The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had set the context and the stage rolling for a very interesting event that took place, which witnessed the next divine incarnation of Bhagawan in the form of “Mohini”. We’ve witnessed in due course of yesterday’s episode that it all started with a beautiful garland that Goddess Mahalakshmi had with her. She had gifted that beautiful garland to one of her close friends, and she had in turn offered the same garland as a “Guru-Dakshina” to Sage Durvaasa. In turn, Sage Durvaasa offered this garland to Indra, who is the leader of all the Devas. Unaware of the significance of this precious garland, Indra refuses to wear it and subsequently puts it around the neck of his elephant Airaavata. Animal as he was, elephant Airaavata did not know why a garland is put around his neck, and hence, he swirled his trunk, smashed the garland and destroyed it totally! Upon knowing that the garland was totally destroyed by Indra and his elephant, Goddess Mahalakshmi got angry and cursed Indra that all his wealth and strength go into the dustbin! Accordingly, Indra becomes a popper overnight and so did all the Devas! Upon seeing this, the enemy camp, that is, the “Raakshasas” started celebrating and strategizing ways through which they can humiliate Indra even more.

Unable to bear with all these, Indra and the Devas rush to Bhagawan Vishnu and explain what had conspired. Upon hearing from Indra, Bhagawan Vishnu replies back thus, “Oh Indra! Don’t worry. I shall tell you a solution for it. Rather than fighting with the Raakshasas, why don’t you guys team up and drill the ocean of milk? You’ll get a huge pot of “Amrut” (Divine nectar), and if you consume it, you’ll become immortal and thus, regain all your lost wealth and power!”

This idea seemed workable and Indra immediately sets off. As Indra is setting off immediately, Bhagawan stops him again and calls him closer. Bhagawan tells Indra thus, “Oh Indra! Now don’t become too enthusiastic and proud of yourself! Let me tell you a secret!” Accordingly, Bhagawan tells Indra something in his ears and lets him go. As Indra comes to the Raakshasa camp, all the Raakshasas were surprised as to why is this fellow coming to meet them, and that too without any artillery, weapons, etc. Indra thus explains the purpose of his visit thus, “Oh Raakshasas! I know that we’re always on war with each other. But, there is something that I need to tell all of you, which might be an opportunity for both our camps to patch up and be united from here on!” As Indra explains thus, the Raakshasas are puzzled and confused with his words. They let him speak further thus.

Indra now continues further, “Oh Raakshasas! I just met Bhagawan Vishnu. He was talking to me about a huge pot of “Amrut” that is hidden inside the ocean of milk where His abode is. He wants both of us to team together to excavate and bring out the “Amrut”. If both of us consume it, we would gain immortality and from then onwards, no enemy would be able to stop us. Let us both share the “Amrut” into two halves and consume it!” Upon hearing this from Indra, the Raakshasas too felt that this is a fair deal and that, they can also sense an opportunity to gain immortality. So far, the Raakshasas have been suffering defeat after defeat in the form of Hiranyaaksha, Hiranya-Kashibu, etc. and if this “Amrut” is consumed, all this would come to a grinding halt! Thus, the Raakshasas accept the deal on paper!

Now the strategizing part comes – How do we drill the ocean of milk? Is it going to be an easy job? Not at all! A huge strategizing is required! Both the camps teamed up together and brought a huge mountain called “Manthara” and placed it as a fulcrum in the middle. To operate the fulcrum, we need a rope or something that can roll it, isn’t it? Only then the fulcrum can drill the ocean. For this, the huge snake called “Vaasuki” was called in for help. Vaasuki was tied to the fulcrum. One end of the snake was being pulled by the Devas and the other end was being pulled by the Raakshasas. Thus, the ocean of milk started being drilled by a combined effort of both the camps.

As the drilling process starts, Bhagawan supervises it, and is seeing how long are these people going to continue drilling! Initially, all of us will start a job with lot of motivation, but as days, months, years progress, our enthusiasm and motivation would start coming down slowly, isn’t it? We’re seeing this in our daily lives itself, even for small tasks. We’ve to imagine how huge is this task to drill the ocean of milk. Of course, in those days there were no massive drillers and other machinery that we use today for drilling! 😊 Everything had to be done with lot of physical labor.

At a point of time, owing to the huge intensity of labor involved, both the Devas and Asuras become physically tired and worn out and thus go to Bhagawan Vishnu for help! They tell Bhagawan thus, “Oh Bhagawan Vishnu! We’ve tried our best, but we’re unable to do it any further, owing to our physical limitations. You should help us in finishing this task that we’ve undertaken!” Accordingly, Bhagawan Vishnu takes over the drilling task singlehandedly and the process continues further. As the drilling gets deeper and deeper, many items start emerging from beneath the ocean floor. These are not items like shells or fish or corals, etc. that we see in the ocean of water. These are strange items – For instance, the first one to emerge was “Haala-haala”, which was nothing but a pot of intense poison. As this poison emerges, someone had to consume and neutralize it, before the drilling proceeds further.

It is at this time, when Bhagawan Shiva comes to the rescue. He takes the whole pot of the poison and starts consuming it. As Bhagawan Shiva consumes it, owing to its intensity, his face starts to get blue! At this moment, Bhagawan Shiva’s divine consortium, Goddess Paarvati comes and holds His neck, thus preventing the poison from entering His body. Thus, Bhagawan Shiva’s neck becomes totally blue in color and this is the reason, Bhagawan Shiva obtains the divine name, “Neelakanta”!

As the poison is neutralized thus by Bhagawan Shiva, the drilling process continues further. Many other items are emerging from the ocean floor after the poison. What are those items? When is the “Amrut” going to come out? Let’s wait eagerly till the next episode to witness the events unfolding! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode, we witnessed the culmination of the “Gajendra Moksha” event with its “Phala-Stuthi”, wherein Sage Sukhaachaarya explains that all those who listen to this important event, would be totally devoid of bad dreams during their sleep. This is very important because, peaceful sleep is vital for a person’s health. If we’re having dreams during sleep, it implies that our sleep is not deep enough. If we’re waking up from bed without a deep sleep thus, our entire day would become dull and we would in turn feel tired, frustrated and irritated. We might have seen this in our daily routine life too, many a times. Thus, if we’re dedicatedly listening to this important “Gajendra Moksha” event, Sage Sukhaachaarya assures us that Bhagawan Narayana would ensure that we are leading a peaceful and a happy life, devoid of unfortunate circumstances and troubles, which implies that we would be totally devoid of unwanted and bad dreams. It is often said that dreams are just reflections of what we think and what is happening in our everyday life, isn’t it? Thus, if our routine life becomes streamlined in the direction of “Dharma” and if we’re filling our mind with Bhagawan’s thoughts and stories, why at all should we encounter bad dreams during our sleep? Hence, this is an important point for all of us to ponder and follow.

