Bhagavada Vahini - Chapter 36

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Bhagavada Vahini by Sathya Sai Baba

 

Chapter 36

Comrade and King

 

 

 

" Listen O King! God is omnipotent, He knows no distinction between the

possible and the impossible. His Wizardry, His Sport, His Play, His

Pranks cannot be described with the vocabulary that man commands.

Though He has no Rupa or Form, He can assume the Form of the

Universal Person, embodying all Creation in His Form. He is One but

He makes Himself Many.

Matsya <http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto8/chapter24.html> ,

Varâha <http://srimadbhagavatam.org/canto3/chapter13.html> ,

Narasimha <http://srimadbhagavatam.org/canto7/chapter8.html> , [Kurma

<http://srimadbhagavatam.org/canto8/chapter7.html> ], Vâmana

<http://srimadbhagavatam.org/canto8/chapter18.html> , Parasurâma

<http://srimadbhagavatam.org/canto9/chapter15.html> , Râma

<http://srimadbhagavatam.org/canto9/chapter10.html> , Krishna, Buddha,

Kalki - people relate to each other that these are the Divine Forms He

has assumed. But, that is not describing Him as vast as His

magnificence! We have to visualize all forms as His; the vitality of

every being is His Breath. In short, every bit in Creation is He, the

manifestation of His Will. There is nothing distinct or separate from

Him.

 

But, for the protection of the world, for the upholding of Dharma, for

fulfilling the yearnings of devotees He wills specially and assumes a

special Form and moves in the world; He confers great joy on the

devotees by His divine acts, which convince them of His Advent; they

are thus confirmed in their faith and prompted to dedicate their

activities to God and thus save themselves, and liberate themselves.

Therefore people consider the Forms aforesaid which were assumed with

this end in view, as specially sacred and they worship God in those

incarnated Forms. On certain occasions, for resolving certain urgent

crisis, God has incarnated with Forms embodying part of His Divinity,

with some Divine powers and potentialities. Examples of such

incarnations for the protection of the world are plenty. "

 

When the Sage Suka spoke thus, Parikshith lifted up his face lit with

a strange joy and exclaimed, " Ah, did the charming Lord assume such

Forms through a part of Himself? Of course, it is all Play for Him.

Tell me about these Forms taken by Him for the preservation of the

world; make me happy, listening to that narrative " . Praying thus, he

prostrated before the Preceptor.

 

Suka continued, " Listen, O King! Kapila, Dattatreya, Sanaka, Sananda,

Sanatkumara, Sanatsujatha, and other sages, Rshabha, Nara-Narayana,

Vishnu, Dhruva, Hayagriva, Prthu, Kachchapa, Dhanvanthari, Hamsa,

Manu, Balarama, Vyasa and many such Divine Personages are but Name-

Forms assumed by the Lord, for granting boons to devotees, for saving

the world from ruin, for laying down the Code of Morality and Right

Behaviour for humanity, and the restoration of traditional and

well-established ideals and modes among mankind. There are many more

such Amsa (partial) Avatharas <http://vahini.org/glossary/a.html>

(incarnations). But, we have no time for the detailed description of

each. Moreover they are not so important as, to merit detailed

consideration. I responded to your request because, I felt a short

review is enough. "

 

But, Parikshith intervened. He said, " Master! Tell me at least very

briefly the reasons for the Lord incarnating so, even though only a

part of Him incarnated, as Kapila, Dhruva, Dattatreya, Hayagriva,

Dhanvanthari etc.; tell me about their achievements and the

significance of each Advent. That will afford me purifying

enlightenment. " So, Suka said, " King! Devahuthi, the wife of Kardama

Prajapathi bore nine daughters, and as her tenth child, the Kapila

Form was born. The Lord appearing as Kapila became the Preceptor and

spiritual Guide to the mother, Devahuthi herself! He taught her the

secret of attaining Liberation and vouchsafed to her the teaching

that led to final release.

