prahlada-bhakti-sutra

[Guest guest]

Sri V. Krishnamurthy,

Namaskar . Thank you for sharing Prahlad Bhakti Sutra.

Raju

 

 

 

In a message dated 12/17/98 12:28:56 PM Pacific Standard Time,

profvk writes:

 

<< "V. Krishnamurthy" <profvk

 

 

I refer to what raju writes on the beautiful things which

Prahlada taught his fellowmates. When Prahlada goes on like this his

friends are thrilled and they ask him how he happened to know all

this. It is at this time he tells them how he had learnt this all

while still in the womb of his mother and Sage Narada was sermonising

apparently to the mother but really to him inside. And he repeats the

exact words of Narada: (Srimad Bhagavatam VII-7-19,20, et seq. :

 

AtmA nityo'vyayaH zuddha ekaH kSetraJa AzrayaH /

avikriyaH svadRg-hetuH vyapako'sangy-anAvRtaH //

etair-dvAdazabhir-vidvAn Atmano lakSaNaiH paraiH /

ahaM mamety-asadbhAvaM dehAdau mohajaM tyajet // and so on.

 

Meaning: This Atman is permanent, does not undergo any change, is

uncontaminated by mAyA, has neither internal nor external differences,

is the one intelligent being which cognizes everything, needs no

support but supports everything, knows no end of itself, sees

everything but is not seen is the primal cause and is itself never

caused, is beyond space and time and matter, is unattached to anything

and can be never negated by anything. // These are the twelve

indicative qualities of AtmA by a knowledge of which one should be

able to throw away the false identification with the body, mind and

intellect. The Self is the string in which every non-self is strung

like beads. The fact that the Self is the continuity part of the

string in all that is non-self is called anvaya. The The fact that the

AtmA itself is separate from the non-self just as the string is

separate from the beads, is called vyatireka. By these two exercises

in logic one should be able to realise the Self within.

 

This portion of Prahlada's teaching to his classmates used to be

referred to by my father as PRAHLADA BHAKTI-SUTRA. In fact it

summarises in a nutshell the entire vedanta . >>

[Guest guest]

I refer to what raju writes on the beautiful things which

Prahlada taught his fellowmates. When Prahlada goes on like this his

friends are thrilled and they ask him how he happened to know all

this. It is at this time he tells them how he had learnt this all

while still in the womb of his mother and Sage Narada was sermonising

apparently to the mother but really to him inside. And he repeats the

exact words of Narada: (Srimad Bhagavatam VII-7-19,20, et seq. :

 

AtmA nityo'vyayaH zuddha ekaH kSetraJa AzrayaH /

avikriyaH svadRg-hetuH vyapako'sangy-anAvRtaH //

etair-dvAdazabhir-vidvAn Atmano lakSaNaiH paraiH /

ahaM mamety-asadbhAvaM dehAdau mohajaM tyajet // and so on.

 

Meaning: This Atman is permanent, does not undergo any change, is

uncontaminated by mAyA, has neither internal nor external differences,

is the one intelligent being which cognizes everything, needs no

support but supports everything, knows no end of itself, sees

everything but is not seen is the primal cause and is itself never

caused, is beyond space and time and matter, is unattached to anything

and can be never negated by anything. // These are the twelve

indicative qualities of AtmA by a knowledge of which one should be

able to throw away the false identification with the body, mind and

intellect. The Self is the string in which every non-self is strung

like beads. The fact that the Self is the continuity part of the

string in all that is non-self is called anvaya. The The fact that the

AtmA itself is separate from the non-self just as the string is

separate from the beads, is called vyatireka. By these two exercises

in logic one should be able to realise the Self within.

 

This portion of Prahlada's teaching to his classmates used to be

referred to by my father as PRAHLADA BHAKTI-SUTRA. In fact it

summarises in a nutshell the entire vedanta .

 

V. Krishnamurthy

[Guest guest]

> AtmA nityo'vyayaH zuddha ekaH kSetraJa AzrayaH /

> avikriyaH svadRg-hetuH vyapako'sangy-anAvRtaH //

> etair-dvAdazabhir-vidvAn Atmano lakSaNaiH paraiH /

> ahaM mamety-asadbhAvaM dehAdau mohajaM tyajet // and so on.

 

 

I have happened to read these verses in the Telugu translation of

Bhagavata. Another important statement Narada tells in this context is

"...deeds (karmas) should be performed with detachment & deeds performed

with desire (for the fruits of action) _will_ result in sorrow...". Here is

a formula for keeping sorrow at bay. Will the more learned members of the

list elaborate on this statement ?

 

Hari Krishna

[Guest guest]

"Tadepalli, Hari K" <hari.k.tadepalli writes:

 

"...deeds (karmas) should be performed with detachment & deeds performed

 

with desire (for the fruits of action) _will_ result in sorrow...". Here

is

a formula for keeping sorrow at bay. Will the more learned members of

the

list elaborate on this statement ?

 

Greetings Hari:

 

Let me try to explain the essence of the Karma Yoga as stated in Gita

using one of the most quoted verses from chapter 2. There are other

verses in Gita which can further elaborate Karma Yoga.

 

karmaNi eva adhikaaraste maa phaleshu gadaachana (Gita, Chapter

2:47)

maa karma phala hetuH bhuH maa sanghaH astu akarmaNi

 

Translation: We should act not because the actions will produce such

and such result or avoid the activity because we think the results

produced may not be of our interest. Actions should proceed from the

sense of duty. One has to do his duty no matter what the consequences

are.

