Srimad Bhagavatam – day 653
Brahma realizes his folly
We had discussed that Brahma, who during the process of creation, had assumed oneness with the characters he was creating, had fallen into delusion and that the compassionate Lord had freed him from it.
Maharishi Śuka continued, “Brahma, now observed Krishna. As before, Krishna was alone in the forest, holding the ball of curd-rice in His hand and searching for His friends and calves that had mysteriously disappeared”.
Brahma, whose veil of illusion had been shred, now saw Krishna, who in reality is the Lord of the entire creation, standing alone in the forest, with the curd-rice ball in His hand searching for the missing calves and boys. Within this short period of his delusion, which in accordance to his time-zone was just a second, a period of one year had elapsed on Earth. After such long period and after the many transcendental sports enacted by Krishna during this period, now suddenly everything was restored to the original situation. Have we not discussed that a year ago Krishna, with the curd-rice ball in His hand, had set out to search for the calves and the boys?
When the computer hangs, everything on the screen remains still. Suddenly when a key is pressed, everything is restored to normalcy. Likewise, Brahma remained still for one year. Everything and everyone remained deluded during this period. Krishna now restored everything to normalcy. Previously Brahma had stolen the boys and Krishna was searching for them all through the forests. The scene was restored to that situation.
“Krishna, who in reality is beyond Nature, was searching through the forests for his missing friends and calves. Brahma, who saw Krishna wandering alone through the forests, instantaneously got down from his swan vehicle and with his body, which resembled a golden rod, prostrated by falling flat on the ground before Krishna”.
Brahma’s body resembles a golden rod. It is divine.
“He ensured that the tips of all his four crowns touched the lotus feet of Krishna. He worshipped those lotus feet with tears of joy that flowed freely from his eyes”.
Brahma, whose ignorance had been shattered, was soaked in divine bliss. He had hurled his small illusion against the supreme illusion and, in the process, was blessed with the vision of the Supreme.
“Again and again he recollected the divine transcendental sport he had just witnessed and kept falling at the Lord’s feet in reverence”.
Time and again he was recollecting the incident. Each time, in great reverence he was falling at the feet of the Lord and worshipping them with tears of joy flowing from his eyes. ‘O Lord, I am nothing in front of You. You are everything. Everything belongs to You. You are the creator. I am an insignificant creature before You. In reality, ‘I’ do not exist. It is you who is bowing before Yourself. Only for the purposes of speech, I am referring to this individual existence as ‘I’. However even that does not exist. O Lord, I cannot even make the statement, ‘I do not exist’, because through this phrase indirectly I am indicating that my ‘I-ness’ exists. It is better to remain silent at such times’- Brahma felt.
Only when you are filled with feelings of ‘I-ness’, you seek forgiveness for your mistakes. ‘I am sorry Swamiji’, when you repeatedly keep saying this, it implies that you are different and I am different. It implies, the person who had erred is different. The person who has erred seeks forgiveness. Then, as the creator, what is my position? Am I the person who has erred or am I the person who seeks forgiveness? Analyze deeply. When this subject is delved in great depth, mind-blowing facts are revealed.
Who is the person offering obeisance? Who is the person begging forgiveness? Who is the person who has erred? Is the person who has erred offering obeisance? Ok, let him offer. If so, who is this new person begging forgiveness? -Think.
Just offer obeisance. That’s it. If you beg forgiveness, it implies you are a distinct individual. It also implies that the possibility of your erring continues to exist in future. It implies, ‘I have begged forgiveness for this mistake. I will again commit another mistake in future. Then I shall once again beg forgiveness. I will continue to sin’.
Do you realize that we do not even possess the worthiness to beg for forgiveness? Simply self-surrender to Him. ‘I am merging into You, O Lord. You do whatever You want with me. If you want, impose punishment. It is Your wish’- that’s all should be the prayer.
In Datta Darshanam, the incident of Paraśurama meeting Kartavirya reveals this. Kartavirya considered himself to be an aspect of Datta. With his thousand hands he worshipped Datta, nevertheless, some arrogance seeped into him. Paraśurama was none other than the Supreme Lord. The same Supreme Lord who had showered innumerable boons upon Kartavirya in the past, had incarnated as Paraśurama to destroy the arrogance of Kartavirya who had aptly prayed, ‘O Lord, quickly punish me and uplift me’.
He had prayed, ‘Quickly destroy me and bless me with knowledge. Once I have realized my mistake, I do not seek any delay in punishment. Destroy me and absorb me quickly into yourself. Please teach me the method by which I can quickly merge into You. If the sin which I have committed due to my arrogance and ignorance is to be destroyed, you need to chop me’.
This divine and extra-ordinary conversation took place between the Kartavirya and the Lord. It is narrated in Datta Darshanam. We should repeatedly read this incident and ponder about it. As we recapitulate this time and again, the essence contained in it will be grasped. As long as we treat it like another stage play or a casual story, nothing will be learnt. Datta Darshanam is overflowing with Supreme Essence. It is Vedanta. Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji has made the Supreme Essence available to you in such easy language. Read the book time and again. Only then you will grasp the Truth.
“Again and again Brahma was falling at the feet of the Lord and offering obeisance. He then stood up and wiped his tears. He lifted his head and looked up at Krishna, the Lord who bestows liberation”.
Krishna is the Supreme Lord who bestows liberation to every living entity, including Brahma. After all, Brahma is yet another of His sons. He is also one of the creations of the Supreme Lord. All of us are children of that Supreme Lord. We are His creations.
“He then bent his head humbly and with a faltering voice, trembling body and a firm mind, began to praise the Lord”.
With this the thirteenth chapter of the tenth canto comes to an end.
Narayana Narayana