The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed why faith and belief are of paramount importance when we start reading and understanding any spiritual text. In this context of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana, if Bhagawan Krishna Himself is giving an assurance that He is in the form of this sacred text in this Kali Yuga, what more do we require? Isn’t it imperative for us to just pick up the text and start experiencing it?

In continuation with this important point, we started to discuss the structure of the text. We had witnessed yesterday that this Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana is divided into 12 major “Skandas”, which are again split into innumerable “Adhyaayas” (just like how it is in the Mahabharata and Ramayana) to accommodate around 18,000 slokas in total. If I say 18,000 as a number, it would not be exactly 18,000. It might be a little here and there, as each “Adhyaaya” contain an uneven number of slokas. This makes it difficult to give an exact number of slokas that the Bhaagawatha Puraana comprises of. Hence, for an understanding purpose, we shall consider a round figure of 18,000 slokas. Anyway, the number of slokas is not important. What is more important is the contents and messages that each sloka tries to convey. So let us not worry much about the numerical aspects here.

Moving on thus, we had also commenced a discussion as to how this Puraana is split into seven parts (“Saptaaham”). As we’ve repeatedly mentioned before, there is a practice of reciting this Puraana in a period of seven days. Each day has a definitive portion to be recited. In that manner, the first day we discuss the first, second and the third “Skandha” wherein we would witness the all-important episode of Shri Varaaha Avatara (One of the main incarnations of Bhagawan Vishnu). It is after this, comes the “Manu-Karthama Samvaadam”. The discussion of day-one ends with this particular portion.

Now moving on to the second day’s discussion,

“Bharataakhyaana paryantham dvitheeyepari vaachayeth!”

Now on “Day 2”, we finish the remaining segment of the third “Skandha” and move on to the fourth “Skandha”. We witness the entire fourth “Skandha” and move on to the fifth “Skandha”. In this fifth “Skandha”, we finish with the 12’th “Adhyaaya”. This 12’th Adhyaaya contains the story of someone called “Aadhi-Jada-Bharatha”. This is a very interesting story, and I’m sure when we come to this point after many episodes, we would automatically develop that interest that we can also live such a noble and a wonderful life in this earth.

Now moving on to the third day’s discussion,

“Trithiyee divase kuryaath sapthamah skandha puraanam!”

On “Day 3”, we commence from where we left from the fifth “Skandha”, travel throughout the fifth, enter the sixith “Skandha”, traverse the entire length and breath of it, enter the seventh “Skandha” and till it’s end. This is where the important incarnation of Vishunu – Narasimha Avatara takes place. Many of us might be knowing this well – How Bhagawan Vishnu took the incarnation of a half-lion and half-man (Bhagawan Narasimha) to protect little Prahlaadha from his wicked father Hiranya-Kashibu. Thus, the entire story of the Narasimha Avatara comes as part of the third day’s discussion.

Now moving on to the fourth day’s session,

“Krishna aavirbhaava paryantham chaturthe divase vadeth!”

On Day 4, we start with the 8’th “Skandha”, and traverse all the way till the 10’th “Skandha”. It is in the 10’th “Skandha” that we start a detailed description of the Krishna-Avatara. We thus finish the fourth day’s discussion with the 3’rd Adhyaaya of the 10’th “Skandha” wherein we commence the discussion on the Krishna-Avatara. Here we leave it at the point wherein Bhagawan Krishna is born to Devaki and Vasudeva as the eighth son, after the previous seven children were killed by his uncle Kamsa.

Moving on thus, the fifth day’s session is as follows:

“Rukminyudhvaaha paryantham panchamehaneesha pashyate!”

Here on the fifth day, we start from the 4’th Adhyaaya of the 10’th Skandha and move on till the 54’th Adhyaaya of the same 10’th Skandha. This is where Bhagawan Krishna marries Rukmini Devi. This might seem a relatively small discussion, but it is the opposite. The 10’th Skandha is a very long one and it would take quite a bit of time to complete.

Moving on thus, the sixth day’s session is as follows:

“Shri hamsaakhyaana paryantham shashtehanee vadeth Sukhee!”

Thus the sixth day discussion commences from the 55’th Adhyaaya of the 10’th Skandha and extends till the 13’th Adhyaaya of the 11’th Skandha. Here we witness a very important segment – Bhagawan Vishnu takes the form of a swan (Hamsa) and he gives important advice to Bhagawan Bramha on various issues. Here, Bhagawan Vishnu talks about Bhakthi in extreme detail and it is very important for all of us to understand the words that have directly come from Bhagawan’s mouth!

Finally, the seventh day’s session is as follows:

“Saptha me tu dine kuryaathpoorthim bhaagawathasyavai!!”

Finally as we end the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana on the seventh and the last day, we witness the departure of Bhagawan Krishna to Vaikunta. It is after Bhagawan Krishna’s departure, starts the Kali Yuga. A detailed analysis of the Kali Yuga – It’s positives, merits, negatives, demerits, the “Dharma” of Kali Yuga is given and it finally culminates with the benefits of reading through and understanding this great text.

