The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed how the soul of evil Dundhukaari was able to attain peace and salvation with the help of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. Gokarna, who was Dundhukaari’s half-brother had tried innumerable ways of making his soul attain Moksha, and finally with the guidance of Surya Bhagawan, chants the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana and with this, Dundhukaari’s roaming and disturbed soul was able to attain peace and rest. Such is the significance of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana.

Now that Dundhukaari has finally attained Moksha, the story doesn’t end here. Of course, Dundhukaari has vanished completely at the end of the seventh day, but what about all the others who were sitting around Gokarna and listening to his chanting of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana? They are still alive and they’re yet to reach that highest place where Dundhukaari has gone! Upon seeing this, Gokarna once again calls for Surya Bhagawan and asks a question thus: “Oh Surya Bhagawan! How is that only Dundhukaari who had listened to it, was able to attain Moksha and these other people are still alive in this world as normal human beings? Don’t these people have the power to attain Moksha after listening to this Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana?”

Surya Bhagawan replies thus:

“Shravanasya vibhedhena phala bedottara samsthithaha!

Shravanam tu kritham sarvaihi na tha thaam mananam kritham!!”

As Surya Bhagawan gives an answer to Gokarna, he says thus, “Oh Gokarna! You’ve asked a very important question here. It is important not only to hear the slokas of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. It is also important to ‘listen’ extremely carefully in between the lines! These people have not done this properly and thus haven’t attained Moksha by now!”

This is an extremely important answer. We can view this answer in two ways – The first way is in terms of involvement with which we’re listening or reading through the text. The second way is in terms of how much are we able to follow and implement whatever we’ve listened or read to! Of course, listening with 100% involvement is very important. As we often keep saying, there is always a difference between “hearing” something and “listening” something. If we “hear” something, there is no guarantee that all what we hear, goes and registers into our mind. We hear so many sounds every passing day, and do we remember all of it? We do not! Whereas, if we’ve to “listen” to something or someone, we’ve to “hear” the content with a bit more keenness. In other words, we need to pay more attention and focus our concentration to “listen” more! Only then we would be able to retain into our mind, whatever is being said. Thus here too this differentiation is very important – Here, Surya Bhagawan says that these other people seated by the side of Gokarna, have just “heard” and not “listened” to Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana! Had they “listened” to it, they would have also attained Moksha by now! This means that we should “listen” to the text with our 100% involvement and concentration. This is extremely important as the first step.

The second way of course is to look at how much we have put into practice. It is not enough if we just listen to the text and get away! The second step is to think and ponder over the various messages that had been spoken / written about, from the text. The third step is “implementation”, wherein we’ve to meticulously try and follow the advice and messages that the text conveys. This is even more important! It is only for this reason that at the end of each and every episode, I keep reminding our readers that it is not enough if we read through the content and close the tab. We need to ponder over what is written, take notes and try to follow these messages in our everyday life. Only if this implementation is done properly, will we get Moksha.

Of course having said thus, it is not possible to follow in our lives, 100% verbatim as it is in the text, given the day-to-day life situations and challenges that we face. We might not be successful enough in putting into practice all of what Sage Sukhaachaarya and Sage Veda Vyaasa might have told! But this should not be a “loophole” that can be exploited by all of us. We shouldn’t become complacent by showing this loophole! Rather, what is important is that, we should give a sincere “try” to follow Sage Sukhaachaarya’s words. We should meticulously try to implement these messages into practice. Bhagawan only looks at how much effort we put in, so as to create a wave of positive change. He doesn’t care if we are successful or not. It is His problem! 😊 If we’ve to be successful in our implementation part, we require His grace! If we’re trying sincerely, Bhagawan will definitely give His divine hand forward for us to catch and enter into Moksha!

Thus having said, both “Shravanam” and “Mananam” are of paramount importance for us here. As we might know, “Shravanam” means listening and “Mananam” means, “repeated thinking and pondering over what we listened”. It is evident here that it is not enough if we just “listen” (Shravanam) to Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. It is also important for us to think, ponder over (Mananam) and implement the principles in our daily life. Just like how Dundhukaari was able to do both of these to attain Moksha finally, we should also make a sincere attempt to follow Dundhukaari’s method! Hence for today, let us ponder over this point and do the needful! We shall wait till the next episode, to witness the next series of events! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Aatma-Deva’s misery compounded with the birth of Dundhukaari and how his wife Dundhuli played spoilsport to his wish. Dundhuli gives the blessed fruit to the cow in the cowshed and thus was born Gokarna. Although he was a very good person by birth, he was sidelined by his family, in favor of Dundhukaari by his mother. As Dundhukaari became evil day after day, Aatma-Deva became more and more frustrated with himself and his wretched family, and thus one day he called it off and went into the forest to attain Mukti. However, as the atrocities of Dundhukaari continued, he even went to the extent of murdering his own mother. Fearing the repercussions of his heinous crime, he jumps into a well and commits suicide. As he does so, his physical body might have died down at that instant, but his “Aatman” (Soul) refuses to die. It is still wandering around in search of a solace. His soul was not ready to rest itself in peace.

As Gokarna was a highly spiritually-oriented and a knowledgeable person, one fine day, Dundhukaari’s soul saw this as a chance to seek his help. So the soul comes to Gokarna’s house and asks for a solution to its problem. Gokarna was surprised that Dundhukaari’s soul has not attained solace, although he had gone to various “Punya-Kshetras” like Varanasi, Gaya, etc. and performed rituals that are required. Gokarna didn’t understand how to proceed further.

Confused thus, Gokarna thinks a lot and comes to a solution. He calls upon Soorya Bhagawan (Sun God) and requests him to stop for a moment and answer his query. It is to be noted here that Gokarna was so spiritually empowered that he was able to even stop Soorya Bhagawan for a moment to clarify his doubt! In our Ramayana project, we had witnessed that only Hanuman had that kind of a strength to indulge with a conversation directly with Soorya Bhagawan and of course we know that Hanuman went on to learn all the “Vyaakarnas” of Sanskrit from Soorya Bhagawan. Here too, we witness that Gokarna has that unique power to have an interface with Soorya Bhagawan directly.

