When the Amrita had come out of the Kshira Sagara or the Churning of the Milky ocean, what Devi Mohini was doing was, looking at the Asuras while offering the nectar to the Suras. What this shows is that the Asuras were lost in multitasking, thinking one way and acting in another way. When we multitask, we begin to look like and become weak like the Asuras.
Our course is designed for us to become Gopis, to unitask the purpose of our life to be Bhagavan Krshna. It’s like becoming hot wax and Bhagavan Krshna is the stamp to be placed on this hot wax. Then that seal is with us forever.
All that Bhagavan Krshna and Balarama do is Madhura — it is the sweetest of the sweet. Now a description of how sweet Balarama is — Carrying Balarama, who was weighty like a mountain, the Asura’s speed slackened and he resumed his hidden Asura form. With the numerous golden ornaments on his body and the fair complexion Rama on his shoulder, the Asura looked like a cloud adorned with streaks of lightning and carrying the moon. When we contemplate on each of these lines, we become sweet too.
Vedanta: Pralamba is the last Asura we studied, and he is an Icon for Greed. Greed is often disguised in our life as Ambition. We treat ambition to be a strength, but all it does is make us more greedy. Unlike desire and anger that come like a storm, greed comes slowly, and that is why Pralamba was disguised as a human. Desire or Trinaavarta was disguised as a tornado. Other Asuras were all animals and were fast, but here, very thoughtfully, Greed is disguised as a human.
How do we destroy this demon which lives inside of us? The preventative way is to be generous. We should make generosity one of our characteristics. We should be known for it, because in doing so, we are also nurturing adaptability. Because we are giving more, we have less to support ourselves with. And to destroy the demon in a reactive way, we should be greedy about that which is Satvik or Productive — like reading, writing, reflecting.
Every facet of Bhagavan Krshna and Balarama is Madhura, the same with Rishi Vyasa. His writing is the sweetest of the sweet. Here is a sample — At that time, there broke out a terrific forest fire, the most destructive enemy of forest dwellers. It was advancing fast with the help of its chariot driver, the wind, licking up on its way all living things and all non-living things with its flaming tongues.
Now this is not an Asura that is an enemy, but a Sura known as Agni. Even Bhagavan Brahma, a Sura, represents an inner enemy. Agni here symbolises indulgence. Indulgence is when we indulge in the wrong actions in the wrong way. For example, should we eat fast food? If we knew what is contained in fast food, then eating fast food is a wrong action. But if we are going to eat fast food, just eat a small portion of French Fries or a Sundae, but instead we eat two combos and we engage in the wrong action in the wrong way.
How do we correct this? With Clarity or Viveka about the right actions and in the right way. To make this most practical — to not succumb to indulgence is to feel someone we respect is always watching us. We are most indulgent when we feel we are alone, but if we have the Bhava that Bhagavan Krshna is always with us, then our actions and ways will be corrected. There will be Clarity.
In the Ramayana, we observe that Bhagavan Rama had very little chance to play or have downtime. It seems He went from one serious matter to another serious matter. So when He came as Bhagavan Krshna, he had a lot of downtime. What has He been doing since He was born — playing! And the play Bhagavan Krshna is in now is observing Nature in the Chaturmasya or rainy season. Shri Rama’s Reveries is a book written by Guruji, Swami Tejomayananda where Shri Rama and Shri Lakshmana are also experiencing the rainy season and learning from every facet.
Skanda 10:20: There are lots of observations and teachings that Bhagavan Krshna shares. This is a review, highlighting the eleven most meaningful teachings:
- The clouds that are covering the sun are the Gunas — Tamas, Rajas, Sattva that cover Brahman
- The water in the bodies of water that the Sun evaporates and then pours down as rain, is like the tax collected by a ruler and then given out to the community as funds. The ruler shouldn’t hold that for himself or herself.
- With all the rain, there is grass and mushrooms growing. Bhagavan Krshna envisions this as an army with scattered Royal umbrellas, and the army is to serve whoever is under that umbrella. We are to serve Bhagavan in the same way, to give up our life for Bhagavan.
- The way the rains are hitting the mountains is like the struggles that a Bhakta endures. Those rains cannot hurt that mountain, and the struggles don’t stop a bhakta or devotee.
