Puttugam2

Mādhavāya namah

Daksha’s wife Prasuti prayed, “O Srinivasa! You are Parameśwara, the Supreme Lord. You are the Lord of this entire universe. I welcome You. Please bless us all. Together with Goddess Lakshmi, Your wife, please protect us all.

O Lord, You are the embodiment of all Yagnas. The body that has perfect limbs but lacks a head does not have any beauty. Likewise, even if all the various aspects of Yagna (yagnānga) are present, they have no value if You are absent”.

Swamiji explains:

In this sacrificial hall, all decorations were perfect. Eminent Maharishis and priests had assembled. All rituals were going on perfectly as stipulated.  There is so much power in this Yagna. But, of what use is it, if You are absent? If a headless body begins to walk on the road, people run away in fear considering it to be a ghost. Likewise without You there is no life for this Yagna, she prayed.

Thereafter the guardian deities prayed, “O Parameshwara! Pure consciousness (atma chaitanya) is Your true form. You remain seated as the inner witness in the individual’s intellect. As the eternal witness, You observe every happening”.

Swamiji explains:

Actually everything moves per the Karma-phala siddhanta (Karma phala siddhanta states that every experience is the result of one’s past actions). The truth is that even the action belongs to You. But at some point of time, in some birth, the feeling of ‘I’ arose in me.  For this reason ‘I’ am now undergoing the experience.

Many people take up Mouna vrata. In the initial stages, it is advisable to tie a cloth around the mouth. This constantly reminds the person that he is practising silence. Thereafter he should wear a special colour clothing to remind him of his vow. When these symbolic indicators are missing, the person tends to break his vow, since otherwise he is habituated to talking. The deeksha vastra reminds you to maintain silence. It is also a warning to the other person not to break your vow.

The guardian deities continued, “You are the Lord who grants knowledge to the senses. However these senses are able to perceive only these illusory objects that are made up of name and form”.

Swamiji explains:

To break this habit of limiting ourselves to seeing only illusory objects, constant practice is needed. The practice should continue for the entire lifetime. Practice Mouna or practice to constantly focus upon the Lord or practice sense-control. Of course, sense control is not at all easy. The person who is habituated to eating chocolates all day long finds it hard to give it up. Secretly he will eat a chocolate here and there. This is because the senses are habituated to eating chocolates all the time. Now he should train these sense organs not to eat the chocolate that is in front of them. Once the person treads the wrong path the senses get habituated there. The person has to be eternally vigilant and try to push the senses back on to the right track. They need constant punishment.

“The senses are eternally focused towards these illusory objects/ visible world, but are unable to see the real truth. They are unable to understand that You exist as the consciousness within those objects. They fail to understand that You are the object/ scene. The person eternally considers the object to have a distinctive identity but fails to realize that it is another form of Yours”.

Swamiji explains:

The mind should be trained towards this. When you see an iron piece, learn to think- “Oh, God is here in front of me in the form of this iron piece”. This is called abhyasa. From where did the iron emerge? It emerged from the soil. What is soil made of? How was it created? As you dig deeper, you will realize the truth. Learn to see God in every object and in every situation.

Seeing God in living beings in inadequate. Learn to see Him even in inanimate lifeless objects too. The earth on which you walk, the water you drink, the air you breath, the light through which you see the world, the heat-cold, joys-sorrows, your skin, the nerves that transmit the sensations to the mind, the intellect that deciphers this knowledge, your destiny which triggers off present day actions- all these are God. All of them are inter-connected.

The iron found in the soil, the crops that grow on earth, all the living beings that move on earth including virus, bacteria are all His forms. His consciousness flows through them. The mind should be trained to think in this pattern. That consciousness envelops the entire creation. It has no limits. There is no measure. However long the creation stretches, it stretches.

God is beyond the five basic elements. All of us are subject to some form of limitations. He who is beyond all limitations is Paramatma. For this reason the guardian deities prayed that these senses are able to perceive only the visible world but are unable to perceive You, O Lord.

Keshavāya namah.

Nārāyanāya namah

Understand the depth of spiritual essence hidden within every prayer.

