August 18, 2017 archive

Nārasimhāya namah

Satidevi continued, “Actions are of two kinds, viz. Pravṛtti karma and Nivṛtti karma. To those who are desirous of material comforts, Vedas has prescribed fire rituals (agnihotra) and other tools which bestow heavenly and other comforts.

The same Veda prescribes disciplines such as śama, dama etc. for those who have attained detachment (vairagya). Both these paths are mutually contradictory. It is impossible for any person, to adhere to both paths simultaneously. Remember that Parabrahma Śiva, is over and beyond both these types of actions! He has no necessity to abide by any action.

O father! The supernatural powers that we possess are not outwardly exhibited. It is impossible for you to know about them. Only knowers of Brahman (Brahma vetta) acquire such transcendental powers. People like you who are deeply inclined towards sensory pleasures, perform fruitive actions like elaborate fire rituals in sacrificial halls seeking fulfillment of material desires and are satisfied after eating the rice offerings (yagnānna).

Travelling in the southern direction (dakshina marga) you enjoy petty comforts known as heavenly comforts and are again reborn thereafter. A petty person like you can never understand the glory of Śiva.

You have sinned against Śiva. For this reason, this body which has originated from you is condemnable. I have no use of such worthless body. I feel ashamed that I am talking to wicked sinner like you.

Śiva, the protector of dharma, would at times address me as Dākśāyani since I am your daughter. Hearing this name, all happiness would evaporate from my face and I would become morose. I would mentally grieve that I am your daughter. Hence this body which has originated from you is nothing but a corpse. I now give such body”.

Saying this, Satidevi, who was wearing yellow clothing, sat down facing the northern direction. She sipped acamana water, closed her eyes and through the path of Yoga attained the final state of meditation (samādhi ).

Satidevi, who are faultless, at first achieved stability in sitting posture. She performed pranāyama and merged the Prāṇa and Apāna winds in the body. She raised the Udāna vayu, the wind which enables the life-force (prāṇa shakti) to leave the body, upward from the Navel chakra (Manipura). Along with intelligence (buddhi), she raised it to the Anāhata chakra located near the heart.

From there she raised it to Viśuddha chakra located near the throat region. Then she raised it and took it to Ajna chakra, located in between the eyebrows. As prescribed by Yoga, she meditated upon fire and wind in the mind.

Thereafter the chaste woman, meditated with exclusive concentration upon the lotus feet of her husband Parama-śiva. With that meditation, in her heart she experienced ultimate nectarous bliss. She was absorbed in a deep state of meditation and lost total contact with the outer world. With this meditation her body was freed from the sin of being born to Daksha. At that point, the fire which was born purely from Yoga (yogāgni) spread rapidly and burnt down her body”.

Satidevi did not commit suicide and hence the sin of suicide did not attach to her. She did not jump into the homa fire. As she gave up her body purely through means of Yoga, she was blessed with ultimate liberation!

Bhagawatam very clearly highlights this fact. In some books, it is stated that she jumped into the fire pit. It should be understood that she invoked the fire into the pit called her body and gave up her life in that fire pit.

“Devatas and other assembled guests were initially in a state of shock. Thereafter they began screaming loudly and there was a huge uproar in the assembly. Their screams filled entire earth and space. ‘Śiva is the Lord of all Lords. Daksha Prajāpati behaved in a manned that angered His dearest wife. As a result she gave up her life’- they screamed.

‘It is shocking that Daksha Prajāpati who should have treated all living beings equally, has insulted his own daughter due to his haughtiness. She is a self-respecting woman worthy of all the greatest honours. Unable to bear his insult, the pure chaste woman gave up her life. This Daksha’s mind is a storehouse of sinful thoughts. He disliked Shiva, the Supreme Lord, and has harmed Him. For this reason, he is going to get extreme ill-fame. Even after knowing that his daughter was about to give up her life, he did not even make the least attempts to prevent her’- assembled guests began to talk in this manner.

