King Brihadash we worshipped his Gurudev with devotional faith. Quite often, he would sit in front of his Guruji. He would look at him with fixed gaze as if looking at God without even blinking his eyes. So the grace of the Supreme Self manifest in the form of his Guru showered on him and his merits went on increasing. In his kingdom, there was much yield of agricultural produce due to proper and timely rain. Nature becomes favorable & bestows its bounty upon a virtuous emperor. Seeing his affluence and prosperity grow manifold, the king thought: ‘I should perform Ashwamedha Yajna. One who completes 100 such yajnas becomes Indras, the king of god’s. So the king started the endeavor. He went on performing the yajnas one after the other.
At that time, Brihadashwa’s Gurudev was in Samadhi in a secluded place. When he came out of his Samadhi, he thought, ‘I wonder what my disciple Brihadashwa, who gazed one-pointed at me with reverence and looked at me with a sense of oneness, is doing?’
The Guru perceived that Brihdashwa was entangled in the vain desire of amassing merits through the performance of one hundred ashvamedha yajnas. ‘Till date, he has already accomplished ninety two yajnas. He will certainly try to reach the sea target of one hundred yajnas. After leaving this mortal sheath, he will attain the coveted seat of Indra and then for thousand or millions of years, he will enjoy heavenly pleasures. While living in my company, he gained merits but his indulgence in the celestial enjoyments will deplete his merits. Thereafter he will become a man once again. O my God! Where is he heading to? From the human birth, he can still descend towards lower births like that of a deer, rabbit or even of an insect.’
The Guru willingly cast off his body and entered another. Such jivanmukta great men never identify themselves with the body. They always revel in the eternal transcendent Being ‘I am Brahman’. To enter a body or to cast off the physical body is nothing but a mere sport for them. King Brihadashwa’s Guru came in the guise of a nine year old celibate boy exactly in the same way as the Lord Vaman had come in the form of a celibate body before his devotee Bali. By this time, Brihadashwa had already completed ninety nine yajnas. The last yajna i.e. the hundredth one was being performed. One cannot escape three things even after death. The first thing is one’s action. Till the karmas are not burnt by the fire of Knowledge imparted by a Self-realized Guru, one cannot escape them. One cannot part with the Supreme Consciousness, God, Who never abandons us. And a true worthy disciple cannot escape the grace of Satguru.
The Guru came to Brihadashwa in the guise of a nine year old dwarf Vamdev. The king stood up to honor him. After worthy adoration of his lotus feet, the king offered him a venerable seat. Brihadashwa said, “My Lord! I seek for your command! Any Brahmin, who happen to reach my doorstep, gets his wishes fulfilled. It is ordained for the person who performs ashavamedha yajna that the begging Brahim should be provided anything he asks for. My Lord! There is nothing in this world which is impossible for me to gift to you. So, I wait for your orders. I’ll certainly give it to you.”
The Brahmin young boy said, “What if you so back on your word?”
“Maharaj! I’ll never do that.
“Then make a donation pledge.”
Lord Satguru asked the king to swear exactly the same way as Lord Vaman had put Bali under an oath by giving water in his palm.
The Brahmin: ‘Make a pledge that you will provide me whatever I ask for.”
Brihadashwa: “Majaraj! I promise to give you everything you ask for. You may demand one thousand gold coins, or may be ten thousand gold coins. Even if you ask for my entire kingdom, I’ll have to give, for the performer of Ashvamedha yajna is ordained to keep his promise.”
The Brahmin said “I do not ask for any thing else except that ‘all that is yours’ should become mine.”
The compassionate Satguru asked for that which would make Brihadashwa a liberated man. Such a liberated sould would never become destitute, never would he have to bear the afflictions in mother’s womb, never is he subjected to attacks of passion and never does he suffer the consequences of virtuous and sinful actions.
“Neither it is desirable to indulge in enjoyments, nor to bear sufferings;
If one is intelligent, it is desirable to attain the Supreme.”
The disciple was performing yajnas for sense enjoyments. The Guru said, “All that is your’s should become mine.”
The king was oblivious of the fact that the Brahmin was his Guru. Thinking him to be a brilliant Brahmin, the king gave him all that he possessed. Thereafter Vamdev said, “You’ve given me the dana. Now give me the dakshina.
At this the king started looking towards his son but Vamdev said, “Brihadashwa! All your possessions are already given to me.”
Wherever his mind went, the Guru reminded him of the fact that now he owned everything the king became discomposed. His mind was agitated and he dozed off for a moment. Maybe it was his own reverie, the sacred resolve of his Guru or the effect of divine Maya. The king saw his own death and was taken to the infernal world where his account of karmas was being checked.
The messengers of the god of death told him, “You’ve not accomplished the targeted one hundred yajnas. The court reached ninety only. So you are not eligible for the coveted celestial seat of India. Yes, you can be considered for the post of’ ‘Upendrea. (Indra’s younger brother)’ With the sense of doership you have performed virtuous acions, you will experience happiness as the consequences of your virtuous deeds. But the effect of aberrations and miscalculations also falls into your account. For the performance of so many yajnas, you exploited your subjects by levying numerous taxes upon them. In the process of offering libations to the fire god, many insects were consigned to fire……..All this will result into nothing else but misery which you are bound to suffer. So, whether you want to enjoy the pleasures of Upendra or bear the wages of your sins, the choice is purely yours.”
