Puttugam2

Yudhisthira continued, “O Bheema, dust has completely enveloped all the four directions so much so that it appears as if many galaxies are forming around the Sun and the Moon. The earth together with mountains trembles dreadfully. Even in the absence of clouds frightening thunder can be heard. Look at that lightening.

The wind blows vehemently throwing dust in all directions and creating darkness. Clouds wickedly rain down fearful blood-coloured disastrous showers. Sun’s illumination has weakened. In the sky the planets fight amongst themselves. It appears as if everything is burning and the hordes of living beings are weeping.

Bheema, all rivers, ponds, lakes and even human minds appear totally agitated. Even when ghee is poured, fire no longer ignites. I wonder what calamity this eternal time is going to bring.

Look, calves no longer seek to drink milk. Cows have also stopped yielding milk. Just see these cows stand and shed tears. The bulls are no longer happy while grazing.

From the idols of the deities tears flow profusely. Villages, cities, towns, ashrams, gardens, fields, all lack vigour and splendor. What form of calamity are they trying to indicate I fail to understand? Wherever and whatever I see, irrespective of whether it is big or small, indicates to me of some inauspicious impending disaster. Everywhere I see only ill omens.

From all these various ill-omens I believe that very shortly the earth is going to lose its splendor. These inauspicious omens indicate that very shortly the earth will be bereft of the divine lotus footprints of Lord Srikrishna”.

While Yudhisthira, observing all these ill-omens, was lamenting profusely in this manner, Arjuna returned from the city of Dwaraka.

Intensely grieving in a manner that was never seen in the past, Arjuna entered and bowed at the feet of his elder brother. With his head bent down he was profusely shedding tears.

Seeing his younger brother who was totally lusterless and ashen, Yudhisthira recollected the words of Sage Nārada. With overpowering anxiety and agitation, in the presence of all relatives and friends, he questioned Arjuna in the following manner:

“O Arjuna, in the city of Dwaraka are all our Yadava relatives, belonging to the Madhu, Bhoja, Daśarha, ārha, sātvata, Vṛśni and Andhaka clans, happy and peaceful? Is our maternal grandfather Surasena happy? Are our maternal uncles Vasudeva and his brothers doing well? Are his 7 wives including Devaki, their sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren doing well?

How is King Ugrasena? With the death of the wicked Kamsa he is now bereft of a son. Is Devaka, the brother of Ugrasena, still living? Are Dadhīka and his son Krtavarma doing well? Are Akrura, Jayanta, Gada, Sāraṇa happy and comfortable? Are Sratrujit and other Yadava warriors faring well? How is Balarama, the worshipful Lord of Yadavas?

How is Pradyumna, the great warrior of the Vṛśni tribe? How is the worshipful Aniruddha, who displays unimaginable great speeds during war? Is he happy? Hope Suṣena, Charudeśṭa, Jāmbavati’s son Sāmba, Rṣabha and other sons of Srikrishna, along with their children, are doing well?

Are Śrutadeva, Uddhava and others attendants of Srikrishna, happy and well? Are Nanda, Sunanda and other exalted Yadava kinsmen doing well? Are all the others who live under the constant protection of Lord Srikrishna doing well? Are they comfortable and happy?”

Notice that he enquires about Balarama and Srikrishna in the end. How can he directly ask, ‘Is Paramatma dead or alive?’ In this questioning of Yudhisthira, the softness of his mind and sweetness in his speech are clearly visible. It is noteworthy.  The intensity of his feelings can be gauged from this speech of his.

“Balarama and Srikrishna love us dearly, is it not? Do they still seek our welfare? Is Srikrishna, who possesses extreme love towards learned Vedic scholars and devotees, comfortable and happy being seated amidst friends in the royal-assembly of Sudharma, in the city of Dwaraka?

Maṅgalāya ca lokānāṁ kṣemāya ca bhavāya ca

Āste yadu-kulāmbhodhāv ādyo ananta-sakhaḥ pumān

The primordial being Sriman Narayana, together with Balarama who is none other than Ananta, for the purposes of ensuring the well being, prosperity and protection of this world, has from the oceans, incarnated into the Yadu lineage in the form of Srikrishna.

