Srimad Bhagavatham

Thus regretting the fault that he had, Saubhari took sanyaas at home itself. The sanyaas he took was not external renunciation but the knowledge that everything is the Lord thereby offering everything unto the Lord. Finally he lived in forest along with his wives seeing everything as form of the Lord thereby being in peace eternally.

Explanation

We come to the end of this beautiful story of Bhagavatham. Yes, it has been mentioned at the end of each and every story of Bhagavatham that it is a beautiful storyJ. Once an interviewer asked AMMA as to whether she doesn’t get bored of hugging and consoling people (as she has hugged almost more than a million people till now and has been doing it even now). AMMA replied telling that for a mother, the child is always beautiful and if a person sees each moment as a new one, he will not feel bored.

We feel bored about things because of seeing it the same way that we want to be seen. Instead if we could see everything as an expression of the Lord but in different ways, then there would be no boredom. Though each story has the import of the ultimate reality of Lord alone still the way in which the Lord has been depicted and the path to the Lord has been put forth is different in each story – this makes each story new. Wherever there is new-ness, we will be able to see beauty in it. It is only when we see things as old and not new that we get bored of it. The first time we see Taj Mahal, it will be beautiful. The next time, it will be less beautiful. After a few times, Taj Mahal will not have any beauty in our eyes. This doesn’t mean that Taj Mahal is not beautiful – Taj Mahal was and will ever be beautiful. It is only that the new-ness is not there in our mind regarding it. This is the reason why relationships break – due to boredom and lack of newness in it. We find this attitude more in the west than the east. In India, the spiritual saints have taught us to see everything as new – each moment is new and beautiful because it is a different expression of the ultimate reality of Lord. Children are an exact representation of how a jeevan muktha would behave (Upanishads compare the jeevan muktha to a child and a madman). A child will be playing with the same toy that it had – it will never be bored of it – it will play, play and play because it feels each moment as new and different.

This is the reason why AMMA says that we have to become children so that we are able to see each moment as new and different. This attitude will make each story of Bhagavatham beautiful because it is a new way of expressing the ultimate reality of Lord. Rather than the newness it is also the inner nature of the object of discussion (the Lord) which makes each story beautiful. Even if we learn the same story of Bhagavatham again and again, we will find something new in it and hence it will ever be beautiful.

Coming back to the story, Saubhari regretted and repented for his actions of getting entangled in desires. It is not enough for a seeker to merely repent his actions instead he should work against it and work towards realization of the Lord remembering his mistakes so that he doesn’t commit the same mistake again. The way out of the mistake of getting entangled in the world is renunciation or sanyaas.

What is sanyaas?
Sanyaas or renunciation is remembering always that everything is filled with the Lord. This thought will make us offer everything (all our actions) as an offering to the Lord. This will make us always focused in the Lord thereby getting detached from worldly things though we will still be performing worldly activities. The normal external sanyaas that we are familiar with is only a means to internal and real sanyaaas that Bhagavatham mentions here. Family life will be or should be undertaken only when there is a slight desire for the same in the mind. Marriage happens broadly for two reasons: one is sexual pleasure and second is emotional support. Both of these mean the seeker is forgetting the ultimate reality of Lord. The reason why ancient seers married was to keep the tradition – they though were married knew the ultimate reality of Lord and were jeevan mukthas all their life. We find such jeevan mukthas as marrying and still unaffected by activities (examples being Janaka, Ambariksha and the great Yajnavalkya).

If a seeker marries just because of compulsion from parents or others, then he is entering deeper into the ocean of samsaara. There is no need for such steps – we would succumb to our parents words only if we think we are indebted to them or we cannot live without them. Both of these are wrong – nothing is controlled by humans instead everything is controlled by the Lord alone. Thus there cannot be indebt towards parents. If a seeker thinks he cannot live without parents, then he doesn’t have enough faith to depend only on the ultimate reality of Lord. We shouldn’t be such ignorant and foolish seekers.

If by chance we need emotional support and thereby marry, there is nothing to fear still. But we should remember to give enough priority to the Lord. If we say that “I have to cook for my husband and children and thereby don’t have time for Vedanta”, then we will get eternal bliss or liberation from sufferings in the world. Instead we should offer all actions unto the Lord keeping the Lord in our thoughts. Giving priority to the Lord doesn’t mean quitting but just that we should always remember the Lord.

For seekers who don’t need emotional support, external sanyaas is the best way as it is devoid of obstacles and there is time only for the ultimate reality of Lord.

For those who are already married or cannot ward off marriage, nothing to worry – the Lord is always taking care of us even if we know it or not. Thus we only need to constantly remember that everything is the Lord and offer all actions unto him.

We will see the summary of this story of Bhagavatham tomorrow and then start with the next story.

Karma in the form of austerities and knowledge – an analysis

We saw in the previous day as to how Saubhari realized the futility of tapas performed without knowledge of the ultimate reality of Lord. It is important for seekers to analyze this and understand it clearly.

When we analyze the world and the underlying reality of the ultimate reality of Lord, there are only two components present in the first place. The two components are karma or action and jnaana or knowledge. Karma is based on duality or difference between doer and the thing to be achieved (goal or phala) whereas jnaana is based on the non-dual reality of Lord as the substratum of the illusory world. Karma like the entities of the world is ever changing with respect to the doer – the same action of driving a car is different with respect to the person driving. On the other hand, jnaana is changeless as it is the reality behind the differences that we see in the world. Jnaana is the knowledge that there is no duality at all here but whatever really exists is only an illusion of name and form in the ultimate reality of Lord. Always remembering that the Lord alone exists even while doing activities in the world is the path of jnaana. Such a person who remembers the Lord and does all actions as an offering unto the Lord (following the great upanishadic statement of ishaavasyam idam sarvam and tena thyaktena bhunjeethaah) is not bound by karma but is following the path of jnaana.

Karma is only an illusion based on duality. A person who depends on karma is bound by the karma and the phala (fruit) thereon. This vicious circle of fruit and action continues without any end. This leads a seeker to take many births in order to fulfill all desires and attain a state wherein there is no more action to be performed. This state of no-more-action-to-be-performed is termed by the Lord in 15th chapter of Gita as krithakrithyaa bhaavam – this is what Vedantins claim as moksha or jeevan mukthi. This state of moksha is achieved only through the path of jnaana.

A seeker thereby has to always choose the path of knowledge wherein he remembers the ultimate reality of Lord as the one and only existing entity and offers all actions performed at the empirical level to the Lord as worship.

Are tapas, dhyaana, samaadhi etc. part of karma or jnaana?
Bhagavatham following the Upanishads doesn’t differentiate between various actions. All actions are bondages for the seeker if it is not associated with the thought of the Lord. Any action performed with the thought of the Lord is jnaana – a seeker who performs actions in this way is following the path of knowledge which will lead him to nishreyas or moksha. On the other hand, the seeker who does actions without remembering the Lord will be bound in the ocean of samsaara even if the action is dhyaana or Samadhi. This doesn’t exclude bhajan or chanting as well. Even if the seeker goes to meet Mahatmas like AMMA or Sri Sri Ravishankar and spends time in AIM (Amrita Integrated Meditation) or the Sudarshana Kriya (propagated by Art of Living of Sri Sri Ravishankar) but forgets the ultimate reality of Lord while doing these actions then those very actions become bondages and leads the seeker into the ocean of samsaara.

I personally know many people who follow these meditation techniques but are so attached to the action that they cannot be without it. One of my friend claimed once that if she doesn’t do the meditation, she feels powerless & her friends claim that on such a day her face is not bright!!! This is nothing but heights of ignorance.

We all are traveling from Kanyakumari to the goal of Himalayas. We might either travel through bus or train. Let’s say “Hariram” travels through train. After getting out of the train when it reaches the destination of Himalayas, it is stupidity if “Hariram” claims that he will not get out of the train.

Any path or means is never the goal. The goal of realization of the ultimate reality of Lord is beyond all paths. Meditation or sudarshan kriya or AIM or Samadhi are only the means and not the goal. If a person is very much attached to these means, then that only shows that the person is forgetting the goal of ultimate reality of Lord. Such a person who forgets the Lord and does all these actions will fall into the ocean of samsaara like Saubhari.

