Posted on: 09 Feb 2006
Initially the Lord attracts a human being through miracles and creates belief and devotion in his mind. Thus the human being is converted into a devotee. From the stage of an ordinary human being, the soul carries on the journey to the stage of a devotee. This journey takes place due to the effort of the Lord alone. This is called as the ‘Marjala Kishora Nyaya’, which means ‘the case of a mother-cat carrying its offspring in her mouth’. The effort of the human being is nil in this case. But the human being must have an open mind to receive help from the Lord and to recognize the existence of the supernatural power of the Lord and thereby to recognize the existence of the Lord. The problems and troubles faced by the person in life, which are due to Karma Chakra (the wheel of his past deeds) help the soul realize the existence of God and His powers. Thus the troubles are really helpers towards the spiritual path. The misery due to the troubles is praised by the Lord in the Gita (Aarto...Udaaraah). Kunti asked for constant troubles from the Lord. In this stage, though the effort of the soul is nil, the soul must have flexibility and an open mind to recognize the helper, the Lord. The impartial Lord gives this opportunity equally to all human beings but the atheist due to the absence of an open mind and due to foolish rigidity, does not accept the existence of the Lord, even after such help. Thus, even though we say that the effort of the individual is nil in this case, having an open mind to realize the truth is also considered as the effort of the human being. When the effort of the human being exists, it is called as ‘Markata Kisora Nyaya’, which means ‘the case of the offspring of a monkey holding on to the belly of the mother-monkey by itself’. Thus both these cases always co-exist and are mutual to each other.
Individual Effort
In the sacred book ‘Yoga Vashishtha’, the preacher Vashishtha preaches spiritual knowledge to Rama. In the very beginning itself Vashishtha emphasizes on the effort of the individual soul (Purusha Prayatna). Without the effort of the soul if the Lord has to carry the devotee by His grip alone, then the Lord would have to carry all the souls in this creation. Only then can the Lord be impartial. If that is done, there is no meaning in creation because the thrill of love disappears. The extraordinary love of one devotee in millions cannot be tasted by the Lord. If all the students in the class are given hundred percent marks and if all are given gold medals for no effort on their part, then there is no thrill.
The teacher puts his effort equally on all the students and every student has equal opportunity to get the gold medal. When only one gets the gold medal we cannot blame the teacher to be partial. The teacher puts equal effort on all the students and aspires that every student should get the gold medal. But the fact is that only one gets the gold medal. The aspiration and impartial practical effort of the teacher and the actual outcome are altogether different. You cannot link these two contradicting extreme facts. It is true that the teacher wishes that every student should stand first in the class and he puts equal effort on every student without any trace of partiality. At the same time it is equally true that only one student stands first. From the point of the teacher, we have to appreciate the way of the mother-cat. From the point of the student you have to appreciate the way of the mother-monkey. The teacher tries to carry every student to the goal like the mother-cat. But only one student reaches the goal because of his strongest grip on the teacher’s teaching. Thus both cases are equally important from their own angles. The teacher is always like the mother-cat. The offspring should be always like the baby-monkey.
Initially the human mother carries the child like the mother-cat. But when the baby grows, the child catches the finger of the mother and walks on its own which is like the baby-monkey. Initially the Marjala Kishora Nyaya is valid. In course of time the Markata Kishora Nyaya is justified. In the advanced stage, the baby-monkey should not become egoistic thinking that its journey is successful because of its own grip. The baby-monkey should analyze the reason for its own grip. The strength of the baby-monkey is due to its own flesh but that flesh exists only due to the milk given by the mother-monkey. Therefore, the Markata Kishora Nyaya is an indirect Marjala Kishora Nyaya alone. The Marjala Kishora Nyaya is direct where as the Markata Kishora Nyaya is indirect. When the baby does not have sufficient strength, the mother helps like a cat but when the baby has sufficient strength, the mother helps like a monkey. Even in the case of the monkey, it is the mother alone who is walking on the path; the baby-monkey merely holds on to her. Therefore, the credit for the journey goes to the mother only. Thus, the credit for the baby’s strength as well as for walking on the path goes only to the mother and not to the baby. By such analysis the baby should destroy its ego.
