Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Story 47 – Story of Destroying Indra’s pride – 09
Indra directed the pralaya-time meghas (clouds) and instigated them to take revenge upon the gopas.
Explanation
We learnt the last day as to that anger is really bad and if at all anger overcomes us we should direct it towards the ultimate reality of Lord. We see today that Indra out of anger instigated the clouds to take revenge on the gopas.
Anger is something so strong that a person who is overcome by anger just wants to throw it unto somebody else. It is this attitude which makes anger one of the worse emotions for a spiritual seeker. Let’s say that out of anger a person throws it unto another person. This second person who was inflicted with the anger of the first person will become sad. The sad thoughts of this person will get back to the first person thereby posing obstacles for him in the spiritual path. This follows the eternal law of karma that each and every action has an equal and opposite fruit. The more sad thoughts and vibrations that we accumulate by getting angry with someone, the tougher the spiritual path will be for us.
The spiritual path for a seeker is two-fold: Anukoola sevanam and prathikoola varjanam. Anukoola sevanam is doing activities which are conducive to spirituality. Prathikoola varjanam is getting rid of activities that pose obstacle for us in the spiritual path. If we do more of anukoola sevanam and less of prathikoola varjanam, then the spiritual path will be futile even as pouring water into a jar which has a hole in it. The activity of pouring water or collecting water will not fruitful as it will leak off from the jar. Hence it is very essential to avoid obstacles in the spiritual path so that whatever spiritual activities we do, that will be fully fruitful for us.
It is also a fact that anger is one the emotions that is instrumental in wasting a lot of energy that we would have accumulated by doing many good activities. The energy and punya that is accumulated for days is exhausted by getting angry once. It is therefore that once we get angry, we feel ourselves as exhausted and without much energy left in us for other things. Hence a sadhaka should always try his level best to overcome anger.
Thus through showing us the bad effects of anger by Indra’s activities, Bhagavatham is beautifully telling each one of us that we should try to stay away from anger. But if we aren’t able to stay away from anger, then we should divert it towards the ultimate reality of Lord so that the compassionate Lord will help us in getting rid of anger once and for all.
Let us all try to offer and direct anger towards the ultimate reality of Lord so that we overcome anger thereby making us realize our own nature of non-dual Lord.
Indra thus said to the clouds:
See the ego of the forest-tribe gopas. They are mocking at the devas in the leadership of the human Krishna. Yajnas are the boats through which people can cross over the ocean of samsaara. Ignoring this knowledge of the Vedas, they are trying to cross over the ocean of samsaara. Speaking crazing things is the kid of Krishna – who thinks himself to be learned and a pandit. Depending on Krishna and following his words, the gopas have insulted me. You should destroy this egoistic people along with their cattle. I will also follow you riding on Airavatha.
Explanation
We learnt yesterday as to how dangerous anger is and how it poses an obstacle in the spiritual path. Here we see Indra venting his anger on the gopas. The one and only fruit that can come out of the action of anger is destruction of some or the other person. Thus we find Indra here seeking destruction of gopas as they had insulted him.
The various emotions of insult, praise etc. is present only for a person who has ego sense left in him. For a bhaktha, there is no scope for Ego as he has offered everything unto the ultimate reality of Lord. The ego is the cause of all problems in life arising out of likes and dislikes due to association with people and things. As long as the ego is there, there will some people who will be liked and some who will be disliked. Likes and dislikes in turn lead to attachment and aversion. If I like Vishnu and dislike Siva, I will be attached to Vishnu and averted to Siva. Since I am attached to Vishnu, if something happens to Vishnu or his devotees I become affected by it. If something good happens to Vishnu then I become happy. If something bad happens to Vishnu then I become sad. Similarly if something good happens to Siva I become sad as I dislike Siva. On the other hand, if something bad happens to Siva I become happy. Thus the dvandva bhava or dual notions of happiness and sorrow are caused out of raga-dvesha which in turn is caused by bhedha or seeing differences in people and things. When a person shifts between happiness and sorrow, there is no peace at all. One moment it seems as if he is happy and the very next moment he becomes sad because of environment and surroundings. Thus the sorrows in the world are due to likes and dislikes which are due to the Ego. Thereby Ego is the cause of all sorrows and sufferings in the world.
It is for this reason that scriptures speak about renouncing Ego. A person in the jnaana marga renounces Ego by identifying himself with the witness-hood of Self whereas a person in the bhakthi marga renounces Ego by offering it completely to Ishwara. Thus for a bhaktha, Ego can never exist or sustain. But we find here in Indra Ego rising and thereby instructing the clouds to destroy the gopas.
Thereby Bhagavatham here is telling each one of us that Ego is the cause of all problems in life & if we have to get rid of passions of the mind and in turn all sorrows we should surrender our Ego to the Lord.
We will continue as to what happened to the gopas by the wrath of clouds in the next day.
Let us all try to offer and direct anger towards the ultimate reality of Lord so that we overcome anger thereby making us realize our own nature of non-dual Lord.
