What is the meaning of the churning of the Milky Ocean in Kashmir Shaivism

SWAMIJI: Yes, one śloka of Kṣemarāja first.

Audio 1 (06:15)

नारायणः स्वहृदयाम्बुनिधेविवेक-

भूभृद्विमर्दरभसोच्छलितं यदेतत् ।

श्रीशंकरस्तुतिरसायनमाचकर्ष

तच्चर्वणादिह बुधा विबुधा भवन्तु ॥४॥

nārāyaṇa svahṛdayāmbunidherviveka-

bhūbhṛdvimardarabhasocchalitaṁ yadetat /

śrīśaṅkarastutirasāyanamācakarṣa

taccarvaṇādiha budhā vibudhā bhavantu //4// 

Now, Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa is the author of these hymns, he has composed these hymns. What are these hymns?

Svahṛdayāmbunidher viveka, in other words, you must understand that these are not actually hymns. This is just churning the great kṣīrasāgara of God consciousness.

Kṣīrasāgara is the milky ocean . . . the ocean of milk is Kṣīrasāgara, and Kṣīrasāgara belonged to Lord Śiva. And once all of the gods went to Lord Śiva and requested Him that, “We want to churn this Milky Ocean and whatever substance will come out, it will be ours. Please accept this boon to us.” He said, “Alright, go on and churn it. You take whatever comes out from this by churning.”

And this was a great ocean. This great Ocean of Kṣīrasāgara was churned by the gods and the demons. On one side the gods were gathered and on the other side the demons were gathered. And they got for a churner, as a churner, [who could] churn it, Mandara Parvata, the Great Mountain. The Great Mountain, it is called Mandara Parvata. This Great Mountain was put as the churner in this [ocean], and Vāsuki, ‘that serpent’, was put for . . .

DENISE: A rope.

SWAMIJI: . . . as the rope. And one end was held by the gods and another end of this Vāsuki was held by the demons, and they began to churn it, this Kṣīrasāgara.

When they were churning it, it went down, this mountain went down it went down [and was sinking] by and by. Then they were confused what to do because it would sink altogether in the ocean of Kṣīrasāgara. Then they prayed to Lord Śiva: “Please help us . . . we can’t do it . . . we can’t churn it, because it goes down and down – how can we churn it?”

Then Lord Śiva told them, “Tell Nārāyaṇa to take the incarnation of a . . . crocodile?

DEVOTEES: Crocodile.

SWAMIJI: “. . . a crocodile, a big crocodile.” And Nārāyaṇa became a big crocodile at the bottom of that mountain, and he held the bottom of the mountain on his back, and they began to churn it, and He . . .

ERNIE: Supported it.

SWAMIJI: . . . He held it, He held it with His power . . .

ERNIE: So it wouldn’t sink.

SWAMIJI: . . . so it wouldn’t sink. Now they churned it. This is the example.

He [Kṣemarāja] puts the same example: Nārāyaṇa, Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa (Nārāyaṇa is the author of this book), svahṛdaya-ambu-nidher, he wanted to churn his milky ocean of his heart. He has churned the milky ocean of his own heart.

Who?

DEVOTEES: Nārāyaṇa.

SWAMIJI: Nārāyaṇa, the author of this book. He has churned this milky ocean of his heart, svahṛdaya-ambuja-nidheḥ viveka bhūbhṛt, and he has put the mountain of awareness to churn it.

[Kṣemarāja] has put, instead of the Mandara Mountain, he has put the mountain of his awareness – by awareness he churns it. Viveka bhrumat¹⁴, yadetat śrīśaṅkara stuti rasāyana, and then nectar has appeared from that churning. From that ocean, nectar has appeared, eternal nectar that will make you immortal for centuries and centuries. And that important nectar is this book. Tat carvaṇāt, so, by tasting this nectar, which he has brought before us by churning with his awareness the ocean of his heart, tat carvaṇāt, by tasting this nectar, iha budhā vibudhā, let the enlightened become more enlightened (because this is meant for enlightened people). Let enlightened people become more enlightened by tasting this nectar.