DIVINEINFORMATION PART 112
380 SriMadh Bhagavatham.... part 89 Posted by: "DILIPKUMAR RAVINDRAN" [email protected] prdili Date: Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:12 pm((PDT)) 380 BALI CONQUERS Deceived by God, abiding in truth in spite of contrary compulsion,Bali boldly addressed God: O Divinity! O Praiseworthy! If you deem me a liar, I shall still make it truthful. May my plighted word be not in vain? May your third feet be placed on my ownhead? For the enormous space encompassed by your two feet, don ’’¹t for a moment doubt the worth of myhead for the third feet. If my possessions could merit two feet, my ownhead should be worth much more. Morethan the wealth, the owner and better still, his head. Fallen from position, I dread ill-fame in juxtaposition ofhellish life, sin, endless anguish, poverty and your punishing rod. The punishment, which will not be meted out by mother, father, brother and wellwisher, that punishment arising at your hands, I deem as for the highest good.Infatuated with the pride of several kinds, as we were, in the guise of removing that pride,you have in truth bestowed on us wisdomand thus are in reality our preceptor. Those Asuras, due to their wild hatredfor you, have attained to the realms of your devotees of Yogic discipline and by that preceptorlike yourself, I am bound. I am, therefore,neither ashamed nor sorrowful at the Varuna-cord bondage. Well-beloved to your devotees by your glory, unfailing refuge, mygrandfather, Prahlada, though was tortured by your adversary and his father Hiranyakasipu, remainedfirmly rooted to the truth, viz. that which will depart from him, of what worthsuch a body, of what avail the kith andkin who plunder his wealth, of what use the wife who involves one more and more inSamsara, of what use the house for the one threatened with death, with the deepconviction of the ephemeral nature ofthe mundane possess ions, that saintly grandfather of mine, Prahlada, afraidof involving in congregation, that supreme devotee, my grandfather, steadfastly adheredto your Feet in the face of yourdestroying members of his fold. By the same reckoning/reasoning, I too, by yourforcibly detaching me from that 'Sri' - fortune - which subdueshumility and creates the illusion that this bodily existence, which ever remains under theshadow of death, is permanent and takingme, due to my accumulated auspiciousness, in your proximity, thus stand redeemed.? You have been indirectly, in the guise of an enemy, a greatpreceptor to the 'Asuras. You have opened our eyes from being blindedwith pride. My grandfather Prahlada remained your greatdevotee, in spite of the excruciatingcruelties he was subjected to by his father, who was opposed to you. Prahlada was rooted in the truth that thisbody is ephemeral and our kith and kinare only like robbers, eyeing our wealth. I betake myself to your lotus-like feet follow ing in the footsteps of my wise grandfather, whosurvived the torture trusting in You,Who saved him finally. I am content with your presence. I do not covet wealth,power or life itself, which Yama may snatch any moment. I seek you and you alone. The guise of punishment meted to me is inreality auspiciousness bestowed on me, not due to my worth, but looking to mygrandfather, Prahlada. 381. SriMadh Bhagavatham....part…90 Postedby: "DILIP KUMAR RAVINDRAN" [email protected] prdili Date: Sun Apr 3, 2011 6:54 am ((PDT)) 381 PRAHLADA 'S ARRIVAL Just then Prahlada, beloved of Lord, arrived there,illumining like Moon. Though Bali sawthe resplendent, majestic and auspicious Prahlada, due to his bondage by Varuna cord, he could notprostrate, but bent down his head. Prahalada, thrilled at the sight of the Lord, said after prostration: The glory of Indrahood wasbestowed on Bali by You and is now withdrawn. It is for (his) goodonly. That Bali has been divested of the 'Sri' in the guise of illusion, is a greatblessing conferred on him. Even though learned, of controlled senses, 'Sri' deludes aman. Dwelling in that 'Sri' whoeverwould seek spiritual knowledge? Salutations to Thee, the Supreme Lord, witnessto all and everything, O Narayana.? When Brahma was about to praise the Lord next, Vindhyavali,the consort of Bali, intervened. She was overcome with fear at the bondage ofher husband and with folded arms andbent head said, For Thy sport, the three worlds were created. You are the creator,protector and destroyer. Thus, what is left forothers to offer you? It is perversionif others assume for themselves over lordship. Brahma then said, O creator and Lord of all! O Supreme Being, the in-dweller in all! Bereft of all his possessions, this Bali isunfit for punishment. Deign to release Bali from bondage. He has surrendered unto you the earth aswell as the worlds attained due to his accumulated merit (Karma). With unclouded intellect he has surrenderedthe all-serving body too. By making theoffering of water and Durva grass withdevotion to you, the pure-minded devotee attains to glorious state. How then, this Bali, who, with unruffled mind, offered allthe three worlds, can be put tohardship?? The Lord replied: 'O Brahma! Whom I wish to bless, I