Meanwhile, Śiva’s attendants, who had seen Satidevi entering into the Yogic fire, took up their weapons and rushed towards Daksha, with the intent of killing him.

Maharishi Bhrigu, who was the chief priest of the Yagna, possessed supreme mystical powers. He noticed Shiva’s attendants rushing towards them. In order to destroy these Shiva’s attendants, who were seeking to destroy the Yagna, in the southern fire he performed a homa with Yajur veda mantras.

As he was performing this homa, from the homa fire thousands of Devatas known as Rbhus, were born. These Rbhus had previously performed intense penance and had drunk the nectar called Soma-rasa. These celestial beings, who shone with divine radiance, rushed out of the fire pit and using burning firewood as their weapons, they drove away Shiva’s attendants from the sacrificial hall.

With this the fourth chapter from the fourth canto comes to an end.

Sati addressed her father and said, “Within every living being in this creation, it is Śiva who remains as the Self. Hence in this creation, there is none superior to him. As He is the Self (atma) who exists within every being, He cannot favour one while despising another. He, the embodiment of truthfulness, does not have an enemy in this creation. Who else apart from you can behave in such unjust manner towards Śiva?

You are haughty because you are a Brahmin. Worthless lowly persons like you purely search for faults in others. Mediocre persons accept both good and bad in others as it actually exists. However noble saints ignore the bad qualities in others while highlighting their good qualities.

Most supreme Mahatmas do not even slightly notice the bad qualities in others. But at the same time, they notice even the slightest good quality in others and highlight it as a very supreme one. You have sinned against such a supreme Mahatma. Due to your hatred you have accumulated sins.

The wicked, who consider this gross body which in reality is inert like a corpse to be the Self, are always full of jealousy. It is not at all surprising that such persons criticize and condemn supreme Mahatmas.

Remember that the dust from the feet of these Mahatmas is enough to wipe away the radiance of such wicked beings and destroy them. In addition due to condemning supreme Mahatmas, in course of time, these wicked persons suffer in the form of punishments faced.

The reputation of the Mahatmas does not decrease when wicked persons condemn them. On the contrary, their fame only increases.

Yad dvy-akṣaraṁ nāma gireritaṁ nṛṇāṁ Sakṛt prasaṅgād agham āśu hanti tat

Pavitra-kīrtiṁ tam alaṅghya-śāsanaṁ Bhavān aho dveṣṭi śivaṁ śivetaraḥ

The two sylabled word Śiva (Śi+va) has acquired great prominence in the Vedas. Even if the word Śiva is uttered once casually it cleanses the person of all his sins! By singing the glories of Śiva, the human being becomes completely pure! There is none in this creation who can go against His dictates! You loathe such supreme Śiva. How shocking this is!

O father, you are a personification of sin. You are inauspicious. You hate Śiva, who is the father of this universe and whose lotus feet fulfill all desires of the devotees. You dislike that Śiva, to whose lotus feet bees called ‘the minds of noble souls desirous of liberation’, flock.

Desirous of sucking honey, bees hover around lotus flowers. Likewise, desirous of tasting the nectar known as supreme bliss (Brahmānanda), minds of noble beings flock to the lotus feet of Lord Śiva! They eternally meditate upon Him!

You had in the past criticized that Shankara takes on the name Śiva (auspiciousness) although he is aśiva (inauspicious). You had declared that he is inauspicious. Do you think that Brahma and all other Devatas are ignorant of this fact, which you claim to know?

Even though Śiva walks in crematoriums smearing himself with the ash found there, even though He wears garlands of skulls and bones, even though He lets his hair loose and is accompanied by ghosts and spirits, Brahma and other Devatas take the dust from His holy feet and apply it on their head. They consider themselves blessed to receive this Prasada. Do you really think that they are ignorant of this truth, which you assume to know?

