Puttugam2

Vāmanāya namah

Dhruva continued, “Knowledge and ignorance, creation and dissolution,- such mutually contradictory energies keep manifesting suddenly one after another within the non-dual Parabrahma. This entire creation has emerged from the Supreme Lord, who is not subject to the limitations of time. This Lord is a personification of bliss and is changeless. He is the primordial cause for everything.  I surrender to such Supreme Lord.

Satyāśiṣo hi bhagavaṁs tava pāda-padmam

Āśīs tathānu-bhajataḥ puruṣārtha-mūrteḥ

apy evam arya bhagavān paripāti dīnān

vāśreva vatsakam anugraha-kātaro ’smān

O Lord! Your lotus feet are the sole refuge for bliss, which is sought after by every human being. The devotee who serves You without any expectation of reward considers the wonderful opportunity of serving Your lotus feet as far superior than even the highest materialistic reward! To him serving Your lotus feet itself is the highest reward!

Nevertheless, O Lord, You are always eager to fulfill the desire of Your devotees. Just as a mother cow protects her newborn calf, with utmost love You protect helpless devotees like me”.

In this way, intelligent Dhruva praised the Lord. Supreme Lord Srihari was immensely pleased with this prayer. Appreciating his prayer, He replied,

“Vedāhaṁ te vyavasitaṁ hṛdi rājanya-bālaka

Tat prayacchāmi bhadraṁ te durāpam api suvrata

O Prince! Your dedication towards penance is supreme! I know the desire within your mind. Although it is impossible to fulfill, I am going to fulfill it. May you be blessed with auspiciousness!

Dhruva, the planet that you are about to obtain glows radiantly. None can rise above it. None can enter into it. You will eternally rule over it. Constellations of stars and planets will be under its control.  Based on their individual punya, meritorious beings who reside in higher planes are re-born on earth during the Kalpa (period of creation). This planet that you are about to obtain will however remain till eternity. In other words, it will remain till the end of creation.

Dharma, Kashyapa, Agni, Shukra, as well as other great sages who abiding by the rules of Vānaprastha have acquired limitless merit, will in the form of stars circumambulate this planet (pole star) together with other planets and stars.

Your father will hand over the kingdom to you and leave for the forests. Thereafter you will rule for a period of 36000 years. You will keep Dharma, artha, kāma (the first three principles of life) absolutely under your control. You will totally restrain your senses and then enjoy kingly luxuries.

Your younger brother Uttama will die while he is hunting in deep forests. Your step-mother Suruci, unable to bear separation from her son, will go searching for him into the forests. Caught in a forest fire, she will meet death.

Yagna is my heart. You will worship me by conducting many such Yagnas and give away plentiful Dakshina (money offering given to priests conducting the Yagna). After enjoying best luxuries in this planet, in your last moments you will remember Me.

Tato gantāsi mat-sthānaṁ sarva-loka-namaskṛtam –Thereafter you will reach My abode, which is revered by all the worlds and which is located above the constellation of seven great sages. Only Yatiśwaras reach this abode of Mine. There is no question of re-birth for those who reach My abode”. In this way, Lord Srihari blessed Dhruva.

As Dhruva was watching, the Lord returned to His abode. By worshipping the lotus feet of the Lord, Dhruva’s desire was fulfilled. But still he was not totally satisfied. Recollecting the Lord’s order, he returned to his kingdom” said Maitreya Maharishi to Vidura.

Vidura then enquired, “O Maharishi, Srihari is the Lord of illusion. His permanent abode is the ultimate position that can be granted. It is beyond the reach of the pretentious. It can be attained only with great difficulty. It is obtained purely by those who dedicatedly worship His holy feet. In one birth Dhurva obtained that ultimate abode which cannot be obtained even after innumerable births. Why then was he unhappy?”

