Bhagavata

 He, from whom Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution of the Universe take place, Who is both the instrumental and material cause of it; Who is omniscient; Who is the only one having self-mastery, being the One independent entity; Who illumined the mind of Brahma with the Vedic revelation whose wisdom is the wonder of even the greatest sages; in Whom the worlds, the manifestation of the three Gunas, subsist in reality without in the least affecting Him, just as the combination of material elements like fire, water, and earth subsist in their causes without changing their elemental nature; in Whose light of consciousness there is no place for anything false, --- on that Truth Supreme we meditate.

This Invocation is no simple formality of literary composition of a highly religious mind. It presents a profound philosophy that explains Existence. No other philosophy does so in such a vast range and depth. Therefore the Invocation merits closer examination. It talks of all Existence originating in one, single source described as Sat-Cit-Ananda, or Truth-ConsciousnessBliss. The Manifestation of something from an Unmanifest state is basically an Action. Any conscious Action can originate only from a Consciousness. Creation of a vast Existence is an Effect springing from that Action, which makes it the First Cause which originates from a vast Consciousness. Action has also to be impelled by a power that also originates from the same Consciousness. That power has the capacity to create, preserve and dissolve that Existence, That power is Prakrti. It has three specializations which introduce a vast variety and multiplicity of form, faculty and function in the created Existence, These specializations bear the names Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The One Consciouness first creates three likenesses of Itself and invests them with these specializations of power, to respectively create, preserve and dissolve Existence. It also provides them with Space and Time in which to administer these functions in respect of all living and non-living forms. 

The originating Consciousness is MahaVishnu and His three emanations are Brahma who creates, Vishnu who preserves and Siva who finally dissolves all Existence. The dissolution is at the time of the Great Deluge, the Pralaya, when MahaVishnu withdrawa all Existence into Himself and resumes once again His Original Single Unmanifest Form of His Eternal Existence. The three emanations from the One Originating Consciousness may be regarded as the first step from the Nirguna to the Saguna, the Unmanifest to the Manifest state. This first step is dramatically portrayed in the Devi Bhagavata. The onward steps of Creation are then protrayed with the same dramatic effect in the Bhagavata Purana, which therefore can, in a sense, be regarded as a sequel to the Devi Bhagavata. This chronology may not be actual, but can be considered logical. Mixed chronologies may indeed characterise much of the textual corpus of the ancient Indian tradition, but this may be due to the vast time scales involved, relying on orally transmitted ancient memories. The ancients certainly knew how to go back and forth to fit their fact collections and thought formulations into vast but appropriate time sequences. It is interesting too to see how this vast Divine process on the Cosmic scale is mimicked in the lifetime of a single human endowed with a speck of that large Consciousness. Here too we see how consciousness makes the human aware of how, under the influence of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, he creates, preserves and destroys objects, both internally in his Mind and externally in the physical world around him. Mercifully too, he has his share of what is called the Nitya Pralaya, when the human goes to sleep, a brief period of sleep when every day’s experiences are dissolved and he enjoys a a daily dose of a human version of Sat-Cit-Ananda. This is analogous to the Naimittika Pralaya when Brahma goes to sleep, and the Cosmic existence is dissolved for the duration of his long night. The ultimate analogue is the Maha Pralaya also called the Prakrta when, at the end of Brahma’s lifetime of a hundred divine years, the entirety of all Existence along with Prakrti and Time merge back into the ultimate Unmanifest Form of MahaVishnu. Luckily the human is able to see from his own hard experiences or from the teachings of the wise, that within him is a small particle of that Eternal Consciousness that lives beyond the creation, preservation and dissolution of his own transient physical existence. When this realization comes to a human, it is by what is called the Saving Grace of the Lord. 

We now come to the Puranas, which are but a great elaboration of the above theme. The earliest Vedic reference to them is in the Atharva Veda (XI-7-24) while the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad says that together with the Veda, the Purana sprang from the breath of the Paramatman. The word Purana occurs there as a noun in the singular number. This suggested that it was originally, along with the Vedas, a single body of text, and perhaps, formed part of all Vedic learning. There was a tradition of narration of the Purana stories on the occasion of important Vedic sacrifices, the recitals being referred to as Pariplava Akhyanas. It would be therefore useful to pause at this point to look at what the Bhagavata itself says on the origin of the Vedas and Puranas, as narrated by Suta Ugrasravas in the following verses from the first Skanda. 

The sacrifice of Daksha 2

 True, there is nothing wrong in going to visit one's family even without

being invited, but if the people we are going to meet are immersed in the

identification with the body and find some reason of hostility against us, we

will only be able to irritate them even more. The unkind actions of those we

love can hurt us much more deeply and painfully than the arrows shot by

enemies. Although she was the youngest of his daughters, Sati could be

insulted and mistreated by her father simply because of her loyalty to Shiva.

Sati was torn between the wise instructions of Shiva and her intense desire

to see her relatives, and finally her attachment to her birth family prevailed.

