Gyaneshwari -Sant Gyaneshwar
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Chapter-9
The Esoteric Knowledge
8. Fools scoff at Me who have taken the human form, not knowing My higher nature as the great Lord of beings does. In short, if you are afraid of life and really fond of Me, then you should keep this conclusion in your mind (136-140). To one who suffers from jaundice, the moonlight appears to be yellow; so people see defect in My pure nature. To one who has a bad mouth due to fever, even milk taste bitter, in the same way people think Me to be human, although I am Divine. Therefore, O Arjuna, I am repeatedly telling you not to forget this secret. There is no point in seeing Me with the gross physical eyes, he does not see the real Me at all, just as one does not become immortal by drinking nectar in a dream. Since the deluded persons know Me with their physical eyes their imperfect knowledge comes in the way of true knowledge (141-145), in the same way as the swan who, thinking the reflections of stars in water as gems, jumps to pick them up and dashing against a rock dies. What use is it to run after a mirage thinking it to be river Ganga or to resort to a babul tree thinking it to be the wish-yielding tree or to pick up a poisonous serpent thinking it to be a necklace of emeralds or to gather flints thinking them to be diamonds, or to collect live coals thinking them to be hidden treasure, or for a lion to jump into the well, thinking his own reflection in the water to be another lion? Thus those who, thinking Me to be human, become absorbed in worldly life with great resolve, have caught hold of the moon’s reflection instead of the moon (146-150), their resolve is worthless, like that of a person who drinks gruel instead of nectar and expects to become immortal. So how can they know My truly imperishable nature, if they think Me to possess a gross perishable form? How can a person reach the shore of the Western Sea by going to the East? O great warrior, how can a person recover grain by pounding bran? How can one come to know Me by knowing this ever-changing world? Can one quench his thirst by drinking the foam of water? But because their mind is deluded, they think Me human and attribute to Me birth and work, which do not at all affect Me (151-155). |
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