Namadharaka
Sharma asked Siddha, “Divine Master, please explain to me why the
Lord who sported in a human form for the uplift of sadhus
disappeared at Kuruvupura.”
Siddha
replied, “The Guru wanted to assume another mortal form and hence
had left the old one. Now listen to that story:
In a village
on the banks of river Krishna, the wife of a Vedic Brahmin by name
Ambika gave birth to a son. As ill-luck would have it, the boy
happened to be a dullard and idiot. When he grew to the age of
eight, his father performed his sacred thread ceremony and
initiated him with the Gayathri mantra. As he was unable to utter
the mantra properly, his father used to grow desperate and beat
him. Then the Brahmin’s wife used to intercede on her son’s
behalf, saying, ’Oh Sir! He is a congenital idiot. We have nothing
to gain by punishing him except regrets. If you beat him again, I
shall jump into a well and end my life’. The Brahmin realized his
folly and kept quiet. In course of time, he passed away, leaving
his wife and son to live by begging. All the villagers used to
heckle the son saying, ‘Oh, son of a learned man, you live in
vain. You are not fit to live by sacred alms. It is better that
you drown yourself in the river’. Unable to stand the ridicule any
longer, one day, he made for the river to commit suicide. And his
mother followed him with same intent. Then Lord Sreepada who was,
at the moment, bathing in the river, stopped him saying, ‘Oh
Brahmin, do not be hasty; otherwise you would incur the sin of
committing suicide, as well as the sin of killing a Brahmin. No
once can help you out of it. It is better for you to live on,
facing any amount of suffering.’ The Brahmin lady then said, ‘Oh
holy one, people are humiliating me for being cursed with the
birth of a stupid son. They consider it a sin even to see my face.
What could I gain by continuing to live?’ The Lord was moved by
compassion at her words and said, ‘Mother, by committing suicide,
you only add to your former sins and you will have to suffer more
in the next life’. She said, ‘Sir, I shall do as you say. But tell
me whether anyone has really benefited in the past by doing so.’
Lord Sreepada
said, ‘once a king by name Chandrasena ruled the country with
Ujjain as his capital. His friend, one Manibhadra, obtained the
Chintamani or the wish fulfilling gem by the grace of Lord
Shiva. Knowing how invaluable the gem was, several kings planned
to grab it and invaded the country. Then king Chandrasena and his
friend Manibhadra meditated on Lord Shiva at the proper hour.
Seeing their Saturday worship, several urchins of the village
gathered in front of their housed and commenced worshipping the
Shiva Lingas with Bel leaves and flowers that their mothers had to
drag them into their houses for lunch. One such cowherd boy opened
his eyes in the middle of the worship of Lord Shiva was
interrupted by his mother. In order to expiate the sin of it, he
was ready to commit suicide! Then the all-seeing Lord Shiva
appeared in front of him and offered to grant him a boon as a
reward for his intense devotion. But all that the boy asked for
was that he should be pardoned for his sin. The Lord said, ‘My
child, owing to your devotion, you shall attain my eternal
proximity. Your mother, out of ignorance, has committed the folly.
Still, as she had witnessed my worship, she shall have the good
fortune of giving birth to the avatar of Lord Vishnu in her next
life’. So saying, Lord Shiva disappeared. The Shiva Linga there
was shining with a divine splendor. The kings who invaded the
country saw that and realized what a pious soul the ruler of the
country was. They realized how unholy it was to think of waging
war against such a one. Completely converted, they paid a friendly
visit to his palace and all of them together proceeded to have a
look at that splendid Shiva Linga. They were happy at its sight
and honored the cowherd boy with plenty of wealth. The mother of
the cowherd boy was later reborn as Yeshoda of puranic fame
came to be known as the mother of Lord Krishna, the avatar of Lord
Vishnu. You too shall obtain like merit by worshipping Lord
Shiva’.
Then she
asked, ‘Lord! The fruits of worshipping Lord Shiva, you say,
accrue to me in the next birth. But how shall I bear the remaining
part of my present life? Oh merciful one, bless me to be a happy
mother’. Melting with compassion at her petition, the Lord uttered
the Pranava, ‘Om’, and placed his hand on the head of her
son by way of blessing. Instantly, the boy became a wise one and
an eloquent speaker. The Lord then commanded him to serve his
mother and said to her, “Now, mother, you are free from care.
Devote the rest of your life to the worship of Lord Shiva. In your
next life, you shall have a son of my stature’. She happily
returned to her village and dedicated her life to the worship of
Lord Shiva.
Then the
Supreme Lord, Sreepada reflected thus: ‘I have assured her, by way
of blessing, that she shall have a son of my spiritual stature.
But there can be no one like me! Therefore I shall keep my word by
taking birth as her son’. Thus the unbounded-one willed his own
birth once again. Even then, as there was much left to be
accomplished for human weal in his present manifestation, he has
not left off his identity as Sreepada. Though unseen, he has been
granting the wishes of those who serve him”.
Having heard
all this, Namadharaka asked, “Holy Sir, why did Lord Sreepada
choose to manifest himself again before the mission of his
manifestation was accomplished? How could he fulfill the wishes of
his devotees while being invisible? Please substantiate this”.
Siddha
replied, “Oh Namadharaka, the Lord is eternal. As He is the seed
of the whole universe, his activities are infinite. So his
purposes are infinite. In fact, he is ever front of his devotees,
granting their prayers. Yet he is invisible to all those who are
blinded by the spirit of Kali age which can be described as scum
to time. Now I shall illustrate how he has been granting the
wishes of his devotees, though he is invisible to them:
There was a
Brahmin who lived as a businessman. Being a devotee of Sreepada
Swami, he vowed to his Lord that he would feed several Brahmins if
he prospered by the grace of the Lord. Accordingly, he earned a
fortune. Promptly, he started for Kurupura to fulfill his vow. On
the way, at sunset, a band of robbers joined him in the guise of
pilgrims and at, night, killed him in a solitary place. Lord
Sreepada appeared there and killed the robbers with his trident.
One of the band of robbers humbly submitted to him and said, ‘As
for myself, Oh Lord, I have not joined the Brahmin with any evil
intent. Please consider this and do unto me what I deserve’. The
Lord told him to keep a watch on the Brahmin’s body, joined the
severed head to the trunk and sprinkled it with holy ash and
water. Then the Brahmin revived, but by the time he sat up, like
one awakened from deep sleep, the Lord disappeared! He was
frightened at the sight of the dead bodies of the robbers and
learned of all that happened from his lone companion. He was very
sorry that he was not blessed with the sight of the Lord who saved
his very life. “The Lord has taken so much trouble for my sake and
granted his sight to the robbers, but not to me who has been
serving him for long! How unlucky am I?’ However, he gathered his
belongings, proceeded to Kurupura, fed 4000 Brahmins and profusely
honored them with gifts of money. Lord Sreepada has performed many
such divine acts in his subtle form. He can even be seen by those
who are pure of heart. Even though he later manifested himself as
Sree Nrisimha Saraswathi, he has been manifesting his divine
powers in his subtle form at Kurupura too. That village has become
so holy by his external presence that those who live there gain
the merit of performing all holy rites like the recitation of
Veda, religious sacrifice, spiritual discipline and charity. Even
those who live elsewhere will win his grace by contemplating his
divine name, “Digambara, digambara, Sreepada vallabha
digambara, Digambara digambara, Avadhutachintana digambara”.