॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ʔ ॥
Monday, 22 August 2022 - Chapter 4 of Mahatmyam and Part 4 of the Introduction.
Mahatmyam - The story of Gokarna
Translation of the four shlokas shown above: Sri Hari, Maha Vishnu, who had been incarnated as Sri Krishna, saw devotion or Bhakti now filling the hearts of those assembled. He at once made his home in their hearts - the beautiful form of the charming young form, sporting a garland of forest flowers, wearing a golden silk robe, wearing ornaments, with his famous Tribhangi form (we shall see more of this later but this is how Krishna is often depicted, with his neck, waist and knees bent, i.e. in three places, in a most alluring way.) He thus filled the hearts of devotees with extreme bliss.
The Gokarna Story
The Kumaras spoke in joy that the Bhagavata-saptaha, its recitation over a full week, would ameliorate the lot of everyone - the downtrodden, the miserable, and even people given to bad ways.
***
They now told the story of a brahmin on the bank of Tungabhadra (South India) and his strange path to enlightenment.
This brahmin called Atmadeva was reasonably well off and had a beautiful wife by the name of Dundhuli. Unfortunately, she was given to gossip and frittered away her days. The couple had no children and performed various rituals hoping for offspring.
Finally a frustrated Atmadeva left for the forest. He was about to end his life in disappointment, shattered that he could not have children to continue his line and also satisfy the aspirations of his forefathers. But then he saw a Sannyasi and fell at his feet, stating his cause for despondency and why he was being driven to death. The Sannyasi was an enlightened soul and could see that the burden of past Karmas was too strong for Atmadeva to enjoy the pleasure of progeny. He advised Atmadeva to abandon that desire and instead focus on spiritual efforts to attain liberation. The brahmin was inconsolable and insisted that the Sannyasi bless him through his spiritual powers to get a son.
The Sannyasi heaved a sigh of resignation at the power of Karmas driving this adamancy in Atmadeva and its future harvest. He gave Atmadeva a ripe fruit, asking him to make his wife partake of it and that he would surely have a son soon as it carried the Sannyasi's powerful blessing.
When Atmafeva came and joyfully gave the fruit to Dundhuli, she reacted to the noon strangely. She disclosed her mind to her younger sister that this fruit business was unwelcome, as she was not ready to bear the burden of childbirth and bringing up children etc. Dundhuli's sister had a stranger response. She was about to bear a child of her own, but if Dundhuli could arrange a handsome amount of money, she would part with her child and pass him off as Dundhuli's child in nine months. Dundhuli was overjoyed.
She fed that fruit in secret to their cow. The baby from her sister was shown to Atmadeva after months of pretended confinement as her own. The cow also bore a son at the same time, that too a human being!
Atmadeva was overjoyed to have two sons - one from Dundhuli and one from the cow, whom he brought up as his own son, naming him Gokarna (boy with cow's ears).
Gokarna turned out to be a saintly boy. "Dundhuli's" son was a bag of evil. Called Dundhukari, he was given to all sorts of bad habits, lying, and extortion. Finally, a time came when Atmadeva again wanted to end it all, seeing the ignominy and sorrow that Dundhukari had brought upon him. He repented that his insistence on progeny had now unleashed much greater sorrow than when he was childless.
Just then the saintly Gokarna came from his travels. He understood the situation regarding Dundhukari.
He advised his father that life was full of sorrows unleashed by our attachments and desires.
Atmadeva begged Gokarna to give him spiritual instruction. Gokarna did likewise, and the Brahmin, though sixty years old, took to the spiritual path and by dint of endeavour in the forest secured a vision of Sri Krishna.
श्रीकृष्णमाप नयतं दशमस्य पाठात् - T: He attained the vision of Krishna by a devoted study of the Bhagavatam tenth skandha.
***
Swami Tapasyananda's Introduction - Part 4
Swamiji describes how Time is cyclic in the Hindu conception. Millennia of existence divided into Yugas form a single day in the time scale of Brahma. The cycles repeat after so many million years. There is then a dissolution of souls who journey through the Yugas birth after birth bearing the burden of Karma. Finally, in the grand cosmic dissolution, they all return into atomic essences in Brahman to be brought forth again in the cyclic dance of destiny.
This time concept and the idea of a cosmic Divine Intelligence is rejected by so-called scientific minds. H. G. Wells stated that the Hindu concept of cyclic time and epochs was more understandable seeing life around more as a vibrant conscious cyclic creation than Abrahamic ideas that God created the world in 4004 BC.
The rationalist thinks the universe is an ever-expanding mass energy combination with no place for consciousness. This is equally dogmatic and militates against all human aspiration.
Also, the rationalist trusts his senses and empirical observations to interpret phenomena. Many cosmic amd spiritual phenomena have proven to be far beyond the scope of human understanding. More and more evidence makes us wonder whether the Puranic thought of creation as a Cosmic Being of manyness-in-one dancing an epochal cyclic time dance makes much more sense.
But the key in any case is for us to study the Bhagavatam as a scripture to lift us out of our pettiness, so that we experience divine love, and experience bliss and spread bliss. For that, there is no better prescription than the Srimad Bhagavatam.
॥ ॐ नमो भगवते बासुदेवाय ॥
