Canto
5
Chapter 6: Lord Rishabhadeva's Activities
(1) The king said: 'O Supreme One, by those self-satisfied souls of whom the seed of fruitive action is burned by the spiritual knowledge that was won by the practice of yoga, are mystic powers automatically achieved; how can they possibly be of any future hindrance? '
(2) The sage said: 'You're quite right, but in this world does one, just like a cunning hunter, not directly put faith in the mind that [like game] always runs off. (3) And so, one says, one should at no time make friends with the so very restless mind; from the practice of for a long time placing too much faith in it was the austerity of even the greatest ones [like Lord S'iva or sage Saubhari] disturbed.(4) Like a husband with a wife charmed by competitors, will aspirants of yoga when they rely on the mind that is always open to the lust motive, be paving the way for the enemies following in its wake. (5) So, which man having learned his lesson, would indeed confide in the [undirected] mind that is the breeding ground for the lust, anger, pride, greed, lamentation, illusion and fear that all together bind one to one's karma? (6) Although He [Rishabha] was the head of all kings and rulers of this universe, acted He in terms of this logic in the dress, language and character of an avadhûta [5.5: 29] as if He was dumb, concealing the Supreme of His Lordship in teaching the yogic forsaking by His own personal vehicle of time; as if He was a normal mortal who tries to give up on the physical, kept He to Himself to the Supreme command of the Soul, unhindered by the illusory of matter, always the vision from within the love above all vice and ended He His royal pastimes. (7) Of Him we thus saw the apparent physical presence, the driven appearance in this illusory world, of the body of Him as the Supreme Lord Rishabhadeva who Himself was free from any vital interest. He on His own traveled the lands of South India: Konka, Venka and Kuthaka in the province of Karnâta, and reached a forest nearby Kuthakâcala. There with a handful of stones in His mouth, He just like a madman wandered around naked and with scatted hair. (8) With a fierce forest fire blazing all around that was caused by the friction of bamboos tossed by the force of the wind, was His body then in that forest burned to ashes.
(9) Hearing of His pastimes of being free from all ritual and custom, took the king of Konka, Venka and Kuthaka who carried the name Arhat [the Jain, the venerable] to an imitation of them; bewildered by an increase of irreligious life forboding the arrival of the Kali-Yuga Age of Quarrel he gave up on the safe path of the religion that would ward of all fear and adopted a wrong heretic view in defiance of the vedic injunctions introducing most foolishly a concoction of His own. (10) By such practices will the most pitiable among men in the age of Kali, bewildered by the external energy of God, void of character, cleanliness and the rules and regulations of the personal duty, sworn to impiety and in neglect of the divinity be holding on to their desires, with imaginary principles of austerity like staying unclean, not washing their mouth and plucking out their hair. From the Kali-age abundance of godlessness will they, whose pure consciousness is destroyed, become almost entirely blasphemous towards the strict brahmin and his vedic culture, the ceremonies of sacrifice and the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees.(11) Those who are certain in deviating from the eternal principles of the religion with a practice based on their own speculations, feel themselves encouraged by blinded predecessors and are sure to fall down in the darkness of ignorance being blinded themselves [compare B.G. 16: 16, 16: 23 ]. (12) This descend of the Lord was there to teach the ones overwhelmed by passion the cause of enlightenment. (13) Of Him do the ones who are after liberation chant the following verses: 'O, of this earth with its seven seas and many lands on its continents, is this land [of Bhârata-varsha, India] the most meritorious; their people sing of the all-auspicious qualities of Murâri [Krishna as the enemy of the foolish one, Mura] in His many incarnations.' (14) 'O what to say about the dynasty of king Priyavrata wherein the Original Person, the Supreme Personality descended as an incarnation; He, the Unparalleled One executed the religious duty that leads to the end of profit-minded labor.' (15) 'What other yogi can be found who, but in the mind, is able to follow the example of Him, the unborn One, and who, as being insubstantial, renounced all desires for the perfections of yoga which by mystic yogis, so eager to serve, are aspired.'
