Monthly Archives: October 2022

Krishna Avatar Part 35

By Nirooshitha Sethuram, Yogaratna

Graphics by Sheralee (Shambhavi) Hancherow

After Jarasandha agreed to have a duel with Bhima, a fierce duel began. It attracted a large crowd of people. For thirteen days they remained engaged in a ferocious battle with no winner in sight. They both showed no signs of exhaustion. On the fourteenth day, Krishna addressed Bhima encouragingly, “The enemy looks very tired so don’t attack him with all your force, as it’s sure you would kill him if you did. Also don’t use your divine powers, with which you are so blessed by the Wind God.”  

Bhima got the message that it was time to put an end to Jarasandha’s life on earth. Bhima attacked Jarasandha in full fury, lifted him up in the air and tossed him down with a thud. Jarasandha was lying there for a moment, trying to regain his strength. Krishna caught Bhima’s attention by tearing a leaf into two. Bhima took this as a signal. He tore Jarasandha’s body into two in the same manner. As described earlier in the story, Jarasandha’s body was a vertical join of two halves of bodies, joined by the demoness Jara. So, Bhima could tear his body apart into two pieces without much difficulty. 

He threw the pieces, each on its own side, and turned towards Krishna and his brother with joy. But the happiness didn’t last long. When he turned back, he was horrified to see that the two parts of Jarasandha’s body drew closer and closer together and in no time joined again. Jarasandha was standing right in front of Bhima with a fierce look on his face.

Bhima fighting Jarasandha
https://www.4to40.com/stories-for-kids/stories-in-english/krishna-and-jarasandha

Again, the duel continued. Again and again, Bhima tried his best, tearing Jarasandha’s body apart a few times relentlessly. But each time the same thing happened. The two parts of Jarasandha’s body drew closer and closer and joined together, again and again. Bhima felt quite helpless seeing this. So, he turned his eyes towards Krishna with frustration. He saw Krishna tearing a leaf vertically and throwing the halves in opposite directions. 

Bhima was able to understand the hint. He fell upon Jarasandha, flung him down and tore his body into two pieces once again. Now he threw the right side of his body to the left and the left side to his right. To his astonishment, the torn pieces didn’t move from where they had been thrown. That was the end of Jarasandha. 

Krishna and freed kings
http://paninformation.blogspot.com/2014/07/

lord-krishna-blesses-liberated-kings.html

Krishna along with Bhima and Arjuna freed all the imprisoned kings. The kings expressed their heartiest gratitude to Krishna and the two Pandava brothers for freeing them. Accepting that with humility, they invited each one of them to take part in the Rajasuya Yajňa at Indraprastha. 

Krishna, along with Bhima and Arjuna, were cordially invited into the palace of Jarasandha by his son Sahadev. He apologized on behalf of his father for his behavior and his arrogance. The three of them decided to forgive Sahadev and crowned him as the next king of Magadha kingdom. He wore his father’s crown with humility and gratitude. All congratulated and blessed him whole heartedly. 

Bhima’s victory was celebrated at the uppermost level. He was praised highly for his skill in wrestling. Sahadev praised Bhima for his immense prowess. But Bhima remained modest and attributed the credit of his success to his cousin Krishna. Krishna was duly honored and respected too. Krishna and the Pandava brothers then said their farewells to all and departed to Indraprastha.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Krishna_as_Chariot_Driver.jpg

As soon as the three of them returned to Indraprastha, they conveyed the successful news about Bhima slaying Jarasandha. Yudhishthira was very happy to hear the news of Jarasandha’s end. He was so pleased with Krishna that he celebrated him and, as a token of gratitude, presented a beautiful chariot to him. 

Yudhishthira was now cleared of all obstacles toward performing the Rajasuya Yajňa. Invitations were sent to saints and learned brahmins to participate in the yajňa. Invitations were also sent to all kings, respected merchants and other prominent citizens from all kingdoms to take part in the yajňa. Yudhishthira sent one of his brothers to Hastinapura in order to invite grandsire Bhishma, Vidura, Guru Drona, Kripacharya, Dhritarashtra and all the Kaurava princes. All of them came with valuable gifts for the Pandava King. 

As Saint Dhaumya was the Pandava’s royal priest, he was appointed as the chief priest to perform the yajňa. After all arrangements had been completed Yudhishthira inaugurated the yajňa. Sage Vyasa was there to supervise all rituals, making sure they were done according to the scriptures. By the grace of God, the yajňa was completed successfully without any interruption.

