May 17, 2007

Chapter 1: The Creation & The Story of Dhruva

Mother Earth starts the narration of The Omnipresent, The Creator. The Creator of Earth Herself. It is the tale of Lord Vishnu. She mentions that importance of Vishnu's tale - since it tells how to lead life.

The story begins with a calamity to Universe. Then there is only one small baby on a leaf - rest everything else has been destroyed. This baby is Vishnu Himself. Baby transforms to adult and leaf transforms to multi-headed serpent. 

Vishnu then creates Earth from His eyes and Moon from his Heart. From his navel comes a lotus. An instance of Vishnu goes through the stem of the Lotus to become Lord Brahma. From the middle of his forehead (third eye), an instance of Vishnu gets created to form Lord Shiva.

Brahma and Shiva greet Vishnu and ask the reason for their existence. Vishnu says you and me are all same: Three forms of same personality. Brahma will be the Creator, the Beginning. Shiva will be the Ending. In between, will be Vishnu the Protector. Vishnu then asks Brahma to create the Universe. 

From the shoulder of Vishnu then comes Goddess Lakshmi. She too asks reason for her existence and why is she needed when Vishnu Himself would have been complete & sufficient. Vishnu tells that Man needs a Woman just like how a flower needs a fragrance. Also only a Woman can give affection to Humanity. He tells her that people will call him from now as Lakshmi Narayan - first her name and then his.

Brahma started creating the Universe. First from Brahma's arms came 4 men (Sanat, Sanatan, Sanandan, Sanat Kumar) and asked them to help him in flourishing the human race. But these saints were born in the form of men and had desire in them. However desire without knowledge is useless. So they became useless, and hence Brahma cursed them to go away to Earth.

So Brahma then realized before Life gets Knowledge, Knowledge should get Life. So from his arms came 7 saints : Vasisht, Krityu, Pulak, Pulasya, Angirak, Atri, Marichi. Imparting knowledge to man is their life purpose and order. They were called as Saptarishi. They became a constellation ultimately.

Finally Brahma created an instance of himself as both a Man (Manu) and a Woman (Shatarupa). He told them that they will create a family and humanity. He bestows powers of protector, nurturer and perseverance to Manu (responsible for Shatarupa's comfort) and powers of Affection, love and compassion to Shatarupa. From now on, only the two of them are responsible for Life forms in Earth. Manu and Shatarupa take leave - and are bitten by Cupid. Their romance begins.

Noticing all this love, Goddess Lakshmi is all Happiness. Vishnu mentions that Love is the only thing that Man should possess. Lakshmi hopes this state of affairs continues, but not so.

Along with human beings, greed and desire was also born which led to fighting, division - rich and poor, King and masses, good and bad. There was blood everywhere, people waging wars. Now, Lakshmi is sad and asks why Vishnu is not taking care of it since he created it. Vishnu says that he just Created and gave it to Man, it is Man's responsibility to take care of Life. So Lakshmi asks why did you create such a Man with greed. Vishnu says He has created everything - day and night, good and bad, just and unjust, etc. More than anything, Vishnu has given Brains to Man. So it is Man's responsibility to do the right thing by using it. Lakshmi asks what if everything goes awry. Vishnu confirms that if things go way too bad, and too much adharma, then He himself will take care of things. 

Thus began the story of just and unjust. First episode is King Uttanpaad, Manu's son, who is returning home back to his kingdom after being victorious. He has two wives Sunithi (first) and Suruchi (second, with more rights granted by King since she is beautiful). Dhruv (Sunithi's son) wants to welcome his dad, but Sn refuses since Sn and her son are not allowed. 

King arrives. King's Guru informs that first wife should welcome him as per respect to elders. If younger ones stop respecting elders, it will create a chaos. Then, it effects stability of Kingdom. It is the tradition. But King refuses, he still prefers second wife. Sr is all happy and does as per King's command. She is cunning, and only wants power of Kingdom to her son. Guru is sad and knows it is an Omen and predicts start of bad things. 

Once King is all settled, Dhruv comes to sit on his lap. King allows him. However, Sr pushes him away, telling that he is not eligible to sit on King's lap. So Dhruv asks innocently what he should do to be eligible, she says ask Vishnu so that he can be born from her, so that she will be eligible. Dhruv makes enquiries and in the middle of the night, sneaks away in search of Vishnu. 

