Srimad Bhagavatham

Atma nityo avyayah shuddha ekah kshetrajna aasrayah
Avikriyah svadrik heturvyaapako asangyanaavritah

Atman or Consciousness is eternal, immutable, pure, one alone, the resider of the temple of body, substratum (support for everything), changeless, self-seer or self-conscious, cause of the world, all-pervasive, unattached and without any veil or obstacle.

Explanation

We will discuss today the nature of Atman through the dvadasha lakshanas (12 characteristics) that Prahlaada explains to his co-students.

What is Atman?

Atman is the Self or the ultimate reality of Lord. The Vedas speak about the ultimate reality as Brahman, Paramatman, Ishwara, Lord, Atman, Self etc. All these different terms denote the same entity – the ultimate reality which is of the nature of Sat (existence), Chit (Consciousness) and Ananda (bliss).

The scriptures also speak about the ultimate reality of Lord as the one and only entity existing. All other things which seem to be present are only mere illusions in the reality of Lord even as the dream world & its objects are only illusions in the dreamer. Thus what really exists is only the ultimate reality of Lord. Differences are only names and forms of the Lord. As various gold ornaments (having different names and forms) are only an illusion in gold – they all are ultimately gold alone – similarly the dual world that we seem to perceive is only an illusion of names and forms in the Lord. Remembering this reality, let us know see the lakshanas given by Prahlaada.

Nityah - Eternal

Atman is Nitya or eternal. As explained, the Lord of the nature of Consciousness is ever present. Time which is divided into past, present and future itself is dependent on Consciousness. If there is no Consciousness (the seeker is not conscious), then there is no time at all. Thus the Lord of the nature of Consciousness is eternal or ever existing. Nitya is with respect to time but this can be extended to space and causation as well. Desha (space), kaala (time) and vishaya (causation) are the three limiting adjuncts of anything in the world. The Lord as he is the substratum of these three is not limited by these. Thus the Lord is ever present (eternal), all-pervasive and the primal cause of everything (as the substratum of illusory world).

Avyayah – Immutable

As the Lord is eternal, he cannot undergo any changes. That which undergoes changes is subject to birth and death. The body that we see undergoes constant changes and hence it dies. Science accepts that cells are continuously changing as they take birth and die. Thus that which is changing cannot be eternal as it will cease to exist one fine day. The Lord as he is eternal cannot undergo any changes. Since the Lord cannot have any changes, he is immutable. We have to remember constantly that the Lord mentioned by the scriptures is not some Vishnu or Siva distinct from the seeker – the Lord is the very nature of the seeker – there is no difference between the seeker & the Lord as whatever exists is the Lord alone – it is only due to ignorance of one’s own very nature of Lord that a seeker finds himself as different from the Lord.

Shuddha or pure

Sankara in his Brahma Sutra Bhashya defines the Self as Nitya Shuddha Buddha Mukhta or ever pure, enlightened and liberated. Any entity which has parts alone can have contacts with other things. The body comes in contact with objects because the body has the parts of hands, legs etc. That which is devoid of parts cannot have any contact with anything. It is only due to contact with an external entity that impurity is caused – rather impurity is mixing of an external entity. Aakasha or space is partless and hence it doesn’t have any contact with anything. The Lord from whom space has come cannot be with parts. If the Lord is with parts, the space created from the Lord also should have parts. Thus the Lord is partless – this is what Sruthi calls as Nishkala (without parts). Since the Lord is without parts, therefore the Lord cannot have contact with anything else. Since the Lord cannot have contact with anything, therefore there cannot be any impurity in the Lord. Thus the Lord is ever pure.

EKAH – One

The Lord is one alone. Here one means that the Lord alone exists. There is nothing similar to or dissimilar to the Lord. The scriptures speak about the Lord as EKAM EVA ADVITEEYAM or one without a second. There are three types of differences between things. First is svagatha bhedha or internal differences like the body has internal parts of hands, legs etc. As explained earlier, since the Lord is without parts, he doesn’t have any internal differences. Second is sajaatheeya bhedha or difference between similar things like one tree is different from another tree. The Lord is one alone – there cannot be two Lords as there cannot be two Consciousness. Since the Lord is the primal cause or substratum of the illusory world – there cannot be any other Lord as that would make two causes for the world. Thus there is nothing similar to the Lord. Third is vijaatheeya bhedha or difference between dissimilar things like a tree is different from a stone. The Lord is the primal cause of the world – the Lord is in whom the world resides and unto whom the world will merge after destruction. Since the Lord is the primal and one cause, therefore there is nothing different from the Lord. The scriptures also speak about the Lord alone existing before creation and after creation. Thus the Lord doesn’t have any of the three bhedhas of svagatha, sajaatheeya and vijaatheeya. Hence the Lord is ONE alone.

The above characteristics need to be learned thoroughly without any doubts so that we will be able to contemplate on the Lord remembering these characteristics. Thus we will not learn all the characteristics in a single day – we will see the next characteristics in the next day.

Atma nityo avyayah shuddha ekah kshetrajna aasrayah
Avikriyah svadrik heturvyaapako asangyanaavritah

Atman or Consciousness is eternal, immutable, pure, one alone, the resider of the temple of body, substratum (support for everything), changeless, self-seer or self-conscious, cause of the world, all-pervasive, unattached and without any veil or obstacle.

Explanation

We discussed the first four characteristics of the Lord as described by Prahlaada to his co-students. The four characteristics we discussed are that the Self is eternal, immutable, pure and one alone.

Let us see the other characteristics of the Atman.

Kshetrajna – indweller of the temple of body
The first four characteristics of the Lord were with respect to the nature alone & not taking into consideration the illusory world. Explanation of the Lord is not complete until the explanation takes into account the illusory world which is being experienced by the ignorant seeker. The seeker will not be able to relate the Lord’s pure nature as such without any analogy or without it being relative to the world. It is but the very nature of the mind to relate things to what is currently experiences. It is due to this reason that when a person hears the word “GOD”, he assumes a form for the Lord even though the Lord is all-pervasive and hence formless. Thus Prahlaada is here entering into the characteristic of the Lord with respect to the world.

Lord propounds in Gita 13th Chapter that the body or the things that can be objectified is termed as KSHETRAM. Kshetra or temple is that which is destroyed finally or which is not real. The person who knows the temple or is indweller of the temple is KSHETRAJNA. A person who is the Subject of all objects alone knows the objects. Thus he alone is the indweller of the temple of the world. As the subject of all experiences, as the witness of all experiences, he is the Kshetrajna. As the substratum or essence of all the things in the world, he is the indweller of the world. The scriptures proclaim the Lord to be that real entity from which the world has been created, in whom the world exists & unto whom the world merges at the time of destruction. Thus the Lord is the substratum of all beings. The substratum is always the essence – and hence the Lord is the indweller of all things in the world as their essence. Thus the Subject of “I” or Consciousness in each one of us which experiences the world and other entities is the Lord alone. The Lord while explaining about Kshetrajna in Gita says that “I am the kshetrajna of all beings in the world”.


Aasraya – substratum
Kshetrajna is the essence of all things in the world. The things or entities in the world is ever changing and hence is only an illusion. Any illusion needs to have a real substratum like the water seen in desert has the substratum of desert. The substratum is the real entity in which the illusion seems to be present. Thus the Lord is the substratum or locus of all beings in the world. The Lord is the support for all beings in the world as they are mere illusions in the Lord. If we remove the Lord from the world, the world ceases to exist. The Lord is the power who is controlling the world, giving light to the world and making the world appear as if sentient.

Avikriyah – changeless
If the Lord is the substratum of all beings or the support of all beings, then the Lord also might be subject to changes when the beings change – thus the changing Lord will not be eternal – this doubt is being answered by the word AVIKRIYAH. The Lord even though is the support of all beings is changeless as he is the substratum of all beings. Any support if it has real contact with that which it supports will be subject to changes. For eg: the table which is supported on the floor is an example for this – here when the table changes, the floor as well changes. But in the case of the relation between Lord and the world, the world is not real like the Lord. The world is only an illusion. Thus this is like water seen in desert. Even though water might seem to be changing but still the desert doesn’t change at all as it is the substratum of illusory water. Similarly the world is only an illusion in the Lord & hence changes in the world will never change the Lord. The Lord is the one and only changeless entity amidst the changing world. The Lord as the mere substratum of all beings is only a witness to the illusory changes of the illusory world.

Svadrik – self conscious
There can be a doubt that doesn’t Lord require any light to shine? Doesn’t the Lord require any seer for his illumination? Prahlaada answers this by telling that the Lord is self-luminous, self-conscious and the self-seer. The Lord is that light which gives light to all other things. Thus the Lord never requires any other light for his illumination. There requires no proof or illumination for Consciousness. To know that “I exist”, there need be no light, no scriptures, no proof at all. This “I” or Consciousness is Self-luminous and it is one with the Lord.

Mundaka Upanishad speaks thus about the illumining nature of the Lord
Na tatra sooryo bhaathi na Chandra thaarakam
Na ima vidhyutho bhaanthi kuthoyam agnih
Tameva bhaanthan anubhaathi sarvam
Tasya bhaasa sarvam idam vibhaathi

There (the place of the Lord) neither the Sun shines nor the moon; lightning doesn’t shine nor does fire. Everything follows his light only – it is due to his light that everything shines.

We will see the rest four characteristics of the Lord in the next day.

Sankaracharya explains about chit and jada as drik and drishya in Brahmajnanavalimaala thus:

Drikdrishau dvau padaarthau sthah paraspara vilakshanau
Drik brahma drishyam maayethi sarva vedanta dindimaa

There are two entities alone here (on analysis) which is Drik and Drishya both of which are of diverse natures (entirely opposite). Drik or Subject is Brahman whereas drishyam or objects are maya – thus is the roaring statement of vedanta.

When we analyse the experience spectrum, we can find only these two entities of Subject and Object. Subject is Consciousness – that which is capable of experiencing its own existence – that which pulsates in a person as “I”, “I”. Objects are the various insentient entities which have no existence of their own except for the illumination provided by Consciousness. Until “I” throw light to the table in front of me, the table doesn’t exist & has no existence at all. Thus the jada vasthus (insentient entities) are dependent on Consciousness for their existence. Consciousness on the other hand is independent of the insentient entities.