Honoring Krishna at Rajasuya Yajňa
https://www.reddit.com/r/mythologymemes/

comments/icquk6/the_fate_of_shishupala_
and_his_101_insults/

It was customary to select one guest as the special honored guest, to be honored before honoring everyone else who were present. Yudhishthira  chose to leave this choice to the assembly of kings who were gathered. He addressed the assembly, requesting them to choose the best participant so that the ritual of honoring can be initiated, then all the participants could be honored thereafter. Sahdev, the King of Magadha stood up and proposed Krishna’s name.  Bhishma seconded along with Guru Drona. 

Even though a large number of kings agreed with the decision, a small group of kings opposed the proposal.  They suggested either Bhishma or Drona should be honored as the best participant. The opposition group was led by Shishupala, a cousin of Krishna from his father’s side. He stood up and started attacking Sahadev verbally for proposing Krishna.  He went to the extent of insulting Bhishma and Drona for supporting the proposal. Then he demanded that Krishna refuse to accept the honor, as Shishupala thought that Krishna was not worthy of it. 

Shishupala kept launching abusive words towards Krishna who was standing quietly and patiently. Calling him a mere cowherd, Shishupala insisted that Krishna was worthless to be honored. The Kauravas were thoroughly enjoying all the verbal abuses, especially the ones targeted at Krishna and the Pandavas.

Krishna, Bhishma and kings
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

File:Bhishma_talking_about_the_greatness_
of_Krishna.jpg

Bhishma stood up, asked Shishupala to calm down, then addressed the assembly. He said, “Among the kshatriyas the most valiant deserves this honor. In my opinion, Krishna stands above all of us in many ways. His courage, fame and his knowledge of Vedas and scriptures, as well as the wisdom and patience that he has, which he demonstrated at the moment when Shishupala used abusive words to insult him.”  

Shishupala was outraged by this praise of Krishna by Bhishma and burst into fury, now starting to use abusive and offensive language towards Grandsire Bhishma. Insulting Bhishma, Shishupala called his great vow to remain celibate throughout his life an act of cowardice. 

When Krishna heard the impolite words used against the elderly honorable Bhishma, he stood up and addressed the assembly. He said “Shishupala, my cousin, has repeatedly caused a lot of distress to me and my family. Every time when I tried to punish Shishupala for his misdeeds, his mother, my aunt came to me, begging to spare his life. So, I promised my aunt that I would pardon Shishupala for his first hundred offenses. I have been counting his misdeeds. They have already come to hundred. One more offence and I will have to punish him, as an example for all who don’t follow righteousness.”  

When Krishna said this, Shishupala laughed and again came out cursing and insulting Krishna using vulgar language. When these words were uttered by Shishupala, Krishna wielded his Sudarshana Chakra, which whirled around and went straight to targeting Shishupala. It chopped his head off his body, killing him on the spot.

Krishna beheading Shishupala
https://ritsin.com/the-story-of-shishupala.html/

All who were witnessing this stood frozen to their feet. Krishna consoled them all, then helped and guided Shishupala’s son to perform the last rites for his father. Krishna also crowned Shishupala’s son as the next king of Chedi. Shishupala was none other than Jaya, the gatekeeper of Vaikuntha. This was his third and last birth before his return to Vaikuntha. Thus, Jaya ended his three-birth curse on earth at Krishna’s hand, as promised by Lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha.

As for Vijaya, he was born as Dantavakra, a cousin of Shishupala from his mother’s side, who was also a cousin of Krishna. He was very fond of Shishupala, thus hated Krishna. He refused to go to the Rajasuya Yajňa of Yudhishthira as he was furious about the death of his other friend, Jarasandha. To protest the killing of Jarasandha, he had not attended the Yajňa. 

When he heard about the death of Shishupala, he was outraged.  To avenge Shishupala’s death, Dantavakra attacked Krishna on his way home to Dwaraka after the Rajasuya Yajňa. Dantavakra was killed by Krishna in a duel with maces during this attack. Thus Vijaya, born as Dantavakra, also successfully completed his third lifetime on earth due to the curse.  He joined his brother Jaya, returning to Vaikuntha, the abode of Lord Vishnu. Both Jaya and Vijaya were very thankful to Lord Vishnu, who was on earth as Krishna, for liberating them from their curse. They were delighted to be back in Vaikuntha, awaiting their Lord’s return.

