The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had continued with the important discussion between King Yayaati and Sage Ashtaka, wherein we had witnessed the concepts of “Sthoola Deham” and “Sookshma Deham” and how they work in tandem. The “Sthoola Deham” is the one with which we live in this world, and the “Sookshma Deham” is the one the “Atman” takes after leaving this “Sthoola Deham” at the end of this lifespan. With the “Sookshma Deham”, the “Atman” travels to whichever “Lokha” it has to go to and then assumes another “Sthoola Deham” corresponding to that “Lokha” where the “Atman” lands up in. If we reach the “Svarga Lokha”, the “Sthoola Deham” of our “Atman” would be apt to enjoy all the luxuries and pleasures that are available there. Whereas if our “Atman” has to go to the “Naraka Lokha”, we would get another appropriate “Sookshma Deham” that could withstand all the drubbing that we would get there. After that tenure, when the “Atman” comes back to the “Manushya Lokha” again, it assumes another new “Sthoola Deham” inside the mother’s womb. This is exactly what King Yayaati is describing here, as Sage Ashtaka asks him the question whether he would fall down on to the earth again with the same “Deham” as he had in the “Svarga Lokha” or with a different “Deham”. 

King Yayaati gives a very important reply here. He says thus, “Oh Sage Ashtaka! Please do not compare my case with the others in the world. The process is different. In my case, as my “Punya-Karma” account is enormous, I’m falling down to the earth with the same “Sthoola Deham” of the “Svarga Lokha”. However, for normal people, they would be thrown out of the “Svarga Lokha” with the “Sookshma Deham”, on to the clouds that adorn this earth. These clouds then join with many other clouds and pour into the earth surface as rain drops or snow flakes. Thus, the “Atman” sticks to these rain drops and fall on the earth, which is responsible for the growth of plants. Thus now, the “Atman” is sticking to the leaf or stem or root of the plant, which is being consumed by the other living beings. For instance, if a male animal (It can be any animal – Dog or cat or lion or tiger or insects or human being) consumes that plant, the “Atman” gets into the stomach of the male animal. When this male animal gets into a union with the female animal, the “Atman” gets passed into the body of the female animal in the form of sperms. These sperms are thus responsible for the development of the egg inside the uterus of the female animal and thus, the “Atman” develops its new “Sthoola Deham” inside the womb of the mother! Once the mother delivers, the “Atman” comes out in the form of a child. This is the process through which the “Atman” reaches the “Manushya Lokha” from the “Svarga Lokha” or the “Naraka Lokha”. 

Thus, we can see here that King Yayaati talks about five important “points of contacts” through which the “Atman” travels from the “Svarga Lokha” / “Naraka Lokha” back to the “Manushya Lokha”. First point of contact is the cloud. Second point of contact is the raindrop. Third point of contact is the plant. Fourth point of contact is the male animal / human being’s stomach. Fifth point of contact is the female animal / human being’s womb where the “Atman” gets enclosed into the “Sthoola Deham” of the “Manushya Lokha”. This process through which the human being takes birth in this world is referred to as the “Pancha-Agni-Vidya” in the “Upanishads”. Only if one realizes the pain that he / she has to go through these five points of contact with the “Manushya Lokha” before taking birth here, he / she realize the importance of “Vaikunta” and the understanding of not coming back again to this world. Else, the “Atman” should always keep coming back to this world with different births at different times, without an end! 

So for today, let us understand this concept of “Pancha-Agni-Vidya” that is explained in the “Upanishads” clearly and let us hereby develop this aspiration that we should reach “Vaikunta” somehow, so as to escape these five points of contact with this world forever! We shall wait till the next episode to continue this important discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion between King Yayaati and Sage Ashtaka wherein, the discussion veered into how an “Atman” can survive without a “Deham” and what happens to the “Atman” during the transition between two different “Dehams”. We’ve witnessed the important answer out of this discussion that the “Atman” keeps wandering here and there till the time that Bhagawan has stipulated for it to enter into a different “Deham”. That “Deham” can be the one that is suited to ascend to the “Svarga Lokha” or “Naraka Lokha” or it can also be the one with which we would be born in the “Manushya Lokha” as a plant or an animal or a human being (if we’re lucky and fortunate enough). Hence, till this time arrives, the “Atman” would be wandering around without a “Deham”. This is what we see in the case of people encountering “Akaala-Maranam” (Means, unfortunate and untimely death). The stipulated lifespan of that person would have been a certain number of years, but because of whatsoever reason, that person would have passed away much earlier than that stipulated time given by Bhagawan. In that case, that person’s “Atman” would be wandering around without a “Deham”. This is why we say that there would be hundreds and thousands of wandering “Atmans” around us at any given point of time. We might not be able to see them with our naked eyes, but they do exist. 

Having said thus, if our “Atman” has encountered the time of separation from our present “Deham”, as per Bhagawan’s account, the “Atman” would know where to go next. The “Atman” would first decide where to go after leaving this “Deham” and only then would start. Now how does this happen? We can imagine an earthworm moving from one leaf of a plant to the other. Does it jump entirely from one leaf to the other? It doesn’t! It first keeps its first four legs into the next leaf and slowly crawls with that support into the new leaf. However, the remaining four legs would be in the previous leaf only. Thus, slowly the crawl happens and gradually all the eight legs of the earthworm would move into the next leaf, isn’t it? Similarly, our Atman first decides which is the next “Deham” that it has to assume, and slowly makes the transition. It does not happen immediately and abruptly. Hence, this is how the “Atman” travels. 

