Guest guest Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 Dear friends and devotees, Bhakti is eternal. Greatness of Vidyabhyasam. Devatas and daityas (demons) always have fights among themselves. The daitya's Guru is Sukracharya. He knew the vidya of mrutasanjiivani (giving life to the dead), which he obtained through long tapas (austerity) for Parameswara. Using this vidya, Sukracharya used to bring back the dead daityas to life and save them. However the Devatas neither knew the vidya nor had amrutam (nectar), because this story happened before the Ksheera sagara madhanam.. The Devatas asked their Guru, Bruhaspati, for help. Bruhaspati asked his son, Kacha, to become a sishya (student) of Sukracharya, do Guru seva with utmost care, learn all the sastras etc. and also the mruthasanjiivani vidya from Sukracharya. Kacha immediately followed the instructions of his father and reached the ashram of Sukracharya. He bowed to Sukracharya and said " O Gurudeva! I am from Angirasa gotram and the son of Bruhaspati, the Guru of the Devatas. People call me by the name Kaca. I came to you as a student " . Sukracarya happily agreed to have the son of the great Bruhaspati as his student. Every day Kaca used to wake up before the Sun rise and do the daily duties perfectly. He used to be very obedient to his Guru and learn his vidyas with utmost concentration and respect. He never let any attractions, deviations to enter his mind and always concentrated on Guru seva and his vidyabhyasam (education) Sukracarya had a very beautiful daughter by name Devayani. She was very young and developed a lot of love on Kaca. She tried to express herself many times to Kaca, but Kaca never had anything in his mind except his education. Also since Devayani happens to be the daughter of his Guru, who is equal to his father, he had sisterly affection on Devayani. Slowly Kaca, due to his unparalleled efforts and obedience became the favorite student of Sukracarya. This could not be tolerated by the daityas who were burning with jealousy. Also they were afraid that Kaca would soon learn Mrutasanjiivani vidya from Sukracarya and later, it would be difficult for them to face the Devatas. Once, Kaca went to the forest to feed the cattle of Guru. As the Sun was setting, the power of daityas increased. They attacked Kaca in the forest and killed him. Devayani was waiting for Kaca in the Ashram She told her father, " everyday at the time of evening puja Kaca used to return home. Somehow he did not return today. O father! please see if he is ok. " Sukracarya with his inner-sight saw what happened to Kaca and immediately brought him back to life. The daityas jealous increased with this and this time they planned to kill Kaca in such a way that it will be difficult for Sukracarya to save him. They killed Kaca, burnt him and mixed his ashes in the liquor and served it to their Guru. Sukracarya drank the liquor Seeing Kaca not returning home, again Devayani asked her father. Sukracarya was shocked to know the mistake committed by him unknowingly. He thought " a man who is under the influence of liquor will loose all his distinction of good and bad, does not think and can commit any great sin. Once the sin is done, for normal humans, it is impossible to undo it. Sukracarya thought that if he was not under the influence of liquor, he could have easily identified, with his serious penance that Kaca's ashes were mixed in his liquor. So he made a firm rule that consuming liquor in what ever small quantities, is a great sin and it must never be drunk. He used his Mrutasanjiivani vidya and brought back Kaca to life. However Kaca remained in Sukracarya stomach in an astral body. Sukracarya then taught Kaca Mrutasanjiivani vidya and asked him to come out of him, by tearing his stomach. Kaca came out of Sukracarya’s stomach and then used the Mrutasanjiivani vidya to bring back the life of his Guru. Kaca, after the completion of his studies, took the permission of Guru Sukracarya and was planning to leave. Devayani then told Kaca " Please do not leave me and go. Marry me " . Kaca said " you are like a sister to me, since a Guru is equal to one's father " . Devayani got angry with Kaca and said " Since you rejected my love and pained me, your vidya will not be of any use to you " . Kaca was not sad because he knew though his Vidya will not be directly useful to him, he can spread his vidya to others and thereby become useful to the society. Vidya danam (charity) is the only danam that can never be destroyed and robbed. The more and more it is given to others, the more and more it grows… Morals in the story: The importance and greatness of Vidya is well shown in the story. Though Devatas and daityas were enemies, Kaca never tried to conceal his identity, since he knew by cheating a Guru vidya cannot be acquired. Also Sukracarya, knowing who Kaca was, accepted him as a student, because a deserved one must always be taught. Obedience and effort are important for education. Kaca was never involved in any other activity than his Guru seva and studies. One must never have jealousy. Because of jealousy that Kaca is performing better than them, the daityas did not think what is right and what is wrong. Liquor, in what ever small quantities, must not be done. This is well shown through Sukracarya’s words. The knowledge of Kaca helped him to decide whether to accept Devayani's love or not. With love and regards, Sastry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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