Category: SrimadBhagavatam

Puruśottamāya namah

Then, with absolutely pure inner mind, Devahuti meditated upon the all-pervading essence of the Self. When the Self illumines in its original form, the bondage called body, which is the creation of the three attributes of the illusory power, is destroyed.

Devahuti firmly placed her intellect (buddhi) upon Parabrahma, the presiding deity for all living beings. As feelings of individual existence had completely dissolved in her, sorrows were washed away in totality and she was immersed in bliss. She was absorbed in absolute endless meditation. She was freed from the body-illusion.

As she was freed from anxiety, her body was no longer emaciated. Her body covered with dirt shone like the fire enveloped by smoke.

As her mind was exclusively fixed upon Lord Vāsudeva, she was oblivious of the existence of her body. Her body, which was totally absorbed in penance and yogic austerities and which was decorated by her scattered hair and untidy clothes, survived purely upon her prārabdha karma.

Evaṁ sā kapiloktena mārgeṇācirataḥ param

Ātmānaṁ brahma-nirvāṇaṁ bhagavantam avāpa ha

Devahuti walked on the path as directed by Maharishi Kapila and quickly attained the supreme bliss which was untainted by sorrows. She merged into the Supreme Lord Srihari!

The pure place where she attained liberation is known as Siddhapada and is famous in all the three worlds. It is considered to be a very sacred place.

Due to the power of her yogic austerities her body was devoid of all impurities. It now flowed like a river. With utmost devotion great sages offer their services to that river, which is the most supreme among all rivers and which bestows accomplishment.

After seeking permission from his mother, Mahāyogi Maharishi Kapila left his father’s ashram and travelled towards the northeast. There supremely accomplished beings such as Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Gandharvas, Apsarasās, Munis profusely extolled Maharishi Kapila. As they were thus praising Him, the Lord of the ocean came forward, offered him water ablutions and a place for Him to reside.

For the welfare of the three worlds, Kapila Maharishi, who is greatly praised by exponents in Sānkhya philosophy, adhered to the path of Yoga and remained in the state of Samadhi.

Vidura, you are a meritorious being. I have explained to you in detail about the time periods known as Manvantara. I have also narrated to you the sacred conversation between Devahuti and Kapila.

Ya idam anuśṛṇoti yo ’bhidhatte Kapila-muner matam ātma-yoga-guhyam

Bhagavati kṛta-dhīḥ suparṇa-ketāv Upalabhate bhagavat-padāravindam

This spiritual Yogic teaching of Maharishi Kapila is very secretive. When this is being narrated, the person who listens attentively, with his mind fixed exclusively on Lord Vishnu seated on his vehicle Garuda, will attain the lotus feet of the Lord.

With this the third canto comes to an end.

Fourth Canto Chapter One

In this Canto, which consists of 31 chapters, the Visarga creation done through the medium of Brahma, Manu and others, under the directions of the Supreme Lord, is covered.

In the first chapter, the lineage of the Manu’s other children, the incarnation of Dattatreya and the incarnations of Nara-Narayana are explained.

Srikrishna Parabrahmane namah

Maitreya Maharishi continued, “O Vidura, the holy couple Swāyambhuva Manu and Shataroopa had three daughters. They were famous in this world as Ākuti, Devahuti and Prasuti.

Swāyambhuva Manu decided to offer his daughter Ākuti to Ruci Prajāpati in marriage. With the permission of his wife Shataroopa, he got them married.

While giving his daughter in marriage, Manu put forth a condition that Ākuti should return her first born son to her father. This is known as putrika dharma. Although Swāyambhuva Manu had two sons Priyavrata and Uttānapada, he incorporated this condition for his daughter’s marriage to Ruci Prajāpati.

Ruci Prajapati was an accomplished ascetic who had attained enlightenment due to the grace of the Lord. This holy couple was blessed with a son and a daughter.

The son born to them was none other than Lord Srihari! Representing the Yagna rituals explained in the Vedas, He took on the name ‘Yagna’. Goddess Lakshmi never leaves the hand of the Lord and is His eternal consort. When He decides to incarnate, she too incarnates.

