Episode 55

Importance of Guru for imbibing Self knowledge

(Story of Raibhya and Yavakrīta)[i]

Majority of stories in Maha Bharata have some message. The current story underscores the indispensability of a Guru in imbibing Self-knowledge. Brahma vidya also known as ātma jñāna (Self- knowledge) is different from other sciences since it is to be revealed by a competent guru.

The story also talks about aṣṭākṣarī of Sun which is supposed to be a powerful mantra mentioned in काठक ब्राह्मणम् - Kāṭhaka brāhmaṇaṃ. Even by today, traditional people recite this powerful mantra for Sūryopāsana (upāsanā or worship of Sun God) for health and wealth.

The Story

In the last few episodes of Maha Bharata, we have been seeing the Pandavas visiting one tīrtha after another tīrtha and understanding the importance of each pilgrimage point from Lomasa Maharshi. While they were moving towards the Himalayan ranges, they came across the hermitage of sage Raibhya. ‘This is the place where one should shun ego and anger’, Lomasa advised. Dharmaraja was curious to hear the story.

Bharadvāja and Raibhya were two sages and also great friends. Both were living in the same forest in two different hermitages. Yavakrīta was the only son of Bharadvāja and Raibhya had two sons- Aaryāvasu and Parāvasu. Raibhya and his two sons were eminent scholars of vedic knowledge and were highly respected by the scholastic community. Bharadvāja on the other hand was a tapasvi (a sage of great tapas) and no one was going to him for any discussion or giving any credence to him. Yavakrīta observed this trend and he was pained as his father was not attracting any respect.

‘But how to get Vedic knowledge?’. It can be achieved through adhyayana (reading) under the patronage of a Guru and it involves many years. Yavakrīta wanted to attain the vedic knowledge fast. He sat for a rigorous tapas (penance) for years.  and Lord Indra appeared before him. Yavakrīta bowed to Lord Indra and prayed for bestowing the knowledge of all Vedas and Upanishads. For time immemorial vedas have been transmitted to succeeding generations through Gurus. Yavakrīta also yearned for knowledge for all dvijās (those who are refined from saṃskārās) without a Guru so that the transmission of knowledge would be fast.

तपसा ज्ञातुमिच्छामि सर्वज्ञानानि कौशिक।[ii]

(I want to learn all the eternal knowledge through penance). Indra laughed at him and told, ‘Oh sage! The path you propose to tread is not worthy. What is the problem if you learn through Guru? Learn the Vedas through a Guru’. Then Indra disappeared.

Yavakrīta, however, was not disheartened. He renewed his tapas with more vigour. How to dissuade him from doing the tapas? Indra thought of a plan and came down to earth in the guise of a Brahmin. He sat proximate to Yavakrīta’s hermitage and started pouring fistfuls of sand over the flowing Ganges. Yavakrīta, when he came for bath, asked the Brahmin as to what he was doing there. The Brahmin replied, ‘Oh sage! I am trying to construct a bridge over the Ganges with this sand’.

Yavakrīta laughed at him and told, ‘Oh, my dear Brahmin! Yours is a foolish idea? How can the sand from your fist stop the mighty Ganges?’ The Brahmin replied, ‘When you are pursuing to yearn Vedic knowledge without a Guru, why not I try constructing water bridge with sand?’. Yavakrīta realized that it was Indra. Yet he did not want to forego from his cherished objective. Indra yielded to Yavakrīta and bestowed him and his father with all intellectual Vedic knowledge and advised him to stop his tapas’.

Yavakrīta reached the hermitage of his father. ‘Oh father! You and me both are blessed with Vedic knowledge. I got this boon from Indra. We can become greater than any other scholar’. Bharadvāja was not however happy. He advised his son to desist ego and anger and never insult any sage and never go to the hermitage of Raibhya as the sage and his two sons were too powerful.  Yavakrīta agreed but he developed ego and started insulting many a sage.

Yavakrīta outraging the modesty of Raibhya’s daughter-in-law

One day Yavakrīta was passing near the hermitage of Raibhya and his looks were hooked to the extraordinary beautiful Raibhya’s daughter-in-law. He reached her without any hesitation and asked her to entertain him. The lady was afraid of the powerful sage and more so, with his curse if she did not oblige him. With fear, she obliged and when Yavakrīta left the place, she came running to her father-in-law, Raibhya with tearful eyes.