Gokarna asks Soorya Bhagawan thus, “I have a query to ask you! Here is the soul of my half-brother Dundhukaari which is unable to rest in peace because of various reasons. I had done so many things to make his soul rest in peace, but it seems that nothing has really worked in his cause! So I request you to suggest a solution for this problem, and let me know a way in which his soul can rest in peace!”

Hearing thus, Soorya Bhagawan gives a simple, yet an important reply to Gokarna, “Oh Gokarna! You’ve asked a valid question here. The only solution that I can give you is to perform the “Saptaaham” of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana! Try to recite this sacred text for the next seven days without a break and with complete dedication. You might find a positive change happening!”

Hearing thus, Gokarna was astonished! He had performed so many strenuous rituals in various sacred locations across the country and yet nothing had happened! If he is going to sit at a place for seven days and recite Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana with full dedication, Dundhukaari’s soul is going to attain peace! As a token of obeying Soorya Bhagawan’s words, Gokarna arranges a grand fest wherein he invites many people together, chants the slokas of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana for the next seven days!

As Gokarna starts the recital, he has a small doubt – He asks the soul of Dundhukaari thus, “Oh Dundhukaari! As I recite this sacred text, how do I know that you had attained peace and salvation? What is the measure for this?” Dundhukaari’s soul replies thus, “Oh Gokarna! I’ll now take the form of the bamboo sticks that are lying by the side of this room. There are seven sticks. At the end of the first day recital, the first stick will burst into pieces. At the end of the second day recital, the second stick would burst. Similarly, at the end of the seventh and the final day, the final stick would burst into pieces! With the bursting of all the seven sticks, you can conclude that I’m out of here once and for all!”

Hearing thus, Gokarna is satisfied and convinced, and thus starts the seven-day recital. As promised, Dundhukaari’s soul takes its form into the seven sticks and at the end of each day’s recital one stick bursts and falls on the ground! Finally at the end of the seventh day recital, Dundhukaari’s soul attains the required peace and salvation! Hence, such is the significance of this Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana!

So for today, let us understand and appreciate this beautiful story and by this, let us realize the significance of this great sacred text! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next set of events! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had commenced a very interesting story that comes as part of the “Paadma Puraana”, illustrating the significance of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. We’ve already witnessed one story in the form of Sage Naarada, Bhakti, Gnyaana, Mukti and Vairaagya. As a continuation, we’re now witnessing the story of Aatma-Deva and his relentless pursuit for having a child. To summarize what we saw yesterday, Aatma-Deva was a pious and spiritually inclined person. He had a wife by name Dundhuli, who was exactly the opposite of him. She was completely money-minded in her approach towards life and never cared for anything else. As time passed by, this couple was childless and Aatma-Deva met a saint amidst a forest. Aatma-Deva expresses his wish to have a child to this saint, however, the saint advises him not to go for a child, as this would pile up lot of misery in his life. Since Aatma-Deva had already made his mind to go for a child, he wasn’t prepared to listen and follow the words of the saint. Due to his relentless request, the saint took a fruit, blessed it and asked Aatma-Deva to give it to his wife. As Aatma-Deva gave this blessed fruit to his wife, she didn’t want to take it. She was not at all interested in having a child, as she considered it to be a burden in her life. Hence instead, she gave this fruit to a cow that was in their cowshed! Meanwhile, Dundhuli made a deal with her already-pregnant sister that she would take her child in exchange with some huge amount of money and property. As her sister was convinced, both of them are now at their parents’ place.

At this moment, it should be remembered that the cow in Dundhuli’s cowshed has eaten the blessed fruit. Now because of this, the cow got pregnant and eventually after few months, this cow gives birth to a child. This child is wonderful by nature and bore the name “Gokarna”. This Gokarna, although being born as a human being, had one of his ears like that of a cow, since he was born to a cow! This is why his name was “Gokarna” (“Karna” means ears and “Go” means cow). This Gokarna takes birth thus, and starts growing up. Similarly as per the “deal” between Dundhuli and her sister, there was a son born and his name was “Dundhukaari”. As expected, Dundhukaari was a wicked person, just like his mother and her sister Dundhuli.

After few years, Aatma-Deva understood the “trick” played by his wife and realized his fault of not listening to the words of the saint. Upon seeing this Dundhukaari being a cruel and a wicked person and his wife making him more and more wicked, Aatma-Deva’s life becomes miserable and thus realizes his folly. The saint had already advised him on day one itself not to go for a child, but he had still gone ahead and met a huge disaster.

Unable to bare all of this beyond a point thus, Aatma-Deva decides that he has had enough. He finally goes away from his place into the forest, performs deep penance and finally attains “Moksha”. With this, Aatma-Deva’s life comes to a halt. Now it is all upto the mother and son duo – Dundhuli and Dundhukaari. To the utter disaster of Dundhuli,  Dundhukaari became so wicked over time that he entered into unwanted bad company with wicked friends, entered into several bad habits, etc. Eventually he started to even torture his own mother Dundhuli for the want of more and more money to satisfy his wicked will and wishes. As Dundhuli refuses to give him what he wanted, at one point in time, Dundhukaari murders his own mother. As Dundhukaari had become a victim of his own bad actions, and as the world branded him as a murderer, he didn’t want to live his life anymore! He thus jumps into a well and commits suicide. As he had met his death in an unexpected and at a pre-mature time, his “Aatma” is unable to rest in peace. Thus, Dundhukaari’s Aatma is roaming around the world, searching for peace.

This is the reason why in today’s world too, we say that we should never do such a wrong thing of committing suicide. It is an extremely dangerous thing to do, as our “Aatman” would never be able to rest in peace and we would be roaming here and there without a body. This is extremely tough. This is why we say that, if at all we get into such a mindset, we should be able to come back to normal by motivating ourselves positively. Anybody’s life in this world would be having some problems and some happy moments together. Just because we have problems, it doesn’t mean we would go to the extent of finishing our life. Bhagawan has not given that right to us and it is dangerous to perform such heinous things that aren’t approved by Bhagawan for us to do.