Moving on thus, during yesterday’s episode, we had commenced the next event, which is nothing but the all-interesting “Mohini Avatar” of Bhagawan Narayana. We’ve witnessed in a nutshell yesterday as to why did Bhagawan Vishnu incarnate of Mohini and what conspired during this important incarnation. Starting today, we are going to witness this incarnation at length. There is an interesting background to this whole episode of “Mohini-Avatar”. Let us witness that first and then subsequently move into the main event.

Once, Goddess Mahalakshmi was wearing an attractive garland that was shining from all four directions. As She was having it with Her for a long time now, She wanted to gift that garland to someone who deserves it and who was very close to Her. Thus, she selected one of Her best friends and gave that garland to her saying that, she can have it until she wants to. Very happy with the gift, Goddess Mahalakshmi’s friend was having the garland with her for a long time and after that, she once happened to meet Sage Durvaasa for some purpose. Upon meeting Sage Durvaasa, she wanted to give the great Sage, some “Guru-Dakshina”. At that point in time, she did not have anything else to give him, other than this attractive garland. Hence, she gave this garland itself as a “Guru-Dakshina” to Sage Durvaasa. Now thus garland has gone from Goddess Mahalakshmi to one of her friends and now to Sage Durvaasa.

As Sage Durvaasa was having this garland with him for a while, he thinks thus, “Oh! What is the purpose of me having this attractive garland? Afterall I’m a sage and I keep wandering from place to place. Hence, it would be appropriate if an established and a righteous king has this garland under his possession. Perhaps this garland would give him all sorts of prosperity for him as well as for the kingdom”. Hence, Sage Durvaasa thinks for a few days and thus concludes that the right person to have this attractive garland can be none other than Indra himself. As we all know, Indra is the leader of all the “Devas” (Celestial Beings), Sage Durvaasa thought that it would be better if he has the garland with him. Thus, when Sage Durvaasa gets an opportunity to meet Indra at the “Deva-Lokha” (Abode of Indra), he hands over this attractive garland to him.

However, Indra did not understand the significance of this garland which Sage Durvaasa had gifted him just now. He did not know that this garland had originally come from Goddess Mahalakshmi herself! Not realizing its importance thus, Indra refuses to wear the garland around his neck. He thinks that he has much better and expensive garlands than this one and hence, puts it around the neck of his elephant (Airaavata). Animal as it is, elephant Airavata too didn’t understand why is he having this garland around his neck after all! Hence, he takes the garland in his trunk, swivels it around and totally destroys the beautiful garland! As this happens, Indra too didn’t take it seriously. However, the news that this garland has been destroyed by Indra eventually reaches Goddess Mahalakshmi within a few days. Fuming in anger, Goddess Mahalakshmi curses Indra thus, “Since you destroyed my property (the beautiful garland), all your property would also go into the dustbin and you would be rendered totally homeless and kingdom-less!”

As per the curse, Indra too eventually lost all his property, his possessions, his leadership position, etc. and he was shell-shocked with what had just happened! He couldn’t believe his eyes that he has become a popper within seconds! Seeing Indra being reduced to zero overnight, the Raakshasas were in full celebration. They were enjoying the fete that Indra has been chased away! Irritated with the way in which the Raakshasas were celebrating and mocking at him, Indra is stumbling to take the next step, he sends an “SOS Message” to Bhagawan Vishnu! 😊 He runs to Bhagawan Vishnu, explains what conspired, how the Raakshasas are taking this situation as an advantage to mock at him, etc. and thus seeks a solution for the problem. Hearing all of it thus, Bhagawan Vishnu suggests, “Oh Indra! In this case, instead of fuming over the Raakshasas like this and wasting your time, why don’t you go and nurture friendship with them for this one situation? Why don’t you team up with the Raakshasas and start exploring the ocean of milk? (Paar-Kadal in Tamil). Through that, you would get a huge pot of “Amrut” and if you drink it, you would become immortal and thus, you would regain all that you had lost!”

Hearing thus, Indra thinks for a while and decides that this suggestion from Bhagawan Narayana is a good one. What happens next? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 😊

 

The previous episode witnessed the culmination of an important event in the “Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana” called “Gajendra Moksha”, wherein we had saw how Bhagawan Vishnu rushed forward to save and grant Moksha to elephant Gajendra. We had witnessed few important lessons that we can learn from this incident. In a nutshell, Bhagawan doesn’t differentiate between any form of living beings, either animals or human beings, when it comes to protecting them and granting “Moksha”. This is one of the greatest quality of compassion that Bhagawan exhibits. Whoever in this world is praying towards Him with an ardent devotion and a noble heart, Bhagawan is just going to melt down immediately. Secondly, it is important for us to exhibit the maturity to call for Bhagawan’s help immediately as and when we’re encountering an obstacle in life, rather than waiting till the last minute wherein things start getting out of hand. It is always important to have the feeling that it is only Bhagawan who is protecting us at all times. Hence, we should think about these points and should start putting them to practice immediately.

Now as we move on with the subsequent events, Sage Sukhaachaarya gives a short “Phala-Stuthi” (Benefits) for people who are listening to this story of “Gajendra-Moksha”. Sage Sukhaachaarya says thus:

“Etahn mahaaraaja taverithonmayaa!

Krishnaanubhaavo gajaraaja mokshanam!!

Svargamyashashyam kali kalmashaamaham!

Dussvapna naasam kuruvarya shrinvathaam!!” 

