|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 316 – The legend of Lord Krishna -  167

Mana Ekathra Samyujjya Jithashwaso Jithasana:  | Vairagya Abhyasayogena Dhriyamanamathandhritha: || Yevam Samjjatha  Vairagyo Vijjyanaloka Athmani | Vicharami Mahimetham Mukthasango Anahangkrithi: ||

The Srimad Bhagavath Mahapuran predominantly speaks about Bhakti/devotion, Gnana/wisdom and Vairagya/abandonment as the perfect tool to achieve the serenity of mind and get rid of cluster of unwanted thoughts.  The mind and intellect are like a river, devotion is the river bank and the ferry is the individual thought that has the fleeting nature, as long as the ferry is closely tied to the pole on the river bank, it will have good control. Once the ferry is loosened from its pole, it keeps swaying here and there according to the water current.  The practice of Bhakti, Gnana, and Vairagya has a great influence on the human mind and intellect, therefore the constant practice of these three would release the mind from the cluster of unwanted thoughts and unite the individual soul to the supreme soul which has immense capabilities, with the constant practice of perfect control over senses and practice of Pranayama, and sense of abandonment,  it would remove the cluster of thoughts and the individual soul conducts its journey as a liberated soul on the Earth.

Bhagavan speaks “ Oh! Udhdhava, listen to me carefully, follow your Swadharma, and Varnnashrama Dharma, and get rid of all the desires.  If you find difficulty in elevating your soul contemplating upon the supreme Lord, approach a preceptor and sincerely follow his guidance, and with the help of an Upasanamoorthi/idol, and with the constant practice of worship and contemplation you will get rid of interest in the material possessions, desires, wealth, and people, eventually you will be relieved from miseries and sorrows.  You can attain nearness to the Sookshmashareera/subtle soul in you, with the constant practice of meditation, in this way you can raise your mind and intellect from Sthoola/body to Sookshma/subtle form of the soul in you.  Otherwise, it would undergo constant miseries and sorrows due to the influence of ‘Time’, like a ferry loosened from its pole on the river bank.  Oh! Udhdhava, if you keep yourself away from the supreme soul in you, it won’t give freedom from miseries and sorrows of worldly existence.  You will not have any control over your thoughts, unless and until you practice to realize the ‘self’ in you, you will remain weak.  Therefore, people who live without the knowledge of ‘self’, chase after the material pleasures and sensual pleasures, even though they are highly qualified or brilliant, hence how could they achieve happiness and serenity of the mind?.  Oh! Udhdhava, without the practice of meditation and the knowledge of ‘self’/Athman/Bhramam and oneness-in All, none could get relieved from the miseries and sorrows of worldly existence.  This is the ultimate truth of life on Earth.”

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 315 – The legend of Lord Krishna -  166

Eko Narayano  Deva:  Poorvashrishtam Swa Mayaya | Samhrithya  Kala Kalaya Kalpanthamidham Eshwara: | Yeka Evadhvitheeyoabhoodhathmadharo Akhilashraya: ||

Bhramin speaks “ Oh! Rajan, 16) I have learned a lesson from Kurara/a kind of a bird, found a piece of meat and took pleasure in it, soon it was surrounded by a large number of birds, immediately it discarded the meat and flew away. In this way, people come after you not because of their love and affection for you, it is the wealth you own, should not tempt others with your possessions and wealth.   Therefore practice to disperse the wealth in an efficient manner, otherwise, it will invite troubles to you and adopt the nature of Kuraka/sense of abandonment. 17) I have learned a lesson from Arbaka/child, there are two types of people free from the cluster of unwanted thoughts, one is a small child and another is a liberated soul who has achieved the highest state of spirituality, freed mind and intellect from worldly matters and bondages.  18) I have learned a lesson from Kumari/teenager girl; I shall narrate a story of a girl who was proposed to marry a gentleman, whose family visited the house of the future bride, without informing them.  The girl’s parents were not at home, she received her future in-laws with great respect, found there was not enough meal to serve the guests, so prepared to pound some grains, while grinding, the number of bangles adorned in both of her hands made jingling noises inviting the attention of her guests, she does not want to embarrass the guests, so removed all the bangles to avoid the jingling noises and kept one on both the hands continued grinding the grains.  I have learned a great lesson that the gatherings of people who have no spiritual interests will do no good other than unnecessary chattering; the association of the saintly men and ascetics only would bring an abundance of piousness and gives the opportunity to learn. 19) I have learned a lesson from Sharakrith/who make arrows, once a King took a visit to his people of the Kingdom, the blacksmith who was making the arrows did not notice the arrival of King’s men or King who was accompanied by a huge number of attendants, his completely absorbed in the creation of the arrow. The King became furious and questioned the blacksmith about his act of arrogance and found that it was the sounds from the workshop of the blacksmith not allowed him to take notice of the arrival of the King.  It taught me the lesson of pure dedication while contemplating upon supreme Lord, I do not let my mind wander on worldly matters. 20) I have learned a lesson from the serpents, which has no home of its own.  The attachment to possession would lead to intense grief in their absence, therefore the ascetics and saintly men do not stay in a single place for a long time. 21) I have learned a lesson from Urnanabhi/spider, it builds a marvelous net with its saliva to catch its prey, and absorbs the net whenever it wants.  In this way, we all bound by the Karma, and the performance of the Karma liberates the soul from the repeated births, the mind originated from the supreme soul, it is preserved by the supreme soul and therefore it should return to supreme Lord with the practice of constant contemplation to avoid rebirths. 22)Subeshakrith/creature that makes a mound on the wall, it deposits the worm collected from outside and do not let it go out of the mound, keeps constantly watching the growth of it, finally, the worm assume the form of the creature that built the mound.  The mind and intellect have immense capabilities, if it’s utilized for the constant contemplation upon the supreme Lord, it would attain the nearness of him, while leaving the Prana.   Otherwise, the Jeeva keeps hurling into the cycles of rebirth.  Therefore the constant practice of meditation and contemplation would lead the soul to remember the supreme Lord while leaving the mortal coil and attain the respective abodes.”

