Meditation: Cosmos

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 
And Eternity in an hour." William Blake

The Universal Form

Since anger was at the root of Parīkṣit Mahārāja’s predicament, he is especially curious as to how to control the mind. Whether Parīkṣit Mahārāja is asking this question for our own benefit, having already conquered his own anger, or whether he himself is in crisis, the question is especially valuable. How can we control our anger? Anger is an especially destructive emotion, capable of ruining our spiritual progress.

The King asked, “Can you please explain more about the mind, O saintly one. How can I apply my mind so that I can always see God? And what can I do to avoid negative thinking?”

At this point, Śukadeva Goswāmī recommends a form of pantheism, whereby it is possible to see God everywhere. How to intuit God’s presence? According to the Upanishads God’s presence is continuous throughout the creation within and without. The ancient Śrī Iśopaṇiṣad (mantra 5) says:

तद् एजति तन् नैजति तद् दूरे तद् व् अन्तिके 
तद् अन्तर् अस्य सर्वस्य तद् उ सर्वस्यास्य बाह्यतः

tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad v antike 
tad antar asya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ

God is everywhere, within and without. But how to see how He is manifest in every situation? No molecule or atomic is so small that God’s presence is excluded from it, and no galaxy so vast that God’s presence does not circumscribe it. 

The definition of God as 'an infinite sphere, whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere' has often been attributed to Ramkrishna, but its roots are found in the Liber XXIV philosophorum, ascribed to the fourth-century grammarian and philosopher Marius Victorinus. 

But it isn’t necessary to reach so far back into time or refer to the writings of antiquity to have a real experience of the divine.

In fact, a practical experience of divinity is at the core of the Bhagavat’s teachings. The Bhagavat is exclusively theistic: Where Mahābhārata is interested in the history of kings and their struggles to establish an Indian society based on religious principles, the Bhagavat is constantly focusing on the problem of understanding God. Ordinary “religious” principles which regulate society aren’t in focus here. What is in focus is communion with the divine, especially bhakti or divine love. Śukadeva’s teachings on communion are as vital today as when they were first spoken thousands of years ago.

Meditation as Communion

Communion involves a real experience of divinity. The Bhagavat describes different levels of religious experience. Śukadeva gives the king a simple answer here. “God is everywhere,” he says. “Learn to see God everywhere and it will be easy to control the mind.”

Learn to see God everywhere...

True perfection in mystic yoga will be possible only for those who develop bhakti, divine love, dedication. But sometimes progress is gradual. Before going on to describe the pastimes of the Personal Godhead in the 10th Canto of the Bhagavat, Śukadeva is giving help to those on the beginning levels of higher consciousness.

“Learn to see God everyhwere and in all things,” he says. By feeling the presence of divinity everywhere the mind will become accustomed to the devotional conception and eventually make perfection in divine love possible. 

 One may wonder why a great devotee such as Śukadeva Goswāmī would bother advocating such an apparently trivial point of view. Śukadeva is offering comfort here to a dying man, desperate for answers. Since controlling the mind is a challenge for us all, we would do well to pay attention to the lesson. Here, Śukadeva teaches us not only how to control the mind by remembering God, but how to have a real experience of divinity in the moment through meditation on His omnipresence.

Śukadev explained that while engaged in yoga practice, one may meditate in such a way that one may see God everywhere and in all things.

Śukadeva said, “One may sit in the proper yoga posture, controlling one’s breath through prāṇāyāma. While controlling the mind and senses through yoga one may meditate on the virat-rupa.”

“Think of this universe as the outward form of God. Think of the phenomenal world with the universal elements as His body with the lower planets as his feet and the higher stars and constellations as his head. Think of the higher subtle worlds as his mind and intelligence and the hellish planets as his feet.

Śukadeva continued: “ Thunder, lightning, and all material phenomenon proceed from his arms who are the gods, beginning with Indra.  The ten directions are  His ears and physical sound is His hearing. Aroma is His sense of sense. Where you see fire, think of Him. Fire is his all-consuming mouth. The galaxies that expand into Infinite space form His eye-sockets.

Think of the sun as the eye of God. His divine and watchful eye is always overhead. The creator is His angry eye-brow and His eyelids are day and night. His palate is the god of water, the juice of life is His tongue. He is the taste in water. Whenever you taste water think on Him.

