Gajendra Moksha
Gajendra offering the Lord a lotus
flower when the Lord comes to rescue
him.
|
Dhyaan dharey man sey mera karey na chit udaas
Samjhey mujhko har samay hardam apney paas |
Ghat ghat mein sansaar key vyaapak main bharpoor
Prem sey nitya sameep hoon, prem nahin to door ||
These lines belong to the Bhagvad Geeta in Hindi by Pandit RadheyShyam
from Bareily. This Scripture, I have been reading and teaching youngsters since
the last 22 years.
The
lines above are my favorite and they are spoken by Krishna to Arjuna during the
latter’s darkest hour.
Krishna says that man should meditate upon the Lord, not feel dejected
and think of the Lord, as always being at hand.
Krishna claims that He is present in abundance in every atom of the
world.
To
those who have love (and faith) in their heart, God is close by, to the others
He seems to be far away!
The
following story that I am about to narrate is ‘Gajendra Moksha’ and is a part of
the Shrimad Bhaagvad.
It
is written, that he who reads the story of Gajendra, his mind will be purified
and he will be received by the Lord God Himself at the time of his
death.
Gajendra was the King of elephants.
One
hot day, he proceeded to the lake with his family to cool off in its fresh
waters.
But
from within the lake a crocodile appeared who attacked him and would not let go
of him.
When
the family and relatives saw ‘death’ coming close to Gajendra, and everyone
realised that everything was lost, they left Gajendra alone.
The
symbolism so far:
-
Man is Gajendra
-
The world, is the lake where he plays the game of life with family and others.
-
The crocodile is ‘Death and Difficulties’ which attack man.
The
Lesson:
-
Neither family nor friend can liberate one from the clutch of death.
-
God answers your prayers.
It
is said that ‘Nirbal key bal Ram’
Which means that God is the Strength of the Weak!
A
lot of us make preparations for a journey from which one is meant to return; yet
we make none for death!
Most
of us cry out to God when caught in hopeless situation.
And
that is what Gajendra did!
You
will notice that in the Bhaagvad, there are stories with a moral and
symbolisms.
Most
stories have a beautiful prayer!
Gajendra prayed:
‘Please help me O Lord! Save me from the clutches of Death!’
How
can an ordinary mortal recognize You, when great sages find it hard to achieve
You? You are all merciful.
Take
me to a place where there is no fear and death!
I am
not asking you to save me from the clutch of the crocodile, or that I should
survive this attack! I am aware that I not only have a body of an elephant but
also a fat mind of an elephant! What is the use of keeping this life? I want to
be liberated from my Ignorant Mind which hides the resplendent soul! I can only
be saved by Your Grace!
It
is said that if one recites the Gajendra Prayer, one achieves liberation and
freedom from frightening dreams!
The
Lord rushed to Gajendra’s aid. The latter offered the Lord a lotus
flower.
God
attacked the crocodile and saved His Loved One.
Gajendra, in his previous life was a great devotee called Indradyumna who
was also a great king. One day, Agastya, a great sage came to visit the king.
Indradyumna did not receive the Sage with the respect that the latter expected.
The enraged Agastya cursed the king to become an elephant in his next birth, as
he sat heavy on his seat and did not rise to greet him.
The
crocodile in its last life was a king called HuHu in the Gandharva planet. Once
while enjoying himself in the waters, he pulled the leg of a sage. The enraged
sage cursed the king to become a crocodile in his next life. The repentant HuHu
asked for pardon. The Sage proclaimed that though he could not retrieve the
curse, the crocodile would be liberated from the cycle of birth and death when
Gajendra would be saved by the Lord God Himself.
Those readers who have been with me so far will wonder why I quoted the
lines from the Geeta at the beginning of this note.
Well, those lines, as well as the story of Gajendra state
that:
The
Lord is close to those who call out to Him in full faith.
It
does not matter if you have the body or intellect of an animal, all you require
is a loving heart and the conviction that God is closer than we can possibly
believe!
Gajendra Moksha Stuti (Prayer)
AUM
NAMO BHAGAWATE TASMAY YAT ETCCHIDATMAKAM
PURUSHAAYAA DIBIJAAY PARESHAAYAABHI DHEEMAHEE
YASMINNIDUM YETASCCHEDUM YENEDUM EEDUM SWAYAM
YOSMAAT PARASMAASCH PARAH TUMPRAPADYE SWAYAMBHOOWAM
GLOSSARY (Pronunciation)
A Like in ‘but’
Aa Like in ‘Far’
Ai Like in 'hair’
Ey Like in Whey
I Like in ‘Pin’
Oo Like in ‘Shoot’
Oon ‘n’ has got a nasal sound.
U Like in ‘Put’
Aa Like in ‘Far’
Ai Like in 'hair’
Ey Like in Whey
I Like in ‘Pin’
Oo Like in ‘Shoot’
Oon ‘n’ has got a nasal sound.
U Like in ‘Put’
SANSKRIT
Sanskrit believes that the sound of the word
never gets ruined and that it has an everlasting value.
Words in Sanskrit open out from their seed
(beej) form.
A root is always a single syllable that
contains one of the basic sounds a, I, u, ri
The root or seed may create a word, yet the
word will vibrate to its best, and gives it tremendous power.
The Vedic or
the Sanskrit view gives more importance to the special sound it should produce,
than to the meaning of the spoken word.
Source:http://www.dalsabzi.com/bhaagvad/Gajendra_Moksha.htm
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