|
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
12
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
14
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
16
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
18
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
22
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
24
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
26
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
28
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
30
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
32
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
34
35
35
35
35
35
35
35
35
35
36
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
38
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
40
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
42
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
44
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
46
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
48
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
50
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
52
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
54
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
56
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
58
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
60
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
62
63
63
63
63
63
63
63
63
64
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
66
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
68
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
70
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
72
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
74
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
76
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
78
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
80
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
82
83
83
83
83
83
83
84
85
85
85
86
|
KB 1970-2-33 / The Deliverance of Lord Siva
33 / The Deliverance of Lord Siva
As a great devotee of Krsna, King Pariksit was already
liberated, but for clarification he was asking various
questions of Sukadeva Gosvami. In the previous chapter, King
Pariksit's question was, "What is the ultimate goal of the
Vedas?" And Sukadeva Gosvami explained the matter, giving
authoritative descriptions from the disciplic succession,
beginning with Sanandana down to Narayana Rsi, Narada,
Vyasadeva, and then he himself. The conclusion was that
devotional service, or bhakti, is the ultimate goal of the
Vedas. A neophyte devotee may question, "If the ultimate goal
of life, or the conclusion of the Vedas, is to elevate oneself
to the platform of devotional service, then why is it observed
that a devotee of Lord Visnu is generally not very prosperous
materially, whereas a devotee of Lord Siva is found to be very
opulent?" In order to clarify this matter, Pariksit Maharaja
asked Sukadeva Gosvami: "My dear Sukadeva Gosvami, it is
generally found that those who engage in the worship of Lord
Siva, whether in human, demoniac, or demigod society, become
very opulent materially, although Lord Siva himself
lives just like a poverty-stricken person. On the other hand,
the devotees of Lord Visnu, who is the controller of the
goddess of fortune, do not appear to be very prosperous, and
sometimes they are even found to be living without any material
opulence at all. Lord Siva lives underneath a tree or in the
snow of the Himalayan Mountains. He does not even construct a
house for himself, but still the worshipers of Lord Siva are
very rich. Krsna, or Lord Visnu, however, lives very opulently,
whether in Vaikuntha or in this material world, but His
devotees appear to be poverty-stricken. Why is this so?"
Maharaja Pariksit's question is very intelligent. The two
classes of devotees, namely the devotees of Lord Siva and the
devotees of Lord Visnu, are always in disagreement. Even today
in India these two classes of devotees still criticize each
other, and especially in South India, the followers of
Ramanujacarya and the followers of Sankaracarya hold occasional
meetings for understanding the Vedic conclusion. Generally, the
followers of Ramanujacarya come out victorious in such meetings.
So Pariksit Maharaja wanted to clarify the situation by asking
this question of Sukadeva Gosvami. That Lord Siva lives as a
poor man although his devotees appear to be very opulent,
whereas Lord Krsna or Lord Visnu is always opulent, and yet
His devotees appear to be poverty-stricken, is a situation
which appears contradictory and puzzling to a discriminating
person.
Sukadeva Gosvami began to reply to King Pariksit's inquiry
about the apparent contradictions regarding the worship of
Lord Siva and that of Lord Visnu. Lord Siva is the
master of the material energy. The material energy is
represented by goddess Durga, and Lord Siva happens to
be her husband. Since goddess Durga is completely under the
subjugation of Lord Siva, it is to be understood that Lord
Siva is the master of this material energy. The material energy
is manifested in three qualities, namely goodness, passion and
ignorance, and therefore Lord Siva is the master of these three
qualities. Although he is in association with these qualities
for the benefit of the conditioned soul, Lord Siva is the
director and is not affected. Although
the conditioned soul is affected by the three qualities, Lord
Siva, because he is the master of these qualities, is not
affected by them.
From the statements of Sukadeva Gosvami we can understand that
the effects of worshiping different demigods are not, as some
less intelligent persons suppose, the same as the effects of
worshiping Lord Visnu. He clearly states that by
worshiping Lord Siva one achieves one reward, whereas by
worshiping Lord Visnu one achieves a different reward. This is
also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita: Those who worship the
different demigods achieve the desired results which the
respective demigods can reward. Similarly, those who worship
the material energy receive the suitable reward for such
activities, and those who worship the pitas receive similar
results. But those who are engaged in devotional service or
worship of the Supreme Lord, Visnu or Krsna, go to the
Vaikuntha planets or Krsnaloka. One cannot approach the
transcendental region or paravyoma, the spiritual sky, by
worshiping Lord Siva or Brahma or any other demigod.
Since this material world is a product of the three qualities
of material nature, all varieties of manifestations come from
those three qualities. With the aid of materialistic science,
modern civilization has created many machines and comforts of
life, and yet they are only varieties of the interactions of
the three material qualities. Although the devotees of Lord
Siva are able to obtain many material acquisitions, we should
know that they are simply collecting products
manufactured by the three qualities. The three qualities are
again subdivided into sixteen, namely the ten senses (five
working senses and the five knowledge-acquiring senses), the
mind, and the five elements (earth, water, air, fire and sky).
These sixteen items are further extensions of the three
qualities. Material happiness or opulence means gratification
of the senses, specifically the genitals, the tongue and the
mind. By exercising our minds we create many pleasurable things
just for enjoyment by the genitals and the tongue. The opulence
of a person within this material world is estimated in terms of
his exercise of the genitals and the tongue, or, in other words,
how well he is able to utilize his sexual capacities and how
well he is able to satisfy his fastidious taste by eating
palatable dishes. Material advancement of civilization
necessitates creating objects of enjoyment by mental concoction
just to become happy on the basis of these two principles:
pleasures for the genitals and pleasures for the tongue. Herein
lies the answer to King Pariksit's question to Sukadeva Gosvami
as to why the worshipers of Lord Siva are so opulent.
The devotees of Lord Siva are only opulent in terms of the
material qualities. Factually, such so-called advancement of
civilization is the cause of entanglement in material existence.
It is actually not advancement, but degradation. The
conclusion is that because Lord Siva is the master of the three
qualities, his devotees are given things manufactured by the
interactions of these qualities for satisfaction of the
senses. In the Bhagavad-gita, however, we get instruction from
Lord Krsna that one has to transcend the qualitative existence.
Nistraigunyo bhavarjuna: the mission of human life is to
become transcendental to the three qualities. Unless one is
nistraigunya, he cannot get free from material
entanglement. In other words, favors received from Lord Siva
are not actually beneficial to the conditioned souls, although
apparently such facilities seem to be opulent.
Sukadeva Gosvami continued: "The Supreme Personality of
Godhead Hari is transcendental to the three qualities of
material nature." It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita
that anyone who surrenders unto Him surpasses the
control of the three qualities of material nature. Therefore,
since Hari's devotees are transcendental to the control of the
three material qualities, certainly He Himself is
transcendental. It is stated, therefore, in the
Srimad-Bhagavatam that Hari, or Krsna, is the original Supreme
Personality. There are two kinds of prakrtis, or potencies,
namely the internal potency and the external potency, and Krsna
is the overlord of both these prakrtis or potencies. He is
sarva-drk, or the overseer of all the actions of the internal
and external potencies, and He is also described as upadrasta,
the supreme advisor. Because He is the supreme advisor, He is
above all the demigods, who merely follow the directions of the
supreme advisor. As such, if one directly follows the
instructions of the Supreme Lord, as inculcated in the Bhagavad-
gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam, then gradually one
becomes nirguna, or above the interaction of the material
qualities. To be nirguna means to be bereft of material
opulences because, as we have explained, material opulence
means an increase of the actions and reactions of the three
material qualities. By worshiping the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, instead of being puffed up with material opulence one
becomes enriched with spiritual advancement of knowledge in
Krsna consciousness. To become nirguna means to achieve eternal
peace, fearlessness, religiousness, knowledge and renunciation.
All these are symptoms of becoming free from the contamination
of the material qualities.
Sukadeva Gosvami, in answering Maharaja Pariksit's
question, went on to cite an historical instance regarding
Pariksit Maharaja's grandfather, King Yudhisthira. He said that
after finishing the asvamedha sacrifice in the great
sacrificial arena, King Yudhisthira, in the presence of great
authorities, enquired on that very same point:
how is it that the devotees of Lord Siva become materially
opulent, whereas the devotees of Lord Visnu do not? Sukadeva
Gosvami specifically referred to King Yudhisthira as "your
grandfather" so that Maharaja Pariksit would be encouraged to
think that he was related to Krsna and that his grandfathers
were intimately connected with the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
Although Krsna is always very satisfied by nature,
when this question was asked by Maharaja
Yudhisthira He became even more satisfied because these
questions and their answers would bear a great meaning for the
entire Krsna conscious society. Whenever Lord Krsna speaks
about something to a specific devotee, it is not only
meant for that devotee, but for
the entire human society. Instructions by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead are important even to the demigods,
headed by Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and others, and
anyone who does not take advantage of the instructions of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who descends within this world
for the benefit of all living entities, is certainly very
unfortunate.
