________________
153
Explaining the great "tragic death" of the seeker indicated in the previous stanza, here Sankara pin-points what exactly is this death. Infatuation for the body, no doubt, makes the seeker constantly search for more and more senseobjects in the world outside, so that he may discover a greater fulfilment and happiness in his life. The body here may be considered as to indicate all layers of man's personality, that together constitute the individual "subject".
Wife (dāra) is to be understood not only the wedded partner in life, but in philosophy, the term often indicates "all those on whom you depend for your happiness", and sons (suta) stand for all those who depend upon you". In the world of mutual relationship, each individual is a link, holding in position all the other parts of the chain. As an individual I exist in the world, looking up to people who help me in my happy existence and I have to look after those who are looking up to me for their comforts. In the language of the spiritual masters, "wife-and-children" is an idiom that includes all these relationships.
In the midst of all these webs of relationships, an individual exists, keeping different types of intimate attachments, which have a knack of growing in their thraldom. Suffocated by these, the seeker gets exhausted, and this is the "grand death" for all the aspirations in the seeker.
Men of reflection (Munayoh) conquer this meaningless infatuation and thus victoriously rise above the hungers of the flesh, and come to experience the joyous bliss of the Supreme State. Here the word 'Visnu', the 'long strident', as has been already explained earlier, stands for the 'AllPervading'.
A spiritual seeker has got a healthy attitude towards things, and he keeps the healthiest relationships with every thing around him in life. He loves them and he does his duties towards them. But will never allow the world of relationships around to bind him down and to loot him of all his freedom to grow. He keeps ample elbow-room for him to wage his war against the lower nature in him. Such an
