Puttugam2

Vishṇave namah

The Supreme Lord continued, “O great saints! Self-realized persons, orphans and cows are parts of my body and are indistinguishable from me. Sinners with a spoilt intellect however consider them i.e. Self-realized persons, cows and orphans, to be different from me and thereby insult them. I myself have authorized Yama, the Lord of death, to punish them adequately for such sins. Like hissing serpents the attendants of Yama will be furious with them. Like eagles they will shred them apart.

Even if they are insulted by Brahmavettas (knower of Brahman), human beings should happily think of me and should whole-heartedly continue to worship them. In addition, with a charming nectarous smile, a happy cheerful face and with words that are totally filled with love, they should glorify such Brahma-vettas (Self-realized persons).

As an obedient son would lovingly pacify his angry father or as a father would lovingly pacify his angry son, they should pacify these Brahma-vettās. This is what I am now doing. It pleases me when human beings adopt this approach. I will be totally under the sway of such persons.

O Maharishis! These two servants of mine could not understand my mind. They have insulted you and are about to reap its consequences. Please bless these servants to quickly complete their period of punishment and separation from me. I bless that they should quickly return to me”- thus Srihari very sweetly and respectfully uttered words which would cause the welfare of saints and Brahmins.

The minds of these saints had been bitten by the snake called anger. Even then they drank in the Lord’s words considering them to be nectarous. But yet they were not totally satisfied. The thirst of a person bitten by a snake is not quenched even after continuously drinking the sweet waters of River Saraswati, isn’t it? These saints were in a similar situation. The Lord had uttered dry words and it was impossible for them to grasp the inner significance contained within those words.

Those words were profound in meaning. With wide open ears the saints heard everything He said. They pondered upon them but still could not figure out what the Lord was trying to convey. They could not understand His mind or His intention.

The Lord, through His illusory power (yoga māya) manifested His greatness, which causes the welfare of all beings. The saints were soaked in bliss seeing such Lord in front of them. They experienced horripilation throughout their body. They folded their palms and said,

“O Lord! You are the master of this entire universe. Even then in all humility You speak as if we have blessed You. We are unable to understand what You plan to do. We are unable to understand Your opinions and intention.

O Lord! You are the one who causes the well-being of the Self-realized persons and Brahmins. Yet You state that You consider them to be God. However the truth is that not only for the Self-realized beings and Brahmins, but also for Brahma and all other Gods, You are the Supreme Lord. You are the inner Self. You are truly worthy of worship.

Dharma continues till eternity only due to You. You periodically incarnate to restore and protect it. The ultimate fruit of dharma is Parabrahma, who is also the absolute essence of entire Vedas. Shastras authoritatively state that it is You alone!

Beings who are Self-realized as well as those who are totally dedicated towards the Nivrtti dharma (the path of return) exit from this wheel of repeated births and deaths, which is known as samsāra, purely through Your grace.

Indra and other Devatas who are desirous of prosperity and wealth retain the dust of Goddess Lakshmi’s feet on their head. Such Goddess Lakshmi seeks to remain beside Your feet eternally serving You. To such holy feet, devotees offer shining Tulasi garland. Attracted by this garland, the king of bees encircles it. You have more love towards devotees of the highest order (bhāgavattotama) than towards Goddess Lakshmi, who offers services to You with absolute purity and total dedication.

Where is the necessity to purify yourself with the dust from the feet of your dedicated devotees, O Lord when You are the one who purifies everyone?

You state that with the dust of the devotees’ feet You have been able to retain Goddess Lakshmi on your chest and that You have become complete in every aspect. O Lord, where is the truth in such statement? How can the dust from your devotees’ feet purify You? Can Lakshmi Devi or Your devotees or their worship and austerities purify You? It is impossible because You alone purify everything. You alone are the ever pure Lord of the universe.

dharmasya te bhagavatas tri-yuga tribhiḥ svaiḥ

padbhiś carācaram idaṁ dvija-devatārtham

nūnaṁ bhṛtaṁ tad-abhighāti rajas tamaś ca

sattvena no varadayā tanuvā nirasya 

O Supreme Lord! You visibly manifest only in the three Yugas viz., Krta, Treta and Dwapara. Penance (tapas), compassion (daya) and charity (dāna) are Your three feet since You are the personification of righteousness (dharma). For the sake of Devatas and Self-realized beings, You rule this universe which comprises of animate and inanimate objects. O Lord, kindly destroy the traits of action (rajas) and inertia (tamas) which stand as obstacles in the path of penance, compassion and charity i.e. the three feet of dharma. Please make Yourself visible in a form that is replete with traits of goodness and purity (sattva guna) and bestow boons upon us.

