6 September 2001, 10:37pm IST
SRI MAHESWAR PATHAK.
Dharma is essentially the path a man should follow for reaching the abode of god, the final destination of all life. hinduism says that our abode is located in the `land of god' but that we have been sentenced to a life of exile in this samsara or material world, because of our karma -- the accumulated price of selfish actions carried out in millions of our past lives. samsara is an ocean of `death' where myriad beings are dying every moment and from which no being however high and mighty can escape. in other words, the material world has been called an ocean of misery. due to all-pervasive death, happiness in samsara is as contradictory as `hot ice'. everyone is however constantly striving to avoid misery and attain a state of bliss or everlasting peace and happiness. avoiding misery is impossible without overcoming death or attaining immortality. death cannot be averted without stopping the cycle of rebirths and rebirth ceases only upon attainment enlightenment or becoming one with god. in the bhagvad gita sri krishna says, "having come to me, these great souls do not get back to rebirth, the place of sorrow impermanent, for they have reached the highest perfection". the essence of god is the seat of immortality, the abode of peace and happiness in the quest of which man has been eternally wandering in this universe. reaching the abode of god therefore becomes the supreme goal of a person's life and the path of travel to god lies only in the field of dharma. the word bhagavata has a two-fold meaning -- firstly, it represents the bhagavata purana -- the crest jewel of puranic literature and secondly, it refers to the devotees of sri krishna. bhagavata dharma thus represents the road map to the abode of god as depicted in the srimad bhagavata or as shown by the devotees of the lord krishna through examples of their lives. the most striking feature of the bhagavata dharma is to regard the universe as god. accordingly, the bhagavata exhorts that the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the rivers, mountains, trees, animals, men, gods, the saint, the sinner, the ugly, the beautiful, the rich, the poor -- should be worshipped as god. surrendering all of one's works -- laukika or vaidika to god is another hallmark of the bhagavata dharma. actions like seeing, hearing, walking, eating, speaking and thinking done according to the dictates or for enjoyment of the senses pertain to laukika while those acts and rituals performed according to the sastras or scriptures, normally to attain prosperity constitute the vaidika. surrendering of work to god means performing a work or act with the idea that one is doing the same for satisfying god and not due to his own self-interest. the supreme ideal of the bhagavata dharma is however bhakti or devotion to lord krishna. in fact, bhakti is the central theme in this dharma; it is actually the doorway to the abode of god. the gita says that, "through devotion he comes to know me, what my measure is and who am i in truth; then having known me in truth he forthwith enters into me". a question now arises as to where the abode of lord krishna is located. the vedanta says that god abides only in the heart of the being and nowhere else -- jyotiratmani nanyatra. for meeting god, one had therefore to enter into his own heart. journey to the heart is however obstructed by a screen of impurities created by egotism which gives rise to desire for the enjoyment of senses. bhakti is the only means of removing this screen. the bhagavata posits nine kinds of bhakti out of which sravana and kirtana are considered the best. sravana means hearing about the qualities and works of lord krishna from a true vaisnava who is to be regarded and served as a guru, and kirtana refers to singing the glories of the lord as heard from the guru. these would gradually remove the impurities of one's heart and when these impurities are totally removed, lord krishna becomes manifest in one's heart in the same way as the sun behind the clouds appears in the sky when the clouds disappear. such manifestation of sri krishna in one's heart is the fulfilment of the bhagavata dharma.
No comments:
Post a Comment