Jan 28: Purushartas in Bhagavatam – 3 : Kama
28 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Telecon Satsangs Tags: Purushartas
The path of Bhagavatha Dharma encompasses every other Dharma in itself. It encompasses all the beauties in normal life, which in turn makes us more and more satvik and makes us recipients of Bhagawan’s grace. It teaches the values of human life. One great precept that it teaches us is the mutual love and respect for others. This virtue has been clearly depicted in all the cantos of Srimad Bhagavatham. In the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatham, Draupadi shows us the path of Bhagavatha Dharma.
mArodi tasya janani gautami patidevatA
yatAham mritavatsara rodInashrumukhI muhuh [Srimad Bhagavatham 1.7]
Draupadi bereaved the death of her sons who were beheaded by Aswattama and she did not want to put Gautami, the wife of Dronacharya in the same position as her and did not the Lord to inflict the same misery in Gautami by killing Ashwattama. She thus depicted the mutual respect to Ashwattama even though he was her worst enemy. When King Parikshit failed to show mutual love and respect to Sage Samika, he was cursed by the sage’s son Shringi. This goes to show that the Lord does not forgive anyone who does not show mutual love and respect. The Lord protected King Parikshit from the curse of Ashwattama but did not protect him from the Shringi’s curse since he had showed disrespect to a Bhagavatha and failed to show mutual love and respect for learned men. This concept of mutual love and respect is clearly elucidated in all cantos of Srimad Bhagavatham. In the last canto when Lord Sri Krishna was about to depart to Vaikunta, he thought that his duties were not completed since he did not destroy the Yadava clan. So he devised a plan to extricate those who were protected by his own grace. The Lord can excuse anything but not lack of love and respect for Bhagavathas. So he decided to bring a curse on the Bhagavathas for their lack of respect and mutual love. He thus created a reason for destroying the Yadu clan. “Sathya Sankalpa Eswaraha Shaapadh vyaajena vipraanam sanjagruhae swakoolam vipuhu”- The Lord thinks that a curse by a Bhagavatha incurred due to disrespect can lead to their destruction. Love and mutual respect is essential for our day to day life and is inculcated very beautifully in Srimad Bhagavatham. Sage Vyasa says – “Shusrushubihi Thakshanaath”. By merely listening to Bhagavatham, this great quality will be instilled.
Followed by a brief round of introductions, Aravindji fromOrlandocontinued his lecture on the four Purushartas with relevance from Srimad Bhagavatham. The first Purusharta called Dharma was explained through the life-history of Daksha Yagna. The Bhagavata Dharma is devoid of any conceit, deceit and jealousy and certainly has no parallels. Sage Narada preaches the fact that one attains the holy feet of the Lord irrespective of whether following this path or allowing others to follow the path. Such is the greatness of Bhagavatha Dharma. In this, the attitude matters more than the act itself. One may be a butcher as was Dharmavyada, or a cobbler or tailor but it is the attitude with which one performs the act. As long as one does not lay stake over the fruits of the act and does it as a service to the Lord, it does not affect him. Bhagavatha Dharma is thus performing the act with service minded attitude. The next Purushartha was “Artha” – explained through Dhruva Charithra. Seeking wealth through earnest righteous means for the Lord’s service will eventually bestow the Lord Himself.
The third Purushartha is “Kama”. Unfortunately the term ‘Kama’ has been tainted with a wrong meaning of lust. But truth be said,Kama[desire] is very beautiful. Let us see what Srimad Bhagavatham talks about desire [Kama]. – It talks at three levels – the worldly desires that one has to satiate, the lofty desire of how one can benefit the world and finally the desire for liberation. And then something beyond as well!
Let’s explore. So the crux is ‘need’. By taking care of food, clothing and shelter for the family is the foremost responsibility of a house-holder. Without these worldly desires getting fulfilled, how can aspire for lofty goals, such as serving the humanity or attaining the lotus feet of the Lord. That is verily the reason for Sage Sukha to elucidate on the different worldly desires and also advises on the Lord to whom one should offer their prayers in order to satisfy them. If one wants to accrue lot of wealth, then he should pray to the Vasus. If one aspires to be a great hero for valor of the entire world, then one has to worship Rudra and one has to offer prayers to Lordess Aditi for large stock of grains. Why should Srimad Bhagavatham talk about what about these different deities? Srimad Bhagavatham is an avatar akin to an Avatara Purusha. Avatar connotes ‘descend’. Srimad Bhagavatham comes down to one level to expound on the worldly desires and makes sure these desires are quenched before exploring the lofty desires. This is what Sage Suka delineated to King Parikshit at the beginning of his discourse. A mother strives hard to fulfill her child’s desire. Vedas expound on the myriad human desires and also preached the righteous means through which one can satisfy their desires. Srimad Bhagavatham is the quintessence of the Vedas and has these concepts elucidated in detail.
When a person has worldly desires then a quandary creeps in him as to what he is trying to achieve by satiating all his worldly desires? Our Guru Maharaj says that only when one is confused then real answers will spring forth. When one satiates all the worldly needs and still experiences the emptiness and that is verily when the Lord will show him the path to the Sadguru and through him will attain the elevated state.
Chitraketu was an able king and had many wives. He however did not have a progeny and earnestly desired to have a son to take care of his riches. One day Sage Angirasa paid a visit to King Chitraketu’s palace. After providing a warm welcome to the Sage, Chitraketu bending low in humility, lamented about his lack of progeny. The sage helped him perform a sacrifice, the Prasad of which the king consumed and his eldest wife delivered a beautiful baby boy. The other wives, jealous of the mother, flustered by the king’s ignoring them, conspired and killed the baby. When the king heard the tragic news he was totally devastated and bereft of life. Sage Angirasa paid a visit to the king and learnt about the demise of his son. He told the king that he earlier came to preach the path of liberation but since he had a worldly desire he bestowed him with a son. The Sage then enlightened the king by igniting the torch of true jubilation. It is said that King Chitraketu attained liberation in his avatar as Vrithrasura.
