A nice
devurunama by Sri Vyasarajaru which describes that Harikatha is very gainful/
profitable.
lAbhavahudu harikathAmruthA
Sri Vyasarajaru beginning
this song with the answer to the question as to
why one should listen to
harikatha or drink the nectar of harikathamrutha
In the bhagavatham also
it is said ,
pibata bhagavatham
rasamAlayam
muhurahO bhuvi bhAvukAH
Oh devotess of Lord
Krishna ,drink the nectar of the bhagavatham again
and
again.
Sri Vyasarajaru is referring to Srimad Bhagavatha when he
says
Harikathamrutha.
padumanAbhana pAdada pathadi
ahudu sajjana
gaNake satyA
Sri Vyasarajaru says Padumanabhana padada pathadi , the path
that leads you
to the lotus feet of the Lord Padumanabha .It implies that our
goal is to reach the feet of the Lord ,
this shows the vast difference
between the Lord and the jeevas. The phrase
"sajjana gaNa " stresess that
this path is for the mukthi yogya souls only.
Thereby Sri Vyasarajaru has
conveyed two important points of Acharya's
philosophy. : jeeva-isha bheda,
jeeva-jeeva bheda.
For those who are on this path or rather beginning
their journey on
this path ; singing and listening to the glories of God will
act as nectar
and energise the soul. He is saying 'I promise'. Let's consider
the use of this phrase in
our daily life. We would vehemently advocate
certain activities to people
whom we love only when we know that it will
definitely benefit them So also Sri
Vyasarajaru who is none other than
"Prahlad" and has had first hand experience is
saying it with
conviction 'I promise'. (Prahlad was in his mother's womb
when he had
the fortune to listen to the glories of the Lord from the great
rishi Narada
and later had the darshan of the Lord Narasimha..)
Purandara dasaru says
in one devuru nama :
idu bhAgya idu bhAgya idu bhAgyavayya
|
padumanAbhana pAda bhajane sukhavayya
This is fortune , this is
fortune , this is great fortune my dear people
the rememberance of the Lord
Padumanabha's feet . It is the cause for great
happiness.
In general
people consider that gain as fortunate which gives happiness. So it
is
clear that the gain from harikathamrutha is eternal happiness, present and
future.
During the bhajans also one experiences happiness.
In the next stanza
Sri Vyasarajaru answers the question : How is
this
possible?
arishaDvargaMgala toradu
jaridu tapatrayava
kaledu
muraharana pAdada pathadi
iralu sajjane gaNake
satyA
The jiva in samsara is always bound by unnecessary karma due
to the effects
of the six
diseases afflicting the mind. Kama, krodha ,
lobha, moha, mada , matsarya.
. As a result the three types of problems that
afflict a jiva in a
sadhana shareera are :Adidaivika - by fate , adibhoutika
- cause due to
natural disasters/animas
etc, adyatmika - mental
afflictions due to worries over various things.
All such worries and trouble
accue due to the attachment that one has to
one's body and other association
of the body.
The nectar of Harikatha will cure the mind of the six defects
slowly but
surely. Once these are nuetralised all karma will be done with the
attitude
of being the service of the Lord, without the aham bhava that arises
due to
these six
How does the nectar of Harikatha remove these
three?
1. Adidaivika - Once the path has been chosen and one constantly
adheres to
it after becoming aware its importance then the torments from the
effects of
prarabdha are endured with the state of mind that the Lord is the
most
benevolent and He would not have caused this to happen unless it
was
absolutely necessary for one to learn and progress. As one progresses
futher
along the path and aparoxa is attained the effects of sanchita and
agami are
completely cancelled and only prarabhda is left which has to be
exhausted.
2.Adibhoutika : Knowledge about Lord and the insignificance of the
current
difficulties in the present life when compared to the lenght of time
during
transmigration and immense sadhana
required to attain constant
happiness , causes the mind to mature
sufficiently so that the jiva is not
affected by it.
