For five days from December 18-22, 2007, the Jain Temple in Milpitas was once again the venue for a jnana yagna on Srimad bhagavatam.  Eight months after he had conducted his first jnana yagna in the same venue on the first canto of the bhagavatam, Acharya Prabodh Chaitanya gave enlightening lectures every night to a packed audience on the shortest, yet most powerful second canto of the bhagavatam. He also covered a portion of the third canto, which deals with creation.

Acharya dedicated most of the first day’s discourse to recapturing the essence of the first canto.  He recalled the scene at Naimisaranya where Suta Maharishi answered questions about the Supreme to sage Shaunaka and other rishis during breaks in rituals that they were performing for the welfare of the world.  Prabodhji also painted a vivid picture of the scene on the banks of the Ganges where king Pareekshit awaited his mortal departure from this world in seven days. Great sages including Maharishi Sukadeva were drawn to the king’s side at this time and Pareekshit was instructed on the highest duty of a dying man. The first canto is also called the Adhikari Skanda because it is dedicated to this noble king who was the ideally qualified student to receive this knowledge. 

In the second canto, Maharishi Sukadeva continues teaching Pareekshit who has numerous questions for the sage. Comprising ten chapters and known as the Sadhana Skanda, the second canto indicates the means by which a seeker can attain the Supreme.  When king Pareekshit asks, “How can I reach that Paramatma,” Maharishi Sukadeva is pleased with the king’s query because it was not a selfish quest that prompted the king, but a question whose answer would benefit all mankind!

The sage comments on the ways that man squanders away precious time on frivolous pursuits - in acquiring wealth, power and enjoyment and forgets that death is waiting constantly at his doorstep.  If a person seeks fearlessness and freedom from death, then he should listen about the Lord (srotavyah), sing His glory, talk about Him (keertitavyah), and remember Him constantly (smartavyah).  This is the only way to absolute freedom!  Through knowledge (Sankhya), devotion (Bhakti), and the performance of one’s own duty (Swadharma), one can attain freedom by remembering the Lord at the time of death.

The great sage recounts the story of Khatvanga Raja to illustrate this teaching.  Khatvanga Raja was such an accomplished and powerful person that even the devas would seek his help in routing the asuras!  On one such occasion, the grateful devas offered the king a boon of his choice.  The king only asked to know how much longer he had to live.  With regret and hesitation, the devas revealed to him that he only had an hour and a half left.  The great king was so relieved upon hearing this that he promptly renounced everything, sat down in meditation, gave up his life remembering the Lord and hence merged with Him! If king Khatvanga could perform the greatest deed with only an hour left to live, you can do infinitely more; Sage Sukadeva seems to say to king Pareekshit!

Ashtanga Yoga

The Maharishi asks king Pareekshit to practice Ashtanga (eight-fold) yoga – Yama (moral codes), Niyama (self-purification and study), Asana (posture), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (control over senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (absorption).  He also guides the king on the different steps he needs to take in this process.

First, says the sage, give up your attachment to this body and everything related to it.  The weapon that will help you in this process is detachment or Asanga.  Then, seek a solitary place to get away, to help prepare your inner equipments for serious contemplation.  The next step is to be able to sit for a reasonable period of time in an alert posture and do japa or repetition of the Lord’s name to help quieten the mind.  Chanting the sound of Om is the best way to quieten the mind. The sage asks the king to withdraw his mind and sense organs into the Self, using an alert and vigilant intellect.  He asks the king to focus on the Lord’s physical form, one part at a time until there is no other thought to distract the mind – the mind becomes thoughtless by thinking only about the Lord.  This is the state of Samadhi.  Distractions and sleep are obstacles in the path of Samadhi.

Listening with rapt attention, king Pareekshit has a question about this process – “How can one focus on the Lord without distraction?  How can one practice Dharana?  The sage indicates four techniques for achieving Dharana or the ability to hold the mind where we want it to be-

• Jitaasanah - the ability to sit without movement for some period of time

• Jitasvaasah – normal and easy breathing
• Jitasangah – winning over all attachments; not getting identified with a particular thought and getting lost in it
• Jitendriyah – Keeping the sense organs under control

Since Lord Krishna is the presiding deity of Srimad bhagavatam, the sage asks the king to focus on the cosmic or Viraat form of the Lord.  This will help him see that every aspect of the universe, including him, is in the physical form of the Lord. The Lord is not separate from me.  This will make concentration easier.  How can the Lord be everything?  This is just like everything we see in a dream.  Just as in a dream, everything we see is our own projection; everything around us is in the Lord. 

