Boon or curse

     “Attitude determines everything”, “Attitude determines the Altitude”, declare the cliches and popular wisdom. But how and why is this possible, yearns the curious mind for some answers. The underlying GunaKarma holds the key. All of Prakriti, including us, is made up of the three Gunas – Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Their composition determines how a Karma is done and our attachment to it. Karma not only yields Karmaphala, leaves a trace of its impact as Vasana on the individual, but also alters the Guna composition. Usually this happens is micro doses and that’s why we can’t see immediate results with a single action unlike long term habits.

    Typically Karma impacting the Gunas seem to have a definite impact on the Guna composition. What if there is a huge impact from a Karma on these Gunas? Does it magnify the Karmaphala? Do Gunas in turn determine the direction of this Karma instead? Is it possible to see some examples to understand this mechanism?

    Luckily we get some deeper insights by studying itihasapuranas about boons and curses. Boon (vara) is usually the accumulated Karmaphala of some long term Sadhana. Curse (shapa) is the concentrated negative impact due to an action. Shapavimochana (Liberation from the curse) is a special set of conditions one has to follow to untie the series of gordian knots one has got oneself entangled due to their Shapa (Curse). Typically we oversimplify a boon as a good thing and blessing, while we deem a curse to be detrimental. On face value, while it appears true, the real impact is again based on the Gunas and our future Karmas. We will understand again that life is not altered merely by a single boon or curse, but what we do after this life altering incident. How the boon or curse affects the attitude of the individual amplifies its impact. This is best understood by quickly referring to the incidents in the Itihasapuranas as it gives deeper understanding into the layers of human psyche.

Is it a boon or a curse? Whenever there is a boon, if it happens to a Rishi or evolved person, they use it for a superior cause, as it further extends their dharmic cause or spiritual journey. Many Mahatmas have used their Siddhis that came out of great Tapasya for the benefit of others. But an ego centered mind like those of Asuras not only try to seek boons with a self serving motive or to exploit, but also apply it in the wrong direction. Let us look at a few examples.

Wrong pursuit of Immortality: The most popular boon sought by the Asuras is immortality. While the internal essence of every being is Atman, which is immortal; the asuric mind believes that the body is the actual self. Thus engaging in making the body as immortal is erroneous on numerous counts and an impossibility. When confronted by a streak of temporary acceptance, they try to ask for an improbable scenario not found in nature as their probable cause of death. This gives them the false egotistical assurance that they are safe as there is no such precedence in nature. Worse yet, powered by this boon, they expand their excursions into dark adharma.

    Hayagriva an asura wanted to trick MahaDevi, when denied immortality by seeking death by a horse headed person. MahaVishnu’s avatara of Hayagriva came about just to end the asuras’ atrocities.

    Hiranyaksha thought he was immortal as he got a blessing that he will not be killed by a deva, asura, manusha or animal. This gave him the platform to launch in evil actions including abusing Bhoomi Devi. What one must not forget is just like his boon gave him the powers, his adharmic Karmas too yielded their fruits in the form of Varaha Avatara that put an end to him.

    Hiranyakashipu had learnt lessons from his younger brother’s death. He chased immortality, when denied due to his wrong interpretation of the body as self, he settled for death not to happen by any of Brahma’s creations. Death must not occur during day or night, on earth or sky, by man or animal. Nor should weapons kill him. Death can not happen from entities with life or without life, from Devas, asuras and Nagas. When the myopic minded asura unleashed terror, he failed to connect that dots that Narasimha avatara would fulfill all his conditions of death and converted the boon into a death warrant.

    Ravana does the same mistake chasing impossible immortality, due to wrong definition of the Self. He ends up settling for invincibility over Devas, Asuras, Gandharvas, Nagas but leaves the door open for humans, vanaras and bears. This backdoor he opened while getting his boon was activated by all the Karmaphala of his evil actions to fructify.

    Mahisasura on the quest for immortality of the body had to settle for a boon from Brahma that gave him immunity from Devas, Danavas and male humans. He assumed all women to be weak and hence discounted it himself. Ultimately Devi took an incarnation to put an end to his atrocities. Similar is the case with Sumbha and Nisumbha. Tarakasura thought of everything except a little boy for his death, which was the reason for the birth of Kartikeya, who led the Devasena to victory.

