Yad Bhavam Tad Bhavathi

19 May 2002, Summer Course 2002, Brindavan

Published English.

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Jihvagre varthathe Lakshmi Jihvagre mithra bandhava Jihvagre bandhanam prapthi Jihvagre maranam Dhruvam The tongue is the cause of Truth and Prosperity. The tongue also earns for us friends and relatives. It is the tongue that brings bondage and death. (Sanskrit Verse)

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Words are dainty delicacies. Words are aromatic fragrance. Words are the essence of nectar. Words are the essence of the . (Telugu Poem)

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The words uttered by were sweet and delicious. Words should be pleasant and they should be used in moderation. Words were the cause of ’s exile into the forest, ’s infamy and ’s death. As words contain potent sounds, we should use them with utmost care and caution, discretion and discrimination. The words of promise given by to at the time of battle brought sorrow and suffering to him. So we should use words with utmost care.

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The four sages , , and live in human beings and render help to them. They come to the rescue of human beings in times of dangers and ward off calamities. The four noble sages are eternal benefactors who work for the welfare of humanity day and night. When was about to leave for the forest, said to her son, “! May the four sages , , and be with you always and protect you as eyelids protect the eyes”

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at Before gave birth to she had a daughter by name . As she was a female child and was not qualified to succeed to the throne, gave her in adoption to King . The King brought her up and gave her in marriage to sage .

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invited many noble sages to attend on the advice of his minister . He also invited Sage to come and grace the function. was a noble sage. There were timely rains, peace and prosperity and people lived in joy and plenty wherever set his foot. went to and requested him to be the chief for the . replied, “I cannot come alone. I agree to be the chief but my consort also should come with me. She shall also function as a .” agreed to this. and reached there.

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As soon as she reached , did prostrations at the feet of and . wondered who she was as she looked like a . Wherever she set foot, drought vanished, making place for timely rains. When the parents wondered who she was, had to reveal her identity to and . She said “I am your daughter ”. and were overjoyed when they realised that she was whom they had given away in adoption to King .

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’s and After and , led by sage reached . Both the brothers guarded the with great care and killed the demons that tried to disrupt the . They kept strict vigil over the without food and sleep. was very happy on the successful completion of the . and prayed for permission to go back to . had promised , “O King! Being their father, you are deluded to think that they are ordinary boys. Nothing untoward will happen to them. As soon as the is completed, I would send them back hale and healthy.” At the time of the completion of ’s a messenger came from with a message to him. had sent a message to praying him to come and attend the function, where the bow of was to be lifted and strung. After reading the message of , the venerable sage said to and , “You should go to to see the bow of ”. He described at length the greatness of the bow of . As the two brothers were interested to see the bow, they obeyed the command of the sage and went to with him. broke the bow but he refused to marry without the permission of his parents. said to , “We have come with you for the protection of the and not for entering into marital relationships. I won’t take a step further in this regard without the permission of our father.” was not an ordinary sage. Earlier he was a great emperor. He wanted to take away , the wish-fulfilling cow from the of by force. A fierce battle ensued between the army of and the army created by the cow. was defeated in the battle and all his sons were dead. Realizing that material wealth and power was no match to spiritual splendour and wealth, he became an ascetic.

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said, “O Master! The descendents of always observed the command of their parents. They would not do anything without the permission of their parents. Hence it is not proper on our part to act without the permission of our parents.” was steadfast in his adherence to Truth. He always spoke Truth and never swerved away from it. It is said, The world is born of Truth. Everything merges in Truth.

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Encounter with and his three consorts, , and agreed for the marriage. After marriage, as they were returning to , Sage encountered them on the way. “Who is the one who broke the bow of ?”, roared . He challenged for a fight. defeated him and submitted his two (splendours) to , who was endowed with twelve . shone with his own twelve , two from his brothers and another two given by . That is how shone brilliantly with all the sixteen of the .

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defeated with love. gave away his powerful weapons to and said to Him, “! You are now shining with sixteen .” was the embodiment of truth. There is no power greater than truth. Hence, surrendered to . With the surrender of , ’s power became full and complete.

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’s Boon Once some sages went to and told about the atrocities perpetrated by . asked them to go to and pray for his help. When they prayed to , he said, “ shall die only at the hands of a human being, since I had given the boon that he would not be killed by gods and demons. You go to Lord and seek his help.” Moved by the prayers of sages and the people, said to them, “I know all about your sufferings. Very soon I will be born as a son to and then I will relieve you of your sufferings.” fulfilled His promise, which he had given to the sages by killing ultimately.

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When was about to enter , , who was guarding the gates of said to him, “ It will not be possible for you to enter without my permission. I am the guardian of .” Saying these words she moved forward to hit at . When she was about to hit him, lifted with his left hand and threw her down. Then remembered the prophecy of , “It would be the beginning of the doom of , when a monkey would hit you.” Further she said, “! Your touch has sanctified me.” . (The vision destroys all sins, the touch frees a person from consequence of all actions and conversation eliminates all troubles.) “It is time for me to leave my body” saying so she breathed her last.

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felt sad that she was not able to experience the divinity of . “As he has taken human form and born to me, I am unable to consider him as divine. I will regard as a human till he shows me the sign of his divinity.” That is how was treating as a human. One day came and said to her, “Sister, is not an ordinary boy. , and also are not ordinary mortals.” was firm in her decision to follow into the forests. She said that it was her bounden duty to follow .

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at settled at , twelve miles away from . He installed the of on the throne and worshipped them with great devotion.

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The four brothers were the incarnations of the four . was , who would always chant the praises of was the . who would always sing the glory of was the . who wielded the weapons for protection of and his brother were the personification of .

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lived in devoting himself entirely to the contemplation of . He was immersed in the contemplation of , forgoing even food and sleep. His wife was also a great devotee of . She also lived in for fourteen years serving her husband. Since was immersed in the contemplation of , He too shone like . When he entered with , people could not distinguish between and . ‘’ (As you think so you become). was a virtuous lady, who was devoted to her husband by paying due obedience to the mothers-in-law and her husband. She shone as an ideal to others. She too became an ascetic with her hair in a single plait. When was entering followed by three brothers and their wives, people could not distinguish between and . shone like an ascetic due to fourteen years of contemplation on . also shone like her since she was always immersed in the contemplation of the lord. (The one who realizes the becomes himself.). As all the brothers had oneness of thought and feeling, their four consorts also had the same. All of them constituted an ideal home.

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Women are more Virtuous The other day, the lady from Greece mentioned about (Universal family). God is universal. The people of the universe are his kith and kin. The four consorts of the four brothers were the embodiments of virtues and ideal conduct. In a sense, women are greater than men for, men have only three powers whereas women are endowed with seven powers. As they have four powers extra, they shine with greater splendour.

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Was not who revived her dead husband an Indian lady? Was not who extinguished the consuming flames by the power of her truthfulness an Indian lady? Was not who leaped into the burning fire to prove her chastity an Indian lady? Was not who burnt to ashes the wicked hunter, an Indian lady? , surrounded by the sea of sacredness and sanctified by the women of chastity, A land of noble culture, Was indeed the teacher to the entire world. (Telugu Poem)

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Can you find chaste women like , , etc., anywhere else in the world? India is a great nation. Many eminent men took birth in this country, lived noble lives and stood as examples to the entire mankind. is full of ideal men and women who shone as examples to humanity.