To this Maitreya Maharishi replied, “Through her harsh words step-mother Suruci pierced the heart of Dhruva. Dhruva recollected her painful words time and again. When he meditated upon the Supreme Lord he did not forget these insulting words. He did not seek liberation. For this reason, he now grieved.

He now thought, ‘Sanaka, Sananda and other great saints, who choose to remain eternal celibates, practiced intense meditation with total concentration for many births. Through ripened knowledge, they obtained the lotus feet of the Lord. With merely six months of penance, I could see the shadow of the Lord’s feet. However I entertained feelings of differentiation and considered my step-mother to be different from me. Due to this I have again been separated from the Lord’s feet. How unfortunate I am! Due to my foolishness I have lost them”.

Vāmanāya namah.

Vishṇave namah

Dhruva continued, “O Lord who rushes to the aid of those who are in trouble! Soon upon waking, the person perceives the world. This happens solely because You, as the inner consciousness, illumine the senses and intelligence due to which the person is able to perceive the world.

With the aid of the knowledge blessed by You, Lord Brahma was able to see this world. Only by taking shelter in You, who reside as the inner Self, the human being is able to see this world.

A wise man remembers favours received from others. How can such wise man ever forget Your lotus feet, when You are the inner Self that teaches about the real existence? Your devotees, who truly seek liberation, surrender wholly to Your lotus feet.

You are the wish fulfilling Kalpavriksha tree. You liberate people from this endless cycle of births and deaths. Despite this there are people who, influenced by Your illusory power, worship You for other small favours. Such ignorant people crave for trivial sensory pleasures that can be experienced through the medium of this gross body, which in reality is nothing but a corpse. Isn’t it true that such sensory comforts can be experienced, in greater or smaller degrees, even in hell?

O Lord! The joy that is experienced by your ardent devotees by meditating upon Your lotus feet or by listening to Your glorious pastimes from other devotees, cannot be obtained even through Parabrahma. In other words, joy thus obtained far surpasses the supreme bliss known as Brahmānanda.

Through the medium of their wealth called merit (punya), virtuous persons travel to heaven in their celestial airplanes. When the sword called ‘time’ cuts through their merit i.e. when their merit depletes, they fall down to earth. Is there any special need to emphasize that such people, who travel to heavenly planets on the strength of their merit, do not experience this special joy that is obtained by Your pure devotees?

Bhaktiṁ muhuḥ pravahatāṁ tvayi me prasaṅgo

Bhūyād ananta mahatām amalāśayānām

Yenāñjasolbaṇam uru-vyasanaṁ bhavābdhiṁ

Neṣye bhavad-guṇa-kathāmṛta-pāna-mattaḥ

O infinite Lord! Supreme Mahatmas, who possess a very pure mind, tie down all their mental activities and divert them towards You. They have absolute devotion towards You. Bless me that I can associate with such Supreme Mahatmas. When such Supreme Mahatmas render Your divine glories I will drink in that nectar and obtain limitless bliss. Lost in this infinite bliss, I will easily cross this fearful, dreaded ocean of samsāra.

O lotus-eyed Lord! You are my Lord. The devotee’s heart is attracted by the divine fragrance that emerges from the lotus called Your feet. Association with supreme devotees is an exceptionally great opportunity. Those who associate with such devotees do not bother about this gross body, which is very dear to a materialistic person and which is subject to destruction. Neither do they attach any importance to house and other material possessions; children, spouse and other associations which come along with a gross body.

O Lord, You are birthless! This entire universal form of Yours is filled with animals, birds, snakes, Devatas, demons, humans and many other types of creatures. In this creation differences such as earth, water, fire, air, space (gross elements), smell, taste, form, touch and sound (subtle elements) are visible. Mahat and all other principles have an existence within the universal form itself. I know only about the Mahat tattva. However I have no knowledge about the formless, traitless Lord, who exists beyond it. This is because the Supreme Essence is beyond the scope of the mind, speech and imagination.

