Srimad Bhagavatham

Summary:

Let's today try to summarize this story of Rantideva so that we know what to take from this story and implement in our lives.

The goal of human life is eternal and ever-lasting bliss. This is what everybody is seeking irrespective of the various distinctions of caste, creed etc. Until we achieve this goal of eternal bliss, we will still be lacking something or the other. This sense of lacking will make us feel as if we are not perfect, satisfied and content. Our life can be fulfilled only by getting our goal of eternal bliss. This goal of eternal bliss cannot be achieved from worldly entities as the world is constant changing. Anything that is changing is temporary and hence cannot give eternal bliss. That which is temporary can only give sorrow in the long run and hence the Lord proclaims the world to be sorrowful in Bhagavad Gita. Anything that is changing should have a changeless substratum. This changeless substratum is nothing but the ultimate reality of Lord of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute. It is through realization of our very nature of Lord that we will be able to attain our goal of eternal bliss - this is because our very nature is that of Lord as the Lord alone exists here, one without a second. Our inner Self which pulsates each moment as "I-exist, I-exist" is nothing but Consciousness which is the ultimate reality of Lord.

Realization of our nature of Lord is not an activity but just the knowledge that "I am none other than the Lord who alone exists here". This knowledge is required because we are currently ignorant of our very nature of Lord thereby considering ourselves as the body-mind complex and suffering in this illusory world. Ignorance can be removed by knowledge alone even as darkness can be removed by light alone. Thus the ultimate reality of Lord can be realized only through knowledge that the Lord alone exists and constantly contemplating on the non-dual reality of Lord.

Any action that is performed is arising out of ignorance as the action is done seeking a particular fruit. An action that is done without seeking any fruit (which is termed as selfless action) is not at all an action as action is that which involves an Ego and a fruit which both are absent in the case of selfless action. Thus all actions will only lead us to more and more ignorance considering ourselves as limited and suffering. Even selfless action cannot lead us to realization of our nature of Lord as realization is possible only through being aware of our nature of Lord which is termed as knowledge. Since realization is not possible through actions, therefore any action whether it is worldly or vedic or spiritual will not lead us to the goal of eternal bliss. Selfless action will only purify our mind thereby making us eligible to grasp the truth about the ultimate reality of Lord. Since action cannot lead us to our goal of Lord, therefore a seeker should renounce all actions and try to constantly contemplate on the ultimate reality of Lord. Renouncing doesn't mean inaction but just that the seeker will remember that there is no action happening as the action is offered to the ultimate reality of Lord.

Unless we get rid of all actions whether it is daana or dharma, we will be lead into misery like Rantideva was lead to. There will always be a time when we will feel that any amount of daana or dharma is not giving us perfection neither is it making the world perfect. It is impossible to make the world perfect through social service as the world itself is only an illusion even as the dream world is an illusion in the dreamer. Thus an ardent seeker will learn from the story of Rantideva that
actions are not the solution or path to realization but knowledge about the ultimate reality of Lord and constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord alone is the path to realization.