3. Adhyatmika : The constant listening of Harikatha helps one
to gain
knowledge about the glories and infinite gunas of the Lord. The
more
one listens the more the mind is engaged in this gainful activity ,
the
lesser the mind has time to think or worry about other things. Also
this
causes one to understand that the Lord has created this world for
the
benefit of the mukthi yogya souls to mature sufficiently and expel
thier
defects so that they can realise their true self and then have the
Lord's
vision. Just as the potter bakes the raw pots in the kiln in order to
make
it ready for use, so also the jeeva has to be baked in samsara
and
understand through experience, learning from scriptures the truth
of
existence and the sarvottamatva of the Lord before he can get
eternal
happiness.
Observe that Sri Vyasarajaru refers to
arishadvargas he says taridu - means
cut off , jaridu-slip off some karma
-sanchita& agami and kaledu - to
endure; the tapAs due to the effects of
prarabdha. He confirms that
prarabdha has to be endured and singing the
glories will help by minimising
misery.
He says this is a promise , one
who takes to the path of Murahara - the
killer of the daitya mura will
definitely gain . At the end of every stanza
he he is giving the promise
again and again by saying satyA , satyA ,satyA.
elu dinavu
pariskshitanu
veley arithu hariya katheya
keli mukthanaada mele
kelida
katheya kela beku
In general if one advises another about a
profitable venture it is
necessary to give success stories. Sri Vyasarajaru
understands this
mentality of ordinary man and gives two references of people
who listened to
Harikatha and benefited immensely. In fact he choses those
two who had been
given a limited time , yet did the required sadhana and were
uplifted. So
instead of worrying and wasting time, he says one must listen to
the katha -
bhagavan mahima katha and realise the purpose of life.
King
Parikshit was cursed by Shrungi , Sage Shamika's son that he would die
of a
snake bite after seven days. When Parikshit is aware of this , he
immediately
renounces his kingdom and after crowning his son Janamejaya king
and goes to
the banks of the river Ganga,taking a vow that he would fast
unto death .
Many great sages congregate at that place after hearing about
his vow.There
Shuka muni arrives and narrates the Srimad Bhagavatham for
seven days after
which Parikshit sheds his mortal coil and attains mukthi.
It is relevant to
notice that Sage Shuka arrives there without any
invitation from Parikshit as
such. By this the Lord proves that if one takes
one step towards Him, He will
ensure that the relevant necessities to do the
sadhana are provided
automatically through His grace.
eradu galige katwanga rayA
harana
puradi sri krishnana katheyu
smarisi mukta naada mele
nirutha katheya
kelabeku
In the Srimad Bhagavathan 2.1.13
Sri Sukha deva says the
following on the presence of mind required by people
in samsara. In the
previous verses he explains that most people do not
realise the intended
purpose of life which is much higher than material
gains and enjoyments. He
cites the following example of Maharaja Kathvanga
who was a great king who
had the realisation of the preciousness of human
life. At one time the
demi-gods request his assitance to fight against some
rakshasas. He readily
does so and in return they offer him a boon . They
offer him material
pleasures and wealth etc. but he says ,"Can you please
tell me how much
longer I will live?" He gets the information that he would
live for another
muhurtham - 2 galiges - 48 minutes. Immediately he
renounces everything and
immerses himself in the glories of Lord Hari and
attains the lotus feet of
the Lord.
khatvAngo nAma rAjarshir
GynatveyattAm ihAyushah
muhUrtAt
sarvam utsrijya
gatavAn abhayam harim II
Katwanga
raya comes to know that he is due to dies in 48 minutes. He
immerses his mind
in the nectar of the bhagavatham and attains mukthi. Sri
Vyasaraja reiterates
that one has to take the example set by these great
bhaktas and listen
to Hariaktha continuously. Sri Vyasarajaru says 'harana
puradi' to
indicate that the mind which the abode of Lord Shiva is the tool
for such
shravana and manana. And it is through the grace of the monObhimani
that one
can attain full concentration( smarisi) in contemplation.