QUESTION 2

WHAT is this ocean whose shore is knowledge?
What is that pearl which is found in its depth?

Answer

EVER-MOVING Life is a flowing ocean,
Consciousness is its shore.
What an ocean that is deep and surging
A thousand mountains and deserts are on its bank.
Don't talk about its surging waves, 5
For each had overflowed its bank.
It left the ocean and imparted moisture to the desert,
It gave to the eye the sense of quantity and quality.
Whatever thing comes into its presence,
Gets illumined through the grace of its consciousness. 10
It is satisfied with its privacy and is not inclined to association with others,
Yet all things are illumined by its light.
First it brightens it up,
Then it ensnares it in a mirror.
Its consciousness makes it familiar with the world, 15
The world made it aware of its potentiality.1
Intellect removes veil from its face,
But speech reveals it much better.
Yet it is not confined to this mundane world -
It is only one of its stages in the path of evolution. 20
You look upon the world as existing outside you:
These mountains and deserts, oceans and mines;
This world of colour and smell is our nosegay;2
It is independent and yet intimately related to us.
The ego bound them all by its one glance: 25
The earth and the sky, the moon and the sun.
Our heart has a secret gateway to it,
For every existent depends for its existence upon our perception.
If nobody sees, it becomes contemptible;
If anybody sees, it becomes mountains and oceans. 30
The world has significance through our seeing it -
Its tree grows by our growth.
The problem of subject and object is a mystery;
The heart of every particle of matter is expressing its supplication:
O observer, make me your object, 35
Make me existent by the grace of your sight.3
The perfection of the being of a thing lies in being present,
In becoming an object for an observer;
Its defect, not to be before our eyes,
Not to be illumined by our awareness. 40
The world is nothing but our manifestation,
For without us there would be no world of light and sound4,
You also should crave help by associating with it,
Discipline your eyes by its twists and turns.
Rest assured that master-huntsmen 45
Have sought help in this matter from insects.5
With its help, keep a watchful eye on yourself;
You are like Gabriel the truthful; take wings.
Open the eye of intellect on this world of plurality,
So that you may enjoy the revelations of the One,6
Take your share from the smell of the shirt,
While sitting in Kan'an, get fragrance from Egypt and Yemen .7
Ego is the hunter, the sun and the moon are its prey;
They are chained to the strings of his intellectual efforts.
Throw yourself on this world like fire!
Make an assault on the visible and the invisible worlds alike.8

[Explanatory Note] [See Notes]