The Indian Dharma

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion wherein Sage Vasishta is advising Sage Paraashara to control his anger and frustration, over what had happened to his father, Sage Shakti. Sage Vaisishta is explaining how things happen due to the act of “Karma” and how an individual’s “Karma” is responsible for whatever happens in his / her life. Sage Shakti was no exception to this as well – He had also met this fateful end to his life, only because of his “Karma” and there’s nobody to be blamed here. Even though there might have been people who were responsible for his killing, it is only because Sage Shakti’s “Karma” that has brought these people together to kill him at this point in time. Even if these people wouldn’t have killed him, Sage Shakti would anyway have met his end through some other means. Hence, Sage Vasishta is advising Sage Paraashara here that he has to move on from this deep sorrowful state and overcome the anger and frustration. 

Thus, as Sage Vasishta advises, Sage Paraashara immediately calls off the “Yagnya” that he was performing, so as to bring the perpetrators to justice. Sage Paraashara realizes the depth of Sage Vasishta’s advice and decides to move on with his life’s agenda, rather than brooding over something that is not in anybody’s hands. As Sage Paraashara takes the decisive step forward immediately, all the Sages who had gathered there were extremely happy! They were overjoyed with Sage Paraashara’s spiritual maturity at such a young age. All of them come together and talk to Sage Paraashara thus, “Oh Paraashara! Today you’ve done a great thing by stopping a “Yagnya” that would have otherwise paved the way for the world’s destruction! Out of our happiness, we’re prepared to bless you with a lot of things! You’re going to become a great sage in the near future and we’re collectively blessing you for that!” 

We might be wondering here as to what would have been the blessing or “Anugraha” that the consortium of sages gave to Sage Paraashara! We might wonder if they would have given a lump sum of money, gold, etc. The answer is “No”! The consortium of sages narrated a lot of facts to Sage Paraashara and together educated him on how this world was formed, what is this world made up of, and how to lead a peaceful life in this world, without getting perturbed by any sort of obstacle or illusion. It is only part of this conversation that we’re going to witness here – This is what Sage Paraashara is going to narrate to Sage Maithreya. Thus, the story stems out from the context wherein Sage Paraashara invokes the conversation between these consortium of great Sages, inclusive of Sage Vasishtaachaarya and Sage Vishwamitra. 

It is this same narration which Sage Maithreya is giving to Vidura in the Shrimad Bhaagawtha Puraana text. We’ve witnessed this in the earlier project, during Skandhas 1 & 2, wherein Sage Maithreya is passing on this same information to Vidura, by telling that he came to know of all these information from Sage Paraashara, who gave it me as part of a conversation between Sage Vasishtaachaarya and Sage Vishwamitra. Thus, it is the same information only, which keeps passing on and on, generation after generation. In turn, Vidura passes this information to many other people, including King Dhirdiraashtra, Arjuna, Udishtra, etc. during the Mahabharata time. Vidura also narrates this same information to these people by telling that he had heard this from Sage Maithreya, who in turn learnt it from Sage Paraashara, who in turn learnt it from Sage Vasishtaachaarya! 

We might wonder here – Why don’t these people talk about something new and fresh? Why are they talking the same thing over and over again? We should understand here that these pieces of information are the ultimate reality of how this world functions. These pieces of information are fundamental for the entire creation and destruction and cannot be changed by anybody. These pieces of information are extremely high profile in nature, and are ultimately part of the Vedas and Vedanta of our Sanaatana Dharma.  Thus, irrespective of whether it is Sage Maithreya or Vidura or Udishtra or Sage Vasishtaachaarya, or anybody for that matter, nobody can change or re-invent something new in this. All of us should thus comply according to what the Vedas and Upanishads preach, because ultimately all the Vedas, Vedanta, etc. come from Bhagawan Himself! Thus, these kinds of literature which vastly talk about creation of this world, are beyond one’s research capability. If our “Aachaaryas” explain these things to us in whatever way, it is our bound duty to listen to them avidly, rather than question them and their philosophies. 

Thus, with this brief background in mind, we shall commence the conversation that is going to start between Sage Paraashara and Sage Maithreya. So for today, let us get our basics right, and let us wait till the next episode for the interesting and absorbing conversation to commence! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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We’re at the midst of an important juncture wherein Sage Paraashara is explaining a few snippets of his past background. He’s narrating this to Sage Maithreya, as to how did the conversation between himself and Sage Vasishtaachaarya bloom up. He narrates how he got extremely angry, frustrated and upset with the way in which his father, Sage Shakti was killed. Unable to bear the frustration, Sage Paraashara commences a powerful “Yagnya” which would ensure that the perpetrators of the crime would be killed, no matter where they were, and what they were doing! Each and every person who had even the smallest role in the crime wouldn’t be spared in any way. As the “Yagnya” commenced, the entire world started shaking with fear! The vibrations that were emitted from the Yagnya was so powerful that it started to bring all those who were responsible for the crime, into the sacrificial fire! It is at this time, Sage Vasishtaachaarya, along with a few other senior Maharishis, get together and collectively decide to make Sage Paraashara stop this fierce “Yagnya ”. 

As planned, the consortium of Maharishis approach Sage Paraashara and speak thus, “Oh Paraashara! Your father had to pass away because his lifetime in this world was over. This was due to his previous accumulated “Karma”. These people who were responsible for the crime, were just instruments in making the inevitable happen. Just because of this, why do you want to kill all of these people? If such a thing takes place, this would set a very bad precedence in the world moving forward, and people would start going around, killing each other with vengeance! Please understand that all that is happening in the world is due to the act of “Karma” and nobody is responsible for nobody’s happiness, sorrow, birth or demise!” As Sage Vasishtaachaarya narrates this, Sage Paraashara immediately stops the Yagnya then and there! 

