Guiding Light: Rajju Sarpa Bhranti

Bhranti is the illusion/confusion, Rajju is the rope, and Sarpa means the Snake. This epitomises the perpetual confusion of our minds in terms of material issues. The seeker often mistakes harmless for the dangerous and/or vice versa. The actions and implications emanate from this confusion affect the relevance of response and the quality of life.

In the philosophical narratives the seeker’s confusion is often compared to this bhranti. Imagining an ordinary person entering the dark room in the night gets hold of the string-like object. Unintentionally and even ‘accidentally’ it came into the hands of the person. Having taken the object into his hands, the person starts feeling the object. Darkness affects visual perception. It feels like a thick rope and at the same time there is a sensation of it being a snake. There are no means to verify this simple hypothesis. Any type I or type II error in terms of being false-positive or false-negative in research may not have serious implications in terms of one’s life and survival. Here in this context the response of the person to the object in his hand may decide the survival chances of the person.

The person mistakenly assuming the snake to be the rope and fails to act shall definitely endanger his own life. The problem comes when the person is not able to get rid of the object, whether it is rope or the snake. This results in two cases. The person not able to get rid of the snake even if knows that is the snake may eventually be bitten by it, and even die. On the other hand, if the person is surrounded by or holding the rope, again there are two possibilities exist. One is the person simply realises that it is rope and stays calm. The second possibility is the person freezes to death due to the fear that he is holding a snake, though it is a harmless rope. 

If we observe, in our lives too many a times we come across this ‘Bhranti’ and get consumed by it in one or other way. Confusion mars. Only the realisation saves us from this and helps us discern ‘Rajju’ from the actual ‘Sarpa’. Then, the clarity prevails and true life begins.

Prof S Ainavolu is a Mumbai-based teacher of tradition and management. Views are personal. www.ainavolu.in/blog