Here, Sage Sukhaachaarya explains to King Parikshit that whoever listens to this “Gajendra Moksha” event, will attain the following benefits: Primarily, the person would be devoid of bad dreams during sleep. This is very important for all of us isn’t it? Sometimes we might have terrible dreams during sleep, such as falling from a mountain or building, being chased by dogs or human beings (enemies) itself, etc. On a lighter note, if we had borrowed some money from a bank or from any lender and if we’re unable to repay that money, we would get all those banks and lenders in our dreams, isn’t it? 😊 In fact, to be more specific on this, there might be few people who would never get any sort of bad dreams in their lives – Especially those people who have obtained enormous amounts of loans from banks and other financial lenders and institutions would never get any sort of bad dreams or fear! If we had obtained a little amount of money, then we should be having fear of repaying. If the amount is huge, only the lender should break his head with all sorts of bad dreams! This is because, the person who has obtained the money is never going to repay anything! 😊 Hence, the point here is that, “deep sleep” is of paramount importance for all of us for our regular day-to-day sound health. If we’re wholeheartedly listening to this “Gajendra Moksha” event as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya, we can be rest assured that this would be granted to us by Bhagawan.

Moving on thus with the subsequent events, we’re going to witness how Bhagawan incarnated as “Mohini” and distributed the “Divine Nectar” to the Devas and denied the same for the “Asuras”. This event might be a well-known one for many of us as we might have heard this during our childhood days. It is important to know that this event comes under the purview of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana.

As we might have known, there was a huge exercise undertaken by the entire world of Celestial beings, including the Devas and Asuras to go in pursuit of something called as “Amrut” or “Nectar”. For this, both the groups started exploring the “Paar-Kadal” (Ocean of Milk), wherein Bhagawan’s divine abode called “Vaikunta” is present. As the divine ocean of milk is being explored deeper and deeper, many items emerge from it, including a huge pot of poison and finally a huge pot of the “Amrut”. As the “Amrut” surfaces, there is a huge debate as to whom should consume it. This debate commenced because, all of them knew that if someone consumes the “Amrut” he / she becomes immortal, that is, there will not be any form of death that would come to them at any point in time. As the debate between the Devas and Asuras rages on, Bhagawan Vishnu decides to solve this debate by cheating the Asuras and in turn, giving the “Amrut” to the Devas. For this to happen, Bhagawan takes the form of a beautiful and an attractive woman called “Mohini”. This “Mohini” is also considered as a divine incarnation of Bhagawan, as He protects the Devas from the wrath of the Asuras.

As we’ve witnessed the whole event in a nutshell, it is time for us to have a detailed discussion of it. There is a beautiful story behind all that conspired step by step. Let’s wait till the next episode to witness the same! Stay tuned! 😊

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the culmination of the important event of “Gajendra Moksha”, wherein Bhagawan Vishnu rushes from his Vaikunta abode, so as to protect the poor elephant Gajendra, which was in deep pain due to the clutch of a crocodile. As elephant Gajendra calls out fervently for help and prays to Bhagawan with a great intensity, Bhagawan rushes immediately to protect the poor elephant. Heavily injured as he was, elephant Gajendra was almost in a speechless state due to the immense pain and upon seeing this, Bhagawan Narayana Himself sat on the floor and tried to nurse all the injuries that it had sustained! Upon seeing this sight, all the great saints, Devas (Celestial Beings), Bhagawan Brahma, etc. were all surprised to bits! All of them talk amongst each other thus, “Oh wow! What kind of compassion is this! Upon seeing an elephant suffering, Bhagwan just threw everything apart and rushed down to protect it! How fortunate is this elephant to get a direct nursing and protection from Bhagawan Himself!” Goddess Mahalakshmi Herself was shell-shocked upon seeing this event unfolding! She was thinking within herself thus, “Oh wow! When I had incarnated as Mother Sita, I was abducted by Ravana for almost 10 months, and not even once during this time, Bhagawan turned towards me to protect me! Now that this elephant had just made one fervent call and Bhagawan is rushing all the way to help it!” As Bhagawan Narayana addresses the prayer to elephant Gajendra thus, He even goes to the extent to grant the highest “Moksha” to the elephant as well!

Now what are the lessons that we can learn from this important event? The first and the most important lesson that all of us can observe is that, Bhagawan is an embodiment of compassion and He would transcend immediately to His ardent devotees to protect them from any form of imminent danger that might confront of them. All that is required from us is our ardent devotion and if we’re securing a “tick mark” in this, we can be rest assured that Bhagawan is always going to be with us at all times. Secondly, we can witness the power of “Nama-Sankeertana” or chanting of the divine names of Bhagawan. Readers might remember that we’ve previously witnessed the story of Ajaamila and how did he obtain Moksha by “accidentally chanting” Bhagawan’s divine name of Narayana. Similar is the story here as well – When elephant Gajendra chanted Bhagawan’s divine name of Narayana, he had immediately attracted Bhagawan Himself towards him! Thus, as a corollary to this point, we can see here that Bhagawan’s divine names are more powerful than Bhagawan Himself! 😊

Thirdly, it is not that only human beings can attain “Moksha”. Bhagawan is equally compassionate towards all living beings in this world, irrespective of whether it is an ant or an elephant or a monkey, or a squirrel, etc. We’ve witnessed in our Ramayana episodes itself as to how Bhagawan Rama granted Moksha to all the Vaanaras, isn’t it? We’ve witnessed how Vaanaras (Monkeys) like Hanuman, Angadha, Sugriva, Vaali, etc. performed their duties towards Bhagawan Rama to the best of their abilities and thereby attained Moksha! To go a step further, we’ve witnessed how Hanuman’s exceptional devotion towards Bhagawan Rama made Him transfer all His divine powers to Hanuman before ascending to Vaikunta, isn’t it? Inn addition, we’ve seen how a little squirrel involved itself in the “Rama-Kainkarya” (Service towards Bhagawan Rama) during the construction of the “Ram-Sethu” bridge at Rameshwaram. The selfless involvement of the squirrel brought tears in Bhagawan Rama’s eyes and therey granted Moksha to it straightaway! Here too, Gajendra, although being an elephant, exhibited the highest level of devotion towards Bhagawan Narayana and thereby attained Moksha. Hence, it is important for all of us to understand that Bhagawan views all living beings equally in His eyes. Irrespective of whether we are a human being or any other form of animal, all of us have been given equal opportunities by Bhagawan to try in our own ways to strive towards attaining Moksha. All what is important is whether we are sincere in our attempt or not.