King Vena was a great king but he was evil and cruel. The earth was bereft of any goodness during his tenure and hence Mother Earth did not allow the crops to flourish and so she disguised as a cow and went hiding. In the meanwhile King Vena was slained. When his left leg was churned, a black form arose from the churning, which was verily his bad sins and while churning his right shoulder, the good-natured Prithu emerged. He later became the king and during his reign he realized that the crops were not flourishing and the earth was in famine. He was concerned on the welfare of his people and he chased Mother Earth to find out the reason. She replied “Oh King Prithu! I thought that King Vena was still ruling”. Even after realizing that it was King Prithu’s regin, she did not refuse to yield the crops. King Prithu then promised to be Mother Earth’s guardian and then she gave milk which contained all the needed vegetation for the crops. From then on, the earth was prosperous with bountiful crop growths. King Prithu had the welfare of his desires as his foremost desire and that all citizens should leave a comfortable life. And finally King Prithu was bestowed with Lord’s darshan and had the Lord’s grace to listen to the divine exploits of the Lord.
akAmah sarvakAamovA moksha kAma udAradhih
tIivrena bhakti yogena yajeta purusham param” [Srimad Bhagavatham 2.3.10]
Akama connotes ‘bhakta’ who is devoid of any desires and prays to the Lord to bestow him with more and more devotion. His love for the Lord is unconditional and earnestly desires to be in the service of the Lord. A person in the mundane world [sarvakama] also prays to the Lord to satiate his worldly needs. A person who seeks liberation also prays to the Lord. One needs to pray Lord Krishna to bestow the devotee with bhakti. When the desire to attain moksha creeps in, then the Lord directs him to a Sadguru through whom he attains the Lord himself.
Sage Narada says that one can reach the Lord through these four means – “KAmAth DveshAth bhayAth SnehAth”. He puts desire as the first means and here he refers to “Gopyah Kamath” – The desire of the Gopis. Their desire is so pure and pristine and is considered to be higher than moksha itself. When we are in a divine communion with a Sadguru, we no longer seek liberation and our only purport in life is to make our Guru happy. Rendering service to Sadguru will take one to the highest states of “Sadhya Bhakti”. Lord Krishna in the midst of Rasa Leela vanished suddenly and the Gopis out of sheer separation sing the Gopika Geetham.The Lord separated from the Gopis because their state of separation [Viraha] is the highest and cannot be compared to anything. Their devotion was very sacred since they snapped off their ties with family and friends. The Gopis enchanted the Lord by their pure love to Him and never thought of receiving anything from the Lord. The Gopis were only thinking how Lord Sri Kirshna would bear their separation. The state of Gopis cannot be comprehended by normal mortals. It is verily the state of Prema Bhaktas, and this state can be bestowed effortlessly in the association of such a Mahatma who is a prema Bhakta.
Lord Prahalada talks about the Shravanam as the first means to perform bhakti to the Lord and it is verily because, listening to something ushers new desires in one. Srimad Bhagavatham expounds on all desires right from mundane to spiritual and as we keep continue listening and follow the path shown by our SadGuru, we will also attain the highest state. Vedavyasa had a divine vision of people suffering in the age of Kali and hence gave Srimad Bhagavatham to alleviate the people in the age of Kali. His only aim was to save the people and to show the path ofKrishnabhakti to all.
The satsang concluded with prayers and Namasankirtan.
Jan 21: Purushartas in Bhagavatam – 2 : Artha
21 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Telecon Satsangs Tags: Purushartas
Mahabharata is a battle between the righteous and the evil. The 100 Kauvavas signify the umpteen vices in us and the 5 Pandavas stand for the limited virtues. The term ‘Pandu’ connotes white, which delineates the Sattvik qualities and they were only five in number.Krishna’s role in Pandavas’ victory signifies the role of God’s grace in our triumph of good over evil and once that ascendancy is accomplished, it will usher to the path of bhakti and devotion and that’s verily when one is bestowed with Srimad Bhagavatham. By listening to stories in Srimad Bhagavatham, our hearts transform into tender, soft and pristine one will lead one to the path of pure and pristine bhakti. Aptly enough, the story in Bhagavatam starts with the end of Mahabharatha war. When we view Srimad Bhagavatham in this manner, then the LLord starts to play with his devotees.
“TirodAya pravistoham srimad Bhavatharnavam |
Thaeneyam vangmayem murthihi prathyakshA varthathae hareh||”
Srimad Bhagavatham is truly the Lord in the form of sound. When one communicates to the Lord through Srimad Bhagavatham, the Lord also talks to his devotees through the medium of sound. The normal mortals might not totally comprehend this, but the Mahans experience this and the Lord plays with them always.
The expressions made by the Mahans in their compositions are a little manifestation of the Bhavas. The kirtans composed by Mahans is an effort to put their divine elevated state into words as an exposition out of their hearts. The normal mortals need to sing the songs composed by these Mahans and by verily singing will make them experience the divinity which the great Sages are incessantly experiencing.
Saint Thyagaraja, through his kirtans, expressed his true love for Lord Rama in various different bhavas and attitudes towards the Lord. The crux of all kirtans of Mahans is that they not only talk about their spiritual state to the Lord but they also talk about their day to day activities to the Lord, akin to how a little child speaks to his mother about his events at school. The Lord is the sole friend for all the Mahans.
