||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 97 – The legend of Gajendra Moksham -3

Gajendra who was completely exhausted with pain could see the deafening strike of lightning in the sky; he could witness the supreme Lord Vishnu mounted on the celestial vehicle, holding disc, conch, mace, and lotus on four arms.  Gajendra gravely looked at the compassionate eyes and radiant face of Lord Vishnu; he agonizingly stretched his trunk and plucked a lotus flower from the pond and cried out “Oh! Narayana Oh! Akhilaguro Oh! Bhagavan, I shall prostrate before you” he raised the trunk towards the supreme Lord Narayana.  Instantly, the head of the crocodile was sliced down with the powerful disc of the Lord Narayana, and Gajendra was pulled out from the pond.  The crocodile liberated from the curse was attained the radiant form of an attractive celestial Gandharva and eulogized Lord Narayana with folded hands “ Oh! Natha, Oh! Govinda, Oh! Jagathkarana, Oh! Anandathmaka, Oh! Pankajavilochana, I shall take surrender at your lotus feet.  You are the creator of the Universe and its living beings with your Maya and you are performing various pastimes in it. Oh! Jagathprabho kindly blesses me with intense devotion and faith to worship at your lotus feet. Oh! Bhakthavathsala, I should not be in the association of evil-minded, I should be able to recite your endless myths and glories at all times.”

Maharishi Shuka Bhramam continued “Oh! Rajan, Gajendra/soul got liberated from the clutches of ignorance/crocodile, with the touch of supreme Lord Narayana. It is not the legend of Gajendra an elephant; it is the story of all the living beings on the Earth.  In the previous birth, Gajendra was the King Indradhyumna in the clan of Pandya.  King Indradhyumna was a righteous ruler, was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu.  He went to Mount Malaya and conducted penance.  Once, Sage Agastya arrived at Malayadhri and saw the King Indhradhyuma immersed in the meditation upon the Supreme Lord, eventually entered into a transcendental state, so he could not realize the presence of Agasthya mistook the King who did not show the minimum gestures of respect and cursed him to become an elephant.  The King opened his eyes and saw the Sage leaving the hermitage; he followed him and begged for forgiveness, and sincerely explained the situation and begged to pardon him.  Sage Agastya controlled his anger and advised the King that the curse cannot be taken back, but whatever happens that would elevate his soul and blessed him that he would attain liberation at the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu.   Thus the King Indhradhyumna became King of the elephant in his next birth.  The crocodile was a celestial Gandharva Huhu in his previous birth.   The immature souls like Gajendra soak in material affairs and bondage and get stranded, finally locked themselves in extreme sorrows and agony like the crocodile in the worldly existence.   The elevation of the soul is possible only with the constant contemplation upon the supreme Lord, eventually, the soul would be liberated from ignorance of worldly bondage, like a lotus flower even though it has grown in the muddy pond, it remains pure and unblemished, not even the touch of water.”

Whoever recites or listen to the legend of Gajendra would attain the abode of Lord Vishnu and whoever remembers the oceans, hills, woods, mountains, and mother Earth, on a daily basis, immediately after waking up in the morning,  would definitely attain the abode of Lord Vishnu.

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 96 – The legend of Gajendra Moksham -2

