Padma Purāṇa
In the Gītā-Māhātmya of the Padma Purāṇa, Parvati inquires from Lord Shiva about the glories of the Bhagavad- gītā, and Lord Shiva relates the following story.
After Lord Vishnu had killed the demon Mura and was resting peacefully on Ananta-Sesh, Sri Lakshmi,
the bestower of all good fortune in the universe, respectfully inquired from him:
“Bhagavan, you are the controller and maintainer of the whole universe, yet you are sleeping unhappily on this ocean of milk. What is the reason?”
Lord Vishnu said, “My dear Lakshmi, I am not sleeping but am watching how wonderfully my energy is working. It is by this wonderful energy of mine that I am controlling all things, and yet remain separate. And it is by remembering these divineactivities of mine that the great devotees and yogis manage to free themselves from the cycle of birth and death and attain that transcendental nature of mine, which is eternal and free from all material qualities.”
Lakshmi said, “O controller of all things, you are the goal of the meditation of great yogis. Nothing can go on without you! And yet you are separate. You are the cause of creation, maintenance and destruction of all the material universes. Kindly inform me about the workings of your wonderful energies, which are so attractive that even you are lying here and meditating upon them.”
Lord Vishnu said, “My dear Lakshmi, the workings of my multifold energies and how to become free from the bonds of birth and death and attain my eternal nature can only be understood by one of pure intelligence who is inclined to render service unto Me. This transcendental knowledge is fully explained in the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā.”
Lakshmi inquired, “My dear Lord, if you yourself are amazed by the workings of your energies and are ever trying to fathom their limit, then how is it possible that the Bhagavad-gītā can describe those unlimited energies of yours and how to cross over them and attain the transcendental nature?”
Lord Vishnu said, “I myself have manifested in the form of Bhagavad-gītā. Please understand that the first five chapters are my five heads, the next ten chapters are my ten arms, and the sixteenth chapter is my stomach. The last two chapters are my lotus-feet. In this way you should understand the transcendental deity of the Bhagavad-gītā. This Bhagavad-gītā is the destroyer of all sins, and that intelligent man who daily recites one chapter or even one sloka, one half sloka, or at least one quarter sloka, will attain the same position as Susharma had attained.”
Lakshmi inquired, “Who was Susharma? What class did he belong to? And what destination did he attain?” Lord Vishnu said, “My dear Lakshmi, Susharma was a very wicked and sinful man. Although he was born in a Brahmin family, his family had no Vedic knowledge. He only took pleasure in hurting others. He never engaged in the chanting of my names, in giving charity, or receiving guests. He never performed any pious activities. For his livelihood he collected leaves and sold them in the bazaar. He especially enjoyed drinking wine and eating flesh. In this way he passed his life.
“One day that foolish Susharma had gone to the garden of a sage for collecting leaves when a snake bit him and he died. After his death he was cast into many hells, where he suffered for a long time. After which he attained the body of a bull. That bull was purchased by a crippled man, who engaged him in his service. For seven or eight years he was carrying extremely heavy loads. One day that crippled man piled a very heavy load onto the back of his bull. Very quickly he was forcing that bull along when suddenly the bull fell over and became unconscious. Many persons gathered there, to see what was happening, feeling sorry for the bull. One pious man bestowed upon that bull the results of some of his pious activities. Seeing that, other persons standing there started remembering their pious activities, and offered the results of some of those activities to that bull. In that crowd there was also one prostitute who did not know if she had ever performed any pious activities, but seeing everyone else, she also offered the results of any pious activities she might have performed. After that, the bull died, and was taken to the abode of Yamaraj, the god of death.
“Yamaraja informed him, ‘You are now free from the reactions of all your previous sinful deeds due to the pious credits given to you by that prostitute.’ After that he took birth in a very high Brahmin family. In that birth, he was able to remember his past lives. After many days, he decided to search out the prostitute who had been the cause of freeing him from his hellish situation.
“After he had found and introduced himself to that lady, he inquired from her, ‘What were the pious activities performed by you, the fruits of which freed me from my hellish situation?’
“The prostitute replied to him, ‘My dear sir, in that cage is a parrot that recites something every day. Hearing that recitation, my heart has become completely pure. The results of hearing that recitation I gave to you.’
“Thereafter, they both inquired from the parrot about the recitation. That parrot. remembering his previous life, began to narrate his history. ‘Previously, I had been a very learned Brahmin. But, due to my pride, I used to insult other learned persons. I was also extremely jealous. After I died, I was cast into many hells, and after a long time of suffering, I achieved this body of a parrot. Due to my past sinful activities, my mother and father died while I was a baby. One day, while I was lying on the hot sands, with no protection, some rishis saw me,took me to their ashram, and put me in a cage. At that same place, the children of those rishis were learning the recitation of the first chapter of the Śrīmad Bhagavad- gītā, Hearing them repeat those ślokas, I also. started repeating the ślokas with them. Shortly after, a thief stole me from that place and sold me to this pious lady.’”
Lord Vishnu continued, “By reciting the first chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, that parrot became completely pure. And by hearing that recitation the prostitute also became completely pure. Then by receiving some of the pious results of hearing that recitation, Susharma also become completely pure.
“After discussing the glories of the first chapter of Bhagavad-gītā for some time, Susharma returned to his home, and the three of them individually engaged in reciting the first chapter of Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, thereby quickly attaining the supreme destination, Vaikuntha. Anyone who recites, hears, or studies the first chapter of Bhagavad-gītā will very easily cross over the ocean of material miseries and attain the service of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna.”
— From Gītā-Māhātmya of Padma Purāṇa. Published by Isvara Das and Touchstone Media. Vrindavan 2011.
Post view 488 times
Leave a Reply