“His thought is the Veda; His jaws are death, and maya His smile. The entire manifestation of cosmic energy is His glance. Religion is His breast and irreligion His back. Think of the ocean as His undulating waste and the mountains as the stacks of His bones.

“In your meditation you may think of the rivers as his veins and arteries, forests as the hairs on his body and the everpresent wind as his breath. The ages of time are the movements of the Hand of God, and the reactions of the three influences of nature are the acts of God Himself.”

Śukadeva said, “O King, best of the Kurus: in this way you can meditate on God everywhere and everything in Him. As you look to the sky, think of the water-bearing clouds as the silver hair on His head, and the sunrise and sunset as His golden robes.”

“Think of the plan for creation as His design, emblematic of his intelligence. Meditate on the ever-chaning moon with its silver rays as His mind. The songs of colorful birds represent his artistry. Within human civilization the brahmanas represent His head, the Kṣatriyas His arms, His legs the vaiśyas and the śudras His feet.

Śukadeva said, “Through this kind of analysis and meditation one may see God everywhere and remember that His watchful eye is overhead, within and without. By meditating on this universal conception of divinity one may control the mind and, ultimately, attain liberation. By seeing in this way, one eventually comes to a higher level of consciousness concerning divinity.”

In this prelimary teaching of Śukadeva, we see that God may be directly perceived through natural phenomena: the sun is the eye of God; the rain that falls from heaven reminds of his mercy; thirst reflects rasa.

The virata-rupa however is not to be taken literally. There is no ten-thousand foot God with mountains for bones and rain for eyes to threaten us as we stand in awe. This is not the meaning of the parable that Śukadeva is teaching.

Śukadeva doesn’t say that trees are the “hair on God’s head,” or that rain is made of “God’s tears.” He is suggesting that we may see God in His design. This suggestion is especially meant for neophytes and materialists who can hardly believe in God without a suitable metaphor. So, here, Śukadeva Goswāmī is speaking metaphorically.

Of course, Indra is not “the arm of God,” in a literal sense, but in a metaphorical sense. That is to say, that when we speak of a hurricane as an “Act of God,” the person responsible, i.e. the raingod would be the instrument or “arm” that provoked that act.

Otherwise we would find a contradiction here in that Śukadeva first identifies trees as the “hairs on God’s head,” and in the same breath identifies “clouds as the hairs on God’s head.” But Śukadeva is speaking poetically, and we should give him some license to develop his argument: over the course of the 18,000 verses of the Bhagavata his argument shall be made clear.

Śukadeva is describing the method by which a true mystic arrives at what is called “theophany” or divine revelation, making it clear that this vision is available to anyone who wishes to concentrate on the greatness of God. When the sun is referred to as the “Eye of God,” this is to suggest that we are all within His divine vision. The sun stands for divine consciousness. If minute consciousness exists and if divine consciousness exists they must have means of communion. Which means if you can perceive God, He can also perceive you. While the sun may not be the physical instrument of God’s perception, since communion with the divine is metaphysical, still the sun suggests the existence of a higher power. The light of the sun suggests a higher kind of light. The idea of Śukadeva’s meditation is to realize that God is great.

This approach may be of special use to agnostics and others who question the idea of God. Scientists are so determined to arrive at conclusions through argument and logic that they often miss the self-evident truths of consciousness. And yet they have some appreciation of aspects of the “universal form.”

20th century scientists were often mystics, astounded by the universe. J. Robert Oppenheimer, awed by the power of the atom, had read the Bhagavad-gita. He was familiar with the passage, where Krishna reveals his universal form, and quoted the following at the very moment of the first atomic bomb blast:

“Arjuna saw in that universal form unlimited mouths and unlimited eyes. It was all wondrous. The form was decorated with divine, dazzling ornaments and arrayed in many garbs. He was garlanded gloriously, and there were many scents smeared over His body. All was magnificent, all-expanding, unlimited. This was seen by Arjuna.

If hundreds of thousands of suns rose up at once into the sky, they might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in that universal form. The Blessed Lord said: Time I am, destroyer of the worlds, and I have come to engage all people.”

The Virata-rupa was once revealed in its terrible totality to Arjuna who trembled in fear. The author of the atomic bomb Oppenheimer was similarly impressed, and remembered Arjuna’s amazement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Robert_Oppenheimer#cite_note-quote-8

Great scientists see God in His blueprint for the universe. 