There are a couple of important learnings for all of us here. The important question to be asked here is that, what made Sage Paraashara stop the fierce Yagnya then and there? He was with a savage resolution to bring all the criminals to justice and how come one person’s words totally changed his stance upside down within just a few moments? We can answer this question in two ways – Firstly, the level of “Guru-Bhakti” that Sage Paraashara had within himself, made him realize that the words of his Guru or Aachaarya conveys a lot of sense. Moreover, irrespective of whether Sage Vasishtaachaarya’s words convey sense or not, these words have come from the mouth of the Aachaarya, isn’t it? Hence, no matter what, it was Sage Paraashara’s duty to obey his Aachaarya’s words. Thus, Sage Paraashara called it “stop” right away, without asking a second question! 

Secondly, Sage Vasishta’s words were crisp and to the point – He clearly made Sage Paraashara understand that there’s no point in getting angry for things that are beyond one’s control. Upon hearing Sage Vasishta’s accord, Sage Paraashara was able to realize this fact and modify his act accordingly. 

Many of us today fall into this same trap as well – We keep getting angry for a lot of things that are beyond our control. Instead of looking at and modifying what we have in hand, we keep thinking most of the time about things beyond our reach. For instance, if we’ve to travel from one place to the other at a given date and time, rather than directly making arrangements for all of it, (Transportation tickets, accommodation, sorting out the agenda, etc.) we keep thinking about so many other things isn’t it? For instance, we think about an auspicious time to commence the journey, what if something happens in the middle, will our plans be implemented in the right way, what if something goes wrong, etc. All of these questions keep lingering in our minds as we proceed to do something isn’t it? These are the negative thoughts that one should forgo when we decide to move along a path towards achieving a goal. This is where our total surrender to Bhagawan’s feet comes into play. If we surrender our actions to Bhagawan, we do not need to worry about those things that aren’t under our control! Bhagawan would take care of all that, isn’t it? This is where we need to attain maturity. For instance, after some disastrous incident has taken place, what would be our mindset? We would immediately start thinking of how to take vengeance for what has happened, isn’t it? This is where we fail to understand that all things in this world happen for a reason and at times, we do not have a hand in that! Of course, this is a tough realization to make, but this is where spiritual maturity comes – We should understand clearly that not all things in this world would happen according to our wish and will. We need to take things as they come and move forward with life, rather than brooding over what we failed upon! 

This is exactly Sage Vasishta too is making Sage Paraashara understand. Now that Sage Shakti is no more, Sage Vasishta is advising Sage Paraashara to relax, forget what had conspired and move on. Even if Sage Paraashara succeeds in punishing people, is his father going to come alive again? No, isn’t it? Hence, why waste time on something that has already happened irreversibly? This is the message that we’ve to understand in our day-to-day life too. So for today, let us realize and understand this important message as we move on with the conversation between Sage Paraashara and Sage Vasishta, as Sage Maithreya hears on! We shall wait till the next episode to continue further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Paraashara commencing his reply to Sage Maithreya’s intriguing, but genuine questions. As Sage Paraashara commences his reply, he invokes an interesting conversation between his predecessors – Sage Vasishta and Sage Vishwamitra. Through this, in due course of yesterday’s episode we had witnessed how Sage Paraashara too exhibits utmost humility when he replies. He doesn’t proclaim that he is the one who knows the answers fully, but is humble enough to acknowledge the contributions made by great sages previously. Thus, rather than starting by saying “I know the answer and my accord goes like this…”, he commences by saying, “According to what I had learnt from an interesting and an informative conversation between Sage Vasishta and Sage Vishwamitra…”. Thus, it is important for us to acknowledge the scholarliness of our great Maharishis while we discuss important aspects of our Sanatana Dharma’s Vedanta. 

“Tato ham rakshasaam satram vinaasaaya samaarabham!”

As Sage Maithreya listens to Sage Paraashara’s introductory words, he is totally moved to tears of joy! He immediately asks Sage Paraashara thus, “Oh Great Sage! Have you been in association with the great Sages Vasishta and Vishwamitra? You’re indeed so fortunate to invoke a lot of lessons from them! The world knows how great they were in terms of their spiritual knowledge and wisdom. If you’ve been in direct association and lineage with such great sages, you’re indeed so fortunate in this birth and with this, I’m also fortunate, because I’m getting an opportunity to learn from a great sage who has ancestral and knowledge roots from great sages!”

This is not something very surprising! Even today, if we happen to meet people who are of the family ancestral lineage or “Sishya” lineage of great “Pandithas”, or “Bhaagawathas”, etc. we pay lot of respect to them isn’t it? For instance, if we meet a person who sings carnatic music very well, we would immediately ask the question – Who is your Aachaarya or Guru. If that person invokes the name of some renowned and veteran classical musician as his / her Aachaarya, how would we react? We would immediately exclaim, “Oh wow! Are you the Sishya of this renowned veteran musician? It shows in the way you’re singing! You’re really fortunate to learn from such a great person and I’m also fortunate to listen to the disciple of that renowned musician!” We would immediately say thus, isn’t it? This is exactly what Sage Maithreya is also exclaiming here. As Sage Paraashara invokes the great Sages Vasishta and Vishwamitra, he is thrilled to bits. His level of interest and curiosity multiplies several times and with this itself, Sage Maithreya is more and more eager to listen to Sage Paraashara’s words. 