Yadavas who reside in the city of Dwaraka, are under the constant protection of His powerful arms. Such Yadavas are the most fortunate persons. Staying as servants and attendants to that Lord Mahavishnu, who is worshipped in all the lokas (planes of existence), they are happy and blissful.

Satyabhama and the 16000 women of Srikrishna consider worshipping and serving the His lotus feet as their most important service to the Lord. These queens have obtained for their enjoyment, Pārijāta and other celestial luxuries, which otherwise were the exclusive enjoyments of Sacidevi, wife of Lord Indra (Lord of heaven) and which had been obtained by Lord Indra through defeating all other celestials in a war. Serving the lotus feet of that Supreme Lord is the sole reason for obtaining these enjoyments!

The Yadava heroes, who are under the protection of Lord Krishna’s arms, roam about happily and fearlessly everywhere. These ordinary Yadavas walk about freely and fearlessly in the Dwaraka’s royal court Sudharma, which actually is befitting only to celestials such as Indra (Lord of heaven) and other guardians of the world and which has been forcefully snatched away from them. Srikrishna has incarnated into such Yadu lineage.

O my dear brother, I forgot to ask you something. Are you doing well? Why do you appear pale and lusterless? Could it be possible that having overstayed in Dwaraka, you were humiliated, instead of being honoured? Has someone uttered unworthy words and hurt your feelings in any way? Is it possible that you, the protector of one and all, perhaps could not offer protection to Vedic Brahmins, cows, young boys, old men, diseased persons, women or to any other living being?

I hope you have not obtained a woman with whom cohabitation is forbidden.  Hope you have not behaved disrespectfully towards a worthy woman. Is it possible that someone who is equal or inferior to you in strength has humiliated you? Is it possible that you consumed all the food alone neglecting old people and young children who should have been fed? Or is it possible that you have performed some forbidden act?

Or is it possible that you are deeply grieving because Srikrishna, who is your dearest friend and relative, is not by your side? O my dear brother, say something. Please speak”.

With this the fourteen chapter of the first canto comes to an end.

Narayana. Datta Narayana.

Maharishi Nārada continued, “That Supreme Lord, who is the cause for the creation of all beings, has presently incarnated on this earth in the form of time (Kāla rupa) for the purpose of destruction of demons. His task is almost coming to an end. Just a small balance is left to be completed. Srikrishna is eagerly awaiting this completion.

You all have to wait on this earth as long as He lives here. Dhritarashtra, together with his wife Gāndhari and brother Vidura has gone to the ashram of saints located in the southern part of the Himalayas. In this place River Mandakini, in order to bring joy to the seven great sages, has split into seven divisions and is flowing. For this reason this place has acquired the name Saptasrotas.

In this sacred place, Dhritarashtra presently bathes thrice daily, diligently conducts Fire worship (Agni upasana), and consumes only water for his sustenance. Free from all forms of attachments, he is living contentedly with peace of mind. Having attained stability in posture (āsana siddhi), through performing of Pranayama he has totally restrained his mind and his senses. He exclusively focuses upon Srihari. Free from all vices he is now devoid of trigunas (the three modes of nature i.e. sattva, rajas and tamas). At all times he is able to retain his mind in the intellect (buddhi) and this intellect upon Paramatma.

Just as the space within the pot (ghaṭākasa) merges into the unending space, his intellect has merged completely into the Supreme Lord. In him, tendencies (vasanas, subtle impressions) have been erased in totality. Bringing to an end all the actions of the senses and by giving up food in totality, he is able to sit immobile like a rock. O king! Please do not become an obstacle for him, who has given up actions in entirety!

On the fifth day from today, Dhritarashtra will give up his body which will be reduced to ashes. When his body, along with the hut in which they are living, is thus being burnt by the Tretāgni (3 sacred fires), the chaste Gāndhāri will step into the fire.

Vidura, who will witness this wonder, will be overjoyed that Dhritarashtra and Gāndhāri have attained liberation! Mourning their death he will leave that place and proceed on pilgrimage”.