Śiva is the protector of dharma. He is the Lord of this universe. When He is condemned in an assembly by the wicked, then the person who is listening to it should either punish the wicked or close his ears and walk out of the assembly. If he is capable, he should cut off the tongue of the sinful person who is condemning Śiva. The person who silently listens to the abuse being heaped upon Śiva, instead of following any of the remedies mentioned above, should simply give up his own life. This is dharma.

You have made it a habit to criticize Śiva. Henceforth I cannot live in this body, which has originated from you. Elders have stated that vomiting is the remedy for eating wrongful food, which should not have been eaten. Discarding this body given by you I will purify myself.

Na veda-vādān anuvartate matiḥ sva eva loke ramato mahā-muneḥ

Yathā gatir deva-manuṣyayoḥ pṛthak sva eva dharme na paraṁ kṣipet sthitaḥ

The do’s and don’ts of Vedas cannot bind a Yogi who is totally immersed in Self-bliss. He is over and above them. Just as humans and celestials do not travel on the same path, likewise beings established in supreme knowledge (jnanis) have a way of life which is different from those who are steadfastly devoted to action (karma). The human being should realize this great truth and should strictly abide by those duties which have been specifically allotted to him”.

Nārasimhāya namah

Achyutāya namah

Here Shiva is preaching Supreme Essence to his wife.

Shiva continued, “Only when the senses are totally withdrawn and the mind merges into its own form, this Lord can be known as the inner Self. Hence He is Adhokśaja. Within my mind, I bow and worship such Lord.

Although Daksha is the father who has given you this body, he is now filled with feelings of hatred. As such, neither he nor his attendants are worth meeting at this point of time.

At the time when I had visited the Yagna being conducted by the Prajāpatis, for no fault of mine, Daksha accused and insulted me. If you go there against my wishes, it will not be auspicious for you. When a person who is worthy of being respected is insulted by his own kith and kin, it is equivalent of death”.

With this the third chapter of the fourth canto comes to an end.

Fourth Canto Chapter Four

In this chapter, Satidevi attending the Yagna much against the wishes of her husband, the insults that her father heaps upon her and Sati entering the yogic fire to give up her body are covered.

Maitreya Maharishi continued, “It is wrong to go uninvited to any event, isn’t it? Having warned her that to a self-respecting person disrespect is equivalent of death, Shiva remained silent. He foresaw that irrespective of whether she attended the function or not, destruction to her body was imminent. For this reason he did not give any decisive instruction. He merely warned her that attending the function would result in her being insulted.

Satidevi’s mind was devastated. On one hand, her desire to meet her relatives was extremely strong. On the other, the fear that she would be afflicted by the sin of disregarding her husband’s wishes tormented her. She was vacillating and was unable to decide. Neither did she want to leave her husband nor did she wish to abstain from the function. She kept walking up and down unable to figure out how to solve the problem.

As her desire to meet her near and dear ones was curtailed, her mind was overly agitated. In uncontrollable grief she shed profuse tears. The thought that she would not be able to meet her relatives caused her anguished body to slightly tremble. She looked at Shiva, the incomparable Lord, as if she would burn him down.

Due to the anger that Shiva had not permitted her to go and also due to the sorrow that she was going against his wishes, her heart was deeply afflicted. At last she sighed deeply and leaving Shiva, left for her parent’s home.

Shiva is deeply loved by all noble beings. He had, with utmost love, given half his body to Satidevi. However as she was filled with the feelings of love and affection, that is commonly seen in women, she lost her intelligence and left Shiva’s side.

Shiva’s attendants Manimānta and Mada noticed Sati hurriedly walking alone. Immediately they followed her together with their entire troop. They were accompanied by many Yakshas. Nandi led these troops.

