Hari Aum.
I wanted to share some insights gained from reading a story in the Bhagavatam- the story of Ajamila. Now this is a well-known story that I have heard and read about in the abbreviated version. Today was the first time I have read this story in the orginal, from the Bhagavatam - I read the English translation as my Sanskrit is that of a complete beginner. Nonetheless, this was the first time I read a word-for-word English translation of the Sanskrit original, and frankly, it has left me feeling rather stunned. Stunned at the extraordinary grace of God.
Let me recap the story for you. Ajamila was a decent chap, a gentleman in today's words, a brahmin of those times. He was scholarly, wise, kind, a loving husband, a caring father, a dutiful son. This was his life for a while. Then it all went horribly wrong for him. As often is the case, he fell due to his inability to control his sexual desires. (In modern times too, we are aware of people in prestigious positions who made utter fools of themselves due to their sexual urges overriding any common sense- some examples include Bill Clinton and Tiger Woods- they ruined their public image and lost respect and wealth due to sexually inappropriate behaviour).
Anyway, coming back to Ajamila- like Bill Clinton and Tiger Woods, this guy too was consumed by the fire of passion. He was married to a beautiful and noble woman- but one day he saw a promiscuous man and woman openly having sex in a forest (where he had gone to collect flowers for worship). His became obsessed and infatuated with this woman and could do nothing to get her out of his head. Finally the unfulfilled desires became too painful to bear, and he gave in. He went after her. She was happy to be with a man of some status as she was not well-off. Ajamila dumped his wife and kids and ran off with his new sexy lady. The new lady was not at all noble- she was a woman of dubious character to say the least. And Ajamila's lust had made him pretty nasty too. He began to develop new vile habits to maintain his new family- he lied, cheated, robbed people- basically became a criminal to feed his family. (Remind you of another famous Puranic character? I'm thinking of Ratnakar here- who later became Valmiki). And he had 10 kids by the age of 80- yup, no moderation in sex, and no family planning there.
Anyway, Ajamila's youngest kid was called "Narayana" and he was most fond of this little toddler. It was the custom to name one's kids after God in those days (as it still is in India). And you will soon see why this is not at all a bad idea.
One day, time was up for Ajamila. It was time to die. He was playing with the toddler Narayana, when he suddenly caught sight of some seriously unpleasant looking folks- three beings with erect hairs and holding nooses. He shrank back in fear, and was horrified to find they approached him directly and began to wrap their nooses around his soul located in the heart-space. He felt he was dying. In great fear and terror, he yelled out to his son "Narayana!!!!!!"
A few moments after he yelled "Narayana", he found himself surrounded by four dazzling beings of handsome appearance. They were dressed like Vishnu and looked like Vishnu- in that, they were a dark colour like a raincloud, wore yellow silks, and had four celestial arms in which they held a conch, discus, mace and play lotus.
They immediately freed Ajamila from the nooses. He remained there trembling and went on to witness an extraordinary debate between the two parties.
The fierce beings with the nooses were the servants of the god of Death (Yama) and were called the Yama-dootas (messengers of Death). They were pretty annoyed. Never before had anyone stopped them from doing their duty. They asked the dazzling beings who they were and what the heck was going on. This Ajamila was a sinner they said, and it was their business to take him off to some nasty places where he would pay for the sins committed on this planet. He had committed sins and not done any penance to expiate the sins they said. It was time for him to suffer that which he had inflicted on others- this was the inexorable law of karma and nothing and nobody could stand in its way.
The dazzling beings, who were the servants or messengers of Vishnu, Vishnu-dootas, smiled at the confusion of the Yama-dootas. They stated that Ajamila was in fact no longer a sinner as he had wiped out every one of his hundreds of sins by the mere utterance of the name of Narayana. They agreed that Ajamila had been one nasty dude, but since he had taken the name of Narayana, he had performed the supreme tapas, and wiped out all his innumerable sins (of this lifetime and many previous ones!).
The Yama-dootas were absolutely aghast. Flabbergasted. What!- they thought. How can this be? They raced off to Lord Yama for an explanation as the dazzling beings seemed determined to stand in their way.
Lord Yama smilingly explained to his messengers that this was indeed an extraordinary truth. Narayana and His Name are One. On uttering the name of Narayana, knowingly or unknowingly, without any faith, devotion or knowledge of what is doing, he said one still obtains the full merit. One wipes out all one's past sins. The example is given of a strong medicine that works even when the patient has no clue as to how it works.
Ajamila meanwhile wanted to thank the Vishnu-dootas but he did not have time as they disappeared in a trice after doing the job they came to do of freeing him. He was a changed man however. He realised that God had given him a second chance and he was determined to make the most of it. He packed his bags and went to a place called "Haridwar" (meaning the door to Hari)- yes, who knows, this may be the same Haridwar that exists in the Himalayas in North India. He then did a lot of tapas, and attained devotion to Lord Vishnu. When his time was up, the same dazzling beings whom he'd met before appeared before him. After he cast off his earthly body in the sacred Ganga, he was granted a dazzling form like theirs. He then left with them for Vaikuntha, the realm of Vishnu. As a devotee of Vishnu, he attained the holy feet of Vishnu.