Therefore we have Consciousness as the independent entity whereas the objects of the world or the world itself in general are dependent on Consciousness. It is this Consciousness, the independent entity, which is mentioned in the scriptures as Brahman and Upanishad. Aitareya Upanishad says PRAJNAANAM BRAHMA or Consciousness is Brahman. The Upanishads in many ways speaks of the ultimate reality of Lord as that which gives light to other beings & that whose light the objects follow becoming existent themselves (as a result of the light of the objects). Thus the objects are present only if the Lord (of the nature of Consciousness) is present.

On the other hand, the scriptures also speak that in the pure state of Consciousness or Lord, the Sun or the fire or any other objects don’t shine. This means that Consciousness is devoid of all objects & it exists even when the objects are not present. This is what we experience in the state of deep sleep when there are no objects but still Consciousness exists as we say after waking up that “I slept well”.

We may doubt over here that there are as many Consciousness as sentient beings – but this is not true. The scriptures again and again proclaim that the underlying essence of all beings or the ATMAN is the same – and it is the same PARAMATMAN who is residing as the essence in the heart of all beings.

Thus there are no “many” Consciousness but one alone which is called the ultimate reality of Lord or Brahman.

As we saw, Consciousness is an independent entity whereas the world of objects is dependent on Consciousness for its existence. Any dependent entity is only an illusion in the substratum of independent entity. This is like a variable and a constant – a variable is only an illusion of name in the constant. A variable is a constant at any point of time. Similarly thus the objects are only an illusion in the reality of Lord. This is the reason why it is called as Maya or illusory or unreal by Sankaracharya. Thus Consciousness or the ultimate reality of Lord who is our own very nature alone is real and other things are mere illusions in the Lord.

The above is the ultimate reality behind the world and this analysis is what Prahlaada is trying to point out through the words of Chit and Jada. If we realize the illusory nature of the objects of the world, we will develop dispassion and detachment to them. This detachment leads us to seek the eternal entity of Lord. Thus we drift from the sorrowful objects to blissful Lord. Therefore this analysis of Chit and Jada helps in developing Viveka (discrimination), Vairagya (dispassion) as well as Mumukshutva (desire to get liberated from the ocean of samsaara).

It is due to this reason that this analysis is very important for a seeker. Let us all try to contemplate on this analysis by learning them thoroughly and pondering over it whenever we have time.

Prahlaada said to his co-students:

I will explain you to the tattvam which Narada gave to my mother & I overheard it in her womb. I still remember it clearly. This truth is something which can be easily grasped by even a small child. As explained earlier, there are only two things here – Jada or insentient entities and Chit or Consciousness. Consciousness alone is real and is called Atman or Self in Vedanta. The insentient entities of the world are only an illusion in the reality of Consciousness.

This is the nature of the Atman:

Atma nityo avyayah shuddha ekah kshetrajna aasrayah
Avikriyah svadrik heturvyaapako asangyanaavritah

Atman or Consciousness is eternal, immutable, pure, one alone, the resider of the temple of body, substratum (support for everything), changeless, self-seer or self-conscious, cause of the world, all-pervasive, unattached and without any veil or obstacle.

Explanation

This is one part in Srimad Bhagavatham wherein the ultimate reality of Self or Consciousness or Lord is explained clearly and its characteristics are clearly put forth. Analyzing these characteristics will lead a seeker to realize that there is nothing here but the ultimate reality of Lord alone, one without a second. Prahlaada mentions 12 qualities of the Self and hence this is called as Dvaadasha lakshana of the Self.

Unlike other days, let us try to learn a few vedantic terms and concepts today (pardon the same). Lakshana or characteristic is not at all possible for the Self because the Self or Lord is Nirguna or without any qualities. But still we can explain the nature of the Self even as Sun which gives light to everything is characterized by “light-giver”. The lakshanas are not gunas or qualities which limit the Self but they are the very nature of the Self.

Guna or quality is something which limits or qualifies an entity. When I say that I am 6 feet tall, height of 6 feet limits the body. Thus height is a guna of the body. Whereas when I say that the lakshana or characteristic of fire is burning, burning is not a guna of fire but it is the very nature of fire. Guna can be split and distinguished from the entity whereas lakshana or svaroopa can never be distinguished from the entity even as burning cannot be split from fire.

Vedanta accepts three types of lakshanas for the ultimate reality of Lord depending on the state from which we view the reality. As we all know, Vedanta accepts three levels of reality of temporary, empirical and ultimate. Temporary reality is that of water seen in desert, dream etc. which is short-lived. Empirical reality is the waking world that we see which serves some purpose in the waking state. Ultimate reality is the Lord alone wherein there is no empirical changing and illusory world – this ultimate reality is termed as paaramarthika level wherein there is only the Lord.

The three lakshanas which Vedanta accepts for the Lord are:

1. Vyaavritta lakshana or separating characteristic – here the Lord is separated from all other things. Since here comparison is with respect to the temporary and illusory world, therefore this lakshana is valid at the empirical level. The Lord is mentioned by the scriptures as he who is the witness of the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep. Whatever is happening in the three states is illumined by the Lord even as a lamp illumines the actors, stage, audience etc. in a drama. Thus the Lord is called as Kutastha or Sakshi or witness to everything in the world. The jeeva or limited being (which is consciousness associated with the body-mind complex) considers himself as real and thereby gets attached to things. But once the jeeva seeks the Lord, he realizes that he is a mere reflection of Kutastha thereby that he is none other than Kutastha or Lord alone. When the jeeva realizes his own very nature of Kutastha, then he ever remains immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord & this is what Vedanta terms as Jeevanmukthi or liberated while living.

2. Thatastha Lakshana or relative characteristic – the vyaavritta lakshana is that which tells the Lord to be different from illusory states and its objects. But here the characteristic goes a bit deeper & the Lord is mentioned as the cause of the world. The world even though is illusory, has a substratum from which it seems to have come, in which it seems to exist & unto which it will merge. This substratum is the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus the Lord is mentioned as the aasraya or substratum of the illusory world. We can as well say that saakshi bhaava is also a thatastha lakshana but the saakshi bhaava can be a vyaavritta lakshna as well depending on the perspective view (from the view of the three states saakshi is vyaavritta lakshana as different from the states, from the view of the saakshi or witness this is the thatastha lakshana as the substratum or illumination of the three states). We need not get confused over the same. One famous example of thatastha lakshana is given thus: A person was searching for a particular house. He asked a passerby who said that the house on which the crow is sitting is the house you are searching. This is thatastha lakshana wherein the house is characterized as that on which the crow is sitting. The crow will not sit permanently and hence this characteristic is not permanent – similar is the case of the causal nature of the Lord. The Lord is the cause only as long as the world is there – similarly the Lord is the saakshi only as long as the three states are experienced. But once the ultimate reality is known, then there are no states as well as no world – thus the thatastha lakshana becomes invalid at that time. This ultimate state is called as the fourth-state or turiya avasthaa in Mandukya Upanishad (the other three states being waking, dream and deep sleep).

3. Svaroopa lakshana or very nature – the previous two lakshanas are temporary as they are with respect to the illusory world. But this is the very nature of the Lord. The Lord is mentioned in the scriptures as of the nature of SAT (existence), CHIT (Consciousness) and ANANDA (bliss). The Lord is SAT because he is ever present and never ceases to exist. That alone exists always which can experience its own existence. A stone cannot be called as SAT because it doesn’t experience its own existence instead depends on the conscious jeeva for its existence. Thus SAT has to be conscious in nature or CHIT goes hand in hand with SAT. SAT as it is ever existent is not subject to any limitations or is infinite. Anything that is infinite has to be blissful in nature – hence the Lord is of the nature of ANANDA or bliss absolute. Some scriptures add on ANANTHA or infinite characteristic as well for the Self.

Prahlaada through the 12 lakshanas is clearly defined the ultimate reality of Lord or ATMAN so that the seeker clearly understands the Lord thereby making it easy for him to contemplate on the Lord at all times. As to the twelve characteristics of the Lord, we will see that the next day.

One day Prahlaada was brought to his father Hiranyakashipu again. Prahlaada prostrated at the feet of his father & Hiranyakashipu held him near asking him as to what he had learnt.

Prahlaada replied thus:

Sravanam keerthanam vishnoh smaranam paadasevanam
Archanam vandanam daasyam sakhyam aatmanivedanam

Ithi pumsaarpithavishnau bhakthischet nava lakshana
Kriyathe bhagavathyadhyaatmanye adheethamuttamam

A person should have sravanam, keerthanam, smaranam, paada sevanam, archanam, vandanam, daasyam, sakhyam, atma nivedanam thus nine forms of devotion towards Vishnu with total surrender of the mind. This is the supreme knowledge that I have learnt.

Explanation

Srimad Bhagavatham is here explaining the famous nava vidhi bhakthi. It is this same that Narada explains as ekaadasha bhakthi in the Narada Bhakthi Sutras.

We should remember again and again that all these activities are meant to gain pure and unconditional love towards the ultimate reality of Lord knowing that the Lord alone is present in this illusory world. The nava forms or types of devotion are mentioned to so that a seeker as per his inner tendency and vasanas can take up that particular type & contemplate on the Lord with the help of that. Arjuna for example had sakhya bhakthi towards the Lord and it was tough for Arjuna to offer himself at the feet of the Lord.

Since each and every person in the world is of a different nature, therefore the way which each one will see the Lord will always differ. It is indeed tough to contemplate on the ultimate reality of Lord in his pure form of formless Nirguna Brahman. As the Lord himself mentions in Bhakthi Yoga that to contemplate on the formless is tough for people who have still not overcome body-consciousness (or the thought that I am the body – identification with the body which Vedanta calls as Ego or ahamkaara), therefore it is through the various types of contemplation of form Lord that we gain concentration thereby progressing in the spiritual path.