    Raktabija thought of cloning himself endlessly that each drop of his blood falling on the ground should multiply him. It worked till Kali draped the earth with her tongue and denied any blood to come in contact with the earth.

    While we have a long list of Asuras, the commonality is the arrogance of defining the body as the Self. As this primary mistake clouds the boon obtained, they believe that the body is immortal as they obtained an impossible death option. Abusing their powers, they propagate their adharmic karmas which waits for the opportune time to open their death door, without violating the conditions of their boon. Asuric mind is obsessed with the body as the self, enjoyment at any cost as the goal of life. This flaw blocks any change of their Gunas, boosts their egocentric actions, amplified by the pursuit of Adharma thus converting their original boon into a death wish.

Ego blinds so much that the boongiver is challenged: This is a real odd scenario that the Gunas are so Tamasic that instead of venerating the boongiver, the sick evil is bent on destroying the blessing. We see in case of Bhasmasura he wanted to test his powers of reducing anyone to ashes by placing it on the head of the one who gave the boon, Maheswara. It took Mohini avatara to trick the lust filled asura to place his own hands on his head.

    In the Mahabharata, we see that Shisupala who is granted immunity for a hundred deathworthy punishments by Sri Krishna is only emboldened as his counter heads to zero. His level of abuse also increases in its evil and darkness. Eventually, despite repeated warning he succumbs to his own ego at the hands of Krishna’s Sudarshana.

    One can draw parallels to unnatural objectives of Sambukha which causes the untimely deaths in Rama’s kingdom. While death at the hands of Rama would have earned him better options in future, but till date, this incident is misunderstood by the masses.

    In Devi Bhagavata, an interesting incident of Madhu and Kaitbha is narrated. Having stolen the Vedas and terrorized Brahma besides holding Vishnu in a prolonged hand to hand combat for thousands of years, their ego finally gets to them. Vishnu invokes Devi’s blessings. Her glances on Madhu Kaitabha only increases their Moha. So when Vishnu offered them a boon, they instead arrogantly offer MahaVishnu a boon, who seeks a boon that their death should be at HIS hands. Again seeing the entire world covered under water, they grant foolishly that their death can happen only on land, little knowing Vishnu would form a land mass by expanding his thighs.

If ego deludes the mind, no amount of accumulated powers due to Sadhana can be of any use. The power of the past that were borne out of Sadana/Tapasya do not help if they do not ground the GunaKarma in Dharma.

Myopic actions: Vara confers a huge position of strength. With power, comes a greater responsibility. If one is myopic in the use of great power, the consequences can be undesirable. Even the ignorant child, Anjaliputra Pavanakumara was made to forget his powers till Hanuman realigned completely for Rama kainkarya. Arjuna was stopped from demonstrating the Divyastras to merely do an ego boost. Kaikeyi didn’t understand the grave consequences of killing her own husband and happiness by exercising the boons she obtained to satisfy her desires.

    Amongst all the examples of people choosing to exercise their boons driven by Kama, Yudhishtra shows the right example. After YakshaPrashna, when Yama asks him to choose one person to regain life, he sticks to the path of Dharma by asking for Nakula, who can do the Pitrkarya for Madri. This again highlights that Vara usage and its dharma alignment determine the future direction of the individual.

Is it a boon or burden? At times, what appears as a boon, may not turn out to be one. We have heard of the Midas touch in the fables that turned out to be a burden. Devavrta on account of his Brahmacharya vrata is blessed by his father Shantanu to get death only when he seeks. This elevated him as Bhishma, yet wrapped him with his own promise to secure the Kingdom. Not only was he living past generations of chaos, death and Adharma, the blessing turned out to be a huge burden. He was not only a part of the Mahabharata war, but had to live weeks after on a bed of arrows, awaiting for an auspicious time to depart.

    Despite all the pain Bhishma endured, he was completely insulated as a Bhakta, Jnani and KarmaYogi. One must not forget that his birth itself was rooted in a curse of Prabhasa, the Vasu. Yet, his very elevated actions, being always rooted in Dharma, being constantly associated with Sadhus, Rishis and Mahatmas, his curse merely played out.