If the particular action is done remembering the ultimate reality of Lord, the seeker will not get affected if the action is not done in a day. He will still remember the Lord and say that “O Lord! It is your wish that I was unable to do meditation today. Instead of meditation, I will chant your name a couple of times” – with this, the seeker will be ever blissful and unaffected by any activities. Attachment to such activities happens when we forget that those activities are only meant for easy remembrance of the Lord. Instead these activities themselves cause us to forget the Lord and get attached to the activities.

It can be argued that “will not AMMA or Sri Sri Ravishankar protect me even if I am getting attached to the activity”. JThe Lord openly says in Gita that the Self is saved by the Self alone – a horse can be taken to the pond but it cannot be made to drink water. All Mahatmas can only lead us or show us the direction, they cannot save us from the ocean of samsaara without knowledge. Any Mahatma who claims to protect their devotees through devotion or surrender to them are only false-gurus --- nobody can save us from the ocean of samsaara without knowledge. We have already seen this in the story of Jada Bharatha whom even Lord Vishnu couldn’t save; in such a case, what to speak about Mahatmas who are in a human body?

We thus have to remember that knowledge and constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord alone can save us from the ocean of samsaara. This doesn’t require any help of any Mahatma – if a seeker is weak to ward off obstacles, then he can seek those Mahatmas but without forgetting the goal of non-dual reality of Lord. If he forgets the Lord, no Mahatma can save him. AMMA starts her discourses by telling that we have to learn the scriptures – this is because scriptures tell us that constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord is the one and only way out of the ocean of samsaara.

For a seeker whose goal is remembrance of the Lord, there are no conditions of actions – he neither needs to get up by 3 nor sit in meditation daily for 2 hours. He does all actions like a worldly person but remembering the ultimate reality of Lord thereby offering the actions to the Lord.

Saubhari thus thought and proclaimed (bhagavatham proclaiming through Saubhari as an instruction to seekers like us) – A person seeking the ultimate truth should never get entangled in sensual pleasures. He should initially always try to be away from sense objects and maintain silence (sitting or staying at a quiet place). While being in a quiet place, the seeker should fix his mind upon the ultimate reality of Lord. I was alone once. The sanga (attachment or association) with a fish caused another 50 people to be associated with me. The 50 count became 500 now. There would be no end to thoughts and desires of people who concentrate on the duality in the world rather than the non-dual reality of Lord.

Explanation

As the famous saying in the world goes “Experience makes man wise”, Saubhari is here advising all seekers so that they don’t commit the same mistake that he committed. What mistake? The mistake that Saubhari made was of getting attached to things thereby forgetting the ultimate reality of Lord. One desire will lead a seeker to get attached to many things. This will go on like an unending chain of attachments. The more the things that we get attached to, the more we will tend to forget the Lord. The more we tend to forget the Lord, the more our sorrows and sufferings will be. The more our sufferings, we will then struggle to get rid of those sufferings in one or the other way. It is at these moments that we seek spiritual advice and go to saints like AMMA and others.

I am not here telling that we shouldn’t seek these saints. Sankara mentions three things as very tough to get in life and got only by God’s grace – they are manhood qualities, desire for liberation and surrender to a man of wisdom. We should surrender to saints like AMMA not to get rid of our sorrows but to get knowledge of the Lord from them. What many years of tapas cannot achieve can be achieved through the mere presence of these Mahatmas because they are ever immersed in the reality of Lord.

When we go to a wineshop or a pub, we feel the negative vibrations there. Similarly if we go to these Mahatmas we will feel the positive vibrations which will energize us to progress in the spiritual path with full power and strength. But we will gain out of these energizing only if we know the goal of ultimate reality of Lord to be attained in life. If we don’t remember this, we would be seeking such Mahatmas either for getting worldly pleasures or for getting of worldly sorrows. That is not what is to be achieved from a seeker. Not seeking realization or moksha and seeking worldly things from Mahatmas is like going to Bill Gates and asking for a dollar!!! We should never go and seek petty things from Mahatmas – we should only seek moksha or realization and that alone should be sought. If we seek anything else, then that will be only temporary. We may go to AMMA or other saints for getting temporary relief and getting promotion among other things. We will get it but there will be no end to desires. We will still go to them after some time but this time it will be for something else. This vicious circle will go on and on until we realize the futility of such desires and stay away from them. Instead we should always seek the ultimate reality of Lord who alone is real amidst the illusory things of the world. The world that we see is like a long dream – it has no reality apart from the Lord. It is the Lord who is seen as the various names and forms in the world. If we seek the names and forms forgetting the underlying reality of Lord, we will get only sorrow. Instead if we remember the underlying reality and seek the names-forms, we will not only get worldly things but we will be ever blissful and content with thought of the ultimate reality of Lord.

Thus we have to always seek the ultimate reality of Lord whether we go to Mahatmas or get spiritual advice from friends – our goal should be the ultimate reality of Lord. Everything else should be of less importance and lesser priority than thought of the ultimate reality of Lord.

Such a seeker who always remembers the ultimate reality of Lord and is ever immersed in the thought of Lord alone will overcome the delusion of samsaara thereby realizing his very nature of non-dual reality of Lord.

We will see tomorrow as to what Saubhari does to rectify his mistakes thereby going on to realize the ultimate reality of Lord.

Saubhari satisfied all his wives with his tapas siddhi. He created big palaces and beautiful things all over in order to make his wives happy. Thus he started living with all the worldly pleasures in a good way. Maandaathavu was surprised at seeing this and his ego was subsided completely by this. Here you might doubt that why is a siddha using the siddhi powers – siddhis are demonstrated and used by Mahatmas for the welfare of the world and not for their own personal use.

Explanation

We see that Saubhari had to not just marry the daughters of the king but he also had to create lot of things for leading a happy married life. This is what would happen because of one single desire of getting married. This is meant not to degrade marriage but to show that any desire will lead to infinite desires which will never end or will man get satisfied and content with those desires.

Thus Bhagavatham is stressing the importance of not having desires at all. If at all we desire something for others, we should desire constantly remembering the ultimate reality of Lord and offering this desire as well to the Lord. This way, we will not be attached or bonded by the desire. As long as there is no bondage with desires or worldly things created out of these desires, the seeker will be progressing in the spiritual path removing obstacles and slowly realizing the ultimate reality of Lord. On the other hand, if the seeker forgets the ultimate reality of Lord and desires things, then it will lead him more and more into the ocean of samsaara.

The main problem with desires is that they can never be completely satisfied. Today I will want a bi-cycle. Tomorrow this will become desire for a bike – day after, it will become a car. After that, it would become a very good car and finally Ferrari. If we think that this will stop here, we are wrong. Again the desire will increase to helicopters. JWill a single birth be sufficient for all of these??? No, hence the seeker will be born again and again until all desires are removed. Desires can only be removed by the knowledge that there is nothing here but the Lord alone thereby desiring nothing all the while doing activities in the world. This alone can remove desires – desires can never be removed by enjoying them but only by surrendering unto the ultimate reality of Lord. We have to thus remember this always and surrender completely unto the ultimate reality of Lord – even if we desire something, we should desire remembering that there is nothing here but the ultimate reality of Lord alone.

Bhagavatham in this part also mentions about the use of siddhis and display of siddhis by Mahatmas. Mahatmas don’t need to display any siddhis nor use any siddhis because they are ever established in the bliss inherent in the ultimate reality of Lord – it is this bliss that we seek through worldly possessions which alone can be the effect of siddhis. Though Mahatmas and jeevan mukthas don’t need siddhis but still they use siddhi for the welfare of the world. Siddhis as long as they are used for the welfare of the world remembering that there is nothing here but the ultimate reality of Lord alone will never bind the seeker into the ocean of samsaara. But if siddhis are used to fulfill one’s own desire or others desire and is done forgetting the ultimate reality of Lord, then they bind the seeker into the ocean of samsaara. This is what happened with Saubhari. He used siddhis not for the welfare of the world but to fulfill his desire of enjoying sexual pleasure. Thus the siddhis became a bondage for him leading to more and more siddhis.

We will see as to what Saubhari realizes from this and as to how he focuses himself again on the ultimate reality of Lord in the next day.

Thus Saubhari was enjoying sensual pleasures but he found that there was no satisfaction or contentment out of enjoyment of these pleasures. Desires went on increasing even as fire burns more vigorously when ghee is poured in it. Once he became worried and started thinking. He felt Self-bliss getting reduced. He then realized that all of this was due to watching the fishes having sexual pleasure. But by that time, he had ten sons from each of his wives. He then thought thus “Bad! See what has befallen me. I was a tapasvi and following the path of spiritual realization. But because of association with the fish (by seeing the activities of the fishes), I have today lost all of my tapas that I had achieved in many years.”

