* Portrayal of Vairagya (detachment) which is part and parcel of Bhakti. * Ways in which Vairagya arises. * Affection to bodily relations as root of sin. * The tortures to be suffered in hell due to acts of sin. * The pits of hell. * The continuous cycle of birth and death.
Shri Hari’s narration of nature and signs of dispassion
Shri Hari said:-
O! Respectable one, I tell you the nature of detachment. It is the dispassion about worldly things excepting God. 1.
It is the disinterestedness in one’s body and its pleasure, women, kith and kin, wealth, and house, cattle, and other utensils and land. 2.
It is the dislike for sensual pleasures like hearing (sound) and others, invaluable ornaments and garments and royal enjoyments. 3.
It is the complete disinterestedness towards even likes of Heaven (Swarglok), praiseworthy world, and all enjoyments of fortunes in life besides those of Bhagvan as well. 4.
Premavati said:-
Krishna, how does this sort of detachment is born in beings? O all- knowing one, hence you are able to explain these precepts to me. 5.
Shri Hari replied;-
Detachment is born in all beings by realisation of destructive nature of earthly enjoyments, from Pradhan Purush onwards, including all living beings, their respective abodes and pleasures. 6.
O Mother! There are four kinds of dissolution or destruction (pralaya). Nitya (daily) Naimitik (end of Vairaj Purusa’s life and destruction of 3 loks) the third one Prakruta (the submerging of Pradhan-Purusa and mahattavas back into Mula-Prakriti) and Atyantika (absolute – when Mula- Prakriti and Mula-Purusa and time all submerge back into Bhagvan’s dham, Akshardham and finally all into Bhagvan). 7.
This entire universe, which is the creation of Maya (Prakriti) including its immovable things and also the enjoyments of Brahma and others are all perishable. 8.
Destruction occurs to everything here in the passage of powerful time, thus learning about perishable nature of worldly things, non-attachment may arise in men. 9.
Due to grievous nature of worldly things, detachments arise in living beings. Men due to their sinful acts get fruit in the form of sorrow. 10.
In this world, the company of non saintly people who are engaged in fully satisfying physical thirsts, alone, would give rise to miseries, towards immoral deeds, that are the most severe ones, in the end, for living beings. 11.
The ways and means of wicked men.
Men’s dedication towards religion and virtuosity tend to decline, including knowledge and all other virtues, in wicked company. 12.
Self-pride (Aham Buddhi) in one’s body and love for bodily things are always on the rise, in bad company; thus passion is born intensely at these things in men. 13.
In the grip of thoughts of ‘me and mine’ (mamatva), about their body, women, offspring, and wealth, they become possessed, due to which they commit various sinful acts. 14.
They cheat other people by robbing their possessions, and hurt even who are faithful to them. They are hypocrites, put blame on others, and deceitful, and speak untruth. 15.
Always lodging false charges on others, and being untrustworthy, violent, and thieving, they take care of their families in immoral ways. 16.
By blaming others or by ignoble ways or by doing trickery here and there, they earn their livelihood through which, they bring up their families. 17.
With this interestedness in things, they leave their own religion, caste, stage of life, as prescribed in Vedas, and head towards false institutions of righteousness. 18.
They are malicious towards cows, Brahmins, saints and Vedas, holy places, and gods, and they are haughty, senseless and live against the worship of Vishnu. 19.
They eat meat, drink wine, and even have union with other’s wives and widows, with lust. 20.
They often drink what should not be drunk, eat what should not be eaten; speak what should not be spoken; They are shameless and intoxicated. 21.
Description of different hells and their punishments.
O virtuous one! Thus, those who indulge in ignoble acts in this world, at the end of their life, these men get miseries exceedingly. 22.
Then awkward, terrifying messengers of Yama with ropes and chains in their hands come ruthlessly to carry these men. 23.
At the very sight of these messengers, men become detached from their body, they becoming horrified and bewildered begin to tremble, with immense pain. 24.
They, the servants of Yama, mercilessly, take off the minute (Suksma) body, from their visible body and carry them to the city of Yama in a long dried up path. 25.
Ruthless messengers of Yama beat these wicked men on their backs profusely with hunter and iron rods on the way, hence these men cry loudly without help. 26.
Being parched under hot sun and in forest - fire, and pinched by endless patch of thorns, these men become unable to move, on their way, but continue to be pounded by the servants of Yama. 27.
Being fallen down due to the torture, these men are made to stand again by the tormenting servants of Yama, move them quickly without a break. 28.
Thus these wicked men are carried in a very distressful way by them, to the place of Yama like King’s soldiers taking thieves to the court. 29.
There Yama and Chitragupta (the accountant of Yama) know all their vicious acts done by mind, speech or even by body. 30.