Raibhya’s fury knew no bounds and he roared at Yavakrīta for his atrocity and for outraging the modesty of a woman. He took out a lock of his hair and put in the fire with chanting of a mantra. From the fire arose a demon and an enchantress. On the orders of Raibhya, the lady enchanted Yavakrīta and stole his Kamandal (kamandalam is a water pot usually made of a dry gourd (pumpkin) or coconut shell, metal, wood of the Kamandalataru tree, or from clay, usually with a handle). With the loss of Kamandal, he became impious and lost his glean and glory. The demon chased Yavakrīta and killed him with his trident.

Death of Bharadvāja

By evening Bharadvāja reached his hermitage and found all the fires suppressed (three agnis or fires are mentioned for a household person- gārhapatya, āhavanīya and dakṣiṇāgni)[iii]. Earlier they used to rise and invite him. He got suspicious about the safety of his son and that became true. He got the news of the death of his son and he wept bitterly.

Bharadvāja was already old and his only son was now no more to take care of him. He warned his son not to go to the hermitage of Raibhya but in vain. Bharadvāja was also angry with his friend Raibhya for he became the cause of the death of his (Bharadvāja’s) only son. He cursed that Raibhya would die in the hands of his own son. Then he performed last rites for his son, Yavakrīta and ended his own life by entering into fire.

Regain of life of sages

While this was happening in the forest, there was a great yagna being conducted by the king of that proximate city by name Bruhadyumna. Raibhya was the chief priest. One day Parāvasu went to see the yagna and it became dark by that time. His father Raibhya was wearing the skin of a tiger and it was seen by his son Parāvasu. Thinking that it was a cruel animal, he killed it to protect his own life. Later it was realized that the person who died was not a tiger but his own father. Brahma hatya (killing of a Brahmin) was a great sin in those days. Aaryāvasu did prāyaścittā karma (a ritual conducted to redeem a sin) for the sake of his brother and performed a great tapa to propitiate son god Surya with aṣṭākṣarī [iv]

The son god appeared before Aaryāvasu, and upon his request, gave life to Bharadvāja, Raibhya and Yavakrīta. Yavakrīta asked Agni, ‘Hey Swamin! I have been blessed with all Vedas by Indra and I am a great tapasvi. How is that Raibhya could kill me so easily’. The god replied, ‘You have got all the knowledge through tapas. This sage Raibhya underwent all the rigor of schooling under a Guru and earned the quintessence of Vedic knowledge. That made the difference’.

All gods disappeared. Lomasa concluded the story and asked Dharmaraja to stay for a night in the hermitage and Dharmaraja obliged.

Understanding the story

Most of the stories of Maha Bharata have a message. This story underscores the importance of Guru in imbibing Self knowledge (ātma vidyā - आत्म विद्या).

Why is Guru indispensable in understanding Vedantic knowledge? All other sciences are such that they can be understood by self-study. Brahma vidya also known as ātma jñāna (Self- knowledge) is different. Saṃkarācārya, in his Viveka cūḍāmaṇi, writes:

शब्दजालं महारण्यं चित्तभ्रमण कारणम्।

अतः प्रयत्नात् ज्ञातव्यं तत्वज्ञात्तत्त्व मात्मनः।।[v]

(The wordy knowledge is like forest which deludes the mind. Therefore, the Self-knowledge has to be consciously attained from the experienced guru in Self-knowledge).

There may be arguments from some scholars that Guru can be dispensed with for two reasons:

a.  Guru only explains the scriptures. One can read the explanations on their own and understand Vedanta independently; and hence there is no necessity of Guru.

b.  There are plethora of online channels and YouTube lectures and by listening to them one can attain Vedantic knowledge.

But these arguments are not tenable for the following reasons:

a.  The Self-knowledge has to be revealed: A thing that can be known by the senses or the mind is an object of experience and perception. The Atman, on the other hand, being our very Self, is the subject and never an object of the senses or mind. It remains non-objectified. The Self has to be revealed to a person by a competent Guru. In the story, Indra rejected the request of Yavakrīta for attaining Self-knowledge through tapas. He advised him to go to a Guru.

b.  The Guru is the proof of the knowledge: The Self is Brahman and no one can trust it so easily. Guru creates this trust and facilitates the student to attain the आत्म ज्ञान - ātma jñāna.

c.  Mere knowledge of Sanskrit is inadequate: The Upanishads and Gita are having statements with full of apparent contradictions and are impossible to understand without proper guidance. For example, the Self is described as ‘subtler than the subtle and greater than the great’. It is ‘farther away than the far off, and it is near at hand too’. For understanding these statements, an experienced Guru is a must.[vi]

The story of Raibhya and Yavakrīta is designed to drive the above Vedantic information for the benefit of Dharmaraja and thereby to the readers like us. Normally we equate jñāna with knowing; but knowing with reasoning does not lead to true knowledge.