Of course, if an elephant or a monkey or a squirrel can attain Moksha with its devotion, what is stopping human beings like us, who boast of having the “sixth” and “extra” sense of thinking and discrimination, who has the ability to chant and sing the divine names of Bhagawan? In fact, since we have all these extra abilities blessed by Bhagawan, we should find it a step easier than other animals to undertake the pursuit of attaining “Moksha”! But sadly, are we doing that today? Every passing day, we spend most of our time in doing all sorts of work that only add to our selfish worldly goals in life. Are we allocating some time for Bhagawan to atleast thank Him for all what He had given us? Forget Moksha, atleast a thanks-giving is the bare minimal thing that we can do for Bhagawan for all what He has given us, isn’t it? We should thus ask within ourselves whether we’re doing this or not!

At times when we are happy and contented, we never even think of Bhagawan, and our thoughts and actions are directly solely towards enjoying whatever we have! However, when there is a problem that is raging along, that is perhaps the only time when we think about Bhagawan, isn’t it? The moment we’re confronted with a problem, all of us start running towards temples, astrologers, doing this or that spiritual offerings, etc. My question here is that, why don’t we have the same urge to run to the same temple when we’re fit and fine? This is exactly where elephant Gajendra too missed the trick. When he was initially caught by the crocodile, he was thinking that he can overcome the crocodile with all his might as an elephant! At that time, he never even thought about Bhagawan, although elephant Gajendra was an ardent devotee! It is only when the clutch of the crocodile became so intense and when elephant Gajendra was almost at the verge of giving up his life, did he think of Bhagawan for a second! Even for that one second of prayer, if Bhagawan is responding spontaneously, imagine what would have been Bhagawan’s response when he would have prayed in the beginning itself! This is where all of us miss out as well. Initially during the onset of any problem or issue, our ego takes over and we think that we’re the all-pervasive! We try different tricks in the trade to come out of the problem, only to meet up with failure repeatedly and complicating the problem more and more! However, if we can surrender ourselves to Bhagawan and perform our tasks, if there is any sort of problem that comes through, Bhagawan is automatically going to protect us, isn’t it? This is the level of spiritual maturity that we’ve to develop as we move on.

Hence for today, let us ponder over all these important lessons that we can learn from this “Gajendra Moksha” event, and let us try and implement them in our daily lives as well. I’m repeatedly saying this to all our readers – it is not enough for us to read all these and get away! Implementation is the most important part here. We should make a conscious effort to implement whatever we’re learning here. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next important and interesting event that Sage Sukhaachaarya is going to narrate. Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a critical moment in elephant Gajendra’s life, as Bhagawan Narayana hurries his way from Vaikunta to Trikoota to save the poor elephant from the clutches of the crocodile. As elephant Gajendra gives up on all his attempts to save himself, he fervently calls upon his Bhagawan for help! He thus cries to Bhagawan Narayana seeking urgent relief. As Bhagawan hears the poor elephant’s cry, His heart melts in compassion and His urgency knows no bounds! Even as Mother Mahalakshmi and others ask Bhagawan as to where is He going so urgently, He just brushes everybody away, gets on to his “Garuda Vaahana” and instructs Garuda to take Him directly to Trikoota where the elephant is. Although initially Garuda did not understand the urgency of Bhagawan Vishnu, he eventually picks up a great speed and takes Him to Trikoota within a jiffy.

As Bhagawan is rushing with full speed, Sage Sukhaachaarya describes this very beautifully here – with the speed that Bhagawan is travelling, all His ornaments that He was wearing on His front portion, flew away to His back, His crown started flying away with the course of the wind and His hair was flying everywhere! Such was the urgency and great speed with which Bhagawan was rushing to save elephant Gajendra. As Bhagawan reaches the spot, He quickly employs his “Chakra” and destroys the crocodile within seconds. With this, elephant Gajendra is freed up! The clutches are gone and elephant Gajendra’s leg has gained independence from the wretched crocodile’s mouth! As this event unfolds, elephant Gajendra once again comes back to life.

However, as the crocodile had clutched the poor elephant’s legs for a thousand years, we can imagine what kind of injury it would have sustained! Thus, Bhagawan Narayana’s job doesn’t end in just destroying the crocodile and freeing up elephant Gajendra’s legs. Now comes His main duty – To cure the poor elephant of it’s injuries. Bhagawan thinks for a moment within Himself with all His compassion towards the poor elephant thus, “Oh no! This poor creature has been patiently waiting for all these years for me to come and save him. Now how can I leave this elephant in this state of misery? How will this elephant walk again with so much of injuries on its leg? Hence, let me sit by the side of it and try to cure all of its injuries, thus, bringing it back to normalcy!”

What level of compassion does Bhagawan have here? It’s so astounding and heart-touching isn’t it? Thinking thus, Bhagawan sits by the side of the poor elephant. At this moment, elephant Gajendra is still in a state of immense pain, and he doesn’t even realize that he has been freed from the crocodile! Moreover, since he had gone into an unconscious state because of the pain, he didn’t even realize that the person who is sitting beside him and curing all his injuries is none other than Bhagawan Narayana Himself! At this state, Bhagawan sits down beside the poor elephant, takes out a piece of His clothing, blows some hot air into it and slowly massages its legs!

As this is unfolding, there are many celestial beings watching this incident in awe! They couldn’t believe what Bhagawan Narayana is doing! Mother Mahalakshmi is also stunned beyond words! She thinks within Herself thus, “Oh wow! Till date, I’ve been thinking within myself that being a woman, I’m more compassionate than Him, but the story has changed today! I think His compassion has overpowered mine today! Just because an elephant had called Him for help, He could have easily sent someone else to save it. Rather, He himself had taken upon it to save the elephant! This is what real compassion is!”

Thus, as Bhagawan Narayana slowly tries to bring elephant Gajendra back to life, the situation gradually improves. Elephant Gajendra wakes up to consciousness after a while and he was dismayed upon seeing what he was seeing! Who was sitting and curing his leg? It was none other than Bhagawan Vishnu himself! Upon seeing this sight, elephant Gajendra couldn’t believe his eyes! He literally shrieked in shock and utter disbelief that Bhagawan Himself is sitting down on the floor and treating his legs! How gifted and fortuante elephant Gajendra was! Tears flowed down the elephant’s little eyes as he realized his fortune.