We have always remember that what is to be achieved through any activity in the world even if it is worship of the Lord is constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord who is the only real entity present. If we forget this reality, then the activities became mechanical and will lead us to punya-paapa. These punya-paapas lead a person to take birth again and again. Birth-Death is the main reason for all the sufferings in the world. If a person is able to get rid of the notion that “I am the body”, then he will easily overcome sufferings and will be in turn led to the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus actions lead to the cycle of birth-death whereas actions performed remembering the ultimate reality of Lord will lead to liberation. Thus actions don’t matter but what matters is the attitude behind the action.

Remembering this, let us try to analyze the nine forms of bhakthi that Prahlaada is speaking about here.

SRAVANA – this is listening to the stories of the Lord, hearing to the glories of the Lord. The stories of the Lord openly propound the supremacy of the Lord, his control over the world & his all-pervasive nature. The stories as well point out to a seeker that the Lord is ever ready to help his devotees & that the Lord is the slave of his devotees. Thus through listening these stories, we tend to be move devoted to the Lord – our love for the Lord increases knowing that he alone can save us from the bondages of the world, he alone will give us eternal bliss which we are constantly seeking.

KEERTHANAM – this is a form of reflection of whatever we have learnt about the Lord. Once a person has heard the glories of the Lord, he becomes so attached to those glories of the all-pervasive Lord that he goes on singing the glories of the Lord. We can see this form of devotion well formed in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who couldn’t stand/sit idle without singing the names of the Lord.

SMARANAM – remembering the Lord is a type of contemplation. The previous two forms of devotion are external and require physical involvement whereas this form of devotion is pure internal or mental. The devotee who has heard the glories of the Lord and has sung the glories of the Lord always remembers the glories of the Lord. Even if he is doing a worldly activity, still he cannot but remember the Lord – his mind is so fixed unto the Lord that unknowingly it clings to the Lord like iron filings getting attracted to a magnet. It is this form that we find in Prahlaada. Yoga Vasistha speaks about how Prahlaada wanted to take revenge of Vishnu who had killed his father & thereby found out that contemplation alone can make a person conquer Vishnu by putting him in the jail of one’s heart. Thus Prahlaada was totally following the smaranam form of devotion.

PAADASEVANAM – offering prostrations to the feet of the Lord. Offering prostrations to the Lord means following the teachings of the Lord in the scriptures. The feet symbolizes the substratum or base of the Lord which is knowledge through the scriptures. Thus offering prostration to the feet is following the sadhana mentioned in the scriptures which is constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord.

ARCHANAM – taking the names of the Lord. This is done to focus the mind from external distractions. When a person is taking the name of the Lord, he is trying to focus the mind unto that which is implied through the names (which is the Lord alone). Thus taking the names of the Lord leads to concentration and focus of the mind which is getting distracted from the spiritual path. As Kanchi Acharyal mentions, naamas of the Lord are filled with so much power that it has effects which cannot be really observed. Thus we cannot find a person drinking liquor when the names of the lord is being taken.

VANDANAM – offering prostrations or pranaams to the Lord and his devotees. Here instead of implementing the teachings of the Lord, the devotee constantly offers his pranaams to the Lord in each and everything in the world. Thus he is prostrating the substratum or essence of all things in the world. When a devotee prostrates to each and everything in the world, he gets conquer over the Ego. The Ego is controlled and vanquished slowly through such prostrations.

DAASYAM – being like a servant to the Lord and his devotees. We find many of the saiva and vaishnava saints (Naayanmaars and Alwars resp) offering their service to the devotees of the Lord. The Lord becomes happy when his devotees are served. It is like a mother becoming happy when somebody does service to her child. It is also like a servant of a master becoming happy when another person serves the master – the Lord is the servant of all devotees as he himself has shown and expressed it in the scriptures.

SAKHYAM – being like a friend to the Lord. Sundarar, one of the saivite saint, was like a friend to the Lord. Arjuna has this devotion to the Lord – when a devotee sees the Lord as his friend, he totally surrenders to the friend. As we are well aware of, there are no secrets between friends. What a person might not tell to his parents or siblings, he will tell to his friend. Thus this type of devotion helps to gain trust in the Lord. Without trust, the spiritual progress cannot happen.

ATMA NIVEDANAM – whatever be the type of devotion, it has to culminate in offering oneself totally to the Lord. This is where the devotee totally offers his Ego to the Lord. Thus the ego of the devotee is vanquished & there remains nothing but the Lord alone, one without a second. Thus through dual perception or difference between the Lord and the devotee, this final state of merging unto the Lord happens & there is none other than the non-dual Lord alone.

Thus all forms of devotion ends in ATMA NIVEDANAM. As Prahlaada mentions, a devotee has to choose that form of devotion which is appealing to his nature & continue it for a longer period until it ends in ATMA NIVEDANAM.

This nine forms of bhakthi that prahlaada mentions is very important and if remembered-implemented in life, will lead a seeker to realize the ultimate reality of Lord in this very birth itself.

We will continue with what happened to Prahlaada in the next day.

Seeing that there was no change in Prahlaada, Hiranyakashipu pushed his son from his lap & ordered the soldiers to kill him. The soldiers tried to kill him with weapons, by giving poison, putting him into fire etc. But Prahlaada was totally merged in the ultimate reality of Lord and hence for such a realized saint, there can be no birth or death. Since they couldn’t kill the child, the child Prahlaada was again sent to the Gurus for learning.

Once while the Gurus were away, Prahlaada advised his co-students to contemplate on the ultimate reality of Lord thus:

“Dear friends!!! I learnt the Brahma Vidya from Narada when I was in the womb of my father. It is very good if a person is contemplate on the ultimate reality of Lord through knowledge at a very young age. As aging happens a person cannot use his intellect much & the mind will be wavering. Know that the Lord exists in the entire world. Whatever is seen as the illusory world is only an illusion in the reality of Lord. Knowing that the Lord alone is present everywhere, see the Lord as everything. Do not distinguish between good or bad, dharma or adharma, sukha or dukha – always contemplate on the Lord as the substratum of everything.

Know that there are only two entities when we analyze the world – one is Consciousness and the other is the insentient entities of the world. The insentient entities or jada vasthus are only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Consciousness. The insentient entities seem to be sentient and as existing because of the Conscious substratum of Lord who is illumining them at all times. Even though Consciousness is the substratum of insentient entities but still it is not at all affected by the activities or changes of the insentient entities.”

Explanation

Aging or growing up is but for the body alone and since “I” am the Self, I have no aging at all. This splitting of the Self from the body is very tough indeed to achieve. We may seem to have achieved this but still at times of sufferings of the body, we will succumb to the same. We have to always remember that mere listening or knowing things is not realization. Realization is implementing the knowledge that we have learnt in life. This is why the Mundaka Upanishad proclaims that “this Self is not realized through giving discourses, lot of listening, reflecting or due to the intellect – but it is realized by the strong desire of a seeker to realize it”.

Thus until a person realizes the ultimate reality of lord, he hasn’t yet overcome the feeling that I am the body. Only in this case, the saint will not at all be affected by the state of the body. Ramana Maharshi was Samadhi in one of the caves in Tiruvannamalai – there were anthills over his body – his body was kind of mutilated by insects. We find Prahlaada also in that state as Prahlaada had realized the ultimate reality of Lord as the substratum of all existences. Thus even though Prahlaada was attacked in all ways and the soldiers tried to kill him, they couldn’t kill him. We find the same in the case of Ramana Maharshi also as Sheshadri Swamigal brought Ramana out of the cave where he was totally immersed in the reality without giving any attention to the body.

The Lord promises in many places in Gita that he takes care of the good and bad of the devotee. The final word on the same is:

Kaunteya Prathijaanihi na me bhakthah pranashyathi
O Arjuna! Know for sure that my devotee never perishes.

The Lord doesn’t make false promises like we do – the word of the Lord is the final word. We can find and many of us would have experienced the promise of the Lord fructifying in our very lives. Thus for a real devotee, there can be no harm whatsoever as the Lord takes care of such a devotee. There is only one criterion for the Lord to help the devotee – the devotee should totally surrender and seek the Lord. If we see seek the Lord like Draupadi did by holding on to her saree, the Lord will not help us. When a child seeks the mother all the while doing some other activity, the mother will not like it. Similar is the case with the Lord as well – as long as we don’t totally seek the Lord, the Lord will not come to our help.

In fact it is not the lord who is sitting in heaven who comes to help us – the Lord is ever present. The ever present grace of the Lord is accepted when we surrender totally and open our hearts to the Lord. As AMMA says, the Sun’s rays are always there but if a person sits inside his house closing all doors and windows all the while claiming that the Sun doesn’t give me rays – it is wrong. Similarly the Lord is always present in out very heart – but the grace of the Lord can be apprehended only if we open up our hearts. Opening the heart is done by totally surrendering unto the lord, seeing the Lord in everything and offering all activities unto the Lord. If we do this, very soon we will see the Lord showing himself to us and then the Lord will always be there to protect the devotee.

A realized saint or jeevan muktha is a pure devotee of the Lord. He knows and lives in the reality that everything is but the Lord alone, one without a second. Thus he doesn’t have any likes and dislikes – he sees everything as the Lord. He doesn’t see any distinction in the world – he doesn’t even distinguish between his body and others bodies because he sees everything as names and forms of the ultimate reality of lord. It is thus one-pointed vision of the Lord as present everywhere which is the final sadhana to realization. When a seeker thus contemplates on the Lord at all times & as the substratum of all beings, he overcomes Maya and thereby realizes his own very nature of non-dual Lord (merging unto the Lord and thereby getting rid of all illusory differences created in the world).

We will see the analysis of Chit (consciousness) and Jada (insentient entities) as Prahlaada is explaining in the next day.

Narada continued:

Hiranyakashipu didn’t like the way his son was behaving. But still, in order to learn vidya, he sent the child Prahlaada to asura Guru Shukracharya. Prahlaada whose mind was totally immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord was never interested in the teachings of the Guru and he ignored all of them as his mind would never rest in those teachings.

Once Hiranyakashipu called his son nearby and asked him as to what he learnt from the Guru. Prahlaada replied that instead of being totally immersed in the ocean of samsaara, totally in dark ignorance it is better if everything is renounced & the person goes to the forest and does Bhagavad Bhajanam.

