teachings of Sri Vidura

mahak · April 15, 2007

TEACHINGS OF SRI VIDURA (part 1)

(Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.17)

TRANSLATION

Insurmountable, eternal time imperceptibly overcomes those who are

too much attached to family affairs and are always engrossed in their

thought.

PURPORT

"I am now happy; I have everything in order; my bank balance is quite

enough; I can now give my children enough estate; I am now

successful; the poor beggar sannyasis depend on God, but they come to

beg from me; therefore I am more than the Supreme God." These are

some of the thoughts which engross the insanely attached householder

who is blind to the passing of eternal time. Our duration of life is

measured, and no one is able to enhance it even by a second against

the scheduled time ordained by the supreme will. Such valuable time,

especially for the human being, should be cautiously spent because

even a second passed away imperceptibly cannot be replaced, even in

exchange for thousands of golden coins amassed by hard labor. Every

second of human life is meant for making an ultimate solution to the

problems of life, i.e. repetition of birth and death and revolving in

the cycle of 8,400,000 different species of life. The material body,

which is subject to birth and death, diseases and old age, is the

cause of all sufferings of the living being, otherwise the living

being is eternal; he is never born, nor does he ever die. Foolish

persons forget this problem. They do not know at all how to solve the

problems of life, but become engrossed in temporary family affairs

not knowing that eternal time is passing away imperceptibly and that

their measured duration of life is diminishing every second, without

any solution to the big problem, namely repetition of birth and

death, disease and old age. This is called illusion.

But such illusion cannot work on one who is awake in the devotional

service of the Lord. Yudhishthira Maharaja and his brothers the

Pandavas were all engaged in the service of the Lord Sri Krishna, and

they had very little attraction for the illusory happiness of this

material world. As we have discussed previously, Maharaja

Yudhishthira was fixed in the service of the Lord Mukunda (the Lord,

who can award salvation), and therefore he had no attraction even for

such comforts of life as are available in the kingdom of heaven,

because even the happiness obtained on the planet Brahmaloka is also

temporary and illusory. Because the living being is eternal, he can

be happy only in the eternal abode of the kingdom of God (paravyoma),

from which no one returns to this region of repeated birth and death,

disease and old age. Therefore, any comfort of life or any material

happiness which does not warrant an eternal life is but illusion for

the eternal living being. One who understands this factually is

learned, and such a learned person can sacrifice any amount of

material happiness to achieve the desired goal known as brahma-

sukham, or absolute happiness. Real transcendentalists are hungry for

this happiness, and as a hungry man cannot be made happy by all

comforts of life minus foodstuff, so the man hungry for eternal

absolute happiness cannot be satisfied by any amount of material

happiness. Therefore, the instruction described in this verse cannot

be applied to Maharaja Yudhishthira or his brothers and mother. It

was meant for persons like Dhritarashtra, for whom Vidura came

especially to impart lessons.

mahaksadasa commentary:

In the old days under excellent disciple leadership, we were given

the opportunity to prepare for and give the morning class to our

peers. This was a great hands on education for us who were initiated

to carry out this mission. The assignment required the disciple to

choose a subject, study Srila Prabhupada's version, and give

commentary, inviting istagosthi at all times. The subject I choose

here is leaving the body, and the teacher of the futility of hanging

on is none other than my hero, Lord Yamaraja, who has taken part in

the travelling show called Krsna Katha as Sri Vidura. Lord Yamaraja,

who is present in Sri Vidura as well as King Yudhisthira, is the

penultimate authority on Death, and his credentials are clear, as he

is depicted as one of the twelve authorities on the science of Bhakti

Yoga.

Any comment is quite welcome. My peers have much to offer here, as

the pangs hit us every day. There is nothing but nectar to be found

in the research of my chosen subject. This is the assignment. I

guess the first place to start is with the story of the birth of

Death.

The Birth of Death, by mahaksadasa 1999

In the beginning of time, the human beings lived in the clear air,

and as their sustenamce, they moved within the air without effort.

