A Summary of the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuranam ( 04/04/2013. )

================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Discourse 1: King Parikshit’s Question to Suka Maharishi -7 : ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. It is an incomparable scripture. Its eighteen skandhas represent the eighteen processes of the evolution of the cosmos. In Indian culture, the word ‘eighteen’ has been regarded as very sacred. The Bhagavata contains eighteen skandhas, the Mahabharata contains eighteen parvas, the war took place for eighteen days, the Bhagavadgita has eighteen chapters; it is a great mystery. According to the traditional belief in the computational meaning of numbers, eighteen represents victory. According to a traditional calculation in India especially, the word ‘eight’ is represented by the word ‘ja’, and the word ‘ya’ is represented by the number ‘...

======================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 08/04/2020. Discourse 1: King Parikshit’s Question to Suka Maharishi -6 : ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Action is cosmic action, and the characteristic of all visible physical things is its perishable nature  : –  Bhutabhavodbhavakaro visargah  karmasamjnitah (Gita 8.3);  Adhibhutam ksharo bhavah purushas cadhidaivatam (Gita 8.4).  The Purusha, who is the principle of cosmic sacrifice as we have it described in the Purusha Sukta, is also the indwelling presence in all our hearts. He is the source of individual sacrifices and right action, virtuous action, etc. He is the impeller from the recesses of our own heart. This is the source of individual impulses.  Adhiyajnoham evatra (Gita 8.4) : –  the field of activity is also God Himself...

======================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26/01/2020. Discourse 1: King Parikshit’s Question to Suka Maharishi -5 : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Srimad Bhagavad Gita : Chapter-8. Slokam-3. "aksharam brahma paramam svabhavodhyatmam ucyate   bhutabhavodbhavakaro visargah karmasamjnitam"; Slokam-4. "adhibhutam ksharo bhavah purushas-cadhidaivatam  adhiyajnoham evatra dehe dehabhytam vara." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Bhutabhavodbhavakaro visargah karmasamjnitam : Action, in the real sense of the term, is the force that ejects this cosmos right from the topmost level of creation – the atomic bindu of creat...

======================================================================== ======================================================================== 31/12/2019. Discourse 1: King Parikshit’s Question to Suka Maharishi -4 : ======================================================================== 1. At the very beginning of the second chapter of the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana this question is answered briefly, and reference to this is also made in the beginning of the eighth chapter of the Srimad Bhagavadgita when Bhagavan Sri Krishna says : - Srimad Bhagavad Gita : Chapter-8. Slokam-3. "aksharam brahma paramam svabhavodhyatmam ucyate   bhutabhavodbhavakaro visargah karmasamjnitam"; "The Blessed Lord said : The Supreme Indestructible Entity is called Brahmam; one’s own self is called adhyatmam. Actions pertaining to the material personality of living beings, and its development are called karma, or fruitive activities. Slokam-4. "adhibhutam ...

28/05/2019 3. Parikshit put a question: “What is good for man, especially at this hour when my life is about to end?” How are we to answer this question? What is good for any person? In the freezing heights of the Himalayas, it is good to have a blanket over oneself. But a blanket is not good in the hot deserts of Africa; we would like to have cold water there. When we are hungry, it is good to have delicious food; when we are vomiting due to illness, it is good not to eat at all. Anyone who desires his or her own good cannot answer this question of what is actually good for oneself, because whatever answer we give, we will find it is connected to some cause thereof, and it is not the final good. Riches will end, the body will wither, and life is uncertain. None of these things connected with life in this world can be regarded as really good in their ultimate sense. Then, what is really good for the human individual? The difficulty in answering this question arises becau...

08/02/2019 2. When, to Asvatthama’s consternation, the attempt to destroy the Pandavas with this missile failed, he ran away from the field cursing everybody and yelling out that even fathers are not to be trusted these days because his father duped him, as it were, by saying that he had initiated him into an invincible astra, which actually amounted to nothing. When Asvatthama was shouting like this while running away, he met Vyasa – the great Krishna Dvaipayana – on the way, who asked him what the matter was. He said, “My father did not tell me the truth. I was initiated into the invincible force called Narayana Astra, being told that no one on Earth can stand before it; but when I used it, nothing actually happened.” The great Vyasa replied, “My dear boy, your father has not made any mistake. He gave you that strength which no one else in the world could wield. But you used this astra of Narayana against Narayana Himself. Therefore, it would not work.” Disgusted, and wit...

18/09/2018 1. In ancient times, Raja Parikshit raised a detailed question that amounted to asking whether we are living in this world alone, or if it is possible that we may be citizens of some other worlds also. This question of King Parikshit was connected with the background of his own life, which has the antecedence of the great story of the Mahabharata. When Asvatthama, the son of Acharya Drona, discharged the invincible missile known as Narayana Astra with the hope of ending the Pandavas in a single instant, he felt that his aim of life was complete. As this was an astra which could not be faced by all the forces of the Earth put together, he was under the impression that the Pandavas had been reduced to ashes. As the Pandavas were at a distance, Asvatthama climbed to the top of a tree in order to see the heap of ashes that were their remains, but to his surprise he found the Pandava forces were as jubilant as ever, and it did not seem to have occurred to their minds tha...