Swamiji explains: It can be said that Vidura’s desire was fulfilled. Due to that extensive preaching he had given, Dhritarashtra’s mind melted completely. When we listen to Dhritarashtra’s story we can understand the extreme infatuation he had towards life. His extreme love and infatuation towards his sons, his hatred towards the Pandavas and his treacherous schemes to destroy these nephews cause us to dislike him. We fail to understand whether he is a human being or a rock. Does he have any trace of sympathy and compassion in him, we wonder.

Even such a rock hearted person imbibed the preaching given to him and was transformed! Contemplating upon the essence contained in the message, he focused exclusively on the Lord and attained that supreme accomplishment (siddhi) which is possible only for eminent Yogis!

“Yudhisthira, why are you grieving for them? Discard this grief”. Having said this, Narada together with Tumbura left the place to travel towards heaven.

With this, Yudhisthira was relieved. He was immensely pleased at this good luck of his paternal uncle and aunt. He stopped grieving.

With this the thirteenth chapter of the first canto comes to an end.

First Canto Chapter Fourteen

In this chapter, the ill-omens sighted by Yudhisthira, his worrying about them and Arjuna’s return from Dwaraka are covered.

Maharishi Suta continued, “In order to meet his relatives and to find out about the future activities of Srikrishna, Arjuna left for Dwaraka. Many months passed but Arjuna did not return. Meanwhile Yudhisthira began to see some terribly fearful inauspicious omens.

Due to irregularities in the functioning of the seasons, eternal time (kāla) created fear in him. Anger, greed and uttering falsehood had become rampant in people. In order to earn their livelihood people now resorted to sins. Deceit had spread into all transactions. Friends began to cheat each other. Yudhisthira observed that times had changed drastically. Infighting and misunderstanding had increased between couples, between parents, siblings, friends and relatives.

All these changes were visible because this was the period just prior to the birth of Kali Yuga. With the onset of Kali Yuga, human nature underwent enormous change. Bad traits multiplied in plenty. Many types of ill-omens were clearly visible.

Yudhisthira, who was observing all this, said to his younger brother Bheema, “O Bheemasena! In order to meet our relatives and also in order to know the future activities of Srikrishna, who is of pure reputation, Arjuna has been sent to Dwaraka. It is now seven months since he left us. He has not yet returned. I wonder why? I am unable to understand clearly but for some reason I am apprehensive. Could it be that as Maharishi Nārada had predicted, the time for Srikrishna to give up His body, which He had taken on playfully as a pastime, has arrived? Or perhaps he has already given up His body?

It is purely because of Srikrishna’s grace that we have been blessed with wealth, kingdom, wife, children, lineage, life (prana) and victory over enemies. It is only due to His blessings and grace that we will obtain the future higher planes of existence (punya loka) also.

Bheema, within my body, on earth and in sky I can see many fearful inauspicious omens. My body is trembling. Fear has overtaken me. Entire surroundings and climate appear fearful indicating impending calamities.

Bheema this fear is deluding my intellect. My thighs, eyes and hands are constantly trembling. My heart is shivering. All these omens indicate that some disaster is approaching us shortly. Can you see that she jackal vomiting fire looking at the direction of the Sun? Look at the dog which without any fear looks at me and barks.

Cows and other special animals now walk past me on my left. Other lower animals walk past me on my right. My horses are weeping. This pigeon is behaving like a messenger of death indicating death. Two owls, having given up sleep and seeking total destruction, sit facing each other and shriek fearfully causing me to tremble fearfully”.

Narayana! Datta Narayana!

Addressing Yudhisthira who was deeply aggrieved and agitated upon not finding his paternal uncles and aunt in the palace, Narada said,

“Just as a player unites and separates toys per his whims, so also the Supreme Lord based on His will unites and separates human beings! Why then do you grieve for them? Everything happens per divine will.

Irrespective of whether you consider this world to be permanent or temporary, or a mixture of both or whether you consider this entire universe to be the Supreme Lord himself, it is wrong to grieve for them”.