Lord Krsna answered the question of Maharaja Yudhisthira as
follows: "If I especially favor a devotee and especially wish
to care for him, the first thing I do is take away his riches."
When the devotee becomes a penniless pauper or is put into a
comparatively poverty-stricken position, his relatives and
family members no longer take interest in him, and in most
cases they give up their connection with him. The devotee then
becomes doubly unhappy. First of all he becomes
unhappy because his riches have been taken away by Krsna, and
he is made even more unhappy when his relatives desert him
because of his poverty-stricken condition. We should note,
however, that when a devotee falls into a miserable condition
in this way, it is not due to past impious activities, known as
karma-phala; the poverty-stricken position of the devotee is a
creation of the Personality of Godhead. Similarly, when a
devotee becomes materially opulent, that is also not due to his
pious activities. In either case, whether the devotee becomes
poorer or richer, the arrangement is made by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. This arrangement is especially made by
Krsna for His devotee just to make him completely dependent
upon Him and to free him from all material obligations. He can
then concentrate his energies, mind and body -- everything --
for the service of the Lord, and that is pure devotional
service. In the Narada-pancaratra it is therefore
explained, sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam, which
means "being freed from all designations." Works performed for
family, society, community, nation, or humanity are all
designated: "I belong to this society," "I belong to this
community," "I belong to this nation," "I belong to this
species of life." Such identities are all merely designations.
When, by the grace of the Lord, a devotee becomes freed from
all designations, his devotional service is actually naiskarma.
Jnanis are very much attracted by the position of naiskarma,
in which one's actions no longer have material effect.
When the devotee's actions are freed from effects,
they are no longer in the category of karma-
phalam, or fruitive activities. As explained before by the
personified Vedas, the happiness and distress of a devotee are
produced by the Personality of Godhead for the devotee, and the
devotee therefore does not care whether he is in happiness or
in distress. He goes on with his duties in executing devotional
service. Although his behavior seems to be subject to the
action and reaction of fruitive activities, he is actually
freed from the results of action.
It may be questioned why a devotee is put into such tribulation
by the Personality of Godhead. The answer is that this kind of
arrangement by the Lord is just like a father's sometimes
becoming unkind to his sons. Because the devotee is a
surrendered soul and is taken charge of by the Supreme Lord,
whenever the Lord puts him into any condition
of life -- either in distress or happiness -- it is to
be understood that behind this arrangement there is a large
plan designed by the Personality of Godhead. For example, Lord
Krsna put the Pandavas into a distressed condition so acute
that even grandfather Bhisma could not comprehend how such
distress could occur. He lamented that although the whole
Pandava family was headed by King Yudhisthira, the most pious
king, and protected by the two great warriors Bhima and Arjuna,
and although, above all, the Pandavas were all intimate friends
and relatives of Lord Krsna, they still had to undergo such
tribulations. Later on, however, it was proved that this was
planned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna as part
of His great mission to annihilate the miscreants and protect
the devotees.
Another question may be raised: Since
a devotee is put into different
kinds of happy and distressful conditions by the
arrangement of the Personality of Godhead, and a common man
is put into such conditions as a result of his past deeds, then
what is the difference? How is the devotee any better than the
ordinary karmi ? The answer is that the karmis and the devotees
are not on the same level. In whatever condition of life the
karmi may be, he continues in the cycle of birth and death
because the seed of karma, or fruitive activity, is there, and
it fructifies whenever there is an opportunity. By the law of
karma a common man is perpetually entangled in repeated birth
and death, whereas a devotee's distress and happiness, not
being under the laws of karma, are part of a temporary
arrangement by the Supreme Lord which does not entangle the
devotee. Such an arrangement is made by the Lord only to serve
a temporary purpose. If a karmi performs auspicious acts, he is
elevated to the heavenly planets, and if he acts impiously, he
is put into a hellish condition of life. But whether a devotee
acts in a so-called pious or in an impious manner, he is
neither elevated nor degraded, but is transferred to the
spiritual kingdom. Therefore a devotee's happiness and distress
and a karmi's happiness and distress are not on the same level.
This fact is corroborated by a speech by Yamaraja to his
servants in connection with the liberation of Ajamila. Yamaraja
advised his followers that
persons who have never uttered the holy name of the Lord nor
remembered the form, quality and pastimes of the Lord should
be approached by his watchguards. Yamaraja also advised his
servants never to approach the devotees. On the contrary, he
instructed his messengers that if they meet a devotee they
should offer their respectful obeisances. So there is no
question of a devotee's being promoted or degraded within this
material world. As there is a gulf of difference between the
punishment awarded by the mother and the punishment awarded by
an enemy, so a devotee's distressed condition is not the same
as the distressed condition of a common karmi.
Here another question may be raised. If God is all-
powerful, why should He try to reform His devotee by putting
him in distress? The answer is that when the Supreme
Personality of Godhead puts His devotee into a condition of
distress, it is not without purpose. Sometimes the purpose is
that in distress a devotee's feelings of attachment to Krsna
are magnified. For example, when Krsna, before leaving the
capital of the Pandavas for His home, was asking for
permission to leave, Kuntidevi said, "My dear Krsna, in our
distressed condition You were always present with us. Now,
because we have been elevated to a royal position, You are
leaving us. I would therefore prefer to live in distress than
to lose You." When a devotee is put into a situation of
distress, his devotional activities are accelerated. Therefore,
to show special favor to a devotee, the Lord sometimes puts him
into distress. Besides that, it is stated that the sweetness of
happiness is sweeter to those who have tasted bitterness. The
Supreme Lord descends to this material world just to protect
His devotees from distress. In other words, if devotees were
not in a distressed condition, the Lord would not have come
down. As for His killing the demons or the miscreants, this
can be easily done by His various energies, just as many asuras
are killed by His external energy, goddess Durga. Therefore the
Lord does not need to come down personally to kill such demons,
but when His devotee is in distress He must come. Lord
Nrsimhadeva appeared not to kill Hiranyakasipu
but to see Prahlada and to give him blessings. In other words,
because Prahlada Maharaja was put into very great distress, the
Lord appeared.
When, after the dense, dark night, there is finally sunrise in
the morning, it is very pleasant. When there is scorching heat,
cold water is very pleasant and when there is freezing winter,
hot water is very pleasant. Similarly, when a devotee, after
experiencing the condition of the material world, relishes the
spiritual happiness awarded by the Lord, his position becomes
still more pleasant and enjoyable.
The Lord continued: "When My devotee is bereft of all material
riches and is deserted by his relatives, friends and family
members, because he has no one to look after him, he completely
takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord." Srila
Narottamadasa Thakur has sung in this connection, "My
dear Lord Krsna, O son of Nanda Maharaja, You are now standing
before me along with Srimati Radharani, the daughter of King
Vrsabhanu. I am now surrendering unto You. Please accept me.
Please do not kick me away. I have no shelter other than You."
When a devotee is thus put into so-called miserable conditions
and is bereft of riches and family, he tries to revive his
original position of material opulence. But although he tries
again and again, Krsna again and again takes away all his
resources. Thus he finally becomes disappointed in material
activities, and in that stage of frustration in all endeavors,
he can fully surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Such persons are advised by the Lord from within to associate
with devotees. By associating with devotees they naturally
become inclined to render service to the Personality of Godhead,
and they immediately get all facilities from the Lord to
advance in Krsna consciousness. The non-devotees,
however, are very careful about preserving their material
condition of life. Generally, therefore, such non-
devotees do not come to worship the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, but worship Lord Siva or other demigods for immediate
material profit. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said, therefore,
kanksantah karmanam siddhim yajanta iha devatah: the karmis,
in order to achieve success within this material world, worship
the various demigods. It is also stated by Lord Krsna that
those who worship the demigods are not mature in their
intelligence. The devotees of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, therefore, because of their strong attachment for Him,
do not foolishly go to the demigods.
