Priti Sandarbha 7.3 : The Senses Must Be Imbued with the Internal Potency
7.3 The Senses Must Be Imbued with the Internal Potency
तदेवं तत्प्रकाशेन निःशेषशुद्धचित्तत्वे सिद्धे, पुरुषकरणानि तदीयस्वप्रकाशताशक्तितादात्म्यापन्नतयैव तत्प्रकाशताभिमानवन्ति स्युः।
In this way, since complete purity of heart is achieved by His manifestation, it follows that the human senses acquire the ego of perceiving Bhagavān only by becoming imbued by the self-manifesting potency of Bhagavān.
तत्र भक्तिविशेषसापेक्षत्वमुक्तम् (भा. १.२.१२) —"तच्छ्रद्दधाना मुनयः" इत्यादौ।
This [appearance of Bhagavān's potency] depends upon the loving devotion of Bhagavān as is said:
The sages who are full of faith see the Self within their own hearts through devotion acquired by hearing and combined with knowledge and renunciation. (SB 1.2.12)
तदिच्छामयेत्याद्युदाहरणं च ब्रह्मभगवतोरविशेषतयैव दृश्यते। यथा सत्यव्रतं प्रति श्रीमत्स्यदेववाक्ये (भा. ८.२४.३८) —
The following example of the necessity of the will of Bhagavān, which is necessary for both the realization of Brahman and Bhagavān without any distinction, is taken from the words of Matsya Deva to King Satyavrata.
वेत्स्यस्यनुगृहीतं मे सम्प्रश्नैर्विवृतं हृदि ॥ इति।
You will also know My glory, which is celebrated as Param Brahma, for it will be thoroughly revealed to you within your heart, both as a result of your own profound inquiry and through My favor. (SB 8.24.38)
तथैव हि ब्रह्माणं प्रति श्रीभगवद्वाक्ये (भा. २.९.२१) —"मनीषितानुभावोऽयं मम लोकावलोकनम्" इति।
And similarly in the words of Bhagavān to Brahmā:
As per My wish you have attained the vision of My abode, because you engaged in severe austerity only on hearing my instruction in the solitary place. (SB 2.9.21)
श्रीनारायणाध्यात्मे—
तामृते पुण्डरीकाक्षं कः पश्येतामितं प्रभुम् ॥ इति।
And in Nārāyaṇa-adhyātma it is said:
Although Bhagavān is always unmanifest He is seen by His potency. Without His grace who is able to see the lotus-eyed, unlimited Bhagavān?
श्रुतौ च (क.उ. १.२.२३) —"यमेवैष वृणुते तेन लभ्यस्तस्यैष आत्मा विवृणुते तनुं स्वाम्" इति।
And in the Śruti also: "Only the person Bhagavān chooses attains Him. Unto him Bhagavān reveals His own form." (KU 1.2.23)
ततस्तत्करणशुद्ध्यपेक्षापि तच्छक्तिप्रतिफलनार्थमेव ज्ञेया। एवमपि भक्त्या तं दृष्ट्वापि मुचुकुन्दादौ या मृगयापापाद्यस्तिता श्रीभगवता कीर्तिता, सा तु प्रेमवर्धिन्या झटितिभगवदप्राप्तिशङ्काजन्मनस्तदुत्कण्ठाया वर्धनार्थं विभीषिकयैव कृता।
Therefore purity of the senses and heart are only required for the purpose of reflecting that potency of Bhagavān. Even then, Mucukunda saw Bhagavān through devotion, yet Bhagavān mentioned the existence of sins in him, such as that of hunting animals. He did this only to frighten him in order to increase his anxiety by producing a doubt in him that he would perhaps not attain Bhagavān immediately, which in turn would increase his love for Him. [In other words, the sins were not real or significant impediments, since Mucukunda had in fact attained darśana of Bhagavān.]
यत्तु तदीयस्निग्धानां श्रीयुधिष्ठिरादीनां नरकदर्शनं, तत् खलु इन्द्रमायामयमेवेति स्वर्गारोहणपर्वण्येव व्यक्तमस्ति। विष्णुधर्मे तृतीयजन्मनि दत्ततिलधेनोरपि विप्रस्य प्रसङ्गमात्रेण नरकाणामपि स्वर्गतुल्यरूपताप्राप्तिवर्णनात्। श्रीभागवतेन तु तदपि नाङ्गीक्रियते, तदनुपाख्यानात्, प्रत्युताव्यवहितभगवत्प्राप्तिवर्णनाच्च।
As for the description of Kṛṣṇa's affectionate devotees Yudhisthira and the Pāṇḍavas visiting hell, that was just an illusion created by Indra. This has been clarified in the Svargārohaṇa Parva itself. [Their going to hell cannot be real ] because in Viṣṇudharma Purāṇa it is told that by the mere association of a Brāhmaṇa who had donated a cow made of sesame seeds in his third previous birth, the hellish worlds all took on the appearance of the heavens [then how could the highly religious Pāṇḍavas go to hell?] But the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam does not accept even that [Yudhisthira had an illusory vision of hell] because it does not tell that story but rather describes that they attained Bhagavān immediately.
