Sunday, June 22, 2008
Story 50 – Story of Dwaraka Nirmaanam - 04
The Lord thought – very strong Yavana has surrounded us; Jarasandha will come today or tomorrow to attack;
The Lord after discussing with Balarama came to a conclusion; it is not easy to handle both Jarasandha and Yavana now; hence let us create a town which is very tough to reach by humans; let us take the people safely to the town and then we can slowly try to kill Yavana.
Explanation
There is a famous war rule – if the enemy is stronger than you, you should run away from the enemy and encounter him after gaining more strength.
This might seem to be a small statement but this has a deeper significance with respect to spiritual seekers. Running away from the enemy might seem to be cowardice but facing the enemy only will kill the person not even giving an opportunity to live. If a person is not living, then what is the point of trying out or planning things? The life that has been given to us is very precious as humans alone have the capability to discriminate between real and unreal; choose as to whether to do the right thing or the wrong thing. The very purpose of life is to realize one’s own nature of blissful Lord – this alone can end the search for bliss in our life; this verily fulfils life.
In order for a seeker to be able to fulfill his life, he needs to live. Thus it is appropriate to escape from enemies which symbolize the various obstacles and hurdles that he might face in the spiritual path. A person who is not used to overcoming liquor cannot sit in a liquor shop and meditate; he has to get away from the liquor shop and meditate in a proper environment. It is not possible for a person to stand under the hot sun and be unaffected by it – he has to initially practice being unaffected by sitting under the shades of a tree. But by gradual practice, it would be possible for the same person to meditate even in a liquor place – it would also be possible for a person to stand under the hot sun and remain the same as if he is under the shades of a tree. This is what we find in the lives of Mahatmas like AMMA and in the very life of Lord Krishna. Whether he was surrounded by the gopis or by Jarasandha; whether he was doing dharma of being the charioteer or Arjuna or doing the normal adharma of helping in killing Drona; he was always the same. It is this state of being unaffected to environment and ever being steadfast with the mind always maintaining equanimity that is the goal of life – but as we are seekers who are still far away from that goal, we have to stay away from troubles until we perfect the art of remaining unaffected even while encountering those troubles.
What Bhagavatham thereby is telling us here is that initial seekers should try to stay from troubles as much as possible and spend maximum time in contemplation of the Lord so that they don’t get diverted away from the path; instead they progress in the path towards the goal of realization (which is the ultimate goal of life – which is the bliss that we are seeking each and every moment of our life).
The Lord here knew that he couldn’t defeat Jarasandha and Yavana together along with protecting the people; hence he entered into thoughts as to what is the best way out of this trouble. There is nothing wrong in thinking about what to do in our life with respect to protecting our spiritual path. It is wrong if a person doesn’t think about his spiritual path and the state of bliss that he would have attained through spiritual sadhana and grace of Ishwara. Thus the Lord’s thinking about the best way to handle the situation is a message to seekers that it is very important that when required we should think a lot and then make the right decision that will help in the spiritual path towards realization.
Let us try to always be focused on the Lord with devotion and knowledge (that everything is the Lord alone) so that we are aware of the tough spiritual path yet don’t fall down from the path due to various obstacles and hurdles in the path.
Thus deciding (to create a new place and take all the people of Mathura safely to that place) the Lord created a place in the middle of ocean. It was built beautifully and as per Vaasthu shastra. Seeing the beauty, Indra gifted many things including the Kalpa Vriksha. Due to Krishna’s yogic power, all the people of Mathura were very quickly transported to the new place. After settling people in their respective houses, Krishna (without wielding any weapon) came out of Dwaraka and started walking away.
Explanation
We can ask a lot of questions while reading the puranas and the particular portions where the Lord demonstrates tremendous and impossible powers doing activities which are impossible in the current-day. There are yet others who get so deluded into these miraculous demonstrations that they start asking for various miraculous powers and materials to the Lord.
We have to remember always that neither of these people (those who doubt the statements of the puranas and those who get deluded into the miracles) are able to get eternal bliss which is what we are searching each and every moment of our life and which is the real purpose of life. This purpose of life can only be achieved when we realize that everything that exists (whether it is a miracle or not) is only an illusion of names-forms in the ultimate reality of Lord. The Lord alone exists here as the substratum of the illusory names and forms. Only a person who remembers this reality always will be able to get eternal bliss. Gaining eternal bliss or moksha is not tough at all for a seeker – it is as simple as remembering that the Lord alone exists (who is our very nature of Consciousness).
