Sage Kapila's teachings: part 1

 Hari Aum.

As part of my sadhana during this spiritually auspicious month (of Adhika/Purushottama masa), I thought I would read a bit of the Bhagavatam. As many of you would know, this scripture contains descriptions of various avatars of God (Narayana).

One avatar of Narayana that is mentioned here is the sage Kapila. I had not really read His teachings in detail before so decided to take this up this month.

The material is very interesting and so I thought I would share a summary of it here for those of you who may be unfamiliar with it.

So, let us begin.

I will start by giving you a brief introduction as to how this avatar was born. His father was a sage (or rishi) known as 'Kardama'. His mother was a princess called 'Devahuti'. He had nine sisters born before Him. And, He Himself said that He had manifested in order to bring back spiritual knowledge (known as Sankhya) which had been lost to humanity over time. In terms of His physical form, He is described as being a young man, with golden hair, a pleasant smiling demeanour and a generally charming appearance.

Kardama and Devahuti knew that their son, Kapila, was an avatar of Narayana. Kardama had always been unworldly in nature. However, he fulfilled his duties as a husband and father in entirety and with great devotion. It had always been his intention to spend the last portion of his life as a sannyasi (a wandering monk) and his wife had been aware of this prior to their marriage. 

After the daughters of Kardama and Devahuti grew up, they married various sages and left their parental home. Kapila, too, had grown up into a sage.

Kardama felt that the time to take sannyasa had now finally arrived. When he told his wife of his plan, she felt unhappy but accepted his decision. She told him that she bitterly regretted having missed the opportunity to acquire spiritual wisdom from him during the time they had lived together. She felt that she had been too focussed on the material aspect of household life and had therefore missed out on acquiring spiritual wisdom.

Her husband comforted her saying that, like him, she too had performed many spiritual penances. He said that she was greatly fortunate, as the Lord Himself in the form of their son, Kapila, would take on the role of her Guru and grant her spiritual wisdom. 

Devahuti was gladdened by these words and her husband then left. After obtaining the blessings of Narayana in the form of Kapila, he lived as a wandering monk. Fixing his mind upon God within himself, and recognising the Divine presence everywhere in all beings, he gradually attained the state of spiritual liberation. 

After Kardama left home, Devahuti approached her son, Kapila, for spiritual teaching. She told him that she felt that she had fallen into the quagmire of material life. Knowing that He was an avatar of Narayana, she declared that He must free her from His own power of illusion, His Maya, that she felt was presently obscuring the spiritual truth from her.

Sage Kapila smiled and accepted her wish, saying that He would gladly give the spiritual knowledge that she desired so that, like His father, she too could attain liberation.

Kapila began His instruction to His mother by saying that:

i) the mind is the source of bondage and liberation. The mind when it is attached to Prakriti (Nature/material world), binds the soul to samsara (the cycle of birth and death that occurs due to spiritual ignorance). In contrast, when it becomes attached to Purusha (the Supreme Being), the soul becomes liberated from samsara. The mind, when purified, becomes peaceful and untroubled by the dualities of life. Knowledge, renunciation and devotion enable the mind to attach itself to Purusha.

ii) the path of devotion to God is the most direct and safe spiritual path.

iii) a true sadhu (or spiritual person) is one who has a friendly disposition (no enmity) towards all, who has cultivated various virtues (such as non-violence, truthfulness, patience and so on) and who has a deep-rooted love for the Divine. Such a person performs work as worship and hears and speaks of God (directs the mind towards Him).

iv) the company of holy persons (Gurus, spiritual practitioners/devotees) is a great help on the spiritual path. In such company one hears of the various deeds of God, which leads to the development of faith in God (Shraddha in Sanskrit). This faith gradually leads to the experience of delight in God (Rati) and then of devotion to Him (Bhakti).

v) the development of devotion or bhakti, enables the mind to gradually wean itself away from material thoughts and experience enthusiasm for spiritual disciplines. This combination of withdrawing the mind away from the senses, contemplating spiritual truths and connecting with God through devotion, will enable a person to attain God, the indweller of all beings, even while living on Earth.

After hearing the above, Devahuti asked Kapila to tell her what true devotion meant and what devotional practice was best suited to her/would enable her to easily attain liberation (Nirvana).

Kapila replied saying that:

vi) the highest form of devotion is when all the senses, which normally wander hither and thither, are centred firmly and immovably upon God. He declares that this is an unshakeable state which nothing can overcome. 

vii) beings who attain this deep-rooted devotion to God are uninterested in asking Him even for spiritual liberation. They love Him simply for the sake of love, and not for the sake of anything else, be it spiritual or material. They derive pleasure from getting together and thinking, talking and hearing of God. They also enjoy talking to various forms of God based upon their own tastes and preferences. In this way, with minds engaged in God, they live life happily upon this planet (undisturbed by the material plane and its challenges).

viii) people with this type of devotion to God, though they do not ask Him for the supreme state of liberation, are granted this by Him anyway. He gives them everything, both spiritual and material, when they have turned away from all this and to Him alone. Upon leaving the Earth at the end of their lives here, they experience the state of Vaikuntha, the abode of Narayana, a form of consciousness which is beyond the experience of time and death. 

ix) God alone is able to remove the power of Maya and deliver souls from the state of samsara. Worship of Him therefore grants one peace and relief from the various troubles of worldly existence.

x) By the power of God alone, does the material world function as it does. The sun shines, the wind blows, the clouds rain, death occurs, and all aspects of Nature operate in accordance with the will of God, out of reverence for and out of fear of Him.

xi) the holy feet of God grant fearlessness to all souls. Attainment of one-pointed and constant devotion to God is the purpose for which all souls are born on Earth. Kapila declares that this is the most blessed state that any soul can attain.

This concludes the first portion of sage Kapila's teachings. I will write further posts on this subject in the coming days and weeks as I continue my reading.

Om.

May Kapila grant us all shraddha and bhakti for the Divine.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.