More to come…

Illness: A Blessing in Disguise

By Swami Prajñananda 

In December 2019, I flew to India to take my vows as a swami, a yoga monk.  Before I left, I was worried, “What if I get sick?”  I didn’t consciously think about it, but it was definitely brewing in my subconscious.  In the end, my worries manifested into reality.  I got a very sore and swollen throat.  It lasted throughout the vows ceremony and the duration of the trip.  Surprisingly, it was a blessing in disguise.  

Amazingly, I did not mind.  I was having such deep experiences.  And even more, I finally got it: I am not my body.  It was completely freeing.  I was able to settle deeper into my own essence which the pain of my body cannot touch. While I could still feel my throat was raw and swollen, I was abiding at a deeper level within. I was experiencing the bliss that is beyond the limitations of my body.  

Ever since, I have not been scared of getting sick.  I still do my best to take care of my body, but it is not based in fear.  

I got sick again a couple of months ago. I got Covid. I got it worse than I thought I would. I went through the gamut of symptoms: fever, chills, body aches, sore throat, congestion.  Eventually, I experienced difficulty breathing as well as fatigue.  This time, I wasn’t worried about being sick.  Even though my body was in bad shape, I didn’t feel “I am my body.” However, I did uncover a different sticky identity, “I am my capacity.” 

With Covid, I was laid up for what felt like way too long.  I couldn’t teach my classes or support the Ashram with my administrative work.  I couldn’t cook or clean.  My whole identity of someone who is competent and capable was threatened. I realized that I’ve held the belief that my self-worth comes from what I do.  

Since this underlying belief has come into my awareness, I’ve been able to look at it. Gurudevi’s recent teachings has supported me in doing so, especially this excerpt:  

Yoga says that you are the perceiver, not what you perceive. Whatever you are seeing or hearing, as well as what you are doing, you are the one who is experiencing it. You are the experiencer, not the experience. You are the doer, not the action or its results. Know who you are, even while you are perceiving and acting, and you are free. This is yoga’s promise.  – Gurudevi Nirmalananda, Perception & Action, September 2022 

Yes!  This makes so much sense to me.  I perceive my body, so I must not be my body.  I perceive my mind, so I must not be my mind.  And oh yes!  I perceive my capacity to act, so I must not be my capacity.  I am the perceiver, not what I perceive.  I am Shiva.  I am the One Divine Reality that is being my body, mind and capacity in order to participate in this world. My participation does not make me more or less of who I am.  I am the One who is being me and being all and beyond all.   

This knowing is completely freeing while at the same time profoundly grounding.  Without the knowing, you are lost in limitation.  But when you know, you can fully embody individuality without being limited by it at all.  The knowing is the key, the key to your own freedom.  Yoga gives you the key.  So if you are not yet free, you must do more yoga. 

He’s Still Here

By Satguru Swami Nirmalananda  

I had years with him.  I lived and studied with my Baba, both in America and India.  After I got past my initial awe of his incredible teachings, I relaxed into his energetic embrace.  I deepened into inner realms beyond my imagining.  Subtle unravelings freed me from psychological patterns laid down in my childhood, which I now recognize as karmas brought from lifetimes past.  

He left this earthly plane 40 years ago today.  It was overwhelming to lose him.  I didn’t know who I was without him as an external anchor.  Yet it was even more overwhelming to discover that his presence had become stronger.  The anchor was now inside.   

He had prepared us so well, explaining countless times that a great being doesn’t leave when they die.  Such a Master merges into Self, thus is found in the Self of all.  Their external form was only a masquerade anyway.  Living in the whole of Beingness, they are only seemingly limited to a single form.  I didn’t understand, of course, not until I experienced it.  And even then, I didn’t understand, not until I’d experienced the passing of other loved ones.  There’s a difference – a big difference. 

When Baba left, I was sitting by the sea, watching the most extraordinary sunset I’ve ever seen.  It had more colors and it lasted for hours.  All the while, inside, he was revealing truths I need to know.  I sat in a Divine communion with him that has never ended. 

But to call it Divine communion is misleading, for there must be two in order to commune.  Inside, there is only One, which yoga calls Shiva.  But for me, that One is Baba.  Shiva became Baba in order to give me my Self, who is Shiva.  Yes, it’s circular reasoning, even confusing.  Yes, it’s entrancing, entwining, enrapturing, enchanting – and Baba was all of that.  I live in that Divine mystery.  He unveiled it for me while he embodied it.  He set me free.  Thank you, Baba.