Hari Om, Wish you all a very Happy New Year 2023.
This is a quick review of the topics we discussed on 01/08/2023.
Enter Canto 7
We started with Canto 7 of Srimad Bhagavatham. If Canto 4 is known for Bhagwaan Shiva's story, Canto 7 is known for the glorious story of a great devotee of Bhagwaan Narayana.
Canto 7 starts with Parikshit asking Shri Shuka a bold question. After hearing the story of Indra and Vrita in the previous canto, Parikshit wonders if Mahavishnu can be accused of partiality.
Just as a fire lit on a cold night would provide refuge to someone who sits close to it and not to someone who is far off; we may get the wrong impression that the fire is partial towards the person sitting next to it.
A similar question was asked by Yudhisthira to Sage Narada, who replies beautifully that the Lord does not discriminate between positive and negative emotions. We humans, in the spell of our Gunas, likes & dislikes, categorize things like good and bad, positive and negative, etc. This is similar to someone classifying two siblings as hyperactive and calm or disorganized and disciplined - But the parents do not discriminate between them and shower the same love towards everyone.
From a Vedantic standpoint, this makes sense. We are in the grips of our Vasanas which command our Body, Mind and Intellect. We identify ourselves strongly with our BMI. So any judgment or opinion on our BMI is taken personally.
The Lord is 'Gunateetha' or the one who is beyond the Gunas. Any words, thoughts or actions against the BMI does not affect Bhagwaan.
Bhagwaan's Intervention
With this we can conclude that:
Just by thinking of the Lord with single-focused attention, we make Bhagwaan happy.
People think of Bhagwaan in many ways - Kamsa & Mareecha (Fear), Shishupala & Ravana (Hatred), Arjuna (Friendship), Gopis (Devotion), etc.
However, the only time Bhagwaan intervenes is when the cosmic balance or Dharma-factor gets disturbed or goes out of balance.
This is a beautiful point where the Gita and Bhagavatham converge. In Chapter 4 of the Gita, Bhagwaan declares that "When Dharma declines and Unrighteousness increases, I will come to restore the balance. When my devotees are harmed, I will be reborn again and again to destroy the perpetrators."
This begs the question - Who is the Master ? Bhagwaan or His Devotees. When someone does not care about any insult, fear or anger directed at them, but gets riled up when His devotees get harmed - How can we estimate the limitless love of such kind of a Lord ?
Enter Hiranyakashipu
To avenge the death of his brother, Hiranyakashipu - the Asura king, does severe penance to become powerful.
"Hiranyakashipu" means the one who revels in the "Cot of Gold". This represents anyone who is swimming lazily in the river of comforts at the BMI level, with no care for raising oneself spiritually.
He somehow manages to get a special boon from Lord Brahma, where he thinks of outwitting death. No death by any creation of Lord Brahma, neither by Day or Night, Weapon or Hand, Human or Animal, Earth or Heaven, Inside or Outside the house, etc.
Armed with this powerful boon, he sets out to harass and plunder the world and the devotees of the Lord.
We learned a great lesson from Sage Narada. His only goal is to kindle and awaken devotion towards the Lord in everyone's heart and spread the knowledge of the Self. Having witnessed the varying effects of this knowledge-sharing at different stages of life (Dhritarashtra, Arjuna, Dhruv), he concludes that the only way this knowledge will be affirmed and assimilated in one's DNA is when this knowledge is imparted BEFORE the life sets foot on earth.
Rishi Narada imparts this knowledge to Kayathu, the wife of Hiranyakashipu and through her - to the yet-to-be-born Prahlada.
Is it time yet for the Lord's intervention ?
When the Devas approach Mahavishnu and complain that "Hiranyakashipu is causing chaos in Earth. He is forbidding pujas, rituals, worship and also banned anyone from taking the name of the Lord".
The Devas plead the Lord to intervene because the Mighty Asura has made up his mind to harass all the devotees of the Lord.
Bhagwaan Vishnu gives a brilliant reply. "I will come", he says "when Hiranyakashipu harasses that devotee who is so dear to me."
Feeling slighted, the Devas ask Vishnu if they weren't His devotees. The reply from the Lord is "Hundreds and Thousands of you cannot take my name even one time. Yet, there will be one such devotee who will take my name hundreds and thousands of times, right in front of the terrible Asura. When that devotee gets harmed, I will intervene."
And such a ripe devotee is born to Kayathu & Hiranyakashipu.
Resources to Reflect
Srimad Bhagavatham Canto-Chapter Map:
This link provides the list of all the Cantos, Chapters & Topics within Bhagavatham. This should be a handy guide to help us navigate thru this voluminous text.
Chatushloki Bhagavatham (Core 4-Verses of Bhagavatham):
Here is a link to all the 4 verses from the Chatushloki Bhagavatham. Also is included a link to the audio recording.
Hari Om !!
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