Moving on thus, this Dundhukaari’s “Aatman” too roams around everywhere, unable to find solace. As this is on the one side, on the other hand, Gokarna was an intelligent and a pious person. He gained expertise over the Vedas, Shaastras, etc. He practiced Bhakti at its highest level and thus finally he became a “Gnyaani” (A person having profound spiritual knowledge and wisdom). One day when this Gokarna was sleeping at his place, suddenly the door of his house started to be banged by someone very roughly! Upon hearing the furious banging of his door at the middle of the night, Gokarna was puzzled as to who this might be! As he gets up and opens the door, he couldn’t see any human being there, but a “tornado-like” form of a high-pressure wind standing there. Suddenly this high-pressure wind assumed a human voice and asked Gokarna thus, “Oh Gokarna! Do you realize who I am?” Gokarna was shell-shocked and couldn’t make out who that was! Upon asking back, the wind replies, “Oh Gokarna! I’m none other than your half-brother, Dundhukaari! Although I’m physically dead at the moment, my Aatman is still alive and thus I’m roaming around searching for some peace and solace!”

Hearing thus, Gokarna asks back, “Oh Dundhukaari! How come you’re still alive in this form? I had gone to Varanasi and had performed all required rituals for your soul to rest in peace! Yet, how are you roaming around like this?” Dundhukaari replies back, “Oh Gokarna! I’ve done enormous amounts of sins during my life time that doing rituals in Varanasi is not enough to liberate me from whatever I’ve done. This is why I came to you for help. Since you’re a knowledgeable person now, you might be the only person to know how to liberate me from this disastrous state that I am currently!”

Hearing this from Dundhukaari, Gokarna did not know what to do and how to proceed at that moment! He was totally confused. He had gone all the way to all the “Punya-Kshetras”, inclusive of Varanasi, Gaya, etc. to do all possible rituals to liberate Dundhukaari’s soul. However, he couldn’t believe that nothing of that sorts have really worked! So what is going to be Gokarna’s next approach? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed some prerequisites for listening to, and reading the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text. As per the excerpts from the “Paadma Puraana”, it is said that this sacred text should be worshipped in a way that is very similar to worshipping Bhagawan Krishna Himself. We should make sure that when we sit to read / listen to this text, we need to be physically clean and tidy. We should place the book in a chair that is meant for Bhagawan only. As this recital is arranged, many people should be invited to be listeners. This should be like a marriage ceremony that we do – We should invite as many people as we can, offer them good food, shelter and perform all the necessary arrangements to make the listeners comfortable and happy! For the next seven days thus, the contents of this sacred text should be discussed day and night and analyzed. Moreover it is also said that the most sacred months to recite and listen to this text is from the Tamil month of “Aavani” (Precisely July-August) till the commencement of the holy month of “Maargazhi” (Precisely mid-December). This is the most auspicious time period for recital and listening of this sacred text.

Thus, such is the respect we give to this extremely sacred Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text. To summarize the point once more, we need to maintain the “Sapthaaham” (7-day-recital) practice – Auspicious to be recited in the months of “Aavani”. “Purattaasi”, “Aiypassi”, “Karthigai” and beginning of “Maarga-sheersha” month, also called as “Maargazhi”.

As this is being explained, we now witness a sub-story within this main section. There is a river by name “Tungabhadra”. Even today we can worship this famous river – It starts from the Indian state of Maharashtra, flows eastwards into the state of Karnataka, subsequently into Andhra Pradesh, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is in the banks of this river, lived one person by name Aatma-Deva.

“Yatra varnaah svadharmena sathya sath karma tathparaaha!

Aatma devah pure tasmin sarva veda vishaadharaha!!”

This particular sloka and the subsequent slokas talk about the story of this particular person by name Aatma-Deva. He had a wife by name Dundhuli. This Dundhuli was not a very good woman by nature. However, Aatma-Deva was an extremely good and a pious person. Thus, we can see that these two were extremely opposite to each other in character. This woman was completely money-minded and was running here and there constantly in search of more and more money! In today’s world we are witnessing many such people! But it’s surprising to know that there were such women in those times too! 😊

Anyhow, as this woman was completely business-like and money-minded, her time went only in searching for more and more sources of money. As time went by, these two people never had a child. It was at this point, Aatma-Deva went into a forest. Amidst the dense forest, Aatma-Deva finds a Maharishi (A Saint). He goes to this saint and explains his situation. Aatma-Deva says to the rishi that he is childless for a long time and asks for some solution for this problem. However, the rishi replies to Aatma-Deva thus, “Oh! Aatma-Deva! Why are you longing so much for a child? For the moment, your time is not good for you to have a child. Hence, please be contented with the existing situation! At present, your life is happy and stable without a child. But if you have one, your life might turn miserable. Hence, don’t desire for it!”

However, Aatma-Deva was not mentally prepared to accept this answer from the saint. He replies back to the saint thus, “Oh Maharishi! This is not acceptable for me. Both myself and my wife are mentally prepared to bare a child and any difficulty that comes along with it. I seek your blessing for having a child immediately!” Upon hearing this, the saint didn’t know what to reply back. If a person is mentally blocked to take any advice, nothing much can be done. Hence, the saint takes a fruit, blesses it and asks Aatma-Deva to give it to his wife for eating. Taking the fruit from the saint thus, Aatma-Deva returns home and gives it to his wife.

Normally what should have happened? His wife should have eaten that blessed fruit, bore pregnancy and delivered a child, isn’t it? That didn’t happen! His wife thinks thus, “If I bear pregnancy, I would not be able to do any work. Then how will I earn more money? How will I maintain my beauty? If I become pregnant, my husband would appoint someone as a helper and what if he gets attracted to that helper and goes with her, just because she might be more attractive than me? So given these problems, I feel that only those women who are widows and childless are the luckiest people on earth! Those women who have husbands and children are extremely unlucky!” This is the decision she has come to now!