He is accosted by thieves who wants his jewels. Goddess Lakshmi is all scared for him, and goes to Earth to protect him. She kills all the thieves. Dhruv then meets Narada who tells him that he cannot reach Vishnu until he dies. However, Vishnu can come to him if he does tapas in the middle of a jungle. So Dhruv enters a jungle and starts tapas - Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya

Goddess Lakshmi is angry with Narada as to why he made the small boy enter a jungle. Narada explains that if D did tapas in open air, then his parents (who started massive search, by the way) might see him and D will be forced to go back to palace without seeing Vishnu. So Lakshmi goes to Parvati (Shiva's wife) and asks her to protect D by enforcing a Lion near D (since Parvati has control over Lions). P graciously agrees and her Lion shoos away approaching tigers. 

Meanwhile, Manu comes and scolds Uttanpaad about how he fell for Beauty instead of family responsibilities. Uttanpaad is all tears and realizes his mistake of falling for Sr. Sr tries to stop him from searching D but U is done with kingdom. He gives kingdom to Sr and heads out to search for D with Sn. However, it is futile even after days of search. (At one time, D sees them, before he starts his tapas, but he asks Lakshmi to hide him since he was not yet ready to go back to Palace). Finally Narada meets them and tells them that D is doing tapas and they should not disturb him. He instead asks them to go back to palace and take care of his subjects, since his subjects are his family too. It is not right on his part to let them under the care of Sr, who is all evil. U agrees and heads back to Palace. 

Meanwhile, couple of devlok ministers come running to Indra (God of Heaven) and inform him that D is doing tapas possibly to dethrone Indra and possess Indra's powers (laughable). Narada comes and denies this but Indra wants to ensure D does not meet Vishnu and ask for any powers. So he sends one of his angels to disguise as D's mom. Plot doesnt work. D continues his tapas. In fact, upon Narada's recommendation, D has stopped eating and drinking too now - fruits and water brought forth by Goddess Lakshmi. She goes to Vishnu and complains why he is not making his presence felt despite such praying. Vishnu says that many people pray for him, and it is not right for him to go to Earth just for this child. 

Meanwhile Dhruv's parents are all in grief. Dhruv's dad scolds Sr and Sn comes to her rescue, saying it is not right - and blames it all on Fate. King doesn't agree. Also now King's subjects are all angry against Sr and there is lot of unrest. King doesn't seem to be bothered, he is all defeated in Life and just spends time in grief in front of idols. The Raj Guru comes to him and advises him that his duty as a King to consider all of his subjects as family and take care of all of them, instead of just grieving for his son; and if his advises are not given value then it doesn't make sense for him to be a Raj Guru any more and threatens to leave upon which King U understands his duty as a King and promises to take care of the Kingdom thereon.

Indra orders Fire God to attack Dhruv with Fire. Fire God goes but is unable to stop Dhruv from meditating. He says that whoever chants Lord Vishnu's name in pure devotion will be left untouched by Fire because they have an internal body heat that is greater than Fire Himself. So, Fire God was unsuccessful in stopping Dhruv's meditation. Narada then appears and tells that while it is true that Fire cannot touch Dhruv, the wild animals and forests are being hurt due to the Fire, so he asks Indra to stop the Fire. He does so and Fire vanishes.

Dhruv's meditation reaches to extremity and Lord Vishnu gets touched by it & derives great Joy that Dhruv's meditation has almost reached the Ultimatum. He realizes Dhruv's heart has reached out to his heart and He can see Dhruv in His heart now. Lakshmi is happy now. At the same time, Dhruv can feel Lord Vishnu enter his mind. He calls out to Narada, who comes and feels happy that Lord Vishnu has entered Dhruv's mind - something like that has never happened before. So he advises to go home now that Vishnu is in his mind. But D is resolute, he wants to meet Lord Vishnu, and asks Narada how to achieve it. Narada refuses to say but buckles when insisted. Key is to tell Om and inhale and stop breathing further. It might even kill him. D is resolute and continues to do so. When he inhales and stops breathing, Time comes to a stand still. Indra is concerned, and He goes to Brahma for Help. Brahma says only Vishnu can save the world. So they all go to Vishnu.

