The Voyage

by Dada on August 31, 2011

I lived in the Philippines for approximately ten years. The Philippines is a country with many islands and the only way to get from one island to another is by ship which may take from 6 hours to 3 days. I was traveling on one such ship from Manila the capitol to another island, perhaps Negros.

In the evening after everyone had dinner, I was resting in my bunk bed on a ship carrying almost a thousand other people. It wasn’t a luxury ship. It was just a simple passenger liner. I was dressed in my saffron sannyasi uniform.

Sauntering through the maze of bunk beds, the captain of the ship was looking for something interesting to do. Quite frankly riding on a ship for 24 or 36 hours can be quite boring unless there is an occasional fish jumping out of the water or perhaps a rough sea.

So the captain was looking for some entertainment in the form of a conversation. Seeing me, lying on the bunk bed, he wandered over and asked me who I was and why I was dressed in saffron. He then invited me to the bridge where he and his men guide the ship through the sea to its destination. So I agreed. I was curious after all.

When we arrived on the bridge, I was struck by the silence. In the passenger area, there is a continuous noise coming from the engines. Here there was complete silence. The full moon was beautifully reflected on the sea water which was like glass. It was an awesome site.

I asked the captain what he would do if there were to be a typhoon. He replied that he would be advised ahead of time and would head for a safe port. Still curious I enquired further. I asked,"What if you had no time to reach the port or were not informed in time?" He then said that the important thing to remember is to keep the propeller running. If the propeller which moves the ship through the waves were to stop, then the ship would be at the mercy of the waves.

I suddenly realized that meditation and life is similar to his description. Sometimes meditation is like a calm sea with a beautiful reflection of Divinity on my mind. At other times my mind is like a typhoon of emotions and thoughts. It is important in the rough sea of emotions to keep the mantra running as the mantra is the propeller that moves me toward intimacy with the Divine and prevents me from becoming overwhelmed with my emotional challenges.

It is truly amazing that my Guru teaches me through the most ordinary events of life and they make deep impressions on my mind. I have never forgotten this experience even though it happened years ago.