The Pastimes of Bhagavat – my fantasy narration based on the ancient Sanskrit text Bhagavat Purana – chapter six

Arrival of the self-luminous sage only sixteen years of age

Offering my respects to the previous great sages and particularly the original writer of this epic Bhagavat Purana, named Srila Vyasadeva, I continue my narration of this pastime for your listening pleasure dear readers. I am but a lowly and fallen scribe. I have no good qualities and have been raised in a degraded culture, bereft of any learning regarding the proper way of humanity. Still, out of a sense of duty and to share in the treasure that I have discovered, I narrate the Bhagavat pastimes for those who care to hear them.

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The great king of the world, having been cursed to die in seven days, sat on the bank of the River Ganges to fast until death. Aiming to perfect his life at the end, he organized to simply hear from the wisest sages what was required for one about to die. In this way he aimed to make a success of his final moment in this body by leaving it in the best state of consciousness. This would guarantee his trajectory as eternal spirit soul toward his final destination – back home back to godhead.

The conference of sages, mystics and yogis all praised the king for his decision, saying “very good”. After all, there is nothing more important in life than to prepare well for leaving this body at death in such a way that one can attain that supreme planet, which is called Vaikuntha in Sanskrit, meaning “place free from anxiety or lamentation”.

To reciprocate with them, King Pariksit also praised the assembled sages, calling them “knowledge personified”. Such enlightened souls are not only disinterested in this material life but are also disinterested in the next life because they are already transcendentally situated. Such a great soul is very rare today, but they were more prolific in the previous Great Age five thousand years ago.

Having set the scene and situated himself properly, King Pariksit then asked the primary question at the opening of the discourse: “What is the real duty of all human beings, especially those about to die?” So many aims and desires may accumulate in our lives, but there is one primary goal for all of us that find ourselves housed in the temporary human body. And this is what the king focused on now.

It was then that the son of Vyasadeva (the writer of this Bhagavat Purana and all the Vedic literatures) arrived in the assembly of sages. The boy’s name was Sukadeva and he was only sixteen years old. He appeared as a wandering mendicant or traveller, with no fixed abode. He was totally disinterested in material life, belonged to no social order and fell under no societal structure of any sort. In fact he walked around completely naked.

If he had any bit of cloth on him it was some neglected item. He was surrounded by laughing women and children. Upon arriving in the esteemed assembly the laughing entourage left him and he entered it alone. Even today such wandering mystics can still be found in India, perhaps in the more remote mountainous regions. They may have renounced material life and possessions on their path of transcendence. One of the Sanskrit labels used for them is “avadhuta” or one who is outside of the normal social etiquette. We might call them a madman, due to our lack of awareness based on our limited modern education.

On entering the assembly of sages, who were learned in the art of physiognomy, they could tell just by looking at him that he was an enlightened being. His body bore all the auspicious symptoms, being delicate of forehead, shoulders, arms, hands, thighs and legs. He had wide eyes and was dark skinned much like the celestial god Lord Shiva and the original supreme personality of godhead Lord Krishna. This darkness of skin is described to be like the color of a monsoon rain cloud – a blackish blue in hue.

Nowadays all cultures from the Chinese and Japanese, to the Indians of modern India, to the black Africans in my country of South Africa, all prise the pale complexion. They assume it to be more refined and a sign of beauty, perhaps because dark skin suggests a humble worker who toils in the hot sun. I don’t know the details, but according to the Veda which I narrate here, this particular dark complexion is a sign of advancement in consciousness. Why else would both Shiva and Krishna – the topmost gods in the entire Vedic pantheon – be described as having this blackish-blue complexion?

In fact the very work “krishna” can literally be translated from the Sanskrit to mean “blackish”. Another name for the god Krishna is “Shyam” which is another Sanskrit word meaning “blackish”. Are the Vedas telling us that the gods are black skinned? It may seems so. And the goddesses – their consorts - are golden skinned in complexion. That is the Vedic description. Make of it what you wish. I simply repeat what I hear from the Bhagavat Purana. Even one of the names of the goddess, both the consorts of Krishna (named Radha) and Shiva (named Parvati), is “Gauri”, which translates to mean “fair or golden”.

Who am I to speculate on what this might imply, based on my materially conditioned education in this modern era? I simply repeat what I hear, and pass it on to you dear reader, lest the pastimes be lost one day and all that is left is this narration. Make of it what you will.

(image pixabay)

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