In the Ramayana, Rishi Bharadwaja asks Bhagavan Rama, “What is the phala or fruit of Bhagavad Darshan?” Bhagavan Rama doesn’t respond, or maybe doesn’t know the answer and then Rishi Bharadwaja responds saying it is Bhakta darshan — to see devotees of God. He is specifically referencing Shri Bharata. Because Bhagavan Rama came to the jungle, so did Shri Bharata. When we see all the Zoom attendees on the different screens, do we see all the Bhaktas around us? Being with so many Bhaktas, it perhaps implies that we have had or are having Bhagavan’s darshan.
Built into Sanatana Dharma is samvada or dialogue. Sama is being even. Through a dialogue, equality is invoked or evoked. In Shrimad Bhagavata, the samvada is between Raja Parikshita and Rishi Shuka. Raja Parikshita is the one who has responsibilities and is inquiring into life. His specific question is, “What should a dying man do?”. We are Raja Parikshita! And he is speaking to Rishi Shuka. Shuka literally means parent, but the implied meaning is the one who is enlightened, the one who is only experiencing joy. Rishi Shuka’s answer to Raja Parikshita’s question is, “You should contemplate”.
Most of us cannot contemplate. So how do we build upto contemplation? — Through reflection — to keep on reflecting on who we are, what the purpose of our life is, whether we are happy. But are we able to do that even for the next fifty minutes? Some can, but not all of us. So how do we build upto reflection? Through listening or shravana to katha or narration on who God is and what happiness is. Putting all this together, contemplation comes from reflecting, comes from listening, which really means living for Bhagavan or Joy.
Vivekji keeps using the word Bhagavan, just like Bhagavata, and sometimes God. What does Bhagavan or God mean?
- Bhagavan from the lens of karma yoga (the dedication path) is the Governor of this creation — has created the laws and facilitates the laws. So how do we live for the Governor?. By following our responsibilities in all kinds of circumstances — corona virus or not, racism or not, good health or not.
- Bhagavan, through the lens of Bhakti Yoga, is the Protector of our macro and micro worlds. So how do we live for the Protector By surrendering. Whatever comes to us, always appreciate the protector.
- Bhagavan through the lens of jnana yoga or vedanta (the differentiation path) is our nature. The Protector or the Governor may seem far away, but our nature is not. Our nature is us. So how do we live for Bhagavan? By developing our personality from being relatively happy to being absolutely happy, from being fearful to fearless.
So we should live for Bhagavan with whatever lens we identify with.
Connecting to the previous skandas, the seventh skanda focused on uti or blueprint. Everyone of us has a blueprint. The eighth skanda focused on sad-dharma. To exhaust or substitute vasanas, that is possible by dharma. We can be minimally or relatively happy by being responsible, but for us to be absolutely happy or dis-identify with our vasanas, we cannot just be good, but have to be great. The ninth skanda focused on kshaya: exhaustion — substitution — disidentification. Our efforts can make us great, but finally we have to identify with ourselves less and more with Bhagavan for us to become the greatest. We have to realise that we are more than the ego and that we are divine.
Rantideva was a great personality we studied in the ninth skanda. When he and his family were starving and various people came to visit them, even though his family were dying with thirst and hunger, he gave that food and water to the visitors. The persons who visited were Bhagavan Brahma, Bhagavan Vishnu and Bhagavan Shiva in disguise. They came to bless him, not test him. After he had given them all he had, they asked him what boon he wanted and he said no boons. When they forced him to take a boon, he asked to be placed in every being’s heart to absorb their stress and anxiety so that they could feel Bhagavan more than themselves. What an amazing personality!
The tenth skanda is focused on ashraya or refuge. This is where we come to feel Bhagavan. The ninth skanda is transitionary where we feel we are the individual and that there is a total, but in the tenth skanda we start to feel that totality. Many commentators have shared that the first nine skandas are there only for the tenth skanda. So the first nine have little importance in comparison with the tenth skanda. It is known as the ‘heart’ of Shrimad Bhagavata. In the earlier nine skandas the biggest skanda had 33 chapters. This skanda has 90 chapters and 4000 verses.
