Episode-18
‘Yayāti’ is an interesting character in Maha Bharata written by Ved Vyasa. The story answers many questions- what are heaven and hell and how do they distinguish themselves from Liberation (Moksha). Let us read and understand the story.
Yayāti was the son of emperor, Nahusha, a famous mythological character of ancient India. We know from episode 9 that Yayāti swapped his untimely old age with his youngest son Pururava and and ruled the country for thousands of years. While he was a king, he performed innumerable Yagnas and amassed enormous amount of merit (punya) that he was destined by Providence to spend thousands of years in heaven.
By virtue of his meritorious deeds Yayāti entered Amaravati, the celestial city of Indra . Since his Punyam (merit) was as high as that of Indra, he was revered and respected by gods and other celestial beings. He spent thousands of years in heaven, there afterwards Prajapati loka (abode of Prajapati), and then in Bramha loka (the abode of Brahma) and freely moved with the bevy of beauties in the form of Apsaras.
One day Lord Indra approached Yayāti and he was enquiring as to with whom he was equal in accumulation of merit. Yayāti replied, ‘My Dear Indra, I have not seen anybody so far among humans, gods, gandharvas or rishis who is as powerful as I am in the matters of tapas (penance and austerity)[ii].
Indra emphatically replied, ‘Oh, you have rejected the greatness of your equals, your superiors and your subordinates without knowing their merits. Hence your accumulated merit has dried out from your account and you are destined to fall upon the earth’[iii].
Yayāti realized that his fall was due to his ego. He accepted the imminent fate and requested Indra to place him in the company of good people (सतां मध्ये पतितुं देवराज). Indra respected the words of Yayāti . Ashtaka, a rishi saw Yayāti falling down upon the earth where Ashtaka and his associates used to conduct Yagnas. He was awestruck by the spiritual aura of Yayāti and enquired as to who he was and as to why he was falling upon earth. Yayāti was happy that he had fallen to a place resided by good people. He narrated his entire story (see episode 9 also for understanding the story of Yayāti ) and how his merits were wiped out by demeaning the tapas of others. ‘Just as the friends, the kith and kin leave a person once his money is drained out, so also, the gods disown a person whose merits get exhausted’[iv].
Yayāti continued, ‘the persons who tell great about their own meritorious deeds will never qualify to reach heaven. Instead, they fall in to Bhauma Naraka (hell connected with the earth). Ashtaka was anxious to know as to what kind of deeds lead to heaven or hell.
Yayāti began telling, ‘Penance (तपस्), charity (दानं), calmness of mind induced by renunciation of desires (शम), control of senses (दम), modesty (ह्री:), truthfulness (आर्जवम्), and kindness to all creatures (दया) are the sevenfold steps that lead a person to heaven[v].
‘Once you attain merit and reach heaven, you should continue in the path of modesty and dwell in the deep thoughts of Vedas and scriptures’. ‘One should discard ego and boastfulness which surely lead a person to hell. Yagnas are not for publicity but for purity of thoughts and actions. Once a person realizes this he is above the concepts of heaven and hell and merges with the Ultimate Truth (परमात्मा) where he attains liberation from births and deaths’.
‘One who takes food like a cow- with mouth and without using arms (it symbolically means that the one who does not accumulate wealth for generations), for him the earth itself is the place for attaining liberation’[vi], Yayāti concluded.
Let us understand and analyze this small story.
We know from our scriptures that each action (कर्म) has a result- good or bad depending upon the nature of the act and intention of the act. If the act is meritorious and for the good of the people and society at large (लोक संग्रह), it definitely results in accumulation of Punya (merit). Again if the act is done without an iota of self-interest and without anticipating the fruit of the action (कर्म संन्यास), the person is above the concepts of merit/ de merit; and he is a Liberated Soul.
The story of Yayāti is an interesting episode in Maha Bharata. The etimological meaning of ‘Yayāti ’ is ‘yasya vāyoriva yātiḥ sarvatra rathagatiryasya’ (यस्य वायोरिव याति सर्वत्र रथगतिर्यस्य सः ययाति ) – the person who wanders everywhere with the speed of Vayu- the wind god and with the speed of a chariot is Yayāti . Here we see Yayāti wandering in different higher worlds, one after another and falls upon earth and again bounce back to heavens. We find in Maha Bharata that he again reaches all these celestial worlds and liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
What is heaven? It is another higher place of enjoyment. If more money is there in the packet, one can go from a small hotel to a star hotel in a day and once the pocket becomes empty, he has to come back to his home. If more punya is in one’s account, one can reach higher worlds and stay as long as it sustains our existence there. Punya comes from doing social good in the form of yagnas where lot many people are fed and charity is done liberally.