However, having said thus, if our “Atman” has to travel towards the “Svarga Lokha” or the “Naraka Lokha” or even “Vaikunta” for that instance, does the “Atman” travel all alone? The answer is “No” again! For this also, the “Atman would require a “Deham”. This is what we call “Sookshma Deham”. What we constitute now at present is the “Sthoola Deham” and once the “Atman” gets off from this “Deham”, it would be washed and burnt away. However, if our “Atman” has to embark a travel towards any of the “Lokhas”, we need another “Deham” called “Sookshma Deham”. Once we reach the respective “Lokhas” where we’ve reach, we would get another “Deham” there. This “Deham” that we would get would be of immense strength than what we have today! I assume that all of us know the reason for this! 🙂 The simple reason is, for instance if we’ve to reach the “Naraka Lokha”, with the amount of “Paapa-Karma” that we’ve performed, we’ve to withstand the amount of beatings and drubbings we would receive there, isn’t it? For that, the present “Deham” would not even withstand one beating! 🙂 Hence, we would be provided with another “Deham”, exclusively made for getting all the beatings in the “Naraka Lokha”! Thus, once the beatings are over, that “Deham” would be removed from our “Atman” and if we’ve to come back again to the “Manushya Lokha”, we would have to assume another “Deham” that is apt for this “Lokha”! The cycle continues on and on thus! 

Thus, we can see here that there are different “Dehams” that our “Atman” assumes at different times. One “Deham” (Sthoola Deham”) when we are alive in this “Manushya Lokha”, the second “Deham” (“Sookshma Deham”) when we travel from here to the “Svarga / Naraka Lokhas”, and the third “Deham” would be the “Deham” that would be given to us in those respective “Lokhas” wherever we set foot upon! Hearing all of this, Sage Ashtaka asks King Yayaati another question here – “Oh King Yayaati! Now that you’re falling down from the “Svarga Lokha”, are you falling down with the same “Deham” that you had there? What is going to happen to this “Deham” when you set foot here?” King Yayaati answers thus, “Oh Sage! Yes! I’m now falling down with the “Deham” that I had in the “Svarga Lokha”. Now when I set foot here, this “Deham” would completely disappear, and I would be born as a child in this “Manushya Lokha”! That would be a different “Deham” altogether! When I fall completely on to this “Manushya Lokha”, I’ve to cross five different stages before I enter into my mother’s womb as a child!” 

Upon hearing this, Sage Ashtaka asks King Yayaati thus, “Oh Yayaati! What are those five stages that you need to cross?” This is a very important question that Sage Ashtaka is asking here! King Yayaati is going to give a very interesting reply that all of us should understand. So for today, let us understand until this point and we shall also wait along with Sage Ashtaka till the next episode to find out the answer for this important question! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of King Yayaati’s reply to Sage Ashtaka’s important questions on how the “Karma Theory” operates, and how people transcend from the “Manushya Lokha” to the various other Lokhas like the “Svarga Lokha”, the different types of “Naraka Lokha”, etc. and how do they once again come back to the same “Manushya Lokha” to continue their “Karma”! Everytime we take birth in this world to wash off our existing “Sanchita Karma” through our “Praarabdha Karma” (We’ve witnessed all these definitions earlier), we keep on accumulating more and more “Karma” during the present birth and all of it goes back into our “Sanchita Karma”, only for the results to be experienced at a later stage – Perhaps within this birth itself if we’re lucky and fortunate, or in our subsequent births that we take! This is exactly the reason why King Yayaati is also coming down. He had the opportunity to ascend to the “Svarga Lokha” on account of the enormous amount of “Punya Karma” that he had accumulated in his birth as a righteous king. However, once his “Punya Karma” was washed out, he was again pushed back to the “Manushya Lokha”, only to accumulate more and more “Karma”! This is where King Yayaati feels extremely dejected with himself and is repenting for his mistake of desiring to go to the “Svarga Lokha”! 

As King Yayaati replies thus, Sage Ashtaka again asks him another set of questions! He asks thus, “Oh King Yayaati! Now that you’re falling down from the “Svarga Lokha – How do you fall down with the same physical body (Deham)? Once you finish your birth in this world, the “Deham” is destroyed, isn’t it? How is it that you’re coming down with the same body as you had earlier?” This is where we’ve to understand an important point – When we transcend to different “Lokhas”, we would take different physical forms that are apt for that particular “Lokha”. For instance, if we’ve to go to the “Svarga Lokha”, our “Atman” would assume a physical form that is apt for enjoying all the luxuries that happen there. However, when we’ve to transcend to the “Naraka Lokha”, our “Atman” would be given a physical form that would be able to experience all the beatings and punishments that we would get there! For obtaining such punishments, there should be a “Deham” that should be able to take all of it, isn’t it? Hence, while being in the “Manushya Lokha”, our “Atman” has a different “Deham”. When we transcend to the “Svarga Lokha”, we leave this present “Deham” here itself and our “Atman” assumes another “Deham”. While we transcend to the “Naraka Lokha”, our “Atman” takes another “Deham” that is apt for it. Hence, we can see here that our “Atman” is constant and our “Deham” keeps on varying from one birth to the other! 

Now comes another important question – There would be a time interval between one birth and the next, isn’t it? So how does the “Atman” sustain without a proper “Deham”? Can this even happen? The answer to this question is, “Yes”. The “Atman” is always permanent. Of course, there is a transition – For instance, when my current birth comes to an end, during the end-time itself, Bhagawan gives His verdict as to which place and which physical body should my “Atman” take next! Bhagawan’s judgement comes immediately within a split of a second and the future gets decided according to our “Karma”! For instance, if my “Punya Karma” is exceeding my “Paapa-Karma” and if Bhagawan designates us to take us to the “Svarga Lokha”, He gives us the apt “Deham” immediately after our demise in this earth! Of course, we cannot see all these transitions with our naked eyes, but such things happen! 

