Srimad Bhagavatham

We see in this part of Bhagavatham the three jeevanmukthas of Mahaabali, Vaamana and Shukracharya. It is but rare to find Jeevanmukthas. The Lord himself proclaims in the seventh chapter of Gita that out of thousands of people, very few strive for realization. Out of thousand such strivers, very few know the Lord in entirety. It is thus very rare indeed to find a Jeevanmuktha in the world. When finding a jeevanmuktha itself is rare, what to speak about three jeevanmukthas at the same time?

Before we analyze on the nature and state of these three jeevanmukthas, we need to understand who is a jeevanmuktha???
Jeevanmuktha is one who is ever liberated even while seemingly living in the body in this world. Liberation is nothing but complete cessation of sorrow and ever rejoicing in eternal bliss. This is possible only through realization of one’s own nature of the ultimate reality of Lord. Realization happens when the seeker constantly contemplates on the ultimate reality of Lord at all times remembering that there is nothing here apart from the ultimate reality of Lord – the seeker knows and remembers that there is no duality whatsoever here. He knows that the duality that seems to be present is only an illusion of names and forms in the ultimate reality of non-dual Lord of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute. Since the seeker knows and contemplates that there is nothing here apart from the ultimate reality of Lord, there is neither liking or disliking to anything as everything is known as an illusion of name and form in the Lord. Since there is neither liking nor disliking, therefore there is no attachment or aversion. As there is no attachment or aversion, there is no happiness and sorrow for such a seeker. Thus the dual notions of the mind itself are not there. It is the dual notion of the mind which causes a seeker to get attached or detached to things thereby getting deluded in the ocean of samsaara characterized by sorrows and sufferings. When something that the seeker is attached to is in trouble or sorrow, the seeker also becomes sad. But when the seeker remembers that everything is but an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord, he is ever immersed in the eternal bliss which is the very nature of the Lord. Being ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord, the seeker is not at all affected by illusory activities of the world – but he is ever steadfast in the ultimate reality of Lord knowing that the duality that seems to be present is only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. It is this state that is mentioned as moksha in the Upanishads. A person who is ever established in this state of being ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord is called a jeevan muktha (one who is liberated though seemingly living in the body).

We find in the three people of Mahaabali, Vaamana and Shukracharya this characteristic of a jeevan muktha. These three people were ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord. Vaamana was an avatar of the Lord and hence he was ever a jeevan muktha. Mahaabali had learnt about the ultimate reality of Lord through Shukracharya and his father – thus he was ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord. The activities of the world causing sorrows and happiness didn’t affect Mahaabali even little. This is only because of the knowledge that everything is only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. Such a person who knows that everything is but an illusion in the Lord and thereby is ever immersed in the Lord is called a jeevan muktha. Thus Mahaabali was a jeevanmuktha who was ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord. Shukracharya was the Guru of Mahaabali who instructed him into Brahmavidya (knowledge about the ultimate reality of Brahman or Lord). Thus Shukracharya was a jeevan muktha. We find in this story that when the Lord asks Shukracharya to complete the yajna that was started by Mahaabali, Shukracharya does that without any thoughts. This wouldn’t be possible unless Shukracharya is a jeevan muktha because else he would have thought that “I will not do this because this was started by my disciple who didn’t hear to me”. At one time, Shukracharya curses Mahaabali (the role required him to do so and therefore he does that) and at the other time, he completes the yajna on the request of the Lord (who was the enemy of Mahaabali, his disciple whom he was protecting from the devas). Thus Shukracharya was not at all affected by the activities or state at the empirical level – instead he was ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord and therefore a jeevan muktha.

Bhagavatham here is showing three jeevan mukthas each acting in their own way – this is in order to show us that it is possible for each one of us to become jeevan mukthas as that is our very natural state. It is only due to ignorance that we have forgotten our very nature of the Lord. In order to realize our state of the Lord, we have to constantly contemplate on the Lord remembering that there is nothing here apart from the ultimate reality of Lord. This will make us jeevan muktha – the state wherein there is bliss, bliss and bliss only.

With this, we come to an end of this beautiful story of Mahaabali in Bhagavatham. We will see the summary of the story in the next day.

