Srimad Bhagavatam – day 599
Prostrating before God means offering everything whole-heartedly to Him.
The Vasu Droṇa, together with wife Dhara, prayed to Lord Brahma to bless them with unending devotion towards the Supreme Lord, who is the controller for all universes, when they take birth on Earth.
“May we be blessed with supreme devotion towards Srihari. We seek nothing apart from that. Since we will take on a gross body in that land of action, we will perform the basic obligatory actions essential to sustain our life there”.
Once a gross body is taken, certain actions are inescapable. Bathing and eating a few morsels of grains are pre-requisites to keep the body and senses functional. This body, which is a temple of the Lord, needs to be sustained. For this reason, the basic food and hygiene, that are essential for protecting the Lord who resides within the body, are a must.
Irrespective of whether we use a gold plate, a silver plate or a plantain leaf for storing milk, it needs to be thoroughly washed and cleaned. Can a person desist from washing the plate merely because it is made of pure gold? Dirt continues to attach to it if it remains unwashed. Likewise, every living entity who enters the Earth is tainted with sin irrespective of whether he is a celestial or not. There cannot be a better example than this to understand this point.
Purification is essential irrespective of whether the vessel is made of gold, silver or steel. Only then the milk poured into it remains fresh. Likewise, this body too needs to be purified on a daily basis. Purification here does not refer to mere bathing. Mind needs to be washed daily. Calmness should be cultivated. Efforts should be put in to ensure that doubts about the Supreme Lord do not enter the mind.
Under no circumstances should we allow doubts to crop in about our favourite deity whom we reverentially worship. Never be jealous that He is showering His grace upon another. In future sports of Krishna we will observe how He would distance from the Gopika who turned jealous when the Lord showered blessings upon another Gopika. He would wait till she reformed. This is an extra-ordinary transcendental sport exhibited by the Lord. We are now discussing about the liberation bestowed upon his parents soon upon birth.
Droṇa and Dhara said, “In this world, only through the means of supreme devotion a person can easily overcome inauspiciousness and miseries. He will playfully cross them all”.
This terrible cycle of repeated re-births (samsara) has been compared to a frightening ocean, a huge unending tree that has unlimited branches or to a fearsome snake. It is impossible to swim through this ocean which is filled with innumerable sharks and other deadly, carnivorous marine animals. Even the best swimmer drowns in this ocean. No one knows when he will be gobbled up by an animal here. If the person is even slightly fickle-minded, ghosts and spirits will catch and torture him. Suspicion will eat him up. It will completely drain the devotion in him.
It is imperative therefore to ensure that there is absolutely no scope for any form of vacillations. A person who considers himself to be a true devotee should never listen to any gossip or discussions on unwanted, useless subjects. He should travel towards his inner self-essence. He should be totally inward-focussed and inward-facing. Since basic speech is critical pre-requisite for completing the daily duties, he should limit himself to basic speech. Beyond this, he should not get involved in any other matter. Else he will drown.
The moment you get completely involved in the problems of others, such that you are focussing and worrying for them, then understand that you have been totally glued to this land of action! Be vigilant in this aspect. When friends or acquaintances approach you with their problems, you should advise, “O, this is really sad. It’s a pity that you had to face this misfortune! Anyway, have faith in God. He will take care of you. He will help you. Worship Him with full faith”. Instead of giving this advice, if you get agitated and upset along with them and grieve over their problems, then it is wrong. By these actions their sins are getting transferred to you. Hence just pray for their well-being and move on.
Yet another point one should remember is to not lose temper. Losing temper implies that impurities still rule the mind. By retaining anger within yourself you are turning into a sinner.
Each of us has an account wherein our good and sinful deeds get automatically recorded. The anger within us causes the balance of sin to increase consistently and considerably. As sin increases, automatically the person distances from God. Without his knowledge, he distances.
One fine morning he will ponder, ‘What has happened to me? Why have I distanced from God?’ He needs to remember that he alone is responsible for this. None apart from him is to be blamed for this situation. He can try to shift the blame onto others, but he must remember that the net result caused him to fall to lower levels. He is the loser.
Therefore, in this land of action which is the cause for innumerable sins, only devotion towards the Lord helps us cross all miseries. Getting human birth itself is a misery. You may perhaps question, ‘Swamiji, why do you state that human life is miserable? After all, this is the birth that leads to salvation’. My answer is, ‘Yes, it does grant salvation. But what is to be your fate when you get trapped in this illusion? What will happen when you sink to lows in this illusion? What will happen when you believe this illusion to be the absolute reality. You will then sink deep into the mire. This is durgati. It is misery’.
Therefore. in this land of action, in which we are temporary visitors, we should be eternally cautious. We should be like the delicate silk cloth spread over a thorny bush. We should use devotion to effortlessly cross this land of action. Apart from devotion, there is no other medium by which one can cross this dreaded samsara.
What is true bhakti? Whole-heartedly surrendering everything to the Lord is bhakti. Total self-surrender means to offer in totality, even the feelings (bhavanas) that emerge in the mind! It means to offer everything including the mind, the senses, the intellect and all actions!
What is the meaning of prostration (shanstanga namaskara)? The style adopted by men and women to fall flat on the ground in prostration is called sāstanga namaskar. The eight limbs in the body are the eight flowers. This prostration includes prostrating with the mind, prostrating with the intellect, senses and speech.
As explained in Bhagavad Gita, our senses are the flowers. This prostration, which is an offering of eight flowers, should be offered whole-heartedly all three times in the day. In reality, this offering should be made anytime of the day when we feel like it. In addition to being a good physical exercise, it is also an offering to the Lord. There is nothing wrong in prostrating before the Lord many times a day.
Prostrating before a Guru means offering everything whole-heartedly to Him. It is not a mechanical action habitually performed. Did you truly offer your mind? Think. In normal circumstances, the person who prostrates and the person who accepts the prostration, both being covered by illusion, are satisfied with this routine prostration.
Just because it is said that celestials dread this Earthly life, there is no need to be totally alarmed. This is because the Supreme Lord has already provided a solution to exit from here. The solution is devotion towards the Lord.
Learn to perceive the Lord in every action. Believe every morsel of food eaten as an offering to the Lord. When you sleep believe whole-heartedly that you are prostrating to the Lord. Practise this method. This habit cannot be inculcated merely by hearing or reading about it. It needs to be wilfully cultivated.
Sankarshanaya namah