Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Story 8 – Return of Krishna to Dwaraka
Srimad Bhagavatham – A Spiritual Insight - Story 8 – Return of Krishna to Dwaraka
Slokas (Skanda 1 Chapter 10 slokas 11-12)
Sri Krishna was about to depart to Dwaraka. At that time, all the people there (including the pandavaas) were very sad & their eyes were filled with tear.
Suta continues
Satsangaath muktaduhsango haathum na utsahathe budhah
Keertyamaanam yasho yasya sakridaakarnya rochanam
Those who are always engaged in contact with good people (people who talk about the ultimate reality of Lord as Brahman or Consciousness), they are saved from the clutches of bad company (all bad qualities which pull a man towards sorrow and sufferings). Such a person will be sad to depart from hearing the glories of the Lord or singing the glories of the Lord (here glory means about the ultimate reality that everything is the Lord alone who is the substratum for the illusory world & denoted by Upanishads as Brahman and of the nature of Consciousness).
Tasmin nyasthadhiyah parthaah saheranviraham katham
Darshanasparshasamlaapa shayanaasanabhojanaih
The Pandavaas who were always seeing Krishna (the ultimate reality of Brahman in a human form which is often termed in scriptures as Guru), drinking, eating and sleeping with Krishna, how is it possible that they don’t become sad when about to depart from the Lord?
As always smiling, Krishna thus started to proceed towards Dwaraka. At that time the ladies in the kingdom started praising Krishna by telling that “He is the one who was alone present in the beginning (meaning who is the ultimate reality) and who through his own illusory power of Maya creates the world (which is also an illusion only) and gives everything its existence. That Lord is now leaving this place to return to Dwaraka”.
Krishna returned to Dwaraka where he was given a warm welcome. His wives, the women in Dwaraka as well as the men in the place were all happy to see Krishna & they all started spending time with Krishna. Krishna’s wives, in turn, thought that Krishna was a hen-pecked husband who was satisfying their desires by staying with them. Isn’t this the play of the Lord or Maya alone?
Explanation
The two chapters 10 & 11 of the first Skandha of Srimad Bhagavatham is a description of the sorrow of various people in Hastinapur (as the Lord was physically leaving them) and the happiness of the people of Dwaraka (where the Lord returned back after the Kurukshetra war). Isn’t this itself the play of Maya or the illusory power of the Lord? The Lord from whom this illusory world has come pervades each and every place in the world (as the substratum of the illusory world even as the water in desert is pervaded completely by the desert). Is there any place where the Lord (of the nature of Existence) is not present? If there is such a place, that place itself will become non-existent as it is the presence of the Lord or Consciousness that anything and everything gets its relative existence.
When a person realizes this ultimate reality that there is only the Lord here, the duality that is perceived is only an illusion which has no reality at all, then he verily becomes the Lord.
Some people are very averse to “becoming the Lord”. For them, Srimad Bhagavatham and the Upanishads proclaim that there is no becoming the Lord, but YOU ARE ALREADY THE LORD. But this reality that “I am the Lord or Consciousness” has been veiled by ignorance (not real veiling but seems to be veiled due to ignorance even as the sun seems to be clouded by the clouds as the ignorant says that the clouds have veiled the Sun whereas reality is that Sun is never veiled by clouds but only seems to be veiled by the clouds).
Thus, what is required is to realize the reality that “I am the Lord of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute”. One of the paths towards this is SATSANGA or association with good people (who are devotees and knowers of the reality).
Thus, Srimad Bhagavatham tells that for a person who is addicted to SATSANGA, it is never possible to come out of SATSANGA!!!! Chaitanya Mahaprabhu could never stand in a place without dancing or uttering the name of the Lord. Adi Sankaracharya could never sit in a place without calling at the top of his voice that “the limited individual himself is the Lord, but seems to be limited due to ignorance”. Ramanujacharya could not help serving the common people by shouting the Narayana Mantra. Swami Vivekananda could not even remain a moment without telling the ultimate reality to people. Swami Chinmayananda could not stop spreading the Gita and its message through the mission and its schools (so much that a person coming out of Chinmaya School after 10th standard will know the 18 chapters of Bhagavad Gita by-heart!!!!). We see Mata Amritanandamayi going to all each and every part of the world spreading the message of the Upanishads through love and affection. Sri Sri Ravishankar is seen spreading the message of the Upanishads through his course of “Art of Living”. Maharishi Mahesha Yogi is seen as spreading the experience of the ultimate reality through Transcendental Meditation.