Upon seeing elephant Gajendra regaining consciousness, Bhagawan Narayana is also very happy that His ardent devotee is now completely saved and his life is no more in danger. Elephant Gajendra asks Bhagawan thus, “Oh Bhagawan! The embodiment of compassion! Is it at the behest of an animal afterall that you’ve come all the way to save me? Forget saving! Is it afterall for an elephant, you’re sitting on the ground and nursing my injuries? I don’t really have words to describe your compassion levels! How is this ever possible? On one hand you have ardent devotees like Prahlaada, Dhruva, etc. who are 24*7 thinking about you and praying to you non-stop! And here is this elephant Gajendra on the other hand, who doesn’t even know ‘ABC’ of “Bhakti” towards you! Is it at the behest of this elephant with zero knowledge about you, and with zero ‘Bhakti’ towards you, that you had come all the way in person? I really couldn’t believe what is happening here!”

As elephant Gajendra cries out thus, Bhagawan is going to give a very important reply here. This reply is going to send out an important message, not only to elephant Gajendra, but to all of us as well! Let’s wait till the next episode to witness this reply! Stay tuned! 😊

We’re at a critical juncture with respect to elephant Gajendra’s situation currently, as he is struggling to keep himself afloat in the water, amidst the raging war with the fierce crocodile. As elephant Gajendra manages to keep a small portion of his long trunk above the water, he thinks for a moment and realizes that it is none other than Bhagawan Vishnu Himself, who is capable of saving him. There is no point in calling and crying to people in this world for help, as nobody is going to turn up, fearing for their own lives! We’ve seen this in real life as well. If we’re thinking that, whatever might be the situation, my father would come and save me, what did Hiranya Kashibu do to his son Prahlaada? We’ve just seen this event few episodes back. What did the father do to his son? Didn’t he try to kill his son every now and then until his last breath? Fine! If we’re thinking that our mother will protect us from bad situations in our lives, what did Kaikeyi do to her son Bharata? We’ve seen in our Ramayana episodes how Kaikeyi brought insult and shame to her son Bharata to fulfill her selfish needs. Fine, what if we go to our brother or other siblings for help? What happened to Ravana and Vibhishana? Although Vibhishana was his own brother, Ravana deserted him for his selfish need of attaining Mother Sita. What happened between Sugriva and Vaali? It’s the same story isn’t it? Although being brothers, Vaali gave up Sugriva when it came to ruling Kishkinta and he also went to the extent of abducting Sugriva’s wife, Ruma. This is why we always see in this world that there is no point in going towards our family, relatives, friends, etc. for protection. The only protector of this world is Bhagawan Narayana. This is exactly what elephant Gajendra is also realizing here!

For instance, if someone in our family falls sick and we’re admitting that person into a hospital, initially the doctors will try to give the best of the best treatments possible, and if the patient is not responding, what would the doctor say? He’ll easily say thus, “Please pray to Bhagawan for the patient’s recovery! We’ve done our best, but the patient is not responding properly to the treatment!” We would think thus, “Oh! This doctor could have said this ten days ago itself when we brought our relative to the hospital isn’t it? Now that the hospital has obtained truckloads of money from us for the treatment, for the past 10 days or so, and finally the doctor himself points out to Bhagawan!” This is where all of us lose the plot! During the initial times of our problem, we tend to assume that we’re the only saviors of our own self and in the process, we would never even think of Bhagawan! Only when things start going out of hand, we would start thinking and praying to Bhagawan for help! Now, why can’t we pray and seek Bhagawan’s help from day one itself? This is where our “Ahankaara” (Pride) takes over! This is what we’ve to learn from this episode of elephant Gajendra.

Hence, mustering all of his scantily remaining strength, elephant Gajendra cries out for his Bhagawan Narayana! He prays to Bhagawan to forgive him for all his misdeeds and his ego. He repents for his mistake of not calling Bhagawan during the early stages of the crocodile clutch itself. As Bhagawan Narayana hears the poor elephant’s desperate cry for help, His heart melts in compassion! He thus decides that He has had enough and it is time to save elephant Gajendra once and for all.

Now, the way in which Bhagawan Vishnu comes to save elephant Gajendra is beautifully explained by Sage Sukhaachaarya here. Normally in temples when we see Bhagawan being taken all around the locality, we see that there are so many preparations being done. Firstly, Bhagawan would be decorated with fresh flowers, jewellery, etc. and then the “Vaahana” (Bhagawan’s vehicles such as elephants, horses, chariots, etc.) being decorated, and then there would be some people who play some musical instruments to add to the flavor, etc. It is only with all of these, will Bhagawan come out of the temple premises, isn’t it? We would also keep seeing these kinds of events during important festival days. Similarly, if Bhagawan has to go somewhere from Vaikunta, there would be some decoration done to his “Garuda Vaahana” (Eagle).  However, as Bhagawan listens to the fervent tone of elephant Gajendra, He didn’t wait for all these to happen. He immediately jumped up from his serpent bed (Aadisesha) in a jiffy and gets on to his “Garuda Vaahana”. As Bhagawan sits urgently over Garuda, He instructs Garuda to “Go immediately”! Upon hearing this, Garuda was surprised and clueless and asks Bhagawan, “Where should we go now?” Bhagawan replies thus, “Oh Garuda! Don’t you remember that you should go to the place where I think of? Now take me directly to the lake where elephant Gajendra is!”

As instructed, Garuda picks up speed and flying at a great speed. Bhagawan’s urgency to save elephant Gajendra is evident here. With the way in which Bhagawan is rushing forward, all his ornaments are flying apart! All his dress materials are flying here and there with the wind! He doesn’t care a damn for all of it. Now his only aim is to save elephant Gajendra as quickly as possible! As Bhagawan reaches the lake, He immediately spots elephant Gajendra reeling in pain. Compassionate as Bhagawan is all the time, at a single moment, employs His powerful “Chakra” and destroys the crocodile in a jiffy! Elephant Gajendra is now free from the crocodile within seconds! Such was the compassion and urge for Bhagawan to protect His ardent devotee!