Notwithstanding thus, Sage Maithreya requests Sage Paraashara to talk a few words about his association with the two great sages! Sage Maithreya asks thus, “Oh Sage Paraashara! Leave alone the Srishti, Samhaara, etc. Now tell me more about your association with Sage Vasishta and Sage Vishwamitra!” As Sage Maithreya asks thus, Sage Paraashara gives a brief introduction about himself and his association with Sage Vasishta. 

Sage Paraashara narrates thus, “Oh Maithreya! You’ve asked an important question here. Let me tell you a brief of my past. There was a time when I used to get terribly angry over lot of things. Especially when my grandfather Sage Vasishta’s son, (my father) Sage Shakti was killed in a very ghastly way. When I came to know the death of my father, I was a small boy at that time and because of the grief of my father’s sudden demise, I was crying profusely. Also, when I came to know that my father did not have a natural death, but was killed by someone, my grief gave way to intense anger and frustration. At that time, my grandfather, Sage Vasishta was also angry over what had happened. But due to his enormous spiritual wisdom, he somehow controlled himself and also advised me to do the same! However, I wasn’t as mature as my grandfather spiritually. My anger didn’t come down by any ways or means. I was of a savage resolution to bring the perpetrators of my father’s murder to justice and to punish them miserably. With this, I started a huge “Yagnya” (Spiritual offering) to bring the criminals into its fold. With this, the entire world started to shake with fear as there were many perpetrators to my father’s death. It is at this point, Sage Vasishta wanted to stop this Yagnya somehow – The reason behind it is, if someone had to meet his / her death due to his / her past “Karma”, how is it fair to blame someone else for his / her death? If this sets in as a trend, it is going to be dangerous and people are going to start hunting down each other, by seeking vengeance. Such things shouldn’t be set as a precedence for the world to follow! 

Thus, Sage Vasishta, along with other great Sages like Sage Pulasthya, etc. came up to me and gave me some valuable advice as to how to control anger and frustration. Obviously it is natural for everyone to get angry with such incidents, but even then, it doesn’t give a person incentive to do whatever the anger is inducing him / her to do! Once the sages assembled at the “Yagnya-shaala” and advised thus, I immediately stopped the proceedings of the Yagnya, which vowed to destroy the entire clan of the perpetrators of the crime! I abandoned the attempt straightaway and wound up the entire show!” 

As Sage Paraashara narrates this incident, there is an important learning for all of us here. What is that learning? Let’s wait for the next episode to witness in detail! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the important questions that Sage Maithreya had asked Sage Paraashara in terms of “Srishti” and “Samhaara”, which in other words, means “Creation” and “Destruction”. Sage Maithreya asks how this world is being created and how it gets destroyed as well. We might also have all these doubts within us, just like how Sage Maithreya has. For instance, we see a goldsmith making some gold and diamond ornaments. We might see a potter making some beautiful mud pots. By looking at all these people, we know who is making what. But, these goldsmiths, potters, etc. have a creator who is creating them, isn’t it? All these are human beings just like us. So do human beings have a creator? If yes, who is that creator? If there’s a creator, where is he / she? What is the form of this creator? How does creation happen? How is that, the creation happens so perfectly with all complications put perfectly in place? We’re taking so many years to study about our physical body and its complexities, and still we’re unable to master the science behind it. By looking at all of this, it would seem to us that the creator is a genius beyond imagination, isn’t it? If that someone is creating this world with such a lot of complexities, what is the purpose behind this entire exercise of creation? Why is someone taking so much pain to do all of this with such a lot of precision? 

So now, we’re waiting for Sage Paraashara’s important accord on these questions. Whatever questions we ask with a lot of such brains, Vedas and Upanishads have answers for all of them. But the only thing here is that, we should ask these questions in the right sense and with the right attitude. Whereas, if we’ve to ask questions with stupidity, we would never get any answers from Mahatmas. For instance, if we’ve to go to an accomplished scientist some questions like: “Oh! I do not agree with your inventions and innovations. Why is this light glowing this way and why not in another way?” If we ask such stupid questions to a scientist who is a veteran in research, what would be his / her reaction? They would just laugh at us and go away, isn’t it? They walk away from us, not because they do not know the answer to our questions. The real reason is that, they do not want to waste their time in answering stupid questions. Similar is the case here too – There would be some atheists who would constantly keep asking some weird questions here and there. Just because they do not get answers for their stupid questions, it doesn’t mean that Vedas and Upanishads are devoid of answers. It simply means that they do not answer stupid people like these atheists. 

Thus, as Sage Maithreya is eagerly waiting for Sage Paraashara to reply, Sage Paraashara starts his accord thus, “Oh Sage Maithreya! You’ve asked a very important set of questions here! Till now, I was waiting for someone to ask me such a question, so that I can share all my knowledge with that person. It has so happened in such a way that you, being one of my best disciples have asked these questions. I’m so happy and overwhelmed and with this, I shall give you the answers for all these important questions!” In fact, before Sage Paraashara replies with his accord thus, he first appreciates Sage Maithreya for his intriguing and eager questions. Sage Paraashara continues thus, “Oh Maithreya! The questions that you had asked me just now, remind me of some important accords given to me by my grandfather, Sage Vasishta. Once, there was a long discussion between Sage Vasishta and Sage Vishwamithra and I’m reminded of the same. I shall now share all the pieces of information that my grandfathers, Sage Vasishta and Sage Vishwamithra had discussed at length!” 

All of us know how great a Sage is Sage Paraashara. He could have very well started his accord by saying that he knows all of this straightaway! However, he is so humble that he invokes his grandfathers here. This shows how humble Sage Paraashara is too! In the previous episodes, we had witnessed how humble the Sishya should be in front of the Guru, but here we’re witnessing how humble the Guru should be, while answering queries of the Sishya! Thus, the important message here is that, humility is something that is necessary for both the Guru and the Sishya! Thus, Sage Paraashara is projecting himself as an epitome of humility as he invokes the conversation between Sage Vasishta and Sage Vishwamithra. 

