NITAAI-Veda.nyf > Compiled and Imp Scriptures > Divine Name Haridasa > 07 The Snake Charmer |
CHAPTER-7
HARIDAS THAKUR AND THE SNAKE-CHARMER
ON another occasion the King of the
serpents (Nagaraj) spoke about the glories of Haridas Thakur. Once, a certain
healer of snake-bites, was giving an entertainment of a musical dance at the
house of a wealthy man of that village. At that time Thakur Haridas happened to
arrive on the scene and avoiding the huge crowd, he stood on one side and
watched the dance. By the efficacy of a Mantra, the King of serpents entered
into the body of the dancer. In truth it was the King ol serpents who danced,
possessing the body of the snake-charmer, he was playing his part pretty well.
The dance that was performed by Shri Krishna in the lake of Kaliya, was the
subject of the pathetic song sung at a high pitch. By hearing the Glories of
his Lord, by the influence of the enhancing excitant (Uddipan), Haridas Thakur,
transported with Divine Ecstasy, fell down unconscious. There was not the least
sign of life anywhere on his body. Within a short time he got back his
consciousness. He thundered with incom¬parable joy and danced in ecstasy in
manifold ways. This attracted the attention of the dancing snake-charmer. He
suddenly stopped his dance, moved to one side and stood quietly allowing the
great Haridas Thakur, to have his ecstatic dance undisturbed. Haridas Thakur
rolled on the ground; all the eight spiritual perturbations, such as tears,
shivering, hair standing on end, etc., manifested profusely on his body. On
hearing of the incomparable display of mercy by his Be¬loved Lord Shri Krishna,
on the cruel and wicked serpent Kaliya and on recollecting it he became
saturated with His presence; he wept ceaselessly. All the spectators
surro'unding him, sang the Glories of the Lord. All this while, the
snake-charmer witnessed the dance of Haridas Thakur, with folded hands and with
all reverence. This di¬vine spell of inspiration of Haridas Thakur lasted for a
short time. On its completion, the original dancer once again continued his
programme as usual. All the people,
gathered there to attend the performance, were highly impressed and extremely
delighted by witnessing the divine trance ofThakur Haridas. They, with
excessive joy besmeared their bodies with the holy feet-dust of Haridas Thakur.
A hypocritical and ambitious Brahmin
from amongst the spectators, thought that he, being a Hindu, by imitating
Thakur Haridas,would command greater respect than the latter.So he started his
silly game of dancing in a mock
fit of frenzy and fell down as if
senseless, the snake-charmer, noticing this cheat of a devotee,
approached him and mercilessly
thrashed him. Unable to bear the severe beatings, the Brahmin ran for his life
and was not seen again. The snake-charmer restarted his joyous dance to the
astonishment of all the spectators, who humbly requested him to explain to them
the cause of his strange behaviour.
ya eshaam purusham saakshaad
aatma-prabhavam ishvaram,
na bhajanty avajaananti sthaanaad
bhrashtaah patanty adhah..109
(Shrimad Bhagavatam,11.5.3)
On hearing the words of the
spectators, the serpent through the mouth of the snake-charmer replied
thus-" You were all moved by the devotional fervour of Thakur Haridas and
began to admire this ardent devotee. This hypo-
crite of a Brahmin, to gain the
admiration of all of you as a devotee, started aping Thakur Haridas, till I
adequately punished him, when he ran away to save his skin." Such sort of
shameless deceivers have no devotion to Shri Krishna. One may attain devotion
to Shri Krishna only when he is completely freed from all such insincere
desires. The dance of Haridas Thakur, which all of you have just now
wit¬nessed, is capable of bringing to an end all worldly bondage. Shri Krishna
Himself dances, when Haridas Thakur dances and the entire universe is
sanctified by beholding his dance. He is worthy of his name 'Haridas-the
servant of Shri Hari'. Really the Beloved Supreme Lord Shri Krishna is
constantly sporting in his heart. He is ever-mer-c'ful to all living beings,
and a true benefactor of one and all. He appears with the Lord in every
Manifestation of His. He is an eternal NSociate of the Lord. Being an eternal
associate, he is ever free from U offences towards Bhagavan or His Bhaktas. He
does riot follow e wrong path even in his unguarded moments. If any-one as a
re-°f the accumulated heaps of meritorious deeds performed in pre-ls births, is
fortunate enough to get his company even for a short while, he undoubtedly
attains eternal shelter at the Lotus Feet of Shri Krishna. Even the great gods
like Brahma, Siva, etc., derive extreme delight in the company of such devotees
and always desire their as¬sociation. In order to prove the utter uselessness
of caste, creed, lin¬eage, etc., in the performance of the devotional services
of Bhagavan, he has taken birth in a family of low lineage, being directed by
the Lord to that effect. All the scriptures unanimously declare that a devo¬tee
of the Lord, even if born in a family of a low caste, is still an object of
worship. Conversely, if even after being born of high lin¬eage, one fails to
worship the Supreme Lord, he is unworthy of any attention being bestowed upon
him. His high birth leads him only to the vortex of hell.109
Like Prahlada in the clan of demons,
and Hanuman amongst the monkeys, Thakur Haridas took his birth amongst the
Muslims. Ordi¬narily men are always eager to get themselves purified by
offerings to gods as well as by having a dip in the sacred water of the river
Ganges. But, even those gods themselves long for the touch of Haridas Thakur.