Keeping our needs to a minimum is a way to achieve Dharana or focus because there are fewer distractions. Worshipping the Lord in the form of our favorite deity or Ishta Devata is another means by which the mind can be trained to focus for longer periods of time.  The ideal time to meditate is either before one starts any activity, or after all our work for the day is done.  The way to keep the Lord with us constantly is to not see a disconnect between what we do and His remembrance.  By dedicating all our actions to Him, we never have to be away from His presence.

The highest calling for an individual is to have love for the Lord by listening about the Lord, singing His praise and remembering the Lord constantly.  Unless we realize this supreme purpose in life, we will waste our time in trivial pursuits, like dogs that are ready to give up anything for the sake of trash. Like camels that can digest even thorns, we will pursue enjoyments even if they are fraught with pain, or we may be like donkeys that are ignorant about the value of the gold that they are carrying.

At this point in the canto, the scene shifts back to Naimisaranya.  The sages led by Shaunaka rishi wanted to know what king Pareekshit did next, since he only had seven more days to live.  He had to find ways to make his mind focus on the Lord constantly till the end. The way the king did this was to ask his illustrious teacher more questions about the Lord -  “How did the Lord create this world of names and forms?”  In response, Maharishi Sukadeva thanks the king for asking this question, offers many salutations to the Lord and recounts the dialogue between Brahmaji and sage Narada.  Sage Narada had asked the same questions about creation of his father Brahmaji.  Through this style, Maharishi Sukadeva is telling the king and us that none of these questions or the answers to them are original!  They have been encountered before.  This brings humility to the seeker.

Creation

Sage Narada was perplexed on seeing his father at work.  He wondered how Brahmaji was able to perform the astounding job of creation without showing any signs of fatigue.  Even though Brahmaji creates the world on his own and there is nothing in this world that is not made by him for he is like a spider (which creates even the silken material for its web from its own body, depending on no other source), yet Narada observed that Brahmaji was meditating on someone else!  Who is this entity, the sage asked?  Pleased with his son’s question, Brahmaji said that even though he seems to be creating this world on his own, that is not the case.  The real source of power is Paramatma, Lord Narayana – the one in whom all beings find their final destination.

Brahmaji told Narada that it is the attributeless Paramatma, with the power of Maya, endowed with the three gunas  (sattwa, rajas and tamas), who creates and dissolves this universe.  The Paramatma seems bound by these three gunas when he claims doership and enjoyership as a jiva.  The Lord creates different aspects of the world for the jiva to enter this world and experience it.  The Lord’s expanse is so vast that Brahmaji feels that he himself may not know his greatness!  After giving Narada this teaching, Brahmaji asks him to carry out the task of spreading the message of the Bhagavatam all over the world.  He also made Narada understand the vision behind his task, which was to help people develop love for the Lord - He who is the self and substratum of all.

King Pareekshit now wanted more information about the Supreme Lord and His relationship with Maya.  The sage answers that the Self and Maya have a relation-less relationship similar to the relationship between a person and his dream.  The Supreme Lord himself gave this teaching to Brahmaji so he would be capable of performing the task of creating this world with its infinite variety of names and forms.  The Lord asked Brahmaji to perform tapas or austerity.  Brahmaji did so and was able to have a vision of the Lord.  Brahmaji requested that he be given the knowledge of the two forms of the Lord (nirguna – the attributeless, and saguna – with attributes) and also prayed that he be humble and not develop the ego that he was performing everything of his own accord.  The Lord answered his prayer through the Chatushloki Bhagavatam.

Chatushloki Bhagavatam

In only four short verses, the Lord explained to Brahmaji about the nature of Brahman, Maya, this created world – Jagat, and the duty of the jiva.  These four verses contain the essence of entire Bhagavatam of over 18000 shlokas!

The first verse of the Chatushloki Bhagavatam begins and ends with the word Aham. This is the changeless Self that is beyond the gross, subtle or causal bodies.   The Lord says that in the beginning He alone was, as existence alone.  There was nothing else, either manifest or unmanifest.  After creation came to be, whatever we see is also Him.  Creation is nothing but an appearance.