Sati departed to go to the great ceremonies, accompanied by a royal retinue

organized by Shiva's followers, but when she entered the arena of the

sacrifice she was greeted only by her mother and sisters, while Daksha

totally ignored her. The other participants, too, pretended they had not

even seen her, because they feared Daksha's anger. Sati looked around and

noticed that no oblation had been prepared for Shiva. Daksha's offensive

behavior against Shiva had not toned down with time, but it had rather

worsened. Then Sati's anger exploded. Directly addressing her father in

front of all the participants to the ritual, Sati firmly defended Shiva, who is

so kind that he only finds the best qualities in people, without caring for

their defects, and he fulfills the prayers of everyone, from the simplest

persons to the greatest spiritualists. Only an envious materialist like Daksha

- Sati said - could insult and mock a great, pure and merciful soul such as

Shiva. Only a fool identified with the material body is unable to understand

the glory of renunciation and detachment in those who are situated on the

transcendental level.

Disgusted by her own birth relationship with Daksha, Sati decided to

renege the body she had received from her father, and through the practice

of mystic yoga she evoked the inner fire and instantly left her body,

meditating on Lord Shiva. The followers and attendants of Shiva, who had

accompanied Sati in procession to the sacrificial arena roared with anger

and despair at the sight of the suicide of their Lord's spouse, but Bhrigu,

reciting some mantras from the Yajur Veda, evoked thousand of celestial

beings known as Ribhus and ordered them to protect the ritual ceremonies.

Brandishing fire weapons, the Ribhus attacked Shiva's followers, who fell

back and scattered in all directions.When Shiva heard that his wife Sati had killed herself because of Daksha's

insults and his own army had been attacked by the Ribhus, he manifested a

terrible anger. He tore a strand of his own hair, radiant like fire, and threw it

to the ground evoking Virabhadra, the personification of God's anger: a

terrifying being, as tall as the sky and radiant like three suns, with thousands

of arms and innumerable weapons.

On Shiva's order, Virabhadra moved towards the arena of the sacrifice,

followed by many other warriors in Shiva's army, similar to a dust storm

that obfuscates the sky in all directions. They fell upon the Rishis, the

Prajapatis and the heavenly beings attending the ceremonies who had taken

Daksha's side, and punished them severely in accordance to their offenses.

Virabhadra himself ripped off Bhrigu's mustache, gouged Bhaga's eyes and

knocked off the teeth of Daksha and Pusha. Then, brandishing the

sacrificial knife, he decapitated Daksha and threw his head into the fire as if

it was an oblation. After torching the seating arrangement and the other

structures prepared for the ceremonies, Virabhadra and Shiva's ganas

returned to mount Kailash to their Lord.

Terrified and humiliated, the Rishis and the heavenly beings went to

Brahma to inform him of what had happened. Neither Brahma nor Vishnu

had gone to attend the sacrificial ritual, because they were expecting trouble

to break out, and Brahma said it very clearly: "A religious ceremony where a

saintly person is offended cannot have any success. You have no choice but

to sincerely beg forgiveness from Lord Shiva, who is kind and

compassionate by nature. You need to understand that Shiva is immensely

powerful, and at any time he is able to destroy all the planets in the

universe."

Followed by all the Rishis, Pitris, Prajapatis and heavenly beings, Brahma

himself went to Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva, who holds court among

many divine beings, Kinnaras, Gandharvas and Apsaras. Mount Kailasa is a

wonderful place, filled with forests and gardens, waterfalls and grottos,

decorated by lake Alakananda, where Sati used to bathe, and by the two

rivers Nanda and Alakananda, with ghats paved with diamonds.

The forest Sugandhika is filled with a great varety of virtuous trees and

plants, heavy with sweet smelling flowers and fruits such as mandara,

parijata, sarala, tamala, tala, kovidara, asana, arjuna, kadamba, dhuli-kadamba,naga, punnaga, champaka, patala, asoka, bakula, kunda and kurabaka, mango and

banana trees, banyans, cinnamon trees, jasmine of various kinds,

blackberries, bamboos, and the plants known as malati, kubja, mallika,

madhavi, kata, jackfruit, julara, plaksa, nyagrodha, betel, bhurja-patra, rajapuga,

priyala, madhuka, inguda and kichaka, and many varieties of lotus flowers. In

its groves there are many deer, monkeys, boars, lions, tigers, buffaloes,

elephants and other animals, as well as many varieties of birds, whose

musical calls are mixed with the happy buzzing of bees.

After arriving in the presence of Shiva, who was sitting under a gigantic

banyan tree together with Kuvera, Narada and the four Kumaras,

discussing about the Absolute Truth, the heavenly beings offered him their

respects with folded hands. Shiva also stood up to greet Brahma, who

offered him very meaningful prayers, meant to educate the heavenly beings

who had come with him. Brahma addressed Shiva recognizing him as the

Supreme Brahman, the father and mother of the entire cosmic

manifestation, the creator of the system of sacrificial ceremonies and Vedic

civilization. "Shiva, the source of all auspiciousness and blessings, is the

Paramatma, and one who has obtained his darshana sees all living beings

equally, without making foolish discriminations based on the material

body."