Is it a curse or blessing? Conversely what usually appears as a curse may not even be a curse. Dasaratha found himself at the receiving end of a curse, as he accidentally killed Rishi Sravanakumara, whose father, another Rishi, cursed him to die of PutraShoka. Dasaratha was without any offspring, got completely confused if this was a curse or a blessing.

    But the real nature of the curse is much subtle to grasp. While many from Rishis and even enemies’ wives like Tara and Mandodari, were able to understand Rama as an Avatara, Dasaratha, one of the wisest Kings, never thought of Rama more than his son. Due to this extreme affection, he failed to attain Moksha, which Rama granted to all Ayodhyavasis at the end of his rule. He merely goes to Swarga on account of his extreme Dharma centered actions. So though the curse was a blessing, it denied him the ultimate.

Lower forms of curse expression – The simplest benefit one can accrue from a shapa is to work the way out. Ganga, Mahabhisha (reborn as Shantanu), Prabhasa (reborn as Bhishma) used the accumulated Papa and Shapa to exhaust by leading a strenuous life to extricate themselves. The same is true as Kabandha of Ramayana or Gandharva Huhu who was cursed as a Makara in Srimad Bhagavatam. The curse on Aswattama is also playing out as an act of repentance.

    On most people, the curse merely acts as a punishment, as an outlet of their Karmaphala. Though sad, it reminds the weight of the curse and the highlight on the inaction on the part of the individual. Tataka upon the curse of Agastya merely worsens in her behavior by transforming herself from a Yakshini to a Rakshasi. Duryodhana was cursed by Maitreya who even told the curse will be useless if he turns a new leaf. Karna had a couple of curses, yet did nothing to counter them or evolve. He even discounted them as he believed in his prowess. They were one of the reasons behind his death. Pandu, though he tried to restrain himself, became a passive outlet to Kindama Rishi’s curse when he approached Madri. Krishna accepted Gandhari’s curse as an opportunity to establish Dharma from the growing Adharma from his own clan.

Using curse to evolve – Aside from the above, it is possible to springboard using the curse. Ahalya is perhaps the best example. Her greed led to her infidelity and curse from Gautama Maharishi. She followed her prescription to earn the personal visit of Rama Lakshmana and the accolade of Vishwamitra. She completely transcended her basal traits.

    Nahusha, despite performing a hundred Aswamedha Yagas and earning the post of Indra, did not overcome his lust. Worse yet, he did not grasp the basic of what GunaKarma of a Brahmana is and how he should interact with one. The curse of Agastya reduced him to a Sarpa but after a prolonged period of repentance, he encounters Yudhishtra and learns the correct answers.

    Yayati is another interesting example, who despite the turn of events and curse is steadfast in Dharma that keeps guiding not only his way out but also evolving him continuously. (Read Lessons from Yayati – Prelude, Endless desires, Renunciation, Swarga, Wisdom conversations 1, Wisdom conversations 2 and Satsangha)

Best thing to do with a curse - The best option with a curse is to hold on to the highest at any cost, which will help one evolve. Jaya Vijaya, the doorkeepers of Vaikunta were cursed by the Sankadi brothers. When given the choice to evolve fast and hard or slow and painless, they chose the former. They were born as Hiranyaksha-Hiranyakasipu, Ravana-Kumbhakarna and Sisupala-Dantavakra. They embodied maximum tamas. Yet after even interaction and death at the hands of Bhagawan, the quality and quantity of evil reduced by great magnitudes.

    Parikshit demonstrated this by dispensing his responsibilities when he learnt that his curse would be to meet death at the hands of Takshaka in a week. He wasted no time to head towards Naimisharanya, the abode of Rishis. His Karma and Shraddha was blessed with the arrival of Suka who gave him Bhagavatam and the path to Moksha in just a week of concentrated inward evolution.

    Gajendra was originally a cursed Pandya King, Indradyumna. Having struggled due to the pride of his strength, his surrender to the Absolute and purity of purpose, not wanting to be saved from the crocodile, but to be liberated forever earned his Moksha. The involved Makara had a different Object of attention and an Objective, and hence had a different ending.

All stories, what is in it for me?

The popular modern Hindu mindset is borrowed by the Western one that these stories are mythologies. If one were to see this like Greek or Norse myths or like Harry Potter fantasy, the reader has lost the plot. Itihasapuranas are all about applying it in our daily lives with a practical lens. Here are two simple lessons.