Lord Indra prayed, “O indestructible Lord! O Srihari! In this form You are ruling the world. You are deathless. You appear as if akin to everything in this creation You too are subject to destruction. The truth is that You are beyond destruction.

Equipped with weapons in all Your 8 hands, You are destroying the demons who despise the Devatas. This transcendental form of Yours is pleasing to the eyes and mind”. He thus praised the complete form of the Lord.

The wives of the priests prayed, “O Padmanābha! You are the personification of Yagna! Brahma created Yagna so that people could worship You through this process. Daksha decided to begin one such Yagna. However, his anger turned out to be an obstacle for the Yagna. Angered at Daksha’s behavior, Shiva destroyed the Yagna. All the activities in this sacrificial hall have come to an end due to this destruction and now this place resembles a crematorium. O Lord, with Your lotus eyes please glance once at this sacrificial hall and thus purify the area”.

Thereafter the Maharishis prayed,

Ananvitaṁ te bhagavan viceṣṭitaṁ Yad ātmanā carasi hi karma nājyase

Vibhūtaye yata upasedur īśvarīṁ Na manyate svayam anuvartatīṁ bhavān

O Supreme Lord! Your glories are unsurpassed and wonderful! This is because although through the medium of a body You are eternally engrossed in actions, You do not have the feeling that ‘You’ are performing the action. Neither do you expect any resultant fruit for your action. You are unattached to Your actions.

Desiring wealth, people worship Goddess Lakshmi. Such Goddess Lakshmi always follows You. Even then You are unattached towards wealth or towards Goddess Lakshmi. You do not have pride that You are her husband”.

Siddhas prayed, “O Lord, it is impossible to tie this mind, which is like an enormous elephant. Perhaps it could be possible to tie down an elephant, but it is impossible to control this mind. This mind is tormented by afflictions known as spiritual ignorance (avidya), egoism, likes-dislikes and fear of death, due to which, it cannot be contained.

It is excessively driven towards fulfilling desires. It eternally desires to sleep, eat and enjoy bodily luxuries and comforts of all kinds. It wants to enjoy tasty food. It loves desires and anger.  It seeks all forms of wealth. It wants to own limitless buildings and properties. When the mind is enveloped with such desires it becomes impossible to tie it down.

Tormented by huge forest fire, the elephant becomes thirsty. It refuses to return from the river and settles comfortably in those flowing waters. Likewise, O Lord, our mind is seated comfortably in the river known as Your divine stories.  Due to the power contained in Your stories, our minds have become strengthened and we are no longer tormented by impurities.

Our minds are now totally focused upon You. Hence, we are absolved from the fear that we could slip down. We are happy and contented and thus are unable to remember our troubles. Lost in listening to Your delightful stories, we forget the world and all its troubles. This is the benefit of seeking shelter in Your lotus feet.

A person who has tasted nectar cannot relish any other taste. Likewise, the person who surrenders totally to Your feet, can never remember any worldly trouble.

To reach this stage, first of all dedicated efforts should be put in by the person. He should make attempts to remember the Lord’s feet at all time! The more he focuses, the less will be the worldly memories and pain.

Keshavāya namah

Rudra prayed, “O Srihari! O bestower of boons! In this creation, everyone worships Your lotus feet. This includes both the deluded living beings who are full of desires and Maharishis who are absolutely desireless. My mind is exclusively and firmly fixed upon such holy feet. Hence, even if an ignorant person falsely accuses me, I do not attach any importance to it”.

Swamiji explains:

When my mind is totally fixed upon the Lord, where is the scope for feelings such as ‘I and mine’ to enter into it? Even if perchance the feeling of ‘I’ enters into my mind, then such feelings of ‘I’ also end up in Your feet, since my mind is focused upon them. I am merely an instrument.

Just like an electric wire that transmits electricity I am a wire that transmits everything to Your lotus feet. When power supply is cut off, the electric wire has no role to play. Cut it off and throw it to the ground, it will gradually dissolve into the soil. It does not have an independent existence. Likewise, when my mind is totally and exclusively focused upon Your feet then like that wire I no longer function independently. Hence even criticisms directed at me, do not belong to me. Similarly if anyone applauds me, it does not belong to me. I transmit both the praises and the criticism to You.

