Srimad Bhagavatam Skanda 1 - Worshiping The Authenticity of Lord brings Happiness
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| Hare Srinivasa |
My salutations to you.
After the disappearance of Lord Sri Krishna and
the ascent of Pandavas to heaven, Kali was aggressively seizing control on all
walks of life and on all non-living substances. His first attack was on the
three legs of dharma or righteousness. He broke the leg of Austerity. Hence the
spiritual practices of the people of Kali Yuga declined to make most of us lazy
and indifferent. Subsequently, he attacked the cleanliness and compassion. This
made the fourth attribute of truthfulness fragile and delicate in the people of
Kali Yuga.
As a prelude to Vishnu Sahasranamam, Sri
Bheeshmacharya answering his grandson King Yudhishthira says,
यानि नामानि गौणानि विख्यातानि महात्मनः ।
ऋषिभिर्परिगीतानि तानि वक्ष्यामि भूतये॥
The ancient seers have been meditating and worshipping
Lord by singing the hymns having the names of the Lord that describes his
attributes. I will reveal the far-famed names of the great Lord for the benefit
of everyone. Saying so, Sri Bheeshmachary sang the Vishnu Sahasaranam.
This story of Parikshid raja having the fame of
administering the evil Kali in Srimad Bhagavata is surprisingly beneficial and
is soaked to saturation with the auspicious attributes of Lord Sri Krishna, his
greatness, and his sports charm. By singing his names describing his
attributes, Lord blesses us with such attributes to our capacity in our journey
of Yoga to accomplish him. In this
section, we are blessed to contemplate the attributes of the Lord narrated by
Goddess Bhoo Devi that yields benefits. Those benefits have also been discussed
here.
The Goddess of village deity, the mother earth
says,
धरण्युवाचभवान्
भवान् हि वेद तत्सर्वं यन्मां धर्मानुपृच्छसि ।
चतुर्भिर्वर्तसे येन पादैर्लोकसुखावहैः ॥ २५॥
God Dharma! You should have been living in
abundance with all your four legs hale and hearty. You know all that is
happening. You are aware of the reasons for the injury of your three legs that
have brought you sadness and made you handicap. And the same reason has brought
me sadness too.
However, separation from the Lord has brought
about the highest level of sadness. He was exhibiting his attributes that
brought happiness to one and all. In him are the immeasurable and vast
attributes that never reduce. The best of beings, Bhagavatas, the saints take
up rigorous austerity to please the Lord and be blessed with such attributes in
themselves too. They propitiate the Lord. They worship him over several births
to receive his Prasada or gracious gift. And such compassionate Lord Srinivasa
has disappeared from this earth, says Goddess Bhoo Devi.
At this juncture, it is
important for us to have the right perspective on the presence of the Lord. We
came across how Arjuna was saddened, Dharma raja had slipped into melancholy
filled with sadness, and now from our last blog, we are discussing the Goddess
of Earth engulfed in sadness after the departure of Lord Sri Krishna from this
earth. Though the other forms of Lord Veda Vyasa, Parshuram continued to appear
during that early period of Kali Yuga. Also, Lord Sri Krishna is present by himself
in the various temples of him. He is present in Srimad Bhagavata, Bhagavad
Gita, and so on. Also, the fact that this earth is existing supporting various
living beings means that the omnipresent Lord is present and supporting.
Though, the Lord is present all over, why does Goddess Bhoo Devi feel
separation from the Lord and is crying? This is a question we need to have an
answer.
The fact is that the Lord
is Omnipresent. In the Forms and The Fame of Lord Bhagavan, we read Sri Sutacharya narrating
जगृहे पौरुषं रूपं भगवान् महदादिभिः।
सम्भूतं षोडशकलमादौ लोकसिसृक्षया ॥1॥
In the beginning, the
Lord intended to create the universe. Hence, from Prakriti having Satvika,
Rajasika, and Thamasika Guna he created Mahat-Tattva. From Mahat-Tattva he
created Ahankara Tattva from which he created sixteen elements consisting of
five Jnana Indriya, five Karma Indriya, One Manas, and five Tanmatra. He
accepted the form of Purusha including these sixteen elements.