Vishnu realizes that the time has come to go to Earth to meet Dhruv. He appears in front of Dhruv, and D has a hard time seeing thanks to extreme brightness. Finally Vishnu says now that he appeared and Dhruv's meditation has succeeded, he might go home now to his parents. But no, Dhruv has a number of questions - Why was he pushed from his dad's lap, why did his step mom call his mom as a maid, why does his step mom do not consider him as her own son, why are there injustices in the world, etc. 

Vishnu says 'Whoa, whoa' and asks him his number one question. Dhruv replies 'Why was he not allowed to sit on his dad's lap?' Vishnu asks him to come to him and sit on His lap. Dhruv does so. Suddenly, Dhruv gets all transformed, and he is extremely happy. Vishnu then asks Dhruv if he has any further questions, to which Dhruv replies no, he now has answers to all questions of the world. He will now spread his knowledge with everyone else in the world. Just the mere occurrence of Dhruv sitting on Lord Vishnu's lap answered all of Dhruv's questions and more importantly, Dhruv obtained enlightment. 

Methinks - all this tale of Dhruv being pushed away was just a reason. The true answer of all those 'Why's was just so that Dhruv can meet Vishnu - the first ever time when Vishnu came to Earth to meet a mere child in His true form, and the fact that this can be done by extreme penance. It is to set an example to fellow human beings on what Ultimate Devotion can do. The scene of Dhruv sitting on Vishnu's lap was heart-warming and all Devlok folks and Brahma are extremely pleased to see it and bless them both. 

Vishnu tells that by being devoted, he won Vishnu's heart but now by serving family, he has to abide his duty as a son. He has to become a King where complete justice will be served and no other child will be forbidden on the father's lap. When he does that, Vishnu tells Dhruv that now he will be known forever as Dhruv Nakshatra (North Star). 

Vishnu then preaches Dhruv when Dhruv says he doesnt want to go anywhere other than Vishnu's lap - Deeds are worship, sacrifice, life, principle of life, etc. Life is a boon granted by Vishnu, opportunity to serve family, world, etc. Family is the reason for life, shows purpose of man's existence. World is a huge family, extended family. Entire land, nature, etc is all one large family. Serving universe means serving Vishnu. Man's foremost principle is to live for the benefit of the universe. To die for the betterment of this Universe is a deed makes man immortal. With this, Vishnu tells Dhruv to head back home. 

Lakshmi appears and Dhruv asks why L didnt get D to V easily. L says that if she had done that then D wouldnt have attained that status which he now has (prominent devotee). Narada then appears. D thanks N profusely for allowing V and L to come to D. N says D is great, it was all Dhruv's perseverance. With that, N asks permission from V to take D to his parents. V and L take D home on their Garuda vahaana. 

King and queen are all crying. Then Dhruv comes home and thanks Sr for asking D to seek Vishnu. Due to that he was successful. Sr is all remorse and apologizes a lot to D but D would have none of it. D even asks King to forgive Sr. King does so. And so the story ends - King, Sr, Sn, D and Sr's son live happily ever after. As promised, Dhruv will be known as North Star from then on. 

Now, Goddess Lakshmi is concerned only one devotee got blessed but what about all other devotees. She tells that D got blessed with Knowledge and Enlightenment. What about this to all other devotees. How will everyone get this Knowledge and Enlightenment. Vishnu was also thinking about this. The betterment of mankind is Vishnu's foremost objective. Hence Vishnu created the 4 vedas (Rig, Saama, Yajur, Atharvana) as 4 children. 

Brahma appears there and asks who these children are. Vishnu tells that the children are all manifestations of knowledge. Knowledge is simple and pure just like a child and hence Vishnu created them as children. 

Brahma then asks the reason for their creation. Vishnu tells that his role is the protector. Just like how a child learns to walk, it needs a finger to hold on. A guide is needed. And these 4 vedas will do that exact role. Brahma lauds Vishnu for the existence of these 4 vedas. Vishnu wants to give Man the knowledge which no other living being has, an awareness which places him foremost and endows power. The vedas are for the betterment of mankind. He then informs role of each Veda:

Rigveda - Message is focus on being a complete human being. Underlines humanity, he is the definition of union of man and God. Teaches ways of worship. 