O Lord! In this universe You talk very lovingly to Brahmins and respect them. You honour them. You remain as the protector of all Brahmins. If you do not adopt this approach, the path of dharma that has been laid down by You, will be destroyed. This is because You are the most supreme being and this world simply walks on Your footsteps. Whatever practices You follow, the world will consider them to be satisfactory proof and abide by them. You are a repository of the traits of goodness and purity (sattva guna).

Vishṇave namah.

Madhusudanāya namah

Sanaka and his brothers continued, “O Lord, our father Brahma had described to us in detail the secrets contained within Your form. At that moment itself You entered into our hearts through the medium our ear holes. From then on, You have remained fixedly in our intellect. O Lord, today You have shown to us Your form, which is composed of the traits of goodness and purity (sattva), and have brought us great joy. You have been kind enough to bless us.

Although the Shastras extol this manifested form of Yours which is replete with pure qualities, in our opinion the knowledge of the Self (atma tattva) reigns supreme. Devotees who meditate exclusively upon You with total concentration setting aside feelings of egoism (ahamkara) and likes-dislikes (rāga dweśa) will, due to Your grace, stabilize in the highest levels of bhakti yoga. Due to this, within their hearts they will be able to visualize and experience the Self-knowledge.

O Srihari! Those devotees of yours who have the discriminatory knowledge of things permanent and impermanent in this creation (nitya-anitya vastu vivekam) surrender wholly to Your feet. Relishing completely the taste that is contained in those stories that extol Your divine glories, they do not care even for liberation, which can be obtained through your grace alone.

This being the case, what can be said of lesser important positions such that that of Indra, the Lord of heaven, who is totally under the control of time and who merely abides by the commands issued through the movement of Your eyebrows? Needless to say, pure devotees do not seek such trivial positions.

Pure devotees seek only You. There is nothing apart from You that they want. They want only to have Your darshan. In front of this darshan, even the position of Indra, the Lord of heaven, does not appeal to them. For this reason O Lord, we state that there is nothing greater than having Your darshan.

If our minds, akin to bees, are exclusively and joyfully engrossed in playing near Your lotus feet, if our words, akin to Tulasi leaves, are always beautiful as they fall exclusively on Your lotus feet, if our ear holes are exclusively dedicated towards listening to Your divine stories, then O Lord, even if we were to be born in hell as a punishment for our sinful deeds, we have no objection.

O Supreme Lord who is of pure renown! You have manifested before us in this form. You have made yourself visible to us. Due to this darshan our eyes have obtained limitless bliss. Those who cannot control their minds can never ever understand You. This is a fact. To You, O Supreme Lord, we offer our obeisance”.

With this the fifteenth chapter comes to an end.

Third Canto Chapter Sixteen

In this chapter, the Supreme Lord addressing and pacifying Sanaka and other saints, the fall of the doorkeepers Jaya-Vijaya from Vaikunṭha are covered.

Brahma continued to address the Devatas. He continued, “Srihari, the Lord of Vaikunṭha, was deeply pleased when He heard the prayers offered by Sanaka and other Maharishis, who were exponents in Self-knowledge. He, who shines as the Self in an intellect which is totally pure, addressed them and said,

“O Maharishis! Jaya and Vijaya, these two doorkeepers who were cursed by you are my servants. They have committed a grave mistake by insulting you. Through this mistake, they have also insulted me. You are the form of Devatas. Ridiculing Devatas amounts to ridiculing Me. I am completely in agreement with the punishment that you, my sincere devotees, have awarded them.

O Maharishis! Now I request you to please calm down. This is because I consider the knower of Brahma (Brahma vetta, Self-realized beings) as God. I hold such beings in highest esteem. If my servants insult such supreme beings, it amounts I have insulted them.

In the world, for the mistakes of the servant, the master is held responsible. Just as a trace of leprosy spoils the beautiful skin, the mistakes of the servant spoil the reputation of the master.

In this world one who, through the process of hearing My glories dips into the pond known as My ever-pure reputation, will be instantaneously purified, even if he is a kirātaka (hunter or forest tribals). Such pure unending reputation I have obtained purely because of great saints like you. Hence I will not hesitate to cut off even my hand, if I find that it has acted against you.

