Devas, Asuras and the churning of the cosmic ocean
The legend tells that Indra, king of the gods, taken by weakness couldn´t get his ego under control and as a result, all gods lost their strength, energy and fortune. Scared, the Devas, celestial gods, asked Vishnu to help them and he told them to create an alliance with the Asuras, the demonic beings, to churn together the ocean of milk and extract its amrita or nectar of immortality.
The process was long and complex. A mountain was used as the churning rod and the great snake Vasuki was the rope. Gods and demons merged their forces and started churning. Many fantastic things emerged from the milk. The first one to come out was halahala, the mortal poison capable of destroying the universe and that Shiva decided to swallow in an act of infinite compassion. Then came the wish fulfilling cow, diamonds, other wonderful creatures, the goddess of fortune, and lastly, Dhanvantari, the physician god carrying a vessel that contained the precious nectar. The story is long and full of events, but at the end Vishnu intervened so only the Devas could get the amrita.
The legend talks about the human endeavor to restore the lost immortality and although it is full of symbolism, today I only want to highlight one: the integration of all aspects of ourselves. It is interesting that Vishnu, preserver of life, tells the gods to churn the ocean of milk with their enemies. The reason being that in the path of awakening all aspects of personality must be balanced and put to work in the same direction. The goal is clear: reveal our innermost immortal consciousness. Denying or rejecting the dark areas will only create more obstacles to realization. The ocean of milk represents our human mind that we churn with heart and soul through spiritual practice. In this process it is purified (this is why the venom comes out), many things happen, we get celestial help and numerous battles take place, but we emerge victorious, although this we can´t tell until the end and it only happens if we hold dearly to the right intention of light, wisdom and love.
September 21st marks the beginning of autumn, it is the day of balance between day and night, light and darkness. In our superheroes journey, may we take advantage of this magical time to integrate duality and move ourselves to a higher and more compassionate perspective of life.
See you on the mat!!
Om Shanti
Zaira
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The Zunray Spark is a biweekly email with an inspirational message. It also serves as theme for the classes at Zunray&
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