A person who doesn’t remember this reality will never be able to get rid of sorrows and rejoice in bliss even if he seeks Mahatmas like AMMA. Realization is possible only through constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord remembering that the Lord alone exists and everything else is only an illusion of names-forms in the Lord. Even as various gold ornaments are mere names and forms in gold – an ignorant person might get deluded into the various names and forms whereas a gold-smith pierces through the names-forms and perceives only gold. Thus the gold-smith is not deluded and doesn’t suffer with the various gold ornaments whereas we get deluded by thinking that one gold ornament is better than the other thereby getting into the dual notions of happiness and sorrow. Similarly only a person who always remembers that the Lord alone exists and his very nature is that of Lord will be able to overcome the dual notions of happiness-sorrow thereby ever rejoicing in bliss.
People who doubt the statements of the puranas about miraculous incidents in fact forget the real essence of these statements which is that anything is possible in the world as the world itself is an illusion. Even as there are no rules in dream, similarly this world also doesn’t have any rules for the owner of this world (similar to the dreamer who dreams) who is the ultimate reality of Lord. The various avataras and Mahatmas are one with the Lord and hence they are able to demonstrate miraculous powers. The greatest miracle is that though the world is not real, yet we consider the world to be real so much that we argue at lengths about the unreality of the world. Another great miracle is that though we all are in essence the ultimate reality of Lord, we forget this – thus though we are blissful in nature, we ever are sad with respect to one thing or the other.
When we encounter such miraculous incidents, we should remember that those are only ways in which the puranas try to gain our devotion towards the Lord – that is the only purpose of mentioning these miraculous incidents. If we are able to gain devotion to the Lord by knowing that everything that is seen is only an illusion in Consciousness (which is the indwelling Lord in all beings), then we don’t need any miracles – such a seeker alone will be able to always focus on the Lord and realize the Lord in this very birth itself.
We will continue with the story in the next day.
Let us all try to always remember that we should never get deluded into miracles but always should remember the ultimate reality of Lord as the only reality behind the illusory names and forms that we are constantly perceiving.
The Lord after discussing with Balarama came to a conclusion; it is not easy to handle both Jarasandha and Yavana now; hence let us create a town which is very tough to reach by humans; let us take the people safely to the town and then we can slowly try to kill Yavana.
Explanation
There is a famous war rule – if the enemy is stronger than you, you should run away from the enemy and encounter him after gaining more strength.
This might seem to be a small statement but this has a deeper significance with respect to spiritual seekers. Running away from the enemy might seem to be cowardice but facing the enemy only will kill the person not even giving an opportunity to live. If a person is not living, then what is the point of trying out or planning things? The life that has been given to us is very precious as humans alone have the capability to discriminate between real and unreal; choose as to whether to do the right thing or the wrong thing. The very purpose of life is to realize one’s own nature of blissful Lord – this alone can end the search for bliss in our life; this verily fulfils life.
In order for a seeker to be able to fulfill his life, he needs to live. Thus it is appropriate to escape from enemies which symbolize the various obstacles and hurdles that he might face in the spiritual path. A person who is not used to overcoming liquor cannot sit in a liquor shop and meditate; he has to get away from the liquor shop and meditate in a proper environment. It is not possible for a person to stand under the hot sun and be unaffected by it – he has to initially practice being unaffected by sitting under the shades of a tree. But by gradual practice, it would be possible for the same person to meditate even in a liquor place – it would also be possible for a person to stand under the hot sun and remain the same as if he is under the shades of a tree. This is what we find in the lives of Mahatmas like AMMA and in the very life of Lord Krishna. Whether he was surrounded by the gopis or by Jarasandha; whether he was doing dharma of being the charioteer or Arjuna or doing the normal adharma of helping in killing Drona; he was always the same. It is this state of being unaffected to environment and ever being steadfast with the mind always maintaining equanimity that is the goal of life – but as we are seekers who are still far away from that goal, we have to stay away from troubles until we perfect the art of remaining unaffected even while encountering those troubles.