Shuka Bhramam speaks “ Oh! Rajan,  Gajendra, the leader of the elephant herd who was rejected by his own family, was caught hold by the crocodile,  was began to eulogize supreme Lord  “ Oh! Bhagavan, I shall surrender to the supreme Lord who is absolute bliss, Oh! Purusha who resides as a soul in living beings, Oh! Adhibeeja, Oh! Paresha who is beyond description or comparison, Oh! Chithathmaka who is supreme bliss and intellect, I shall meditate upon the Supreme Lord who symbolizes mind and intellect which causes to experience happiness as well as sorrows, he is the protector of the mind and intellect in the three states of awakening, dreaming and sleeping, he is the ‘Drik’ who causes to recognize the visuals, therefore the mind and intellect is an instrument that works at the instruction of the Supreme Lord who resides as a soul in us, Oh! Bhagavan, kindly protect me.  Oh! Boothathmabhootha, who is compassionate, not visible even for the deities or Rishis, then how shall it possible for me to visualize you? All that we are witnessing around is your pastimes; I shall take refuge at your lotus feet.  The Supreme Lord has no birth or death; he is not bound by the Karma, or names or forms or qualities or impurities.  He incarnates on the Earth for the welfare of the Universe and its people, I shall prostrate before the supreme Lord who is absolute Bhramam and  Ananthashakthi as well, He assumes marvelous forms even though he has no form, he is omnipresent, and performs various amusements.  I shall prostrate before the Athmapradheepa/who illuminates the soul of the living beings, Oh! Sakshine, who witnesses all that happenings in this Universe, Oh!  Paramathma who is beyond words and intellect, therefore we could not witness your presence in us but experience the same, Oh! Kaivalyanatha, Oh! Nirvanasukhasamvithe, Oh! Kshethrajja who resides as a soul in living beings, I shall prostrate before you. Oh! Sarvadhyaksha who is present in living as well as non-living things,  I shall prostrate before Akhilakarana who is the cause of Universe and its living beings, he is Nishkarana and Adhbhuthakarana who symbolizes supernatural activities as well.  He is Maharnnava who symbolizes ocean and Apavargakarana/ who is the path of liberation, I shall prostrate before you.  Oh! Bhagavan, I was soaked in illusion, I was taking extreme pleasure in the association of my family, relatives and the material world, I was under the false impression that my attractive and powerful physique would protect me from the troubles, I was under the wrong impression that my family and relatives would protect me from the troubles, therefore I did not make an effort to realize the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in me.  Oh! Bhagavan, I have learned from this harsh experience that nothing could protect me, neither my powerful physique nor my family or possessions, I have thoroughly understood that no one to protect me other the supreme Lord who resides as soul in me.  Oh! Lord, I have seen many saintly men who are immersed in the contemplation of supreme and drenched in the ocean like supreme bliss, therefore I shall contemplate upon the supreme Lord who is absolute Bhramam, he is eternal, he is Paresha who is invisible, you are beyond the Indriyas, You are flawless.  The presence of the Supreme Lord can be experienced with meditation, I have been ignorant, and I did not learn the supremacy of the Lord who resides as soul in me, due to my ignorance, ego, swollen pride and selfishness.  Oh! Bhagavan, who is the protector of the distressed soul, not attainable for the ignorant ones, I shall take refugee under your lotus feet.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 95 – The legend of Gajendra Moksham -1

The human intellect has the inexplicable skill to search happiness and comfort in the outer world as well as within oneself, the Srimad Bhagavatham teaches about the search of happiness within oneself and achieves a balanced state of mind that could handle any challenging situation and remain untouched by happiness or sorrow. The human intellect can effortlessly switch over from happiness to sorrow, positive thoughts to negative thoughts and weakness to courage, etc. it can confront the situation with extreme fear and courage as well. 

The legend of Manvanthara talks about “who’s the eminent one?” A person who is sacrificed all the material comforts and undergoes penance in the woods, or person living in all the material comforts without giving importance to it, performing his duties and responsibilities and contemplating upon supreme Lord.

Shuka Bhramam speaks “ Oh! Rajan, Swayambhuva Manu after ruling the Kingdom wisely for several years, withdrawn to woods with Devi Shatharoopa,  in order to contemplate upon supreme Lord.  Swayambhuva Manu speaks “ Oh! Devi, The supreme Lord who illuminates the whole Universe, but the Universe cannot shed light on him, he is all-pervading, witnessing all that happening in the Universe, and even the Vedas are incapable to describe the ultimate truth, Drik and Dhrishya are two different things, He is Drik/who makes us understand what’s seen/it is neither eyes, nor the intellect, but the existence of supreme soul causes to understand what has been seen, Dhrishya is the scene.  The intellect can absorb sounds and visions, the supreme soul is beyond sounds or vision, it can be experienced, not seen or heard.  Oh! Devi, the presence of supreme Lord as a soul in us causes to experience all that happening in and around us.  The Supreme Lord who resides as a soul has no beginning or end, everything in the universe undergoes constant transformations, he is eternal, he is not bound by the changes, he is permanent truth.”