Lesson 1: Vara or Shapa is a snapshot in time that was a concentrated expression of the past. But, what we do now and in the future is more potent. Being entangled only in that incident and project it positively or negatively rooted as an echo of the past, merely augments the expression of Ahamkara. There is no active change in the Gunas for the better.

    Instead take a firm stance in distributing the fruits of you Vara to others in line with Dharma or proactively raise your Sattva quotient and making all the Rajasic activities aligned with Dharma, it starts altering the underlying GunaKarma machinery for the better. So the fruits of the Vara and the dormant potential of the Shapa are both unleashed in favor of our higher evolution.

    Vara and Shapa provide windows into the potentiality of our focused efforts of the past, yet the future direction lies firmly in the present actions. Shapavimochana is special condition that is needed to evolve out of the miserable plight one has gotten into, to transform into a higher state. This happens only when one is working on oneself with rigor and discipline of tapas. This gradual shift in the gunas blossom the persona transformation that is sustained by the engine of good consistent karmas.

Lesson 2 – The continuous Sadhana/Tapasya leads to a Vara. In case of Shapa, the Sadhana is after the fact. In both cases, there has to be a paradigm shift in our attitude towards dharma alignment. In such a Sadhana, it is paramount to properly establish the OBJECT OF MEDITATION and the OBJECTIVE. In case of asuras getting the boons, the Objective was definitely misaligned with Dharma, the Object of Meditation was a limited deity who was seen as a granter of their wishes and worst mistake was that the Subject as their body, not Atman. The same error happens when one is not using a Shapa to springboard like Gajendra or Parikshit.

    This error in judgment of the SUBJECT, the OBJECT and the OBJECTIVE is a factor of our GunaKarma and our willingness to commit our present/future steps in line with Dharma. The correct understanding of the Subject and the object and aligning the Objectives with Dharma provide the correct momentum and direction of our inner evolution.

    The constant pondering over the wrong subject, object and objective skews our gunas, leading us to get overly attached to the object through a crooked objective. This results in a perverted view and over reliance of our Ahamkara on the object, like in a boon. Over time, this lends to error in judgment causing us to make more mistakes by dragging us deeper in adharma. This trend and possibility can be negated by rooting oneself in Dharma, which not only corrects our objective misalignment, but also corrects the relationship between the subject and the object, besides deepening the understanding about the Self.

    Dharma is an effective antidote to the materialistic mindset of possessing objects to feel more complete or derive happiness. In short, the possession or absence of objects don’t make a dent in the Dharma orientation. As evident through out, attitude doesn’t change 180 degrees in a jiffy, instead is affected by small consistent incremental changes through our Karmas. Attitude can be improved through Satsangha, svadhyaya and sadhana as they are bound to alter and align our GunaKarma with Dharma.

ॐ तत् सत

Yuga - overcoming evils of Kali - 3

     Patterns in human behavior seem to be a factor of time. This is obvious from the insights of Veda Vyasa we gathered in Yuga – patterns in time – 1. As we get deeper in Kali Yuga, we find there is a trending of Tamasic nature with a corresponding reduction in Sattva and eventually Rajas. Due to this morphed state, Kali manifests many dark sides as is evident in Yuga – evils of Kali – 2. Even a non believer and non-observer will get startled with these dire predictions. Any astute percipient can not only map and confirm these reasonable forecasts of logic through observing the society around, but also measure the intensity across time. Mere assumption of these dire facts shocks the human mind which craves for a solution. Luckily, Veda Vyasa in this 12^th Skandha, 3^rd Chapter has kept the narration and logic simple, that our petty minds can also track. He has been kind enough to explain the way out of this darkness and a solution that is universally applicable, with one caveat – the solution is always applicable at the individual level, though the effects can be felt at the society level or even transform the Yuga into Krita.

Escaping the vice grip of Kali Yuga:

   The solution we crave has to be simple, as we found in Part 2 of this series. The human attention has become very ephemeral, selfish, myopic and fraught with delusion. It also must be universally applicable, as the distracted minds cannot process the multitude of solutions to arrive at an apt and specific one to suit their temperment.