Explanation

We can never put an end to desire by gratifying it. Desires will go on increasing more and more. One desire will go and another will spring up in its place. As a child which is fully ignorant about things gets attached to toffees, similarly a seeker once enjoying a particular desire gets attached to it. Thus “let me enjoy it once” becomes an addiction. This addiction in itself will lead to many more related desires. Therefore trying to put an end to desire by enjoying them is like pouring ghee into fire (fire will not be extinguished but instead will burn more). If we want to put an end to desire, we have to take the path of knowledge and devotion to the ultimate reality of Lord. We need to know that the Lord alone exists & whatever is seen as the dual world is only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. This knowledge will cultivate devotion to the Lord as the seeker knows that constantly contemplating on the Lord as one’s own nature alone can lead him out of the bondages of the illusory world.

Thus knowledge that the Lord alone exists along with devotion in the form of constant contemplation of the Lord alone can lead us out of the ocean of samsaara characterized by ignorance-desire-actions. This alone can put an end to desires. There is no other way than this to put an end to desires.

As long as we don’t put an end to desires, there will be no contentment or satisfaction from sensual pleasures. Sensual pleasures will never lead a person to a state wherein he is fully satisfied with whatever he has; instead it will only lead him to crave for more and more pleasures. As Vidyaranya beautifully puts it in Panchadashi “Kurvathe karma bhogaaya, karma karthum cha bhunjathe” – man does actions for enjoyment and he enjoys for doing more actions – thus continues the vicious circle of actions and enjoyment.

A person when he realizes that he is none other than the ultimate reality of Lord of the nature of eternal bliss, he doesn’t need anything else in life. He then remains in the world doing all activities all the while internally content and satisfied with whatever he has. Bliss will be playing around such a jeevan muktha who has realized the ultimate reality of Lord. Any person who seeks such a jeevan muktha will be able to enjoy bliss which is inherent in the Self.

Thus when we go to Mahatmas we find satisfaction, contentment, peace and bliss. This is the bliss of realization of the ultimate reality of Lord emanating from them. This state of being ever blissful and content is what Vedanta calls as moksha. We all are seeking this state of eternal bliss wherein there is no sorrow, there is no craving, there is no seeking and there is no suffering; but there is bliss and bliss alone.

TAPAS or austerity will be lost if the seeker forgets the ultimate reality of Lord while getting deluded into the ocean of samsaara. This doesn’t mean that grihasthas are not doing tapas as they are always involved in sensual pleasures – so long as the seeker’s mind is contemplating on the ultimate reality of Lord, he is not affected by desires of the mind or enjoyment of sensual pleasures. While performing activities in the world, internally he remains fixed in the Lord and thereby unattached to the activities even as the lotus-leaf is not afflicted by water though it is always in water only.

We should thus remember that while doing any activity or desiring anything, we should remember the Lord and offer it to the Lord. It is not possible to be without any activities or desires in the world – but it is possible to remember the Lord while doing activities. This is what is required in a seeker. Saubhari was fully deluded into sensual pleasures forgetting the ultimate reality of Lord. A seeker shouldn’t seek anything but should accept whatever comes to him – he should understand the state he is in and what all are required out of his role in the world – he shouldn’t get away or run away from it instead should do those like a worldly person but internally always contemplating on the ultimate reality of Lord.

We will continue the story in the next day.

Saubhari Muni who had achieved siddhis through tapas (austerity) was once taking a dip in the Yamuna river for bath. At that time, he saw a big fish having sexual pleasure with its partner thereby getting extreme happiness. Seeing this, Saubhari got a desire to enjoy the same. Therefore he decided to marry some girl.

Explanation

Desire is something which affects even people who have achieved great siddhis through control of the mind. Mind is such that it is very tough to control it at all times. A person who has controlled the mind will succumb to some desire at other times. The only way to control the mind once and for all is through surrendering totally to the ultimate reality of Lord with the knowledge that there is nothing here but the Lord alone. This knowledge and surrender alone can get the mind controlled for eternity – this control is not temporary like the control through yoga sadhanas because with this surrender, the mind itself vanishes. The seeker is never under the control of the mind but the mind is ever under the control of the Lord – the Lord is only present in the mind always and hence the mind is under the control of the thought of the Lord.

All other means of control of the mind are temporary. Mind can be easily controlled initially by yoga sadhanas or prayanama or meditation – but this isn’t permanent control. In order to have the mind always under control, the seeker will have do the yoga sadhana at all times. Also since desires have not been fulfilled completely through knowledge of the Lord, there is always chance of desires arising in the mind depending on the situation or environment or surroundings.

This is exactly what we see in Saubhari Muni. The Muni who had controlled his mind and attained yoga siddhis couldn’t control sexual desire when he saw a fish couple indulging in sexual pleasure. Mahatmas have proclaimed that taste (tongue) and sexual desire (through the organ of procreation) are the two of the toughest organs to have controlled. We have to thus constantly remember that desire in the form of external objects is always trying to lure our mind – one false step like Saubhari and we are into the ocean of samsaara from which it will be impossible to come out unless we seek another Mahatma. Therefore we as seekers of the ultimate reality of Lord should always have the organ of taste and procreation under control – it is ofcourse impossible to get rid of these organs but we can keep them under control. Keeping the organs under control doesn’t mean that we should eat less but only means that we have to constantly remember the Lord and offer the actions performed by these organs to the Lord. In such a case, there would be no effect of the activities which would lead us into the ocean of samsaara – instead even if there is any desire, that will be fulfilled and destroyed by the ultimate reality of Lord itself. The knowledge of thought of the Lord will destroy such desire into ashes even as fire burns firewood into ashes.

We have to remember that scriptures doesn’t proclaim a seeker to get rid of the desire of taste and sexual pleasure – as this isn’t possible for the majority of people either due to being involved in marriage or due to strong vasana (latent tendency to indulge in such pleasure) in the mind. Scriptures only say that enjoy those desires but remember the Lord alone with enjoyment of the desires. Slowly the seeker will find the vasana getting away from the mind and the thought of Lord alone will remain in the mind. Though such a seeker might indulge in worldly pleasures as they come, his mind will never crave for such desires but will always be contemplating on the ultimate reality of Lord.

We will see in the next day as to what this desire can lead a seeker to through Saubhari’s story.

Saubhari Muni thus went to the palace and asked the king to marry one of his daughters to him. The king was in trouble now as he didn’t know which girl would like this muni who was very old. Therefore the king said to the muni to go inside and choose any of his daughters to marry. The king thought that all his daughters would not accept marriage with this old man. But the muni understood the king’s state. Thereby through yoga siddhi, he turned into a young and beautiful man. Thereby he went inside and all of the 50 daughters got attracted to him. Thus Saubhari was married to all of the 50 daughters of the king.

Explanation

It is but a quite controversial topic as to whether a seeker has to follow the path of grihastha or the path of sanyaasa in order to realize the ultimate reality of Lord. Grihastha people would say that grihastha is superior because the seeker remembers the Lord amidst all troubles and distractions in the world. Sanyaasins would say that sanyaasa is superior because here you renounce everything and live only depending on the Lord.

Balakrishnan Nair is one of the exception to the above two types of jnaanis who proclaim the path which they have taken as superior. Balakrishnan Nair always emphasizes that it isn’t important as to what we are doing or where we are – but what is important is whether we are remembering the ultimate reality of Lord with the knowledge that there is nothing here but the Lord alone exists, one without a second. Great grihasthas like Ambariksha, Janaka and others have realized the ultimate reality of Lord whereas many sanyaasins like Durvaasa and others had to realize the reality through these grihasthas.