So with this, we’ve had a preliminary run-through of the entire Bhaagawatha Puraana text and how it is taken for part-by-part discussion for seven days. From tomorrow’s episode, we shall dive into the contents of the first day’s discussion with greater detail. We shall try and understand the contents as lucidly as possible and from now on, I solicit the love and support of all our readers in making this a great learning experience for all of us! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important and a direct message from Bhagawan Krishna Himself that in this Kali Yuga, He would be in the form of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text. Thus it is highly imperative that if we’re able to read and understand this sacred text, we can feel Bhagawan Krishna’s presence amongst all of us! If He himself has given this assurance, what more “incentive” do we require to pick it up and read? Thus, during the departure time of Bhagawan Krishna to Vaikunta, he gives this assurance to his ardent devotees headed by Uddhava, which is of course applicable to all of us as well. He eventually promises Uddhava that although he might not be visible in the physical form during the Kali Yuga, He might be felt when someone reads, recites, writes and / or understands the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana.

Having said thus, we should remember always that it is all about the faith and belief that we have from here on. If we should be able to attain the full benefit and grace from Bhagawan from the Bhaagawatha Puraana, the first step is to have the belief that Bhagawan’s promise and assurance will hold true. Just like how we have the faith and belief that He is present in the form of a statue (“Vigraha”) in a temple – How do we get this belief? All of us go to a temple and worship Bhagawan isn’t it? It might be a small temple nearby our home, or a “Divyadesa” temple that is very famous, or it can be a “Saalagrama” (A special kind of stone that we get from the holy rivers of Ganges and Ghantaki in the Himalayas), or it can even be a small Krishna image that we might have at our prayer hall within our homes too. Thus, irrespective of whatever it is – “Vigraha” or “Saalagrama” stone, or an image or a portrait that we have at home, we have the instant belief that Bhagawan is present with us in the form of either or all of these. If we’re able to have the faith in all of the above mentioned items, we should also have the firm belief that Bhagawan Krishna is definitely present in the form of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana as well. Thus with this point, we establish hereby that Bhagawan Krishna does reside in this world, in this Kali Yuga in the form of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana.

In this point, there is another important benefit that we get. It might be a bit funny, but it is still significant. If for instance, we get a thought that we would want to worship Bhagawan Krishna at his birthplace of Mathura, what can we do? As all of us might be knowing that this place called Mathura is in the banks of River Yamuna, in the present-day Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. As this place is in the north of India, people from the south find it a bit difficult to go there, worship and come back. We have problems with respect to time, food, culture, language, etc. In olden days, if people have to undertake huge “Yatras” (Spiritual journeys) from the south to some places like Badrinath, Kedarnath, Mathrua, Dwaraka, etc. it was not an easy task. If such journeys had to be undertaken, transportation was not well-developed. Other infrastructural facilities such as accommodation, food, etc. weren’t upto the mark. Hence it was extremely difficult for people who do it. Nowadays of course, we have excellent transportation facilities in the form of flights, decent trains, etc. to travel much easier and quicker. At many pilgrimage places today, we have very good restaurants and hotels, which also make people’s lives easier than before. However, having said all this, we still need to plan, make lot of efforts even today to travel to such places and if we’ve to do it instantly, it is still a distant dream for many of us! However, if we have a book of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana at our home, all these difficulties can be put to rest! It is because of this simple fact that Bhagawan Krishna had promised His presence in it! So if we have a sudden urge to worship Bhagawan Krishna, for whatever reason we might have, it is very easy here – Just take out the Bhaagawatha Puraana text and start reading a few slokas from it! Bhagawan Krishna is right there with all of us! 😊 How much easier can it be beyond this? Hence, let us make sure that we use this opportunity to enjoy Bhagawan’s presence in this divine and sacred text, as we move on with its contents.

Having said thus, we shall now witness the seven important divisions or parts of this great text and thus justify the methodology of “Sapthaaham”. In due course, we shall also witness the broad structure of this text as well.

“Manu karthama samvaadhaparyantham prathamenani!”

Thus on the first day, we witness the conversations that happened between Manu and Karthama-Prajaapathi. This part is actually in the third “Skandha”. It is to be noted that this purana has in total, 12 “Skandhaas” (Bigger parts) and around 18,000 slokas, packed into innumerable “Adhyaayas” (Smaller chapters). Just like we’ve witnessed in the Ramayana and the Mahaabhaarata before, every text would have a definitive structure. Here, this text has a structure wherein it is broadly divided into 12 major “Skandaas” (We can consider it as “Parts”) and each “Skandha” would have a definitive number of “Adhyaayas” (Sub-parts or chapters).

Thus in the first day as per the above sloka, we witness the first, second and the third “Skandha” wherein we would witness the episode of Shri Varaaha Avatara (One of the main incarnations of Bhagawan Vishnu). It is after this, comes the “Manu-Karthama Samvaadam”. Thus on the first part, we cover these many aspects of the Bhaagawatha Puraana.

So for today, let us understand this structure first. We shall go slowly into the description of the seven parts (“Saptaaham”) as we move into the next episode. Stay tuned! 😊

We’re at a stage wherein we’re making a strong and a positive commencement of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana with the “Dhyaana Slokas”. We’ve witnessed one yesterday and today we shall continue with the other important slokas along with their meaning and the message that they convey to us. As mentioned yesterday, the “Dhyaana Slokas” are the introductory part of any scriptural text that form part of the Sanaathana Dharma, wherein the grace of the author and Bhagawan are invoked through them as we commence our pursuit. In yesterday’s sloka, we had witnessed Bhagawan Vishnu himself asserting to the world that whoever makes an attempt to consciously listen to, understand and / or recite the Bhaagawatha Puraana are all extremely close to His heart and they are in for His divine grace and blessings! This is a very important message first-up! If Bhagawan is going to get pleased by this particular task of ours, then we can very well do it with our full involvement and total dedication. Hence, starting today, let us put in our full effort to know, recite, read and understand the contents of this great text.