Shuka Bhrama continues “ Oh! Rajan, listen to me carefully, there was Mount Thrikoota which was flourished land with rich natural resources, inhabited by the wild animals.  The mountain was surrounded by beautiful landscapes, lush green land, rivers, ponds and streams, trees and plants in abundance.  It was the shelter place of all the wild animals, birds and reptiles; they took great pleasure in that attractive wood of Mount Thrikoota.  There was a large number of elephants led by a strong and powerful elephant Gajendra, he was Indra of Gajas indeed.  The elephants took great pleasure in the company of Gajendra and enthusiastically moved all over the woods.  The years passed, the forest started to face calamities and destruction of natural resources.  They had to face extreme famine and drought, so the elephants decided to leave the place under the guidance of Gajendra who led them to a lush green land.  As soon as they entered in the new forest, they could sense the fragrance of lotus flowers, chirping of birds, etc.., they saw a beautiful pond crammed with fully bloomed lotus flowers.  All the elephants were overjoyed and took great pleasure in the beautiful pond.  Gajendra took a trunk full of water and sprayed over the elephants accompanied and they have passed hours and hours taking great enthusiasm in the water sport while spraying water upon his children and wives, Gajendra forgot to notice sometimes wedged on his leg.  Soon he realized that it was a crocodile, he withered in pain, moved the leg here and there.  In the meantime his children and wives finished their water sport, quenched their first and got on the land, they did not notice Gajendra who was withering in pain, the water has changed its color, gave out the appearance of a pool of blood.  Gajendra understood, even though he is a powerful animal on the land, the crocodile is small in size has great strength in the water.  Gajendra put all efforts to pull out the leg from the mouth of the crocodile were ended in failure, he looked upon the large number 0f elephants on the land started to move on their way.  Suddenly, the elephants turned back and saw Gajendra in the pond filled in the blood; he has no more strength to get out of the pond.  The family of Gajendra, a group of elephants put an effort to pull him with their trunk, but nothing could get him out of the water, instead, he was drowning to water with great speed.  Ultimately elephants left their hold, finding their efforts are unsuccessful, and they pitifully looked at Gajendra and left the place.  Gajendra realized that no one could help him other than the supreme Lord; the piousness earned in the previous births reminded him to call out supreme Lord for help.  His intellect encouraged him to fight against the trap of crocodile, he understood none could help him other the supreme Lord.  Gajendra contemplated upon supreme Lord and eulogized."

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 94 – The practice of meditation/Bhakti Yoga – 7

Kapila Vasudeva speaks “ Oh! Mother, there are three predominant qualities known as Sathvik, Rajasik, and Thamasik in humans.  The people of Sathvik qualities engage in the constant practice of contemplation upon supreme Lord and attains the serenity of mind, the people of Rajasik nature chases after the sensual pleasures  and people of Thamasik nature is saturated in illusion.  At the time of death, the person who has attained serenity of mind leaves the vital air through eyes or nose, the person with endless desires leave the vital air through the mouth and the people with Thamasik qualities lead a miserable life on Earth, with the feeling of guilt and distress, the air passage will get blocked with mucus of intense grief that makes the air circulation  almost impossible, finally leave the vital air through the anus.” 