What Bhagavatham thereby is telling us here is that initial seekers should try to stay from troubles as much as possible and spend maximum time in contemplation of the Lord so that they don’t get diverted away from the path; instead they progress in the path towards the goal of realization (which is the ultimate goal of life – which is the bliss that we are seeking each and every moment of our life).
The Lord here knew that he couldn’t defeat Jarasandha and Yavana together along with protecting the people; hence he entered into thoughts as to what is the best way out of this trouble. There is nothing wrong in thinking about what to do in our life with respect to protecting our spiritual path. It is wrong if a person doesn’t think about his spiritual path and the state of bliss that he would have attained through spiritual sadhana and grace of Ishwara. Thus the Lord’s thinking about the best way to handle the situation is a message to seekers that it is very important that when required we should think a lot and then make the right decision that will help in the spiritual path towards realization.
Let us try to always be focused on the Lord with devotion and knowledge (that everything is the Lord alone) so that we are aware of the tough spiritual path yet don’t fall down from the path due to various obstacles and hurdles in the path.
Thus deciding (to create a new place and take all the people of Mathura safely to that place) the Lord created a place in the middle of ocean. It was built beautifully and as per Vaasthu shastra. Seeing the beauty, Indra gifted many things including the Kalpa Vriksha. Due to Krishna’s yogic power, all the people of Mathura were very quickly transported to the new place. After settling people in their respective houses, Krishna (without wielding any weapon) came out of Dwaraka and started walking away.
Explanation
We can ask a lot of questions while reading the puranas and the particular portions where the Lord demonstrates tremendous and impossible powers doing activities which are impossible in the current-day. There are yet others who get so deluded into these miraculous demonstrations that they start asking for various miraculous powers and materials to the Lord.
We have to remember always that neither of these people (those who doubt the statements of the puranas and those who get deluded into the miracles) are able to get eternal bliss which is what we are searching each and every moment of our life and which is the real purpose of life. This purpose of life can only be achieved when we realize that everything that exists (whether it is a miracle or not) is only an illusion of names-forms in the ultimate reality of Lord. The Lord alone exists here as the substratum of the illusory names and forms. Only a person who remembers this reality always will be able to get eternal bliss. Gaining eternal bliss or moksha is not tough at all for a seeker – it is as simple as remembering that the Lord alone exists (who is our very nature of Consciousness).
A person who doesn’t remember this reality will never be able to get rid of sorrows and rejoice in bliss even if he seeks Mahatmas like AMMA. Realization is possible only through constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord remembering that the Lord alone exists and everything else is only an illusion of names-forms in the Lord. Even as various gold ornaments are mere names and forms in gold – an ignorant person might get deluded into the various names and forms whereas a gold-smith pierces through the names-forms and perceives only gold. Thus the gold-smith is not deluded and doesn’t suffer with the various gold ornaments whereas we get deluded by thinking that one gold ornament is better than the other thereby getting into the dual notions of happiness and sorrow. Similarly only a person who always remembers that the Lord alone exists and his very nature is that of Lord will be able to overcome the dual notions of happiness-sorrow thereby ever rejoicing in bliss.
People who doubt the statements of the puranas about miraculous incidents in fact forget the real essence of these statements which is that anything is possible in the world as the world itself is an illusion. Even as there are no rules in dream, similarly this world also doesn’t have any rules for the owner of this world (similar to the dreamer who dreams) who is the ultimate reality of Lord. The various avataras and Mahatmas are one with the Lord and hence they are able to demonstrate miraculous powers. The greatest miracle is that though the world is not real, yet we consider the world to be real so much that we argue at lengths about the unreality of the world. Another great miracle is that though we all are in essence the ultimate reality of Lord, we forget this – thus though we are blissful in nature, we ever are sad with respect to one thing or the other.
When we encounter such miraculous incidents, we should remember that those are only ways in which the puranas try to gain our devotion towards the Lord – that is the only purpose of mentioning these miraculous incidents. If we are able to gain devotion to the Lord by knowing that everything that is seen is only an illusion in Consciousness (which is the indwelling Lord in all beings), then we don’t need any miracles – such a seeker alone will be able to always focus on the Lord and realize the Lord in this very birth itself.
We will continue with the story in the next day.
Let us all try to always remember that we should never get deluded into miracles but always should remember the ultimate reality of Lord as the only reality behind the illusory names and forms that we are constantly perceiving.
# posted by vedanta : 6:40 PM
