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) Others followed him in quick succession, and there was a brilliant combination of Vedic Rishis who propounded the whole of the Karma Kanda of the Vedas, as it was revealed to them by the force of Kalpic necessity. At all times there have been two parties, one following the current of evolution, and another going against it. At all times there have been cavillers and sceptics. The Haihayas and Talajanghas were confirmed materialists and great sinners. They ridiculed the Brahmanas, who performed Vedic Karma, and often set themselves in opposition to them. They were very troublesome to the Brahmanas. King Sagar wanted to extinguish the race, but he was prevented from doing so. Possibly Atlantis was the country inhabited by these races and Nature helped the cause of evolution by dragging down the continent itself under water. The sacred Ganga also flowed at this time, spreading purity over all lands lying on her banks. The Haihayas however still flourished; and they had a great leader in Karta-Viryarjuna. Then came one of the great Avataras, Para- surama. He extirpated the Haihaya Kshatriyas, and went on killing the Kshatriyas till Rama appeared, and it was then that he thought his mission was over. If there were some Kshatriyas who disregarded the Vedas, there were others who found transitoriness, even in Svarga Loka, and hon- 262 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana estly thought that the complete wisdom was not to be found in the Karma Kanda. They were for further revelations At first, the Brah- manas did not look with favour upon these Kshatriyas. But when it was found that the Kshatriyas got real light, they were soon joined by the Brahmanas. The foremost of these Kshatriyas was Janaka, and the foremost of the Brahmanas was Yajnavalkya. The further revelations were called the Upanishads. King Janaka found Sita, the consort of Rama, at the end of his plough. Yajnavalkya defeated all the Brahmanas of his time in dis- cussions held at the court of king Janaka. When Rama incarnated, there existed the people of Lanka, a rem- nant of the Atlantean continent, who had inherited a mighty material civilisation, but who were called Rakshasas, on account of their gross iniquities. They reached the last point of material downfall, and lost all spirituality. They were called Rakshasas as final extinction was their lot, and as the force of dissolution was strong in them. Then there were the regenerate classes, who performed Vedic sac- rifices. There were a few again, who accepted the Upanishads as a teaching, but they could not boldly declare themselves against the performance of sacrifices. Rama finally did away with the Rakshasas. The bard who sang his glory, the great Valmiki, thus began his lay:—"O Killer of birds, thou shalt not live for ever, as of the pair of storks thou hast killed the male, so passionately attached to his consort." Verily the Purusha in us, the ray of the supreme Purusha, becomes passionately attached to the element of Prakriti in us, so that we may acquire spiritual experi- ences through the body. And it is a cruel act to separate our Prakritic individualities completely from him by turning ourselves persistently away from the Purusha. But when Rama became an Avatara, the fate of the separator was sealed. When the Rakshasas were killed, the Rishis were left free to per- form the Vedic sacrifices. Rama did something more. He married the daughter of Janaka, and by this act openly espoused the cause of the Upanishads. Lastly Rama offered Himself as an object of worship. This was the beginning of Vishnu worship, which makes no distinction between classes and castes. Rama openly made friendship with Guhaka, be- Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 263 longing to the lowest class, whom it was an abomination to touch, for Guhaka was devotedly attached to Him, as an Incarnation of Vishnu. The world admired Rama. No man could reach such eminence. He must be something more than a man. In time men accepted him as an Avatara. At any rate, he was an example to others in every respect. The ethical standard he laid down in his own life was unimpeachable. The world had never seen such sacrifices in the performance of the duties of life. A model king, a model son, a model husband, a model brother, a model warrior, a model friend, the model of models, Rama left an indelible mark as a religious and moral teacher, on the age in which he lived, and on all succeeding ages. The example was not lost on the world. The many-sided picture, that Rama presented, produced a spirit of enquiry, which has never been rivalled in this Kalpa. Men thought on different lines. They studied the Upanishads, which had been favoured by Rama. They could not forget also that Rama taught salvation for the performers of Vedic sacrifices. Then there was the teaching of his own life. The light was manifold. Independent