Hiranyakashipu again sent the child to the Guru instructing them that the child is fully immersed in the thought of Vishnu and hence should be taught such that he forgets Vishnu.

Explanation

Srimad Bhagavatham here again emphasizes on the thoughts that might/will be nourished in a real devotee or jnaani of the ultimate reality of Lord. Whatever be the situation or environment, the jnaani will be ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord. Jeevan muktas are also called as people who have jnaana nista or being established always in the ultimate reality of Lord (with the knowledge that there is no duality whatsoever here but the Lord alone remains, one without a second).

Whatever the question that is put forth to the jnaani, the answer will always revolve around the ultimate reality of Lord alone. This is what Narada says in the bhakthi sutras that “after having attained ultimate devotion, the devotee will think about the Lord, speak about the Lord, hear about the Lord, experiencing the Lord alone”.

There is a famous story explained to show as to how a person will give the answer in such a way that it always leads to the ultimate reality of Lord. There was a school teacher who used to teach the students about cows – he used to teach “the cow is an animal, it has four legs, it gives milk etc. etc.” The teacher used to always teach about the cow alone. One day there was inspection and during that time, the teacher taught about the cow. Next inspection also the teacher taught about the cow alone. The very next time, the inspector asked the teacher to teach about something else – at that time, the teacher started teaching about the tree thus “the tree gives shade, it has branches, cows are tied to the tree, a cow is an animal, it has four legs, it gives milk etc. etc.” Thus the teacher came back to the cow topic.

Similarly for the jnaani who has realized that there is nothing here apart from the ultimate reality of Lord – that everything is but an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord, there is nothing that he can think or speak about. Whatever he speaks will be about the Lord alone, whatever he hears will be the Lord alone. When the jnaani hears about murders in the world – instantly he will think that these murders are killings of the Ego alone & thereby it is the Lord who is making the jeevas kill themselves so that they merge into the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus for a jnaani or a bhaktha, there is nothing apart from the Lord to think or speak about. He sees the world as a play of the Lord which has no real purpose but is just a sport which is only an illusion in the Lord. The Lord through his plays is pointing out himself so that the people in the play who have forgotten their own very nature of Lord might remember him. As the drama shouts about the substratum of the light that illumines the drama – as the dream shouts aloud about the substratum of non-dual dreamer, similarly the world is shouting at each one of us that there is nothing here but the Lord alone.

As the goldsmith sees gold in all ornaments, similarly the knower of the ultimate reality of Lord sees the Lord everywhere. Thus he has nothing apart from the Lord to seek or think or hear. Thus whatever is asked to such a jnaani, his answer will be related to the Lord alone. Thus when Prahlaada was asked about what he learnt from the Guru, he replied that everything has to be renounced and the ultimate reality of Lord has to realized through constant contemplation.

What is renunciation?
Real renunciation is renunciation of the Ego that “I am doing this, I am doing that”. Instead the bhaktha always thinks that there is nothing to be done here – I am a mere instrument in the hands of the ultimate reality of Lord. Whatever seems to be happening is nothing but an illusory activity in the reality of Lord. Having this thought and attitude is real renunciation as herein the seeker is always contemplating on the ultimate reality of Lord as everything.

The emphasis on going to forest and seeking the Lord is that there will be fewer distractions. When there are fewer distractions, contemplating on the Lord will be easy. But this also doesn’t mean that a person who is in the forest will be able to contemplate on the Lord easily. Pandu went to the forest to contemplate on the Lord but succumbed to worldly pleasures and hence died. Thus renunciation is in fact total and complete surrender to the ultimate reality of Lord.

As to how the five year kid of Prahlaada was able to get so strong devotion to the ultimate reality of Lord, there is a story mentioned. When Hiranyakashipu went to do tapas, his wife was pregnant. At that time, the devas kidnapped Hiranyakashipu’s wife but Narada met them on the way & took her to his ashram. Narada then taught hiranyakashipu’s wife Vedanta but instead of the mother learning and understanding Vedanta, it was the kid Prahlaada who learnt Vedanta inside the womb of his mother. Thus when he came out, he was complete jnaani and bhaktha.

This is the reason why pregnant ladies are instructed to hear to puranic stories and good things so that the child inside imbibes these and when the child is born, it gains spiritual qualities. It is the same import which we get through abhimanyu learning about the chakravyuha from his father when he was in the womb of this mother.

We need not be sad if we haven’t come to this world with inherent spiritual tendencies – what really matters is whether we are able to appreciate the ultimate reality of Lord at this moment, thereby striving to realize the Lord from this moment itself. If we are able to get this strong desire to realize the ultimate reality of Lord in this very birth itself, we will be striving to realize the Lord through constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord.

We will continue with the story of Prahlaada the next day.

Prahlaada went to the Gurus and when asked by them as to what he had learnt, replied thus:

“I offer my prostrations to that Lord by whose Maya people are deluded into the thoughts that “I am this, they are that, I am different, they are different”. As iron pieces are automatically attracted to a magnet, similarly without my knowledge my mind is totally attracted to the ultimate reality of Vishnu.”

The Gurus tried to divert Prahlaada’s mind into dharma, artha and kaama but they couldn’t. They tried to create fear in the 5-year old child but were unsuccessful.

Explanation

The reality or truth is that there is nothing here apart from the ultimate reality of Lord, one without a second. What seems to be present in the illusory world is in fact nothing but an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. As different gold ornaments are nothing but names and forms in the reality of gold, similarly the duality that is perceived is only names and forms of the ultimate reality of Lord of the nature of absolute consciousness.

Thus we all are the Lord alone – there is no difference whatsoever here – whatever seems to be present, whatever seemed to be present, whatever will seem to be present are all the Lord alone. Everything in the world is based on time, space and causation. These are nothing but mere illusions in the SAT or EXISTENCE which is the very nature of the Lord. As there is nothing apart from the Lord, thus we all are the same as the Lord.

If that is so, why don’t I realize that I am the Lord???
Vedanta attributes this to Maya or avidya. Both words mean only veiling of the ever present Lord. When the seeker who is the same as the Lord is deluded through Maya or avidya (the power of the Lord), he considers himself as limited to the body-mind. Since there are many bodies and minds in the world, therefore the seekers considers himself as different from others & others as different from himself. Thus dual perception is created as a result of the ignorance of one’s own very nature of Lord (which is called Maya or avidya).

This Maya is what deludes a person into thinking that the duality that he perceives is real. This is what Bhagavatham is explaining here. The Lord himself explains in Gita as to how to overcome Maya. Maya is easily overcome by total surrender to the ultimate reality of Lord, who is the owner of Maya. We can consider Maya as that power which deludes everybody other than the Lord. Thus if we seek the Lord who controls Maya, then we will be easily able to overcome Maya. This is very similar to the magic of the magician. All viewers are hypnotized by the magic of the magician whereas the magician is the one who controls his magic. If a person seeks the magician, then he will overcome the magic of the magician. Similarly a person who totally surrenders unto the ultimate reality of Lord will overcome the Maya of the Lord.

Lord thus says in Gita
Daivi hi esha gunamayi mama maaya duratyayaa
Maameva ye prapadhyanthe maayaam etaam taranthi te

My divine power of Maya which is made up of the three gunas of sattva, rajas and tamas is very tough indeed to overcome. But those who take refuge in me totally, they easily overcome this Maya.

It is this same prapatti or surrender which Sankara mentions in Bhaja Govindam as SATSANGA:

Trijaggathi sajjana sangathireka bhavathi bhavaarnava tarane naukaa
There is no boat other than association with saints in the three worlds.

What is prapaatti???
Prapatti is not just seeking the Lord during tough times or weekly visiting him at Tirupathi or any other temple. Prapatti is total and unconditional surrender to the ultimate reality of Lord with the knowledge that whatever is present is the Lord alone.

The Lord himself speaks about this thus:

Yo maameva asammodah jaanaathi purusha uttamam
Sa sarva vid bhajathi maam sarva bhaavena bhaaratha

Who knows me as the ultimate reality behind the illusory world, he seeks me through all ways knowing me as the non-dual reality of Consciousness.

Narada explains this thus:

Sarvadaa sarvabhaavena nishchintaih bhagavaaneva bhajaneeyah

At all times & through all ways, surely the Lord alone has to be sought.

Thus surrender to the Lord is seeking the Lord as the one and only real entity amidst the illusory objects of the world and as the substratum of all illusory names and forms. A seeker who thus seeks the reality behind the world, he overcomes the delusive power of Maya by the grace of the Lord. When the Lord withdraws Maya which has veiled the Lord from the seeker, the seeker realizes his own very nature of Lord. This is what is called as moksha or atma nivedanam in bhakthi scriptures.

All dual notions are caused due to Maya and these dual notions are converted into likes-dislikes which leads to temporary happiness-sorrow. Thus the only way to achieve eternal and everlasting bliss is by seeking the ultimate reality of Lord and overcoming the delusion of Maya.

We will continue with analysis of the purushaarthas the next day.

The last day we saw that Prahlaada was tried to be deluded into dharma, artha and kaama by the asura Gurus but Prahlaada’s mind so immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord that nothing whatsoever could gain his concentration from the Lord.

Today we will spend some time analyzing on the purushaarthas. We have discussed this quite a number of times here itself but as Veda Vyaasa says in Brahma Sutras that “asakrid upadeshaad” meaning that learning/implementing has to be continued again and again until the thought of the ultimate reality of Lord becomes natural & the seeker cannot live even for a second without the thought of the Lord & the thought that everything is the Lord alone, one without a second.

Vedas speak about 4 purushaarthas which are things that are of some meaning to a purusha or human being & those which have to be preserved and used to realize the ultimate reality of Lord. These four are dharma or righteousness, artha or worldly possessions, kaama or sensual pleasures (loosely translated as lust) and moksha or liberation.