Some key points mentioned in the story are:
1. Utterance of the Name of God just once removes sins already committed. This occurs in an instant. However a person may still go on to sin in the future, as the sinful tendency is still present in the mind. This brings us to the next point (which explains the need for prolonged taking of the Name of God).
2. Utterance of the Name of God, many many times, over a long period of time, done as a devotional practice achieves two important spiritual goals :
i) Removes the underlying tendency of the mind to sin (does not just remove past sins)
ii) Develops true devotion for God, Prema, Bhakti which is a rare thing. And this brings us to the next point.
3. Mukti is much easier to attain than bhakti. So states the Bhagavatam. Mukti itself is rare, but Bhakti is rarer still. God gives mukti more easily than Bhakti. To attain bhakti one has to practice sincerely for some time. The fifth purushartha as per the Vishnavas is bhakti.
Now some people will call this story an exaggeration. This is meant for simple folk they will say, to encourage them to do a little japa, a little kirtan, to walk the path of bhakti, to worship Vishnu. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink- what simpletons, they will say.
But the sages, devotees and Gurus shake their head and say, no this is no exaggeration. This is the saving grace of God. He is love, He is power- His Name and He are One. Therefore it is not at all surprising that uttering His Name can give such tremendous results. Take His Name and attain the highest good they beg us.
But the majority of us are are low petty-minded people. We cannot believe that anyone can love that much. We ourselves lack love, we ourselves lack power. So we struggle to believe in the love and power of God and His Name.
Even those of us walking the spiritual path, are gripped with doubt from time to time. I include myself in the category above of low, petty-minded people. There are two sides of my mind, ever in battle.
The dominant side of my mind, by God's grace, is the one that insists on doing japa daily, no matter what. This side has strong faith in the Lord and His Name. But the weak whining doubting side is also there, asking if all this isn't just an exaggeration. The battle will continue until the Name of God itself transforms all doubts into faith and devotion.
Anyway I recommend reading this story in the Bhagavatam in the original. It is something to read the actual words (even a translation) of the characters- the Vishnu-dootas, Yama-dootas, Lord Yama, Suka and Parikshit.
The above is just an outline. Wonderful are their dialogues, wonderful are the concepts discussed. The arguments and counter-arguments. Wow is the only word that remains afterwards. I felt pretty awestruck and speechless for a while afterwards, even though I've heard the story before.
Glory to the Name of Hari. Which is none other than He.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
I wanted to share some insights gained from reading a story in the Bhagavatam- the story of Ajamila. Now this is a well-known story that I have heard and read about in the abbreviated version. Today was the first time I have read this story in the orginal, from the Bhagavatam - I read the English translation as my Sanskrit is that of a complete beginner. Nonetheless, this was the first time I read a word-for-word English translation of the Sanskrit original, and frankly, it has left me feeling rather stunned. Stunned at the extraordinary grace of God.
Let me recap the story for you. Ajamila was a decent chap, a gentleman in today's words, a brahmin of those times. He was scholarly, wise, kind, a loving husband, a caring father, a dutiful son. This was his life for a while. Then it all went horribly wrong for him. As often is the case, he fell due to his inability to control his sexual desires. (In modern times too, we are aware of people in prestigious positions who made utter fools of themselves due to their sexual urges overriding any common sense- some examples include Bill Clinton and Tiger Woods- they ruined their public image and lost respect and wealth due to sexually inappropriate behaviour).
Anyway, coming back to Ajamila- like Bill Clinton and Tiger Woods, this guy too was consumed by the fire of passion. He was married to a beautiful and noble woman- but one day he saw a promiscuous man and woman openly having sex in a forest (where he had gone to collect flowers for worship). His became obsessed and infatuated with this woman and could do nothing to get her out of his head. Finally the unfulfilled desires became too painful to bear, and he gave in. He went after her. She was happy to be with a man of some status as she was not well-off. Ajamila dumped his wife and kids and ran off with his new sexy lady. The new lady was not at all noble- she was a woman of dubious character to say the least. And Ajamila's lust had made him pretty nasty too. He began to develop new vile habits to maintain his new family- he lied, cheated, robbed people- basically became a criminal to feed his family. (Remind you of another famous Puranic character? I'm thinking of Ratnakar here- who later became Valmiki). And he had 10 kids by the age of 80- yup, no moderation in sex, and no family planning there.
Anyway, Ajamila's youngest kid was called "Narayana" and he was most fond of this little toddler. It was the custom to name one's kids after God in those days (as it still is in India). And you will soon see why this is not at all a bad idea.
One day, time was up for Ajamila. It was time to die. He was playing with the toddler Narayana, when he suddenly caught sight of some seriously unpleasant looking folks- three beings with erect hairs and holding nooses. He shrank back in fear, and was horrified to find they approached him directly and began to wrap their nooses around his soul located in the heart-space. He felt he was dying. In great fear and terror, he yelled out to his son "Narayana!!!!!!"
