॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Friday, 21 October 2022 III.29 - Bhagavan explains how universal love is the hallmark of a true devotee.
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Devahuti thanks her son, Bhagavan Kapila, for having explained the interplay of Purusha and Prakriti. She now wants more elucidation on the supreme path of Bhakti. She also wants to understand this repeated birth-death cycle of bondage. How does Kala, or Time, operate? She compares Kapila to the effulgent Sun who dispels the darkness of doubt and ignorance.
These questions please Bhagavan Kapila immensely. He now elaborates on Bhakti and its effect, especially the universality of the outlook of a true devotee. He then explains how Kala is the cause of all fear.
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“Dear mother, oh noble lady, there are many types of devotees. A Tamasic devotee is envious, proud, violent and angry, and thinks the Lord is separate from existence. A Rajasic devotee worships the Lord thinking again that He is separate, and is driven by a motive for material enjoyment, fame and opulence. But the Sattvic devotee offers the fruits of his actions to the Lord and prays only for the Lord to end the bondage of Karma.”
मद्गुणश्रुतिमात्रेण मयि सर्वगुहाशये । मनोगतिरविच्छिन्ना यथा गङ्गाम्भसोऽम्बुधौ ॥
लक्षणं भक्तियोगस्य निर्गुणस्य ह्युदाहृतम् । अहैतुक्यव्यवहिता या भक्ति: पुरुषोत्तमे ॥
सालोक्यसार्ष्टिसामीप्यसारूप्यैकत्वमप्युत । दीयमानं न गृह्णन्ति विना मत्सेवनं जना: ॥
स एव भक्तियोगाख्य आत्यन्तिक उदाहृत: । येनातिव्रज्य त्रिगुणं मद्भावायोपपद्यते ॥
T: “The proof of unadulterated Bhakti is that one is attracted instantly, wherever and whenever, to the names and glories of the Lord being sung, and the devotee knows that the Lord dwells in every heart. Such a devotion flows towards the Supreme as the holy Ganga flows into the ocean. That bliss of Bhakti is uninterrupted and unconditional. That is Nirguna Bhakti Yoga.”
“Interestingly, such a devotee rejects things commonly appreciated - an invitation by the Lord to reside in His proximity, gain His vision, assume a form like Him, and even union with Him! These when offered by the Lord as rewards to such a Bhakta are rejected because the Bhakta considers his highest cherished state is the one when he is serving the Lord! Such a Bhakta or devotee is beyond the three Gunas by his sheer immersion in devotion to the Lord.”
How should a devotee live?
“He should perform his prescribed duties as sacrosanct, but without expecting rewards. Avoiding violence, he should continually worship the Lord in the images in temples, by adorning the image, touching the feet, offering the paraphernalia of prayer, and so on, but in a spirit of renunciation.”
“Service to the preceptors, compassion for the poor and friendliness towards equals - all these are to be present, but in a spirit again of detachment.”
“The only use of any time on hand for such a devotee is to chant the Lord’s names and listen to spiritual matters. He is straightforward in all dealings. His friendship has no envy. He avoids the company of non-devotees.”
मद्धर्मणो गुणैरेतै: परिसंशुद्ध आशय: । पुरुषस्याञ्जसाभ्येति श्रुतमात्रगुणं हि माम् ॥
अहं सर्वेषु भूतेषु भूतात्मावस्थित: सदा । तमवज्ञाय मां मर्त्य: कुरुतेऽर्चाविडम्बनम् ॥
T: “Such a perfectly purified evotee instantly responds to the mention of the Lord’s name. He has realised that I am equally present always in all creatures. The prayer of one who doesn’t know or see this is indeed paradoxical, as it will not reach Me!”
यो मां सर्वेषु भूतेषु सन्तमात्मानमीश्वरम् । हित्वार्चां भजते मौढ्याद्भस्मन्येव जुहोति स: ॥
T: “Indeed, the one who doesn’t recognise the presence of the Lord - Paramatma Ishwara - in every being prays to no avail, like someone who is pouring Yajna oblations into a pit of ashes and not into the sacrificial fire.”
“The Lord is never pleased by the worship of one who has jealousy or hatred towards anyone.”
Kapila goes so far as to say, “The Lord causes fear like an all-consuming inferno in those who practise discrimination of any kind.”
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Kapila now quickly categorises the hierarchy of living entities.
Living beings are superior to inanimate objects. Sentient beings are superior to the insentient. Beings with only the sense of touch (like a tree) are excelled by those who also have the faculty of taste (insects etc.) Those entities with smell and hearing are progressively better. Those who have shape and form perception are even better, and those with many legs, and four legs and humans with two legs are higher and higher still.
Brahmins are the best among humans as they are the most intelligent. Among them, those who know the Vedas, and those who know the meanings of the Vedas, are higher still. But the best of all is the pure devotee, who performs devotional service without expectation of any reward. The Lord finds him to be the highest who has no other interest in life except the Lord and engages and dedicates all his activities and all his life — everything — unto the Lord unceasingly. Such a perfect devotee offers regard to every living entity being convinced that the Lord is in every single living entity as the Paramatma or controller.
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What is Kala or Time?
Kala is just another manifestation of the Lord, making all the creational transformations happen in a constant state of flux. One who sees Kala as different from the Lord is naturally afraid, as Kala spells death. But Kala is just a form of Bhagavan Maha Vishnu Himself. In His play, one entity kills another entity! No one is indeed nearer to or more distant from the Lord, but those who remember Him derive inspiration, and those who pay no attention to Him are destroyed.
All the phenomena under the various gods function smoothly out of the “Fear of Kala.” So whatever regulation of this universe we see, whether they are planetary motions or the life cycles of plants and animals, is the stern influence of the inexorable Kala.
Kala or eternal Time has no beginning and no end. It is the representative of the Lord that causes birth and death. The Lord as Kala can destroy even the god of Death.
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