Now moving on further, we shall witness the next important sloka that comes in line with the previous one. Here, we’re going to witness an extremely significant message. How is Shrimad Bhaagwatha Puraana relevant and important in this Kali Yuga? As all of us know by now that we’re amidst the Kali Yuga, which is amongst the four main Yugas that the world goes through. We might often keep wondering – Do all of these scriptural texts that we read and understand relate to the Kali Yuga directly? If yes, how? Why is Shrimad Bhaagwatha Puraana considered very important in this Kali Yuga? Let’s witness the reasons thus:

“Shrimad bhaagawathee vaarthaa suraanaamapi durlabhaa!

Menire bhagawathroopam shaastram bhaagawatham kalao!!”

Now let us witness the relevance here – As many of us might know, at the end of the Dwaapara Yuga, Bhagawan Krishna realizes that it is time for him to go back to Vaikunta and thus, after the descent of Bhagawan Krishna, the Kali Yuga commences officially. However, as Bhagawan Krishna leaves for Vaikunta, His disciples catch hold of His feet and beg him to stay on for some more years. Amongst all of them, there was a representative by name Uddhava, who was a great devotee of Bhagawan Krishna. Uddhava, on behalf of all his peers, request Bhagawan Krishna thus: “Oh Krishna! So far, we’ve been living under your divine guidance and under your umbrella’s shadow. Now if you suddenly leave us alone and go to Vaikunta, how will we live here without you? Till today, we’ve never realized that this day would come wherein we’ve to live without your divine presence! Now we’re totally incapable to live without your presence around us!”

Uddhava continues further thus: “Oh Krishna!! We feel that, either you shouldn’t have come to this world at all – Or you should live with us permanently! If you wouldn’t have come to this world, we would have lived our lives somehow, irrespective of whether we’re right or wrong! Now that you had come and lived along with us for these many years, and if you’ve to leave us abruptly like this, it is a real shocker for all of us! We cannot imagine a future without you! Thus, either you take us along with you, or you don’t go away from us! Please consider either one of these two options!”

Upon listening to this from Uddhava, Bhagawan Krishna himself moves to tears! He hasn’t witnessed this level of devotion and love from his people so far. He hugs Uddhava with him and gives a reply thus: “Oh Uddhava and Co.! I’m moved by your ardent and sincere devotion towards me! However, my time to go back to Vaikunta has come and nothing can stop me unfortunately. However, you don’t need to worry about my absence. You might not be able to feel my presence or see me in this Kali Yuga directly through your naked eyes. I cannot give you my physical “darshan” beyond this Dwaapara Yuga. However, even though I might not be in the physical form in this Kali Yuga until it’s end, I shall make one important arrangement for all of you – I shall enter into the text of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana in an invisible form. Those of you who spend time on this text, can feel my presence here. You can either recite it, or listen to it from someone who is an expert in it, or write it, or do whatever possible with it! You can even think of the slokas in this Bhaagawatha Puraana in your mind, focus and meditate on me. You would still feel my presence in it! Thus, Uddhava! Please do not worry about my physical absence. You can still feel my divine presence through this sacred text!”

Saying thus, Bhagawan Krishna takes leave from this world and bids adieu to Uddhava and Co. and transcends to Vaikunta. Doing thus simultaneously, Bhagawan Krishna enters into this sacred text of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana in the divine invisible form and as we read and go through the contents of this great text, we can feel Bhagawan Krishna’s divine presence amongst all of us! If Bhagawan Himself has given this assurance to all of us, what more assurance do we want? So let us focus our full attention to this text and let us take it episode after episode and through thus, invoke the divine presence of Bhagawan Krishna and His grace. We shall wait till the next episode to move ahead further. Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode, we had extended the discussion on the introductory part of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana and how King Parikshit’s curse set the foundation for Sage Sukhaachaarya in gifting this great text to the world, through this incident. In the midst of this important event of King Parikshit’s curse, we’re witnessing quite a few important messages one after the other, that we can learn out of this. We began by asserting that 100% involvement and the right approach towards whatever we do in life is of paramount importance. Subsequently in yesterday’s episode, we had extended it a little bit more by explaining that the main purpose of reading and understanding our spiritual texts like the Ramayana, Mahaabharata, etc. is to gain the courage and confidence to face any level of challenge that comes through during our lifetime. By understanding our scriptural texts in-depth, we would be able to relate innumerable instances that are explained in them to our practical situation, and we would be able to gain the confidence to put up a brave fight against our problems and challenges.

When I use the word “confidence” in this context, I use it very carefully and with a definitive purpose. Any problem in our life – Big or small, depends on how we look at the problem. In many cases, the problem and it’s nature might be the same. However, one set of people consider it as a miniscule one and try to move on with it by not giving much importance to it. Whereas, there are some people who might blow the problem out of proportion and make it look so huge and life-threatening! For instance, if a small thorn pricks our feet as we walk on the floor bare-footed, some people might just try and pull off the small thorn that sticks to the foot, throw it in a corner and continue walking. Whereas, some others might make it a huge issue – They might scream in pain, attract the attention of other people who pass by, make a hue and cry of the situation, go to the hospital, and finally might even get their leg amputated! 😊 From this example, it is evident that the intensity of the problem lies in the way how we approach it. As we progress towards spiritual development, we should try and look at problems as miniscule ones and move on with them, rather than blowing them out of proportions. If we’ve to develop this capability, our knowledge on the scriptural texts is of paramount importance. Thus, our “Sanaathana Dharma” is packed with all the essences of principles of “best practices” for being implemented in our daily lives.

