A Study of the Bhagavata Purana or Esoteric Hinduism Part 47

There are divine music, divine beauty, divine objects of gratification in Svarga Loka - allurements enough for a man of desire. And if his merits be great, he enjoys the things of Svarga Loka for an enormously long period.

But a man by bare intellectuality can not cross the threshold of Svarga.

The Devas reject the intruder. However much Trisanku might aspire to have the enjoyments of Svarga, and however great his intellect might be, he was not allowed to enter the coveted plane, without the pa.s.sport of spirituality. Humanity had still to learn the proper means of securing life in Svarga.

Poor and chance spiritual acquisitions give only a pa.s.sing life in Svarga and that not of a superior character. So all the knowledge as to attaining Svarga life had to be revealed in time.

The Rishis made great efforts to improve humanity by securing for them a prolonged existence in Svarga, most of all Rishi Visvamitra, one of the seven sages of our Manvantara. Visvamitra failed in his attempt to send Trisanku to Svarga. He then tried with his son Haris Chandra. It is said he advised the Raja to make a human sacrifice to Varuna. But we find the victim Sunah-sepha living after the sacrifice, under the name of Deva-rata, or one given up to the G.o.ds, and some of the Riks even were revealed to him. Haris Chandra succeeded in entering Svarga. That was a great victory for Rishi Visvamitra. The Vedas were revealed to the Rishis and sacrifices came to be known.

Narada also helped the cause in another away. He related the beauty and the virtues of king Pururavas to the Devas in Svarga. Urvasi, the famous Deva nymph, hearing all that, became enamoured of the king. She had then, by the curse of some G.o.d, a human form. So she could keep company with the King. The king was enchanted by her beauty. When she left, he followed her advice and pleased the Gandharvas. The Gandharvas gave him the fire, with which the king could perform sacrifice. The fire became threefold. With one he could perform his duties to the Devas and go to Svarga Loka. With another, he could perform his duties to the Pitris.

With the third fire, he could perform the duties of a house-holder. Thus sacrifices meant duties. And it is by the performance of duties that men can perform Vedic sacrifices and go to Svarga Loka.

The Vedas laid down injunctions and prohibitions. They regulated the actions of men, propelled by Kama or desire. Men must eat meat. The Vedas said this meat was prohibited, but that could be used. Men mixed with women. The Vedas laid down restrictions. Even they regulated the relations between man and wife. Then the Vedas laid down the duties which men owed to all cla.s.ses of beings. In order to induce men to accept the Vedic injunctions, the Vedas held out Svarga as the reward of Vedic Karma. They even favoured the belief, that there was to be immortal life in Svarga gained by the performance of Vedic Karma.

Detailed rules as to the performance of Vedic sacrifices were given. So long as men did not aspire to become Indra, or the ruler of Svarga, the Devas were pleased with the sacrifices; they helped the performer as much as they could, giving them all objects of desire, and they welcomed them to Svarga, when they pa.s.sed to that plane after death. The Devas were as friendly to the performer of Vedic Karma as they were unfriendly to the immature Trisanku.

The Vedic Karma Kanda became thus fully revealed. The revelation was made in the last Treta-yuga of the present Manvantara. "At the beginning of the Treta Yuga, the three Vedas were revealed through Pururavas." IX.

14-49. "The path of Karma was promulgated in Treta Yuga, by the division of the Vedas." _Sridhara_.

The great churning was justified. The Devas a.s.serted themselves for the good of humanity. The Rishis got the revelation and helped men to place themselves in active relationship with the Devas. Men learned to regulate themselves and to give up the wantonness of material life. And they had a strong inducement to do so in the prospect of eternal life in Svarga. The great actor in this Vedic movement was Rishi Visvamitra, (Hallowed be his name!) Others followed him in quick succession, and there was a brilliant combination of Vedic Rishis who propounded the whole of the Karma Kanda of the Vedas, as it was revealed to them by the force of Kalpic necessity.

At all times there have been two parties, one following the current of evolution, and another going against it. At all times there have been cavillers and sceptics.

The Haihayas and Talajanghas were confirmed materialists and great sinners. They ridiculed the Brahmanas, who performed Vedic Karma, and often set themselves in opposition to them. They were very troublesome to the Brahmanas. King Sagar wanted to extinguish the race, but he was prevented from doing so. Possibly Atlantis was the country inhabited by these races and Nature helped the cause of evolution by dragging down the continent itself under water. The sacred Ganga also flowed at this time, spreading purity over all lands lying on her banks.

