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A Blissful Mind Finds the World Nectarine

पूर्णे मनसि संपूर्णं जगत्सर्वं सुधाद्रवैः ।
उपानद्-गूढपादस्य ननु चर्मास्तृतैव भूः ।।
– योगवासिष्ठः ५.२१.१४

pūrṇe manasi sampūrṇaṃ jagat-sarvaṃ sudhādravai: |
upānad-gūḍhapādasya nanu carmāstṛtaiva bhū: ||
– Yogavāsiṣṭha: 5.21.14

Translation

When the mind becomes full (pūrṇa), with that the entire world becomes laden with nectar. For one who walks with slippers made of leather, is it not as if the entire world has leather spread over?

Points for Introspection

Human mind is such that it always lacks contentment. Whatever be one’s attainments and achievements in life, his mind rarely feels contented and full. Instead, there always is a lack, an un-fulfillment, felt in the mind. There is a constant void. Because of this lack of fulfillment, the mind is never full with joy and delight; it suffers grief very often.

Being deluded, one hopes that worldly gains will make the mind happy and full. As a consequence, desire after desire fills the mind. But, after fulfillment of one desire, more desires crop up, never allowing the mind to be full and contented. Instead, the mind becomes a victim of anxiety, disturbance, and dissatisfaction alone.

Only when the mind becomes full with its own splendour, one becomes peaceful and joyous. This happens when desires fall off, contentment sets in, and one expects nothing from this world. Having risen beyond likes and dislikes, he becomes absolutely satisfied with whatever life brings to him in its course. In the absence of desire and expectation, the mind transcends all plurality and bheda-bhāva (differential outlook). When there is nothing different from the One, who will desire, what will one desire, and from whom? The mind remains in a state of ocean-like fullness.

Such a mind attains supreme bliss. He whose mind is adorned with such nectarine fullness, finds the whole world to be laden with nectar. In whatever situation he is, by virtue of the fact that his mind is full with nectarine joy, he finds nectar everywhere.

In this śloka, this truth has been explained with an illustration: When one’s feet are covered by leather, that is, when one walks about wearing leather shoes, wherever he goes the feet do not come in touch with the earth. To him, does not the entire earth seem to be covered with leather alone? Similarly, when a man’s mind is full with bliss, for him in whichever situation he is, the whole world seems to be full with nectar and nectar alone.

Repeated chanting of this śloka transports the mind to that state where there is no desire no lack, where the mind is contented and full with whatever is. A yearning develops in the mind to drop all desires and rise to that state of fullness.

Word Meaning

पूर्णे मनसि (pūrṇe manasi) = when the mind becomes full; संपूर्णं (sampūrṇaṃ) = completely filled; जगत् सर्वं (jagat sarvaṃ) = the entire world; सुधाद्रवैः (sudhādravai:) = by nectar; उपानद्-गूढपादस्य (upānad-gūḍha-pādasya) = for one whose feet are covered with leather; ननु (nanu) = is it not; चर्मास्तृत (carmāstṛta) = covered with leather; इव (iva) = as if; भूः (bhū:) = earth.

अन्वयः

मनसि पूर्णे (सति), जगत्सर्वं सुधाद्रवैः संपूर्णं (भवति) । उपानद्-गूढ-पादस्य भूः ननु चर्मास्तृत इव (भवति) ।

manasi pūrṇe (sati), jagat-sarvaṃ sudhādravai: sampūrṇaṃ (bhavati). upānad-gūḍhapādasya bhū: nanu carmāstṛta iva (bhavati).