Mystery of the Philosopher’s Stone

 

Parasmani 

Also known as Chintaamani or Philosopher’s stone.

This is a mythical stone or mineral that is believed to transform ordinary minerals or metals to gold or silver.

The history of actual scientific studies conducted in various periods and different parts of the world in a bid to find or create such a substance that can transform other elements into gold is fascinating. But to date there is no confirmation that such a substance exists.

Nevertheless the concept of and reference to chintaamani or paarasmani ( पारसमणी )or simply parees( परीस) or philosopher’s stone in philosophy is found in several religions and cultures including Christianity, Islam , Greek, Buddhism and Hinduism. 

The thirteenth century saint Dnyaaneshwar makes at least seventeen references of chintaamani or parees in his commentary on the Bhagwad Gita which is popularly known as the Dnyaaneshwari. 

Taise shabdaache vyapakpan l

Dekhije asaadhaaran I

Paatheyaa bhaavadnyaa faavati guna I

Chintaamaniche II

Those who can grasp the deeper meaning in my words they will get a feeling of obtaining the philosopher’s stone that brings unparalleled joy.

(Dnyaaneshwari chapter 6 verse 21)

Na tari je dhaatuvaadiya hee na jode I

Te lohi chi panhere saapade I

Jari daivayoge chade I

Parisu haataa II

While a mineralogist may fail to find gold when looking in a mine, an ordinary person, if by God’s Grace gets hold of the philosopher’s stone, can turn iron into gold. ( Referring to power of Guru for achieving enlightenment.) 

(Ch 6 verse 34)

Chala kalpataruche aarav 

Chetanaa chintaamani che gaav 

Bolate je arnav 

Piyushaache

( in Pasaayadaan ,referring to virtues of saints)

There is a legend attributed to Sant Namdev pertaining to paarasmani. A certain man in Pandharpur was gifted a paarasmani by a sadhu( ascetic). He went about turning things into gold using this stone. His wife shared this news excitedly with the wife of Sant Namdev. The latter asked to borrow the stone for a day which her friend obliged with. That day when Namdev returned home he was puzzled to see his wife wearing much gold jewelry. When she told him how she got the gold it infuriated Namdev and he hurled the stone into the river. When the owner of the stone knew about this he was beyond furious and demanded that Namdev retrieve the stone from the river. Namdev apologized and entered into the river and pulled out a handful of stones. The man couldn’t make out which one was paarasmani. He started to test each one. Lo and behold! Every stone when touched another object would turn it into gold! The man realized the saintly powers of Namdev, threw all the stones into the river realizing how they were creating greed in his mind and surrendered to become a disciple of Namdev.

In the physical world the interest in paarasmani is a matter of scientific curiosity as well as anticipation of creating wealth. For spiritual seekers it serves as a topic of discussion regarding its symbolism. Buddhist philosophy connects chintaamani to attaining the Buddha state of enlightenment. It is very similar in Hindu philosophy though the saints have used it at various times in different contexts. 

We need to first understand what is wealth in spiritual context. It has been my conclusion that the universe subtly prompts every conscious entity towards realizing its true self which is the Divine Truth. The sole purpose of all obstacles, struggles and suffering is to awaken the mind to realize one’s real identity. That Inner Self is the wealth in the spiritual world. 

However that core of Light is initially covered with a thick layer of darkness. Impurities of Ignorance you may say. Compare it with a piece of iron transforming into gold with the touch of the philosopher’s stone. Over a period of time scrubbing off the misconceptions of our own identity is what really coming in touch with a chintaamani means. Whether we overcome those wrong ideas of who we are through lifelong self introspection or through study under a Guru or through the company and/or teachings of saints, the end result is the same in every case. We discard our identification with the physical body as well as with the inconstant landscape of the mind and intellect and remain firm in unadulterated consciousness alone. That Pure Consciousness is The Gold ! It is much more valuable than any gold we have known through our sense organs. 

But until we reach that gold we must recognize the paarasmanis around us and hold on to them. I hope each of you will find one in this lifetime. 

In an earlier post I used the metaphor of living in perpetual drought conditions. To reach the water underneath the surface we need to persistently and patiently dig deep. Another metaphor to describe the situation is living all through our lives under the dark clouds of monsoon enduring all kinds of calamities it brings, lightnin, thunder, floods, darkness, gloom. We must bear it all in the hopes of the skies clearing till the sun shines brightly in the wide blue sky. In the above examples the water and the sunshine are equivalents of the gold inside the impurity covered piece of metal. 

Applying our daily work and hardships with a single pointed goal to reach the essence of our existence is the trick to remember. That really is the essence of the Bhagwad Gita in a nutshell. Thousands of paarasmanis are scattered all around us. We just need the eye to recognize them amongst the pebbles.

Saree: a cotton weave in baby pink with Lucknowi chikan embroidery in white thread.