Thus it is not important whether we are sanyaasins or grihasthas but it is important to remember the ultimate reality of Lord. The moment we forget the ultimate reality of Lord and aren’t aware enough to focus the mind back to the Lord once he is forgotten, we will end up in the ocean of samsaara. This is exactly what happened with Saubhari Muni. He was not focused on the Lord and hence one single desire came to his mind. This desire didn’t stop with itself – he had to change himself into a young man in order to get married to the daughters of the king. The tapas that the Muni had done for ages were used just to fulfill a desire!!! This is what happens when we forget the ultimate reality of Lord. Let’s say that a devotee is trying to remember the Lord but forgets the Lord at some point of time. Then he will try to use the devotion (the tapas or austerity which led him to becoming a devotee) will be used for getting either name or fame or money (through singing bhajans like the current day bhajan singers of the gang of Jalota, Jagjit Singh etc.). These people tend to forget that it is tapas and grace of the Lord that they have been gifted with beautiful voice capable of always singing about the Lord and for the Lord alone. Instead they forget the Lord thereby getting desire to sing for others!!! Isn’t singing for others social service??? JThe Lord never proclaims seekers to do social service – instead he tells that all service offered to the Lord is social service because the Lord is the protector of the entire society. Social service forgetting the Lord will only lead to more and more things to be done for the world – which will make the seeker take birth again and again in order to fulfill those desires. But a seeker who is offering everything unto the Lord is doing social service to the world – his very presence will instigate devotion and thereby bliss to people surrounding him. Each of his words will lead seekers from ignorance and troubles into knowledge and bliss.

Thus we have to constantly remember that there is only thing that we have to do and are supposed to do in the world – which is remembering the Lord at all times. Whatever be the action that we do, we have to remember the Lord. This alone is social service, this alone is real devotion, this alone is knowledge and this alone will lead us from the ocean of samsaara to realization of the ultimate reality of Lord.

The moment we forget the Lord, all siddhis and powers will be used for gratification of desires and sensual pleasures. Maya which is the illusory power of the Lord is so strong that forget the ruler of Lord and it will bind even great devotees like Durvaasa and others.

Saubhari forgot the Lord and thereby used his siddhi to become young in order to wed the daughters of the King. It is grace of the Lord (his tapas lead him to this grace) that he got not one but fifty wives (Jcan’t say whether it is his luck or unluck as today people struggle even with one single wifeJJJ). But the usage of siddhi for fulfillment of one desire didn’t stop here. We will see as to what all the muni had to do to satisfy the single desire of enjoying sexual pleasure in the next day.

Mandaathavu was a king in the Sooryavamsa (soorya dynasty). He alone ruled the medini area (which was also called sapthadveepa). He was a knower of the Self and hence did many types of yajna as prayers to the ultimate reality of Lord.

Explanation

This story starts with a king who is mentioned as doing all types of yajna in remembrance of the Lord. Generally we think that particular yajna or homas like agnihotra, sudarshana etc. alone are prescribed by the scriptures. But this is not true. Any yajna that is done remembering the Lord is the greatest of all yajnas – this has been defined by the Lord as Brahma Yajna in the Gita. This yajna doesn’t have many restrictions like other yajnas (like a brahmana, four priests for each Vedas etc.) and is easy to do.

The Lord speaks about this beautifully in the famous sloka which is chanted by many before intake of food. The sloka is thus:

Brahma arpanam brahma havih brahma agnau brahmanaa hutam
Brahmaiva tena ganthavyam brahma karma samaadhinaa

Brahman is the oblation, brahman is the spoon with which the offering is made, brahman is the fire, this is done by Brahman, what is to be achieved is also Brahman and this is done through the thought that “everything is Brahman”.

Isn’t this the simplest of all yajnas? The only condition or criteria for this yajna is the thought that everything is Brahman. As long as a seeker has the thought that everything is Brahman, all actions done by him are Brahma Yajna. This yajna or offering is the greatest of all because this is accompanied directly by the knowledge that there is only Brahman here. Thus while doing the action; the seeker is constantly contemplating on the reality that there is nothing here but Brahman alone. The Lord himself says that greatest of all yajnas is jnaana yajna (which is remembering the Lord while doing all activities). This jnaana yajna destroys action and fruits into ashes. It is only due to actions and craving for fruits that we end up in sorrows and sufferings. We do actions expecting a particular fruit. When we don’t get the fruit, we become sad. If we get the required fruit, we crave for more – this goes on infinitely until the seeker becomes fully immersed in sufferings. Then finally starts the search for bliss. Initial search is not in the form of knowledge but in the form of Mahatmas and siddhis from the Mahatmas!

Is it possible for a Mahatma to satisfy a person through siddhis? No, not at all. A seeker can be satisfied only through knowledge and knowledge alone. Once a Mahatma satisfies few needs of a seeker through siddhi, the seeker will go forth with more siddhis. I have seen many people in the world devoted to AMMA, Sri Sri Ravishankar and other saints but seeking only worldly benefits. The fact is that nobody wants knowledge – since they have got used to enjoying pleasures through the siddhis of these saints, their mind is engrossed in those alone.

The Lord thereby says that out of thousands of people, few alone seek him; out of those striving seekers, only still few know him reality.

When a seeker knows the futility of worldly pleasures, then he will seek knowledge alone. When we hear the term “knowledge”, we think that it is learning of all Vedas, Upanishads, brahma sutra etc. Knowledge is not studying these scriptures alone but studying the import of these scriptures. Knowledge is knowing that there is nothing here but the Lord alone. This alone is the real knowledge that is to be achieved from the study of scriptures. Once a seeker knows this, then he remembers this while doing all activities. Thus though externally he might be immersed in worldly activities, internally his mind is ever fixed in the Lord. Mandaathavu who was a knower of the Self was performing this yajna only – constant remembrance of the Lord while doing all activities.

A person who is following this yajna will ever be blissful – whatever be the situation that he is in, he will still be happy. If he loses his job, still he will be happy. If he loses his partner or love, still he will be happy. If he loses money, still he will be happy. If he loses his own Guru, then also he will be happy.

This is what Sankara proclaims beautifully as:

Yogaratho va bhogaratho va sangaratho va sangaviheenah
Yasya brahmani ramathe chittam nandhathi nandhathi nandhathi eva

A person might be doing yoga or enjoying sensual pleasures; he might be attached to people or detached with people; but as long as his mind is immersed in the Lord, he will ever be rejoicing in bliss, bliss and bliss alone.

Maandathavu had three sons and fifty daughters from his wife Bindumathi. His fifty daughters were married by Saubhari Muni. You will be wondering as to how the muni came to marry the daughters of Maandathavu. I will tell you the same.

Explanation

Who is a muni?
Sankara in many of his bhashyas defines muni as mananasheelah or one who has controlled his mind through reflection.

Thus muni is one who has controlled the mind which is very tough indeed to control. The easiest way to control the mind is by offering the mind itself to the Lord. When the mind has been offered to the Lord, then there is no “my mind” to be controlled. Thus there is no personal mind for the seeker to control. This is why the Lord proclaims in many places to offer everything unto the Lord and that he will take care of everything.

It is but a fact that everything is controlled by the Lord alone. The famous saying “man proposes, God alone disposes” is a proof to this. Ramana himself has proclaimed that “karthuraajnayaa praapyathe phalam” – fruit is ordained by the Lord alone. It is only an ignorant and egoistic person who considers himself as the doer and controller of all actions in the world. Though George Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Alexander and other great kings have tried to control the world they haven’t been able to do so. When such kings are not even able to control their mind (which runs after all sensual pleasures), then what to speak about control of the world?

As long as the seeker doesn’t realize that the illusory world is controlled by the non-dual reality of Lord, he will be into troubles. It is ignorance of this knowledge which causes a person to try to seek sensual pleasures, control the mind, tries to experience Samadhi etc. A real devotee of the Lord will not enter into any of these because he knows that there is nothing here but the Lord alone. Thus for such a devotee there is neither control of the mind nor control of desires – he knows that there is only the Lord here & thereby has offered everything (all illusory things in the world including one’s body-mind-intellect) to the Lord.

It isn’t as easy to surrender and offer everything to the Lord as it can be spoken about. Though we may be able to do it when we are reminded by the scriptural statements or any discourse statements, still we may not be able to do it consistently. As Chinmaya’s Guru Tapovan Maharaj proclaimed to him “O Chimaya! Vedanta is easy to learn; still easier to preach; but it is real tough to practice”.

Though when Mahatmas proclaim that “offer everything unto the Lord; remember the Lord while doing all activities” etc. it isn’t as simple to remember the Lord. The mind which has been indulging in sensual pleasures for births will be continuously trying to distract the seeker from the thought of the Lord into the illusory pleasures of the world. It is only the seeker who has gained conviction that there is nothing here but the Lord alone and everything is an illusion in the Lord, who will be able to overcome the passions of the mind by continuously contemplating on the Lord.