With her partial incarnation (amsha) she was born as the daughter of Ruci Prajāpati and Ākuti. She was named Dakshina. In a Yagna the money that is offered to the priests who conduct the Yagna is known as Dakshina.

Srihari is the embodiment of Yagna. Lakshmi is the Dakshina (money) offered to the priests in the homa. Through the actions of undertaking Yagna as per the procedure prescribed by the Vedas and offering money as dakshina to the priests who conducted the Yagna ritual, the person undertaking the Yagna obtains the Lord’s blessings. Due to these blessings, his wealth continues to remain stably with him without getting eroded.

Swāyambhuva Manu was very pleased when he heard that Ākuti and Ruci Prajāpati had been blessed with children. As per his earlier condition he brought home this boy Yagna and raised him while Ruci Prajāpati affectionately raised his daughter Dakshina.

Purushottamāya namah.

Devahuti continued,

“O Lord! Even if a tribal hunter thinks of You once or chants Your divine name or offers obeisance to You just once, he becomes as respectful as a person who has performed plentiful Vedic rituals. What wonder! He is equal to the person who has performed limitless austerities, limitless Vedic rituals or has bathed in many sacred rivers. He becomes as venerable as a Somayāji. Such is the greatness of Your name! This being the case, is there any specific need to declare that the person who has been fortunate to have Your darshan will accomplish the purpose of human birth?

Taṁ tvām ahaṁ brahma paraṁ pumāṁsaṁ pratyak-srotasy ātmani saṁvibhāvyam

Sva-tejasā dhvasta-guṇa-pravāhaṁ vande viṣṇuṁ kapilaṁ veda-garbham

I offer obeisance to Kapila Bhagawān, who is an incarnation of Parabrahma or Puruśottama Lord Sri Mahavishnu. He makes himself visible to those who turn their intellect away from the objects of desire and instead meditate upon Him. He destroys these worldly bondages (samsāra) which exist in the form of never ending flow of the trigunas. He is the Lord of all Vedas!” She prayed.

This is a very important hymn of Lord Kapila. It is beneficial to chant it daily. It is a sacred mantra.

Kapila affectionately heard the prayer offered by his mother. With eyes filled with compassion and a grave voice he said, “O Mother! This path which I have preached is very easy to follow. Abiding by this, very shortly you will reach the ultimate fruit known as liberation.

Those who are desirous of liberation love this preaching of Mine. It destroys this cycle of births and deaths in totality. Please always be devoted and dedicated towards the preaching I have imparted to you. You will attain Me. Those who are devoid of this knowledge will get trapped in these worldly bondages and will fear death”.

In this way Maharishi Kapila taught his mother the Self-knowledge. Listening to this, his mother obtained the knowledge of Brahma.

Seeking her permission and having completed His task, Kapila Bhagawān went away. Abiding by the yogic disciplines taught by her son, Devahuti remained in deep meditation (samādhi) in her beautifully decorated ashram located on the banks of River Saraswati.

She began to wear clothing made of tree barks. Gradually, due to the intense discipline of bathing thrice a day, her beautiful long curly braids turned ashen. Due to her dedicated austerities she began to look emaciated.

Kardama Prajāpati’s penance and transcendental powers had established her household in very exalted position. This couple was matchless. Even Celestials and Devatas desire such holy wedded life.

In her house, the beds and bedspreads were white like milk foam. Entire furniture like chairs and tables were made of ivory and gold and were spotlessly clean. The chairs were covered with delicate soft blankets. Soft pillows were placed within these chairs. Walls of the house were made of exquisite marble and were decorated with jewels.

Seasonal blooming flowers decorated the vast landscaped gardens that were adjacent to her house. Laden with many auspicious plants that belong to heaven, chirping bird-couples and humming bees, this garden sparkled brightly. The lake within this garden was filled with the fragrance of lovely lotuses.

When Kardama Prajapati would cajole her lovingly in these waters, the Gandharvas would sing the glories of this holy couple. Even Indra’s wife would desire to obtain such fortune.

Now, Devahuti was freed from the attachment towards this mansion and the objects therein. However her heart grieved due to separation from her son. Her husband Maharishi Kardama had already taken up sanyasa (renunciation) and had left the household. Now her son left the house.

