The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Vishnu advising King Satyavrata to brace himself for facing a mass destruction of the world, and explains how this would happen as well. Bhagawan Vishnu says that the seas would swell up and there would be torrential rain. The entire land mass would be surrounded by water on all sides and scores of people and other living beings would succumb to nature’s fury. This is what we call “Pralaya-Kaalam”. However, Bhagawan Vishnu explains how He would save King Satyavrata and a few Maharishis from this disaster. He gives clear instructions and disappears. Thus, according to Bhagawan’s instructions, King Satyavrata gets ready too, even though he is shocked and stunned for a moment! However, since the words have directly come from Bhagawan’s mouth, there is no chance that such a thing could be avoided. It is bound to happen. 

Thus, on the seventh day, the seas start swelling and the earth is witnessing a huge “Pralayam”. Rains start pouring down torrentially and the entire world is getting flooded. The seas are seeing a huge storm surge, flooding the entire coastline. Mass destruction takes place and scores of people and living beings get drowned in the water. At this time when King Satyavrata tries to collect all the Maharishis and the Vedas together, Bhagawan Vishnu appears in the divine form of a fish (Bhagawan Matsya-Moorthi) and there was a boat too.  As per the instruction, King Satyavrata struggles and ties one end of Snake Vaasuki to the fish and the other end to the boat. With this, Bhagawan Matsya-Moorthi protects King Satyavrata and the Maharishis, along with the Vedas and other important scriptures. 

Thus, as all these people are saved, the “Pralayam” comes to an end. Bhagawan Matsya-Moorthi is extremely happy with King Satyavrata and his immense contribution and effort to protect the Maharishis and the Vedas. Hence, Bhagawan teaches the “Maatsya-Puraanam” to King Satyavrata and provides His divine “Anugraha” to him. With this, the “Matsya-Avatara” story comes to an end and Sage Maarkandeya explains all this to Yudishtra to illustrate how significant was King Satyavrata and what was his contribution towards our Sanaathana Dharma. 

Moving on thus, Sage Maarkandeya is now going to explain something about “Yugas”. He explains the time calculations of the four “Yugas” – “Krita Yuga”, “Tretha Yuga”, “Dvapara Yuga” and the “Kali Yuga”. He explains that if we calculate the time frame for the entire cycle as per the “Deva-Lokha” calculation, it would be around 12,000 years. We’ve to remember one simple arithmetic here – The difference between the time calculation between our “Manushya Lokha” and the “Deva Lokha”. We know that there are two phases in a calendar year – “Uttarayana” and the “Dakshinayana”. The “Uttarayana” period spans for around six months of the calendar year, and this is considered to be the daytime of one single day for the Deva Lokha. Similarly, the “Dakshinayana” period spans for the next six months of the calendar year and this is the night time of one single day for the Deva Lokha. Thus, one full calendar year for us in the “Manushya Lokha” is equal to one day in the “Deva Lokha”. Thus, as per this calculation, if around 12,000 Deva Lokha years come to an end, it marks the completion of one full cycle called “Chatur Yuga”, which encloses all the four Yugas mentioned above. 

Even within this cycle, the Krita Yuga is supposed to be the longest one, and the Kali Yuga is supposed to be the shortest one. All the four Yugas’ span is a multiple of 1200. Thus, the “Krita Yuga’s span is around 4800 Deva Lokha years. Similarly, the Tretha Yuga’s span is around 3600 Deva Lokha years. The Dvaapara Yuga’s span is around 2400 years, and finally the Kali Yuga’s span is around 1200 Deva Lokha years! Thus, if we add up all these numbers, we would get 12000. Thus, this is the calculation of the four Yugas’ timespan and we should understand this first. So for today, let us ponder over these points and we shall wait till the next episode to witness what was so interesting that Sage Maarkandeya talks about this to Yudishtra! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the conversation between Sage Maarkandeya and Yudishtra wherein, Sage Maarkandeya is now explaining the significance of some of the great kings who have ruled this world in the past. Initially he started with the significance of Brahmana Rishis and how Mahatmas like them do not fear death at any point in time. Now it is time to understand the significance of various kings, and in this line, we’re witnessing the “Charitra” of King Satyavrata. We’ve witnessed how King Satyavrata was performing his regular “Tarpanam” and how a small fish got entangled in between his palms. However, as King Satyavrata decided to protect the small fish, it started to mysteriously grow bigger and bigger in size, which forced King Satyavrata to leave it into the ocean. Unable to believe what is going on, King Satyavrata bows down to the fish and requests it to reveal its real identity. Now who is this fish really? What is the agenda of this fish with King Satyavrata? We shall witness onwards from this point in today’s episode. 