Eating does not just mean stuffing the mouth with food. Food should be properly chewed, and it should get digested and converted into blood running through the veins. Only then the action of eating is complete in the true sense. Likewise, intellectual understanding of Vedanta is not enough; knowledge should be fully assimilated; it should become a part of our being and should get reflected through every action of ours. We should reach the state when all the organs of action and perception work with full consciousness. This is possible under the benevolent guidance of Guru.

The story also talks about aṣṭākṣarī of Sun which is supposed to be a powerful mantra mentioned in काठक ब्राह्मणम् - Kāṭhaka brāhmaṇaṃ. Even by today, traditional people recite this powerful mantra for Sūryopāsana (upāsanā or worship of Sun God) for health and wealth.

Points to ponder

1.  How is Self-knowledge different from other knowledges?

2.  Can we dispense Guru in understanding Vedanta? Discuss.

Footnotes

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[i] This story is taken from Vana Parva of Maha Bharata written by sage Ved Vyasa (Gorakhpur Press)

[ii] tapasā jñātumicchāmi sarvajñānāni kauśika। – Vana Parva 135.20

[iii] gārhapatya, āhavanīya and dakṣiṇāgni represent father, mother and Guru. May be some nine to ten decades back, all dvijās (those who are refined from saṃskārās) used to maintain these three fires uninterruptedly. Readers may refer previous episodes under this blog where we find Pandavas carrying these fires with them to the forests also.

[iv] aṣṭākṣarī of Sun is ghṛṇissūrya āditya: (घृणिस्सूर्य आदित्य:)- as per Kāṭhaka brāhmaṇaṃ ( काठक ब्राह्मणम्)

[v] śabdajālaṃ mahāraṇyaṃ cittabhramaṇa kāraṇam।

ataḥ prayatnāt jñātavyaṃ tatvajñāttattva mātmanaḥ।। -Viveka cūḍāmaṇi-62

[vi] Importance of Guru is taken from the notes of Advance Vedanta Course designed by Chinmaya International Foundation.

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Episode 54

Aṣṭāvakra - a sage who challenged his father

from the womb of his mother [i]

Aṣṭāvakra is great character in Maha Bharata who is known for his exceptional wisdom in Vedanta and he is known for Aṣṭāvakra Gita. The saṃvāda between Aṣṭāvakra and Bandi is a masterpiece of Vedantic debate scholarly depicted by sage Vyasa. The democratic bent of Sanatana dharma is in visual display to the readers of the story of Aṣṭāvakra.

The story, incidentally, talks of the rigor given in educational institutions and admonishes it since it saps creativity of students.

The story highlights the importance given to intellectuals in ancient society.

The Story

Lomasa Maharshi was guiding the tirtha yatra of Pandavas and on their journey they came across Samaṃgā river and Lomasa advised them to take bath in the river. ‘What was its importance?’, Dharmaraja curiously asked the Maharshi. ‘It was a place where sage Aṣṭāvakra known for eight bodily distortions (bents) took bath and got his twists straightened’, Lomasa explained. Dharmaraja wanted to know the anecdote of sage Aṣṭāvakra.

Aṣṭāvakra quibbling his own father

Once upon a time there lived a Maharshi by name Uddālaka. Kahola was his beloved disciple and he studied Vedas under the benevolent guidance of Uddālaka. Uddālaka was so pleased with the wisdom and humbleness of his student that he gave his daughter, Sujata in marriage with him. Kahola took grihasta ashram and started teaching his own students.

Kahola was highly studious and he wanted his students also highly studious. The rigor of study was so high that sometimes he used to teach day and night without interruption. One day while he was teaching in the night, the boy from the womb of Sujata called aloud his father thus-

सर्वाम् रात्रि मध्ययनं करोषि |

वेदं पितः सम्यगिवोपवर्तते ||[ii]  -

‘Oh father! You have been teaching throughout the night. But right intonation is missing in your diction’.

When his own son, not yet born, quibbled his father in a challenging tone from the womb, Kahola got wild and cursed him immediately- ‘Even staying rest at womb, you are finding fault with my intonation. Let you be born with eight bodily distortions’ Then Kahola resumed teaching his students.