As we establish this point, it is time for us to now move on with the contents of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. In our earlier episodes, we’ve spoken in detail on the practice of reciting and listening to this Puraana for seven days (Saptaaham). We shall witness how Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana is divided into seven parts, to be experienced in seven days. In fact, there is a sloka for this, which I would take for discussion a bit later. Now we shall commence the contents with a few “Dhyaana Slokas” or the “Introductory slokas”. Every spiritual text in our Sanaathana Dharma would normally commence with the “Dhyaana Slokas”. We’ve witnessed the same when we discussed Shrimad Ramayana and Vidura Neeti as well. Now it is time for us to look into the “Dhyaana Slokas” of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. The main purpose of these “Dhyaana Slokas” in every text is to invoke the blessings of Bhagawan and the respective author of the text, so that we would be able to understand and comprehend the contents of the text with their divine grace.

“Shrimad Bhaagawatham naama puraanam loka vishrutam!

Shrunuyaath shabdhayaayukthaha mama santosha kaaranam!!”

These words in the above sloka come directly from Bhagawan Vishnu himself. In this Bhagawan says thus: “Whoever makes an attempt to listen to the Bhaagawatha Puraana with 100% involvement and perfection, whoever makes an attempt to recite the Bhaagawatha Puraana, whoever makes an attempt to understand and comprehend the Bhaagawatha Puraana and whoever makes an attempt to facilitate all of the above processes happening for a large number of people together, are all extremely close to my heart and they are in for my divine grace to pass through!”

So for today, let us give this important message from Bhagawan a thought and let us appreciate the greatness of the project that we’ve undertaken as part of the Indian Dharma Blog! We shall wait till the next episode to continue with the “Dhyaana Slokas” as we move into the contexts of this great text! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Sukhaachaarya’s important “clause” to King Parikshit as he begins his narration of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. He says clearly and upfront to King Parikshit that his attitude and approach towards understanding the contents of the text is very important and that, he should be extremely attentive to what Sage Sukhaachaarya says. Every word, phrase and sentence is important here and King Parikshit should not miss even a miniscule part of it.

Thus, the message for all of us is clear as well – Whenever we sit down to listen to discourses or reading spiritual texts, etc. we should do so with a completely open mind and with the best possible positive attitude. If we have a certain level of mindset and if we listen or read something that aims to give us spiritual knowledge of high stature, we would end up wasting our time and would not be able to realize the full potential of it. Hence it is always advisable to all of us, while reading or listening to something or someone, we should always be open to what is being discussed.

Of course, as we read or listen, we might have some queries and doubts over certain instances or messages that are being conveyed. We can also feel free to raise them – But with a genuine approach. If for example, we are reading the Ramayana text or listening to a discourse on Ramayana from someone, we might have some doubts. Many of us ask questions like “Oh! Why did Rama do something like this? Isn’t it a mistake on his side to perform some action like this? Oh! From this instance, it seems that Rama has deviated from the path of Dharma!” If we ask questions like these, it means that we already have a pre-conceived notion on how things should happen! We are not ready to accept something beyond that. Rather, if we ask a question like, “Oh! There is an incident that has happened in a particular way. Why is it like this?” This is a straightforward and an open question and this would invite a constructive reply from the person who is giving us the knowledge. Thus the point here is that, when we’re trying to understand something spiritual and of a high stature, we should have the right attitude for it along with openness of our mind to absorb and accept what is being told or written. This is very important for all of us as we move on into this all-important text of our Sanaathana Dharma.

Moreover, we have one more point that needs to be emphasized here, as we move on. As we keep reading episode after episode, it is also important for us to go back, think about it, analyze the content and see if we can put these messages into practice in our daily lives. Of course, in our life there might be many instances wherein we might find direct applicability and relevance of these messages. It is at these crucial moments of our life that we’ve to remember and implement all what we’ve read so far. If we’re successful in doing so, we can obviously become better human beings, with the grace of Bhagawan.

However, one might ask this question here – If we read all this, will our problems in life come down? Will our problems completely vanish if we focus on these? Certainly not! Nowhere in the Sanaathana Dharma it is mentioned that if we read and understand spiritual texts, we would be free of problems in life. This is an important point that all of us should note. In fact, there are people from few other religions who try to befool others by saying such “attractive” stuff, just for the sake of religious conversion. However, these are just “sales talks” and just because we read and understand something, we wouldn’t be able to get rid of any of our problems in life. Life is not that easy as a cake-walk! 🙂 Each and every one of us will keep having one problem after the other and life continues in this way, whether we like it or not! But then why do we read these scriptural texts? We read these texts only to gain the inner strength within us to face any kind of challenges that come through in our lives. In other words, if we read instances wherein Bhagawan Rama or Bhagawan Krishna or Paandavas go through phases of sufferings in their lives and how have they come out of those sufferings with their relentless pursuit towards Dharma, we can also learn from those episodes so that, we can fight our way through our problems and challenges in the legitimate way as prescribed by our Sanaathana Dharma. As we often keep saying, “For every problem, there is a solution”, these texts would make us realize that any kind of problem can be handled in the path of Dharma and can be overcome successfully. This would also give us the requisite motivation and courage to choose a path, make a firm decision and move ahead.

