*(A divine episode! As Sri Swamiji explains the greatness of Jadabharata He sheds profuse tears which shake us up from deep within!) *

Even a trace of egoism was absent in Jadabharata. With a cheerful smile he addressed the king and said,

“Tvayoditaṁ vyaktam avipralabdhaṁ bhartuḥ sa me syād yadi vīra bhāraḥ Gantur yadi syād adhigamya madhvā pīveti rāśau na vidāṁ pravādaḥ

O valourous person! Whatever you have spoken until now was the Absolute Truth. It is true that the body is carrying this weight. I am not carrying it. It is the body which walks to the destination, I do not. Hence your satirical words that I am not carrying the weight are absolutely true!”

Jadabharata who had never preached to anyone in his life was now preaching the king. He had never given this advice to his brothers, to his kinsmen in his town or to the dacoits. “You said I appear strong and sturdy. That which appears strong and sturdy is this gross body composed of the 5 basic elements. Wise persons who possess discriminatory wisdom between Self and non-Self objects never speak in this manner.

Being sturdy, being emaciated, experiencing hunger, thirst, physical and mental disorders, fear, confusion, old age, sleep, love, desires, feelings of egoism, grief and pride pertain solely to the gross body. Only a person who is attached to his body experiences them. I do not have bodily identification hence they do not apply to Me. Understand that I am neither fat nor thin.

Here it should be understood that they do not apply to the Self which is eternal.

O king, you said that I resemble a living corpse. However isn’t it true that gross body is eternally subject to transformations such as birth and death? These transformations apply to all entities who have taken on a body. Seen from this angle all living people are actually dead. This is because everything born dies.

O dear king, in your opinion you are the ruler and I am your servant. Where such differences exist divisions such as giving order and obeying orders also exist. Differences of a master and servant are purely for worldly transactions. They are temporary. However this rule is inapplicable to me and to others who look at the universe from the supreme angle. When seen from the supreme angle who is the master and who is the servant? Yet as you consider yourself to be a king and me to be a servant, I shall abide by your orders. Please command me.

O valorous king, you had said that I behave like a mad intoxicated person. There is nothing wrong in your statement. Please understand that I appear mad because I am established in the Self. There is nothing that you gain by punishing me. Can a mad person be cured of madness through punishments? Your efforts will be wasted.”

Jadabharata, the most exalted amongst the Self-realized persons, was of a peaceful nature. He had absolutely no bodily identification. In other words, he did not consider his body to be his Self. For this reason, he uttered just as many words as necessary to give a befitting reply. Believing that he has to exhaust his prārabdha karma he continued to silently carry the palanquin as before.

Rahūgaṇa, the king of Sindhu and Sauvira provinces, had previously with purity reflected upon the Absolute Truth. He had attained the eligibility to receive Self-knowledge. Jadabharata had uttered these words so as to untie the knot of ignorance from the king’s heart. Every word uttered by him was exactly as per Yogic scriptures and explained the same essence. Rahūgaṇa realized this. Due to listening to them with rapt attention, he was freed from arrogance that he was a great king. Instantly he got out of the palanquin and fell at the feet of Jadabharata begging forgiveness.

(At this point Appaji’s voice chokes with emotion and He weeps).