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Vasishta
Maharishi
Have you seen the Pole Star? If you observe keenly
you can see it at night in the northern part of the sky shining bright always.
Below the Pole Star you will find a group of stars i n the shape of inverted
English letters as shown here-u). They are seven in number and are called
‘Saptarshi Mandala’ or the Great Bear,a constellation. The seven saints after
whom they are named are: Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and
Vasishta. Rishi or saint means a wise man, the man who knows the secret of the
Vedas.
Kulapati (Acharya, The Teacher)
Vasishta is supposed to have been born as the
result of Brahma’s will-power. He was a great ascetic, laboured for the welfare
of the world Vasishta was not a recluse, he was householder. He was married
Arundhati. Arundhati is famous for virtues and devotion to her husband There is
a small star close to Vasish in the Great Bear or Saptarshi Mandal They have
named it after Arundha Among the Hindus, immediately after, the wedding, the
bride is shown Arundhati and she worships the star. It is a symbolic acceptance
of the ideal of virtue and devotion by the bride .
Vasishta had his hermitage on the banks of the
river Saraswati. Arundhati spent all her time in the service of husband. He had
with him thousand of disciples and taught them he Vedas.
Vasishta was affectionately addressed by his
disciples as Kulapati or chiefpreceptor. In those days a teacher who fed and
taught at least ten thousand students was called Kulapati. Vasishta's daily
routine was to teach his disciples, to preach dharma to the visitors and to
practise tapas or austerities.
There was an atmosphere of peace in the hermitage.
The plants and trees were full of flowers and fruits. A variety of birds sang
and flew about in the hermitage. Herds of deer and cows lived there. There was
regular performance of several holy sacrifices for the good of the world.
Several Hundreds of visitors used to come to the hermitage to meet Vasishta.
The merit earneds by the performance of tapas was Vasishta's great strength.
He was a man of peace. He had conquered desire and
anger. His Ashram needed great quantities of milk, curds and ghee for the
feeding of thousands of his disciples, guests and performance of sacrifices
regularly. Devendra had gifted to Vasishta a divine cow, having admired his
generosity and performance of sacrifices. The cow was called Nandini. She was
the daughter of Kamadhenu. Since it was a divine cow it had extra ordinary
powers. The Ashram got plenty of milk and ghee from this cow. Since it had moonlike
patches all over the body, it was also called 'Shabala.' The word mean
many-coloured. Vasishta and Arundha were very fond of Nandini.
Vishwamitra Arrives as a Guest
Vasishta's tapas, patience and the aura of
God-realization were so great that king Vishwamitra was influenced by him to
give up his kingship and desired to become a Rishi like Vasishta.
Vishwamitra was a king. He went to the forest to
hunt. Once, after hunting he was returning with his tired army and happened to
pass through Vasishta's Ashram. He wished to pay his kingship and desired to
respects to Vasishta. Vishwamitra saluted Vasishta with proper respect and
humility. Vasishta was glad to meet king Vishwamitra. He entertained the king
and his army with fruits and other delicacies and spoke to him with affection.
Vishwamitra got ready to depart after this. Then
Vasishta said, "Vishwamitra, you are a guest here. You and your army may
take food and rest here and then depart."
Vishwamitra thought, 'My army is big. If all of us
stay here for food, the inhabitants in the Ashram will be put to hardship'. He
said aloud, "Great soul, we are all satisfied with your kind words. I am
fortunate to have met you. I thank you for your kindness. Extend the same love
always. Allow us to depart." Vasishta said, "King, do not feel
embarrassed. I do not feel happy if you go away without taking food. All of you
should stay back." Vishwamitra agreed to do so since Vasishta pressed him.
As a result of Nandini's divine powers there were
large quantities sweets and other eatables. Vishwamitra and his followers ate
to their heart content.
Guest Becomes Enemy
Vishwamitra was greatly surprise at what Nandini
had performed. He felt greedy and wished to take the cow wit him to his
capital. He went to Vasishta and expressed his desire.
Vasishta said, "King, Indra gave this cow to
me. I am able to feed thousand of my disciples and guests every day only with
the help of this cow gifted to me by Indra. Even the milk, curds and ghee
required for sacrifices here and supplied by Nandini only. How can you ask for
such a cow?"