(16) Thus I have expounded on the pure activities of the Supreme Lord named Rishabha, the highest spiritual teacher for the people in general, the godly, the brahmins and the cows; he who following the footsteps of the great, with a growing faith and devotion attentively listens to or speaks to others about this foremost and greatest shelter of auspiciousness who destroys all sins of every living being, will no doubt unto Him, the Supreme Lord Vâsudeva, factually with both the modes of listening and speaking have made a beginning with an unflinching devotion. (17) In that devotion does the soul of advancement incessantly bathe itself in order to constantly be freed from suffering the troublesome conditions in material existence; although on itself that so surely by happiness obtained uninterrupted liberation, that greatest of all achievements, certainly is not what one is after, because in relating to the Supreme Lord one is complete in all one has striven for. (18) Dear King, He, the worshipable deity of the Yadus, is no doubt, your dearest friend and master of the lineage; to be sure, He sometimes even acted as your servant and thus my best I ask you: isn't He indeed the Supreme Lord Mukunda of the yoga of devotion who at all times delivers by liberating all the ones engaged in the service? (19) Always after His real identity and complete in Himself with no further desires, was by His mercy of expanding His activities in the material field, the true meaning of a life of fearlessness with the real self communicated to the intelligence of man that had been asleep for so long; all respect unto Him, that Supreme Lord Rishabhadeva.
Second edition, loaded January 9, 2007.
Source texts:
The Activities of Lord Rishabhadeva
The king said: 'O Supreme One, by those self-satisfied souls of whom the seed of fruitive action is burned by the spiritual knowledge that was won by the practice of yoga, are mystic powers automatically achieved; how can they possibly be of any future hindrance?'King Parîkshit asked S'ukadeva Gosvâmî: My dear Lord, for those who are completely pure in heart, knowledge is attained by the practice of bhakti-yoga, and attachment for fruitive activity is completely burned to ashes. For such people, the powers of mystic yoga automatically arise. They do not cause distress. Why, then, did Rishabhadeva neglect them? (Vedabase)
The sage said: 'You're quite right, but in this world does one, just like a cunning hunter, not directly put faith in the mind that [like game] always runs off.
S'rîla S'ukadeva Gosvâmî replied: My dear King, you have spoken correctly. However, after capturing animals, a cunning hunter does not put faith in them, for they might run away. Similarly, those who are advanced in spiritual life do not put faith in the mind. Indeed, they always remain vigilant and watch the mind's action. (Vedabase)
And so, one says, one should at no time make friends with the so very restless mind; from the practice of for a long time placing too much faith in it was the austerity of even the greatest ones [like Lord S'iva or sage Saubhari] disturbed.
All the learned scholars have given their opinion. The mind is by nature very restless, and one should not make friends with it. If we place full confidence in the mind, it may cheat us at any moment. Even Lord S'iva became agitated upon seeing the Mohinî form of Lord Krishna, and Saubhari Muni also fell down from the mature stage of yogic perfection. (Vedabase)
Like a husband with a wife charmed by competitors, will aspirants of yoga when they rely on the mind that is always open to the lust motive, be paving the way for the enemies following in its wake.
An unchaste woman is very easily carried away by paramours, and it sometimes happens that her husband is violently killed by her paramours. If the yogî gives his mind a chance and does not restrain it, his mind will give facility to enemies like lust, anger and greed, and they will doubtlessly kill the yogî. (Vedabase)
So, which man having learned his lesson, would indeed confide in the [undirected] mind that is the breeding ground for the lust, anger, pride, greed, lamentation, illusion and fear that all together bind one to one's karma?
The mind is the root cause of lust, anger, pride, greed, lamentation, illusion and fear. Combined, these constitute bondage to fruitive activity. What learned man would put faith in the mind? (Vedabase)
Although He [Rishabha] was the head of all kings and rulers of this universe, acted He in terms of this logic in the dress, language and character of an avadhûta [5.5: 29] as if He was dumb, concealing the Supreme of His Lordship in teaching the yogic forsaking by His own personal vehicle of time; as if He was a normal mortal who tries to give up on the physical, kept He to Himself to the Supreme command of the Soul, unhindered by the illusory of matter, always the vision from within the love above all vice and ended He His royal pastimes.
Lord Rishabhadeva was the head of all kings and emperors within this universe, but assuming the dress and language of an avadhûta, He acted as if dull and materially bound. Consequently no one could observe His divine opulence. He adopted this behavior just to teach yogis how to give up the body. Nonetheless, He maintained His original position as a plenary expansion of Lord Vâsudeva, Krishna. Remaining always in that state, He gave up His pastimes as Lord Rishabhadeva within the material world. If, following in the footsteps of Lord Rishabhadeva, one can give up his subtle body, there is no chance that one will accept a material body again. (Vedabase)
Of Him we thus saw the apparent physical presence, the driven appearance in this illusory world, of the body of Him as the Supreme Lord Rishabhadeva who Himself was free from any vital interest. He on His own traveled the lands of South India: Konka, Venka and Kuthaka in the province of Karnâta, and reached a forest nearby Kuthakâcala. There with a handful of stones in His mouth, He just like a madman wandered around naked and with scatted hair.