Being Shiva’s attendants they were free from any form of fear or grief. Even then, seeing their mother Satidevi in a sorrowful mood, all of them were overcome with sorrow. They seated her on Nandi bull. To cheer her they gave her a bird, lotus, ball and other objects. They also gave her a garland, mirror for her decoration. They held a white umbrella over her head. Beating drums, conches, bugles and other musical instruments the procession was truly grand. They thus proceeded to Daksha’s place.

The loud Vedic chants from Daksha’s sacrificial hall were touching the skies. In that sacrificial hall, great debates upon the scriptural injunctions were taking place between scholars. Everywhere in the hall, Yagna vessels and pots made of clay, iron, gold and grass were found. Satidevi entered that sacrificial hall which was filled with Vedic scholars, Devatas and distinguished Maharishis.

Daksha insulted her upon arrival by not welcoming her properly. He did not even lift his head and look at her. Barring her mother and sisters, none of the persons who had assembled in that sacrificial hall, welcomed her. They did not give her the due respect. Fearing Daksha, all of them remained silent.

Her mother and her sisters were supremely pleased at her arrival. Their eyes were filled with tears of joy. Due to overflowing love, their voices were choked. All her sisters came forward and welcomed her warmly. They affectionately enquired about her well-being. They gently led her in. They offered her a comfortable seat to sit.

However as her father had not welcomed her, Sati felt insulted. She refused to accept the seat offered by her sisters. To add to it, in that Yagna, there were no Yagna offerings assigned for Rudra, her husband. She actually saw her father insulting her husband Shiva.

With this, her anger crossed all barriers and she was unstoppable. It appeared as if she would burn all the worlds with her intense anger.

Seeing her angry, Shiva’s attendants known as Pramatha gaṇās, stood up ready to attack. However with her sharp gaze she stopped them. With sharp angry eyes she now looked at her father, who with extreme self-importance was behaving arrogantly as if he was the most supreme.

Achutāya namah

Achyutāya namah

Satidevi continued, “O embodiment of auspiciousness! O Shiva! From a very long time, I have been longing to meet all my relatives. If I go there I can meet all my sisters. In addition I can also meet my mother, who has great affection towards me. I will also be able to witness the auspicious Yagna being conducted by supreme Maharishis. I will be able to see the Yagna flag that is flying high.

Tvayy etad āścaryam ajātma-māyayā Vinirmitaṁ bhāti guṇa-trayātmakam

Tathāpy ahaṁ yoṣid atattva-vic ca te Dīnā didṛkṣe bhava me bhava-kṣitim

O birthless Lord Shiva! This world which is created due to interactions between the attributes of goodness, passion and ignorance is wondrous! It has been created by You through the medium of Your illusory power. It exists within You and situated there, it shines resplendently.

However I am a poor ignorant woman who is unable to understand Your supreme essence. Therefore I seek to visit my parents’ home.

O Lord, being birthless You do not know the agony of being separated from kith and kin. You are that compassionate Lord who is ready to swallow even poison for ensuring the safety of others. Your bluish-black neck symbolizes this.

O Lord, please look once at the sky. Celestial women, attired beautifully, are thronging to the Yagna hall, accompanied by their spouses. When they thus travel, their white airplanes decorate the sky and add to its beauty.

O supreme amongst Lords! After coming to know of the festivities in my father’s home, how can this body of mine sit here without moving? My mind is eager to go there. Even without invitation people visit the home of a friend, husband, Guru and father.

O Lord, you are an epitome of compassion. Please listen to my request. Please fulfill my desire. You are omniscient. Lovingly you have given me half of your body. Therefore bless me by fulfilling this desire of mine”.

Shiva heard all that his loving wife had to say to him. He recollected all the heart wrenching, vicious insults that his father-in-law Daksha had uttered in the presence of all other Prajāpatis in the past. Shiva, who seeks the well-being of the noble-hearted, smiled lovingly and said,

“O beautiful one! What you have said is true. It is correct that we can visit the relative’s homes uninvited. However there are some who, due to body identification, are conceited, proud and filled with feelings of anger and hatred.  When relatives do not belong to this category, it is right to visit their homes uninvited.