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 314 – The legend of Lord Krishna -  165

Samsara Kooope Pathitham  Vishayair  Mushithekshanam | Grastham  Kalahinathmanam  Ko Anyasthrathum Adheeshwara: ||  Athmaiva  Athmano Goptha  Nirvidhyetha  Yadhakhilath | Apramaththa  Idham Pashyeth Grastham  Kalahina Jagath ||Asha Hi Paramam Dhukham  Nairashyam Paramam Sukham | Yadha Sanchindhya Kanthasham Sukham Sushvapa Pingala||

Bhramin speaks “ Oh! Rajan, 12) I have learned a lesson from a honey bee that takes honey from the freshly bloomed flowers, not the pollen of the flowers.  In this way, we should understand the essence of the greatest philosophies, which describe the all-pervasive nature of the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings. 13) I have learned a lesson from Gajam/elephant that seeks sensual pleasure, without knowing the danger in it. These kinds of emotional thoughts can get relieved by constant contemplation upon the supreme Lord. 14) I have learned a lesson from Madhuha who collects the honeycomb, killing the bees. I have understood that the wealth earned should be properly utilized for the spiritual well-being and performance of charities; otherwise, it will leave the person without even his knowledge.”

Brahmin continues “ Oh! Rajan, 15) I have learned a lesson from Pingala who is a prostitute lived in The Kingdom of Vidheha, she was living on the money selling her flesh.  One day, as usual, she waited for the men to arrive in her hut, unfortunately, no one turn before her doors, she was completely disappointed sat down on the doorsteps.  She saw Maharishi Dhaththathreya who was walking on the street.  He stared at the woman, who was sitting alone on the doorway, the mere glance of the saintly man transformed her thought process.  Pingala speaks “ Oh! Bhagavan, I am an ignorant one, considered physical pleasure as everything in life, I have been exploiting men who were soaked in the passionate sport, I was satisfying my body in their association, I have been failing to realize the supreme soul who is the source of those physical pleasures, I have taken great attention on the foul-smelling body which is made of up of skeletons, covered in beautiful skin, nine gates to release the secrets from it.  I have been living in utter hopelessness, without the knowledge of the presence of the Supreme Lord who is my constant companion. I was living in the depth of the well of worldly existence; I have spoilt my mind with the unwanted thoughts and led a good part of life without contemplating upon the supreme Lord.  I have no one other the supreme Lord who resides in my soul, he is my constant companion and he is my wealth.”  Oh! Rajan, after this incident, Pingala took a vow to lead a life contemplating upon supreme Lord, she understood that her desire and interest in worldly matters is the root cause of her grief, the intense devotion and faith would provide supreme bliss.  In this way, she removed all her passionate thoughts, and elevated her soul to the supreme Lord.”

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 313 – The legend of Lord Krishna -  164

Bhramin speaks “ Oh! Rajan, 9) I have learned a lesson from Ajagara/large serpent, that never hunt its pry, whatever comes closer to it would get fastened with its huge body and swallow it.  Perform all your duties and responsibilities without the expectation of its fruitful results. 10) I have learned a lesson from the ocean, the surface of the ocean is always covered with the powerful water currents and waves, but the bottom of the ocean is serene and calm. In this way, we are liable to display/express emotions and act before the people, but the mind should be always serene to accept whatever comes on your way.”