However, there is a clause here – If the apt time doesn’t come for us to switch over from one “Deham” to another “Deham”, our “Atman” would be freely roaming around in the air! For instance, we would witness some deaths of people that happen due to accidents, or some physical ailments, etc. at a young age itself. Some people even commit suicides, isn’t it? Now what would happen to their “Atman”? The designated time given by Bhagawan hasn’t come for them yet to switch over to a new “Deham”, isn’t it? As per Bhagawan’s calculation, there is a stipulated lifespan for all of us, and when the time comes, we pass away! However, if we pre-decide to end our life earlier than Bhagawan designated, our “Atman” would not get the new “Deham” as per our whims and fancies! Only when the Bhagawan-designated-time arrives, will our “Atman” be able to get into the new “Deham”! But till that time arrives, the “Atman” would be roaming around without a “Deham”! Thus, there might be hundreds and thousands of “Atmans” that are roaming freely without a “Deham” around us at any point of time! We might not be able to see them with our eyes, but they might be roaming around! In fact, there might be thousands of “Atmans” within our own “Deham” today! We live amidst so many bacteria and viruses, isn’t it? Who knows how many viruses are present within our body at any point in time? Perhaps, our body might be immune to them and we might not exhibit any sickness, but does that mean that our body does not contain any virus? 

Hence, the point here is that, there are thousands of “Atmans” that might be without a proper “Deham” roaming around for whatsoever reasons. The concept here is that, the “Atman” assumes a physical form when the apt time arrives. If Bhagawan has designated the date, time and place for an “Atman” to incarnate into a physical body, it would happen only according to that. So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and let us wait till the next episode to witness this interesting discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the conversation between Sage Ashtaka and King Yayaati. As King Yayaati was falling down from the Svarga Lokha, Sage Ashtaka was asking a series of questions to understand as to why he was falling down like this. Various doubts plagued Sage Ashtaka’s mind. There were many myths running through, and Sage Ashtaka sought to find out answers for all of them from King Yayaati, as he can give some “experiential answers”. Since King Yayaati has first-hand experience of visiting the “Svarga Lokha” and coming back, Sage Ashtaka was very keen to understand how was life at “Svarga Lokha”. King Yayaati slowly starts replying to Sage Ashtaka as he was falling down. It should be remembered here by readers that this entire conversation did not happen on ground between the two of them. This happens as King Yayaati was in the air itself! Sage Ashtaka was so eager to understand things from King Yayaati that he did not want to even waste that time till King Yayaati steps on the ground again. The entire conversation happened when King Yayaati was mid-air! 

King Yayaati replies thus, “Oh Sage Ashtaka! I’m falling down on the “Bhouma-Naraka Lokha”, wherein I refer to this earth itself as the “Naraka Lokha”. I say this because this “Manushya Lokha” is full of worldly pleasures and distractions that would deter us away from the path of “Dharma”. It is very easy for one to get carried away by the “Maya” (Illusion) that is there in the world! If we’re frustrated with this “Manushya Lokha”, we would immediately think that the “Svarga Lokha” is much better and we would enjoy permanent luxuries there. However, please understand that there is a small clause here – Of course, the luxuries of the “Svarga Lokha” are incomparable to what we have in the “Manushya Lokha”. But, our tenure at the “Svarga Lokha” will come to an end when our “Punya Karma” comes to an end! This is exactly what happened to me! Initially I was under the impression that the “Svarga Lokha” was permanent and I shall enjoy even more luxuries and pleasures there. However, when Indra pushed me upside down, I realized how fickle the “Svarga Lokha” is! Hence, Sage Ashtaka! Please understand that the “Svarga Lokha” is temporary and you would never know when you would be pushed down! You would be living there with that constant fear of being pushed and this is even more terrible than the “Manushya Lokha”! 

Upon saying thus, King Yayaati continues further. Now he’s going to answer Sage Ashtaka’s questions on the “Karma Theory” and how it works. King Yayaati replies thus, “Oh Sage Ashtaka! Yet another reason for which I’m falling down to the “Manushya Lokha” is my “Karma”! My “Sanchita Karma” sacks are pending to be burnt! There are many sacks of my “Sanchita Karma” pending still. It is only one small part of my “Praarabdha-Karma’s ” “Phala” (Resultant) that I had experienced in the Svarga Lokha”, and once that was over, I was pushed out! Now when I set foot on the “Manushya Lokha”, I would start experiencing the results of one of the huge sacks of my “Sanchita Karma”!” 

As King Yayaati explains thus, Sage Ashtaka quips him with another question – “Oh King Yayaati! Now that you’re falling down to the “Manushya Lokha”, are you really coming here to experience the results of your “Sanchita Karma” or are you coming here to earn more “Karma” that would eventually go into the “Sanchita Karma” again? Please clarify!” This is where we need to understand the nuances of the “Karma Theory”. This is very similar to how we perform our banking operations. For instance, if we take a loan of some amount to build a house, and when the time comes to repay that loan back to the bank in terms of fixed installments – The bank would charge some interest on the principal amount isn’t it? However, for some reason, we’re unable to repay the loan amount along with the stipulated interest amount, what will the bank do? The bank wouldn’t erase out the money just like that! It would accumulate more and more with more interest, isn’t it? Similarly here also, Bhagawan is sending us back to the “Manushya Lokha” ideally to wash away all our previous “Sanchita Karma”. If we stick to this agenda only and finish it off, there wouldn’t be any problem! This is like repaying the loan amount with interest regularly month on month! However, if we’re going to earn more “Karma” while taking this birth, it is like taking more and more loan from the bank, or failing to pay the existing loan! Now what would happen? The bank would charge us more interest, isn’t it? Similarly, Bhagawan also charges us interest in the form of more and more “Sanchita Karma” getting deposited into our account, basis which, we would take yet another birth in this world to finish that off!