Yagna is a karma which gives rise to a result. If it is done for material benefit, it leads to heaven. If it is done without aspiring for the fruit of action, it leads to moksha (where the person is beyond the concepts of merit and de-merit). If it is done to do social injury, it leads to hell. Once the accumulated merit decimates, one has to come back. Our scriptures indirectly emphasize the necessity of doing social good with humility. Any social good done for publicity will not attract any merit. Gita says,
“अभिसन्धाय तु फलं दम्भार्थमपि चैव यत् |इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम् || 17. 12||
abhisandhāya tu phalaṁ dambhārtham api chaiva yat
ijyate bharata-śhreṣhṭha taṁ yajñaṁ viddhi rājasam
ijyate bharata-śhreṣhṭha taṁ yajñaṁ viddhi rājasam
It means that the sacrifice that is done for material benefit or for boasting or for publicity is ‘rajasa’(राजस) yagna ; and anything done with hypocritical aim is in the passion mode.
Yayāti attained heaven and higher worlds due to his indulgence in good deeds, of course with the aim of personal benefit (or just without karma samnyasa). The heavens are not permanent and the goal of any seeker is to attain the Ultimate where he escapes the pangs of cycle of births and deaths. This aim of Moksha or liberation is the highest aspiration one should develop as per our scriptures. The aim of Puranas and Itihasas is spread the gospel of vedic essence in the form of stories. Yayāti story just fits into the narrative.
The story also highlights the importance of humility and enjoins the spiritual seeker not to develop ego and demean others’ merit. Yayāti ’s fall from heaven symbolizes Vedavyasa’s dictum that kheene punye martya lokam visanthi- क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्य लोकं विशन्ति। (once merit decimates one has to come down from heavens).
A deep analysis of the story further delineates swarga from that of moksha. Swarga can be attained by doing social good by holding self interest to our chest. In the modern terminology, it is like social entrepreneurship- doing service to society without forsaking entrepreneurship, thus ensuring sustainable models. Here the seeker is not forsaking the fruits of action. Karma is present but karma yoga is still absent.
Karma yoga in simple language means holding karma as a tool to attain a skill (karmasu kausalam- कर्मसु कौशलम्). What is that skill? The skill to to escape from the craving for karmaphala (fruits of action). Here renouncing fruits of action means doing any good deed to society as if you are a tool in the hands of God and do not go despair if it is not accomplished. In more simple words, do good and forget. This gives purity of mind (citta suddhihi- चित्त शुध्दिः) where there is no craze for heaven even when you do social good. Here the seeker will not get affected either by punya (merit) or papa (de-merit) and just he does social good. He feels that doing good for attaining heaven is also a desire (काम). Desire less, dispassionate social good itself is enlightenment where the person sees god in everyone and there is no scope for jealousy, anger etc.
But then why our scriptures talk of heaven when it is not permanent? Hinduism talks things at two levels. From the perspective of religion (for common people) it enlightens people to do social good. From the perspective of Vedanta (for Jnanis), it talks to raise above religion and discard the religion (त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन।– Gita 2.45).
For sending a child to school, it may be necessary to give a chocolate, but schooling is not for eating chocolate and the objective is to educate him. Hindu religion shows the chacholate of swarga to common man for doing social good, but its ultimate objective is to go beyond the realms of heaven (chacholate) or hell and to see all in one and one in all. If swargam is primary standard, moksham is post-graduate standard. But no one can complete post graduate without studying primary standard. The purity of thought that is gained for attaining svarga is useful in later years to attain svarga.
Thus doing good to society is the basic narrative around which the entire Hinduism revolves.
Points to Ponder
1. What is the aim of human life- Heaven or Liberation?
2. How can people attain Heaven? What are the austerities prescribed to attain heaven?
3. When shall a person fall from heaven?
4. When can people get liberated from the cycle of births and deaths?
5. Delineate the subtle differences between Swarga and Moksha?
6. Why Hinduism talks of Heaven when it is impermanent?
7. Transcending above religion and remain in purity of thought is labeled as ‘spiritualism’ by modern people. Don’t you think Hinduism advocated ‘spirituality’ as against ‘religiosity’?
[iii] Adiparva 88.3
तथा तत्र क्षीण पुण्यं मनुष्यं त्यजंति सद्यः सेश्वरा देव संघा: - Adi Parva 90.2.
स्वर्गस्य लोकस्य वदन्ति संतः द्वाराणि सप्तैव महांति पुंसां
नश्यन्ति मानेव तमोऽ भिभूताः पुंसः सदैवेति वदन्ति संतः - Adi Parva 90.22 (Here the idea is that one should have these qualities to become eligible for heaven. If you drop down the idea of eating a sweet, it is sama- शम (control of mind). If you do not allow your feet to move to restaurant to purchase a sweet, it is dama - दम (control of sense organs).
अथास्य लोकः सर्वोsयं सोs मृतत्वाय कल्पते - Adi Parva, 91.18
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