With the command of Indra, the clouds started pouring heavily upon the gopas. Due to the water flowing around and cold air due to thunders, the cows and gopas became almost frozen; they thereby sought refuge under Govinda.
Explanation
In the last few days we discussed about anger and other emotions. Here we find as to what a sadhaka should do when he is in distress. It is but natural for all beings to seek someone or the other at times of distress. For normal people it is either any of the relatives or friends. But for a devotee, he knows that the ultimate reality of Lord alone can protect us at all times. The people of the world themselves are bound by passions and are struggling to come out of the ocean of samsaara. Seeking refuge from such immersed people is like seeking help from a drowning person when we are drowning in water! It will be totally futile; neither will we get any help nor will we be of any help to the other person. But the ultimate reality of Lord is somebody who is ever present and beyond all troubles.
Even as a person who is not drowning & knows swimming alone can save another drowning person, similarly only that person who is beyond the ocean of samsaara can save people immersed in samsaara. Who better than the Lord to be that person saving others from samsaara?
The Lord is ever ready and waiting for people to seek him for liberation. Most of the people in the world seek worldly things not realizing that it will only lead them to more and more troubles. But the Lord being compassionate gives whatever people are seeking. The nature of worldly objects is that it will finally lead a person to sorrow. This is also another way of the Lord to make sure that all people in the world finally realize their very nature of Lord. When thereby people enter into trouble, the devotees seek the Lord.
It is also important that we seek the right person at the right time. If somebody stole our car, we shouldn’t go to the Electricity office. Similarly if power goes in our house, we shouldn’t go to the Police Department. In the same way, we need to know from the puranas and scriptures that the ultimate reality of Lord alone can give us whatever we want whether it is worldly objects or moksha. We find the gopas here as wise people since they sought the Lord instead of some other worldly person. Therefore we will see in the next few days as to how the Lord saves the gopas from the distress. But it isn’t enough to seek the Lord. Going to the Lord and asking him for worldly objects is like going to a King and asking for one copper coin! In current day, it is like going to Bill Gates and asking for a dollar!!!
Thus it is essential that we seek the right person with the right request. The one and only thing that is worthy of seeking in the world is realization. And realization can be sought only from the ever-realized Lord. Thus our prayers to the Lord each and every day of our life should be to bestow us with knowledge and devotion so that we may realize our own very nature of Lord.
We will continue the story in the next day.
Let us all try to seek the ultimate reality of Lord and seek only knowledge along with devotion so that by constantly remembering the Lord and contemplating on the truth that the Lord alone exists here, we may realize our very nature of eternal bliss.
Explanation
We learnt the last day as to that anger is really bad and if at all anger overcomes us we should direct it towards the ultimate reality of Lord. We see today that Indra out of anger instigated the clouds to take revenge on the gopas.
Anger is something so strong that a person who is overcome by anger just wants to throw it unto somebody else. It is this attitude which makes anger one of the worse emotions for a spiritual seeker. Let’s say that out of anger a person throws it unto another person. This second person who was inflicted with the anger of the first person will become sad. The sad thoughts of this person will get back to the first person thereby posing obstacles for him in the spiritual path. This follows the eternal law of karma that each and every action has an equal and opposite fruit. The more sad thoughts and vibrations that we accumulate by getting angry with someone, the tougher the spiritual path will be for us.
The spiritual path for a seeker is two-fold: Anukoola sevanam and prathikoola varjanam. Anukoola sevanam is doing activities which are conducive to spirituality. Prathikoola varjanam is getting rid of activities that pose obstacle for us in the spiritual path. If we do more of anukoola sevanam and less of prathikoola varjanam, then the spiritual path will be futile even as pouring water into a jar which has a hole in it. The activity of pouring water or collecting water will not fruitful as it will leak off from the jar. Hence it is very essential to avoid obstacles in the spiritual path so that whatever spiritual activities we do, that will be fully fruitful for us.
It is also a fact that anger is one the emotions that is instrumental in wasting a lot of energy that we would have accumulated by doing many good activities. The energy and punya that is accumulated for days is exhausted by getting angry once. It is therefore that once we get angry, we feel ourselves as exhausted and without much energy left in us for other things. Hence a sadhaka should always try his level best to overcome anger.
Thus through showing us the bad effects of anger by Indra’s activities, Bhagavatham is beautifully telling each one of us that we should try to stay away from anger. But if we aren’t able to stay away from anger, then we should divert it towards the ultimate reality of Lord so that the compassionate Lord will help us in getting rid of anger once and for all.
Let us all try to offer and direct anger towards the ultimate reality of Lord so that we overcome anger thereby making us realize our own nature of non-dual Lord.
Indra thus said to the clouds:
See the ego of the forest-tribe gopas. They are mocking at the devas in the leadership of the human Krishna. Yajnas are the boats through which people can cross over the ocean of samsaara. Ignoring this knowledge of the Vedas, they are trying to cross over the ocean of samsaara. Speaking crazing things is the kid of Krishna – who thinks himself to be learned and a pandit. Depending on Krishna and following his words, the gopas have insulted me. You should destroy this egoistic people along with their cattle. I will also follow you riding on Airavatha.
