The journey of our spiritual life may not always be a smooth ride. There may be roller coasters on the path of our devotion. Not only that, we may sometimes be overwhelmed with challenges coming our way. Srimad Bhagavatam gives a detailed description of spiritual personalities, both in their struggle as well as in their perfection phase.
Where are we in our spiritual journey as of now? Which character do we represent? A few characters are presented here along with parallels from the life of a sadhaka.
Agnidhra – Ready for Infatuation
Agnidhra, the son of Priyavrata, chose a very beautiful forest as a place for his meditation. While meditating, he kept his eyes half open just to see if some heavenly beauty would land on his path. And sure enough, Brahmaji, to fulfill his desire, sent Purvacitti to Agnidhra. He got mesmerized by her, seduced her, and married her.
Sometimes, in our journey, we may be like Agnidhra, choosing wrong places for our meditation, liking incorrect spaces for our contemplation, and nurturing visible traces of sense gratification. The result? We are bound to get infatuated. Do we embody Agnidhra, the one who was ready to get entangled and infatuated?
Yayati – From Service to Enchantment
Yayati saw Devayani in a well, crying out for help. He reached out and, as a kshatriya would, helped her come out. She became interested in him and wanted to marry him. Yayati’s help turned into an unexpected marriage proposal, and if that was not enough, Yayati enjoyed with Devayani for thousands of years, forgetting the goal of life. Even when he was cursed by Sukracarya to become old, he shamelessly begged his sons to take his old age in exchange for their youth. Yayati’s transition from service to enchantment to infatuation is a striking example.
Sometimes, we may enter an arena of service, only to realize that we got enchanted by something or someone. The service remains aside, and distraction takes over. One may enter YouTube or the Internet for service and get sidetracked by browsing irrelevant things. One may take up a post, only to later exploit others instead of serving them. Obviously, Yayati’s enchantment made him forget everything for thousands of years of his life. For us, it may be a few days, weeks, months, years, or even lifetimes!
Pururava – Can I Have You Once a Year?
The heavenly damsel Urvashi, getting attracted by Pururava’s narrations, came to the earthly planet and wanted to marry him. She had her term to spend on the earthly planets as well due to a curse, and she wanted the best situation. She set some conditions for Pururava, which he readily agreed to, and when one of the conditions was broken, she left him. Pururava became mad in her separation and was frantically searching for her. He met her at one place when she was with a few other companions, and he begged for her association. Urvashi granted him her association once a year, which Pururava longed for, and he even worshipped Lord Vishnu to be transported to the same planet as hers.
A time may come in a sadhaka’s life when he or she is like Pururava, in a phase of weakness with attachments. We may want to somehow foster our unhealthy attachments without wanting to give them up. And we may beg to fulfill those attachments even at the cost of our devotional service. Is getting distracted once a day, a week, a month, or a year justified? The problem is not with getting distracted; the problem is with the attachments that come with the objects of distraction and the hankering that follows.
Bharata Maharaja – From Near Perfection to Nothingness!
Bharata Maharaja renounced his entire kingdom and left for the forest in order to attain the Supreme Lord. Incidentally, he got attached to a small baby deer and slackened in his spiritual practices. He left his body with the thought of a deer and became a deer in his next life.
We may fall into the trap like Bharata Maharaja did, feeling that “I am the savior” or “I am the protector.” But a sadhaka must understand his or her limitations in dealing with the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord.
Even if we wish to help people, we must know what the best way to serve is. Sometimes, entering the life of a person may be the best way. At other times, keeping away from a person may be best. It may also happen that sometimes the only thing we can do for people is to pray for them. The mentality of “I am a saviour” looks very innocent and compassionate in the beginning, but it can delude us to the greatest extent.
Bharata Maharaja had to take two additional lives as a result of getting attached to the deer. We may enter into a wrong arena and may have to lose some years or lifetimes of this valuable human life.
Jada Bharata – From Caution to More Caution
The third life of Bharata was exemplary. He appeared as Jada Bharata, clearly determined not to get entangled in this world. He could have done great preaching in his childhood; he could have served many people. But he was fixed on his spiritual perfection, and at the opportune moment, he preached to King Rahugana and attained his ultimate goal of life.
We may not be able to do all things at all times, but it does not matter. We need to see what is best for ourselves at any given stage. In the name of compassion, we may be overcome by passion; in the name of sharing, we may end up staring; and in the name of saving, we may end up starving.
Kashyapa – Dovetailing Infatuation to Devotion
Kashyapa’s wife Diti once approached him at a wrong time for union. Becoming weak, Kashyapa relented and, as a result, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu were born. One acceptance of a wrong request can lead to the birth of two demons!
The next time, when they were both killed, Diti was revengeful. She wanted a child who could kill Indra. She again went to Kashyapa, who had matured by then. He gave her the process of devotional service by which her heart could get purified. Ultimately, she gave birth to forty-nine Maruts who became friends with Indra.
The same distractions can be dovetailed into devotion if we are strong in our devotional service. Kashyapa did not have the saviour mentality like Bharata the second time, nor did he run away from Diti. He engaged Diti in the right manner. If that can be done with our attachments, it is the perfection of renunciation. But if we are not careful, then a second pair of demons can take birth who may be more violent than the previous ones.
Where do we stand in our spiritual journey? Are we fostering our attachments, dovetailing them, or on the verge of getting infatuated? We need to examine our lives and take the right path toward perfection.
Already, we have lost a lot of lives. Can we, or should we, afford to lose a few more?