To console the grieving persons we say, “Anyway this world is impermanent. Why then do you grieve for them? What is the use of crying? Will your tears bring him/ her back to life?” In this way we give them courage to handle the situation. But when we are faced with the similar circumstances we do not experiment this theory upon ourselves. It would be so nice if we would try the experiment upon ourselves. Utterly dejected we lament a lot. Then when others come to console us with words of wisdom, we think, “Oh, I already know this logic”. But still we continue to lament. What could be the reason for this grief? It is the extreme attachment and infatuation that we had developed towards those who left us.

“Therefore, O Dharmaraja, give up your anxiety and ignorance that Dhritarashtra cannot survive without your help. You believe that being old, helpless and blind they cannot survive without your support. You believe that you need to protect them. You need to discard this illusion totally.

Who are you to offer protection? It is God who protects! He will ensure their protection! Did He not protect you when you had lost your kingdom? Has He not protected you after you have regained it back? At every stage and in every circumstance, it is only Paramatma who protects! Why then are you weeping in this manner? Why are you so agitated? Are your actions correct? Go and attend to your duties.

This body is composed of the five basic elements. The three modes of nature (trigunas), the eternal time and the prārabhda karma (destiny) keep this body completely under their control. How can a person who has been swallowed by a python, offer protection to others? Likewise this body, which is under the control of time, cannot offer protection to others”.

A person who has been swallowed by a python cannot protect others. What is the use of him thinking that he has to protect others? Similarly, is it possible to save a person who has been swallowed by a python? If the person who has thus been swallowed grieves that no one is helping him, is it of any use? He has got sucked into it, he has to face it. His time is up in this world and he needs to exit. What is the use of crying?

“In this world, living beings that are deprived of hands become food for those beings that have hands. Living beings devoid of legs become food for those animals that are 4 legged. Small beings are the food for the strong. This is the way of the world.

O King! This entire world is nothing but Paramatma! He pervades everything within everything outside of this creation. With His power of illusion He appears differently within and outside of everything. He appears in varied and strange forms. Practice seeing Him in everything. Stop grieving.

so ‘yam adya mahārāja bhagavān bhūta-bhāvanaḥ

kāla-rūpo ‘vatīrṇo ‘syām abhāvāya sura-dviṣām

That Supreme Lord, who is the cause for the creation of all beings, has presently incarnated on this earth in the form of time for the purpose of destruction of demons.

His task is almost coming to an end. Just a small balance is left to be complete. Srikrishna is eagerly awaiting this completion.

Datta Narayana! Datta Narayana!

Yudhisthira along with his younger brothers got up and warmly welcomed Maharishi Narada and Tumbura who arrived there. They offered reverential respects to the great sages. But being drowned totally in grief, Yudhisthira could not offer Him worship.

Yudhisthira lamented, “O Narada Maharishi! I have no clue where my paternal uncle and aunt have disappeared. My paternal aunt Gāndhāri was overwhelmed by grief at the death of her dearest relatives in the war. I feel utterly helpless at not finding them.

O great saint, you are the only refuge who can help me cross this ocean of sorrow. Please guide me. I am unable to withstand this grief. Gāndhāri who was like a mother to me is not to be seen. I do not know whether they have left thisplace as they were unable to withstand the loss of their sons or whether they felt humiliated to stay with me. The truth is that even in our dreams we never ever wished them bad. They were our saviours who protected us when we were small. They have given us this gift of life. Irrespective of whether we were in the battlefield or when we were humiliated, we were firm in our belief that they were the ones who had saved us and given us life”.

Hearing this Maharishi Narada said, “O King, do not grieve for anyone. This entire world is in the control of the Supreme Lord. He, who is worshipped even by the guardian-deities of the universe, brings people together and separates them as well.

He is the relative for everyone in this universe. He could grant to a living being the life as a bird, dog, insect, cat or any other life as He pleases. In these forms he ensures that beings come together, get closely bound to each other and then separate. How strange are His plays! He uses varied permutations and combinations to unite beings and once again through different permutations and combinations He causes them to separate”.