Moving on thus, as King Satyavrata asks the fish, it slowly reveals the agenda. The fish talks to King Satyavrata thus, “Oh Satyavrata! Please understand one thing clearly – I’m none other than Bhagawan Vishnu. I have tested you to understand how caring and protective you are towards other living beings and towards the world. You’ve successfully passed my test! With this, I’m going to reveal something very important to you and I’m going to hand over a big responsibility in your hands – On the seventh day from today, the entire world is going to face a huge destruction. There is going to be a “Pralaya-Kaalam”, wherein the seas will start getting violent with huge waves dashing the shores. The entire land mass will be covered with water. Rains will torrentially pour down incessantly, flooding the entire world. There will be an enormous amount of destruction to life and property. However, you will be safe and secure. As you’re struggling to save your life from the rising water level, a boat will come towards you. In that, you’ve to save all the important “Maharishi”, the “Vedas”, “Puraanas”, etc. along with you. I shall again reappear in front of all of you in this same form of a big fish. I shall be having a big horn. Snake Vaasuki will also accompany me. Thus, you tie Snake Vaasuki’s one end to the boat, and the other end to my horn. Once the destruction comes to an end, these people along with you will be restarting the world’s life cycle. Hence, please be ready on the seventh day from today, and I’m issuing this warning to you in advance, so that you can prepare yourself for facing this assault! Until the point the “Pralaya-Kaalam” will exist, I shall make sure that I will protect you. Once the “Pralaya-Kaalam” comes to an end, I shall leave you to be on your own!” 

Saying thus, Bhagawan Vishnu disappears! These words from Bhagawan shocks King Satyavrata, but he has no option but to prepare himself. Reluctantly, King Satyavrata waits for the seventh day to arrive and with this, we shall also wait along with King Satyavrata till the seventh day to witness what happened to the entire world! Stay tuned for Bhagawan Vishnu to incarnate as Bhagawan Matsya! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Maarkandeya concluding one important accord that involved a discussion between Sage Gautama and King Pruthu. This discussion was on the context of King Pruthu praising King Gautama, which did not go well with the latter. Sage Gautama retaliated by saying that these praises are befitting only for Indra and not for any other person living in this world. However, King Pruthu stood his ground and justified his stance. There was a debate as to who is better – Indra or any other king ruling in this world in a righteous way. Finally, as Sage Sanaka, Sanatkumara, etc. intervened, the debate came to an end, and with this, Sage Gautama bestowed his divine “Anugraha” on King Pruthu. Thus, the point that we should understand here is that Sage Maarkandeya is explaining all this to make Yudishtra understand the significance of being a king and how righteous and responsible he has to be. Sage Maarkandeya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Very soon you’re going to be a king again! You should learn all these lessons and understand the significance of adorning the throne! You should execute your responsibilities in the most righteous manner and this is what will make you a “Dharma-Atma”!

Moving on thus, Sage Maarkandeya moves on to explain about King Vaivasvatha Manu, who was the first king in this world, created directly by Bhagawan Brahma while creating the entire world step by step. As the discussion is now about kings and what are the significances that a king should possess, we’ve witnessed some important points pertaining to King Pruthu, and now about King Vaivasvatha Manu. It is during this time period did Bhagawan Vishnu incarnate in the “Matsya-Avatara” (Fish). This is what Sage Maarkandeya is going to explain here. One day, King Vaivasvatha Manu goes to the river bank to perform his regular “Tarpanam” during the evening time. This king had another name called “Satyavrata”. As he was taking the water in his palms to offer his “Tarpanam”, there was a small fish that got caught amidst his fingers! Amazed and surprised by this, King Satyavrata looks at the fish and admires its beauty. As he is thinking of letting the fish back into the water, the fish starts talking! The fish says thus, “Oh King Satyavrata! As you’re seeing me, I’m a tiny fish. I came into your palms seeking refuge. If you leave me back into the river, there are huge whales and sharks and they might kill and eat me as their prey. Hence, I request you to protect me somehow!” 

As King Satyavrata hears this from the little fish, he is initially surprised! How can a tiny fish talk like this? Anyway, King Satyavrata decides to obey the words of the fish and assures it protection. Assuring thus, King Satyavrata transfers the little fish into his vessel (“Kamandalam”) with which he is performing his “Tarpanam”. However to his surprise, the moment the fish entered into the vessel, it started growing and it occupied the entire container. Now the fish talks to King Satyavrata thus, “Oh Satyavrata! I think I’m unable to fit myself into this small container of yours. You should maybe put me into a bigger container, so that I can be comfortable!” As Satyavrata looks into the container, he gets surprised! How come this fish grew so quickly? Satyavrata obeys the fish’s request and transfers it into a bigger container. However, more surprises are waiting for King Satyavrata! As he does so, the fish immediately starts growing once again and now fills up the entire container! Upon seeing this, King Satyavrata couldn’t believe his eyes! How can a fish mysteriously grow bigger and bigger as per the size of the container? Thus, King Satyavrata decided that this fish cannot be accommodated inside a container or a vessel. This requires a bigger pond maybe! Thinking thus, King Satyavrata carries the fish to a nearby pond and leaves it there. However, the fish starts growing to an enormous level and fills up the pond with its size! Again the pond wasn’t sufficient! Now King Satyavrata takes it into River Ganges and again, the entire river from one bank to the other end was completely occupied. 