The Haihayas however still flourished; and they had a great leader in Karta-Viryarjuna. Then came one of the great Avataras, Parasurama. He extirpated the Haihaya Kshatriyas, and went on killing the Kshatriyas till Rama appeared, and it was then that he thought his mission was over.

If there were some Kshatriyas who disregarded the Vedas, there were others who found transitoriness, even in Svarga Loka, and honestly thought that the complete wisdom was not to be found in the Karma Kanda.

They were for further revelations At first, the Brahmanas did not look with favour upon these Kshatriyas. But when it was found that the Kshatriyas got real light, they were soon joined by the Brahmanas. The foremost of these Kshatriyas was Janaka, and the foremost of the Brahmanas was Yajnavalkya. The further revelations were called the Upanishads.

King Janaka found Sita, the consort of Rama, at the end of his plough.

Yajnavalkya defeated all the Brahmanas of his time in discussions held at the court of king Janaka.

When Rama incarnated, there existed the people of Lanka, a remnant of the Atlantean continent, who had inherited a mighty material civilisation, but who were called Rakshasas, on account of their gross iniquities. They reached the last point of material downfall, and lost all spirituality. They were called Rakshasas as final extinction was their lot, and as the force of dissolution was strong in them.

Then there were the regenerate cla.s.ses, who performed Vedic sacrifices.

There were a few again, who accepted the Upanishads as a teaching, but they could not boldly declare themselves against the performance of sacrifices.

Rama finally did away with the Rakshasas. The bard who sang his glory, the great Valmiki, thus began his lay: - "O Killer of birds, thou shalt not live for ever, as of the pair of storks thou hast killed the male, so pa.s.sionately attached to his consort." Verily the Purusha in us, the ray of the supreme Purusha, becomes pa.s.sionately attached to the element of Prakriti in us, so that we may acquire spiritual experiences through the body. And it is a cruel act to separate our Prakritic individualities completely from him by turning ourselves persistently away from the Purusha. But when Rama became an Avatara, the fate of the separator was sealed.

When the Rakshasas were killed, the Rishis were left free to perform the Vedic sacrifices.

Rama did something more. He married the daughter of Janaka, and by this act openly espoused the cause of the Upanishads.

Lastly Rama offered Himself as an object of worship. This was the beginning of Vishnu worship, which makes no distinction between cla.s.ses and castes. Rama openly made friendship with Guhaka, belonging to the lowest cla.s.s, whom it was an abomination to touch, for Guhaka was devotedly attached to Him, as an Incarnation of Vishnu.

The world admired Rama. No man could reach such eminence. He must be something more than a man. In time men accepted him as an Avatara. At any rate, he was an example to others in every respect. The ethical standard he laid down in his own life was unimpeachable. The world had never seen such sacrifices in the performance of the duties of life. A model king, a model son, a model husband, a model brother, a model warrior, a model friend, the model of models, Rama left an indelible mark as a religious and moral teacher, on the age in which he lived, and on all succeeding ages.

The example was not lost on the world. The many-sided picture, that Rama presented, produced a spirit of enquiry, which has never been rivalled in this Kalpa. Men thought on different lines. They studied the Upanishads, which had been favoured by Rama. They could not forget also that Rama taught salvation for the performers of Vedic sacrifices. Then there was the teaching of his own life. The light was manifold.

Independent schools of thought grew up, notably the six schools of philosophy. Each school tried to find its authority in the Upanishads and the divine scriptures supplied texts enough for all the schools.

Every school found a part of the truth but not the whole truth. Yet each school regarded its own part as the whole. So they quarrelled. The Mimansakas said that the performance of Vedic sacrifices was all in all.

It had the sanction of time-honored texts and of the most ancient Rishis. And Jaimini supplied the reasoning by which the practice could be supported. The Sankhyas said that the chief duty of a man was to discriminate between the transformable and the non-transformable element in him, and when that was done, nothing more was needed. The followers of Patanjali said that mere discrimination was not sufficient, but a continued practice was required. The Vaiseshikas studied the attributes and properties of all objects and sought by differentiation to know the truths. There were others who worshipped the Bhutas, Pretas and Pisachas, so that they might easily acquire powers. Others worshipped the dwellers of Svarga Loka. Some worshipped ishvara. But mostly the worship of Siva was prevalent. Gifts and charities also were not unknown, in fact they were very extensive in some instances. But generally the object of all religious observances was self-seeking more or less.

