DILEMMA OF HUMAN EXISTENCE

DILEMMA OF HUMAN EXISTENCE

“BABA JAG FATHA MAHA JAAL”—GURU NANAK SAHIB (PAGE 1009  ADI GRANTH)

बाबा जग फाथा महा जाल

(OH LORD YOU HAVE ENSNARED SOULS IN MAMMOTH NET)

AS UNDERSTOOD

Tejinder Narang

Imagine a violently turbulent ocean, as vast as seven skies, no end or beginning in sight. In such an ocean, a huge ship fully laden with venom, with no navigator or captain and a lonely passenger is drifting directionless and being hit by ferocious waves. What could be the state of that forlorn passenger? He can neither survive in the ship nor outside!! This parable has some similarity to human existence in this world.

The ocean is metaphorical to the infiniteness of this vast world of dread and fear in which a lonely soul has been pushed to fend for itself. Absence of the pilot and guide represents ignorance of the destination where the soul has to proceed. The turbulence represents birth and death, time and space, mind and Maya that hit and rock soul’s journey to nowhere.

The ship is the life. Venom is allegorical to karma. The ship is full of that karmic poison. Whatever we do-- speak, hear, think, eat, drink, act or neglect--- all keeps us entrapped in bodies of different species. Love, lust, hate, humility, good or bad, beauty, ugliness, greed, pride pain, pleasure, truth, falsehood, richness, poverty, asceticism, worship or its abstinence---all such emotions and actions create commotion and retribution. These karmas make us suffer in all lives. Death stalks at our face throughout the life. That is why karma is venom that keeps us in death mode all the time. Lord has woven this vast, complex and intricate web where the man and his soul are irretrievably stuck. This indeed is a pitiable state, a great tragedy for the soul and the man experiencing it.

The above description is given by Guru Nanak Sahib in Adi Granth (Page1009)—by saying “BABA JAG FATHA MAHA JAAL” बाबा जग फाथा महा जाल (Oh lord you have ensnared the souls in mammoth net). He nevertheless categorically states in His treatise that this ship of human life is also the most precious instrument of the Lord for giving reprieve to the suffering souls when they are blessed by a Sant Satguru through Nam and shabd. The rudderless ship of life then gets locked to the targeted divine destination of peace and bliss. At that stage cosmic and karmic web of mind and Maya becomes meaningless.

Elsewhere in Adi Granth, Guru Nanak Sahib bows in humility to the Lord and says Oh Lord, “all creatures are Yours and You too are always worried about them. So why do they need to worry? He prays that all good comes out by accepting Your will and therefore there is no reason why anyone should regret—Jo tudh bhave soii changa ek Nanak ki aardase. जो तुध भावे सोई चंगा एक नानक कि अरदासे (Whatever is Your will is good for us, humbly submits Nanak --Adi Granth page 795)”. Knowing the enormity of pain and tragedy of human existence, such a prayer is the highest form of surrender and submission which only Saints can utter and accept. At human level this can be source of sustenance and inspiration for all of us.

The dilemma of human beings since time immemorial has been how to rationalize between complexities of existence with acceptance of His will.

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