यस्याम्भसि शयानस्य योगनिद्रां वितन्वतः ।
नाभिह्रदाम्बुजादासीद्ब्रह्मा विश्वसृजां पतिः ॥2॥
After the creation of
Brahmanda or the Universe including the cosmic ocean, The Lord Purusha entered
the universe. He took a sleeping posture on the primordial water and with Yoga
Nidra gulped the darkness appearing as Purusha. From his naval sprang a lotus
giving birth to God Brahma.
यस्यावयवसंस्थानैः कल्पितो लोकविस्तरः ।
तद्वै भगवतो रूपं विशुद्धं सत्त्वमूर्जितम् ॥3॥
From the body and the limbs of Lord Purusha who
has the Virat Roopa of omniform, all the fourteen Lokas or regions were formed.
This way the entire universe is a shape and form of Lord Bhagavan who is
Virtuous, full of good attributes, knowledge, strength, and a foundation for
all beings. This pure and Satvika form of Lord is very Auspicious, Supreme, and
Excellent.
पश्यन्त्यदो रूपमदभ्रचक्षुषा सहस्रपादोरुभुजाननाद्भुतम् ।
सहस्रमूर्धश्रवणाक्षिनासिकं सहस्रमौल्यम्बरकुण्डलोल्लसत् ॥
The God Brahma sees the entire Universe with the
divine vision as the form of Lord Vasudeva. Baffled, he sings the Lord’s fame
and glory through Purusha Sukta. This way the one Lord appeared to him
surprisingly wonderful with millions of feet, thighs, arms, face, ears, eyes,
nose, and dazzling Ornaments as Virat Purusha being in omniform. Also, God
Brahma gazing at this Sports Charm of the Lord is brimming with bliss and
knowledge.
Wondering on this omnipresent aspect of Lord, we
went through the translation of the song in Forms and The Fame of Lord Bhagavan composed by Kanaka Dasaru in which he is
wondering if “Is the sweetness inside the sugar or the sugar is in
sweetness!; Or is sweetness and sugar in our taste of the tongue!; Or is taste
in our thoughts or the thoughts in the taste!; Or is our taste, thoughts with
you, Krishna”
While the Lord is present everywhere, in the dress
we wear, the food we eat, the water we drink, the idol we worship, the house we
stay in, the road we walk, but we do not worship him in all those. However, we
worship the idol in which he is or the Saligrama Shila in which he is, or the
photograph in which he is, or even the scripture like Vishnu Sahasranama,
Bhagavad Gita, or Srimad Bhagavata. We worship in all those he is present in a
significant way.
Being with different forms, in different objects,
carrying out different acts, Lord blesses each being. Like being in poison,
with a name as Poison, he would take away life when consumed; as a stone from
Gandaki river, he accepts the Shodashopachara or the sixteen types of offerings
by a devotee including Invitation; Seat to sit; Washing of the feet; Drinking
water; Purification of the host by repeating the various names of the
guest; Bath with scented water; Clothes
& Sacred thread to wear; Sandalwood paste as a perfume; Flowers &
Ornaments to wear; Incense to fill the surrounding with aroma; the light of the
lamp as decoration; Food as naivedyam; Betel leaf with areca nut to eat after
having food; Auspicious arati or showing the beautiful flame of the fire to the
Lord to please him, and the farewell being in a Saligrama Shila.
He is in the words we speak and the song we sing.
But being in each, he does different acts.
His ubiquity would not invoke devotion in all objects of sight, sound,
or the air. While we walk over a stone, we place the Saligrama stone or a stone
idol of the Lord over a pedestal and do Aradhana or worship his omnipresence.