Appealing to his compassion, omniscience and omnipotence, Brahma

prayed Shiva to accept the sacrificial oblations and allow the rituals to be

completed successfully.

Shiva explained that he had punished the heavenly beings simply to correct

them and not because he had been hurt by their offenses, committed out of

immaturity and lack of intelligence. To restore order in the universe, the

Prajapatis must return to functionality: Daksha would receive a new head to

replace the one burned in the fire, but it would be a goat's head. Bhrigu

would be given the goat's moustache and beard, Bhaga would use Mitra's

eyes, Pusha would use the teeth of his disciples, while Pusha and the Asvini

kumaras would give their hands to those who had been mutilated, but all

those who had wanted to offer oblations to Shiva would be completely

healed from all wounds.

Brighu and the other Rishis solemnly invited Lord Shiva to preside the

sacrificial ceremonies, and as soon he had received his new goat head,

Daksha awakened to life. Seeing Shiva in front of him, Daksha offered his

sincere prayers because he had been purified from all offenses, and bitterly

repented having caused the death of his beloved daughter Sati. The

sacrificial arena was purified and the offering of oblations in the fire was

resumed: this time, Lord Vishnu appeared to bless the ritual. Vishnu was

sitting on Garuda's back and accompanied by the Goddess of fortune; his

transcendental body was wrapped in a yellow cloth brilliant like gold, and

decorated with many wonderful ornaments. Respectfully worshiped with

beautiful prayers by Daksha and the other participants to the ceremony,

Vishnu graced the rituals with his presence, thus ensuring their success.

The sacrifice of Daksha 1

 Maitreya continued to speak about the descendants of the daughters of

Svayambhuva Manu: after telling the story of Devahuti, he spoke about

Akuti and Prasuti.Although he already had two sons, Svayambhuva Manu consulted with his

wife Satarupa and then gave her daughter Akuti in marriage to Prajapati

Ruci, on the condition of adopting their son. Akuti had a son, Yajna, who

was an avatara of Vishnu, and a daughter, Dakshina, who was a partial

incarnation of Lakshmi. According to the agreement, Yajna was adopted by

Manu and became his son; later he married Dakshina, who had a strong

desire to get him as a husband. The couple had twelve children, named

Tosha, Pratosha, Santosha, Bhadra, Santi, Idaspati, Idhma, Kavi, Vibhu,

Svahna, Sudeva and Rochana. Yajna took the position of Indra and his

children became known as the Tushita Devas.

As we have seen, the nine daughters of Devahuti married various Rishis.

Kala married Marici, the first of the seven Rishis, and had twin sons,

Kasyapa and Purnima. Purnima generated Viraja, Visvaga and Devakulya,

the water that washed the feet of the Supreme Lord and later became the

Ganga of the heavenly planets.

Anasuya married Atri Rishi and had three sons: Soma, Dattatreya and

Durvasa, partial manifestations respectively of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva,

who were attracted to take birth from Atri Rishi by watching the powerful

austerities performed by the sage - so intense that his head emanated a

blazing fire. When he saw Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma arriving in his

ashrama, Atri was honored and delighted, and he rushed to welcome them.

After graciously accepting his prayers, the three Devas appeared as his sons.

Another of Devahuti's daughters, Sraddha, married Angira Rishi and had

four daughters, named Sinivali, Kuhu, Raka and Anumati, and two sons

named Utathya and Brihaspati. Havirbhu married Pulastya and had two

sons: Agastya, who in his next life became Dahragni, and Visrava, who

became a great saint. Visrava had two wives - Idavida who became the wife

of Kuvera, and Kesini, who gave birth to three sons: Ravana, Kumbhakarna

and Vibhisana. Gati married Pulaha Rishi and had three sons, named

Karmarestha, Variyan and Sahisnu.

Kriya, who married Kratu, generated the 60,000 sages known as the

Valakhilyas. Urja, also called Arundhati, married Vasistha and gave birth to

seven great sages: Citraketu, Suroci, Viraja, Mitra, Ulbana, Vasubhrdyana

and Dyuman. Citti, the wife of Atharva Rishi, had a son named Asvasira,

due to performing the vow called Dadhyancha.Khyati married Bhrigu Rishi and had two sons named Dhata and Vidhata,

and a daughter named Sri. Dhata and Vidhata married Ayati and Niyati, the

two daughters of Meru Rishi, and gave birth to Mrikanda and Prana.

Mrikanda gave birth to Markandeya Rishi and Prana gave birth to Vedaira,

the father of Ushana, also known as Sukracharya or Kavi. Sukracharya

therefore belongs to the descendance of Brighu Rishi.

