When he becomes frustrated in his attempts to make money and instead befriends My devotees, I bestow My special mercy upon him.

↑

▷ Содержание

⇐ ПредыдущаяСтр 1294 из 2832Следующая ⇒

TRANSLATION

King Parīkṣit said: Those demigods, demons and humans who worship Lord Śiva, a strict renunciant, usually enjoy wealth and sense gratification, while the worshipers of the Supreme Lord Hari, the husband of the goddess of fortune, do not.

COMMENTARY

This chapter states that only Viṣṇu is worthy of worship because He is beyond the three modes of material nature. Lord Śiva, however, touches the material modes, and was put into danger by his own devotee, Vṛka. Viṣṇu and His devotees are always exchanging bliss on the transcendental platform, whereas Śiva and his devotees, caught up in the modes, only experience suffering. The personified Vedas have already stated that among the primary forms of Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, Bhagavān and his devotee are the best. Now in a chapter and a half it will be pointed out that amongst Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, Viṣṇu is the most excellent and most worthy of service.

Parīkṣit Mahārāja said, “You ended the preceding chapter with the recommendation that one should always meditate on Lord Hari (dhyāyed ajasram harim), the bestower of liberation. Why then do ordinary people fear that they will lose their wealth and social status by worshiping Lord Hari and therefore instead worship Lord Hara [Śiva]? Persons with materialistic vision perceive Śiva as inauspici-ous (aśivam) because he covers his body with ashes from the crematorium and wears inauspicious items like skulls. But we see that the worshippers of Śiva enjoy abundant sense gratification (bhojāḥ), whereas the worshippers of Viṣṇu, the husband of the goddess of fortune, enjoy neither wealth nor sense gratification.”

|| 10.88.2 ||

etad veditum icchāmaḥ sandeho ’tra mahān hi naḥ

viruddha-śīlayoḥ prabhvor viruddhā bhajatāṁ gatiḥ

TRANSLATION

We wish to properly understand this matter, which greatly puzzles us. Indeed, the results attained by the worshipers of these two lords of opposite characters are contrary to what one would expect.

COMMENTARY

Viṣṇu and Śiva are of opposite (viruddhā) natures in the sense that those who worship Śiva, who lives like a beggar, become rich and powerful, while those who worship Viṣṇu, the master of the goddess of fortune, often become reduced to abject poverty.

|| 10.88.3 ||

śrī-śuka uvāca

śivaḥ śakti-yutaḥ śaśvat tri-liṅgo guṇa-saṁvṛtaḥ

vaikārikas taijasaś ca tāmasaś cety ahaṁ tridhā

TRANSLATION

Śrī Śukadeva said: Lord Śiva is always united with his personal energy, the material nature. Manifesting himself in three features in response to the entreaties of nature’s three modes, he thus embodies the threefold principle of material ego in goodness, passion and ignorance.

COMMENTARY

Śiva is associated with the material energy (śakti-yutaḥ). He is surrounded by the modes, because they pleaded with him to be accepted. Although by that covering Śiva appears to be made of the three modes, he is not forcibly bound up by these modes like the jīva. Śiva’s relation with the three modes is elaborated upon in the words beginning vaikārikas (false ego in the mode of goodness). The words ahaṁ tridhā indicate that Śiva embodies the three types of false ego in the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance.

|| 10.88.4 ||

tato vikārā abhavan ṣoḍaśāmīṣu kañcana

upadhāvan vibhūtīnāṁ sarvāsām aśnute gatim

TRANSLATION

The sixteen elements have evolved as transformations of that false ego. When a devotee of Lord Śiva worships his manifestation in any one of these elements, the devotee obtains all sorts of corresponding enjoyable opulences.

commentary

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, “There are sixteen transformations of false ego: the mind, ten senses (the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, hands, feet, voice, genitals and anus), and five physical elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether). People pursuing enjoyment of any of these, such as the genital, tongue or mind, worship Śiva and obtain the essence (gatim:svarūpam) of all types of material enjoyment (vibhūtīnāṁ sarvāsām:sampatīnām).”

“This means that because of the interdependence of all these elements, by attaining one, the Śiva-bhakta obtains all varieties of sense gratification. The attainment of pleasures is in proportion to the amount of worship. Thus, since Lord Śiva embodies the modes of material nature, and since material pleasures are manifestations of these three modes, it is by worshiping Śiva that one obtains them. Therefore what you said is not wrong.”

|| 10.88.5 ||

harir hi nirguṇaḥ sākṣāt puruṣaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ

sa sarva-dṛg upadraṣṭā taṁ bhajan nirguṇo bhavet

TRANSLATION

Lord Hari, however, has no connection with the material modes. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the all-seeing eternal witness, who is transcendental to material nature. One who worships Him becomes similarly free from the material modes.