Lord Krsna said to King Yudhisthira: "My devotee is not
deterred by any adverse conditions of life; he always remains
firm and steady. Therefore I give Myself to him, and I favor
him so he can achieve the highest success in life." The
mercy bestowed upon the tried devotee by the Supreme
Personality is described as Brahman, which indicates that the
greatness of that mercy can be compared only to the all-
pervasive greatness. Brahman means unlimitedly great
and unlimitedly expanding. That mercy is also described as
parama, for it has no comparison within this material world,
and it is also called suksmam, very fine. The Lord'
s mercy upon the tried devotee is not only great and
unlimitedly expansive, but it is of the finest quality of
transcendental love between the devotee and the Lord. Such
mercy is further described as cinmatram, completely
spiritual. The use of the word matram indicates absolute
spirituality, with no tinge of material qualities. That mercy
is also called sat, eternal, and anantakam, unlimited. Since
the devotee of the Lord is awarded such unlimited spiritual
benefit, why should he worship the demigods? A devotee of Krsna
does not worship Lord Siva or Brahma or any other subordinate
demigod. He completely devotes himself to the transcendental
loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Sukadeva Gosvami continued: "The demigods, headed by Lord
Brahma and Lord Siva and including Lord Indra, Candra, Varuna
and others, are apt to become very quickly satisfied and very
quickly angered by the good and ill behavior of their devotees.
But this is not so with the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Visnu." This means that any living entity within this
material world, including the demigods, is conducted by the
three modes of material nature, and therefore the qualities of
ignorance and passion are very prominent within the material
world. Those devotees who take blessings from the demigods are
also infected with the material qualities, especially passion
and ignorance. Lord Sri Krsna has therefore stated in the
Bhagavad-gita that to take blessings from the demigods is less
intelligent because when one takes benedictions from the
demigods, the results of such benedictions are temporary. It is
easy to get material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but
the result is sometimes disastrous. As such, the benedictions
derived from demigods are appreciated by the less
intelligent class of men. Persons who derive benedictions from
the demigods gradually become puffed up with material opulence
and neglectful of their benefactors.
Sukadeva Gosvami addressed King Pariksit thus: "My dear King,
Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu, and Lord Siva, the principal trio of
the material creation, are able to bless or curse anyone. Of
this trio, Lord Brahma and Lord Siva become very easily
satisfied, and at the same time they become very easily angered.
When they are satisfied they give benedictions without any
consideration, and when they are angry, they curse the devotee
without any consideration. But Lord Visnu is not like that.
Lord Visnu is very considerate. Whenever a devotee wants
something from Lord Visnu, Lord Visnu first of all considers
whether such a benediction will ultimately be good for the
devotee. Lord Visnu never bestows any benediction which will
ultimately prove disastrous to the devotee, He is, by His
transcendental nature, always merciful; therefore, before
giving any benediction, He considers whether it will prove
beneficial for the devotee. Since the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is always merciful, even when it appears that He has
killed a demon, or even when He apparently becomes angry toward
a devotee, His actions are always auspicious. The Supreme
Personality of Godhead is therefore known as all-good. Whatever
He does is good."
As for the benedictions given by demigods like Lord Siva, there
is the following historical incident cited by great sages. Once,
Lord Siva, after giving benediction to a demon named
Vrkasura, the son of Sakuni, was himself entrapped in a very
dangerous position. Vrkasura was searching after a benediction
and was trying to decide which of the three presiding deities
to worship in order to get it. In the meantime he happened to
meet the great sage Narada and consulted with him as to whom he
should approach to achieve quick results from his austerity. He
inquired, "Of the three deities, namely Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu
and Lord Siva, who is the most quickly satisfied?" Narada could
understand the plan of the demon, and he advised him, "You had
better worship Lord Siva; then you will quickly get the desired
result. Lord Siva is very quickly satisfied and very quickly
dissatisfied also. So you try to satisfy Lord Siva." Narada
also cited instances wherein demons like Ravana and Banasura
were enriched with great opulences simply by satisfying Lord
Siva with prayers. Because the great sage Narada was aware of
the nature of the demon Vrkasura, he did not advise him to
approach Visnu or Lord Brahma. Persons such as Vrkasura who
are situated in the material mode of ignorance, cannot stick to
the worship of Visnu.
After receiving instruction from Narada, the demon Vrkasura
went to Kedaranatha. The pilgrimage site of Kedaranatha still
exists near Kashmere. It is almost always covered by snow, but
for part of the year, during the month of July, it is possible
to see the deity, and devotees go there to offer their respects.
Kedaranatha is for the devotees of Lord Siva. According to the
Vedic principle, when something is offered to the deities to
eat, it is offered in a fire. Therefore a fire sacrifice is
necessary in all sorts of ceremonies. It is specifically stated
in the sastras that gods are to be offered something to eat
through the fire. The demon Vrkasura therefore went to
Kedaranatha and ignited a sacrificial fire to please Lord Siva.
After igniting the fire in the name of Siva, he
began to offer his own flesh, by cutting it from his
body so as to please Lord Siva. Here is an instance of worship
in the mode of ignorance. In the Bhagavad-gita, different types
of sacrifice are mentioned. Some sacrifices are in the mode of
goodness, some are in the mode of passion, and some are in the
mode of ignorance. There are different kinds of tapasya and
worship because there are different kinds of people within this
world. But the ultimate tapasya, Krsna consciousness, is the
topmost yoga and the topmost sacrifice. As confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gita, the topmost yoga is to think always of Lord
Krsna within the heart, and the topmost sacrifice is to perform
the sankirtana-yajna.
In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that the worshipers of the
demigods have lost their intelligence. As will be revealed
later in this chapter, Vrkasura wanted to satisfy Lord Siva for
a third-class materialistic objective, which was temporary and
without real benefit. The asuras or persons within the mode of
ignorance will accept such benedictions from the demigods. In
complete contrast to this sacrifice in the modes of ignorance,
the arcana-vidhi process for worshiping Lord Visnu or Krsna is
very simple. Lord Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that He
accepts from His devotee even a little fruit, a flower or some
water, which can be gathered by any person, poor or rich. Of
course, those who are rich are not expected to offer only a
little water, a little piece of fruit or a little leaf to the
Lord. A rich man should offer according to his position, but if
the devotee happens to be a very poor man the Lord will accept
even the most meager offering. The worship of Lord Visnu or
Krsna is very simple, and it can be executed by anyone in this
world. But worship in the mode of ignorance, as exhibited by
Vrkasura, is not only very difficult and painful, but it is
also a useless waste of time. Therefore Bhagavad-gita says
that the worshipers of the demigods are bereft of intelligence;
their process of worship is very difficult, and at the same
time the result obtained is flickering and temporary.
Although Vrkasura continued his sacrifice for six days, he was
nevertheless unable to personally see Lord Siva, which was his
objective; he wanted to see him face to face and ask him for a
benediction. Here is another contrast between a demon and
a devotee. A devotee is confident that whatever he
offers to the Deity in full devotional service is accepted by
the Lord, but a demon wants to see his worshipable deity face
to face so that he can directly take the benediction. A devotee,
however, does not worship Visnu or Lord Krsna for any
benediction. Therefore a devotee is called akama, free of
desire, and a nondevotee is called sarva-kama, or desirous of
everything. On the seventh day, the demon Vrkasura decided that
he should cut off his head and offer it to satisfy Lord Siva.
Thus he took a bath in a nearby lake, and without drying his
body and hair, he prepared to cut off his head. According to
the Vedic system, an animal which is to be offered as a
sacrifice has to be bathed first, and while the animal is wet
he is sacrificed. When the demon was thus preparing to cut off
his head, Lord Siva became very compassionate. This compassion,
however, is a symptom of the quality of goodness. Lord Siva is
called trilinga
. Therefore his manifestation of the nature of
compassion is a sign of the quality of goodness. This
compassion, however, is present in every living entity. The
compassion of Lord Siva was aroused because the demon was
offering his flesh to the sacrificial fire
. This is natural compassion. Even if a
common man sees someone preparing to commit suicide, it is his
duty to try to save him. He does so automatically. There is no
need to appeal to him. Therefore when Lord Siva appeared from
the fire to check the demon from suicide, it was not as a
very great favor to him.
The demon was saved from committing suicide by the touch
of Lord Siva; his bodily injuries immediately healed,
and his body became as it was before. Then Lord Siva told the
demon, "My dear Vrkasura, you do not need to cut off your head.
You can ask from me any benediction you like, and I shall
fulfill your desire. I do not know why you wanted to cut off
your head to satisfy me. I become satisfied even by an offering
of a little water." Actually, according to the Vedic process,
the Siva linga in the temple or the form of Lord Siva in the
temple is worshiped simply by offering Ganges water because it
is said that Lord Siva is greatly satisfied when Ganges water
is poured upon his head. Generally, devotees offer Ganges water
and the leaves of the bilva tree, which are especially meant
for offering to Lord Siva and the goddess Durga. The fruit
of this tree also is offered to Lord Siva. Lord Siva
assured Vrkasura that he becomes satisfied by a very simple
process of worship. Why then was he so anxious to cut off his
head, and why was he taking so much pain by cutting his body to
pieces and offering it in the fire? There was no need of such
severe penances. Anyway, out of compassion and sympathy, Lord
Siva prepared to give him any benediction he liked.
