Analyzing Yayati’s life, his thoughts and expounding have been extremely insightful in relating with our lives, with events that can span numerous janmas. To digest this vast wisdom we have broken his life lessons into the episode prior to Yayati meeting his first wife, Devayani, his endless desires, evolving viveka and vairagya through renunciation and his ascent to swarga. The key to better understanding is to constantly relating these episodes back to our personal lives.
Storytime:
Ashtaka had inquired the falling Yayati on who he was and what was the reason behind his fall. In fact, the latter question was bothering Ashtaka more. Yayati informed that he was the son of Nahusha and the father of Puru. He was falling from Swarga, the abode of Devas, Rishis and Siddhas, as his punya got tainted due to disrespecting all living beings. Yayati was still having a tinge of ahamkara. He said he did not wish them first as he considered older. He interpreted shastras that say that one who has wisdom (vidya) or tapasya or older by age is worthy of worship. Ashtaka corrected him that only vidya and tapasya alone mattered amongst Dwijas.
Yayati informed that papa is inimical and antithetical to good karmas. One who lacks humility is infected by such papa. Sadhus never approve this papa and were keen on strictly adhering to doing only good karmas. There was once abundant wealth of such punyas in him, which he had acquired and cannot be acquired without explicit effort, but now he was devoid of it. One who is enthusiastically focused on the welfare of Atma is considered as courageous. Let us note the pearls of Yayati wisdom.
Having earned wealth (through dharmic means), one must spend it on yagas and yajnas; focus on earning knowledge by reciting the Vedas the courageous individual earns his access to swarga by transmuting this knowledge through tapasya into Jnana.
Wealth must never delude one. Humility is critical. Even acquiring the Vedic wisdom, one must keep vanity at bay.
Our past Karmas cast an impact on our present actions. This is referred as Deivam, commonly reduced as destiny/fate. Discounting the Deivam factor has lead to the destruction of many enthusiastic men of action.
The wise never get exult or grieve as they understand karmaphala is not mere result of current karma alone (hinting again at deivam’s role). Equanimity despite the nature of incidents in life, be it happiness or sorrow, is the way of the wise and brave.
Yayati said that he was not perturbed at the fall from swarga. There was no fear or anxiety in his heart. All living beings will have to traverse this journey, but will definitely attain that highest state eventually. Sukha and Dukha are ephemeral and what is the point of this pointless sorrow? Using Viveka he overcomes anything that results in dukha.
Ashtaka continued his questions at Yayati, who was still a bright star in the sky. He desired to know about the details and duration of his stay in the different worlds, which Yayati proceeded to narrate. (The time lines referred here as thousand years in different world cannot be directly translated to our time, as Yayati was the maternal grandfather of Ashtaka. Time is relative. Since there is no mapping provided in this context as times of his stay has no direct connection with our research, it will suffice to note that Yayati visited Swarga and Brahmaloka with long stays in each place).
Yayati’s mind was still hankering for desires. The vasanas were still sprouting making him hanker for the pleasures of Devaloka. One day, a celestial messenger appeared and pronounced thrice in a loud voice (that since his mind was only hankering for pleasures) – “Ruined”. As the fall was instantaneous, the bystanders exclaimed at the shocked Yayati, whom he inquired, where is the path to Satsangha. On being directed his fall got guided amidst these sages.
NOTE: The two reasons for the fall might seem different. Yet if we recall the Bhagavad Gita 16-21, Kama, Krodha and lobha are three doorways to naraka. Whether it was lobha and Kama or it was lack of humility that opened the doors for Yayati’s fall, it has crucial lessons for all of us. Punya is also finite, especially if we are busy testing these doors to naraka.
Ashtaka liked to know more details surrounding Yayati’s fall. Just as a person of this world, without any wealth is abandoned by friends, family and relatives, Yayati informed that once Punya gets depleted, the Devas abandon such an individual. Everyone who enters Swarga based on the Punya, have a pitiful fall upon the exhaustion of the same.
Birth as a human: Ashtaka was now curious to learn about this fallen Atma and its transmigration as a human. Yayati said the driver of this samsara – moving from one body to another, is Karma and unless one gets cleaved from them, it is impossible to escape its perpetual harmful effects. Ashtaka noted that there is no specified naraka but Yayati seemed to be hinting the earth as a lower plane.