If even realized beings and Avataars themselves cannot stop shouting about the ultimate reality, what to speak of normal people (who want to get out of the shackles of sorrows and sufferings through the good habits of singing the glory of the Lord)?
Srimad Bhagavad also indirectly points out here that a seeker should always be engaged in listening and speaking about the ultimate reality of Lord. He should avoid anything other than singing and speaking about the ultimate reality. He should always refrain from bad habits of TV, movies, smoking, drinking, parties etc. through practice of good habits of visiting Ashrams, listening to the reality from realized beings, reading spiritual books like Gita, Upanishads etc.
It is impossible for the bonded jeeva to get itself out of the bondage whose main cause is ignorance. This ignorance has to be removed through knowledge alone. Thus to get out of bondage, the jeeva has to take to the spiritual path and spiritual practices which Vedanta splits into three – SRAVANA or listening about the ultimate reality from a realized being, Manana or reflection about the ultimate reality on the mind through logic and reasoning, Nidhidhyaasana or contemplation on the ultimate reality that “I am the Lord who is present everywhere, I am Brahman which is the substratum of this illusory world, I am Consciousness which is one without a second, I am blissful in nature as I am full and perfect in all aspects”. These three practices are what Srimad Bhagavatham puts in devotional way of singing the glory of the ultimate reality of Lord.
When a person sings the glory of Vishnu knowing that Vishnu is not the form with four-hands but the ultimate reality of Brahman who alone is present here & who is my inherent nature – he verily merges into the Lord. Through this, the bondage automatically vanishes (the bondage vanishes as its cause of ignorance vanished. Ignorance vanishes because it did not have any existence at all and was only an illusion in the reality of Brahman or Consciousness or Lord) and thereby the individual always rejoices in the inherent bliss. This is what is called as Moksha or liberation or realization. This is the final goal to be realized – it is not something to be attained new but it is always there & has to be remembered. The individual now thinks that he is different from the Lord, but in reality he is one with the Lord. This has to realized through SATSANGA or association with good people & practice of spiritual disciplines which leads one to the ultimate reality through removal of the veil of ignorance.
When satsanga is not performed, the mind gets into duhsanga or bad association – this is nothing but mind indulging in lust, greed, desire, anger etc. Such a mind tries to get happiness in each and every object in the world. It gets happiness which is temporary alone & leads one to sorrow alone in the long run.
When real satsanga is not present, the limited being thinks that the Lord is in a form alone & is present in Vaikunta or Kailash alone. This is only due to ignorance about the real nature of the Lord who is all-pervading and is the only reality present in the world.
Vishnu means all-pervading (taken from the root Vish one of whose meaning is all-pervasiveness).
Shiva means that which is auspicious (taken from Shva root). That is auspicious which is blissful in nature. Bliss is present only when perfection is there. Perfection is there only for that which is infinite or present everywhere. Thus Shiva is also the all-pervading reality of Consciousness alone.
Thus, when a seeker initially sees the Lord in a form – he is not perceiving the real nature of the Lord. Adi Shankaracharya clearly states that forms are meant only for meditation and getting concentration. Once the seeker proceeds further, he realizes that the Lord is present everywhere & hence he has no form at all. He then realizes that the Lord is his own very nature and it is the Lord which is wrongly perceived as the dual objects in the world.
Krishna says to Uddhava in Uddhava Gita
Pumsoyam ayuktasya naanaartho bramah
The duality that is perceived here is an illusion arising out of an immature intellect (intellect which doesn’t know the ultimate reality of non-dual Lord or Consciousness).
