The snake and the rope

 

It´s all part of God´s play!

I believe it was Shankara who described "maya" (illusion) as mistaking a rope for a snake. Here are my reflections (my "purport", so to speak).

The rope and the snake are both symbols for the world or reality. So to mistake a rope for a snake means that the world is really harmless, but you mistakenly believe that it´s dangerous or even evil. The spiritually accomplished sage presumably sees the truth: there is no serpent, only a harmless rope. And that rope is Brahman. That´s pantheism for you, right there. 

But in reality, it´s the other way around. The pantheist mistakes *the snake for a rope*. The venomous ophidian is real. And if you mistake it for a rope, you might get bitten and hurt, really badly! You might even die...

I´m not a Christian, nor even a Zoroastrian, but the idea that the world is fallen is...well, real. The world is a place of sin, suffering, evil and death. These are no illusions. The pantheist is wrong. Once again: what he thinks is the harmless (and peaceful) Brahman is really the dangerous samsaric existence controlled by the Devil himself (symbolized in the Bible by...guess what). 

As for Tantrikas, they seem to think they can turn the venom of the snake into nectar. Well, good luck with that, guys! 

Maybe it´s time to stop pretending that the cobra is a rope...