When the demon was offered this facility by Lord Siva, he asked
for a very fearful and abominable benediction. The demon was
very sinful, and sinful persons do not know what sort of
benediction should be asked from the deity. Therefore he asked
Lord Siva to be benedicted with such power that as soon as
he would touch anyone's head, it would immediately crack, and
the man would die. The demons are described in the Bhagavad-
gita as duskrtinas, or miscreants. Krti means very meritorious,
but when dus, is added, it means abominable. Instead of
surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
duskrtinas worship different demigods in order to derive
abominable material benefits. Sometimes such demons as
material
scientists discover lethal weapons.
They cannot show their
meritorious power by discovering something which can save man
from death, but instead they discover weapons which accelerate
the process of death. Because
Lord Siva
is
powerful enough to give any benediction, the demon could
have asked of him something beneficial for human society, but
for his personal interest he asked that anyone whose head would
be touched by his hand would at once die.
Lord Siva could understand the motive of the demon, and he was
very sorry that he had assured him whatever benediction he
liked. He would not withdraw his promise, but he was very sorry
in his heart that he was to offer him a benediction so
dangerous to human society. The demons are described as
duskrtinas, miscreants, because although they have brain power
and merit, the merit and brain power are used for abominable
activities. Sometimes, for example, the materialistic demons
discover a lethal weapon. The scientific research for such a
discovery certainly requires a very good brain, but instead of
discovering something beneficial to human society, they
discover something to accelerate the death which is already
assured to every man. Similarly, Vrkasura, instead of asking
Lord Siva for something beneficial to human society, asked for
something very dangerous to human society. Therefore Lord Siva
felt sorry within himself. Devotees of the Personality of
Godhead, however, never ask any benediction from Lord Visnu or
Krsna, and even if they ask something from the Lord, it is not
at all dangerous for human society. That is the difference
between the demons and the devotees, or the worshipers of Lord
Siva and the worshipers of Lord Visnu.
While Sukadeva Gosvami was narrating the history of Vrkasura,
he addressed Maharaja Pariksit as Bharata, referring to King
Pariksit's birth in a family of devotees. Maharaja Pariksit was
saved by Lord Krsna while he was in his mother's womb.
Similarly, he could have asked Lord Krsna to save him
from the curse of the brahmana, but he did not do so. The demon,
however, wanted to become immortal by killing everyone with
the touch of his hand. Lord Siva could understand this, but
because he had promised, he gave him the benediction.
The demon, however, being very sinful, immediately decided that
he would use the benediction to kill Lord Siva and take away
Gauri (Parvati) for his personal enjoyment. He immediately
decided to place his hand on the head of Lord Siva. Thus Lord
Siva was put into an awkward position because he was endangered
by his own benediction to a demon. This is also another
instance of a materialistic devotee's misusing the power
derived from the demigods.
Without further deliberation, the demon Vrkasura immediately
approached Lord Siva to place his hand on Lord Siva's head.
Lord Siva was so afraid of him that his body trembled, and he
began to flee from the land to the sky and from the sky to
other planets until he reached the limits of the universe,
above the higher planetary systems. Lord Siva fled from one
place to another, but the demon Vrkasura continued to chase him.
The predominating deities of other planets, such as Brahma,
Indra and Candra, could not find any way to save Lord Siva from
the impending danger. Wherever Lord Siva went, they remained
silent.
At last Lord Siva approached Lord Visnu, who is situated within
this universe on the planet known as Svetadvipa. Svetadvipa is
the local Vaikuntha planet beyond the jurisdiction of the
influence of external energy. Lord Visnu in His all-
pervasive feature remains everywhere, but wherever He remains
personally is the Vaikuntha atmosphere. In the Bhagavad-gita it
is stated that the Lord remains within the heart of all living
entities. As such, the Lord remains within the heart of many
low-born living entities, but that does not mean that He is
low-born. Wherever He remains is transformed into Vaikuntha.
So the planet within this universe known as Svetadvipa is also
Vaikunthaloka. It is said in the sastras that residential
quarters within the forest are in the mode of goodness,
residential quarters in big cities, towns and villages are in
the mode of passion, and residential quarters in an atmosphere
wherein indulgence in the four sinful activities of illicit sex,
intoxication, meat-eating and gambling predominate are in the
mode of ignorance. But residential quarters in a temple of
Visnu, the Supreme Lord, are in Vaikuntha. It doesn't matter
where the temple is situated, but the temple itself, wherever
it may be, is Vaikuntha. Similarly, the Svetadvipa planet,
although within the material jurisdiction, is Vaikuntha.
Lord Siva finally entered Svetadvipa Vaikuntha. In Svetadvipa
there are great saintly persons who are completely freed from
the envious nature of the material world and are beyond the
jurisdiction of the four principles of material activities,
namely, religiousness, economic development, sense
gratification and liberation. Anyone who enters into that
Vaikuntha planet never comes back again to this material
world. Lord Narayana is celebrated as a lover of His devotees,
and as soon as He understood that Lord Siva was in great danger,
He appeared as a brahmacari and personally approached Lord
Siva to receive him from a distant place. The Lord appeared as
a perfect brahmacari, with a belt around His waist, a sacred
thread, deerskin, a brahmacari stick and raudra beads. (
Raudra beads are different from tulasi beads. Raudra beads are
used by the devotees of Lord Siva.) Dressed as a brahmacari,
Lord Narayana stood before Lord Siva. The shining effulgence
emanating from His body attracted not only Lord Siva but also
the demon Vrkasura.
Lord Narayana offered his respects and obeisances unto Vrkasura,
just to attract his sympathy and attention. Thus checking the
demon, the Lord addressed him as follows: "My dear son of
Sakuni, you appear to be very tired, as if coming from a very
distant place. What is your purpose? Why have you come so far?
I see that you are very tired and fatigued, so I request you to
take a little rest. You should not unnecessarily tire your body.
Everyone greatly values his body because with this body
only can one fulfill all the desires of one's mind. We should
not, therefore, unnecessarily give trouble to this body."
The brahmacari addressed Vrkasura as the son of Sakuni just to
convince him that He was known to his father, Sakuni. Vrkasura
then took the brahmacari to be someone known to his family, and
therefore the brahmacari's sympathetic words appealed to him.
Before the demon could argue that he had no time to take rest,
the Lord began to inform him about the importance of the
body, and the demon was convinced. Any man, especially a demon,
takes his body to be very important. Thus Vrkasura became
convinced about the importance of his body.
Then, just to pacify the demon, the brahmacari told him, "My
dear lord, if you think that you can disclose the mission for
which you have taken the trouble to come here, maybe I shall be
able to help you so that your purpose will be easily served."
Indirectly, the Lord informed him that because the Lord is the
Supreme Brahman, certainly He would be able to adjust
the awkward situation created by Lord Siva.
The demon was greatly pacified by the sweet words of Lord
Narayana in the form of a brahmacari, and at last he disclosed
all that had happened in regard to the benediction offered by
Lord Siva. The Lord replied to the demon as follows: "I myself
cannot believe that Lord Siva has in truth given you such a
benediction. As far as I know, Lord Siva is not in a sane
mental condition. He had a quarrel with his father-in-law
Daksa, and he has been cursed to become a pisaca (ghost). Thus
he has become the leader of the ghosts and hobgoblins.
Therefore I cannot put any faith in his words. But if you
have faith still in the words of Lord Siva, my dear king of the
demons, then why don't you make an experiment by putting your
hand on your head? If the benediction proves false, then
you can immediately kill this liar, Lord Siva, so that in
the future he will not dare to give out false benedictions."
In this way, by Lord Narayana's sweet words and by the
expansion of His superior illusion, the demon became bewildered,
and he actually forgot the power of Lord Siva and his
benediction. He was thus very easily persuaded to put his hand
on his own head. As soon as the demon did that, his head
cracked, as if struck by thunder, and he
immediately died. The demigods from heaven began to shower
flowers on Lord Narayana, praising Him with all
glories and all thanksgiving, and they offered their
obeisances to the Lord. On the death of Vrkasura, all the
denizens in the higher planetary systems, namely, the demigods,
the pitas, the Gandharvas and the inhabitants of Janoloka,
began to shower flowers on the Personality of Godhead.
Thus Lord Visnu in the form of a brahmacari released Lord Siva
from the impending danger and saved the whole situation. Lord
Narayana then informed Lord Siva that this demon, Vrkasura, was
killed as the result of his sinful activities. He was
especially sinful and offensive because he wanted to experiment
on his own master, Lord Siva. Lord Narayana then told Lord Siva,
"My dear lord, a person who commits an offense to great souls
cannot continue to exist. He becomes vanquished by his own
sinful activities, and this is certainly true of this demon,
who has committed such an offensive act against you."