The second verse describes the nature of Maya.  Maya is that which appears to be there without it actually being there.  Maya makes the unreal appear, and the real difficult to perceive.  The Lord states that Maya takes place in Him, and He uses Maya as his power, but He is beyond Maya and is untouched by it. Maya is thus the creative power of the Lord. Due to Maya the supreme changeless reality itself appears as the world, but it does not actually become the world.  Maya is beyond the grasp of the mind or intellect.

Acharya Prabodhji described Maya through the use of three different perspectives – Shruti (Scriptures), Yukti (logic) and Anubhuti (experience).  According to Vedanta, in order to establish the identity of an object or principle, these three perspectives are used.  When all three are in agreement in ascertaining an object or principle, it is established as being valid.  The perplexing quality of Maya is that all these three perspectives come up with different answers – they contradict each other.  According to the Scriptures, there is no Maya.  Using Yukti, there is no logical explanation for Maya.  And if one were to go by experience alone, Maya seems to be very real.  This complex entity is Maya.

The Lord states that the way to overcome Maya is to surrender to the Him completely.  According to the Scriptures, from the point of view of Brahman, there is no Maya.

What is this earth, Jagat? The third verse deals with this topic. The five great elements – space, air, fire, water and earth seem to have entered all beings and at the same time not entered them too.  Similarly, the Supreme Reality seems to be in all beings, yet not in them too.  This apparently contradictory statement can be explained through the example of clay in a clay pot. The clay, which existed before the pot was made, has only assumed a different form and is now known as a pot. Similarly, before creation, Reality existed and it is this Reality that appears as the world now. The world of names and forms is in the Lord; He has not pervaded it after it was created!

The final verse explains the duty of the jiva.  The only true calling of the seeker is to realize through the technique of Anvaya (presence) and Vyatireka (absence) that it is the Self alone that exists everywhere at all times.  The Lord is trying to focus our attention on the awareness that it is consciousness that exists during the three states of existence – waking, dream and deep sleep.  The three stages do not co-exist at the same time.  But consciousness is aware of the presence of all these states. There is the anvaya of the Self

while there is vyatireka of the three states as they negate each other.  This method will show us how to focus on our true identity and not get carried away by our actions in the three states of existence.

The Lord gave this teaching to Brahmaji and told him that abidance in the Self will ensure that he would not get deluded in the different cycles of creation – Kalpa and Vikalpa.  This is how Brahmaji got the knowledge of how to create this world.  In other words, with knowledge and devotion, karma will not bind one.

The teaching of the Chatushloki Bhagavatam is elaborated in the entire Bhagavatam Mahapurana.  There are ten topics that need to be addressed if a Scripture or book can be called a Purana.  They are –

1. Sarga – Fundamental creation where the basic elements are created first.
2. Visarga – Further expansion of basic creation.  Jivas are included in this stage.
3. Sthanam – It refers to maintenance or support for all created beings.  The glory of the Lord can be seen in maintenance.
4. Posahanam – Nourishment of all beings, which is anugraha or the Lord’s grace.
5. Ootayah –Power of the latent tendencies or karma vasanas, which may be of three kinds: Deivika (divine), Manushika (human) and Asurika (demonic).
6. Manvantara – An period of time presided over by a Manu as the ordainer of dharma. We are called Manavas, being followers of Manu..  Manusmriti prescribes right conduct in a comprehensible form.   The Lord incarnates in each Manvantara.
7. Ishanukatha – It deals with the Lord’s devotees and His incarnations.
8. Nirodha – Obstructions to God-realisation and how they can be overcome.
9. Mukti – Liberation.  Ignorance is the cause for bondage and liberation from bondage is through knowledge.
10. Ashraya – This is the most important topic and the culmination of the goal of life, the final merging.  The other nine topics help in getting the knowledge to reach the tenth stage.

Since the Bhagavatam address all these topics and in great detail, it is indeed a Mahapurana.

Third Canto

The setting now once again shifts back to Naimisaranya and the sages led by Shaunaka ask sage Suta about those topics that were not covered by the dialogue between sage Sukadeva and king Pareekshit.  The sages want to know what happened to Vidura when he left on a pilgrimage at the onset of the Mahabharata war.  Sutaji responds that Vidura met Uddhava, the close companion of Lord Krishna, during his pilgrimage.  Upon enquiry whether the Lord remembered him, Vidura was overjoyed to know that the Lord remembered him fondly and also asked him to go to Haridwar to meet Maitreya rishi who would impart this highest teaching to him.

