Third Chapter (Beyond the material world)

Shiva-Parvati

Sri Nârad went to Shivalok, he saw from far that Shivji was worshiping Lord Sankarshan^[1] with a heart immersed in devotion. He was singing hymns with supreme adoration, and sometimes he was dancing and chanting beautifully with wonderful bhâv. Mother Uma devi was clapping in rhythm with His dance and thus encouraging Him all the more. His followers such as Nandishwar were praising him by loudly saying “Jay!! Jay!!” When Sri Nârad saw Shivji immersed in bhakti-ras, he joyously offered his obeisance to him. He said, “O Lord of the Lords! You are the sole recipient of Sri Krishna’s supreme most mercy.” Saying this, Nârad started singing sweetly all that he heard from Brahmâ about Shivji’s greatness. Then he went closer to Shivji to take the dust of his lotus feet. But Shivji embraced Devarshi and said, “o Nârad! What are you doing?” Then he stopped dancing and sat down. Nârad started glorifying him as the ‘supreme controller’. However Sri Shankar, who is the crest-jewel of all Vaishnavs could not bear to hear such nonsense. He shut his ears with both his hands and spoke in anger – “O Nârad ! I am not the supreme controller, neither have I received ay Sri Krishna-kripâ. I am always striving to get simply the mercy of the servant of His servant.”

Parikshit said, “Dear mother, When Nârad heard this, he stopped glorifying Shivji as being non-different from Sri Krishna. He was overcome with reverence and spoke slowly like an offender, ‘O Lord! You alone know the rare excellent qualities of Sri Vishnu and the Vaishnavs. You preach their glory in the world by your actions. On many occasions, Sri Krishna too has worshiped you and has spread your glory in the world.”

Hearing this, Shivji placed His palm on Nârad’s mouth, and said – “Please do not divulge my audacity.” Then He laughed loudly and said, “Dear Nârad, just see, my Lord is so wonderful! I am such an aparâdhi, yet, He has not neglected me.”

Nârad was supremely blissful when he heard Shivji’s words that were so full of bhakti-ras, and started praising him. He said, “O Lord! There is no way you could have committed any offense, since Sri Krishna loves you so much. Moreover, by your mercy, many people have gained Sri Krishna-prem and have become fortunate. Although you have so much opulence that Brahmâ cannot even imagine, you have rejected all that grandeur; instead you go naked and immerse yourself in sweet ras of the Holy Name, and dance with bhâv.” Sriman-Mahâdev replied, “O Nârad! Sri Krishna, Who is worshiped by all-renounced ego-less Bhâgavats such as yourself, is so exalted, while I am the root of all false ego. I am so lowly! I am always intoxicated with pride and think I am the Lord of the world, liberated, dispenser of knowledge and who can give bhakti. Sri Krishna loves the one who is bereft of everything. As a result, the one who has forsaken all ego, and hence all fear, they alone receive His kripâ, and attain Sri Vaikuntha dhâm, the eternal, conscious and blissful abode. Dear Nârad, Sri Krishna is extremely merciful to the residents of Vaikuntha. We do not see Him shower such mercy elsewhere. In Vaikuntha, there is no activity other than constant nectarine hymns overflowing with prem. That abode is flooded with remarkable waves of continuous supreme bliss. We cannot compare a speck of that joy with the entire Brahmânanda^[2]. O Nârad! How can I sufficiently glorify the residents of Vaikuntha – who possess pure devotion, and hence are constantly immersed in the blissful ras of serving Sri Hari Himself? In fact, even in the mortal world, those who have rejected heaven, liberation and hell – considering them as equal – and have simply ascertained the service unto Sri Hari’s lotus feet as the ultimate goal, are indeed great. They continuously drink and relish Sri Krishna’s sweet name, excellence and leelâs, due to which, their material bodies have turned eternal, conscious and blissful.