It is always a fact that knowledge is something that cannot be created by one person overnight! Knowledge is something that gets transferred from one generation to the other and is perpetual in nature. If we know something, we cannot fully claim that it is totally new that only we know something about it. We would have learnt it through some source and / or from someone, and we should have the humility to acknowledge the source. This is what we refer to as in modern day research as “citation”. If we’re picking up / adopting the knowledge that has already been propagated by someone, for our research, it is a rule that we acknowledge the source in the form of a “Citation” in a definitive format. If we’re not doing that, it becomes illegal under the laws of “Intellectual Property Rights” (IPR). All of these focus only on one point that when we’re progressing with the quest for new knowledge, we should always build it from what is existing already, and should acknowledge the source behind that knowledge. 

This is exactly what Sage Paraashara is doing here too. Although he himself is a genius in various aspects of knowledge, he is invoking his ancestors in the form of Sage Vasishta and Sage Vishwamithra. Similarly, Bhagawan Krishna Himself is explaining in His Bhagawad Gita that all what He’s explaining to Arjuna, was all designed and articulated by the elders and ancestors and that He’s not creating something new here! 

Thus, Sage Paraashara is going to start narrating the conversation between Sage Vasishta and Sage Vishwamithra on the various aspects of creation of this world. We shall witness this interesting and absorbing accord starting the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the first “Amsa”, wherein Sage Maithreya is asking few important questions to his Guru, Sahe Paraashara. We’ve started to witness the first question and for the benefit of readers, let us recollect the sloka that we’ve started with. Sage Maithreya asks thus: 

“Yan mayancha jagat brahman yanmayam yatah chaitath charaacharam!

Leena maaseeth tathaa yathra layameshyati yatracha!!”

Here, Sage Maithreya is asking a few questions about “Srishti” and “Samhaara”. The first line of the sloka is about the “Srishti” part and the second is about the “Samhaara”. We’ve witnessed in yesterday’s episode how Sage Maithreya frames two important questions when it comes to the “Srishti” part. He had asked Sage Paraashara as to what was the fundamental aspect upon which the entire world was created. We had witnessed that for any new discovery, creation or research, some sort of fundamental aspect is required, upon which some new things can be built. Similarly, Sage Maithreya asks that fundamental aspect over which Bhagawan Vishnu created the world. 

In the next section thus, Sage Maithreya now asks how such creations would come to an end. Any creation in this world is subject to destruction, and we keep seeing this in everyday life as well. Right from animals to plants to human beings to non-living things, whatever gets created today would be subject to destruction at some point in time. Similarly for Bhagawan’s creation of the world too, there should be some sort of an end. This, Sage Maithreya refers to as “Layam”. Before that too, Sage Maithreya asks “Leena maaseeth tathaa yathra”. Here he asks as to where do all creations go, if they’re subjected to destruction of any sorts. For instance, if I put the mud pot on the ground accidentally, what happens? The mud pot would break into pieces, isn’t it? After that, the mud pot cannot be used anymore, however, the mud remains. Similarly, we have a diamond ornament and what would happen if we accidentally drop it into a burning fire? The diamond would be reduced to ashes, isn’t it? What happens here? The diamond, which is originally an allotrope of carbon, has assumed a different form of carbon here, in the form of ash. However, that ash cannot be reused as diamond anymore. But, the material still exists. Similarly, as our birth time comes to an end, we’ve to die. Our physical body gets destroyed and burnt. However, our Atman gets transferred from this physical body to another, isn’t it? This is what we refer to as “Layam”. 

Thus, the question here is, what would happen to the material after it gets destroyed? In this context here, Sage Maithreya asks about the entire world – What would happen to the world as a whole, after it is subjected to destruction (Samhaara). For a moment, if we outwardly look at all such questions, it would seem to be very easy or silly to ask. But there are loads of deeper meanings to all these questions. For instance, there was a great scholar by the name “Vishnu-Chittha”. In his “Vyaakyaana” for the Shri Vishnu Puraana text, he clearly explains the meaning of this sloka. So now, according to Vishnu-Chittha, what is Sage Maithreya asking here? He’s asking, what is the “Source” and what is the “end-product”. For instance, a mud pot has a source and end product, isn’t it? The source is mud, and the end-product is the pot. For diamond, the source is carbon and the end-product is a precious ornament. Similarly, for the world, what is the source and what is the end-product? From whom is this world getting created, and how does this end-product get shaped up and subjected to destruction? If this end-product gets destroyed, does it go back to its source at the end of its lifetime? 

So, these are the important questions that Sage Maithreya asks Sage Paraashara. For today, let us understand these questions clearly and let us wait till the next episode to witness the answers for these questions from Sage Paraashara. An absorbing episode awaits us next! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the important point on how a disciple (Sishya) should approach a Guru (Aachaarya or Spiritual Master) to seek knowledge and advice. We’ve witnessed Bhagawan Krishna’s accord from the Bhagawad Gita too, to substantiate this point. Bhagawan Krishna Himself explains that a Sishya should always be humble in front of the Aachaarya, and moreover, the Sishya should be patient enough to wait for the right time to ask questions to the Aachaarya. If the Aachaarya isn’t answering the Sishya’s questions, the Sishya should wait patiently till the Aachaarya answers the questions. Or, if the Aachaarya is not answering the question, the Sishya should understand that this isn’t the right time to ask that question to Him / Her, and not otherwise. Moreover, Bhagawan Krishna also explains that the Sishya should always approach the Aachaarya by His / Her side, and not through the front or back. We’ve thus witnessed all of these important points yesterday and that Sage Maithreya is following all of these points and procedures while approaching Sage Paraashara. 