Thus, by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Narayana, who is transcendental to all material qualities, Lord
Siva was saved from being killed by a demon. Anyone who hears
this history with faith and devotion certainly becomes
liberated from material entanglement as well as from the
clutches of his enemies.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Volume,
Thirty-third Chapter, of Krsna, "Deliverance of Lord Siva."
|
|
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
12
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
14
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
16
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
18
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
22
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
24
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
26
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
28
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
30
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
32
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
33
34
35
35
35
35
35
35
35
36
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
37
38
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
40
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
42
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
44
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
46
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
48
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
50
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
51
52
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
54
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
56
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
57
58
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
59
60
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
62
63
63
63
63
63
63
63
63
64
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
66
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
67
68
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
69
70
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
72
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
74
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
76
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
78
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
79
80
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
82
83
83
83
83
83
83
84
85
85
86
|
KB 88: The Deliverance of Lord Siva
CHAPTER EIGHTY–EIGHT
The Deliverance of Lord Siva
As a great devotee of Krsna, King Pariksit was already
liberated, but for clarification he was asking various
questions of Sukadeva Gosvami. In the previous chapter, King
Pariksit's question was, "What is the ultimate goal of the
Vedas?" And Sukadeva Gosvami explained the matter, giving
authoritative descriptions from the disciplic succession,
from Sanandana down to Narayana Rsi, Narada,
Vyasadeva and then Sukadeva himself. The conclusion was that
devotional service, or bhakti, is the ultimate goal of the
Vedas. A neophyte devotee may question, "If the ultimate goal
of life, or the conclusion of the Vedas, is to elevate oneself
to the platform of devotional service, then why is it observed
that a devotee of Lord Visnu is generally not very prosperous
materially, whereas a devotee of Lord Siva is found to be very
opulent?" In order to clarify this matter, Pariksit Maharaja
asked Sukadeva Gosvami, "My dear Sukadeva Gosvami, it is
generally found that those who engage in the worship of Lord
Siva, whether in human, demoniac or demigod society, become
materially very opulent, although Lord Siva himself
lives just like a poverty-stricken person. On the other hand,
the devotees of Lord Visnu, who is the controller of the
goddess of fortune, do not appear very prosperous, and
sometimes they are even found living without any material
opulence at all. Lord Siva lives underneath a tree or in the
snow of the Himalayan Mountains. He does not even construct a
house for himself, but still the worshipers of Lord Siva are
very rich. Krsna, or Lord Visnu, however, lives very opulently,
whether in Vaikuntha or in the material world, but His
devotees appear poverty-stricken. Why is this so?"
Maharaja Pariksit's question is very intelligent. The two
classes of devotees, namely the devotees of Lord Siva and the
devotees of Lord Visnu, are always in disagreement. Even today
in India these two classes of devotees still criticize each
other, and especially in South India the followers of
Ramanujacarya and the followers of Sankaracarya hold occasional
meetings for understanding the Vedic conclusion. Generally, the
followers of Ramanujacarya come out victorious in such meetings.
So Pariksit Maharaja wanted to clarify the situation by asking
this question of Sukadeva Gosvami. That Lord Siva lives as a
poor man although his devotees appear very opulent,
whereas Lord Krsna, or Lord Visnu, is always opulent and yet
His devotees appear poverty-stricken, is a situation
which appears contradictory and puzzling to a discriminating
person.
Replying to King Pariksit's inquiry,
Sukadeva Gosvami said that Lord Siva is the
master of the material energy. The material energy is
represented by Goddess Durga, and because Lord Siva happens to
be her husband, Goddess Durga is completely under his
subjugation. Thus Lord Siva is understood to
be the master of the material energy. The material energy
is manifested in three qualities, namely goodness, passion and
ignorance, and therefore Lord Siva is the master of these three
qualities. Although he is in association with these qualities
for the benefit of the conditioned soul, Lord Siva is their
director and is not affected. In other words, although
the conditioned soul is affected by the three qualities, Lord
Siva, being their master, is not
.
From the statements of Sukadeva Gosvami we can understand that
the effects of worshiping different demigods are not, as some
less intelligent persons suppose, the same as the effects of
worshiping Lord Visnu. Sukadeva Gosvami clearly states that by
worshiping Lord Siva one achieves one reward whereas by
worshiping Lord Visnu one achieves a different reward. This is
confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita: "Those who worship the
different demigods achieve the desired results the
respective demigods can reward. Similarly, those who worship
the material energy receive the suitable reward for such
activities, and those who worship the pitrs receive similar
results. But those who engage in devotional service, or
worship of the Supreme Lord -- Visnu or Krsna -- go to the
Vaikuntha planets or Krsnaloka." One cannot approach the
transcendental region, or paravyoma, the spiritual sky, by
worshiping Lord Siva or Brahma or any other demigod.
Since this material world is a product of the three qualities
of material nature, all varieties of manifestations come from
those three qualities. With the aid of materialistic science,
modern civilization has created many machines and comforts
, yet they are only varieties of the interactions of
the three material qualities. Although the devotees of Lord
Siva are able to obtain many material acquisitions, we should
know that such devotees are simply collecting products
manufactured by the three qualities. The three qualities are
again subdivided into sixteen, namely the ten senses (five
working senses and five knowledge-acquiring senses), the
mind, and the five elements (earth, water, air, fire and sky).
These sixteen items are extensions of the three
qualities. Material happiness or opulence means gratification
of the senses, especially the genitals, the tongue and the
mind. By exercising our minds we create many pleasurable things
just for enjoyment by the genitals and the tongue. The opulence
of a person within this material world is estimated in terms of
his exercise of the genitals and the tongue, or, in other words,
how well he is able to utilize his sexual capacities and how
well he is able to satisfy his fastidious taste by eating
palatable dishes. Material advancement of civilization
necessitates creating objects of enjoyment by mental concoction
just to become happy on the basis of these two principles:
pleasures for the genitals and pleasures for the tongue. Herein
lies the answer to King Pariksit's question to Sukadeva Gosvami
as to why the worshipers of Lord Siva are so opulent.
The devotees of Lord Siva are opulent only in terms of the
material qualities. Factually, such so-called advancement of
civilization is the cause of entanglement in material existence.
It is actually not advancement but degradation. The
conclusion is that because Lord Siva is the master of the three
qualities, his devotees are given things manufactured by the
interactions of these qualities for the satisfaction of the
senses. In the Bhagavad-gita, however, we get instruction from
Lord Krsna that one has to transcend this qualitative existence.
Nistrai-gunyo bhavarjuna: the mission of human life is to
become transcendental to the three qualities. Unless one is
nistrai-gunya, he cannot get free from material
entanglement. In other words, favors received from Lord Siva
are not actually beneficial to the conditioned souls, although
materially such facilities seem opulent.
Sukadeva Gosvami continued: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Hari, is transcendental to the three qualities of material
nature." In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord states that
anyone who surrenders unto Him surpasses the control of the
three qualities of material nature. Therefore, since Hari's
devotees are transcendental to the control of the three
material qualities, certainly He Himself is transcendental. In
Srimad-Bhagavatam it is therefore stated
that Hari, or Krsna, is the original Supreme Personality. There
are two kinds of prakrtis, or potencies, namely the internal
potency and the external potency, and Krsna is the overlord of
both. He is sarva-drk, or the
overseer of all the actions of the internal and external
potencies, and He is also described as upadrasta, the supreme
advisor. Because He is the supreme advisor, He is above all the
demigods, who merely follow the directions of the supreme
advisor. As such, if one directly follows the instructions of
the Supreme Lord, as inculcated in the Bhagavad-gita and
Srimad-Bhagavatam, then one gradually becomes nirguna,
or above the interactions of the material qualities. To be
nirguna means to be bereft of material opulences because, as we
have explained, material opulence means an increase of the
actions and reactions of the three material qualities. By
worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, instead of being
puffed up with material opulences one becomes enriched with
spiritual advancement of knowledge in Krsna consciousness. To
become nirguna means to achieve eternal peace, fearlessness,
religiousness, knowledge and renunciation. All these are
symptoms of becoming free from the contamination of the
material qualities.
Sukadeva Gosvami, in answering Pariksit Maharaja's
question, went on to cite a historical instance regarding
Pariksit Maharaja's grandfather, King Yudhisthira. He said that
after finishing the Asvamedha sacrifice in the great
sacrificial arena, King Yudhisthira, in the presence of great
authorities, inquired from Lord Krsna on that very same point:
how is it that the devotees of Lord Siva become materially
opulent whereas the devotees of Lord Visnu do not? Sukadeva
Gosvami specifically referred to King Yudhisthira as "your
grandfather" so that Maharaja Pariksit would be encouraged to
think that he was related to Krsna and that his grandfathers
were intimately connected with the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
Although by nature Krsna is always very satisfied,
when Maharaja Yudhisthira asked this question
the Lord became even more satisfied because this
question and its answer would bear a great meaning for the
entire Krsna conscious society. Whenever Lord Krsna speaks
about something to a specific devotee, it is meant not only
for that devotee but for all devotees, and indeed for
the entire human society. Instructions by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead are important even to
Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and the other demigods, and
if one does not take advantage of the instructions of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who descends within this world
for the benefit of all living entities, he is certainly very
unfortunate.