(What Sriman-Mahâdev wants to say is – Hlâdini shakti and Samvit shakti are the characteristics of Sri Bhagavân’s swarup shakti or original potency. Bhakti is the condensed form of these two shaktis. Those who have taken the shelter of the lotus feet of the Spiritual Master, have rejected the paths of karma, gyân etc. and worship Sri Hari with pure devotion, they gain His mercy. Then bhakti, that enters in their heart due to hearing and chanting, purifies their material organs, such as, the mind, intellect, tongue, ears, eyes etc. Bhakti destroys their material nature and makes them transcendental. In this manner, due to the gradual bhajan, the practicing devotee’s senses give up their material nature and become divine. When mercury and sulfur undergo friction, they forsake their respective nature and form mercuric sulfide which is entirely a new substance; similarly, due to hearing and chanting, our material tendencies mingle with bhakti (which is transcendental) and naturally become divine. When the tendencies of our heart become one with bhakti, this stage is called prem. After surrendering unto the lotus feet of the Spiritual Master, as soon as we start bhajan, this process begins. As we progress gradually, depending on how much our material senses (mind, intellect etc.) are mingling with bhakti, they become transcendental. Therefore our senses are somewhat material and somewhat transcendental. The process is complete when they become entirely transcendental. This stage is ‘prem’.

This ‘prem’ or Eternal Love is the essence of Hlâdini shakti. This shakti manifests the Divine Being, Who is sweetness personified, in our heart. It has another function, that is, to arouse prem for That Being, in our heart. This is the real goal of Hlâdini shakti.

Sri Bhagavân is an inexhaustible fountainhead of bliss. Yet He likes to make our lives worthwhile, and also likes to relish the bliss of prem arising in our heart. He finds this exceedingly enjoyable and splendid. As a result He makes us experience His swarup-ânanda, or the joy arising of His natural Self. To do this, He uses His Hlâdini shakti. This shakti creates a favorable situation in our hearts, so that we may experience divine bliss. This favorable state of the heart is ‘prem’.

The seventh chapter of Mâdhurya-Kâdambini states that – the one who as gained passion for Sri Bhagavân – even if he belong to the lowest caste – he is worthy of being worshiped by Lord Brahmâ. The devotees whom Shivji is referring to, seem to be the ‘siddha-bhaktas’. Brahmâ had said, “There is no devotee in the material world ”. Yet, we see that Shivji is saying that, although devotees live in the world of Mâyâ, they are beyond the material world. The Ânanda-Chandrikâ explanation of the verse such as “hari-priya-jane bhâvâ dweshâdyâ nochitâ iti” of Sri Ujjwal-Neelmani states that – while practicing devotion, fortunately if bhakti appears in our heart, it is temporary. When bhakti appears in this manner, it does not unite with the mind. Sometimes, when we place an object in a vessel, it may react with the matter of the vessel. However, in this case, bhakti does not react with the mind. Then when does bhakti react with the mind? We see that when we place an iron rod in the fire, immediately it does not gain the property of the fire (that is, the ability to burn). We have to keep it in the fire for quite some time. Then it gains the characteristic of the fire and can burn like the fire. While practicing devotion, till the stage of âsakti, our mind and bhakti do not become one in the true sense.

Changes are of two types – physical and chemical. Physical changes are reversible and temporary, while chemical changes are irreversible and permanent. When we heat an iron rod in the fire, it does gain the characteristics of the fire, but when we plunge it in water, it once again behaves like an ordinary iron rod. On the other hand, mercury and sulfur have to undergo friction in order to react with one another (they too take some time to undergo change, like the iron rod). However mercuric sulfide does not revert to mercury and sulfur anymore. Similarly, when our mind and intellect unite with bhakti completely, our innermost consciousness never becomes material again. Therefore, it is better to compare this reaction with that of mercury and sulfur.