Subsequently, King Satyavrata understood that this is a mysterious fish and even a river is not sufficient to hold it. Hence, he makes an effort to transfer it into the ocean. Even there, the entire ocean gets filled up with the fish! Unable to believe what is happening, King Satyavrata falls down and bows down in front of the fish and asks thus, “Oh! I’m sure you’re not an ordinary fish by any means. I’ve seen fishes, but never had seen one that grows so quickly and massively within a split of a second! Please reveal to me your real form! Who are you? What do you want from me?” As King Satyavrata asks thus, the fish is going to now reveal its real form. Now who is this fish really? What does he want from King Satyavrata? Let us wait and witness in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Sage Maarkandeya’s accord to Yudishtra pertaining to how Mahatmas can transcend death quite easily without any hiccups. He gives the example of how King Puranjaya accidentally killed a Maharishi and how he easily transcended death, owing to the completion of his Karma in this world. Subsequently, Sage Maarkandeya is now explaining a very important accord on how Atri Maharishi and King Pruthu conversed with each other, along with Indra and Sage Gautama. There was a debate as to who is greater – Indra or the king of a territory? This is something similar to what Bhagawan Krishna did with the villagers at Gokula during his childhood days. We’ve witnessed this yesterday, as well as during our previous “Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana” project earlier as to how Bhagawan Krishna disregarded Indra and asked the villagers to offer all the varieties of food to the Govardhana mountain, which gave them all the medicinal herbs and food grains. As the villagers obeyed Bhagawan Krishna’s words, all of us know how Indra got agitated and Bhagawan Krishna had to protect all his people by lifting the Govardhana mountain with His small finger. Thus, Indra had already got into such conflicts earlier and had got his nose bloodied! 

So now, let us move on with what Sage Maarkandeya has got to say here – He narrates an interesting accord as to how Sage Gautama got into an argument with King Pruthu. Once upon a time, there was a situation wherein Sage Gautama and his wife were amidst extreme poverty. They did not even have a glass of milk and a bare minimal meal to consume. At this time, Sage Gautama’s wife became so desperate to make sure that they do not starve to death. Hence, she requested Sage Gautama to go and get some “Bhiksha” from somewhere, so that they can continue their sustained living without further hiccups. Sage Gautama too accepted his wife’s request and set out. As he goes on and on, he finally comes to King Pruthu’s palace. As Sage Gautama arrives, King Pruthu runs to receive him with all the due respects, as he is a great Sage. Now this is going to be very interesting here – As Sage Gautama settles down, King Pruthu praises him with all possible words! As King Pruthu does that, Sage Gautama gets annoyed beyond a point. He replies to King Pruthu thus, “Oh Pruthu! Please stop this unwanted praising! I’ve not come here to listen to your praises! All whatever you’re telling me are blatant lies! Only Indra and the other celestial beings deserve the words of praise that you’re showering upon me! This is not suitable for a sage like me! Hence, you’re just artificially praising me and not wholeheartedly!”

This is quite similar to the debating that normally happens between Sage Vasishtachaarya and Sage Vishwamitra, which we’ve seen earlier as well. Both of them are exactly opposite of each other! If Sage Vasishtachaarya says “south”, Sage Vishwamitra will say “north”! If Sage Vishwamitra says “yes” to something, immediately Sage Vasishtaachaarya will say “No” to it! Such was the relationship both of them shared! Now this is going to be the same here as well – Between Sage Gautama and King Pruthu. As Sage Gautama begins this debate on this matter that these words of praise are only for Indra and not for others, King Pruthu argues otherwise. He explains how his words of praise perfectly fit Sage Gautama and the other important people living in this world, and not Indra. He clearly says that Indra does not deserve even an iota of praise as he is useless and is only a problem to everyone in this world! 

It is at this time, Sage Athri, Sage Sanaka and Sage Sanathkumara enter into the scene. They also join the chorus against Indra, along with King Pruthu. Sage Athri says thus, “Oh Sage Gautama! You’re grossly wrong! If for example there is a deviation from the “Dharma” in the kingdom, will Indra come and save anybody? If for example, there is a dispute between two people here, and because of it, people are suffering, will Indra come down and protect them? Not at all! Only the king of the territory should intervene and solve the issues pertaining to “Dharma” and his people, isn’t it? Why are you talking so high about somebody who doesn’t deserve all this praise?” As Sage Athri says thus, the other sages too agree upon it and thus, Sage Gautama too gets convinced. With this, Sage Gautama rewards all whatever he could to King Pruthu and provides him with his divine “Anugraha”. So do all the other Maharishis who had gathered there as well! 

