Sadhus guide us on the true path of life, nurturing us with love and keeping us away from worldly troubles. Their actions are divine and distinct from this world. One such sadhu, Sadguru Shree Pragnanand Swami, was performing satsang in Surat. Many profound scholars (Brahma Gnanis) came to attend his sabha, laden with confusion and questions.
They expressed, “Swami! Our minds find no solace. Please show us the way.”
Swami listened. The scholars likened their minds to an ant trapped in a pot, scurrying endlessly in all directions, finding no stable place to rest. Despite all the running around, there was no end to their futile efforts.
Swami then said, “Listen! If you put a lump of sugar in that pot, the ant will become still. What’s the point of aimless wandering? Purposeful movement becomes a blessing.”
He continued, “The meaningless actions of worldly people lead to constant, aimless wandering, exhaustion, boredom, and a tangled mess of problems. Eating, drinking, indulging in pleasures – how much does a person run after these? How many tastes do they get entangled in? What kind of pleasures do they seek? Yet, they experience restlessness as if they haven’t enjoyed anything at all.”
“Humanity’s condition is like that ant in the pot. When the ant found the lump of sugar, its meaningless actions stopped. It became still, it became happy. The same happens with humans. If we find love for Bhagwan, if we surrender to the Divine, if we get to live in His presence, then the hustle and bustle of worldly affairs lessen. A person experiences ultimate peace, and their aimless actions, like those of the ant, cease. The ant found sugar; humans find Bhagwan.”
Swami continued, “The pot and the world are alike. The ant wanders aimlessly in the pot; humans wander aimlessly in the pot of the world. Their wandering doesn’t stop until the end of life; they lack true direction. The world is like the pot, and the soul is like the ant. If the soul clings to the lotus feet of Bhagwan, which are like the sugar, its cycles of birth and death will cease.”
“The soul often prefers the taste of six different flavors (worldly pleasures) over the sweet taste of sugar (divine bliss). What an intense absorption in these! Leave the six flavors and drink the sweet nectar. How grand and divine the life can be if one becomes absorbed in this sweet nectar!”