B H A K T A D H R U V A ................ There was once a very beautiful five-year old boy. He was the son of king Uttānapāda. The king had two wives, Suruci and Suniti. Dhruva was the son of Suniti. Suniti means ‘she who has nice behaviour’ and the nicest behaviour is devotion. Suruci means ‘She who has taste for very nice wordly things’ like a good husband, a good son, a good house etc. Her son’s name was Uttama. Suruci was very beautiful. By her service and beauty she bewildered the king and kept him in his place. One day king Uttanapada was affectionately keeping Uttama, the son of Suruci, in his lap. That time Dhruva also wanted to climb into the lap of his father but the proud Suruci didn’t allow him to and said: “Boy! You are not eligible to sit on the royal throne because you did not come from my womb. You are still ignorant therefore you are trying to get such a rare attainment. If you desire the royal throne then go perform austerities and worship the Lord so you may take birth from my womb and attain this right.” In the same way as a snake beaten by a stick raises its hood and hisses, Dhruva, wounded by the words of his step-mother, angrily began taking deep breaths. His father seeing all this did not say a word. Dhruva then leaving his father went crying to his mother. Suniti had heard everything that had happened from other people in the palace. She took her son into her lap and began to speak. “Son, one should not have resentment towards others. Giving up your resentment (dveṣa), you should worship the lotus feet of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Removing all other thoughts from your mind perform worship (bhajan) to Him.” Hearing the words of his mother Dhruva left his father’s city. Knowing the desire of Dhruva, Narada Rṣi also arrived there and patting him on his head with his lotus hand began to speak, “Son, you are now a child and still in your age for playing and eating. At your age where is the question of being insulted? Following the instructions of your mother you came to this forest seeking the mercy of Śrī Hari. However, to attain this is very difficult and you are but still a child. Even great yogis perform difficult spiritual practices (sādhana) for many births, by going into deep meditation (samadhi), cannot find the path leading to the Lord. Therefore give up your worthless stubbornness and return home and once you have grown up you may begin spiritual practice.” Dhruva said, “My stepmother by her sharp words has torn my heart asunder; therefore, your instructions find no place there within. I want to attain such a post that is unsurpassed in the three-worlds; that even my father, grandfather etc. cannot attain. Please give me instructions suitable for attaining this.” Hearing his words Nāradajī became very happy and thus began to instruct Dhruva, “Son! That which your mother told you is your path to auspiciousness. You should concentrate your whole mind and with this mantra perform the worship of Lord Vasudeva, ‘Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya’. While chanting you should remember the beautiful form and pastimes of Śrī Hari. By this mantra you should worship the Lord along with water, flower garlands, fruits found in the forest and Tulasī, which is very dear to Him. Now go to Madhuvana, which is supremely pure, at the banks of the Yamunā and perform your spiritual practices (sādhana) there.” Upon arriving at Madhuvana Dhruva bathed in the Yamunā and began worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Nārāyaṇa with one-pointed attention according to the instructions given to him by Nāradajī. Every three days he would eat some fruit to sustain himself. After one month he began to sustain himself by only eating dry leaves every six days. In this way one month passed. In the third month every nine days he would take some water and in this way pass his time in the worship of Śrī Hari. In the fourth month he only breathed air and in the fifth month Prince Dhruva conquered his breathing and remembering Lord Nārāyaṇa he began standing on one foot, steady like a pillar. Due to his hard austerities even the throne of Lord Brahmājī began to tremble and the breathing of the living entities and the demigods was checked. At that moment, Lord Nārāyaṇa, in order to see his devotee, arrived in Madhuvana. The form of Bhagavān that Dhruvajī was meditat ing in his heart suddenly manifested and then disappeared. Dhruva became confused and opened his eyes and saw that same form of the Lord was before him. He became restless in prema and offered his daṇḍavat praṇāmas but his voice became chocked up so the Lord touched his cheek with His conch. Dhruva then began to offer praises (stuti) to the Lord. The Lord who is bhakta-vatsala became pleased and said, “I bestow upon you the fixed and motionless Dhruvaloka. But first, you will have to pass 60,000 years on this earth as king.” As the Lord said this He disappeared. Dhruva immediately thought, “I am most unfortunate. Śrī Hari directly gave me his darśana, which is equal to attaining a cintāmaṇi touchstone but I was left with some pieces of glass.” Dhruva, by the mercy of Nāradajī and by his hard austerities, pleased the Lord and attained His darśana but never attained pure devotional service, imbued with loving service to the Lord, because he performed his worship with the intention to fulfil his material desires. He was not anyābhilāṣitā, free from other desires. By pleasing the Lord he wanted to attain his father’s kingdom. This is not pure devotional service (śuddha-bhakti) but devotional service mixed with fruitive action (karma-miśra-bhakti). If the practitioner (sādhaka) has desires for worldly happiness and happiness of the heavenly planets etc. and if he performs any endeavours for Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇānuśīlana) for his own sake, then it is called devotional service mixed with fruitive action (karma-miśra-bhakti). If one performs cultivation of bhakti with the desire for impersonal liberation (mukti), then it is devotional ser vice mixed with knowledge aimed at impersonal liberation (jñāna-miśra-bhakti). In this way we can see that devotion can also be pure (śuddha-bhakti), or, mixed devotion (viddha-bhakti) or impure. Devotion that is with other desires (anyābhilāṣa) such as devotional service mixed with fruitive action (karma-miśra-bhakti) and devotional service mixed with knowledge aimed at impersonal liberation (jñāna-miśra-bhakti) comes under the category of mixed devotion (viddha-bhakti). Devotion that is imbued with a favourable mood (ānukūlyamayī) and service is really pure devotion (śuddha-bhakti).
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 16:46:19 +0000
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