Thus from the above discussion, it is evident that by reading scriptural texts like the Ramayana, Mahaabhaarata, Bhaagawatha Puraana, etc. we can obtain a balanced frame of mind, with which we can control the situations that arise in front of us – both good and bad. Of course as all of us know, our life alternates with good and bad happenings and for handling both of them successfully, we need this balanced frame of mind. Just because we’re passing through a happy situation in life, can we jump up and down in the air with joy and laughter? Or, just because we’ve been hit by a catastrophic problem, can we get upset, emotional, etc. and sit in a corner and cry? Here is where, we need to develop the balance and this is what Bhagawan Krishna says too, in the Bhagawad Gita – We should be able to develop the mindset in such a way that we should treat happiness and sorrow on an equal plane! Of course, it is easier said than done, but that doesn’t mean that we do not put in our efforts!

So for today, let us realize this important reason as to why should we read scriptural texts and what should be the ideal “takeaways” from these texts. Let us consciously put our efforts towards developing a balanced frame of mind, which is extremely important both for our professional and spiritual development. We shall wait till the next episode to witness more on this, as we move forward! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had commenced witnessing the important circumstance that led to the birth of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. We witnessed a brief detailing of King Parikshit’s curse from a saint, that fixed his date of death seven days from that moment. Subsequently, rather than taking it in the negative sense and brooding over it, King Parikshit saw this as an opportunity to utilize these seven days in the best possible manner, to enlighten himself for attaining Moksha. It is with this passion that he invites Sage Sukhaachaarya to his place and requests Sage Sukhaachaarya to do the needful.

In due course of the conversation, King Parikshit enquires with Sage Sukhaachaarya if seven days would be sufficient for him to get to that level. Sage Sukhaachaarya replies to him that he has “plenty of time” and that, he can enlighten King Parikshit in just 7 minutes, if required. However of course, King Parikshit goes for the “seven-day” option and this is also one of the main reasons why even today we have the practice of reading the Bhaagawatha Puraana for seven continuous days (“Sapthaaham”).

In due course of this above conversation, we had also witnessed one of modern-day’s primary important aspects – Time Management. In today’s world of “urgency”, we run around in all four directions in search of “time”, without realizing the hard fact that we’re in the process, wasting enormous amounts of time! As we get to the bottom of this message, we should remember that if we’re able to cut down on our unnecessary talks, gossips (about ourselves and about others) and all unwarranted activities and tasks that do not add any value to our professional / spiritual development, we would have enormous time in our hands, which in turn can be put to constructive usage. It is just like how we store water when it rains and utilize this rain water properly for the coming months where there is no rainfall activity. Rather, if we’ve to let all the rain water drain into the sea, without proper storage facilities, it is imperative that we’ve to suffer for the want of water for the next one year or so! Thus, it is upto us to manage our time effectively and make it a point that we invest our time properly for both our professional and spiritual development.

Emphasizing the importance of time thus, Sage Sukhaachaarya replies to King Parikshit by saying that he can narrate all the important aspects that are essential for spiritual growth within the given time-frame of seven days, and it shouldn’t be a problem with respect to time. But there is one clause here – Sage Sukhaachaarya stresses here to King Parikshit that he has to be extremely alert while the narration is going on, and he should make sure that his grasping ability is constantly maintained at 100% and nothing less than that! Moreover, the way in which he has to interpret these narratives and the way in which he is going to approach the underlying messages in each of the narrative is also extremely important here.

If we’ve to explain this point with a simpler example, all of us get the same quality of rice grains, vegetables, oil, salt, etc. from the shop. However, the taste of the food that is prepared out of these raw materials depends on the person who cooks it, isn’t it? Some people can make excellent food items from these materials, whereas some cannot! Similarly, although the message is the same from the words of Sage Sukhaachaarya, King Parikshit has to understand and interpret these messages in the right direction, with the requisite “Shraddha” (perfect involvement), desire and passion. It is only then, King Parikshit would be able to attain the Moksha.

Even for us here, as I keep writing episode after episode and as more and more people from various nationalities, cultures, ethnicity, etc. start reading, the way in which each reader is going to understand and interpret these episodes are going to be different! For few readers, this is just going to be like a story that continues episode after episode. For few other readers, these are going to be some important points to ponder upon as they move on with their daily lives. For few other people, each and every episode can serve as life-changing ones and their entire life in future can be impacted with it. Hence, it depends on the nature and mindset of readers as to how they grasp and react to whatever I write. Of course, we should remember that the information is the same for everyone, and each and every reader reads the same content in the blog. There is absolutely no difference in this. Similarly, for King Parikshit’s case, Sage Sukhaachaarya makes it clear right at the beginning that he has to be alert and completely focused on whatever he says. Moreover, he should also have the right attitude, approach and the mindset to receive all the knowledge and information that is to be given to him.