- The way cows with heavy udders move slowly, and then they move fast when Bhagavan Krshna calls them, and then as they are moving, they drop some of their milk down. For us, we tend to be slow in our love and need to let go of some of our weight, the weight of articles or emotional baggage to be able to reach Bhagavan. If He is calling us, we need to do whatever it takes to reach Him.
- When autumn kicks in, the sky becomes clear of clouds. The density of vegetation thins out. The mud on the earth becomes drier, and the dirt in the water becomes still or falls to the bottom. These are four clearings — in the sky, vegetation, ground and water. What this symbolises for us is that Bhagavan’s presence can purify all the Ashramas, so that is why all four visuals are highlighted.
- The way streams that are flowing down mountains give water in some places, but not in other places, this symbolises that those who are enlightened speak sometimes, or are just quiet sometimes.
- The way that fish move about in water, not realising that the rainy season is over and the water is evaporating, for us, when we only live for our family and never think of anything bigger like community or society, our age is also evaporating without us making use of our age nor opportunity.
- The way the lushness of the trees and plants give up their moisture as they are drying up, in the same way, one who is a seeker gives up the ‘I’ and ‘mine’.
- The way the sea becomes calm since the rivers are not pouring into the sea, in the same way, for one who is quiet in their mind, they no longer chant nor argue. Why do we chant? — to quieten our minds. Why do we argue? — because our minds are not quiet.
- In autumn, we start to see the stars, just like the one whose mind is filled with Sattva or calmness, they come to see the meaning of the scriptures.
We should read all of the Skanda 10:20 for additional contemplation.
Skanda 10:21:20: This is the Gopis speaking with other Gopis. All that they knew about Bhagavan Krshna, the One who wandered around Vrindavana, the Gopis were sharing what they felt and knew with each other. As they were engaged in their responsibilities, they became silent. This section of Bhagavata is known as Venu Gita (Venu means flute), or the song of Bhagavan Krshna’s flute, what it does to someone, if they are a Gopi.
Now a description of how Bhagavan Krshna looked — mango leaves behind His ears, around His neck, a garland of fresh wild flowers with bees inside them to keep us vigilant and a crown of peacock feathers, not straight, but tilted. The Gopis are sharing that the flute that Bhagavan Krshna is holding, kissing, is more fortunate or bhagya than Devi Lakshmi as the flute is near Bhagavan’s mouth and Devi Lakshmi is at Bhagavan’s feet.
The lakes were so moved by the sound of Bhagavan Krshna’s flute, that the flowers that were growing at the bottom were brought up, almost like our hairs standing on end. The trees expressed this in a way that the flowers started to radiate or emit more pollen or nectar. They were sharing themselves more. The peacocks that heard the music, started dancing like they had never before, and every creature that saw them, even those that would eat a peacock, they all became still. The tigers, bears, snakes were all just mesmerized by these peacocks, that were mesmerized by Bhagavan Krshna’s flute, that was mesmerized by Bhagavan Krshna. The cows’ ears stood up so they could receive more of that sound. We see that with dogs that are hunting sometimes, but not with cows typically. The calves were crying as they couldn’t help themselves and naturally so as Bhagavan became all of them. There were countless birds that had gathered around Bhagavan Krshna. They were all Rishis that had disguised themselves as these birds to come and listen to Bhagavan Krshna.
The rivers started creating whirlpools everywhere, like taking the flowers to their heart and then taking these flowers to the bottom as if offering them to the feet of Bhagavan Krshna. The clouds saw Bhagavan Krshna and sensed that He is a friend. First physically, as they had the same skin color, and more so because just like clouds relieve people of their burden, Bhagavan Krshna was doing so too. The clouds came and formed an umbrella over Bhagavan Krshna and let out a light drizzle to make Bhagavan Krshna shine even more.
The Gopis, what a typical person would interpret as these “simple women”, are sharing this with each other, but as we go through Venu Gita, we realise that they know more about Bhagavan Krshna than most of the other personalities that we have studied in the previous nine skandas. But what were the Gopis really doing? First it was Shravana, listening to each other. Then it evolved to Manana, thinking about what all this meant, and was finalized as Nidhidhyasana, which is why they became silent.
This then concludes Venu Gita. All that was Achara became Chara. All that was immobile or unmoving, when they heard and experienced the life that Bhagavan Krshna was emitting, they started to become Chara or started moving. And all that was Chara or moving, became Achara or still. Particularly, Venu Gita was chanted to Rishi Shuka when he was born and was walking away from Rishi Vyasa. Rishi Vyasa’s disciples came to him and chanted Venu Gita, and what was Chara became achara and Rishi Shuka came back to his father.