Kapila Vasudeva continues “Oh! Mother, the fetus comes out of the womb along with excreta and cries out loudly, eventually forgets all that promised to supreme Lord in the womb.   While living on Earth, the child gets introduced to various ways of living and undergoes great difficulties by chasing sensual pleasures which multiplies anger, pride, ego, jealousy, etc.   Thus the child grows with the wrong perception that the body is the prime instrument for sensual pleasure thereby engages in the consumption of meals and physical relationship, ultimately once again it heaves into the darkness of ignorance which causes cycles of birth.  Oh! Mother, listen to me carefully, you need not get perplexed after listening to the cycles of human birth on Earth, understand the process of cycles of birth and keep yourself brave, the mind and intellect have originated from the supreme Lord and it has to unite with him, it can be achieved with   the association of saintly people, Yoga, meditation, Pranayama, etc..  in this way you can raise your soul from the Maya, leave your body consciousness and unite your soul to the supreme Lord with the constant practice of meditation.  The liberated souls attain liberation from repeated cycles of birth, it finally leaves vital air through the Oordhabhaga/upper part.   If the soul does not practice any of the methods to unite with the supreme Lord keeps taking several births on Earth and undergoes sufferings of worldly existence.  Oh! Mother, therefore take shelter in the lotus feet of Supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings, Oh! Mother, listen to me carefully, practice worship of supreme Lord Vasudeva with intense devotion and faith, gradually you will attain the sense of renunciation and supreme wisdom.  The Supreme Lord who is the cause for the functioning of the human body and the organs remains the same in all; therefore contemplate upon him with extreme faith and devotion.    Oh! Mother, you can share this supreme knowledge with the people who are devoted to the supreme Lord.”  Kapila Vasudeva prepared to leave his mother.  Devi Devahoothi reverentially prostrated before the lotus feet of Supreme Lord who was born as Kapila Vasudeva and said “Oh! Paramaguro, I shall prostrate before the supreme Lord who was assumed the form of Kapila, Oh! Lord, you have elevated my soul to the absolute truth and made my life fruitful.”  Kapila Vasudeva left the place and conducted a journey for the welfare of human beings. 

The virtuous Devi Devahoothi watched her son leaving forever, even though she felt uneasy like the mother of the calf grieve over the separation of its calf, instantly she regained her confidence and engaged in the practice of devotion with pleasing nature.   She   lived all alone in a hermitage in the woods, constantly engaged in the contemplation of supreme Lord; gradually she has attained supreme knowledge and the sense of renunciation and united with the supreme Bhramam, who is the state of bliss.  Devahoothi sincerely followed the teachings of her son and attained a transcendental state, she has abandoned all those memories of life with her husband and son, like she has freshly got out of the nightmare, and eventually, attained Bhrama Nirvana.  Later, the place where Devi Devahoothi attained Bhrama Nirvana has become the sacred place Kapilashrama to undertake extreme penances.  Whoever listens or read  the legend of Kapila Vasudeva and follow his teachings sincerely would attain intense devotion and pleasing nature, finally attain the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 93 –  The practice of meditation/Bhakti Yoga – 6