Vishwamitra said, "Saint. I shall give in
place of your cow one lakh decorated cows which will supply your requirement
and you will not feel the absence of Nandini."
Vasishta said, "That is not the point, King.
It is not proper to give away a gift made to me by Devas. it will go against
the wishes of the Devas." Vishwamitra argued, "it will not violate
any ethical norms. I shall supply all the requirements of your Ashram. Give me
Nandini." Vasishta argued, "Why should you bear the burden of this
expenditure? If you have ample Supply of foodgrains, use them to help your
subjects. Give them to the poor. Let them be happy. I do not wish to accept
money from a king for the use of our Ashram."
Thus the argument went on between the two.
Vasishta would not agree to part with Nandini and Vishwamitra would not accept
the refusal. Finally Vishwamitra became very angry. He thought, 'I am a great
king. Whatever good things there are in. my kingdom should belong to me. A poor
saint like Vasishta is disrespectful by his conduct and then said,
"Vasishta, if you do not give Nandini, I will take her by force.
So saying, he got ready to leave.
Vasishta remained peaceful and do not say
anything.
Vishwamitra called his soldiers an ordered,
"Soldiers, tie up the cow will ropes and bring her along by force. They
surrounded the cow. But she dodged them and came running to Vasishta and
pleaded, "Great saint, the king's guards are trying to drag me by force.
Do you give me up? What wrong did I do?"
Vasishta answered, "Shabala, you have done no
wrong. I have not given you up. Vishwamitra is taking you by force and he has
the army. Besides, he is my guest. How can I stop him? Then Nandini said to
Vasishta, "Give me permission. I shall subdue his army.
Vasishta agreed. Nandini then bellowed once. By
the divine power of her voice, lakhs of magical soldiers came into being and
faced Vishwamitra' s army. There was a great battle and Vishwamitra' s army was
defeated.
Power Of Tapas
Vishwamitra became most worried. He felt ashamed
because he was no able to face a saint and a cow though Like a fangless he had
a large army snake and like a wingless bird, he felt sad. He was burning with
the desire to take revenge. He decided to earn Powerful weapons by performing
tapas. He went to the Himalayas and worshipped Ishwara with his austere tapas
and earned in return knowledge of archery and divine weapons.
Vishwamitra was insolent because of his position
as king and overlord. After winning the divine weapons, he was swollen with
pride. It went to his head. He thought he would be able to defeat Vasishta
completely and destroy him. With this determination he came to the hermitage of
Vasishta. He began to rain arrows on the Ashram and destroy it. The other
saints and disciples ran helter-skelter. The animals and bird! of the Ashram
were terrified. There was wailing followed by destruction.
Vasishta came to know about the destruction caused
by Vishwamitra. He comforted the frightened disciples and advised them to take
courage. He tool, his Brahmadanda - the staff of a saint- and came out of his
hermitage and confronted Vishwamitra and said, "O you fool, why are you
destroying the Ashrarn without any cause? Is it proper for a king to destroy when
he should protect?" Vishwamitra got ready to release his arrow called
Agneyastra, a powerful weapon. Then Vasishta put up his saint's staff
(Brahmadanda) before him and said, "Vishwamitra, show me your valour and
strenght." Then Vishwamitra released - his Agneyastra against Vasishta.
The arrow sped roaring with fire towards Vasishta but got reduced like a
burnt-out faggot and fell at his feet like live coals dropping into a tank.
What is a Brahmadanda?
It is the staff in the hands of an ascetic. The
power and strength of Vasishta's tapas was concentrated in the staff. In his
anger Vishwamitra released one by one all his powerful weapons. Roudra, Aindra,
Pashupata followed each other to the incantation of mantras or verses. But all
of them were rendered powerless before Vasishta's Brahmadanda. Vishwamitra was
furious with anger. When he had used all his weapons in vain, he took out the
divinely endowed arrow called Brahmastra and fitted it in his bow. It
frightened all in the Ashram as well divine beings in heaven. Every one became
concerned for Vasishta Vishwamitra released it against Vasishta invoking the
spiritual powers of mantras. Vasishta stood undisturbed. I appeared like a
bright flame at this moment; sparks of fire emanated form his body. The staff in
his hand look like the staff in the hands of Yama God of Death. The Brahmastra
sped like lightning towards Vasishta make frightening noise like thunder. It
pounced on Vasishta's Brahmadanda and was absorbed into it. The other saints
who saw this praised Vasishta's strength said, "Great man, your strength
beyond our guess. Control your I and become peaceful." Vasish, accepted
their advice and became Calm.