Upon hearing this Vidura promptly left for Haridwar where he met Maitreya rishi.  He asked the rishi about the intriguing nature of human existence where we perform all actions only for the sake of happiness, but sadly, the result is just the opposite, more sorrow!  In response, Maitreya rishi restates the message of the Chatushloki Bhagavatam.

Vidura also asked Maitreya rishi about creation.  “Why did the Lord create”, Vidura wanted to know.  The sage answered that when there was nothing but the Lord as consciousness, there was only the seer, no seen.  The Lord was not even aware of Himself! Then using the power of Maya, the Lord created this world of names and forms.  Vidura was puzzled.  How can the Immaculate and Maya come in contact?  How can the all-complete consciousness have the desire to do anything?  Maitreya rishi answered that in Maya everything is possible.  The Self is ever free from sorrow, but conditioned by Maya the soul experiences sorrow.  The sage uses the example of the movement of the reflection of the moon in a container of water.  The moon appears to move in the water, though this does not affect the moon itself.

Vidura asked Maitreya rishi what should be done in order for one to abide in the Self. Performance of one’s obligatory duties, recognition of the constant presence of the Lord’s grace and having love and devotion for the Lord will result in the removal of ignorance and the dawn of knowledge, said the rishi.

Now Vidura wanted to know more about creation of the universe and the relationship between Ishwara, Jagat and Jeeva.  The entire process of creation originated from the Lord.  The basic materials for it – Maya, Time (Kaala Shakti) and His reflected consciousness, were all projected by Him.  This interaction resulted in the evolution of 23 fundamental categories.  Using a small part of his power, the Lord pervaded them and combined them into the resplendent Cosmic Egg called the Hiranyagarbha.  The Cosmic Egg evolved into the Cosmic Person (Virat-Purusha).  He embodied in himself the entire cosmos of the 14 worlds called the Lokas.  Thus the entire creation is part of the Lord!

Varaha Avatar

Vidura then asked the rishi about the different stages of creation.  Enumerating the progression of creation starting with Ishwara, Maitreya rishi described how Brahmaji tried to find the right persons to procreate and expand creation.  He found this ideal couple in Manu and Shatarupa whom he blessed with the task of bringing forth children who would be strong pillars in society.  This would ensure that dharma is protected in the world.  Manu and Shatarupa were happy to do Brahmaji’s bidding but they did not have the place to do so because the earth was submerged in the waters of the ocean by the asura Hiranyaksha.

This led Vidura to ask his next questions – Who was Hiranyaksha?  How did the Lord save the earth?  Maitreya rishi answered – Hiranyaksha was the son of Diti, who was one of sage Kashyapa’s wives.  She bore twins who were conceived at an inauspicious hour and were hence demonic in nature.  They were extremely powerful and the Lord himself had to descend to the earth to kill them.   Hiranyaksha and his brother Hiranyakashipu were actually the two guards – Jaya and Vijaya, who guarded Lord Vishnu’s abode in Vaikunta.  They had become so proud of their power and proximity to the Lord that they once refused admittance to the Sanatkumaras into Vaikunta to see the Lord.  Enraged, the Sanatkumaras cursed the guards to become asuras so they could purge themselves of their asuric qualities.  The guards were however given two choices.  They could either spend three lives as enemies of the Lord, or seven lives on earth loving the Lord.  Jaya and Vijaya chose to live three lives hating the Lord because they couldn’t bear to be away from the Lord any longer than was absolutely necessary.  The Lord took responsibility for the actions of his guards and declared that he would take four avatars on earth to purge his devotees of their pride.  Thus, when Jaya and Vijaya became Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakshipu, he took the form of the cosmic boar – Varaha to kill Hiranyaksha and the form of the man-lion – Narasimha to kill Hiranyakashipu.  To kill Ravana and Kumbhakarna, He took on the Rama Avatar, and to kill Shishupala and Dantavakra, the Lord incarnated as Lord Krishna.

After the earth was rescued from the depths of the ocean, Manu and Shatarupa now had a place to go forth and expand the Lord’s creation. The final day of the Bhagavatam Jnana Yagna ended with this narration.  Reluctantly, the crowds filed out of the auditorium after offering guru dakshina to the Acharya who let us have a taste of the nectar of the Bhagavatam over a week, and left us yearning for more glimpses into the depths of this Mahapurana.

Sarvam Krishnarpanam!