The other daughter of Svayambhuva Manu, Prasuti, married the son of

Brahma named Daksha, who was one of the most important progenitors of

all the living beings, and had sixteen beautiful daughters. Of these, thirteen

married Dharma: Sraddha, Maitri, Daya, Santi, Tusti, Pusti, Kriya, Unnati,

Buddhi, Medha, Titiksha, Hri and Murti.

Sraddha gave birth to Subha, Maitri gave birth to Prasada, Daya gave birth

to Abhaya, Shanti gave birth to Sukha, Tusti gave birth to Muda, Pushti

gave birth to Smaya, Kriya gave birth to Yoga, Unnati gave birth to Barpa,

Buddhi gave birth to Artha, Medha gave birth to Smriti, Titiksha gave birth

to Kshema, and Hri gave birth to Praraya. Murti gave birth to the avatara of

Vishnu as the two twins Nara and Narayana, whose birth was celebrated all

over the universe and was accompanied by many good omens. After

blessing the Devas for their prayers, Nara and Narayana went to the

Gandhamadana hill, where they engaged in meditation and sense control to

establish a good example for human beings. Nara and Narayana appeared

again in this age as Krishna and Arjuna respectively in the Yadu and Kuru

dynasties.

Another daughter of Prasuti and Daksha, Svaha, married Agni and had

three sons named Pavaka, Pavamana and Suci, who in turn fathered 45

descendants, all archetypal manifestations of fire. Together with their

fathers and grandfather, these forms of fire are 49 in number, and the

oblations of sacrifice are offered for them.

Another daughter of Prasuti and Daksha, Svadha, married the Pitas named

Agnisvatta, Barhisada, Saumya and Ajyapa, and gave birth to two daughters,

Vayuna and Dharini, both very expert in Vedic knowledge and

transcendence. The last daughter of Prasuti and Daksha, Sati, became the

faithful wife of Lord Shiva, but she did not have children because she left

her body at a very young age.Vidura wanted to know why Sati had left her body and Maitreya told him

the story of the ritual sacrifice performed by Daksha, in which Prajapati

Daksha offended Lord Shiva and Sati became so annoyed that she gave up

the body she had received from him.

All the Devas, Rishis and Prajapatis had organized a grand ritual sacrifice, to

which all the most important personalities of the universe were invited.

When Daksha arrived at the arena of the celebrations, he was so radiant

that all the persons present, except Brahma and Shiva, stood up to offer

their respects.

Daksha was not expecting to be honored as a superior by Brahma, who was

his father, but he felt offended in seeing that Shiva - who having married

his daughter Sati had become his son in law - had not risen to greet him. In

his pride, Daksha started to publicly insult Shiva, then becoming

overwhelmed by anger, he cursed him and left the assembly, going back

home.

These unwarranted offenses angered Nandisvara, one of the most

prominent companions of Lord Shiva. In turn, Nandisvara cursed Daksha

and his followers, arrogant family men who perform rituals for materialistic

purposes and behave like goats because they are attached to sex above all

else. Stung by that attack against the ritual ceremonies of the Karma kanda,

Bhrigu Muni too turned against the followers of Lord Shiva who imitate

him externally without understanding the Vedic principles and the rules of

civilized society. Saddened by that bickering and insults, and by the cursing

and counter-coursing, Lord Shiva left the arena of the sacrifice, followed by

his devotees. After that, Daksha did not make any effort to reconcile with

Shiva and the situation remained tense.

When Brahma appointed him as leader of all the Prajapatis, Daksha became

even more arrogant and started to perform great rituals, such as the

Vajapeya and the Brihaspati sava, to which he invited all the Devas, Rishis,

Pitas and the other prominent personalities of the universe together with

their consorts - all of them, except Lord Shiva and his wife Sati.

Eager to participate to that important social occasion and to see her own

family, Sati said she wanted to go to the celebrations, but Shiva knew that

they would not be properly welcomed by Daksha, and tried to dissuade her.

The teachings of Kapila 5

 According to their species, the living beings have different degrees of

sensitivity, and among the human beings the best are those intelligent

persons who have studied the Vedas and understood their meaning,

especially if they are able to dissipate the doubts of those who ask them

questions, and if they sincerely follow the brahminical principles. These

great souls attain perfection by liberating themselves from material

contamination and by performing devotional service without desiring any

reward. The Lord is known as Brahman and Paramatma and also as Time,

that transforms the various material manifestations. He does not consider

anyone as enemy or friend, but he encourages those who remember him

and destroys those who forget him.

To better understand the extent of the sufferings connected to birth and

death, Devahuti asked Kapila to describe them in detail and to tell also

about eternal time, that impels people to perform virtuous activities. The

avatara Kapila continued to explain: just like the clouds are not aware of the

strength of the wind, a person immersed in material consciousness does not

realize the power of Time, that destroys everything that a materialist builds

with so much effort and pain, and even his body. In his illusion, the

materialist forgets Time and deludes himself into believing that everything

will last forever. Pushed by anxiety, he commits criminal acts for the

purpose of obtaining and preserving the feeling of satisfaction he feels in

family and society, although such relationships are based on hypocrisy and

power games.