Thus, we can clearly understand from this extended conversation that, it is not only “Time Management” that is important, but also the right attitude and approach methodology that we take towards achieving a goal in life. So for today, let us realize this important aspect of life and let us try and keep our best foot forward in understanding the messages from our Indian Dharma. We shall wait till the next episode to commence the narratives of Sage Sukhaachaarya in detail, one by one! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a very important discussion on why this Shrimad Bhaagawada Puraana is delivered as a “Saptaaham” – In other words, “a practice of delivering the whole text in 7 days”. Of course, we have witnessed the challenges that we face in the modern day in terms of allocating sufficient time for spiritual scriptures like these. Especially with reference to Shrimad Bhaagawada Puraana, this is an exhaustive text and would require atleast 700 days if we’ve to concentrate and focus on each and every part of it. But, given our present-day lifestyle and commitments, who has the time for devoting 700 complete days to understand all of this? It is mainly for this reason that the practice of delivering a “shortened” or a “brief” version of the text within 7 days is being followed. Normally, if we’ve to look into the discourses of some of the great “Upanyaasakas” (Scholars and stalwarts who deliver spiritual discourses), we can understand that this “Sapthaaham” is a widely practiced trend.

But is this the only reason behind this seven-day practice? There is another important reason to this as well. As we’ve discussed earlier, this entire Bhaagawatha Puraana was narrated to King Parikshit by Sage Sukhaachaarya. King Parikshit had a curse from a saint that from that particular day, he would meet his death on the seventh day through a snake bite. Upon hearing this, King Parikshit was stunned and as a repercussion of this, he developed a keen interest of utilizing these forthcoming seven days to the maximum extent possible by gaining as much spiritual knowledge as possible, so that he can attain “Moksha” (Salvation) with it.

It is only with this interest and passion for spiritual learning, King Parikshit invites Sage Sukhaachaarya to his palace. Thus Sage Sukhaachaarya takes over from this point and converts Parikshit’s curse into a huge opportunity for him to attain Moksha. This is Sage Sukhaachaarya’s greatest contribution to our Indian Dharma. In other words, Sage Sukhaachaarya made King Parikshit realize that his curse is nothing compared to the high level of spiritual knowledge and understanding that he has given. Sage Sukhaachaarya even went to the extent of making King Parikshit understand that this spiritual knowledge is the ultimate quest that he can ever get in his entire lifetime and this made him forget and junk the curse that he had received.

In fact, when King Parikshit invited Sage Sukhaachaarya to his palace and confessed about his curse to him, and the last seven days that are left over in his lifetime, he asks Sage Sukhaachaarya an important question thus: “Oh Sage Sukhaachaarya! I just have seven more days left in my life! How can I attain all of the spiritual knowledge and enlightenment that is required to attain Moksha? Isn’t seven days a very short time period for this enormous task to complete? I’ve witnessed many sages doing penance for thousands of years to attain Moksha! But here I am, with just seven days of time! So is it sufficient for me to attain that ultimate goal of my life?”

Hearing this from King Parikshit, Sage Sukhaachaarya laughs for a moment and replies him back thus: “Oh King! Why do you want to underestimate yourself like this? You’re of the opinion that seven days is too short a time period for this. Let me tell you – Give me seven minutes of time. I shall make sure that you attain all the spiritual knowledge and wisdom that would take you to Moksha! Why do you want to worry that seven days is a short time frame? In fact, seven days is a lot of time for it!”

From this discussion, we can understand one important message here – If we have the interest to learn something important, time is never a constraint! The problem with many of us today is that, we’re wasting lot of time in performing tasks that are highly unwarranted to our spiritual and professional growth. We keep roaming around here and there, talk useless things with people, gossiping ill about others, etc. Here, all of us can do a small exercise – Let us take a paper and a pen and start writing down whatever we do in a day, from the time we get up till the time we go to bed. If we analyze this data, we would get very interesting findings for ourselves! 😊 If we keep doing this exercise continuously for a few days, we would realize that we’re just wasting enormous amount of time by just doing nothing! This might be a shocker to many of us, but sadly enough, this is the fact! Hence, “lack of time” can never be an excuse for learning something new and important. If we’re able to cut down on our unwanted activities, we would find that there’s loads of time to be used for constructive purposes – both spiritually and professionally.

Hence for today, let us realize this important message from the starting note of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. Let us also understand that this 7-day-delivery practice also has a link with King Parikshit’s curse that he would meet his death within the next 7 days and within that, he has to learn up all of those that would lead him to “Moksha”. We shall wait till the next episode to take this discussion forward as we move into the contents of this great text! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important discussion as to why should we make it a point to go through our scriptures and listen to elders and ancestors who have propagated them effectively to this world. We also had an offshoot discussion as to why shouldn’t we encourage the very thought of “liberalism” and “free-thinking” when it comes to spirituality and ways of living a righteous life. It should be strongly noted by readers here that those people who are propagating “liberalism” in today’s world are none but elements that are out there to destroy the roots of our “Sanaathana Dharma”. Of course, their attempts are getting strong rebuttals from ardent followers like us, but the point here is that, we should never get carried away by those “juicy” and “attractive” thoughts. As per the proverb that states that “All that glitters is not gold!”, we should be extremely careful in choosing the right path of “Dharma”. This is the reason why we have our extensive spiritual texts wherein the “Sanaathana Dharma” is explained to us in beautiful storylines. We should thus make it a point to read and understand them and subsequently put the principles into everyday practice.

As we continue this discussion forward, we might have a counter question to this argument – If we’ve to keep listening and obeying others’ advice, where is my individuality? Shouldn’t I take my own decisions for my life? Shouldn’t I have my own thought process? The answer to these questions are, “Yes! Of course we can have our own thought process over our decisions!” But our thought process should be based upon the principles of our Sanaathana Dharma. We can listen to whatever our elders and our Spiritual Master (Guru) tells us, analyze within ourselves as to what we’ve heard, use our discrimination to determine what to follow and what to discard and finally take a decision to move forward. If we’re finding a correlation between what we aspire and what others tell us, we can very well follow their words. Whereas on the contrary, if we find discrepancies in the way we think from the words that we listen from our elders or our Guru, we can always go back to them and express our doubts and clarify with them. This should be the right approach towards following the “Dharma”.

