunch-back, but she must have been a person of great charm and personality, because the queen was very attached to her – and, in fact, she had brought her with her from her own father’s family when she married Rama’s father. So she had a marvellous position and she had tremendous influence with the queen. There was no reason for her jealousy but suddenly this venom sprang up and she infected the queen with it. The queen was at first very pleased that Rama should inherit; she said this will be the best of kings and my son is a great devotee of his and they had great affection for each other. But the servant said, “Now, now. The moment he becomes king, the first thing he’ll do will be to get rid of his elder brother.” This venom begins to spread and the queen finally is infected with it. She uses a particular influence that she has to get Rama banished to the forest for fourteen years. The effect of this goes on. Rama is able, like Shiva, to accept this with detachment. One of his other brothers, Lakshmana, is not able to do this at first. He says to Rama, “The people would support you. Let’s arrange a coup. We’ll say that the king is doddering, and we’ll replace him and put you on the throne.” Rama refuses to do this, and his face doesn’t change, even when assailed with this poison which sends him into exile for fourteen years.
In the same way in the New Testament, the motivation of Judas is not at all clear. It’s not clear what he hoped to gain. Luke simply ascribes it to a sort of possession by the devil. But, there again, in the middle of a spiritual process this venom suddenly appears. This is the first thing that comes out of the churning of the ocean, and it has to be overcome by detachment as best they can. In the Ramayana by Rama completely, by Lakshmana only after great difficulty, but in the end he’s able to accept it. Then they go on churning for a long time and then the mountain begins to sink into the sea, so the process will stop. Then they pray, and the supreme Lord incarnates himself as an enormous tortoise, and upholds the mountain like a sort of tectonic plate on which the mountain is supported and they can go on churning.
Then the Lord, the supreme Spirit who’s presiding over this warns the devas, the gods, not to be attached to any of the things that may come out of the ocean. They actually succeed in remembering this, which was no easy matter. On other occasions they were not so successful; but they do succeed. A horse, representing energy, comes out. In the spiritual process the poison has to be met with detachment, then depression, a sort of apathy which can be overcome only by devotion. People say, “You can’t be devoted to something you don’t believe in.” But our teacher said, the spiritual things, the incarnations, the holy rishis are more real than our food and drink and if we search for them we shall find them. There can be an emotional scepticism just as much as an emotional credulity.
In the investigations now going on on the authenticity or otherwise of the Turin Shroud, one very prominent sceptic has remarked, “Well some of the evidence is admittedly impressive, and it’s not very easy to upset – there can never be a complete proof. But the trouble is that the people who are investing it although they seem to be doing it very well, have appointed themselves to do it and there is no active opposition by a man who’s furiously determined to disprove it. That is what you need.”
Titles in this series are:
1. Bhagavad Gita, Katha the Mundaka Upanishads
3. Spiritual energy springs up
The full talk is Seeking the Self
© Trevor Leggett