Deciding thus, she never ate that blessed fruit! Instead, she gave this fruit to the cow that they had in their house! Accordingly, the cow ate the blessed fruit! Now the cow having eaten this fruit, now where is the child? For this, this lady Dundhuli made a tricky plan – She called her sister, who was already pregnant at that time. Dundhuli somehow made an agreement with her pregnant sister thus, “You give me your child secretly without anybody knowing. I have lot of money and property with me. I shall share my property equally with you and your child in return. Let me have this child and give it to my husband Aatma-Deva!”

Now how “smart” is this move? Dundhuli wouldn’t bare the child, but she would take her sister’s child on the pretext of sharing property, and cheat her husband with this child!

Hearing this from “agreement” from Dundhuli, her sister too accepted for the deal, and finally both went to their parents’ place for a few months. However, it should be remembered that the cow at Aatma-Deva’s house had already consumed the blessed fruit. What happens next? Let’s wait for the next episode to find out the thrilling happenings! 😊 Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the important message that the “Paadma Puraana” conveys with respect to Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. It ultimately conveys through the words of Sage Naarada, Sanaka and Sanathkumaara that this sacred text is perhaps the only solution for enhancing one’s spiritual aspirations and channelize a person towards attaining Mukti (Salvation). As this point was highlighted, we witnessed a very interesting story wherein Sage Naarada goes around the world amidst the advent of the Kali Yuga and he is unable to find any sort of good and auspicious happenings anywhere in the world. He thus narrows down to find a 20-year-old “mother”, who had two 90-year-old sons! The entire story unfolds as Sage Naarada realizes that these three people were none other than Bhakti, Gnyaana and Vairaagya, which are three qualities that are of paramount importance, if we’ve to reach the level of Mukti. If we’ve to attain these three qualities in this Kali Yuga, of innumerable solutions, Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana is the best amongst all. It can be recalled by our readers that even in our earlier episodes we had witnessed that Bhagawan Krishna Himself resides in an invisible form amidst this great text in this Kali Yuga.

Now moving on further, in the last episode we had also witnessed that at a place called “Aananda Vana” on the banks of River Ganges, wherein all of them including Sage Naarada, Sanaka, Sanathkumaara, Prahlaada, Arjuna, all the Devas (Celestial Beings) assembled together for the grand festive of experiencing Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. Bhagawan Krishna Himself marks His presence amidst the entire gathering.

“Hemasimha yutham chaitath vaishnavaani dadhaadi cha!

Krishnena sahasaayujyam sapumaan labhate dhruvam!

Uktham bhaagawatham nityam kritham cha hari chintanam!!”

As this was happening, the “Paadma Puraana” also describes how should this text be recited and heard. Who should recite the text? A person who is an expert at communicating a beautiful story should be made to recite it. If we look into what is “story” in this context, it means that this person should have that mental acumen to narrate the story in a beautiful and an impactful manner, as well as to relate the contents of the story to the happenings of modern-day life and link both! Only then, the listeners would be able to understand what exactly is going on and how do they relate it. In other words, the storyline in the Bhaagawatha Puraana text, as we’ve witnessed yesterday, contains enormous amounts of messages hidden inside and it is only upto the smartness of the orator to bring out this essence along with the storyline. Moreover, the orator should have the passion to recite the slokas and explain the meaning and messages deeper and deeper. For this, the orator should prepare a lot before coming on to the stage. Moreover, the orator should be patient enough to repeat explanations till the listeners have understood the whole thing. Many of us, as we might see, might not be able to understand everything at one go. We require some time to acknowledge, assimilate, think and then understand it. Hence, the orator should have the patience to let all these processes happen within the listeners and maybe repeat the content more than once, so that all people are on the same page.

In addition, before the recital starts, the book of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana should be kept on a “Hema-Simhaasana”, which means, the highest possible seat! Normally, “Hema-Simhaasana” means a seat made of pure gold! This is a way to respect the sacred text, as we know already that this text is none other than Bhagawan Krishna Himself! Of course in today’s scenario, who on earth has a chair made of gold? 😊 So, it is advisable to atleast have a small dedicated place to keep this sacred text. As the recital is going to commence, this orator who is going to perform it should be physically neat and tidy, and should offer his deep prayers to Bhagawan Krishna before he starts. As this recital is arranged, many people should be invited to be listeners. This should be like a marriage ceremony that we do – We should invite as many people as we can, offer them good food, shelter and perform all the necessary arrangements to make the listeners comfortable and happy! For the next seven days thus, the contents of this sacred text should be discussed day and night and analyzed. Moreover it is also said that the most sacred months to recite and listen to this text is from the Tamil month of “Aavani” (Precisely July-August) till the commencement of the holy month of “Maargazhi” (Precisely mid-December). This is the most auspicious time period for recital and listening of this sacred text.

As this is being described, there is another sub-story within this main story! We need to witness this one too! From this itself we might understand that there are innumerable stories like this, and we should pay very close attention to the minute detail of it. We shall wait till the next episode to witness this sub-story! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an interesting story from the “Paadma Puraana” as to how “Bhakti”, “Mukti”, “Gnyaana” and “Vairaagya” are of paramount importance if one has to take on the spiritual pursuit in life. We witnessed it in the form of a beautiful storyline wherein Sage Naarada brings out the importance of these four aspects through the narrative of a 20-year-old girl at Mathura, which is the very place where Bhagawan Krishna spent most of his childhood days. It might be noted by readers here that the entire text of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana comprises of small stories like these, along with many sub-stories too. The storyline is of course important, but each story and sub-story would contain a huge underlying message within them. This is more important for all of us to understand and implement. Thus, it is not enough if we just go through the storyline and leave it at that. We should make an effort to understand what exactly each story tries to convey as a message. Of course, as always, I would try my best to bring out as many messages as possible from as many stories we can witness as part of this blog. But our readers are requested to do some more research on all this, and find out what exactly does each story convey.