All of us work hard and smart. We follow our sadhanas or disciplines in a similar manner. But how come we don’t feel Bhagavan? We read, write and reflect, feel quiet, but we still don’t feel that independent joy. How come when a family member is judging us, we can’t deflect that? How come we get tired or sick?. What we need is more support. The word ashraya means refuge and support. Just as when one goes higher in their academic studies, PHD students have a mentor, the tenth skanda is a catalyst to deepening our joy exponentially from wherever we are currently in our evolution.
Some commentators describe the tenth skanda as Nirodha which means to transcend who we are. Throughout the tenth skanda, we will get into many plays or leelas of Bhagavan Krishna and ideally our minds will be captivated by it. We can transcend the thoughts of the mind through yoga or through katha. That is why one of Bhagavan Krishna’s names is Manohara. The one who steals our minds. He is most handsome, so first He captivates our eyes, but the point is to captivate our mind.
The nature of Bhagavan is Love, so anything that comes out of Him is also made up of love. Whenever we see images or icons of Bhagavan Vishnu, He is always lying down with someone massaging his feet. If we take this literally, we would think Bhagavan as lazy and tamasiK But what His image symbolizes is Him Being. One of the main incarnations of Bhagavan Vishnu is Bhagavan Rama. When we see icons of Bhagavan Rama, do we ever see him lying down? No, He is always walking. Most of His life, He is walking. To Where? Towards us. In Ramayana, millions of humans, animals, birds, plants and stones were involved in the divine. And as Bhagavan Krishna, He is dancing, singing, playing instruments. For what reason? He is doing that so we can be immersed in divinity. The more we give of ourselves, the more we find ourselves. So always remember Bhagavan lying, walking, dancing…for us.
As we continue, Rishi Shuka is explaining to Raja Parikshita — When one asks a question about Vasudeva or Bhagavan Krishna, such an involvement purifies the one that is speaking, the one asking and the one listening. And we are doing all three right now. How does this purification work? Just like the water that flows from His feet to this earth, like Devi Ganga. Bhagavan Krishna is known as an avatara or the one who engages in avatarati — one who descends. The more realistic word is sambhavami or the one who manifests. The word ‘descends’ means that God is not in this world and then He comes to this world or as if God is not in our life, but then he comes into our life . Sambhavami means manifest, and it means God is in this world and manifests when needed. Where is God not?
Why did Bhagavan Krishna manifest? This is for us to realise that even if we work hard in sadhana, without ashray we will never be independently joyous. From a macro perspective, selfish or mean people are like lightning. That’s how superficial or how long their friendships last. The burden that a selfish person puts on this earth is heavier than the mountains. If one thinks of the burden of an indulgent, irresponsible, inadvertent person, they are a bigger burden to Mother Earth. So why did Bhagavan Krishna manifest? Because His wife is Mother Earth. From a macro perspective, He came for His spouse, the one we are living on or with. A sadhu or a noble person is one who is non-compromising. This is called Satya. When there is minimal compromise, then sadhu or the noble can correct that compromise. When there is maximum compromise, only Bhagavan can correct that compromise, sadhus cannot.
So Bhagavan manifests to bring integrity to people, so that others can live in the same way as the sadhus or the non-compromising ones. One fine example is Ratnakara — who later became Sant Valmiki, after he met Rishi Narada — one who never compromises. Bhagavan Krishna was born in jail and He broke out of that jail and danced His way through the Yamuna into Gokula, Vrindavan, Mathura, Hastinapura, all over the world. We too are born in jail. In a physical jail, it is apparent, but the jail we are born into is one where we feel that matter is more superior to spirit. We feel that the functional is more of a priority than the fundamental.
Bhagavan Krishna was born in Jail so we could relate to Him. And He went through hardships we cannot imagine. One of the last ones is where He had to cause His entire lineage to be erased. That is more severe than what Prince Arjuna faced, as his family still survived. This is why God manifests, so that we can wake up to the spirit, to the fundamental, to peace.
So those who inquire, speak, ask, listen to everything related to Bhagavan Krishna are purified. And the sign of purity is that our mind becomes quieter.
Discussion: How can we live more courageously?
Vivekji shared that when we start to feel that articles, beings and circumstances are less purposeful in our life, then we start to internalize the presence of Bhagavan more. As long as we give more importance to articles, beings and circumstances, then we are subject to the ups and downs of change. Thats scary, but if we feel they are less purposeful and we look inward, we realise that our only purpose is to only go more within, tune into the spirit, to break out of jail.