“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.”
– Norman Maclean
Kabir – The couplet
हेरत हेरत हे सखी, रहा कबीर हेराइ ।
बूँद समाई समुंद में, सो कत हरी जाइ ||
Transliterated:
Herat Herat He Sakhi, Rahaa Kabir Heraai |
Boond Samaai Samund Mein, So Kat Heri Jaai||
Translation:
Searching over and over, I got lost in Him (God)
Now this drop is merged in the ocean, where can one search for the drop? ||
My understanding:
The ego, in its infinite wisdom, insists on creating an ephemeral persona, and labels that the self. It then forces us to associate our entire existence with that which is thinner than ether, and subjugates our thinking to its attempts to perpetuate that which cannot withstand the first gust of wind.
When adversity strikes, rather than bow to the inevitable, the ego forces us to tack blame for both the cause and effect on anything external to itself – and convinces us so well of the validity of the argument that we are willing to take up cudgels with the world on its behalf.
This construct of the ego is the identity we have to give up – once we do that, we instantly find our true calling and purpose in this world as well as the next – and find everlasting peace and the joy that never depletes.