Although being Self-realized, she grieved for her son. Like the mother cow that grieves upon separation from her calf, she became restless grieving for her son. Her face wore a dejected look.

Vidura, Devahuti meditated exclusively upon her son Kapila, who was an incarnation of the Supreme. As her mind was focused upon Him, her attachment towards her household totally disappeared. She fixed her mind upon the pleasant charming face of the Lord, as described by her son. She focused upon every limb of the Lord as specified by her son and meditated upon them.

With firm detachment she practiced bhakti yoga. She engaged herself in varied pujas and other auspicious deeds. Gradually, due to this, the complete knowledge that would enable her to attain Self-realization dawned in her. Then, with an absolutely pure inner mind, she meditated upon the all-pervading essence of the Self”.

Aniruddhāya namah

Maharishi Kapila continues,

“A single object can become the shelter for taste, form, quality. In other words it can be experienced differently based on the way it appeals to the different sense organs. The eye enjoys its beautiful colour, the tongue consider it delicious and so on. Similarly, the concept of a single God is explained differently by different scriptures.

Pujas, varied rituals, charities, penance, reciting Vedas, contemplating the meaning contained within Vedic statements, conquering senses, conquering mind, practicing the eight limbs of Yoga (ashtānga yoga), having intense devotional feelings towards the Lord (bhakti yoga), giving up fruitive actions (sarva karma sanyasa), travelling on either paths of dharma i.e. path of outward expansion (pravṛtti) or path of return (nivṛtti), discriminating between things permanent and impermanent in creation (nitya-anitya vastu viveka) and practice of absolute detachment are the various tools to realize the self-illuminating Supreme Lord, an embodiment of all auspiciousness and who is both with attributes (saguna) and without attributes (nirguna).

O Mother! I have explained to you the path of devotion (bhakti yoga) applicable to all the four types of living beings viz., ārtha, jigyāsa, arthārtha and jnānis.

I have also explained the form of time (kāla swaroopa), whose activities are impossible to comprehend and which, existing with the being, is actually responsible for transformations such as birth.

O Mother! Spiritual ignorance (ajnana) is the reason for the various activities of the individual. It is this ignorance that compels him to act. Experiencing the various stages, he is unable to realize his true essence. I have explained about this in totality.

O mother, this knowledge which I have imparted should never be preached to the wicked, foolish, arrogant, disinterested, agnostic and unrighteous persons. They will not be able to understand even if it is explained to them. It should never be given to a fraudster.

This knowledge should never be shared with a person who is deeply attached towards worldly comforts, to the householder whose mind is focused on sensual pleasures, to a non-devotee and to a person who loathes my devotees.

Śraddadhānāya bhaktāya vinītāyānasūyave bhūteṣu kṛta-maitrāya śuśrūṣābhiratāya ca

Bahir-jāta-virāgāya śānta-cittāya dīyatām nirmatsarāya śucaye yasyāhaṁ preyasāṁ priyaḥ 

This should be taught to a person who is absolutely dedicated, humble, devoted, has no feelings of envy, is compassionate towards all forms of life, is desirous of performing Guru-seva, is disinterested in external worldly activities and who has a pure mind. This should be taught to a person who maintains external and internal purity. It should be taught to the person who loves Me the most.

Ya idaṁ śṛṇuyād amba śraddhayā puruṣaḥ sakṛt

Yo vābhidhatte mac-cittaḥ sa hy eti padavīṁ ca me 

O Mother! The person who, fixing his mind completely upon Me, listens to this once with dedication or who teaches this to others will definitely reach My supreme abode known as liberation!

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

Third Canto Chapter Thirty-three

In this chapter, Devahuti receiving this knowledge from the Supreme Lord who had incarnated as her son Kapila and her attaining liberation are detailed.

Maitreya Maharishi continued, “O Vidura! Devahuti, wife of Maharishi Kardama, with rapt attention and dedication heard everything that the Lord, in the form of her son Kapila, had taught to her thus far. By listening to this, the veil of ignorance that had clouded her intellect dissolved completely.