Kapila Vasudeva speaks “ Oh! Mother, a soul attains body due to its previous Karma and the influence of ‘Time’; interestingly, the soul chooses its destination and begins its journey from the male productive organ, eventually, it is deposited in the womb of a female.  The Shukla/egg deposited in white color remains in the womb for a night, within the five nights it transforms into water bubble, after ten days it turns the size of a pear and turns to the shape of an egg.  In the first month, the egg develops its head so that the supreme soul enters through the Bhramarandhra/tender upper part of the head, to decide what kind of body parts should be given to the soul, surprisingly the egg assumes the body parts bound by its previous Karma.   In the second month, the fetus develops hands and legs, later nails, hair, bone, and skin. In the third month, the fetus develops a productive organ.  In the fourth month the skin, muscles, blood, and bones develop.   In the fifth month, the fetus connects its life with the umbilical cord to its mother.   In the sixth month the fetus turns its position left or right and gradually turns upside down where it has deposited the excreta from the third month and develop consciousness, while living in this position the bacteria starts to grow in the excreta, it keeps attacking the head of the fetus, but the fetus remains helpless, it moves violently and loses its consciousness, sometimes it weeps in extreme pain.  Moreover, the fetus suffers from the extreme heat/spicy, acidity causing meals or cold of the meal consumed by its mother, all of these contribute intense pain all over the body.  Thus the fetus starts its struggle for its existence, it absorbs liquid form of the meal through the umbilical cord which was consumed by its mother.  The fetus prepares to come out of the womb-like a birdie pops its head out of the nest.  At this point of time, the infant gets a clear picture of its previous birth, it eulogizes the supreme Lord “ Oh! Bhagavan, I have attained the form of a human with your grace, kindly relieve me from all the fears and anxieties in this birth, I shall surrender at your lotus feet.  I have obtained this human form by my previous Karma, and the purpose of the birth is to complete the unfinished Karma, if I have to perform the tasks with this body and intellect, I need your eternal presence.   Hence, I shall prostrate before the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in me.  Oh! Purusha who is beyond Prakrithi, this body is made of five essential elements, and the sense organs functions with your presence, I shall repeatedly prostrate before you.  Oh! Lord who is all-pervading, you have given me the consciousness, wisdom, and knowledge, you are well capable to relieve all kinds of miseries and sorrows, I shall prostrate before you. Oh! Bhagavan, I do not want to leave this womb, even though it is full of grimy, because the outer world is unfamiliar and full of the darkness of ignorance, so I would prefer to remain here.  Oh! Bhagavan, I shall promise, I shall strive hard to elevate my soul to the supreme Lord who is dearest companion to the soul, and I do not want to commit any sin again and again, and go through endless miseries and sorrows.  Oh! Lord Vishnu, I shall take refuge at your lotus feet and shall engage in the worship of you.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 92 –  The practice of meditation/Bhakti Yoga – 5

Devahoothi speaks “Oh! child, If we could not elevate our soul in an above-said manner, what would be our afterlife?”

Kapila Vasudeva continues “ Oh! Mother, we are all fastened by our Karma and Time.  Therefore, do not humiliate anyone; treat everyone with kindness and humility.  Oh! Mother, living beings are superior to non-living things, and humans are the fortunate ones.  There are four Varnas such as Bhramin who are born from the face of supreme Lord, Kshatriya who are born from the arms of supreme Lord, and Vaishya and Shudra are born from the thighs and legs respectively.  Oh! Mother, I shall narrate the supremacy of the twice-born in a prescribed order,  the Bhramin/twice-born who has profound knowledge of Veda and Vedanta, a  twice – born  who has a thorough knowledge of Veda and its meaning, a twice-born who has the capabilities to remove the misconception of others, and finally twice-born who  performs his own duties and responsibilities to elevate his soul and achieve  serenity of  mind, is considered as the supreme.  Oh! Mother, practice your day with prayers to supreme Lord for good intellect to interact with the people in a pleasing manner, do not hurt anyone with words, action or mind, and pray for the ability to accept all those happenings in your life as the grace of Lord.   Oh! Mother, we are bound by the powerful shackle of Time, like the wind which has the power to overturn the cluster of clouds.  Oh! Mother, an ignorant chase after accumulating wealth with the hope that it would provide them bliss, without the knowledge that ‘Time’ has the skill to overturn their hopes and heave them to extreme distress.  Oh! Mother, an ignorant would consider the body as the instrument to seek pleasure in the possession and finds happiness in people who are  surrounded by them,  they keep greater attachment on their beloved ones, possessions and wealth, and arrives in a wrong perception that there is nothing in the world could provide happiness other than the material well-being, like a dog seeking pleasure in biting bones that causes bleeding its teeth, and swallowing its own blood with  a wrong notion that it has derived from the bone and takes great taste in it. An ignorant one is completely besieged by the illusion/Maya of supreme Lord; thus grown completely attached to the material world and remains distressed,  spends life seeking short-term pleasures without the knowledge that all the living and non-living things are bound by the ‘Time’, it has to expire at a certain point of time, like the wind takes away the fragrance of the flower.  Therefore, we should strive to elevate our soul to the supreme Lord who is beyond ‘Time’.  An ignorant one would keep regretting and mourning over bad fortune, keeping all the attention in the material world, gradually the windpipe would get filled with mucus, that causes blockage in the air passage creates extreme difficulty to inhale and exhale, and ultimately leave the mortal coil.  The ignorant people make their life hell on the Earth would attain the same after death too.  The intellectuals make their life heaven on the Earth would attain the same afterlife too.”

