Srimad Bhagavatam – day 265
Kavi and the other 81 sons of Jayanti abided by their father’s commands and were engaged relentlessly in performing Yagnas. Through adherence to righteous activities, these Vedic scholars turned pure. They endlessly chanted the Vedas and became qualified Brahmins.
Rṣabha, the incarnation of the Supreme, retained his independence over actions and did not get trapped by them. He was eternally established in the Self. Under no circumstances did he get carried away by extremities. He maintained feelings of equality and equanimity. Dualities such as likes-dislikes could not touch him. He was compassionate to all forms of life.
Rṣabha, the supreme incarnation, observed that the ancient dharmic principles i.e. the varṇāśrama dharmas were being relegated to the background. He re-established this dharma back on earth. In order to educate the ordinary persons about the righteous way of life, he behaved like an ordinary human being and performed all necessary righteous actions.
Leading the life of a perfect house-holder he adhered strictly to the dharmic principles pertaining to this stage of life. He obtained material prosperity, begot children, acquired fame, enjoyed worldly comforts and also obtained liberation. In this way, he educated the people about the perfect way in which the house-holder’s life should be led and thus established them in this path.
yad yac chīrṣaṇyācaritaṁ tat tad anuvartate lokaḥ- The world always abides by the actions of great men. i.e. the ordinary person imitates the actions of the great leaders.
Vedas are the storehouse of all righteous principles. Rṣabha was adept in the inner meaning hidden within the Vedic activities. Yet he abided by the dictates of the Vedic scholars and ensured that people walk in the path as directed by them.
Sāma means ‘explaining nicely’; dānam means ‘through monetary measures ensuring that the person abides by the dictates’; bheda means causing difference of opinion between enemies and thus trying to get them under control and danda means through punishments setting the person on the right track. Rṣabha used these 4 political methodologies and ruled successfully.
Even in his youth he seized all opportunities to visit all holy pilgrim centres and with the help of priests, he dutifully worshipped the Lord at all these places. He performed every type of religious activity 100 times.
During his rule, at no time and in no circumstance did any citizen aspire to acquire the wealth of others through righteous or unrighteous methods. They never craved for even slightest material prosperity and were totally contented. At all times they craved to enjoy his affection, such was their love for him. In fact their love for him multiplied by the day.
Once when Rṣabhadeva was travelling he reached the sacred place known as Brahmavarta where a conference of many Vedic scholars was going on. He wanted to teach the rightful lessons to his sons who were all filled with humility and love towards him. In the presence of all members of the assembly, Rṣabhadeva addressed his sons.
With this the fourth chapter comes to an end.
Fifth Canto Chapter Five
In this chapter, the initiation given by Rṣabhadeva to his sons during the conference, he accepting the Avadhoota dharma and leaving for the forests is covered.
Rṣabhadeva said to his sons, “My dear sons, in this human plane clinging to sensory pleasures cause the human being to fall to animal levels. They throw him into a mire of difficulties. Among all living entities which have taken on a body in this world, those who have taken on a human body should not succumb to sensory pleasures. They should not seek sense gratification.
Only in a human body, the mind can be purified and Self-realization obtained! Through this infinite supreme bliss can be enjoyed. Therefore this body should be used for performing supreme penance.
Mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam
Mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ praśāntā vimanyavaḥ suhṛdaḥ sādhavo ye
By offering services to supreme saints the door to liberation which is free from repeated re-births opens! By associating with persons who enjoy the company of wicked lustful women the door to repeated re-births (samsāra) opens. This is what our elders state.
Mahatmas are those who consider happiness and joys alike, treat everyone equally, are filled with patience and devotion, are devoid of anger and who work for the benefit of others in the society. They are filled with intense love towards Me, the Supreme Lord. This is their only goal in life.
In addition, they do not associate with those who are eternally engaged in maintaining their bodies and their wealth. They do not show much inclination towards wife, children, wealth and house and other material possessions. They complete their assigned worldly duties only to that extent which is needed for their basic sustenance.
The moment the human being performs an action to satisfy his sense organs, that very moment he loses his discriminatory intelligence. He is thus unable to perceive the rightness and the wrongness in that action and ends up performing a sinful deed. This is not the right approach to life.
This body, which always throws a living entity into difficulties, has been acquired only due to performance of action. Unless and until the person strives to know his true Self, he will remain enveloped by ignorance. As long as he is enveloped by illusion, he has to perform action. As long as he is engaged in performing action, subtle impressions of his past actions continue to remain imprinted in his mind. Due to these subtle impressions he necessarily has to take on another body. He thus gets bound to the unending cycle of repeated re-births.
In this way as long as the living entity is covered by ignorance, the mind which is influenced by the subtle impressions that exist within it, instigates him to perform action. Unless and until he develops unflinching faith towards Vāsudeva, who is none other than Me, he has no freedom from repeated re-births. He cannot escape taking on another body”.
Trivikramāya namah