Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling (79 page)

“‘How is it,’ asked Indra, ‘that you are apparently so unaffected by the misfortunes that have come your way? You have lost everything, and yet you seem happy and serene.’

“Prahlada smiled. ‘It is because I understand that every event, every entity, comes into existence and then ceases to exist in accordance with its own nature. No personal effort is required to bring this about; it is simply what happens. I have been defeated; in time, you will meet the same fate. Time is the agent. Most people do not see it that way. They struggle to achieve a goal and, because they regard themselves as the doer of acts, they suffer torment when their actions fail to produce the desired results. They may blame themselves for not trying hard enough, or for not having acted cleverly. But they are the person nature has made them, and they act accordingly. A person engages in activity, of course, and the soul is the silent witness. It is foolishness for a person to feel proud of their talents, or to feel ashamed of their shortcomings. Even final release arises from nature, not from human effort by itself. Understanding this, I am incapable of grieving.’

“‘How did you arrive at this understanding?’ asked Indra.

“‘I observe how nature works,’ said Prahlada, ‘how everything rises and falls. I pass my time very happily. I am obedient to my teachers and I listen to those who are old and wise. Watching the play of phenomena as they appear and disappear, I am without craving or hope, without affection or aversion, without fear or anger. I do not yearn for this world or the next.’

“Indra was profoundly impressed, and went thoughtfully back to his own domain.”

“Grandfather, is dharma meant for this world,

or the next?” asked Yudhishthira.

“It is meant for both worlds,” answered Bhishma.

“Observance of the rules of dharma leads

to happiness in this world and beyond.

Each class should follow its own dharma.

Vaishyas should labor to create wealth;

kshatriyas should fight to protect it; brahmins

should spend the wealth appropriately; and shudras

should do the work that sustains the others.

“Everyone honors dharma—including those

who do not follow it. Even the thief

who wickedly robs others will appeal

to the king to enforce the rules of dharma

when he himself is robbed of his possessions.”

“Is it possible,” asked Yudhishthira,

“for a man to attain liberation

while still living as a householder?

Can a reigning king achieve moksha?”

In reply, Bhishma told him the story

of Janaka and the yogi Sulabha:

“
M
ANY YEARS AGO
, there lived King Janaka, who claimed to have attained a state of liberation while still remaining ruler of his kingdom. He was greatly revered, and his fame spread far and wide.

“A female ascetic, Sulabha, heard the story of his achievement, and wanted to find out for herself whether it was true. Through her yogic power, she took on the disguise of a beautiful woman, and presented herself at the king’s court.

“Janaka, struck by her beauty, welcomed her and offered her lavish hospitality. ‘Who are you, and to whom do you belong?’ he asked her. As they sat, in the midst of an assembly of learned men whom Janaka had gathered around him, Sulabha opened up the topic of liberation, asking the king to tell her if he was, indeed, enlightened. She gazed into Janaka’s eyes, her yogic powers enabling her spirit to enter his, and there ensued a conversation between them, both occupying the same body.

“Janaka told Sulabha what he had learned about enlightenment. ‘My guru, Panchashikha, stayed with me for four months during the rainy season, and I was able to learn from him all I needed to know. As a result, I have reached a state of equanimity. I regard all things as having equal value. I am free of attachment—I neither love my wife nor hate my enemies. I have learned that, by following the path of knowledge, it is possible to arrive at an exalted spiritual state. It is said that a king cannot achieve liberation; for that, one should renounce all earthly ties. But I have shown the contrary.

“‘Of course, I have to wield the rod of authority and distinguish between the law-abiding and the delinquent. But mendicant renouncers, too, reward and chastise people as they see fit. And many mendicants, while showing all the outward trappings of renunciation, have by no means achieved a state of non-attachment, as I have. My circumstances are affluent, I have great wealth, but liberation does not depend on whether one is rich or poor; it depends on knowledge.

“‘Madam, I have taken a liking to you. But I have to say that I regard it as very deceitful of you to enter my body with a view to testing me. It is also contrary to dharma. You are a brahmin woman, I am a kshatriya. By entering my body you have mixed the social orders in an inappropriate manner. Perhaps you have a husband somewhere? If so, you have committed the additional sin of adultery. You are living the life of a renouncer; I am a householder. So by entering me you have committed a third sin: the mingling of differing modes of life. It may even be that we belong to the same line of descent, in which case you have committed the further sin of incest! It seems to me that you must have an evil nature—otherwise, you would not be roaming around the country by yourself. And you would not be attempting to prove yourself the superior of a man. I suspect you wish to show your superiority to my whole court, and humiliate these learned men. But now that I have assured you that I have achieved liberation, you should tell me who you are, what is your background, and what is your purpose in coming here.’