Devahoothi spoke “Oh! Child kindly explains the life after death.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 91 – The practice of meditation/Bakthi Yoga – 4

Kapila Vasudeva continued “ Oh! Mother, the intense practice of meditation and contemplation upon supreme Lord will give you supreme bliss, which could lead to the state of lack of body consciousness.  The soul has attained numerous births due to endless desires, and it has been clothed in several forms, but the soul remains untouched, and the body undergoes the aging process from the early stage of life, therefore it is unworthy to think about the body that is subject to undergo a constant transformation or the people or fulfillment of the desire of the body.  Oh! Mother, you can attain the knowledge, that body is different from soul/ Bhramam/Bhagavan who is all-pervading, with the constant meditation upon the Supreme Lord, gradually you will achieve the knowledge of Oneness-in-all.  Oh! Mother, the practice of meditation upon the Supreme Lord with intense devotion and faith, with the knowledge that the body is perishable and the soul which is eternal and it is derived from the supreme Lord, hence it has to merge in Him, even though it is highly complex, with the constant practice of contemplation upon Supreme Lord, you could achieve it.”

Devahoothi asked “ Oh! Child, kindly narrate me the different methods of Bhakti Yoga”

Kapila Vasudeva replied “Oh! Mother, there are different ways to practice meditation, according to the nature of individuals.    The individuals with the three natures such as  Thamasik, Rajasik and Swathik, practices meditation in different ways.  The people with Thamasik nature practices meditation to fulfill their individual desires and win over their enemies, they undertake worship with the sense of Himsa, Dhambam, and Mathsaryam.  The people with Rajasik nature practice meditation to fulfill their selfish motive to attain immense wealth and material well-being. The people with Swathik nature practice to attain serenity of mind by the process of complete surrender to supreme Lord and accept all that happening in their lives be it sorrow or happiness as the ‘Prasadha’/grace of supreme Lord.  A true devotee of Lord will not suspect the capabilities of supreme Lord who is the father of the Universe is well competent to take care of the Universe and its living beings.  Oh! Mother, life on the Earth is based on the previous Karma of the individual/Law of Karma, therefore all the living beings on the Earth are bound by their Karma.  The practice of meditation is the elevation of the soul from the material world to supreme Lord, which is possible only through Upasana/ intense faith and devotion, complete surrender with the recitation of sacred names and contemplating upon supreme Lord who is father, mother, companion, relative, wisdom, richness, etc..  Oh! Mother, I shall narrate the essence of Bhakti Yoga, and how to elevate your soul.  The significant methods of worship are Salokya/contemplating upon supreme Lord who resides as a soul in you,  Sameepyam/nearness with him, Saroopyam/likeness to him, and Sayujya/intimate union with him, without any individual motives.  Oh! Mother, you have to practice yourself to elevate your soul, no one can assist you in this practice.  Oh! Mother, whoever venerates the idol without the knowledge of the Supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings, is an ignorant pouring the ghee on the ashes of the fire sacrifice.  Oh! Mother, whoever hurt, or humiliates others without the knowledge of Lord who resides as a soul in all the living beings, would not attain the serenity of mind.  Oh! Mother, idol worship can be continued until you could not attain the knowledge of the Supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings, without the knowledge of all-pervading nature of Lord you cannot save yourself from the fear of death.  Oh! Mother, I shall narrate the easiest way to contemplate upon supreme Lord, who resides as a soul in living beings, with the practice of simplicity, humbleness, and kindness.  Oh! Mother, the practice of humility in action, words, and thoughts, with the constant remembrance of every action has an opposite reaction,  with a knowledge of all that you do will multiply your Karma, and no one can escape from their past deeds.  In this way, you can elevate your soul.”