Yayati explained that all living forms thrive as plants or animals, but move up or down the chain. By eating vegetation, humans get their energy. The atmas that reside gain entry to a body through the human sperm and egg. The atmas may reside in the sky, air, water or vegetation. The human modification through the senses and intellect is a mere layer surrounding this atman. Upon his death, due to his Karmas, a new sheath is procured for its expression and thus a new janma happens.
Raise of human beings: Ashtaka asked how using Vidya and Tapasya a human being raises himself to higher lokas and also what karmas aid in this journey. Tapas, Daana, controlling the indriyas, regulating the manas, modesty (staying on the path of dharma and not violating is defined as modesty), aligning the internal and external worlds (with dharma) and compassion to all living beings (naturally implies not eating meat) are considered as major doorways to swarga.
Tamas leads to complete destruction by feeding one’s vanity. Abusing the vedic understanding and arrogantly considering oneself as learned will lead to transgressing other’s reputation and eventually close the doors for one’s own felicity. Such know eventually doesn’t bear good fruit.
To destroy the papas four prescriptions are given by the wise – doing agnihotra (this is not merely ritual, but doing it with a spiritual connect), mouna (this is not merely being silent, but silence of the mind and the indriyas), studying vedas and performing Yagas. There is a strong spiritual evolution with all these actions while it is simultaneously negating the papa karmas. If they are performed only for the sake of their end result or for fame, these actions only induce fear in oneself. The key here is even these cleansing actions must be done with the right attitude, else will sprout more negative.
When one gets a reward or the end result of a karmaphala, one must not rejoice. Humiliation must not induce sorrow. The wise (and realized) are always honored and honorable. The not wise do not learn and emulate the wise. These unwise ones tie the agnihotra, mouna, studying vedas and performing yagas to a certain outcomes. Unless this purpose driven action is given up, its entire benefit is not realized.
Regulating the manas (and indriyas) one turns inward towards the path of Brahman. This provides him lasting peace in this life while earning him moksha upon shedding his body. Ashtaka Yayati conversation continues...
Practical Applications:
Karma – the engine of Samsara: Yayati gives a complete picture of every Atma’s journey. Karma is a constant and no one escapes from doing it or its effects. Aligning karma with Dharma results in Punya and going against it results in papa. These also leave the tendencies as vasanas in the sukshma sarira. The Karmas also determine which sarira a Jivatma takes. Thus Janma-Karma-Janma cycle is never ending and this is termed as samsara.
Yayati suggests to raise above the pleasure and pain, hankering of the Karmaphala to break this bondage of samsara, thus resulting in moksha.
Ephemeral nature of Swarga: Hawking heaven by following certain beliefs is the hallmark of a desire driven samsara bound person. All the punya credited against a person is finite, however large it may seem. This finite credit cannot yield fruits indefinitely, however one may delude oneself. Yayati also showed us that vasanas are still going to trail us into swarga. Even if the Punya is not tainted by these vasanas, once depleted, the person has to return to the lower lokas (including earth) for the exhaustion of other karmas.
The three gateways to naraka: The desire centered mind is always suffering from three defects – Kama (lust), krodha (anger/rage) and lobha (greed). The Bhagavad Gita goes into the details of why and how these three are the guaranteed gateways to naraka. ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं विशालं क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति । एवं त्रयीधर्ममनुप्रपन्ना गतागतं कामकामा लभन्ते ॥ te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante (BG – 9-21).
Cleansers of papa: Papa is a very dangerous direction of the Jivatma, born from the bad karmas. To break this predicament, shastras and Yayati prescribe numerous prescriptions. They range from dhyana, daana, tapasya etc but all these are centered on being rooted in dharma and cleaving oneself from the outcome of karma. This attachment predicates our next forced move, thus dragging us deeper into the nets of samsara. All the different approaches from bhakti, jnana, dhyana or even karma yoga, focus on fixing the underlying karma, which is impossible to correct unless there is a guna transformation. Studying the words narrated by Yayati repeatedly can have such a profound immediate effect.
Yayati highlights the simplest vehicle for guna transformation in the form of satsangha. This not only implies association with sadhus or gurus, deliberate focused connection with the shastras, but also an intense effort to connect with our own real SELF. This Jivatma is purely in the form of jnana, yet clouded by our karmas, vasanas, raga, dvesha etc. The life of Yayati encapsulates what every Jiva undergoes in thousands or millions of janmas. Imbibing and living the wisdom of Yayati will correct our internal imbalances due to our desire and desire centric lifestyle. May Yayati’s wisdom continue to guide us in this arduous spiritual journey, one that is only complicated by our own karmas.
ॐ तत् सत
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