There was no other weapon left with Vishwamitra.
He had used all his weapons and had been totally defeated by Vasishta. He felt
repentant. He realised his mistake. He understood the truth would always win.
He felt, "I took the wrong path. It is impossible suppress truth by
force." He sighed and went away saying, "There is no value for my power
and strength. The real power. is that which comes from tapas.
Vishwamitra was a man determination, ambition and
strength. He said to himself, "All my diving weapon are rendered
powerless. The power of Vasishta is great. Tapas, truth are non-violence are
matchless. I must become the equal of Vasishta." He gave his kingdom to
his son and went to forest to perform tapas. He started performing severe
tapas. People stopped calling him king and started calling him saint
Vishwamitra. He became famous as a Rishi.
Hariscandra, Disciple of Vasishta
Harischandra was the king Ayodhya. He was famous
for his truthful nature. Vasishta was his preceptor and he was proud of
Harischandra. At a meeting of the court in heaven, one day Indra asked,
"Who is truthful on the earth?" Vasishta replied.
"Harischandra is truthful. He remains so
under all trying circumstances and will not utter a lie." Everyone agreed
with Vasishta. Vishwamitra stood up. He nursed ill-will against Vasishta. He
said, "Devendra, what vasishta says is not true. Out of his partiality for
his disciple, he says that Harischandra is always truthful. We cannot believe
it. Who is there that will not utter a lie when he is in very
hardcircumstances?"
Vasishta did not agree with him. He said,
"Harischandra will never utter a lie whatever be 'the hardships."
There was controversy.
Vishwamitra declared "Lock, I shall make
Harischandra utter lies. It I do notsucceed, I shall make over all the merit of
my tapas to him."
The assembly was over. Vasishta returned to his
hermitage. He knew that Vishwamitra would examine Harischandra in various ways
and that Harischandra would be subjected to severe tests in this course. But
Vasishta did not say a word about it to Harischandra. What is the greatness of
a man if he is cautioned and then put to test? He did not bother about it
because he knew that a man of truth would always remain truthful.
Vishwamitra got ready to testHarischandra. His
hatred of Vasishta was the only reason for his entering into this controversy.
He used all his learning to succeed in his plan. He tookfrom Harischandra his
kingdom by practising duplicity and cunning. Harischandra was made a debtor;
his queen Chandramati and son Lohitashwa had to go to Kashi along with him.
Even there he was pestered to repay the loan. He
sold himself and his wife to pay back the loan. But he did not utter a lie. He
was reduced to the position of a servant of the man who watched over the
cemetery at Kashi and did the job for him. Even then he did not utter a lie.
Vishwamitra manipulated things in such a way that Harischandra was expected to
behead his wife. Even then Harischandra did not give up truth. Vishwamitra did
not succeed in his vow to make Harischandra utter a single lie even in the
worst circumstances. He accepted his defeat and made over the merit of his
tapas to Harischandra and went to forest to perform tapas. Vasishta was proved
right.
Shakti - Vasishta's Son
King Kalmashapada was driving in his chariot along
the forest track. Shakti, the eldest son of Vasishta, encountered the chariot
in the forest. Shakti did not move to a side to make way for the chariot.
During the journey in those days, if a chariot or any vehicle came against a
saint, a cow, a king, a blind man, an old man, a man carrying a load, a pregant
woman, or a weak man, the vehicle had to give the right of path to them by
moving to a side. That was considered the proper conduct. Kalmashapada saw
Shakti and said, "You, move to a side and make way for the chariot. Don't
you see that I am a king?"
In reply Shakti said, "I am a saint. It is
the duty of a king to make way for a saint. Instead of that it is not proper
for you to find fault with me." The king was very vain. He became angry
and lashed at Shakti very hard with his whip. Shakti also became angry and cursed,
"You rogue, do you whip a saint! Your temperament is that of a Rakshasa.