By wondering at the microcosm and the macrocosm; by exploring subatomic particles at the micro-level of the cosmos and by gazing in awe at the massive power of a black hole at the macro-level of the cosmos thoughtful scientists see the hand of God.

Einstein, saw a divine hand who didn’t “play dice with the universe.”

Einstein would make mystical references to “a superior mind,” or “illimitable superior spirit,” or a “mysterious force that moves the constellations.”

Einstein said, “That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God.”

This is an example of “seeing God” through the “universal form.” In his beginning remarks to the sages of Naimisharanya, in his introduction to the Bhāgavata, Sūta Goswāmī enumerates the various incarnations of God, the avatars of Krishna. After explaining how divinity manifests in various incarnations, he mentions the Virata-rupa, or Universal Form, in passing:

एतद् रूपं भगवतो ह्य् अरूपस्य चिद्-आत्मनः माया-गुणैर् विरचितं महदादिभिर् आत्मनि

etad rūpaṁ bhagavato hy arūpasya cid-ātmanaḥ māyā-guṇair viracitaṁ mahadādibhir ātmani

“The conception of the virāṭ universal form of the Lord, as appearing in the material world, is imaginary. It is to enable the less intelligent [and neophytes] to adjust to the idea of the Lord's having form. But factually the Lord has no material form.”

The idea is that these descriptions are helpful for novices on the path. Since it is difficult for ordinary people to conceive of a metaphysical reality, they may be encouraged to think of the universe itself as transcendent. The “universal form of God” or God as universe is an imaginary exercise, since the Absolute Truth transcends the material nature of the universe. And yet, by conceiving of a higher power, we achieve transcendence through meditation.

Since it is impossible to see God with our material mind and sense, we are encouraged to consider his external aspect. This is something like understanding the presence of an important man by seeing his airplane. We hear a sonic boom and see Air Force One coursing through the sky. We say, “There goes the President.” Of course the President is not his air plane; We identify the airplane with the President. In the same way, those who wish to see God immediately may perceive His existence by meditating on the cosmos as his outward form.

Ser y Conciencia XV Conversaciones Profundas

Consciencia y Ser XIV: Evidencia, el Bhāgavat

Conversación y el Bhāgavat

Como ya hemos visto, la conversación acerca del alma ha iluminado a la humanidad desde tiempo inmemorial. Y sin embargo la cualidad de una conversación se denomina por el nivel de sus participantes.

La Biblia surgió de las enseñanzas de los profetas que vagaban en el desierto buscando la verdad. La Academia griega de Platón estaba basada en la idea de sostener conversaciones con los jóvenes de la élite de Atenas, mientras que Jesús conversaba con carpinteros y pescadores.

La Enseñanza de Cristo

Mahoma tal vez pudo haber conversado con el ángel Gabriel, pero las enseñanzas del Corán apuntan a las tribus nómadas árabes del siglo IX.

El contraste es sorprendente. Y aunque cada religión aspira a la universalidad, muchas doctrinas se desenvuelven entre las leyes morales y éticas. Estas doctrinas guían a la sociedad secular en establecer los principios en los que la sociedad se gobierna. Pero mientras las leyes religiosas no dan un marco a través del cual juzgar el pecado y la piedad, el bien y el mal, lo bueno y lo malo, estas reglas se quedan cortas para poder contemplar la realidad última.

El dharma social, o “consciencia social” es un componente esencial de una civilización saludable, de acuerdo con Rousseau y otros. El Mahābharata está lleno de reglas y consejos acerca de cómo debemos vivir. Tal como la Biblia tiene el Levítico, el cual está lleno de leyes dietéticas y proscripciones sexuales, el Bhisma Parva del Mahābharata tiene largos pasajes de las reglas para vivir, la etiqueta apropiada, e incluso el comportamiento imperial.

Los sabios de Naimisharanya entendieron esas reglas; conocían su lugar. Conocían el valor de esas leyes como “No matarás; no robarás; honrar a tu padre y a tu madre; no codiciar la mujer del prójimo. No cometer adulterio. No dar falso testimonio”, y demás.