Now getting back to the story, it might be remembered by our readers that this 20-year-old woman is trying to awaken her 90-year-old sons, but in vain! Hence, she requests Sage Naarada to try and do the same. However, after so much of effort, Sage Naarada too is helpless! These two men couldn’t be woken up. It is at this time when two people by name “Sanaka” and “Sanath-kumaara” come into picture. Bhagawan Bramha (The universal creator) has four sons – Sanaka, Sanath-kumaara, Sanaathana and the likes. As Sanaka and Sanath-kumaara pass by this point, Sage Naarada meets both of them and asks them some ways as to how can these two 90-year-olds be awakened. Hearing thus from Sage Naarada, both of them reply back, “Oh Sage Naarada! If these two have to wake up, there should be some auspicious happening that should take place!” Hearing thus, Sage Naarada was perplexed and stunned! He replies thus, “Oh Sanaka and Sanath-kumaara! Till now I’ve done only auspicious things in this world, and to these two people too! So far I’ve chanted all possible Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagawad Gita, Vishnu Sahasranaama, etc. and still what more auspicious happening is left to be done? I couldn’t understand!” Upon this, both Sanaka and Sanath-kumaara reply back thus, “Oh Sage Naarada! All what you’ve done is not enough! Please follow the seven-day austerity and recite the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana meticulously! Only then these two people would regain consciousness! This is what is important!”

Thus we can understand the significance of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana here. The underlying message from this particular segment of the story is that, in order to awaken the “Gnyaana” and the “Vairaagya” within us, Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana has to be recited by all of us! This is why the Bhaagawatha Puraana is considered extremely sacred in our Sanaathana Dharma Literature.

As Sanaka says thus, Sage Naarada quips back: “Oh Sanaka! Are you saying that this text is more significant than any other text that our Sanaathana Dharma contains?” Sanaka replies, “Oh Sage Naarada! I’m surprised that you are asking such a question! Of course, Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana can never be compared to any other text in our Sanaathana Dharma, as it encompasses all the messages, guidelines, divinity and knowledge that one needs to attain spiritual growth! Definitely this story of Bhagawan Krishna has enormous significance and strength and hence, it is extremely sacred and important.” Sage Naarada now asks the next question, “Oh Sanaka! Where do we go and sit and recite this Bhaagawatha Puraana?” Sage Sanaka replies, “Oh Sage Naarada! Please go to the place called “Aanandha Vana” on the banks of the holy river Ganges. It is the perfect place for reading it!”

“Shrunu naarada vakshyaamaha vinam raaya vivekine!

Ganga dhvaara sameepethu thatamaanandanaamakam!!”

Thus from the above sloka, Sanaka requests Sage Naarada to go to this place called “Aananda Vana” on the banks of River Ganges. We can worship this place even today. So Sage Naarada goes to this place and sits amidst the beautiful forest on one side and the scenic river Ganges on the other. All the other Sages come and assemble around Sage Naarada. Bhagawan Krishna Himself marks His presence at that place near Sage Naarada. Prahlaada, Uddhava and all the four Vedas – Rig, Yajur, Saama and Atharvana Vedas take their respective human forms and assemble in that place. Prahlaadha starts playing the percussion, while Arjuna (One of the key Paandava Brothers) start playing the mridangam and the recital of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana commences. The entire place is in a festive mood as Bhagawan Krishna Himself is present at that spot.

“Ashwamedha sahasraani vaajapeya shataani cha!

Shuka shaastra kathaayaascha kalam naarhanti shodasheen!!”

This sloka speaks about the benefits of reading this sacred text. It says that, if one reads Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana meticulously, even one-sixteenth of the benefit that he gets is more than the benefit that he gets by doing a hundred “Ashwamedha Yaagas”. This is simply because, listening or reading Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana by sitting in one place is much easier as compared to do complex practices like Ashwamedha Yaaga. Performing Yaagas are tough because we need to scout around for getting all the raw materials together, incurring huge expenses, involving extensive labor, etc. However, if we’ve to just sit at one place and read through the slokas, what big difficulty are we going to face? Hence, this is the amount of significance the Bhaagawatha Puraana contains.

Moving on thus, we shall now witness the second important story from the “Paadma Puraana”. We shall wait till the next episode for the same! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of a very interesting story wherein Sage Naarada comes across three “peculiar” people as he moves around the world. He finds these people at Mathura, the place where Bhagawan Krishna had spent most of his childhood days. As Sage Naarada passes through this particular place, he finds a 20-year-old girl sitting beside two 90-year-old men. Upon enquiring the details, Sage Naarada was perplexed to find that this 20-year-old girl was the mother of these two 90-year-old men! With some deeper inquiry, this young girl “indirectly” tells her story – That she had been living in Vaikunta for so many thousands of years. Bhagawan sent her along with one of her friend to this world and she has been living in this world ever since the three previous “Yugas” and that she too is old. Her friend left her at the end of the Dvaapara Yuga and she is alone now, living with her two sons! However, when she came to this particular place, she became young, but to her liking, her two sons weren’t becoming young like her! She’s somehow trying to wake up her “old” sons and transform them to a young age, but somehow it doesn’t happen! Sage Naarada too, initially tries to awaken those two old men, but he was also unable to do it!

But upon hearing the narrative of this woman, an entire background story flash into Sage Naarada’s mind. Now Sage Naarada asks this girl, “Oh! With all that I had listened from you, I think you’re someone by name ‘Bhakti’! Am I right? Are you ‘Bhakti’? You also said that someone was with you like a “friend”. Is she “Mukthi”? Are these two “children” of yours “Gnyaana” and “Vairaagya”?”

From this question of Sage Naarada, we understand that these are not just characters of a storyline. These names that we just witnessed – “Bhakti”, “Mukthi”, “Gnyaana” and “Vairaagya” are four important qualities that are essential for a human being to reach Bhagawan! This is how the stories within the Bhaagawatha Puraana would be! These are not just mere stories, but would have some huge hidden messages within them! So we’ve to be very careful in understanding them!

