॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
***
Skandha X: Chapter 87- Can the Vedas reveal Brahman? Contd.
Surrender to the Lord is the Safeguard in Spiritual Life
विजितहृषीकवायुभिरदान्तमनस्तुरगं य इह यतन्ति यन्तुमतिलोलमुपायखिदः ।
व्यसनशतान्विताः समवहाय गुरोश्चरणं वणिज इवाज सन्त्यकृतकर्णधरा जलधौ ॥
स्वजनसुतात्मदारधनधामधरासुरथैः त्वयि सति किं नृणां श्रयत आत्मनि सर्वरसे ।
इति सदजानतां मिथुनतो रतये चरतां सुखयति को न्विह स्वविहते स्वनिरस्तभगे ॥
भुवि पुरुपुण्यतीर्थसदनान्यृषयो विमदाः त उत भवत्पदाम्बुजहृदोऽघभिदङ्घ्रिजलाः ।
दधति सकृन्मनस्त्वयि य आत्मनि नित्यसुखे न पुनरुपासते पुरुषसारहरावसथान् ॥
T:
The Vedas continued: "Oh, Birthless One! Even though a person might have gained control over his senses and the Pranas, if he has not surrendered himself at the feet of the Guru, all his effort to discipline the extremely fickle mind, which is like an uncontrolled horse. will result only in the pain and trouble of striving, and he will be overwhelmed with deep sorrow because of failure. His condition will be like that of a party of merchants in the mid-ocean without a helmsman to direct the boat. "
Renunciation essential for Spiritual Life
"When Thou, the essence of all bliss, art available as one’s very self to one who has resigned himself to Thee, what further use will he have for such objects as relatives, sons, body, wife, wealth, house, lands, life and properties like chariots etc.? And without knowing Thee, the bedrock of Reality, what joy can a man derive, who goes after the joy of sex life and other enjoyments of the world that are ephemeral and doomed to destruction by their very nature? "
Even realised Souls renounce the world
"Though these devotees, who are free from the pride of narrow egotism, hold Thy lotus feet in their heart, and have within themselves that all-sanctifying stream of devotion flowing from those feet of Thine, still they resort to holy centres of spiritual living and thinking during their life in the world, abandoning hearth and home. For, even those who have but once seriously bestowed their mind on the ever-blessed Atman, which is Thyself, can never feel happy in the self-centred life of the home which has a baneful effect on the spiritual essence in man. Not only that; by their visit to such holy spots, they sanctify them, and enhance their holiness."
God and the World as Cause and Effect
सत इदमुत्थितं सदिति चेन्ननु तर्कहतं व्यभिचरति क्व च क्व च मृषा न तथोभययुक् ।
व्यवहृतये विकल्प इषितोऽन्धपरम्परया भ्रमयति भारती त उरुवृत्तिभिरुक्थजडान् ॥
न यदिदमग्र आस न भविष्यदतो निधनात्अ नुमितमन्तरा त्वयि विभाति मृषैकरसे ।
अत उपमीयते द्रविणजातिविकल्पपथैः वितथमनोविलासमृतमित्यवयन्त्यबुधाः ॥
स यदजया त्वजामनुशयीत गुणांश्च जुषन्भजति सरूपतां तदनु मृत्युमपेतभगः ।
त्वमुत जहासि तामहिरिव त्वचमात्तभगो महसि महीयसेऽष्टगुणितेऽपरिमेयभगः ॥
यदि न समुद्धरन्ति यतयो हृदि कामजटा दुरधिगमोऽसतां हृदि गतोऽस्मृतकण्ठमणिः ।
असुतृपयोगिनामुभयतोऽप्यसुखं भगवन्अ नपगतान्तकादनधिरूढपदाद्भवतः ॥
T:
"It is contended that all this world has arisen out of Sat, a really existent cause, and therefore it must also be real. This, however, is not acceptable to reason; first, it is not universally applicable to all cases of cause and effect, as in the case of father and son. The son has a different identity from that of the father, and cannot be reduced into the latter's form, unlike a pot which can be reduced into mud, its cause. Next, sometimes, an effect may be a mere appearance on a real cause, as the snake is on a rope in an illusory perception. In both such types of instances, the rule that the effect is as real as the cause is not found to fit. At the most, from the point of view of practical efficiency, it may have some relevancy, even as a wrong idea blindly accepted on the ground of a transmitted tradition is found to work in practice or as a false coin passes for a genuine one undetected."