The Self-illuminating, primordial Lord Srihari retains the entire creation within His womb at the time of dissolution. He sleeps on Adi-śesha, the snake-bed. His navel is as vast as an ocean. From that navel, the three worlds emerge in the form of a golden lotus. In the centre of that golden lotus, Lord Brahma will be seated. He will be shining radiantly. I offer my obeisance to that Supreme Lord Srihari.

You are the Self which is eternally pure (nitya śuddha), eternally liberated (nitya mukta), changeless (nirvikara), eternally omniscient (nitya buddha). You are the cause for the entire creation. You are an embodiment of completeness. You are replete with the six auspicious qualities. You are the Lord of Nature, which is composed of the trigunas. You are the Lord of all the three worlds. You are the eternal witness to all the various individual activities. Your Self-illumination is indivisible.

During the existence of the universe You are the presiding deity for Yagna. Even though this world exists within You and gets absorbed into You, You remain aloof from it.

Yasmin viruddha-gatayo hy aniśaṁ patanti

Vidyādayo vividha-śaktaya ānupūrvyāt

Tad brahma viśva-bhavam ekam anantam ādyam

Ānanda-mātram avikāram ahaṁ prapadye

Knowledge and ignorance, creation and dissolution and such other opposite energies, which are mutually contradictory, keep manifesting suddenly one after another within the non-dual Parabrahma.

Trivikramaāya namah

Dhruva meditated upon Srihari, who exists as Pure Consciousness, with feelings of oneness. Using his sense organs, he blocked the movement of the life-force. As Dhruva had attained oneness with Pure Consciousness, when he blocked the movement of life-force, all beings in this creation including the guardian deities were choked, breathless and restless. Instantly the Devatas prayed to Lord Srihari and sought refuge.

“O Lord, breathing has stopped within every movable and immovable entity in this creation. Never before have we faced such situation! Please save us from this torture. We seek refuge in You.”

Lord Srihari, who heard their prayers, replied,

“mā bhaiṣṭa bālaṁ tapaso duratyayāt nivartayiṣye pratiyāta sva-dhāma

yato hi vaḥ prāṇa-nirodha āsīd auttānapādir mayi saṅgatātmā

O Devatas! Do not fear! Uttānapāda’s son Dhruva has merged his mind into that of mine. He has fully merged into Me, the form of the world. Due to his severe penance, you are getting suffocated. I will ask him to stop his terrible austerities. Please return to your homes”.

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

Fourth Canto Chapter Nine

In this chapter, Dhruva is blessed with the darshan of Lord Srihari. The hymn that he composes for the Lord, his returning back to his kingdom and accepting the Kingly duties are also covered.

Maitreya Maharishi continued, “In this way, Srihari reassured the Devatas. In the past, this Lord had dispelled fears of the Devatas by measuring the three worlds with his vast steps. With this assurance, they offered obeisance to Him and fearlessly returned back to heaven.

Desiring to meet Dhruva, Srihari mounted his vehicle Garuda and reached Madhuvana. Srihari exists in the form of living beings. All living beings are His forms, isn’t it? For this reason, He has innumerable heads.

Dhruva’s practices at remaining in the final stages of meditation (samādhi) had ripened. He was totally absorbed in meditating upon the Lord, who dazzled in the form of lightening within his heart-lotus. For this reason, he could not see Srihari who was present outside of him.

All of a sudden, the form of lightening upon which he was meditating vanished from his heart. With this his meditation was disturbed and he opened his eyes. He could see the same form, upon which he was meditating within his mind, outside of him.

Dhruva, the five year old boy, was anxious upon seeing this form of the Lord. Immediately he prostrated before the Lord in reverence. He looked at the Lord keenly with overflowing love. It was as if he was drinking in the form of the Lord with his eyes, as if he was kissing the Lord’s face. Without blinking an eyelid he joyously looked at the Lord as if the Lord was embracing him with his four hands.

In the form of Pure Consciousness Lord Srihari resides not just in Dhruva’s heart, but also in the heart-cave of every living being.