So for today, let us enjoy and experience this wonderful and divine moment and we shall continue this discussion further in the next episode! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Sukhaachaayra narrating an important story of elephant Gajendra to King Parikshit. We’ve witnessed in due course, how elephant Gajendra was happily roaming around with his wife and friend elephants amidst the “Trikoota” area. Amidst all of these, the herd comes across this beautiful lake, brimming with crystal clear water and booing lotus flowers. Attracted by the beauty of the scenic place, elephant Gajendra makes his way into the water body, to rejuvenate himself a little bit and also to pluck some of those beautiful lotus flowers and offer it to his Bhagawan Vishnu. It is to be remembered by readers here that this Gajendra, although being an elephant, was an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Vishnu. Thus, as elephant Gajendra is trying to pluck the lotus flowers, a crocodile sees this as an opportunity and plucks Gajendra’s legs! Screaming in pain, elephant Gajendra tries all tricks in his trade to free himself from the crocodile’s clutches. But sadly, none of his techniques and methodologies worked out! The fight between the crocodile and elephant Gajendra wasn’t a one- or two-day affair! It was a thousand-year-fight that conspired! Tired as he was, elephant Gajendra desperately calls his other elephant friends to come and protect him, but none turned up! Even his wife deserted him, as all of them were scared of the fierce crocodile wreaking havoc! None wanted to take the initiative to come forward and help poor elephant Gajendra who was almost at the verge of sinking into the water!

It was now a do-or-die moment for elephant Gajendra thus! Slowly the crocodile was running away with victory as the poor elephant was gradually losing its strength to fight any further. Gajendra was devoid of food and water for a long time, tired of shouting and screaming with pain, his voice cord failed him totally. Worse than all, elephant Gajendra was almost totally drawn into the water, except his trunk portion. He had fairly succeeded in keeping his trunk above the water, so that his breathing doesn’t stop! Such was the condition of poor Gajendra, the mighty elephant!

It was at this time of deep desperation that elephant Gajendra comes to an all-important conclusion. He thinks within himself thus, “Oh! Now I realize from this incident that none in this world are trustable. Whenever I’m swaying around happily and with lot of pride, many were following me. But now, when I’m in this deep difficulty, nobody turned up to pull me out of this trench. What kind of a world is this? Thus, there is no point in having any sort of trust on anybody in this world for anything. Everybody comes alongside me only for their own selfish needs and happiness. Nobody is having the heart to lend a helping hand during times of difficulty. Hence, there is only one way out here – To call upon the creator himself for help! I don’t think there’s any more viable option left in my hand. If I lose this opportunity to call my Bhagawan Vishnu for help it is going to be too late! It’s either now or never!”

“Tasyah dronyaam bhagawathaha varunasya mahaatmanaha!

Uddhyaana amritam naama aahkreedam surayoshitham!!

Tatraigathaa tath girikaananaashya karenunibhir vaanarayuthapasharan!

Saka kantakaan keechaka venu vethravath vishaala gulvam pravruchan manaspathin!!”

Elephant Gajendra thinks further to himself thus, “Oh! Why was I waiting for so many years to call out Bhagawan Narayana for help? I should have perhaps done it at the beginning itself, isn’t it? Why did I take pride upon my strengths and ignore Bhagawan completely? I shouldn’t have done this at all, in the first place! I should have called out for Bhagawan, the moment this crocodile clutched my leg. Had I done that, I might not have landed up in such a big mess in which I’m currently in!”

In fact, many of us, in fact, all of us have this intention within us somewhere down the line in our lives. In many of our life instances, whenever we land up in some problems or issues, we might think within ourselves that we are the only saviors of our own lives! Little would we be able to remember even for a moment that there is someone called Bhagawan who is protecting all of us and hence, we fail to surrender to Him completely. In fact, the worst outcome of all of these selfish intentions of ours is a big failure. It is only after we encounter a disaster or a failure, or when we are at the brink of a huge loss, will we even think of Bhagawan! We should ask ourselves here – “Why can’t we think of Bhagawan at the beginning of the problem itself? Why should we wait till the last minute and at a time when things totally go out of hand?” This is exactly where elephant Gajendra is stuck too! Proud as he was, elephant Gajendra tries all tricks in his trade, without thinking of Bhagawan at all, for over a thousand years! It is only at a time when he is almost at the verge of giving up his life, he thinks and prays to Bhagawan Vishnu to come and protect him! Nevertheless, it is not too late yet and elephant Gajendra musters up his energy to offer an ardent and a fervent prayer to Bhagawan Vishnu!

Thus, elephant Gajendra shouts out loud, “Oh Bhagawan Vishnu! I offer my deepest prayers to your lotus feet! I came into this lake with an intention of taking these beautiful flowers and offering them at your feet! Unfortunately I’m into this mess and it is ONLY YOU who can save me at this point! Hence, please come immediately and save your ardent devotee, who is suffering with intense pain! The whole world has deserted me, and you too do not join this club!”

This fervent prayer of elephant Gajendra reaches Bhagawan Vishnu! Bhagawan as He is, how can He ever tolerate His children suffering in pain? Compassion overflows and overcomes Bhagawan Vishnu and upon seeing His ardent devotee screaming in pain, how can He be at Vaikunta happily? Thus, Bhagawan Vishnu decides that He has had enough! It is His duty to save His devotee! Now what does Bhagawan Vishnu do here? How is He going to save elephant Gajendra? Let’s wait till the next episode to witness the divine intervention! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the eighth “Skanda” of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana, wherein we had started with the important event of “Gajendra Moksha”. This story is a very interesting one with an important underlying message to all of us. We shall witness the story first, and then go on to the message. As discussed in due course of yesterday’s episode, this Gajendra is none other than a proud male elephant, which is surrounded by many female elephants. This entire group of Gajendra and Co. are walking happily towards a beautiful place called “Trikoota”, wherein there are huge mountain peaks of gold, silver and bronze on one side, and a sprawling lake full of fresh blooming lotus flowers on the other! Seeing all of this, elephant Gajendra is so overwhelmed and thinks for a moment that he should pluck few of these beautiful lotus flowers and offer it to Bhagawan Vishnu. It is to be remembered from yesterday’s discussion that this elephant Gajendra is an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Vishnu and has a previous birth background to illustrate the same.