We have to remember that ultimately the goal of human life is ever-lasting bliss. This bliss can be achieved only through realization of the eternal Lord who is the substratum of all beings and who is the one behind the illusory world. Until a seeker realizes his own very nature of Lord (the seeker is the Lord alone as the Lord is one without a second & there is nothing apart from the Lord here), there will be sorrows and sufferings from the illusory world. The world which is filled with temporary and sorrowful entities can give nothing but sorrow alone. The world might seem to be giving temporary happiness but the very same happiness when lost leads to sorrow. Since all worldly possessions will be lost one day or the other, therefore a seeker cannot get eternal bliss from the world. Eternal bliss can thus be achieved only through realization of one’s own very nature of Lord. Eternal bliss is the very aim of each and every person. We all are seeking bliss in worldly objects – even though we might seem to be having different goals like becoming rich in life, gaining power, clearing IIM etc. but all these are strived for just for the sake of everlasting happiness. We think that happiness will be achieved through all these & hence we seek it. Nobody will seek a snake because everyone knows that the snake will lead only to sorrow (through danger). Thus we all are knowingly or unknowingly seeking eternal bliss which can be achieved only through realization of the ultimate reality of Lord.

It is this realization of one’s own nature of non-dual Lord that Vedas call as moksha. Moksha is getting rid of sorrows and sufferings thereby rejoicing in eternal bliss. Moksha is thus the final or ultimate purushaartha to be attained by a seeker. It is true that attaining moksha is not as easy as we think. The world is filled with sensual pleasures which are so tempting that it diverts our attention and deludes us (through Maya of the Lord which we learnt recently). Thus in order to progressively lead a seeker to moksha, Vedas speak about the other three purushaarthas. Dharma means always being righteous. Righteousness is always speaking the truth, always doing good things to everyone – these are ways in which we can gain peace of mind and control of the mind so that we are in a conducive environment to contemplate on the ultimate reality of Lord. Artha is seeking the worldly pleasures as per the rules and regulations put forth by the scriptures – the rules that we shouldn’t covet others wealth, we should gain possessions only through the right way & always offering them to the ultimate reality of lord. Kaama or enjoyment of sensual pleasures is also done so that we don’t overdo the same instead enjoy sensual pleasures as a duty towards the world remembering the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus lust or sexual pleasures are not forbidden in the scriptures – but sexual pleasures for the sake of mere enjoyment are forbidden – instead if it is accepted and advised for progeny so that through enjoyment, passion is subsided as well as the duty towards the world is performed.

The above three purusharthas of dharma, artha and kaama are to be followed only by that person who has still passions left in the mind & thereby cannot completely control them. Thus he follows the scriptural injunctions and enjoys the three purushaarthas always remembering the ultimate reality of Lord & offering all actions unto him. Slowly the seeker will overcome the passions & thereby totally contemplate on the ultimate reality of Lord. It is due to this reason that the four ashramas of brahmacharya, grihastha, vaanaprastha and sanyaasa are mentioned in the scriptures. It is generally a wrong notion that a person has to compulsorily follow the ashrama in the right order. Vedas proclaim a person to enter into grihastha only and only if he has passions still left in him & thus unable to directly enter into the path of renunciations. The other set of people who are eligible to directly enter into the sanyaasa ashrama are mentioned in the scriptures as nitya brahmachaaris (eternal celibates). Similarly the three purusharthas are only for that person who is unable to directly seek the fourth purushartha of moksha.

For a person who has once tasted the fourth purushartha of moksha by contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord, the other three purusharthas are of no use. Such a person can never be deluded into the three purursharthas – he is ever immersed in contemplation of the Lord. He whose mind has been filled by the thought of the Lord, he can never get deluded into worldly things. This is why the Lord got the name of Rama in one of his avatar – the word meaning “one who attracts everyone”.

Thus we have to constantly remember that the purushartha that has to be really gained is moksha alone – the other three purusharthas might be enjoyed and achieved but giving highest priority to moksha alone. Else the seeker is sure of falling a prey to the delusion of Maya – thereby ever immersed in the ocean of samsaara characterized by births and deaths.

Yudhisthira asked thus to Narada:

How come Hiranyakashipu had vidvesha towards his own son Prahlaada who was a Vishnu bhaktha? How did Prahlaada who was an asura became Vishnu bhaktha? It is the vidvesha of Hiranyakashipu towards his own son which lead to the Narasimha avatar – hence do please answer these doubts in my mind.

Narada continued thus:

Jaya Vijaya were born as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyaksha who was the elder one took bhoomi and went into the ocean. The Lord took the form of Varaha and came out from the nostril of Brahma and killed Hirayaksha. Hearing the death of his brother, Hiranyakashipu was very angry. He ordered all of his soldiers to search for Vishnu and destroy all yajna shaalas, dhyaanakendras, vratha sthalaas etc. Hiranyakashipu consoled his mother and relatives telling Vedantic truth and puranas stories. Hearing her son’s words, the mother of Hiranyakashipu contemplated on the ultimate reality and was not sad anymore.

Explanation

When we read above part of the story for the first time, we may be sure that there is not much to be explained over here. But each and every part of Srimad Bhagavatham is filled with deep import about the ultimate reality of Lord. The ultimate reality of Lord alone is to be achieved through sadhana of constant contemplation by the seeker. The truth behind the illusory world is the ultimate reality of non-dual Lord. Whatever is seen as the dual world is nothing but an illusion of names and forms of the Lord. If we separate out the Lord from the world, the world will cease to exist. The world is nothing but the ultimate reality of Lord alone.

Here Bhagavatham is pointing out through the question of Yudhisthira that any person in the world is entitled to be a Vishnu Bhaktha.

Who is a Vishnu Bhaktha?
He who is totally devoted to Vishnu – he who always contemplates on the ultimate reality of Vishnu is a Vishnu Bhaktha.

Who is Vishnu?
Vishnu means one who is all-pervasive. He who is all-pervasive is beyond space. The Lord alone is all-pervasive as he is the substratum of illusory world as well as space in which the world is contained. Without the Lord of the nature of Consciousness, there cannot be any existence for time, space and causation.

Thus Vishnu is the ultimate non-dual reality of Lord. A Vishnu bhaktha is one who is totally devoted to the Lord. To be devoted to the Lord doesn’t have any restrictions of caste or creed. As Narada Bhakthi Sutras says that there is no distinction of knowledge, kula, roopa etc. for the devotee as for the devotee there is only the devotion for the Lord. Whoever is devoted to the ultimate reality of Lord seeking the Lord at all times, he is a real devotee of the Lord.

Since we all are nothing but the Lord alone, therefore it is our right to be devotees of the Lord. A person who is not a devotee of the Lord is in fact ignorant about his own very nature. Such a person who considers himself as the body-mind complex is in fact a mad person who doesn’t know his own very nature of Lord beyond the body-mind complex.

Bhagavatham thus shows us that it doesn’t matter whether we have asura tendencies (meaning that we have bad vasanas and thus do bad actions), it only matters whether we seek the ultimate reality of Lord & thus are devotees of the Lord. Asura and deva are only with respect to the mind and its qualities. But “I” am something different from the mind – hence “I” am not bound by qualities or tendencies of the mind. Instead “I” am always the same as the Lord – there is no existence for “I” apart from the ultimate reality of Lord.

We also get to know about the real nature of Hiranyakashipu. It is a general notion that he was an asura and thus against the Lord. But we find Bhagavatham saying here that Hiranyakashipu instructed his mother the vedantic truths in order to console her for the death of his brother Hiranyaksha. This is where we have learn the scriptural stories properly. The asura clan of Hiranyakashipu which includes Prahlaada, his father Virochana, Mahabali etc were all great Vedantins. Hiranyakashipu was well versed in the scriptures – but he was just following his duty which was to attack good people & go against Vishnu. As Lord himself says in Gita about doing one’s own action at all times without any thirst for the fruits, Hiranyakashipu was just doing his duty in this big play of world.

That the Lord himself appeared before Hiranyakashipu and killed him (meaning that the Lord killed the ego of Hiranyakashipu) thereby making him realize the ultimate reality that the Lord is present everywhere (which was what Prahlaada said). This shows that a seeker who is totally devoted to the ultimate reality of Lord and offers all actions unto the Lord, the Lord himself will appear to the seeker and make him realize his own very nature of Lord.

This is a promise the Lord has made in the Gita:

Sarva dharmaan parityajya maam ekam sharanam vraja
Aham tvaa sarva paapebhyo mokshayishyaami ma shuchah

Renouncing all dharmas, take refuge in me alone – I will take care of all your sins & liberate you, do not worry.

The Lord again promises that he will take care of the good and bad of a devotee who is having ananya bhakthi or one-pointed contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord.

We will see as to what Hiranyakashipu did at the empirical level as he was angry with the Lord in the next day.

Narada continued:

Hiranyakashipu after consoling his mother went to Mandhara Parvatha contemplating on Lord Brahma to get boons in order to become a chakravarthi.

Finally Brahma appeared before him and granted him a boon. Hiranyakashipu asked thus “Any person born out of your creation should not kill me. Neither inside nor outside, neither during day nor night should I be killed. I shouldn’t be killed by any weapons. I shouldn’t die in bhoomi or aakaasha. I shouldn’t be killed by humans or animals”. Brahma after saying that “whatever you have asked is granted”, left the place.

After this Hiranyakashipu started torturing everybody in the world. Thus all the devas went to Vishnu asking for solution. Vishnu said that “wait for some days, after that everything will be fine – hiranyakashipu will have a son by name Prahlaada and I will take the form of Narasimha and kill Hiranyakashipu”. After hearing this, the devas were happy and went back.

Explanation

Srimad Bhagavatham here tells us that Hiranyakashipu went to do tapas for becoming a chakravarthi and rule over the entire world. In order to gain things in the world, we all have to do tapas or austerity. We all very well know that and have been experiencing it almost daily. In order to eat food, we have to do the tapas of cooking. In order to clear an exam, we need to do the tapas of learning. In order to get salary, we need to do the tapas of working for the whole month.

We do all sorts of tapas to attain worldly pleasure thinking that it will give us everlasting bliss or peace. We take all strains to attain the temporary and sorrowful worldly pleasures. As Patanjali points out in the Yoga Sutras, the worldly pleasures are fully mixed with sorrow not only while enjoying but while earning it as well. In order to earn a petty worldly pleasure, we need to struggle for the same.