He is enthralled by his wife and by the sweet voices of his children, but

when he is unable to fulfill their requests he is neglected, like an old and

tired ox receives a poor treatment from a stingy farmer. In spite of all that,

he is afflicted by attachment and identification, and therefore he remains in

the family even when his life has become miserable because of old age,

invalidity and many diseases. Finally he dies in a pathetic way, surrounded

by crying relatives and friends, and is unable to speak with them in spite of

his ardent desire - something that gives him immense sufferings.

As during his life he has committed questionable actions, he sees the

Yamadutas, the servants of Yamaraja, who are coming to arrest him. He isbound and dragged away for the proper punishment, and while he is

walking along the road under a scorching sun and between forest fires, he is

attacked by dogs and whipped. There is no respite for him, no shelter, no

food or drink that can alleviate hunger and thirst. And this is just the

beginning of his sufferings, because in the dimensions of hellish existence

he suffers much torment in his subtle body. After his punishment is over,

the materialist takes birth again and again in various bodies in the lower

forms of life, until he obtains the precious opportunity of human birth.

To take birth in a human body, the living being must first enter a father's

sperm and be inserted in a mother's womb. During the first night after

conception the sperm fertilizes the egg, and in the fifth night the embryo

starts forming. In the tenth night it has the shape of a plum, and within one

month the head becomes distinct from the rest of the body. At two months

the hands and feet are formed, at three months the fingers and toes, the

bones and the skin, the genitals and the other openings of the body become

distinct. At four months from conception all the elements of the body are

formed, at five months the fetus begins to feel hunger and thirst, and at six

months it starts moving, leaning to the right side of the abdomen.

The unborn child subsists on the food and drink consumed by the mother

and lives in the abdominal cavity together with blood, urine and

excrements, where germs and sometimes even parasites multiply. The fetus'

body is very delicate and suffers when the mother eats food that is too

bitter or spicy, salty or acid. It is also forced into an uncomfortable position,

its back arched, and cannot move freely.

In the seventh month of pregnancy the child becomes conscious; if he is

lucky he is able to remember his previous lifetimes and repents about the

mistakes he has committed. His position in his mother's womb becomes

more and more precarious, because of the descending life air that forces

him to move often, and in his pain, the child who has become conscious

starts to pray the Lord to deliver him from that suffering.

However, the closer he comes to the moment of birth, the more the child

becomes anxious at the idea that after birth he will again fall in the trap of

material existence, constituted by the illusion of being the body. But

naturally the moment has come for him to take birth, therefore the

descending life air in his mother's body inexorably pushes him downthrough the small opening in mother's body, and he comes into the world

with much pain, breathless and devoid of memory. Covered in blood and

excrements, he falls to the ground and wriggles faintly and vainly like a

worm, crying and screaming.

After birth, the child is given to the care of people who are unable to

understand what he wants or needs, and he is fed and handled by them.

Unable to refuse what is given or done to him, he must lie in a

contaminated bed, damp with sweat, urine and stool, full of germs, and is at

the mercy of mosquitoes, flies, fleas and other insects from which he

cannot defend himself. Without memory or intellect, the child can only cry

in bitterness.

Childhood is spent in disease, sufferings and frustration. The child cannot

obtain what he wants, and in his ignorance he is overwhelmed by anger,

despair and sadness. Growing up, he develops greed and lust, and quarrels

with other people who have the same defects, falling under the control of

those who are interested only in the pleasures of tongue and sex. In such a

disastrous situation he loses truthfulness, the sense of cleanliness,

compassion, gravity, spiritual intelligence, modesty, self-control, good

name, fortune and good opportunities in life.

Those who were strongly attracted to women in previous lifetimes take a

new birth as females to become attracted by males, foolishly believing that

the purpose of their life consists in finding a husband who will give them a

home, children, nice clothes and ornaments, and other wealth. Actually all

these things are a deathly trap for her, like the song of the hunter who

attracts the doe only to kill her.

The conditioned soul who lives in the center of a family performs the

prescribed rituals for the purpose of obtaining material benefits and enjoys

the acquisition of wealth and sense gratification, but as long as such

religious activities are performed with a materialistic mentality, they can at

most propitiate the Devas and the ancestors and elevate one to heaven, to

the moon or to Pitriloka, but these are temporary positions. After

exhausting their merits, these people must again take birth on earth, and at

the end of the cycle of creation and manifestation of the universe, they lose

everything.On the other hand, one who becomes detached from the attraction to

material benefits attains enlightenment and can easily enter the personal

realm of God, who is the owner of all worlds, material and spiritual. For

this purpose, a person who has understood the various methods of self

realization serves the Supreme God, fulfills his or her own professional and

family duties, observes the rituals of sacrifice, distributes charity, engages in

austerities, controls mind and senses, accepts the order of renunciation,

practices yoga, offers devotional service and makes efforts to understand

the science of self realization.