Actually Lord Rishabhadeva had no material body, but due to yogamâyâ, He considered His body material, and therefore, because He played like an ordinary human being, He gave up the mentality of identifying with it. Following this principle, He began to wander all over the world. While traveling, He came to the province of Karnâta in South India and passed through Konka, Venka and Kuthaka. He had no plan to travel this way, but He arrived near Kuthakâcala and entered a forest there. He placed stones within His mouth and began to wander through the forest, naked and with His hair disheveled like a madman. (Vedabase)
With a fierce forest fire blazing all around that was caused by the friction of bamboos tossed by the force of the wind, was His body then in that forest burned to ashes.
While He was wandering about, a wild forest fire began. This fire was caused by the friction of bamboo's, which were being blown by the wind. In that fire, the entire forest near Kuthakâcala and the body of Lord Rishabhadeva were burnt to ashes. (Vedabase)
Hearing of His pastimes of being free from all ritual and custom, took the king of Konka, Venka and Kuthaka who carried the name Arhat [the Jain, the venerable] to an imitation of them; bewildered by an increase of irreligious life forboding the arrival of the Kali-Yuga Age of Quarrel he gave up on the safe path of the religion that would ward of all fear and adopted a wrong heretic view in defiance of the vedic injunctions introducing most foolishly a concoction of His own.
S'ukadeva Gosvâmî continued speaking to Mahârâja Parîkshit: My dear King, the King of Konka, Venka and Kuthaka whose name was Arhat, heard of the activities of Rishabhadeva and, imitating Rishabhadeva's principles, introduced a new system of religion. Taking advantage of Kali-yuga, the age of sinful activity, King Arhat, being bewildered, gave up the Vedic principles, which are free from risk, and concocted a new system of religion opposed to the Vedas. That was the beginning of the Jain dharma. Many other so-called religions followed this atheistic system. (Vedabase)
By such practices will the most pitiable among men in the age of Kali, bewildered by the external energy of God, void of character, cleanliness and the rules and regulations of the personal duty, sworn to impiety and in neglect of the divinity be holding on to their desires, with imaginary principles of austerity like staying unclean, not washing their mouth and plucking out their hair. From the Kali-age abundance of godlessness will they, whose pure consciousness is destroyed, become almost entirely blasphemous towards the strict brahmin and his vedic culture, the ceremonies of sacrifice and the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees.
People who are lowest among men and bewildered by the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord will give up the original varnâs'rama-dharma and its rules and regulations. They will abandon bathing three times daily and worshiping the Lord. Abandoning cleanliness and neglecting the Supreme Lord, they will accept nonsensical principles. Not regularly bathing or washing their mouths regularly, they will always remain unclean, and they will pluck out their hair. Following a concocted religion, they will flourish. During this age of Kali, people are more inclined to irreligious systems. Consequently these people will naturally deride Vedic authority, the followers of Vedic authority, the brâhmanas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the devotees. (Vedabase)
Those who are certain in deviating from the eternal principles of the religion with a practice based on their own speculations, feel themselves encouraged by blinded predecessors and are sure to fall down in the darkness of ignorance being blinded themselves [compare B.G. 16: 16, 16: 23 ].
Low-class people, due to their gross ignorance, introduce a system of religion that deviates from the Vedic principles. Following their own mental concoctions, they automatically fall down into the darkest regions of existence. (Vedabase)
This descend of the Lord was there to teach the ones overwhelmed by passion the cause of enlightenment.
In this age of Kali, people are overwhelmed by the modes of passion and ignorance. Lord Rishabhadeva incarnated Himself to deliver them from the clutches of mâyâ. (Vedabase)
Of Him do the ones who are after liberation chant the following verses: 'O, of this earth with its seven seas and many lands on its continents, is this land [of Bhârata-varsha, India] the most meritorious; their people sing of the all-auspicious qualities of Murâri [Krishna as the enemy of the foolish one, Mura] in His many incarnations.'
