In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on the “Yayaati-Ashtaka Samvaadham” wherein, King Yayaati explains in detail as to how an “Atman” undergoes five different “points of contact” with the nature, before entering into the mother’s womb to be born in this world again. As the “Atman” crosses these five stages, it is not the end of all the suffering that it has to undergo. The mother’s womb is even more of a wretched place, with so many difficulties that the “Atman” should encounter before getting born. The “Atman” has to wade through a sea of bacteria and viruses inside the mother’s womb, along with all the waste that swirls around without going out! Along with it, the blood and flesh inside the womb makes the “Atman” completely suffocated. It is thus waiting to be taken out of the womb, but there is another scare here – How will it even survive the treacherous challenges that the world would throw at it? Upon thinking this, the “Atman” feels that the suffering that it is undergoing inside the mother’s womb is much better than what it would have to undergo outside! As the time nears for the delivery, even though people outside are eagerly waiting for this child to be born, the “Jeevatma” inside is crying to Bhagawan as to why should it undergo this much torture and suffering! The child cries to Bhagawan, so as to repent for all the “Paapa_Karma” that it had performed during its previous birth(s).
Upon hearing all these emotional accords from King Yayaati, Sage Ashtaka asks him again thus, “Oh King Yayaati! So the sufferings inside the mother’s womb is terrible, isn’t it? Atleast the child would get relief while being born in this world. It would get a lot of freedom, which it did not get while being inside, isn’t it? Hence, the child should be very happy while being born!” Upon hearing this from Sage Ashtaka, King Yayaati laughs a bit and replies thus, “Oh Sage Ashtaka! Do you think that the child takes birth very happily? The process of taking birth itself is horrible and the child takes birth just like how I’m falling down from the “Svarga Lokha”! Just like how I’m being pushed upside down from the “Svaga Lokha”, the child from the mother’s womb is pulled out in the upside down position only!” If we closely examine how childbirth happens, we would understand that the leg portion wouldn’t come out first. Only the head portion of the child comes out initially. However, if the opposite happens, it means that there’s some problem with the child inside the uterus and it requires immediate medical attention. Thus, if we view life in this world from this angle, it is very simple to decipher – The person is born upside down on the first day of birth, and from there, the person tries to stand up straight for the next eighty to ninety years! When we say that we’ve to “stand up”, it encompasses all the various stages that we’ve to pass through as a human being in this world!
Thus, the earlier we realize this, the earlier we would be able to stand up and pray to Bhagawan to attain “Moksha”! This realization set in early for little Prahlaada, little Dhruva, etc. wherein they attained what they’ve to within just ten years of their birth in this world! Whereas, we take upto ninety-odd years because we still do not have that realization within us! In many of our cases, these ninety years are also not sufficient to make this realization happen! We keep being born again and again in this world for ninety or hundred years each time without this realization happening! Thus, we should understand one thing very clearly here – Why are we listening / reading through all these stories of King Yayaati, Prahlaada, Dhruva, etc.? We’ve witnessed detailed accords of Prahlaada and Dhruva in our previous projects as well, isn’t it? Why do we do so? It is only because their life stories should become great inspirations for all of us to start taking efforts to attain Bhagawan, instead of being born again and again in this world to undergo enormous suffering! These stories should serve as an eye-opener to all of us and should make us realize that we’re undergoing enormous suffering here! If this suffering has to come to an end, the only option left for us is to surrender to Bhagawan’s divine lotus feet! It is only Bhagawan who could pull us out of all these sufferings once and forever!
Emphasizing all these points thus, King Yayaati continues his accord – “Oh Sage Ashtaka! Tell me who is a better person in this world who can explain to you all these things in such great detail? It is because I’ve gone through all these ordeals! I was thinking within myself that youthfulness in this world is something that we can enjoy a lot and with a lot of glamour and fun! But towards the end of my previous birth, I realized that all these so-called enjoyments only lead to more and more suffering! In fact, whatever we think of as enjoyments in this world, are not really enjoyments! They are ways and means to take us to more and more suffering! I realized this very late in my life, and when I realized this, it was too late! There might not be any person in this world who would have gone to the extent of borrowing the youthfulness of somebody else to continue the enjoyment! I got so carried away with all these! Subsequently, I thought that more than these enjoyments in this world, the enjoyment at the “Svarga Lokha” was better! There also I failed! I came to know that the “Svarga Lokha” enjoyment is also extremely limited and when the time came, I was pushed upside down without any mercy!”
By saying all this to Sage Ashtaka, King Yayaati concludes by saying that the only way to escape all these sufferings is to attain Bhagawan permanently, which he had failed to do so in his previous birth! Hence, he requested Indra to push him to a place where there would be good people who would motivate him to follow the path to attain “Vaikunta” permanently and this is why he was falling amidst great sages like Sage Ashtaka! So for today, let us understand these points very clearly and let these points serve as an eye-opener for our progress towards attaining Bhagawan! We shall wait till the next episode to give the finishing touches to this important conversation as we move on further with the Mahabharata story! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 