These instructions should not be offered to those who are envious,

unfaithful or addicted to degraded practices, to hypocrites or those who are

very proud of their material possessions, greedy or attached to family life.

They are meant for those who are respectful towards spiritual science,

friendly to all beings and sincerely eager to serve.

After listening to Kapila's teachings, his mother Devahuti attained the

perfect understanding of devotional service and transcendental knowledge,

and offered loving prayer to her divine son, the avatara of Vishnu. Kapila's

mission was now complete: he took leave from his mother and left home.

Devahuti, too, engaged in austerities and meditation on God in the house

of Kardama at Siddhapada, only accepting what was strictly required for her

maintenance even among the great wealth and comforts at her disposal.

Finally she established herself in samadhi and the elements of her body

dissolved into water, becoming part of the most sacred of all rivers. Anyone

who takes bath in those blessed waters attains perfection.

After leaving his mother's house, Kapila traveled on towards north-east to

the shore of the ocean, where he established his own ashrama.

The teachings of Kapila 4

 When the mind is perfectly purified by the practice of yoga, one should

meditate on the form of the supreme Personality of God, who resides in

the heart of his devotee. His charming ever-youthful face is smiling, his eyes

are like the inner petals of the lotus flower, and his body looks like the

petals of the blue lotus. His hands hold the conchshell, the disc and the

mace.

His hips are wrapped with a shining cloth, yellow like the center of the lotus

flower, and on his chest one can see a small curl of white hair - the mark of

Srivatsa - and the radiant Kaustubha jewel. His neck is decorated with a

garland of forest flowers, surrounded by buzzing intoxicated bees. He wears

a necklace of pearls, a crown and couples of bracelets, armlets and anklets.

Meditating in this way on the Lord who resides in the heart, the yogi sees

him reclining, moving and sitting with him, and contemplates the various

parts of his body, starting from the lotus feet and the beautiful toenails, that

are red like rubies. The Lord's feet, massaged by Lakshmi Devi, are like

bolts of lightning that can shatter mountains of negative reactions

accumulated in the mind of his devotee.

His legs have a light blue complexion and appear particularly beautiful

when the Lord rides on Garuda. His hips are surrounded by a golden belt

gathering the wonderful yellow silken cloth that reaches down to his ankles.

The Lord's navel, similar to the moon, is the place of birth of the lotus

flower that contains all the planetary systems of the universe and is the

abode of Brahma, the first created being.

The Lord's chest is the resting place of Mahalakshmi, his nipples are like

emeralds illuminated by the necklace of milk-white pearls. The four arms of

the Lord are the source of the power of all the Devas. His disc, the

Sudarshana chakra, has one thousand rays and shines dazzlingly, and his

conchshell looks like a swan resting in his lotus hand. His Kaumodaki mace

is very dear to him, and is covered with the blood of the Asuras. The pearl

necklace on the Lord's neck represents the pure souls who are constantly

engaged in his service.

The Lord's face is surrounded by his dark curly hair and his eyebrows move

like two fishes swimming in a pond. His glance is compassionate and

affectionate, and dissipates all anxieties and sufferings in his devotees. Hissmile dries out the tears of anguish in those who bow to him. When Vishnu

laughs, his teeth, similar to jasmine buds, shine with a rosy hue from his

lips.

Thus meditating intimately on the Person of the Lord, the yogi develops

pure love for him and manifests ecstatic symptoms, such as the raising of

hairs and tears of joy. Focused on the Lord, the mind remains free from all

contamination, firm like the flame of a lamp that is not disturbed by the

wind, and does not care any longer for the material body. There is no more

sense of possession towards the relationships of the body, and the bodily

activities are felt as if performed in a dream.

There are three types of devotional service, according to the personal

qualities of the devotee. Service performed by an envious, arrogant, violent

and angry person, who has a sectarian mentality, is under the influence of

ignorance. Service offered in hope to obtain pleasure, fame and wealth for

oneself is under the influence of passion. When a devotee worships the

Lord offering him the result of his activities, to become free from

attachments, his service is under the influence of goodness.

Pure devotional service, that is above the gunas, is recognized by the

spontaneous and joyful attraction towards the Lord, that can be compared

to the flow of the Ganges, spontaneously rushing to the ocean because of

its own nature.

The pure devotee offers worship and prayers to the Deities in the temples,

but treats all living entities with equal benevolence, only considering their

spiritual nature. He must be compassionate to the needy, friendly with his

peers and respectful to the great souls. He must engage as much as possible

in listening about spiritual thing and in reciting the name of the Lord,

avoiding the company of materialists.