Lord Krsna answered the question of Maharaja Yudhisthira as
follows: "If I especially favor a devotee and especially wish
to care for him, the first thing I do is take away his riches.
When the devotee becomes a penniless pauper or is put into a
comparatively poverty-stricken position, his relatives and
family members no longer take interest in him, and in most
cases they give up their connection with him. The devotee then
becomes doubly unhappy." First of all the devotee becomes
unhappy because his riches have been taken away by Krsna, and
he is made even more unhappy when his relatives desert him
because of his poverty. We should note,
however, that when a devotee falls into a miserable condition
in this way, it is not due to past impious activities, known as
karma-phala; the poverty of the devotee is a
creation of the Personality of Godhead. Similarly, when a
devotee becomes materially opulent, that is also not due to his
pious activities. In either case, whether the devotee becomes
poorer or richer, the arrangement is made by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. This arrangement is especially made by
Krsna for His devotee just to make him completely dependent
upon Him and to free him from all material obligations. He can
then concentrate his energies, mind and body -- everything --
for the service of the Lord, and that is pure devotional
service. In the Narada Pancaratra it is therefore
explained, sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170], which
means "being freed from all designations." Works performed for
family, society, community, nation or humanity are all
designated: "I belong to this society," "I belong to this
community," "I belong to this nation," "I belong to this
species of life." Such identities are all merely designations.
When by the grace of the Lord a devotee is freed from
all designations, his devotional service is actually naiskarmya.
Jnanis are very much attracted by the position of naiskarmya,
in which one's activities no longer have any material effect.
The devotee's activities are freed from material effects,
and so these activities are no longer in the category of karma-
phalam, or fruitive activities. As explained before by the
personified Vedas, the happiness and distress of a devotee are
produced by the Personality of Godhead, and the
devotee therefore does not care whether he is in happiness or
in distress. He goes on with his duties in executing devotional
service. Although his behavior seems to be subject to the
actions and reactions of fruitive activities, he is actually
freed from the results of action.
It may be questioned why a devotee is put into such tribulation
by the Personality of Godhead. The answer is that this kind of
arrangement by the Lord is just like a father's sometimes
becoming unkind to his sons. Because the devotee is a
surrendered soul and is taken charge of by the Supreme Lord,
whatever condition of life the Lord puts him in
-- whether one of distress or of happiness -- it is to
be understood that behind this arrangement is a large
plan designed by the Personality of Godhead. For example, Lord
Krsna put the Pandavas into a distressed condition so acute
that even grandfather Bhisma could not comprehend how such
distress could occur. He lamented that although the whole
Pandava family was headed by King Yudhisthira, the most pious
king, and protected by the two great warriors Bhima and Arjuna,
and although, above all, the Pandavas were all intimate friends
and relatives of Lord Krsna, they still had to undergo such
tribulations. Later, however, it was proved that this was
planned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, as part
of His great mission to annihilate the miscreants and protect
the devotees.
Another question may be raised: What is the difference between
a devotee and a common man, since both are put into different
kinds of happy and distressful conditions -- the devotee by the
arrangement of the Personality of Godhead, and the common man
as a result of his past deeds
? How is the devotee any better than the
ordinary karmi? The answer is that the karmis and the devotees
are not on the same level. In whatever condition of life the
karmi may be, he continues in the cycle of birth and death
because the seed of karma, or fruitive activity, is there, and
it fructifies whenever there is an opportunity. By the law of
karma a common man is perpetually entangled in repeated birth
and death, whereas a devotee's distress and happiness, not
being under the laws of karma, are part of a temporary
arrangement by the Supreme Lord which does not entangle the
devotee. Such an arrangement is made by the Lord only to serve
a temporary purpose. If a karmi performs auspicious acts he is
elevated to the heavenly planets, and if he acts impiously he
is put into a hellish condition. But whether a devotee
acts in a so-called pious or impious manner, he is
neither elevated nor degraded but is transferred to the
spiritual kingdom. Therefore a devotee's happiness and distress
and a karmi's happiness and distress are not on the same level.
This fact is corroborated by a speech by Yamaraja to his
servants in connection with the liberation of Ajamila. Yamaraja
advised his followers that they should approach only those
persons who have never uttered the holy name of the Lord or
remembered the form, qualities and pastimes of the Lord
. Yamaraja also advised his
servants never to approach the devotees. On the contrary, he
instructed his messengers that if they meet a devotee they
should offer their respectful obeisances. So there is no
question of a devotee's being promoted or degraded within this
material world. As there is a gulf of difference between the
punishment awarded by the mother and the punishment awarded by
an enemy, so a devotee's distress is not the same
as the distress of a common karmi.
Here another question may be raised: If the Supreme Lord is all-
powerful, why should He try to reform His devotee by putting
him in distress? The answer is that when the Supreme
Personality of Godhead puts His devotee in
distress, it is not without purpose. Sometimes the purpose is
that in distress a devotee's feelings of attachment to Krsna
are magnified. For example, when Krsna, before leaving the
capital of the Pandavas for His home, asked Kuntidevi for
permission to leave, she said, "My dear Krsna, in our
distress You were always present with us. Now,
because we have been elevated to a royal position, You are
leaving us. I would therefore prefer to live in distress than
to lose You." When a devotee is put into a situation of
distress, his devotional activities are accelerated. Therefore,
to show special favor to a devotee, the Lord sometimes puts him
into distress. Besides that, it is stated that the sweetness of
happiness is sweeter to those who have tasted bitterness. The
Supreme Lord descends to this material world just to protect
His devotees from distress. In other words, if devotees were
not in a distressed condition, the Lord would not have come
down. As for His killing the demons, or miscreants, this
can be easily done by His various energies, just as many asuras
are killed by His external energy, Goddess Durga. Therefore the
Lord does not need to come down personally to kill such demons,
but when His devotee is in distress He must come. Lord
Nrsimha-deva appeared not in order to kill Hiranyakasipu
but to save Prahlada and to give him blessings. In other words,
because Prahlada Maharaja was put into very great distress, the
Lord appeared.
When after the dense, dark night there is finally sunrise in
the morning, it is very pleasant; when there is scorching heat,
cold water is very pleasant; and when there is freezing winter,
hot water is very pleasant. Similarly, when a devotee, after
experiencing the distress of the material world, relishes the
spiritual happiness awarded by the Lord, his position is
still more pleasant and enjoyable.
The Lord continued: "When My devotee is bereft of all material
riches and is deserted by his relatives, friends and family
members, because he has no one to look after him he completely
takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord." Srila
Narottama dasa Thakura has sung in this connection, "My
dear Lord Krsna, O son of Nanda Maharaja, You are now standing
before me with Srimati Radharani, the daughter of King
Vrsabhanu. I am now surrendering unto You. Please accept me.
Please do not kick me away. I have no shelter other than You."
When a devotee is thus put into so-called miserable conditions
and bereft of riches and family, he tries to revive his
original position of material opulence. But although he tries
again and again, Krsna again and again takes away all his
resources. Thus he finally becomes disappointed in material
activities, and in that stage of frustration in all endeavors,
he can fully surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Such persons are advised by the Lord from within to associate
with devotees. By associating with devotees they naturally
become inclined to render service to the Personality of Godhead,
and they immediately get all facilities from the Lord to
advance in Krsna consciousness. The nondevotees,
however, are very careful about preserving their material
condition of life. Generally, therefore, such
nondevotees do not come to worship the Supreme
Personality of Godhead but worship Lord Siva or other demigods
for immediate material profit. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said,
therefore, kanksantah karmanam siddhim yajanta iha devatah: "
The karmis, in order to achieve success within this material
world, worship the various demigods." It is also stated by Lord
Krsna that those who worship the demigods are not mature in
their intelligence. The devotees of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, therefore, because of their strong attachment for Him,
do not foolishly go to the demigods.
