Lalleshuri --- The essential purpose of human life

Lalleshuri wanted to bring home to man that his life is a rare occasion to work for the purity of soul and realization of the divine in one’s own being besides freedom from the cycle of life and death. There is no use of excessive attachment in worldly affairs as it is all transitory so each moment of life is to be spent for its real purpose, the pursuit of the awakening of self and liberation from the cycle of life and death. The human life is a rare opportunity provided to man after changing lots of other body forms to struggle for its liberation. For a vigilant seeker all roads towards enlightenment of self are always open and it is only the will and determination that takes him to his goal. The presence of the Lord can be visualized in all living and non living things so there is no dearth of resource. The only hurdle is the ceaseless attachment of worldly affairs which confines man to the futile pursuit of worldly possessions, family, children, wealth and the like thus ignoring the essential purpose though knowing precisely that these things cannot last beyond his present life which has to end very soon.
Tale chyui zuis tay pyathe chukh nachan, Vante maali vonde kave pachan chyui
Soruy sombrith yatyee chyui mochan, Wante maali ann kave rochaan chyui.
Lalla castigates the erring man asking him how he relishes his food and drink when he knows that he has to leave this world alone leaving behind all the worldly possessions collected by him. It is just like a dancer dancing overhead with full ease knowing fully well there is a yawning pit underneath which would invariably engulf him. The lure of the world is no doubt overpowering and man does not come out of this web though there are enough resources available for the liberation of soul and the indications of the presence of the Lord are not scarce as they are found everywhere. Lalla was an incarnation of Lord Shiva and a messenger from God to awaken the masses from the deep slumber induced by worldly attractions. Her orations are clear teachings for making life worthwhile and come nearer to the grace of the Lord.
Shiv chyui zaevuil zaal wahraavith, Kranzan manz chyai taerith kath
Zinde nyae vuchhan ade kate mareth, Pane manze paan kad vaichaarith kath.
The presence of the Lord (Shiva) can be felt everywhere. There is not a single object living or non-living that does not exhibit the presence of Lord. It is the vigilant eye that can explore the celestial existence but only in life not after death. Lalla wants to bring home to man here that one can strive to reach the highest stage of realization only through human existence, the opportunity that one gets after passing through lots and lots of bodies in the cycle of life and death. Unfortunate as it is, the opportunity is missed by one and all except quite a few who realize the truth of their existence. The significance of the human body as stressed here is important quite in contrast to the view of various theories in the context. The body is the only ladder that can take the seeker to the heavens though there is no doubt that once the finite merges with the infinite the body becomes immaterial.
Naar gachei chaalun te aar gachei gaalun, Odur gachei kadun wopal-haakas te handey
Hade gachei ratun te made gachei waalun, Veih gachei chalun ade achak grandey
Shoob gachei kanchein loob gachei maarun, Paan gachei naavun amey seindey.
Lalla pinpoints here necessary values for higher life-- one should be composed and calm in the face of strongest provocation of anger and rid himself of the unnatural sympathy for the worldly suffering which is the result of past karma. It’s like taking out all moisture out of fresh veggies which is its life which seems unnatural but leads to higher life. All worldly desires and sensual pleasures should be kept under control and all kind of ego shunned. One can reach a higher stage of realization only when one is able to display extreme patience in controlling the baser elements of human life. It’s good to have a worthwhile outer aspect but it should not give rise to any kind of greed for the worldly pleasures. Lalla says one should take a deep bath in the egoless and selfless clean waters of the ocean of divinity.
Asee aasy te asee aasav, Asey dor kaer patevath
Shivas sori na zyon tay marun, Ravas sori na ategath.
Lalla says we have had an existence in the past and will have it in the future too. The process has been continuing throughout ages, each life gets dissolved after getting reborn in various forms. It’s not going to stop as each life is destined to perish as the cycle of Sun which goes on rising daily in the east and setting daily in the west. The idea here is to remind the seeker about the hard reality of all life processes and that the choice is left with the human being to either get involved in the false worldly pleasures or seek the goal of righteousness which would ultimately free him from the shackles of life and death and merge him with the ultimate truth.
Maney push taey yach poshany, Bhaveik kosam laegzais poozay
Shishras goed dizyas zalchee daany, Choepi manther shankar soe aatame wuzay.
Lalla gives a beautiful description of the worthy devotion of the Lord with the flowers collected by the florist of the pure consciousness and the garlands prepared by the deepest faith. Only the prettiest flowers of the sincere devotion and love of the Lord are to be offered in the prayers. The lord should be bathed in the purest water of the dew drops collected from the fresh rose petals only at dawn. Now the sacred mantras that are to be offered to the Lord in the prayers is only the calm and the silence adopted in the meditation by great sages and that’s only capable to awaken the grace of Lord Shiva.
Razae hamse aasith loguth koeluy, Kustam choeluy kyahtam heath
Grate gow band tay gratan hyot goluy, Grate wol choeluy phal phoel heath.
Lalla gives an excellent description of a very hard reality of life, i.e. the end of life or death. She compares the activities of a person to the life of a royal swan which is famous for its flying high and singing in high ecstasy and freedom over open water bodies and marshy lands. Now Lalla questions the just dead person in a high ironic note, “What has happened to you? You were just now singing and enjoying life like a royal swan! What has made you such incapable of even an ordinary speech? Somebody has taken something out of you such that the grinding stone mill inside you has stopped working and probably the master of the mill, the miller has escaped away with the grains he had come to grind at your mill.” Actually the essence of life, the soul, has gone away unnoticed and the mill has stopped working instantly and the grains have choked and the miller has ran away with the grains unnoticed. Thus Lalla explains when death approaches the soul departs along with the accumulated fruit of the action of life and is drawn to such a state which is suitable to it. The description indicates to the ego of a human being who unmindful of the eminent and sudden end of life goes on collecting material wealth ignoring the essential requirement of life, i.e. seeking the ultimate truth for himself.
Kyaah kara paantsan dahan ta kaahan, Vakhshun yath leyji yim karith gay
Saerey samahan yeythi razi lamahan, Ada kyaazi raavhe kaahan gaav.
Lalla indicates to the damage caused by the body instincts in achieving the goals in personal awakening. Anger, envy, greed, attachment and ego are the worst hurdles in the path of spiritual development. These instincts produced by five sense organs controlled by the mind itself as their master are individually responsible for misleading the mind towards directions that keep us away from the real path of existence. Had all the senses and their respective organs in the body along with their master 'the mind' joined together in good faith, to pull on the rope of this life's boat, why should all the eleven pulling on together, lose the cow, i.e. the essential spirit of the body. As such, a human being capable of attaining the highest attributes of awakening in its lifetime becomes the captive of these bad instincts produced by none other than his own sense organs and the mind together thus losing the essential occasion of crossing the ocean of ignorance and achieving salvation........ (to be continued)