Now let us go deeper into Sage Naarada’s quest and now let us re-frame this storyline. Bhagawan had sent two people – “Bhakti” and “Mukti” are two essential aspects that are hand-hand with each other. If we’ve to attain “Mukti”, we need to be steadfast in “Bhakti”. This is why Bhagawan had sent these two at tandem together as friends to this world. Now, as per this girl’s argument, these two “Bhakti” and “Mukthi” were together till Dvaapara Yuga, however at the end of it, and at the beginning of the Kali Yuga, the number of people who are willing to attain “Mukti” has drastically reduced! This is why “Bhakti”’s friend “Mukti” leaves the world and goes back to Vaikunta. While leaving the world, Mukti says to Bhakti thus, “Oh Bhakti! It seems that I do not have much work to do in this Kali Yuga, since not many are interested in me anymore! However, you continue to live in this world and if you require any help from me, I shall always be at your service! I’ll definitely come to you if you call me!” This means what? If in this world, if someone is becoming extraordinary in terms of performing Bhakti towards Bhagawan and is trying meticulously to reach Bhagawan’s feet, then this “Bhakti” can call upon “Mukti” to take this person to Bhagawan!

Thus it is evident that Mukti is possible in this Kali Yuga, but the only problem is that, not many people are willing to attain it! This is why, the girl by name “Mukti” had left this world. However, “Bhakti” still continues to live along with her two children “Gnyaana” and “Vairaagya”. As we all know, “Gnyaana” is nothing but the requisite spiritual knowledge that is required to attain Bhagawan’s feet, or “Mukti”. “Vairaagya” is nothing but “perseverance” towards our goal of attaining “Mukti”. Thus we learn here that if “Bhakti” (devotion towards Bhagawan) should grow within a person, he / she should be steadfast in acquiring the “Gnyaana” (Knowledge) with “Vairaagya” (Perseverance).

Now again going back to the storyline, what does this Bhakti tell Sage Naarada? She says that she was also very old when she entered Kali Yuga, however when she came across this place called “Mathura”, on the banks of River Yamuna, she became so young! This signifies the fact that if we happen to visit this “Punya-Kshetra” of Mathura, which is the abode of little Krishna, we too would become “young” and “beautiful” in terms of Bhakti! 😊 This is the reason why we should visit “Punya-Kshetras”. The moment we start visiting “Punya-Kshetras”, our “Bhakti” would become younger and would start growing further and further! Only if we’re young we would grow isn’t it?

However, as per the storyline again, this girl is saying another thing – Although she was able to become younger, her two “sons” who are 90-year-old are unable to get as young as she is, and moreover, they’re not even able to get up from their unconscious state. These two sons are none other than “Gnyaana” and “Vairaagya”. Attaining these two in spirituality is extremely tough! We might become “Bhaktas” of Bhagawan, but to follow steadfast spirituality, we should have these two qualities, which are extremely tough to possess in today’s Kali Yuga. For instance, if someone asks us: “Are we Bhaktas of Bhagawan?” We would immediately say “Yes”! However, if someone asks us: “Are we “Gnyaanis”? We would say no! Why? If someone asks us to do some basic spiritual practices like taking a shower regularly, do some prayers, prepare some “Prasad” (divine offering) to Bhagawan, we would all be able to do them! However, if someone asks us to learn the meanings of each phrase of Vishnu Sahasranaama, or Ramayana, or whatever, we would immediately refuse! 😊 This is because, we lack the ability to do these things and we would simply discard it by saying that this is not our cup of tea! This is why we say that we are weak in “Gnyaana” or “Spiritual Knowledge”.

When we finally talk about “Vairaagya”, this is the most difficult thing for us to possess in today’s Kali Yuga! In fact, to be blunt, we NEVER have this quality called “Vairaagya” within us in today’s world. Why? We keep running behind something or the other every passing day! We’re going behind worldly attachments so much that we are simply unable to develop this “Vairaagya” today! However, all of us have Bhakti or devotion towards Bhagawan!

Thus from this story, we understand that in this Kali Yuga, Bhakti is still young and this is why many of us are ardent devotees of Bhagawan! “Gnyaana” and “Vairaagya” are old and unconscious, but are still present in this world. This is why we’re able to attain atleast limited amounts of these two. Even if we’re not able to have the “Vairaagya”, many of us are atleast trying a little bit! However, Bhakti’s friend Mukti has left this world because not many people today are interested in it anymore! If suppose anyone is interested, Mukti is always ready to help us out to reach Bhagawan!

So for today, let us spare a thought on this beautiful, but indirect story and let us reflect upon ourselves. We should measure ourselves as to where we stand and we should take a step forward to improve ourselves as we move into our future! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the concluding remarks of this story and thus move on to the next one! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had commenced on a very interesting event that took place during the advent of this Kali Yuga, where Sage Naarada is trying to express his displeasure with regards to what is happening in this world, after the departure of Bhagawan Krishna to Vaikunta. As Sage Naarada is going along with a sad face and a worried look, unhappiness was written all over his facial expressions. This kindled the feelings of some other sages who were residing in Sage Naarada’s path. So they stop him and ask him the reason for his sadness. Upon this, Sage Naarada claims that ever since Bhagawan Krishna had left this world to Vaikunta, he wasn’t able to see any sort of good activities that are happening as per the Dharma that Bhagawan Krishna taught to people. In this accord, Sage Naarada even says that he had visited many “Punya-Kshetras” and even there he found the same story. Sage Naarada gives an account of several Punya-Kshetras that he had visited, which we had witnessed in yesterday’s episode. Finally he starts describing about one important “Punya-Kshetra”, which is Mathura, situated on the banks of River Yamuna in the north-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This is the very place where Bhagawan Krishna spent all of us childhood days, along with the nearby places of Gokula, Brindavan, and the likes. Here is where, Sage Naarada spots a unique incident and he tries to explain this incident to the Sages with whom he was talking with. We shall witness this unique and peculiar incident in today’s episode.

