Srimad Bhagavatam – day 441
Upendraya namah
Seventh Canto Chapter Fifteen
In this chapter, the dharmas which take the householder towards liberation are explained.
Maharishi Nārada continued, “O Emperor Yudhishthira! Some Vedic Brahmin scholars are attached to fruitive activities, some to penance, some to chanting of Vedas and some to teaching Vedas. Only a very few among them are dedicated towards obtaining Self-knowledge. Only a few choose to get involved in meditation and follow the path of devotion towards the Supreme Lord.
A person desirous of reaping supreme benefits from death ceremonies, or from worship of Almighty should give charities (dāna, offerings), which are due to be offered to fore-fathers or to the Lord, to a Jnani. A Jnani is firmly established in Supreme knowledge and hence is none other than the Supreme Lord himself. In him, the Lord will be performing the cosmic dance. Where such Jnani is not within reach, offerings should be made to any other worthy person.
Irrespective of a person’s opulence, during death-ceremony (śrāddha), he should invite and feed only 2 people in the position of Vishwadeva and 3 persons in place of fore-fathers. A minimum of one person should be invited in each position and offered food. He has no right to increase the number of persons invited for these positions.
It is more important to complete the death ceremony with dedication than to focus on making grand arrangements.
When focus is on elaborate arrangements and on feeding relatives and friends, dedication will reduce towards the rituals which are to be conducted in accordance to that place, time and situation. Flaws could arise in the ingredients procured, the worthiness of the bhoktas (guests) invited for the ceremony and in the worship offered to them.
If, during auspicious place and time, any food including wild rice, is cooked and after offering to Lord Srihari with total love, if that sanctified food is offered to a worthy person, then it fulfils not only all desires of the person offering the food but in addition it will also pave the way for his liberation”.
Of late it has become customary to invite many relatives and friends on days of annual death ceremony. This is absolutely incorrect. If at all friends and relatives are invited, then the food arrangements for them should be organised at a distant location. Caution is required in selecting the person to whom charity is to be given. Charity should not be given to sinners but only to worthy people.
“The person should distribute food to Devatas, Maharishis, fore-fathers, other living entities and his family members considering them to be forms of the Supreme Lord. Being aware of all rules of righteousness, he should not serve meat during death ceremonies. He too should not consume meat on that day. The joy that fore-fathers derive when pure food using wild rice, is prepared and served, cannot be obtained by them when animals are killed for their meat.
Dharma is a form of the Supreme Lord. The aspirant who desires to abide by dharma should completely abide by the non-violence (ahimsa) in body, mind and speech. Ahimsa is by far the best dharma!
Mahatmas who are aware of the original purpose behind conducting Yagna, possess discriminatory knowledge of objects permanent and impermanent in this creation. Hence, they discard desires in entirety. In the fire called absolute mind-control which emerges from the spark called Spiritual Knowledge, they perform the Yagna, which is in the form of fruitive action (karma). In other words, they discard external actions.
Upon seeing the person who performs a Yagna with material ingredients, terrified animals think, “How heartless is this person! He is ignorant of the original rules and purpose of dharma. This human, who believes that satisfying his senses is his sole purpose, is bound to kill me”. For this reason, the aspirant who is aware of these dharmic secrets should be content with making those offerings, albeit simple, which are available on their own by the grace of the Lord.
Unfailingly he should perform Sandhya vandana and other daily obligatory duties (nitya karma). In addition, he should engage in charities and other occasional obligatory duties (naimittika karma) but should refrain from harming other living entities in the name of fruitive activities (kāmya karma).
Vidadharma, para-dharma, ābhāsa, upama and chala are the five divisions of unrighteousness (adharma). The aspirant should abstain from these activities which are unrighteous.
Those deeds which when performed, obstruct him from abiding by his own dharma (righteous duties) are known as Vida-dharma. Examples of Vida-dharma are vāmācara (heterodox path). Paradharma refers to the righteous duties applicable to others and not applicable to oneself. They include dharmas which are against the tenets of Vedas.
Cheating and injuring oneself is ābhāsa. Pretentiously adhering to righteousness in order to please others is upama. Criticizing the dictates of the scriptures and interpreting them wrongly is called chala. It reflects stubbornness in one’s beliefs. For instance, some people argue vehemently that a hen has three legs. They are willing to argue for hours to prove themselves right.
Rules for the four stages of life have already been established. At times, people per their whims create their own rules which oppose the original rules. Such new rules are aimed at fulfilling their selfish motive or for their personal happiness. Such creations are unrighteous and can only be classified as ābhāsa and not as righteous principles.
Only those rules of righteousness that have been firmly dictated, based on a person’s nature and stage of life (āśrama), bestow ultimate peace to human beings! It is a sin to discard the righteous duties (dharma) applicable to oneself and instead follow the dharma which is applicable to others (Paradharma). For this sin punishment in Rourava and other terrible hells is inevitable.
Even under dire poverty, a spiritual aspirant has no right to beg for money in order to fill his stomach or for abidance to his righteous duties. Just as a python which remains motionless at a place without striving for food obtains its food, providence creates a livelihood for that person who, being totally freed from desires, does not strive to earn money”.
The python remains motionless at one place. It eats the animal which comes walking on its path and remains content with it. Similarly, for a person who is absolutely freed from desire and hence who does not strive to earn money, God creates a livelihood.
“The bliss enjoyed by that person who is totally contented and freed from all desires, can never be obtained by that person who, due to his lustful desires or due to attachment towards money and other objects of comfort, chases them incessantly from all directions!”
Due to his excessive desire the person incessantly chases worldly material comforts. It could be desire for money, fulfilment of lustful or other such desires. How can such person enjoy real bliss?
Nārāyanāya namah