Srimad Bhagavatham skandha5-chapters 10 to 12

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Chapters 10 to 12- Bharatha meets Rahugana and advises him

 

Once Rahugana the King of Sindhu and souvira, was traveling in a palanquin, on his way to see sage Kapila The palanquin bearers needed another man to carry it and they saw Bhartha who was coming that way. Seeing his hefty body they called him to help them and he consented. Bharatha was ishumaathra avalokana gathimaan, because he used to take a step equal to the length of an arrow seeing in front in order not to step on any living creature like ants. As a result of this the palanquin was going in an erratic manner. Being told of the reason for this the king got angry and said sarcastically to Bharatha that it may be because he was weak and fatigued due to old age etc. he could not carry the load properly, seeing that Bharatha was hefty and young and quite strong. Bharatha did not reply and carried on as before which angered the king further and he spoke harsh words saying that he would punish him

for not doing his work properly.

 

Then Bharatha started taliking. He said that the words of the king did not refer to him because he did not identify himself with his body, to which alone the hunger, thirst, sickness old age etc. belong to. He also remarked about Rahyugana saying that he would punish him as his master for not doing his duty properly. Bharatha said that the concept of a master and a servant is relative and not permanent. Bharatha was like a fire covered with ashes and his brahmathejas was not visible till he spoke.

 

Rahugana, who was fortunate that Bharatha who never spoke beyond few words even to his parents spoke so much to him, realized that this one was a learned Brahmin and got down and fell at his feet and asked his identity doubting that perhaps the sage Kapila himself has come in disguise to test him and begged him for his advice. But being a kshathriya, even though he had sat at the feet of great masters like Kapila he could not get rid of his dhehaathmabuddhi. He tried to explain his words thus. He said that as long as one is in the body, the physical afflictions and the concept of one's identity could not be overcome. Hence he said that he could not understand how Bharatha could be unaware of his body consciousness.

 

Bharatha replied to him thus. The king though served the great masters as he said, did not seem to be benefited by it and talked as though he knows everything. ( vide: Gita aSochyaan anvSochasthvam prajnaavaadhaascha bhasshase- Ch2.11 where Krishna chides Arjuna for talking like a man of wisdom.) To one who does not consider this world as something like a dream from which one awakens only when he gets the wisdom of reality, reading of vedantavakyas does not help. Hence even the one who has mastered the Vedas and the sasthras will not be any wiser. ( Krishna tells Arjuna that such people are veda vaadharathaaH, that is , they use their learning only for arguments.) This is the difference between a baddhajeeva, a soul bound by karma and a mukthajeeva, a realized soul.

 

Then Bharatha gave advice to the king, who , realizing that he was talking to a multhajeeva, prayed Bharatha to advise him. The upadesa of Bharatha was as follows:

 

There is absolutely no difference between the one who sits inside the palanquin and those who bear it. All, including the palanquin, are made of the same substance. Brahman alone is sathyam. It is Brahman who is inside every being and outside, whom the sages call Vasudeva. This wisdom does not come by penance or study of the Vedas or performing sacrifices but only through the service at the feet of the Lord. (This idea is the reflection of the upanishadic declaration vaacharambhaNam vikaaraH namaDheyam mrtthikethyeva sathyam, meaning that all things made of clay are only the variations of name only and the clay alone is real)

 

Bharatha said that the mind is a sahaja vairi, natural enemy of man which gathers strength on being neglected. Hence it should be controlled by turning it towards the Lord . This can be done by resorting to the association of the devotees and listening to the stories of the Lord. Then Bharatha told Rahugana abut his poorva janma in which because of attachment he had to take two more births. In the next three chapters Bharatha describes the woes of the samsara by a beautiful allegory.