Thursday, October 1, 2020

The Story of Janaka Geethalu

 A wise man never gets worried even if there are a thousand troubles or a hundred fears. An unwise man on the other hand would be really worried. There are two types of pain that the human body experiences, physical and mental. A wise man stays away from both these pains and he also preaches the same. 

Getting inflicted by diseases, severe troubles, not having any good time, and undergoing bad phases in life are four main reasons the body undergoes pain. These are also the main reasons for mental pain. The mental pain transforms into Physical pain eventually. If you put a red hot iron rod into a pot of water, the water in the pot becomes hot. Similarly, the afflictions caused to the mind reflect on the body too. As we use cold water to put down the fire. we should use wisdom to keep the mind calm and composed. Once the mind attains calmness, the body will heal itself. 

" The cause of mental afflictions is affection. A man gets engrossed in various things due to affection. One who dives into the ocean of affection undergoes a lot of misery. Fear, unhappiness, tragedy, and attachment are all due to affection. Hence, we should not have affection towards relatives, friends, and wealth. The water does not stick on to a lotus leaf. A wise man does not get into the attachment of affection. Friendship breeds affection. Passion leads to desire and lust which leads to anger which in turn leads to craving which is the source of all problems. Craving is the root cause of all issues. Hence, the wise men stay away from craving. It is the root cause of all sins. A fire spark which falls into the hollow of a tree, even though it is very tiny, it burns down the entire tree. Similarly, craving causes a man to have greed for money and will cause his destruction. A greedy man will always be in fear of the king, robbers, death, relatives, family, water, and fire, just as living beings fear death. Just as the fish in water, wild animals on the land, and birds in the sky eat meat. Similarly, everyone tries to trouble the rich man." said Shounaka.

Shounaka continued saying "Money is the cause of all disasters. Money causes attachment and illusion. Money is the root cause of arrogance, malice, honor, fear, and anxiety. Hankering for money, saving it, and spending it; everything entails unhappiness. People lose their lives n an effort to gain money. Worrying about gaining money ruins a person's life. As one hankers and gains money, he also gains enemies. The craving for money never ends. The more you get it, the more you greed for it. Hence, one should not crave for money. It is better to not hanker for money in the protection of Dharma. Instead of putting your leg in slush and then later washing your legs, it is better to be careful and not step into the slush. One should not worry about money. Beauty, youth, life, family nor money, nothing is permanent. Hence the wise man does not develop craving or attachment to any of these."

"I have never hankered for money for myself," said Dharmaraja. "How can I take care of all these Brahmins in the forest? I am a householder now. Wherever I live, I have the responsibility to make sure I take care of everyone and feed them. How can I forsake the Brahmins and guests? I have to make sure I use whatever I have now. Grishastasrama is the best of all Ashramas. A Grishastha should give assurance for all who seek shelter. He should give water to the thirsty, feed the hungry, give shelter to rest, and sleep for the people who come to his door. These are the rules of Grishastasrama which have been followed for ages. The person who cannot do this, should not be called a Grihastha. Just as killing an animal for no reason is sinful, not feeding the hungry and eating alone accrues the same sin. Agnihotras, cattle, wife, kids, relatives, learned men, teachers, friends, servants, and guests; One should always make sure that these people are taken care of. Else, they will go to penury. Hence, a Grihastha should be the one who satisfies the needs of these people, the one who makes everyone happy. He should feed the birds, domestic animals, and even wild animals every day. He should perform Vaisvadevam every day. He should consume what is leftover from a Yajna and what is left over after feeding the guests. He will then become the Superior Grihastha. This is the reason I am worried about all of you" said Dharmaraja.

"Yes, but you could attain great things by penance. With Tapas Siddhi, you can feed as many people as you want. Indriyas are weak, craving can bring down even a great person. Will creates desire. The mind which is enraptured in desires arouses the Indriyas. In this case, the ears will start listening to the sounds and them the interest in things will start engaging your body. Just as the moth craves for a light and jumps into a fire, the man falls into the deep eddy of misery. He will forget himself. He will get stuck into the wheel of life. This is the same story right from a grass weed to the most learned. But, this is the case of fools." said Shounaka.

"Great People who forgo hatred, affection, rivalry can cross the ocean of life with their Tapomahatyam. As mentioned in Vedas, Pure will, control over Indriyas, practicing celibacy, serving the Guru, controlled food intake, reading Vedas, giving up the fruits of good Karma, conscientious objection- following these eight objectives, they become spiritual achievers. Vedas ask us to do Karma, it also says not to do Karma. So, the one who does Karma should do it as an order from Vedas. The one who does not do Karma should also stay put as an order from Vedas. The first route is instinctive, the second route is Salvation. Yajna, studying spiritual texts, charity, Tapas, truth, forgiveness, control over Indriyas, being non-greedy are the eight routes of Dharma. The first four belong to Karma , the last four belong to the heart. One should leave the ego of 'I', "I am the one doing all this" and then perform Karma. " said Shounaka. 

"You are the learned one who knows Philosophy. Doing service, following rituals, differentiating between imagination and myth, and science is something you are well versed in. Everything you start will become successful. VasusAdityas, and Rudras have gained wealth by penance. Go ahead and perform penance, your wishes will be fulfilled. There is nothing that a Tapasvi cannot accomplish. Hence, please perform penance with patience. Feed the Brahmins with the wealth you gain from Yogasiddhi. Your desire will be fulfilled." said Shounaka. 

After listening to the doctrine of Shounaka, Dharmaraja along with his brothers and Dhaumya started to think about what needs to be done. "The Brahmins have stayed back even after telling them to go back to the kingdom. They want to come along with us to the forest. I cannot leave them now. What can we do about their meal now? What is the solution now?" said Dharmaraja.

Dhaumya thought this through and said " There is no other solution than penance. Perform penance in the name of Lord Surya. All devas, NagasManus, and demigods used to perform severe penance to please the Lord. Lord Surya is the revered as Veda Shareera. He is equivalent to the Trimurtis. He is an ocean of mercy, pray to him ardently. In times immemorial, during the creation of the universe, when the living beings were experiencing extreme hunger, it is Lord Surya who came to their rescue and creation food. He would dry up the water resources during Uttarayana and shower his merciful blessings as rain in Dakshinayana. Lord Chandra showered his merciful blessings during the night by his divine rays. Living beings are able to get food only because of the kind rays of Surya and Chandra.  Hence, in food lies life and food is primordial. Knowing this, earlier Bhaumasura, Prithu ChakravarthiKartavirya Arjuna and many others performed penance and secured food from Lord Surya. They took care of their people when in need. Hence, please seek shelter in Lord Surya. Your desires will be fulfilled." He also taught how Sun worship can be done with 108 names of Lord Surya

Dhaumya gave the doctrine based on the situation. He taught Dharmaraja how each name is uttered and it's meaning. " Earlier, Lord Indra taught this to Sage Narada who in turn taught Vasus who in turn told me. Chanting these 108 names, your desires will be fulfilled." said Dhaumya.


References

Vaisvadevam: A Hindu household ritual, offering homage to the gods, especially Agni who bear offerings to the heavens. Fire is fed with consecrated fuel, and offerings are thrown into it, accompanied by mantras https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/vaisvadeva