Pero estos hombres no tenían interés en la violencia. No eran ladrones. No necesitaban que les digan que la honestidad era una virtud; eran honestos por naturaleza. Estos grandes yoguis y sabios estaban libres de lujuria: habían pasado muchos años en meditación. No estaban encantados con los objetos de los sentidos: ya estaban auto-satisfechos e iluminados. Estaban interesados en una enseñanza más elevada, algo que trascendía las leyes del gobierno mentiroso, el engaño y el robo.

Interesarse en lo elevado, en la verdad trascendental no significa que esos pensadores estaban en contra de las leyes. Como lo explica Bhaktivinod Ṭhākura. Los grandes reformadores siempre afirman que no han venido a destruir la ley sino a cumplirla. Valmiki, Vyāsa, Platón, Jesús, Mahoma, Confucio y Caitanya Mahāprabhu afirman este hecho ya sea a través de expresarlo o a través de su conducta.

Como lo dice el propio Cristo en Mateo 5.17, “No piensen que he venido a destruir la ley o lo profetas: No he venido a destruirla, sino a cumplirla.” Pero Cristo no procalmó la ley, sino que declaró como lo hizo en Lucas 10.27 “Amar a tu Dios con todo tu corazón y con toda tu alma y con toda tus fuerzas y con toda tu mente; y ‘ama a tu prójimo como a ti mismo’”.

Pero ¿Qué es “Amar a Dios?” ¿Cómo puede ser alcanzado?  Mientras Cristo proclama el amor por Dios como la verdad más elevada, no elabora su significado; más bien habla en parábolas.

Después de todo está hablando con gente sencilla. Su mensaje sencillo de Amor está mezclado con una amonestación para seguir la ley. Tiene que considerar a su audiencia. Incluso entonces, por la simple proclamación de amor como la nueva ley fue considerado por los romanos que obligaban a la ley como un transgresor. Mientras que el propio Jesús proclamaba no destruir la ley, los Romanos hallaron lo contrario. De hecho, lo trataron y condenaron a muerte por traición a causa de sus enseñanzas y ministerio.

¿Qué hubiera pasado si Cristo hubiera vivido y enseñado hasta su vejez? ¿Qué si se hubiera rodeado de almas dedicadas a los principios que él enseñó?

¿Qué clase de conversación hubiera sostenido?

Así, nos quedamos con el anhelo.

Pero la profunda conversación espiritual depende de la calidad de aquellos que contribuyen al diálogo.

Los “Diálogos” son interesantes, no únicamente porque Sócrates conduce la discusión, sino también porque los participantes en el diálogo: líderes de la antigua Atenas, estudiantes de Sócrates, el propio Platón, Jenofonte y Alcibíades.

¿Qué pasaría si tuviéramos acceso a un diálogo entre santos realizados e iluminados? ¿Qué si seres iluminados, libres de lujuria, ira, codicia, y una tendencia hacia la explotación conversaran acerca de la naturaleza de Dios, el Ser y las almas?

¿Qué pasaría si miles de grandes yoguis y sabios que nunca han pisado la tierra se reunieran? ¿Qué clase de conversación tendrían? ¿Qué si hubiera una reunión de verdaderas almas “parecidos a Cristo”  se reunieran a considerar asuntos como “¿Cuál es el bien absoluto?” y “¿Cual es la esencia del conocimiento de las Escrituras?” Y ¿qué si no tuvieran una agenda sectaria y estuvieran abiertos a escuchar, incluso a un niño de dieciséis años?

Esta conversación está extensamente registrada en el Bhāgavat Purana, el Bhāgavat anuncia en su primer verso que su único propósito es una discusión profunda de la verdad.

El libro descarta el “dharma social” como útil pero limitado y por ello no es digno de discusión. El Bhāgavat no es un libro de reglas lleno de dietas, y los síes y noes, Es un tratado de la mismísima naturaleza de la verdad espiritual.

¿Qué clase de libro es el Bhāgavat?

निगम-कल्प-तरोर् गलितं फलं

 शुक-मुखाद् अमृत-द्रव-संयुतम्

पिबत भागवतं रसम् आलयम्

 मुहुर् अहो रसिका भुवि भावुकाः

nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ

 śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam

pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayam

 muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ..

“Es el fruto del árbol del pensamiento (Vedas= mezclado con el néctar del discurso de Sukadeva. ¡Es el templo del amor espiritual! ¡Oh! ¡Hombres Piadosos! Beban profunda y repetidamente éste néctar del Bhāgavat  hasta que sean tomados de este cuerpo mortal”.

