HISTORY OF KAPILA MUNI or LORD KAPILA, AS A MAHAJANA!
We are going to know about Kapila Muni or Lord Kapila who is the son of Devahuti, not any other Kapila.
Kapila Muni is The son of Kardam Muni and Devahuti.
Kardama is Brahma’s son and is a great yogi and a sage.
Requested by Brahma to create progeny, he engages himself with severe penance for a thousand years on the banks of the Saraswati to reach his aspiration through His grace.
As a result Kardama muni got Kapila muni.
(12 MAHAJANAS – INTRODUCTION! READ HERE!)
Kapila muni is nothing but Lord Vishnu Himself mercifully descended.
Overwhelmed by the Lord’s effulgence, Kardama breaks into a eulogy of His infinite greatness.
After the birth of nine daughters of Kardam Muni, went to the forest for austerity.
Srimad Bhagavatham 3.25 to 3.33 explains the preachings of Kapila deva.
His preaching follows the queries of mother Devahuti about her sense disturbanes..
(NARADA RISHI – HISTORY AS ONE OF 12 MAHAJANAS – DIARY! READ HERE!)
Let us read that part from Srimad Bhagavatham.
SB 3.25.6: When Kardama left for the forest, Lord Kapila stayed on the strand of the Bindu-sarovara to please His mother, Devahūti.
SB 3.25.6: When Kapila, who could show her the ultimate goal of the Absolute Truth, was sitting leisurely before her, Devahūti remembered the words Brahmā had spoken to her, and she therefore began to question Kapila as follows.
SB 3.25.7: Devahūti said: I am very sick of the disturbance caused by my material senses, for because of this sense disturbance, my Lord, I have fallen into the abyss of ignorance.
SB 3.25.8: Your Lordship is my only means of getting out of this darkest region of ignorance because You are my transcendental eye, which, by Your mercy only, I have attained after many, many births.
SB 3.25.9: You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin and Supreme Lord of all living entities. You have arisen to disseminate the rays of the sun in order to dissipate the darkness of the ignorance of the universe.
SB 3.25.10: Now be pleased, my Lord, to dispel my great delusion. Due to my feeling of false ego, I have been engaged by Your māyā and have identified myself with the body and consequent bodily relations.
SB 3.25.11: Devahūti continued: I have taken shelter of Your lotus feet because You are the only person of whom to take shelter. You are the ax which can cut the tree of material existence. I therefore offer my obeisances unto You, who are the greatest of all transcendentalists, and I inquire from You as to the relationship between man and woman and between spirit and matter.
(BRAHMA DEVA -HISTORY AS ONE OF THE 12 MAHAJANAS! READ HERE!)
Then, Lord Kapila started speaking about the symptoms of Pure devotees like this:
SB 3.25.15: The stage in which the consciousness of the living entity is attracted by the three modes of material nature is called conditional life. But when that same consciousness is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is situated in the consciousness of liberation.
SB 3.25.16: When one is completely cleansed of the impurities of lust and greed produced from the false identification of the body as “I” and bodily possessions as “mine,” one’s mind becomes purified. In that pure state he transcends the stage of so-called material happiness and distress.
SB 3.25.17: At that time the soul can see himself to be transcendental to material existence and always self-effulgent, never fragmented, although very minute in size.
SB 3.25.18: In that position of self-realization, by practice of knowledge and renunciation in devotional service, one sees everything in the right perspective; he becomes indifferent to material existence, and the material influence acts less powerfully upon him.
SB 3.25.19: Perfection in self-realization cannot be attained by any kind of yogī unless he engages in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for that is the only auspicious path.
SB 3.25.20: Every learned man knows very well that attachment for the material is the greatest entanglement of the spirit soul. But that same attachment, when applied to the self-realized devotees, opens the door of liberation.
(HISTORY OF LORD SHIVA AS A MAHAJANA OUT OF 12 MAHAJANAS! READ HERE!)
SB 3.25.21: The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.
SB 3.25.22: Such a sādhu engages in staunch devotional service to the Lord without deviation. For the sake of the Lord he renounces all other connections, such as family relationships and friendly acquaintances within the world.
SB 3.25.23: Engaged constantly in chanting and hearing about Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sādhus do not suffer from material miseries because they are always filled with thoughts of My pastimes and activities.
SB 3.25.24: O My mother, O virtuous lady, these are the qualities of great devotees who are free from all attachment. You must seek attachment to such holy men, for this counteracts the pernicious effects of material attachment.
Then, the Lord Kapila explains what is the result of the association with such Pure devotees:
SB 3.25.25: In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin.
SB 3.25.26: Thus consciously engaged in devotional service in the association of devotees, a person gains distaste for sense gratification, both in this world and in the next, by constantly thinking about the activities of the Lord. This process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the easiest process of mystic power; when one is actually situated on that path of devotional service, he is able to control the mind.
(FOUR KUMARAS – HISTORY AS ONE OF 12 MAHAJANAS! DIARY! READ HERE!)
SB 3.25.27: Thus by not engaging in the service of the modes of material nature but by developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, knowledge in renunciation, and by practicing yoga, in which the mind is always fixed in devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one achieves My association in this very life, for I am the Supreme Personality, the Absolute Truth.
SB 3.25.32: Lord Kapila said: The senses are symbolic representations of the demigods, and their natural inclination is to work under the direction of the Vedic injunctions. As the senses are representatives of the demigods, so the mind is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The mind’s natural duty is to serve. When that service spirit is engaged in devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, without any motive, that is far better even than salvation.