Little Dhruva wanted to glorify the Lord, he wanted to talk to Him, but being a child did not know how and what to say. The Supreme Lord understood the feelings of the little child. With limitless mercy, He touched Dhruva’s cheek with his conch, which is the embodiment of Vedas. That very instant the knowledge from the Vedas, which extol the greatness of Lord Srihari, dawned upon the child. The complete knowledge of the Lord, the Supreme Truth, was now clear to him, who was on the verge of obtaining a permanent position.

Without any agitation or anxiety, with a heart that was overflowing with devotion, he calmly prayed to the Lord.

He said, “

yo ’ntaḥ praviśya mama vācam imāṁ prasuptāṁ

sañjīvayaty akhila-śakti-dharaḥ sva-dhāmnā

anyāṁś ca hasta-caraṇa-śravaṇa-tvag-ādīn

prāṇān namo bhagavate puruṣāya tubhyam

O Supreme Lord! With all Your energies You are a personification of completeness. You have entered my heart and are the inner being. With Your illumination You have awakened my sleeping senses i.e. my speech, hands, eyes, ears, skin and other organs, and have enlivened them. I offer obeisance to You.

O Lord, You are non-dual. Your energy is known as ‘illusion’. It is composed of three attributes of goodness (sattva), passion (rajas) and ignorance (tamas). Using this illusory energy, You create everything right from Mahat (cosmic intelligence) up to the gross elements. Due to the magnitude of these principles, this visible world has emerged. All objects in this creation have emerged from the mixing of the three attributes of this illusory energy.

You enter into the world in the form of Self and cause it to exist. You illumine the world. This world does not have any authentic existence or energy. Its existence is purely illusory.

In such a world, that is full of varied names and forms, You alone exist. Just as fire enters different types of wood and burns accordingly in different shapes, You illumine in different forms that exist in the world!”

Vishnāve namah

Vishnave namah

Maharishi Narada continued, “The ancient seers have taught the following procedure of offering services to Srihari,

‘Among all mantras, the 12 sylabled mantra (dwādaśākśara mantra) is the greatest. The yoga practitioner should eternally chant the mantra. Mantra is nothing but Veda. It represents the Lord. While chanting the mantra, the Lord should be worshipped with all the services (seva).’

Evaṁ kāyena manasā vacasā ca mano-gatam

Paricaryamāṇo bhagavān bhaktimat-paricaryayā

Puṁsām amāyināṁ samyag bhajatāṁ bhāva-vardhanaḥ

Śreyo diśaty abhimataṁ yad dharmādiṣu dehinām 

Human beings should accumulate material objects only as much as is necessary for sustaining the body. Without any pretense (deception), they should worship the form of Lord Srihari in their hearts. Mentally they should meditate upon Him. They should chant the mantra eternally. In this way, He should be served with complete devotion.

Srihari, who accepts these services from devotees, rewards them not only by fulfilling their desires but also by strengthening their devotion towards Him! In addition, among the four-fold principles of life, He bestows upon them whatever they desire. The devotee who has developed dispassion towards sensory pleasures develops eternal love towards Lord Srihari. With that devotional love, he intensifies his spiritual efforts and prays to Srihari for liberation”.

In this way Maharishi Narada preached Dhruva. Dhruva was fortunate to get such supreme initiation directly from Maharishi Narada!

Prince Dhruva circumambulated around Maharishi Narada and prostrated before him. He then left for the Madhuvana forest.

Madhuvana, the clean and pure garden, has been rendered absolutely sacred due to the footprints of the Lord who resides within it. As soon as Dhruva reached Madhuvana forests, Maharishi Narada arrived at the inner apartments of King Uttānapāda, Dhruva’s father.

