Excerpts from Cantos II and XI of Srimad Bhagavatham

[Guest guest]

Dear Professor Vasudha Narayanan and Fellow Members of

the Prapatthi /Bhakthi group : Here is the companion

posting dealing with the details on the seven LOkams .

 

Canto II.1.26-32 : Dhyanam of Parama PurushA

 

First the PurushA of Purusha Sooktham described in

all the four VedAs is meditated upon . Then this Lord

with thousands of heads , legs and arms is visualized

with the PatALA region under His feet that rest on

Bhu lokam (this Earth ) ; towards the front and hind parts of

His feet are RasAtaLA ; the two ankles are MahAtalA ; the two

legs are TalAtalA ; the two thighs are SutalA ; the upper and lower

parts of the thighs are VitalA and AtalA ; the MahitalA is His hip and

His navel is the sky ; His breast is Suvar lokA ( the abode of celestials ) ;

the neck is mahar lokA ; His face is Jana lokA ; the forehead is TapOlokA ;

His head is Satya LokA . The 14 LokAs are accounted for this way.

 

The verses continue to describe IndrA and the DevAs as His arms ,

the Sun as His organ of Vision , the night and day as His eyelids , BrahmA

as His eye brows , The VedAs as His temples , His mAyA as His

enchanting smile etc . Cosmic conception is what is intended here .

 

Canto XI .24 : Sankhya Yogam and its fruits (Chapter of Srimadh Vhagavatham )

 

Here the Lord describes to His dear disciple UddhavA

the secrets of Sankhya Yogam . He starts with a description of

the concepts of Prakrithi , the three GuNAs , Mahath TattvA , AhamkArA

( VaikarikA , TaijasA and TaamasA ) , TanmAtrA and the creation of

the Cosmic egg from their combinations and His origin out of that cosmic

egg as "His best resting place ". Then He refers to the sprouting

of the Lotus from His navel inside the ccosmic egg and the birth

of BrahmA and the empowerment of BrahmA to create

the worlds and their beings .

 

The actual quotations are as follows :

 

" By dint of hard austerities and through My favour , BrahmA

created the LokAs along with LokapAlAs and three regions ,

namely , Bhuh , Bhuvar and Suvar . The Suvar Lokam became

the abode of the DevAs , the Bhuvar lokam of the beings( demi-Gods )

and the Bhuh that of mortals . The Mahar Lokam and others became

the abode of the SiddhAs et al . The Lord/BrahmA created the abode

of the NagAs and AsurAs beneath the region of the Earth .

 

All the actions identical with three-fold qualities , have their course

in the three worlds . Yoga , asceticism and withdrawal from the world

have for their pure destination , the LokAs of Mahar , Jana , TapO and

Satya . Bhakthi Yoga leads one to Me in VaikuntA . By Me , who am

the ordainer of all and identical with Time , this universe along with

actions is once being raised up and down , drowned in the stream

of qualities . The small , great , subtle and gross , all the objects that exist

 

are permeated both by Prakrithi and PurushA . That which is the source or

end of a thing is also its middle and so that it is SATH . --If there is any

material cause of an object , the first cause is the real one . That which

exists in the beginning or end of an object is designated as Eternal .

 

Prakrithi is the material of the Universe , which is evolved as effects.

PurushA is the container . KaalA (Time ) is the displayer . I am identical

with BrahmA and am the three ( The Cause , Container and

the Displayer ). As long as the will of the Creator exists , so long is

the preservation (of the creation ) ; and till it ends, the work of creation

is carried on from one generation to another for the enjoyment

of the creatures . The universe permeated by Me --is worthy of being

disssolved into five elements , when I intend to withdraw the worlds into Me."

 

Swami Desikan in defense of VisishtAdvaitha Vedantha and Bhagavad

RaamAnuja Darsanam has addrssed the deficiencies of the SankhyA

system in his TattvamukhthaakalApa and the companion commentary ,

Sarvartha Siddhi . He concludes defending the Sarira-Saareeri relationship

between the Brahman and the Universe and the philosophy of life it embodies.

 

For those interested in following up onSarvartha Siddhi of Swami Desikan,

I recommend the masterly doctoral dissertation of

the Late Dr. V.N.Seshadri Acharya , my distinguished neighbor at

Oppiliappan Sannidhi . He was a Professor of Sanskrit at

Annamalai UNiversity , Tamil Naadu . This book has been

released by Sri VishitAdvaitha Research Center of Chennai

and is available possibly thru Sri B. Jaganath of Ahobila Mutt ,

Arlington , Virginia .

 

Subhamasthu ,

Oppilliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan

 

 

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