srimadbhagavatham-chapter2 continued

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Sootha answers the question number 1, that is,'sarvasAsthra sAram

EkAnthikam srEyO broohi,tell us about the essence of all sasthras and

the most beneficial.' It is the devotion to Lord Krishna which is the

greatest dharma of all and it is most beneficial. The devotion is termed

as ahaithukee, spontaneous, that is not expecting any thing in return

and`aprathihathA, not impeded by any obstacle.The devotion to Vasudeva

brings in its wake vairAgya, detachment and nishkAmajnAna, knowledge

that is not desire-motivated.Any dharma that does not evoke pleasure in

the stories of Bhagavan is futile.

 

 

 

Dharma should be pursued for Moksha and artha for dharma and not for

kama. The supreme dharma is that which is followed till the acquiring of

self knowledge, induced by the detachment of other things which in its

turn is induced by the devotion to the Lord.The adhvitheeya jnana, means

svathulya abhyaDHika vasthu rahithathvam, the knowledge about that which

has nothing equal or higher than itself, and this truth is denoted by

the words Brahman,paramAthmA and bhaghavAn.

 

 

 

Bhakthi associated with vairagya and jnana makes it possible to see the

Lord inside one's heart and the sages acquire devotion through hearing

the story of the Lord with faith and perceive the Lord in themselves.So

the complete fulfilment of varNAsramadharma is the propitiation of the

Lord. this means that all dhatma should be followed for bhagavathpreethi

only and should be discharged as an offering to the Lord.

 

Then Sootha explains the progress of devotion. Bhagavan who is the Lord

of the good should be worshipped by sravana, keerthana, dhyana and

pooja. Who will not desire for the hearing of the story of Him,by

persistent meditation on whom, the wise cut off their knot of karma,

'yadhanuDhyAsinA yukthA karmabanDHa nibanDHanam, cchindhanthi kOvidhAh

thasya Ko na kuryAth kaTHA rathim?'This kaTHArathi, love of His stories

is the result of desire and faith in sravana which, in its turn, is the

result of the darsan of holy men by visiting the holy places. Lord

Krishna, hearing about and singing or talking about whom is

meritorious,who is the friend of the good, enters the heart of one who

hears about Him and destroys all bad impulses.'srNvathAm svakaTHAm

krishnah puNyasravaNakirthanah;hrdhyanthasTHOhyabhadhrANi viDHunOthi

suhrtsathAm.' Bad vAsanas are destroyed by nithyabhAgavathasEvA which

leads to devotion of BhagavAn. Bhakthi when arises cleanses the mind of

rajas and thamas and establishes satthva.Thus when the mind becomes

prasanna, equanimous with bhagavathbhakthi, which removes attachment,

the knowledge of the real nature of bhagavAn, bhagavththatthvajnana

arises by itself.

 

 

 

The upanishad says, 'bhidhyanthE hrdhayagranTHih cchidhyanthE

sarvasamsayAh ksheetanthE asya karmANi thasmin dhrstE parAvarE,all knots

of the heart are broken, all doubts are demolished and all karma is

destroyed when one has the darsan of the supreme self.' This is the idea

elaborated here. The prakrthi is constituted of three gunas namely,

satthva, rajas and thamas,and the supreme purusha assumes the role of

the creator, protector and annihilator manifesting the three gunas,

rajas,satthva and thamas respectively.Vasudeva represents the supreme

self above the trinity and He alone is the object of worship. It is

through the sAtthvik manifestation of Vasudeva one attains salvation.

The bhagavatha purana declares that He is the highest goal.'vAsudhEva

parA vEdhAh vAsudhEva parA makhAh vAsudhEva parAyOgavasudhEva parA

kriyAh;vAsudhEva param jnAnam vAsudhEva param thapahvAsudhEva parO

dharmO vAsudhEva parA gathih,' the vedas are about Vasudeva,the

sacrifices pertain to Vasudeva,The yogas are to attain Vasudeva,all

actions are offering to Vasudeva.The object of knowledge is Vasudeva,

the one who is pleased by austerities is Vasudeva,the goal of dharma is

Vasudeva and all paths are towards Vasudeva. He is the parAkAshTA

parAgathih. the ultimate goal.

 

 

 

Sath, the real and asath, the unreal, both are manifested by the mAyA of

the Lord and the mAyA is constituted of three gunas. But He is aguna,

without guna ,that is, not affected by the three gunas.'guNEshu guNavan

iva anthah pravishtah nAnA bhAthi yaTHA vahnih dhArushu, says Bhagavatha

purana. He entering inside all beings appears variegated as though He

is connected with the gunas as the fire in firewood which creates the

appearance of existence in the wood but actually not connected with

it.Thus the first question is answered. Then Sootha starts telling them

about the leelavathAras of the Lord in dhevamanushyathiryangyoni, as

deva, manushya and animal forms.