El Garuda-purana, otro antiguo texto dice:

अर्थो ऽयं ब्रह्म-सूत्राणां

भारतार्थ-विनिर्णयः

गायत्री-भाष्य-रूपो ऽसौ

वेदार्थ-परिबृंहितः

पुराणानां साम-रूपः

साक्षाद्-भगवतोदितः

द्वादश-स्कन्ध-युक्तो ऽयं

शत-विच्छेद-संयुतः

ग्रन्थो ऽष्टादश-साहस्रः

श्रीमद्-भागवताभिधः

artho 'yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ

bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ

gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo 'sau

vedārtha-paribṛṁhitaḥ

purāṇānāṁ sāma-rūpaḥ

sākṣād-bhagavatoditaḥ

dvādaśa-skandha-yukto 'yaṁ

śata-viccheda-saṁyutaḥ

grantho 'ṣṭādaśa-sāhasraḥ

śrīmad-bhāgavatābhidhaḥ

El significado del Vedānta-sūtra está presente en el Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Todo el propósito del Mahābharata también se halla ahí. El comentario del Brahma-gāyatrī está ahí y completamente extendido junto con el conocimiento védico completo. El Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam es el Purana supremo, y fue compilado por la Suprema Personalidad de Dios en Su encarnación de Vyāsadeva. Contiene doce cantos, 335 capítulos y dieciocho mil versos. El Bhāgavat está compuesto de 18 mil ślokas. Contiene las mejores partes de los vedas y el Vedānta. Quienquiera que ha saboreado su dulce néctar, nunca más disfrutará leer ningún otro libro religioso. (Garuda Purana)

Bhaktivinod Ṭhākura dice, “El Bhāgavat es el libro preeminente de India. Una vez que entras en él, y que eres transportado, por así decirlo, hacia el mundo espiritual en donde no existe la materia burda. El verdadero seguidor del Bhāgavat es un hombre espiritual quien ha cortado ya su conexión temporal con la naturaleza fenomenal y quien se ha hecho un habitante de la región en donde Dios existe y ama eternamente. Esta poderosa obra se funda en la inspiración y su superestructura es la reflexión.

Para el lector ordinario no tiene ningún encanto y está lleno de dificultades. Nosotros, por ello, estamos obligados a estudiar su profundidad a través de la ayuda de esos grandes comentadores como Śrīdhara Swāmi y el divino Caitanya y Sus seguidores contemporáneos.”

Nadie puede decir hace cuántos siglos fue escrito el Bhāgavat. A través de los siglos, esos registros históricos se han perdido. Pero mientras nadie sepa la fecha exacta en que se compuso el Bhāgavat, el conocimiento y la sabiduría registrados ahí son eternos.

De acuerdo a la evidencia del Bhāgavat estas grandes series de conversaciones y diálogos entre los yoguis y los sabios se realizaron en un sitio antiguo de peregrinación llamado Naimisharanya.

Por ello en el sagrado bosque estos visionarios avanzados de la verdad se reunieron con el propósito del sacrificio. Como orador, escogieron a Śaunaka, quien era el más anciano y sabio, para que les representase.

Al escuchar la narración completa del Mahābharata, tenían algunas preguntas específicas para Suta.

Mientras que el Mahābharata se ocupa de las reglas y regulaciones de una sociedad humana apropiada, no penetra en lo profundo de la naturaleza de la realidad trascendental.

Estos santos estaban ansiosos de escuchar los verdaderos secretos del alma, especialmente con relación al amor divino, la etapa más elevada de consciencia. Ellos deseaban conocer acerca del Dios Supremo, la Persona conocida como Kṛṣṇa.

¿Cuál era la razón de los avatares? ¿Por qué Dios aparece y cuál es la enseñanza más elevada?

Questions and Answers

The Moment of Truth

एतन् निर्विद्यमानानाम् इच्छताम् अकुतो-भयम्

योगिनां नृप निर्णीतं हरेर् नामानुकीर्तनम्

etan nirvidyamānānām

icchatām akuto-bhayam

yogināṁ nṛpa nirṇītaṁ

harer nāmānukīrtanam

Śrī Kṛṣṇa: Reality the Beautiful

“O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.”

~Srimad Bhagavatam 2.1.11 translated by A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupāda

By this system of remembrance, by understanding the Personal conception of Godhead and by fixing oneself in meditation, O King a yogi can very soon achieve success in bhakti.