Also, the Lord in each form blesses differently. And hence, the Bhoo Devi in
the form of a cow, the mother earth was feeling saddened due to the separation
of Lord Sri Krishna. Remembering this the tears rolled down from her eyes. She
had enormous gratitude towards the Lord Sri Krishna. He had appeared
exclusively to her, to reduce the weight of sin and the sinners on her. That
very Lord Sri Krishna had disappeared and hence she was weeping. So too Arjuna,
for him Lord Veda Vyasa was a grandfather and a teacher. However, Lord Sri
Krishna was a dear friend and hence his disappearance and loss of friendship
brought sadness to him and other Pandavas. While Lord Budha appeared after Lord
Sri Krishna, he only led those who misused Vedas, away from Vedas. But, the
form of Lord Sri Krishna led the mother earth and the people therein to Kali
Yuga. So for us, the people of Kali Yuga, the form of Lord Sri Krishna is more
near and the most worshipable. Since that particular form of Lord had
disappeared, Goddess Bhoo Devi was engulfed in the sadness of separation.
The Goddess of village deity, the mother earth
responding to God Dharma starts singing the attributes of Lord saying,
सत्यं शौचं दया क्षान्तिस्त्यागः सन्तोष आर्जवम् ।
शमो दमस्तपः साम्यं तितिक्षोपरतिः श्रुतम् ॥ २६॥
Satyam or Authentic is the attribute of the Lord. We briefly saw this
attribute of Lord in Mangalacharan or the verse of prayer wherein Lord is
ascribed as Satyam-Param-Dhimahi. He is authentic because he is of divine bliss
engrossed in stainless happiness, and complete with all attributes.
To understand this aspect, let’s take an analogy
of the house where we live. When can one cherish the house? Or hold it as dear?
Or become adorable? Could it be when it is the most expensive? Or when done
with the best minds of an architect having beautiful facades or well layout
plans or making it stunning with razor-sharp corners, glass, and stainless
steel?
However, we see the most expensive house becoming
haunted or people in it keep fighting or are most jealous making them anxious
about distrustful, or there could be a suicide or divorce and so on in the
house. These are undesirable and the house too gets blamed. Hence, the most
adorable house would be the house where the residents are peaceful, happy, and
satisfied.
Hence, the Bhoo Devi starts with the attribute of
Satyam or Authenticity of the Lord. As he is stainless, complete with
attributes, and full of happiness! His happiness is not a pretense nor
hypocrisy. It is a stainless, pure, clean, divine, immeasurable, and unsurpassed
happiness without any volatility.
That very Lord Sri Krishna who is Satyam or
Authentic is engrossed in divine bliss. He would walk over me. When he did so,
the divine marks including Lotus, Conch, Mace, Elephant, Goad, Disc, Umbrella,
on his feet would imprint on me. He walked on me as a small child, a cowherd
boy, as a youth, as middle-aged, as a killer of sinners to reduce weight on me,
as a lover of Gopikas, as a husband of 16000 wives, as a father, friend, and
more. He would talk only pleasing words with the virtuous. For every step of
that very Lord Krishna on me having the attribute of Satyam, I would ooze with
happiness, I would have goosebumps all over me said, Bhoo Devi.
This is the happiness each one of us has to
experience. This is the first attribute of the Lord that every practitioner of
Bhakti Yoga needs to worship. For that, we need to do Yoga or synchronization
by worshipping the Lord as having no sorrow and has only stainless,
immeasurable, permanent, and perfect happiness. And worship Lord as soft-spoken
with pleasing words bringing delight to the virtuous. Doing so the
compassionate Lord would bless us with such attributes of divine happiness,
eloquence, and pleasant speech to the fullest of our individual capacity.
The modern-day psychology, it's understanding of
the subconscious mind, the metaphysical and new age literature coming out of it
is at the nascent stage. This not only just cause more entanglement with the
cycle of death and birth but has the potential to increase manifold to push the
individual to hell. However, we see how Srimad Bhagavata is imbibing attributes
of divine happiness, eloquence, and pleasant speech within the subconscious
mind for the betterment of social values in the society leading to the
Purushartha or objectives of life.
Let’s pray to
Sri Hari, Vayu, and Gurus for their continued blessings for our understanding
of the other attributes of the Lord sung by Goddess Bhoo Devi.
|| Hari Om ||
|| Sri
Krishnarpanamastu ||
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