Thursday, December 21, 2006
Story 39 – Story of Mahaabali - 06
At this time, Vaamana renouncing his small form started growing to the form of Vishwaroopa. Everything including the sun and the moon became the parts of Vishwaroopa. When Vishwaroopa took two steps, the entire three worlds were covered with that. There was no place where Vishwaroopa could keep the third step. All the devas including Brahma circled Vishwaroopa and started praising him through stuthis. On the other hand, the asuras became afraid. They shouted out to Mahaabali thus “this Vaamana is not a brahmachaari; he is the maayaavi Vishnu who has taken the form of brahmachaari; he is our enemy; he has taken everything away from our chakravarthi who abides by truth through treachery; therefore we have to kill him”.
Explanation
Bhagavatham in this part is symbolically explaining the spiritual progress in the life of a seeker. A seeker when he is progressing in the spiritual path has a small ego which is very small like Vaamana. But once the seeker progresses, this small ego expands & becomes the Vishwaroopa or the person whose parts is this world & its objects. To put it in Sri Sri Ravishankar’s words, the local ego becomes a global ego. Ezhuthacchan, a Malayalam poet, in his work titled Harinaamakeerthanam prays to the Lord that there be no ego attitude & even if there is an ego attitude, let that be that everything is “mine”. This attitude of seeing everything as “mine” is the global ego which can be in a way termed in Vedanta as Brahma – the creator. Mandukya Upanishad speaks about the limited individual jeeva in waking state as vishwa and the unlimited cosmic being as Vaishwaanara or Viraat. It is this Virat form of the ultimate reality of Lord which is propounded in the Gita as Vishwaroopa while the Lord shows his all-powerful and all-encompassing form to Arjuna.
When the seeker’s limited individual ego grows, it realizes that everything that is present is “mine”. Everything inclusive of the sun and the moon are but illusions in the ultimate reality of Lord who is not different from the seemingly individual Self of the nature of Consciousness. Even as the dream objects seen in dream are parts of the dreamer alone, similarly the waking objects are parts of the waking Self (who is non-different from the ultimate reality of Lord). This attitude of seeing everything as “mine” is possible only when the seeker separates himself from the individual ego and identifies himself with the witness of kutastha. When the seeker identifies himself as the kutastha atman, he realizes that everything that is present in the world is only an illusion in the atman. He also realizes that it is this kutastha atman which is propounded in the Upanishads as Brahman and the puranas as Ishwara or Paramaatman.
Even though realizing one’s nature of Vishwaroopa (who is the cosmic jeeva – the Lord identifying himself with the entire world) might seem theoretically easy but it is tough to apprehend the same and implement in worldly life. As with any science, theory is easy to apprehend than practical experience. A seeker has to have total and complete surrender unto the ultimate reality of Lord and clear intellectual conviction that everything is but an illusion in the Lord. Only through this the seeker will be able to globalize the ego. Once the seeker identifies himself with the entire world and as Vishwaroopa, he then realizes that Vishwaroopa is also only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. Vishwaroopa is the Lord when identified or associated with the world and its objects. The world itself is only a temporary appearance in the reality of Lord – hence Vishwaroopa also is known as an illusion in the Lord. Thus ths seeker realizes that the Self or Atman or “I” of the nature of Consciousness is one with the ultimate reality of Lord. The Lord is blissful in nature & hence the seeker realizes his very nature of bliss. Bliss is synonymous with unlimited and infiniteness. Thus the seeker realizes his very nature of unlimited and infinite being. Thus ends all sorrows/sufferings and seeking in the world. We all seek bliss associated with unlimited and infinite being. But we are seeking this in the illusory world. The world being an illusion is limited and finite. The happiness derived from the world also is thus finite and limited. But when the seeker globalizes his ego and realizes his very nature off the ultimate reality of Lord, he rejoices in the eternal bliss which is the very nature of Lord. There is no tinge of sorrow and suffering because there is only bliss, bliss and bliss. There is nothing apart from the Lord even to think upon or act upon – thus there is cause of likes and dislikes which in turn leads to temporary happiness and sorrow in the long run. Thus the seeker gets eternal bliss by realizing his own very nature of Lord.
It is very tough to globalize the ego because we all are ever identified with the limited ego associated with our body-mind-complex. Most of the times, we are associated with our body alone & at times we get associated with the bodies of dear ones. But when it comes to choosing just a single body, we don’t even mind to ignore the body of dear ones. Overcoming this body-consciousness is very tough indeed & a seeker has to constantly contemplate that “I am not the body but the Self which is one with the ultimate reality of Lord”. Constantly contemplating on this through logic alone will lead a person to overcome body-consciousness. It is tough to contemplate on this at tough times (when the body is in distress). Hence a seeker has to practice this during good times itself. When he practices it during good times, it becomes a habit like other worldly habits. Thus even during bad times, the thought that “I am not the body” automatically comes & thereby the seeker easily overcomes the body-consciousness.
