English
" All our actions may be classed under duties—duties which we owe to the Devas, the Pitris, the sages, the animals and to other men. If we perform our Karma for the sake of Yajna only, we perform it unselfishly. 4. As discrimination is useful in realising the real self, so restraint is necessary to put down the acquired self. The tendencies of the ac- quired self, if left to themselves, prompt men to ever recurring ac- tions, which again produce their own effects, some of which develop into fresh tendencies or strengthen the pre-existing tendencies. So restraint is to be constantly practised. The object of restraint is to free the mind from thoughts of the object world and to fix it on the real self, Atma. Here the system of Patanjali comes into requisition. But the system is to be accepted with this reservation that Yoga does not necessarily mean renunciation of Karma. It includes the unselfish performance of Karma and, for the average humanity, renunciation of Karma is harmful as an expedient of Yoga. Though there may be some who do not require Karma for themselves, yet they should not renounce it, if they want to set an example to others and not to con- found their intellect. 5. But the Pirva Mimansakas say: Vedic Karma is all in all, and 266 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana the authority of the Vedas is supreme. Here Sri Krishna had to assert Himself as an Avatara, and He asked people to accept His own au- thority. He said there was self-seeking in Vedic Karma, and one could not therefore avoid the recurrence of births by the performance of Vedic Karma. So Sri Krishna said to Uddhava:—"If the Vedas say that men attain Svarga by the performance of Vedic Karma, it is simply by way of inducement, and not as pointing out the supreme end. The fa- ther says; ‘Boy, eat this bitter medicine and I will give thee this cake in my hand’ The boy takes the medicine for the sweet thing. But that really leads to his recovery from the disease. So the Vedas mean final liberation as the end. But to enforce restraint, they hold out the prospect of Svarga, which is most agreeable to men." (Elaboration of XI. 21. 23.) Many were unwilling to accept the authority of Sri Krishna, and the chief amongst them was Sisupala. This was the teaching of Karma Yoga by Sri Krishna. But the unselfish performance of Karma is not all. It is only a negative virtue. It purifies the mind and frees it from the taint of selfishness. The mind then becomes prepared for the higher planes and becomes fit for the direct influence of ishvara. So Sri Krishna gave to His disciples the true conception of Isvara. He told them Isvara was One, the source of all existence, all knowl- edge and all bliss. He told them how one [svara pervaded the whole universe and became thus manifested through the Universe. He also pervaded all beings, and became manifested through these beings. The Universe and the Jiva were His Prakritis or bodies as it were. The Universe body was eight-fold in its character, beginning with that most susceptible to His influence and ending with the division most obtuse to that influence. This eight-fold Prakriti also entered into the constitution of Jiva. But there was something more in Jiva,—the con- sciousness, the knower. This element was [svara Himself, as limited by Jiva Prakriti, or Jiva body. The whole universe being the body of Isvara, His knowledge and powers were unrestricted, whereas the body of the Jiva, being limited and restricted, his powers and know!- edge were also restricted. This highest conception of Isvara is not adapted for all. So Sri Krishna gave the conception of Isvara, as manifested by His powers, Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 267 and as manifested in Time and Space, and lastly as He is manifested in the human body with four hands and the Crown, symbolising His lordship over the whole Universe. But this conception of Isvara is not enough. As man owes a duty to all beings, the performance of which is Karma, so he owes a duty to Isvara, and that duty is Upasana. All beings make sacrifices for one another, and so they owe duty to one another. But Isvara makes the greatest sacrifice for all beings and He holds all beings close to His bosom in each Kalpa, that they may work out their evolution under the most favorable circumstances. He waits for those that give up ev- erything for His sake, and give themselves entirely up to Him, so that He may bear their Karma upon Himself and hasten their evolution to such an extent, that they may approach His own state. As Isvara gives Himself to the service of the Universe, so do His Bhaktas too. Men owe the highest duty to Isvara, and this they discharge by means of Upasana. Upasana is the law of being for all Jivas, when they reach the state of manhood. Surrender is the essence of Upasana, and this Sri Krishna taught to Arjuna. When a man by performing his duties to