Pray for my soul.

Dear Friends: Thanks for making the blog a big success. I'm up against a possible double bypass open heart surgery depending on what my cardiologist tells me in Mexico City next week.  Perhaps he'll tell me I've been lucky and can avoid it. Let's hope so. The last few weeks I've been working pretty hard on retelling some of the stories from Mahābharata that one doesn't hear so often.  

These are the legends of strong women of faith who survived hardship as single mothers like Shakuntala, or women who were abandoned by their hard gambling husbands under the influence of the spirit of Kali as was Damayanti. And even women who confronted Death: Savitri.

Draupadi of course, is the central heroine of the Mahābhārata to whom thousands of words must be dedicated.  Her story will be told separately.

Mahābhārata is a colossal saga, a great epic poem, a compendium of the tales, legends, fables, mythology and religion of ancient India. The stories found in this ancient literature animate the quotidian lives of the South Asian subcontinent even today, where it is not uncommon that fathers will name their daughters Shakuntala or Damayanti or Savitri.  The stories, songs and ballads; histories and genealogies, philosophical discourses and religious traditions recording in Mahābhārata have resisted conquests from the time of Alexander to the British Raja. The very phrases and turns of expression that were written down by Vyāsa survive today in the common language of the people of Delhi, of Calcutta and Bombay and throughout India. 

The American poet Thoreau once said, "Read not the Times; read the Eternities." Throughout the history of India, the Mahābharata has found its public through performances in drama, retellings in literature, and even political discourse, so forming library, newspaper and Holy Bible for generations and for countless millions of Indian people. 

It is said that the reading of the Mahābhārata destroys evil and produces virtue, so much so that the vibration of a single mantra of Sanskrit verse is enough to expunge all sin. It contains the life and actions of the One God, who is beyond the creator of heaven and earth, who is holy immutable and true, who is called Krishna by the faithful, and whose actions are celebrated by saints and scholars throughout the land.

It is said that one who reads the Mahabharata with faith is freed from all karma and ascends to heaven after death. I have included the following invocation in Sanskrit:

 नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम्  देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयम् उदीरयेत् 

nārāyanaṃ namaskṛtya 

naraṃ caiva narottamam 

deviṃ sarasvatiṃ caiva

tato jayam udirayet

After offering all respect to the Supreme Person Krishna 

who has a human-like form, and to Narayana, 

the majestic form of Lord Vishnu, 

and after bowing before  Sarasvati, the goddess of learning, 

this poem, called "Jaya!" or  victory, 

[also known as Mahābhārata] 

may be recited and studied.

While apparently some of the legends found within this noble work may sometimes seem almost mundane in their outward form, their substance is to draw us toward the higher ideal, which begins with dharma and ends in complete surrender as described in Bhagavad-Gītā.

Surrender is a hard road. My blog is called "Journey to Surrender," since, while I'm on the path, I haven't quite reached the goal. On my way, however, I have met many sincere souls, men and women who have given their lives in dedication to seeking the truth and living a saintly life. The stories of strong women of faith found here are especially dedicated to the ladies who serve the high ideals found in the Mahābhārata, and who emulate the examples set by such heroines as Shakuntala, Damayanti, Savitri, and Draupadi. 

Now that I am staring Death in the face in the form of heart surgery, I would like to dedicate the story of Savitri to my wife Aurora who has stood by me in poverty and wealth, in sickness and in health. 

One day, Aurora came to me and told me she had heard a name in a dream somewhere: "Savitri." She liked the name and asked me if it had any meaning. I told her the story of Savitri and she asked if it would be all right for her to use this as her spiritual name. I was no longer a renounced soul serving my guru with complete self-abnegation, but I thought she was worthy of the name, and so in spiritual circles she took the name Savitri.

Now I am confronted with the fact that my days are numbered and that my time is close at hand. Some of you have asked about my health. I feel fine, but my doctors say I have only one good artery. I suffer chest pain quite regularly and have had a few heart procedures. The last one wasn't successful and so next week I go to Mexico City for a consultation with the higher medical authorities. My Savitri will accompany me. Perhaps she will charm Yamarāja with her sweet words and chastity just as did her namesake. 

People who live renounced lives as saints in aśramas  often eschew sentiment, believing that one who knows the soul as eternal will turn a deaf ear to suffering. Suffering, like enjoyment, after all are temporary. The best social work is curing the soul, and so no charity or compassion should be offered to those suffering material pain. Spiritual light will cure all pain.

And yet, throughout the pages of the Mahābhārata we find that sympathy and compassion are virtues. While it is true that surrender to God may be the highest spiritual value, a truly saintly person has compassion, as did Buddha, Jesus, and Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.

And so, while apparently these stories are merely "light reading," or "romantic stories for the ladies," they stress the universal values of chastity, charity, mercy, compassion, simple living and truth-seeking that are sought after by all great souls. My guru, Sridhar Maharaja, often told me personally that renunciation and austerity make the heart hard. Vaishnavas are soft-hearted souls. 

I appeal to all the Vaishnavas who may visit these pages to have mercy on my soul.  Please do not be offended by my clumsy attempts to retell these stories. Find if you will, some light in them. And pray for the soul of a fallen one who once called himself...

Bhakti Vidhan Mahāyogī.