In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the angry conversation between Sage Maandavya and Yama-Dharma-Raja. As Yama-Dharma-Raja intended to punish Sage Maandavya through a king by hanging him to death, Sage Maandavya became furious and he straightaway confronted Yama-Dharma-Raja for the reason behind handing over such a corporal punishment. Upon this, Yama-Dharma-Raja came out with an analysis that he had killed a small butterfly when he was a child, and this is the reason for which he has been handed over this corporal punishment. In due course, this was also an eye-opener for normal people like us as to how many living beings we’re killing every passing day! All these go into our “Paapa-Karma” account and are getting accumulated day after day! But we might ask a question here – Is it a crime even if we kill living beings unknowingly? For instance, when we cook food, we do not have another option but to light the stove. When we do so, obviously we would end up killing thousands of small germs, viruses, bacteria and even ants and other kinds of living beings, isn’t it? So the question would come here as to whether should we refrain completely from cooking! In similar lines, we could ask simultaneous questions as to whether we should avoid walking on the road, etc. too!
The answer to this is very simple – This is the reason why we perform something called “Brahma-Yagnyam” as part of our daily “Sandhya-Vandanam”. The main importance of this Brahma-Yagnyam is to wash away all our “Paapa-Karma” that we keep accumulating everyday without our knowledge. As we keep performing the “Brahma-Yagnyam” every day as part of our “Nitya-Anushtaanam”, all these things are being washed away just like how a drop of water doesn’t stay even for a moment on top of a lotus petal. This is one way of doing it. The other way is to keep chanting our “Mantra” at all times constantly. As we chant more and more, the underlying sins of ours, that we’ve accumulated for so many births due to unknown reasons would be slowly washed away, and we become very pure. This is why I always keep recommending to all of us, readers, that we should make an effort to obtain a Mantra from a “Guru” or a “Spiritual Master”. We should approach them and obtain it from them (“Mantra-Deeksha”) and subsequently we should keep chanting it at all times, depending on the guidance and instructions from our Spritual Master. This is perhaps the easiest way of washing out all our sins that we commit for unknown reasons without our knowledge.
As we say thus, there might be a question immediately – Is it possible for us to wash away our “Paapa Karma” that we have accumulated knowingly? For instance, if we’ve to steal someone’s property, or if we do something that is against the principles of “Dharma” knowingly, will we be able to escape the wrath of it by just following the above procedures? The answer is “No”! We should understand here that Bhagawan is extremely smart! He knows exactly how we would use these procedures as “loopholes” and thus, he knows when and how to pull the plug! The above-mentioned procedures are only to get rid of our “Paapa Karma” that we accumulate without our knowledge. This cannot be applied to a case wherein we would do all possible wrong things in this world and then search for “Praaya-Chitha” for all whatever we’ve done. There would be no effect for such “Praaya-Chitha” and by doing all this, we’re only wasting our time and money. Nowhere in the “Sanaatana Dharma” it is written that every act of “Paapa-Karma” can be washed away just like that by doing a simple “Praaya-Chitha”. If we’re performing heinous crimes, we’ve to experience the punishment for that in the “Naraka-Lokha” and there’s no escape from this, by doing some stupid “Praaya-Chitha” that astrologers suggest! These are all the “blind-faiths” and superstitions that we have! The “Sanaatana Dharma” never gives any room for such superstitions! It is perhaps the only thing that has extreme clarity in whatever it says. Hence, let us not get into all these traps of superstitions and let us consciously refrain from performing heinous crimes of killing living beings!
Moving on further thus, as Yama-Dharma-Raja explains thus, Sage Maandavya is not satisfied. He immediately fumed back thus, “Oh Yama-Dharma-Raja! How can you punish me for a crime that I had committed as a child? Don’t you know that you cannot punish someone for any crime that is done until the age of 9? This is a huge mistake that you’ve made! There might be so many mistakes that people do unknowingly and unconsciously. According to the rule, these cannot be under the ambit of getting punished! Hence, you’ve committed a mistake of punishing me for a crime that I’ve committed unknowingly! Hence, I’m cursing you – You would go down to the earth and take birth as a normal human being and experience untold miseries and sufferings just like how normal people undergo in the world!”
Saying thus, Sage Maandavya walks back angrily! With this, Yama-Dharma-Raja too realizes his folly and understands that he has been cursed by a great sage! Now he has no other option other than taking birth in the “Manushya Lokha”, and this is where, Yama-Dharma-Raja incarnates in this world as Vidura, who was an embodiment of “Dharma” himself! So for today, let us understand up to this point and let us wait till the next episode to continue this accord further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 