The Earth was then made of pure honey, and, first a few, then many

more, descended by the desire to taste the sweet flavor. An addiction

developed, and though they did not require the honey, they began to

eat more and more. Gradually, the human beings became too heavy to

fly any more, and their wings fell off to become the world's

mountains. These mountains formed a crust over the Earth's surface as

well as harnessed the clouds to deliver the rains and the seeds of

vegetation.

When the last human had landed to fly no more, male and female forms

began to develop as compatible with terrestrial living. These forms

developed desire for one another and were thus able to procreate the

species.

Since at this time, the human beings were immortal, the increase of

their kind created an unbearable situation for the Earth. Hearing the

cries of the humans on Her surface, the Earth approached Lord Brahma,

the creator. Lord Brahma was perplexed, and, finding no solution to

the problem, He experianced great anger. This anger began to consume

the entire cosmos with the fires of annihilation, and Lord Brahma was

thus satisfied.

Lord Shiva arrived and immediately bowed to Lord Brahma's feet,

begging, "Be merciful, O Lord, do not destroy what You have created."

Lord Brahma: "I have no mercy, just anger.

Lord Shiva: "If this were the case, I would not have come before You.

Your whole creation is blasted with fire, please look upon the human

beings in another way."

Lord Brahma: "Mata Earth begged for help, crying pitiously, but I

cannot solve Her problem. I know why She cries, She is sinking in the

Causal Ocean from the weight of Her people, but I have no solution."

Lord Shiva: "Then al creation is but ashes."

Lord Brahma: "I withdraw all anger and restore everything as before,

but the problem remains, I have great doubt."

As Lord Shiva was about to leave, assured by the universal

restoration, Lord Brahma noticed a being created by His six senses, a

woman with red eyes and tanned skin, brilliant in beauty and

ornaments. Smiling pleasantly to the Two Lords, She went her own way

to the South.

Lord Brahma called out to Her, "Wait, Death. Kill all creatures,

beginning with idiots and priests."

Death replied: "Never. It is cruel, go away from me."

She ran away, but Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva tolerated Her

insistance, following her and persuading her, to no avail. Death was

allowed to wander the creation without taking any life for

100,277,000,008,000 years. Lord Brahma again appeared before Her,

Saying, "Death, I have not seen you for a moment, what are you doing?"

"I will never kill for You" was Her steadfast promise.

Lord Brahma looked at the winsome girl, and replied, "Then I must

make them equal. You will not have to kill them, you will never kill

gods, demons or human beings. I now create greed, envy, anger, and

shame, jealousy and passion. From Your tears, I make war and disease.

Do nothing, they will all come to You. You will not be the cause or

the prevention of death, but You must greet all who come to You well

in their hour. They will kill themselves, and only fools will weep

over what none can avoid."

Upon hearing this solution to Lord Brahma's delimna, Lord Shiva began

to dance, for until this time, though He had raised His foot, He had

never put it down.

.........

I especially like this story. This story was told by one who was in

the process of being "well greeted" by death, one most would not

expect. This story was told by Duryodhana, mortally wounded, hiding

by invisibility in the crystal lake. He was full of remorse, yet Sri

Sanjaya, who was a mystic who could see everything hidden, and also

was fully present while Krsna sang Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, came to

him. It is stated that the acarya is inspired by God to appear to

those sincerely desirous of Krsna, and Bhagavad Gita confirms that

one who is fully miserable is one of the four types who can have such

an appearance by the acarya. This story is why I have a soft spot

for Duryodhana, despite his bad press. He has a major role in Krsna

Katha (the reality). Not ordinary at all.

In closing for today, I humbly invite all to comment, to give class

on the selected verse. Especially us duryodhanas out there who

regret our actions and are being "greeted well in our hour". Part 2

of this series has a very wonderful discussion by Srila Prabhupada

that gives us an entirely different perspective on this

individualized final solution.

Hare Krsna, thank you for considering the points made herein, ys in

cooperation, mahaksadasa.

mahak · April 15, 2007

Teachings of Sri Vidura (PART 2 OF 12)

Srila Prabhupada's Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.18

TRANSLATION

Mahatma Vidura knew all this, and therefore he addressed Dhritarashtra, saying: My dear King, please get out of here immediately. Do not delay. Just see how fear has overtaken you.