As we have been learning, the spiritual path is like walking on the edges of a razor. There will be many testing situations in the spiritual path of a seeker. One such test is what we find in this part of Bhagavatham. The asuras became afraid and thereby plan to attack Vishnu. When we hear from the Guru or the Mahatma that “you are not the body but the Self”, we find it tough to disentangle ourselves from the body-consciousness. Hence naturally we try to defend the same and attack the concept. Instead of trying to attack any concept, we have to apply logic and intellect to analyze whether the words of a person is true or not. The Lord has given us intellect in order to ascertain things on the basis of proper logic. If we apply proper logic, we will have to conclude that “I” am not the limited and temporary body but ever-present Consciousness. The body changes in waking and dream state whereas “I” who experiences both the state is the same person only. We will see as to what Mahaabali does in reaction to the asuras planning to attack Vishnu in the next day.
Mahaabali stopped the asuras and said to them:
Happiness and sorrow for all beings is controlled finally by just one Ishwara. It is not possible to overcome this Ishwara by strength or courage. The Lord once gave us aishwarya and took it away from the devas; it is the same Lord who is taking the aishwarya from us now. This is the rule by which he works. It is not possible to transcend the rules of the Lord who controls everything through time by means of buddhi, strength, mantras, samaadhi etc. Asuras have many times defeated the devas but today the devas are proclaiming to have defeated the asuras. If the grace of the Lord is there, the asuras might be able to again defeat the devas. But until appropriate time comes, be calm and have patience.
Hearing the words of Mahaabali, the asuras went back to paatala instead of fighting with the devas (and vaamana).
Explanation
Everything in the world is controlled by one Lord. The Lord controls everything through the time, space and causation. Happiness and sorrow and similarly all dual notions are controlled by the Lord. To put it short, everything is controlled by the Lord alone. This is because the Lord alone is real and everything else is but an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. As long as the ultimate reality of Lord is known, the illusory world & its objects will seem to be real. For a person who is unaware about a magician’s trick, the magic is controlled by the magician. Similarly everything that we see/hear in the world is controlled by the ultimate reality of Lord. It is but foolish to either seek the Lord or try to overcome the will of the Lord in the illusory world. It is not at all possible to overcome or overpower the ultimate reality of Lord because he is omni-present, omni-present and omni-scient. Even if a person tries to control the Lord, it is futile because the aim of controlling the world or achieving material pleasures in the world will lead only to more and more sorrow. If a person tries to control the water seen in desert, it will only lead him to more and more sorrow when he finds its impossible to control the water. Similarly the world which never really has any existence cannot be controlled through power or intellect or by any other means.
Those who seek the ultimate reality of Lord will be able to control the world by knowing that the world is only an illusion thereby not being affected by the activities in the world. Thus for such seekers, there is no real world to be controlled. Such seekers will consider everything as but the presence of the Lord. If something good happens, they will consider it as the grace of the lord. If something bad happens, they will consider it as the will of the Lord. Thus for them there is nothing but the ultimate reality of Lord alone. As a person after waking up is not affected by the dream which he sees, similarly the jnaani doesn’t see anything apart from the ultimate reality of Lord once knowledge dawns. Here we find in Mahaabali such a jnaani who is not at all affected by the activities in the world because he has realized the ultimate reality of Lord along with the knowledge that there is nothing here but the ultimate reality of Lord alone exists, one without a second. It is this knowledge which gives the seeker calmness and equipoise at all times. Even though the asuras as is their nature to get agitated and angry were about to attack Vishnu, Mahaabali stopped them and explained to them that the ultimate reality of Lord cannot be won or overcome through anything.
If a person wishes to control the ultimate reality of Lord, then there is one and only one way. The way is to be fully devoted to the Lord. The scriptures and puranas proclaim that the Lord becomes a servant of his devotees. Thus the Lord himself is there to protect his devotee – this is what we find in the story of Ambariksha among other kings and saints. For a person who is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord, the Lord is totally under his control. As the Lord is under the control of such a devotee, the world is also under the control of the devotee. Such a devotee never undergoes any tough or calamitous situation – even if the devotee seems to go through such a situation, the Lord will take care that the devotee is rescued from such a situation.