destroy his wealth, which has caused irreverencein him and which has led to his disrespecting you and me. Subject to Karma, the Jiva transmigratesfrom species to species until itgets a human body. If birth, action,age, beauty of form, talents, prosperity and wealth have not degenerated intopride, that is due to my grace. A person who is devoted to Me never getsdeluded by high birth and otherattributes as mentioned above. Theleader and renowned of Danavas andDaityas, who Mahabali is, he has conquered the difficult Maya. Even underduress he was not deluded. Even though deprived of wealth, slipped fromposition, discarded by friends, bound by Varuna-pasam, deserted by kith and kin, subjected to the cruel agony, reprimandedand cursed by preceptor, Bali did not swerve from truth. I preached pseudo Dharma. Even then, wedded to Truth, he did notabandon truth. I am endowing on Balithe realm, which is beyond the reach of the Devas. Bali, who is totallyresigned to me, will be the Indra during the Savarni Manvantara. Till then, let Balireside in the Rasatala created byViswakarma. Those who live in Rasatalawill be devoid of and immune to mentalaffliction, bodily disease, exertion, strain, lethargy, indolence, and inhibitions of anykind. O Indrasena! Maharaja! Good betide you. Surrounded by Kith and kin, proceed to the Sutala realm, which is covetedeven by Devas. Even the deities of theworld will not disrespect you, not to speak of others. Any Asura transgressing your ordainment willbe slain by my discus. Surrounded byyour fold and also materials while you live in Sutala, I shall protect you inseveral ways. You will ever see methere in close proximity. The Asuric tendency in you, caused byassociation, will fade away at the sightof my glory and will ultimately vanish. Mahabali, glorious and beloved of the virtuous, with foldedarms, tremulous voice and tears in hiseyes, addressed the Supreme in the following words pregnant with devotion:Yourgrace, not obtained even by the guardiandeities, has been bestowed on me, a lowly Asura. Even the endeavour to prostrate before youfetches readily that benevolence which is vouched to devotees who take refuge in you after prolonged penance. Be it as it may; that I have offered to youall the three worlds. I have not even prostrated fully (due to my bondageby Varuna-pasa), but only tried. Even so, the grace unobtainable by prolongedTapas and other holy actions, has beengranted by you. The glory of prostration to you is unsurpassed indeed. So saying, Mahabali, who was now freed of bondage, prostratedto Hari, Brahma and Parameswara joyfully. This way the Supreme Lord restored to Indra his erstwhilerealm, Svarga, fulfilled the desire ofAditi and ruled over the three worlds as Upendra, brother of Indra - being born to Aditi. Prahlada praised God, saying, A blessing of this kind was notin the lot of Brahma, nor of Sri nor ofSiva, nor of any others. For, Thou artthe object of adoration of Divinitieslike Brahma and the whole universe reveres Thee. Brahma and the other Divinities enjoy their realms by dint of service at your Lotus-feet. Such a benevolence, to be bestowed on the Asuras of evil ways, born of evil wombs,is incomprehensible to us. It is futile to apportion blame to you. You are a Kalpataru (wish-yielding divine tree). Kalpataru is free of access to all. If some do not seek it, the Kalpataru cannot be accused of partiality.? The Lord replied: OPrahlada! Good betide you. Betake to Sutala. Enjoy together with your grandson Bali thelife there and please your kith andkin. There, you are going to everwitness me standing before you with macein hand. You will be rid of the bondageof Karma, due to your 'Dharsan' (sight) of me Prahlada of pure widsdom, accompanied by Bali,received the commands of the Lord withbent head and circumambulated the Lord and entered the Sutala realm along withMahabali and his followers.. The Lord then addressed Sukracharya, who was seated in thesacrificial hall along with the other preceptors (Rithwiks) and said,OBrahman! Please perform the expiatory rites for the interruption ofyour disciple's ritual (sacrificialrite). If you feel for the absence of themaster, the lapses in the rites are overcome by the very sight of Brahmanas; then what to say of such Brahmanassupplying the omission. Sukracharya replied, How can the shortcoming arise in asacrificial rite, where Thou, the object of all the sacrifices, the bestowed ofthe fruits and the embodiment of allsacrifices, hast been devoutly worshipped and propitiated by the offering the sacrifice,unto you? Whatever lapses arise in therite, be it in Mantras, rituals, time,place, recipients of gifts and the like, they all stand rectified by the recital of Thy holynames, what then to speak of theperfection attained by the surrendering of all one's possessions to Thee? Yet, I submit to your command, for it is themeans to attain to high glory (Sreyas)?. Thus saying, Sukracharya completed thesacrificial rites, by supplying theomissions. Will be continued Posted by R. Gopalakrishnan 78on 7-0-21 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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