Thus, the point here is that, we keep accumulating our “Sanchita Karma” as we progress through every birth, knowingly or unknowingly. This is where we get into more and more trouble! If we obtain that realization that we’ve to finish off our “Karma” here itself without accumulating more of it, we would be able to cross over this “Karma Cycle”. Else, we would only keep revolving inside this vicious cycle and we would keep experiencing birth and death again and again in this world. So for today, let us understand this point very clearly from King Yayaati and we shall wait till the next episode to discuss the next interesting question that Sage Ashtaka is going to ask! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important leadership & management lesson with regards to how we view short-term and long-term orientations. In due course, we’ve witnessed how King Yayaati got carried away by the short-term pleasures of youthfulness while being a king, and the lucrative “Svarga-Lokha”, only to be pushed out at the end of his tenure. Eventually, King Yayaati’s accord teaches us the important lesson that if we’re getting carried away by short-term goals and orientations, it is only temporary happiness and can backfire at any point of time. However, if we’re looking at a sustained growth with a long-term orientation, this is like aiming to reach the ultimate “Vaikunta” or “Moksha” with Bhagawan’s divine “Anugraha”. Once we reach “Vaikunta”, we are never going to return back to any of the “Lokhas” once again, unlike the cases of the “Svarga Lokha” and the “Naraka Lokha”. 

Moreover, King Yayaati explains to Sage Ashtaka thus, “Oh Sage! After going all the way to the “Svarga Lokha” and after being pushed back thus, I feel that I could have been in this “Manushya Lokha” itself, performed penance to attain “Vaikunta” from here itself!” Sage Ashtaka did not understand what King Yayaati was telling. The real meaning of King Yayaati’s words is this – The lifespan of a human being here in this “Manushya Lokha” is around 90 years, isn’t it? In today’s context, it is hardly 80 to 85, if everything goes well. Whereas, the lifespan at the “Svarga Lokha” is around a thousand years. If anything goes wrong in these 80-85 years in the “Manushya Lokha”, our time span is quite less to correct course and attain “Moksha”. Whereas, if we deviate from our path of “Dharma” in the “Svarga Lokha”, we’ve to wait for a thousand years to correct our course of action! Moreover, once we reach the “Svarga Lokha”, it is very difficult for us to transcend from there to “Vaikunta”. Very few people who had that extreme “Vairagya” (Will power) have done that. But for normal people like us, we’re unable to resist our desires even in this “Manushya Lokha” for 85 years. But in the “Svarga Lokha”, it is all going to be pleasures and desires 24*7*365 for a thousand years! Won’t we get carried away with ease by all these pleasures? The moment we get carried away, where is the question of even thinking of Bhagawan or “Vaikunta”? We would immediately say thus, “Oh! We’re extremely happy here at the “Svarga Lokha”! We do not need the “Vaikunta” at all!” 

For instance, we’re conducting elections in our country / state once every four to five years. If we as common citizens of the country aren’t happy with a government and its performance, we’ll have to wait for five years to change the government, isn’t it? Similarly, if we’re not happy with our own progress in the path of “Dharma”, Bhagawan is waiting for us for around 85 years (in this human birth that we’ve taken) for course correction. Only if we don’t do anything, Bhagawan acts accordingly with the next step. However, this 85 is much less as compared to a thousand, isn’t it? If we’re getting carried away with all the pleasures at the “Svarga Lokha”, Bhagawan has to wait for a thousand years to correct our path towards “Vaikunta”! This is the potential problem that we would encounter when we reach the “Svarga Lokha”! We might attain all pleasures and luxuries, but we might not be able to attain Bhagawan! Hence, it is up to our priority and the choice is ours – Whether to choose the “Svarga Lokha” luxuries or Bhagawan! 

We should note here that all these question-answer sessions are happening as King Yayaati is falling down! He hasn’t completely fallen down on the “Manushya Lokha” yet! But Sage Ashtaka is asking him all sorts of questions as the falling process is on! 🙂 Sage Ashtaka not only asks about the tenure of the “Svarga Lokha” that we’ve discussed till now. This is a seemingly very long conversation that is going on between the two of them. Sage Ashtaka is asking question after question to King Yayaati! I shall just explain some of the important questions that Sage Ashtaka asked here. The first question that he asked was to which all “Lokhas” we would transcend to, after our demise at the “Manushya Lokha”. If we’ve to transcend to any of these “Lokhas”, how would we transcend? We wouldn’t be having a physical body, isn’t it? We would be having only the “Atman” at that time. In that case, do we take a new physical body to reach those respective “Lokhas”? Now that King Yayaati is falling down with his original physical body – Did King Yayaati go to the “Svarga Lokha” with this same physical body? How come he was falling with the same physical body with which he went to the “Svarga Lokha”? 

