srimadbhagavatham-chapter 2 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.