"The permanency of the fruits of Vedic rituals based on Thy words, the Vedas, is only the wishful thinking of dull-witted persons who are not able to comprehend the Vedas with their continuity, implications, suggestions and many-sidedness. Vedic rituals may bear fruits which may last long, but are not really eternal. "
The Phenomenality of the Effect
"This universe was not existing before creation and will not exist after the cosmic dissolution also. So its existence In Thee, the Sat-Chit-Ananda, during the interval can only be in a phenomenal sense, without any substantiality. It is therefore compared to ornaments and pots which are the modifications of gold and mud respectively. Ignorant people mistake these temporary formations of the mind to be permanent."
The Contrast between Jiva and Ishwara
"Prompted by Maya, Thy creative Power or Shakti, the Jiva embraced the ignorance aspect of that Power and got established in the feeling that he is a body-mind complex. Consequently, he lost his blissful nature and became subject to birth and death in the transmigratory cycle. But Thou, who art established in Thy spiritual glory, hast shed ignorance, like a snake its slough, and shinest in Thy unlimited majesty exhibiting the sixfold powers
(Note: We read about the six Bhagas of Ishwara long ago that make Him the Supreme Creator-Preserver and Destroyer, in effect beyond even Brahmanhood aspired to by seekers).Read here:"Bhagavan" Vishnu has six Bhagas - and so He is called Bhagavan. Aishwarya=Omnipotence, Dharma=Virtue, Glory=Yashas, Sri=Beauty of all kinds, Jnana=Omniscience and Vairagya=Detachment.
Desire for Enjoyments: the Bane of the Ascetic's Life
"Oh, Lord! If renouncers (Yatis or Sannyasins) do not root out the desire for enjoyments from their hearts, then Thou, though present in their hearts, dost not reveal Thy presence to those hypocrites, just as a jewel does not reveal itself to its wearer who has forgotten its presence round his neck. The ascetics who are after sense enjoyments have to stand misery from two sources—from death who is sure to visit them, and from Thee who dost not reveal Thyself to them. "
Enlightenment and Scriptural Injunctions
"Oh, Thou Lord of countless glories! In one who is illuminated with Thy knowledge, the bond of self-centred life (egoity) is broken, and therefore he oblivious of (becomes free from) Thy laws regarding merit and demerit, enjoyments and sufferings. The scriptural injunctions pertaining to men who are body-centred, become meaningless for him. For, he is then established in the bliss of spiritual freedom, which is Thyself, who hast entered into the hearts of men through the glorious devotional traditions transmitted in every age by great men through a succession of teachers and disciples."
Veda can describe Brahman only negatively
त्वदवगमी न वेत्ति भवदुत्थशुभाशुभयोः गुणविगुणान्वयांस्तर्हि देहभृतां च गिरः ।
अनुयुगमन्वहं सगुण गीतपरम्परया श्रवणभृतो यतस्त्वमपवर्गगतिर्मनुजैः ॥
द्युपतय एव ते न ययुरन्तमनन्ततया त्वमपि यदन्तराण्डनिचया ननु सावरणाः ।
ख इव रजांसि वान्ति वयसा सह यच्छ्रुतयः त्वयि हि फलन्त्यतन्निरसनेन भवन्निधनाः ॥
T:
"Even leading Divinities like Brahma do not find the limits of Thee. for Thou art the unlimited, and the unlimited by its nature cannot be fully comprehended. For the same reason, even Thou dost not know Thy limits. Within that infinite and incomprehensible being of Thine, countless Brahmandas (universes), each with its seven expansive external coverings, whirl about together under the propulsion of Time like clusters of dust in the air. So the words of the Veda, unable to describe Thee positively, arrive at Thee only as the final residue left after negating all conceivable entities. "
The Hymn and its Significance
श्रीभगवानुवाच
इत्येतद्ब्रह्मणः पुत्रा आश्रुत्यात्मानुशासनम् । सनन्दनमथानर्चुः सिद्धा ज्ञात्वाऽऽत्मनो गतिम् ॥
इत्यशेषसमाम्नायपुराणोपनिषद्रसः । समुद्धृतः पूर्वजातैर्व्योमयानैर्महात्मभिः ॥
त्वं चैतद्ब्रह्मदायाद श्रद्धयाऽऽत्मानुशासनम् । धारयंश्चर गां कामं कामानां भर्जनं नृणाम् ॥
T:
Now, the revered Rishi Narayana said:
"The great sages, born of the mind of Brahma, heard this exposition of the truth of Brahman by Sanandana with great attention and then saluted that Rishi, their hearts illumined by the knowledge of the Atman. This was the quintessence of the Vedas, Puranas and the Upanishads, expounded by the ancient sage Sanandana and others, who move about from sphere to sphere in the universe."