Rudra continued, “As my mind is fixed exclusively upon Your lotus feet, all the worship done to me, belongs totally to You”.

Maharishi Bhrigu prayed, “O Supreme Lord, all beings beginning from Brahma are unable to cross Your illusion and are totally under its sway. As a result of this illusion, living beings are unable to understand their true form. This includes Brahma and other Devatas too, who are sleeping in ignorance due to which they are unable to know You, who exist as the Self (atma) within every living being.

Lord, You reside within the being. You are the existence. You are the movement within them. Although they acknowledge it verbally and to certain extent in their actions, from deep within their hearts they do not truly believe that You are everything”.

Swamiji explains:

Some preach the methods by which this ocean of samsāra (repeated births) can be crossed, some even help others cross this ocean but they themselves are unable to cross it. This is māya! ‘I have been able to help many cross the ocean, therefore I too can easily cross’ they say, but the truth is that they are unable to cross.

Hence it is better to first cross the ocean and then help others who are submerged in it. It is incorrect to try to help others when you are struggling to reach the shore. You should attempt to help others only if you have the right wisdom needed for your own journey. Not otherwise.

In the form of the Self, the Lord resides within us. We reside within Him. Here Bhrigu Maharishi asks the Lord ‘I am unable to recognize the Lord who is residing within me. How do I recognize You? In which form do you reside?’

He resides in all forms. This is the meaning of the hymn- yā devi sarva bhuteśu .. namas tasyai namas tasyai namas tasyai namo namah. This hymn states that the Supreme Mother exists within every living being in the form of his body, his mind, his intelligence, his action, profession etc. The list is long and it incorporates every possibility. To the Lord who exists as everything, I offer my obeisance, says the hymn.

Although we chant this hymn, we are unable to understand Him, who in reality exists within us. We do not even attempt to understand the significance of the hymn.

Maharishi Bhrigu continued, “You are the true friend and relative of all. You are the atma bandhu. May you be pleased with me”.

Thereafter Brahma prayed, “O Lord, the ignorant human being who sees the world through the medium of the senses, is able to perceive only the differences that exist within the objects. He considers objects to be separate entities. He segregates objects into big, small, heavy, light, bitter, opaque, transparent, sweet, solid, liquid and so on. Therefore he is unable to know the real essence. As long as the being focuses upon such differences in the objects, he will never understand Your true form and essence.

The truth is that there are no differences within You (abheda). You exist in all objects equally. Only when this knowledge is grasped, Your true essence will be understood. This is because You are the knowledge, You are the intelligence, You are the object and You are the sense organ that perceives the object. You are everything”.

Swamiji explains:

Light, dark, opaque, transparent, heavy, bitter, sweet – we should have the intelligence that these differences are God. Even that intelligence through which the person is able to see differences within objects is God. The person should develop feelings of non-duality towards the Lord. ‘You and me are one and the same’- he should think.

As the first step you acknowledge that ‘those’ objects are nothing but manifestations of the Supreme Lord. Thereafter you need to realize that the knowledge about these objects as well as the ‘I’ which is seeing these objects also are God. ‘I, You and that knowledge which teaches about You’- everything is God. This realization should arise from within.

Kesavaya namah

The assembled guests continued to pray,

“In this world, dualities such as happiness-sorrows, victory-loss are the deep pits into which people keep falling repeatedly. In addition, people suffer terribly due to existence of ferocious wild animals known as ‘wicked persons’ in the society. There is no limit to their suffering.

O Lord, in this forest called samsāra the huge fire called grief eternally burns. In this path, human beings carry huge luggage known as body, house, wealth and struggle under its weight. They eagerly chase mirages known as sensory pleasures. It is desire that causes people to be infatuated towards this worldly path. If only such foolish persons would hold on to Your lotus feet, O Lord, definitely they would obtain protection. When will they learn to seek shelter under Your feet, O Lord?”