कलौ न राजन्जगतां परं गुरुं त्रिलोकनाथानतपादपङ्कजम् । प्रायेण मर्त्या भगवन्तमच्युतं यक्ष्यन्ति पाषण्डविभिन्नचेतस: ॥ (SB 12-3-43)

kalau na rājan jagatāṁ paraṁ guruṁ tri-loka-nāthānata-pāda-paṅkajam prāyeṇa martyā bhagavantam acyutaṁ yakṣyanti pāṣaṇḍa-vibhinna-cetasaḥ

O King! In Kali Yuga, heavily influenced by the arguments of atheists, for the most part, the masses ignore Achyuta, who is the Supreme Being in the Universe, the spiritual master, the Head of all the three worlds. The divine beings are after HIS LOTUS FEET, yet humans choose to ignore.

    We see a trend around the world against most organized religions. While the logic and rationale of science seem to be rocking the bedrock of Abrahamic thinking, the exact lack of logical thinking seems to be plaguing the followers of Sanatana Dharma. Secularism in India has been misinterpreted to mean minority appeasement and being vitriolic hinduphobia. Due to the lack of connection to the roots of the civilization, coupled with the shallow selfish thinking of the modern man, atheistic ideas seem to be the latest trend (though it has been in vogue since aeons). Instead of being grateful to everything around, the attention has been diverted to momentary pleasures. The former is possible only by expanding the mind to match the Cosmic mind, which automatically develops a reverence for the expanded Consciousness. The exalted beings obviously are in awe of the Ultimate Being, whilst the lower petty minds seem to give special attention to ignoring the very Source.

यन्नामधेयं म्रियमाण आतुर: पतन् स्खलन् वा विवशो गृणन् पुमान् । विमुक्तकर्मार्गल उत्तमां गतिं प्राप्नोति यक्ष्यन्ति न तं कलौ जना: ॥ (SB 12-3-44)

yan-nāmadheyaṁ mriyamāṇa āturaḥ patan skhalan vā vivaśo gṛṇan pumān vimukta-karmārgala uttamāṁ gatiṁ prāpnoti yakṣyanti na taṁ kalau janāḥ

A person in death bed, distressed with faltering voice, if he takes the holy name, he will be liberated from the chains of Karma and attain the highest destination. Still, people in Kali yuga will not take HIS name, even when facing utter desperation.

    Unlike, desert cults that promise release from sins only by signing up, Sanatana Dharma educates the human being on the process of bondage due to Vasanas. It gives hope even to the worst sinner amongst us. We hear the story of Ajamila, who was able to redeem his trajectory and certain self destruction at his death bed. Something as powerful, yet very simples as taking Bhagawan Nama that can resolve our samsaric bondage. Tragically, the human mind will not be inclined to this direction in Kali Yuga.

पुंसां कलिकृतान् दोषान् द्रव्यदेशात्मसम्भवान् । सर्वान् हरति चित्तस्थो भगवान् पुरुषोत्तम: ॥ (SB 12-3-45)

puṁsāṁ kali-kṛtān doṣān dravya-deśātma-sambhavān sarvān harati citta-stho bhagavān puruṣottamaḥ

In Kali Yuga, everything is polluted by the touch of evil, through food (and drinks), place of living and sense contacts. Residing in the heart, the almighty Bhagawan destroys all the evil.

    Kali wields a powerful touch of evil. It pollutes through food, environment and/or sensory contacts. All these agencies form an ecosystem and promote the darkness of Kali. Yet Bhagawan, residing in the heart, is not only immune, but also destroys all the ill effects of Kali.

श्रुत: सङ्कीर्तितो ध्यात: पूजितश्चाद‍ृतोऽपि वा । नृणां धुनोति भगवान् हृत्स्थो जन्मायुताशुभम् ॥ (SB 12-3-46)

śrutaḥ saṅkīrtito dhyātaḥ pūjitaś cādṛto’pi vā nṛṇāṁ dhunoti bhagavān hṛt-stho janmāyutāśubham

Having heard, glorified (through hymns, slokas, songs), being meditated upon, worshiped or adored, men (in Kali Yuga) cleanse the evil tendencies harbored due to thousands of birth, by the grace of Bhagawan, who is established in their hearts (by the above means).