Yama seeing furiously at these men who have wasted their human forms and life in senseless ways, which otherwise meant for attaining salvation, subject them to grave tortures by his servants. 31.
There are hundreds and thousands of cells in Yama’s abode (hell) wherein severe tortures are acted upon sin - doers. 32.
O Mother! Sinful men obtain greatest of pains therein the hell, hence I tell few of those names. 33.
Tamisra (darkness) Andhatamisra (blind darkness) Raurava (terrible) Maharaurava, Kumbhipaka (where the man is cooked), Kaalsutra, Asipatravanam (The forest of the swords.) 34.
Andhakupa (The well of darkness) Shukarasya (the mouth of the hog) Sandamsha (Full with stings) Krimi Bhojana (where the worms are the food or where he is the food of the worms) Taptasurmi (Hot like the sun). Vaitarni, Shalmali, Vajra kantaka (full of thorns) as sharp as the Vajra - the weapon of God Indra). 35.
Pranarodha (which stops the breathing). Puyoda, Sarameyadana (where he is the food of dogs). Lalabhaksha (where the saliva or spittle is the food). Vaishasana, Ayahpana (where various wounds are done). Avichika (grief) and Ksharkrumi. 36.
Likewise there are other thousands of it including places of acid and sling, where men of sin are being cooked all the way. 37.
As the misdeeds so are the hells. Yama throws these men with rage, at his servants who are eager to torment. 38.
Sinful men’s limbs are being repeatedly slain with a weapon by the people of Yama, and they are forced to chew and eat it with their diamond like teeth. 39.
These men are burnt in high fire, and thrown into boiling oil, and even these men are made to be eaten by serpents, scorpions, vultures and dogs. 40.
They take out these men’s intestines while they are still alive and due to these men’s sinful deeds, there is no death for them there either and they continue to suffer thus. 41.
The fearful followers of Yama, having hammers in their hands, pound them in similar way in which these men have beaten the creatures, here, on the earth. 42.
Some of them are made torn by the elephants and some of them are thrown from the mountain. Some of them are being shut up in poisonous smoke or chambers of acid or mud. 43.
The followers of Yama make them embrace the hot statue of iron for committing adultery and pierce the iron-rod into their eyes for lustfully looking at others. 44.
They pour the molten lead into their ears and the molten iron into their mouth. They make them to drink lot of semen, faeces, urine, and pus etc. 45.
The cruel followers of Yama sew their skins which are torn by them first, with the long needle. They also put them into the squeezing machine. 46.
Thus variously and immensely they get tortured, and then are categorized into four kinds of life forms such as Jarayuja - humans and other living beings, Andaja-born out of eggs (e.g. all forms of birds and reptiles etc), Udbija-growing from seeds (e.g. all forms of plant life) Svedaja- coming out of sweat (e.g. bacteria). 47.
These categorized beings are subject to the sorrows of dwelling in womb, taking birth, and of ailments, aging and death repeatedly. 48.
O Mother! These people get to experience three fold grieves such as Adhyatmika (mental), Adhibhautika (physical) and Adhidevika (externally induced), according their deeds, which has to be gotten through, with pain. 49.
Repeatedly wandering in great misery are these livings beings for hundreds and thousands of ages in their 8.4 million life forms. 50.
Thus getting into this transmigration, sometimes by Shri Krishna’s mercy, these living beings get human form which is but a tool to attain liberation. 51.
O Mother! Having gotten that human form, whoever seek true saints company and worship Krishna, they invariably get their desired fruits and liberation. 52.
Those who incline toward non saintly company with wicked mind, and devoid of devotion to Krishna, move to pains of hell only, as before. 53.
Again getting in to the hands of Yama’s servants, these are subject to humiliation, and also getting into 8.4 million cycles of births. 54.
Importance of non-attachment.
Thus, those men who see the miseries of transmigration repeatedly, in them, detachment originates and grows, by virtue of noble company. 55.
O virtuous one! Thus the non-attached, fearing wicked company, take shelter in Shri Krishna, who is devoid of sorrow, decay and fear and who is ever blissful. 56.
Those without detachment do not have happiness free from sorrows. Without detachment, devotion develops not immediately for men. 57.
O Mother! Love for Krishna grows in detached ones, who are disinterested in the illusory objects of the world, by its virtue, they get the highest state. 58.
O Mother! Thus the nature of detachment is told with proper testimony, now I tell you further about the signs of one-minded devotion (ekantik bhakti) and wishes of salvation-aspirants (mumukshus), to get away from clutches of transmigration. 59.
Thus ends the thirty-fifth chapter entitled ‘Narration of the nature and characteristics of non-attachment’ in the first Prakarana of Satsangi Jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 35