Thus, the point that we should understand here is that Sage Maarkandeya is explaining all this to make Yudishtra understand the significance of being a king and how righteous and responsible he has to be. Sage Maarkandeya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Very soon you’re going to be a king again! You should learn all these lessons and understand the significance of adorning the throne! You should execute your responsibilities in the most righteous manner and this is what will make you a “Dharma-Atma”! So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Maarkandeya’s important assertion that great “Tapasvis” and “Maharishis” are extremely devoid of the fear of death. He illustrates this point to Yudishtra by narrating an anecdote of King Puranjaya and how he had killed a Maharishi by mistake during his hunting spree. However, when King Puranjaya goes and enquires about the death of the sage with his other family members, they were not even having an iota of grief in them. Rather, all of them were celebrating! This stuns King Puranjaya and as this happens, the other family members, who were also great sages themselves explain to him as to how they do not fear death. They know exactly when their “Karma” for this birth is going to come to an end and with this, they just wait for someone or something to come and take them away! In this case, King Puranjaya was just an instrument for the Maharishi to finish off his birth in this world, as he had finished his “Karma” in this world. This illustrates how “Mahatmas” view our physical body and how they are completely dissociated with it. 

This is an important eye-opener for all of us as well – In today’s world we’re giving so much importance to our “Deham” (Physical Body) by beautifying it, giving it enormous amounts of nourishment, taking painful efforts to keep it “fit and fine”, etc. Of course, while keeping our physical body fit and well-nourished is also important, the problem here is that we at times give excessive importance to it. We should somehow find a balance here – To give equal importance to our “Atman” and our “Deham”. Like we’ve been stressing on this point before as well, our “Atman” is the permanent entity and the “Deham” is just a temporary “rented-apartment” into which the “Atman” lives. Once this birth comes to an end, our “Atman” has to vacate this “rented apartment” and go somewhere else. This is exactly what Bhagawan Krishna is going to explain in detail in His Bhagawad Gita to Arjuna later on, and we’re going to witness this point in great detail when we reach that context. But for now, this is the understanding that all of us need to have – We should clearly be able to differentiate between the “Atman” and the “Deham” and if we think both are the same, we’re in for a lot of trouble and suffering! This is where great “Mahatmas” differentiate themselves from all of us. They clearly know this difference and are completely capable of dissociating and detaching themselves from their physical body at any point in time. This stage is the highest in the spiritual development process, and only very few of them can transcend to this stage. 

Moving on thus, we shall now witness an interesting “Charitra” about Atri Maharishi and King Pruthu. Here, we will also witness a few beautiful narratives of Indra and Sage Gautama as well. This is a very interesting anecdote and we shall commence it in today’s episode. There was once a debate whether a king is important or Indra is important. As the debate was flaring up with a lot of discussions on either side, all the people came to a conclusion that the king of a country is more important than Indra! This is exactly why Bhagawan Krishna, during His childhood days at Gokula performed the “Anna-Koota Utsavam” (Divine offering of various types and varieties of food) to the Govardhana Giri, instead of Indra! Traditionally, this “Utsavam” was being performed towards Indra and Bhagawan Krishna completely changed this routine by establishing the fact that Indra is nobody here and all the food varieties be offered to the nearby Govardhana Mountain. Bhagwan Krishna gives a justification for the same – He asks the villagers a simple question thus: “Who is this Indra? You’ve been giving all these offerings to him every year, didn’t you? What did he do for you in return? He never even came to see any of you when you were going through sufferings. There were so many “Raakshasas” who wrecked havoc here in the past. Not even a single time did Indra come to your rescue! However, see how this Govardhana Mountain is full of medicinal herbs and food grains in it. It is giving you enormous benefits and is feeding all of us here. Hence, for a change, let us do this year’s offering to this Govardhana Mountain and not to this useless Indra!”

 We’ve witnessed this beautiful story during our “Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana” project during the 10’th Skandha discussion. As Bhagawan Krishna rules thus, the villagers at Gokula obeyed His words and performed all the offering to the “Govardhana Giri”, instead of Indra. This irked Indra very badly and with this, all of us know what happened! Ultimately, Bhagawan Krishna provided His divine “Anugraha” to all the people in Gokula as Bhagawan “Govardhana-Giri-dhaari”! So, the reason behind invoking this incident is that, this is the same kind of debate that is happening here too – Indra vs. the king of any territory – Who is better? So for today, let us understand the context clearly, and in the next episode, we shall continue this beautiful story further and see what is the underlying message in it! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed yet another interesting and an important message from Sage Maarkandeya with regards to the “Karma theory” and how Bhagawan has a role in this. Of course, as we had witnessed earlier, Bhagawan doesn’t straightaway involve or intervene in our “Karma” cycle. He just remains a mute spectator and keeps watching all the happiness and suffering that we keep undergoing in all our births that we keep taking again and again. At some point in time, when the situation arises, or, when we’re beginning to experience the “Phalam” (Fruits or benefits) of our good “Karma”, Bhagawan will give us the opportunity to come closer to Him. It might be directly, or might be through the influence of a “Guru” (Spiritual Master). It is we who’ve to realize this and catch hold of this opportunity given by Bhagawan to exhibit “Sharanaagati” or complete surrender towards Him. If we’re able to do this meticulously, Bhagawan’s heart will melt and with this, we would be freed from the cycle of birth and death completely. With this, we would be able to attain the highest “Moksha”. Thus, we can see how Bhagawan’s role is clearly defined here – If a devotee exhibits “Sharanaagati”, He will intervene. Else, He would remain a mute spectator. This is just like the role of a CEO / Managing Director of an organization. Only if there is a critical issue and if people go to him / her with the right representation, the CEO will intervene, isn’t it? Similar is the role of Bhagawan too in this context! 