We’ve already witnessed that when Sage Maithreya was approaching Sage Paraashara, Sage Paraashara was in penance, and Sage Maithreya had to wait for a few minutes before Sage Paraashara opened his eyes and cast a look on him. Now with this deeper understanding, let us witness what Sage Maithreya is asking Sage Paraashara. Here goes the first question. Sage Maithreya asks thus, 

“Yan mayancha jagat brahman yanmayam yatah chaitath charaacharam!

Leena maaseeth tathaa yathra layameshyati yatracha!!”

Any of our “Puraanas” if we look a bit closer and deeper, would all start with the “Shrishti”. This means, how did Bhagawan create this world. What are the different components of what Bhagawan has created? At the same time, how is this “Shrishti” going to get destroyed? In the gap between the time when it was created and it is going to be destroyed, what all happened in this world? Who are the prominent people living / lived in this world? Which are the various prominent “Vamsas” (Family Lineages) and what are their significance? In this, there would be a lot of auxiliary stories that would branch out from the main ones. 

Basis this, Sage Maithreya is asking Sage Paraashara for a detailed description about the “Shrishti”, or in other words, “How did Bhagawan create this entire “Prapancha” (World)?” In this above sloka, Sage Maithreya is employing the term “Yan mayam”. This means, “What was the fundamental aspect” upon which the world was created. Many of us might know this – If we’ve to create something new, we should have a fundamental base of what we already know, and over that, we build on what is new. This is how scientific research is done even today. If we look at the structure of modern day research too, we have a detailed section called “Review of Literature”, wherein we deeply analyze what has already been found out and established in our area of study, and what is something that hasn’t been addressed / found out yet. It is only based on this, do we build further research and findings. Similarly here too, Sage Maithreya is framing his question very carefully – He’s questioning and wanting to understand the basic fundamental upon which Bhagawan has created this entire world. For instance, if we’re creating a pot, the plastic or silver with which it is made, becomes the fundamental basis (“Mayam”) for the pot. If we’ve to create a house, bricks and cement would be the “Mayam”. So, similarly, if Bhagawan is creating the world, what is the “Mayam” for it? 

In the next phrase, Sage Maithreya continues his question thus, “Yatah chaitath charaacharam”. Here he asks as to what is that aspect from which the world is created. Here, he re-establishes the question even more firmly – For instance, if we’ve to ask, from where is this pot made of? We would say that this pot is made out of mud, or steel or silver or gold, etc. If we’ve to ask, from where is this diamond chain or ring made of? We would immediately say that this diamond chain was made out of carbon. In fact, diamond is an “allotrope” of carbon, and many of our readers might be able to understand and relate the chemistry behind this. Similarly, Sage Maithreya is asking the second question here – From where is this world made of? 

So for today, let us understand the first two questions that Sage Maithreya is asking, and we shall wait till the next episode to witness the next important question that he is asking, which is in the same sloka that we’ve witnessed above. Stay tuned for an absorbing discussion tomorrow! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the first “Amsa” of the Shri Vishnu Puraana, wherein Sage Maithreya goes to meet his teacher, Sage Paraashara. As Sage Paraashara was in deep penance at that time, Sage Maithreya had to wait for him to open his eyes. As Sage Paraashara finishes and winds up his penance, he is also very happy to see Sage Maithreya, his ardent disciple standing in front of him with a worried look on his face. Sage Maithreya had come up with a compelling question to be asked to his teacher and is standing in front of Sage Paraashara with all his humility. This is where we witnessed in the last episode, the importance of being humble and open-minded to the Aachaarya (Teacher), and this is the fundamental aspect that is significant for the learning process to commence. We should never have the attitude of “testing” whether the Aachaarya’s level of knowledge is good or not. If we’ve to ask a question to the Aachaarya, it should be a genuine one and should be asked in a manner in which the Aachaarya’s answer would be grasped by us in the right sense. Else, we would see that many Aachaaryas would remain silent and they wouldn’t return an answer to our question. Many a times, we might mistake that the Aachaarya doesn’t know the answer to our question if He / She doesn’t answer us, but the fact remains that the Aachaarya knows our intention behind asking the question. If our intention is bad, the Aachaarya wound’t waste His / Her time to answer our stupid questions! 

In fact, Bhagawan Krishna Himself explains the procedure to ask questions to the Aachaarya. He explains to Arjuna that a disciple should ask questions to the Aachaarya with truthfulness, sincerity and humility. In fact, Bhagawan Krishna also goes on to explain how the disciple should stand in front of the Aachaarya while asking something. The disciple shouldn’t stand face to face in front of the Aachaarya. This indicates that the disciple is high on arrogance and is close-minded! At the same time, the disciple shouldn’t stand behind the Aachaarya while asking something. If so, the “Guru-Kataaksha” from the Aachaarya would never fall on the disciple. Thus, the best way to ask something from the Aachaarya is to stand or sit by the side of Him / Her and ask. Moreover, the disciple should have the patience to wait for the Aachaarya to give the answer. If the Aachaarya is taking some time to respond, the Sishya has to wait till the Aachaarya gives the answer. Not every time will we get direct answers then and there from the Aachaarya. Hence, we’ve to wait till we get it. It is not that the Aachaarya doesn’t know the answer for our question, but there are many other aspects that might be involved. Sometimes, the time might not be apt for discussing that particular matter that we would like to talk about. Thus, if such is the case, the Aachaarya remains silent, rather than giving a definitive answer. Again, we shouldn’t take that in the negative sense that the Aachaarya is dodging us away. Or sometimes, there might be some people around the Aachaarya, with whom this question / discussion shouldn’t be shared. Or, there might be some other aspects that might be untold in many ways. Hence, Bhagawan Krishna too advises that the disciple should exhibit extreme patience and resilience while asking questions to the Aachaarya. 