 

The consort of the sage Athri, Anasuya by name, prayed that the Lord

may be born as the child of her womb and the Lord replied, 'Granted'

(Datta). Since the father's name was Athri, He was called Datta-

athreya, Dattathreya. He showered on Karthaveeryarjuna and Yadu,

emperors of high renown endowed with all glory, the great treasure of

Yogic wisdom. It is in this Form that God, in the beginning of this

Kalpa or Age, moved about as the four child sages, Sanaka, Sanandana,

Sanathkumara and Sanathana. They were ever at the age of five, so

innocent that they wore no clothes, so divine that they spread Wisdom

and Peace around them. The Lord was born as the twins, Nara and

Narayana, and they lived in the forests around Badri in the

Himalayas, practicing austerities. They had Murthidevi as their

mother. The Lord appreciated the intensity of the austerity of the

boy Dhruva; He conferred on him the Blessing of His Vision in

concrete Form; He sanctified the lives of the parents of

Dhruva. He crowned him as the Lord of the polar regions, and set him

in the sky as the Pole Star. When the downward - falling wicked Vena

was cursed and destroyed by the sages, and when his body was churned,

the first sovereign ruler of the world emerged, because the Lord took

that Form; he was Prithu, the first Iswara (Lord) of Prithvi (the

Earth). By his austerity and good conduct, Prithu saved his father

from hell. He restored prosperity and morality in the entire world.

He built villages, towns and cities on the earth and ordered that men

dwell peacefully therein, each performing in loving cooperation with

the rest, the duties assigned to him.

 

The Lord was born again as the child of Nabhi and Sudevi; He

manifested as a Paramahamsa, a realized sage, and He taught the

supreme remedy for all ills, viz., renunciation (thyaga)

<http://vahini.org/glossary/t.html> and the ways of cultivating it.

Later, the Lord took Form as Yajna

http://vahini.org/glossary/xyz.html>

, in a Brahma-yajna, and since, above the neck, He had the Form of a

Horse, He was called Haya (horse)-griva (head). The breath of

Hayagriva became manifest as the Vedas. Meanwhile the wily ogre,

Somaka, stole away the Vedas and hid them in the surging floods of

Pralaya <http://vahini.org/glossary/p.html> (The Great Dissolution).

So, the Lord had to assume the Form of a Fish, search for the Vedas

amidst the depths of the sea, destroy the ogre and bring the Vedas

over to be restored to Brahma and thus, re-establish on earth the

ways of living laid down in the Vedas and the goal of life marked out

therein. The Lord has thus assumed many forms appropriate for each

need and manifested Himself on countless critical occasions and

showered His Grace on the World; He has destroyed the fear and agony

of mankind; He has rescued the good and the godly. Countless are the

narratives of such advents. His Will results in His advent; so it is

foolish to investigate into the reasons that prompted Him to

incarnate.

 

Those who seek to know or lay down the causes for the Lord willing,

one way and not another, are really fools venturing on an impertinent

adventure; so too are those who assert that His Power and His Plans

have such and such characteristics, qualifications and limits, and

those who claim to know that the Lord will act only in this

particular mode, and those who declare that the Divine Principle is

of this nature and not otherwise!

 

There can be no limit or obstacle to His Will. There can be no bounds

to the manifestation of His Power and His Glory. He fructifies all

that He wills; He can manifest in whatever Form He wills. He is

unique, incomparable equal to Himself alone. He is His own measure,

witness, authority.

 

Once, the Lord was so touched by the sincerity of Narada's devotion to

Him that He assumed the Form of a Hamsa (Celestial Swan) and,

elaborated to Him the nature of Bhaktha

<http://vahini.org/glossary/b.html> ,

Bhagavan <http://vahini.org/glossary/b.html> and of the relation

between the two, so that all aspirants may be led and liberated. He

placed the Wisdom and the Path on a foundation strong enough to

survive the end of this present age, without any fear of defeat or

decline. He rendered the Seven Worlds shine in purity, through the

splendour of His spotless renown. During the Great Churning of the

Ocean of Milk, the Lord assumed the Form of the Tortoise, to hold up

the Mandara Mountain Peak, which was the Churning Rod. At that very

time, the Lord took another Form too, as Dhanvanthari, to bring the

Divine Vessel filled

with Amrith <http://vahini.org/glossary/a.html> (Immortality-granting

Nectar). As Dhanvanthari, He taught the means of conquering disease

and enable men to cure their physical ills. He rendered many, famous

as physicians and doctors, skilled in diagnosis and cure.