Only through serving the lotus feet of Self-realized beings like you I have become pure. The dust of your holy feet has cleansed me and rendered me totally pure. By serving the lotus feet of such saints, I have obtained the eligibility to purify the entire world”.

Here it should be understood that by serving the lotus feet of such saints, His (Lord’s) feet have obtained the required purity to purify other devotees who serve Him.

“Seeking that the benevolent glance of Goddess Lakshmi should fall upon them, Indra and other Devatas painstakingly undertake austerities, rituals and disciplines. Such Lakshmi does not ever leave my side, even though I am unattached to her, the reason being the pure reputation that I have gained by serving saints like you.

In the form of the homa flames I accept wood and other materials offered together with ghee by the performer of the Yagna. In the similar manner, the morsels of food mixed with ghee, that are consumed by a Self-realized person, who with no expectation has offered all the results of his actions to me, also reach me. But yet, I do not relish the yagna offerings made through the homa fire, as much as I relish the food that is offered to me by the Self-realized being through his mouth.

The food offered to a Self-realized jnani (knower of Brahma) is my bhiksha! The joy that I experience in offering food (annadāna) to such Self-realized persons is unparalleled.

My illusory power is unending and its reputation is matchless. Ganga, which originates at my feet, purifies everyone in this creation including Shiva who holds her on his head. Even then I, the Supreme Lord, take the dust from the holy feet of my devotees and keep it on my crown. The dust of their feet purifies everyone in the creation including Shiva.

For this reason everyone should show great restraint and patience in matters concerning great saints and Brahmins. Self-realized persons, orphans (helpless beings) and cows are parts of my body. There are indistinguishable from Me”.

Madhusudanāya namah.

Vishṇave namah

Trembling in fear and in great anxiety the two doorkeepers fell at the feet of the great sages and implored, “O great saints! We have sinned. You have awarded us the precise punishment for our mistake. May it happen per your wish!

Ridiculing great saints of your stature is a sin. We accept this curse and through this we will pay for our sin. We are now about to fall into a lowly womb and we beg you to heed our small prayer.

O great saints! When we take birth in a lowly womb, this sin of ours will cause infatuation in us and will distance us from thinking about Him, our Lord. We beg you to ensure that it should not happen.” 

Evaṁ tadaiva bhagavān aravinda-nābhaḥ Svānāṁ vibudhya sad-atikramam ārya-hṛdyaḥ

Tasmin yayau paramahaṁsa-mahā-munīnām Anveṣaṇīya-caraṇau calayan saha-śrīḥ

The Lord Padmanābha came to know of this mistake committed by His servants. That very instant this Supreme Lord, who resides within the hearts of great saints, came walking to the entrance together with Goddess Lakshmi. During meditation, Paramahamsas and saints who are exponents in Self-knowledge search for the lotus feet of this Lord. On such lotus feet He walked to the entrance!

This Supreme Lord was followed by His attendants who were holding articles used for worship. He arrived at the entrance and made Himself visible to Sanaka and the other Maharishis. The saints felt as if their Samādhi Yoga, which is the final state of Yoga, had taken on a form and was standing before them!

Attendants holding Vinjāmara fans, which were as beautiful as white royal swans, were standing on either side gently fanning Him. On His head they held a white umbrella which was glowing like the full moon. When the auspicious breeze from the Vinjāmara fans touched the umbrella, strings of pearls that adorned its ends moved gently making it appear as if drops of nectar from the gentle moon rays were actually falling upon the Lord.

Lord Srihari is the repository for every noble quality that is sought after by living beings. His smiling pleasant face indicated that He had arrived there not only to bless the saints but also to bless the doorkeepers. Srihari showered His loving glance upon them and through this touched their hearts. They then felt the Lord as residing within their hearts.

Goddess Lakshmi was dazzling brightly on the broad chest of this Lord, who was of bluish-black complexion. It was as if together with Goddess Lakshmi, He was adding loveliness and brilliance to Vaikunṭha, the crown jewel amongst all heavenly planets.

His broad hips were draped elegantly in golden yellow silken clothing. A golden waistband decorated this Pitambara clothing adding to its beauty. The bees that encircled the vanamāla garland, which adorned His neck, were humming melodiously.

Lovely bracelets decorated His wrists. He rested one hand on Garuda, the son of Vinata. In His other hand he playfully held a lotus.

The glitter from the Makara-kundala (crocodile shaped earrings), which decorated His ears, outshone lightning and enhanced the radiance of His cheeks. With a raised nose, His face was glowing. He was wearing a gem studded crown. On His neck and within His four arms, was a long pearl chain. The Kausthuba gem was gleaming on His chest.

