॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Thursday, 15 September 2022 - The third chapter of the second Skandha- Sage Shuka explains how different gods and powers may be propitiated to fulfil one’s desires in this world.
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Sage Shuka continued. “Oh, King Parikshit, you asked me how to attain liberation at the moment of death. I have explained that in detail. Now let me tell you how those with worldly desires may obtain their fulfilment by worshipping different deities.”
At this point, I must share my understanding. All the great Hindu scriptures discuss how man progresses from the material world to the inner realm of the spirit, only through experience and wisdom. If a young child is pushed into Sannyasa, it will lead to the distortion of his unprepared mind and that sannyasi will bring no credit to himself or society.
Experiencing this material world with its attractions causes desires. To fulfil desires, our scriptures state that human effort alone is not enough but one should also supplicate for divine grace. Different deities have been mentioned as the ones to grant those desires. That process of praying for worldly benefits instils on the one hand an attitude of prayer. One also gets an opportunity to learn from observation and worldly fulfillments and disappointments about the essential impermanence of life. Then and then alone do true wisdom and dispassion dawn on the seeker.
In any case, who are the deities one should worship?
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ब्रह्मवर्चसकामस्तु यजेत ब्रह्मणस्पतिम्। इन्द्रमिन्द्रियकामस्तु प्रजाकामः प्रजापतीन्॥
देवीं मायां तु श्रीकामस्तेजस्कामो विभावसुम्। वसुकामो वसून् रुद्रान् वीर्यकामोऽथ वीर्यवान्॥
T: The one desirous of Vedic learning should worship Lord Brahma. The one who wants to enjoy sense pleasures should worship Indra. Want progeny? Worship the Prajapatis (deities who populated this world on Brahma’s orders). If you desire wealth, propitiate Mother Lakshmi, the Maya Shakti of Maha Vishnu. Worship Agni if you want a radiant personality. Desiring wealth, propitiate the Vasus. If you want virility and valour, worship the Rudras.
Aditi will confer on you plenty of food. Seeking heaven, worship her sons. Desiring kingdom, worship the Vishwa devas (who control the quarters) and if you want to win the loyalty of your subjects, worship the Sadhyas.
The Ashwini twins will confer on you longevity, physical stamina comes from Mother Earth. Honour and repute come from propitiating the Dyava-Prithivi (heaven and earth together). Gandharvas will grant physical charm and beauty, Apsara Urvashi will grant the happy company of one’s wife.
Lord Brahma can also give you lordship overall. The Lord of Yajna will give fame, Kubera will grant wealth and treasures. Girisha Shiva will grant learning (Vidya) and Uma will grant a happy marriage.
The desire for Dharma and right living is granted by the Lord of all, Maha Vishnu. One’s lineage grows from the grace of one's ancestors.
Yakshas protect, Maruts will grant powers. Manus will help extend your kingdom, Lord Chandra will grant you fulfilment of sexual and other desires.
अकामः सर्वकामो वा मोक्षकाम उदारधीः। तीव्रेण भक्तियोगेन यजेत पुरुषं परम् ॥
T: In conclusion, one can say that a wise seeker, whether after worldly attainments and pleasures, or a state of desirelessness, or liberation, should directly worship with intense devotion the Purushottama Bhagavan Maha Vishnu, who is the ultimate the fulfiller of all.
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भगवत्यचलो भावो यद् भागवतसङ्गतः
T: Unshakeable devotion to the Lord will come only from close association with holy sages and true devotees of the Lord.
कैवल्य सम्मतपथस्त्वथ भक्तियोगः को निर्वृतो हरिकथासु रतिं न कुर्यात्
T: Who indeed that embarks on the path of liberation does not relish in immense delight the listening to the stories and pastimes of the Lord in Hari Katha, Bhagavatam?
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Sage Shaunaka and the others are now so eagerly hooked on to the narrative that they press the Suta not to stop, but to carry on. They wonder, how great would be those few days when Srimad Bhagavatam was being recited and explained by Sage Shuka himself to the blessed soul King Parikshit, will all his intensity and hunger for devotion!
The sages also say:
Alas, what a pity we feel for those men who have no desire for the higher truth, who have no devotion! Indeed their ears are like the ears of a rat, keen to hear sounds of food being thrown or attacks from cats. One who speaks without chanting the name of the Lord croaks like a frog. A well-dressed man without devotion is as good as a corpse. The legs of a man who does not undertake a pilgrimage to the holy places are like trunks of a tree since they do not help the tree to move at all!
प्रभाषसे भागवतप्रधानः यदाह वैयासकिरात्मविद्याविशारदो नृपतिं साधु पृष्टः
T: “Oh, dear Suta, you bless us with your narrative of Bhagavatam as vouchsafed by the realized master Sage Shuka, son of Sage Vyasa, to the highly qualified King Parikshit!”
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