Knowledge, penance, wealth, beauty, youth and birth in a good family are the six qualities of noble persons. These same qualities lead to arrogance in the wicked. They cause depletion in their discriminatory intelligence. Such conceited persons, who bloat in their self-importance, cannot understand the glories of noble persons and Mahatmas.

Daksha does not have a stable mind. He maintains feelings of differentiation. One should not go even near the threshold of such homes, even if they are our relatives. Even eye contact should be avoided with them. This is because they look at their guests with a wicked mind. With raised eyebrows and angry eyes that are filled with hatred, they look into the eyes of the guest and insult him.

When with a wicked mind, close relatives utter harsh malicious words that like arrows pierce the heart, one undergoes unbearable agony. That grief will torment them night and day. Even a warrior who is grievously injured in battle does not suffer as much agony as is experienced by a person who has been insulted by his closest relative. Such is the pain that malicious insulting words cause!

O beautiful lady! It is undoubtedly true that Daksha Prajāpati has extreme love towards his daughters. I am also aware that amongst all his daughters, you are most dear to him. Even then, my dear, at this point of time you will not be welcomed lovingly.

The fact that I am your husband is the sole reason behind this. He is upset with me. The inner consciousness is the witness for the mental activities of every living being. Daksha’s heart is filled with hatred. His senses are tormented by unending grief.

His material prosperity will never help him achieve the ultimate state called liberation, which Mahatmas obtain merely by being established in the Self (atma nishta). This helplessness has fuelled feelings of jealousy and hatred in him. As such, just as demons despise Srihari, Daksha despises me.

O beautiful one! In this world, when relatives meet they stand up and welcome each other lovingly. They greet and offer obeisance to each other. Mahatmas mentally perform these same actions, towards the Supreme Lord who is situated in every heart. They do not however acknowledge ignorant persons, who have totally identified themselves with their body.

When mind is full of goodness (sattva guna), without even a trace of passion and ignorance (rajas, tamo gunas), then such mind is totally pure. In such pure mind, the veil of ignorance would have been totally shred. The Supreme Lord shines in the form of the Self (atma) in such mind. Such pure inner mind is called Vasudeva. The Lord who shines within such pure mind is known as Vāsudeva.

He cannot be known through the senses. Only when the senses are totally withdrawn and the mind merges into its own form, this Lord can be known as the inner Self. Hence He is Adhokśaja”.

Adhokśajāya namah.

Achyutāya Namah

Nandi continued, “Due to love for his body, Daksha considers his body to be the Self (atma). He thinks this body is everything. As he is filled with feelings of duality, he has forgotten the inherent form of the Self. May this ignorant fool become a womanizer! May he, at the earliest, become goat-headed!

This foolish person believes fruitive actions, which constitute spiritual ignorance (avidya), to be the ultimate goal of life. He considers ignorance to be ultimate knowledge. May all those who are in agreement with Daksha, who has insulted and cursed Shiva, be trapped in samsāra i.e. the cycle of repeated births and deaths!

The creeper called karma kānda of Vedas (the portion of Vedas that explains fruitive actions or actions done with expectation of result) bears flowers known as ‘hymns that extol the greatness of the results’. In other words the Vedic chants known as karma kānda, with their flowery scented language, extol the greatness of heavenly and other comforts that are obtained due to adherence to fruitive actions when in reality these comforts only bring grief to the mind.

May all impure people who despise Shiva and who are deeply inclined towards these comforts, fall into the trap called infatuation towards fruitive actions! May they lose the discrimination between objects permanent and impermanent (nitya anitya vastu viveka) in this creation!

May the Brahmins, who despise Shiva, lose the discrimination between what should be eaten and what should not be eaten! May they use their penance, education and dedication purely towards rituals that help in filling their bellies!

