Padmanābhāya namah

Maharishi Śuka replied to Parikshit, “My dear son, please listen attentively. Being desirous of fulfilling the command issued by Lord Brahma, Droṇa, the best and most-prominent among the Vasus, together with wife Dhara, addressed the Lord and said,

“O Lord, please bless us that when we both take birth on Earth we will be filled with limitless devotion towards Srihari, the Supreme Lord who is the controller of all the universes”.

What a boon they sought! In is inevitable to be born on Earth, the land of action. Many celestials periodically take birth here and then return to heaven. Even if a trace of fruitive action attaches to the bonded soul, it is imperative for him to be reborn on Earth. Celestials dread this life on Earth, which, in their opinion, is equivalent to a tumultuous earthquake. They fear Earth as it causes the individual to forget the Almighty and more frighteningly, it causes the person to even abuse God. This is the uniqueness of Earth, the land of action.

They fear, ‘O if we step on Earth, it will cause us to become untruthful. Our minds will lose stability and we will become fickle-minded. Externally we believe as if we are fully in control of our mind. We make statements, ‘I am very confident. My faith and devotion towards my Sadguru and God is absolutely firm’ when, in reality, we do not know if this devotion will evaporate from us one day. More importantly, we will continue to remain ignorant that it has vanished.

When even the greatest among Gods dread to enter this land of action, shouldn’t we, ordinary mortals fear it? Contrary to it, we proclaim, ‘Aha! What can I say of my devotion? It is so firm and secure. Under no circumstances will I ever discard Him’.

Celestials fear to step on Earth because it will cause them to think like humans. For every prostration the human being offers, he seeks to be blessed with a materialistic boon. He misuses the lenience given to him by God. As he gets closer and closer to God, he misuses Him more and more. “Aha, we see Him everyday. We talk to Him on a daily basis. We prostrate before Him everyday. To us He is a father, mother, grand-father and great-grandfather”- While they verbally make such statements proclaiming devotion, the truth is that these statements actually stem from the need to fulfil the deepest desires in their mind. They use devotion to fulfill their desires. Is this the kind of devotion you seek to have with the Lord?

This couple, Droṇa and Dhara, on the other hand smartly begged that they should be blessed with the most supreme devotion towards the Lord.

Pretentious devotion is very common among humans. Such devotees are known as āśāḍabhūtis. When they see the Lord, they repeatedly fall flat and prostrate before Him. They demonstrate absolute devotion. They prostrate, unmindful of the situation and circumstances. The truth is that they offer only their gross body to the Lord; they fail to offer their mind to Him! Remember that I know exactly the proportion of fickle-mindedness and wavering that exists within your mind!

Such pretentious devotion attaches to every living entity on earth, irrespective of whether he is a celestial or not. Fearing that they would be afflicted with this pretentious devotion, Droṇa and Dhara, even before they arrived on earth, prayed to the Lord beseeching Him to bless them with true devotion towards the Supreme Lord! They wanted to lead a life that abounded only in devotion towards the Supreme. There was nothing apart from that which they sought.

Once a gross body is taken, certain actions are inescapable. Bathing and eating a few morsels of grains are pre-requisites to keep the body and senses functional. This body, which is a temple of the Lord, needs to be sustained. For this reason, basic food and hygiene, that are essential for protecting the Lord who resides within the body, are a must.

Irrespective of whether we use a gold vessel, a silver vessel or a steel vessel for storing milk, it needs to be thoroughly washed and cleaned. Can a person desist from washing the vessel merely because it is made of pure gold? Dirt continues to attach to it if it remains unwashed. Likewise, every living entity who enters Earth is tainted with sin irrespective of whether he is a celestial or not. There cannot be a better example than this to understand this point.

Purification is essential irrespective of whether the vessel is made of gold, silver or steel. Only then the milk poured into it remains fresh. Likewise, this body too needs to be purified on a daily basis. Purification here does not refer to mere bathing. Mind needs to be washed daily. Calmness should be cultivated. Efforts should be put in to ensure that doubts about the Supreme Lord do not enter the mind.

Under no circumstances should we allow doubts to crop in about our favourite deity whom we reverentially worship. Never be jealous that He is showering His grace upon another. In future sports of Krishna we will observe how He would distance from the Gopika who turned jealous when the Lord showered blessings upon another Gopika. He would wait till she reformed. This is an extra-ordinary transcendental sport exhibited by the Lord. We are now discussing about the liberation bestowed upon his parents soon upon birth.

Droṇa and Dhara prayed, “In this world, only through the means of supreme devotion a person can easily overcome inauspiciousness and miseries. He will playfully cross them all”.