We can see here as to how many questions are coming from just that one question that we started with! Initially, Sage Ashtaka started with the question of why is King Yayaati falling down, and from where is he falling down! Readers should remember this sequence of conversation very carefully here. It might be a bit confusing. Sage Ashtaka commences with this particular question, and from the answer that King Yayaati gave, Sage Ashtaka asks around a hundred questions associated with that! So for today, let us understand Sage Ashtaka’s questions and let us wait till the next episode to witness what are the answers that King Yayaati gave to Sage Ashtaka! Stay tuned for the most interesting part of the conversation! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed King Yayaati falling down from the “Svarga Lokha”, as he is having a conversation with Sage Ashtaka who was standing down on the earth. As Sage Ashtaka asks him where he was falling down, King Yayaati replies back that he was falling down into the “Bhouma-Naraka Lokha”. As King Yayaati talks about a very different “Naraka Lokha” that nobody has heard, Sage Ashtaka is puzzled! He too hasn’t heard of such a “Naraka Lokha” in the list of the fourteen forms of “Naraka Lokha” ever! What does King Yayaati mean by “Bhouma Naraka Lokha” here? The simple meaning here is that, the “Samsaara” that we are entangled into in this world is one of the biggest forms of the “Naraka Lokha”, and this is what King Yayaati is referring to here. The “Samsaara” is the one that pushes us to perform sin after sin, and the worst part here is that we might still be committing the sin, even though we know that we are doing it! We might be knowing that if we perform certain sins, we would get punished in certain ways in the “Naraka Lokha”. Even though we know this, we still keep performing them again and again! This is why the “Samsaara” is the biggest form of “Naraka Lokha”! 

Moreover, moving on further from here, King Yayaati explains how he had ascended to the “Naraka Lokha” first, how he experienced all the punishments for all whatever “Paapa-Karma” he had performed, subsequently how he was pushed into the “Svarga Lokha”, the modus-operandi that exists there, and how he was pushed back into the “Manushya Lokha” now, once the “Punya-Karma” is over! This, as we know – King Yayaati talks and narrates out of his own personal experience! Readers should note one important point here – King Yayaati was extremely interested in the “Kaama-Anubhava” (Experiencing worldly pleasures and desires) while he was ruling the kingdom. We’ve witnessed how he wasn’t satisfied with his ageing and how he borrowed the youthfulness of his son Puru to enjoy more desires in this world. After all this, King Yayaati realized that there is no point in enjoying more and more desires, as he was not getting satisfied with any of them! The more he enjoyed the desires, the more motivation he obtained to enjoy more! There was never an end to this! 

Frustrated by this beyond a point, King Yayaati thought that the only way to come out of this desire is to ascend to the “Svarga Lokha”, where he could reside permanently with all the luxuries. He thought that this worldly desires are temporary and the desires at the “Svarga Lokha” were permanent! However, even that turned futile! Once King Yayaati’s “Punya-Karma” got over, he was pushed back, thus proving to him that even this “Svarga Lokha” tenure is temporary only! Now this was something that he did not expect. What should have King Yayaati done? The moment he lost interest on the worldly “Kaama-Anubhava”, he should have focused himself on the “Bhagawan Krishna-Kaama Anubhava”, isn’t it? This “Krishna-Anubhava” would have taken him to the highest “Moksha” or “Vaikunta”, from where he is never going to be pushed back to any of the “Lokhas”! Instead of this long-term plan, King Yayaati desired for the short-term plan of reaching the “Svarga Lokha” – Only to be pushed back again into the “Manusha Lokha”! We can see here as to how King Yayaati was carried away by the “short-term” orientation of enjoyment at the “Svarga Lokha” by compromising the “long-term” goal of attaining “Moksha”!

Now this is a very important lesson for leaders and managers here – If we focus too much on the short-term goals by shunning the long-term goals, we’ve to realize that our organization is going towards the brink of failure! Focusing on the “long-term” goals and commitments are important for any organization to succeed. This is a common mistake that many leaders around the world make – They want “quick profits” and “quick fame and branding”! This is a dangerous approach, and such leaders would meet with the fate that King Yayaati met! We’ve to be extremely careful here. While there is always this trap of making quick money, name, fame and branding, leaders should focus on the long-term benefit of the organization and its employee’s. Of course I’m not saying that short-term benefits and branding aren’t important. They are necessary too. But the point here is that, we shouldn’t be obsessed with the short-term benefits by compromising on the long-term orientation. 

So for today, let us understand this important point of short-term and long-term orientations and how King Yayaati fell into this trap of “short-term orientation” and lost his plot eventually! We shall continue with this discussion further in the next episode too! Stay tuned for an upcoming interesting accord! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a detailed accord on the nuances of the “Karma Theory” and the “Birth-Death cycle”, which all of us go through birth after birth. We had classified “Kamra” into two categories, namely, the “Sanchita Karma” and the “Praarabdha Karma”. While the “Sanchita Karma” is the accumulation of sacks and sacks of our “Karma” over the births, the “Praarabdha Karma” is where we begin experiencing the resultant of one of the sacks of “Karma”, from the “Sanchita Karma”. Once this sack is over, we again pick up the next sack from the “Sanchita Karma” and start experiencing the resultant of that. This cycle continues on and on. This cycle only grows further because, during every birth, we would be accumulating more and more “Karma”, and all these go into fresh sacks and get stored as part of the “Sanchita Karma”. For this, we again would require fresh birth(s) to experience the results of these fresh accumulations. Again in those fresh births we would be accumulating more “Karma” and that would again go into the “Sanchita Karma” sacks! This cycle keeps on continuing without abating! 