Stating thus, Sage Maarkandeya also talks about the four “Yugas” to Yudishtra and he explains how the “Dharma” will see a huge downfall as Yugas progress. However, at the end of the “Kali Yuga” Bhagawan would incarnate in the form of “Kalki Bhagawan” and will ensure that the entire “Adharma” comes to an end. With this, Bhagawan will re-establish the “Krita Yuga”. Saying all this, Sage Maarkandeya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Even though “Dharma” is having a downfall consistently, there are great Maharishis and “Tapasvis” who are still living and who are the embodiment of “Dharma” themselves! I shall talk about one such “Tapasvi” by the name Puranjaya. Oh Yudishtra! You’ve to understand one thing very clearly here – The most important characteristic of these “Tapasvis” is that, they never have the fear of death! All of us keep fearing that important day when we will experience death, isn’t it? Of course, all of us are bound to die some day, and we cannot change that. However, we keep fearing that every passing day, isn’t it? But, “Tapasvis” think otherwise! Once there was a king by name “Puranjaya” of the “Heheya Vamsa”. Once upon a time, when King Puranjaya was going on a hunting spree, he spotted a figure that resembled a deer. Upon assuming that figure to be a deer, King Puranjaya hits it with his arrows and kills it! However, to his utter dismay, this figure wasn’t really a deer, but a Maharishi who was doing penance in the forest! As the Maharishi was hit, he succumbed to the injury and passed away. As King Puranjaya realized this, he was horrified! With this guilt written all over his face, he returned back to his kingdom and spoke about this to his advisors and ministers who were also great Maharishis themselves! All of them advised Puranjaya thus, “Oh Puranjaya! Please do not worry! Go back to that same forest once again, find out who his relatives are, meet them and seek an unconditional apology! If you do this, you can escape the wrath of the suffering that you might have to undergo. We are sure that they would accept your apology as they are part of the family of great Brahmana Rishis. They will understand your situation and forgive you!” 

Paying heed to this advice, King Puranjaya comes back to the forest and meets the relatives of this Maharishi whom he had killed earlier! King Puranjaya expected the family to be in grief because of the death of their family member, however, all of them were extremely happy and were in celebration mode! As Puranjaya enquires the reason behind their happiness, inspite of a death that had just taken place in their home, the relatives, who were also great Maharishis replied to King Puranjaya thus, “Oh Puranjaya! We are people who do not fear death! We are Maharishis and we know when our “Karma” comes to an end. Once this happens, automatically we will descend back! Hence, you were just an instrument to my relative whose “Karma” had come to an end, to help him descend back!” 

This reply from the relatives was an eye-opener for King Puranjaya! As King Puranjaya hears this, he too started introspecting within himself and with this, he slowly started coming out of the fear of death!” Narrating this anecdote to Yudishtra thus, Sage Maarkandeya drives home the important point that once our “Karma” in this world gets finished, all of us have to descend back some day or the other! This world is just like a marketplace and our physical body is just like a “rented apartment”. Once our Karma gets completed, our “Atman” has to vacate this rented apartment and leave this marketplace as well.  So for today, let us understand this important point and we shall wait till the next episode to continue the discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Maarkandeya’s description about the “Karma Theory” and how there is an uncertainty with regards to the time taken between one action and its equal and opposite reaction that has to come for it. Sage Maarkandeya clearly outlines how some actions might have immediate reactions, while some others might even elicit reactions after fifty births! Thus, he also drives home the important point that our “Karma” cannot be washed off in just this birth alone! We’ll be taking huge backlogs of it into our subsequent births! In fact, this current birth itself is a resultant of the backlogs of “Karma” that we’ve carried forward from our previous births – The number of which only Bhagawan knows! 🙂 Moreover, Sage Maarkandeya also outlines how “Dharma” was at its peak during the “Krita Yuga”, and how it subsequently started diminishing as “Yugas” progressed. This is also an important point and we’ve witnessed this earlier as well during our “Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana” project! 