King Uttānapāda warmly welcomed Maharishi Narada in a befitting manner. Maharishi Narada accepted the gifts given by the king. Sitting comfortably on the seat that was offered to him he asked,

“O King! Why do you appear very dejected? Your face looks pale and lusterless. What is it that is bothering you? What are you thinking about? Have you faced any dearth in any area pertaining to dharma, artha and kāma?”

The King replied, “O Maharishi! My son is only 5 years old. He is very wise, intelligent and possesses noble qualities. However being in the grip of his step-mother, I neglected him totally. I threw him away and banished him. I even neglected his mother.

O Maharishi! My son Dhruva must be very tired after roaming about all alone in the forests. He will be hungry. His lotus face would have withered by now. Perhaps wolves and lions would have devoured him.

O saint! I am the foremost among the wicked men who have got carried away by the charms of women. Just see my wickedness! When Dhruva lovingly wanted to sit on my lap, I could not pamper him. I could not give him my love”. The king began to lament for his deeds.

Maharishi Narada replied, “O King, do not grieve for your son. Do not worry about him as Srihari is directly protecting him! You do not have any idea about his influence. His fame is going to spread throughout the world.

O King! Dhruva will accomplish those great levels that are beyond the reach of even the guardian deities (loka-pālakas). Having accomplished his goal, he will shortly return. He will enhance your glory”. Having instilled confidence in the King, Maharishi Narada resumed his travels.

The King attentively heard all that the Maharishi said. He spent his time totally thinking about his son Dhruva and he completely neglected administration and other kingly tasks.

Meanwhile Dhruva reached Madhuvana. He bathed in the River Yamuna and fasted that entire night. As instructed by Maharishi Narada, with absolute concentration he worshipped the Supreme Lord Srihari. Once in three days he would eat fruits and berries, that too as much as was needed to sustain his body. At all times he meditated upon Lord Srihari. In this way he spent the first month.

During the second month, once in every six days, he would eat dry grass and leaves that had fallen to the ground. He continued to meditate upon Lord Srihari without any break at all times.

During the third month, once in every nine days, he would drink water. Remaining in complete meditative state, he eternally worshipped the Supreme Lord Srihari, who is of unsurpassed repute.

During the fourth month, he inhaled and exhaled once in twelve days. In this way, he mastered breath control. Meditating exclusively upon Srihari, he retained his life force. In this way, this 5 year old boy achieved mastery over his inhalation and exhalation.

Standing on one leg, like a mountain or a pillar he remained in a fixed position without any movement and meditated upon the indestructible Parabrahma.

Through the medium of the five sense organs the mind understands sound, touch, form, taste and smell in the creation. The Lord’s form cannot be understood by mind or by these sense organs that originate from the subtle sensory perceptions (tanmātras).

Dhruva withdrew his mind from all objects of this world. In the heart he meditated upon the Supreme Lord who is beyond the senses and mind. His mind did not flow towards any other object. At all times it was exclusively focused upon the Lord. Such was the intensity of his austerities!

Everything i.e. avyakta (illusory power, māya), Mahat tattva (cosmic intelligence), ahamkāra (sense of I-ness), five subtle sensory perceptions, five gross elements, originate from that Supreme Lord. Little Dhruva meditated upon that Supreme Lord who was over and above illusion.

The three worlds trembled under the intensity of his austerities. When he was standing on one leg immersed in penance, the earth shook due to the pressure of his big toe. Just as a ship in which a huge elephant is placed sways from side to side, the earth began to sway from side to side under the weight of his big toe!

Madhusudanāya namah.

Mādhavāya namah

Maharishi Narada said to Dhurva,

“Dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣākhyaṁya icchec chreya ātmanaḥ

Ekaṁ hy eva hares tatra kāraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam

The person who seeks that auspiciousness, which exists in the form of the four-fold principles of life (puruśārthās), should be obtained by him should necessarily worship the lotus feet of Lord Srihari. This is the only method.

Therefore, my dear son, proceed to Madhuvana forest located on the banks of River Yamuna. It is very pure and clean place. At all times Srihari resides here. May you be blessed with auspiciousness!

