॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Tuesday, 27 September 2022 - Vidura and Maitreya have a dialogue.
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Let me share some thoughts on what we take away from the Srimad Bhagavatam. I remember the adage, “Don’t lose the wood for the trees.” While we read and consider engrossing stories of situations and personalities, we should not miss the grand thread running through all the stories that we read. Whether it is Brahma, or Bhishma, or Kunti, or Uddhava or Vidura, everyone has three essential qualities.
They have seen the impermanence or hollowness of material enjoyments.
They have a seeking for the higher goal of liberation.
They pray fervently to the manifest God, Maha Vishnu or Sri Krishna.
As long as our reading of the Srimad Bhagavatam instils in us these same qualities, the goal is served, not otherwise.
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Vidura, full of devotional seeking, reached Haridwar on the bank of the Ganga and met Sage Maitreya. He wanted to ask many questions.
Everyone in this world engages in fruitive activities to attain happiness, but one finds neither satiation nor the mitigation of distress. In fact, most are miserable. What is the key to true happiness?
Great sages like Maitreya are representatives of the Lord travelling the earth to give guidance and succour. So Vidura pleads for instruction.
How to pray sincerely and single-pointedly to the Lord seated in one’s heart? Is that not the only way to benefit from the profound truths of the Vedas?
How does Ishwara, the Supreme Being, incarnate, and create, the three worlds such that He maintains them in a regulated way?
The Lord lies in the cosmic sky, and expands into so many living entities, and yet stays distinct from all creation. How?
How does the Lord incarnate for the welfare of the good and the devout?
The Lord creates beings to become rulers, both gods and kings. How does He organise them?
येन प्रजानामुत आत्मकर्मरूपाभिधानां य भिदां व्यधत्त ।नारायणो विश्वसृगात्मयोनिरेतच्च नो वर्णय विप्रवर्य ॥
T: “Oh noble Brahmin, how does Narayana, the Originator, Himself unborn, infuse the attributes of individualised beings with their different activities and propensities?”
“Oh, Sage! I have heard repeatedly from Sage Vyasa about nobler and lesser beings. But I am still not satisfied and want to hear more about Sri Krishna. Vyasa is your good friend and has authored the epic Mahabharata to describe the glory of Bhagavan and His great teaching in the Srimad Bhagavadgita. That when absorbed indeed transforms any true seeker. But those averse to such topics engage at best in rituals and material pursuits. They don’t develop detachment.
Therefore, oh, Sage, just as bees collect honey from flowers, kindly describe the essence of all topics — the topics of the Lord. Kindly narrate the glories of Bhagavan!”
The sage Maitreya was delighted and began:
“Oh, Vidura! Glory to you. You have developed deep dispassion and devotion and have helped many. Your arrival is most welcome. I am not surprised about this because I know you were sired by Sage Vyasa himself as the son of a dasi serving the Kaurava king who was Sage Vyasa’s step-brother. I do know that you are Lord Yama, born as a human as a result of a curse. Your devotion to Sri Krishna made him tell me before his passing that I should give you spiritual instruction. I shall therefore gladly tell you how the Lord extends His powers for the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic world as they occur one after another.”
भगवानेक आसेदमग्र आत्मात्मनां विभु: । आत्मेच्छानुगतावात्मा नानामत्युपलक्षण: ॥
स वा एष तदा द्रष्टा नापश्यद् दृश्यमेकराट् । मेनेऽसन्तमिवात्मानं सुप्तशक्तिरसुप्तदृक् ॥
सा वा एतस्य संद्रष्टु: शक्ति: सदसदात्मिका । माया नाम महाभाग ययेदं निर्ममे विभु: ॥
T: “The Lord existed prior to the creation as one without a second. It is by His will only that creation is made possible and again everything merges in Him. This Supreme Being is called by different names. Because the Lord wanted to create the many, He used his dormant material energy. The Lord alone is the seer, and the external energy, which is seen, works as both cause and effect in the cosmic manifestation. Vidura! This external energy is known as Maya or illusion, and through her agency alone is the entire material manifestation made possible.”
“The Lord plants the seed in material nature and over time all entities come into being.
The material nature is called the Mahattattva and manifested out of the Lord’s will for Him to plant the seed in Mahattattva for creation. Indeed Mahattattva is the source of all ignorance that creates a false sense of ego due to multiplicity. Thus the ego becomes the triad (वैकारिक, तैजस, तामस) of cause, effect and the doer. Projected from the mind, the five elements, the human senses and the human mind come into being. Thus also are born the three Gunas, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.”
Sage Maitreya then described the way the Lord created the five elements like the sky, water, fire, air and earth. He emphasised that matter needed the “glance of the Lord” to become active.
The various gods controlling these elements are His representatives, empowered to perform specific duties. Thus they are only an expanded manifestation of the Lord.
These gods, when created, began to pray to Maha Vishnu.
“Oh, Lord, your lotus feet protect all entities. Sages who surrender to you throw away material miseries. They travel on the wings of the Vedas, searching for You.
यत्सानुबन्धेऽसति देहगेहे ममाहमित्यूढदुराग्रहाणाम् । पुंसां सुदूरं वसतोऽपि पुर्यां भजेम तत्ते भगवन् पदाब्जम् ॥
T: “Oh, Lord, unlike those entangled in the material world with ideas of “I” and “Mine”, we surrender to Your lotus feet.”
“Those who develop devotion to Your lotus feet are liberated. We are therefore all from You alone, born as separate gods by the influence of the three Gunas. We shall function in coordination to please You. Please instruct us on how to serve You.”
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
