यथा काष्ठं च काष्ठं च समेयाताम महोदधौ
समेत्य च व्यपेयाताम तद्वत भूतसमागमः
One of the Sanskrit subhashitas or 'good sayings' I have been long fascinated with.For the uninitiated/completely bewildered:) a loose translation is as follows:-
"As two logs of wood come together in the great ocean and also go away from each other, so much alike is the communion of mankind."
These words bring many vivid pictures to mind-those of union,separation,casual drifting apart, the play of the dice of time and space by fate,a poignancy of feeling and a sweet sorrow of retreat, the turbulence of events depicted in the stormy waves and the unfathomable quality of life embodied in the image of the vast ocean.
This shloka is from the Ramayana ,where Rama comforts Bharata when the latter tries to persuade him to return to Ayodhya,with the premise that all human beings are but playthings of fate.This emotion has been depicted in many ways and in many languages.For instance , the famous "Geet Ramayana" in Marathi , where the 'modern Valmiki' G.D.Madgulkar has versified the entire Ramayana,the words run thus:-
दोन ओणडक्यांची होते सागरात भेट
एक लाट तोडी दोघा पुन्हा नाही गाठ
Which means-two logs of wood come together in the ocean, but a wave pushes them apart and they do not meet again.
I find this a vey delicate and endearing way of expressing and interpreting a common enough occurence of meeting and separation.
When you sit and ponder, how many,many instances come to mind of meeting a stranger, getting to know him better, attaining a level of comfort with him,progressing to warm friendship, and finding your friendship rudely curtailed by separation.
These musings on the workings of fate lead me to venture into the realm of philosophy.Sant Dnyaneshwar, a much loved saint of Maharashtra, did not really subscribe to the theory of Advaitins of the world being 'Maya' or illusory.He preferred to used the word'Chidvilas'which means that the world exists for the sport of God.
Well-all this poetic speculation has arisen from a simple fact that a dear friend of mine,with whom I used to talk for ages, is soon leaving abroad at least for a couple of years.Rather anti-climatic?But it is thus-a simple event can enmesh you in a train of thoughts bound in your emotions.