Thus, when the seeker realizes the ultimate reality – he remains a mere witness to the activites of the world. He realizes that the Lord which is his own nature is present everywhere & the world which is being perceived is only relative real & an illusion in the ultimate reality. He thus might be seen as doing actions from an ignorant’s perspective, but for the jnaani there is no action because he is ever immersed in the eternal bliss inherent in the Self (which is the Lord alone).
But from the ignorant seeker’s view, the Lord is seen as doing various actions even as we perceive the great saints & seers like Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Sri Sri Ravishankar, Sai Baba etc as doing actions. But for the jnaani, all duality has vanished and he perceives only oneness everywhere.
The ajnaanis that the people of Dwaraka were – they thought that Krishna was hen-pecked!!!! Isn’t this the play of Maya or the illusory power of the Lord. This Maya veils the real nature of the Lord and thereby projects other things on the reality. Because of this, the dualities are perceived in the world & the jeevanmuktaas are seen as doing actions – the individual considers himself a limited & baddha jeeva (bondage jeeva) even though he is really one with the Lord.
All the aim in life is to overcome this ignorance or Maya and this is possible only through catching hold of the ultimate reality through the Upanishadic statements and the statements of Srimad Bhagavatham about the ultimate reality.
Sri Krishna thus says in Gita Chapter 7
Daivi hi eesha gunamayee mama maayaa duratyayaa
Maam eva ye prapadhyanthe mayaam etaam taranthi te
My illusory power of Maya is composed of three gunas of Satva (indicating peace), Rajas (activity) and Tamas (ignorance) and is very tough to conquer. But those who take refuge in Me (as the ultimate reality and always thinking of Me) they conquer Maya and enter into Me.
Let us all thus try to spend daily some time concentrating on the ultimate reality through reading of spiritual books and singing the glories of the Lord through bhajans, hearing discourses, discussing amongst each other etc.
A seeker should always remember here that the ultimate reality is ONE WITHOUT A SECOND & Brahman or Consciousness and our own very nature itself. Whatever activities are being done are only for removal of the ignorance veil & not for attaining the ever-attained Lord.
Slokas (Skanda 1 Chapter 10 slokas 11-12)
Sri Krishna was about to depart to Dwaraka. At that time, all the people there (including the pandavaas) were very sad & their eyes were filled with tear.
Suta continues
Satsangaath muktaduhsango haathum na utsahathe budhah
Keertyamaanam yasho yasya sakridaakarnya rochanam
Those who are always engaged in contact with good people (people who talk about the ultimate reality of Lord as Brahman or Consciousness), they are saved from the clutches of bad company (all bad qualities which pull a man towards sorrow and sufferings). Such a person will be sad to depart from hearing the glories of the Lord or singing the glories of the Lord (here glory means about the ultimate reality that everything is the Lord alone who is the substratum for the illusory world & denoted by Upanishads as Brahman and of the nature of Consciousness).
Tasmin nyasthadhiyah parthaah saheranviraham katham
Darshanasparshasamlaapa shayanaasanabhojanaih
The Pandavaas who were always seeing Krishna (the ultimate reality of Brahman in a human form which is often termed in scriptures as Guru), drinking, eating and sleeping with Krishna, how is it possible that they don’t become sad when about to depart from the Lord?
As always smiling, Krishna thus started to proceed towards Dwaraka. At that time the ladies in the kingdom started praising Krishna by telling that “He is the one who was alone present in the beginning (meaning who is the ultimate reality) and who through his own illusory power of Maya creates the world (which is also an illusion only) and gives everything its existence. That Lord is now leaving this place to return to Dwaraka”.
Krishna returned to Dwaraka where he was given a warm welcome. His wives, the women in Dwaraka as well as the men in the place were all happy to see Krishna & they all started spending time with Krishna. Krishna’s wives, in turn, thought that Krishna was a hen-pecked husband who was satisfying their desires by staying with them. Isn’t this the play of the Lord or Maya alone?