Let us all try to be jeevan mukthas so that we may ever rejoice in the eternal bliss which is our very nature & that which we all are seeking each and every moment.

Story of Mahaabali - Summary

As we discussed in the earlier parts of this story, this is one of the best story in Srimad Bhagavatham. This is also a story which is “my” (personal) favorite among all bhagavatham stories & “I” got so much attached to Prof. Balakrishnan Nair’s beautiful way of exposition of this particular story of Srimad Bhagavatham. This story is one of the rare stories where we find three jeevan mukthas of Vaamana (an avataar), Mahaabali and Shukracharya coming together each playing their part in the world to perfection. Vaamana came to give the devas their empire after snatching it from Mahaabali but instead ended up blessing Mahaabali with the statement that “I will be there with you always”. This blessing is the blessing that we all are seeking in the form of eternal bliss. Eternal bliss is only possible as long as the thought of the ultimate reality of Lord is present in the mind (along with the knowledge that this Lord is the one and only reality in the illusory world). Shukracharya tried to protect his disciple from the Lord’s play by warning him – this warning was from a asura Guru whose swadharma was to protect the asura clan. Once this warning was not headed by the disciple, Shukracharya cursed Mahaabali that all his aishwarya will be lost. What is aishwaryas other than the part of illusory world and how can it affect the seeker who has been blessed with the presence of the Lord at all times??? But without keeping this grudge in mind, Shukracharya finished the yajna started by Mahaabali on the advice of the Lord.

Thus we find three jeevan mukthas each doing their swadharma but still being ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord – thus not at all being affected by the activities in the world.

In this story we first find Shukracharya instructing Mahaabali into the reality behind the world that everything is the Lord alone – all the duality that is perceived is only names and forms in the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus I, you and we all are the ultimate reality of Lord alone. Having a clear conviction about this and remembering this, a seeker should live in the world as if he is playing a role in the huge drama of waking world. When the seeker does thus, he will realize that he is a mere witness to all the activities of the world thereby realizing his very nature of non-dual Lord.

Once a person progresses in the spiritual path, there will be obstacles in each and every form. The obstacles can be in the form of money, power, fame, women or even Guru. The extreme case of Guru becoming a hindrance to the seeker’s spiritual progress is what we see in this story. Current days are days wherein we find many self-proclaimed Gurus who are mere bonded people in the world. These Gurus are those who cannot live without disciples who speak high of them. Such Gurus cannot tolerate the disciple going away from them. This would happen if the disciple progresses in the spiritual path thereby becoming independent after realization of the ultimate reality of Lord. As a lamp after being used to lit another lamp is of no use, similarly the Guru’s role ends once the disciple realizes the ultimate reality of non-dual Lord. Thus such Gurus fear that the disciple might leave them – hence they make sure that the disciple doesn’t progress much in the spiritual path.

But a disciple whose goal is fixed unto the ultimate reality of Lord will not stop at any point. Whatever forms an obstacle in his path, the disciple will set it aside & move further in the spiritual path. This is what we find Mahaabali doing in this story. He didn’t heed the Guru’s words when the Guru told him to take back his word of giving three feet land to Vaamana. Mahaabali instead was happy that the Lord himself had come to ask something from him. He knew that everything is but the Lord & hence he happily accepted the curse from the Guru. But in the end, Mahaabali achieved that which even the devas find tough to achieve – realization of the ultimate reality of Lord.

Thus Bhagavatham is warning us to stay away from false Gurus and instead keep our focus fixed on the ultimate reality of Lord. This reality shouldn’t be sacrificed for the sake of Guru – we can very well say that Gurubhakthi is required, Guru ninda is not good etc. etc. The Guru is just another illusion in the world – in individual who helps us in the spiritual progress. As the Lord proclaims in Gita, the Self can be helped by the Self alone – the Guru can only guide us and cannot make us realize the Lord. Remembering the reality is more important than being with a Guru. Thus a seeker should always be fixed unto the ultimate reality of Lord and the Lord should be of prime importance for the seeker.

Such a seeker like Mahaabali will realize the ultimate reality of Lord knowing which there is nothing else to be known and the seeker gets eternal bliss – that which he has been seeking since births in the external world.

We will start with the next story of Srimad Bhagavatham starting from the next day.