The holy Ganges herself desires that Haridas Thakur should bathe in her sacred
water. Why a touch? The mere sight of Haridas destroys one's eternal bondage.
By the sight of even those who have taken shelter in Haridas too, the bondage
of worldliness, is rooted out. You are all fortunate to enjoy the company of
the glorious Haridas. What 1 told you now, is only a minute fraction of his
greatness. I assure you in all sincerity that he who utters the name of Haridas
even once will definitely attain the eternal realm of Shri Krishna." So
saying the King of serpents concluded his narration; he became si¬lent. All
those assembled there, were highly satisfied on hearing this speech. Thus, the
great seipent, a real devotee of Bhagavan Shri Vishnu, proclaimed to the world
the glories of Haridas Thakur. The audience was convinced beyond a shadow of doubt
about the high position of Haridas Thakur. They loved him more than ever.
Thakur Haridas passed his days in
chanting the Name of the Lord. Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu was still silent and
had notyetmanifested the purpose of His Advent to the world. The world was
badly in need of a religious awakening. Nowhere could one devotion to Shri
Vishnu. There was a small group of devotees livine at Navadivip. These devotees
were the tar-gets of so many unpleasant taunts and criticisms from the utterly
fallen materialists. In short, conditions all around, were pathetic and
pitiable. Noticing the lamentable plight of the people and their utter
indiffer¬ence towards the path of devotion to Shri Vishnu, the magnanimous
Haridas Thakur was immoderately pained at heart. He chanted, the Name of the
Lord loudly. Even to this, there was opposition from the atheistic neighbours.
These sinners could not bear the Name of Shri Hari, chanted by others. The very
ideal itself kindled burning wrath in them. A certain wicked Brahmin belonging
to the village Harinadi in the district of Jessore in East Bengal, took serious
objection to the procedure of Haridas Thakur. He lost his temper and angrily
asked Haridas Thakur. "Haridas! Why do you behave like this? What makes
you to utter the Name so loudly? Our religion advocates only low muttering of
the Name. What is your scriptural authority to chant the Name so loudly? Who
taught you to shout the Name of the Lord like this? Well, here is an assembly
of pandits (scholars in Sastras). Let them judge your say on this matter."
110=
"Well my friends! Haridas Thakur
Replied, "It needs no mention that you all know the marvellous Efficacy
and Glory of the Divine Name. I have never read the Sastras with the object of
collecting materials for arguing
with others. 1 have been only
recapitulating what I have heard, from all Sadhus like you, Who have taken
recourse to the Chanting of the Name and 1 would, at any cost, continue the
same in future as well. By taking the Name aloud, the effect is increased a
hundredfold. The Sastras do not condemn it; on the contrary, they all
emphatically praise the benefits accuring from such a course. "By loud
chanting the effect ls enhanced a hundredfold." "Meditation-will
succeed only when Performed by one alone and in a lonely place, whereas,
Sankirtan can be performed either in solitude, alone or in the company of
multitudes."110
yan-naama grihnann akhilaan shrotriin
aatmaanam eva ca,
sadyah punaati kim bhuyas tasya
sprishtah padaa hi te..111
(Shrimad Bhagavatam,10.34.17)
To this statement of Haridas Thakur,
the Brahmin retorted. "Why should loud chanting of the Holy Name increase
merit hundredfold? How do you account for this?" Haridas Thakur replied,
"Hear me, sir: The Sastras, such as the Vedas, Shrimad Bhagavata, etc.,
have answered this fact unambiguously." Haridas Thakur was not a lay¬man
He had an extraordinary command over all the Sastras. Ab¬sorbed in spiritual
ecstasy, he gave an inspiring exposition on the above theme. "Listen, O
Brahmin! By hearing once the Holy Name of Shri Krishna, subhuman being-birds,
insects, etc., attain the sacred realm Vaikunth." "For he how utters
Your Name purifies forthwith not only himself, but even all others who listen
to him. Hence, what doubt is there that he who is blessed by the touch of your
Lotus Feet can in all respects liberate others?111
"Beasts, birds^insects, etc.,
are not endowed with the power of speech. They too are the creations of the
Supreme Lord. In them also there exists a soul just as in the case of us, human
beings. They can be helped only by making them hear the Holy Name. They attain
final liberation only by this process. They are not accessible to any other
course of religious training. The muttering or the inaudible repetition of the
Name of Shri Krishna helps to attain one's own spiritual progress, whereas,
loud chanting helps the good of many others who happen to hear such utter¬
ance from a genuine Bhakta. hence,
the Sastras declare the effect to the hundredfold and advocate and praise loud
chanting of the Name.