Swamiji explains:

Even after endless suffering why are people unable to surrender to You? They would be freed from their afflictions if only they surrender. They complain of bodily pains, but not even once do they offer that pain to Paramatma. These foolish people believe that Paramatma has no role in it, as it is their body that undergoes pain. They consider this body to be everything. Bodily pleasures themselves are liberation according to them.

The physical as well as mental agony that a being undergoes is limitless. He suffers in all his 3 bodies. If only he had surrendered whole-heartedly to the Lord, definitely the Lord will protect.

What is this illusion that has trapped people? At every moment, feelings of ‘me and mine’ run in their mind. ‘This is ‘mine’, he is ‘my’ relative, she is ‘my’ daughter, this is ‘my’ body and since it is diseased, ‘I’ need to heal it by undergoing an operation; this is ‘my’ pain’ – this is their way of thinking. It is not that pain should not be attended to. Going to a doctor and taking treatment is the right course, but meanwhile offer this body and this pain to the Lord. After all, one day you have to let go off this body. Even after taking extreme precautions to preserve the body from diseases, even after having given it endless treatment to set it right, the truth is that one day you have to let go off this body! You cannot take it with you.

You say, ‘at least as long as I live, I must be comfortable in this body’. Does it mean that you are not seeking happiness after leaving your body? If at all you seek happiness even after giving up this body, then offer the senses together with the pain to the Lord. ‘Let this body undergo pain. It is my destiny after all. I need to experience this’. Why can’t any person develop such stubborn attitude towards suffering and pain?

In every other aspect, the person is adamant. He is adamant that his desire should be fulfilled; he is adamant that he wins every argument; he is adamant that he should recover from his illness and so forth. Here once again I re-iterate that I am not against medication and treatment. I do not say that confusions and misunderstandings at home should not be set right. However along with your actions towards recovery, mentally surrender to the Lord! Why are you unable to put this into practice? This is what the assembled guests questioned. Now let’s get back to Bhagawatam.

Rudra then prayed, “O Srihari! O bestower of boons! The deluded living beings who are full of desires and Maharishis who are absolutely desireless- everyone in this creation worships Your lotus feet”.

Swamiji explains:

It is a misconception that people worship the Lord purely for fulfillment of desires. The truth is that even those who are desireless worship His holy feet. They seek shelter under Him. They seek to obtain the Supreme Lord itself! The one who has desires has love towards his body.

In the person who is desireless such attachment and love towards the body would have died down. He realizes that for having taken up a body, experiences are a must. So he retains only that much body-identification as is needed for existence. He eats only as much as needed for survival. He breathes only because life should continue. He does not struggle beyond this.

As against this, we struggle eternally for maintaining our body. More important than this is our dedication towards acquiring assets. Do you even know why you are struggling to acquire them? You struggle seeking the well-being of the children but in the process children do not know what it is to struggle and earn. Even a bird allows its babies to fetch their own food once they develop wings. The bird struggles and finds its own way. This is the rule of karma.

Human beings however are dependant up to the age of three upon parents. Only when the infant is properly nourished by the mother for three years, it survives. All other living beings live and earn their food independently right from beginning.

Sri krishnāya namah.

Thereafter Daksha, seeking permission from Lord Brahma, reinstated the Yagna fire and together with the priests and other sages, sat down to complete the remaining rituals.

As Veerabhadra and other warriors had damaged the sacrificial hall and fires, the Yagna had been rendered impure. In order to bring purity to the Yagna and to ensure that it would be completed without any obstacles, the Brahmins organized 3 Purodaśa vessels (pātra). Completing the rituals and offering oblations as stipulated, they worshipped Sri Mahāvishnu.

While the chief priest Maharishi Bhrigu was holding the offerings, Daksha, the performer of the Yagna, meditated upon Sri Mahāvishnu with a pure inner mind.

Immediately Srihari, the Supreme Lord, manifested there. He was seated on His vehicle Garuda, which has the Sāma veda hymns known as Bṛhat and Rathāntara as its wings.

With His arrival, the 10 directions glowed luminously. In front of this illumination, Brahma and other Devatas appeared lusterless and pale.