His ardent devotees believe that in front of His divine splendor, Goddess Lakshmi who prided Herself as an epitome of beauty and elegance was defeated and Her pride was destroyed. In this way, for the benefit of Rudra, me, Devatas such as yourselves, and for the purposes of worship, He has assumed a form which is of unparalleled splendor.

Even after drinking in His beauty with their eyes for a considerable time, Sanaka and his brothers were not satisfied. Joyfully they bowed and offered obeisance to His lotus feet.

The feet of this lotus-eyed Lord resembled lotuses. His toes resembled the lotus filaments. The wind that carried the fragrance of the lotus feet together with the aroma of the Tulasi leaves, entered into the saints through the medium of their nose. Even though they were totally absorbed in the Self, this fragrance filled their minds with limitless bliss. They experienced horripilation.

The saints lifted their heads and gradually looked up at the lovely lower lip of the Lord and His charming smile which resembled a blossoming jasmine. They then shifted their gaze upwards and observed His beautiful face that was shining like a blue lotus. They were fully satisfied. They now shifted their gaze back to His feet. They observed those lotus feet, nails in which shone like sapphire and rubies.

They now meditated upon the Supreme Lord Narayana who was in front of them. Srihari appeared before these saints in that wonderful form which those human beings, who are desirous of obtaining liberation, retain fixedly in their hearts and contemplate upon.

After all they had come with a deep desire to see Him. They did not desire to observe His ornaments but only to see Him. Hence He too blessed them with such a darshan. He, who will not make himself visible even after endless penance, made himself visible to these great saints, who were his ardent devotees.

Externally it appeared as if He had arrived there upon coming to know of the insult that his doorkeepers had heaped upon those saints. The truth however was that He had come there to bless the saints with His darshan. The eight supernatural powers such as Anima , which are not otherwise easily available, exist inherently in Him!

The saints profusely praised the Supreme Lord who had made himself visible to them. They said, “O Ananta! Although You are seated within every heart, You do not make yourself visible to the wicked. Today You are kind enough to make yourself visible to our eyes.

Our father Brahma, who was born from You, has described to us in detail the secrets contained within Your form. At that moment itself You entered into our hearts through our ear holes. From then on, You have remained fixedly in our intellect, O Lord. Today, You have shown to us Your form, which is composed of the traits of goodness and purity (sattva guna), and have brought us great joy”.

Brahma continued, “Only in human birth one has the rare opportunity to obtain knowledge of the real object i.e. the Self! For this reason all Devatas, including me, seek this opportunity to be born as humans. Yet those, who even after obtaining a human birth fail to understand or worship Srihari, fall into his trap of illusion.  It is really pitiable that they waste this human birth.

By constantly thinking about Him alone, devotees of Lord Srihari conquer death. They cross over this cycle of repeated births and deaths. Such devotees are far superior to even Gods such as Brahma and others. In fact, Devatas seek to imbibe the noble qualities and character of such supreme devotees!

Such supreme devotees eagerly discuss amongst themselves the glories of their Lord Srihari. Totally soaked in the resultant bliss that they experience through such discussions, they profusely shed tears of joy and experience horripilation throughout their body. Only such devotees reach His supreme abode Vaikunṭha!

In that Supreme plane known as Vaikunṭha, which is revered by inhabitants of all planes of existence in the universe, the Supreme Lord Srihari, who is the Lord of the universe, resides. Vaikunṭha dazzles magnificently with multi coloured airplanes of supreme celestials.

This was the first visit of Sanaka and other kumarās to Vaikunṭha. It was due to the strength of their austerities that they could arrive there. Observing the magnificence of this plane, they were soaked in bliss.

They, who were extremely focused upon having the darshan of Lord Srihari, were not inclined towards enjoying the beauty and grandeur of this plane. They were deeply desirous of meeting the Supreme Lord. They had merged mentally into that Lord and were enthusiastically and eagerly looking forward to seeing Him. Without stopping to notice the grandeur of the abode, they quickly walked past the 6 gates in Vaikunṭha one after another without any obstacle. None of the doorkeepers at any of these entrances stopped them.

They reached the seventh main entrance which was guarded by two doorkeepers, who were of equal age and who held maces in their hands. These doorkeepers had adorned themselves with expensive and exquisite ornaments, precious earrings, crowns, glittering armlets and costly clothing.