Thus, unlike the stupiditiy that we’ve been talking about, Sage Maithreya is standing in front of Sage Paraashara with a genuine intention of learning few important things. He’s going to ask straightforward questions to Sage Paraashara, for which Sage Paraashara is very happy to respond. So for today, let us once again understand these important points as to how a disciple should approach an Aachaarya. I’m stressing on these points repeatedly because this is the fundamental aspect of our entire Sanaatana Dharma. Only if we know how to pay respects to our Aachaarya, would we be able to grasp any learning from Him / Her. Now from the next episode, let us start witnessing the first question of Sage Maithreya and from there, we shall continue with the first “Amsa”’s content! Stay tuned! 🙂

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed that Shri Vishnu Puraana was a “Kaalakshema” between Sage Paraashara and his disciple, Sage Maithreya. In due course of the last episode, we had also witnessed the key difference between “Upanyasa” and “Kalakshema”. We had witnessed how many of our Sanaatana Dharma texts were born out of “Kalakshema” between great sages and kings. We’ve seen in our previous Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana project that it was a “Kalakshema” between Sage Sukhaachaarya and King Parikshit. Similarly, Mahabharata, the great epic (Ithihaasa) was born out of a great Kalakshema between Sage Vaishampayana and King Janame Jaya. In fact, if we look at the Bhagawad Gita too, it was a Kalakshema between Bhagawan Krishna and Arjuna. Thus, this was the practice of yesteryears wherein people used to listen to the words of elite scholars and sages, to enhance their knowledge and understanding of complex principles of the Vedanta. Thus, coming back to this context here, Sage Maithreya is asking truckloads of questions and Sage Paraashara is answering each of them. Basically, what is important here is that, we should have the innate interest within us to learn what is described in the Vedanta and how to put all these principles into practice. Obviously in today’s Kali Yuga we neither have Sage Paraashara with us to explain things in minute detail, nor Sage Maithreya to ask intricate questions to extract more and more answers. Thus, with whatever we have in our hands right now, it is upto us to develop that interest within us to learn and understand the contents of our Sanaatana Dharma. Obviously with the passage of time in this Kali Yuga, there would be “n” number of people who would try and challenge our Sanaatana Dharma and our faith. The important point here is that we shouldn’t get preturbed by all those malicious, baseless and false campaigns. We should remain steadfast in our belief and understanding and thus, overcome all such hurdles that might come through. We should have the resilience to stand by our Sanaatana Dharma, and to practice whatever Sage Paraashara, Sage Sukhaachaarya and Sage Veda Vyaasa repeatedly advise us upon. 

Thus with this, we shall now commence the first “Amsa” and let us slowly start witnessing what is the content that is explained in it. The entire set of events commence from a point wherein Sage Paraashara is sitting on a river bank, one fine evening after finishing his daily “Nitya-Anushtaana”. Sage Maitreya approaches Sage Paraashara, who was at that time, meditating upon the supreme Brahman. Sage Maithreya wanted to ask something to Sage Paraashara, but he did not want to disturb his penance. However, he was still having some sort of an urge to ask something important to Sage Paraashara and thus, was patiently waiting for him to open his eyes. Luckily for Sage Maithreya, Sage Paraashara opens his eyes very soon, and looks at Sage Maithreya. As he was in deep penance till that moment, Sage Paraashara was also fresh and calm, and this prompted Sage Maithreya to ask what he intended to. Now let us witness the sloka and let us subsequently witness what did Sage Maithreya ask Sage Paraashara. 

“Paraasharam munivaram krita pourvaanhikah kriyam! 

Maitreyaha paripah pracchha pranipathya apivaaktyacha!!”

Thus, here we can see that Sage Maithreya is standing in front of Sage Paraashara with his head bowed down to the ground and with folded hands. He is very humble in front of Sage Paraashara as he asks the question. From this, we can understand how “humility” is very important for us to practice in front of “Mahatmas” or “Gurus”, whenever we’re going to ask them something. When we’re asking a question to a Guru or a Mahatma,, we should ask it with a mindset of learning the answer from them and thereby putting that answer into practice. We should never ask a question in such a way to test the Mahatma whether He / She knows the answer or not. We should have that surrender attitude while asking questions to Mahatmas and great people. Normally, we would see that if someone asks something to Mahatmas with this arrogant attitude within them, they would never give a reply and instead, walk off from that place. This is not because the “Mahatma” doesn’t know the answer for his question, but they wouldn’t waste their time in replying to crooks, who are coming and “testing” their knowledge and intelligence. 