“Sulabha replied, ‘Being made of ever-shifting particles, the human being changes constantly, as the liberated person knows. By asking me who I am, and whose, you show that you are still mired in the illusion of distinct identity, seeing the world in terms of dualities. If you were truly liberated, you would see that there is no difference between me and others, or between me and you. The self is neither male nor female. If you were truly liberated, I could not have wronged you by entering your body with my mind.

“‘You speak of “having” great wealth. A liberated person does not speak of “me” and “mine.” Of course, a king must worry about wealth, and must defend his kingdom. He has to live in a world of dualities. That is why he cannot attain enlightenment so long as he remains a king.

“‘As for your gross accusations—I have not touched you with any part of my body. How, then, could I be guilty of mixing social orders? My soul, which has entered you, is the same as your soul. What have I done, then? You have insulted me by uttering your crude accusations in front of the whole court. In fact, I am a kshatriya like you, a descendant of a royal sage. No suitable husband could be found for me, so I have devoted myself to the study of liberation, and am firm and steady in my vows. I came here in a spirit of inquiry. Tonight, I shall stay inside you, as if you were my chamber—an empty chamber, since I find that it is devoid of understanding. Tomorrow, I shall leave your court.’

“King Janaka was silent, lost for a suitable reply.”

“Which deity above all other gods

should one worship to obtain release?”

asked Yudhishthira. “The Lord Narayana,”

Bhishma replied. “Listen to this story:

“
O
NCE, IN
the Krita age, the seer Narada was addressing the divine seer Narayana, who was engaged in performing austerities. ‘Since you are yourself the uncreated creator,’ said Narada, ‘whom do you worship as divine?’ Narayana replied that he worshiped the indestructible origin of all, the universal Self which infuses all beings.

“Then Narada, desiring to see the highest lord with his own eyes, traveled to the White Island, where those devoted to Lord Narayana, the supreme being, live in an exalted state, beyond the senses, motionless, pale and spectral as the moon. Narada performed extended acts of devotion, knowing that only those people may see Lord Narayana who have been devoted to him with their whole being, for a great length of time. He had practiced the most severe austerities, but not everyone who had done so, and who had traveled to the White Island hoping to see the lord, was blessed with that supreme vision.

“Narada sang a great hymn of praise to the god—that being without attributes who is the essence of all virtuous qualities—recounting his many forms and legendary deeds. Lord Narayana appeared before him, in indescribable bodily form, having something of fire about him, and something crystalline, something of gold, and something of the deepest lapis lazuli. He was enormous, with a thousand arms, and utterly beautiful. The god offered Narada a boon. ‘O Lord, to have seen you with my own eyes is the greatest possible boon!’ exclaimed Narada.

“Then he made his way back to the hermitage of the divine seers, Nara and Narayana. ‘And have you seen the highest lord, the universal Self?’ asked Narayana. ‘I have,’ replied Narada, ‘and when I look at you and Nara, I see him still.’ Then Narada remained at the hermitage for a thousand years, worshiping the supreme lord with all his heart and soul.

“Yudhishthira, you should remember this—

only those who are free of greed and passion,

only those who are devoted to him

with their entire being, will see the Lord.

In him are contained all other gods,

the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities . . .

To worship the highest lord, and him alone,

to be granted the unspeakable joy

of seeing him in his unearthly form

is all that is required for liberation.

From age to age, the Lord becomes incarnate

to protect his creation. Many tales

are told of his wonderful interventions

but, in the end, all the tales are one.

What I have told you is the essence of them

and, listening, your soul is purified.”

Then the patriarch, in a fading voice,

yet ecstatic in his love for Krishna,

extolled his many marvelous attributes,

intoning his thousand names—a poem of praise,

a sublime hymn that is still recited

by devotees of Vishnu to this day.

Having heard Bhishma’s inspiring words

Yudhishthira and his brothers all became

devotees of lord Narayana.

Hearing all this from Ugrashravas,

the holy men of the Naimisha Forest

were eager to know more, and the bard told them

that Janamejaya had also asked

many questions of Vaishampayana.

How was it, he had wondered, that the gods

pursue the path of action in all the worlds

rather than the path to liberation?

“We pupils asked Vyasa the same question,”

said Vaishampayana. “He explained to us

that after the gods and seers had been created,

and after they had performed sacrifices,

Brahma assigned to them their diverse duties

to sustain the worlds—some to engage

in action, others to be disengaged.

“And remember,” said Vaishampayana,

“Krishna’s great teaching to Arjuna

when he was crushed by doubt on the battlefield.