    Bhagawan’s presence in the heart can be established in a multitude of ways. Depending on the vasanas, the individual chooses the different paths. The underlying mechanism is a gradually increasing affinity to greater values, as embodied in Bhagawan. There is a shift in the outlook of the invididual from a limited, myopic, self-centered Ahamkara driven attitude to a more dharma centered, Bhagawan oriented mindset. This brings a radical positive change in the gunakarma predisposition of the individual for the better. The more these mechanisms of change are engaged as a part of Sadhana, the quicker and drastic is the metamorphosis.

यथा हेम्नि स्थितो वह्निर्दुर्वर्णं हन्ति धातुजम् । एवमात्मगतो विष्णुर्योगिनामशुभाशयम् ॥ (SB 12-3-47)

yathā hemni sthito vahnir durvarṇaṁ hanti dhātu-jam evam ātma-gato viṣṇur yoginām aśubhāśayam

Just as discoloration and impurities in gold due to other metals get removed due to contact with fire, as Bhagawan Vishnu enters the heart of the spiritual aspirant, HE removes the evil tendencies in the individual.

    Veda Vyasa gives a beautiful example of gold when heated, starts giving up the other metal contaminants. In the same way, the layers of evil tendencies and bad vasanas cloaking the individual who assumes a mistaken identity of a body, by constantly kindling the fire of Sadhana of associating with Bhagawan, through his Nama, by a myriad ways, gets past the chains of Samsara. Just as pure gold is left in the process, the real nature Atman keeps shining in the heart of the Sadaka.

    If we do not take the literal meaning of the word heart, but instead take it to represent the core of the individual, the very essence of the personality, we are interestingly left with a direct message. The human identity revolves on the actions and predisposition of the individual, in other words, gunakarma. By incorporating the different methods mentioned in SB 12-3-46, a powerful gunakarma transformation is set in motion, thereby bringing a completely transmutation of the personality. Thus installing Bhagawan would literally mean incorporating these transformative changes on a fast track and as a culmination leading to rising above Gunas and Karma.

विद्यातप:प्राणनिरोधमैत्री- तीर्थाभिषेकव्रतदानजप्यै: । नात्यन्तशुद्धिं लभतेऽन्तरात्मा यथा हृदिस्थे भगवत्यनन्ते ॥ (SB 12-3-48)

vidyā-tapaḥ-prāṇa-nirodha-maitrī-tīrthābhiṣeka-vrata-dāna-japyaiḥ nātyanta-śuddhiṁ labhate’ntarātmā yathā hṛdi-sthe bhagavaty anante

By engaging in learning, austerities, Pranayama, friendliness, pilgrimage to teerthas/kshetras, observing strict vows, charity, repetition of mantras one cannot attain the same purification of the mind and avoid relapsing the old state of the mind than by repeatedly holding Bhagawan in one’s heart.

    This Sloka is the clue to the above observation on GunaKarma. All the different purifactory methods do not measure up, unless accompanied by the transformation that happens with Bhagawan established in one’s heart.

तस्मात् सर्वात्मना राजन् हृदिस्थं कुरु केशवम् । म्रियमाणो ह्यवहितस्ततो यासि परां गतिम् ॥ (SB 12-3-49)

tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan hṛdi-sthaṁ kuru keśavam mriyamāṇo hy avahitas tato yāsi parāṁ gatim

Therefore O King! Strive your best to install Kesava in your heart. If you, whose death is imminent, make your mind concentrated on this Supreme Being now, you can gain the Ultimate state.

    In this scenario, Parikshit was facing imminent death. In our case, we too face certain death (of the body), except that we do not know the expiry date. The effectiveness of the transformative power of Bhagawan established in our heart is undisputable and it leads us to Moksha. With a certain antidote to Samsara the only pending action is to give Bhagawan a toehold in our hearts.

म्रियमाणैरभिध्येयो भगवान् परमेश्वर: । आत्मभावं नयत्यङ्ग सर्वात्मा सर्वसंश्रय: ॥ (SB 12-3-50)

mriyamāṇair abhidhyeyo bhagavān parameśvaraḥ ātma-bhāvaṁ nayaty aṅga sarvātmā sarva-saṁśrayaḥ

The worshipful Bhagawan, the Supreme Being, is the one Being that needs to be contemplated upon by a person facing certain imminent death. This Supreme Being is the Atman and support of all, takes unto HIMSELF, all those who entrust themselves to HIM.