Followed by a brief round of introductions, Sri Aravindji continued his lecture on the four Purushartas with relevance from Srimad Bhagavatham. Dharma is verily the way of life and there are different dharmas for men, women, saints etc. Dharma is multi-fold. In order for one to be in the right path of dharma, one needs to be in a divine communion with a Guru. The Lord Sri Rama shows us the path of Bhagavatha Dharma in Ramayana. He shows the precept through his very own life. Samanya Dharma is the path that one needs to follow when being a house-holder. When Lord Rama defeated Ravana in the battle and saved Sita Mata from the clutches of the demon king, he was the first one to order for an “Agni Pravesha” so that he can prove to the entire world that the divine mother is a personification of purity. On the other hand, in Balakhand when Lord Rama was a child, he obliterated the sins of Ahalya Devi. By the mere dust from Hhis feet, he revived the petrified Ahalya. The Lord showered his grace on her in spite of her possessing all bad qualities. After reviving her life, Ahalya was still lamenting her bad deeds which she had committed in her past. Lord Rama realized this and told to Lakshmana that Ahalya resembles their mother Kousalaya and so both of them prostrated unto Ahalya and got the blessings from her. The Lord not only obliterated her sins but also promoted her to the highest state of Vatsalyam. In the case of the divine mother Sita, the Lord demonstrated the path of Samanya Dharma whereas in the case of Ahalya Devi, the Lord depicted the path of Bhagavatha Dharma.
Samanya Dharma is the path of Dharma where the Lord governs using laws whereas in the case of Bhagavatha Dharma, the Lord governs through his grace and divine love. When a couple enters into the path of a house-holder [grihastha], without the grace of a Guru and satsang, it is akin to entering a whirlpool where they will swoon and fall down. On the other hand a couple embarking in the path of a house-holder with the grace of a Guru and satsang is analogous to entering a merry-go-round where one will enjoy the round. This is clearly depicted in the life-history of Swayambhuva Manu and his wife Shatarupa. They entered the path of a house-holder and they lead a happy wedded life for seventy one chatur yugas. In all these years they lead a happy life because they kept the Lord in the epicenter of their heart and held on to the path of Bhagavatha Dharma. This dharma is so simple and pragmatic for Kali Yuga.
Life becomes very difficult as each Yuga progresses. Earlier people had longevity for thousands of years and now it is very difficult to have a lifespan of seventy. When life was easier those days, the path to attain the Lord was very tough and unfathomable and on the other hand, when life is tough the path for god realization has been made easy since we have the path of Bhagavatha Dharma to follow and attain the Lord.
Sri Ramanujamji is one of his lectures used a beautiful analogy. He compared the path of Bhagavatha Dharma to Badminton. In Badminton we go from “Love all to Love one” whereas in the path of Bhagavatha Dharma, we go from “Love One to Love All”. That Love one is through which we see the entire world and embrace everyone. That one is verily the heart of the Lord Sri Krishna. When we offer our love and bhakti to the Lord, we then start to see the Lord everywhere. This is what is depicted in the life-history of Papa Ramdas. When he went in the quest for his Lord, he started to meditate the Divine Names of Lord Rama and after incessantly chanting, he saw Lord Rama everywhere.
In last week’s lecture Sri Aravindji talked about the Daksha Yagna which is in the fourth canto of Srimad Bhagavatham. Sage Sukha expounded on dharma with Daksha’s life-history as an example to enlighten Parikshit that one should not have any conceit or hatred towards other Lord before expounding on the divine exploits of Lord Krishna.
“Dharma Projitha Kaithavo atra paramo nirmathsaranam satham”
The path of Bhagavatha Dharma is a dharma devoid of any hatred. One can be a devotee of Lord Krishna but not have any hatred towards other Lords. When our heart is impure it is black in color and hence one will be unable to perceive Lord Krishna who has a black complexion. When one incessantly chants the Divine Names of the Lord, his heart becomes white and only then can he see the black dot called Krishna which starts to grow bigger and bigger when he adheres to the path of Bhagavatha Dharma.
The foundation for Bhagavatha Dharma is love and the bond of love gets stronger and stronger when one chants the Divine Names of the Lord and listens to the divine exploits of the Lord. One needs to continue the duties [the inherent qualities] and continue chanting the Divine Names of the Lord and listening to the divine stories of the Lord.
Artha connotes wealth and meaning. It means that one needs to acquire wealth in a meaningful manner or else it will be Anartha.
In Srimad Bhagavat Gita, Lord Sri Krishna says –
“Chaturvidaa Bhajante Maam Janaah Sukurthino Arjuna”
“Artho Jignasur-Artharthi Jnani Cha Bharatarshabah”[Bhagavad Gita 7.16]
He says “Oh Arjuna, Four kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O Arjuna, and they are the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the wise, O Lord of the Bharatas and all those people who come to me praying for anything, be it spiritual or worldly need only because they are blessed. But for some merits accrued in one’s previous birth, this does not happen otherwise.” The first of the kind is Arthis. They are the ones who are distressed in lives and have afflictions. They pray to the Lord to absolve all their problems. The second clan of people is the Jijnasus. They are the ones who always have a quest to attain Jnana. They offer their prayers to the Lord to bestow them with Jnana. The third faction of people is the ones who are not contended with their wealth and pray to the Lord to be bestowed with more riches. The fourth class of people is indeed the rarest of all. They are the Mahans [jnanis]. They have realized that there is nothing outside the Lord and everything is verily the Lord.