With His dark complexion, golden waistband, golden-yellow silken clothing around His waist and with a crown that dazzled like the Sun, the Supreme Lord glowed vibrantly. The curly hair which resembled black bees and the glittering earrings decorated His face beautifully.

In His eight hands, which were decorated with golden ornaments, He held the conch, lotus, discus, bow, arrow, sword, mace and shield. It appeared as if He was in a hurry to rescue His devotees with these weapons. The Lord who was holding these weapons resembled a huge blossoming tree.

With Goddess Lakshmi on His chest and the long Vanamāla garland, He looked divine. With His charming smile and tender gaze He was showering limitless love and causing happiness to the entire world. The white vinjāmara fans that were on His either side looked like royal swans. The beautiful white umbrella over His head resembled the beautiful full moon. Together with all these decorations, He was looking extraordinarily beautiful.

Brahma, Shiva, Indra and all other Devatas, Maharishis, priests and the assembled invitees saw the Supreme Lord and instantly stood up to offer obeisance. In front of His supreme radiance, all the Devatas appeared pale and lusterless. Seeing this divine auspicious form in front of them, the Devatas were mesmerized and speechless. In nervousness they quickly folded their hands above their heads, fell on the ground and prostrated before Him.

Srihari is that Supreme Essence who cannot be understood through any definite decisive proofs! He is beyond them all! When this Supreme Essence appeared before them, all the Devatas stood up and reverentially worshipped Him!

The divine transcendental glories of the Supreme Lord are beyond the understanding of even Lords such as Brahma. His beauty, His glory cannot be understood by the mind. Even then the compassionate Lord, who treats His devotees as His children, appeared before them and blessed them with His darshan. Such is His grace! Enthralled by this love shown, each of them praised the Lord according to his capacity and understanding.

Each of the assembled guests praised the Lord according to the feelings that existed in his/her mind, according to his/her level of understanding of the Supreme Essence, according to the manner in which he/she perceived the Lord at that point of time.

Whenever He manifests, devotees arrange all the items in clean, beautiful puja-plates and offer them to Him. He then accepts them. Likewise, Daksha, with pure focused attention, meditated upon the Lord and the Lord accepted His prayers.

The Lord was accompanied by His attendants, Nanda and Sunanda. Daksha Prajāpati folded his hands and with feelings of total self-surrender, prayed as follows,

“In the Pure Consciousness (atma chaitanya), everything shines. Yet, the merits and demerits of the illumined objects cannot influence the Pure Consciousness. For this reason, it is absolutely pure. It has no second. It has no fear.

Even though the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep exist within this consciousness, it remains beyond them. Such Pure Consciousness is itself Your form!

O Lord, You are independent and above the scope of illusion (māya). You, an embodiment of knowledge, remain eternally in Your original form. Nevertheless, due to Your illusory powers, You appear as if You have taken on a human form and are impure”.

The priests then prayed to the Lord,

“Tattvaṁ na te vayam anañjana rudra-śāpāt  Karmaṇy avagraha-dhiyo bhagavan vidāmaḥ

Dharmopalakṣaṇam idaṁ trivṛd adhvarākhyaṁ  Jñātaṁ yad-artham adhidaivam ado vyavasthāḥ

O Lord! You are the Self (atma) that exists within the different living entities. Even then, the sins committed by those varied bodies do not touch You. Due to Nandi’s curse, our mind is eternally inclined towards fruitive actions and we have been unable to understand Your real form.

Yagna, which regulates people to walk on the path of the dharma and which is explained in all the three Vedas, is Your form. You manifest in the form of Indra and other Devatas. These Devatas and these disciplines manifest along with You solely to ensure successful completion of the Yagna”.

The assembled members prayed,

“O Lord, who protects one and all! Ignorant foolish persons are walking on the path called samsāra mārga i.e. they are eternally rotating in the repeated cycle of births and deaths. In this path, when the ferocious snake called death continually chases the persons, there is none to rescue them.

In this path of repeated births and deaths, afflictions known as spiritual ignorance (avidy), sense of I-ness (ahamkara), likes-dislikes (raga-dweśa) and fear of death (abhiniveśa) are the huge boulders that are impossible to cross over.”

Srikrishnāya namah.