Realization of Parabhraman Thought Bhakti

by Shravya Naveen
(India)

The general perception about Hinduism is that it is a Polytheistic religion. In reality, it's a Pluralistic religion. The original name coined to this particular religion is 'Sanatana Dharma'. One should understand God (Parabhraman, the supreme soul) is only one existing. From Parabhraman, the entire universe was created. He is beyond time and the materialistic universe in which we are living.

Parabhraman is basically without any form and Gunas (Attributes) hence called Nirguna brahman. As it is difficult to understand his true self for ignorant souls like us he took the gross body with Gunas which is called Saguna brahman. Parabhraman, the supreme soul is in every living being and he takes different forms based on the Karma (Residual actions). when a living being realizes the presence of God within him/her and realizes the same in others living being, such a person is called 'realized soul' or a person who understand Parabrahman.

Trinity in Hinduism 

Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswara are called Trinity in Hinduism. Parabhrahman took three different forms for three different activities- Brahma for creating the materialistic universe with living beings (Demigods, humans, demons and other species), Vishnu for preservation- protecting the created universe, and Maheshwara for destruction during the dissolution time. A person who considers Trinity as one is equal to the learning of all scriptures quoted by Lord Shiva (Maheshwara) in the Rudra Geetha. 

Praying to Trees and Stones

In India, most of the place people do puja to auspicious trees located inside the temple and also few stones. In someplace people do puja to brick stone by applying turmeric powder and vermilion. It looks ridiculous until they understand the hidden meaning in that. It symbolizes god is present in every atom of the universe not only in living being as souls but also in non-living things as well. 

Lord Narashima avatar is an example of this, Once there lived a demon king called Hiranyakashipu. He had a son by name Prahalada. Hiranyakashipu was the enemy of Lord Vishnu as the Lord killed his brother Hiranyakasha for sinking Bhum Devi (planet Earth) into Rasatala(Nether world). His son was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, which triggered turbulence between father and son. 

Hiranyakashipu tried to kill Prahlada multiple times but failed as Lord Vishnu saved his devotee every time. One day Hiranyakashipu got fed up with his son's unwavering devotion towards Lord Vishnu and questioned "Where is your Lord Vishnu, show me where is he?" for that his son Prahlada replied, "he is everywhere, each and every atom in the universe". The reply made the demon king furious and questioned his son for the presence of Lord by showing a pillar in the palace, for which Prahalada's answer was 'Yes'. To prove his son was wrong he broke the wall with his mace, but to the King's surprise, Lord Vishnu in the form of Lord Narashima (Man-Lion) comes from the pillar and kills Hiranyakashipu to restore peace and prosperity in the three worlds.

Cognition of God(Parabhraman)

The main purpose of human life is to reach god. According to Hinduism after multiple birth and death cycle, a soul attains human birth based on its Karma. The main goal of human birth is to reach Parabhraman. Only through Human birth one can understand God and realize his presence in oneself which differs us f0rom animals, other activities are common like eating, sleeping and reproducing.

The soul is similar to water as water doesn't have a color or taste, it reflects the color of the container in which we pour it and tastes based on the ingredients added to water. Similarly, the soul also reflects the body nature it attains and also the emotions like sadness, happiness, hunger and so on.

How to Attain God

Till now you got a basic understanding of Parabrahman, human life greatness, and its purpose. Now we go to the next step that is "How to Attain God". There are many ways to reach god, in this article we will be discussing mainly on Bhakti (Devotion) way to reach God.

Bhakti 

Devotion towards god plays a major role to attain the blessing of God and also to attain him. To understand bhakti (Devotion) on god clearly, let's have a look into a wonderful story about a 5-year-old child called Dhruva. In Krita Yuga, there was a King named Uthanapada, son of Savyambuva Manu. Uthanapada had two wives - Suruchi and Suniti.

Uthanapada was more affectionate towards Suniti. Both wives had sons. Suruchi's son was Dhurva. As a five-year-old kid, he wanted his father's attention, love, and affection. One day Dhruva went to his father's palace and saw his stepbrother sitting on his father's lap. Dhruva too wanted to sit on his father lap. He approached his father and told his desire to sit on his lap for which Uthanapada agreed but Suniti couldn't take it. With harsh words, she insulted Dhurva and his mother. Dhurva waited for the father reaction and was heartbroken when his father didn't utter a single word. He left the palace with a heavy heart and narrated the whole incident to his mother.

She was heartbroken by seeing her son's condition and advised him to pray to Lord Vishnu. To get his father's love, Dhruva left the palace and went to the deep forest to do Tapas (Meditation) on Lord Vishnu. He was on severe tapas for many months without having food, surviving only with water and leaves. Lord Vishnu was pleased with the child's determination and blessed Dhruva to regain his father's love and attain a great place in the universe. 

To many people who have not read the story of Dhruva, it is believed that Dhruva is the Pole star. In India, we call it as Dhruva Nakshatra (star).

Bhakta Kannappa

Another story to understand the power of bhakti is the story of Bhakta Kannappa. Once there lived a tribe called Tinnadu. His duty is to hunt animals and take them to his hamlet. One day while hunting, he came across a Shiva Linga. Not knowing how to pray, he offered the flesh of animals to the Linga which was supposed to be shared with other tribals.

This became a daily routine and on one fine day when the temple priest came to do the daily ritual to the idol, he got angry by seeing the remnants of the flesh in front of the idol. The priest talked to the Linga " Why are you silently baring this insult instead of punishing him for this offense?. When there was no response, the priest declared he will kill himself. For his surprise, there was a loud voice from the Linga. He is pure at heart I will accept anything offered to me with Bhakti

 Tinnadu came and offered food but the lord dint accept the food. Tinnadu observed lord' tears falling from Lord's (Linga) eyes and he got worried. He wiped the tears, applied some medicinal herbs but the effort went in Vain. Unable to stop the tears from the Linga, he removed his eyes and placed on the Linga. After placing he confirmed with his hand whether tears got stopped from the Linga. Once he confirmed the tears stopped, he started dancing with joy to which the priest was wonder struck. The lord gave Tinnadu his eye back and the priest understood the devotion of Tinnadu. From that day he is Known as Bhakta Kannappa.

Conclusion

The main goal of human birth is to reach Parabrahman, the soul can reach Parabrahman only through bhakti. A pure devotion towards God is the only a way to escape from the cycle of birth and death.

Om Tat Sat.
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