Varaha

 

Essence Of
Varaha Purana

 

47    Yama’s Prescription to achieve Salvation
Yamadharmaraja advised Sage Narada that primarily whatever ‘Karma’ (action) is executed by a person is paid back in the same intensity and volume. It is one’s own conscience that is his / her friend or foe. There is nothing else that is the deciding factor. A person is bound by his / her past actions. This is what ‘fate’ is all about. To oversimplify that fate or Maya is responsible for any happening is improper as that happening had its roots in one’s erstwhile action. The cycle of action and reaction decides about the movement (as well as the speed and volume) of further action and reaction and these inner wheels specific to a particular human being decide the movement of the larger cycle of the current and subsequent lives. In other words: ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’ or what is sown is what is produced.Only the foolish human beings blame God for their miseries, little realising that actions need to be performed with total detachment as attachments in current life tend to get transferred to the next births. Narada intervened at this stage and asked Lord Yama that apart from what a person’s conscience, action and past history reveals, is there any other Force which might mitigate or add the impact of ‘Karma’or one’s action? In reply, Lord Yama greeted ‘Paramatma’ or the Supreme Energy who has neither beginning nor end but is Everlasting, All Pervasive, and All-Knowing; it is that Paramatma who is the Creator, Preserver and also the Destroyer; indeed He is the only Force that could subtract or even remodel the impact of the person’s actions! It is He who is impartial and treats all the beings of His Creation equally without favour or fear. It is He who realises Tatvartha, Prakriti and Purusha and is unaffected or influenced by a person’s deeds or the values of these deeds.It is He who could make a precise assessment of a person’s ‘Dhyan’ (meditation), its quality or quantum. It is He who could objectively decide the swing of joys and sorrows of any human being and choose to grant or not yet grant Salvation, keeping in view the totality of the person’s ‘Karma’. Be it a Saint or Sinner, a human being is given balanced evaluation by Paramatma without anger, prejudice or any preconceived notion, for perhaps a Saint might falter once or a Sinner might act with improvement! He might provide ‘Mukti’ to a person practising ‘Pranayama’ with concentration and by burning off lowly emotions and impulses. A person who is desireless, devoid of attachments, and leaves the Life ideally is blessed by Paramatma and grants Mukti. A person who is industrious, patient, balanced, angerless, devoid of jealousy and does not eye on possessions of others is qualified for attaining Mukthi. He, who is engrossed in doing service to his learned Guru, follows a non-violent way of life and keeps away from lowly deeds, performs only noble tasks and discards the wrong ones shall take forward steps to Salvation. When a person is not interested visiting such Tirthas as are not approved by his conscience such as pujas of questionable deities is not a sinner but a discreet being and is hence deserving of Salvation. As soon as one notices a venerable and learned person in a company and automatically approaches him and touches his feet, he is indeed on the right path towards Salvation.

Narada asked Yamaraja as to what would be the ways and means by which future births are ensured to perform virtuous deeds and to desist from doing vicious tasks.To this query, Yamaraja greeted the name of Brahma and suggested to follow the Holy Path of ‘Sisumara Chakra’ which stood for Para Brahma Himself; this Chakra which is within one’s own body too represents various Planets like Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Mars etc.which are all worthy of Worship.The Sisumara Chakra or the Grand Wheel Establishment visible on the Sky is the image of Almighty Himself. Indeed the Portrait of Virat Purusha is impossible to vision even to Gods and Sages, but one could perhaps percieve similarity of God-head with Sisumara and be contented with it atleast. [The body of Sisumara which has the shape of a Dolphin is coiled with its head downward, the Pole Star at its tail, on the body of the tail are the Planets of demi-Gods viz. Prajapati, Agni, Indra and Dharma;the base of the tail being the Planets of Dhata and Vidhata; the hip position being of Sapta Rishis; the right side of Sisumara being the Consteallation of of fourteen Stars beginning from Abhijit to Punarvasu; the left side being the Stars of Pushya to Uttarshadha thus balancing the body of Sisumara with equal weight; on the back side of the body is the group of Stars known as Ajaviti and on the abdomen of the Sisumara flows Ganges;on the upper chin is Agasti; on the lower chin Yamaraja; on its mouth Mars; Genitals Saturn; Jupiter on the back of neck; on its chest the Sun; the core of heart is Narayana Himself; within its mind the Moon; navel the Venus; breasts Ahwini Kumars; within its life-air or Panapana is Mercury; neck Rahu; and all over the body the comets and the pores are innumerable Stars]. It is that Sisumara that a high devotee shoul greet and worship and attain Mukti! There are also other means like performing hundred times a day; engaging one self in the service of cows (which is as good as performing several pilgrimages) and observing fasts on all Ekadashi Days.Consuming‘Panchagavya’, keeping cow’s urine on one’s head, taking bath in Cow’s urine on rohini Nakshatra and greeting a learned Brahmana soon after the urine bath; greeting Stars Arundhati, Dhruva and Sapta Rishis with folded hands, observing fasts on Ekadashis and puja to Narayana; these are some of the means that Yamaraja suggested to Narada as stepping stones for achieving Salvation.


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