Let your ears hear only of God and nothing else
From the book Gita Govindam Part 2 The establishment of Prema
Adam, the first created man, represents the entire creation. Eve is born from him. They represent the One, Viratpurusha form that divides into Two at the beginning of creation. Eve is the bridge between Adam and the snake. The snake represents the evil of worldly life. Eve is symbolic of the Universal Mother; the Prakrithi Principle. Adam is Purusha, Eve is Prakrithi. This reminds me of what Swami said in Vashista Cave. He said, “We have come from the Viratpurusha form. We will create the Sathya Yuga.” Another way to look at the snake is to see it as the Kundalini shakthi. The Kundalini shakthi lies dormant in Mooladhara coiled like a serpent. The serpent is inactive in a man who is entangled in desire. Such a one leads the life of an animal fully immersed in sensual pleasures. When the light of wisdom dawns in him, the Kundalini shakthi awakens and rises through the chakras. It reaches the sahasrara, the seventh energy center and here the jeeva merges with God. Now let us see about the snake gourd. The snake gourd in its immature state looks like a coiled serpent. In order to straighten it, one end of it is tied to a stone and pulled down. The nature of the vegetable is to grow upward; man though pulls it downward using a stone. The vegetable is pulled down with a heavy stone. In the same way, if the stone of worldly pleasure is tied to man, he is pulled down. Desires and attachments weigh man down. The power of the one who has controlled his five senses moves upwards and gives great strength. The mind which is caught in sensory pleasures is pulled downwards and energy dissipates. The one pointed energy directed toward God becomes the infinite power called Bindu shakthi. In my life, this power secures the boon of Universal Liberation. It was Eve who took the first bite of the apple. As soon as she ate the fruit, the feeling of shame arose. The differences between man and woman became apparent to her; thus based on desire, creation began. Those who were born from them continued the lineage. Feelings of lust, anger, attachment, ego, greed, jealousy began to arise and wisdom gradually reduced.
The snake symbolizes the poison that is inherent in all worldly objects. It can also be said that like the snake that sheds its skin, we must discard the five sheaths. This is the pure state of the Avadhuta who has discarded the cloak of body consciousness. This Avadhuta state is liberation. Adam represents the pure Atmic state, Eve the impurity of worldly life. Since Eve ate the apple, creation began, desires arose and many evil qualities thrived. Eve ate the apple disobeying the command of God. This is the reason for creation. A similar thing happened in my life. In meditation, Swami took me to the Kalpavriksha (wish fulfilling) tree in Puttaparthi. In His youth, Swami took His devotees to this place. There, He would ask them what fruitthey would like and give each what they wanted. Swami would pluck apples, mangoes, bananas and other fruits from the tree. Holding my hand, Swami took me to the tree.He plucked an apple took a bite and then gave it to me. I ate the apple. When Swami took otherdevotees there, He would ask them what they wanted, then give them what they asked for. Yet for meHe plucked a fruit of His choice and gave it to me.
An apple is round in shape and signifies totality. It is symbolic of earthly desires or of indulgence in such. Therefore, the Lord warned them not to eat fruits from the tree. It also symbolizes the thirst for knowledge, which acts as a bridge between earthly desire and spiritual attainment. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita to do our duty, but not to have the desire for the fruits of action. We on the other hand, perform actions with the desire for the result. The apple is akin to the fruits of action that must not be tasted. From the time man is born till the timehe leaves earth, he performs actions desiring the result. This is how he becomes trapped in a worldly life. He is bound to a chain of Karma and he is born again and again to repay his Karmic debt. The illusion of desires pushes him into the cycle of birth and death. If one were to perform actions offering fruits to God, it leads him forward on the path of spirituality. Such a one does not have any desires or expectations. He performs all actions only for God as Karma Yoga. The fruit of action takes him to God. This is how the apple can be used to signify the path between man and God. In this way one can either attain God or fall into the well of worldly life. When we expect the fruits of action, it becomes the reason for birth and death. When we do not expect any result, it bestows liberation.
Eve eating the apple represents mundane existence. On the other hand, Swami eating the apple represents offering the fruit to God. This is an important point to remember. Why did Swami do this? Why didn’t He ask me what fruit I desired? Even if He had asked me, I would have said, “Swami, give me according to Your wish.” I would say, “First You eat and then give to me.” I do not eat anything without offering it to Swami first. I do not have any personal desire. I have only one desire, ‘To be with Swami!’ This is the only thing that I want. I want Swami. Others may have many desires, this is why Swami always asks them what they would like. I first wrote about this vision in Liberation Here Itself Right Now Pt 1. While writing this essay on Adam and Eve, I realized its greater significance. In the story of Adam and Eve, Adam represents Purusha and Eve Prakrithi. Here Eve ate the apple and the creation that began thereafter, declined further and further as it moved away from the Source. The legs of dharma were cut one after another. At this peak of Kali, one sees the nadir of this descent. I ate the apple that Swami had partaken of. We are going to bring forth a New Creation, Sathya Yuga. Here, it is Swami, Purusha, who eats the apple first. Therefore, this creation is perfect; it emerges directly from the origin. It is pure, established in theSource. Since Eve disobeyed the Divine command and listened to the words of the snake, the creation was borne of desire, shame and physical attraction. Now, the Lord through His divine will gives the fruit that He has eaten. This is the fruit of wisdom, there is no desire whatsoever. The New Creation is the Lord’s Will. It is not born of lust, shame and touch feeling. The New Creation is founded on the knowledge and dispassion that God alone is Truth; He is the immortal One, all worldly objects are perishable. It is a creation that emerges from the union of Prema and Jnana.