japota harinamanee sthane raat
gunadheekh,
atmanaschya punataurch japane shrotuna
punatee cha..112
"It is proper that chanting of
Shri Hari-Nama aloud, should be hundred times better than repeating It
inaudibly, as the latter sancti¬fies the.reciters themselves, whereas, the
former sanctifies all others who hear It."112
"Puranas praise a loud chanter
of the Name a hundred times better than the low mutterer. If one, who mutters
the Holy Name within himself, living in any lonely place, happens to hear other
material sounds, he is likely to be led away from his cherished goal and its ultimate
realisation may be put off. Being ignorant of the doctrine of name, dim
reflection of the Name (Namabhas), and of¬fensive repetition of the Name
(Namaparadha) and their respective positions, a low mutterer of the Name is
always apt to commit a grave offence and thereby deprive himself of all the
real benefits of the chanting of the Name. Please hear with rapt attention the
real cause of this difference between both the types of aspirants. The
in¬audible chanting of the Name, as I have already mentioned, helps that
particular individual alone, whereas, by the loud performance of (he Sankirtan
of Shri Govinda, all the beings, human as well as subhu¬man, are delivered from
the clutches of Maya. Some are selfish in maintaining only themselves, whereas,
a few help thousands of oth¬ers in addition to themselves and their near ones
to survive in this world. Of these two sections of people whom do you prefer
most? You know yourselves. The same is applicable to the answer to your
query." From the above example we can understand that one who loudly
chants the Name of the Lord is not only unselfish, but at the same time, a
positively selfless and generous-hearted person. So it is obvious that the loud
chanting of the Holy Name is hun¬dred times better than muttering the same.
"The performance of the chant of
the Name of Shri Hari with a loud voice, is alone the highest form of doing
good to others.Selfish persons adopt the method of mental recitations,
meditations, c°ntrol of the breath, etc. The supreme goal of the individual
soul is lot realised by such mundane endeavours. The all round good of the Jiva
can be achieved by the chant of the Holy Name and discourse on Shri Hari
incessantly-without stopping for a single moment."
113=
The above reply of Haridas Thakur did
not satisfy this stiff-necked Brahmin to the slightest extent. It only provoked
his anger. He burst out in all fury. "Now, this Haridas has become the
maker of our phi¬losophy. In India, we are having six famous philosophies
founded by six different great personalities, such as (1) Sankhya by Kapil, (2)
Yoga by Patanjali, (3) Vaiseshik by Kanada, (4) Nyaya by Gautam, (5)
Purva-Mimamsa by Jaimini, and (6) Uttar-Mimamsa or Vedanta Darsan by Krishna
Dvaipayan Vedavyas. This is an addition-the sev¬enth one. Strange are the ways
of Kali! With the passage of time our Vedic religion (?) will come to an end
(?) when exponents like Haridas spring up. Who knows how many more such
philosophies we may have in future? The prediction of the Sastras that the Sudras
will expound Veda towards the end of this dark age, has even now come true. We
shall not have to wait for such a long time as the end of the Yuga".113
"By expounding the Sastras thus,
you go about from house to house eating delicious food. If your explanation is
not consonant with the Sastras, I shall see that your nose and ears are cut off
imme¬diately." Haridas Thakur did not respond to this expression of
irre¬pressible arrogance. He received it with a smile uttering the Name of Shri
Hari. Forthwith he left the scene loudly singing the Holy Name and with out
giving any reply to this rank materialist, a pervert of the first magnitude.
The people of. the assembly there, were also of the same fibre as of the wicked
Brahmin- a group of worst sinners. In a couple of days after this incident,
this wretched Brahmin had to reap the bitter consequences of his action in the
form of an attack of viru¬lent small-pox which took away his nose.
The soft-hearted and merciful Haridas
Thakur felt deeply pained at heart while brooding over the condition of the
world. Frequently uttering the Name 'Krishana' he heaved deep sighs of grief.
He lost all his liking to live in the midst of such a decaying society, and
longed ardently the company of some sincere devotee, and left for Navadvip.
Devotion to Bhagavan has become a
disappointing subject which most people dislike. Men and women appear
artificial and lose them¬selves totally, in what we call 'creature-comforts'.
The nobler quali¬ties of humanity are not to be seen anywhere They are replaced
by irreligious living, irreligious ideologies, selfishness, hatred, narrow
sectarian bias, etc.