As we move on with this point, we should understand one more important aspect of “Karma Theory” here. Of course, we’ve discussed this earlier as well, but it is still worth revisiting in this context. Our “Karma” can be classified into two types basically – “Sanchita Karma” and the “Praarabdha Karma”. “Sanchita Karma” is the one that we accumulate over time, with various births. The “Praarabdha Karma” is the one wherein we start taking out one bundle of our “Sanchita Karma” and start experiencing the resultant of it in our current birth. The phrase “Aarabdha” in Sanskrit means “To begin”. “Praarabdha” means “To begin experiencing something”. As we understand this important difference, now the problem here is that we will never know what is the size of the “Sanchita Karma” bundle that Bhagawan is letting us experience the resultant of! Sometimes, the bundle might be of a smaller size, and we might finish it within just a few days also! Sometimes, the bundle might be bigger in size and we might have to experience the resultant for months and years together! Sometimes, the bundle might never even be opened, and we might have to wait for births for them to get opened in the first place! This is the problem here – The time lag between our actions and reactions are extremely uncertain, as our actions keep getting accumulated into our “Sanchita Karma” bundles! Even fresh bundles might keep getting formed as well, due to the actions that we keep performing now, every passing day! For these bundles to get cleared off, we might not know how many days or months or years or births we need to wait! By talking about all this, I’m not trying to scare readers here. But all I’m saying here is that, the “Karma Theory” exists, and there is definitely a repercussion for every action that we perform. 

We might now have a question here – Is there no solution for this at all? Should we keep on revolving around this cycle of birth and death? What is the way out of this? What is the role of Bhagawan here? This is where I always keep saying – Bhagawan is like the CEO of a company. If for instance, there is an extraordinary problem which cannot be resolved by any other employee in the organization, or if the problem is urgent and serious enough, the CEO or the head of the organization will intervene at some point in time to put an end to the problem isn’t it? Similarly here also, if we’re exhibiting “Sharanagati” and “Bhakti” towards Bhagawan and if we ardently pray to Him to intervene in this cycle, definitely Bhagawan will intervene! The moment our prayers and “Sharanagati” are genuine and true from our heart, Bhagawan makes sure that He takes us out of this vicious cycle! In fact, Bhagawan Krishna Himself is going to explain this point in detail during the Bhagawad Gita, which we will be discussing in great detail later on. But the point here is simple – Of course, the cycle of birth and death is vicious, and it is not possible for us to voluntarily get out of it. However, with Bhagawan’s divine intervention, we can still get out of it. But, just like how the CEO should be apprised of the situation before he / she intervenes in an organization, Bhagawan has to be apprised of our situation. We’ve to come forward and take the initiative to exhibit Bhakti and Sharanagati towards Him, for Him to intervene isn’t it? This is what we’ve to understand here very clearly – If we do not approach Bhagawan, He will not intervene. He will only be a mute spectator to whatever we’re undergoing in our life. Whereas, if we take one step towards Bhagawan, we can be rest assured that Bhagawan will come running towards us by taking ten steps forward! In fact, we’ve to understand that Bhagawan is waiting to intervene, provided we approach Him! 

This might be a heart-touching point for many of us, but we should think in these lines and ponder over what we should do. We shall continue this discussion in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a very important and an interesting answer from Sage Maarkandeya to the questions that Yudishtra had asked earlier. We’ve witnessed Yudishtra asking Sage Maarkandeya about the “Karma Theory” and how should it be interpreted – Should everything be left to destiny (Bhagawan) to take care, or, should we depend on our intellect and efforts to achieve success in life? This is a very intricate dilemma that even all of us have every now and then, and for this, Sage Maarkandeya gives a very important answer. He explains clearly that of course, everything is under Bhagawan’s control and purview, however, Bhagawan does not “micromanage” our activities every now and then. He creates the infrastructure, gives us ample opportunities and advice through various sources and enables us to walk the path of “Dharma”. However, it is our discretion whether we utilize those opportunities correctly or not! If we’re using them well, definitely Bhagawan is going to recognize our efforts and is going to grant the highest “Mokhsa”. However, if we do not fall in line as per Bhagawan’s expectations, we’re going to keep taking subsequent births in this world and would be experiencing the resultant of all our actions. Thus, Sage Maarkandeya gives a categorical answer to Yudishtra’s question, which we should also ponder upon, as we move forward. 

