An Apparent Contradiction...

[Bhava dasa]

Bharata Maharaja had to accept the body of a deer in his next life even though he had attained the platform of bhava-bhakti. And yet, a devotee is guaranteed a human birth in his next life.

 

This is an apparent contradiction...how is it rectified?

[Guest guest]

I thought I had heard an answer to this apparent contradiction before, but I couldn't remember where, so I had to do a google search. It appears that this pastime was primarily a lesson to teach us to be careful, even if we approach advanced stages of bhakti. And even though he took birth as a deer, he wasn't an ordinary deer. All of his bhakti and sukriti were there, and he remembered everything while in that body. After his deer body, he didn't have to evolve through the various species, but instead took birth as a brahmana.

 

Here is a relevant quote I found:

 

"If the practitioner dies before perfecting his bhakti, or if any obstacles come and he stops his practice for some time, there is no great harm unless he is committing offenses. Bharata Maharaja did not commit any aparadha, and therefore his bhakti did not reduce. It seems as though he lost his bhakti, but this was not the case. His bhakti simply became stagnant or checked for some time.

 

Why was his bhakti interrupted? Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has explained that this was simply a lesson for others. In his next life, when he took birth as a deer, his bhakti was still at the stage of rati, bhava, and he realized his mistake. Then, in his third birth he always engaged in the service of the Lord and he attained prema-bhakti.

 

Anukulyena krsna anusilanam. Anu means without interruption like the uninterrupted flow of honey from a jar. Bharata Maharaja's bhakti was checked because he gave his heart to a deer. This was not an aparadha; rather it was an obstacle. His bhakti stopped for some time because he did something wrong.

 

Actually, it was the wish of Krsna that we should learn something from Bharata Maharaja. He himself did not actually fall down. When the stage of ruci manifests in ones heart he has no opportunity to commit any aparadha, what to speak of one who has rati. He was only teaching us that we ourselves should be careful. In his next birth he became a deer, he remembered his mistake, and he repented; in his third birth he became a pure brahmana. At that time he began from rati, where he had previously left off, and then attained Vaikuntha-prema.

 

In this third birth Bharata Maharaja became a pure bhakta."

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna and all glories to Srila Prabhupada!!

 

another explanation that i have heard is that this incident should teach us the importance of guru. Bharata Maharaja, when he retired in forest life, did not have a guru with him who would warn him against spending so much time and affection after the deer. In other words, if we dont have a guru, who will warn us to keep our affections and thoughts out of non-spiritual things? And the thoughts and affections one has at the time of death determine what life we get next.

 

Haribol!

[Bhava dasa]

 

Hare Krishna and all glories to Srila Prabhupada!!

 

another explanation that i have heard is that this incident should teach us the importance of guru. Bharata Maharaja, when he retired in forest life, did not have a guru with him who would warn him against spending so much time and affection after the deer. In other words, if we dont have a guru, who will warn us to keep our affections and thoughts out of non-spiritual things? And the thoughts and affections one has at the time of death determine what life we get next.

 

Haribol!

Thank you, this is a good point. However, it raises the question, How did he become elevated to bhava-bhakti without a guru?

[Kulapavana]

 

Bharata Maharaja had to accept the body of a deer in his next life even though he had attained the platform of bhava-bhakti. And yet, a devotee is guaranteed a human birth in his next life.

 

This is an apparent contradiction...how is it rectified?

 

his birth as a deer was not a punishment - it was a lesson in love. it was a gift to him. it was not an ordinary deer life. having a body of a deer with full consciousness of his previous life is an extraordinary boon for spiritual life.

 

in other words, you are comparing apples to diamonds

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna!

 

where is the scriptural evidence that Bharata was elevated to bhava bhakti? He was instructed by his father, Rsabhdev. But, it was my recollection that he was practicing bhakti in santa-rasa and was therefore not bhava bhakti.

 

Haribol