The center of life is love, yet we seem to be so far away from our own centers. What can connect us to our centers, what can bring us back to ourselves? This quest is ongoing. You need a little thread to be connected, you need something to hold on that raises the hope in life, that brings light into your eyes, that makes your heart feel lighter, adds wings to your heart. What is that something that is missing in our life, that can transform our lives from misery to celebration, that can turn the tears of sadness to tears of joy, tears of gratitude? That thread we need, that life saving thread, such threads, such ropes, such strings are called Sutras, that which has the essence and in short gives you something to hold on, uplifts you. A tiny thread can make a kite soar high in the sky, a tiny thread makes the kite go up in the sky. So this mind needs such a sutra, a thread.
One such Sutras are – Bhakti Sutras – the aphorisms of love. There was a sage, a Rishi in ancient days whose name was Narada. Narada means one who connects you to the source, one who is in the centre as well as in the circumference. Most of us reel in our circumference, we remain in our circumference, we are just trying to find our centre but we never reach there. We move in circles, we remain in the exterior. And there are those who live in their centers, who live in the world of their own and not connected to the practical reality of life.
Often you find this happening in the world. Some people who are very much in their ideology, but they are not so practical and others are so practical that they drop all ideals or goals so there is no progress in life. You need a balance, a path, a connectedness with your ideology and the practicality. Wisdom is that which makes high ideals possible to live in daily life, in the mundane existence. Rishi Narada is also called the Devarshi, is a playful Rishi is known for creating mischief. He plays double role at two different places. There is a colloquial expression in India which says not to be like Narada. He would create trouble and problems everywhere, but all that problem and trouble will turn out to be something very good for everybody.
See, life is no fun without some mischief, life is not a struggle, life is not boredom, life is not a weight on your head, it is celebration, it’s a play. Your life is a play and display of consciousness. Narada was one such Rishi, one of his kinds, he would create mischief, and he would connect people who normally don’t connect. He would connect you to the centre, to your own existence.
When life is stagnant, you need to go to Narada, he will keep you moving. And how does he do that? With small aphorisms, the tiny Sutras, the tiny words of wisdom, the Bhakti Sutras. ‘Bhakti’, the divine love. Love in its ultimate form, love in its pinnacle.
~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
