The Fish In The Net

Sri Ramakrishna

oi-Staff

Thursday, October 8, 2009, 13:56

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had the knack of presenting profound truths in the most simplest way. The master once to explain the mentality of different men, explained the thought with a simple example that drives home the truth eaisly.

The master classifies men into four categories. The ones bound by the fetters of the world, the seekers after liberation, the liberated people and the ever free. He points to Sage Narada as ever free and that sages like him live in the world for the benefit of others.

The seekers after liberation are those who choose to detach themselves from the bindings of the world. The liberated souls are the Sadhus and the Mahatmas who are free from the entanglements of the world, their minds merged with the lotus feet of the Lord; the ones bound by the world are the ones who have their minds muddled in worldy activities.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa illuatrates the categories of men through a simple example. If a net has been cast into the sea, some fish are intelligent enough not to get caught in the net and they are ever free. However most of the fish are entangled in the net and struggle to get themselves free. These denote the one's seeking liberation. But of the ones struggling, a few of them succeed in jumping into the water which denote the liberated souls. Apart from this, there are also a lot more in the net who do not make any attempt to free themselves, instead they dig into the mud with the net in their mouth thinking that there is not going to be any harm. They are blissfully ignorant about the fact that soon they would be dragged out with the net by the fisherman, only to become a part of a delicious meal ultimately.

Ramakrishna thus subtly signals a warning to the ones who waste themselves with a worldly attitude.

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