The sage speaks the message of transcendence to all in attendance
Once he had taken his seat and the king asked the ultimate question, young Sukadeva began to speak. And what he spoke comprises of the entire text of the original Bhagavat Purana which is made up of 12 volumes or 18000 poetic verses. The entire text may take some days to read through. Indeed, the king sat for seven days and nights fasting completely, while only hearing the narrations spoken by Sukadeva.
Being cursed to die in seven days, king Parkisit did the best thing one could do, which was to hand over the kingdom and prepare for his moment of transcendence. I will not elaborate on the entire 12 volumes spoken by the self-realized sage Sukadeva, though in coming narrations I may retell those tales. But first I want to tell you what happened to the king of the world in this tale. Therefore I have skipped the vast majority of what was spoken to the king so that we can hear what came of him at the end of the seven days of his wait.
At the very last chapters of the final twelfth volume of the Bhagavat Purana, it is explained just how the story of our king concludes. In his final instruction to king Pariksit, the young sage Sukadeva told him the following:
Give up the animalistic mentality that “I am about to die”. The real you is distinct from the body just as fire is distinct from its fuel. You will not take birth again in the form of your descendants. This world is like a dream, in which one can, for example, actually see one’s own own head being chopped off and still continue watching. You are distinct from this body and are in fact immortal. The real you is unborn. Therefore you will resume your original spiritual identity.
Young Sukadeva continued to elaborate: This body is created by the mind, and the mind is created by the material illusory energy and through this the eternal spirit soul gets a material existence. The original soul is self-luminous, separate from the subtle body, unchanging like the sky, endless and without material comparison. By meditating on the original source, known in his personified form as Vasudev, you should remember your true self situated within the body.
You may have been cursed to be bitten by the snake bird, named Takshaka, and thus die, but that bite will not burn up your true self. You have already conquered all the dangers that could befall you. Remember that you are – in quality – non-different from the original absolute truth, although very small by comparison in quantity. Therefore resign yourself to the supreme source in self-realization. You will not even notice the snake bird when it bites your foot.
Even now, dear reader, as I remember these words spoken by the young enlightened sage to the king, I am filled with joy and hope. I have no real qualification regarding such deeply profound insights. Nor do I have the skill of a yogi, to enter the state of meditation required to know my original self. Nor can I claim to hear the voice of the eternal divine Supersoul from within my heart, who sits like a helpful friend beside the soul. All I can do is hear and remember the words of the ancient Sanskrit texts and all the mysteries that they reveal.
When left to our own devices, all we can do is speculate on the nature of our true identity, based on experience gained via our limited and easily mistaken senses. Not much can be gained in this way. We may even hear from certain sources who pose themselves as authorities on the subject of spirit and transcendence. But since the dawn of this iron age over five thousand years ago already, men have claimed the mantle of priest and pontiff only to exploit it for political ends.
Thus the true wisdom of the ancients has been distorted, lost and covered with the ever-degrading creep of time. Innocent and illiterate masses have taken shelter of the words of their priests, yet many have been led into the ditch like one blind man leading another. Even when the ancient texts are translated into the vernacular and printed for all to read, still unscrupulous men with ulterior motives have edited those original writings, interpreting and re-inventing them to suit the desires of those in control. Rogues in the robes of priests have fooled and deluded the masses like a politician or prostitute, both of whom are sell-outs who have sold their souls or bodies for some temporary personal gain.
Therefore we can trust no one any more. Not even our own minds and senses. All we can do is hear and hope that the message is from authoritative sources. Don’t trust me either, for I am a mere humble scribe, simply repeating what I have heard with my failing senses and conditioned mind. If you can, then be like a swan that is able to take the milk even from a mixture of milk and water. Be like a miner who is able to take the gold, even from a filthy place. The treasure of knowledge still exists, if only for a few more days before all the libraries containing the ancient texts and the truths therein are burned from our memory banks once more.
Unscrupulous leaders are again marching across the face of our planet with jackboots and torches, set to burn the books and corral and cull us like sheep. This message may be the last hope of preserving a glimpse of that mighty treasure-house of wisdom on the topic of self-realization. May the blockchain that carries it live on when I am gone.
(image pixabay)