Become a Rakshasa, Demon."
Vishwamitra who was passing that way at some
distance from the scene of this incident saw all this. It pleased him because
Vasishta- -was his enemy. He heard Shakti cursing become a Rakshasa (Demon). A
little later Vishwamitra met another Rakshasa called Kinkara. He entered into
the body of Kalmashapada as per the instructions of Vishwamitra, and the curse
came true, The king lost his wisdom and sense of righteousnes. He offended
another saint who also cursed him to become a Rakshasa. Kalmashapada came to
know of the curses taking effect. As a consequence he became degraded to the
position of a Rakshasa in nature. Next day he went to Shakti's hermitage and
said to him, "You! I am reduced to this horrible state because of you. My
sense of righteousness is destroyed. You are responsible for it. I will take
revenge on you. I shall begin my career as a Rakshasa by first eating
you." He then roared and killed Shakti and ate him up. He also killed
Shakti’s brothers.
Embodiment Of Forgiveness
Vasishta came to know all about this. He became
very sad when he heard that Kalmashapada killed Shakti and his other sons.
Unable to bear his sorrow, he became very unhappy, went away from his hermitage
and wandered about in the forest. During this period he saw a pregnant woman
coming towards him. She was Shakti's widow, Adrushyanti. Having lost her
husband, she did not know how to protect herself and so she came in search of
Vasishta. He was moved to pity when he saw her. He then took courage himself,
comforted Adrushyanti and brought her to his hermitage. He looked after her
with love and affection. In a few days, she gave birth to a son. Vasishta named
him Parashara.
One day Vasishta went to forest to collect twigs
for his holy fire. Adrushyanti also went to assist him. When she was tying up
the bundle of twigs, a Rakshasa came bellowing loudly.
She became frightened and started running towards
Vasishta calling for help. He told daughter-in- law not to be afraid then
turning towards the Rakish made a frightening sound. The Rakshasa stood planted
to the spot unable to move even a step. He was Kalmashapada.
Vasishta understood everything by a handful of his
divine vision. He took holy water from his (Kamandalu) water jug, recited holy
verses and sprinkled the holy water on the Rakshasa's head. He was freed from
the curse and the nature of a Rakshasa. Kalmashapad fell at the feet of
Vasishta and begged "0 great sage, on account of the curse I did what I
should not have done. You are kind. Forgive me and save me."
Kalmashapada had wronged Vasishta greatly. He had
committed great crime. Vasishta forgave him and advised, "0 king, go back
to your city and rule over it as you did in the past.
Do not go against righteousness. Treat preceptors
and elders with respect. Do not become vain because of power and wealth,
Because of your vanity you were punished in the past." What a great soul
was Vasishta!
There is No Greater Virtue Than patience
Parashara, son of Adrushyanti, grew up in
Vasishta's hermitage. Vasishta taught him everything. When he grew up into a
man, his mother told him all about his father. Parashara became angry. He had
mastered the four Vedas and was a saint like Vasishta. He had earned great
power by his tapas like Vasishta. He declared, I shall kill Kalmashapada, who
killed my father" and was starting when Vasishta came and advised, "0
child Parashara, be calm. There is no virtue higher than patience. For a person
who. Performs tapas, patience is of great value. After all Kalmashapada is the
king of this country. he is ruling righteously now.
What is the benefit in killing him? Will your
father come back to life? The kingdom will become leaderless. The citizens will
be put to a lot of hardship. Taking revenge is not fit for us. Do not use the
power gained by hard tapas for a task like this. Your father also did not do
the right thing. He could have given the right of way to the king and could
have avoided conflict. He made a mountain of a mole-hill. See how bad the
consequences were. in his anger he cursed the king and wasted the, power he had
gained by his tapas. He became the cause of his own death. Therefore,
Parashara, do not wish Kalmashapada ill."
If We Do Not Conquer 'I' The Ego...