    The focus revolves around placing the attention on the Universal Being. The Ahamkara acts as a gatekeeper and makes one feel as if no influence of Atman on the individual, when in fact, it is everything the assumed personality falsely arrogates.

कलेर्दोषनिधे राजन्नस्ति ह्येको महान् गुण: । कीर्तनादेव कृष्णस्य मुक्तसङ्ग: परं व्रजेत् ॥ (SB 12-3-51)

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet

O King!, Though Kali is the ocean of faults and the seat of corruption, it has one excellent virtue. For in this age, Kirtan, singing the glories and chanting the name of Bhagawan Krishna alone can erase all the attachments and yearning from the heart of a man and take him to the Highest.

    Kali Yuga seems to be overwhelmingly dark by immersing everyone it contacts deep into Tamas. Yet it has one virtue, which its redeeming grace. By merely chanting Bhagawan Nama alone, one can not only erase all the bad vasanas but also create a transformation and a positive yearning towards Bhagawan. It expands one’s understanding and observance of Dharma. This simplicity of solution, Universal in application, very practical for Kali Yuga tendencies may seem too good to be true. Only a practitioner and a beneficiary can attest that it is too good and also true. We will study the working mechanism shortly.

कृते यद्ध्यायतो विष्णुं त्रेतायां यजतो मखै: । द्वापरे परिचर्यायां कलौ तद्धरिकीर्तनात् ॥ (SB 12-3-52)

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

Whatever is attained by meditation on Vishnu in Krita Yuga, through Yagnas in Treta Yuga, through serving Bhagawan directly or through worship in Dwapara Yuga, all that is obtained by Kirtana (singing the name of Bhagawan or chanting) alone in Kali Yuga.

    This is a very popular sloka that highlights the traditional mechanisms of spirituality in every Yuga. As understood in the first part of this series, Patterns in time, time is broken into Yugas based on the GunaKarma trends. Though there are different measures of time to highlight the celestial or human dimension, the human aspect of Yuga is largely resolved aroud GunaKarma by Veda Vyasa. This observation is deep rooted that we find the following sloka is repeated in Vishnu Purana and Padma Purana.

ध्यायन् कृते यजन् यज्ञैस् त्रेतायां द्वापरेऽर्चयन् । यद् आप्नोति तद् आप्नोति कलौ सङ्कीर्त्य केशवम् ॥ (Vishnu purana 6-2-17; Padma Purana Uttara Khanda 72-25)

dhyāyan kṛte yajan yajñais tretāyāṁ dvāpare ’rcayan yad āpnoti tad āpnoti kalau saṅkīrtya keśavam

Whatever is achieved by mediation in Satya Yuga, by Yagnas in Treta Yuga, by worship in Dwapara Yuga is obtained by simply chanting and singing the name of Keshava.

    The solutions followed in a Yuga is a factor of the GunaKarma trend of the society of the times. In Krita Yuga, there is a overwhelming Sattva dominance which allows the individual to perform internal investigation through meditation. In Treta Yuga, Sattva dominance is shared by Rajas. Due to this, meditation ceases to be a dominant pathway. But as Sattva is still the driver, the masses pivot to Yagas and Yagnas. We see the dominance of these references in Ramayana like Vishwamitra seeking Rama’s support for his Yagnas, Putrakameshti Yaga that led to the birth of Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrugna and the Ashwamedha Yagas of many Ikshavaku Kings.

    SattvaRajas of Treta gets replaced by RajoTamas in Dwapara, thus seriously eroding the ability to retain long periods of focus. This results in shorter attention span and humans get devolved to the state where they can only do shorter duration periods of intense worship.

    In Kali Yuga, the Gunas predominantly Tamasic and increases more and more in Tamas as times pass by. Coupled with that we see how the human mind cannot use instruments of Buddhi or pathways like Karma, Jnana, Dhyana. These options do not vanish or become extinct. They remain the forte of the miniscule minority who still are geared towards it due to their BMI and Vasana orientation. As the masses are emotionally excited easily, the only remaining solution leans on Bhakti marga. But with the corrupted minds and times, even that becomes a herculean task leaving the only everpotent option of Nama Sankirtan. Remembering the names, stories, deeds and love of Bhagawan. The potency of this antidote can not be eroded by time.

How does focus on Bhagawan Nama uplift an individual dragged into perpetual samsara?