It doesn’t really mean that we have to renounce all desires; but just that while enjoying any desire or pleasures, we should remember the Lord as well. A mother while working in office will still be thinking about her child; a husband while working will still be thinking about his wife and children; a lover will be always thinking about his love whatever he is doing; similarly a seeker has to always think about the Lord whatever the worldly activity that he is doing be.

If we are unable to remember the Lord at all times, we will be deluded into the ocean of samsaara through desires of sensual pleasure. This is what had happened with Saubhari Muni who married the children of Maandathavu. We will see as to how he came to marry in the next day.

We are entering into the next story in Srimad Bhagavatham. Before starting the story, we need to remember that each of these stories has for its import the ultimate reality of Lord. If the Lord is forgotten for anything (even the thing is devotion or knowledge of scriptures), then the seeker enters into the ocean of samsaara characterized by sorrows-sufferings and controlled by avidya-kaama-karma. Once avidya is prssent in the form of ignorance of one’s nature of the ultimate reality of Lord, desires spring in the mind. These desires lead to performance of actions for the sake of fulfilling the desires.

Desires whether they are good or bad will never remove avidya nor can they be fulfilled. Manu says that if a person thinks of getting rid of desires by enjoying them, it is like trying to put off fire by pouring ghee. The fire will not be extinguished; instead it will burn still more. Similarly if a person tries to remove desires by fulfilling them, more and more desires will be created in the mind. There is no end to the desires that can be created in the mind. At any point of time, if we put down in paper the desires in our mind we will understand this clearly – there will be infinite desires. Remove one and another will spring in its place. The one and only way out of this ocean of samsaara is constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord knowing that there is nothing here but the Lord alone.

For a seeker who knows that there is nothing but the Lord alone, there are no desires at all. If something good happens in the world, he is happy with it. If something bad happens, he is again happy. Though he might perform actions propelled by few desires, these desires are not seeds of future desires because they are burnt in the fire of knowledge.

Once a jnaani gets a desire to teach the Upanishads, he will start teaching the Upanishads all the while asserting the mind that there is nothing here but the Lord (thus though he teaches, the desire has already been burnt in the fire of knowledge).

But we all know and must remember that we aren’t jnaanis until the thought of Lord is ever present in our mind even while sleeping! Paramaartha (Swami Paramarthananda of Chennai) used to mockingly say that a jnaani would dream as if he is teaching people the scripturesJ. Since our mind is not fixed to the Lord and knowledge is not strong enough for us to be always established in contemplation of the Lord, we have to ensure that desires are kept away from the mind.

If desires are not there, then how can we even do daily activities like brushing the teeth, bathing etc.?
Keeping desires away from the mind doesn’t mean removing all desires – it only means that desires have to be kept in check. The easiest way is to remember the Lord while having any desire or while doing any activities. Thus if I desire to write an article on Valentine’s Day (since today is Valentine’s dayJ), I will desire the same remembering that the Lord alone is real and offering this desire plus the action to AMMA. Thus the desire instead of binding me will lead to purification of the mind and thereby to realization.

There are people who learn a few things about scriptures either through a few chapter of Gita or few of the books of saints like Chinmaya, Vivekananda etc. and start speaking about “doing actions”, “being in the world and serving the world”, “not running away from the world” etc. We have to remember the scriptural statement that the Self is not realized through many pravachanas (discourses) or by listening many discourses or by the intellect – the Self is realized only by the seeker who desires for the Self & the Self alone (not anything else in the world – everything is given lesser importance than the Self).

As explained in the previous postings, karma can never lead to realization. The Lord’s statement and the statements of few saints that “seekers should do his nitya karma” etc. are only partial knowledge. The people who having learnt a few scriptures and advising people about the same are not less than fools because they forget the essence of the scriptures.

The Lord’s advice to Arjuna to do action was preceded by knowledge that “the Self neither kills or nor is killed or is bound any actions” and succeeded by knowledge that “all actions are burnt into ashes in the fire of knowledge”. If we go to a few discourses and gain such wrong knowledge, not even Mahatmas like AMMA will be able to save us from the ocean of samsaara. Any Guru cannot save such a disciple whose mind has wrong notions about the reality.

All scriptures proclaim in one voice that the reality is realized only through knowledge and constant contemplation of the reality (which jnaana marga people term as Nidhidhyaasana); the Lord is not realized through any other means whatever it be – whether it is devotion to AMMA or Sri Sri Ravishankar or Sai Baba or even Lord Krishna. No Mahatma can save us without knowledge that there is nothing here but the Lord alone. All Mahatmas help us in gaining this knowledge if we are really devoted to them.

All sincere devotees of such Mahatmas should think as to why are these Mahatmas also unable to solve many problems (many are problems which involve these Mahatmas themselves) – AMMA is criticized by many journalists in articles; Sri Sri Ravishankar was called homo-sexual person by many of his own old followers; Sai Baba had cases of murder which happened in his very bedroom.

The above statements don’t mean that “I” don’t have any respect for them. It is only meant to show that no Mahatma can save a seeker who has either the presence of wrong knowledge or the absence of right knowledge. We as ardent seekers of the ultimate reality of Lord should always remember the Lord with the knowledge that everything is the Lord alone – there is neither karma nor jnaana nor bhakthi – whatever is there is the Lord alone, one without a second. This knowledge and constant contemplation of this knowledge alone will lead us to eternal bliss.

We will see in the coming days as to how desire can lead a great muni (a taapasvi) to get deluded in the ocean of samsaara (this is why earlier it was said that knowledge alone can save a person from the ocean of samsaara – everything else, whether it is tapas or bhakthi will only finally delude the seeker more and more into the ocean of samsaara).

We will start the story from the next day.

Ambariksha continued his life always contemplating and being established in the ultimate reality of Lord. He considered everything ranging from brahma loka to a piece of sand as similar to Naraka when compared with the bliss rejoiced from contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord. Finally, he handed over the kingdom to his children and took vanavaasa (going to forest) with his mind fixed on the Lord.

Whoever hears this story of Ambariksha will develop pure devotion towards the Lord and easily get brahma anubhava (ananda anubhava).

Explanation

We come to the end of this story of Ambariksha. After having food together, Durvaasa went his way and Ambariksha was ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord. Ambariksha was not at all attached to anything all the while doing activities as an offering to the Lord with the knowledge that everything is an illusion in the Lord.

He who has enjoyed eternal bliss in contemplation and realization of the ultimate reality of Lord will not seek anything else even the brahma loka which is considered the highest material plane. In brahma loka, there will all kinds of pleasures including the pleasure of living for a longer period of time than the short period of around 100 years in bhoo loka. But all these pleasures are bondages and seeds of sorrow for a person who knows and has experienced the bliss of the Lord. This is what Upanishads proclaim by asking “aaptha kaamasya kaa spriha” – what desire can arise in a person whose all desires have been fulfilled. All desires are fulfilled only through realization of the ultimate reality of Lord. As Manu mentions in the Manu smriti, if a person thinks that he can get rid of desires by gratifying them, it is like trying to extinguish fire by pouring ghee. The fire will not get extinguished but will be burning more. Similarly if a person tries to put an end to desire by gratifying them, he will only end up in the vicious circle of desires-enjoyment.

Desire can never be ended until the seeker realizes them to be seeds of sorrow, seeks the ultimate reality of Lord and finally realizes the eternal bliss inherent in the Lord. Until then, beings go on doing actions for enjoyment and enjoys to do more action. Put beautifully in Vidyaranya’s words in Panchadashi “kurvathe karma bhoogaaya, karma karthum cha bhunjathe” – man does action in order to enjoy; he then enjoys fruits in order to do more action. This vicious circle of actions propelled by desire and enjoying the fruits of those actions goes on and on until a person realizes them to be seeds of sorrow thereby seeking the eternal bliss in the ultimate reality of Lord.

For a person residing in the States (USA), pleasures in India is like hell. For Indra, the pleasure in bhoo loka (wherever it be) is like hell. This goes on and one until the Brahma Loka which is the highest material plane. This gradation ends only in eternal bliss or ananda achieved due to realization of one’s own nature of Lord. Thus for a person who is enjoying the ananda in the ultimate reality of Lord, all material pleasures (in all planes or lokas) are like hell because they are seeds of sorrow and are incomparable with eternal bliss.

Through mentioning of this, Bhagavatham is telling that eternal bliss is something which is infinite and blissful – compared to eternal bliss, all material pleasures are like hell or suffering. This is to instigate desire in the seeker to realize the ultimate reality of Lord thereby getting eternal bliss which is infinite and unlimited unlike temporary happiness achieved from worldly pleasures.