We attain the stage of rati or passion after crossing âsakti. The Ânanda-Chandrikâ explanation of Sri Ujjwal-Neelmani does not state clearly whether or not in the stage of rati, our chitta^[3] will lose its material nature completely and become transcendental. However, in his explanation to the verses such as ‘gyânam vishuddham’ (Srimad-Bhâgavatam 5.12.11), Srila Vishwanâth Chakravartipâd has written clearly that – when we attain rati, the material nature of our chitta is destroyed, and it becomes pure and without any contamination. When we reach the state of prem, the purity becomes all the more dense. In the state of rati, although our chitta becomes transcendental, the body does not become so. Yet, we see that Shivji is telling Nârad that the material body becomes transcendental. This means, he is indicating to such devotees who have attained prem. A sâdhak is a devotee who has reached rati, while a devotee who has stained prem, is called ‘siddha’. Then his material body becomes eternal, conscious and blissful – this is nothing surprising.)

Shivji told Nârad – “O Devarshe^[4]! Such devotees are as dear to me as Sri Bhagavân Himself, and I also pray for their association.”

Parikshit said, “O mother! When Nârad Muni heard the immense glory of the residents of Vaikuntha from Shivji, he prepared to leave. Then Shivji whispered in Nârad’s ear, “O Nârad! Today you are eager to seek out the one who is the highest recipient of Sri Krishna-kripâ, this is why I am telling something very confidential. In this universe, there is someone who has got more kripâ than me, your father, residents of Vaikuntha such as Garud, and even Mahâlaxmi. That person is none other than Sri Prahlâd.

Dear Nârad, just remember those famous words of the Puranas – ‘I am the only salvation for my devotees; hence I do not desire anyone other than my devotees – not Laxmi devi, and not even myself.’ Hence, who can possibly describe the greatness of such exclusive devotees? Again, amongst such devotees, Prahlâd is undoubtedly, the most fortunate! All of us, including Laxmi devi, have observed Sri Prahlâd’s good fortune when the Lord delivered Hiranyakashipu. The entire universe was burning by the fire emanated by the blazing form of Lord Narasimha. None of us was able to approach Him; why, even Laxmi devi was trembling and dare not go near Him. However, as soon as the Lord’s eyes fell on His supreme devotee Prahlâd, that extremely blazing form transformed into the embodiment of parental love.

O Nârad! Although the Lord wanted to grant liberation to Prahlâd, he had only begged for bhakti. Simply to express Prahlâd’s greatness, the Lord repeatedly exhorted him to accept liberation. Hence, by repeatedly rejecting the Lord’s offer of mukti, he proved his steadfastness in bhakti. Moreover we see that, Sri Bhagavân has accepted the position of a security guard at the gates of Bali Mahârâj, and He has protected the wicked Bânâsur – it is all because of His dearest devotee Prahlâd. Therefore you quickly visit Sutal and take Prahlâd’s darshan. You will be happy. But remember, never commit the mistake of glorifying him or offering respects. He is the best of saints – he cannot tolerate hymns and obeisance from us. If you want to feel happy, then just bless him and show your good will by embracing him. Please hug him on my behalf as well!”

(Here, we must note the point that Shivji has stated that Prahlâd Maharâj is greater than eternal associates such as Garud. This is because, just as the devotee forsakes all for Sri Bhagavân’s pleasure, Sri Bhagavân too surrenders Himself to His devotee. This indicates that He wishes to increases the devotee’s prem, and hence gives him a greater relish of His beauty and sweetness, more than He gives to His eternal associates. In this manner, He displays His surrender unto the devotee. Going by this rule, Prahlâd Mahârâj is more superior.

We observe another point that, although the Vrajagopis are the most supreme, yet Indra has pointed to Brahmâ, Brahmâ to Mahâdev and Mahâdev has declared Prahlâd as the greatest devotee. After this, we shall find some more devotees directing Nârad to others as more ‘exalted’. Why so? The reason is that – it is natural for us to realize the glory of that devotee who has similar bhakti-desire (sajâtiya), yet greater than ourselves. If a devotee has a bhakti-desire different from ours, although he or she may be more exalted, we shall not realize it. Consequently, Indra, Brahmâ etc. have pointed to devotees greater than themselves and not directly to the Gopis.)

(contd…………)