   The Jagat is pervaded by Ishwara. Just like waves are part of the ocean and have no independent identity or existence, we all exist in the same Brahmam. Yet want to carve a separate independent identity. This self arrogating principle of Ahamkara is the root cause of our false perception that we are separate. This core is tightly wrapped around with millions of our Vasanas and fleshed with the cloth of our body. Though this entity is powered by the same Paramatman, the ignorance shrouded due to this Ahamkara does not let us know about this all pervading, only real entity. Instead it comes to believe that the body, the feelings, the temporary perceptions of its poseessions as its only reality.

    To grasp this subtleness one must undergo a gunakarma transformation. One may have the ability to hear even a pin drop. But in the battlefield of the mind with the jet engines of our senses roaring, the bombs of our karma exploding all over and in the din and mayhem of our own making, we are most certainly unfit to hear the subtle pin drop. In the same way, Ahamkara orchestrated vasana playout and the enslaved senses pulling it externally, makes it impossible for look within.

    The fortune of bringing BhagawanNama into the mix provides a tiny toehold in this impregnable fortress of individual on a steep mountain cliff. The Ruchi developed by the association of Bhagawan through his names, kirtans and stories creates a favorable after taste wanting to taste it again and again. Even if the contact was selfish and kama driven, this lingering goodness begins is magical transformation.

    Slowly the impact of Bhagawan happens on this stronghold of Ahamkara. There is a certain gunakarma transformation that comes about. The Ahamkara can use only Kama centered myopic Karma to fuel its vasanas. But with the arrival of BhagawanNama there is a gradual but definite orientation towards Dharma centered Karma. These leave favorable impressions behind, but also alter the Guna composition thus creating a positive upward spiral. Through time, BhagawanNama expands the toehold into a foothold and more, as more good vasanas bring the gunakarma transformation. All this is made through a simple organic process of subtly rearranging the way our gunas and Karmas to align with a more natural and superior way, instead of the habituated sense driven option.

An important caveat:

    A simple minded person immediately springs a question that despite their repeated invoking Bhagawan Nama they do not see any perceptible change. A critic, hypocrite and adharmi goes a step further by quoting our own itihasapuranas to point that characters like Duryodhana, Ravana never got benefit from even being, seeing, talking with Bhagawan.

    The answer lies in studying Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16 (Daivasura sampat vibhaga yoga). Krishna takes an entire chapter to highlight primarily the nature of Daivi and Asuric sampat. The Vasanas and GunaKarma become so Tamasic and dark that by default it is oriented towards opposing Sattva, whereever possible with the strongest attack. Examples of Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, Bhasmasura and others come to mind. Lost in this whataboutery is the grace of Krishna even for Sishupala (Choose Krishna, even if for wrong reasons).

    The question still remains – can merely hearing Bhagawan Nama once purify? Most certainly, but the gunakarma of the listener comes into the question. Prahlada was the jewel amongst Daityas, was able to absorb the wisdom of Bhagawan Nama in the womb, but his father merely displayed the worst asuric traits only to be killed by Nrisimha. A factor of our GunaKarma. It may be bright and sunny or rainy outside, but if I am deep in a cave, we may never know, yet this impact will seep through. We must not lose the focus that the heights of evil of Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu was not the same intensity with their next birth as Ravana and Kumbhakarna and as noted Sishupala, Dantavakra, their last birth are hardly considered as villains. How did this transformation happen? Association with Bhagawan.

    Eventually Bhagawan Nama, Kirtana, learning about his Leelas clean up our vasana pile so much it starts connecting with the shining Atman within. The fortress of Ahamkara is permanently destroyed and now becomes the eternal abode of its sole occupant and owner. This permanent merger of Atman into the Paramatman is popularly understood as Moksha. The entire process is clinical, subtle and happens even without any extraordinary effort on the part of the self absorbed Ahamkara. This process is perfectly suited for the distraction ridden, evil driven, kama oriented Kali Yuga. Hence the prescription of Veda Vyasa and the Rishis. May Bhagawan’s Nama continue to inspire us as it transforms anyone that comes in contact with them. The door way to the divine qualities of Bhagawan are certainly through his Nama in Kali Yuga. May this biggest blessing of Kali Yuga be available to each one of us, by Bhagawan’s abundant grace.

ॐ तत् सत