Explanation
The two chapters 10 & 11 of the first Skandha of Srimad Bhagavatham is a description of the sorrow of various people in Hastinapur (as the Lord was physically leaving them) and the happiness of the people of Dwaraka (where the Lord returned back after the Kurukshetra war). Isn’t this itself the play of Maya or the illusory power of the Lord? The Lord from whom this illusory world has come pervades each and every place in the world (as the substratum of the illusory world even as the water in desert is pervaded completely by the desert). Is there any place where the Lord (of the nature of Existence) is not present? If there is such a place, that place itself will become non-existent as it is the presence of the Lord or Consciousness that anything and everything gets its relative existence.
When a person realizes this ultimate reality that there is only the Lord here, the duality that is perceived is only an illusion which has no reality at all, then he verily becomes the Lord.
Some people are very averse to “becoming the Lord”. For them, Srimad Bhagavatham and the Upanishads proclaim that there is no becoming the Lord, but YOU ARE ALREADY THE LORD. But this reality that “I am the Lord or Consciousness” has been veiled by ignorance (not real veiling but seems to be veiled due to ignorance even as the sun seems to be clouded by the clouds as the ignorant says that the clouds have veiled the Sun whereas reality is that Sun is never veiled by clouds but only seems to be veiled by the clouds).
Thus, what is required is to realize the reality that “I am the Lord of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute”. One of the paths towards this is SATSANGA or association with good people (who are devotees and knowers of the reality).
Thus, Srimad Bhagavatham tells that for a person who is addicted to SATSANGA, it is never possible to come out of SATSANGA!!!! Chaitanya Mahaprabhu could never stand in a place without dancing or uttering the name of the Lord. Adi Sankaracharya could never sit in a place without calling at the top of his voice that “the limited individual himself is the Lord, but seems to be limited due to ignorance”. Ramanujacharya could not help serving the common people by shouting the Narayana Mantra. Swami Vivekananda could not even remain a moment without telling the ultimate reality to people. Swami Chinmayananda could not stop spreading the Gita and its message through the mission and its schools (so much that a person coming out of Chinmaya School after 10th standard will know the 18 chapters of Bhagavad Gita by-heart!!!!). We see Mata Amritanandamayi going to all each and every part of the world spreading the message of the Upanishads through love and affection. Sri Sri Ravishankar is seen spreading the message of the Upanishads through his course of “Art of Living”. Maharishi Mahesha Yogi is seen as spreading the experience of the ultimate reality through Transcendental Meditation.
If even realized beings and Avataars themselves cannot stop shouting about the ultimate reality, what to speak of normal people (who want to get out of the shackles of sorrows and sufferings through the good habits of singing the glory of the Lord)?
Srimad Bhagavad also indirectly points out here that a seeker should always be engaged in listening and speaking about the ultimate reality of Lord. He should avoid anything other than singing and speaking about the ultimate reality. He should always refrain from bad habits of TV, movies, smoking, drinking, parties etc. through practice of good habits of visiting Ashrams, listening to the reality from realized beings, reading spiritual books like Gita, Upanishads etc.
It is impossible for the bonded jeeva to get itself out of the bondage whose main cause is ignorance. This ignorance has to be removed through knowledge alone. Thus to get out of bondage, the jeeva has to take to the spiritual path and spiritual practices which Vedanta splits into three – SRAVANA or listening about the ultimate reality from a realized being, Manana or reflection about the ultimate reality on the mind through logic and reasoning, Nidhidhyaasana or contemplation on the ultimate reality that “I am the Lord who is present everywhere, I am Brahman which is the substratum of this illusory world, I am Consciousness which is one without a second, I am blissful in nature as I am full and perfect in all aspects”. These three practices are what Srimad Bhagavatham puts in devotional way of singing the glory of the ultimate reality of Lord.