Such a devotee who is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord will not be seeking anything at all because he knows that in reality there is nothing apart from the ultimate reality of Lord. As a result of this knowledge, the devotee considers everything as the grace of the Lord. The very aim of learning the scriptures and scriptural stories is to achieve this state wherein the seeker is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord thereby ever blissful and rejoicing in the ultimate reality of Lord.
We will continue with the story in the next day.
Explanation
Bhagavatham in this part is symbolically explaining the spiritual progress in the life of a seeker. A seeker when he is progressing in the spiritual path has a small ego which is very small like Vaamana. But once the seeker progresses, this small ego expands & becomes the Vishwaroopa or the person whose parts is this world & its objects. To put it in Sri Sri Ravishankar’s words, the local ego becomes a global ego. Ezhuthacchan, a Malayalam poet, in his work titled Harinaamakeerthanam prays to the Lord that there be no ego attitude & even if there is an ego attitude, let that be that everything is “mine”. This attitude of seeing everything as “mine” is the global ego which can be in a way termed in Vedanta as Brahma – the creator. Mandukya Upanishad speaks about the limited individual jeeva in waking state as vishwa and the unlimited cosmic being as Vaishwaanara or Viraat. It is this Virat form of the ultimate reality of Lord which is propounded in the Gita as Vishwaroopa while the Lord shows his all-powerful and all-encompassing form to Arjuna.
When the seeker’s limited individual ego grows, it realizes that everything that is present is “mine”. Everything inclusive of the sun and the moon are but illusions in the ultimate reality of Lord who is not different from the seemingly individual Self of the nature of Consciousness. Even as the dream objects seen in dream are parts of the dreamer alone, similarly the waking objects are parts of the waking Self (who is non-different from the ultimate reality of Lord). This attitude of seeing everything as “mine” is possible only when the seeker separates himself from the individual ego and identifies himself with the witness of kutastha. When the seeker identifies himself as the kutastha atman, he realizes that everything that is present in the world is only an illusion in the atman. He also realizes that it is this kutastha atman which is propounded in the Upanishads as Brahman and the puranas as Ishwara or Paramaatman.
Even though realizing one’s nature of Vishwaroopa (who is the cosmic jeeva – the Lord identifying himself with the entire world) might seem theoretically easy but it is tough to apprehend the same and implement in worldly life. As with any science, theory is easy to apprehend than practical experience. A seeker has to have total and complete surrender unto the ultimate reality of Lord and clear intellectual conviction that everything is but an illusion in the Lord. Only through this the seeker will be able to globalize the ego. Once the seeker identifies himself with the entire world and as Vishwaroopa, he then realizes that Vishwaroopa is also only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. Vishwaroopa is the Lord when identified or associated with the world and its objects. The world itself is only a temporary appearance in the reality of Lord – hence Vishwaroopa also is known as an illusion in the Lord. Thus ths seeker realizes that the Self or Atman or “I” of the nature of Consciousness is one with the ultimate reality of Lord. The Lord is blissful in nature & hence the seeker realizes his very nature of bliss. Bliss is synonymous with unlimited and infiniteness. Thus the seeker realizes his very nature of unlimited and infinite being. Thus ends all sorrows/sufferings and seeking in the world. We all seek bliss associated with unlimited and infinite being. But we are seeking this in the illusory world. The world being an illusion is limited and finite. The happiness derived from the world also is thus finite and limited. But when the seeker globalizes his ego and realizes his very nature off the ultimate reality of Lord, he rejoices in the eternal bliss which is the very nature of Lord. There is no tinge of sorrow and suffering because there is only bliss, bliss and bliss. There is nothing apart from the Lord even to think upon or act upon – thus there is cause of likes and dislikes which in turn leads to temporary happiness and sorrow in the long run. Thus the seeker gets eternal bliss by realizing his own very nature of Lord.
It is very tough to globalize the ego because we all are ever identified with the limited ego associated with our body-mind-complex. Most of the times, we are associated with our body alone & at times we get associated with the bodies of dear ones. But when it comes to choosing just a single body, we don’t even mind to ignore the body of dear ones. Overcoming this body-consciousness is very tough indeed & a seeker has to constantly contemplate that “I am not the body but the Self which is one with the ultimate reality of Lord”. Constantly contemplating on this through logic alone will lead a person to overcome body-consciousness. It is tough to contemplate on this at tough times (when the body is in distress). Hence a seeker has to practice this during good times itself. When he practices it during good times, it becomes a habit like other worldly habits. Thus even during bad times, the thought that “I am not the body” automatically comes & thereby the seeker easily overcomes the body-consciousness.