PURPORT

Cruel death cares for no one, be he Dhritarashtra or even Maharaja Yudhishthira; therefore spiritual instruction, as was given to old Dhritarashtra, was equally applicable to younger Maharaja Yudhishthira. As a matter of fact, everyone in the royal palace, including the King and his brothers and mother, was raptly attending the lectures. But it was known to Vidura that his instructions were especially meant for Dhritarashtra, who was too materialistic.

The word rajan is especially addressed to Dhritarashtra significantly. Dhritarashtra was the eldest son of his father, and therefore according to law he was to be installed on the throne of Hastinapura. But because he was blind from birth, he was disqualified from his rightful claim. But he could not forget the bereavement, and his disappointment was somewhat compensated after the death of Pandu, his younger brother. His younger brother left behind him some minor children, and Dhritarashtra became the natural guardian of them, but at heart he wanted to become the factual king and hand the kingdom over to his own sons, headed by Duryodhana.

With all these imperial ambitions, Dhritarashtra wanted to become a king, and he contrived all sorts of intrigues in consultation with his brother-in-law Sakuni. But everything failed by the will of the Lord, and at the last stage, even after losing everything, men and money, he wanted to remain as king, being the eldest uncle of Maharaja Yudhishthira. Maharaja Yudhishthira, as a matter of duty, maintained Dhritarashtra in royal honor, and Dhritarashtra was happily passing away his numbered days in the illusion of being a king or the royal uncle of King Yudhishthira.

Vidura, as a saint and as the duty-bound affectionate youngest brother of Dhritarashtra, wanted to awaken Dhritarashtra from his slumber of disease and old age. Vidura therefore sarcastically addressed Dhritarashtra as the "King," which he was actually not. Everyone is the servant of eternal time, and therefore no one can be king in this material world. King means the person who can order. The celebrated English king wanted to order time and tide, but the time and tide refused to obey his order. Therefore one is a false king in the material world, and Dhritarashtra was particularly reminded of this false position and of the factual fearful happenings which had already approached him at that time. Vidura asked him to get out immediately, if he wanted to be saved from the fearful situation which was approaching him fast. He did not ask Maharaja Yudhishthira in that way because he knew that a king like Maharaja Yudhishthira is aware of all the fearful situations of this flimsy world and would take care of himself, in due course, even though Vidura might not be present at that time.

mahaksadasa comment: An old VNN article is submitted herein for your consideration:

The Death Phenomena

BY MAHAKSA DASA

EDITORIAL, Nov 11 (VNN) — Haribol, dear VNN readers and writers, PAMHO. This article is written for those who feel impending doom, either from speculations about Y2K, or from dabbling in the likes of Cayce, Scallion, Morton, and other seers. We should not give absolute truth status to the versions of the empiric scientist, but we need not reject them, either. Srila Prabhupada did not expect us to remain infants forever with overprotection.

We question and defeat them all, but their versions are not unfounded. Do we reject tornado warnings, do we stay on the beach just because a meat eater weatherman says the hurricane is coming? No, Srila Prabhupada raised practical children.

I have been cursed since birth with uncanny clairvoyance, it only gives me joy playing around with sports-page fascinations shared with my karmi friends at work, at other times, not so much joy seeing the future of Kali. Just more and more deterioration, more demoniac activity, more misinterpretation, more chaos, quarrel, and confusion. My work mates ask me, "Is it the volcano, the tornado, the solar ejecta, the tsunami, the comet, the earthquake, the nuclear holocaust? Tell us." The answer is "all of these things". The answer is that a noble green skinned mahajana in red robes, with matted hair riding on a buffalo carrying a silver thread to retrieve a soul under his jurisdiction follows our every move, because catastrophe is there. The answer is that Lord Sri Yamaraja, similar to us at work in our jobs, would like to sluff off, now and then, if given the opportunity, and we can help him in his desire by removing ourselves from his dutiful jurisdiction and becoming his friend instead. He is cent-percent pure Vaisnava acarya, so much so, that he is one of the twelve authorities on devotional service. Probably most of the readers here have read all of Srila Prabhupada's books, and a very nice project is to seek out the words of Sri Yamaraja (as well as his partial manifestations, Sri Vidura and Sri Yudhisthira) to find DHARMA. He is the first mahajana we deal with on the other side, and he would rather engage in joyful Krsna Consciousness with us at that time than just do his occupational duty, because He knows, He is the first created being to die.

