Once Vasiṣṭha, the great seer, did descend to the banks of a river. The sun was setting; the sky was aflame with colors that no mortal tongue can name. And there, upon the water, he saw a boat—not a boat of wood and rope, but a vessel woven from light itself, hovering just above the surface of the stream.

Varuṇa himself stood at the helm, his form radiant with divine power. Behind him, the waters parted as though a pathway were being opened through the very substance of the world. The boat moved neither with oars nor with sail, but glided forth as if the cosmos itself were carrying it.

"Come, O Vasiṣṭha," spake the sovereign lord. "Let us journey together through the waters of becoming, through the currents of existence, through the depths where all things originate."

And Vasiṣṭha, filled with courage and reverence, did board the vessel. As he stepped aboard, his mortal form was transformed. He was still himself, and yet he was more than himself. He could perceive what mortals cannot perceive; he could see the very foundations upon which the world doth rest.

The boat sailed onward, deeper and deeper into the cosmic waters. The light dimmed; the air grew thick with mystery. All around him, Vasiṣṭha could feel the presence of powers vast and incomprehensible. These were the forces that govern the universe—the laws that ordain the rising and setting of the sun, the flowing of the rivers, the birth and death of all living creatures.

But he was not afraid. For Varuṇa was with him, and the great god's presence was a shield and a comfort. The boat sailed on, and as it sailed, Vasiṣṭha understood. He understood the nature of time and eternity; he understood the bond between the mortal and the divine; he understood the mystery that underlieth all existence.

At last, the boat came to rest in a harbor that existeth in no earthly geography. And there, Varuṇa spake unto Vasiṣṭha, saying: "Now thou hast seen the truth. Carry this knowledge back with thee to thy people. Tell them that all things are ordered; all things are lawful; all things are purposeful. And tell them that he who walketh in righteousness shall never be lost, for he saileth in my boat."

And Vasiṣṭha bowed low and returned to the earthly shore. But he was changed. His eyes had beheld the face of the sovereign; his heart had touched the infinite. And from that day forward, he became the greatest of all seers, the keeper of the deepest wisdom.

O Varuṇa! Grant unto us, thy worshippers, even a glimpse of the truth that thou didst reveal unto Vasiṣṭha! Let us not be lost in the darkness of ignorance! Carry us in thy boat through the waters of this world, that we may arrive safely at the distant shore!