other beings and to Isvara becomes purified and single minded, he is entitled to receive the final teaching, and not before. And Sri Krishna gave that teaching at the very last to Arjuna. He said that Jiva and Ishvara were one in essence. It is the difference in Prakriti that makes all the difference between Jiva and Ishvara. When all the bonds of Prakriti are broken through, only Brahman remains, the one reality, underlying both Ishvara and Jiva. When we become fixed, in this wisdom all is Brahman, and final liberation is attained. This is the real teaching of the Upanishads, as embodied in Uttara Mimansa. In this connection, Sri Krishna pointed out the fallacy of the Vaiseshika system in attempting to know the Attributeless, through the attributes. The highest wisdom of the Kalpa was revealed and the world re- sounds with all glory to Sri Krishna. The Rishis and Mahatmas took up His work. All the religious movements and religious writings that have followed only reproduce His teachings. There was something however wanting in these teachings as given in the Mahabharata—the relation of Sri Krishna to His own Bhaktas. What He did for the Universe and how He did it are fully 268 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana related in the great Epic. But what He did for those that had already given themselves up entirely to Him, who did not require the teach- ing of Karma, Upasana and Jnana, who were His own people, who knew no other Dharma than Himself, who had followed Him through ages, and who simply took births as He appeared on this earth, what Sri Krishna did for these Bhaktas, what His relations were with them, are not described in the Mahabharata at all. The lordly side is given but not the sweet side. The picture of the Lord edifies and overawes, that of the Lover enchants and enthrals. The Bhagavata sings what the Mahabharata left unsung. That is the peculiar significance of the Tenth Skandha which follows, the Skandha that maddens the hearts of all real devotees. THE TENTH SKANDHA. VRINDAVANA LILA THE BIRTH OF SRI KRISHNA. SKANDHA X. CHAP. 1-3. Said Suka:—The goddess Earth, being oppressed by the heavy load of tens of thousands of Daitya hosts, who were born as arrogant kings, sought the shelter of Brahma. She took the form of a cow, and with tears running down her cheeks, piteously related her grievances to the Lord of Creation. Brahma took Siva and the Devas with him, and went over to the Ocean of milk (Kshira Samudra), the abode of Vishnu. There he adored the Lord of Preservation and heard the Di- vine voice, which he thus explained to the Devas:— "Even before this, the Lord knew about the grievances of the god- dess of Earth. Go, take your births, as parts of yourselves, in the clan of the Yadus. The Lord of Lords, by governing His Kala Sakti, shall appear on the Earth and relieve her pressure. The Supreme Pu- rusha Himself shall be born in the family of Vasudeva. Let the Deva girls take their births for His gratification. The thousand-mouthed, self-illumining Ananta, who is only a part of Vasudeva, shall be the elder-born, that he may do what pleases Hari. Bhagavati, the Maya Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 269 of Vishnu, who keeps the whole world under delusion, shall also in- carnate in part, as desired by the Lord, for doing His work." Saying all this to the Devas, and giving words of consolation to the goddess of Earth, Brahma went back to his own abode. Sura Sena, the chief of the Yadus, ruled over the town of Mathura. Hence it became the chief seat of the Yadu kings. It is a sacred town, the constant seat of Hari. Once upon a time, at Mathura. Vasudeva drove in his chariot with his newly married wife Devaki. The marriage presents were innumerable. Kansa, the son of Ugrasena, held the reins of the horses himself, so eager was he to please his sister Devaki. On the way, an incorporeal voice, addressing Kansa, said:— "O ignorant one! the eighth child of her whom thou art now driv- ing shall be thy slayer." The cruel Kansa instantly took sword in hand and caught Devaki by her hair. Vasudeva pacified him with these words:— "Thy virtues are well known. Why shouldst thou kill a female, thine own sister, at marriage. Death is certain, this day or a hundred years hence. Man takes body after body under the action of Karma, as he takes step after step in walking, or even as the leech takes blade after blade of grass in moving. "As in dream there is a reflex perception of what is seen and heard in waking, and as in that perception the man forgets his former self and becomes a reflex of that self, so a man gives up his former body and becomes forgetful of it. "To whatever body the mind is drawn by fruit—bearing Karma, the Jiva assumes that body as its own. "The wind shakes the water and the Son or moon, reflected on its bosom, appears as if shaken. So by ascription, the Purusha has the attributes of the body.