A few moments after he yelled "Narayana", he found himself surrounded by four dazzling beings of handsome appearance. They were dressed like Vishnu and looked like Vishnu- in that, they were a dark colour like a raincloud, wore yellow silks, and had four celestial arms in which they held a conch, discus, mace and play lotus.
They immediately freed Ajamila from the nooses. He remained there trembling and went on to witness an extraordinary debate between the two parties.
The fierce beings with the nooses were the servants of the god of Death (Yama) and were called the Yama-dootas (messengers of Death). They were pretty annoyed. Never before had anyone stopped them from doing their duty. They asked the dazzling beings who they were and what the heck was going on. This Ajamila was a sinner they said, and it was their business to take him off to some nasty places where he would pay for the sins committed on this planet. He had committed sins and not done any penance to expiate the sins they said. It was time for him to suffer that which he had inflicted on others- this was the inexorable law of karma and nothing and nobody could stand in its way.
The dazzling beings, who were the servants or messengers of Vishnu, Vishnu-dootas, smiled at the confusion of the Yama-dootas. They stated that Ajamila was in fact no longer a sinner as he had wiped out every one of his hundreds of sins by the mere utterance of the name of Narayana. They agreed that Ajamila had been one nasty dude, but since he had taken the name of Narayana, he had performed the supreme tapas, and wiped out all his innumerable sins (of this lifetime and many previous ones!).
The Yama-dootas were absolutely aghast. Flabbergasted. What!- they thought. How can this be? They raced off to Lord Yama for an explanation as the dazzling beings seemed determined to stand in their way.
Lord Yama smilingly explained to his messengers that this was indeed an extraordinary truth. Narayana and His Name are One. On uttering the name of Narayana, knowingly or unknowingly, without any faith, devotion or knowledge of what is doing, he said one still obtains the full merit. One wipes out all one's past sins. The example is given of a strong medicine that works even when the patient has no clue as to how it works.
Ajamila meanwhile wanted to thank the Vishnu-dootas but he did not have time as they disappeared in a trice after doing the job they came to do of freeing him. He was a changed man however. He realised that God had given him a second chance and he was determined to make the most of it. He packed his bags and went to a place called "Haridwar" (meaning the door to Hari)- yes, who knows, this may be the same Haridwar that exists in the Himalayas in North India. He then did a lot of tapas, and attained devotion to Lord Vishnu. When his time was up, the same dazzling beings whom he'd met before appeared before him. After he cast off his earthly body in the sacred Ganga, he was granted a dazzling form like theirs. He then left with them for Vaikuntha, the realm of Vishnu. As a devotee of Vishnu, he attained the holy feet of Vishnu.
Some key points mentioned in the story are:
1. Utterance of the Name of God just once removes sins already committed. This occurs in an instant. However a person may still go on to sin in the future, as the sinful tendency is still present in the mind. This brings us to the next point (which explains the need for prolonged taking of the Name of God).
2. Utterance of the Name of God, many many times, over a long period of time, done as a devotional practice achieves two important spiritual goals :
i) Removes the underlying tendency of the mind to sin (does not just remove past sins)
ii) Develops true devotion for God, Prema, Bhakti which is a rare thing. And this brings us to the next point.
3. Mukti is much easier to attain than bhakti. So states the Bhagavatam. Mukti itself is rare, but Bhakti is rarer still. God gives mukti more easily than Bhakti. To attain bhakti one has to practice sincerely for some time. The fifth purushartha as per the Vishnavas is bhakti.
Now some people will call this story an exaggeration. This is meant for simple folk they will say, to encourage them to do a little japa, a little kirtan, to walk the path of bhakti, to worship Vishnu. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink- what simpletons, they will say.
But the sages, devotees and Gurus shake their head and say, no this is no exaggeration. This is the saving grace of God. He is love, He is power- His Name and He are One. Therefore it is not at all surprising that uttering His Name can give such tremendous results. Take His Name and attain the highest good they beg us.
But the majority of us are are low petty-minded people. We cannot believe that anyone can love that much. We ourselves lack love, we ourselves lack power. So we struggle to believe in the love and power of God and His Name.
Even those of us walking the spiritual path, are gripped with doubt from time to time. I include myself in the category above of low, petty-minded people. There are two sides of my mind, ever in battle.
The dominant side of my mind, by God's grace, is the one that insists on doing japa daily, no matter what. This side has strong faith in the Lord and His Name. But the weak whining doubting side is also there, asking if all this isn't just an exaggeration. The battle will continue until the Name of God itself transforms all doubts into faith and devotion.
Anyway I recommend reading this story in the Bhagavatam in the original. It is something to read the actual words (even a translation) of the characters- the Vishnu-dootas, Yama-dootas, Lord Yama, Suka and Parikshit.
The above is just an outline. Wonderful are their dialogues, wonderful are the concepts discussed. The arguments and counter-arguments. Wow is the only word that remains afterwards. I felt pretty awestruck and speechless for a while afterwards, even though I've heard the story before.
Glory to the Name of Hari. Which is none other than He.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
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