They were glowing with their bluish complexion and resembled Mahavishnu in their appearance. They had four arms and had adorned their necks with lovely vanamāla garlands. With its divine fragrance, this Vanamāla garland was attracting the intoxicated bees towards it. Their arched eyebrows were raised. Their nostrils appeared swollen. Their eyes were deep red and their faces indicated that they were slightly agitated.

Without waiting to seek the permission of these doorkeepers, Maharishi Sanaka and his brothers simply ignored them and continued to walk past. Previously they had crossed the 6 gateways exactly as they had done now.

After all, they were supreme beings who treated every being equally and impartially. Feelings of egoism did not exist in them. Since they were over and above the feelings of duality and differentiation of any kind, they were absolutely untouched by doubts and hesitations. They travelled everywhere freely out of their own will with no one ever stopping them.

These four eminent saints are always naked, having directions as their clothing. They eternally appear as five year old boys although in age they are the most elderly. They are totally Self-realized supreme beings. It is not right for the doorkeepers to stop entry for those who are totally Self-realized.

Sadly, in nature these two doorkeepers were exactly the opposite of Sri Mahavishnu. Hence they failed to recognize the radiance that was emanating from these eminent saints. Instead, believing that the saints were acting arrogantly, these doorkeepers despised them and using their staffs they blocked the path.

They were supreme saints who should have been adored and respectfully welcomed! Contrary to this, even when all the Devatas were watching, these doorkeepers in Vaikunṭha blocked their path and prevented their entry.

The saints’ deepest desire to meet the Supreme Lord was thus hindered. Anger (krodha) always attaches itself closely to desire (kāma) and follows it, isn’t it? Only when desire remains unfulfilled, this anger projects itself visibly.

As such, traces of anger now began to enter into these saints. Their eyes turned red. With eyes filled with fury, they said to the doorkeepers, “Due to the merit of the devotional worship that you offer to the Lord you have been blessed to reside in Vaikunṭha. Since you reside in Vaikunṭha, shouldn’t the Lord’s qualities also be found in you? Should you not imbibe His wonderful traits? The Lord treats everyone equally. However you both seem to be exactly the opposite of Him. Both of you are filled with poison. How could feelings of differentiation even enter into you?

The Lord is complete in every aspect. He is ever peaceful. Disturbances and disputes do not exist in him. He has no enemies. How can any dubious, cynical being exist here in His premises? Thus from your behavior it appears to us that you are imposters. As such you are finding faults in others. As you are of suspicious nature, you doubt others.

Do you realize that this entire universe exists within the Lord’s womb? Do you realize that He is the Self who resides within every living being? Jnānis (supremely knowledgeable persons) recognize Him as the Self. Just as the space in the pot (ghatakāśa) merges into the outer space (mahākāśa), these saints merge into Him. They do not see any difference between their true Self and God.

On the other hand, you doubt that someone can harm the Lord, who resides as the Self in all. You exhibit this fear as you are imposters in the garb of the Devatas. Fear exists only when feelings of duality exist. Even a trace of such feelings of duality can cause intense fear.

Wherefrom did you get these feelings of duality and differences? What could be the cause that prompted you to develop such feelings? Srihari, the Lord of Vaikunṭha, is the presiding deity for the traits of goodness and purity (sattva guna) isn’t it? He is the Parabrahma who shines as the Self.

Even after having this knowledge, due to your dull-wittedness you doubt His safety. We therefore seek your welfare and hence wish to punish you. Since you both possess feelings of duality and differences, we wish that you should leave Vaikunṭha and be born in those sinful planes (worlds) wherein beings suffer due to the might of enemies known as desire (kāma), anger (krodha) and greed (lobha)!”

The two doorkeepers who heard the terrible curse that was pronounced by these supreme Brahmin sages began to shiver. There is no escape from a Brahmin’s curse. It is impossible to counter a Brahmin’s curse through any weapon or through any other method. Such is its power that even Mahavishnu himself stands by it.

Trembling in fear and in great anxiety the two doorkeepers fell at the feet of the great sages and implored, “O great saints! We have sinned. You have awarded us the precise punishment for our mistake. May it happen per your wish!

Ridiculing great saints of your stature is a sin. We accept this curse and through this we will pay for our sin. We are now about to fall into a lowly womb and we beg you to heed our small prayer.

O great saints! When we take birth in a lowly womb, this sin of ours will cause infatuation in us and will distance us from thinking about Him, our Lord. We beg you to ensure that it should not happen. Please be compassionate.”

Vishṇave namah