We should close our eyes and feel Bhagavan, His flute and Bhagavan’s music. Be a facet of the nature just described.
Review of the vices we have studied so far in Skanda 10:
- Putana symbolises Ignorance
- Shakata symbolises Materialism
- Trinaavarta symbolises Desire
- Vatsa symbolises Attachment
- Baka symbolises Hypocrisy (Putana is the sister of Baka and her original name is Baki)
- Agha symbolises Sin
- (Bhagavan Brahma) a Sura, symbolises Arrogance
- Dhenuka symbolises Hoarding
- Kaliya symbolises Cruelty
- Pralamba symbolises Greed
- (Agni) a Sura symbolises Indulgence
Q & A:
Q1: What is the purpose of Bhagavata?
The purpose of Ramayana is Humility and when we have completed humility, then that becomes the purpose of Bhagavata, which is Surrender. Ramayana is the catalyst, so the fulfillment of Ramayana is Bhagavata. It also means the best means to feel Bhagavan (Light, Joy) is Bhagavata — Ta means boat, Va means best, Ga means go and Bha means Bhagavan, Light, Joy
Q2: Often it is shared that we should see the divine in yourself. So when the Gopis saw Bhagavan Krshna, did they see Him in themselves?
Bhagavan is first seen in a murthi, and the evolution of that is to see Bhagavan in our heart or madhyama, and the evolution of that is Manava or in beings. The Gopis first saw Bhagavan in a murthi, that is as a cute little boy doing awesome things. Their belief then evolved to faith as they started feeling Him all the time. They weren’t physically with Him, but they felt His presence all the time. As we continue to the next chapter, entitled the stealing of the Gopis’ clothes, did the Gopis ever feel that their clothes got stolen? Did they ever feel that someone else was looking at them? Do we ever get shy of our own selves, when we bathe or look at ourselves in a mirror? The Gopis did see Bhagavan — Murthi, Madhyama, Manava — all as one, only Bhagavan.
Q3: Needing additional clarity or specific examples about desire and greed. Would investing in stocks be considered desire or greed?
Why do we feel the sense of incompleteness is real? When we feel it is real, then a desire comes to make us feel complete. If we don’t have that desire fulfilled, then comes anger. And when that desire is fulfilled, then comes greed, because we think that when the desire is fulfilled we would feel complete, but we don’t, so we want more and more of it. In a harsh way, like a drug addict. In a more tactile way, there are avidya desires and vidya desires. We being in this course or the desire of being enlightened are vidya desires. With Vidya desires, we have less and less desires. For example, if we are happily married, we don’t think of anyone else’s marriage situation. But when we are unhappy, we wonder about others’ relationships. Avidya desires keep on adding more desires. In other words, they are unproductive and purposeless. So the first thing is to see if what we are desiring is taking us further into desire or away from desires.
In terms of greed, who are we doing this for? If we are doing something for ourselves, it is greedy. If we are doing this, and are not training ourselves to love the party above us, it is still greedy. For example, if my potential is to love society, but if I’m doing what I’m doing only for the community, that is me being greedy, as I’m being small minded. But through introspection and reflection, I know that I can serve society. If I’m doing what I’m doing for society, then I’m not being greedy.
Q4: Is planning folly? Is planning for retirement and children’s education needed? Whatever has been provided by Bhagavan has been with no planning on my part, but if I don’t plan, am I being irresponsible as a parent?
What is wealth? Do we actually see the money we have? How much of our life goes towards what we don’t know. We don’t even have clarity about money or wealth, let alone another reality or Vedanta. Please introspect about such superficiality.
A quote from Hellen Keller is “Be happy with what you have, while you work for what you want”. Our purpose is to Be Happy. Everything we do is for us to be Happy. If we do that, then if we plan or don’t plan is irrelevant. If we are happy for every moment, then we will be Happy forever. So why should we plan? So we can further solidify dependent joy into Independent Joy. With planning, firstly, it shouldn’t affect our happiness whether the plan is achieved or not. If it does, then it is just dependent joy. Secondly, we come to appreciate Bhagavan’s leela, that we are not the one who’s planning. That is humility, and the fulfilment of humility is surrender, similar to how Prince Arjuna goes from purely free will to purely God’s will. In this course it is called Leela.