Amidst this diversity of religious ideas and religious observances, seemingly so contradictory, Sri Krishna, the greatest of all Avataras, appeared and He brought the message of peace and reconciliation. He laid great stress on the fact that the performance of Vedic sacrifices could lead us only to Svarga Loka, but when our merits were exhausted, we were bound to be born again on Bhur Loka, our Earth. While on Earth, we form fresh Karma, which gives rise to other births. The performance of Vedic Karma does not therefore free us from the bondage of births, for, as the Lord said, there is object-seeking in these performances. Object-seeking for one's own self does not find a place in the higher Lokas. Its highest limit is Svarga Loka. So long as man remains self-seeking, he can not transcend the limits of Triloki. In the higher Lokas, there is no recurrence of births and re-births. Once you are translated to Mahar Loka, you live for the whole of the remaining period of the Kalpa, pa.s.sing through a gradual evolution to the higher Lokas. And if you form a devotional tie with the Lord of many Brahmandas, the First Purusha, even the Kalpic period does not restrict your existence. Liberation is a relative term. It may be from the bondage of births and re-births in Triloki. It may be liberation from the bondage of Bvahmandas or solar systems. Those who worship only material objects remain chained to this earth. Those who worship the dwellers of Bhuvar Loka (Bhutas, Pretas, Pisachas and Pitris) or cultivate aspiration for them become allied to them and they pa.s.s only to Bhuvar Loka after death. Those who worship the Devas and cultivate this aspiration go to Svarga Loka after death.

Those who worship Hiranya-garbha go up to Satya or Brahma Loka. Those who worship the Lord of all Brahmandas pa.s.s beyond even the Brahmanda.

The first thing that a man should do is to transcend the limits of Triloki. This he cannot do as long as he is self-seeking. He should therefore perform his actions _unselfishly_. And the Lord said as follows: -

1. There is the perishable and the imperishable element in us. Karma or actions appertain to the perishable element. The perishable element constantly changes, so it cannot be our real self or atma. From the stand-point of our real self, we can dissociate ourselves from our actions, which relate to our transitory nature. Here the system of Sankhya came into requisition.

2. But by this discrimination, we can not forcibly stop the performance of actions. For the actions are propelled by (_a_) active tendencies which form an inseparable part of our present nature, and (_b_) by the necessity of our very existence. So by stopping actions, we force the tendencies to mental channels, and cause more mischief by producing mental germs for the future. And we cannot stop all actions, as some are necessary for our bare existence.

3. Therefore we are to perform actions, and we can perform them unselfishly, if they are done from a pure sense of duty. We are to take duty as a law of our very existence. _Yajna_ is only another name for this law. The Lord of beings, having created all beings with the Yajna, said of yore, - "You shall prosper by the performance of this Yajna and this Yajna shall be the producer of all desired objects for you." Yajna consists of mutual sacrifices, as all beings are dependent on one another. "Think of the Devas by means of Yajna, and the Devas shall think of you." All our actions may be cla.s.sed under duties - duties which we owe to the Devas, the Pitris, the sages, the animals and to other men. If we perform our Karma for the sake of Yajna only, we perform it unselfishly.

4. As discrimination is useful in realising the real self, so restraint is necessary to put down the acquired self. The tendencies of the acquired self, if left to themselves, prompt men to ever recurring actions, which again produce their own effects, some of which develop into fresh tendencies or strengthen the pre-existing tendencies. So restraint is to be constantly practised. The object of restraint is to free the mind from thoughts of the object world and to fix it on the real self, atma. Here the system of Patanjali comes into requisition.

But the system is to be accepted with this reservation that Yoga does not necessarily mean renunciation of Karma. It includes the unselfish performance of Karma and, for the average humanity, renunciation of Karma is harmful as an expedient of Yoga. Though there may be some who do not require Karma for themselves, yet they should not renounce it, if they want to set an example to others and not to confound their intellect.

5. But the Purva Mimansakas say: Vedic Karma is all in all, and the authority of the Vedas is supreme. Here Sri Krishna had to a.s.sert Himself as an Avatara, and He asked people to accept His own authority.

