Listen carefully now as my tale continues, regarding the curse at the dawn of creation, and how the hero and wondering mystic Narada uses his mystical weapon – the stringed vina musical instrument – to generate transcendental sound upon which he can travel across dimensional borders, as well as sway the minds of his listeners, for the better. I will reveal to you the hidden message of Narada’s tale to the sons of Daksha, what it meant and how it inspired the sons to give up their plan of producing the offspring that were meant to populate the earth planet, and rather accept the more valuable path toward liberation from material bondage.
If you remember in the previous chapter, Narada revealed to the sons of Daksha a parable - that there is a kingdom with only one man, a hole from whence no one returns, a woman who uses various attractive dresses to attract a husband, a river flowing in both directions, a home made of 25 materials, a swan that vibrates sounds and an automatically revolving object made with razors and thunderbolts.
The 10 000 sons of Daksha heard the parable spoken by Narada and understood its subtle meaning, for at the dawn of creation humans were very advanced and close to the source, as the saying goes. They understood that the kingdom Narada spoke of is not only this material world, but also this material body. For the eternal living soul, this temporary material body is like a temporary kingdom which we visit for some time. It is our place of enjoyment, or so we feel.
However, there is only one real enjoyer, only one male, and that is the eternal god Vishnu, the original source, the causeless cause of all causes. He is the enjoyer and we, as part of his expanded energy, are parts of the enjoyed. Since time immemorial we have been given various types of bodies to try to enjoy. Yet with them come entanglement and bondage. The eternal spirit soul is encaged and observes the mind working so hard to try to enjoy the body and the fruits of labor, yet this same hard work entraps him in bondage. Any thoughtful person will conclude that to work so hard for attempted pleasure, which then leads to entrapment, is ultimately without real benefit and a fool’s errand.
The real difference between the animal and the human is that as humans we can also work hard like an animal, but more than that, we can make an endeavor to free ourselves from the entanglement with the temporary material energy. And that is the ultimate duty of the human beings who are so much more than mere polished animals. With the eternal god Vishnu as the all-seeing and transcendent source of all, our real pleasure comes from liberation out of the bondage found in this temporary physical world of illusion.
Narada described the kingdom as having a hole, from where no one ever returns, having once entered it. The sons of Daksha understood this to be the condition of our human existence. When a person leaves this material world, whether to fall further to the lower planetary system, or to return to the higher realms of Vishnu, they are never seen to return. Since there is such a place, where one can escape through the portal from this miserable material place of suffering, then what is the use of struggling like monkeys in this temporary world? Rather we should return back to godhead, to our eternal abode of bliss, which is free from suffering and anxiety.
And the woman who dresses to attract her husband, as mentioned in Narada’s parable, is none other than our own mind and intelligence. Covered by the lower modes of passion and ignorance, the mind is like a prostitute who changes her dress in a constant attempt to attract one’s attention. What is the use of such foolish and flickering intelligence? One should be intelligent in such a way that he no longer changes from one body to another. Work and duty may change with each body, but the real “dharma” or duty of the eternal spirit soul is to return back to godhead, to attain liberation from repeated birth and death.
If one becomes the husband of such a prostitute, he loses all intelligence and prolongs his material existence. Following such an intelligence which brings flickering happiness and repeated distress has little or no real benefit. Therefore the need to purify the intelligence and become single-minded in the pursuit of liberation.
Narada described a river which flows both ways. The sons of Daksha understood that the material nature flows in two directions – namely by facilitating creation and also dissolution. A living entity who falls into the river of material nature is submerged in its waves and struggles to get out. The way to escape the river and climb out is by using knowledge and by performing austerity. By hearing the directions of the guide of the souls, like Narada, and by voluntarily abstaining from habitual gross sense indulgence, one is able to break the bondage of the illusory energy and free oneself. By breaking the bad habits that entrap the mind and intelligence, the eternal spirit soul can free himself once and for all. That is why discipline based on intelligence is needed.
In this way one can escape the house made of 25 elements, as Narada described it. This alludes to the material energy and to the actual material body. One should seek out the source of the 25 material elements that make up this world, rather than trying to enjoy the creation, which is much like a dream that keeps us asleep and in illusion. One should be like a swan, as alluded to by Narada in his parable. A swan is known for its discernment. A swan-like person is one who can discriminate between matter and spirit, who can understand the underlying essence of everything, while discarding the rest. And having understood it, they can then repeat it to others. Most of the time we listen to the jackals, but neglect to hear from the swans. We follow the whimsical leadership of the modern world today, which only leads us further into the snare of illusion and misidentification with matter. Rather, we should look east and remember the ancient texts of the Vedas. Western materialistic advancement is good for improving the life inside the prison of the material energy but it does not teach us how to see through the temporary existence and aspire for breaking free and returning to our eternal blissful nature. It’s like polishing the cage while neglecting to fed the bird in the cage.
It is then that the rotating machine with its spinning blades and thunderbolts strike. This symbol mentioned by Narada is none other than the time factor. Eternal time moves sharply and cyclically to drive all material activities forward. A blade can be used to free us from the knots of entanglement, if we know how to use it. However, it can also cut and cause harm. What use is it to spend all our valuable time on foolish pastimes without actually studying the concept of eternal time itself, and learning how to use it. We may think our life of 100 years is all there is, or is a long time, yet time is eternal and we return again and again if we do not master the use of eternal time. Time is the most valuable commodity in the material world, since no amount of money can buy back any amount of it, once it is wasted.
On that profound note I must pause, dear reader, and let you ponder the meaning and implications of these revelations by Narada to the sons of Daksha at the dawn of creation. Such insights sometimes take time to assimilate, so tune in tomorrow for the final chapter of this strange tale as I heard it from the ancient Sanskrit text called Bhagavat Purana. You will be impressed and inspired.
(images from a:pexels b:pixabay)