The King asked, “Can you please explain more about the mind, O saintly one. How can I apply my mind so that I can always see God? And what can I do to avoid negative thinking?”

Now, many will point out that Mahārāja Parīkṣita was no ordinary king. In fact, he was the grandson of Arjuna, an eternal associate of Kṛṣṇa Himself. Indeed he must be a mahā-bhāgavata, an extremely qualified pure devotee. Why would he be in need of instruction? And from a boy, no more than sixteen or seventeen years old?

It is thought that Mahārāja Parīkṣita is an eternally perfect soul. And yet the great souls teach us through their example. And Parīkṣita Mahārāja’s example is listening. Mahārāja Parīkṣita achieves perfection through listening. 

This is confirmed in an oft quoted verse from Caitanya Caritamṛta Madhya 22.136 which also appears in Rupa Goswāmī’s Padyāvalī (53) as well as in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.265). Here, Caitanya Mahāprabhu is explaining the processes of bhakti to Sanātana Goswāmī.

श्री-विष्णोः श्रवणे परीक्षिद् अभवद् वैयासकिः कीर्तने 

प्रह्लादः स्मरणे तद्-अङ्घ्रि-भजने लक्ष्मीः पृथुः पूजने

अक्रूरस् त्व् अभिवन्दने कपि-पतिर् दास्ये ‘थ सख्ये ‘र्जुनः 

सर्व-स्वात्म-निवेदने बलिर् अभूत् कृष्णाप्तिर् एषां परा

śrī-viṣṇoḥ śravaṇe parīkṣid abhavad vaiyāsakiḥ kīrtane

prahlādaḥ smaraṇe tad-aṅghri-bhajane lakṣmīḥ pṛthuḥ pūjane

akrūras tv abhivandane kapi-patir dāsye ‘tha sakhye ‘rjunaḥ

sarva-svātma-nivedane balir abhūt kṛṣṇāptir eṣāṁ parā

Mahārāja Parīkṣit attained the highest perfection, shelter at Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, simply by hearing about Lord Viṣṇu. Śukadeva Gosvāmī attained perfection simply by reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Prahlāda Mahārāja attained perfection by remembering the Lord. 

The goddess of fortune attained perfection by massaging the transcendental legs of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Mahārāja Pṛthu attained perfection by worshiping the Deity, and Akrūra attained perfection by offering prayers unto the Lord. Vajrāṅgajī [Hanumān] attained perfection by rendering service to Lord Rāmacandra, and Arjuna attained perfection simply by being Kṛṣṇa’s friend. Bali Mahārāja attained perfection by dedicating everything to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. (Translation by A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupāda)

But, if Mahārāja Parīkṣita is no ordinary king, but a highly realized soul, why would he be in need of instruction? Perhaps he had no need to inquire from Śukadeva Goswāmī about where and how to apply the mind in meditation; perhaps he is only inquiring into this matter for our own benefit.

Jesus Christ had no need of personal salvation. He descends as the Son of God to take upon Himself the sin of the worlds out of his divine compassion. In a similar way, Parīkṣita Mahārāja, thousands of years before Christ, shows his compassion to humanity by inquiring into the eternal nature of the soul and Godhead.

And yet, even the great souls have moments of doubt. It may be all a show, a question of divine lila, the pastimes of an eternally liberated soul. Just as a method actor throws himself into his role so much as to forget himself, even an advanced soul may invest himself so deeply into the part he is playing that he forgets himself.

The example is given of Jaya and Vijaya the gatekeepers of Vaikuntha who later took birth as demons: Hiranyakṣa and Hiranyakaṣipu in Satya-yuga, Ravana and Kumbhakarana in Treta-yuta, Shishupala and Dantavakra in Dvapara-yuga, and Jagai and Madhai in Kali-yuga. Eventually they were liberated, but as were key players in the pastimes of the Lord, they identified completely with the role they had to play.

Parīkṣit may have been entirely enlightened at the time of hearing the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and his questions might have merely been asked for our benefit. And yet, it is also instructive if we consider that he himself was experiencing a moment of need.

If such a great soul as Parīkṣit could have fallen under the sway of anger, then we are not alone. Who has not lost his temper? We know that anger leads one on the path to degradation. But who is free from such a sin? Even the great Parīkṣit became enraged.

