In the first three slokas the nectar-emitting light and pure thought-power of Indra have been invoked. Indra is a milch cow, that is to say, the inexhaustible source from which a seeker draws the nectar of immortality.
But why? Because it is thus that a spiritual seeker can see the manifestation of the All-Blissful in the Vast. In our normal life-activities we have a partial consciousness and our mind remains narrow, degraded and twisted. So whatever we do is bound to fall short of perfection. And if we want to make our creations beautiful, blissful and perfect, we must exceed the boundary of the limited consciousness and rise into the everlasting poise and pure existence of the Vast. We are satisfied with a little, for our happiness and delight and enjoyment are confined to this material world alone. And from this sense-pleasure which is the outer form of the soma rasa we shall have to draw true delight and immortality. This is possible only after one has invoked Indra, the Lord of the senses and the presiding deity of the pure intellect. When the mind has become pure, when the Divine Being within it has awakened, the aspirant's delight gets satisfaction no longer in the little imperfect pleasures of the material world. The ecstasy of the divinised mind is surcharged with the divine light. One who has achieved this delight has also achieved all the well-ordained rhythmic play of Truth inherent in the pure mind. It is there that an aspirant must pay particular attention to one thing. If all on a sudden truth and power descend from above into the aspirant's mind in an excessive manner, then there is every possibility of his losing his mental balance; even if it is not so, the manifestation of this truth and power takes place in a very distorted way. That is why the aspirant has been asked to pray in this fashion:
"O Indra, do Thou manifest thyself before me to the extent of my receptivity and, I pray, exceed not the limit."
The aspirant has to purify first his lower nature before invoking the truth and power in a large measure. Otherwise a reaction may at once take place. The subsequent slokas deal with this matter. The second group of three slokas indicates the process of the gradual ascension of the aspirant. Spirituality is, as it were, a long upward march and the aspirant has to fight and toil faithfully all the way in order to go ahead. It will not do for an aspirant to make an effort to pull the power from above, himself remaining below. He has to raise himself. He has to look upon the Divine Being that resides in the purified knowledge and mind of Indra, and according to the inspiration and guidance of the Being the aspirant has to proceed. When we shall be fully prepared for the realisation of the Godhead of Indra, the obscure and impure forces of ignorance cannot keep us enchained in the lower regions. They themselves will then open the new vistas for a higher journey and declare, "You have conquered us. Now go up, march onward, conquer all the forces that are challenging you from the higher regions." Even obstacles are necessary and useful. We become stronger when we meet with oppositions in our life. The foundation gets firm only after it has weathered some storms. When we are established in the quiet foundation of Indra, by virtue of strength, vigour and courage, we shall be able to make ourselves worthy of possessing a blissful and perfect divine life.
In the three successive slokas of the third group the forces by which all obstacles in our journey are removed have been described. Vritra is only a name for the obstacles in one's spiritual practice. Vritra means the cover (derived from the root vṛ ) that keeps an aspirant in darkness. This blind force of the lower plane does not allow the light of knowledge to dawn on the aspirant. Drinking the nectar of soma-delight Indra kills Vritra, i.e., the forces of pure intelligence become fiery, as well as acute and sharp, with the pure and intense Ananda by which is expelled the darkness of ignorance. The aspirant gets strength to fight against the attraction of the unregenerated nature and to climb up and move in the higher regions. His conscious being gets intoxicated with the nectar of delight, armoured with a hundred powers. He surmounts all the obstacles of the spiritual adventure and makes the aspirant firmly established in all the glory of a fulfilled life.
In the last sloka the nature of the divine mental being is described. In this divine mental being the vast delight of the Infinite has descended and with the help of its inspiration the aspirant goes on safely and securely from one level to another, from one shore to another and climbs up from the unregenerated lower nature to the divine status.
In the present hymn we can notice one speciality of Vedic spirituality. Vedic spirituality was not something personal and individual. It was essentially collective, i.e., for the community as a whole. That is why we often hear an aspirant of the Vedas calling to his friends to assemble in spiritual practice and bring down the divine force with a collective effort. The communal life of each clan flourished in those days with the help of friends, companions and helpers. The gods too were among their constant companions and helpers in the spiritual endeavour. Hence they were addressed as friends.From:Sri Chinmoy,The Canvas of Time, Madal Bal, Czech Republic, 2019
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