PERFECT BLESSINGS – STORY
(From Srila Prabhupada lecture)
There is a nice instructive verse in Sanskrit.
One saintly person was giving his blessings to different kinds of persons.
So he first of all saw one boy, he was a prince, son of a king.
So he blessed him, raja-putra. “My dear prince,” ciram jiva, “you live forever.”
Then he saw one brahmacari, a disciple of a spiritual master, he said, ma jiva muni putraka: “Oh, you are the disciple of a saintly person. You do not live. You die immediately.”
Then there was a saintly person, and he said to the saintly…
He offered his blessings to the saintly person, jivo va maro va sadhoh.
Sadhoh means saintly person, sadhu. “My dear saintly person, either you live or you die as you like.”
And there was a butcher. He told for the butcher, ma jiva ma maro iti: “You neither live nor die.”
So what is the significance of these four kinds of blessings?
The significance is that he blessed the raja-putra, royal prince to live forever because whatever enjoyment he is having, this is for this life. Next life is very horrible for him, next life. Just like generally in the opulent countries like America and other European countries, they are materially very opulent, they do not care for anything. They do anything, whatever they like, because they are very much proud of their material opulence. But they do not care what they are going to be next life, you see. Therefore so long they live, that is good for them. As soon as they die, they are going to the darkest region of the hell. Therefore the prince, the king’s son, was blessed, “You live forever,”
For the brahmacari, brahmacari or the son of a muni, he is undergoing penance, austerities, fasting, not very comfortable life.
So he was blessed that “You die immediately.” Because by his pious activities he has elevated himself so high that as soon as he dies, he goes to Vaikuntha, kingdom of God. Therefore the sooner he dies is better. So muni-putra, ma jiva muni-putraka.
For the saintly person, sadhu, he said, jivo va maro va.
A saintly person, “Either you live or die, the same thing. Because you are serving Krsna in this life, and as soon as you die, you will serve Krsna directly. So it is all the same.”
And so far the butcher is concerned, he said, ma jiva ma maro:
“You don’t die, don’t live.” “Don’t live” means, “You are living in such a wretched condition,killing every day. Horrible life. Your living is horrible, and if you die, you are going to the darkest region of the hellish condition. So both living or dying, it is very horrible for you. So you don’t live, don’t die.” So that is the blessing to the butcher,”Don’t live, don’t die.”
Living condition is also horrible, and after death it is also horrible.
But unfortunately, every one of us is committing butchery without understanding self-realization, what is self, “What I am.”
Therefore Vedanta-sutra says, “Try to understand yourself.” Athato brahma jijnasa. This human form of life is meant for searching out, understanding, inquiring, about Brahman. We are all Brahmans. Because
we are part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman, therefore we are all Brahman. So if we do not inquire what is Brahman, then that is suicide. In the human form of life, if you do not make inquiries what is brahman, athato brahma jijnasa… Jijnasa means inquiry.
This is the first aphorism in the Vedanta-sutra, that atha. Atha means thus. Atah, atah means hereafter. “Hereafter” means that we have passed through 8,400,000 of species of life; now we have got civilized form of human body; now it is the time to inquire what I am, what is God, what is my relationship with God.
(Also Read this story HERE: The Lord Glorifies His devotees – Story)