SB 3.25.33: Bhakti, devotional service, dissolves the subtle body of the living entity without separate effort, just as fire in the stomach digests all that we eat.
SB 3.25.34: A pure devotee, who is attached to the activities of devotional service and who always engages in the service of My lotus feet, never desires to become one with Me. Such a devotee, who is unflinchingly engaged, always glorifies My pastimes and activities.
SB 3.25.35: O My mother, My devotees always see the smiling face of My form, with eyes like the rising morning sun. They like to see My various transcendental forms, which are all benevolent, and they also talk favorably with Me.
SB 3.25.36: Upon seeing the charming forms of the Lord, smiling and attractive, and hearing His very pleasing words, the pure devotee almost loses all other consciousness. His senses are freed from all other engagements, and he becomes absorbed in devotional service. Thus in spite of his unwillingness, he attains liberation without separate endeavor.
SB 3.25.37: Thus because he is completely absorbed in thought of Me, the devotee does not desire even the highest benediction obtainable in the upper planetary systems, including Satyaloka. He does not desire the eight material perfections obtained from mystic yoga, nor does he desire to be elevated to the kingdom of God. Yet even without desiring them, the devotee enjoys, even in this life, all the offered benedictions.
SB 3.25.38: The Lord continued: My dear mother, devotees who receive such transcendental opulences are never bereft of them; neither weapons nor the change of time can destroy such opulences. Because the devotees accept Me as their friend, their relative, their son, preceptor, benefactor and Supreme Deity, they cannot be deprived of their possessions at any time.
SB 3.25.39-40: Thus the devotee who worships Me, the all-pervading Lord of the universe, in unflinching devotional service, gives up all aspirations to be promoted to heavenly planets or to become happy in this world with wealth, children, cattle, home or anything in relationship with the body. I take him to the other side of birth and death.
SB 3.25.41: The terrible fear of birth and death can never be forsaken by anyone who resorts to any shelter other than Myself.
Thus, Lord Kapila preached His mother Devahuti with all the essential aspects related to the devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Then, He left home.
What happened then?
Srimad Bhagavatham 3rd Canto, 33th chapter explains:
Text 21: Devahūti’s husband had already left home and accepted the renounced order of life, and then her only son, Kapila, left home. Although she knew all the truths of life and death, and although her heart was cleansed of all dirt, she was very aggrieved at the loss of her son, just as a cow is affected when her calf dies.
Text 22: O Vidura, thus always meditating upon her son, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kapiladeva, she very soon became unattached to her nicely decorated home.
Text 23: Thereafter, having heard with great eagerness and in all detail from her son, Kapiladeva, the eternally smiling Personality of Godhead, Devahūti began to meditate constantly upon the Viṣṇu form of the Supreme Lord.
Texts 24-25: She did so with serious engagement in devotional service. Because she was strong in renunciation, she accepted only the necessities of the body. She became situated in knowledge due to realization of the Absolute Truth, her heart became purified, she became fully absorbed in meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all misgivings due to the modes of material nature disappeared.
Text 26: Her mind became completely engaged in the Supreme Lord, and she automatically realized the knowledge of the impersonal Brahman. As a Brahman-realized soul, she was freed from the designations of the materialistic concept of life. Thus all material pangs disappeared, and she attained transcendental bliss.
Text 27: Situated in eternal trance and freed from illusion impelled by the modes of material nature, she forgot her material body, just as one forgets his different bodies in a dream.
Text 28: Her body was being taken care of by the spiritual damsels created by her husband, Kardama, and since she had no mental anxiety at that time, her body did not become thin. She appeared just like a fire surrounded by smoke.
Text 29: Because she was always absorbed in the thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, she was not aware that sometimes her hair was loosened or her garments were disarrayed.
Text 30: My dear Vidura, by following the principles instructed by Kapila, Devahūti soon became liberated from material bondage and achieved the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as Supersoul, without difficulty.
Text 31: The place where Devahūti achieved her perfection, my dear Vidura, is understood to be a most sacred spot. It is known all over the three worlds as Siddhapada.
Where did Lord Kapila go after leaving home?
Text 33: My dear Vidura, the great sage Kapila, the Personality of Godhead, left His father’s hermitage with the permission of His mother and went towards the northeast.
Text 34: While He was passing in the northern direction, all the celestial denizens known as Cāraṇas and Gandharvas, as well as the munis and the damsels of the heavenly planets, prayed and offered Him all respects. The ocean offered Him oblations and a place of residence.
Text 35: Even now Kapila Muni is staying there in trance for the deliverance of the conditioned souls in the three worlds, and all the ācāryas, or great teachers, of the system of Sāṅkhya philosophy are worshiping Him.
(Story of 12 Siravanas that clears the sins just on hearing or reading! READ HERE!)
Text 36: My dear son, since you have inquired from me, I have answered. O sinless one, the descriptions of Kapiladeva and His mother and their activities are the purest of all pure discourses.
What is the result if hearing this history of Kapila deva?
Text 37: The description of the dealings of Kapiladeva and His mother is very confidential, and anyone who hears or reads this narration becomes a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is carried by Garuḍa, and he thereafter enters into the abode of the Supreme Lord to engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
All those preaching of Kapila deva can be read in Srimad Bhagavatham third canto from chapter 25 to 33.
Srila Prabhupada has written a nice book namely TEACHINGS OF LORD KAPILA that you can get from your nearest ISKCON centers.
Alternatively, you can also buy from our Amazon store whose link is given HERE.