When a person sings the glory of Vishnu knowing that Vishnu is not the form with four-hands but the ultimate reality of Brahman who alone is present here & who is my inherent nature – he verily merges into the Lord. Through this, the bondage automatically vanishes (the bondage vanishes as its cause of ignorance vanished. Ignorance vanishes because it did not have any existence at all and was only an illusion in the reality of Brahman or Consciousness or Lord) and thereby the individual always rejoices in the inherent bliss. This is what is called as Moksha or liberation or realization. This is the final goal to be realized – it is not something to be attained new but it is always there & has to be remembered. The individual now thinks that he is different from the Lord, but in reality he is one with the Lord. This has to realized through SATSANGA or association with good people & practice of spiritual disciplines which leads one to the ultimate reality through removal of the veil of ignorance.
When satsanga is not performed, the mind gets into duhsanga or bad association – this is nothing but mind indulging in lust, greed, desire, anger etc. Such a mind tries to get happiness in each and every object in the world. It gets happiness which is temporary alone & leads one to sorrow alone in the long run.
When real satsanga is not present, the limited being thinks that the Lord is in a form alone & is present in Vaikunta or Kailash alone. This is only due to ignorance about the real nature of the Lord who is all-pervading and is the only reality present in the world.
Vishnu means all-pervading (taken from the root Vish one of whose meaning is all-pervasiveness).
Shiva means that which is auspicious (taken from Shva root). That is auspicious which is blissful in nature. Bliss is present only when perfection is there. Perfection is there only for that which is infinite or present everywhere. Thus Shiva is also the all-pervading reality of Consciousness alone.
Thus, when a seeker initially sees the Lord in a form – he is not perceiving the real nature of the Lord. Adi Shankaracharya clearly states that forms are meant only for meditation and getting concentration. Once the seeker proceeds further, he realizes that the Lord is present everywhere & hence he has no form at all. He then realizes that the Lord is his own very nature and it is the Lord which is wrongly perceived as the dual objects in the world.
Krishna says to Uddhava in Uddhava Gita
Pumsoyam ayuktasya naanaartho bramah
The duality that is perceived here is an illusion arising out of an immature intellect (intellect which doesn’t know the ultimate reality of non-dual Lord or Consciousness).
Thus, when the seeker realizes the ultimate reality – he remains a mere witness to the activites of the world. He realizes that the Lord which is his own nature is present everywhere & the world which is being perceived is only relative real & an illusion in the ultimate reality. He thus might be seen as doing actions from an ignorant’s perspective, but for the jnaani there is no action because he is ever immersed in the eternal bliss inherent in the Self (which is the Lord alone).
But from the ignorant seeker’s view, the Lord is seen as doing various actions even as we perceive the great saints & seers like Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Sri Sri Ravishankar, Sai Baba etc as doing actions. But for the jnaani, all duality has vanished and he perceives only oneness everywhere.
The ajnaanis that the people of Dwaraka were – they thought that Krishna was hen-pecked!!!! Isn’t this the play of Maya or the illusory power of the Lord. This Maya veils the real nature of the Lord and thereby projects other things on the reality. Because of this, the dualities are perceived in the world & the jeevanmuktaas are seen as doing actions – the individual considers himself a limited & baddha jeeva (bondage jeeva) even though he is really one with the Lord.
All the aim in life is to overcome this ignorance or Maya and this is possible only through catching hold of the ultimate reality through the Upanishadic statements and the statements of Srimad Bhagavatham about the ultimate reality.
Sri Krishna thus says in Gita Chapter 7
Daivi hi eesha gunamayee mama maayaa duratyayaa
Maam eva ye prapadhyanthe mayaam etaam taranthi te
My illusory power of Maya is composed of three gunas of Satva (indicating peace), Rajas (activity) and Tamas (ignorance) and is very tough to conquer. But those who take refuge in Me (as the ultimate reality and always thinking of Me) they conquer Maya and enter into Me.
Let us all thus try to spend daily some time concentrating on the ultimate reality through reading of spiritual books and singing the glories of the Lord through bhajans, hearing discourses, discussing amongst each other etc.
A seeker should always remember here that the ultimate reality is ONE WITHOUT A SECOND & Brahman or Consciousness and our own very nature itself. Whatever activities are being done are only for removal of the ignorance veil & not for attaining the ever-attained Lord.
# posted by vedanta : 9:27 AM