COMMENTARY

How is Viṣṇu untouched by the three modes (nirguṇa) of material nature? He is situated in His own transcendental position, beyond the material energy. Therefore by worshiping Viṣṇu, who is beyond the modes, how can one get enjoyment produced by the material modes?

From Viṣṇu comes everyone’s knowledge, including that of Śiva. Thus Lord Viṣṇu’s worshipper gains the eye of transcendental knowledge instead of being blinded by mundane assets. The word upadraṣtā (witness) indicates that because Viṣṇu is not contaminated by the material modes, He remains aloof, merely witnessing. Therefore by worshiping Viṣṇu one also becomes nirguṇa, untouched by the modes. Thus it will be stated later on, yataḥ śāntir yato ’bhayam dharmaḥ sākṣād yato jñānaṁ vairāgyaṁ ca tad-anvitam, “From Him comes peace, fearlessness, religion, knowledge and renunciation.” (SB 10.89.14-15)

|| 10.88.6 ||

nivṛtteṣv aśva-medheṣu rājā yuṣmat-pitāmahaḥ

śṛṇvan bhagavato dharmān apṛcchad idam acyutam

TRANSLATION

Your grandfather, King Yudhiṣṭhira, after completing his Aśvamedha sacrifices, asked Lord Acyuta this very same question while hearing the Lord’s explanation of religious principles.

|| 10.88.7 ||

sa āha bhagavāṁs tasmai prītaḥ śuśrūṣave prabhuḥ

nṛṇāṁ niḥśreyasārthāya yo ’vatīrṇo yadoḥ kule

TRANSLATION

This question pleased Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the King’s Lord and master, who had descended into the family of Yadu for the purpose of bestowing the highest good on all men. The Lord replied as follows as the King eagerly listened.

|| 10.88.8 ||

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ

tato ’dhanaṁ tyajanty asya svajanā duḥkha-duḥkhitam

TRANSLATION

The Personality of Godhead said: If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another.

COMMENTARY

A man suffers when he loses his wealth, and due to poverty He suffers even more due to being rejected by his relatives. Devotees of the Supreme Lord experience both happiness and distress—not as the fruits of their karma (material work) but as incidental effects of their loving reciprocation with the Lord. As stated in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (1.2.9): dharmasya hy āpavargyasya, “All occupational engagements are certainly meant for ultimate liberation. They should never be performed for material gain.”

This is also demonstrated in the words of Bhīṣmadeva who said that devotees engage only in devotional service. Devotional scriptures such as Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu explain how a Vaiṣṇava is relieved of all karmic reactions, including those that have not yet begun to manifest (aprārabdha), those that are just about to manifest (kūṭa), those that are barely manifesting (bīja) and those that have manifested fully (prārabdha). As a lotus gradually loses its many petals, so a person who practices bhakti-bhajana has all his karmic reactions destroyed.

That kṛṣṇa-bhakti destroys all karmic reactions is confirmed in the Gopāla-tāpanī śruti (Pūrva 15): bhaktir asya bhajanaṁ tad ihāmutropādhi-nairāsyenāmuṣmin manaḥ-kalpanam etad eva naiṣkarmyam, “Devotional service is the process of worshiping the Supreme Lord. It consists of fixing the mind upon Him by becoming disinterested in all material designations, both in this life and the next. It results in the dissolution of all karma.”

The meaning of this statement is that by becoming freed from material desires, a devotee can fix his mind and senses (manaḥ-kalpanam) in Kṛṣṇa’s service (bhakti-bhajanam) and become free from karma (naiṣkarmyam). This must be the meaning because of the grammatical agreement of the words bhajanam, manah kalpanam and naiskarmyam. Therefore, by doing bhajana all karmas are destroyed, even though the devotee is still situated in the material body. This happens due to the inconceivable mercy of the Lord, who bestows the fruits of devotion.

Although the happiness and distress devotees experience resembles ordinary karmic reactions (prārabdha), they are in fact given by the Lord Himself. As the Bhāgavatam (10.87.40) states, bhavad-uttha-śubhāsubhayoḥ: A mature devotee recognizes the superficially good and bad conditions he encounters as signs of the direct guidance of his ever well-wishing Lord.