Vasishta was becoming more and more famous as the
merit earned by his tapas increased. Everywhere people talked about his
greatness. Vishwamitra again started practising tapas to become the equal of
Vasishta. He was determined to be recognized as such. There were many obstacles
in his way, But he continued his tapas for a long time and he come across all
the difficulties through his brane and firm mind. Brahma appeared before him
and said, "Vishwamitra, ask what you want." Vishwamitra replied,
"Brahmadeva, I must become Brahamarshi. Vasishta must acknowledge that I
am a Brahmarshi. I must get as much power as Vasishta because of the power that
goes with that position as Brahmarshi." Brahma thought, 'There is still
the spirit of competition in Vishwamitra. There is the ego in him still' and
said –
"Vishwamitra, you are a great Rishi. But you
have not yet reached the stage of Vasishta and earned such merit. He will not
accept you as a Brahmarshi" and disappeared.
Vishwamitra was greatly annoyed. He said to
himself, I have practised tapas most rigorously all these years. I gave up my
kingship and came to forest for this purpose. Even then I have not earned
enough merit to become Brahmarshi. Why is it that Vasishta cannot accept me as
a Brahmarshi? I shall ask him myself." At the end of this reflection he
decided to see Vasishta and came to his hermitage.
It was night. The residents of the hermitage were
all asleep except Vasishta and Arundhati. Arundhati addressed Vasishta and
pleaded, "My Lord, Vishwamitra has been practising most rigorous tapas for
many year now. Brahma has appeared before him. It is Vishwamitra' s desire to
be recognised as a Brahmarshi. The only hurdle is that you will not accept him
as a Brahmarshi. Why don't you yield and accept him as a Brahmarshi?"
Vasishta said, "Arundhati, you do not understand. It is not easy to become
a Brahmarshi. What is the good of Vishwamitra' s austere tapas? I must die and
then alone he can become a Brahmarshi. If
does not disappear, he cannot become a Brahmarshi. "Vishwamitra
overheard the conversation. He was angry because he thought that Vasishta was
adamant and opposed his becoming a Brahmarshi. He misunder- stood T and thought
he could not become a Brahmarshi as long as Vasishta was alive. He said to
himself, "Let me finish off Vasishta now itself" and entered the hut
in a state of anger. Arundhati was frightened. Vasishta was clam and said,
"Look Arundhati, How arrogant Vishwamitra is! What is the good of his
tapas? He lacks the virtue of peace and calmness. If his ‘I’ (This I stands for
Aham; ie utterselfishnes) and arragance does dot die, is it possible for him to
become a Brahmarshi?"
Brahmarshi Vishwamitra
Vishwamitra realised his mistake. He understood
what T meant according to Vasishta. The I is the ego in man. Unless that ego
dies, man can never claim any merit. When Vishwamitra understood this, he was ashamed
of his behaviour and felt repentant. He prostrated before Vasishta and pleaded,
"Venerable man, I realised my mistake only today. I am a peerless fool.
Kindly forgive me."
Vasishta said, "Vishwamitra, you have
performed austere tapas. What is the aim of tapas? It is not fame. It is not to
gain power to perform miracles. Then I and 'mine' should die; we must burn the
vain feelings of selfishnes and arrogance. Then the mind become clear. God
dwells in a clear conscience. Faith grows in that condition of the heart. You
will then see God everywhere. If the mind is not clean and pure, all our
prayers and tapas are in vain." Vishwamitra said with humility, "You
are my preceptor. Forgive me and bless me." Vasishta blessed, "Be it
so. Let your effort be successful" and wished him well. Vishwamitra
prostrated before Vasishta and left the hermitage.
A great change was noticed inVishwamitra. He had
got rid of his hatred of Vasishta. Competition and arrogance had went off. He
went to the banks of river Kaushiki and engaged himself in austere tapas again.
Many hurdles were placed in h * is path. But Vishwamitra did not yield. He gave
up eating food and observed fasting very rigidly. At the end of his fasting
days, he cooked his food to break his fast. He was about to take food. At that
moment Devendra came in the form of an old man and said that he was hungry.
Vishwamitra did not hesitate for a moment. He served his food to the old man.
Without eating anything he sat for tapas again. Brahma was pleased with him. He
came with other angles and said, "Vishwamitra, you are a Brahmarshi. There
is no doubt about it." Vishwamitra' s wish was fulfilled. He saluted
Brahma and Vasishta. From that day Vishwamitra and Vasishta became great
friends. There was no trace of. the past bitterness between them. The credit
for converting the arrogant king Vishwamitra into a Brahmarshi by effecting a
great change in his life goes to Vasishta.
