1.#.Opinion : Friday, 21 Jun, 2023. 05:30 3197. /// 1.# Ancient Culture ( Samskaram ) of India ( Bharatham ) - 20. Swami Krishnananda.

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1.#.Opinion : Sunday, 18 Jun, 2023. 05:30. 3159. /// 

1.# Ancient Culture ( Samskaram ) of India ( Bharatham ) - 

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Chapter 8: India's Concept of Totality-3.

Post-20.

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It says in one of the Puranas that even after writing his magnum opus—the masterpieces the Mahabharata and the Harivamsa—Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, the author, was not feeling very happy inside. He was in a state of despondency and restlessness, as if something was missing. It is said that at that time Narada, the great sage, came and asked Vyasa, “What is it that you are brooding over?”

Vyasa replied, “I have written the Mahabharata epic so that in that book I have left nothing unsaid.” There is a verse in the Mahabharata itself which says, “Whatever is there anywhere in this world you will find in the Mahabharata, and whatever is not in the Mahabharata will not be found anywhere in the world.” It is also said, “All the knowledge of the world Vyasa has spat in the Mahabharata.” He spat it. That means to say, the words which constitute the entire Mahabharata are also the whole literature of the world—spiritual, social, and every blessed thing is there. Whatever we want to know about dharma, artha, kama or moksha is in the Mahabharata, and if we do not find something there, we will not find it anywhere else in the world. Such a great thing was written, and still Vyasa was not feeling very satisfied.

Narada said, “I will tell you why you are not feeling happy. You have not sufficiently sung the blissful aspect of Bhagavan Sri Krishna. No doubt you have explained in great detail his powers, his glory, his might, his statesmanship, his strength, and his public image. Beautiful! But he is not merely that. God is not merely power, glory, majesty, elephantine strength, which, of course, He also is, but God is also beauty, love, tenderness, affection. That aspect you have not touched upon, and this is why you do not feel fully satisfied. I request you to write another text altogether which will lay special emphasis on Sri Krishna's beauty, tenderness, goodness, lovableness and affection. All these aspects must be brought out.”

Sri Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa is said to have written the Bhagavata Mahapurana as his last work. It is also called the Samadhi Bhasha. That is to say, after the departure of Narada, Vyasa entered into deep meditation and sank into samadhi, and whatever he visualised in that condition of samadhi got expressed in his new work called the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana; therefore, the Bhagavata is also called the Samadhi Bhasha, the language of super-consciousness.

The style of the Mahabharata is different from the style of the Srimad Bhagavata, which is a very difficult style. People say if you want to test the learning of a person, you must see to what extent he has understood the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana. If you want to test the scholarship of a person, put him questions on the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana's meaning and see what answers come. That is, the language and the style of the Puranas in general, which follow the style of the Mahabharata, are simple from the point of view of ordinary spoken Sanskrit. If you have some knowledge of Sanskrit you will know how to read the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas, but the Bhagavata is not like that. It is knotted. Every sloka is very hard. In spite of there being eight thousand verses in the Mahabharata which are very hard to understand, which Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa seems to have composed to make Ganesha pause when he was writing—in spite of that, there is some simplicity in the style of the Mahabharata; but the Bhagavata is not like that.

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To be continued

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