Jagat

This is the continuation of Part I . The author is Bhakti Promode Puri. I translated it 15 years ago. There is a sequel of stories about guruseva from Mahabharata, which I will post tomorrow. Satyakama takes care of Gautama's cows Gautama had a herd of cattle, many of which were weak and sickly. He selected four hundred of those that were in the poorest health and gave them to Satyakama, saying, “My child, please take care of these cows.” Satyakama took the herd Gautama had given him and said, “Master, I shall not return home until these four hundred head have increased and become a thousand.” After saying these words with his hands folded, Satyakama paid his obeisance to his guru and left with the cows. He then began to feed them with the best grains, grasses and water that he could. He took them through woods that were safe from wild beasts, absenting himself from his guru’s ashram for several years. Gradually, the cattle regained their health and started to reprod...

A number of years ago I was translating for Mandala Publishing, translating the Bengali articles of Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj. One of the last projects was for a book on Guru-tattva, which has never been published for various reasons. At any rate, the following is a chapter from that unpublished book. Since Guru-tattva seems to be a theme here. There are a couple of other chapters that I might publish here. This article is a bit long (4500 words), so I have divided into two parts. Part II will be posted tomorrow. Service to the Guru: Jabala Satyakama gets knowledge of Brahman The Chāndogya Upanishad tells the story of how a young boy named Satyakama attained knowledge of Brahman. According to Shripad Shankaracharya, who has written the principal commentary to the Chāndogya Upanishad, “The purpose of this story is to teach that faith ( śraddhā ) and penance ( tapas ) are the two principal elements in the worship of Brahman.” Indeed, it is about faith in the guru ...