Love and Sacrifice in Ignorance
In reality, only the case of the cat exists but there is no thrill of love, if only the case of the cat is remembered at all times. If you think that your wealth belongs to the Lord, then there is no thrill of love in the sacrifice. You will only think that you have sacrificed your wealth because it is really the wealth of the Lord [it was never yours to begin with]. Then you will not enjoy the love in sacrifice. Even the Lord will not enjoy your love if He thinks that everything is His own wealth. Thus, depending on the situation that arises, the appropriate weapon should be used. When you become egoistic, you should remember the mother-cat and realize that even your effort is due to the power of the mother-cat. While sacrificing something to the Lord, you should remember yourself as the baby-monkey and enjoy the thrill of divine love. Thus even ego is necessary and it has its own use.
The ego which is limited to the idea of just the self is called as ‘Sattvika Ahamkara’. That much ego is essential in the divine service to enjoy divine love. You should think that you exist. Then you should also think that this much is your self-earned wealth. Up to this stage, ego is not wrong. But when you feel proud of yourself and your wealth, it becomes Rajasa Ahamkara. In this stage, ego is wrong. As the pride grows, you will even deny the existence of the Lord. Such climax of pride is called Tamasa Ahamkara, which is seen in demons and is the worst kind. When you become proud, you should remember the mother-cat and realize that everything, including yourself, is His wealth. Thus the concept of the mother-cat destroys pride. But when you sacrifice, you must retain the Sattvika ego. Then only can you feel that you are sacrificing your own hard earned wealth. In such sacrifice, you can enjoy the sweet divine love towards the Lord. The Lord also enjoys such sweet love under [self-imposed] ignorance.
The Lord created both Knowledge and Ignorance. Every item is created by the Lord and has its own divine use. When you are enjoying the cinema you can enjoy only under ignorance. If you realize the truth that the cinema is only a created story, which is just a picture on the screen, you cannot enjoy it. Suppose you are captivated by some scene and go on feeling sad, then you must have the true knowledge of the cinema and get rid of the sadness. You have to wear a cotton shirt in summer and a woolen shirt in winter; not vice-versa. Both ignorance and knowledge are the creations of Lord, which have equal importance like the hero and the villain in the cinema. While doing service and sacrifice to the Lord, you should be like the baby-monkey and enjoy divine love. In that context your self-limited ego is not wrong, and it helps you enjoy the devotion.
Such ego is like the visible walls of the house, which bear the load of the roof. The wall knows that the hidden foundation underground alone is bearing the entire load of the walls and the roof. Such awareness of its mother on the part of the baby-monkey, avoids the infection of ego. The wall is aware of the foundation and bears the load of the roof. Similarly, you must be aware of the Lord but you should not make yourself zero and become inactive or refuse to take effort. Action is not possible if ego becomes zero. You must be aware of the cat in the mind, but you should be the monkey in action. Avoid going to the wrong side of Rajas [passion, activity] and Tamas [ignorance, inertia]. Even Rajas and Tamas have a good spiritual side. Rajas is the source of action and Tamas is responsible for determination. Hanuman’s action of jumping of over the sea with full determination, facing all the obstacles was Rajas and Tamas. So was His killing of the demons. Both ignorance and knowledge are praised by the Veda (Avidyaya Mrityum…) and the Gita (Jnanam apohanancha…).
The liberated soul, who is without defects like ego, is equal to the Lord in the aspect of getting entertainment from the world. He is just like the Lord, who is above the three qualities, and uses both knowledge and ignorance as instruments for the play. A king and a beggar are equal in the act of enjoying the cinema, when both of them are watching the cinema. The monkey-concept is ignorance and the cat-concept is knowledge. Both are equally important, equally sacred and equally useful. The cat-concept should not be remembered always because it will make you inactive. It destroys even your self-limited ego, which is essential for action. Action is essential for divine service. At the same time you should not forget the cat-concept and remember only the monkey-concept, which is very dangerous and will lead you to the wrong side of ego in a fraction of a second.