Lord Krsna said to King Yudhisthira, "My devotee is not
deterred by any adverse conditions of life; he always remains
firm and steady. Therefore I give Myself to him, and I favor
him so that he can achieve the highest success of life." The
mercy bestowed upon the tried devotee by the Supreme
Personality is described as brahma, which indicates that the
greatness of that mercy can be compared only to the all-
pervasive greatness of Brahman. Brahma means unlimitedly great
and unlimitedly expanding. That mercy is also described as
paramam, for it has no comparison within this material world,
and it is also called suksmam, very fine. Not only is the Lord'
s mercy upon the tried devotee great and
unlimitedly expansive, but it is of the finest quality of
transcendental love between the devotee and the Lord. Such
mercy is further described as cin-matram, completely
spiritual. The use of the word matram indicates absolute
spirituality, with no tinge of material qualities. That mercy
is also called sat (eternal) and anantakam (unlimited). Since
the devotee of the Lord is awarded such unlimited spiritual
benefit, why should he worship the demigods? A devotee of Krsna
does not worship Lord Siva or Brahma or any other, subordinate
demigod. He completely devotes himself to the transcendental
loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Sukadeva Gosvami continued: "The demigods, headed by Lord
Brahma and Lord Siva and including Lord Indra, Candra, Varuna
and others, are apt to be very quickly satisfied or very
quickly angered by the good or ill behavior of their devotees.
But this is not so with the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Visnu." This means that every living entity within this
material world, including the demigods, is conducted by the
three modes of material nature, and therefore the qualities of
ignorance and passion are very prominent within the material
world. Those devotees who take blessings from the demigods are
also infected with the material qualities, especially passion
and ignorance. Lord Sri Krsna has therefore stated in the
Bhagavad-gita that to take blessings from the demigods is less
intelligent because when one takes benedictions from the
demigods the results of such benedictions are temporary. It is
easy to get material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but
the result is sometimes disastrous. As such, the benedictions
derived from demigods are appreciated only by the less
intelligent class of men. Persons who derive benedictions from
the demigods gradually become puffed up with material opulence
and neglectful of their benefactors.
Sukadeva Gosvami addressed King Pariksit thus: "My dear King,
Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu and Lord Siva, the principal trio of
the material creation, are able to bless or curse anyone. Of
this trio, Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are very easily
satisfied but also very easily angered.
When satisfied they give benedictions without
consideration, and when angry they curse the devotee
without consideration. But Lord Visnu is not like that.
Lord Visnu is very considerate. Whenever a devotee wants
something from Lord Visnu, Lord Visnu first considers
whether such a benediction will ultimately be good for the
devotee. Lord Visnu never bestows any benediction which will
ultimately prove disastrous to the devotee. By His
transcendental nature, He is always merciful; therefore, before
giving any benediction, He considers whether it will prove
beneficial for the devotee. Since the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is always merciful, even when it appears that He has
killed a demon, or even when He apparently becomes angry toward
a devotee, His actions are always auspicious. The Supreme
Personality of Godhead is therefore known as all-good. Whatever
He does is good."
As for the benedictions given by demigods like Lord Siva, there
is the following historical incident cited by great sages. Once,
Lord Siva, after giving a benediction to a demon named
Vrkasura, the son of Sakuni, was himself entrapped in a very
dangerous position. Vrkasura was searching after a benediction
and trying to decide which of the three presiding deities
to worship in order to get it. In the meantime he happened to
meet the great sage Narada and consulted with him as to whom he
should approach to achieve quick results from his austerity. He
inquired, "Of the three deities, namely Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu
and Lord Siva, who is most quickly satisfied?" Narada could
understand the plan of the demon, and he advised him, "You had
better worship Lord Siva; then you will quickly get the desired
result. Lord Siva is very quickly satisfied and very quickly
dissatisfied also. So you try to satisfy Lord Siva." Narada
also cited instances wherein demons like Ravana and Banasura
were enriched with great opulences simply by satisfying Lord
Siva with prayers. Because the great sage Narada was aware of
the nature of the demon Vrkasura, he did not advise him to
approach Visnu or Lord Brahma. Persons such as Vrkasura, who
are situated in the material mode of ignorance, cannot stick to
the worship of Visnu.
After receiving instruction from Narada, the demon Vrkasura
went to Kedaranatha. The pilgrimage site of Kedaranatha still
exists near Kashmir. It is almost always covered by snow, but
for part of the year, during the month of July, it is possible
to see the deity, and devotees go there to offer their respects.
Kedaranatha is for the devotees of Lord Siva. According to the
Vedic principle, when something is offered to the deities to
eat, it is offered in a fire. Therefore a fire sacrifice is
necessary in all sorts of ceremonies. It is specifically stated
in the sastras that gods are to be offered something to eat
through the fire. The demon Vrkasura therefore went to
Kedaranatha and ignited a sacrificial fire to please Lord Siva.
After igniting the fire in the name of Lord Siva, to please him
Vrkasura began to offer his own flesh by cutting it from his
body. Here is an instance of worship
in the mode of ignorance. In the Bhagavad-gita, different types
of sacrifices are mentioned. Some sacrifices are in the mode of
goodness, some are in the mode of passion, and some are in the
mode of ignorance. There are different kinds of tapasya and
worship because there are different kinds of people within this
world. But the ultimate tapasya, Krsna consciousness, is the
topmost yoga and the topmost sacrifice. As confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gita, the topmost yoga is to think always of Lord
Krsna within the heart, and the topmost sacrifice is to perform
the sankirtana-yajna.
In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that the worshipers of the
demigods have lost their intelligence. As revealed
later in this chapter, Vrkasura wanted to satisfy Lord Siva for
a third-class materialistic objective, which was temporary and
without real benefit. The asuras, or persons within the mode of
ignorance, will accept such benedictions from the demigods. In
complete contrast to this sacrifice in the mode of ignorance,
the arcana-vidhi process for worshiping Lord Visnu or Krsna is
very simple. Lord Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that He
accepts from His devotee even a little fruit, a flower or some
water, which can be gathered by any person, rich or poor. Of
course, those who are rich are not expected to offer only a
little water, a little piece of fruit or a little leaf to the
Lord; a rich man should offer according to his position. But if
the devotee happens to be a very poor man, the Lord will accept
even the most meager offering. The worship of Lord Visnu or
Krsna is very simple, and it can be executed by anyone in this
world. But worship in the mode of ignorance, as exhibited by
Vrkasura, is not only very difficult and painful but is
also a useless waste of time. Therefore the Bhagavad-gita says
that the worshipers of the demigods are bereft of intelligence;
their process of worship is very difficult, and at the same
time the result obtained is flickering and temporary.
Although Vrkasura continued his sacrifice for six days, he was
unable to personally see Lord Siva, which was his
objective; he wanted to see him face to face and ask him for a
benediction. Here is another contrast between demons and
devotees. A devotee is confident that whatever he
offers to the Deity in full devotional service is accepted by
the Lord, but a demon wants to see his worshipable deity face
to face so that he can directly take the benediction. A
devotee does not worship Visnu or Lord Krsna for any
benediction. Therefore a devotee is called akama, free of
desire, and a nondevotee is called sarva-kama, or desirous of
everything. On the seventh day, the demon Vrkasura decided that
he should cut off his head and offer it to satisfy Lord Siva.
Thus he took a bath in a nearby lake, and without drying his
body and hair, he prepared to cut off his head. According to
the Vedic system, an animal to be offered as a
sacrifice has to be bathed first, and while the animal is wet
it is sacrificed. When the demon was thus preparing to cut off
his head, Lord Siva became very compassionate. This compassion
is a symptom of the quality of goodness. Lord Siva is
called tri-linga, "a mixture of the three material
qualities." Therefore his manifestation of the nature of
compassion is a sign of the quality of goodness. This
compassion, however, is present in every living entity. The
compassion of Lord Siva was aroused not because the demon was
offering his flesh into the sacrificial fire but because he was
about to commit suicide. This is natural compassion. Even if a
common man sees someone preparing to commit suicide, he
will try to save him. He does so automatically. There is no
need to appeal to him. Therefore when Lord Siva appeared from
the fire to check the demon from suicide, it was not done as a
very great favor to him.
Lord Siva's touch saved the demon
from committing suicide; his bodily injuries immediately healed,
and his body became as it was before. Then Lord Siva told the
demon, "My dear Vrkasura, you do not need to cut off your head.
You may ask from me any benediction you like, and I shall
fulfill your desire. I do not know why you wanted to cut off
your head to satisfy me. I become satisfied even by an offering
of a little water." Actually, according to the Vedic process,
the siva-linga in the temple or the form of Lord Siva in the
temple is worshiped simply by offering Ganges water, because it
is said that Lord Siva is greatly satisfied when Ganges water
is poured upon his head. Generally, devotees offer Ganges water
and the leaves of the bilva tree, which are especially meant
for offering to Lord Siva and Goddess Durga. The fruit
of this tree is also offered to Lord Siva. Lord Siva
assured Vrkasura that he is satisfied by a very simple
process of worship. Why then was he so eager to cut off his
head, and why was he taking so much pain by cutting his body to
pieces and offering it in the fire? There was no need of such
severe penances. Anyway, out of compassion and sympathy, Lord
Siva prepared to give him any benediction he liked.
