For centuries, sages in all traditions have written about the ocean to illustrate the infinite expanse of unity beneath our superficial differences. The ancient Sanskrit text “Ashtavakra Gita” offers this lush description of the divine: “I am the boundless ocean… I am the unbounded deep in whom the waves of all the worlds naturally rise and fall. But I do not rise or fall.”
Many of us live feeling caught in the rise and fall of surface waves, forgetting the riches in our depths. Similarly, we tend to see the ocean as simply a vast body of water. But if we open to the ocean more intimately and meet it with profound presence, we become aware that it is in fact an invitation to immersion into an entirely new way of being.
Indeed, the ocean is infinite in its expression. From gently rolling swells to towering whitecaps, from frozen stillness to tropical storms, its surface is a stage for a million shapes and sounds. Beneath the flux of the waves, we find timeless depths brimming with immeasurable life. As we dive in, any surface turmoil quickly fades, left unimportant. The sounds of the air disappear, and we discover a new sonic range.
Perhaps only then, we become aware that even as we stood on the shore, we were literally within an ocean of sound. We discover that we misperceived sound as simple mechanics of our ears. Yet, moved by the undersea world, we feel sound resonating within our whole body and through everything around us. Like a child cradled in the perfect waters of her mother’s womb, we are home. Though our ancient ancestors crawled out of the ocean and learned to walk on land, we know we could never leave immersion behind. It is, and will continue to be, our true nature. In every moment, we are called to be rebirthed into the ocean of life.
Lush and aquatic in its harmonies and flowing in its vocals, with lyrics that speak to the heart of our unity with the sea, the upcoming GEM: Global Education for MAPS single “Ocean Anthem” evokes, through an ocean of sound, the ocean within us all. It summons us to care for the wellbeing of the magnificent waters of our planet, upon which we depend totally.
Without the ocean and its inhabitants, we could not survive. We lose sight of this reality when we think of ourselves as separate, forgetting that what we choose affects not only ourselves, but all life on Earth. We are inherently interconnected. Every rippling wave, every beat of our hearts, and every cry of whales in the depths, are part of the symphonic universe. On these vital points, naturalists, quantum physicists and mystics each agree. To heal the illusory division within ourselves and between each other, we need to re-immerse into the resonant ocean of consciousness, our birthright.
Beneath the surface storms of fear and conflict is the eternal reality of our oneness. Parvati’s “Ocean Anthem” comes to airwaves and video in 2020 as an invitation for us to reflect on who we truly are, and dive back into the depths of love and unity. In so doing, we find the courage and compassion to take action for a healthy world.
By Parvati Magazine Staff