Srimad Bhagavatam – day 19
Narada continued, “O Vyasa, these human beings as it is are inclined towards materialistic comforts. You have taught them about frutitive actions so far. These ignorant persons, believing your words, considering only frutitive actions (actions done with expectation of some results) as dharma, hold on tightly to them. As a result of holding on to these frutitive actions they are unable to give up differentiation and accept as is, with the right perspective, the Vedic statements that speak about liberation.
‘Performing actions is most important. It will lead towards liberation’ they believe. They consider that by performing good deeds they get double benefits i.e. while on earth they can enjoy a happy comfortable life and at the same time, enjoy all comforts of heaven when they reach there. This according to them is the ultimate state. They are hence not at all inclined towards attaining Self-realization and walking on that path.
Only a well-learned person who has totally given up frutitive actions, can, with absolute dedication towards knowledge, understand the blissful state of that omniscient, omnipresent Supreme Lord. How can ordinary persons reach such a state which is within reach of only a well-learned pundit?
Therefore O great saint! Please teach the specialities of the Lord for the benefit of those human beings who are attached to this body and to this materialistic world and who are caught in these trigunas.
Tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer
bhajann apakvo ‘tha patet tato yadi
Yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ
ko vārtha āpto ‘bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ
The person, who forsakes his swadharma (one’s own dharma) to serve the lotus feet of Lord Srihari, even if he slips from the path or dies before attaining completeness in devotion, can never obtain inauspiciousness in his subsequent birth.
Where the person lacks devotion towards Srihari, adherence to swadharma can never yield auspicious results be it in this birth, in heaven or in the next birth. Hence adherence to one’s own dharma is a waste if devotion is lacking.
Therefore an intelligent and wise person should strive only to serve the lotus feet of the Lord!
Those persons who are trapped in completing frutitive actions and reaping the fruits thereof can never reach the abode of Srihari. As a result of their meritorious deeds they reach heaven and enjoy the comforts there. Upon exhaustion of this balance they come down to earth and once again perform deeds so that they can attain heaven. They are trapped in this cycle. They cannot reach Srihari.
Therefore performing any number of highly valued meritorious deeds, conducting supreme yagnas, attaining expertise in various fields of knowledge, authoring crores of books or any other achievements are a waste if devotion towards the Supreme is missing.
You are a learned pundit; you have authored many valuable books; your name will remain on earth forever, all these achievements are your own and are valuable only if you have devotion to the Supreme Lord! It will help you on your future journey. The same deeds will trap you in the cycle of re-births if you lack devotion towards the Supreme Lord. The person will perform good deeds and reach heaven as a result. He will come back to earth thereafter, enjoy comforts here and continue performing good deeds so that he can reach heaven again. This becomes an endless cycle.
The same actions when performed with devotion to Lord Hari shower good results in this plane, in the next plane and also in the subsequent birth!
Due to the influence of time which moves at speeds that are beyond the capacity of the intellect, the being, irrespective of his location, continues to experience his prarabdha karma. As a result, he experiences these materialistic joys and sorrows.
The frutitive actions of earlier births lead to experiencing materialistic joys as well as sorrows in this birth. Your comforts, power, position all have their roots in previous actions. Where these joys and sorrows do not touch the person, he will be able to reach the abode of the Lord.
Therefore O Vyasa! The person who serves Lord Srihari can never ever get trapped in this samsara i.e. the repeated cycle of births and deaths! This is irrefutable! This is because he has tasted the nectar called “service to the lotus feet of the Lord”. He will never ever be inclined to stay away from Lord śrihari.
We have discussed earlier that creation, sustenance and destruction of this universe takes place due to Lord Srihari. Neither this world nor the individual being have an existence that is separate from that Supreme Paramatma! However the Supreme Lord maintains aloofness and difference from them. This knowledge is known to you. I am defining to you just one aspect of that topic.
You are highly knowledgeable and are in reality without birth. But solely for the welfare of the people of the world, you took birth as an aspect of that Supreme Lord. Remember this. In extreme detail explain to the people of this world the specialities and the glorious deeds of that Supreme Lord.
Highly knowledgeable persons state that the austerities, vedic learning (adhyayana), sacrifices and other rituals, good words, knowledge acquired and the charitable deeds become meaningful and attain fulfillment only when the person praises the glorious deeds of that Supreme Lord”.
Now Narada tells his story.
“O Maharishi! In the previous kalpa I was born as the son of a maid-servant. When I was a small boy I was entrusted with the task of serving some great saints who had come there for their Chaturmasya austerities. Even though I was very small boy, not showing any inclination towards toys and other childish games, I was eternally engrossed in serving these eminent saints and abiding by their orders. I would not talk much. These great saints impartially treated everyone alike. Even then, they developed feelings of deep compassion towards me. With the permission of those great saints I once ate the left- over food that was remaining in their plates. With this all my sins were totally destroyed. In this way through serving them my mind became totally pure. I developed deep dedication towards practice of dharma.
Everyday these great saints would joyfully sing the praises of Lord Srikrishna. I heard them with total dedication. As a result I developed love and devotion towards Lord Srikrishna. The increased devotion brought stability to my mind. It is only through devotion that the mind can be stabilized!
With such a firm mind I could realize that this entire world and this body of mine have emerged purely because of ignorance. In this way, by keenly listening to the glories of that infinite Lord being rendered by these great saints thrice daily, I could attain that state of devotion which could destroy my trigunas.
Thus through pure love, control of senses, humility and dedication I, who had offered them services, was totally cleansed of all my sins. At the time of their departure after Chaturmasya vrata, the great saints, who eternally show compassion towards the downtrodden, preached the ultimate secretive Bhagawatam, to me, who was just a child and who was thus purified. They had learnt this Bhagawtam directly from the Lord.
Om Namo Narayana.