The Crocodile and the Mantra: Saraswati's Grace and the Six Glories of God
In the morning satsanga of November 12, 2026, Swami Jyotirmayananda read the crocodile that seizes the swimmer as the mind directed by ignorance, and taught that the grace of God and Saraswati sublimates it until the heart becomes the place of every pilgrimage.
The satsanga opened with prayers to Lord Ganesha and the Divine Mother, then the meditation verse on Lord Rama: the Lord whose complexion is like a blue lotus, tender and delightful, with Sita seated on his left side and a powerful bow and arrow in his hands. After the Hare Rama mantra, Swamiji read a poem, Face to Face.
What should I do, the poem asks, when I come face to face with my beloved Self in the mystic cave of the heart? I shall sing His praises, shedding tears of joy. I shall speak of His divine glory with sweet elegance. I shall dance with ecstasy, enjoying the nectarine shower of grace. Then the poem turns. When the seeker actually enters the cave and comes face to face with the supreme Beloved, all those imaginations fall away. A mantle of golden silence falls on both, God and the soul, and the seeker discovers, to great amazement, Soham asmi: I am He.
The Six Glories Brought Out by Devi
That, Swamiji said, is the subtle message behind the worship of Devi. It is Devi who brings out the glory of God. God is called Bhagavan, and His glory is sixfold. Among the six great attributes Swamiji named jnana, knowledge; dharma, righteousness; aishwarya, divine majesty; prem, supreme love; and shanti, supreme peace. That Bhagavan, he taught, abides within you.
Seen in that light, Hanuman, Lakshmana and the other figures of the story are an allegorical presentation of the glory of God.
The World as a Divine Hospital
Swamiji returned to the image of the whole world as a divine hospital. In that hospital the Guru gives the insight into how to cure the disease. He also named the errors that creep into practice: depending on others to bring you success in your japa, or asking someone else to do japa on your behalf. These, he said, are great errors, and they belong to the disease of the world, not to its cure.
The sanjeevani buti, the herb that heals Lakshmana, is the divine remedy, and Swamiji explained that it is expressed through the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, the greatest healer, which heals not one person alone but the disease of all.
Hanuman Takes Up the Project
So the story becomes an allegory of sadhana. To gain this divine mantra and to awaken its power, Swamiji taught, one needs an integral movement. Hanuman first takes up the project, and the project has many obstacles, created by the power of avidya, ignorance.
The Mugger in the Water
Chief among those obstacles is the crocodile, the mugger. Swamiji explained that it stands for the mind when it is directed by ignorance. Such a mind begins to obstruct the movement toward God. How is it obstructed? You do not have a clear understanding of how to invoke God. A person may turn the mind to Vedanta and declare that nothing exists, yet still love many people and repeat a mantra only to help near and dear ones. If that is what one cultivates, Swamiji asked, how can one attain Brahman?
Reciting a mantra for the highest attainment, he said, requires the grace of Saraswati. Without that grace, you may go on reciting the mantra and still be caught by the crocodile, which seizes you and drags you into terror. Every swimmer is terrorized on seeing a crocodile approach. But when Saraswati's grace is present, the crocodile no longer terrifies you; it becomes sublimated.
Sublimation and the Pilgrimage of the Heart
The mind caught by the mugger, Swamiji taught, is sublimated by the grace of God. When Hanuman's strength enters, the mind is no longer trapped. Such a mind makes a discovery: "All pilgrimage centers are right in the heart." The seeker discovers Rama in his own heart.
That is the meaning of sublimation. "You are not drawn to the cycle of birth and death." Now you are drawn to God, to the sanjeevani buti, the divine remedy. To be established in the Self, Swamiji explained, is to have all diseases removed.
He pointed to a striking turn in the story. The one who had been trying to deceive Hanuman was, all the while, repeating the divine mantra. As a result of that japa, even he was sublimated at the time of dying.
Lakshmana Wakes
Swamiji then came to the climax. The sanjeevani brought by Hanuman miraculously heals Lakshmana, who wakes up with great, vigorous strength. "That miracle is waiting for everyone."
Lakshmana, he explained, is the raja yoga movement that has become paralyzed. That paralysis is removed by a shower of grace, brought about by Hanuman, and Lakshmana receives all the vigor he needs to go forward.
Your Own Project
Closing with prayers for the well-being of all, Swamiji summed up the morning. The six great attributes of God abide in your heart. Take those divine remedies and realize that you are not the patient, the jiva; establish yourself in the Self. As long as you are in the world, that becomes your project. And others are your dear brothers: Hanuman Shakti awakens them too, which is why, he said, this is called universal brotherhood.
Terms in This Satsanga
- Bhagavan — God as the possessor of the six great attributes.
- avidya — ignorance; the power that sets obstacles on Hanuman's path.
- mugger — the crocodile; the mind directed by ignorance.
- sanjeevani buti — the reviving herb; the divine remedy, expressed through the Mahamrityunjaya mantra.
- japa — repetition of the mantra, which no one else can do on your behalf.
- Soham asmi — "I am He," the discovery at the close of the opening poem.
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