Bhakti Ras

Knowing the Eternal Treasure

When Alexander the Great invaded India, one day during his travel, he met a sadhu (i.e., an ascetic). He approached the sadhu who was watching the sunset, stood in front of him, and declared, “I am Alexander the Great.”

With a tranquil gaze, the sadhu said, “Since you have conquered all those kingdoms if you give me half a share of all the land, I will give you a half pot of water. If you hand me off all the kingdoms you conquered, you can have the whole pot of water.” Listening to the sadhu’s words, Alexander stood perplexed.

The sadhu continued placidly, “You wasted your life for a pot of water. Don’t you see, you threw away your whole life conquering all those kingdoms while all you need is six feet?”

Contemplating these wise words of the sadhu, Alexander began marching back home. Later, when he fell ill and knew that death was fast approaching, Alexander asked his generals to carry out his three instructions after his demise – his physicians to carry his coffin, to strew the path leading to the graveyard with all the wealth from his treasury, and to leave both of his hands dangling out of his coffin.

Do you wonder why Alexander gave these instructions? To let everyone know that no doctor could save anyone from the clutches of death, chasing earthly pleasures and accumulating materialistic goods was a waste of time, and that we came empty-handed and shall leave empty-handed. A poet has put this point across very well:

दुनिया मे खूब् कमाय क्या हिरे क्या मोति ।
लेखिन् क्या करें यारों, कफ़न् में जेब् नहीं होति।।

duniyaa me khuub kamaaya kyaa hire kyaa moti ।
lekhin kyaa kare yaaro, kafan me jeb nahii hoti ।।

I earned a lot of fortune and wealth in this world, but alas, my friends, there is no pocket in the shroud!

The truth is that even our own gross body will be left behind when we die. Yet, in our ignorance, we chase the mirage of Maya, seeking short-lived pleasures and happiness in its animate and inanimate objects. When our five senses – sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing – meet their objects of perception, it leads to either happiness or anguish. Neither of these sensations is permanent, therefore, it is of vital importance to remember always that the worldly pleasures and happiness neither gratify us nor follow us when we depart from this world.

Pursuing the Eternal Treasure

There is one transformational treasure chest – bhakti. This treasure accompanies us through time and eternity, and the bliss derived from bhakti is everlasting. This is because our Eternal Father, from whom we inherit this treasure, is an ocean of bliss. The Taittiriya Upanishad states:

आनंदो ब्रह्मेति व्याजानात

ānando brahmeti vyajānāt (3.6)

“Know God to be bliss.”

Our scriptures and saints have repeatedly proclaimed that the bliss of God is everlasting, ever-fresh, and ever-increasing. However, to receive His sublime jewels of bliss, we need to cleanse our hearts, and bhakti alone can do this dirty job. By attaching the mind to God and detaching it from the world, will the mind start to cleanse. After the mind is clean, the Guru will grace the soul with divine knowledge and divine love of God.