A Victim of affection

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Humble Pranams at the divine lotus feet Of our beloved Bhagawan, The story of the Prince with a Million mothers ends. As we have seen in the story so also our journey may have been thru innumerable parents which we may not even know.The journey has to end some where or the other,and that destination is God. As

Bhagawan quotes "Janthunaam nara janmam dhurlabham, Human being is very rare among the rest of the species which every one of us have to realise and use this form to achieve a higher goal i,e self realization". The following story depicts how affection and attatchment can bind us in the cycle of birth and death. A victim of Affection India's great and pious monarch,King Bharata,due to his extreme attatchment to a deer had to spend one life in a deer's body before again attaining a human form. King Bharata was a wise and experienced Maharaja who one might have thought would rule for hundreds of years.But while in prime of life,he renounced evrything- his queen,family and his vast empire- and went tot the forest.In so doing,he was following the advice of the great sages of ancient India,who recomended

that one devote the latter part of one's life to SELF- REALIZATION. King Bharata knew his positionas a great monarch was not permanent ;therefore,he did not try to keep the royal throne until death.After all,even a King's body ultimately becomes dust,ashes,or food for worms and other animals.But with in the body is the imperishable soul,the real self .Through the process of YOGA,the self can be awakekned to its true spiritual identity.Once this occurs,the soul need not spend another term of imprisonment with in this material body. Understanding that the real purpose of life is to free oneself from the cycles of reincarnation,King Bharata journeyed to a sacred place of Piligrimage called Pulahashrama,in the foot hills of the Himalayas. There , The Former King lived alone in the forest along the bank of the Gandaki river.Instead of his royal robes,he now wore only a deerskin

garmant.His hair and beard grew long and matted and always appeared wet,because he bathed 3 times a day in the river. Each morning Bharata worshiped the supreme lord by chanting the Hymns given in the Rig-Veda and as the sun ros he recited the following mantra " The sun supreme lord is situated in pure goodness,He illuminates the entire universe;by virtue of his different potencies He maintains all living beings desiring material enjoyment,and he bestows all benediction upon his devotees." Later in the day he collectd various fruits and roots,and as recomended in the vedic scriptures,he offered these simple edibles to LORD KRISHNA ,the supreme personality of Godhead,and then took them for his food.Even though he had been a great King,surrounded by worldly opulence,now,by the strength of his austerities,all his desires of material enjoyment vanished. Thus he became free of the most

root cause of bondage in the cycle of birth and death. to be continued........................... Jai Sai Ram