As the Sages were listening to Sage Naarada, he starts narrating that peculiar instance thus: “Oh Sages! As I was passing through this place called Mathura, which is incidentally the place where Bhagawan Krishna spent his childhood days, I saw at the bottom of a big tree, a young woman in her 20’s, lying beside two men who were very old and probably in their 90’s. I was surprised as to why this small girl is lying beside two old men and I went down to enquire some details. When I asked her about the two men sleeping by her side, I was stunned with her answer! She says that those two old men were her own sons and now for some reason, they’re totally unconscious and lying on the ground! She’s trying hard to wake them up, but she couldn’t!”

Sage Naarada becomes skeptical at this point as to how can a 20-year-old girl become a mother of two 90-year-old men! However he doesn’t vent out his skeptics at this point, as she requests his help to awaken these two “children” of hers! Sage Naarada also tries his best to waken them up – He tries chanting some slokas, Bhagawad Gita, Vishnu Sahasranama, etc. but in vein! These two are never going to get up for anything that Sage Naarada is going to do! As Sage Naarada is also perplexed with what is going on, he asks this girl about her background story! Now the girl narrates her past and how has she come to this point along with her two “90-year-old-sons”!

The girl says thus: “Oh Sage Naarada! I was born long back in this world along with a friend of mine. I’m living a life in this world ever since “Krita Yuga”. I’ve passed through the entire Krita Yuga, Tretha Yuga, Dvaapara Yuga and now I’m living even inside the Kali Yuga. However, as I was living in the previous three “Yugas”, I was living happily with my sons and also with one of my very good friend. Eventually during the end of the Dvaapara Yuga, my friend left me by saying that her time has come to leave and if at all I want some help regarding something, she would definitely come and do the needful! Eventually, I had also become older along with these two sons of mine. However, since I was also roaming around with these two sons, when I reached Mathura I suddenly became young again! However, my two sons are unable to become young like how I had become! Moreover, both of them are unconscious at the moment and I’m trying hard to wake them up and make them young like me! Somehow this is not happening!”

As Sage Naarada listens to this “peculiar story” from this girl, he thinks for a while and suddenly realizes what had exactly happened with his “Gnyaana Drishti” (Unique sense of understanding the past, present and future together). It is to be understood by readers here that this girl who is supposed to be in her 20s, was actually an old woman! Her sons too thus were very old. But upon reaching this particular place, she had been transformed into a young woman. However, the sons couldn’t be transformed the same way how she was!

As this girl was narrating this story, Sage Naarada comes to an understanding that she has narrated a huge important event that had happened in the past, but in an indirect manner, that sounds very peculiar! It is at this point upon seeing these three of them, Sage Naarada realizes this whole background story like a “flashback”! What is this “flashback” story? Let’s wait to find out in the next episode! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode we had continued upon an important discussion on how do we develop the sense of “detachment” in this world and how does Bhagawan Himself propagate this point in a big way. He has done so by walking the talk during the Ramayana time, and has stressed upon a lot during the Mahabharata time, as part of the Bhagawad Gita. Thus in this Kali Yuga, if we’ve to make a firm step forward towards Dharma, we need to cultivate this quality called “detachment”. The moment we start taking sides because of various reasons of attachment, we would start deviating from the path of Dharma.

This is not only applicable to the spiritual development of a human being, but also applicable in modern-day management and leadership too. If for instance, we’re a head of a big corporate company and if we’ve to take key decisions that might be very important for the company to propel forward with growth, many people around us might be in consensus and some people might be otherwise. Whatever might be the decision that we would want to implement, there would always be opposition from some quarters of employees. Just because there is an opposition or consensus, should both of these affect our decision-making? The answer is “never”! Of course, we should be considerate towards our employees and look into why some people are opposing the decision. We should use our discrimination capability to understand what is right or wrong at that point in time for the company. In other words, our decisions should be in the interest of the company moving forward, and not entirely as per the interest of the self as well as one particular group of employees. This is a very important point in corporate management and in leadership as well. If a leader takes sides, there might be huge repercussion of a revolt within the organization, isn’t it? As an effective leader thus, we should make sure that we take the neutral stance in any decision that we take. This art of taking a neutral stance in decision-making is what we call as “detachment”. Thus, “detachment” is extremely important in every walk of life – Be it personal, spiritual or professional! Hence, let us spare a thought to this important point again and again as we move into the next segment.

As mentioned in the previous episode, this conversation between Sage Pauraanika and his disciples set the tone for the commencement of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana and its applicability to the Kali Yuga is immense! As we move into more of it, we shall witness two important stories that come as part of the “Paadma Puraana”, that talks about Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana and it’s significance. We shall witness the first story today and the next one tomorrow.

“Katham brahmam dheena mukhaha kuthas chintaataro bhavaan!

Tvaritham ramyate kutra kutascha aagamanam tava!!”

Once upon a time, the great Sage Naarada was roaming around the earth with a worried face! As Sage Naarada was passing through a place wherein a group of other Sages were sitting and discussing something, these Sages thought within themselves, “Oh! We’ve never seen Sage Naarada so sad and worried! Normally we are the ones who feel worried due to so many reasons! But what is the problem with him?” Thinking thus, these sages call Sage Naarada and ask him what was his problem! Upon which, Sage Naarada replies thus:

“Aham tu prithiveenyaataha nyaathvaa sarvotthamaa nithi!”

Sage Naarada explains his concern thus, “Oh Sages! You’ve asked an important question to me! I’m sad and worried because as I travel across the world, I never see even one place wherein Dharma has an upper hand! I even tried to visit some “Punya-Kshetras” across Bhaarata Desha, but in vein! As Bhagawan Krishna departed to Vaikunta, all the good happenings in this world have come down drastically! This is the reason why I’m sad!”

