BENGALURU: A scholar has to cross a river using boat. The boatman sees the scholar and he appreciates him. He thought to himself, the king is respected only in his kingdom, but a scholar is respected all over the world. The weather was not good and there was a lot of turbulence. As soon as they started, the scholar asked, “Now since that today it is quite windy, can you just calculate the relationship between the torque and the cross current of water?” He said, “No sir, you know I am a simple boat man.” He said, “May be, you wouldn’t have studied Physics; after all, you are an ignorant, illiterate person.” When they moved further the boat started tossing more and then finally the scholar says, “I am sure you would have studied statistics, the probability of the Gosian graph, what is the probability that it will rain today.” The boatman said “I don’t know.” The scholar asked, “Then how do you know when it is going to rain? He replied, “We just see the clouds up there.” Scholar said, “You haven’t studied statistics, 50 per cent of your life is wasted. “When they moved further, it appeared that the boat will turn upside down.
Finally, the scholar asked boatman to tell him how does he forecast the wind velocity? He said he does’t know. “I am sure you don’t know metrology. Seventy five per cent of your life is wasted,” the scholar said.
The boat capsised. The scholar shouted, oh, boatman save me. I don’t know swimming! The boatman said, “You don’t know swimming? 100 per cent of your life is lost. The scholar drowned."
So this story gives a very good understanding of relative knowledge and absolute knowledge. Even in the water of material existence, samsara sagara, what will save us is remembrance of Krishna. Without knowing that at the point of death, they will be of no use. So that is why in human form of life, while we are engaged in various occupational duties the varna asrama system is important. There is no means of auspicious deliverance than the direct devotional service of the Lord.
From the process of bhakti yoga comes jnana, knowledge. And vairagya - detachment, something which we are very attached to – like most of us, before coming to Krishna, we were attached to watching movies, etc. Eventually it is thinking of Krishna.
And once one practices this most auspicious process, devotional service to Krishna. We will feel relieved.