Brihadashwa said, “It is better to suffer the miseries first and then enjoy the pleasure.”
The next moment he was thrown into a desert. He was scorched by the hot sand. The scorching effect of hot sand is much painful than the direct blaze of the sun. The king swooned due to unbearable pain. Upon coming to senses, he reflected, “Why did the messengers of the death god shove me off to this place? I offered everything that belonged to me to the Brahmin boy. When everything was given to the Brahmin including merits and sins of my actions, then why do I experience the fruit of sins?’
Brihadashwa said, “O king of death! What an injustice in your realm! I had given all that I possessed, then why was I thrown to bear this intense desert?”
Saying this he saw Vamdevji smiling at him. With the will of Vamdevji, Brihadashwa could perceive his Gurudeva’s form in him.
Brihadashwa said astonishingly, “Guruji, Your Majesty! I committed a mistake.”
Vamdevji said, “My son! Undoubtedly you made a pledge by saying ‘whatever is mine, is given to thee’ but even then a strong desire of enjoying the fruit of virtuous deeds persisted, in your mind. Consequently you were flung into a desert. Now renounce this desire also. Along with the desire to attain the throne of Indra, you will have to bear the miseries of desert life also. Not only this, time and again, you will have to bear the woes in mother’s womb as well. So you should not pine for the seat of Indra or any other god. Neither should you desire to become any demi god or a celestial musician. You must be resolute to your pledge that ‘Whatever is mine is given to thee.’ Thereafter neither the merits nor the sins will belong to you. Simultaneously the sense of jivahood, (being an individual soul) will also vanish. Thereafter you will become one with me.”
Thus the Guru saved Brihadashwa from the temptation of Indra’s throne and diverted his disciple’s mind from the troubles associated with satisfaction of desires. Instead he instructed him on renunciation of desires. After listening to the valuable precepts of his Satguru, the devoted disciple attained ‘That which is described in the Gita as ‘……..to which having gone they return not; that is my supreme abode.’ He attained Self-knowledge; having attained which there is no return ever to the mundane world. If you want to attain that Supreme State, then contract the anus (mulbandha) and touch the tongue to the palate. Contemplate ‘SO’ as you inhale and ‘HUM’ when you exhale. So ham (THAT I AM ……. Sarvoham (All that exists is Me)…. Akashsvarupoham ( I am all pervading as the sky)….. Chidakashoham.Attain to the resolveless state throughs this highly superior and subtle sadhana and establish yourself in the state of Brahmic Bliss.
At that time, Brihadashwa’s Gurudev was in Samadhi in a secluded place. When he came out of his Samadhi, he thought, ‘I wonder what my disciple Brihadashwa, who gazed one-pointed at me with reverence and looked at me with a sense of oneness, is doing?’
The Guru perceived that Brihdashwa was entangled in the vain desire of amassing merits through the performance of one hundred ashvamedha yajnas. ‘Till date, he has already accomplished ninety two yajnas. He will certainly try to reach the sea target of one hundred yajnas. After leaving this mortal sheath, he will attain the coveted seat of Indra and then for thousand or millions of years, he will enjoy heavenly pleasures. While living in my company, he gained merits but his indulgence in the celestial enjoyments will deplete his merits. Thereafter he will become a man once again. O my God! Where is he heading to? From the human birth, he can still descend towards lower births like that of a deer, rabbit or even of an insect.’
The Guru willingly cast off his body and entered another. Such jivanmukta great men never identify themselves with the body. They always revel in the eternal transcendent Being ‘I am Brahman’. To enter a body or to cast off the physical body is nothing but a mere sport for them. King Brihadashwa’s Guru came in the guise of a nine year old celibate boy exactly in the same way as the Lord Vaman had come in the form of a celibate body before his devotee Bali. By this time, Brihadashwa had already completed ninety nine yajnas. The last yajna i.e. the hundredth one was being performed. One cannot escape three things even after death. The first thing is one’s action. Till the karmas are not burnt by the fire of Knowledge imparted by a Self-realized Guru, one cannot escape them. One cannot part with the Supreme Consciousness, God, Who never abandons us. And a true worthy disciple cannot escape the grace of Satguru.
The Guru came to Brihadashwa in the guise of a nine year old dwarf Vamdev. The king stood up to honor him. After worthy adoration of his lotus feet, the king offered him a venerable seat. Brihadashwa said, “My Lord! I seek for your command! Any Brahmin, who happen to reach my doorstep, gets his wishes fulfilled. It is ordained for the person who performs ashavamedha yajna that the begging Brahim should be provided anything he asks for. My Lord! There is nothing in this world which is impossible for me to gift to you. So, I wait for your orders. I’ll certainly give it to you.”
