BHAKTISANDESAM

[Guest guest]

Hari-Om

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Satyavan-Savitri

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What is the inner significance of the Satyavan-Savitri story ?

It is true that atman does not die. That means, we should not grieve

even if a close friend/family member dies. And surely, the wise do

not grieve for the living or the dead (Bhagavad Gita) since they

don't see someone being born to die. Anything born has to die, but

Brahman is not born. And a jnani sees only Brahman everywhere.

 

However, for a person who is not a jnani (i.e one who has not wiped

out his/her vaasanas which constitute one's perceived avidya), death

is real. [What causes these vaaasanas ? Desire, selfish work and

expectation of results of the work leads to transmigration

(Vivekachudamani)]. Thus, except for a person who has realized the

Self, death/birth/ successes/failures are real. He/she is told not to

be enamoured by it and look upon everything as Brahman to purify the

mind (again, Vivekachudamani) and wipe out avidya.

 

In a dream, one is hungry and eats. Only _after waking up_ can the

person say that he need not have eaten in the dream and could have

still survived. So long as one in the dream, one has to follow the

rules. Thus, so long as there is an even slight hint of duality, we

have to follow dharma.

 

We cannot fault Savitri for trying to get back Satyavan. For her,

death was real. She was able to see Yama and walk with him only

because of her penance. She was not, yet, a jnani. When Yama spots

her walking behind him, he gives her a wish (anything other than

satyavan's body), she asks for the health and wealth of her inlaws.

He again gives her one more wish and she asks for the sons for her

father. For the final wish, she asks Yama for children and Yama

grants it. Savitri calmly points out that she cannot beget children

without Satyavan and Yama proceeds to remove the noose from the neck

of Satyavan.

 

When Yama gave her two wishes, she did not ask anything for herself

when she could have got practically anything she wanted. The same is

the story of Yama and Nachiketa. He also does not ask Yama for

personal benefits. This shows how magnamious she was, it shows a high

maturity if someone asks things for others benefit and shows she is

not selfish.

 

Secondly, what is the jungle and the realm of the dead where all sort

of wild things are mentioned when Savitri follows Yama ? It is an

allegory. The wild things were the lust, anger, jealousy ... and when

one follows the Guru/God, he/she is attracted by all these but one

who follows unperturbed is a true yogi. What are the wishes ?

Siddhis. Anyone who practices yoga to attain siddhis is ignorant, as

Patanjali point out. Thus, though Siddhis are offered/attained, the

true purpose of realizing the Self should never be lost. Like

Savitri, who only wanted to get back Satyavan and nothing else,

everything else in the realm of the mind should be ignored for a

higher purpose (liberation). For the final wish, Yama gave her

children i.e happiness. But only a person who has regained Satyavan

(attained liberation) can be happy. So, the end of the story can be

written as

 

Yama : Ask for anything but Brahma GYAna

 

Savitri : Give me happiness.

 

Yama : ok.

 

Savitri : But I cannot be happy without Brahma GYAna. All other

pleasures are ephemeral.

 

How is Brahma GYAna given ? By removing the noose tying Satyavan's

neck. Who is Savitri ? Daughter of Sun God i.e Light. We are all

Light, but have forgotten the purpose of " attaining " Satya (Truth).

Because of the noose. The noose called avidya weaves over Satya as

maya and till the noose is removed the Self is not apparent though it

is Here and Now.

 

And marriage, according to Hinduism (atleast from what I have read)

is not 'Until death do us apart,..' but continues on to several

births and rebirths. For example, during the kanya dana of the vivaha

(marriage ceremony), the bride's father takes her hands and places

them in the groom's, transferring his responsibility for her to the

groom. The groom assures her father that he will not be false to her

in dharma, artha, or kama. The ritual of agni pradakshina follows,

where the bride and groom walk around the sacrifical fire seven times

(why seven ? There is a legend involving Shiva and Parvati). During

the pheras, the bride stands upon a stone, to signify firmness and

that she will be faithful to her husband always. As Yama says, this

can be assumed to last only till death, but there is certainly no

mention of it.

 

Therefore, the story of Satyavan and Savitri also shows that if one

follows dharma according to the rules strictly, even Yama cannot

escape from the stronghold of dharma.

 

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Jai Shree Krishna !