But people who just embarked in the path of bhakti, we still have needs and desires to be fulfilled. We have to fulfill our needs which are providing shelter, clothing and food to our kith and kin and need to accumulate wealth by dharmic means. So it is to be said that both dharma and artha go hand in hand. Once enough wealth is accured, one needs to spend it for dharmic purposes. This is clearly elucidated in the life-history of Dhruva. The fourth canto of Srimad Bhagavatham talks about the four purusharthas in complete detail.
The young boy Dhruva went in search for his father, who was the then king Uttanapadan. His earnest desire to sit on his father’s lap was vetoed by his step-mother Surichi. She banished him and told him that he needs to be born in her womb in order to sit on his father’s lap and asked him to pray Lord Narayana in order to bestow his grace on him. The young prince Dhruva was very much hurt by this and approached his mother Sunithi. She requested him to pray to Lord Narayana who is their eternal father to seek his blessings and grace.
Dhruva wanted to sit on his father’s lap and that was the only wealth he ever sought. He immediately set out to forest to perform penance. He met Sage Narada en route to forest. Our Guru Maharaj beautifully says that the first indication that the Lord showers his grace on us is to lead us onto a Sadguru. That is clearly depicted in the life-history of Dhruva. Sage Narada saw some events in Dhruva’s life which were akin to his own life. He also went to forest to attain the grace of the Lord and was the same case in Dhruva’s life as well. Sage Narada was a personification of compassion and became his guru and taught him the twleve syllabled mantra. Dhruva went to the forest and performed intense penance. During the first month, he ate some fruits. He then only ate some leaves once in six days in the second month. During the third month, he only drank water once in nine days. In the fourth month, he inhaled air once in twelve days. In the fifth month he did not even breathe air and his penance was so strong that it started to shake the whole earth. The Lord came in front of him and bestowed him with darshan. He started off with a desire to sit on his father’s lap but he got the lap of the Lord itself. He became the king and was the ruler for thirty-six thousand years. His wealth was his father’s lap and he finally attained the ultimate Lord. There is nothing wrong going behind wealth but one needs to have the Lord in the epicenter of one’s heart. We should go in search of wealth not with our own abilities but in the path shown by the Lord, the wealth that we accrue will be Anartha. Dhruva went out to satiate his need and the Lord granted his need and gave him more than what he needed. Dhruva became a pole-star when he shed his mortal coil. A pole star is the only stationary star and all other planets and stars revolve around it. In the world of Samsara where the devotees of the Lord are stranded unable to find the right path and afflicted with sorrows, it is verily the pole-star Dhruva who guides everyone to the pole-star.
Artha is the smallest wealth that one initially acquires and this finally leads us to the greatest of all wealth, the Lord himself. Dhruva attained the wealth because of his steadfast faith and devotion on the path shown by his guru.
Only if we feed our stomach with food can we even feed our heart with Lord. Religion can be imparted to anyone and anybody only if their hunger is satiated.
Ambarisha, the ruler from Ikshvaku dynasty ruled the entire world. He felt that the whole world was but mere pieces of gravel!
“vaasudeve Bhagavati tat bhakteshu cha saadhushu
Praapto Bhaavam pranam vishvam enetam loshtavat smritham”
The whole world is mere stone and it belongs to the Lord. For a Bhagavatha, the terms “I and Mine” become “He and His”. This attitude will dawn in one when one has the attitude to listen and chant the Divine Names of the Lord and listen to his divine exploits. In the life-history of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he started calling out “Pundarika Pundarika” in his Bhava Samadhi. Everyone thought that he was calling out the Lord of Pandarpur. But the next day, they started to hear “Pundarika Vidhyanidhi”. A devotee, Mukunda knew Pundarika Vidyanidhi and he immediately called his fellow-devotee Gadadhara and set out for Pundarika Vidyanidhi’s house. Gadhadhara was of the notion that Pundarika was a Bhagavata who was someone who led a frugal life and eschews all sensual desires like wealth and comforts. They located Pundarika Vidyanithi in a big palace and was leading a very posh life. He was very delighted to see Mukunda and upon seeing him he requested to recite a sloka from Srimad Bhagavatham. Mukunda recited the following sloka and upon hearing the sloka Pundarika was in ecstasy and he soon fainted.
‘aho bakIyam sthana kAlakUtam
jighAmsayApAyayadapi asAdhvi
lebhe gatim dAtruchitam tatonyam
kamvA dayAlum sharaNam vrajema [SB 3.2.23]
The sloka goes to speak of the compassion of Lord Krishna who gave Moksha to even the vile orge who tried to poison him! When Gadadhara saw this he immediately realized the greatness of Pundarika and prostrated unto him.
It is verily through inner transformation that one can transform into a Bhagavatha and outer appearances do not matter.
To sum up Bhagavatam shows,
Wealth is not an end in itself, it is only a means for sustenance. Bhakti done for wealth will take us forward, to perform Bhakti for the Lord’s sake. With such a staunch Bhakti, wealth cannot shake one, no matter how affluent he is.
The satsang concluded with prayers and Namasankirtan.
Jan 14: Purushartas in Bhagavatam – 1 : Dharma
14 Jan 2011 1 Comment
Sri Aravindji from Orlando delivered a lecture series on the four Purusharthas with relevance to Srimad Bhagavatham. Let’s first understand what the term ‘Purushartha’ connotes. The word ‘Purusha’ means human and ‘Artha’ means meaning. Purushartha thus refers to “Purpose of Life”. The four Purushsharthas are Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.
Our Guru Maharaj in one of his Kirtans sings –
“arthamum kAmamum niraindadhu Prapanjamam”
verondrum kAnavillai Undi Para
vedanai vedanai undi para”
Our Guru Maharaj says that he only sees wealth and desire being given more weightage by people living in the age of Kali and that he doesn’t perceive anything beyond wealth and desire. And saying this, he commiserates these mundane people.
But friends, who are part of satsang, do not worry. Let’s see what Srimad Bhagavatham preaches us on the four Purusharthas. Srimad Bhagavatham is a unique grantha since it is filled with both worldly and spiritual advice. It gives advice akin to a friend and one can never get overwhelmed by the proposition. One immediately takes the advice unto their heart – Shusrushibih Thakshanaat. A child can learn lot of good values by listening to life-histories of Prahalad and Dhruva to name a few. A learned person enjoys the doctrines of Uddava Gita. It is a grantha that is applicable to people of all Dharmas.
Suta Pouranika, started to expound about Dharma in front of all Maharishis.
Dharma projita kaitavo atra paramo nirmatsaranam satam
vedyam vastavam atra vastuhu shivatam tapatrayahunmoolanam
All the three types of miseries are obliterated by comprehending the term “Dharma”.
Dharma is very subtle. The inherent nature of a flower is to spread fragrance. The very nature of the sun is to give sunshine. The three fears are dispelled by comprehending dharma. Let’s look at the three kinds of fears – Aadideivika are the ones that are caused by the mind, while Aaadiboutika are the fears caused by extraneous elements like animals or nature and Aadhyathmika is inflicted by super-natural powers like the Gods and Devas.
Our Guru Maharaj absolves the fear of Samsara by feeding the nectar of Srimad Bhagavatham. By assimilating the essence of Srimad Bhagavatham, one can decipher the term Dharma. By following the precepts of dharma, all the fears are obliterated. Let’s take a practical example to substantiate this. A person enters a dark room and he perceives a big snake. He immediately switches the light and sees that it is not a snake but a big rope instead. The illusion is thus wiped out when he switches the light.
dharmasya hyApavargasya nArthOthAyOpakalpatE |
nArthasya dharmaikAnthasya kAmO lAbhAya hi smruta: || [Srimad Bhagavatham1.2.9]
kAmasya nEndriyaprItirlAbhO jIvEta yAvatA |
jIvasya tatvajignyAsA nArthO yashvEha karmabhi: || [1.2.10]
The moment Srimad Bhagavatham inculcates the purpose of life, the three fears are absolved. How is this possible? By comprehending and following the Supreme dharma [paramo dharmaha], one can shed away the three fears. So what is this Supreme Dharma?
In order to understand the Supreme Dharma, let us first understand Sva dharma, which is verily our inherent nature. The Lord in Srimad Bhagavatham tells Arjuna -
sarva-dharman parityajya maam ekam saranam vrajaa
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami maa sucah [Srimad Bhagavad Gita 18.66]
Oh! Arjuna, I will emancipate you from all the sins and bestow you Moksha if you give up all the dharma and surrender unto me.
In the above verse, the call to give up Dharma cannot be called as a message of inactivity. The Lord will never preach his devotees to not perform their duties. The Lord in the above verse says one not to renounce the act but to renounce the attitude. The beauty of Srimad Bhagavatham is that it shows us a path where we do not renounce anything by force but it makes people renounce on their own. If one goes to a mango tree and tries to pluck a mango that had not ripened, it starts to bleed from the stem. The Lord in our case has shown us a ripe mango and it falls off the moment one goes near to pluck it. The inherent nature [Svadharma] will be dispelled when one adheres to the path shown by Srimad Bhagavatham. One can relate this easily through the life-history of Sage Narada. Sage Narada was born as a son of a maid-servant. His mother earned her living by doing house-hold chores. One day a group of saints camped in the same village where Narada and his mother lived. Seeing the saints, his mother asked Narada to go along with them and also asked him to consume the left-over food from the plates of the saints. This little boy who was about five years old implicitly obeyed his mother’s orders. By doing service to the saints and by being in their divine company, the inherent nature of a five year old boy to play with his friends and his toys slowly started to recede away akin to how a ripe mango falls off on its own.
Lord Krishna in his expositions preaches one not to renounce their acts and duties and that by being in a satsang, they will dwindle on their own. From the numerous life-histories of the devotees of Lord Panduranga, we learn that one of them was a cobbler, a barber and one great devotee of the Lord, Vittobha whose profession was tailoring. Just by adhering to the path of Bhagavatha Dharma, our Sva dharma will inherently fall away. This is lucidly depicted from their life-histories. Lord Prahalada was incessantly chanting the Divine Names of the Lord Narayana. He was sent to the Gurukula and his preceptors were Chanda and Amarka who were Asuras themselves. They taught him all the worthy topics and he studied everything and excelled in whatever he did since he was constantly catching the Divine Names of the Lord.
One should continue to perform his daily chores and when chant the Divine Names of the time upon the completion of his chores. By following this, the inherent nature [sva dharma] will soon depart from us leaving the path to paramo Dharma, the supreme dharma.
Srimad Bhagavatham expounds the great precept of humility.
Daksha was one of the prajapatis of Lord Brahma. The first and supreme position was held by Lord Narayana himself. The next in hierarchy was Lord Brahma. The third position was being held by Daksha. Hence he was in a very commendable position. We have seen that the higher one goes in the spiritual path, he should become more and more humble. Once a sacrifice [yagna] was being performed and everyone including the Devas including Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva also attended. Daksha also attended the event. Daksha being in a respectable position, everyone stood up and paid their respects to him. Lord Siva did not get up from his seat since he was deeply engrossed in his penance. This really irked Daksha and he immediately started to badmouth Lord Shiva. He started despising Lord Shiva’s appearance. Lord Shiva an embodiment of patience and calmness was just patiently listening to the abuses by Daksha. Lord Shiva is an epitome of both positive and negative attributes. To substantiate this, he has the symbol of moon signifying the essence of nectar and has a snake tied around his neck that represents poison. His hand personifies fire, while on the other hand he has river Ganga flowing on his head. He has both Boothganas and Devaganas. He perceives both stuthi and ninda to be the same.
Sri Sri Anna in Vaishnava Samhita saya -
“Avamaanepi Sammane Sukhe Dukhepi Vaishnava, Pashyatyeva Harer Leelam Gunadoshau Na Pashyathi”
A Vaishnava never discerns honor or dishonor to be different and perceives both to be same and take it as a blessing from Lord Hari.
Daksha had married his daughter Dakshayini to Lord Shiva. Days passed by and Daksha performed another sacrifice in a pomp manner to exhibiting his pride. It was known as “Brihaspati Sthava”. He invited everybody in town except Lord Shiva and Dakshayini. She noticed that all her friends were going for the sacrifice which her father was performing. She expressed her interest to attend the sacrifice and confided it to Lord Shiva. Upon hearing to her request, he gently advised her that one should not go to a place where one is not invited. In reply, Dakshayini replied that one should not expect any invitation to a place where the Lord is being worshipped. But if the host does not look into the guest’s eyes and expresses his delight by your presence, then one should not make it to that host’s place, added Lord Shiva. The greatness of Mahans is that they won’t force their thoughts on their devotees. They would express their opinion and leave it to the decision of the devotee. Thus, Lord Shiva just forewarned Dakshayini that she should not go to a place without an invitation. If she insisted on going to the sacrifice then that would probably lead to death.
Despite Lord Shiva’s advice, she decided to go since she had bondage to her parent’s home. She left for the sacrifice with some Lord Shiva’s supporters [Bhutaganas]. Upon reaching that place, she was very much welcomed by her mother and her siblings. Daksha, her father did not show his hospitality to her and did not welcome her. She did not pay much heed to her father’s act. But later Daksha started to show his grudge on Lord Shiva in a very obvious way. He stopped all oblations [havirbhagam] that was supposed to reach Lord Rudra. He also did not recite any vedic hymns related to Lord Shiva. This irritated Dakshayini beyond belief. In an irked tone, she asked her father, “Oh Father! You are showing your hatred on Lord Shiva who has done no harm to you?. His name is so sacred that it purifies anybody who recites his name. The Divine Names of Lord Shiva bestow one with prosperity when chanted.
There was a hunter who was in his deathbed. His son was standing next to him. His son was seeking advice from his father as to how he should earn a living. In reply the hunter mentioned, “Prahara Aahara Samhara”. Prahara means to hunt, Aahara means to bring and Saamhara means to kill and so the hunter advised his son to go for hunting. If we remove the prefix of all three words and only focus on the suffix, which is “hara”, it verily means Lord Shiva. Saying the three words, the hunter passed away. Immediately Lord Shiva’s sub-ordinates [Shiva Ganas] came to take the hunter to Kailasha since he chanted His Name, even though unknowingly, before he died. Such is Lord Shiva’s compassion and love.
Dakshayini added “Oh father, you have not only exhibited your hatred to Lord Shiva but to his Divine Name. You also not did pay any respect to Vedas since you did not recite the section of Vedas that referred to Lord Shiva.”. She repented for being born as a daughter to a father who did Shiva Dwesha. She immediately burnt herself in the Yoga Agni.
Lord Shiva was still in tranquil state which was his natural state. Mahans are Sankalpa-rahita – they don’t have a will of their own. Witnessing this gory scene, Sage Narada advised Lord Shiva to avenge Daksha. He immediately plucked a hair from his head and breathed life into the hair and there stood a Bhootagana by name Veerabhadra. This newly born Veerabhadra went to the place where Daksha was performing the sacrifice and killed Daksha. The sacrifice could not be completed since Daksha died and so all Devas went to Lord Brahma and requested to make sure that the Brihaspati Sthava Yaga be completed.
Lord Narayana also appeared in the Brishaspathi Shrava and said the following verse –
“Mat Bhakta Sankara Dweshi math dweshi sankara priyaha Yavadh sankara divakaram”
A devotee of mine who speaks ill or demean Lord Shiva or a devotee of Lord Shiva bad mouths or despises me will end in an infernal region, says Lord Narayana in the above verse.
A devotee of the highest order should never possess any hatred towards Lord Shiva or Lord Brahma. Even a smallest level of ill-feeling would hinder that devotee to reach the highest states.
All kinds of conceit, hypocrisy, and deceit should be absolved in one who is in quest for the Lord.
Dharma projita kaitavo atra paramo nirmatsaranam satam
vedyam vastavam atra vastuhu shivatam tapatrayahunmoolanam
sa vai puḿsāḿ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣajeh
ahaitukyapratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati [Srimad Bhagavatham 1.2.6]
The supreme occupation [Svadharma] of all human beings is that which will usher into the path of supreme devotion to the Lord. Offer all the acts that one does to the Lord and by doing this one will attain the highest states of devotion to the Lord. As long as we chant the Divine Names of the Lord, all our sins and fears are dispelled and one will attain the purpose of life which is verily the lotus feet of the Lord. By incessant chanting of the Divine Names of the Lord, our Svadharma will leave us and will lead us unto the holy feet of the Lord.
The satsang ended with prayers and Namasankirtan.