The Bhagavata tells us as much. After insulting the brahmana, Parīkṣita knew that what he had done was abominable and became depressed. He knew that his anger was wrong. After all it was the cause of the brahmana’s curse.

It may be argued that Parīkṣit, being perfect, never has any doubt. Many believe that Jesus, being divine himself, never has a moment of doubt before his crucifixion; as perfect savior, he merely shows us how to pray. And yet when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, he tells his Father in heaven, “Take this cup from me!”

"Take this cup from me!"

This is his final act, before He is arrested, tried, and put to death. Just as King Parīkṣita, who had been cursed three thousand years before him, condemned to die by the snake-bird, Jesus Christ knows that he will be condemned to death and crucified by the Romans.

And in his great moment of peril, Jesus cast Himself to the ground, agonizing in prayer.

The Bible says, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. (Matt 22.6) Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (New Testament, Luke 22:39-44)

Matthew gives a slightly different description with similar details: Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, “Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.” And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.” And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26-41)

My reading of this is that Jesus is sincere in his despair, just as Parikṣita before him.

We may compare Parīkṣit’s moment of doubt and pain to Arjuna’s: Unlike Christ who is condemned to crucifixion for his preaching, Arjuna finds himself forced into fratricidal warfare, confronted by armies headed by his friends, family, teachers, and leaders bent on world destruction.

Arjuna is overwhelmed with despair. He sees no point in warfare when the victory will be empty. He sees no good from any action. Both action and inaction will be sinful. What can he do?

He sees the annihilation of family, the corruption of morals and and the destruction of society. He sits down on his chariot and buries his face in his hands.

Arjuna turns to Kṛṣṇa and says, ”I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to destroy it even if I win an unrivalled kingdom on the earth with sovereignty like that of the demigods in heaven. Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.”

Śrī Caitanya: "Be Thou Humble."

It is in this spirit of humility and surrender that one can receive instruction. Caitanya Mahāprabhu identifies this as tṛṇad api sunicena...or humility. This spirit of despair and helplessness is described in Śaranāgati of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura as dainya, and is found as well as in the teachings of Śridhar Mahārāja:

“...Our progress depends on the favor of the higher side. It must have that connection, so surrender is required. Then the Lord will approach us and take us up to that higher plane. Somehow, we have to persuade the highest authority to favor us. We must invite the higher authority to accept us. It does not depend so much on our own ability, but on our submission and surrender, our hankering for mercy – not our positive capacity but our negative character, our surrender. As a subject, I cannot make the Infinite the object of my discrimination; He is always the super-subject. I cannot make God the object of my discrimination. He is super-subjective. 

My position, my attitude, must invite the higher authority to come down to my level and help me, favor me. Real discrimination or knowledge should take us to self-surrender. Surrender is necessary to attract the attention of the Lord. Everything depends on His sweet will. He is an autocrat: His sweet will is everything. To attract His sweet will, to increase our negative side, our tendency for surrender, to attract His favor, this will be our real problem if we wish to progress in spiritual life. And to attract the Lord’s attention, all our qualifications must be of a negative character: we shall require surrender, submission, humility. And then we can press our position by praying, “O my Lord, I’m in the worst need; without Your grace I can’t stand. I am helpless. I cannot endure without Your favor.” That sort of hankering, earnestness, and necessity for His mercy will help us. In other words, we are to improve our negative character, and in that way we shall attract the positive, Krishna. (http://www.mahamandala.com/en/audios/99)

Mahārāja Parīkṣita was a powerful and wealthy king. And yet his humility is such that he leaves aside everything and listens quietly to the teachings of a sixteen year old boy. His need is great; Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhakur has written that in general, the measurement of a Vaishnava is according to his degree of humility—his natural, real humility. While Parīkṣita Mahārāja demonstrated great arrogance in his treatment of the brahmana, provoking the curse of his son, Śṛṇgi, here he shows real humility by submitting before Śukadeva and accepting him as his guru. 

Śukadeva and Parīkṣita

As Śukadeva has recommended above,  harer nāmānukīrtanam, Parīkṣit Mahārāja understands that proper harer nāmānukīrtanam begins with humility and listening. So, according to Rūpa Goswāmī, in the eternal relationship between the condemned king and the boy sage, Parīkṣita Mahārāja achieves perfection by hearing (śravana) and Śukadeva by speaking and chanting (kīrtana).