॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Friday, 2 December 2022 V.06- Rishabha Deva's departure and Shuka's explanation of how exemplary was his life.
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Even the greatest musician has to practise daily with rigour to maintain the edge of excellence. Even an Avadhuta has to watch out for temptations and powers that increase his arrogance, a sure precursor to his fall from enlightenment. This is a theme in the Srimad Bhagavadgita also, where the Lord cautions,
यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः ।इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः ॥ २-६०॥
T: "Oh, Arjuna, even a seer with excellent adherence to Yoga should watch out, as the senses will loot his wisdom by temptations."
So in this chapter, Shuka extols the greatness of Rishabha Deva in setting an unimpeachable standard of conduct even for sannyasis who should eschew esoteric powers that will cause their downfall.
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राजोऽवाच
न नूनं भगव आत्मारामाणां योगसमीरितज्ञानावभर्जितकर्मबीजानामैश्वर्याणि पुनः क्लेशदानि भवितुमर्हन्ति यदृच्छयाोपगतानि॥
T: King Parikshit asked, "But respected sage, is it not true that in an advanced seeker, the strong wind of Yoga fans the fire of Jnana in which the seeds of Karma and sense attachments are burnt down (and hence rendered incapable of sprouting again)? When such a seeker acquires esoteric/supernormal powers, how can they tempt him and cause his downfall? So how come Rishabha Deva rejected those powers?
ऋषिरुवाच
सत्यमुक्तं किन्त्विह वा एके न मनसोऽद्धा विश्रम्भमनवस्थानस्य शठकिरात इव सङ्गच्छन्ते ॥
तथा चोक्तम्— न कुर्यात्कर्हिचित्सख्यं मनसि ह्यनवस्थिते । यद्विश्रम्भाच्चिराच्चीर्णं चस्कन्द तप ऐश्वरम् ॥
T: Sage Shuka replied: "Truly spoken, oh, king! However, in this world, just as a hunter who ensares his prey in the net does remain cagey about the wild animals as they can hurt him and escape, true seekers never trust the mind even after subjugating it, and remain ever-vigilant. The mind can rapidly induce a downfall."
"All the learned scholars have stated that the mind is by nature very restless, and one should not make friends with it as it can betray us at any moment. There are many instances of seekers with rich accomplishments in Yoga falling from their exalted state succumbing to the tricks of the mind."
"The mind is like an adulterous woman who betrays her husband and gets her paramours to kill him. Give your mind an inch and vices such as lust, anger, and greed attack you easily."
"That is the reason Rishabha Deva took up the life of an Avadhuta despite his divinity and supremacy over even the gods. He did this only to teach the Yogis how to renounce the world and its attractions. Finally, he wanted to discard his mortal coil. His body subsisted only on the vestige of Yoga Maya since he had accepted a human body in that incarnation."
"Eventually, by divine will, Rishabha entered the region of Konkan, Katakagiri (near Tirupati) and south Karnataka. He was wandering with dishevelled hair and with stones in his mouth like a madman. There was at that time a sudden, stormy wind which causes the bamboo trees to rub violently against each other, causing a forest fire that burned down Rishabha's body."
"There was once a king called Arhat in that Konka, Venka and Kutaka region. He came to know of the weird appearance and behaviour of Rishabha and decided to copy that wild lifestyle, clueless about who an Avadhuta is. He gave up the Vedic path of Dharma and concocted a parallel path. This gave rise to a line of followers who eschew cleanliness and observe non-Vedic practices, denouncing Brahmins and Vedas and Yajnas and purificatory rites. Their godless, unclean ways will surely cause their downfall."
"In this Kali Yuga, people are overwhelmed by the modes of passion and ignorance. Lord Rishabha Deva incarnated Himself to deliver them from the clutches of Maya."
"The incarnation of Rishabha Deva set the bar really high for a spiritual aspirant with his exemplary Dharma at every stage of life."
"This narration of Lord Rishabha Deva's pastimes is the reservoir of all auspiciousness. Whoever attentively hears or speaks of them, following in the footsteps of the Gurus, will certainly attain unalloyed Bhakti. For the devotees, liberation [mukti] is very unimportant because, having attained Bhakti and serving the Lord, they have attained everything desirable and have transcended all material desires."
राजन् पतिर्गुरुरलं भवतां यदूनां दैवं प्रिय: कुलपति: क्व च किङ्करो व: ।
अस्त्वेवमङ्ग भगवान् भजतां मुकुन्दो मुक्तिं ददाति कर्हिचित्स्म न भक्तियोगम् ॥
T: "Dear King Parikshit, Bhagavan Sri Krishna was for you Pandavas the god, guide, Guru, dear friend, and even sometimes a servant, messenger, charioteer and so on. He was all this to yadus too, even when he was their King! Bhagavan confers by His boundless grace not only all these associations for His devotees, He even grants the best blessing of all - Bhakti Yoga."
"Out of His causeless mercy, Bhagavan as Rishabha Deva taught the self’s real identity and the goal of life. Therefore, we offer our respectful obeisances to the Lord, who appeared as Lord Rishabha Deva."
॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
