Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Story 14 - Young Sage curses Parikshit
Srimad Bhagavatham – A Spiritual Insight - Story 14 - Young Sage curses Parikshit
Suta continues:
Parikshit was saved from the mouth of death by Sri Krishna when he was in his mother Uttara’s womb. Thus, after this, he was very devoted to the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus even when he was cursed to die on the seventh day by the snake Takshaka, he renounced everything and concentrated on the ultimate reality through the words of Shuka (who told Bhagavatham to Parikshit). Hearing it, Parikshit was liberated here itself.
Such is the glory about the ultimate reality that a person is never tired of listening to the glory. A realized saint as well as a devotee are always established in the Lord and hence they are blissful each and every moment.
Having heard thus, the Shaunaka sages asked Suta to explain them the Bhagavatham as told by Shuka to Parikshit. Thus, Shuka started the story of Parikshit – how he was cursed and which then paved the way for him to hear Bhagavatham from the great Shuka Brahmarishi.
Suta continues:
Parikshit once went out for hunting. At that time, he went behind the hunt for a long time. And suddenly the hunt was out of sight and lost. Parikshit was feeling very hungry and thirsty. Thus, he wanted to drink water. At that time, he saw a sage immersed in absorption sitting at a place.
Prathiruddha indriyapraana mano buddhim upaaratham
Sthaanatrayaatparam praaptham brahmabhootamavikriyam
After having controlled the sense organs, the vital force, the intellect and the mind – and having gone beyond the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep (and into the Turiya or fourth state of absolute Self or Consciousness), the sage was absorbed in the ultimate reality of Brahman – having merged into Brahman.
As Parikshit was very thirsty, he called out the sage for giving water. The sage, as was absorbed in the ultimate reality and did not know anything about the world or its actions, did not give any reply. Parikshit got angry as there was the Ego of the King in him. He wanted to test whether the sage was really immersed in Samadhi or just closing his eyes and mocking at the king. Therefore, Parikshit took the dead corpse of a snake with the end of his bow and put it around the shoulder of the sage (it became a garland for the sage). The sage did not know anything. Parikshit left the place.
But after traveling a bit, Parikshit was sad over what he had done and repented for the same.
The sage’s young son named Shringi was playing with his friends nearby to the place where his father was meditating. Somebody told shringi about what the king did. Hearing this, shringi was very angry. Shringi had achieved some siddhis due to his meditating powers. Thus, he took some water and cursed Parikshit thus “I curse the person who has done this to my father, he will be bit by the snake Takshaka on the seventh day from today and will die”.
Saying thus, he went towards his father. And seeing his father, he cried out to his father. His father opened his eyes and saw the snake. Without any difference in expression, he took the snake from his shoulder and threw it away. He was unaffected by whatever had happened as he was always immersed in the ultimate reality and was a realized being.
He heard from his son about the curse and said to shringi that whatever you have done is wrong. The devotees of the ultimate reality never desire anything bad about anyone even though others might disturb or hurt them. The father then sent people to instruct the King about the curse.
Bhagavatham concludes the 1st skanda 18th skanda by telling that a realized being is never affected by situations or surroundings. He neither grieves not becomes happy but is ever steadfast and balanced as he is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord or Brahman.
Explanation
This is the skanda where the real Bhagavatham starts. King Parikshit was saved by the Lord from death itself. Death is nothing but sorrows and sufferings & is nothing but ignorance or forgetfulness of the reality. A devotee who is ever devoted to the Lord is not affected by death as the Lord himself of the nature of light removes the darkness of death. Thereby, Parikshit was saved by the Lord from death of ignorance. Parikshit learned the Gita and other scriptures in his young age itself.
Any amount of hearing or preaching cannot make one realized because the Self is already realized and balance of the mind or equipoise is the means to realization. Only a mind which is balanced can contemplate on the ultimate reality and thereby realize its own very source of Self or Consciousness. Unless the Self is realized, even though a person might be going to ashrams or visiting temples he will not realize his own very nature of Lord.
Realization is achieved in a pure and balanced mind alone. Thus, Parikshit was devoted but hadn’t achieved the purity and equanimity of mind. Therefore, he fell into the trap of anger and thereby put the dead corpse on the shoulder of the absorbed sage. The sage here represents the realized saint and his attitude towards the illusory world. The realized, even though might be seen as doing actions, will ever be immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord – thereby will ever be calm and controlled.
Even though Parikshit put the dead corpse on the sage, was his thirst quenched? No, it was not. What did he achieve by doing such an action? Nothing.
