Letter # 33: “The Elephant & the Crocodile – 2”
Spiritual writings contain much metaphor. I have found that such writings are more easily assimilated if I substitute my own name and a Name of God (Jehovah, Allah, Krishna, Waheguru etc) into the story.
Remember Gajendra from Letter #27? Well, in his previous life, before he was an elephant, Gajendra was a very spiritual human king, called Indradyumna, One day, while in deep meditation, a sage visited him. He made the dumb mistake of ignoring the sage. The sage took offense and cursed Indradyumna to be an elephant in his next life – large in body and power but dumb in mind. So, in his elephant incarnation, Gajendra was powerful in body but dumb in mind. He had forgotten his previous spiritual life and in the struggle with the crocodile it took Gajendra a thousand years to remember some prayers. When he did remember, Gajendra (put your own name here) prayed, “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Person (put the name of your God here). Because of Him this material body acts due to the presence of the spirit, and He is therefore the root cause of everyone. He is worshipable for such exalted persons as Brahma and Siva (you can put angels or whatever you like here), and He has entered the heart of every living being. Let me meditate upon Him … May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection … I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him, the self-effulgent Supersoul, who is the witness in everyone’s heart, who enlightens the individual soul and who cannot be reached by exercises of the mind, words or consciousness (only devotion) ... Without Your mercy, there is no possibility of solving the problem of doubts. The material world is just like a shadow resembling You. Indeed, one accepts this material world as real because it gives a glimpse of Your existence…My Lord, You are the cause of all causes, but You Yourself have no cause …Therefore, You are the wonderful cause of everything … You are extremely difficult to attain for those like me who are too attached to mental concoction, home, relatives, friends, money, servants, and assistants … You are the reservoir of all enlightenment, the Supreme Controller … bestow upon me the benediction of liberation from this present danger and from the materialistic way of life … I do not wish to live anymore after I am released from the attack of the crocodile. What is the use of an elephant’s body covered externally and internally by ignorance? I simply desire eternal liberation from the coverings of ignorance…” Following these prayers of Gajendra, the Lord appears and delivers him from the clutches of the crocodile, and from material existence, which resembles a crocodile. The Lord awards Gajendra the status of "sarupya-mukti" (becoming His eternal associate). The Lord concludes by saying, “My dear devotee, unto those who rise from bed at the end of night, and offer me the prayers offered by you, I give an eternal residence in the spiritual world at the end of their lives.” SB Canto 8:Ch 4.
So if your having a bad time, or have awoken from bad dreams, remember Gajendra's supplications.
Other scriptures contain similar uplifting messages:
“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” Psalm 59:16
Guru Nanak sings: “Har ki bhagat mukat bahu kare …The worship of God confers salvation on many.” S.S. Aht 2:7
The Koran states: “On that day some faces shall be splendid”75:22
Remember Gajendra from Letter #27? Well, in his previous life, before he was an elephant, Gajendra was a very spiritual human king, called Indradyumna, One day, while in deep meditation, a sage visited him. He made the dumb mistake of ignoring the sage. The sage took offense and cursed Indradyumna to be an elephant in his next life – large in body and power but dumb in mind. So, in his elephant incarnation, Gajendra was powerful in body but dumb in mind. He had forgotten his previous spiritual life and in the struggle with the crocodile it took Gajendra a thousand years to remember some prayers. When he did remember, Gajendra (put your own name here) prayed, “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Person (put the name of your God here). Because of Him this material body acts due to the presence of the spirit, and He is therefore the root cause of everyone. He is worshipable for such exalted persons as Brahma and Siva (you can put angels or whatever you like here), and He has entered the heart of every living being. Let me meditate upon Him … May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection … I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him, the self-effulgent Supersoul, who is the witness in everyone’s heart, who enlightens the individual soul and who cannot be reached by exercises of the mind, words or consciousness (only devotion) ... Without Your mercy, there is no possibility of solving the problem of doubts. The material world is just like a shadow resembling You. Indeed, one accepts this material world as real because it gives a glimpse of Your existence…My Lord, You are the cause of all causes, but You Yourself have no cause …Therefore, You are the wonderful cause of everything … You are extremely difficult to attain for those like me who are too attached to mental concoction, home, relatives, friends, money, servants, and assistants … You are the reservoir of all enlightenment, the Supreme Controller … bestow upon me the benediction of liberation from this present danger and from the materialistic way of life … I do not wish to live anymore after I am released from the attack of the crocodile. What is the use of an elephant’s body covered externally and internally by ignorance? I simply desire eternal liberation from the coverings of ignorance…” Following these prayers of Gajendra, the Lord appears and delivers him from the clutches of the crocodile, and from material existence, which resembles a crocodile. The Lord awards Gajendra the status of "sarupya-mukti" (becoming His eternal associate). The Lord concludes by saying, “My dear devotee, unto those who rise from bed at the end of night, and offer me the prayers offered by you, I give an eternal residence in the spiritual world at the end of their lives.” SB Canto 8:Ch 4.
So if your having a bad time, or have awoken from bad dreams, remember Gajendra's supplications.
Other scriptures contain similar uplifting messages:
“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” Psalm 59:16
Guru Nanak sings: “Har ki bhagat mukat bahu kare …The worship of God confers salvation on many.” S.S. Aht 2:7
The Koran states: “On that day some faces shall be splendid”75:22
God Bless; Allah Hu Akbar; May The Forces Of The Universe Bring You Harmony; Hare Krishna; Radha-Swami; and Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat Dha Bhalla.
I wish to express my gratitude for your comments, which inspire me to carry on writing. Please forgive my fallibilities in presenting this material. Also, feel free to send this message on to someone that you might think would like to receive it. If you do send it on, my only request of you is that you send it as it is, in its entirety, and to not alter or modify any of the text, references or authorship information. Thus you will help to give credit or liability to where they are properly due.
Jas Bhopal
Copyright© 2008"
“Practicing goodwill makes for a good life."
Tel: 604 273 6641 (also for fax on request)
http://jasbhopal.com/
References: "The Holy Bible" Online version; "The Koran" as translated by SV Mir Ahmed Ali 2005 ISBN 0-9761870-0-0); "The Bhagavad Gita As it Is" as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN 0-89213-268-X; The Srimad Bhagavatum as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN0-89213-259-0; "I Am That. Talks With Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj” ISBN 0-89386-022-0; The Dhammapada ISBN-10:1-84483-344-5; The Sacred Sukhmani ISBN 81-7205-098-4; Wikipedia.
posted by Dr. Jas Bhopal @ 10:49 AM
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