Dear All,
Greetings and Namaste. As Sri Varaha Jayanti falls on Sunday (12-Apr-2020), I am delighted to share a very short and sweet hymn on Lord Vishnu by Sage Gauramukha taken from Sri Varaha Puranam and Chapter 11. (retold by Lord Varaha to Goddess Earth). The background of this hymn is below:
King Durjaya visited the hermitage of Sage Gauramukha who welcomed him and invited the king and his army to have food in the hermitage. A thought passed through the mind of king, "Five battalions of army are with me here. What food can this sage give us all?" At the same time, Sage Gauramukha also thought "What shall I give the king now?". So, the sage immediately meditated on Lord Vishnu with this hymn. Pleased with the hymn, Lord Narayana appeared before Him in his cosmic form and granted the boon to feed the king and army and gave him a shining jewel from which came thousands of servants, damsels, animals, cosmetics, etc. to treat the king and his army.
There is a very lengthy description of how the king and his army were treated with lavish food and entertainment by the jewel. The king and the army enjoyed all these and slept in the night. When the king woke up in the morning he found that all the grandiose things he saw the previous night were gone. Through his minister, Durjaya demanded that the sage hand-over the jewel to him. When he refused, he sent his warriors to fight and capture the jewel. The king and his army were defeated by the celestial warriors that arose from the jewel and finally Durjaya was killed by Lord Narayana using his Sudarshana Chakra. The place Naimisharanya was named after this episode.
In this hymn, Sage Gauramukha prays to Lord Vishnu as the embodiment of all elements in this universe - water, earth, light, air, sky, three worlds, trees, creepers, plants, animals, birds, serpents. He also prays to Lord as the Lord of all beings reposing in the heart of all.
We are reminded of the sacred teaching by Lord Narayana in Srimad Bhagavatam (Skanda 4, Chapter 29) and correlate the same with the above prayer:
Atmanashca parasyApi yaH karotyantarodaram | tasya bhinna dRRisho mRRityur vidaghe bhaya-mulbaNam ||
atha mAM sarva-bhUteShu bhUtAtmAnaM kRRitAlayam | arhayed dAna mAnAbhyAM maitryAbhinnena caxuShA ||
manasaitAni bhUtAni praNamed bahumAnayan | Ishvaro jIva-kalayA praviShTo bhagavAn iti ||
Meaning: If someone creates/perceives even a small difference between himself and other beings, I reward him with fear of death. So, he should worship me as one who is present as the Bhutatma in every animal and being. He should prostrate to all beings with the state of mind that Ishvara pervades all creatures through his Amsa.
Though it may be inappropriate and callous, one can't but compare the above to the current situation thanks to the deadly corona virus which has paralyzed the entire earth for weeks now with no sight of end of tunnel. If we superimpose the haughty humans in the place of King Durjaya, it looks as though it is our own story. Lord bestowed His jewel (earth and nature) so that we can enjoy its fruits in the right way. But over time we began to think we are the masters of the jewel and all things that the jewel produced.
Is it that the Lord is trying to teach us a lesson and scare via Corona virus, as He says in Bhagavatam? Only He knows.When we eventually come out of the corona, one thing is for sure - our lives and outlook cannot be same. They ought to undergo a tectonic 180 degree shift in every dimension.
Let us pray to Lord, who is the embodiment of all elements to heal this universe.
Thanks and pranams,
K. Muralidharan Iyengar (Murali)
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