Thus, a person should analyze all his actions and should always try to do good to everyone. Thus bhagavatham says that a devotee only prays for the welfare of both enemies and friends because for a devotee, there is nothing but the Lord alone. The world is nothing but the Lord alone. Thus, a seeker should always try to be like this. He should try to perceive the Lord everywhere. He should always remember the reality that the Lord alone is present here as the dual world. When this reality is remembered and actions performed, those actions become offering to the Lord. Such an offering cannot mean anything bad to anyone, it will always be good for the entire world.
Next we see the nature of the young sage shringi. This is the stage of a seeker where he achieves some meagre siddhis or powers due to which he thinks that he has achieved something. The young sage had siddhis but was not yet realized. A realized saint will never get angry, whatever might happen. He will never curse the king of the country who is protecting each and every person in the country. He will never do any action without enquiring into the consequences of such an action. When a seeker follows the path of spirituality, he achieves some siddhis. The normal tendency is that such a person will get attracted towards these siddhis and get struck up at this level – will not progress higher towards the reality. Whatever siddhis are there, they all are in the level of illusion alone. The Lord alone is the ultimate reality which is one’s own very nature. Any siddhi cannot change the Lord or can a person achieve the Lord through siddhis. The world itself is a power or illusion only in the ultimate reality of Lord. What is the use of such siddhis???? Shringi was unable to control his anger --- is this what is to be achieved through the path of spirituality? No. through the path of spirituality, a seeker controls all his passions including lust and anger. He never becomes a servant of these passions but rather controls these passions.
But we see the sage very well established in the reality and unaffected by whatever Parikshit did to him. The sage very well knew that it would have been done by some reason of anger alone and hence a person should never lose his control over the action which was caused by losing of control by another person.
Therefore, the sage was ever established in the ultimate reality alone. Thus, a seeker should always try to contemplate on the ultimate reality and try each moment to offer the work unto the ultimate reality of Lord. This alone will help one to overcome the illusion of ignorance and samsaara.
But a person should never worry about whatever has happened. Thus Parikshit never worried about whatever happened through him (the wrong deed) but instead repented and contemplated on the Lord for the rest 7 days which were given to him. We will see the positive attitude of Parikshit tomorrow and through which he converted the curse into a blessing and realized the ultimate reality here itself before shedding of the mortal coil.
Suta continues:
Parikshit was saved from the mouth of death by Sri Krishna when he was in his mother Uttara’s womb. Thus, after this, he was very devoted to the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus even when he was cursed to die on the seventh day by the snake Takshaka, he renounced everything and concentrated on the ultimate reality through the words of Shuka (who told Bhagavatham to Parikshit). Hearing it, Parikshit was liberated here itself.
Such is the glory about the ultimate reality that a person is never tired of listening to the glory. A realized saint as well as a devotee are always established in the Lord and hence they are blissful each and every moment.
Having heard thus, the Shaunaka sages asked Suta to explain them the Bhagavatham as told by Shuka to Parikshit. Thus, Shuka started the story of Parikshit – how he was cursed and which then paved the way for him to hear Bhagavatham from the great Shuka Brahmarishi.
Suta continues:
Parikshit once went out for hunting. At that time, he went behind the hunt for a long time. And suddenly the hunt was out of sight and lost. Parikshit was feeling very hungry and thirsty. Thus, he wanted to drink water. At that time, he saw a sage immersed in absorption sitting at a place.
Prathiruddha indriyapraana mano buddhim upaaratham
Sthaanatrayaatparam praaptham brahmabhootamavikriyam
After having controlled the sense organs, the vital force, the intellect and the mind – and having gone beyond the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep (and into the Turiya or fourth state of absolute Self or Consciousness), the sage was absorbed in the ultimate reality of Brahman – having merged into Brahman.
As Parikshit was very thirsty, he called out the sage for giving water. The sage, as was absorbed in the ultimate reality and did not know anything about the world or its actions, did not give any reply. Parikshit got angry as there was the Ego of the King in him. He wanted to test whether the sage was really immersed in Samadhi or just closing his eyes and mocking at the king. Therefore, Parikshit took the dead corpse of a snake with the end of his bow and put it around the shoulder of the sage (it became a garland for the sage). The sage did not know anything. Parikshit left the place.
But after traveling a bit, Parikshit was sad over what he had done and repented for the same.
The sage’s young son named Shringi was playing with his friends nearby to the place where his father was meditating. Somebody told shringi about what the king did. Hearing this, shringi was very angry. Shringi had achieved some siddhis due to his meditating powers. Thus, he took some water and cursed Parikshit thus “I curse the person who has done this to my father, he will be bit by the snake Takshaka on the seventh day from today and will die”.