Thus, as we’re amidst this cycle, we would always have a sense of fear, isn’t it? Even if we go into the “Svarga Lokha”, there is no guarantee that we would reside there permanently. We wouldn’t know when we would be pushed into the “Naraka Lokha” for experiencing some punishments for our “Paapa Karma”! All of us would have accumulated truckloads of “Paapa-Karma” by now, and we’re also still continuing to accumulate the same. Even though we might know many aspects of our “Sanaatana Dharma” by now, and what is “Dharma” and “Adharma”, we might still be doing some “Paapa-Karma” here and there (Although not very major) unknowingly too! So even for these “Paapa-Karma” that we’re forced to perform everyday unknowingly, we’ve to experience the result of all these as well! Thus, the point here is that, even if we’ve performed enormous “Punya-Karma” and ascend towards the “Svarga-Lokha” it is not permanent! We would never know when we would be pushed out of it! 

So what is the way out of this here? How do we escape this vicious cycle? Is there no end to our miseries and fear? It is this background that is going to be discussed as part of the conversation between Sage Ashtaka and King Yayaati. Thus, going into the conversation, King Yayaati replies to Sage Ashtaka thus, “Oh great Sage! You’ve asked me where am I falling, and from where am I coming, isn’t it? Hear from me thus – I’m falling down from the “Svarga Lokha” and I’m falling into the “Naraka Lokha”! As King Yayaati replies thus, Sage Ashtaka is unable to understand the meaning of what he answered! Sage Ashtaka asks back thus, “Oh King Yayaati! You’re only falling towards the “Manushya Lokha”! I’ve heard that the “Naraka Lokha” is somewhere located in the southern direction! But you’re not going anywhere there, isn’t it? So if at all you’re falling into the “Naraka Lokha”, which of the “Naraka Lokhas” are you heading towards? Is it “Ruru Naraka Lokha” or “Kumbhi Paaga” or “Asita Paksha” or “Laalaa Bhaksha”? Which of these “Naraka Lokhas” are you heading towards?” 

As Sage Ashtaka asks thus, we also understand that there is no one “Naraka Lokha”! There are plenty of them! As per our “Sanaatana Dharma” literature, the “Naraka Lokha” is just a generic terminology that encompasses around fourteen different “Naraka Lokhas” within. I’ve just mentioned some four or five in this context. But for each type of “Adharma” that we perform, there is a designated “Naraka Lokha”, where we would get the apt punishments for all what we do! Now coming back to the context here, King Yayaati replies thus, “Oh Sage Ashtaka! I’m not going to any of the “Naraka Lokhas” that you’ve pointed out. I’m going towards the “Bhouma Naraka Lokha”! As Sage Ashtaka listens to this reply, he thinks within himself thus, “Oh wow! What is this “Bhouma Naraka Lokha”? This doesn’t feature anywhere in the fourteen -odd “Naraka Lokhas” that I’ve read about! Why is King Yayaati saying something very different here? Does he even know what he’s talking about?” 

As Sage Ashtaka thinks for a moment thus, King Yayaati himself clarifies what does he mean by the “Bhouma Naraka Lokha”. By saying so, he only refers to the “Manushya Lokha” and designates this itself as one of the “Naraka Lokhas”, along with the fourteen-odd others! The “Samsaara” itself is an embodiment of the “Naraka Lokha” and this is the one that motivates and encourages all of us to perform all kinds of sins, isn’t it? King Yayaati continues to reply Sage Ashtaka and is going to explain a very important point here. What is that important point? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed King Yayaati and Sage Ashtaka starting a conversation with each other. Even as King Yayaati was falling down still from the “Svarga Lokha”, Sage Ashtaka commenced a conversation by asking him the reason for which he was falling down and from where. For this, King Yayaati introduces himself and explains to Sage Ashtaka as to how his tenure in the “Svarga Lokha” got over and how Indra sensed it at the apt time and pushed him out from there very smartly! Upon hearing all this, Sage Ashtaka was wondering within himself as to how could a person return from the “Svarga Lokha” just like that! Loads of questions were running in his mind – Isn’t the “Svarga Lokha” a permanent destination for the “Atman” to reside? How come the “Punya-Karma” account expires and how come people are once again pushed back to the earth to take re-births? We’re going to witness an important accord on this now. But as we go into the conversation and the accord, we’ve to understand one important point here. 

Yesterday, we concluded our episode with a question which readers might remember – Isn’t Sage Ashtaka a great sage by birth? Doesn’t he know this simple thing that nobody can reside in the “Svarga Lokha” permanently, and once our “Punya-Karma” expires, we’ve to come back? If normal people like us know such things, how come great sages do not know? The answer is very simple here – The sages know all these. But when they ask these questions, they ask on behalf of us, and they themselves clarify them. Here, when we say that Sage Ashtaka asks such questions, we should understand that Sage Ashtaka is asking these things on our behalf, so that common people like us will understand. In many places in our “Sanaatana Dharma” literature, we would find such interesting conversations between learned scholars. We might immediately have a doubt as to why are these people talking such silly things! Even in this same Mahabharata text, as we progress further, we’re going to witness many such conversations – One between Yudishtra and Yama-Dharma-Raja (“Yaksha-Prashnam”), an interesting conversation between Yudishtra and Vidura, Bhagawan Krishna and Yudishtra, and finally the Bhagawad Gita between Bhagawan Krishna and Arjuna. Just because Yudishtra is asking many such questions, is it true that Yudishtra doesn’t know anything? He does! Of course he would know much better as he was a great king and is also referred to as “Dharma-Putra” for being an epitome of “Dharma” himself! Yet, why does Yudishtra ask such questions? It is only to highlight all these aspects of “Dharma” to the world, so that the subsequent generations of people would understand. This is just like a mother or father talking to a child. The father might be a well-educated person holding a medical degree or a PhD degree. Yet, when he talks to his child, does he talk all research-oriented stuff? “No”, isn’t it? He would tell some small stories to the child, and if the child says something even silly, the father would listen to it very keenly, isn’t it? 