As elephant Gajendra thinks thus with his ardent devotion, he slowly enters into the sprawling lake with all his happiness and enthusiasm. As he makes his way into the lake, elephant Gajendra is swaying his trunk on either sides and splashes the pure and clear water on to himself with lot of enthusiasm. As he nears these beautiful lotus flowers, elephant Gajendra tries to pluck few of them with his trunk and starts doing so as well. It is at this time, a crocodile from the deep waters of the lake sees a huge elephant entering inside. As the crocodile was starving for food, he sees this as an opportunity to consume elephant Gajendra’s leg and thus makes his way towards elephant Gajendra. As the crocodile nears elephant Gajendra’s legs, he opens his mouth wide and quickly catches hold of one of elephant Gajendra’s legs! As elephant Gajendra realizes that something has caught his leg from beneath the water, he tries to free himself from that clutch. However to his dismay and horror, the clutch of the crocodile becomes harder and harder as he tries more and more to free his leg!

As this event unfolds all of a sudden, elephant Gajendra couldn’t figure out what is going on! He tries harder every time, but the clutch of the crocodile is only getting worse by the minute! This fight between elephant Gajendra and the crocodile was not a one-hour or a one-day affair! This fight goes on for a thousand years! We can imagine here, the suffering that poor elephant Gajendra had to undergo! First of all, getting clutched by a crocodile is one of the deadliest things that can ever happen to any living being. And on top of this, it is not a short-term affair! This clutch goes on and on, virtually forever! As time goes by, poor elephant Gajendra is crying and crying with pain, anger, frustration and for help. While on one side, the crocodile is pulling elephant Gajendra more and more into the water, and on the other side, elephant Gajendra is trying to move ashore! A heavy fight thus unfolds minute after minute. However, tired as he was, elephant Gajendra slowly starts to gradually lose his strength and motivation to fight further. He’s now becoming totally fed up with what’s happening. As time progresses thus, elephant Gajendra is slowly being pulled into the water more and more and at one stage, it was only his trunk that was seen outside the water! He is almost totally drawn into the water. Another few more minutes, and elephant Gajendra would totally drown into the water and will have to lose his life.

At this stage, the trunk of elephant Gajendra that still manages to hold the lotus flower in it, is the only one to be seen outside the water. As the grip becomes tighter and tighter, elephant Gajendra loses his energy to shout too! He is only breathing air through the trunk that is visible from above the water. Till this time, he had called for help from so many quarters of people and other living beings! But none came forward to help elephant Gajendra, owing to the fear of being caught by the fierce crocodile! He thought that his friends who had accompanied him all the way (female elephants) might save him. They didn’t turn up! After this, elephant Gajendra tried his own set of tricks and methodologies to save himself! That too didn’t work!

So now what is elephant Gajendra going to do? He has now come to a conclusion that none in this world, including himself could save him from this fierce crocodile! Thousand years have passed and time is running out now! He has to act quick now, before things get too late! What does elephant Gajendra do? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the culmination of the seventh “Skandha” of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana with an extended discussion of the important “Dharma” called “Atithi Samskaara” or “Atithi Sathkaarya”. In due course of yesterday’s discussion, we pointed out that, more than just fulfilling the food requirements of our guests (Atithi), we should also make sure that we fulfil their expectations with which they had come in search of us. We should identify their expectations, console them with loving words and try to fulfil their expectations in whatever way possible. Of course, when we highlight this point, we should also understand that if we’re giving a commitment to somebody, we should give it only after realizing whether we would be able to honor it or not. If perhaps we do not have the resources to support such commitments, it is better not to give a promise to that person. Rather, we can always explain to them that for the moment it might be difficult for us to fulfil their expectation and can maybe guide them to someone else who can potentially help them. This is a much better way of “Atithi Samskaara”, rather than giving a false commitment and then backing out at a later stage! This will leave the person in the midst of a confusion as to which way to go. This should never be the case in any person’s life and we shouldn’t be those who inflict such situations for them.

Thus with this, we come to the end of the seventh “Skandha” and Sage Sukhaachaarya has narrated innumerable aspects of “Dharma” in this. Of course, due to various limitations, we’ve discussed only few of them, but there are many more in the long list. Maybe if we get another opportunity in the near future, we shall take it up with a detailed discussion on them. But for now, we shall move on with the eighth “Skandha”. Now we move on to a very important event in this text, called “Gajendra Moksha”. From now on, we would witness one story in every 3-4 episodes on an average. There are many stories that we need to look into and is going to be very interesting for all of us, of course, with lot of messages hidden inside every story. Now let us commence with the story of “Gajendra Moksha”. As we move into the story, we should have a brief “background check” and should continue from where we left previously. As readers might remember, the last story that we had witnessed is that of Prahlaada and Hiranya-Kashibu. We had seen how Bhagawan incarnated in the form of the fearful Narasimha-Moorthy to kill Hiranya-Kashibu and save His ardent devotee, Prahlaada. Now moving on from where we left, readers might be remembering that we had witnessed the story of “Manvantara”. This “Manvantara” is nothing but the day-time for Bhagawan Brahma and is ruled by fourteen kings of the “Manu” dynasty. Each “Manu” king had ruled 71 “Chatur-Yugas” and if we multiply this, it becomes 1000 “Chatur-Yugas”, which is approximately 43 Lakh years in time period. We’ve witnessed this in our earlier episodes as well and readers might get back to those episodes for a quick recollection.

In this, we’ve also witnessed the life events of the first “Manu” king by name “Svaayambhuya Manu”, under who’s family tradition we saw people like Utthaanapaada, Devahooti, Prasuthi, Aahuti, Karthama-Prajaapati, etc. With all these stories, we’ve come to the end of the first 71 Chatur-Yugas and thereby come to an end of the discussion on the first “Manu” king. Now we’ve to witness the stories of the subsequent “Manu” kings here and Sage Sukhaachaarya elaborates the same. It might be a little confusing for readers to understand these points, and hence, I request all of you to take down notes as you read on, ponder over these points repeatedly and connect the dots.