Intellectual debate between Kahola and Bandi

Sujata was getting worried as the date of delivery was getting advanced. Kahola was putting all efforts on adhyāpanaṃ (teaching) and was never trying to earn a little money needed to take care of his wife’s delivery related expenses. She told her husband to get some money and he went to Janaka’s court to participate in debates with a great scholar Bandi so that he can earn a little money from king Janaka. But unfortunately, he was defeated in the debate. Bandi used to drown the defeated scholars in water; and as per his practice he drowned Kahola also into water.

A few days passed by and Kahola never returned back. Sujata delivered a boy with resplendent face but with eight bodily distortions.  He was aptly christened as Aṣṭāvakra (Ashta denotes eight and vakra means twist).

Uddālaka got the news of Kahola’s defeat in the court of Janaka and he did not want it to be known to the little boy. He started treating Aṣṭāvakra on par his own son Swetaketu and for almost twelve years Aṣṭāvakra was thinking that Uddālaka was his father. One day while he was sitting on the lap of Uddālaka, Sweaketu pulled him aside and asked him to go to the lap of his father.

Aṣṭāvakra got perplexed and asked his mother about the whereabouts of his father. Sujata narrated the entire story. Aṣṭāvakra was pained at the defeat of his father in the debate and he wanted to challenge Bandi in Janaka’s court. He was also inquisitive to sharpen his intellect by hearing the debates of learned scholars.

विचक्षणत्वं च भविष्यते नौ |

शिवश्च सौम्यश्च हि ब्रह्म घोषः || [iii]

(By going there our discriminative intellect and intelligence will get enhanced. The reverberations of vedic mantras resonate with sweet voice).

Aṣṭāvakra’s debate with Bandi

With his uncle Swetaketu, he reached the gates of Janaka’s court. The gate keepers pushed them aside as the entry was restricted to wise and old scholars. But Aṣṭāvakra had a reason to enter. He told:

अन्धस्य पन्था बधिरस्य पन्था: स्त्रियः पन्था भारवाहस्य पन्था: |

राज्ञ: पन्था ब्राह्मणेनासमेत्य समेत्यतु ब्राह्मणस्यैव पन्था: || [iv]   - Vana Parva 133.1

(When a Brahmin was not on the path, a way should be given on priority basis to the blind, to the deaf, to the lady, to the porter and to the king. When a Brahmin is there, he gets priority). The king heard and told, ‘I give my way and give preference to you’.

But the gate keeprs told, ‘This is place of Yagna where intellectual debates happen, and ideas are churned. Only old and wise are allowed as per the dictum of Bandi’.

‘But we are old with wisdom though boys and we are competent to participate in debates.

न तेन स्थविरो भवति येनास्य फलितं शिरः |

बालोपि यः प्रजानाति तं देवाः स्थविरं विदुः || [v]

(‘White hair cannot denote oldness. A boy, if he is wise, he is to be treated as old even by gods’). Please allow us to go inside. The gate keeper was not convinced. He asked Aṣṭāvakra a few questions and while the conversation was going on, the king was patiently listening. Janaka was known as rajarshi (a rishi but a practicing king). He gave an initial test in the field of Vedanta and Aṣṭāvakra could answer his questions. Then the king permitted him inside and introduced him to Bandi.

A great debate took place between Bandi and Aṣṭāvakra on Vedanta and Aṣṭāvakra won the debate. All the wise men in the court got surprised at the turn of events and applauded the boy Aṣṭāvakra. Bandi bent his head down and humbly asked Aṣṭāvakra as to what he wanted from him. Since Bandi had drowned the defeated scholars, Aṣṭāvakra wanted that Bandi also be drowned into water.

Bandi smiled and told, ‘I am the son of Varuna (god of water) and my father has been doing a great yagna for the last twelve years. Drowning of the scholars is a pretext, and in fact, I have been sending them to Varuna’s place for conducting yagna’. Then he prayed his father and presented his father Kahola to Aṣṭāvakra. Bandi released all other wise men who were earlier drowned by him.

Kahola was proud of his great son. He blessed his son and asked him to take bath in the river Samaṃgā. Aṣṭāvakra followed the advice of his father and took a dip in the waters. Surprisingly, all his twists got straightened. From the day Aṣṭāvakra entered into the river, the river gained prominence as a celestial river.

On the advice of Lomasa Maharshi Dharmaraja took bath in the river of Samaṃgā, and with his brothers he stayed a night at that place.

Understanding the Story

In Maha Bharata we come across many characters and each character displays certain special and unique features. While some characters show high degree of righteousness, some other show how to respect parents, how to give charity, and how to treat the people at large etc. A few are violent and cruel characters. Aṣṭāvakra is a character that stands for Brahma vidya or Veda Vidya.