Learned scholars chant about the transcendental qualities of Lord Rishabhadeva in this way: "Oh, this earthly planet contains seven seas and many islands and lands, of which Bhârata-varsha is considered the most pious. People of Bhârata-varsha are accustomed to glorifying the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His incarnations as Lord Rishabhadeva and others. All these activities are very auspicious for the welfare of humanity. (Vedabase)Text 14
'O what to say about the dynasty of king Priyavrata wherein the Original Person, the Supreme Personality descended as an incarnation; He, the Unparalleled One executed the religious duty that leads to the end of profit-minded labor.'
"Oh, what shall I say of the dynasty of Priyavrata, which is pure and very much celebrated. In that dynasty, the Supreme Person, the original Personality of Godhead, descended as an incarnation and executed religious principles that could free one from the results of fruitive activity. (Vedabase)
O what other yogi was, even but in the mind, capable of following the example of Him, the unborn One, and who, as being insubstantial, renounced all desires for the perfections of yoga which by mystic yogis, so eager to serve, are aspired.
"Who is that mystic yogî who can follow the examples of Lord Rishabhadeva even with his mind? Lord Rishabhadeva rejected all kinds of yogic perfection, which other yogis hanker to attain. Who is that yogî who can compare to Lord Rishabhadeva?". (Vedabase)
Thus I have expounded on the pure activities of the Supreme Lord named Rishabha, the highest spiritual teacher for the people in general, the godly, the brahmins and the cows; he who following the footsteps of the great, with a growing faith and devotion attentively listens to or speaks to others about this foremost and greatest shelter of auspiciousness who destroys all sins of every living being, will no doubt unto Him, the Supreme Lord Vâsudeva, factually with both the modes of listening and speaking have made a beginning with an unflinching devotion.
S'ukadeva Gosvâmî continued: Lord Rishabhadeva is the master of all Vedic knowledge, human beings, demigods, cows and brâhmanas. I have already explained His pure, transcendental activities, which will vanquish the sinful activities of all living entities. This narration of Lord Rishabhadeva's pastimes is the reservoir of all auspicious things. Whoever attentively hears or speaks of them, following in the footsteps of the âcâryas, will certainly attain unalloyed devotional service at the lotus feet of Lord Vâsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Vedabase)
In that devotion does the soul of advancement incessantly bathe itself in order to constantly be freed from suffering the troublesome conditions in material existence; although on itself that so surely by happiness obtained uninterrupted liberation, that greatest of all achievements, certainly is not what one is after, because in relating to the Supreme Lord one is complete in all one has striven for.
Devotees always bathe themselves in devotional service in order to be relieved from the various tribulations of material existence. By doing this, the devotees enjoy supreme bliss, and liberation personified comes to serve them. Nonetheless, they do not accept that service, even if it is offered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. For the devotees, liberation [mukti] is very unimportant because, having attained the Lord's transcendental loving service, they have attained everything desirable and have transcended all material desires. (Vedabase)
Dear King, He, the worshipable deity of the Yadus, is no doubt, your dearest friend and master of the lineage; to be sure, He sometimes even acted as your servant and thus my best I ask you: isn't He indeed the Supreme Lord Mukunda of the yoga of devotion who at all times delivers by liberating all the ones engaged in the service?
S'ukadeva Gosvâmî continued: My dear King, the Supreme Person, Mukunda, is actually the maintainer of all the members of the Pândava and Yadu dynasties. He is your spiritual master, worshipable Deity, friend, and the director of your activities. To say nothing of this, He sometimes serves your family as a messenger or servant. This means He worked just as ordinary servants do. Those engaged in getting the Lord's favor attain liberation from the Lord very easily, but He does not very easily give the opportunity to render direct service unto Him. (Vedabase)
Always after His real identity and complete in Himself with no further desires, was by His mercy of expanding His activities in the material field, the true meaning of a life of fearlessness with the real self communicated to the intelligence of man that had been asleep for so long; all respect unto Him, that Supreme Lord Rishabhadeva.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Rishabhadeva, was fully aware of His true identity; therefore He was self-sufficient, and He did not desire external gratification. There was no need for Him to aspire for success, since He was complete in Himself. Those who unnecessarily engage in bodily conceptions and create an atmosphere of materialism are always ignorant of their real self-interest. Out of His causeless mercy, Lord Rishabhadeva taught the self's real identity and the goal of life. We therefore offer our respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who appeared as Lord Rishabhadeva. (Vedabase)
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