Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 5 Chapter 10:7-15

Book 5: Chapter 10

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 5: Chapter 10: Verses 7-15 The meeting of Jadabharata with king Rahugana King Rahugana, however, flew into a rage on his palanquin being borne irregularly again, and said,"Oh, what does this mean ? Though living, you are (as good as) dead in that you ignore me (my presence) and transgress the commands of your lord. I shall accordingly correct you, perverse as you are--even as Yama (the god of punishment) chastises the people-so that you may recover your senses." To Rahugana who had in his pride mixed with anger (a product of Rajoguna) and infatuation ( a product of Tamoguna or ignorance) slighted (through Bharata) all the devotees of the Lord (who constitute His favourite abode) and thought himself to be a wise man although he was not much acquainted with the ( queer and deluding) ways of masters of Yoga, and was at the same time talking much nonsense, accounting himself to be a ruler of men -that worshipful Brahmana, who had become one with Brahma (the Infinite) and was a friend, nay, the very self of all living beings, smilingly spoke as follows, even though he was altogether free from pride:- The Brahmana said : What has been (ironically) hinted at by you ( just now), (viz., that I am in no way fatigued and that I have not borne the palanquin to a long distance) is evidently true and constitutes no reproach. It would be a slur if this burden borne on (the shoulders of) its bearer (the body), O valiant king, had rested on me (the incorporeal Spirit, who has no burden at all) and if the goal to be reached or the way (leading to it), existing in the eyes of the goer (the moving body), had reference to me (the all-pervading and, therefore, immovable Spirit). (Even so) the epithet 'stout' is used by the wise with reference to a body (a conglomerate of the five gross elements) alone and never in relation to the incorporeal Spirit. Stoutness and leanness, (bodily) ailments and (mental) worries,, hunger and thirst, fear and strife, desire and old age, sleep and attachment to the pleasures of sense, anger and vanity arising from egotism, and grief appear (only) in one who is born with a feeling of identification with the body and not in me (the pure Self). Death synchrdnous with life, O king, is as a rule perceived in everything which undergoes transformation; for whatever undergoes transformation has a beginning and an end (too). And orders should be given by one and carried out by another without fail only where the relation of servant and master is fixed (unchangeable), O praiseworthy monarch ! (In our case it is not so; for you can become a servant and I your master if there is a revolution.) And we do not find the slightest occasion (justification) for the notion of difference (as between a master and servant) apart from usage or convention. Under such circumstances who is the ruler and who, the servant (fit to be ruled) ? Nevertheless, O king, (if you account yourself a master, tell me,) what can we do for you (what service can we render to you?). and what object will be gained by you, O valiant monarch, by correcting me or teaching a lesson to me, who behave like a lunatic, a sot or a dunce, even though established in my own Self. And if I am (really) stupid or drunk, giving a lesson tome will be (as unprofitable and preposterous as) grinding flour. Sri Suka continued : Having made this brief reply in the form of a bare statement of facts, the great sage (Bharata)-who was tranquil by nature and in whom the cause (in the shape of ignorance) for identification with the body had (altogether) ceased-bore the palanquin even as before in order to exhaust the stock of Karma which had already begun to bear fruit, by reaping its consequences. On hearing the reply of the Brahmana, which was capable of resolving the knot (of ignorance) existing in one's heart, and was (at the same time) borne out by many a work on Self-knowledge, the said ruler of the territories of Sindhu and Sauvira too, who had by virtue of (his) genuine faith acquired the (necessary) qualification for enquiring into the Truth, quickly alighted (from his conveyance) and, asking forgiveness (for his fault) and approaching (touching) the soles of his feet with his head, spoke (as follows), completely rid of his pride of sovereignty :-