This is how our ancestors have composed and structured our “Sanaatana Dharma” literature. They’ve done so, keeping us in their minds as their own children, and have explained everything to us just like how we explain to a child! It is for this reason, Sage Veda-Vyaasa is portraying Sage Ashtaka in such a way that he’s asking a naive question to King Yayaati. Thus, the conversation commences with an interesting accord on the “Karma Theory”. Basically, “Karma” can be classified into two types – “Sanchita Karma” and the “Praarabdha Karma”. While the “Sanchita Karma” refers to the sacks and loads of “Karma” that we’ve accumulated all through innumerable births that we’ve taken in this world, the “Praarabdha Karma” is the “Karma” for which we’ve started experiencing the results. The “Karma” can both refer to “Punya-Karma” or “Paapa-Karma”. If our “Praarabdha Karma” by Bhagawan’s grace, is containing more of “Punya-Karma” and very less of “Paapa-Karma”, we would go to the “Svarga Lokha”, experience all the pleasures there until our “Punya-Karma” in that sack is over. Once that is done, we might have to go to the “Naraka Lokha” to experience the results of our little “Paapa-Karma” and once that is over, we’re again pushed back into the earth once again to take a re-birth. Once we take the re-birth, we would again pick up the next sack of “Karma” from the “Sanchita Karma” and depending on which “Karma” is more, we would start experiencing the result! This cycle keeps continuing on and on. 

As we mention this, this is not the end of all! As we take multiple births, we would again be performing both “Punya-Karma” and “Paapa-Karma” in that particular birth too, isn’t it? All these would keep accumulated in the “Master sack” called “Sanchita Karma”, where it would be stored safely! This process can be compared to how we operate a bank account! As we get more and more money, we would deposit them into financial schemes like “Fixed deposits”, “Recurring Deposits”, “Provident Funds”, “Mutual Funds”, etc., isn’t it? All these investments that we make are comparable to the “Sanchita Karma”! However, we would have some amount of money in our “Savings Bank” account, which we would be using for our regular expenditure, isn’t it? This is directly comparable to the “Praarabdha Karma” that we experience! Thus, this cycle keeps continuing on and on and we keep making “shuttle trips” between the “Manushya Lokha”, “Svarga Lokha” and the “Naraka Lokha”, depending upon our “Paapa” and “Punya-Karma” accounts! 

Thus, we can witness here that we would be under constant fear of being pushed out, even if we attain the “Svarga Lokha”, and this is exactly what King Yayaati is replying here! We might be wondering here, as to why should we have that fear when we reach the “Svarga Lokha”, isn’t it? I shall narrate two important things to answer this question, but that is for the next episode! So for today, let us understand the nature of the “Karma Theory”, and let us wait eagerly to understand whether there is a solution for us to get out of this cycle to reach “Vaikunta”! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a very important point narrated by Bhagawan Krishna wherein He clearly explains how we can continue our “Bhakti-Maarga” in the current birth, from where we left in the previous birth. This is an emphasis that whatever “Dharma” we perform in our day-to-day life doesn’t get erased off, just because we’re getting trapped into the worldly “Maya”. Of course, as long as we are part of the “Samsara”, it is very natural for all of us to get carried away by various facets of the “Maya” at various times. However, Bhagawan gives us a lot of exceptions in this regard. This is where He explains and motivates us to continue performing our “Dharma” even though we might have got carried away. We should keep trying again and again and focus our mind towards “Dharma”, and this is the important point that Bhagawan is stressing upon. 

This is exactly what happened to King Yayaati as well. We’ve seen in our earlier episodes as to how King Yayaati enjoyed his youthful days by going behind women. Not satisfied by this, he even went to the extent of borrowing his son’s youthfulness to enjoy for another thousand years! Even then, King Yayaati’s path of “Dharma” amidst the “Maya” earned him the “Svarga Lokha”. Even after his tenure at the “Svarga Lokha” gets over, Bhagawan blesses King Yayaati through Indra to be dropped down at a place which was full of Maharishis. This automatically becomes a “Satsanga”, and this would eventually pave the way for King Yayaati to continue his “Dharma” from where he had left in his previous birth, isn’t it? This is the point that we’ve to understand from this entire incident and I’m stressing upon this event more because readers should understand this very carefully and very well. We should never get demotivated if we somehow slip off from the path of “Dharma” due to whatsoever reasons. We should always keep trying again and again, and the more effort we put, Bhagawan would hand-hold us and take us to “Vaikunta”. We should remember this point as we move on further. 

Thus, coming back to what happened to King Yayaati here, as per his request, Indra pushes him towards the place where Sage Ashtaka and the others were sitting. As King Yayaati was falling down thus, Sage Ashtaka stops him then and there and asks thus, “Oh! Who are you? Why are you falling down like this from the skies? You’re appearing as if you’re equivalent of Indra in the “Svarga Lokha”! Tell me your background!” King Yayaati explains the reason why he was falling down, and with this, there is a detailed section here that is called “Ashtaka-Yayaati Samvaadha”, which is nothing but an interesting conversation between Sage Ashtaka and King Yayaati! This has enormous amounts of life and management lessons that we can learn. So let us see this in detail now. 

As King Yayaati keeps falling down, he introduces himself to Sage Ashtaka thus, “Oh Sage! I’m none other than King Yayaati! I’m the son of King Nahusha!” As we proceed further, we would be witnessing something called as “Nahusha-Charitra”. We shall witness this when the context comes. But for now, let us continue with this conversation between King Yayaati and Sage Ashtaka. King Yayaati continues thus, “Oh Sage Ashtaka! I was happily residing in the “Svarga Lokha” until my “Punya Karma” got exhausted. Post that, I was pushed by Indra downwards towards this world, so that I again earn more “Punya-Karma” and ascend back to the “Svarga Lokha”. 