Jan 7: Satsang – the company of the divine
07 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
Prayers are indeed the first step towards the path of bhakti and devotion. It is indeed the last step as well. Prayers done with an open heart is what is very much liked by the Lord. The easiest way to do prayers is to sing his Divine Names. When we chant his Divine Names we do not need to do any special prayer to support it. The chanting of Divine Names is verily enough and indeed makes the prayers for us. Such is the power of Divine Names when coupled with the prayers. The other end of prayers is to request the Lord to bestow with more and more devotion and be in the divine company of Sadhus always. This is indeed what the Sadhus and Mahatmas pray for. They are only requesting for the bond between the Lord and them to get strengthened. They want to remember the Lord and his Divine Form forever. That kind of prayer is indeed the most supreme and one should aim to do such prayers. The Lord is extremely pleased when we perform such prayers and our satsangs are one such prayer meet where we intersperse the chanting of Divine Names in the beginning and end of our satsangs.
Nishaji from Houston delivered a beautiful lecture expounding on the greatness of being in the divine company of Sadhus.
Who is a Sadhu? One cannot proclaim someone as a Sadhu if he wears a Gopichandan and clad in a saffron cloth. Our Guru Maharaj beautifully defines who a real Sadhu is. A sadhu is one who always listens to the glories of the Lord, expounds on the glories of the Lord and sings the glories of the Lord. They know nothing other than these. On the other hand the normal mortals who even in spite of being in satsang who are not there to revel in complete supreme bliss sometime delve into mundane talks. Our Guru Maharaj by making Madhurasmaranam official, our compassionate Guru Maharaj wanted his devotees to gossip about him and gave all our little wagging tongue, his stories to hold on to. By reminiscing on the divine stories of our Guru Maharaj we get ourselves into the highest states of meditation of the Lord who is in the form of Guru. This is a classic example to elucidate the precept that the divine association of the sadhus makes everybody sadhus itself. This goes to show the power of satsang.
It is a fact that a person’s attitude is a median of the top five people with whom he/she interacts with. If we ponder on this without scratching the surface, we will realize that it is a star fact in all our lives. When we associate with people who are pessimists, we find ourselves doing the same thing and having lot of negative energy in us. On the other hand, if we are in the companionship with people who have a lot of positive energy, we are also in turn motivated and energized. Our Guru Maharaj says that one second acquaintance with a Mahan can transform an individual.
In one of the kirtans of our Guru Maharaj, he extols the greatness of satsangs –
“Aagacha Aagacha Sajjana Sangam Maa Gacha Maa Gacha Durjana Sangam”
In the above verse, our Guru Maharaj welcomes the association of holy men [sadhus], who are the very manifestation of the Lord himself.
“Sajjana Sangam bahusaaram Dur Jana Sangam Athi Goram”
The association of the sadhus is so sweet and filled with bliss. When Lord Krishna had incarnated in the holy land of Vraja, the Gopis and Gopas were always in the divine company of the Lord. As years passed by, Krishna became the ruler of Mathura and he had ordained his dear Uddava to go to Vrindavan to have a darshan of the Gopas and Gopis. He was moved to tears when he saw their love and prema for Lord Krishna and he rolled over the sands which contained the dust from the feet [Pada Rajas] of these Gopis.
Having proclaimed the power of Sajjana Sangam, let us know look into the consequences of having a bad company. If we take the people during Kamsa’s reign, they were in quandary and always filled with fear about Kamsa’s course of actions.
“Sajjana Sangam Dharma chinthanam Dhurjana sangam dhurbhodhanam”
The association of Sadhus leads one in the path of dharma. The Pandavas were always in the divine companionship with Lord Krishna. The Lord was always with them in flesh and blood. They never deviated from the path of dharma. On the other hand, Dhuryodhana solicited the company of his uncle, Shakuni. Karna, being the son of Kunti, who was the mother of the Pandavas, befriended Dhuryodhana. When Arjuna and Dhuryodhana went to seek help and advice before the advent of the Kurkshetra War, Krishna was in the state of slumber. He woke up and had the glimpse of Arjuna at the first sight since he was near his feet. The Lord knew that both of them came for taking help for the Mahabharatha war. The Lord came out with a clause that he will give his entire army for one and that he himself will be with one of them. Duryodhana did not have confidence on the Lord and hence he culled the army while Arjuna who was also in company of the Lord opted for Krishna to be along with the Pandavas during the battle. The outcome of the battle was evident, with the Pandavas triumphed over the Kauravas and they were completely annihilated.
“Sajjana Sangam Hari Sevanam Dhurjana Sangam Parihasanam”
The divine communion with the holy men ushers one and all to the service of the Lord. On the other hand association with mundane people makes one repugnant. Let’s take some examples to substantiate this precept from the life-history of Sant Tukkaram. There lived a great Brahmin scholar Rameshwar Bhat. He gave a lot of discourses. One day, he found lot of people moving past his place and he enquired of those few who sat listening to him, “Where are all these people going?” They said that these people were going to listen to Tukkaram since his sings are rendered with full of devotion. Hearing this Rameshwar Bhat was furious and headed straight to Tukkaram. He told him that the Lord Panduranga cannot comprehend the kirtans composed in Marathi and that the Lord can only follow Sanskrit. Anybody else would have argued with the Brahmin, but Tukkaram being a Sadhu who are humility personified implicitly apologized to him and asked him for the next course of actions. The brahmin asked him to bundle up all his kirtans and throw them into the Chandrabaga river.
Rameshwar bhat said, “Bundle up your kirtans and throw them into the Chandrabhaga river. And from now onwards stop singing your kirtans.” Tukkaram bundled all his kirtans and threw them into the Chandrabhaga. He experienced deep pain as if he had pushed into the river a child of his whom he had brought up lovingly. He then sat on the banks of the river without food or sleep. After three days, when the Pandas (priests) in Pandarpur temple opened the doors of Lord Panduranga’s sannidhi they found a wet sack on the head of the Lord. It was dripping with water and the Lord’s garments were totally wet. Wonder struck they took the sack from the Lord’s head and opened it. They found innumerable writings with the stamp of ‘Tukkaram’ in them. They realized that it was the kirtans of the Sadhu who visited the temple from Dehu Road. They immediately took the kirtans to Tukkaram.