One who offers worship to the Deity in the temple but does not perceive

the Supreme Soul in the hearts of all beings and is hostile or offensive

towards the bodies of others is immersed in ignorance and his service is

compared to pouring oblations of clarified butter into ashes rather than in

the fire. The Lord is never pleased by such service and does not accept it

even if it is performed with technically perfect rituals and using all the

required ingredients. 

Actually, the Lord puts a terrible fear of death in theheart of anyone who 

makes even the smallest discrimination based on

bodily differences between himself and other living beings.

The teachings of Kapila 3

 Within the Cosmic Egg, Vishnu, Hari, divides it in fourteen planetary

systems that compose its body. The parts of the body of the Virat Purusha,

the universal Lord, manifest as the various components of nature - the

mouth is the power to speak and the Deva of fire, the nostrils are the sense

of smell and the prana, and so on.

In this way we contemplate God as present in our own body and in the

universe and simultaneously distinct from them. When the living being is in

this position, he is not subject to the influence of the gunas, of the

temporary identifications and of the sense of possession, just like the sun

remains detached from its own reflection in the water.

If, on the other hand, he falls under the illusion of false material

identification, believing himself to be the body, he focuses on material

activities and considers himself as the owner of everything. In this

conditioned state, he transmigrates into different species of life, higher or

lower according to his association with the three influences of nature, and it

forced to suffer the consequences of his actions.

Actually the living being always transcends material energy, but because of

his hunger for power and dominion on nature he is forced to remain in the

material existence and suffer all its disadvantages, just like a sleeping man

remains in his own nightmares and suffers because of them. By practicing

the system of yoga, that is aimed at controlling the mind and the senses,

one can rise to the level of pure devotional service, hearing and speaking

about God.

The liberated soul is aware of the absolute Personality of God, that is

transcendental and manifests as reflection also in false identification. The

presence of the Lord is perceived like the reflection of the sun on the water,

projected on a wall in a room or situated in the sky. Similarly the realized

soul perceives itself as reflected in the ego, in the senses and in the mind,

although it always remains conscious and free from false identification. The

illusion of material identification is like sleep, that confuses the nature and

the identity of the dreamer and creates suffering and anxieties.In spite of its attraction for material nature, the living being can become

liberated by regularly hearing about divine knowledge and performing his

prescribed duties in a spirit of renunciation towards the results of action.

He becomes independent and glorious by renouncing the idea of

dominating matter, and cannot be touched by the influence of matter

because he knows the reality of the Absolute, the nature of Brahman. After

living many years and many lifetimes in this spiritual practice, one loses all

desires to enjoy matter and any attraction for the mystic powers of yoga or

even for the heavenly planets of this world. Thus he finally attains the

transcendental position and never returns again to the material world.

In order to engage in devotional service, one needs to see all living beings

equally, without hostility or intimate relationships with anyone. One must

be sincere in external activities and offer their results to God, be content

with that income that can be obtained without too much difficulty, only eat

what is strictly required and constantly live in a solitary place avoiding

mundane social interactions.

One should be always truthful, attentive, clean, peaceful, friendly, nonviolent,

compassionate and focused on one's spiritual nature. One should

abstain from appropriating what does not belong to him and be satisfied

with what he has. He must cultivate the ability to see and understand things

through the knowledge of matter and spirit, but always avoid identifying

with the body and being attracted to relationships based on the body.

One should abandon conventional religious practices and focus only on

those that lead to liberation, such as studying Vedic scriptures and

worshiping the Deity, observing silence, controlling breathing, detaching

the senses from the sense objects and focusing the mind on the heart.

Fixing the prana and the mind on one of the six chakras of the body, he

must focus the mind on the transcendental activities of God: this is called

samadhi.

When one has learned to control the mind and the body, he must sit

comfortably in a solitary and sanctified place, keeping the body erect, and

practice breathing control. He begins with deep breathing, holding the air

between inhalation and exhalation, and then the other way around. The

purpose of this practice is to stabilize and calm the mind, and to become

free from the identification with the material body.

The teachings of Kapila 2

 Brahma came to see the divine newborn and Kardama offered him

respects. Then Kardama gave his daughters in marriage to great Rishis: Kala

to Marici, Anasuya to Atri, Sraddha to Angira, Havirbhu to Pulastya, Gati to

Pulaya, Kriya to Kratu, Khyati to Bhrigu, Arundhati to Vasistha and Santi

to Atharva. He then offered prayers to the Supreme Lord, who had

incarnated as his son Kapila, and asked his permission to retire from family

life and go to the forest to meditate alone and then to roam around the

world following the strict rules of renunciation of sannyasa. Free from all

identifications and material attachments, from all desires and repulsion,

Kardama finally attained the supreme liberation.

Kapila stayed with his mother Devahuti, and on her request he explained

the method of devotional service to the Supreme Lord, that constitutes the

supreme form of yoga. The mind becomes purified when it is completely

free from the desires produced by the false identifications with the body

and by material attachments. Awakened to its true spiritual nature, the soul

transcends the joys and sorrows of this world and by practicing knowledge

and renunciation it only accepts the company of the realized sages - who

are tolerant, compassionate, peaceful and friendly towards all living beings.