 

He did much more, O King! Physicians and doctors were until then not

entitled to receive a share of the offerings made to the Gods in

sacrifices. Dhanvanthari laid down that they must be given a share and

thus, He raised their status, in society.

 

Did you note the inscrutable sport of the Lord, evident in these

manifestations? God! God alone knows the ways of God! How can others

gauge their grandeur and their glory? How can they successfully

measure them with their poor equipment of intellect and imagination?

Since men are bound by the shackles of Ajnana

<http://vahini.org/glossary/a.html>

(ignorance), they argue and dilate, long and loud, on God and His

attributes and flounder in the sin of sacrilege. Instead, man can win

the Grace of God, if only he discards doubt when he sees Divine

manifestations, if his picture of God is untarnished by passing moods

and events, and if he transmutes his own moods and acts, in conformity

with the manifestations of God he is privileged to witness. If he acts

otherwise, he cannot hope to win the Grace, or taste the Bliss.

 

Next, the mystery of the Krishna incarnation! That embodiment of

sweetness is most captivating! Exquisite charm, unrivalled sweetness,

incomparable love - the Krishna Form was the concretization of all

these! That Form was the treasure-house of Bliss; it was the Ocean of

Virtue; 0, what Innocence! What Superhuman Excellence! The mere sight

of Him is enough; listening to His words is enough; merely touching

Him is enough; one's life will find its goal! All rituals, all

sacrifices, all scriptural ceremonies have as their goal only this,

this sight, this listening, this touch. The gain that accrues from

the rites etc., are nothing when compared to the gain from the sight

and the touch, and the listening to His voice. No. They are nothing

at all. Ah! What immeasurable sweetness! Contemplating on that Form,

recollecting the charm and the loveliness, the sage started shedding

profuse tears of joy; he was so full of inward bliss that he stopped

his narration and lost all consciousness of himself and his listeners.

 

The ascetics around him and the King himself were overcome with wonder

at the rare sight of the sage's Samadhi

<http://vahini.org/glossary/s.html> ; the illumination on his face had

an overpowering impact on all. They sat like statues, afraid to

disturb the sage and immersed in their own amazement and joy. "

 

After some time, Suka opened his eyes, and exclaimed! " How fortunate

were the Gopas and Gopis <http://vahini.org/glossary/g.html> (the

herdsmen and maids) who lived then. How their bodies must have shone

with the Divine Joy they experienced, when they moved in His Company,

played with Him, talked with Him, sang with Him and shared supreme

Ananda <http://vahini.org/glossary/a.html> with Him! Gods envied

their luck, for, it was a chance they could not secure. Those simple

illiterate folk could get the singular good fortune as a consequence

of the merit acquired by them in many previous lives. Those Gopas and

Gopis were not just common men and women. No. At first sight they

struck one as simple unlearned folk, that was all. But, they had,

within them, a vast treasure of revealed wisdom, which only a few

could appreciate and understand. Or else, how could they secure the

Bliss of the Lord's Touch, which even Rukmini and Sathyabhama could

not win so easily! The Gopas and the Gopis can be said to be more

fortunate than those Queens.

 

Their good fortune was the fruit of the good deeds done by them

during, not one, but, three previous lives! "

 

The sage's eyes closed again. He was in Samadhi

<http://vahini.org/glossary/s.html> , tasting the sweetness of the

Krishna Incarnation; there was a beautiful smile beaming on his lips.

Parikshith was astounded at the sight of the waves of joy that

overpowered the great sage, whenever he allowed his mind to dwell on

the Divine career of Krishna. He too yearned with enthusiastic

impatience to listen to those enrapturing incidents and activities of

the Lord.