Thus, the point here is that, whenever we approach a “Mahatma” or a “Guru” for some spiritual understanding and knowledge, we should always be humble and with an open attitude to learn and practice whatever is going to be taught to us. So for today, let us learn this point on “humility” first, before going into the actual question that Sage Maithreya is going to ask Sage Paraashara. Thus, for today, let Sage Maithreya keep waiting with all his humility to ask Sage Paraashara the question. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the question and subsequently the answer from Sage Paraashara for it! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had offered our humble prostrations and salutations to the Aachaarya, Sage Paraashara, who has authored this great text that we’re about to commence witnessing as part of this mega-project – Shri Vishnu Puraana. We had also witnessed some of Sage Paraashara’s significances wherein he’s the one who had taught all of us the difference between “Chtih”, “Achith”, and the “Paramatman” and as a “Chith” living in this world, whom should we catch hold of and which should we let go off. Moreover, Sage Paraashara is also an epitome of the noble quality called “Udhaaram”, which means, “endlessly offering” all his knowledge and experience to this world unconditionally. This is also a very important quality in not only Sage Paraashara, but also the other great Maharishis who have been instrumental in authoring innumerable texts as part of our Sanaatana Dharma literature, which are extremely revered and respected. We’ve witnessed the contributions of Valmiki Maharishi, Sage Veda Vyaasa, Sage Sukhaachaarya in our previous projects, and now it is the time for us to experience the beauty of Sage Paraashara’s contributions to our Sanaatana Dharma literature, in the form of Shri Vishnu Puraana. 

Now, as we move on further, before we commence the contents of the first “Amsa”, we should first understand the context at which this Shri Vishnu Puraana came into existence. Just like how we witnessed that Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana came into existence because of the conversation between Sage Sukhaachaarya and King Parikshit, here too, there is a conversation. It’s very interesting to understand here that all of these “Puraanas”, inclusive of these two, are the outcomes of some high level “Kaala-kshema” between two or more people. Normally in the Sanaatana Dharma style, any high-level discussions happen primarily via two methodologies. One is “Upanyaasa” and the second is “Kaalakshema”. “Upanyaasa” is a style wherein one speaker talks on for hours and the listeners would be sitting opposite to the speaker, grasping whatever he / she explains in detail. This is predominantly a one-way traffic of conversation. Only the speaker is going to do all the talking, and the others are going to just listen. There is no room for the listeners to talk back to the speaker. However, in the “Kaalakshema” mode, it is predominantly a two-way traffic. Here, as the speaker is talking, the listeners too get involved in the conversation by asking questions or doubts in the middle. For instance, as the speaker is explaining one point, there is always a room for the audience to get up and pose a question to the speaker as to why and how is this point valid. The speaker would immediately give an answer for this question, before moving on to the next point. This method wherein the interaction between the speaker and audience is a “two-way traffic” is called “Kaalakshema”, and this was a very popular mode of discussion during the previous Yugas and even during the early days of Kali Yuga. 

While the advantage of having an “Upanyaasa” is that, we can cover lot of points quickly without constant interference from others, the only disadvantage here is that it is very difficult to conclude whether the listeners have really understood what the speaker had to convey. This is because different people have different levels of comprehension capability. For instance, if we drop a tennis ball on one surface, it would produce one type of sound. Whereas, if we drop the same tennis ball at a different surface, it is going to produce a different sound with a different frequency level, isn’t it? Here, even though the ball is the same, the surface on which it is tapped upon makes a huge difference. Similarly here too, although the speaker might be the same, different listeners’ observing and grasping capacities and capabilities are different, isn’t it? This is where, the “Upanyaasa” methodology faces a drawback. Even with the case of all of us, if we happen to listen to any renowned “Upanyaasaka”, at that point of listening to him or her, we would feel as if we’re very familiar with all what he / she is explaining. It would be as if we’re understanding 100% of what is being discussed. However, if we’re asked to speak a few words on the topic, we would start stammering. We wouldn’t have that confidence whether we had understood the context in the right way or not! This is the potential drawback of the “Upanyaasa” style of discussion! 

Whereas, if we consider the other style called “Kaalakshema”, as mentioned above, there is always an opportunity for questioning the speaker and clearing doubts then and there. This is exactly the same way through which Bhagawan Krishna gave the Bhagawad Gita to Arjuna! This is why we would have in the middle of the Bhagawad Gita text, Arjuna posing questions to Bhagawan Krishna. We have both “Arjuna Uvaacha” and “Bhagawan Uvaacha” in the Bhagawad Gita text, isn’t it? All the 700 slokas of the Gita weren’t recited by Bhagawan alone. There’s Arjuna’s part in it as well. Similarly, the Mahabharata text too was a “Kaalakshema” between Sage Vaishampaayana and King Janame Jaya. Again, there would be many instances in the entire Mahabharata text, wherein King Janame Jaya would pose questions to Sage Vaishampaayana in the middle. Similar was the approach in the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana as well. We’ve witnessed that it was a dialogue between Sage Sukhaachaarya and King Parikshit, wherein King Parikshit too asks a lot of questions in the middle and Sage Sukhaachaarya is trying to resolve them with answers. 

Thus, as this trend goes, Shri Vishnu Puraana also fits this trend of “Kaalakshema”. To whom is Sage Paraashara explaining all of this? It is none other than his disciple, the great Sage Maithreya. Here, Sage Maithreya is asking question after question and Sage Paraashara, being his Aachaarya, is explaining the answers to each and every question of Sage Maithreya. Thus, the Shri Vishnu Puraana was born. Thus, we should understand here that this entire text is a “Kaalakshema” of Sage Paraashara to Sage Maithreya! 

So for today, let us understand these points clearly and let us wait till the next episode to build on this further, as we move into the first “Amsa” discussion! Stay tuned! 🙂 

We were at an important juncture in the previous episode, wherein we had witnessed the entire structure of the “Shri Vishnu Puraana” text. The contents of the first three “Amsas” were covered during Episode # 4, and in yesterday’s episode, we had witnessed the contents of “Amsas” four, five and six. We had witnessed that “Amsa” four talks about the “Soorya-Vamsa” in great detail, incarnation of Bhagawan Rama towards the end of the “Soorya-Vamsa” and finishes it with the commencement of the description of “Chandra-Vamsa” wherein Bhagawan Krishna incarnates during the Dvaapara Yuga’s end. Moving on further, “Amsa” five talks in great detail about all the important “Leelas” and incidents that took place during Bhagawan Krishna’s tenure in this world – Right from His childhood, teen-age, middle age and until Bhagawan Krishna ascends back to Vaikunta. Subsequently, “Amsa” six talks about the “Kali-Yuga Dharma” and how things are going to be in the present Kali Yuga. Finally, the sixth “Amsa” comes to an end with the “Kaandikya-Keshidvaja Samvaadham” and with that, the “Phalastuthi” follows. 