Trapped in excessive infatuation towards wealth, sensual comforts and towards their body, may they rotate continuously in this cycle of births and deaths!” In this way, Nandi cursed not only Daksha but also all the Brahmins who despise Shiva.

Hearing Nandi’s curse, Maharishi Bhrigu instantly uttered a curse. Being a curse uttered by an exponent in Vedas, it is impossible to escape from this curse. Bhrigu Maharishi cursed,

“May the persons who adhere to Pāśupata vrata (Shiva vrata) and their disciples, become atheists who condemn the dictates of the Vedas. May they be impure, deluded, foolish and decorate themselves with bones, long hair and ash on their body! May their Pāśupata vrata involve eating meat, drinking wine and other intoxicating substances! May it become their lifestyle!

Vedas uphold the individual lifestyle as well as that of the society. You are condemning in varied ways such Veda and the learned Brahmins who adhere to this Veda. It implies that this Nandi has taken shelter in atheism which is a doctrine that is against the tenets of the Vedas.

Eṣa eva hi lokānāṁ śivaḥ panthāḥ sanātanaḥ

Yaṁ pūrve cānusantasthur yat-pramāṇaṁ janārdanaḥ

This path of Vedas, which is eternal, brings the well-being of all the worlds! It causes auspiciousness to mankind! All our elders have sought refuge in it in the past. Srihari, who punishes the wicked, is the root support for this Veda dharma.

Veda is of ultimate purity! It is eternal. Noble beings have always adhered to this Vedic path. All of you, who condemn such pure Veda, should turn into atheists and worship Rudra, the lord of the ignorant”.

Shiva’s mind was agitated due to these curses and counter-curses. He got up from his seat and left the assembly. All his troops (Shiva gaṇās) followed him.

O Vidura! Thereafter the Prajāpatis, continued this Satra yāga for a thousand years to appease the Srihari, the Lord of all Lords. Having completed the Yagna, they bathed in the confluence of Rivers Ganga and Yamuna and with pure minds returned to their respective homes.

With this the second chapter of the Fourth Canto comes to an end.

Fourth Canto Chapter Three

In this chapter, Satidevi seeking permission from her husband to attend the Yagna being conducted by her father Daksha and Shiva, in various ways, trying to dissuade her are covered.

Maitreya Maharishi said, “O Vidura, many years passed but the enmity between father-in-law Daksha and son-in-law Shiva continued. One day Brahma appointed Daksha as the leader of all the Prajāpatis and honoured him. With this Daksha became conceited.

Daksha who had become arrogant with this power rebuked all the Brahma nishtas (those established in Brahman) and began performing the Vājapeya Yāga. Thereafter he began another Yagna named Brihaspati sava.

All supreme saints, Brahmarishis, Devarishis as well as forefathers attended this Yagna together with their spouses. They participated in this auspicious ceremony and happily accepted the gifts given to them by Daksha.

Satidevi, wife of Shiva and daughter of Daksha, heard the Gandharvas and demi-gods, who were travelling in the sky extolling the greatness and grandeur of her father’s Yagna. They were discussing the finer details of the Yagna.

She observed people from all directions going in their aircrafts to attend the Yagna. The wives of the demi-gods had worn costly saris, exquisite ornaments and glittering earrings and were beautifully dressed. Chatting joyfully with their husbands and observing their surroundings with their delicate pretty eyes, they were enthusiastically traveling to attend the Yagna.

Satidevi noticed all this commotion in the skies near her residence. In great excitement she approached Shiva and said,
“O Lord! Your father-in-law Daksha is conducting a grand yagna. If you are agreeable, we both could go and attend the Yagna. Groups of Devatas are eagerly traveling to attend the Yagna. Just see the commotion in the skies as they travel in their airplanes. I am sure all my sisters, together with their husbands, will arrive to see the Yagna and to meet all the relatives. I too am desirous of attending the Yagna along with you. I too want to accept the gifts that my parents give”.

Achyutāya namah