Maharishi Kapila is the foremost amongst siddhas who have propagated the knowledge of Prakriti- Puruśa (Nature-self). She offered her obeisance to Maharishi Kapila and prayed,

“O Kapila! When you were sleeping in the waters of dissolution, from your lotus navel Lord Brahma emerged. The 5 basic elements, senses, the subtle sensory perceptions, and the living beings exist within You. Your visible form is the seed for the existence of this entire universe, which is nothing but a flow of the trigunas. Immediately upon birth, Lord Brahma, meditated upon You.

You are the self-willed Lord. You are devoid of action. You are the Lord of all living entities. Your energies are unlimited and beyond imagination. You have, out of Your own will, divided Your infinite energy into sattva (goodness), rajas (passion) and tamas(ignorance) and through them are conducting Your activities of creation, sustenance and dissolution of the universe.

O Lord! This entire creation rests in Your womb. At the end of creation, You will in the form of a small infant lay down on a banyan leaf sucking your big toe. How could it be possible for such Supreme Lord to enter into my womb? It is my greatest fortune that You were born to me.

In order to punish the wicked and to protect the devotees who abide by Your directives, You periodically incarnate. Just as Your incarnations such as Varāha have brought about the well-being of the creation, even this incarnation of Yours is intended for imparting the knowledge of the Self to those who are deeply desirous of liberation.

O Lord! Even if an illiterate, ignorant tribal hunter thinks of You once or chants Your divine name or offers obeisance to You just once, he becomes as respectful as a person who has performed plentiful Vedic rituals”.

For instance, uttering the words Hare Krishna or Jaya Guru Datta before beginning to speak, or while standing, sitting bestows auspicious results. Instead of saying ‘hello’ why can’t you say ‘Jaya Guru Datta’?

Pradyumnāya namah

Vāsudevāya namah

Maharishi Kapila continued,

“O mother, feelings of duality, egoism and doership continue to remain in Hiranyagarbha. For this reason, as soon as the equilibrium between the three attributes of Nature (trigunas) is disturbed at the commencement of creation, He, under the directive of the Supreme Lord begins the task of creation exactly as it was in the earlier period. He again manifests as the world.

Meritorious beings who, through their adherence to dharma and non-fruitive actions, had merged into the Supreme Lord also take birth at the time of creation in the same earlier positions.

Those who are deeply passionate about worldly desires neglect their prescribed Vedic duties and instead involve in actions aimed at fulfilling their desires. Their mind, which is filled with passion, is exclusively focused upon fulfilling their desires. Hence, they can never conquer their senses. Their attachment is only towards household and other desired worldly activities. Such persons worship forefathers.

Srihari, the destroyer of Demon Madhu, is supremely valorous. He destroys worldly bondages in those who think about Him. Yet, people whose focus is only upon increasing their materialistic earnings (artha) and fulfilling their desires (kāma) will never ever be inclined towards listening to the stories and glories of the Lord.

Pigs discard delicious food and prefer to eat only impure food such as feces. Similarly people who choose to spend their time listening to dirty impure stories instead of listening to pure stories of Lord Srihari are, due to their past destiny (prarabdha karma), getting totally destroyed.

Starting from the rituals to be performed at time of conception and right up to the death ceremonies, such materialistic persons diligently abide by every ritual. After leaving this body, these persons travel on the southern path to reach Pitr-loka (abode of forefathers). After exhausting their balance of merit (punya) they return once again to earth to be re-born in their families.

O Mother! The being enjoys heavenly luxuries as long as he has the punya (merit). As soon as the balance of merit is depleted, Devatas throw the person out from this abode of forefathers (pitr loka) and the being helplessly falls down and then is reborn on this plane.

Tasmāt tvaṁ sarva-bhāvena bhajasva parameṣṭhinam

Tad-guṇāśrayayā bhaktyā bhajanīya-padāmbujam

 Therefore O mother, with overflowing love and with absolute purity of mind, thought and deed, serve the lotus feet of that Supreme Lord! With devotion that is replete with love and tenderness, worship Him! His lotus feet are worthy of worship!

Due to unflinching faith towards the all pervading Lord, both detachment (vairagya) and Supreme Knowledge (jnana) that leads to Self-realization arise!