Oh, Narada!Thou Inheritor of Brahmic bliss! Thinking with deep faith over this message that invokes renunciation in the minds of men, you may freely move about in the worlds."
The Gist of the Hymn
श्रीशुक उवाच
एवं स ऋषिणाऽऽदिष्टं गृहीत्वा श्रद्धयाऽऽत्मवान् । पूर्णः श्रुतधरो राजन्नाह वीरव्रतो मुनिः ॥
नारद उवाच
नमस्तस्मै भगवते कृष्णायामलकीर्तये । यो धत्ते सर्वभूतानामभवायोशतीः कलाः ॥
T:
Sage Shuka said:
"Oh King! The sage Narada, who had perfect control over his mind and who observed strict celibacy in life, heard the teachings of Sri Narayana with deep faith and receptivity and became filled with joy, thinking over it again and again."
Sri Narada said:
“Salutations to Thee, the Divine Incarnate, a manifestation of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna of holy fame who comes down as glorious incarnations for the welfare of all creatures!”
इत्याद्यमृषिमानम्य तच्छिष्यांश्च महात्मनः । ततोऽगादाश्रमं साक्षात्पितुर्द्वैपायनस्य मे ॥
सभाजितो भगवता कृतासनपरिग्रहः । तस्मै तद्वर्णयामास नारायणमुखाच्छ्रुतम् ॥
इत्येतद्वर्णितं राजन् यन्नः प्रश्नः कृतस्त्वया । यथा ब्रह्मण्यनिर्देश्ये निर्गुणेऽपि मनश्चरेत् ॥
योऽस्योत्प्रेक्षक आदिमध्यनिधने योऽव्यक्तजीवेश्वरो यः सृष्ट्वेदमनुप्रविश्य ऋषिणा चक्रे पुरः शास्ति ताः ।
यं सम्पद्य जहात्यजामनुशयी सुप्तः कुलायं यथा तं कैवल्यनिरस्तयोनिमभयं ध्यायेदजस्रं हरिम् ॥
"Paying homage to Rishi Narayana, the first and foremost of sages, and to his worthy disciples, Narada went to the Ashrama where my father Vyasa dwelt. Received respectfully by Vyasa, Narada took a seat and narrated to him what he had heard from the mouth of Sri Narayana, and I learned it from my father."
"Thus have I answered, through the account of the above conversation, your question how Brahman, who is beyond the Gunas and not within the scope of description by words, can be grasped by the mind. "
"Meditate always on Sri Hari who, as the creator, designed this universe for the benefit of the Jivas; who as its material cause remains unaffected as its substratum during its creation, sustenance and dissolution; who is the Lord and director of Prakriti and the Jivas; who, after creating the categories, enters into His creation along with the Jiva as the Indwelling Spirit and directs its evolution into various world systems and bodies of living beings; who governs the Jivas providing them with food and other conditions for higher evolution; who, through instruction as the Guru, enables the Jivas, who take refuge in Him, to abandon identification with the body even in the waking state as in the state of sleep; and who, being ever established in Bliss-consciousness without the slightest trace of ignorance, is capable of giving complete freedom from fear to all beings."