This is not a doomsday scare story, just a realization of mortality given to me by my wife, who is not of Vaisnava persuasion, yet possesses Vaisnava qualities in her own right, that I cannot describe, nor properly understand. She is not interested in impending doom of the Ross Ice Shelf separating from Antarctica and raising global sea levels two-hundred feet, she cares not to hear of Popocatepetyl Volcano ready to give the earth a ring like Saturn. She tells me that I only got a few years, max, as do we all, so get with it.

Srila Prabhupada does not teach doomsday science, he does not teach us how to die. He teaches us how to live. He shows us that, if at all possible, even in an incapacitated condition, we should desire to circumambulate Sri Govardhana Hill in Remembrance of Sri Govinda, this act of life, and living, is what gives both the living entity and the stalking Lord Yamaraja transcendental happiness, destroys the time (and place, too) effect temporarily affecting our lives. The death phenomena is ONLY (my favorite word that Srila Prabhupada uses often) phantasmagoria, a will o' the wisp.

I am remembering a dear friend, Bhava devi dasi, removed from our presence by the chemotherapy. She was young, full of life, and, though apparently only 80 pounds of dying flesh, taught fellow hospital patients in the same condition how to be pleasing to Yama, by pleasing his dear Sri Govinda.

Point is, when the lava flows and the water rises, the joy of performing bhakti yoga as taught by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada does not diminish. Because the word YOGA appears, all ideas of being ALONE are also phantasmagoria, a celluloid manifestation, illusion. Even as the body bursts into flames and the mind is disturbed by seeing such an event happen, Sri Govinda approaches, protects, rescues, never abandons. No artificial behavior influenced by loneliness is required, no need to place a picture of Krsna in front of the eyes. Srila Prabhupada teaches the facts that this process of devotional service is descending to us from the Groves of Goloka Vrndavana, our job is to take the wonderful gift only.

Some of us have lost a few as described, headed by our beloved Guru Maharaja himself, as well as dear disciples of his like Jayananda, Visnujana, Sudama, Gauragovinda, Bhava devi dasi, et al., yet we know Srila Prabhupada's Science (at least theoretically), therefore we do NOT say they are dead, and in some cases, imbued with advanced devotional symptoms, we do NOT even feel that they are away. The reason for this phenomena is the gift described, that bhakti yoga is SPIRITUAL LIFE, transcendental to both Samsara cycles and threefold miseries. So, though faced with doom, (collectively as I see in lucid dreams or appropriately as wonderful reality facing the individual), we can all take courage and give praise, again and again, for the fortune of association with the great gift-giver, Srila Prabhupada.

Haribol, your servant in exile, mahaksadasa

(note. Since this article, many have also passed away, Tusta Krsna, Sri Bahudaka, Srimati Jayaradhe dd. Many unnamed associates, but, as Srila Prabhupada tells us the great news, "Therefore one is a false king in the material world, and Dhritarashtra was particularly reminded of this false position and of the factual fearful happenings which had already approached him at that time. Vidura asked him to get out immediately, if he wanted to be saved from the fearful situation which was approaching him fast. He did not ask Maharaja Yudhishthira in that way because he knew that a king like Maharaja Yudhishthira is aware of all the fearful situations of this flimsy world and would take care of himself, in due course, even though Vidura might not be present at that time." Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

mahak · April 18, 2007

I am stunned, however, I began this project because of Sri Puru das just last weekend. I heard the discussion between him and my friend theist, and then I felt the numbness in my own legs, counted how many years Ive been flopping on this pier.

Puru is a great godbrother, everything I ever wanted in a godbrother. He never gave me a break. He was jolly, but always grave. I had some great internet flare-ups with him, but we always acted as each others well wishers.

I take this opportunity to beg his forgiveness for any offenses I committed to him. I also humbly offer my obiesancies to his siksa guru, Srila Narayana Maharaja, who is such a source of shelter.

Hare Krsna, the rest of this thesis is in the dedication to Sri Puru das. The best of uncles. :crying2: