Srimad Bhagavatham

Sivajvara continued the praise:

Time, fate, action, jeeva, nature, objects, temple, prana, atman, vikara etc. are all insentient and just various forms in the Conscious principle of you even as the illusion of tree appears out of a seed. When names and forms are negated with the knowledge that they are only illusions, whatever remains behind is just you (the ultimate reality of Lord).

Explanation

Duality that is perceived through the sense organs is just an illusion in the non-dual reality of Lord. This is what Sivajvara says in this part of the praise.

Katha Upanishad says:

Manasaa eva idam aapthavyam neha nana asthi kinchana
Mrityoh sah mrityum gacchathi ya iha nana iva pashyathi

With a pure mind the ultimate reality of Lord has to be known; known as “there is no duality whatsoever here”. He who sees duality as if existing will go from death to death (will be constantly suffering and experiencing sorrow only).

What is a pure mind? A pure mind is one which can see reality as it is – such a mind is one which has used the discriminative power to find out as to what is real and what is not real. Real is that which is changeless and unreal is that which is constantly changing (that which changes is subject to the shad vikaaras of birth, existence, growth, change, disease/decay and death). Time, action, fature, svabhava – all of these are changing.

Any changing entity needs a changeless substratum and it is the substratum in which the changes are perceived. A variable is not possible without a constant – variable is nothing but a constant at all times (it is just an illusion of “a name and value” when all the while it is a constant only). When we say that the car is moving, it is with respect to the ground that is moving. Considering that the ground is part of the Earth which is constantly revolving around the Sun, we cannot say that the car is moving. We cannot even say that the Earth is revolving unless we assume that the Sun is stationary (which is not the case). The entire universe is constantly moving (subject to change) which would mean that we have to assume a changeless substratum in which all these changes are experienced.

It is this changeless substratum that is called the ultimate reality of Lord and termed variously as Consciousness, Self, Lord, Brahman, Paramaatman, Existence etc. Without this changeless substratum, no changes are possible at all. Then what are changes? Changes cannot be real as they take birth and death (that which doesn’t exist before birth and after death, doesn’t exist now at all). Thus they are mere illusions in the changeless substratum.

What is the changeless substratum in which all these changes are happening? Can there be such a changeless substratum? Yes, the changeless substratum is none other than the pure “I” which pulsates each and every minute of our life as “I-exist, I-exist” and devoid of attachments/aversions (unassociated to everything and a mere witness to everything).

Then what are changes? Changes are mere names and forms in “I” or the ultimate reality of Lord. Names and forms don’t create a new entity – they are just illusions in the entity. Wise people will go beyond names and forms (mentally negating names and forms all the while asserting that “there is only the Lord present here”). A goldsmith sees all gold ornaments as merely gold whereas we get deluded into the names and forms (ornaments are mere names and forms – the name of necklace and a particular form, the name of ring and a particular form). This vision of the goldsmith with respect to gold ornaments should be the vision of a seeker of eternal bliss towards the entire world.

If we are able to go beyond names and forms in the mind, all the while perceiving and acting in the external world as any other person then we will be able to get eternal bliss (go beyond death or sorrows or sufferings). Bhagavatham through Sivajvara here is telling us to always go beyond names and forms and perceive the ultimate reality of Lord in our mind so that whatever happens externally we are able to lead a life filled with bliss at all times.

We will continue with the story in the next day.

Let us try to always remember that the world is only names and forms in the ultimate reality of Lord so that we are able to go beyond duality and ever rejoice in bliss.

Sivajvara continued:

O Lord! Please shower your compassion upon me who am burning by your splendour; thereby protect me.

The compassionate Lord showed his compassion on Sivajvara, removed the burning sensation and blessed Sivajvara thereby letting Sivajvara go away.

Explanation

Each and every minute of our life we face sorrows. There are some people who have fun at all times even when they are facing sorrow. These people don’t know their very state. Once a fisherman caught some fish in his net – few of the fishes escaped but a few of them remained in the net thinking that they are safe as the mud of the water was there in the net (keeping the fish very comfortable). People who are facing sorrow yet enjoying their life thinking it to be fun are like these fish – they don’t know that death is lurking around each and every minute. Any moment death can pounce and take everything away from us; at that time a person will become very sad with the situation.

There is no short-cut or many alternatives for realization. Realization or moksha means complete cessation of sorrow and rejoicing of eternal bliss. This is possible only through one way which is shown here by Bhagavatham through Sivajvara’s activities. Sivajvara tried to fight the ultimate reality of Lord (many times we try to overpower the ultimate reality of Lord and try to find out alternatives) but there is no way a person can get rid of sorrow unless a person seeks the ultimate reality of Lord (total surrender unto the Lord and constant contemplation of the Lord as the substratum of the dual world).

The scriptures say tameva vidithvaa atimrityum eti, na anyah pantha vidhyathe ayanaaya (through knowledge of the ultimate reality of Lord alone a person overcomes death/sorrow; there is no other way than this to get rid of sorrow).

A seeker should always remember that people who have tried to get rid of sorrow by various worldly means have ended up in misery only (whether it is Alexander the great or Napolean or Bill Gates or George Bush). The one and only way to eternal bliss is by constant contemplation of the Lord and offering oneself completely unto the ultimate reality of Lord. This offering doesn’t mean we have to find the Lord and fall unto him but it just means that we have contemplate on the Lord in our mind with the knowledge that whatever is present as the world is in fact an illusion of names and forms in the Lord. This way of worshipping the Lord by pervading our mind with thought of the Lord is called ananya bhajanam and it is that true devotion which will take a person from worldly sorrow unto eternal bliss.

When a seeker is able to surrender completely unto the Lord and praises the Lord (praising the Lord is nothing but apprehending the entire world as an illusion in the Lord – seeing everything as pervaded in and out by the Lord), then the Lord will reveal himself out of the illusory world thereby giving us eternal bliss (which we have been seeking) and getting rid of sorrow (which is the nature of the illusory world).

We will continue with the story in the next day as to what happened with Baana.

Let us try to offer ourselves completely unto the Lord by contemplating on the non-dual Lord as pervading the world so that we may be able to get rid of sorrow and rejoice in bliss.