 

When Suka resumed, Parikshith too lost all consciousness of his

surroundings; he was so struck with wonder, that he could not believe

that some of the incidents could ever have happened! This gave him

immense pain, and caused unbearable agony, at the thought of his own

inconstancy. So, he placed his problem before the Sage and won peace

of mind. after hearing his explanation and elaboration. While

proceeding thus, on one occasion, the King developed serious doubts

about the Bhakthi <http://vahini.org/glossary/b.html> (devotion) of

the Gopis; he argued within himself and sought remedial assurances

through his own understanding and faith. But, the doubts would not

vanish. Nor had he the courage to ask the Sage who might consider

them as too childish. So, he was suffering and smothering the

suffering. This became evident to the Sage and, so, he asked the King

with a smile, " It is evident that some insane idea is distracting

you. In this crisis, it is not beneficial to suffer from repressed

emotions. If some doubt is simmering in you, or if a thirst to know

about something is hurting you, do not hesitate to ask me; I shall

resolve the doubt, I shall quench the thirst and ensure joy and

contentment of mind. " When the Sage encouraged the King in this

manner, the King spoke, " Master! You know the Past, the

Present and the Future. You have the vision and the capacity to cure

me of the doubt that is pestering me. Therefore, please do not

misunderstand me; hear me and resolve the doubt; Cure me of the

anguish I have on account of it. Restore the peace of mind, I had,

before it entered my heart " . The King fell at the Sage's Feet and

continued, " Master! I have heard much, in various versions, of the

sport and pranks, of the Rasakrida

http://vahini.org/glossary/qr.html> (the Raasa Dance) of Krishna,

with the cowherd maids (the Gopis) of

Brindavan. They appear to be sensual pastimes of ordinary mortals. If

such incidents had happened in truth, how can they be interpreted as

Divine? Are they not disapproved by the world? These incidents at

Brindavan, on the Yamuna banks, where such loose sensual lascivious

play was enacted, besmirch the Divine Nature of Krishna, I am afraid.

It is said that ultimate release or Moksha

<http://vahini.org/glossary/m.html>

can be attained only by those who transcend the Gunas

<http://vahini.org/glossary/g.html> or qualities. These Gopis were

afflicted with qualities, and the desires born out of them, mostly

sensual, and objective. When it is said that the Gopis too were able

to attain Moksha, it causes amazement; indeed, it appears even

ridiculous! If, however, these immoral activities have some inner

significance which justifies their being accepted as praise-worthy,

please enlighten me. "

 

When Parikshith prayed thus, Suka had a hearty laugh. He said, " 0

King! Do not think that You are afflicted by a doubt; it is much

worse! For, those who have realized that Krishna is the Lord Himself

will not entertain such doubts! This is the final period of the

Dwapara Age;

<http://vahini.org/glossary/d.html> the Kali Age

<http://vahini.org/glossary/k.html> is beginning soon. It is the Kali

spirit, the spirit of the Age of Wickedness that has entered into you,

that has prompted you to lodge such ideas in your mind. Or else, you

had unshaken faith that Krishna is the Sovereign Supreme God. Every

incident in His Career shines in your heart with Divine Brilliance.

The moment you recollect His Name, you are overcome by joy and your

thoughts merge in Him. So these doubts cannot arise in such as you!

You are defiling your personality by them. Again, consider what type

of person I am. You know that there is no place in my heart for

activities born out of Gunas or the impulses created out of those

qualities. Just consider how such a one as I is overpowered with

supreme joy, when I contemplate the Divine Sport of Krishna with the

Gopis! Consider how I praise the good fortune of the Gopis who got

that precious Companionship. Can they be ordinary sensual sport? Or

are they the pure and genuine exuberance of Divine

intoxication? Think a while. Sensual exultation and Divine

exhilaration might appear, the same, in their external

manifestations, to the untrained eye. But, when the senses are

transcended, when the Individual and the Universal have merged into

one Thought and Consciousness, when all awareness of the body has

been negated - to interpret these activities as objective and sensual

is sheer stupidity, to say the least.

 

A knife in the hands of a murderer is fraught with danger to all; a

knife in the hands of a surgeon confers freedom from pain, though in

both cases, there is a hand that holds the knife. So too, the acts of

those whose self is centered in the body are to be condemned; those of

people whose self is centered in the Atma

<http://vahini.org/glossary/a.html#Atma> or Inner Reality are highly

beneficent and praiseworthy.

 

Be devoted to Me and receive power from Me. To the extent to which you

enthusiastically intensify and quicken up this process of give and

take, to that extent you will be successful and happy. Deliver all

your anxieties, troubles, travails and desires to Me and in return

receive joy, peace and strength of mind from Me. During this Advent,

only spiritual aspirants and righteous persons are relatives, friends

and recipients of My Grace