Moving on thus, we shall move ahead with Yudishtra’s next question – What happens when this birth gets completed? Will we dispose our “Karma” here itself and go off, or would be still be carrying the backlogs of our “Karma” into our subsequent births as well? Sage Maarkandeya gives a beautiful reply thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Please understand one thing – There is nothing like we leave everything here itself at the end of this birth and transcend! Our “Karma” keeps continuing with us as backlogs in our subsequent birth(s) as well! The point here is that, some actions might have reactions immediately, whereas, some actions might have them later. We never know when we would get the repercussions of our “Karma” that we perform today. This time lag is always there. For instance, some actions of ours might result in some reactions even after fifty births! Thus, since there is this uncertainty in the time-lag between our actions and reactions, the “Karma” theory becomes very complex to explain. However, I’m not saying that our “Karma” will not produce reactions. For every action that we perform, there is always an equal and an opposite reaction. But the point here is that, we never know when that reaction will come. It is because of this, we keep taking multiple births again and again in this world, to experience the resultant of whatever we’ve done in the past. However, the bigger problem here is that, in this current birth that we’ve taken now, we would still be doing some actions, for which we would never know when the reactions would come. At the same time, we would also be enjoying the reactions (both good and bad) for the “Karma” that we would have performed earlier as well! Hence, this is a non-stop cycle and this is the reason why we keep taking birth after birth in this world!” 

Sage Maarkandeya continues further thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Please understand one thing here very clearly – When Bhagawan created this world during the first “Krita-Yuga”, everything was fine. All those people who were living at that time were completely inclined towards “Dharma” and nobody deviated from it. Hence, things were going fine. However, when the subsequent “Tretha Yuga” and the “Dvaapara Yuga” came, people started to manipulate the “Dharma” as per their own convenience and started coming out with their own definitions on how to go about things! This is where the problems started and obviously the two types of “Karma” namely the “Paapa Karma” and “Punya Karma” came in! Whoever performs the “Punya Karma” were attaining “Moksha” and whoever were performing the “Paapa Karma” started experiencing punishments for the same! Now that we’re at the end of the “Dvaapara Yuga” now, and as we’re moving into the next “Kali Yuga”, things are going to get worse! “Dharma” is going to get even more deteriorated and things are going to change from bad to worse! However, please do not worry! If you’re still holding on to the path of “Dharma”, irrespective of whatever happens around you, you can still succeed and attain the highest “Moksha”! This is what you’ve to understand here!” 

This is a very important accord that Sage Maarkandeya is giving here. So for today, let us try to understand and reflect upon these points, and we shall continue this discussion further in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important set of questions that Yudishtra has asked Sage Maarkandeya, with regards to the “Karma” theory. Yudishtra has asked Sage Maarkandeya as to how fate or destiny works and is Bhagawan controlling all our actions or if our own intellect controlling everything. Moreover, Yudishtra also asks whether we would experience the results of all our actions in this birth itself or in subsequent births. These are pertinent questions and I’m sure all of us would have these in our minds as ardent followers of our “Sanaatana Dharma”. For these questions, Sage Maarkandeya is now starting to give beautiful answers. He replies in the beginning by appreciating Yudishtra’s questions and he says that these are not easy ones to give definitive answers. Even great Maharishis for so many “Yugas” are trying to find answers to them! However, by saying thus, Sage Maarkandeya continues his reply further, and we shall witness this in today’s episode. 

Moving further on this, Sage Maarkandeya begins to talk with Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Definitely Bhagawan has a say in all whatever we do! There is no doubt about that. Not everything is possible with our intelligence alone. However, there is the trick here only – Bhagawan will not directly interfere in all whatever we’re performing! He will give us the strength, infrastructure, right opportunity to do something good. However, he will not directly come and say that we’ve to do this or that! He has also given us the intellect to think and make decisions. So it is up to us to use our intellect, make the right decisions. We’ve to utilize the right opportunities given by Bhagawan and go in the direction which He wants us to go. However, if we’re going otherwise, Bhagawan will not stop us from going in the wrong direction as well. He will continue to watch our wrong actions as well, without any indication that we’re doing something wrong. Of course, he would give us opportunities time and again to introspect, reflect upon our thoughts, actions, etc. and mend our ways back to the right direction. But again.. Whether we really take those opportunities in the right sense or not, is up to our discretion! Thus, in a nutshell, both “Intellect” and “Bhagawan” play roles in the actions that we do. Bhagawan will aid our actions and thought processes, but we’ve to use our intellect and effort to steamroll ourselves in the right direction!” 

Now this is a very important point that all of us need to ponder upon – We can create an analogy here. Let us imagine an entrepreneur who starts a business. He will invest some capital in the business venture, create an office space, conceptualize the business model, create the necessary infrastructure for manufacturing / producing the product, create roles in the organization, appoint different people for different roles like Finance, Marketing / Sales, Operations, IT, Human Resources, etc. to take care of the various activities that has to be done. After this, these people who are appointed will have to show their talent, use the available infrastructure and grow the business further, isn’t it? We cannot go and stand in front of the CEO or Chairman for everything and anything that we want! If we do our job well, we’re definitely going to get rewarded for our actions. On the other hand, if our performance is poor, obviously we’re going to be sacked from the organization! This is how life works as well – Bhagawan is like the CEO / Chairman here. He will give us all the right infrastructure, opportunities for growth, etc. and set up the context for performance. He also gives the guide manual called “Sanaathana Dharma” literature to all of us, which includes the Vedas, Upanishads, Ithihasas, Puraanas, etc. for us to study and operate! After this, we cannot go and stand in front of Bhagawan for everything. It becomes our responsibility to study everything carefully, listen to people’s experience and learn our lessons as to how to lead our life in the way Bhagawan wants us to lead! If we’re doing so, obviously the reward is “Moksha”! Whereas, if we’re not doing so, we’re going to face the wrath of our own “Karma”! Again – If we’re facing the ill-effects of our “Karma”, Bhagawan doesn’t interfere in this too! If we’re at fault, how can we blame Bhagawan for the punishment that we’ve to undergo? This is the point that all of us need to understand here! 