Now we move on with the next “Manu” king by name “Svaarosisha Manu”. The third “Manu” king was “Uttama Manu”. Subsequently the fourth one was “Taamasa Manu”. It is during the time period of this “Taamasa Manu”, this particular event that we’re about to discuss, is taking place. There was a mountain range by name “Trikoota”. This mountain had three peaks in it. One peak was of gold, second was of silver and the third was of bronze. It was a tall mountain and rich in minerals like these. Just beside these mountain peaks, there was a huge lake with many lotus flowers blooming in them. We can imagine here, how scenic that place would have been! 😊 It is beside these mountains and the pond, a male elephant is roaming around with a herd of female elephants. This male elephant is hunting down all the plants, trees, etc. on its way, as it is roaming around the place. This elephant is none other than the great “Gajendra”. This “Gajendra” has a previous history of births in which he was a great and an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Vishnu. We shall witness that history in a while from now.

Now, this Gajendra is roaming its way and comes near this pond with all the beautiful lotus flowers in it. It had a desire thus: “Oh wow! What a nice pond is this! How beautiful are these lotus flowers! Maybe we should pluck these lotus flowers (few of them) and offer them to our Bhagawan Vishnu!” Thinking thus, the elephant slowly enters into the pond. It slowly keeps one foot after the other into the water and enters inside. As Gajendra swirls his huge trunk here and there to pluck the flowers, there is a crocodile waiting there in the midst of the water! Upon seeing the huge Gajendra swinging and swaying his way into the pond, the crocodile sees this as an opportunity to have some “tasty food”! The crocodile thus crawls towards Gajendra. However, immersed in the thought of plucking the lotus flowers and offering them to Bhagawan, Gajendra did not notice this crocodile crawling towards him inside the waters.

What happens next? Is the crocodile going to succeed in its pursuit? What is going to be Gajendra’s reaction? An interesting section of this story awaits us in the next episode! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the last of the various aspects of “Dharma” as being narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit, in the form of “Atithi Samaskaara”. Here, Sage Sukhaachaarya clearly elaborates how should we take care of our guests who come searching for us to our homes. It is our bound duty to feed them adequately with whatever quantity and quality of food that needs to be given to them. More than the food aspect, we should also look at the expectations with which they had come to us, and try our best to fulfil them. We should never let a guest go back empty-handed. When I use the term “empty-handed”, it is not to be mistaken by readers that we should give truckloads of money and materials to the guests every time. The crux of this point here is that, the guest should feel satisfied at the end of the day with the feeling that they have got what they required from us. It might be in the form of money sometimes, or some materials, or even just kind words of love and affection. For instance, if someone comes to us to pour out their feelings and emotions, we should not turn them back or avoid them. We should always be prepared to lend our shoulders for them to cry and vent out their emotions. This is also one form of ‘Atithi Samskaara”. Thus, it is not that everytime we should give money and materials. Even with some kind words of love, compassion, assurance, etc. can weigh more than money many a times in life. Hence, we should realize this importance at this juncture.

Moreover, when we talk about expectations and fulfilling the expectations of our guest, it should be noted here that if we give an assurance to someone, we should make sure that we fulfil it, without ditching the person mid-way! For instance, if someone is coming to us with a request that they’re unable to pay the school of college fees for their son or daughter and they’re requesting our help for it – Of course, we can first analyze our financial capacity and then give a commitment accordingly. For instance, if we’re financially fragile too at that particular moment, we can very well tell them that we might be able to help them in the short-term, that is, for a few months or maybe till a year, but not more. If we have limitations thus, it is always better to be open about it in the beginning itself, rather than ditching them midway after giving a long-term commitment. If we’re upfront in the beginning itself, then it gives the other person ample time to think of other options. Whereas, if we’re giving a long-term commitment now and if we’re backing out in the middle, it leaves the other person clueless all of a sudden! Hence, we’ve to be careful here.

Thus, the point here is that, it is important for us to fulfil the expectations of our guest, however, subject to our capabilities and limitations. It is important that before we give a commitment of fulfilling of the expectations, we do a quick analysis of our own strengths and weaknesses. Once we become sure about ourselves, we can very well give commitments and assurances based on what we can. This is the way in which we should take care of our guests.

In fact, this is where we invoke the example of King Dasharata. Readers might remember, when we were discussing Valmiki Ramayana two years ago, (Episode archives are available in our blog page), we had witnessed that when Sage Vishwamithra entered the courtroom of King Dasharata, out of surprise and a rush of emotions, King Dasharata tells Sage Vishwamithra thus, “Oh Great Sage!! You’ve taken the pains to come all the way to see me! Now I shall declare – You can ask me anything whatever you want, and I shall be ready to offer you and be of service to you!” Of course, King Dasharata knows the Sage Vishwamithra being a highly spiritually realized person, is not going to ask him any worldly aspects like money, material, gold, etc. But he did not expect one thing though – He didn’t expect Sage Vishwamitra to ask for his little son Rama! As Sage Vishwamitra replies thus, “Oh King Dasharata! I’ve come here to ask you for a favor! Now that you’ve committed yourself to offer anything that I ask, I hereby request you to send your eldest son Rama along with me to the forest, to protect the spiritual offering that I’m currently undertaking, from the clutches of the Raakshasas!”

Upon hearing this from the great Sage, King Dasharata was shocked beyond words! How can he send a twelve-year-old boy to the forest and that too to fight the might of the Raakshasas? Hence, King Dasharata requests Sage Vishwamitra that rather than sending his little boy, he himself volunteered to come along and kill the Raakshasas. But Sage Vishwamitra was adamant in his request. He’s not going to take back his words! He warns King Dasharata that if he doesn’t fulfil his commitment here, it is going to be a great crime for the entire “Ikshvaaku Dynasty” and he is going to be known in the world for “cheating Sage Vishwamitra”! Saying thus, the Sage started walking out with anger! It is only at this time, Sage Vasishtaachaarya intervenes and advises King Dasharata to send Rama with him. He explains to King Dasharata that Sage Vishwamitra is asking for Rama to come along with him, only for Rama’s benefit. He thus explains to King Dasharata that there is going to be a great life-changing event that is going to happen in Rama’s life. It is only after this, King Dasharata sends Rama and Lakshmana along with Sage Vishwamitra, and the story continues further..

So, from this incident from the Valmiki Ramayana, it is clearly explained how to take care of our guest and how to give a commitment and fulfil it correctly. If we give a commitment and if we’re unable to fulfil it properly, we’ll be ending up the same way as King Dasharata! Hence for today, let us realize this point and do the needful! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the commencement of the ninth “Skandha”! Stay tuned! 😊