He said there was self-seeking in Vedic Karma, and one could not therefore avoid the recurrence of births by the performance of Vedic Karma. So Sri Krishna said to Uddhava: - "If the Vedas say that men attain Svarga by the performance of Vedic Karma, it is simply by way of inducement, and not as pointing out the supreme end. The father says; 'Boy, eat this bitter medicine and I will give thee this cake in my hand.' The boy takes the medicine for the sweet thing. But that really leads to his recovery from the disease. So the Vedas mean final liberation as the end. But to enforce restraint, they hold out the prospect of Svarga, which is most agreeable to men." (Elaboration of XI.

21. 23.)

Many were unwilling to accept the authority of Sri Krishna, and the chief amongst them was Sisupala.

This was the teaching of Karma Yoga by Sri Krishna. But the unselfish performance of Karma is not all. It is only a negative virtue. It purifies the mind and frees it from the taint of selfishness. The mind then becomes prepared for the higher planes and becomes fit for the direct influence of ishvara.

So Sri Krishna gave to His disciples the true conception of isvara. He told them isvara was One, the source of all existence, all knowledge and all bliss. He told them how one isvara pervaded the whole universe and became thus manifested through the Universe. He also pervaded all beings, and became manifested through these beings. The Universe and the Jiva were His Prakritis or bodies as it were. The Universe body was eight-fold in its character, beginning with that most susceptible to His influence and ending with the division most obtuse to that influence.

This eight-fold Prakriti also entered into the const.i.tution of Jiva. But there was something more in Jiva, - the consciousness, the knower. This element was isvara Himself, as limited by Jiva Prakriti, or Jiva body.

The whole universe being the body of isvara, His knowledge and powers were unrestricted, whereas the body of the Jiva, being limited and restricted, his powers and knowledge were also restricted.

This highest conception of isvara is not adapted for all. So Sri Krishna gave the conception of isvara, as manifested by His powers, and as manifested in Time and s.p.a.ce, and lastly as He is manifested in the human body with four hands and the Crown, symbolising His lordship over the whole Universe.

But this conception of isvara is not enough. As man owes a duty to all beings, the performance of which is Karma, so he owes a duty to isvara, and that duty is Upasana. All beings make sacrifices for one another, and so they owe duty to one another. But isvara makes the greatest sacrifice for all beings and He holds all beings close to His bosom in each Kalpa, that they may work out their evolution under the most favorable circ.u.mstances. He waits for those that give up everything for His sake, and give themselves entirely up to Him, so that He may bear their Karma upon Himself and hasten their evolution to such an extent, that they may approach His own state. As isvara gives Himself to the service of the Universe, so do His Bhaktas too. Men owe the highest duty to isvara, and this they discharge by means of Upasana. Upasana is the law of being for all Jivas, when they reach the state of manhood.

Surrender is the essence of Upasana, and this Sri Krishna taught to Arjuna.

_When a man by performing his duties to other beings and to isvara becomes purified and single minded, he is ent.i.tled to receive the final teaching, and not before._ And Sri Krishna gave that teaching at the very last to Arjuna. He said that Jiva and ishvara were one in essence.

It is the difference in Prakriti that makes all the difference between Jiva and ishvara. When all the bonds of Prakriti are broken through, only Brahman remains, the one reality, underlying both ishvara and Jiva.

When we become fixed, in this wisdom all is Brahman, and final liberation is attained. This is the real teaching of the Upanishads, as embodied in Uttara Mimansa. In this connection, Sri Krishna pointed out the fallacy of the Vaiseshika system in attempting to know the Attributeless, through the attributes.

The highest wisdom of the Kalpa was revealed and the world resounds with all glory to Sri Krishna. The Rishis and Mahatmas took up His work. All the religious movements and religious writings that have followed only reproduce His teachings.

There was something however wanting in these teachings as given in the Mahabharata - the relation of Sri Krishna to His own Bhaktas. What He did for the Universe and how He did it are fully related in the great Epic. But what He did for those that had already given themselves up entirely to Him, who did not require the teaching of Karma, Upasana and Jnana, who were His own people, who knew no other Dharma than Himself, who had followed Him through ages, and who simply took births as He appeared on this earth, what Sri Krishna did for these Bhaktas, what His relations were with them, are not described in the Mahabharata at all.

The lordly side is given but not the sweet side. The picture of the Lord edifies and overawes, that of the Lover enchants and enthrals. The Bhagavata sings what the Mahabharata left unsung. That is the peculiar significance of the Tenth Skandha which follows, the Skandha that maddens the hearts of all real devotees.

THE TENTH SKANDHA.

VRINDaVANA LILa