The sadhus live by practicing the teachings of the scriptures and do not see

anyone as their enemies, but renounce all material ties because they only

seek pleasure in the meditation on the Lord's activities. The company of

such saintly people helps one to overcome material attachments and

become firmly established in divine consciousness.

To help Devahuti to better concentrate on this meditation, Kapila explained

to her the Sankhya yoga, that is a combination of devotional service and

mystic realization, that considers the senses as the symbolic representations

of the Devas and the mind as the representative of the Supreme Lord. The

natural tendency of the senses is to act according to the instructions of the

Vedas and the tendency of the mind is to serve. The supreme service is the

service offered to the Lord, in full knowledge and awareness of the Divine

is the supreme perfection of self realization.

The Supreme Lord is the Supreme Soul, who has no beginning or end; he

transcends the world of matter but can be perceived everywhere in theuniverse because he is omnipresent. Entering the material energy, the Lord

starts the creation of the universe. The static combination of the three gunas,

the three influences of nature, is the aggregate of the elements that

compose nature, and is called pradhana. These elements are the five gross

elements, the five subtle elements, the four internal senses, the five senses

of perception and the five organs of action.

The five gross elements are earth (energy in the solid form), water (energy

in liquid form), fire (energy in the form of heat and light), air (energy in the

form of gas) and space. The five corresponding subtle elements are smell,

taste, color, touch and sound. The senses of perception are the sense of

smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing, while the senses of action are those

that enable us to speak, move, work, generate and evacuate. The internal

subtle senses are the mind, intelligence, ego and material awareness. The

25th element is time, the eternal manifestation of God that starts and ends

creation, while the 26th element is the presence of the soul.

In the beginning, the soul has a pure, clear and peaceful awareness, free

from all distractions, but when it identifies with matter, the principles of

creation manifest the various material elements. The false perception of the

self is controlled by Ananta Sankarshana: this false perception, focused in

goodness, manifests the mind, controlled by Aniruddha. Material

identification focused in passion manifests intelligence, with its functions

such as doubt, correct understanding, incorrect understanding, memory and

sleep, as well as the senses of perception and action, that depend

respectively on intelligence and life energy.

Material identification focused in ignorance produces the material elements,

beginning with the subtle element of sound, that in turn produces space and

the sense of hearing. Sound is that which transmits the idea of an object

and indicates the presence of a person even if we cannot see him or her.

The characteristics of space are the power to contain the external and

internal existence of all beings, as the field of action of prana, senses and

mind.

From the existence of space the element of touch develops, and then air.

Touch is characterized by the feeling of hardness and softness, heat and

cold, while the function of air is to move, mix, and enable access to the

object of the sense of hearing and the other senses.The interaction of air with the sense of touch produces the forms of the

bodies, determined by the destiny of each individual. The evolution of the

forms generates the fire (light and heat) and the eyes become able to

perceive forms and colors. The characteristics of form are size, quality and

individuality. The form of fire is perceived by its radiance; fire is appreciated

for its light, for the power to cook, digest, evaporate, destroy cold and

stimulate hunger and thirst - the desire and the action to eat and drink.

The interaction of fire with the visual perception evolves the element of

taste, that produces water and the sense that perceives taste (the tongue).

Although taste is originally one, it develops in various categories such as

astringent, sweet, bitter, pungent, acid and salty, because of its contact wth

different substances.

The characteristics of water are the power to drench other substances, to

coagulate various mixtures, destroy thirst, give satisfaction and sustain life,

soften things, fight heat and constantly return to the water reservoirs.

The interaction of water with the perception of taste develops the subtle

element of odor, that manifests earth and the sense of smell. Odor is one,

but it manifests in many ways - mixed, disgusting, fragrant, sweet, strong,

acid and so on - according to the proportions of the associated substances.

The characteristic functions of earth can be perceived by fashioning forms

of the Supreme Brahman, building residences, preparing pots and

containers for water and other substances and so on. In other words, earth

is the support for all other elements.

The sense that perceives sound is called hearing, the sense perceiving touch

is called tact, the one perceiving form (the characteristic of fire) is called

sight, the one perceiving taste (the characteristic of water) is called taste, the

one perceiving odor (the characteristic of earth) is called smell. Because

cause also exists in the effect, the characteristics of the cause are also found

in the effect: therefore in earth we can found the characteristics of all other

elements.

When all these elements become differentiated, the Supreme Lord

personally enters the creation together with time, action and the gunas (the

fundamental qualities of nature, namely goodness, passion and ignorance),

giving birth to the Cosmic Egg. The universe has the shape of an egg, with

layers of elements each 10 times thicker than the previous one, and it

surrounded by non-manifested nature.