As Sage Ashtaka listens to King Yayaati’s answer, he became thoughtful! He thinks within himself thus, “Oh wow! Till today, I was thinking that if one reaches the “Svarga Lokha” he / she never comes back to this world again! But now, looking at this King Yayaati, this perception of mine seems to be faulty! There is always this possibility of coming back from the “Svarga Lokha”!” We might wonder here as to why Sage Ashtaka is thinking in such a foolish way! Isn’t Sage Ashtaka a great sage? Doesn’t a great sage knows that we cannot live permanently at the “Svarga Lokha”? Why is he asking this then? There’s an interesting perspective to this question, and let us understand this perspective in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed King Yayaati being put into a trap by Indra as he asks a controversial question. Indra slowly puts King Yayaati into a nice comfort zone initially and makes him open up freely. Subsequently, as King Yayaati was carried away by Indra’s “sweet” words of appreciation, he had no option but to answer some tough questions from Indra as well. With this, as Indra asks King Yayaati if there is any other person in the world who is as good as, or, even better than himself in terms of doing penance, King Yayaati got into the trap! However, King Yayaati proceeded to tell the truth that there wasn’t anybody else who is as good as him in penance! With this, Indra declared that King Yayaati was into self-proclamation, which is not encouraged in the “Svarga Lokha” and hence, King Yayaati lost his rights to continue residing in the “Svarga Lokha”! With this, Indra pushed him down towards the earth again, only to take a re-birth and earn fresh “Punya-Karma” to come back to “Svarga Lokha”. 

At this time when Indra pushed him down, King Yayaati prays to Indra to bless him with a “Satsanga” when he goes down! We’ve witnessed upto this point in the previous episode, and today, we shall witness the significance of why we should always be amidst a “Satsanga” and what do we gain out of it. Basically, as we’ve witnessed in our earlier episodes and projects as well, a “Satsanga” is a union of like-minded people who are completely focused on “Bhagawad Bhakti” and all those aspects pertaining to Bhagawan. At every instance of time, people who are part of the “Satsanga” would always be discussing Bhagawan’s various “Kalyana Gunas”, various aspects of our “Sanaatana Dharma”, sing in praise of Bhagawan, etc. If we’re part of such a “Satsanga”, automatically our mind would get channelized into “Bhakti”, isn’t it? End of the day, it all depends on how our companions are, isn’t it? Our companions have an enormous influence on how our behaviors and activities shape up. If we’re amidst a group of people who are focused on worldly affairs, our mind would also go into that only! However, if we’re amidst a group of “Satsanga”, our mind would automatically focus on Bhagawan and how to attain “Moksha”. 

This is exactly what King Yayaati is asking Indra here – Anyway, he’s going to take birth in this world again – He could take birth at any place, isn’t it? If he would take birth in a place wherein the people around do not even know what is the meaning of “Bhakti” and “Dharma”, then what is the use of taking such a birth? It is for this reason, King Yayaati prays to Indra to make him take birth amidst a “Satsanga”, wherein he can continue his good deeds from where he left! In fact, Bhagawan Krishna too explains this as part of the Bhagawad Gita beautifully. Arjuna asks Bhagawan thus, “Oh Krishna! Suppose I lose my focus on “Dharma” mid-way owing to some worldly disturbances that might come along, what would happen to me? Will I be doomed completely? Should I re-start again from the beginning?” Bhagawan Krishna replies back thus, “Oh Arjuna! This is a very important question that you’ve asked! Those who follow the path of “Dharma” meticulously, but get distracted midway need not start again from the beginning! I make sure that when they are re-born, they are born amidst a “Satsanga” family, which gives them an opportunity to continue their “Bhakti-Maarga” from where they’ve left in their previous birth! All the “Dharma” that you’ve done so far would never get destroyed and it would be safely deposited!” 

This is an important point that all of us need to understand here. Many of us have this doubt – If we’re deviating from the path of “Dharma” owing to whatsoever reasons, would all our “Dharma” activities performed previously go waste? The answer is “No” and this is exactly what Bhagawan Krishna is explaining here. When Bhagawan explains that we can commence our “Bhakti” from where we left, it implies that all the “Bhakti” that we’ve done previously would remain safe and secure, and this is what we call “Adrishta Phalam” in Sanskrit. In other words, the effects of all our good deeds and Bhakti would join us at a later stage and it would be there with us permanently. In fact, this is one of the reasons why we see certain children having enormous talents in singing and performing “Upanyasams” about Bhagawan at such a tender age! We refer to such children as “child prodigies”, but in the background if we investigate the past of these children, they would have been epitomes of “Bhakti” in their previous birth(s) and it is just the continuation of that “Bhakti” in this birth as well! 

Thus, the point that we’ve to understand here is that, we should not get perturbed just because we’re getting distracted by worldly affairs. We should remain steadfast in our “Bhakti” and “Dharma” as much as possible and leave the rest to Bhagawan! This is very important. Even if we’re getting distracted, it is totally fine. We can always re-start our Bhakti from where we left, and continue it further and by doing so, Bhagawan would rather be extremely happy with our resolve of following the path of “Dharma” and “Bhakti”, no matter how much of disturbances and challenges we encounter during our path. So for today, let us understand this point very clearly, and let us wait till the next episode to witness where King Yayaati landed! Stay tuned! 🙂