When the demon was offered this facility by Lord Siva, he asked
for a fearful and abominable benediction. The demon was
very sinful, and sinful persons do not know what sort of
benediction should be asked from the deity. Therefore he asked
Lord Siva to bless him with such power that as soon as
he would touch anyone's head, it would immediately crack and
the man would die. The demons are described in the Bhagavad-
gita as duskrtis, or miscreants. Krti means "very meritorious,
" but when duh is added it means "abominable." Instead of
surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
duskrtis worship different demigods to derive
abominable material benefits. Although the duskrtis have
brain power and merit, their merit and brain power are used
for abominable activities. Sometimes, for example,
materialistic scientists invent a lethal weapon. The
scientific research for such an invention certainly requires a
very good brain, but instead of inventing something beneficial
to human society they invent something to accelerate death,
which is already assured to every man. They cannot show their
meritorious power by inventing something which can save man
from death; instead they invent weapons which accelerate
the process of death. Similarly, Vrkasura, instead of asking
Lord Siva for something beneficial to human society, asked for
something very dangerous to human society. Lord Siva is
powerful enough to give any benediction, so the demon could
have asked something beneficial from him, but
for his personal interest he asked that anyone whose head would
be touched by his hand would at once die. Lord Siva could
understand the motive of the demon, and he was very sorry that
he had assured him whatever benediction he liked. He could not
withdraw his promise, but he was very sorry in his heart that
he was to offer him a benediction so dangerous to human society.
Devotees of the Personality of Godhead never ask any
benediction from Lord Visnu, or Krsna, and even if they ask
something from the Lord, it is not at all dangerous for human
society. That is the difference between the demons and the
devotees, or the worshipers of Lord Siva and the worshipers of
Lord Visnu.
While Sukadeva Gosvami was narrating the history of Vrkasura,
he addressed Maharaja Pariksit as Bharata, referring to King
Pariksit's birth in a family of devotees. Maharaja Pariksit was
saved by Lord Krsna while in his mother's womb.
Later, he could have asked Lord Krsna to save him again,
from the curse of a brahmana, but he did not do so. The demon,
however, wanted to become immortal by killing everyone with
the touch of his hand. Lord Siva could understand this, but
because he had promised, he gave him the benediction.
The demon, however, being very sinful, immediately decided that
he would use the benediction to kill Lord Siva and take away
Gauri (Parvati) for his personal enjoyment. He immediately
decided to place his hand on the head of Lord Siva. Thus Lord
Siva was put into an awkward position because he was endangered
by his own benediction to a demon. This is an
instance of a materialistic devotee's misusing the power
derived from the demigods.
Without further deliberation, the demon Vrkasura
approached Lord Siva to place his hand on Lord Siva's head.
Lord Siva was so afraid of him that his body trembled, and he
fled from the land to the sky and from the sky to
other planets, until he reached the limits of the universe,
above the higher planetary systems. Lord Siva fled from one
place to another, but the demon Vrkasura continued to chase him.
The predominating deities of other planets, such as Brahma,
Indra and Candra, could not find any way to save Lord Siva from
the impending danger. Wherever Lord Siva went, they remained
silent.
At last Lord Siva approached Lord Visnu, who is situated within
this universe on the planet known as Svetadvipa. Svetadvipa is
the local Vaikuntha planet, beyond the jurisdiction of the
influence of the external energy. Lord Visnu in His all-
pervasive feature remains everywhere, but wherever He remains
personally is the Vaikuntha atmosphere. In the Bhagavad-gita it
is stated that the Lord remains within the heart of all living
entities. As such, the Lord remains within the heart of many
lowborn living entities, but that does not mean He is
lowborn. Wherever He remains is transformed into Vaikuntha.
So the planet within this universe known as Svetadvipa is also
Vaikunthaloka. It is said in the sastras that residential
quarters within the forest are in the mode of goodness,
residential quarters in big cities, towns and villages are in
the mode of passion, and residential quarters in an atmosphere
wherein indulgence in the four sinful activities of illicit sex,
intoxication, meat-eating and gambling predominates are in the
mode of ignorance. But residential quarters in a temple of
Visnu, the Supreme Lord, are in Vaikuntha. It doesn't matter
where the temple is situated; the temple itself, wherever
it may be, is Vaikuntha. Similarly, the Svetadvipa planet,
although within the material jurisdiction, is Vaikuntha.
Lord Siva finally entered Svetadvipa Vaikuntha. In Svetadvipa
there are great saintly persons who are completely freed from
the envious nature of the material world and are beyond the
jurisdiction of the four principles of material activity,
namely religiosity, economic development, sense
gratification and liberation. Anyone who enters into that
Vaikuntha planet never returns to this material
world. Lord Narayana is celebrated as a lover of His devotees,
and as soon as He understood that Lord Siva was in great danger,
He appeared as a brahmacari and personally approached Lord
Siva to receive him from a distant place. The Lord appeared as
a perfect brahmacari, with a belt around His waist, a sacred
thread, a deerskin, a brahmacari stick and raudra beads. (
Raudra beads are different from tulasi beads. Raudra beads are
used by the devotees of Lord Siva). Dressed as a brahmacari,
Lord Narayana stood before Lord Siva. The shining effulgence
emanating from His body attracted not only Lord Siva but also
the demon Vrkasura.
Lord Narayana offered His respects and obeisances unto
Vrkasura just to attract his sympathy and attention. Thus
stopping the demon, the Lord addressed him as follows: "My dear
son of Sakuni, you appear very tired, as if coming from a
very distant place. What is your purpose? Why have you come so
far? I see that you are fatigued, so I request
you to take a little rest. You should not unnecessarily tire
your body. Everyone greatly values his body because only with
the body can one fulfill all the desires of one's mind.
We should not, therefore, unnecessarily give trouble to the
body."
The brahmacari addressed Vrkasura as the son of Sakuni just to
convince him that He was known to his father, Sakuni. Vrkasura
then took the brahmacari to be someone known to his family, and
therefore the brahmacari's sympathetic words appealed to him.
Before the demon could argue that he had no time to take rest,
the Lord informed him about the importance of the
body, and the demon was convinced. Any man, especially a demon,
takes his body to be very important. Thus Vrkasura became
convinced about the importance of his body.
Then, just to pacify the demon, the brahmacari told him, "My
dear lord, if you think that you can disclose the mission for
which you have taken the trouble to come here, maybe I shall be
able to help you so that your purpose will be easily served."
Indirectly, the Lord informed him that because the Lord is the
Supreme Brahman, He would certainly be able to adjust
the awkward situation created by Lord Siva.
The demon was greatly pacified by the sweet words of Lord
Narayana in the form of a brahmacari, and at last he disclosed
all that had happened in regard to the benediction offered by
Lord Siva. The Lord replied to the demon as follows: "I Myself
cannot believe that Lord Siva has in truth given you such a
benediction. As far as I know, Lord Siva is not in a sane
mental condition. When he had a quarrel with his father-in-law,
Daksa, he was cursed to become a pisaca (ghost). Thus
he has become the leader of the ghosts and hobgoblins.
Therefore I cannot put any faith in his words. But if you still
have faith in the words of Lord Siva, my dear King of the
demons, then why don't you make an experiment by putting your
hand on your own head? If the benediction proves false, then
you can at once kill this liar, Lord Siva, so that in
the future he will not dare give out false benedictions."
In this way, by Lord Narayana's sweet words and by the
expansion of His superior illusion, the demon became bewildered,
and he actually forgot the power of Lord Siva and his
benediction. He was thus very easily persuaded to put his hand
on his own head. As soon as the demon did that, his head
cracked, as if struck by a thunderbolt, and he
immediately died. The demigods from heaven showered
flowers on Lord Narayana, praising Him with shouts of "All
glories!" and "All thanksgiving!" and they offered their
obeisances to the Lord. On the death of Vrkasura, all the
denizens in the higher planetary systems, namely the demigods,
the pitrs, the Gandharvas and the inhabitants of Janaloka,
showered flowers on the Personality of Godhead.
Thus Lord Visnu in the form of a brahmacari released Lord Siva
from the impending danger and saved the whole situation. Lord
Narayana then informed Lord Siva that this demon, Vrkasura, was
killed as the result of his sinful activities. He was
especially sinful and offensive because he wanted to experiment
on his own master, Lord Siva. Lord Narayana then told Lord Siva,
"My dear lord, a person who commits an offense to great souls
cannot continue to exist. He is vanquished by his own
sinful activities, and this is certainly true of this demon,
who has committed such an offensive act against you."
Thus by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Narayana, who is transcendental to all material qualities, Lord
Siva was saved from being killed by a demon. Anyone who hears
this history with faith and devotion is certainly
liberated from material entanglement, as well as from the
clutches of his enemies.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighty
-eighth Chapter of Krsna, "The Deliverance of Lord Siva."
|