srimadbhagavatham-skandha2--chapter 1

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Srimadbhagavatham

 

skandha2

 

Chapter 1- Suka answers the question of parikshith

 

Parikshith asked at the end of the 1st skandha 'SrOthavyAdhishu yah parah,' which is the most important of all the instructions to be heard by men.Sukha answers that it is the Bhagavatha purana,'imam bhAgavatham nAma purANam.'

 

Sukha said that he learnt it from his father , the sage Vyasa, in the beginning of Dvaparayuga. He said that even the sages who have followed the nivrtthi marga, the path of renunciation, derive pleasure in talking about the glory of Sri Hari, which was the reason that Sukha, who was a realised soul since birth learnt it and enjoyed telling it to others.

 

Even though there are numerous things to learn for the householders, the truth about the absolute reality should be told only to those who deserve it, said Sukha, and he came there to relate it to Parikshith finding him to be the fit receptacle for such knowledge. By this it is denoted that the purana is not a mere history of a story but the true knowledge of the self.

 

The study of Bhagavatha with faith will turn the mind towards Mukundha,'yasya sraddhatham aSu syAth mukundhE mathih sathee,' and even one muhurtha spent in the contemplation of the Lord is better than wasting a whole life in other pursuits. Sukha gave an example by mentioning Khatvanga. He fought for the devas in the battle between devas and asuras and asked them to tell him how much more time was left in his life. When he was told that he had only one muhurtha more to live, he was glad that at least he had one mhurtha and came back to earth and renouncing everything contemplated on the Lord and attained moksha.Sukha told Parikshith that he was lucky that he had seven days more to live.

 

Then Sukha instructed Parikshith about the method of meditation.

1. Give up attachment.- when death approaches by cutting off the attachment to body and its connections, which include the attachment to wife and children and other relatives.

2.Total renunciation- Exit from the house and resort to some holy place sanctified by holy rivers.

3. Choose a suitable seat and meditate on the pranava.

In Bhagavatgita Krishna specifies the seat to be chosen by the yogi as 'suchou dhEse prathishTApya sTHiram Asanam Athmanah;nAthyucchritham nAthineecham chailAgina kusOttharam,'(BG-6.11)One should reach a holy place,and sit in a firm seat, neither too high nor too low, on the kusagrass,covered by skin and cloth.

4. PrAnAtyama and prathyahara.- controlling the breath and do japa of the three mathras of Omkara, is pranayama. Examining the thought flow objectively and expelling them is prathyahara."niyacchEth vishayEbhyO akshAn manasA buddhisAraThih;manah karmabhirAkshiptham shubhArThE DhArayEth Dhiya,' The indhriyas should be withdrawn from the sense objects by the mind whih is controlled by the intellect as the charioteer controls the horses by the reins.

5. dhAraNa, dhyAna and samAdhi- With the mind one-pointed one should meditate on the beautiful form of the Lord(dhAraNA) and comtemplate each of His limbs without mind running towards outside objects. This is dhyAna. When the mind is completely absorbed in the bliss of the contemplation of the4 Lord to the exclusion of everything else it is samadhi.,that is the attainment of the supreme state of the Lord. 'padham thathparamam vishNOh manO yathra praseedhathi.'

 

Bhagavadgita elucidates this as 'Sanaih Sanaih uparamEth budDhyA DhrthigrheethayA;AthmasamsTham manahkrthva nakimchidhapi chinthayEth,' The intellect firmly esyablished in the self , meaning the inner self of all, the Lord,slowly the mind should come to rest on Him without any other thought.(BG-6.25)

 

This gross universe is the gross form, sThoola rupa, of the Lord. The cosmic shell, brahmAndakosa, with its seven AvaranAs,'virAjO aDHIpoorushah sapthasyAsan pariDHayah,'(purushasooktham) that is, the five elements, ahamkara and the mahath or buddhi are the seven Avaranas, the veils that conceal Brahman.Sukha describes in detail the different parts of the universe as the limbs of the Lord.

 

Sukha thus describing the virAtroopa , said that this is the form on which the yogis meditate.In the next chapter he gives the description of the form within the heart, the antharyamisvaroopa.