BG5.30

We are on the top of the hill here and with a heavy heart we will shift the lecture venue from tomorrow. Today [26th December 2007] we will see the conclusion of Chapter 5. Sri Malaimel Nambi here is also called Sri Hrishikesa, which means He is the controller of hrishikam, that is our organs. We have seen that there are five stages in which the Lord resides. Param in Vaikuntam, Vyuham in Milky Ocean, Vibhavam as Sri Rama and Sri Krishna at different times, Antaryami in our heart and Archa as the Lord in various temples. We have also seen that in this Kshetram all these five stages are depicted and Sri Malaimel Nambi represents the Antaryami. In the annual festival on the Fifth day, all the Lords [Nambis] assemble on Garuda Vahanam. Alwar assumes the woman form and yearns for the Lord, as her Lover. She [he] says that one evening in a pensive mood she was sitting with hands supporting the chin. Her mother asked her not to keep the hands like that. When she asked her mother why so, the mother replies that no person's hand should touch another person's cheek. She implied that none, including oneself, can support another and only Sri Narayana supports all. That is we can not protect ourselves and only Sri Thirukkurungudi Nambi can protect us at all times. Just as a child looks for mother for everything, we also, as children of God, should realize that He alone can look after us. We will now see the greatness of the Chapter 5. Parvati requests Shiva to tell her the greatness of Chapter 5 and Shiva tells her, what he heard when Sri Vishnu told Sri Lakshmi on Chapter 5. There lived a person named Pingalan and he was well educated. Because of his qualifications, he served the King. But he came across wrong company and had relationship with an undesirable woman. She killed him for some reasons and the atman of Pingalan, took many bodies in many births. In every birth, this woman also had association with him. Once he was born as a vulture and she was born as a parrot. One day the vulture saw the parrot and chased. Parrot entered a garden and vulture followed. Parrot was drinking water in a human skull and seeing this the Vulture pounced on the parrot. In this process both the vulture and parrot got entangled in the skull and both died. Both went to hell and Yama asked what for they had come. They replied that they had committed many sins in many births and to expend the same they were at the doorsteps of Yama. Yama thought how this change in them had occured and found the answer for their honesty. The skull was of a person, who was always chanting the 5th Chapter of Gita and these two souls when they were in vulture and parrot had contact with that skull and so good thoughts had come to them. He directed them for better treatment. This showed the greatness of Chapter 5. Before we conclude let us recapitulate Chapter 5. Swami Alavandar has told that Karma yoga is easy to perform, quick in yielding results, and while doing it one should never think that the karma was performed by him [abandon 'I-am-doing' feeling] and as one practices he sees all as equal - sama darshan- and so wants to help everyone.