Ambariksha, though was a jeevan muktha , didn’t stay away from doing activities at the empirical level. It is a wrong notion to think that activities will not be performed by a person who has realized the ultimate reality of Lord. Such a person will be the best action-performer because of being unattached to the activities and doing those as an offering to the Lord. We thus find AMMA’s mission doing actions for tsunami and other things more than any other organization or individual in the world. This is more acknowledged from the fact that even Karunanidhi and the DMK accepted AMMA’s activities for the poor. This is to the extent that one of DMK’s ministers prayed for AMMA’s support and help for the party and the state for the poor and needy. This shows that a realized being or avatar or jeevan muktha will be able to do activities in the best possible way because it is as an offering to the Lord and as a mere witness to those activities.

Ambariksha didn’t even stay away from traditional values – this is shown by Bhagavatham mentioning that Ambariksha after handing over the kingdom to his children took to vaanavasa. Vaanaprastha is one of the ashramas that succeeds grihastha. Once a person has done whatever is to be done for his children and society, he should take refuge in a forest and contemplate completely on the ultimate reality of Lord. This is also important because in old age a person is more prone to thoughts which are potential for more births (so that the person is totally immersed in the ocean of samsaara unable to come out of it).

It is interesting and funny that the mention of a youth taking sanyaasa instigates lot of protest from today’s elders that they are deviating from tradition in not taking grihastha. But the same elders fail to keep up tradition by taking vaanaprastha instead always clinging to their kith and kin till the last moment of their life. Cannot but laugh on such foolish comments and advises of eldersJ.

It is not important for us to discuss or analyze the words of such elders but it is important to remember that we shouldn’t commit the same mistakes that they are committing by making these statements. We should always try to contemplate on the Lord and once old age comes, we should renounce everything, take to a secluded place & fully offer ourselves to the Lord so that we are ensured of very less or no more births.

This story of Ambariksha has ended – we will see a summary of the same in the next day.

We have thus completed the story of Ambariksha which is one of the very important stories of Srimad Bhagavatham. What we get to learn first here is that all siddhis except pure devotion to the Lord which results in realization of the ultimate reality of Lord alone are temporary. Siddhis are applicable only to the ignorant person who is deluded into them. But the realized saint is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus he is not at all deluded into either getting those siddhis or amazed by the siddhis displayed by others. Siddhis will only lead a person to trouble unless it is associated with thought about the ultimate reality of Lord. If a person has siddhis but still is ever contemplating on the Lord, then he will not use those siddhis except for the welfare of the world.

We see in this story Durvaasa who is equipped with siddhis but not remembering the ultimate reality of Lord on one side. On the other side, we find Ambariksha who was a realized saint and ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord. Ambariksha didn’t have any siddhis nor was he bothered or affected by siddhis displayed by others because he knew that everything is only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. For a person who knows that everything is an illusion of names and forms in the ultimate reality of Lord, there is nothing to be achieved or aspired. He is an aapthakaama (one whose all desires are fulfilled). The Lord himself is there to protect such an aaptha kaama because he has conquered the Lord in his heart. Thus the Lord had the chakra protecting Ambariksha without even Ambariksha’s knowledge.

Not knowing this, Durvaasa became angry about a small thing which was done in order to not deviate from the traditional vows. This anger led to display of siddhi. This is what we generally do at times of anger. We will say “How dare you! I will show you what I can”. This is what we can always see or hear from our superiors or elders to us who control us. All such stupidity may make the ignorant person tremble and heed to the words of the superior but the realized saint will not be affected by these. The realized saint also will not react to it because for him there is nothing apart from the ultimate reality of Lord. But the Lord looks to it that such rebuttal affects the person who tries to attack the realized saint. Thus it is enough for a seeker to constantly remember the Lord and offer everything unto the Lord. The Lord will take care of everything – some people might ask “will Lord take care about my promotion” -- JJJ Isn’t everything ordained by the Lord??? In such a case, the promotion is also taken care by the Lord only. For devotees, it is the responsibility of the Lord to take care of them even as it is the responsibility of the father to take care of the son. Thus the Lord looks into it that the devotees get promotion – but the greatest promotion is not in office or at home instead in spiritual life. This progress is when the Lord’s thought is ever present in the mind leading the seeker to realize the Lord and thereby ever rejoicing in the eternal bliss inherent in Lord. This progress alone can give a seeker eternal bliss that which is being sought by everyone in the external world.

Thus for a real devotee, the Lord takes care of everything (both material and spiritual). Thus Ambariksha was protected by the Lord through his chakra. Not knowing this, Durvaasa attacked Ambariksha and was counter attacked by the chakra. Nobody except Ambariksha was able to save Durvaasa. This means that if we rebuke a Mahatma, not even God can save us because the Lord himself is a slave of such Mahatma or devotees. Thus we should always respect such devotees and surrender to them considering them as living embodiment of the all-pervasive Lord.

Let us all unlike Durvaasa, control our anger and surrender unto the ultimate reality of Lord thereby being like Ambariksha – doing all activities but still being immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord so that the Lord will take care of our everything.

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

There might be a doubt in the minds of seekers as to why is it that we are again and again coming back to the ultimate reality of Lord and that why do we have to hear about Brahman in between two stories of Srimad Bhagavatham.

The truth has been explained in half a sloka by Sankara thus:

Brahma Satyam jagan mithyaa jeevo brahmaiva na parah
Brahman is the ultimate reality; the world is an illusion; the individual Self is Brahman only and not different from it.

It is this single truth that has been explained in many ways in the innumerous scriptures that we have. The Upanishads, the brahma sutra, the gita, the puranas all mention about this reality alone in different ways. The different ways and repetition of the reality in different ways is for people of different types. Intellectual people will be able to understand the reality directly through either the Brahma Sutra or the Upanishad. But the mental and emotional seekers might not be able to easily apprehend the subtle logical truth propounded through the Upanishads. Thus for such seekers, the Lord himself propounded the truth in the Gita. For normal people who aren’t even able to understand the Gita, Vyaasa wrote the astaadasha (18) puranas and the Mahabharatha.

Though the reality is one alone, it has been propounded in many ways to suite seekers of different nature and different level in the spiritual path.

Since we aren’t dealing here with the direct truth as in the Upanishads but only the truth through stories of Srimad Bhagavatham, it is essential that we don’t deviate from the truth or forget the truth. As Sankara’s above mentioned sloka says, brahman or the Lord alone is real – everything else is only an illusion of names and forms in the Lord. The moment we forget the Lord, we are into the illusory world. Either we remember the Lord or we are into the illusion. There can be a question as to what is the problem if we are into the illusory world – wasn’t Arjuna and the Lord himself in the world? The problem with being into the illusory world is that it can give us sorrow and sorrow alone. As is the case with any illusion, it will lead only to more and more delusion thereby giving us sorrow. As long as we consider water as being present in the desert, we will be running behind the water. Once we don’t get water, we will become sad. Therefore if we are into the water in the desert, we will get only sorrow. Similarly as long as we are into the illusory world, we will get sorrow and sorrow alone. It is therefore essential that we focus ourselves on the ultimate reality of Lord than being into the illusory world. Though the Lord was into the world, he knew this reality – this reality was always in his mind and he was living in the reality rather than in the world. Living in the reality is called jeevan mukthi in Vedanta. Jeevan mukthi is that state wherein the person is doing all activities but remembering the ultimate reality of Lord even as a lover remembers his love at all times while doing activities.

There have been many of my friends questioning about karma and that Arjuna was prescribed to do karma by the Lord. Therefore it comes to the conclusion that a person has to do karma and interact with the world. This is following the Lord’s few statements in the Gita that “yudhyasva bharatha” (do yuddha), “karmani eva adhikaarah te” etc. etc. What these people forget is the statements of the Lord succeeding all such karma statements that all actions are to be renounced. The final message of the Lord was “sarva dharmaan parityajya” – renounce all activities and seek me. Here renouncing doesn’t necessarily mean external renunciation but internal renunciation.

It doesn’t matter what action we are doing as long as we are able to remember the Lord in the mind. There are a couple of slokas in Gita where the Lord mentions that if a person does the worse action in the world but remembering the Lord, he is to be considered a saint! The story of Dharmavyaadha (the butcher) in Mahabharatha exactly depicts this (this was one of the favorite stories and character of Swami Vivekananda). Externally we can do any action, have any desire but internally we need to remember the Lord while doing any activity. If a person desires to even rule the world, it is also fine as long as he remembers the ultimate reality of Lord along with the desire.