Thrice a day bathe in the pure waters of Yamuna. Practice the disciplines of Yama and Niyama to the best of your abilities. Arrange a suitable seat (āsana). Sitting in a suitable Yogic posture, practice Prāṇāyāma coupled with inhalation, exhalation and retention of breath.

With regular practice over a period of time Prāṇa, Apāna and other activities mix in equal proportions. The mind is freed from instability and other defects. The senses reduce their wanderings. In other words, they are now brought under control.

Then, with absolute focus, meditate upon the Supreme Lord Srihari. He is the Lord for the creation and is eternally ready to bless his devotees.

Srihari has pleasing, beautiful eyes. He has a delicate raised nose, beautifully shaped eyebrows and lovely cheeks. In beauty He surpasses all Devatas. He is eternally youthful. His limbs are all pleasing. His eyes and lips are red in colour. He showers comforts. He is the refuge for those who surrender totally. He is an ocean of compassion for those who are worthy of being showered with compassion.

On His chest is the beautiful mark called Srivastsa. His complexion is like a bluish-black cloud. He wears a long Vanamāla garland. He glows with the conch, discus, lotus and mace held in His four hands.

He wears yellow silken clothing around His waist. His golden waistband is decorated with many tiny bells. He wears golden anklets that dazzle brightly. He is the epitome of all beauty! He form is very pleasing and it brings great joy to the mind and to the eye.

His toenails glitter like rubies. Devotees retain these holy feet in the centre of their heart-lotus. He resides in the heart-lotus of such ardent devotees.

His gaze overflows with love and compassion. He is the foremost among those who shower boons. The spiritual aspirant should fix his mind upon this Lord Srihari and thereby control the mind. With absolute concentration, he should meditate upon this form of the Supreme Lord.

Evaṁ bhagavato rūpaṁ subhadraṁ dhyāyato manaḥ

Nirvṛtyā parayā tūrṇaṁ sampannaṁ na nivartate

The mind of the aspirant who meditates exclusively upon this supremely auspicious form of the Lord will quickly be filled with supreme bliss. It will not return back from the object of meditation i.e. the form of the Lord and will continue to remain fixed there.

O Prince! In addition to following these instructions, please chant the mantra that I am now going to preach. By chanting this mantra for seven days, the person can have the darshan of accomplished beings (siddha puruśās) in the sky.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

mantreṇānena devasya kuryād dravyamayīṁ budhaḥ

saparyāṁ vividhair dravyair deśa-kāla-vibhāgavit

‘OM’ (Omkāra) is not a mere verbal representation of the Supreme Lord. It teaches the form of the Lord. The Supreme Lord resides in the form of consciousness (chaitanya) within every living being in the creation. To such a Lord, I offer my reverential obeisance. This is the meaning of the mantra Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.

The intelligent devotee should know the process of worshipping the Lord according to the different seasons, times and places. In accordance to these situations and seasons, he should worship the Lord with the available materials, while simultaneously chanting the mantra.

He should worship Lord Srihari with pure and clean waters, flower garlands and varied fruits and vegetables that are found in forests. As stipulated by the scriptures, he should offer to Lord Srihari grass (garika), different leaves and most importantly Tulasi leaves, which are most dear to Him.

The devotee should procure an idol made of stone or other metal. If possible, he can prepare his own idol. Alternately Srihari should be worshipped on pure earth or in pure waters. Keeping the mind under control, the devotee should be tranquil and silent. He should control his speech.

He should consume only those fruits or vegetables that are found in the forest. Food intake should be limited quantities.

Out of His own free will, the Supreme Lord Srihari incarnates and performs many divine deeds. The devotee should contemplate upon those divine plays of the Lord.

Paricaryā bhagavato yāvatyaḥ pūrva-sevitāḥ

Tā mantra-hṛdayenaiva prayuñjyān mantra-mūrtaye

Madhavāya namah.