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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