[Brahma then asks what is the importance of worship to Vishnu. Vishnu then tells that worship is important not for me, but it is very important for mankind. It teaches you to be noble, he should learn to bow otherwise he will become egoistic. Rigveda will save man from ego, and informs whom to bow to and when to bow.]

Yajurveda - Y tells man that Vishnu is in sacrifice. Now, life is all about deeds. If it is done for others, then it means sacrifice. It is the most benevolent of deeds. Enlightenment cannot happen without sacrifice.

Samaveda - Universe is filled with music and songs. It is in flowing river, chirping birds. Samaveda is all about music.

Atharvaveda - Man needs to keep solving life's problems and fighting all his troubles. This veda will teach man to create a strong foothold on earth. It will teach a man's mind and body to fight and face hardships. It will guide them to solve their problems. 

If Man safeguards Vedas, then Vedas will safeguard Man. Vishnu then asked Brahma to deliver the 4 vedas to the human beings (maanavs) so that they can become intelligent. With that Brahma takes the Vedas to his place.

Lakshmi then asks why V Himself did not take the Vedas to Earth. Vishnu says - "Creator is Brahma, Only he can carry my values to mankind".

Now, Brahma created few administrators to assist him in creation of the Universe expansion. One of them was Kashyap who had 3 wives: Aditi, Diti and Dhanu. Aditi's sons were Gods (devas) because of Aditi's perfect motherhood and upbringing. The other two were not good moms, and hence they became monsters and demons. Diti's son Hayagreev (face of horse) was a great enemy of human civilization. Evil people will always be there in every era to wipe out good people. 

Vishnu and Lakshmi then go to Devlok since there is a celebration for Aditi for being the perfect mother. Aditi's sons are Indra and other devas. There is a huge celebration going on at devlok when V and L enter. Vishnu congrats Aditi for being the Ideal mother, ideal woman, ideal wife. Aditi is honored. She says it is the best day of her life, Vishnu says it is the best day for him too especially when sons celebrate their mother. It is a lesson for the whole world. 

Vishnu says that her sons are called devas because of her upbringing. Vishnu says that a mother's upbringing is very important - it can either develop the universe or destroy the universe. Instilling good thoughts, deeds, informing good/bad difference and instilling discipline is important - and she did all these. Aditi thanks Vishnu for all of these qualities. Vishnu then wishes that for an 'unborn' like himself to be born as a son to Aditi. Aditi is so happy to hear this. Then Vishnu promises that he will one day be born as a son to Aditi. (He will do so as Vaman avatar - 5th avatar).

Aditi's son wants Aditi to stay in devlok so that they can serve her better. But Aditi says her role as a wife is to be with her husband. With that, she goes back to Earth where her husband is doing yagna.

At that yagna, Diti and Dhanu come late. Kashyap is irritated with them that they are coming after all the yagna is almost over. They say sorry. They could not come because of their sons. They have a lot of evil influence. They ask why Aditi's sons became divine and Diti's sons became asuras (demons) and Dhanu's sons became Daanavs (monsters). For that K says father's blood is only for physical nature. Mother's blood instills character, values, foundation, etc. Aditi instilled wisdom. But Diti and Dhanu never stopped them when they were doing evil things because they loved their sons a lot. Too much love is bad. Dhanu's son Haigriv has caused so much terror on earth and Man is scared of him now because he wants to end humanity.

Hayagreev, the son of Diti, is concerned that if maanavs get the vedas, then they will become more intelligent than themselves, the rakshasas. Therefore he steals the vedas from Brahma, in his absence. Brahma would have gone to Shiva to request him to re-organize the earth, as some bad elements had taken birth too. Though Shiva agrees, he says some good things will have to be sacrificed if he does re-organize, But Brahma says he can always create human beings again although he is concerned about his own son Manu. Vishnu tells Brahma not to worry about it and he will take care. 

Brahma, after discovery, informs Vishnu of the stolen Vedas. Vishnu vows to get back the Vedas and safeguard them. Lakshmi who cannot live without Vishnu asks him what about her? So he puts her unto himself. Thus starts Matsyavatara.

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