Srimad Bhagavatam – day 330
Madhusudanaya namah
The Lord continued, “O Daksha Prajāpati, please marry this young girl Asiknī, the daughter of Pañcajana Prajāpati. Through her you beget progeny and increase the population of this world. Due to My illusion, living entities in future will live as couples. Human beings will in future propitiate me through pujas and other forms of worship”. Having said this, the Supreme Lord vanished as Daksha was watching.
With this the fourth chapter of the sixth canto comes to an end.
Sixth Canto Chapter Five
In this chapter, Daksha’s sons developing dispassion after receiving initiation from Maharishi Nārada and Daksha cursing Nārada are covered.
Maharishi Śuka continued, “Daksha who was rendered powerful by the illusory power of the Lord married Asiknī, the daughter of Pañcajanya. Through her he begot 10,000 sons known as Haryaśvās. All of them were identical in behavior and noble character.
Daksha ordered his children to beget progeny. In order to fulfill their father’s command these sons walked in the western direction and reached the supremely sacred Lake Nārāyaṇa, which is located at the junction where River Sindhu meets the sea. Many eminent Maharishis and other accomplished sages live here.
As soon as Daksha’s sons bathed in these pure waters, their mind was rendered totally pure. Their mind was totally fixed upon the duties adhered to by the most-supreme sages known as paramahamsas. Even then, bound by their father’s orders, they began intense austerities seeking worthy progeny.
The supreme saint Maharishi Nārada observed Haryaśvās who were thus engaged in intense austerities. Approaching them he said, “Oho, it is a pity that you Prajāpatis are foolishly drowned in spiritual ignorance. Without even seeing the tip of Earth i.e. even without understanding about Earth you are planning to increase the population here. How is it possible?
You foolishly seek to increase population and fulfill your father’s orders without understanding about that kingdom in which only one human-being lives; about the tunnel from which there is no exit; the maiden who takes on many varied appearances; the husband of a prostitute; the river which flows in many different directions; the home which has 25 objects; the swan, which without moving from its place, narrates extra-ordinary stories and the automatic revolving discus made of sharp knives and diamonds. How do you plan to create progeny without this understanding? Oho! Your father has instructed you as per his limited capacity”.
Without divulging the meaning of his statements Maharishi Nārada, then spoke of many other topics. Haryaśvās decided to understand the hidden significance of his statement using their own intelligence and without seeking help from others. They pondered over it and concluded,
“Maharishi Nārada said that we have not seen the end of earth. Here earth implies the human body. It is nothing but a collection of the mind and senses. The individual who is filled with feelings of I-ness towards it get bound by it. Hence it is imperative to wash away spiritual ignorance. Performing fruitive actions without destroying ignorance serves no purpose.
The Supreme Lord who is non-dual and who possesses the six opulences of non-dual attitude, the energy of protection, fame, prosperity, knowledge and dispassion, is independent and complete. He is beyond Nature. He is all-pervading and is not bound by this samsara. What benefit can a human being obtain by adhering to fruitive activities that are absolutely of no help in obtaining liberation, instead of focusing upon realizing this Lord who resides as the inner Self?
Maharishi Nārada had spoken about a tunnel that has no exit. This repeated cycle of re-births (samsara) can be compared to the lowest planetary system Patala from which there is no exit. A person who reaches Patala can never exit from there. If a person understands the Lord, who is Pure Consciousness, is freed from re-births. Without understanding the essence of the Self, what is the use of these fruitive activities which shower imaginary opulences?
The human mind which is unsteady takes on many forms. It jumps from one place to another. It is exactly like a debased woman who appears in varied different charming ways. Using discriminatory intelligence and wisdom, the spiritual aspirant should wash away identification with the mind. If instead, he engages in fruitive rituals which only increase his dissatisfaction, what will he gain? Such person is far from liberation.
The venerable saint had referred to the prostitute’s husband. Impure intellect can be aptly compared to a prostitute. Identifying with such intellect the person loses his freedom. Just as a prostitute’s husband dances to her tunes, he dances to the whims of the impure intellect. Due to this identification, he experiences worldly afflictions and grieves. In this process, he forgets his original form. Due to performing useless fruitive rituals this spiritually ignorant person does not benefit in any way.
The illusory energy (maya shakti) which is responsible for creation and dissolution is the river that flows in both directions. Devotion (bhakti) and dispassion (vairagya) are the two banks that rescue the person who is submerged in this river. The rapid currents such as desires, anger, jealousy etc. prevent the person from reaching the shore. What is the benefit obtained by the egoist who, due to spiritual ignorance, continues to perform fruitive activities without attempting to understand this illusion?
Nature, total cosmic intelligence (mahat), egoism (ahamkara), jeeva-bhava, the 5 subtle elements, mind, the 5 organs of action, the 5 organs of perception and 5 gross elements comprise the 25 objects in this house known as gross body. This body is nothing but a collection of senses”.
Vāmanāya namah