As we have been learning, the spiritual path is like walking on the edges of a razor. There will be many testing situations in the spiritual path of a seeker. One such test is what we find in this part of Bhagavatham. The asuras became afraid and thereby plan to attack Vishnu. When we hear from the Guru or the Mahatma that “you are not the body but the Self”, we find it tough to disentangle ourselves from the body-consciousness. Hence naturally we try to defend the same and attack the concept. Instead of trying to attack any concept, we have to apply logic and intellect to analyze whether the words of a person is true or not. The Lord has given us intellect in order to ascertain things on the basis of proper logic. If we apply proper logic, we will have to conclude that “I” am not the limited and temporary body but ever-present Consciousness. The body changes in waking and dream state whereas “I” who experiences both the state is the same person only. We will see as to what Mahaabali does in reaction to the asuras planning to attack Vishnu in the next day.
Mahaabali stopped the asuras and said to them:
Happiness and sorrow for all beings is controlled finally by just one Ishwara. It is not possible to overcome this Ishwara by strength or courage. The Lord once gave us aishwarya and took it away from the devas; it is the same Lord who is taking the aishwarya from us now. This is the rule by which he works. It is not possible to transcend the rules of the Lord who controls everything through time by means of buddhi, strength, mantras, samaadhi etc. Asuras have many times defeated the devas but today the devas are proclaiming to have defeated the asuras. If the grace of the Lord is there, the asuras might be able to again defeat the devas. But until appropriate time comes, be calm and have patience.
Hearing the words of Mahaabali, the asuras went back to paatala instead of fighting with the devas (and vaamana).
Explanation
Everything in the world is controlled by one Lord. The Lord controls everything through the time, space and causation. Happiness and sorrow and similarly all dual notions are controlled by the Lord. To put it short, everything is controlled by the Lord alone. This is because the Lord alone is real and everything else is but an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. As long as the ultimate reality of Lord is known, the illusory world & its objects will seem to be real. For a person who is unaware about a magician’s trick, the magic is controlled by the magician. Similarly everything that we see/hear in the world is controlled by the ultimate reality of Lord. It is but foolish to either seek the Lord or try to overcome the will of the Lord in the illusory world. It is not at all possible to overcome or overpower the ultimate reality of Lord because he is omni-present, omni-present and omni-scient. Even if a person tries to control the Lord, it is futile because the aim of controlling the world or achieving material pleasures in the world will lead only to more and more sorrow. If a person tries to control the water seen in desert, it will only lead him to more and more sorrow when he finds its impossible to control the water. Similarly the world which never really has any existence cannot be controlled through power or intellect or by any other means.
Those who seek the ultimate reality of Lord will be able to control the world by knowing that the world is only an illusion thereby not being affected by the activities in the world. Thus for such seekers, there is no real world to be controlled. Such seekers will consider everything as but the presence of the Lord. If something good happens, they will consider it as the grace of the lord. If something bad happens, they will consider it as the will of the Lord. Thus for them there is nothing but the ultimate reality of Lord alone. As a person after waking up is not affected by the dream which he sees, similarly the jnaani doesn’t see anything apart from the ultimate reality of Lord once knowledge dawns. Here we find in Mahaabali such a jnaani who is not at all affected by the activities in the world because he has realized the ultimate reality of Lord along with the knowledge that there is nothing here but the ultimate reality of Lord alone exists, one without a second. It is this knowledge which gives the seeker calmness and equipoise at all times. Even though the asuras as is their nature to get agitated and angry were about to attack Vishnu, Mahaabali stopped them and explained to them that the ultimate reality of Lord cannot be won or overcome through anything.
If a person wishes to control the ultimate reality of Lord, then there is one and only one way. The way is to be fully devoted to the Lord. The scriptures and puranas proclaim that the Lord becomes a servant of his devotees. Thus the Lord himself is there to protect his devotee – this is what we find in the story of Ambariksha among other kings and saints. For a person who is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord, the Lord is totally under his control. As the Lord is under the control of such a devotee, the world is also under the control of the devotee. Such a devotee never undergoes any tough or calamitous situation – even if the devotee seems to go through such a situation, the Lord will take care that the devotee is rescued from such a situation.
Such a devotee who is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord will not be seeking anything at all because he knows that in reality there is nothing apart from the ultimate reality of Lord. As a result of this knowledge, the devotee considers everything as the grace of the Lord. The very aim of learning the scriptures and scriptural stories is to achieve this state wherein the seeker is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord thereby ever blissful and rejoicing in the ultimate reality of Lord.
We will continue with the story in the next day.
# posted by vedanta : 7:07 PM