Brahmin continues “Oh! Rajan, I shall describe to you about the Indhriyas and the results of over attachment to them. 11) Vision/ I have learned a lesson from Pathanga/flying insect, which always seeks the pleasure of the senses.  Therefore we cannot believe all that we have seen with the eyes, should not get attached to the things which give pleasure to eyes.  The flying insects get attracted to the fire approaches to swallow it and die in the fire.  Sounds/ The antelopes get easily attracted to the melodious music, without the knowledge of the hunter waiting for his turn to catch his prey.  Sparsha/touch, the female elephant wait for the arrival of the male elephant near the trap on the ground covered in green leaves and grass.  The male elephant gets close to the female elephant yearning for her touch, once the male elephant gets high of their mutual touch, the female elephant moves away from the pleasure, and let the male elephant walk on the way to the trap.  Therefore, emotions can overrule the mind; the constant contemplation and meditation upon the Supreme Lord would provide good control over senses. Tongue/The fish has a habit to swallow whatever comes in front of its mouth, most of the time it did not realize the trap of the fishermen and get caught.  The tongue can destroy the mind as well as the health of a person.  Smell/The the fragrance of the lotus flower invites the honey bees, it continues to stay in the flower without knowing the passage of the time, once the sun goes down, the lotus flower begins to fold its petals and turns to bud form, the honey bee stuck inside and die.  The practice of devotion and meditation should be initiated from the early years of childhood, without leaving it for the future which is unpredictable.”

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 312 – The legend of Lord Krishna -  163

Yevam Kudumbyashanthathma Dhvandhvarama: Pathathrivath | PUshnan Kudumbam Kripana: Sanubandho Avaseedhathi || Ya: Prapya Manusham Lokam Mukthi Dwaram Apavritham | Griheshu Gagavathsakthamaroodam Achyutham  Vidhu: ||

Bhramin speaks “Oh! Rajan, 4) I have learned a lesson from the water that has the nature to keep flowing until it merges in the ocean.  It has the nature of sweetness and coolness; therefore we should adopt that coolness and sweetness in communication as well. The mind and intellect originated from the supreme soul have to be utilized for contemplating upon its origin, this process is known as Bhramakaravriththi, and it is the practice of constant contemplation upon supreme Lord who is supreme Bhramam, with intense love and devotion. 5) I have learned a lesson from Agni/fire that has nature to accept all that offered to it and burn into ashes; therefore it is often compared to wisdom,  to purify the intellect and mind it is essential to have the supreme knowledge of ‘self’, that could easily remove the cluster of unwanted thoughts. 6) I have learned a lesson from Chandra/moon and its processing of waning and waxing, hence all that in the Prakrithi undergoes transformation and ruin, the supreme soul is changeless and eternal. 7) I have learned a lesson from Ravi/Surya that spread its brilliance from the early hours of dawn and set in the hours of dusk, a disciplined life contributes wellness to mental and physical health; an undisciplined life contributes miseries and ailments.  The mind and intellect should be fed with fruitful and creative thoughts to shines like the brilliance of Surya.”

Brahmin continues “ Oh! Rajan, 8) I have learned a lesson from Kapotha/dove, I shall narrate the story of a family of male and female dove with its children lived in a beautiful nest, the mother bird go in search for food and father bird take care of the children, once a hunter shot the children, the mother dove could not control her grief, she voluntarily took leap on the  trap of the hunter, soon the father bird followed her, as he could not live in the absence of his wife. Oh! Rajan, this is how the over-attachment to people causes grief, it take away the serenity of the mind, therefore we should not live like the female duck that gave away its life in the hunter’s trap at the death of her children and the male duck followed her with the fear of living in her absence.  The human body is the Mukthidhwaram/way to achieve the path of liberation from the cycles of birth and death.  The human mind has the ability to eradicate sufferings, pain, grief, guilt, sin, miseries, sorrows; it should be utilized to achieve the highest of the piousness known as Mukthi.”

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 312 – The legend of Lord Krishna -  163

Bhramin speaks “ Oh! Rajan, I am extremely happy to describe the reasons for the serenity of my mind.  I have been in the association of various preceptors and saintly men, and I had the opportunity to learn various lessons from them, and thus I have utilized my intellect which is the first preceptor to raise my soul from all the suffering and sorrows.  I shall narrate my twenty-four preceptor, Prithvi, Vayu/Air, Akasham/Sky, space/ Ether, Agni/Fire, Chandra/moon, Ravi/sun, Kapotha/dove, Ajakara/huge serpent, Sindhu/ocean, Pathanga/flying insects, Madhukrith/honey bee, Gaja/elephant, Madhuha/honey collector, Harina/antelope, Meena/fish, Pingala/prostitute, Kurara,  Arbaka, Kumari, Sharakrith, Sarpa, Urnnanabhi, and Supesha.”