Commentary
Next Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī refers to the stories of King Mucukunda and Yudhiṣṭhira which seem to imply that their karma was not destroyed even though they had sākṣātkāra of Kṛṣṇa.
The story of Mucukunda is found in the 51st chapter of the Tenth Canto. When Kālayavana attacked Mathurā, Kṛṣṇa decided to flee. Kālayavana gave chase, but Kṛṣṇa remained just a little bit ahead of him and could not be caught, just as He cannot be seen by an unqualified yogī. Kṛṣṇa allured him into a cave where Mucukunda happened to be sleeping. Mucukunda was a son of King Māndhātā, who had fought against the asuras on behalf of the devas under Indra. When Skanda, the son of Śiva, took over the responsibility to of leading the godly armies, Indra decided to reward Mucukunda for his valorous service and asked him to ask for a boon. Mucukunda said that he was extremely tired after all the fighting and would like to sleep without any disturbance. "So," he said, "If anyone disturbs my slumber, that person should be burnt to ashes by my glance."
Indra granted him this wish. He was sleeping in the very cave that Kṛṣṇa had entered, followed by Kālayavana. Kṛṣṇa quickly covered the sleeping Mucukunda with his yellow upper cloth and hid in a dark corner of the cave. When Kālayavana entered the cave, he did not see the dark-skinned Kṛṣṇa who was hidden in the darkness. He saw the yellow cloth and, mistaking Mucukunda for Kṛṣṇa, angrily kicked him. This broke Mucukunda’s sleep and, furious at the disturbance, he looked at Kālayavana and burnt him to ashes with the fire generated from his own body.
Kṛṣṇa then appeared in front of the king who took Him to be Viṣṇu. After Mucukunda inquired after His identity, Kṛṣṇa revealed Himself to him and also asked him to chose a boon from Him. Mucukunda then offered Him his prayers. This time he did not desire any material boon, but only the shelter of Kṛṣṇa’s feet. It was at that time that Kṛṣṇa spoke the following verse to him:
While executing your duties as a Kṣatriya you hunted and killed many animals. Remain under My shelter and composed in mind, and get rid of that sin by performing penances. (10.51.63)
Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī says that in reality the king had already been absolved of all sins just by seeing Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa spoke in this way to increase his eagerness in bhakti so that he would not have to take any more births.
The story of Yudhiṣṭhira visiting hell is described in in the first two chapters of the Svargārohaṇa-parva, the last of the 18 divisions or parvas in the Mahābhārata. It is there recounted that when it was time for the Pāṇḍavas to end their activities in this world, they went to the Himālayas and began walking upwards towards heaven. But when Yudhiṣṭhira finally reached his goal, he saw Duryodhana sitting on a beautiful throne and looking very effulgent. He became very upset and said that he had no desire to enjoy the delights of a heaven that gave a place to the unrighteous Duryodhana. On hearing Yudhiṣṭhira speak like this, Nārada advised him not to be angry at his old rival; the enmity he had towards him should not be carried into the after-life. He said that Duryodhana's ascent to heaven was appropriate because he had given up his body while executing the duty of a kṣatriya, so better not to remember the atrocities he had committed in his earthly life.
Hearing this, Yudhiṣṭhira inquired about his brothers, as well as Karṇa and all the other great heroes who had fought for him. He looked all around in Svarga but but could not see them anywhere, so he decided he would not live in heaven without them. He informed the devas of his decision and they agreed to fulfill his desire. They appointed a divine messenger, a devadūta, to guide him to the place where his brothers were. The devadūta took Yudhiṣṭhira to a hell where he saw his brothers and relatives suffering. Despite this, Yudhiṣṭhira decided to remain with them and told the devadūta to return to heaven. On his departure, Indra along with Dharma and other devas appeared there, upon which the hell disappeared. Dharma told Yudhiṣṭhira that it had been created by Indra's illusory power. The Pāṇdavas were very pious and did not deserve to be in hell. (MB 18.3.36).
Śrī Jīva cites the example of a Brāhmaṇa who had donated a cow made of sesame seeds in a prior lifetime. On the strength of that single pious act, the residents of hell acquired heavenly forms through his association. If such were the case with a person whose pious deeds were so trivial, then where was there any possibility of the Pāṇḍavas descending to hell? They were great devotees of Kṛṣṇa and thus Śrīmad Bhāgavatam makes no mention of their visiting any hell, whether by Indra's illusory power or any other way. Rather, the Bhāgavatam says that they directly attained the abode of Bhagavān (SB 1.15.47-48).
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