Thus readers should understand here that I’m not against individualism and freedom in decision-making. All what I’m proposing here is that, we shall base and benchmark our decisions in life as per the advice given to us by our Guru or by our elders. If at all we have discrepancies, we shall feel free to consult with them and then take a decision. Thus, “discrimination” comes to play a vital role here. We should be mature enough to think, analyze and then take decisions, rather than following something blindly. Of course, I’m not saying that we should blindly follow whatever the Sanaathana Dharma says. We should employ our discriminatory power to understand the significance behind each principle that our Sanaathana Dharma has given to us. This is very important.

Thus from all these discussions, the primary point is that, great sages like Valmiki Maharishi, Sage Veda Vyaasa, Sage Vasishta, Sage Sukhaachaarya, etc. have dedicated their entire lifetime in documenting all the principles of our Sanaathana Dharma and have given it to us as a great gift! Their sole aim is that, the culture of our Bhaarata Desha should be protected, our way of living is as per the “Dharma” and our country should be an epitome of world peace. Hence, we should make it a point that we pay our respects to them and listen to whatever they’ve said. Thus, these are the main purposes for which the Ithihaasas, Puraanas, etc. were documented. Of course, at the beginning we might feel as if we’re lost somewhere while we read them, but as we spend more and more time on them, we would slowly start enjoying, as we go through different stories, their outcomes and the underlying messages.

Having said thus, now we come back to our main discussion point – Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. As mentioned before, the normal practice that is followed for discussing this text is called “Sapthaaham”, which means that we spend seven days to finish the whole text. However, given the in-depth explanations and stories and if we’ve to go by each explanation and story in detail, it would take a minimum of 700 days! Of course, we have our own limitations – both in terms of time and understanding. In fact, even our great Maharishis had known our low levels of understanding and impatience and it is only because of that, we have the traditional practice of “Sapthaaham” (7-day discourse). If we’ve to sit for 70 or 700 days at a stretch in today’s scenario, who has the patience and time to do so? All of us have our own priorities, family and professional commitments every passing day and hence, we wouldn’t be able to find time to sit for long number of days and hours on this. This is the reason why we have it as a “complete package” of a “Sapthaaham”. Thus having said that, we shall try to keep it as short and lucid as possible, so that our readers would be able to understand and appreciate the significance of this great text. In the middle of each story, we shall also discuss in brief, the underlying messages and how they’re applicable to us in the present-day.

Thus, we commence the detailed discussion on Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana, which is a package of all the important narratives given by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit. We shall wait till the next episode to witness how this text was conceptualized and what were the events that led to this text being written. Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed an important answer to an important question as to why should we spend time in reading texts such as “Ramayana” and “Mahabharata” and the likes. The answer to this is that, more than the story part of it, there are innumerable principles and guidelines for normal people like us to lead a happy, peaceful and a contented life. We’ve of course discussed as many as we can as part of this bog so far, in terms of our Ramayana and Vidura Neeti project.

Of course, whatever we’ve discussed so far is just a miniscule amount of aspects that are present in these texts. We can keep researching on even one sloka for years and years and still we would find exorbitant amount of “Dharma” hidden inside it! Such is the greatness of the texts that form the “Sanaathana Dharma”. On an overview thus, all these texts teach us the guidelines that can pave the path for us to reach Bhagawan’s feet or “Moksha” at the end of this birth.

Of course, all these texts are very much accessible to all of us even today, after so many thousands of years – Thanks to great Maharishis like Sage Veda Vyaasa, Valmiki Maharishi, Sage Sukhaachaarya, etc., innumerable “Mahatmas” (Realized souls) like Shirdi Sai Baba, Puttaparthi Sai Baba, Sathguru Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Kanchi Periyava, and so many others who have lived / are living a life that can be a role model or a benchmark for all of us to follow. These Mahatmas are very important because they’ve condensed the essence of all our Vedas and Vedantas into their lifestyle and show us the path of living a contented and a happy life. Thus, the texts that form part of the “Sanaathana Dharma” is revered for thousands of years, and innumerable people from generations after generations have read them, researched upon them, pondered over them and followed the principles that are explained in them. This is the primary reason why our “Bhaarata Desha” (India) stands as a unique country as the epitome of spirituality.

Having said that, we should also look at what is happening in the present-day scenario too. So far we’ve witnessed how people from yester generations have led their lives in the way as directed by our “Sanaathana Dharma”. But what’s happening now? In today’s world we are witnessing a hard fact that a vast majority of the world is in a gradual deviance from our “Dharma”. Of course, we might easily discard it by saying that we’re in Kali Yuga and now it is bound to be this way! On the other hand, we’re witnessing a phenomenal growth in science and technology, which tries to make us “self-reliant” and “independent” in many ways of life. Of course again, I’m not saying that these are bad, but the problem that arises here is that, we human beings have slowly developed the thought that we know everything in this world! We’ve slowly adapted the thought into us that we are the masters of everything in this world! To add fuel to the fire, today we have many “schools of thoughts” that are so-called “liberal” in nature, wherein people have started propagating that there is no point in listening to anyone in this world. There is a huge “revolution” that is happening in terms of leading an “individualistic” and an “independent” lifestyle, across the world and even in India! If we shouldn’t listen to anyone and anything, then how are we going to learn new things that are important for our life?