Brahmin continues “ Oh! Rajan, I have learned a great lesson from 1) Prithvi/Bhoomi/Kshithi/Earth, that whoever hurt the mother Earth, with the excavation and the destruction process, it does not bother about it and keeps rotating, therefore an individual who does not have the capabilities to bear the atrocities, would face breakdown easily.  The thoughts have fleeting nature, it makes the person vulnerable to it, therefore contemplating upon the supreme soul which is the source of mind and intellect would remove the unwanted thoughts.  The Sookshmashareera/mind and intellect originated from the supreme soul has immense potential as the supreme soul, thoughts are fleeting nature occupies the mind and the Sthoolashareera/body is destructible nature.  The constant contemplation upon the supreme Lord who resides as the soul would remove the cluster of unwanted thoughts about people, materials and matters.  The Earth has self-less nature, serving its living beings with an abundance of its rich natural resources, it is one of the important lessons human beings have to learn from the Earth, the habit of sharing of knowledge and wealth.  The mother Earth performs her duties relentlessly, like that if the mind is constantly contemplated upon that supreme Lord, the cluster of unwanted thoughts would disappear from it.  2) I have learned a lesson from Vayu/Pranavayu, that lacks attachment to the creatures during the process of inhalation and exhalation, the human body undergoes a transformation in every second, therefore intellectuals taught to keep attachment to the eternal one/Paramathma.  A Yogi performs all the deeds without getting attached to it like Vayu, never let the mind daunt by the past experiences or anxiousness about the future, like the air do not stick with the fragrances or foul smell, or the running water remains pure always. 3) I have learned a lesson from the sky /Nabha represents vastness, all-pervasive like the Supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings, the outwards appearance of the human undergoes changes but the supreme soul remains changeless.”

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 311 – The legend of Lord Krishna -  162

Srikrishna Udhdhava Samvadham

Athmano  Gururathmaiva  Purushasya Visheshatha: | Yath Prathyakshanumanabhyam Shreyoasavanuvindhathe||

The first and foremost preceptor of the human is their own soul, it is impossible to achieve freedom from worldly desires, matters, and bondage without the willingness of the individual soul to achieve the state where there are no miseries and sorrows.  The worship of one’s own preceptor with great reverence is the part of the process, more significantly sincerely following the teachings of the preceptor is as important as the veneration of him.  It is the responsibility of the individual soul to raise the state of bliss, sincerely following the teachings of the preceptor.  It is not the task of a preceptor to raise the souls from suffering; it is the individual effort by sincerely following his teachings.  The mere worship of the preceptor, without following his teachings would do no help to raise the soul from the state of worldly desires and attachments.

Bhagavan speaks “Oh! Udhdhava, if you want to elevate your soul, you should understand certain things.   The greatest wealth of the human is the intellect to separate goodness and evil, you should be aware of the Lokaththathvam/the nature of Prakrithi which is known as Sthoola, it has impermanent nature, it undergoes constant transformation and ruin due to the influence of ‘Time’, therefore you should understand the real nature of Prakrithi and should not get attached to it.   The intellectuals contemplate upon the supreme soul resides in them and gets relieved from the material world which is the mixture of good and evil.  You have to understand the prime truth that your soul/ ‘Athma’ is the supreme preceptor; it is addressed as Purusha by the intellectuals, once you realize the presence of supreme soul in you and have the curiousness to contemplate upon it, eventually it would help you to attain an elevation of the soul from the worldly matters and grief.  The intellectuals with the knowledge of Sankhya/Gnana which describes the nature of Purusha and Prakrithi, and the practice of the same/ Yoga, elevate their soul to the supreme soul who is all-pervasive. Oh! Udhdhva, Listen to me carefully, I shall narrate the brilliant teachings of an Avadhootha.  It was an incident happened during the regime of my forefather/Yadhumaharaj who had a conversation with an Avadhootha. It was during that period the whole country was suffering from intense drought and famine, Yadhumaharaj went to meet the people of his Kingdom, to enquire about their sufferings in person. He saw a saintly person with a pleasing face sitting under the tree, he was unclothed.  Yadhumaharaj was so impressed to watch the Avadhootha who has a serene face, sitting under the tree in the blazing sun. Yadhu Maharaj approached the Avadhootha and asked for the reason of his pleasing nature that was like a person taking a dip in the icy waters of sacred river Ganga in Haridwar during the extremely hot season.  Yadhu Maharaj speaks “ Oh! Avadhootha, how could you remain calm and serene while the entire people of the Kingdom suffering from the scorching heat? Kindly narrate to me.”