King Janaka was a rajarshi and he was a practicing Vedantin. Aṣṭāvakra was famous since he taught Aṣṭāvakra Gita to such a great king and defeated scholars in his court.

The story opens with a boy from the womb of his mother talking with his father. This is no way odd since we have similar type of stories like Prahlada and Abhimanyu who had learnt a lot even before their birth. In Hindu way of life, it is ordained that the pregnant woman is supposed to avoid hearing or viewing violent incidents/ stories and is supposed to keep the mind in peace so as to maintain right rhythm with the baby in the womb. Anti-natal care is a big subject and मासानुमासगर्भिणी परिचर्या (māsānu māsa garbhiṇī paricarya – taking care of the pregnant lady month after month) has been given lot of importance in Ayurvedic texts.

Indirectly we see in the story Aṣṭāvakra admonishing adhyayana (reading) at odd hours. Our sastras also have come out with anadhyana days (days on which the vedas are not read and it is rest for disciples). On Anadhyana days- Padyami, ashtami, chaturdasi, amavasya or pournami the students are given rest. When Kahola was rigorously teaching even at night, it is likely that the intonation falls, falters and fails. Aṣṭāvakra story is a lesson for educational institutes not to put too much pressure on students so as to hinder their natural creativity.

The story underscores the argumentative nature of Indian mind. While eulogising democracy Ayn Rand [vi] famously writes:

“Ideas cannot be fought except by means of better ideas. The battle consists, not of opposing, but of exposing; not of denouncing, but of disproving; not of evading, but of boldly proclaiming a full, consistent, and radical alternative.” The saṃvāda between Aṣṭāvakra and Bandi is a masterpiece of Vedantic debate scholarly depicted by sage Vyasa. The democratic bent of Sanatana dharma is in visual display to the readers of the story of Aṣṭāvakra.

Apparently, the story highlights the importance of Brahmins, but we need to understand that it is not for caste Brahmin but for a Brahmin by virtues. Our sastras are emphatic that only that man is Brahmin who has Brahma jnana.

जन्मना जायते शूद्रः कर्मणा जायते द्विजः |

वेदज्ञानेषु विप्राणां ब्रह्मज्ञानं तु ब्राह्मणाः || [vii]  – Rigveda

(All persons are born as Sudras. By the nature of their work, they become dvijas-second born. They become vipra by reading vedas. Only by Brahma jnana, they become Brahmins).

A Brahma jnani is an intellectual; and Sanatana dharma respected this intellectual community. So, the story should be understood from this perspective and not from the lenses of current century.

What is Samaṃgā? In Maha Bharata, this is a river (now in Afghanistan) where Aṣṭāvakra got his distortions softened. Incidentally, Samaṃgā is one of the sixty-eight Rasauṣadhi, very powerful drugs known to be useful in alchemical processes related to mercury (rasa), according to Rasaprakāśa-sudhākara. There is a need for further research about the efficacy of the waters of this river for human welfare.

Points to ponder

1.  Why Brahmins were given importance in Maha Bharata period? What is the definition of Brahmin?

2.  How do you justify that the Sanatana dharma encouraged democratic debates in ancient society? Do you find the continuity of this lineage even by 21^st century?

3.  ‘Rigour at the cost of creativity’ – Is it worth an objective for Educational Institutions?

Footnotes

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[i] This story is taken from Vana Parva of Maha Bharata written by sage Veda Vyasa.

[ii] sarvām rātri madhyayanaṃ karoṣi |

vedaṃ pitaḥ samyagivopavartate Vana || - Vana Parva 132. 10

[iii] vicakṣaṇatvaṃ ca bhaviṣyate nau |

śivaśca saumyaśca hi brahma ghoṣaḥ || – Vana Parva 132. 22.

[iv] andhasya panthā badhirasya panthā: striyaḥ panthā bhāravāhasya panthā: |

rājña: panthā brāhmaṇenāsametya sametyatu brāhmaṇasyaiva panthā: || - Vana Parva 133.1

[v]  na tena sthaviro bhavati yenāsya phalitaṃ śiraḥ |

bālopi yaḥ prajānāti taṃ devāḥ sthaviraṃ viduḥ || - Vana Parva 133.11

[vi] Ayn rand (1905-1982) is a famous Russian- American writer and she is famous for her works The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

[vii]  janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ karmaṇā jāyate dvijaḥ |

vedajñāneṣu viprāṇāṃ brahmajñānaṃ tu brāhmaṇāḥ || - Rigveda

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