In this dark age, many of the Asurik
persons, will be taking birth in Brahmin houses, to bring chaos and destruction
to the divine so¬cial order, and to disturb the peace and happiness, the really
good few are enjoying. "The demons under the protection of Kali age,
taking birth in Brahmin societies, would harass the few who are re¬ally versed
in the scriptures."114
The above statement of the Sastras is
not an exaggeration in the least sense. What we experience in our noble land at
present, is al¬ready recorded earlier. If Brahmins, the highest according to
the four¬fold division of caste, and hence guides of the other three castes,
are to meet with such a deplorable fall from the high status of morality,
devotion, celibacy, religious sacrifices, etc., what would be the con¬dition of
those who depend upon them? If roots get rotten how can a tree survive? In
fact, according to the Sastras, these are the real un-toucha' les. All the
Dharma Sastras strictly forbid us to have any relationship with them. Those who
are very proud of their seminal birth, and cherish in them an inborn hatred to
Bhaktas and Bhagavan, do not deserve any relationship whatsoever. If one meets
such a per¬son, he should forthwith try to avoid them by all means. Even to
have a touch of such persons, will not only pollute one, but will pave the way
to unending miseries. In our present fettered state, we are more prone to the influence
of evil company than those of virtuous and holy saints. When a mere touch of
those persons, involves us in un¬happy consequences, what to speak of bowing
down to them or to have exchange of ideas with them?
"Why should I speak any further
on this subject? One should never have any contact or discourse even by mistake
with those Brah¬mins, who are averse to Bhagavan Shri Vishnu."115
"Just as one avoids the company
of a Chandal (living upon the flesh of dogs), one must not even glance at a
Brahmin who has no devotion to Shri Vishnu. A devotee of Shri Vishnu even if he
is out¬side the Varnas, sanctifies the three worlds."116
In this phenomenal world, there is a
twofold process of creation. The difference in process corresponds to a
variation of aptitude in the created beings. Shrimad Bhagavad-Gita says thus:-
"In this world there are two
kinds of created entities, viz., Daiva, and Asura."nl Shri Vyasadev
supports the same statement in Padma Purana with another equal version. There
are two distinct classes of entities in the phenomenal world, viz., Daiva, and
Asura. The devo¬tees of Shri Vishnu are Daiva, while the Asuras have the
opposite disposition.
One kind of creation concerns itself
with Devas. There is a sec¬ond variety, which is constitutionally opposed to
the Devas, who are possessed of an enlightened disposition and polished
behaviour. The functions represented by the spiritual classification in
Society, ac¬cording to the dispositions and activities (Varnasram), are in
confor¬mity with the Daiva nature. These twofold creations have been
pre¬vailing since time immemorial. Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksha, who lived in
Satya Yuga, are designated as Asuras by reason of their hos¬tility to Shri
Vishnu, and Vaishnavas. These two brothers, were the sons of Kasyap Rishi, who
was a Brahmin. Although he was sprung from a Brahmin family, Hiranyakasipu
degenerated into an Asura, by reason of his hostility to Shri Vishnu, and
Vaishnavas. On the other hand a Vaishnav or devotee of Shri Vishnu may manifest
his birth in an Asura family. The great Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakasipu, is
a vivid example of this. Visvasrava, in Treta Yuga, was an eminent Brahmin
Rishi. But, his son Ravana was a well-known Asura. By reason of his antagonism
to Shri Ramachandra, he turned out to be an Asura.
In Shrimad Bhagavata, the following
regulation is stated as un¬derlying the institution of the Daiva classification
by disposition and condition in life. "The characteristics by which the
status of a person in theistic society is indicated, have been already stated.
If those characteristics are found in a person, belonging by birth to a
different class, he is to be spoken of as one of the class that corre¬sponds to
his natural disposition. Mere birth alone is not sufficient for one to come
under a particular class; conduct also is necessary."11* Shri
Shridharsvami while commenting on this Sloka mentions thus:-"In the
classification, Brahmin, etc., the possession of correspond¬ing qualities, like
equanimity, self-control, etc., is important and not birth alone."
In other words, a person should be
sopoken of, as belonging to a particular class of his individual disposition.
This is the basic prin¬ciple of regulation of the institution of theistic
society (Daiva Varnasram). Birth is not the only determining principle of
caste. The determination of the respective classes, by the more important test
of disposition, is the real Vedic regulation. Even if a person born in any
class other than Brahmin, is found to possess qualities worthy of a genuine
Brahmin, it is incumbent on the Brahmins to admit that per¬son, without any
reservation, as a Brahmin, by the test of disposition. If this is not done such
abstention is sinful. Any connection with a person of atheistical disposition,
destroys all the merits, that one has so far gathered by various good deeds.