“But if the Lord is so compassionate to His devotees, why does He expose them to special suffering?” This is answered by an analogy: A very affectionate father takes the responsibility of restricting his children’s play and making them go to school. He knows that this is a genuine expression of his love for them, even if the children cannot appreciate it. Similarly, the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu is mercifully strict with all His dependents, not only with immature devotees struggling to become qualified. Even perfect saints like Prahlāda and Dhruva were subjected to great tribulations, but in the end the Lord gave them profuse enjoyment of wealth and material happiness. On the other hand, persons like Yudhiṣṭhira, the crest jewel of perfected saints, experienced great unhappiness. After the Battle of Kurukṣetra, Bhīṣmadeva described to King Yudhiṣṭhira his wonder at this:

yatra dharma-suto rājā gadā-pāṇir vṛkodaraḥ

kṛṣṇo ’strī gāṇḍivaṁ cāpaṁ suhṛt kṛṣṇas tato vipat

na hy asya karhicid rājan pumān vetti vidhitsitam

yad-vijijñāsayā yuktā muhyanti kavayo ’pi hi

“Oh, how wonderful is the influence of inevitable time! It is irreversible—otherwise, how can there be reverses in the presence of King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of the demigod controlling religion; Bhīma, the great fighter with a club; the great bowman Arjuna with his mighty weapon Gāṇḍīva; and above all, the Lord, the direct well-wisher of the Pāṇḍavas? O King, no one can know the plan of the Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered.” (SB 1.9.15-16)

Thus the conclusion is that only the Lord Himself, being affectionate to His devotees, knows His intentions and no one else. One should refer to Bhīsmadeva’s prayers in the First Canto to consider all the points mentioned here. “But,” it may be questioned, “What distinguishes the happiness and distress caused by one’s own karma and that brought about by the Personality of Godhead?” Material happiness and distress, arising from karma, leave a subtle residue—the seed of desire (karma-bīja) which causes future entanglement. Such enjoyment and suffering tend toward degradation and increase the danger of falling into hellish oblivion. The happiness and distress generated from the Supreme Lord’s will, however, and not the jiva’s desires, leave no trace after their immediate purpose has been served. Moreover, the Vaiṣṇava who enjoys such reciprocation with the Lord is in no danger of falling down into hell. As Yamarāja, the lord of death, declares:

jihvā na vakti bhagavad-guṇa-nāmadheyaṁ

cetaś ca na smarati tac-caraṇāravindam

kṛṣṇāya no namati yac-chira ekadāpi

tān ānayadhvam asato ’kṛta-viṣṇu-kṛtyān

“My dear servants, please bring to me only those sinful persons who do not use their tongues to chant the holy name and qualities of Kṛṣṇa, whose hearts do not remember the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa even once, and whose heads do not bow down even once before Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Send me those who do not perform their duties toward Viṣṇu, which are the only duties in human life. Please bring me all such fools and rascals.” (SB 6.3.29)

Because the devotees are objects of the Lord’s affection, their suffering is never extreme. How can one consider the suffering arising from karma and that due to the Lord to be equal? One is like the pain arising from receiving a beating from an enemy, and the other is like that caused by one’s mother; one is like poison and the other is like nectar. “But is it that the Lord, who can do anything, cannot accomplish His purposes without giving distress to His devotees?”

“Yes, He, the reservoir of unlimited pastimes, cannot accomplish His purposes without this. But when He sometimes gives suffering to His beloved devotees, that suffering gives rise to great pleasure, just as a stinging ointment applied by a physician cures his patient’s infected eye. In addition, suffering protects the confidentiality of devotional service, prevents the disruption of the beliefs of the various categories of outsiders, and increases the eagerness with which the devotees call upon the Lord to appear. Moreover, if the devotees were complacently happy all the time, the Lord would never have a reason to appear in this world as Kṛṣṇa, Rāmacandra and Nṛsiṁha, since They come to protect the devotees and destroy the demons. As Kṛṣṇa Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8):

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām

dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge

“To deliver the pious and annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I appear millennium after millennium.”

Without the Lord’s showing Himself on earth in His original form of Kṛṣṇa and other incarnations, how would the devotees in this world be able to enjoy playing in the nectar ocean of the rāsa-līlā and His other pastimes’? “But what fault would there be in God’s incarnating for some other reason than to deliver saintly persons from suffering?”

“Yes, my dear brother, this makes good sense, but you are not expert in understanding spiritual moods. Please listen: The sunrise appears attractive because of the darkness of night. During the hot summer cold water gives comfort, and during the cold winter months warm water is pleasing. Lamplight appears attractive in darkness, not in the glaring light of day, and when one is distressed by hunger, food tastes especially good. There is no need to elaborate more.”

|| 10.88.9 ||

sa yadā vitathodyogo nirviṇṇaḥ syād dhanehayā

mat-paraiḥ kṛta-maitrasya kariṣye mad-anugraham

TRANSLATION

Познавательные статьи:



Организация работы процедурного кабинета

Статус республик в составе РФ

Понятие финансов, их функции и особенности

Сущность демографической политии