Swamiji explains: When we meet our friends we should think, ‘How and in which method did we all meet? What were the circumstances that brought us together?’ We should try to analyse this deeply. We should thank Him, “Oh, it is purely God’s grace that we have met. Today we are able to speak to each other happily”. It could be casual friends who we meet at the bus stand or railway station. They could be mere acquaintances whom we come across during travel. Whosoever it may be, it is God who causes both the meeting and the separation! We could have met a person for just 10 minutes or we could have known him well for a decade. He could be a relative who was very dear to us throughout our life. It is God’s power of illusion (māya) that causes the meeting and it is māya that brings about the separation! 

“Weaving is an intricate art. With great dexterity the weavers handle the fine thread and bring them together to create a large piece of cloth. These weavers know the art by which this large piece of cloth can, once again, be separated into individual fine threads. Such is their dexterity! If this is the expertise that an ordinary weaver can display, then imagine the efficacy of Paramatma, who creates and dissolves entire universes?”

Swamiji explains: Every planet in this universe has been created by Him! The inter-connections between planets are also His creation. We take great pride that we humans have been able to discover and travel to newer planets. But then, all of them are part of his creation only! It is His illusion. It is He who causes a person to travel to those planets. In fact, it is He who travels to those planets, He is the journey and it is He who observes the new planets upon landing there. He is the one who declares that he has discovered a new planet. In the form of the person who has not travelled to these planets, He is the one who is astonished at this discovery of a new planet. What wonder!

The plays of the Supreme are infinite and wonderous! Without Him there is absolutely nothing a being can accomplish. By acknowledging different forms around us, we are actually acknowledging Him! That’s all. It is He whom we acknowledge as science, it is He whom we acknowledge as chemicals, it is He whom we address as Planets. What we call as atom or a sub-atomic particle is nothing but the Lord. When we combine different particles to create an object, it is Paramatma who exists in the created object. When we break the object up into sub- atomic particles, then also it is Paramatma who alone exists.

In a lump of mud, innumerable atoms exist. It is impossible to count them. Can you try to collect the entire water in the oceans? Can you count the stars in the sky?

There once was a king who wanted to know the exact number of stars in the sky. A person agreed to undertake this mammoth task. When this person arrived at the court next morning, the king enquired, “Have you counted the stars? If so, please tell me your answer”. To this the person replied, “Yes your majesty, I went to the beach last night and counted the stars. As the number is infinite, I did not use paper. Instead for every star that I counted, I threw one grain of sand. You can retrieve those grains of sand and check for yourself”. Although this story is humorous, there is truth in it.

Can anyone measure the vastness of this universe? Discovery of some planet or the other is a continuous process. Scientists have been travelling high into the skies trying to discover newer objects. But so far, none of them have travelled deeply and extensively into the oceans, which are the support for this entire earth. They are yet to locate its greatest treasures. Even a ship that sinks into the oceans cannot be traced. A flight that has sunk has not been traced until now. This explains the vastness of the universe. All this is His māya.

At the same time it is incorrect to sit inactively doing nothing, declaring that all this is happening due to His power of illusion. Efforts have to be put in the right direction to discover these objects. Due to these efforts some new knowledge will be learnt. Has anyone prohibited travelling to newer planets? Never. While travelling and discovering these new planets, acknowledge His māya. The person who travels deep into the oceans to locate the sunken ship, discovers some mountains or some other speciality in God’s creation there. Had he not travelled, he would never have noticed this creation of God.

Science has progressed significantly. But yet these scientists are acknowledging that there is something that supports all this creation from behind. They agree that some magic or some mantra supports this creation, but they have been unable to find it. Some significant force is holding together this entire creation. We should try to understand it.

When disease strikes the body we try numerous medications to drive away the disease. We try many types of external medications. But the truly wise man tries to locate the granthi (nerve) from where this disease could have originated. He investigates thoroughly and tries to see if it is possible to eliminate this granthi itself. But then his research does not progress beyond this. What will be the side effects of this action? He is unable to delve deeper beyond a limit, into this. Thus this is an infinite ocean of knowledge.

Just as a cow bound by the rope that is tied to its nose carries the belongings of its master, human beings bound by the rope called Veda, which lays down the do’s and don’ts, abide by the duties that have been laid down for their respective castes (varna) and stages of life (ashrama). In this way they abide by the orders of that Supreme Lord!

Datta. Narayana.