Listening to Sage Naarada thus, the other sages ask him back, “Oh Sage Naarada! It’s indeed a huge concern for all of us too! But tell us, which are those “Punya-Kshetras” you’ve visited so far in your journey?” Sage Naarada replies thus:

“Pushkaram cha prayaagam cha kaasheem godaavareem tathaa!

Harikshetram kurukshetram sree rangam sethu bandhanam!!

Yevamaadishu theerteshu bhramamaanamitastataha!”

We ourselves can infer which are all those “Punya-Kshetras” that Sage Naarada has visited! Those places include, Pushkar, Prayaag (Modern day Allahabad, or Prayagraj, wherein three rivers Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati meet. Also called “Triveni-Sangamam”), Varanasi, banks of river Godavari, Kurukshetra, Sri Rangam (Near Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu) and Rameshwaram (Abode of “Ram-Sethu”). Thus Sage Naarada explains to all the other sages that he has gone to all of these places, but did not find any Dharma that is happening anywhere!

Sage Naarada continues further thus, “As I was going along all these places, I came to the place called “Mathura” on the banks of river Yamuna. On one side I find Mathura, on the other side I find Gokulam! On the other side I find a beautiful place called Brindaavan and on the other side I find the scenic Govardhana mountain! These are the places wherein Bhagawan Krishna spent most of his childhood days!”

Now why is Sage Naarada stressing upon this particular place so much? We shall wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed a special mention about “detachment” and how Bhagawan Krishna meticulously stressed on its significance so as to make spiritual progress. In fact, the same point has been echoed by Sage Pauraanika also in his reply to his disciples as to how do we still succeed in our spiritual pursuit, despite being amidst the treacherous Kali Yuga. In fact, Sage Pauranika has been giving various solutions to this problem wherein he spoke about creating a self-awareness about Bhagawan by reading and understanding about His significance, visiting various “Punya-Kshetras” across the Bhaarata Desha (India), which would help us in gaining more understanding of the various “leelas” (divine activities) that Bhagawan has performed, and now we’ve spoken of unbundling of all our worldly attachments by developing a strong sense of “detachment” from all of them!

Of course, “detachment” is one of the toughest tasks to do in this Kali Yuga, but we should start somewhere, isn’t it? We cannot keep saying that it is tough and brood over it! 😊 So let us try and get rid of these attachments by enhancing our knowledge about Bhagawan and His significance and by doing so, we would slowly start progressing towards the path of Dharma. If we’re able to do this in a steadfast manner, no matter what obstacle comes our way, we would be able to overthrow every kind of obstacle that comes in between our spiritual journey and keep chugging along!

If we’ve to take this discussion a little deeper, we are now living in this Kali Yuga like a superfast vehicle tied to a tree with a strong rope, unable to move forward! This vehicle is capable of cruising at 200 kilometers per hour, but is unable to move an inch forward because of this rope that is tied to its wheel. Now, this vehicle will be able to move forward only if the rope is cut down, isn’t it? Similarly, we are also like this superfast vehicle that is tied to the tree by the rope. Our sins and worldly attachments are like this rope. It is only if all these are “cut-down”, will we be able to cruise on the spiritual path at our maximum speed. It is not that we are capable of cruising our way through. It is only that we are tied to the tree of “attachments” with the rope. Once we’re able to cut down this rope, we’re detaching ourself from the obstacle and thus, we move forward towards Dharma. Now how do we “cut down” this rope? The only option is to know more about Bhagawan by reading about Him, by visiting His temples, etc.

This is why we’re insisting that we focus our attention in reading this great text called Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. As we’ve seen in the past few episodes that Bhagawan Krishna Himself is residing in Kali Yuga in the form of this sacred text, what more of an assurance do we need beyond this? The moment we take the book in our hand, start reading the slokas and the commentaries with total trust on Bhagawan and with complete involvement, we would automatically get tears of joy in our eyes. The moment we’re in this state, we would automatically start experiencing Bhagawan standing right in front of us with a beautiful divine face, with a flute in hand, with a peacock feather in His head and with a bluish body clad with a silky and a shiny attire! This is what “Bhakti” exactly is! This is what Bhagawan expects from us as we move forward in the path of spiritual growth! The moment we’re able to experience the divine presence of Bhagawan, we do not need any further push! We would automatically start cruising along the path of spiritual growth, as the rope called “sins” is cut off from our legs! The moment Bhagawan comes in front of us, all our sins get washed away! We’ve seen this concept of Sanaathana Dharma earlier during our Ramayana project as well, wherein when Bhagawan Rama appeared in front of Hanuman for the first time, all of Hanuman’s sins were completely washed away automatically and Hanuman sank into tears of joy upon seeing his “hero”! So as ardent followers of Sanaathana Dharma, we should always keep this point in mind, as we move into the Bhaagawatha Puraana text.

Moving on thus, as Sage Pauraanika finishes his answer for this particular question, he lets out an important message as well. He says thus:

“Paarthivaa dhaaruno dhoomaha tasmaad agnistrayeemayaha!”

Saying thus, Sage Pauraanika concludes the answer for this first question from his disciples. However he continues to say that this is not the end here. He says thus, “Oh disciples! This is just the beginning of a long question-answer session. This session is not only going to help clearing your doubts and clarifications on various issues pertaining to this Kali Yuga, but is also going to serve as an important ‘document’ for innumerable generations of people to take birth, as we progress into this Kali Yuga further and further! So keep your mind and ears open and listen to all what I’ve got to tell all of you!”

It is with this interactive session between Sage Pauraanika and his disciples, the Bhaagawatha Puraana commences. Now let us go into more details of this conversation.

“Bruvaanam samsthooya muneenaam dheerga satrinaam!

Tasya puthro mahaa yogi samadrig nirvi kalpakaha!!”

These slokas actually mark the beginning of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana and also the interaction between Sage Pauraanika and his Sishyas. But before we go into this, there are two small stories that are part of the “Paadma Puraana”, that talk about the significance of this great Shrimad Bhaagawatha text. We What are they? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! We shall go into the Bhaagawatha Puraana text, as we look into those couple of stories. Stay tuned! 😊