The mind grasps sounds and other perceptions that pertain to this world through the medium of senses. However when, without any feeling of likes-dislikes, the mind of the Yoga practitioner perceives everything in this world to be a form of the Supreme Lord, he will realize the true form of his Self.

He will perceive the Self as pure, unattached, equally existing in every object and devoid of any attributes. Due to this realization he attains oneness with his original Self! This is the ultimate state.

Jñāna-mātraṁ paraṁ brahma paramātmeśvaraḥ pumān

Dṛśy-ādibhiḥ pṛthag bhāvair bhagavān eka īyate 

Every scripture (Shastra) explains about the non-dual Supreme Lord (Bhagawān), the embodiment of knowledge, the ruler of this entire universe, who is beyond Nature and whose essence is unsurpassed. He is addressed differently as Paramatma, Iśwara, Parabrahma or Puruśa (Self).

He himself illumines as the visible world, the individual seeing the world, and as the senses which aid in seeing the world!

The ultimate unmatched fruit of all yoga-sadhana is to attain dispassion in totality! It is the most supreme result!

The traitless, formless, non-dual Supreme Lord, who is an embodiment of knowledge, is the only real object in this creation! However due to association with name and form, the senses which have developed inclination towards the external objects get deluded and they perceive multiple objects with different qualities and attributes.

The self-illuminating Parabrahma transforms into the 11 forms viz., Mahat tattva, ahamkara (egoism), three attributes of Nature (trigunas), the 5 basic elements, 5 organs of perception, 5 organs of action and mind. Together with these 11 qualities, Parabrahma manifests as the individual being. When the entire world is considered as one unit it is addressed as samisthi or universal form of the Lord. This is Hiranyagarbha.

This is because the individual being as well as the universal being both emerged from that single source known as Parabrahma.

Etad vai śraddhayā bhaktyā yogābhyāsena nityaśaḥ

Samāhitātmā niḥsaṅgo viraktyā paripaśyati 

The devotee, who with practice of total dispassion and Yoga purifies his inner mind, actually perceives this entire world as the form of the Supreme Lord!

O Mother! I have taught to you the tool known as knowledge (jnana) that aids in attaining Self-realization. With this the devotee will understand the principle of Prakriti and Puruśa (Nature-Self).

The Lord without attributes (nirguna brahma) is the subject in the path of knowledge (Jnana yoga). The Lord with attributes (saguna brahma) is the subject for the path of devotion (bhakti yoga).

Bhakti yoga means to fix the mind solely upon Me. The end result for both the paths is one and the same. The word ‘bhagawān’ explains this essence. In other words, understand that reaching Godhead is the sole result of both Bhakti and Jnana Yogas.

A single object can become the shelter for taste, form, quality. In other words it can be experienced differently based on the way it appeals to the different sense organs. The eye enjoys its beautiful colour, the tongue considers it delicious and so on”.

Aniruddhāya namah.

Sankarsanāya namah

Maharishi Kapila continues,

“When both body and the inner being lose the ability to perform action it is death. When they again join and obtain the ability to perform action it is birth.

That which enables the being to perceive external objects is ‘gross body’. At some point the gross body loses this ability. Then it is known as death.

Seeing the gross body with the feeling ‘this is me’ and seeing all objects through the medium of this gross body is ‘birth’!

When, due to defect in the eye, the ability to see objects diminishes, the inner sight-sense (chaksu-indriya) also loses its ability to see.  It should be understood that when both eye and the sense of sight fail, the individual also loses the ability to see. Similarly, when the gross body loses its ability to perceive the world, it is known as death. Understand that birth and death pertain only to the gross body (upādhi).

Tasmān na kāryaḥ santrāso na kārpaṇyaṁ na sambhramaḥ

Buddhvā jīva-gatiṁ dhīro mukta-saṅgaś cared iha

Therefore an intelligent person must not fear nor become mentally weak. He should not allow infatuation towards the world to enter into him. Realizing that he is the Self (atma) he should give up inclination towards the world.

This world and its bondages are purely illusory. Even this body is illusory. The aspirant should therefore practice differentiating between things permanent and impermanent (nitya-anitya vastu viveka) in this creation. Simultaneously along with this, he should practice detachment towards the world. In his day to day worldly activities, he should give up the false ego which he has towards his body.