Explanation
We learnt yesterday as to how dangerous anger is and how it poses an obstacle in the spiritual path. Here we see Indra venting his anger on the gopas. The one and only fruit that can come out of the action of anger is destruction of some or the other person. Thus we find Indra here seeking destruction of gopas as they had insulted him.
The various emotions of insult, praise etc. is present only for a person who has ego sense left in him. For a bhaktha, there is no scope for Ego as he has offered everything unto the ultimate reality of Lord. The ego is the cause of all problems in life arising out of likes and dislikes due to association with people and things. As long as the ego is there, there will some people who will be liked and some who will be disliked. Likes and dislikes in turn lead to attachment and aversion. If I like Vishnu and dislike Siva, I will be attached to Vishnu and averted to Siva. Since I am attached to Vishnu, if something happens to Vishnu or his devotees I become affected by it. If something good happens to Vishnu then I become happy. If something bad happens to Vishnu then I become sad. Similarly if something good happens to Siva I become sad as I dislike Siva. On the other hand, if something bad happens to Siva I become happy. Thus the dvandva bhava or dual notions of happiness and sorrow are caused out of raga-dvesha which in turn is caused by bhedha or seeing differences in people and things. When a person shifts between happiness and sorrow, there is no peace at all. One moment it seems as if he is happy and the very next moment he becomes sad because of environment and surroundings. Thus the sorrows in the world are due to likes and dislikes which are due to the Ego. Thereby Ego is the cause of all sorrows and sufferings in the world.
It is for this reason that scriptures speak about renouncing Ego. A person in the jnaana marga renounces Ego by identifying himself with the witness-hood of Self whereas a person in the bhakthi marga renounces Ego by offering it completely to Ishwara. Thus for a bhaktha, Ego can never exist or sustain. But we find here in Indra Ego rising and thereby instructing the clouds to destroy the gopas.
Thereby Bhagavatham here is telling each one of us that Ego is the cause of all problems in life & if we have to get rid of passions of the mind and in turn all sorrows we should surrender our Ego to the Lord.
We will continue as to what happened to the gopas by the wrath of clouds in the next day.
Let us all try to offer and direct anger towards the ultimate reality of Lord so that we overcome anger thereby making us realize our own nature of non-dual Lord.
With the command of Indra, the clouds started pouring heavily upon the gopas. Due to the water flowing around and cold air due to thunders, the cows and gopas became almost frozen; they thereby sought refuge under Govinda.
Explanation
In the last few days we discussed about anger and other emotions. Here we find as to what a sadhaka should do when he is in distress. It is but natural for all beings to seek someone or the other at times of distress. For normal people it is either any of the relatives or friends. But for a devotee, he knows that the ultimate reality of Lord alone can protect us at all times. The people of the world themselves are bound by passions and are struggling to come out of the ocean of samsaara. Seeking refuge from such immersed people is like seeking help from a drowning person when we are drowning in water! It will be totally futile; neither will we get any help nor will we be of any help to the other person. But the ultimate reality of Lord is somebody who is ever present and beyond all troubles.
Even as a person who is not drowning & knows swimming alone can save another drowning person, similarly only that person who is beyond the ocean of samsaara can save people immersed in samsaara. Who better than the Lord to be that person saving others from samsaara?
The Lord is ever ready and waiting for people to seek him for liberation. Most of the people in the world seek worldly things not realizing that it will only lead them to more and more troubles. But the Lord being compassionate gives whatever people are seeking. The nature of worldly objects is that it will finally lead a person to sorrow. This is also another way of the Lord to make sure that all people in the world finally realize their very nature of Lord. When thereby people enter into trouble, the devotees seek the Lord.
It is also important that we seek the right person at the right time. If somebody stole our car, we shouldn’t go to the Electricity office. Similarly if power goes in our house, we shouldn’t go to the Police Department. In the same way, we need to know from the puranas and scriptures that the ultimate reality of Lord alone can give us whatever we want whether it is worldly objects or moksha. We find the gopas here as wise people since they sought the Lord instead of some other worldly person. Therefore we will see in the next few days as to how the Lord saves the gopas from the distress. But it isn’t enough to seek the Lord. Going to the Lord and asking him for worldly objects is like going to a King and asking for one copper coin! In current day, it is like going to Bill Gates and asking for a dollar!!!
Thus it is essential that we seek the right person with the right request. The one and only thing that is worthy of seeking in the world is realization. And realization can be sought only from the ever-realized Lord. Thus our prayers to the Lord each and every day of our life should be to bestow us with knowledge and devotion so that we may realize our own very nature of Lord.
We will continue the story in the next day.
Let us all try to seek the ultimate reality of Lord and seek only knowledge along with devotion so that by constantly remembering the Lord and contemplating on the truth that the Lord alone exists here, we may realize our very nature of eternal bliss.
# posted by vedanta : 8:25 PM