A Great Soul's Anger Also Is For The Good Of The
World
It was not only Vishwamitra that was tempted to
take away Nandini, the divine cow, but others also were tempted. Dyo was a
Vasu, an angel Vasu number eight. Dye’s wife saw Nandini and was tempted to
take I because it was so beautiful. It was well built and had good-looking
horns and a long tail which ended with a tuft of hair resembling a bunch of
flowers. I had well-filled udders. Dyo's wife desired to have it. Though Dyo
knew that was wrong to steal Vasishta's divine. Cow which supplied the
requirements of Vasishta's sacrifices, he stole the cow because of his wife's
cupidity. Vasishta came to know that Nandini had hot returned to the Ashram
though it was late in the evening. He went in search of the cow. He could not
find it anywhere. Then he used his divine vision and came to know that a Vasu
had stolen it. He became very angry and called out, "You Dyo, did you
steal my divine cow? Being an angel, an order higher than man, you should have
behaved in a manner exemplary to the world. Is it proper for you to steal like
an ordinary man? I shall teach you a good lesson. Be born as a human being in
the world of human beings. You were too fond of your wife and you will go
without a wife in the lower world." Dyo came to know of this curse. He
became frightened and brought back Nandini. He apologised to Vasishta and
begged for forgiveness. Vasishta took pity on him and said, Vasu, what is done
is done. My word will come to pass. Though you are going to be born as a human
being, you will earn fame and name as a good man". Dyo was born in this
world as the son of king Shantanu. He was called Bhishma.
Vasishta, out of kindness, taught Bhishma all the
Vedas and the art of warfare Bhishma learnt archery from Parashurama. Bhishma
combined in him scholarship, heroism and fame. He was an avowed bachelor. His
role in Mahabharata was great. Even when he was lying on death- bed he preached
the path ofrighteousness to Dharmaraya. He has set down the principles of
morality proper to a king, a common man, and righteousness implied in these
interesting ancient stories. His teachings are a valuable gift to the world.
Thus Vasishta's curse pronounced on Dyo, a Vasu, proved a blessing to the
world.
If Non-Violence Does Not Succeed...
Saint Vasishta was not committed to peace to the
extent of precluding force even when it was necessary. He believed that it was
right to use force and fight against injustice when peaceful methods failed. In
Indian tradition there is a prominent place for non-violence. When non-violence
fails to prevent unrighteous- ness, we have to use force. Waging war is proper
according to the morality of rulers. Sri Krishna also preaches in Bhagavad-
geeta that Arjuna should fight and fighting was his duty under the
circumstances.
There was an Asura called Vritra. He was the bane
of his citizens. He troubled the people of the three worlds. He never listened
to anyone's advice and conducted himself in an insolent manner. Unable to
tolerate his teasing, everyone went to Devendra. for protection. Devendra went
to war with Vritrasura. He was master of magic with the help of his magical
powers he made Devendra very uneasy and helpless. Devendra was unable to fight
against him and ran away from the battle-field. He was so afraid Vritrasura
that his mind became befogged with fear. Then Vasishta, recited a powerful
imcantation called Rathantara Sama Mantra and cleared Devendra's mind of the
fogginess. He encourged him to go and fight against Vritrasura by saying,
"Indra, you are brave. You are the Lord of the three worlds. If you sit
without doing anything what will be the fate of your citizens, Every one has
faith that you will win in the battle. Cowardice does no become you. Go to
fight. You will win. With such encouraging words from Vasishta Devendra again
got ready to fight against Vritrasura. With Vasishta' blessings he killed
Vritrasura in the battle.
A Real Priest
Desire, anger, miserliness, lust, insolence and
jealousy are the six enemies of man. They come in the way of man's growth.
Great men have always advised that we should conquer these six weaknesses and
for that we should keep our eyes, ears and tongue under our control. It is
difficult to conquer them. Vasishta had succeeded in keeping them under his
control. Having admired his effulgence, tapas and principled life, the kings of
the lkshvaku dynasty had requested Vasishta to be their preceptor and priest
('Purohita').
What does the word 'Purohita' mean?