Such actions where the Lord is remembered is not at all an action. Those actions which have remembrance of the Lord is called a pooja or a yajna (as per the Lord in the 4th chapter of Gita). Thus if we do actions remembering the Lord, it becomes a yajna which can give us only chitta shuddhi or purification of mind thereby leading us to realization of the Lord.

It is very important to remember that any amount of karma cannot give us eternal bliss or moksha – remembrance of the Lord which is called jnaana in the scriptures alone can give us eternal bliss. It is in order to remember the Lord at all times and not to get deviated into the stories that we again and again focus ourselves on the ultimate reality in between stories.

We will start with the next story from the next day. But let us not forget to remember that karma cannot lead us to eternal bliss; knowledge and constant contemplation of the Lord while doing any activity alone can give us eternal bliss.

After having been saved from the chakra by Ambariksha, Durvaasa proclaimed thus:

Great surprise indeed! I have seen today the importance and greatness of those who worship the ultimate reality of Lord. Those are people who console even them who come to affect/afflict them. I have understood that there is nothing impossible for such real devotees of the Lord. There also isn’t anything that cannot be renounced by these mahatmas. Their mind is ever immersed in the Lord alone – they don’t know anything apart from the ultimate reality of Lord. O King! I have been blessed by you who are an embodiment of compassion.

The King on the other side didn’t have his food yet because he was waiting for Durvaasa. He prostrated at the feet of Durvaasa and both of them had food together.

Explanation

We are coming to the end of this beautiful story of Ambariksha. In the next day, we will learn from Bhagavatham itself as to what is the fruit of learning this particular story.

Mistakes are done by all ignorant people because everybody is not a mahatma or jeevan muktha like Ambariksha. It is the characteristic of a learned person to accept his mistakes and learn from them. We find Durvaasa, the great saint that he was, doing exactly the same. He learned from the incident that the devotees of the Lord are ever immersed in the Lord – they have neither hatred nor love. They are beyond all dual notions. Instead they know nothing apart from the ultimate reality of Lord. They see everything as an illusion of names-forms in the reality of Lord. As they see everything as the Lord, there is no differentiation between things. Similar is their state with the achievement of fruits of actions. If something good happens, they consider it the grace of the Lord. If something bad happens, they consider it as the will of the Lord. In fact this differentiation of good and bad is only for ignorant people whereas for real devotees of the Lord, everything is the Lord alone – for such a person, what is good and what is bad?

Such devotees are full of compassion because they are as innocent as a child and as learned as a jnaani. As a child doesn’t keep anything in mind and is ready to help anybody asking something from it, similarly the jeevan muktha doesn’t keep anything in mind and is ready to give whatever he is able to for the entire world. Therefore the Lord says in Gita that the existence of such mahatmas is for the welfare of the world. They do actions so that the world is benefitted out it – for them, there is no world at all as everything they see is the ultimate reality of Lord. Since they perform activities with this thought in mind, all their activities will be for the good of the world only.

In this story, the act of drinking water by Ambariksha was for the welfare of Durvaasas. It was only because of this act that Durvaasa was able to understand the effect of anger, the futility of siddhis, the power of bhakthas and that what is to be achieved in life is becoming a devotee of the Lord.

We find this enacted to perfection by Ambariksha. Ambariksha didn’t have his food but was waiting for Durvaasa though Durvaasa had tried to kill him. Also once Durvaasa came back to Ambariksha, Ambariksha prostrated at the feet of Durvaasa (as is the customary of any grihastha to prostrate at the feet of saints) and invited him for having food.

We have to thus always remember that real devotees of the Lord can achieve the impossible because the Lord himself is a servant to them. But for them, they don’t require anything as they have attained the ultimate reality of Lord (that by knowing which everything is known). They are ever satisfied and blissful. They also serve to teach the entire world as to how live in the world all the while being immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord.

We will see as to how Bhagavatham concludes this story in the next day.

Ambariksha continued his life always contemplating and being established in the ultimate reality of Lord. He considered everything ranging from brahma loka to a piece of sand as similar to Naraka when compared with the bliss rejoiced from contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord. Finally, he handed over the kingdom to his children and took vanavaasa (going to forest) with his mind fixed on the Lord.

Whoever hears this story of Ambariksha will develop pure devotion towards the Lord and easily get brahma anubhava (ananda anubhava).

Explanation

We come to the end of this story of Ambariksha. After having food together, Durvaasa went his way and Ambariksha was ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord. Ambariksha was not at all attached to anything all the while doing activities as an offering to the Lord with the knowledge that everything is an illusion in the Lord.

He who has enjoyed eternal bliss in contemplation and realization of the ultimate reality of Lord will not seek anything else even the brahma loka which is considered the highest material plane. In brahma loka, there will all kinds of pleasures including the pleasure of living for a longer period of time than the short period of around 100 years in bhoo loka. But all these pleasures are bondages and seeds of sorrow for a person who knows and has experienced the bliss of the Lord. This is what Upanishads proclaim by asking “aaptha kaamasya kaa spriha” – what desire can arise in a person whose all desires have been fulfilled. All desires are fulfilled only through realization of the ultimate reality of Lord. As Manu mentions in the Manu smriti, if a person thinks that he can get rid of desires by gratifying them, it is like trying to extinguish fire by pouring ghee. The fire will not get extinguished but will be burning more. Similarly if a person tries to put an end to desire by gratifying them, he will only end up in the vicious circle of desires-enjoyment.

Desire can never be ended until the seeker realizes them to be seeds of sorrow, seeks the ultimate reality of Lord and finally realizes the eternal bliss inherent in the Lord. Until then, beings go on doing actions for enjoyment and enjoys to do more action. Put beautifully in Vidyaranya’s words in Panchadashi “kurvathe karma bhoogaaya, karma karthum cha bhunjathe” – man does action in order to enjoy; he then enjoys fruits in order to do more action. This vicious circle of actions propelled by desire and enjoying the fruits of those actions goes on and on until a person realizes them to be seeds of sorrow thereby seeking the eternal bliss in the ultimate reality of Lord.

For a person residing in the States (USA), pleasures in India is like hell. For Indra, the pleasure in bhoo loka (wherever it be) is like hell. This goes on and one until the Brahma Loka which is the highest material plane. This gradation ends only in eternal bliss or ananda achieved due to realization of one’s own nature of Lord. Thus for a person who is enjoying the ananda in the ultimate reality of Lord, all material pleasures (in all planes or lokas) are like hell because they are seeds of sorrow and are incomparable with eternal bliss.

Through mentioning of this, Bhagavatham is telling that eternal bliss is something which is infinite and blissful – compared to eternal bliss, all material pleasures are like hell or suffering. This is to instigate desire in the seeker to realize the ultimate reality of Lord thereby getting eternal bliss which is infinite and unlimited unlike temporary happiness achieved from worldly pleasures.

Ambariksha, though was a jeevan muktha , didn’t stay away from doing activities at the empirical level. It is a wrong notion to think that activities will not be performed by a person who has realized the ultimate reality of Lord. Such a person will be the best action-performer because of being unattached to the activities and doing those as an offering to the Lord. We thus find AMMA’s mission doing actions for tsunami and other things more than any other organization or individual in the world. This is more acknowledged from the fact that even Karunanidhi and the DMK accepted AMMA’s activities for the poor. This is to the extent that one of DMK’s ministers prayed for AMMA’s support and help for the party and the state for the poor and needy. This shows that a realized being or avatar or jeevan muktha will be able to do activities in the best possible way because it is as an offering to the Lord and as a mere witness to those activities.

Ambariksha didn’t even stay away from traditional values – this is shown by Bhagavatham mentioning that Ambariksha after handing over the kingdom to his children took to vaanavasa. Vaanaprastha is one of the ashramas that succeeds grihastha. Once a person has done whatever is to be done for his children and society, he should take refuge in a forest and contemplate completely on the ultimate reality of Lord. This is also important because in old age a person is more prone to thoughts which are potential for more births (so that the person is totally immersed in the ocean of samsaara unable to come out of it).