The Brahmin young boy said, “What if you so back on your word?”
“Maharaj! I’ll never do that.
“Then make a donation pledge.”
Lord Satguru asked the king to swear exactly the same way as Lord Vaman had put Bali under an oath by giving water in his palm.
The Brahmin: ‘Make a pledge that you will provide me whatever I ask for.”
Brihadashwa: “Majaraj! I promise to give you everything you ask for. You may demand one thousand gold coins, or may be ten thousand gold coins. Even if you ask for my entire kingdom, I’ll have to give, for the performer of Ashvamedha yajna is ordained to keep his promise.”
The Brahmin said “I do not ask for any thing else except that ‘all that is yours’ should become mine.”
The compassionate Satguru asked for that which would make Brihadashwa a liberated man. Such a liberated sould would never become destitute, never would he have to bear the afflictions in mother’s womb, never is he subjected to attacks of passion and never does he suffer the consequences of virtuous and sinful actions.
“Neither it is desirable to indulge in enjoyments, nor to bear sufferings;
If one is intelligent, it is desirable to attain the Supreme.”
The disciple was performing yajnas for sense enjoyments. The Guru said, “All that is your’s should become mine.”
The king was oblivious of the fact that the Brahmin was his Guru. Thinking him to be a brilliant Brahmin, the king gave him all that he possessed. Thereafter Vamdev said, “You’ve given me the dana. Now give me the dakshina.
At this the king started looking towards his son but Vamdev said, “Brihadashwa! All your possessions are already given to me.”
Wherever his mind went, the Guru reminded him of the fact that now he owned everything the king became discomposed. His mind was agitated and he dozed off for a moment. Maybe it was his own reverie, the sacred resolve of his Guru or the effect of divine Maya. The king saw his own death and was taken to the infernal world where his account of karmas was being checked.
The messengers of the god of death told him, “You’ve not accomplished the targeted one hundred yajnas. The court reached ninety only. So you are not eligible for the coveted celestial seat of India. Yes, you can be considered for the post of’ ‘Upendrea. (Indra’s younger brother)’ With the sense of doership you have performed virtuous acions, you will experience happiness as the consequences of your virtuous deeds. But the effect of aberrations and miscalculations also falls into your account. For the performance of so many yajnas, you exploited your subjects by levying numerous taxes upon them. In the process of offering libations to the fire god, many insects were consigned to fire……..All this will result into nothing else but misery which you are bound to suffer. So, whether you want to enjoy the pleasures of Upendra or bear the wages of your sins, the choice is purely yours.”
Brihadashwa said, “It is better to suffer the miseries first and then enjoy the pleasure.”
The next moment he was thrown into a desert. He was scorched by the hot sand. The scorching effect of hot sand is much painful than the direct blaze of the sun. The king swooned due to unbearable pain. Upon coming to senses, he reflected, “Why did the messengers of the death god shove me off to this place? I offered everything that belonged to me to the Brahmin boy. When everything was given to the Brahmin including merits and sins of my actions, then why do I experience the fruit of sins?’
Brihadashwa said, “O king of death! What an injustice in your realm! I had given all that I possessed, then why was I thrown to bear this intense desert?”
Saying this he saw Vamdevji smiling at him. With the will of Vamdevji, Brihadashwa could perceive his Gurudeva’s form in him.
Brihadashwa said astonishingly, “Guruji, Your Majesty! I committed a mistake.”
Vamdevji said, “My son! Undoubtedly you made a pledge by saying ‘whatever is mine, is given to thee’ but even then a strong desire of enjoying the fruit of virtuous deeds persisted, in your mind. Consequently you were flung into a desert. Now renounce this desire also. Along with the desire to attain the throne of Indra, you will have to bear the miseries of desert life also. Not only this, time and again, you will have to bear the woes in mother’s womb as well. So you should not pine for the seat of Indra or any other god. Neither should you desire to become any demi god or a celestial musician. You must be resolute to your pledge that ‘Whatever is mine is given to thee.’ Thereafter neither the merits nor the sins will belong to you. Simultaneously the sense of jivahood, (being an individual soul) will also vanish. Thereafter you will become one with me.”
Thus the Guru saved Brihadashwa from the temptation of Indra’s throne and diverted his disciple’s mind from the troubles associated with satisfaction of desires. Instead he instructed him on renunciation of desires. After listening to the valuable precepts of his Satguru, the devoted disciple attained ‘That which is described in the Gita as ‘……..to which having gone they return not; that is my supreme abode.’ He attained Self-knowledge; having attained which there is no return ever to the mundane world. If you want to attain that Supreme State, then contract the anus (mulbandha) and touch the tongue to the palate. Contemplate ‘SO’ as you inhale and ‘HUM’ when you exhale. So ham (THAT I AM ……. Sarvoham (All that exists is Me)…. Akashsvarupoham ( I am all pervading as the sky)….. Chidakashoham.Attain to the resolveless state throughs this highly superior and subtle sadhana and establish yourself in the state of Brahmic Bliss.
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