Srimad Bhagavatam – day 228
Prithu continued, “The Supreme Lord Srihari, the enjoyer of Yagna offerings, is the father for all the three worlds. Exponents of Veda worship this Lord as their family deity and thereby they inherently illumine with qualities of patience, penance and knowledge. The glory of an empire comes from its immense treasures. May the might of the warriors (Kshatriyas) never influence the inherent illumination of such Vedic Brahmin scholars!
Lord Srihari who is a personification of completeness and who is over and above time personally worships Self-realized Jnanis, who are engrossed in worshipping Him. He is the Lord for Indra and other Devatas. By worshipping the feet of Vedic scholars, Supreme Lord Srihari has obtained never ending opulence in the form of Goddess Lakshmi.
Moreover He has obtained the fame by which He can render the world pure.
Yat-sevayāśeṣa-guhāśayaḥ sva-rāḍ Vipra-priyas tuṣyati kāmam īśvaraḥ
Tad eva tad-dharma-parair vinītaiḥ Sarvātmanā brahma-kulaṁ niṣevyatām
Srihari resides within the cave called the intellect of every living being. Self-realized people love him dearly and in turn He loves them dearly. When such Self-realized persons (Brahma-vettas) are served, the Supreme Lord who is the independent Self-illuminating Lord of the creation is extremely happy.
Therefore those devotees who are deeply inclined towards offering services to the Lord, must necessarily worship Self-realized persons with total humility. With the belief that everything is contained within them and with total dedication they must offer services.
The mind of the individual who associates with Self-realized saints and who serves them with dedication will quickly turn pure. He obtains the ultimate state of liberation in which these repeated cycles of re-births are totally destroyed.
Brahmins are the face through which offerings can be made to the Devatas in the sacrificial fire. Serving such learned Brahmins is equivalent of serving all Gods in entirety. There is no easier path than this to worship the Devatas.
Exponents in various principle-essences (tattva-vetta) chant the divine names of Indra and other venerable deities.
In order to ensure that the offerings reach the Gods, they dedicatedly perform homa and make the offerings through the fire known as the mouths of Self-realized persons (Brahma-vettas). It means they offer food to the Self-realized persons. Lord Srihari very joyfully accepts the offerings thus made. The pleasure that the Lord derives upon consuming food through the mouths of the Self-realized persons far exceeds the pleasure that He derives when offerings are made in the homa fire.
The statements from the Upanishads, which pave the way for the transcendental knowledge attained by supreme sages (parama-hamsa), teach the supreme essence known as Srihari. In Vedas there can be no scope for any mistake. This is because it has originated directly from the Supreme Lord. It is birthless. Just as our reflection is seen in a mirror, the Supreme Essence can be directly found in the Vedas.
Exponents of Veda perform penance with absolute dedication. Setting aside unnecessary discussions, they chant Veda with absolute Self-control. Thus they absorb it with absolute concentration of mind and retain it firmly within their intellect. Staying away from prohibited actions they understand the meaning of the Vedic statements.
O venerable assembly! As long as I live I will wear the dust from the feet of these Vedic scholars and decorate my crown with it. By doing this daily, my sins will get totally destroyed. All good qualities will serve such a person.
All treasures hover around the person who has a good character, noble qualities, who does not forget help received from others and who serves his elders. May Lord Janardhana who associates with cows, devotees and Brahmins, be pleased with me!” said Emperor Prithu
Hearing these words the minds of the fore-fathers, Devatas, priests and noble saints were overflowing with joy. They wholeheartedly applauded him.
Putreṇa jayate lokān iti satyavatī śrutiḥ
Brahma-daṇḍa-hataḥ pāpo yad veno ’tyatarat tamaḥ
The Vedic statement that a father who begets a worthy son reaches heavenly planets after death is absolutely true. This is because although Vena was a sinner and was cursed by supreme sages, due to the meritorious deeds of Prithu he was released from hell.
Due to his constant criticism of Srihari, Hiranyakashipu feared he would land in hell. However due to the intense love and devotion towards Srihari shown by his son Prahlada, Hiranyakashipu escaped hell.
The assembled guests said to Prithu, “O mighty emperor! You are a father to Mother Earth. May you be blessed with longevity! This is because you have single pointed devotion towards Supreme Lord Srihari.
O king, your reputation is very pure. It is a great fortune that you, an ardent devotee of Srihari are singing the glories of that Supreme Lord. By having you as our king we have become fortunate to have the Supreme Lord as our king and leader.
As a king it is not at all surprising when you issue orders to your subjects. It is but natural for compassionate kings like you to be affectionate towards your subjects. Your love towards your citizens who have sought shelter under you is commendable.
O king, coming under the sway of our destiny, we have lost our intelligence and are swimming in the ocean called repeated re-births. Today you have rescued us from this ocean of ignorance and brought us safely to the shore”.
Haraye namah.