Instead of seeking the ultimate reality of Lord knowing whom we will get eternal bliss, we go for temporary worldly pleasures. Seeking the Lord is very easy and simple as the Lord is the substratum of all beings & this seeking doesn’t require us to spend any money or time or energy. It just requires constant contemplation of the Lord as pervading the entire world in and out. But instead of seeking the Lord which doesn’t require much effort as well as will give us eternal bliss, we seek petty things of the world. It is very tough indeed to find out that people take so much strain as to even killing of others for the sake of worldly pleasures. Are they really happy after getting the pleasure??? No, never. Worldly pleasures can never satisfy the thirst of any being in the world. What we all are searching for is eternal ever-lasting bliss. This eternal bliss will not be got from temporary worldly objects and the pleasure derived from them will be short-lived. Thus eternal bliss alone can satisfy the seeker’s thirst and confer him contentment and satisfaction. This eternal bliss can be achieved only through realization of the ultimate reality of Lord. The Lord is realized when the seeker constantly contemplates the Lord – always thinking about the Lord and offering all actions unto the Lord.

This constant contemplation is very simple and doesn’t require much effort. Bhagavatham through the various stories of people doing tapas to get worldly pleasures shows us that we all are also doing the same thing. Hiranyakashipu thought himself to be wise & hence asked for such a boon which he thought might make him immortal. Instead he was killed by the Lord. Thus what he wanted to achieve through tapas was not achieved by him. This is the case with all our searching and acquiring of worldly objects for eternal bliss. We see worldly pleasure wanting eternal bliss but instead end up with sorrow alone.

Thus knowing the futility of all worldly pleasures, we should seek the ultimate reality of Lord through the real tapas of constant contemplation of the Lord at all times. If we follow this tapas, we will definitely realize our own very nature of Lord thereby rejoicing in the eternal bliss which we all are constantly seeking in the temporary and illusory world.

Bhagavatham also is showing us the nature of human mind. Human mind thinks itself to be intelligent and thereby tries to fool the divine or the Lord. Hiranyakashipu tried to fool the Lord by asking for a boon. But he forgot to remember that the divine can never be fooled by his limited mind. Thus whenever we try to fool the divine, the result will be ourselves getting fooled by the Lord.

How does the Lord fool us???
The Lord doesn’t fool us but we fool ourselves by going deeper into the ocean of samsaara and getting churned in the whirlpool of birth-death.

The more and more we try to outsmart the divine, the more and more we enter into problems because the divine or the Lord is our own very nature. Thus instead of trying to seek worldly pleasures, we should understand the temporary nature of the world & thereby seek the ultimate reality of Lord which is our own very nature of Consciousness.

Once we seek the ultimate reality of Lord, then we will get the eternal bliss which we are seeking each and every moment. As the scriptures point out again and again, there is no other way than constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord to get liberated from the ocean of samsaara.

We will continue with the story tomorrow.

Narada continued:

Hiranyakashipu had four children. One of them was the great Prahlaada. He was a person who had realized the ultimate reality of Lord and thereby had controlled his sense organs and mind. He lived in the world as a Sthitaprajna (one who is ever established in the ultimate reality of Lord).

While eating, drinking, sleeping, walking etc. he didn’t give much emphasis to the action & instead was ever established in the ultimate reality of Lord – he saw everything as ishwaramayam (filled with the Lord). Sometimes he used to cry, sometimes laugh, sometimes sing – thus he had attained brahmaananda at all times – seeing this child who was not interested particularly in any worldly activities, people started noticing the child.

Explanation

Srimad Bhagavatham in this part speaks about the activities of a realized saint in the world. It is but true that the state of realized saints is beyond explanations as the scriptures point out Brahman or Lord as that which is beyond words and thoughts. But still the activities can be explained with respect to worldly activities. This is to generate interest for the seeker to realize the ultimate reality of Lord. If we are told that this is how a realized saint lives in the world ever blissful, then will strive for that bliss knowing that eternal bliss can be achieved only through realization of the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus bhagavatham here explains the state of the realized saint of Prahlaada.

Lord has stated the state of a realized saint in many portions of the Bhagavad Gita. In the 2nd chapter, the Lord speaks of the realized saint as sthithaprajna meaning one whose mind is ever established in the ultimate reality of Lord. In the 6th chapter, the realized saint is mentioned as a yogi who sees the Lord in everything and everything in the Lord knowing that everything is but the Lord alone. In the 12th chapter, the realized saint is mentioned as a true bhaktha ever immersed in the reality of Lord & hence the Lord also says that such bhakthas are very dear to him. The 14th chapter mentions the realized saint as guna athitha (one who is beyond the trigunas which cause activities and thereby sorrows-sufferings).

Thus throughout the bhagavad gita, the Lord has mentioned very clearly and beautifully the state of a realized saint. Bhagavatham here explains the same but through the story of Prahlaada. It is true that the human mind finds it tough to apprehend the reality as such & easy through stories and analogies. Thus Narada explains about the jeevan muktha through the activities of Prahlaada.

A Jeevan muktha is one who is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord. Whatever he sees is the Lord, whatever he hears is the Lord, whatever he sings is the praises of the Lord, whatever is there is the Lord alone for such a realized saint.

As Ezhuthacchan, the malayali poet, says in harinaama keerthanam

Yathonnu kaankilathu naarayana prathima
Yathonnu kelkilathu naarayana sruthikal
Yathonnu cheykilathu naarayana archanakal
Yathonnathaakilathu naarayanaaya namaha

Whatever I see is the form of the Lord.
Whatever I hear is the praises of the Lord.
Whatever I do is offering to the Lord.
Whatever is there, that is the Lord alone.

Thus Bhagavatham says that Prahlaada used to be not engrossed in any worldly activities – whatever be the activity, his mind was ever established in the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus he used to behave weirdly in the world – one moment crying and the other moment laughing. But he was ever blissful and happy all the time as he knew that whatever really exists is only the ultimate reality of Lord. Whatever be the activity a realized saint does, he always sees the Lord alone – thus his actions are all offerings to the ultimate reality of Lord.

As the famous sloka goes,
Kaayena vaacha manasaindriyairva budhyaatmana va prakritheh svabhaavaat
Karomi yad yad sakalam parasmai naaraayanaayethi samarpayami

Whatever I do through words, body or mind or through my instincts, everything is offered to the ultimate reality of Lord.

The main criteria to identify a jeevan muktha is by the bliss that emanates from his presence. As Sankara says in Bhaja Govindam, a realized saint might be doing yogic sadhana or enjoying worldly pleasures, but his mind will ever be immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord & as a result of this, he will be ever blissful. As the Lord mentions in the 5th chapter that around such a realized saint, bliss will be dancing. It is as a result of this that whenever we go to temples or meet spiritual saints, we find our mind becoming calm & getting bliss. Many people say after meeting Mahatmas that “there is some power in the Mahatma; I don’t know what but there is something”J. These are people who refuse to accept such mahatmas as God himself. This “some power” is nothing but bliss alone due to their being ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord.

There is yet another way of finding out a Mahatma in the world – a negative wayJ. There will be many people who will be working against such Mahatmas. If we find words and news about some Mahatma being bad or indulging in drugs or sexual activities, we can know for sure that they are realized saints. This is yet another way to find out a realized saint. Lord himself was accused of stealing syamantaka jewel among other things. Sri Rama was accused of sending sita and his children away – not looking his family and land properly.

Thus a realized saint can be recognized by his activities which will all point to his being immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord at all times, the bliss emanating from him as well as the various anti-social elements acting against him.

Prahlaada was no exception to this – thus he was ever blissful and even made his father realize the ultimate reality of Lord. He also was noticed for his odd behavior and thereby tortured physically and mentally by his father and others.

Prahlaada portrayed as a jeevan muktha in Bhagavatham is special from other jeevan mukthas because Prahlaada was a jeevan muktha when he was very young itself. Thus Bhagavatham points out that age is not a matter for realization – age is only for the body and not for the Self which is ever young and one with the ultimate reality of Lord.

As to how Prahlaada who was born of Hiranyakashipu became so devoted to the Lord and realized saint at a very young age, we will see that tomorrow.

Shuka thus started explaining the dialogue between Yudhisthira and Narada. When Yudhisthira was doing Rajasuya yajna, Lord Krishna had killed Shishupala. When Shishupala was killed, Yudhisthira saw a light going from Shishupala’s body and merging into the Lord. Shishupala and his brother dantavaktra were enemies of the Lord and so how did they attain Saayujya (merging into the Lord) with the Lord after death? This was what Yudhisthira asked Narada. Narada started explaining to Yudhisthira about the same thus:

Praising, cursing, killing etc. all are related to the body alone. These are the plays of Prakrithi or Maya which is the illusory power of the ultimate reality of Lord. These are experienced only due to ignorance. These are illusions created by the mind and have no reality whatsoever. All these actions are based on “I” and “Mine”. When that which is considered great and “mine” dies, the jeeva is thought to be dead. There is no ego and such thoughts for the Lord because he is ever free from the illusion of world. But the jeeva seems to be under the delusion of Maya. When this “I” and “mine” or Ego is destroyed, the jeeva merges into the ultimate reality of Lord. This is known as Saayujya or moksha.

It doesn’t matter in what way the seeker worships and seeks the Lord. But it only matters how strong is the contemplation of the Lord in the mind of the seeker. Bad people like Shishupala and Kamsa worshipped the Lord through vidvesha or anger or hatred. But the contemplation of the Lord was so strong that they totally merged into the ultimate reality of Lord as a result of that vidvesha itself.

Thus what a seeker needs to do is to contemplate on the ultimate reality of Lord thereby merging into the Lord through anger or love or devotion or knowledge (whatever be the means).

Explanation

Realization or moksha is merging into the ultimate reality of Lord. In fact, what exists is only the Lord but due to ignorance there seems to be duality. Thus the individual Self or jeeva considers himself as different from the Lord. As long as there is this difference, there will be seeking the Lord. Cessation of sorrow or liberation or realization of one’s own nature of eternal bliss is merging into the Lord thereby destroying the ignorance that seemed to exist.