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

Third Canto Chapter Thirty two.

In this chapter, the higher realms to which a person, who adheres to the path of goodness, ascends is described. In addition, the greatness of the path of devotion and the manner in which an ignorant person continues to rotate in the wheel of life are also described.

Kapila Maharishi continued, “A householder routinely engages in fruitive activities and enjoys their resultant benefits i.e. material prosperity (artha) and fulfillment of desires (kāma). He performs the same fruitive actions repeatedly and goes through the same cycle. Through the medium of desires he gets trapped in these worldly bondages.  (Fruitive actions are actions performed with some expectation of result).

Due to the intensity of desires, he deviates from offering worship to God with pure devotional love. Instead, due to attachment to sense gratification, he focuses upon performing rituals and Yagnas for appeasing Devatas and forefathers. Pleasing them with rituals becomes his way of life. He remains dedicated towards such actions.

Such person after leaving this gross body reaches Chandra-loka (Moon) and drinks nectar there. After exhausting his merit (punya) he once again is reborn on earth.

At the end of the kalpa i.e. at the time of dissolution, Srihari sleeps on his snake-bed. At that time all these different planes of existence, that a materialistic householder seeks refuge in, get absorbed into Him.

On the contrary are pure devotees, who do not seek to experience the fruits of their actions in the form of materialistic prosperity (artha) and fulfillment of desires (kāma)! They do not seek sense gratification and are disinclined towards this world!

Due to their pure inner mind, they are deeply dedicated towards sarva karma sanyasa (giving up fruitive actions in totality). They are devoid of egoism (I-ness) and attachments. They are eternally focused towards renunciation (sanyāsa). It is due to diligent adherence to their own dharma (swadharma) that such people obtain this pure inner mind!

After leaving this body, pure devotees travel through the path of the illumination (Sun) so as to merge into the all pervading Lord Srihari, who is the Lord for this entire creation. They reach Satya loka, the highest plane, and remain there worshipping Him.

This complete Lord is the material cause (upādāna kārana) for this creation. Through His intentions of creation and dissolution, He also becomes the instrumental/ efficient cause (nimitta kārāna).

Brahma, also known as Hiranyagarbha, has a lifespan of 2 Parārthās i.e. two sets of 50 years as per Brahma’s time calculation. After the completion of this lifespan, He too merges into the Supreme Lord.

The self-created Hiranyagarbha, the Lord of all Lords who has created this entire universe which is replete with the trigunas, enjoys his sovereignty for this period. Thereafter he determines to dissolve this entire creation which is full of egoism (I-ness) and consists of earth, water, fire, wind, space, mind, senses and subtle sensory perceptions. With this intent He merges into the absolute traitless, formless Supreme Entity known as Parabrahma.

When Hiranyagarbha merges into the Lord, these Yogis i.e. the residents of Satya loka, who are totally detached and who have conquered the life and mind, also give up their bodies and merge into the Lord. The remnant of egoism (I-ness) within them is the cause for their inability to merge into Him until now.

Atha taṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛt-padmeṣu kṛtālayam

Śrutānubhāvaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja bhāvena bhāmini

O Mother! You have heard from me the glories of the Supreme Lord Srihari who resides within every heart. With total devotion please surrender unto Him.

Lord Brahma, the embodiment of Vedas who is the cause for all animate and inanimate objects, through the medium of selfless non-fruitive action (nishkāma karma) merges into Lord Narayana, the primordial being, the Supreme amongst all beings and the Lord with form and attributes. He merges into the Lord along with Marichi and other saints, along with great Yogeśwaras, eminent knowledgeable saints such as Sanaka and others and together with siddha puruśas who are accomplished in Yoga.

Yet in Him (Brahma) feelings of duality, false ego towards the body and doership of actions remain. For this reason, as soon as the equilibrium between the three attributes of Nature (trigunas) is disturbed at the commencement of creation, He, under the directive of the Supreme Lord begins the task of creation exactly as it was in the earlier period. He again manifests as the world”.

Vāsudevāya namah