Let’s think of a scenario here – Today we might be in estacy when someone comes to us and says that individual thinking and decision-making is of paramount importance to us in the current-day scenario. When would we realize the pinch and the flip side of this argument? It is only when our sons / daughters repeat this same dialogue to us, when we urge them to listen to what we say! It is only at that time we would realize the pain of someone not listening to our important words of advice! Till then, we wouldn’t know the seriousness of listening.

Thus the main purpose of building up this important argument here is that, this so-called “liberalism” in terms of “free-thinking” and not listening to the words of elders is a way that is adopted by anti-Hinduism elements to derail us from the path of our “Dharma”. As ardent followers of our “Sanaathana Dharma” and as an ardent Indian nationalist, we should never give space for such people who try to dislodge our religion and make merry out of it! We should be very careful here – Those people who propagate liberalism might sound very nice and juicy at that moment. But we should realize that there is a huge danger behind their false narratives and it is upto each and every one of us to keep away from such people.

Having said thus, for today let us realize the significance of listening to the important words of “Dharma” from our ancestors in the form of our epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata and we should make it a point that we learn our lessons from them. We shall of course enjoy the story part of it, and also understand the inner-meanings and messages that form part of every story and instance in these texts. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further in a different dimension. Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

So far we’ve witnessed various important points as part of the introduction to Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. We commenced with the description and an overview of the “Ithihaasas” and “Puraanas” and what are the specialties of both. We discussed the difference between both of them and understood how important are both these categories of texts in our “Sanaathana Dharma” literature. As we moved further, we witnessed the importance of “Puraanas” in particular, since we’re going to discuss one such “Puraana” henceforth. We saw five important constituents of a “Puraana” and how Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana is an integration of all these five constituents, hence referred to as “Poorna Puraana”.

Subsequently we also discussed in detail on the authors of these sacred texts and how their “Paropakaaram” (Selfless Effort coupled with Divine Grace) resulted in an endless flow of spiritual knowledge and wisdom of the great Maharishis to all the “n” number of future generations of people who came after them. Particularly, the efforts taken by Valmiki Maharishi (for Shrimad Ramayana) and Sage Veda Vyaasa (for Mahaabhaarata and Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana) deserve special mention. In fact, as mentioned before, this entire lineage of Vasishta Maharishi until Sage Sukhaachaarya had dedicated their entire life for giving us these precious texts that are important for our spiritual development. Their main aim was to take this important literature to people like us who are immersed in the “Samsara” (Worldly bondage”) and struggling to find a way to reach Bhagawan. Thus, all these texts serve as a “guide” for us to succeed in the “examination” conducted by Bhagawan in attaining the highest “Moksha” (Salvation).

If we analyze our everyday life routine, we would find that we’re immersed in four important aspects – Fear, worry, jealousy and greediness. It would be very interesting to understand that at every point in our life we are on a constant fear of something wrong happening. We live amidst innumerable worries about how would our future shape up in the coming days or years. If we look at someone with an expensive car or a house, we would immediately start feeling jealous of that person who owns them. Finally to attain what this person possesses, we would get to any low level with utter greediness, by compromising our personal and professional ethics! We can see all these four aspects revolving in our lives at different points in time and whether we accept this or not, this is the fact of life in this Kali Yuga. It is only for this reason of coming out of this vicious cycle, Sage Vasishtaachaarya’s lineage have dedicated their entire lives in documenting all of the important aspects of our “Sanaathana Dharma” and presenting this complete document to us, so that we would be able to read it and follow its contents and attain spiritual development. This collection of “documents” talk about various people who have attained “Moksha” by following all these principles of “Sanaathana Dharma” and how Bhagawan helped all of them at various instances to serve their purpose. It is always said – If we take one step towards Bhagawan with our sincere effort, Bhagawan will take ten steps towards us. Thus it is for this reason, that all the stories inclusive of Ramayana and Mahabharata were narrated by our great Maharishis.

Now having said thus, why are we reading and listening to all these stories today? It is for the simple reason that over a period of time, people from all our previous generations have listened to all these stories repeatedly and designed their lifestyle according to the principles taught by these stories. These principles are passed on to our generation of people also and thus it is our profound duty to listen to these important stories, so that we understand the proper way in which we should lead our lives in today’s world. We would be able to achieve a proper lifestyle according to the “Dharma” only by listening repeatedly to all these stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagawatha Puraana, etc. Just how we learn Mathematics, Science, Commerce, Business, Management, etc. duly from a school and / or college and attain knowledge on various fields of study, we should make a conscious effort to read various texts of our “Sanaathana Dharma” to obtain the knowledge on how to lead a righteous life. Just like we need to possess adequate knowledge to graduate from a university with a degree, we should possess the adequate spiritual knowledge and relevant practice, to graduate from this world so as to attain “Moksha”.

Thus, it becomes important for us to read and understand our “Sanaathana Dharma” literature, so as to understand the correct ways in which we can lead a peaceful, happy and a contended life with the divine grace of a Guru (Spiritual Master) and Bhagawan together. So for today, let us understand this important reason as to why we focus a lot in knowing and understanding our rich literature on our Sanaathana Dharma. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further. Stay tuned! 😊