Realization doesn’t have many criteria like singing or sitting in meditation etc. There is one and only one criteria for realization which is constant contemplation of the Lord. If a seeker is devoted to the Lord and loves the Lord but gives secondary importance to Lord as his primary love is his wife & family, then such a devotion is not pure & hence will not lead to realization. Instead if a person is able to contemplate on the Lord through anger or aversion or detachment or hatred, such a person will very soon realize the Lord because he thinks of nothing but the Lord alone. As the Lord himself promises in Gita, he takes care of the welfare of such a person who is to be considered a devotee as he constantly thinks about the Lord alone.

Shishupala was such a devotee who was constantly contemplating on the ultimate reality of Lord but just that this contemplation was by anger or hatred or with the desire to kill the Lord. Since shishupala was totally immersed in the Lord, thereby when the ego or the individual was destroyed through knowledge and grace of the Lord shishupala merged into the Lord.

Realization dawns only when the individual feeling of a seeker vanishes. So long as a seeker considers himself as the limited body-mind complex, he cannot realize the ultimate reality of Lord – that which is infinite and beyond all illusory names and forms. If the ego is so strong in the seeker but still devotion to the Lord is also strong and there is constant contemplation of the ultimate reality Lord, then the Lord himself takes care to destroy the ego thereby making the seeker realize his own very nature of Lord.

Destruction of Ego is nothing but removal of seemingly appearing ignorance and dual perceptions through realization of one’s own very nature of Lord. Ego is destroyed when the seeker either surrenders totally to the Lord or the seeker seeks the source of the Ego by negating the Ego and realizing the source of Self or Lord. Vedanta speaks about the famous path of neti, neti or “not this – not this” to realize the Lord. This is the process of negating all that is objectified which would then leave us with the Subject of Self alone.

What Bhagavatham is emphasizing in this part is constant contemplation of the Lord whether it be through devotion or anger.

We will continue with the dialogue of Narada and Yudhisthira in the next day.

How strong a mind can contemplate on the Lord through anger and thereby merge into the Lord, such merging is not possible (to that level) through devotion.

Explanation

Narada here is comparing contemplation on the Lord by devotion and anger. The words of Narada might seem to be incorrect but if we analyze it in depth, we will find that it is perfectly true.

What should a seeker do to realize the ultimate reality of Lord???
A seeker has to constantly contemplate on the Lord at all times. As the Lord himself says in Gita that a seeker should seek the Lord at all times and through all actions. Whatever be the action that we do, if we are able to remember the ultimate reality of Lord and offer the actions unto the Lord (or just remember the reality that everything is but the Lord alone) then very soon we will occur all bondages and addictions thereby getting liberated from the ocean of samsaara.

Lord says thus:

Yad karoshi yad ashnaasi yad juhoshi dadaasi yad
Yat tapasyasi kaunteya tad kurushva mad arpanam

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer, whatever you give to others, whatever austerity you do – do it as an offering unto me.

What is the result of such an offering???
Shubha ashubha phalairevam mokshyase karma bandhanaih
Sanyaasa yoga yuktaatma vimuktho maam upaishyasi

Thus he overcomes good and bad fruits thereby getting rid of the bondage of action – as he has renounced the action by offering it to the Lord & constantly established in the Lord, he attains Me.

What if a person does bad actions???
Api chet suduraachaaro bhajathe maam ananya bhaak
Sadhureva sah mantavyah samyak vyavasitho hi sah

If a person does the worst action but still remembering me as the ultimate reality of Lord, then he is to be considered as a saint as he is ever established in me.

How does such a person get liberation from the bondage of the bad action???
Kshipram bhavathi dharmaatma shashvat shaanthim nigachhathi
Kaunteya prathijaanihi na me bhakthah pranashyathi

Soon he becomes a dharmaatma (one who is established in the ultimate dharma of Lord) and soon attains eternal peace (bliss). O Arjuna! Know for sure that my devotee never perishes.

A real devotee is one who is constantly established in the ultimate reality of Lord or one who is very much attached to the ultimate reality of Lord. Generally worldly person is totally attached to sense objects and sensual pleasures but a seeker should be completely attached to the ultimate reality of Lord. Here the attachment should not be to any particular form but it should be to the Lord who is all-pervasive, beyond all names and forms and is the substratum of all temporary existence.

We generally find that the attachment to a person we hate is more than to a person we love. Hatred can cause stronger bonding to a person than love. The more and more we think of the person whom we hate, our attachment to that person gets stronger. The bonding is thus created more in the case of hatred or anger than in the case of love. It is because of this that in the world we find people splitting because of anger and hatred more than people getting closer due to love.

The emotion of hatred is so strong that it can very easily lead a person to realization. It is these very emotions which lead kamsa among other asuras to realize the ultimate reality of Lord. We find the story of Hiranyakashipu seeking the Lord to conquer and take revenge for killing of Hiranyaaksha – we also find the story of Prahlaada mentioned in Yoga Vasistha wherein prahlaada took to revenge by conquering the Lord through constant contemplation and thereby making the Lord a prisoner in his very heart.

How can a person even though hating the Lord realize the ultimate reality of Lord through that very hatred itself??? As explained earlier, the action really doesn’t matter. Whatever be the action, the seeker has to constantly remember the reality while doing the action. It maybe that a person is addicted to drinking tea or coffee but instead of trying to avoid it, a seeker has to add the thought of the ultimate reality of Lord to the act of drinking tea/coffee. Slowly the seeker will find the addiction falling away. When a seeker adds the thought of the ultimate reality of Lord to any action, he gets rid of likes-dislikes and attachment-aversion which is the main cause of all bondages & sorrows-sufferings. Once this is overcome by remembering the ultimate reality of Lord at all times as the substratum of all illusory names and forms, then there will be neither likes nor dislikes. Thus the seeker will be seeing everything as an illusory manifestation of the ultimate reality of Lord. For such a seeker, there is nothing apart from the Lord.

Here Narada doesn’t mean to say that devotion is not good but just that it is important to get one-pointed contemplation on the ultimate reality of Lord. This one-pointedness or attachment is very easy in the case of hatred whereas in the case of devotion, it is tough unless there is pure and unconditional devotion. Thus what a seeker needs to do is constantly remember the ultimate reality of Lord while performing all actions and offering those actions to the ultimate reality of Lord who is the substratum of all illusory names and forms in the world.

A real seeker will seek the Lord with strong devotion and hatred as well. A seeker will have anger towards the Lord for the Lord has hidden himself from the view of the devotee not letting the devotee realize the Lord in his very heart. The Lord who is passionate and all-pervasive doesn’t reveal himself to all beings. Even though the Lord is ever present but still it is the duty of the Lord to destroy the ignorance of the seeker thereby making the seeker realize the Lord. The Lord doesn’t do this – so rightly, we should be angry towards such a Lord & thereby seek the Lord to take revenge!!! (we need not worry about this attitude thinking this is false and we shouldn’t take revenge towards the Lord because once the Lord is sought, there will be nobody apart from the Lord to take revenge). If a seeker could only get this attitude, then he would very soon realize the ultimate reality of Lord even as a policeman who will lose the job until he catches a particular thief searches with all his might the thief thereby catching him very soon.

Let us all try to get strong contemplation of the Lord with the strong desire to realize this very moment itself.

Narada continued:

Shishupala as a result of his previous birth punyaas was able to know intellectually that the ultimate reality of Lord is Krishna. Thus whenever he got hatred towards Krishna, this thought that the Lord is only present here would also rise. Thus shishupaala was able to merge into the Lord. Thereby after death, shishupala totally merged into the ultimate reality of Lord.

As a hunter who constantly thinks about the animals to hunt verily merges into the animals, similarly if a person is able to get vidvesha bhaava towards the ultimate reality of Lord in the human form of Krishna (Mayamaya roopam), he will verily merge into the Lord. Thus through kaamam (attraction), dvesham (hatred), bhayam (fear) and sneham (love), bhakthi (devotion) respectively there have been many people who have attained sayujyam or merging into the ultimate reality of Lord.

The gopis attained sayujya through kaamam, kamsa through bhayam, Shishupaala through dvesham, vrishnis through sneham and the various rishish through bhakthi.

Therefore what you have to do is constantly add the thought of the ultimate reality of Lord while doing any other activity.

O Yudhisthira! Shishupala and Dantavaktra who are your relatives were in fact the dvaarapaalakaas of Vishnu in Vaikunta guarding the entrance to Vaikunta. Their names are Jaya and Vijaya. Once when the Sanakaadi sages (sanaka, sanandana, sanatkumaara and sanatsujaatha) went to meet Vishnu, Jaya-Vijaya thought these were some small boys (who were naked) and hence stopped them from entering Vaikunta to meet Vishnu. The sages cursed the dhootas saying that you are fit to be in the Vaikunta loka and therefore let you be born as asuras. The sages also said that with three births, you will attain sayujya unto the Lord. Thus they were initially born as Hiranyaaksha and Hiranyakashipu who were killed respectively by the varaaha avataara and narasimha avataara of the Lord. Then they were born as Raavana and Kumbakarna both killed by Lord Rama. Lastly they were born as Shishupaala and Dantavaktra thereby being killed by Lord Krishna. Within these three births, they got constant contemplation on the ultimate reality of Lord. Hence they attained sayujya unto the Lord and again became the guards of Vaikunta.

Explanation

Narada is again emphasizing that what is really required from a seeker to realize the ultimate reality of Lord is constant contemplation of the Lord with the knowledge that whatever is present is really nothing but the Lord alone. There is nothing other than the Lord here – whatever is there, whatever was there & whatever will be there are all mere illusions in the ultimate reality of Lord. The Lord alone is real and other things are only unreal appearances in the Lord.

A seeker has to constantly remember this ultimate reality and thereby contemplate on the Lord at all times. What activity a person is doing doesn’t matter – what matters is the attitude and whether the seeker is remembering the ultimate reality of Lord. If this attitude is maintained, such a seeker very easily attains liberation by merging into the ultimate reality of Lord.