So for today, let us ponder over these points and the analogy, and let us try to make sense out of it. The purpose behind explaining all this is to stimulate our interest in introspecting ourselves and correcting our actions, if we feel that we’re going on a wrong path. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we’ve witnessed Sage Maarkandeya entering into Yudishtra’s hamlet wherein Bhagawan Krishna and the others are sitting and chatting with each other. Bhagawan Krishna too is seeing the Paandavas after a long time, and He too has words of praise for Yudishtra, which we’ve witnessed earlier. As this is going on, Sage Maarkandeya comes in and as he settles down, he wants to render some important pieces of advice to Yudishtra and Co. However, he is not knowing from where he should start, and this is where Yudishtra is asking an important question to kick-start the conversation. Yudishtra asks Sage Maarkandeya about the “Karma Theory” and how people are induced into performing actions every passing day. As usual, Yudishtra puts the question in a beautiful form, which stimulates Sage Maarkandeya to give an even more beautiful answer. Yudishtra’s question is this – If people like us perform actions, is it because Bhagawan makes us perform them, or is it because we do them with only our own discretion? If we do it in our own discretion, why bring Bhagawan into the picture? If on the other hand we say that if Bhagawan is making us do whatever we’re doing, why blame us for whatever results come by? 

Now this is a tricky question here – I’m sure many of us also might have this question in mind and in the present day, we would put it in a different way – What is “Fate” or “Destiny”? Is “Destiny” the reason why we do certain things in life? Or, if our own intelligence is responsible for them? For instance, if we study hard and become a doctor or a scientist, is it because destiny wanted us to become a doctor, or is it our intelligence and hard work that made us whatever we are? If we say that destiny makes us whatever we are, then we might immediately ask the counter question as to why at all should we do any work by using our effort and intelligence? At the same time, if we say that it is only our hard work and effort which made us achieve whatever we’ve achieved, where is Bhagawan here in the picture? In the literal sense, if this becomes true, we would conveniently perform all sins possible and put the blame on Bhagawan by saying that Bhagawan should take responsibility for all whatever we’ve done! On the other hand, if we do all good things (Punya Karma), we would immediately jump in and say that it is only because of our effort and hard work we achieved things! Bhagawan has no role to play in this! So what is the middle line here? Which one is true? This is exactly what Yudishtra is asking here. 

Asking this question thus, Yudishtra doesn’t stop there. He continues to ask a series of other questions as well. He asks thus, “Oh Sage! Tell me one thing – If it is true that we’ve to experience the resultant of all our “Karma” that we perform, where will we experience them? Is it in this “Lokha” itself or will we go to various different other “Lokhas” to experience the fruits of what we’ve performed? If we’ve performed “Punya-Karma”, will we be able to reap the benefits of it in our “Manushya Lokha” or elsewhere? Moreover, will our “Karma” keep continuing along with us for subsequent births that we might have to take after this one? Or, will it come to an end with our death here itself? If it comes along, how will it come? Will we keep experiencing the “Karma-Phalam” birth after birth? Is there no end to it at all? Oh Sage Maarkandeya! You’ve to clear all these doubts that I have in my mind. With whatever you’re going to tell me, please make me understand the answers for all these questions and doubts that I have!” 

As Yudishtra says thus, Sage Maarkandeya laughs out and replies, “Oh Yudishtra! You’ve asked an important set of questions in a very easy form, but actually, these are extremely tough questions to answer! You’ve just finished asking your questions within 2-3 minutes, but I guess I’ve to spend a lot of time answering them, because even great Maharishis are still struggling to find answers for these pertinent questions! But nevertheless, let me try answering your questions – To begin with, let me make one point very clear here – Definitely Bhagawan is supreme and all “Jeevatmas” have to come under Bhagawan’s control. All our Karma is being controlled by Bhagawan somewhere! Hence, there is no escape from that! However, there is a check here!” 

As Sage Maarkandeya says thus, he gives a pause! So for today, let us understand up to this pause point and we shall ponder over Yudishtra’s questions and Sage Maarkandeya’s initial reactions to them! We shall continue this interesting conversation in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