When Tukkaram saw them with his writings, he asked them, “It is I who had thrown them in the river. Why did you retrieve them?” The Pandas explained, “No! We did not retrieve them from the river. We found them on the Lord’s head this morning when we opened the door. Since they all carry your stamp we realized that they are all your kirtans. We, therefore, came to return them to you.”
Tukkaram’s joy knew no bounds as he realized that Panduranga had accepted his kirtans.
He asked the Lord, “If you approve of them why this delay in bringing them to me, Oh! Lord! I have been sitting here without food and sleep these for the past three days.”
The Lord said to him, “Tukkaram! They were so wonderful that I have been reading them for the past three days!” Learning about the incident, Rameshwar Bhat came running to Tukkaram and fell at his feet. “I did not realize your greatness. Please forgive me for the wrong done.” Tukkaram shrunk away pleading, “You are a great scholar. You know all the Shastras. How can you fall at my feet? Please do not fall at my feet.” Such is the humility of Sadhus.
“Sajjana sangam Aanandah Durjana sangae Alasyah”
The ardent devotee of Lord Krishna, Meera grew up in her grandfather’s place. He used to invite lot of Mahans to his home. Meera used to eagerly listen to all the divine exploits of Lord Krishna with reverence and this was verily how devotion to Lord Krishna was sowed in her hearts. The satsang that she got gave her the bhakti and devotion to hold onto Lord Krishna all throughout her life. From our eyes, we perceive Meera to have been happy only in her childhood days. As she grew up, she was forced to marry someone whom she didn’t want to marry. Her in-laws did not like her being devoted to Krishna. Her husband Rana who was earlier provided her support to perform bhakti to Lord Krishna did not like it later. She was in captive where she was in isolation and also underwent lots of trials and tribulations even threat to her life. This is the state of Meera as perceived by normal mortals. But our Guru Maharaj clarifies this perception that it is verily the people around her who were under the impression that Meera was depressed, but in reality she was completely lost in the bliss of love for her dear Krishna. She was totally lost in joy. Krishna bhakti gave her the supreme bliss and hence she did not bother about the events happening around her.
In one of her bhajans, she expounds her enjoyment that she deuces by being a devout to Lord Krishna.
hari guN gAvat nAchUngI mei
prabhu guN gAvat nAchUngI
apne mandir me beit beit kar
gIta bhAgavata vAchUngI
“Meera Bai Sings- ‘I shall sit in the temple of my beloved Lord and read Srimad Bhagavat Gita and Srimad Bhagavata. I shall immerse myself in singing the Divine Names and plays of the Lord and dancing to its tunes! ’
On the other hand, bad company can lead us into loathsome and become indolent. A classic example is Kumbakarna.
The next verse goes – “Sajjana Sangae Mana shanthih Durjana Sangae Mano Branthih”
The divine company ushers in mental peace. Our little Prahalad was in acquaintance with Sage Narada even when he was in his mother’s womb. He came as his Guru and was bestowed with the Divine Name ‘Narayana’. Prahalad was incessantly chanting the Divine Name and hence he was an embodiment of peace despite all the harassments enforced on him by his father Hiranyakashipu. On the other hand, Hiranyakashipu was the most powerful ruler on Earth and had boons so that he wouldn’t die by any common means. In spite of this, his mind was always wandering and was always perturbed. This was because of the fact that he did not have any divine communion with a realized soul. Even though his son was a sadhu, he did not cherish his companionship.
“Sajjana Sangae Pramodhah Durjana Sangae Pramadhah”
The company of holy men leads us to immense happiness and joy and helps us to realize the purpose of our life which is verily attaining the holy feet of the Lord.
“Sajjana Sangae Sadhu Poshanam Durjana Sangae Sadhu Dhushanam”
The divine company with realized souls makes us perform service to Mahans. This act bestows one with all goodness. Sugreeva was in the divine company of Hanuman and that finally lead him to do service to Lord Rama. On the other hand, Ravana harassed and disrespected Sadhus and hence the consequences were obivious. Our Guru Maharaj in one of his discourses mentioned that at the beginning of Ramayana, Sri Lanka was a prosperous country with untold riches. At the end of Ramayana, Lanka was completely burned down. Sugreeva was a pauper at the advent of Ramayana but he was crowned as a king at the culmination of Ramayana. It was verily because Sugreeva cherished the company of Sadhus and was always in the divine company of Hanuman, whereas Ravana who abused the Sadhus destroyed his entire clan.
“Sajjana Sangae Krishna Katha Durjana Sangae Gramya Katha”
The divine company leads us to listen to the stories of Lord Krishna. Parikshit had the company of Sage Sukha who was his guru. He was bestowed to listen to the divine exploits of Lord Krishna. He had the honor to be the first recipient to listen to Srimad Bhagavatham.
“Sajjana Sangae Muralidharah Durjana Sangae Mahisharudhah”
Our Guru Mahraj concludes his song by saying that by being in the divine company of holy men will lead us to Muralidhara. A good example to support this is Ajamila. Even though he was a good person initially, he later started to have the company of bad people and developed a lot of vices. In the last minute of his life, he called out his son Narayana and this was heard by our Lord Narayana in Vaikunta and hence he sent the Vishu Dootas. The second satsang that he had with the Vishnu Dootas bestowed him liberation. Such is the greatness of chanting the Divine Names of the Lord and being in the divine company of Sadhus.