Saying thus, he went towards his father. And seeing his father, he cried out to his father. His father opened his eyes and saw the snake. Without any difference in expression, he took the snake from his shoulder and threw it away. He was unaffected by whatever had happened as he was always immersed in the ultimate reality and was a realized being.
He heard from his son about the curse and said to shringi that whatever you have done is wrong. The devotees of the ultimate reality never desire anything bad about anyone even though others might disturb or hurt them. The father then sent people to instruct the King about the curse.
Bhagavatham concludes the 1st skanda 18th skanda by telling that a realized being is never affected by situations or surroundings. He neither grieves not becomes happy but is ever steadfast and balanced as he is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord or Brahman.
Explanation
This is the skanda where the real Bhagavatham starts. King Parikshit was saved by the Lord from death itself. Death is nothing but sorrows and sufferings & is nothing but ignorance or forgetfulness of the reality. A devotee who is ever devoted to the Lord is not affected by death as the Lord himself of the nature of light removes the darkness of death. Thereby, Parikshit was saved by the Lord from death of ignorance. Parikshit learned the Gita and other scriptures in his young age itself.
Any amount of hearing or preaching cannot make one realized because the Self is already realized and balance of the mind or equipoise is the means to realization. Only a mind which is balanced can contemplate on the ultimate reality and thereby realize its own very source of Self or Consciousness. Unless the Self is realized, even though a person might be going to ashrams or visiting temples he will not realize his own very nature of Lord.
Realization is achieved in a pure and balanced mind alone. Thus, Parikshit was devoted but hadn’t achieved the purity and equanimity of mind. Therefore, he fell into the trap of anger and thereby put the dead corpse on the shoulder of the absorbed sage. The sage here represents the realized saint and his attitude towards the illusory world. The realized, even though might be seen as doing actions, will ever be immersed in the ultimate reality of Lord – thereby will ever be calm and controlled.
Even though Parikshit put the dead corpse on the sage, was his thirst quenched? No, it was not. What did he achieve by doing such an action? Nothing.
Thus, a person should analyze all his actions and should always try to do good to everyone. Thus bhagavatham says that a devotee only prays for the welfare of both enemies and friends because for a devotee, there is nothing but the Lord alone. The world is nothing but the Lord alone. Thus, a seeker should always try to be like this. He should try to perceive the Lord everywhere. He should always remember the reality that the Lord alone is present here as the dual world. When this reality is remembered and actions performed, those actions become offering to the Lord. Such an offering cannot mean anything bad to anyone, it will always be good for the entire world.
Next we see the nature of the young sage shringi. This is the stage of a seeker where he achieves some meagre siddhis or powers due to which he thinks that he has achieved something. The young sage had siddhis but was not yet realized. A realized saint will never get angry, whatever might happen. He will never curse the king of the country who is protecting each and every person in the country. He will never do any action without enquiring into the consequences of such an action. When a seeker follows the path of spirituality, he achieves some siddhis. The normal tendency is that such a person will get attracted towards these siddhis and get struck up at this level – will not progress higher towards the reality. Whatever siddhis are there, they all are in the level of illusion alone. The Lord alone is the ultimate reality which is one’s own very nature. Any siddhi cannot change the Lord or can a person achieve the Lord through siddhis. The world itself is a power or illusion only in the ultimate reality of Lord. What is the use of such siddhis???? Shringi was unable to control his anger --- is this what is to be achieved through the path of spirituality? No. through the path of spirituality, a seeker controls all his passions including lust and anger. He never becomes a servant of these passions but rather controls these passions.
But we see the sage very well established in the reality and unaffected by whatever Parikshit did to him. The sage very well knew that it would have been done by some reason of anger alone and hence a person should never lose his control over the action which was caused by losing of control by another person.
Therefore, the sage was ever established in the ultimate reality alone. Thus, a seeker should always try to contemplate on the ultimate reality and try each moment to offer the work unto the ultimate reality of Lord. This alone will help one to overcome the illusion of ignorance and samsaara.
But a person should never worry about whatever has happened. Thus Parikshit never worried about whatever happened through him (the wrong deed) but instead repented and contemplated on the Lord for the rest 7 days which were given to him. We will see the positive attitude of Parikshit tomorrow and through which he converted the curse into a blessing and realized the ultimate reality here itself before shedding of the mortal coil.
# posted by vedanta : 9:36 AM