Vedanta speaks about four types of moksha (types or levels). These are:
1. Salokya mukthi – liberation wherein the seeker goes to the world of the particular Lord.
2. Sameepya mukthi – liberation wherein the seeker attains a place very near to the Lord.
3. Saroopya mukthi – liberation wherein the seeker attains a form similar to that of the Lord.
4. Sayujya mukthi – liberation wherein the seeker merges unto the Lord.

All bhakthi granthas mention that the ultimate state of devotion is that wherein the devotee merges into the Lord – this bhaava is called atma nivedanam or offering oneself to the Lord. That mukthi wherein the difference between the devotee and the Lord exists is not real and ultimate. That mukthi alone is ultimate wherein the seeker merges into the Lord & the Lord alone exists, one without a second.

This mukthi is called sayujya and a seeker has to strive for this moksha alone. Sayujya is attained only through constant contemplation of the Lord at all times. This constant contemplation is what Vedanta calls as anusandhaana or nidhidhyaasana and bhakthi granthas call as para bhakthi or ultimate devotion.

Narada here quotes examples of different people who have attained the Lord through different bhaavas like hatred, love, devotion etc. This is to show that the bhaava or the way in which a person seeks the Lord is not important. What is important is constant contemplation of the Lord. Whether this contemplation is as a lover or as a enemy, the ultimate aim is constant contemplation which leads to sayujya or liberation.

Narada before entering into the story of Prahlaada mentions about Jaya Vijaya who were born as asuras who were constantly contemplating on the ultimate reality of Lord through hatred and anger. This very contemplation alone lead them to realize the Lord in three births itself. It doesn’t matter how many births it takes to overcome the illusory bondages of the world & realize the Lord but it matters whether we have started on the journey or not. A person who has started towards the goal of liberation will reach the goal surely – the time that will take for him to reach the goal might vary but he will definitely reach the goal. But that person who hasn’t yet started towards the goal of the Lord will never realize the Lord. Thus Bhagavatham is pointing out to each one of us to constantly seek the Lord from this very moment itself so that we may realize our own very nature of Lord thereby rejoicing in the eternal bliss inherent in the Lord.

We will continue with the dialogue between Narada and Yudhisthira wherein Yudhisthira poses a question which brings up the story of Prahlaada tomorrow.

Story of Prahlada – Introduction

We enter into one of the most beautiful stories of Srimad Bhagavatham. This is the story of Prahlada. This story is very peculiar in that here we find a blend of supreme devotion and knowledge in the small child of Prahlada. We also find bhagavatham pointing to us that a seeker who desires to realize the ultimate reality of Lord has to set aside anything and everything that stands as an obstacle to the path towards the Lord.

Again here we find one of the Lord’s greatest devotee who is well versed in knowledge and who is from the asura clan. We find again and again in many stories the praise of various asura kings who have realized the ultimate reality of Lord in contrast to the devas who are always immersed in sensual pleasures. This in fact drives the point that there is no limitation whatsoever to realization of the ultimate reality of Lord. It doesn’t matter what is the action that a person is doing at the empirical level. It only matters as to what is the attitude with which the action is performed. We find the Lord himself propounding the same thing directly in two beautiful slokas of Gita. Let us see what the two slokas are and as to what we can learn from them.

Api chet suduraachaaro bhajathe maam ananya bhaak
Saadhureva sa mantavyah samyak vyavasitho hi sah

He who does the worst action (that which is considered as sinful) but remembering me alone, then he is to be considered a SADHU or saint or seeker as he is ever steadfast in ME.

Api chedasi paapebhyah sarvebhyah paapakrittamah
Sarvam jnaanaplavenaivam vrijinam santharishyasi

Even if a person does the most sinful action, still he crosses over the ocean of samsaara and those sins by the log of jnaana.

Here the Lord points out that it doesn’t matter what are the actions that a person does, what is important is the attitude with which the action is performed. If a person does action remembering the ultimate reality of Lord and offering the action to the Lord, then he doesn’t get affected by either the action or the fruits of the action because he is ever steadfast in the ultimate reality of Lord. Such a person is fully established in the knowledge that there is nothing here but the Lord alone & thereby he does all actions as a witness and as an offering to the Lord. Thus such a seeker doesn’t get affected by actions even as an actor doesn’t get affected by the activities he does in the drama or film.

The world is in fact a place of drama or mega film and we are the actor so engrossed in the film that we get identified with the actions. It is but a pity that we get attached and identified with the actions and actor. An actor can enjoy a play or drama only if he is the mere witness to that play. Thus the way out of not getting attached to actions is to be a mere witness to all activities. This is possible when the seeker knows that there is no duality whatsoever here, whatever exists is the Lord alone. Thus the actions that are performed are only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. Remembering this reality, if the seeker performs the action as an offering unto the ultimate reality of Lord – he gets rid of the attachment and identification with the actions. Thus he gets liberated within a short time itself.

It might be to emphasize that actions are not that important whereas attitude is important that bhagavatham gives many stories about asura kings realizing the ultimate reality of Lord.

This story of Prahlaada is so beautiful and full of imports that we can learn a lot from it and it shows us the direct path to the ultimate reality of Lord. It is in this story that we find the mention of Nava vidhi bhakthi or nine forms of devotion mentioned by Prahlaada.

We will start learning the story from tomorrow.

Parikshit put forth a very important question to Shuka after hearing the story of Chitrakethu.

“The ultimate reality of Lord is all-present and a friend to everyone. Then how is it said that he helped the devas and killed asuras???.

Even though the Lord is beyond the three gunas and unaffected by all activities, but still he seems to be differentiated into killer, killed etc. based on maya (made up of the three gunas of sattva, rajas and tamas). The Lord is by nature unborn and non-dual. The illusion of world is created by Maya which in itself is not an existent thing. Everything is just an illusion in the Lord like water seen in desert.

Explanation

The doubt which Parikshit raises here is a very important one because the answer to this question gives us a very clear idea about the ultimate reality of Lord and all other illusory activities in the world.

As we all know, the scriptures proclaim that in the beginning (before creation) the Lord alone existed, one without a second. Then started the process of creation and duality came into existence. After a particular period of time, the world again vanishes into its source of Lord. This is what we call as destruction or samhaara. Thus the three activities of sristhi or creation, sthithi or protection and samhaara or destruction happen in the ultimate reality of Lord. Now let us analyze the nature of the Lord and then compare as to what is the relation between the Lord and the three activities.

The Lord is unborn because he is the one from which the world came. There cannot be any other entity from which Lord was born. Since the Lord is without birth, he has to be without death as well – wherever birth is there, death is as well there. Wherever there is no birth, there will be no death as well. Thus the Lord is without death as well. That which is born and will die undergoes changes. But since the Lord is without birth and death, there cannot be any change in the Lord. Thus the Lord is changeless or without any modifications. Since the Lord is without any changes, therefore the world that we see and that which has come from the Lord has to be an illusory one and not a real one (as the world is changing and can never come from the changeless Lord). Thus saints proclaim that the world is like a mirage or water seen in desert. It has no real existence apart from the Lord.

How is it that the world is created???
In fact, the world is never created – it just seems to be present even as water is never created in desert but just seems to be present. This “seeming existence” of the world is attributed to the illusory power of Lord called Maya. Maya is of the nature of the three gunas of sattva, rajas and tamas denoting peace, activity and sleep (inactivity). It is the Maya which is made up of the three gunas that creates the world out of the Lord. Since Maya in itself is only an illusion and not real, therefore the world created by Maya also has to be unreal only.

This Maya after creating the world creates individual beings called as jeeva or ahamkaara depending on the number of gross and subtle bodies. When there is the Ego present, then there is the doership attributed to the Self. The individual being of jeeva is in essence the ultimate reality of Lord alone. But he seems to be different from the Lord as he is deluded by Maya. Once the jeeva wakes up from this delusion, he realizes that he is not the Ego or individual but he is the ultimate reality of Lord. When doership is there, then there are activities as well. Thus the triputi of subject, object and action is created. As long as there is this triputi, there will be thoughts that “I am doing, I am enjoying” etc. This causes a person to think that “I am happy, I am sad” etc. Thus this triputi of killer, killed and action of killing is in fact a delusion created by Maya. Once the jeeva overcomes Maya, then he realizes that there is neither killer nor killed – whatever exists is the ultimate reality of Lord alone.

Why is it that Maya seems to be present and creates the seemingly appearing world???
Maya is that which cannot really be explained – it cannot be explained because it is not real but only an illusion. If Maya has to be really explained, we can just say that it is the very nature of Brahman or Lord to create the illusory Maya which in turn creates the world. It is similar to the water seen in desert. Water seen in desert can never be explained because there is no water at all. But if water is seen, we can only say that it is the very nature of desert to show seeming water in it.

Maya deludes a seeker only as long as he thinks himself as the individual. But once the seeker goes beyond Maya and the trigunas, he realizes his own very nature of Lord & that there never was any Maya at all.

How can we conquer Maya???
The Lord beautifully explains in Gita that Maya is overcome easily by that seeker who totally surrenders to the ultimate reality of Lord & constantly contemplates on the reality of Lord.

A seeker has to first understand through scriptural study and reflection that there is no duality whatsoever here – whatever exists is only the ultimate reality of Lord. Duality seen in the world is only an illusion in the reality of Lord. Once the seeker gets intellectual conviction about the non-dual reality of Lord and the reality behind the illusory world, then he will be able to constantly contemplate on the Lord or do nidhidhyaasana. This constant contemplation causes the seeker to get totally absorbed in the Lord – whatever he does, he offers to the Lord, whatever he thinks is the Lord alone, whatever he says is the Lord alone – this need not be followed at the external level. It is enough if we internally have the conviction and always remember that there is nothing here but the Lord alone. So long as we remember this, the seeker is sure to overcome the illusion of Maya and its trigunas in time.

In order to explain the ultimate reality in a clear way, Shuka explains the dialogue between Yudhisthira and Narada in which Narada expounds the beautiful story of Prahlaada. We will see that the next day.