Life in general is like a river and an individual is just a drop of water

In esoteric teachings, life, in general, has been compared with a large river, which arises from various sources and flows into separate streams. The life of an individual is compared to one of the drops of water in the river.

But, before the dividing of the water and flowing into two different streams, nature has provided each drop with a capacity to STRUGGLE WITH ONEÂ’S OWN DENYING PART in order to jump into the other stream.

Thus, there can be two distinct directions in the life of humanity-ACTIVE AND PASSIVE. These two currents continuously meet, sometimes, crossing each other, sometimes, running parallel, but they never mix. They support each other, in a paradoxical way. They are indispensable for each other.

The river, in accordance with the laws, guiding the life in general, flows in a definite direction. All its turns, its bends, has a definite purpose. In this purpose, every drop plays a role as part of the river, but the laws guiding the river, as a whole, does not extend to the individual drop. The change of position, movement and direction of the drop, are completely accidental. Accidentally it rises, accidentally it collides or descends. If it is moving at a faster pace at any given point of time, itÂ’s accidental. If it is stagnant, itÂ’s again accidental. Whether the course of its life is easier or difficult depends on where it happened to be at a given point of time. And where it happened to be at any given point of time depends on the accident, which has brought him to the place where it happened to be. Incidentally, these accidents are subject to the law of accident applicable to the stream as a whole subject to the other prevailing laws guiding the path of this stream.

ThereÂ’s no individual law or fate for any individual drop. The river alone has a fate. Personal joys, personal sorrows, happiness, suffering are accidental in this current.

But the drop, in principle, has a possibility of escape from this stream by jumping across to the neighboring stream.

This possibility is again subject to the laws. The drop must now and realize that it has no personal fate and that it must consciously learn to make use of the accidental shocks and momentum of the whole river, so as to come to the surface and be closer to the bank at those places where it is easy to jump across into the other stream.

The moment the drop jumps in this neighboring stream, it is altogether in a different world. There is different set of laws to guide it. In this stream, the laws exist for individual drop depending on their levels of beings. One of the laws applicable to an individual drop is known as the law of the alternating progression, as the esoteric teachers called it. A drop comes to the top or goes to the bottom, in the stream, not by accident but by a definite law. On coming to the surface, the drop gradually becomes heavier and sinks. Deep down it looses weight and rises again.

 The drop must try and float on the surface in this stream. Every thing depends on the skill and the conscious effort and not accident. There are different currents in this stream and it all depends on the skill and efforts of the drop to earn the possibility of passing into any current it wants to.

 Unfortunately we are all in the first stream. This passive current carries us wherever it may. We shall be pushed about and shall be at the mercy of the accident, as long we remain in this passive stream.

A special kind of desire, an intense wishing with our whole being, a sincerity of the conscious alone can prepare us for this jump from this passive stream into the active stream, where we can BE. And SEE.

09/03/2003

Author's Note: I have derived a poem from this piece, which I have posted separately under the title-‘I am just a drop of water’.

Posted on 09/03/2003
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