schools of thought grew up, notably the six schools of philosophy. Each school tried to find its authority in the Upanishads and the divine scriptures supplied texts enough for all the schools. Every school found a part of the truth but not the whole truth. Yet each school regarded its own part as the whole. So they quarrelled. The Mimansakas said that the performance of Vedic sacrifices was all in all. It had the sanction of time-honored texts and of the most ancient Rishis. And Jaimini supplied the rea- soning by which the practice could be supported. The Sankhyas said that the chief duty of a man was to discriminate between the trans- formable and the non-transformable element in him, and when that was done, nothing more was needed. The followers of Patanjali said that mere discrimination was not sufficient, but a continued practice was required. The Vaiseshikas studied the attributes and properties of all objects and sought by differentiation to know the truths. There were others who worshipped the Bhitas, Pretas and Pisachas, so that they might easily acquire powers. Others worshipped the dwellers of Svarga Loka. Some worshipped Ishvara. But mostly the worship of Siva was prevalent. Gifts and charities also were not unknown, in fact they were very extensive in some instances. But generally the 264 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana object of all religious observances was self-seeking more or less. Amidst this diversity of religious ideas and religious observances, seemingly so contradictory, Sri Krishna, the greatest of all Avataras, appeared and He brought the message of peace and reconciliation. He laid great stress on the fact that the performance of Vedic sacri- fices could lead us only to Svarga Loka, but when our merits were exhausted, we were bound to be born again on Bhir Loka, our Earth. While on Earth, we form fresh Karma, which gives rise to other births. The performance of Vedic Karma does not therefore free us from the bondage of births, for, as the Lord said, there is object- seeking in these performances. Object-seeking for one’s own self does not find a place in the higher Lokas. Its highest limit is Svarga Loka. So long as man remains self-seeking, he can not transcend the limits of Triloki. In the higher Lokas, there is no recurrence of births and re-births. Once you are translated to Mahar Loka, you live for the whole of the remaining period of the Kalpa, passing through a gradual evolution to the higher Lokas. And if you form a devotional tie with the Lord of many Brahmandas, the First Purusha, even the Kalpic period does not restrict your existence. Liberation is a relative term. It may be from the bondage of births and re-births in Triloki. It may be liberation from the bondage of Bvahmandas or solar sys- tems. Those who worship only material objects remain chained to this earth. Those who worship the dwellers of Bhuvar Loka (Bhitas, Pretas, Pisachas and Pitris) or cultivate aspiration for them become allied to them and they pass only to Bhuvar Loka after death. Those who worship the Devas and cultivate this aspiration go to Svarga Loka after death. Those who worship Hiranya-garbha go up to Satya or Brahma Loka. Those who worship the Lord of all Brahmandas pass beyond even the Brahmanda. The first thing that a man should do is to transcend the lim- its of Triloki. This he cannot do as long as he is self-seeking. He should therefore perform his actions unselfishly. And the Lord said as follows:— 1. There is the perishable and the imperishable element in us. Karma or actions appertain to the perishable element. The perishable element constantly changes, so it cannot be our real self or Atma. From the stand-point of our real self, we can dissociate ourselves from Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 265 our actions, which relate to our transitory nature. Here the system of Sankhya came into requisition. 2. But by this discrimination, we can not forcibly stop the perfor- mance of actions. For the actions are propelled by (a) active tenden- cies which form an inseparable part of our present nature, and (b) by the necessity of our very existence. So by stopping actions, we force the tendencies to mental channels, and cause more mischief by pro- ducing mental germs for the future. And we cannot stop all actions, as some are necessary for our bare existence. 3. Therefore we are to perform actions, and we can perform them unselfishly, if they are done from a pure sense of duty. We are to take duty as a law of our very existence. Yajna is only another name for this law. The Lord of beings, having created all beings with the Yajna, said of yore,—"You shall prosper by the performance of this Yajna and this Yajna shall be the producer of all desired objects for you." Yajna consists of mutual sacrifices, as all beings are dependent on one another. "Think of the Devas by means of Yajna, and the Devas shall think of you.