Thus, this is the brief structure of this great text of “Shri Vishnu Puraana” and normally, this entire text is recited within a span of six days. Just like how we had witnessed the concept of “Saptaaham” (Seven days) in the case of the “Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana” recital, here it is done in a span of six days. It is a normal practice that on each of the six days, one “Amsa” is taken up in detail. Thus, all the six “Amsas” are covered in six consequent days. There are in total more than 6,000 slokas in this text. In fact, it is more than 6,000, and I had just given an approximate number here. With whatever little knowledge I have, I shall in the subsequent episodes starting today, share with all of you a glimpse of what is being spoken about in this great text. If we’ve to go into minute details of each of the 6000-odd slokas, it is going to be nearly impossible for us, owing to various time and life constraints that might come through in the middle of the journey. I shall try and touch upon the important slokas along with their meanings and messages for our life today, and beyond this, readers are requested to purchase the book for themselves, go through each and every sloka in detail and learn. All of us should have the desire to learn about our Sanaatana Dharma literature in detail, and blogs like these are only a “motivation” for all of us to read and understand more. Hence, readers shouldn’t come to the conclusion that by merely reading whatever we’re writing here, it is the end of the world. We’re just touching upon hardly 10-15% of what is there in the actual text. It is therefore with our own personal interest that we should pursue this learning journey on our own and at our own convenience and pace. The more we listen to it and read it, is when we would be able to understand things deeper. If we broadly look at all our Sanaatana Dharma texts, each and every text has “pearls” and “Ratnas” hidden into them. It is only upto the readers to pick them up and enjoy the experience. For instance, if there’s a businessman who does business in jewellery – He / she would exactly know how and where to pick up the “Pearls” and precious metals like gold, silver, diamond, etc. isn’t it? Similarly, as ardent followers of our “Sanaatana Dharma”, we should learn and understand from each sloka as to where from and how we pick up these pearls that are imbibed into the slokas. 

Moreover, as we commence to witness the text in detail, we should first pay our tributes to the “Aachaarya” (Guru or Spiritual Master). This is the first thing that we should perform. As we’ve witnessed in our previous Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text too, we had paid our respect to Sage Sukhaachaarya, who was the composer of the entire text, here, we’ve to pay our respect to Sage Paraashara who has blessed us with this divine text called “Shri Vishnu Puraana”. Hence, it is our first duty to bow down to Sage Paraashara for all that he has given us. We should always pray to our great Maharishis with the attitude that they’ve gifted all these high-level texts and knowledge to people like us who have zero knowledge and zero experience in understanding all of these. Thus, these kinds of texts should reach lakhs and lakhs of people around the world, and all of them should benefit out of the various “Pearls” that these texts have gifted us with. Only if we study these texts with this humility in us, we would be able to grasp all the important messages that are described. 

In fact, if we look at the significance of Sage Paraashara, he has a distinguished title by name “Udhaaram”. Here, “Udhaaram” signifies the act of “giving endlessly” without any expectation from anyone. This, in other words, we denote as “generosity”. This is where, he has gifted us with this great work called “Shri Vishnu Puraana”, without any sort of expectation from the future generations of people to come. He doesn’t expect us to return him with some money, or any sort of “Dakshina” isn’t it? All he wants us to do is open the book and read! Next, the great significance of Sage Paraashara is that he clearly teaches us the difference between “Paramatma ”, “Chith ” and “Achith ”. Many of us might be knowing this – “Chith” denotes the living beings comprising all “Jeevatmas” in this world, and “Achith” denotes all the non-living beings in this world. Obviously “Paramatma” is Bhagawan. Thus, what Sage Parashara is teaching us here is that we, as “Chith” in this world, have the Atman within us with which we can take our own decisions. “Achith” items cannot take any decisions on their own, because they are non-living beings. Thus, the message here is that we should use our decision making skill to leave one and hold on to the other! Which should we leave and which should we hold on to? We should leave the “Achith” and hold on to Bhagawan! But what are we doing in this world today? We’re holding on to various forms of “Achith” in our day-to-day life and are getting attached to all of it! Our own physical body (Deham) is the biggest “Achith” that we keep holding on to! We keep decorating it, beautifying it, spending all our time, effort, money, etc. on it! However, we do not understand the fact that our human body comes under the “Achith” and is subject to destruction at some point of time. This is where, Sage Paraashara teaches us that we shouldn’t hold on to the “Achith”, which is subject to destruction, but should hold on to Bhagawan, who is permanent and is going to take us to the highest “Moksha”. It is this aspect of “Vedanta ” is Sage Paraashara emphasizing at every segment of this Shri Vishnu Puraana. 

Thus, with this note, we shall commence our detailed discussion on the first “Amsa” from the next episode, and as mentioned earlier, the first “Amsa” talks in detail about how Bhagawan Vishnu created the world, and subsequently few earlier incarnations of Bhagawan, to illustrate the fact that He is the one who protects what He has created! We shall for today, understand all these above-mentioned points and pay our respects to Sage Paraashara! Stay tuned! 🙂