 

The structure of all messages in Gita is deep and subtle. In the first

part of this verse, Lord Krishna suggests that our duty be but to act,

never to be concerned with the results. In the second part, Lord

Krishna identifies the consequences if we pre evaluate the results of

our actions. If we start our action with prior expectations, then

results of our actions can bring either disappointments or over

confidence. Those who do not wish to face disappointments will be

afraid to act and those who are successful will be arrogant! They both

lead to a dead-end straight with eventual failures!

 

Gita asks us to evaluate the consequences of the two feasible mental

framework. If we develop the mental framework to conduct our duties

without looking for the fruits of our action, we can accept success or

failure. Actions with such a mental framework are self-propelled

without incentives. Instead, if we specify the results before the

action, we divert our attention more to the result and less to the

action. When our expectations are low, we don't pay full attention to

our duty. If our expectations are high, we face disappointments when

the results fall short of our expectations.

 

The subtle message of "Karma Yoga" is deep and there are several other

explanations:

 

First, time is not a parameter in spirituality and consequently action

is continuous and it never ends. Results imply an end of an action and

consequently results are ruled out. That is why the scriptures gave so

much importance to the duties which have no beginning or end!

 

Second, all entities of the universe are interactive and consequently

neither the action nor the results of the action can be separated. Even

within an intellectual framework, the results of any action is

"uncertain" due to the presence of many actors. For example, the stock

broker will tell the buyer of stocks that there is no guarantee for

getting back the money invested! The future price of the stock market

is decided not by a single buyer or seller but by the collective

decision of all the buyers and sellers in the market.

 

Third, let me present this quotation from Gandhiji describing the Gita

Ideal:

"I am a devotee of the Gita and a firm believer in the inexorable law of

karma. Even the least little tripping or stumbling is not without its

cause and I have wondered why one who has tried to follow the Gita in

thought, word and deed should have any ailment. The doctors have

assured me that this trouble of high blood- pressure is entirely the

result of mental strain and worry. If that is true, it is likely that I

have been unnecessarily worrying myself, unnecessarily fretting and

secretly harboring passions like anger, lust, etc. The fact that any

event or incident should disturb my serious efforts, means not that the

Gita Ideal is defective but that my devotion to its defective. The Gita

Ideal is true for all time, my understanding of it and observance of it

is full of flaws."

Harijan, 29 February 1936. ("What is Hinduism?" Mahatma Gandhi, National

Book Trust of India, page, 95).

 

Finally, the Vedantic notion of becoming Brahman implies that the

actions become spontaneous. A spontaneous action has no cause or effect.

A good example for a spontaneous action is the blooming of flowers.

The flower plant blooms whether we appreciate or criticize. Such actions

essentially become inaction and generate total peace and tranquility.

Are we capable for such spontaneous actions? The answer is yes! If a

child falls accidentally in a swimming pool then someone jumps

immediately to save the child. At times, people who do not swim will

also jump onto the pool to save the child. This is human instinct

(spontaneous human dharma) or temporary realization of the True Human

Nature. Becoming Brahman is the permanent realization of the True Human

Nature. When we start conducting all our actions spontaneously with

the yagna spirit, we just do the action without looking for

alternatives! The essence of the message of Karma Yoga is: "Actions

are inevitable and excuses are unforgivable."

--

Ram Chandran

Burke, VA

[Guest guest]

Dear Adwaitins,

Namaskar,

following is the continue of Prahlad Bhakti story from ( the concise Srimad

Bhagavatam by swami venkatesananda

 

Questioned by the boys as to how he hapened to come into contact with the sage

Narada, Prahrada said: When our father had retired to the forest, Indra

invaded our realm and routed the demons, who fled. The gods looted the palace

and Indra siezed my mother, the queen. Narada however, intervened and Indra

allowed him to look after her and the baby she was expecting: Narada reassured

Indra that child was the Lord's devotee. In order to console my mother the

sage used to impart the highest wisdom to her. She herself has forgotten it

now, but by Narada's grace, I remember it.

Only the body is subject to birth, existence, growth , maturity,decay and

death, which are symptoms of the passage of time; not the spirit. The self is

eternal, free from decay, pure, one without a second, pure awareness

(subject), the support of all, changeless, self seeing (aware of self, but not

as object) cause (not effect), all pervading, unattached and without any

veil. By means of these twelve characteristics a wise man should recognise the

self. By the subtle process of enqury (using the formula 'not this') the wise

seeker should. even while living in this body, arrive at the truth concerning

the self. He should realise that the states of the mind and the consequent

actions and their reactions, which keep the wheel of birth and death

revolving, are all the play of the guna (qualities) of nature, and that they

do not affect the self in the least.

This alone ought to be done by you: burn the very seeds of Karma (which is of

the three guna) by going beyond the function of the intellect. This is yoga.

Of the thousands of yoga practices the following has been declared, by the

Lord himself, to be that practice by which one develops supreme love for the

Lord:Worshipful service of one's guru.fellowship of devotees, worshipof God,

singing his glories, adorning his images, etc, and by lovingly serving the

Lord seated in the hearts of all creatures.

When this love reaches the gighest intensity one attains the Lord.

The followings are some symptoms that indicate such love: on hearing of the

Lord, the devotee sings loudly, he is delighted, he is absorbed in

contemplation, he becomes totally desireless and heaving a sigh he laughs and

weeps. This is the bliss of Brahma-Nirvana. Anyone can attain to this state.

The Lord does not take into account one's caste, genes, character, scholarship

or proficiency in rituals; but only one's devotion. Without devotion all else

is empty show. Therefore, by every means develop this exclusive love for the

Lord.

 

Hari Om Tatsat.