It is interesting and funny that the mention of a youth taking sanyaasa instigates lot of protest from today’s elders that they are deviating from tradition in not taking grihastha. But the same elders fail to keep up tradition by taking vaanaprastha instead always clinging to their kith and kin till the last moment of their life. Cannot but laugh on such foolish comments and advises of eldersJ.

It is not important for us to discuss or analyze the words of such elders but it is important to remember that we shouldn’t commit the same mistakes that they are committing by making these statements. We should always try to contemplate on the Lord and once old age comes, we should renounce everything, take to a secluded place & fully offer ourselves to the Lord so that we are ensured of very less or no more births.

This story of Ambariksha has ended – we will see a summary of the same in the next day.

For real seekers of the reality, one-pointedness of the mind and the siddhis will make the path of moksha clear for them. But those who become egoistic about siddhis, that itself will become an obstacle.

Since you are into trouble now, seek Ambariksha. He will surely give you peace and help you out of this situation as he is a real bhaktha.

Explanation

Here we find the Lord explaining as to when siddhis become obstacles and when siddhis help a seeker in the spiritual path. As the Lord mentions in Gita, any action which is performed with thought of the Lord and as an offering to the Lord is an action which helps in the spiritual progress of the seeker. On the contrary, all actions that are done without remembering the ultimate reality of Lord is an obstacle to the seeker in the spiritual path. Any obstacle is something which makes the seeker forget the ultimate reality of Lord through association/identification with the Ego and getting attached to worldly things as a result of Ego.

Siddhis by themselves are not obstacles to a seeker. Though siddhis are considered as a hindrance to Samadhi in the Yoga system, Vedanta doesn’t consider anything as an obstacle if it is done remembering the ultimate reality of Lord. Siddhis in turn helps a seeker to realize the ultimate reality of Lord. The siddhi of finding out a Guru helps out the seeker so that he is able to progress in the right direction and quickly towards the ultimate reality of Lord. This is what we find in the case of Paramahamsa Yogananda who knew his Guru though hadn’t met him yet. All the while when he was meeting saints, he knew because of the siddhi that this isn’t my Guru. But when he once met Yuktheswar Giri and that too just saw him from a long distance, he knew that this is his Guru. Thus in the case of Paramahamsa Yogananda, the siddhi helped him in finding his Guru thereby leading him to realize the ultimate reality of Lord.

But the same siddhis become an obstacle as we see in the case of Durvaasa. Not just Durvaasa but we can find this in the case of many people in the puranas and many people in our current time as well. Personally have came upon many people who have some or the other siddhis but those themselves becomes an obstacle to the spiritual path. Any musician for an example is somebody who has progressed sufficiently in the spiritual path due to which his kundalini has raised up till the Vishuddhi chakra but got stuck there. The siddhi achieved is beautiful voice in singing. This siddhi itself locks up the person into money, fame and other things. There are very few like Swami Vivekananda, Swami Amritasvaroopananda puri (AMMA’s senior-most disciple) who haven’t got limited by the siddhi but progressed further in the spiritual path.

The siddhis that we are discussing here need not be siddhis like traveling through sky or creating asuras but anything which is not ordinary is a siddhi. If a person is able to attract people towards himself more than all other people, that is also a siddhi. If somebody is able to manage people very easily, that is also a siddhi. All these if properly offered to the Lord and performed with the thought of Lord will lead the seeker to ward off troubles at the empirical level and lead him further in the spiritual path.

But once we get attached to the siddhis forgetting the Lord, ego gets nourished. Once the ego is nourished, then there is no stopping it. It shows itself to everything and everyone until it finds something more than what it can tackle in the form of Mahatmas or jeevan mukthas or bhakthas who are beyond all siddhis as they are looked after by none other than the ultimate reality of Lord.

It is very tough indeed to conquer the ego or keep it under control. Only those who are constantly contemplating on the ultimate reality of Lord will be able to control it easily. For such people, there is no Ego at all because what they know is only the Lord – for them, everything is but an illusion in the Lord. Such a bhaktha will always see things as an illusion of names and forms in the Lord. When a person sees things as an illusion in the Lord, there cannot be any attachment to the name-form but only to the Lord. Thus the seeker is ever contemplating and getting attached to the ultimate reality of Lord.

We will continue the next day as to how Ambariksha responds when Durvaasa seeks refuge in him.

Hearing the Lord’s words, Durvaasa ran to Ambariksha. He then fell at the feet of Ambariksha and asked himself to be saved from the chakra. Ambariksha seeing Durvaasa falling at his feet, was embarrassed and prayed to the chakra considering it as Lord Vishnu himself: “O Lord! I see everything as filled with the Lord. Therefore you who are one and possessing all qualities should show compassion towards this brahman (durvaasa) by removing his sorrow if you are pleased with me”. Hearing Ambariksha’s prayer, the chakra retreated and Durvaasa was saved from the chakra.

Explanation

We see here the difference between Ambariksha and Durvaasa. Durvaasa was angry with Ambariksha for drinking water without waiting for him whereas Ambariksha was unaffected by all activities. Thus when Durvaasa goes back to Ambariksha seeking his help to get rid of the chakra, Ambariksha rather than being proud and showing ego, becomes embarrassed with the situation thereby helping Durvaasa out of it. Such is the state of real devotees of the Lord; they can never have ego. They are ever immersed in the thought that everything is but pervaded by the Lord. Thus there is not even a slight chance of ego attitude developing in the mind of such a real devotee of the Lord. This is but the simplest and easiest way to overcome Ego – through pure devotion towards the Lord. When we don’t know the real nature of the world, we think that we can control the world. What can a person control in the world? He is not even able to control his body once it becomes old; then what about controlling other beings in the world?

For a seeker, everything is filled with the Lord. It is the Lord who is acting through each and every being in the Lord. Thus all actions are not done by the seeker but by the Lord. The seeker is just a mere instrument in the hands of the Lord. This attitude of pure devotion keeps the Ego in check as well as is a form of contemplation of the reality that everything is an illusion of names-forms in the ultimate reality of Lord.

Such devotees have no Ego but consider everything as ordained, controlled and performed by the Lord alone because for them there is only the Lord, one without a second. It is this state that Vedanta calls as jeevan mukthi – the state wherein a person always contemplates on the Lord with the knowledge that everything is but an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. When a person is in this state, everything including the Lord is under the control of the person (as we see in this story). Though such a jeevan muktha has everything under his control but he doesn’t require anything – this is because of the knowledge that everything is an illusion in the Lord. Also when a person has attained that by attaining which there is nothing else to be attained, what desire can come in the mind of such a person? It is following this that Gaudapada says in Mandukya Upanishad that “aapthakaamasya kaa spriha” (what desire can be there for a person whose all desires have been fulfilled).

What is fulfillment of all desires?
All desires end in eternal bliss which is what we all are seeking through other material pleasures. It is eternal bliss which is the final goal of all beings and activities performed. Eternal bliss is neither in the external world nor in siddhis which will only lead a person to sorrows if the ultimate reality of Lord is not remembered. Eternal bliss can be rejoiced only by realization of the ultimate reality of Lord. The Lord is realized through constant contemplation of the Lord and remembering that everything is but an illusion in the Lord. It is this knowledge alone that can lead a person to eternal bliss. Only by rejoicing eternal bliss will the desires be fulfilled completely and permanently. This state wherein there is no more desires left, there is nothing else desired & eternal bliss is always rejoiced is called moksha avastha or the state of liberation.

Such a state doesn’t mean that there will be no activity from such a muktha. It is a wrong notion that jeevan mukthas will be always meditation or teaching knowledge alone. We cannot apprehend the state of a jeevan muktha. He might be doing meditation like Patanjali, teaching knowledge like Sankara, doing activities like Janaka-Ambariksha or enjoying sensual pleasures like Lord Krishna. Whatever be the activity that a jeevan muktha does, his mind is ever fixed unto the ultimate reality of Lord. His mind will always be contemplating on the Lord – thereby all actions cease to be actions as they are offered unto the Lord (knowing that all actions are mere illusions like the actions in the dream state).

It is upto all seekers to decide whether they want to be a jeevan muktha like Ambariksha or a mere siddha purusha like Durvaasa. Durvaasa is a depiction of the people who have attained something or the other in the empirical plane but forgetting the ultimate reality of Lord. On the contrary Ambariksha is one whose mind is ever fixed unto the ultimate reality of Lord thereby overcoming the ocean of samsaara and rejoicing in eternal bliss.

We will continue with the story in the next day.