Achutāya namah

Not realizing the supreme essence of Shiva, Chitraketu ridiculed him. He considered them to be like ordinary human couple who, due to body identification, were engaged in amorous play. Therefore Mother Parvati cursed him,

“O wicked sinner! May you be reborn as a demon! This punishment will ensure that in future you will never commit sins against saints”.

What twists and turns are there in Chitraketu’s story. He wept as he was childless; with the grace of Maharishi Angirasa he was blessed with a child; he agonized the death of his son; when he was thus undergoing limitless agony due to spiritual ignorance the great saints imparted Spiritual Knowledge to him; they revived the dead child and the subtle body of the child rejected these parents and refused to return back into that body. With this realization dawned on the king.

The great saint Kanakadasa says- ‘nāna yonigalalli bandu bandu nonde nānu indu bhavada bandha biḍisu govinda’- I have taken birth in innumerable wombs till now. Please free me from this bondage, Govinda.

Innumerable are the wombs in which we have entered. Having taken birth within innumerable species, we have undergone innumerable experiences. For this reason, Kanakadasa beseeches that he is eager to get away from this cycle of repeated re-births. He offers obeisances to all his mothers’ across the various births. This human birth is full of tensions, agonies, difficulties, criticisms and the like.

In the case of King Chitraketu, until his son rejected him and refused to return back to him, realization did not dawn in him. Then, through the help of the initiation given by Maharishi Nārada, Chitraketu obtained Self-realization and also obtained the vision of the Supreme Lord. After having reached this stage, he accidently saw Shiva who was embracing Parvati, and then Chitraketu committed a sin due to which he was now cursed to be born a demon. What a twist to the story!

Instantly Chitraketu realized his mistake, jumped out of his celestial plane, approached Mother Goddess and pleased Her by singing hymns in her praise. He said, “My dear mother! I reverentially accept the curse you have pronounced. Through their hints, Gods indicate that which is destined to be faced by a human being, due to his past karma. Spiritual ignorance causes the living entity to sink into infatuation, which in turn causes him to be trapped in the endless cycle of re-births and suffer the consequential joys and sorrows in all times and situations.

naivātmā na paraś cāpi kartā syāt sukha-duḥkhayoḥ kartāraṁ manyate ’trājña ātmānaṁ param eva ca

The Self is not the cause for the joys and sorrows experienced. Neither are other entities the cause for his joys and sorrows. However, due to ignorance, people in this world believe that their joys and sorrows are caused either by themselves or by others.

This illusory samsāra is nothing but a flow of the traits of goodness, action and ignorance (trigunas). How can curse or benedictions exist within such illusory world? How can heavens and hells exist in it? How can joys and sorrows exist in it?

The non-dual Lord, who is devoid of feelings ‘I am the doer or enjoyer’ uses His illusory power to create living entities. He alone creates their bondages and liberations as well as their joys and sorrows.

The ever-efficient Supreme Lord does not have feelings of likes-dislikes. Differences such as friend- enemy, relative- mere acquaintance do not exist in him. He is not inclined towards comforts. How can the Lord, who is situated in this transcendental state, ever be angered?

Even then, His illusory power which has manifested as this visible universe, becomes perfectly eligible to grant happiness-sorrows, good-bad, bondage-liberation, birth-death and other dualities to the living entities who take on bodies.

O chaste woman! I am praising You, who are angry presently. I am begging of you to be pleased with me not because I seek exemption from the curse, but because I am scared of the sin that accrues to me for having condemned the Supreme Mother. Please forgive me. I reverentially accept your curse”.

In this way Chitraketu pleased Parvati and Shiva and even as all the assembled members were gaping at him in astonishment, he silently boarded his plane and left the place. Even as Indra, Devatas, demons, Rudra-ganas, Siddhas and may other Maharishis were listening, Shiva addressed Parvati and said, “O beautiful one! How astonishing are the divine sports of Srihari! Even his attendants are exalted beings who serve Him selflessly. You have just now witnessed the greatness of one such Mahatma. Devotees who have completely surrendered to Lord Srihari never fear any situation. They see the Lord and His Supreme Essence pervading throughout heaven, hell and through every situation.

It is bodily identification that causes joys-sorrows, births-death, blessings-curse and other dualities to a living entity. All this is His divine sport. Lack of discrimination causes the living entity to perceive joys-sorrows, good- bad and other dualities. It is comparable to seeing innumerable differences in the Pure Consciousness that pervades the dream state, when in reality this state is absolute devoid of differences. Just as a flower garland is misconstrued for a snake, the bonded living entity visualizes Self in non-Self objects.

Vāsudeve bhagavati bhaktim udvahatāṁ nṛṇām Jñāna-vairāgya-vīryāṇāṁ na hi kaścid vyapāśrayaḥ

There is nothing which human beings who, together with absolute devotion towards Lord Srihari, are also equipped with dispassion and spiritual knowledge (jnana-vairagya) explicitly seek.

Lord Brahma, Myself, Sanat-kumara, Narada and other mind born sons of Brahma cannot fathom Srihari’s intentions, forms or His transcendental plays. Brahma is a fractional aspect of Srihari. Due to feelings of differentiation and duality, the Guardian-deities, who in reality are the fractional aspects of Brahma, consider themselves to be the rulers of the universe. They too fail to understand His supreme state.

Na hy asyāsti priyaḥ kaścin nāpriyaḥ svaḥ paro ’pi vā ātmatvāt sarva-bhūtānāṁ sarva-bhūta-priyo hariḥ

The Supreme Lord does not favour one while despising another. He does not consider one person to be his family member while distancing another. In other words, He has no relative, no enemy and no friend. He resides as the Self within all living entities. Hence it is clear that everyone is equally dear to Him. Everybody also loves him equally”. Hari om tat sat.

Achyutāya namah