54. पुराणागमतत्त्ववित् Purāṇāgama-tattva-vit

One who knew the essence of the methods of Purāṇic worship

The Veda or Śruti, which manifested from the breath of Īśvara, is akin to prabhu-sammita, the laws laid down by a king. Similar is the case with the Smṛtis written by sages to elaborate on the Śruti. The Śruti and Smṛtis are expounded through stories in the form of Purāṇas to facilitate easy comprehension – these are like suhṛt-sammita, the advice of a friend.¹⁴⁰ Knowledge of the Purāṇas is very important because it is said, “If a learned man were to know the four Vedas with its limbs as also the Upaniṣads, but is not versed in the Purāṇas, he is not at all wise.”¹⁴¹ The Purāṇas contain descriptions of creation, genesis of Brahmā, lineages, the epochs of various Manus and the stories of the lineages.¹⁴²

Āgama means method of worship, as in nāma 47. The methods of worship laid down in the Purāṇas are based on the Vedas but are easier for the lay person to practice. Further, anyone can practice them to attain the highest. These methods include karma-yoga, bhakti, observances such as fasting, control of the senses and mind, and meditation on various forms of the Lord. The Purāṇas each extol a form of the Supreme such as Śiva, Viṣṇu and Ambā. But the essence of all of them is this: the devotee, by worshipping the Lord in a form dear to him, attains purity of mind and finally by that very Lord’s grace, attains knowledge of the oneness of the Ātman and Brahman.

As a tattva-vit, knower of the essence, of purāṇa-āgama, the forms of Purāṇic worship, His Holiness practiced and reached the highest through them and was thoroughly competent to guide devotees and spiritual aspirants.

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The following is excerpted from the recollections of His Holiness about His meditative experiences on divine forms at the age of sixteen. He was

150 54. Purāṇāgama-tattva-vit habituated to meditating only on the forms of Bālā and Lakṣmī-Narasiṁha before He was prompted by divine will to meditate on forms of Kṛṣṇa, which was followed by the events described below.

“One afternoon a divine form manifested without any volition on my part. It was that of Viṣṇu with eight, rather than four, arms. The Lord displayed in His four right hands the sudarśana-cakra, a rosary, the kaumodakī mace and the symbol of granting fearlessness. In His four left hands, I saw the pāñcajanya conch, the śārṅga bow, the nandaka sword and the symbol of granting boons. He was adorned with various ornaments, such as a diadem, armlets and bracelets, and wore a garland.

“For some time, I found myself mentally chanting the Nārāyaṇa-aṣṭākṣarī. Thereafter, my mind locked on to just the form. By the time I regained some awareness of my body, over an hour had passed. Even after I got up, I continued to see the form in my heart. That evening, I meditated on this form itself. The next morning, as I started my meditation, I found this form, which I had been perceiving since the previous day, replaced by one in which the Lord held just a rosary. His visage was extremely calm and He radiated peace. I continued to apprehend the new form in my heart even after my meditation ended.

“That afternoon, at the start of meditation, the form underwent a change and I now saw Him not merely without weapons but also without ornaments, such as a diadem. My evening meditation began with my focusing on this form. Abruptly, my attention was drawn to just His smiling face. Up to almost the close of the hour-long session, my focus was exclusively on this. Till I completed my bath the next morning, I could see in my heart, the Lord as bereft of ornaments and weapons and holding just a rosary. The form then vanished.

“When I reported my experiences with the forms of Viṣṇu to my Guru, He said nothing. However, a little later, He sent me a copy of the Viṣṇu-purāṇa in which He had kept an empty sheet of paper. In the portion indicated, I found verses describing the very forms that I had seen and advising meditation on them.”

The concerned verses of the Viṣṇu-purāṇa, which are part of the advice given by sage Keśidhvaja to Khānḍikya, convey: “The yogin should, O king, concentrate his mind thoroughly on the Lord as adorned with a diadem, garland, armlets, bracelets and the like, as having in His (eight) hands, the śārṅga (bow), conch, mace, sword, discus, rosary and the signs of granting boons and fearlessness and as wearing rings of gems in His fingers till his attention becomes steady there. Success is to be understood as achieved when this thought does not leave the mind even when walking, standing or engaging in some activity of choice. Thereafter, the wise man should contemplate the form of the Lord as tranquil, with a rosary, and bereft of a conch, mace, discus, śārṅga and so on. After that focus becomes as firm as before, he should think of God as devoid of adornments, such as the diadem and armlets. Next, the wise man should fix his mind on a prominent part of the Lord.” ¹⁴³ The Bhāgavata-purāṇa records that after telling Uddhava that one should meditate on the full form of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa said, “Then one should concentrate the mind that is distributed all over my body on one part and think of nothing else but the smiling face.”¹⁴⁴

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His Holiness once said the following in a benedictory discourse.

“Though the teachings of the Śruti and Smṛti are available, we will not be able to easily understand their import if we do not know the Purāṇas. For instance, the Śruti says, ‘satyaṁ vada (speak the truth)’. To understand whether anyone gained anything at all by speaking the truth, we need to look at the story of Hariścandra.

“There was a king called Hariścandra. He went through great trials and tribulations in life. But in the end Yama, Lord of dharma himself appeared before him and said, ‘I gave you all these miseries only to test you. In spite of having to face so many misfortunes you never swerved from the path of truth. Hence you will be remembered for posterity. You may now enjoy all the comforts of a king. May you live long. Your name will be glorified throughout the world while the sun and moon still last.’ Similarly, Indra, Maharṣi Viśvāmitra, etc., who had come to test him also blessed the king.

“When we listen to this story, we feel, “Oh! There seems to be some value in the statement, ‘satyaṁ vada’. On the other hand, if the person were to merely hear the words ‘satyaṁ vada’, he would be likely to think, ‘On telling some lies people are able to accumulate much wealth. But I alone should speak the truth and wander around with nothing, is it?’ However, on listening to the story of Hariścandra, he would understand that it may seem like those who stick to the path of dharma initially undergo difficulties, but finally the good that accrues to them does not come to anyone else. This certitude is born out of reading the Purāṇas.

“The Purāṇas explain the philosophy of the Śruti and Smṛti to us very clearly. It is therefore said, ‘The study of the Vedas is to be supplemented by that of the Itihāsas and Purāṇas. The Veda, thinking, ‘He will deceive me’, is fearful of the one of meagre learning.’¹⁴⁵ Therefore, to know the import of the Veda, one must study Itihāsas such as the Mahābhārata, or Purāṇas such as the Viṣṇu-purāṇa. If the meaning of the Veda is explained to one who has knowledge of these, then such a person would stand to benefit. Otherwise, the person may interpret Veda-mantras wrongly and also go about teaching the wrong meanings to others, thereby causing the very Veda to fear that a situation may arise in which the entire world is shrouded by this darkness of ignorance!”

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