Date: February, 23, 2025
Venue: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch
On 23rd February, 2025, Mr. Narendra Murty, Research Associate, BhāratShakti was invited to deliver a talk at the Sunday Satsang held in the Meditation Hall of the Delhi Branch of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The subject of the talk was “The Inner Meaning of Samudra Manthan”.
Mr. Murty began his talk by stating that contrary to popular perception, mythologies were not entertaining fairy tales. The myths and legends always have a deeper layer of meaning. He quoted Plato who described myths as fictional stories that illustrated Truth. Some aspect of the Truth that cannot be effectively described using straight forward language is described using a myth.
He went on to elaborate that mythologies use symbols and metaphors to describe something which cannot be described. The rules of logic can be bent in mythology and that is why this medium has been used brilliantly in Sanatana Dharma to convey eternal truths. It is no wonder then, that the sages of this land took the pains of composing 18 Puranas which is a huge body of work in which all the Vedic and Upanishadic principles are preserved in symbolic language.
Thereafter, Narendra took up the story of Samudra Manthan which occurs both in the Bhagavat Purana and the Vishnu Purana. After a short narration of the story, the inner meaning of each of the symbols and metaphors like Devas and Asuras, the quest for Amrita, Mandara mountain, the role of Vasuki, the significance of Kurma Avatar and the role of Shiva who drinks up the deadly poison Halahal and the emergence of different wondrous objects including Lakshmi – the goddess of Wealth and finally the emergence of the Amrita Kumbha – all these aspects were decoded and the inner meaning of the whole process was described.
Mr. Murty described Samudra Manthan as a process of inner churning or Atma Vichara. The churning process is actually a constant negation and assertion. Negation of what we are not – we are not the body, the vital, the mind, the Ego etc. and Assertion of what we are – Sat, Chit, Anand, the Soul, the Divine. In other words, the negation of our mortal, earthly nature and assertion of our Divine nature.
The final twist in the story where Vishnu appears as the Mohini Avatar and what it represents was also brought out in an entertaining manner which was appreciated by the audience a lot. During the interactive session, the audience expressed that though they had heard the story, they had no idea that each aspect of the story actually described the process of Sadhana culminating in the emergence of Amrita. There were further discussions on symbolism during the interaction which aroused the interest and curiosity of the listeners.