Purah-standing in the forefront.
hita - one who does good.
One who does good to his disciples is a Purohita.
Vasishta was the priest to Dasharatha and also
Rama and he was the preceptor too. They did not do anything without consulting
Vasishta. When Vishwamitra came to Dasharatha
requested him to send Rama to protect his sacrifices from being defiled,
he did not like to send Rama as he was young But Vasishta advised, "0 King
Vishwamitra is a great sage. Send Rama with him. It will be for the good.
Vishwamitra took him and taught him the use of divine weapons. Sri Rama is also
known as Raghava. Since he was born in the dynasty of Raghu, A king, he is
called Raghava. Raghu was a famous king of the Ikshvaku dynasty Vasishta
wasresponsible for him becoming so famous. There is a story, relating to this.
King Dileepa did not have children Pained by this,
Dileepa went with his queen Sudakshina to the hermitage of Vasishta and
expressed to him the reason for his sorrow. Vasishta tried to find the reason
for his childlessness with the help of his divine vision and found it out. Once
Dileepa was going on some work. He was in deep thought and so passed by Kamadhenu
who was there without saluting her. Therefore he was childless. Vasishta gave
him the remedy also. He was advised to serve Nandini, daughter of Kamadhenu.
Dileepa and his queen served Nandini with devotion. Raghu was born as his son
later. Vasishta's kindness helped him to become famous
Nectar Of Words For People In Sorrow
Raghu's son was the emperor Aja. Indumati, his
wife, was as noble as she was lovely. Aja loved her very greatly. But she died
young. Aja was depressed with sorrow. He forgot his duty as king. He sorrowed
so much that he wished to die. Here is the advice that Vasishta gave Aja at that time: "King, do not
forget your duty because your wife has departed. It is not proper for you to
think of following her. Your may die but you will not get Indumati. Birth and
death are unavoidable. Set aside your sorrow and engage yourself in the doing
of your duty. Soul leaves the body which sheltered it. Therefore it is not
surprising that it leaves behind the relatives. No one can avoid death. Remember
your parents. He who faces difficulties is the hero. When the wind blows,
plants shake but the mountain does not shake. You should be firm like a
mountain."
Vasishta was fond of cows. Once a man called
Soudasa asked, "Great saint, which is the most sacred object in this
world?" Vasishta said, "I consider
the cow as the most sacred. Is then anything more nourishing than cow
milk? Its manure is very important to grow our food-grains. For men like me
everything necessary for the performance of sacrifices comes from the cow. A
cow is like the mother. We can live where the cow lives. Let cow live with us
always. It is not enough i we worship and honour her. We must look after cows
as we look after our mothers."
Exponent Of Work - Mindedness
Vasishta was a great visionary. Many of the verses
in Rig-Veda were composed by him. He wrote a treatise called Vasishta- Smriti
on Dharma, righteousness. He composed Ramayana also, called Vasishta Ramayana.
He believed that divine aid and individual effort were necessary to achieve any
thing in this world. The divine and the human are the two wheels of the
chariot, the two wings of a bird. Without either, nothing can be done. We must
believe in God and do our best. This was Vasishta's firm conviction and his
message is : As is the seed, so is the tree. So also is the fruit. If the seed
is good, the fruit will be good. Good is the result of good deeds. Bad is the
result of evil deeds. The Divine is like the good seed. Our effort is like
preparing the land for ' sowing; knowledge, wealth, house, friends- it is
possible to get all these only with human effort. The man who does not do
anything gets nothing. If we depend on the Divine without doing anything, there
will be nothing in return. Laziness is a disease with us and brings
unhappiness. It is because of laziness that people are illiterate and poor. If
this disease is not there, who will not become learned? Who cannot become rich?
If we can set aside laziness, we can be happy. It is wrong to believe that we
can improve with the help of others. Or that others will save us. We must save
ourselves. We are our best friends. Because of laziness, we become our worst
enemies. Vishwamitra became
Brahmarshi because of his unusual effort. If he
had placed trust in God, and had done nothing, could he have attained that
position? Vasishta believed in doing his duty. His life was an example for
every one in his time. By his timely advice he helped many people to grow
higher and higher. There was the light of wisdom around him.
Guruji. A. Sivaguru Swamy
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