King Priyavrata was the second son of Svayambhuva Manu and his wife Satarupa. King Priyavrata’s grandson was King Nabhi. King Nabhi desired to have sons, so he worshipped Lord Vishnu for the fulfilment of his desires. Because King Nabhi worshipped the Lord with faith and devotion Lord Vishnu appeared before him.
Lord Vishnu was effulgent and the greatest of all living beings. He wore yellow silk clothing and a garland of flowers. He had a helmet, earrings, bracelets, a necklace, ankle bells and other beautiful ornaments. In his four hands he carried a conch-shell, lotus flower, disc and club. When they saw Lord Vishnu, King Nabhi and his priests respectfully bowed their heads and offered Lord Vishnu items of worship. They were like paupers who had obtained great treasures.
The priests said, O Supreme Lord, please accept the worship we have offered you, we are your servants. You transcend all material conceptions, so we are not capable of ascertaining your name, form and qualities. We can only partially understand you. Speaking and hearing of your spiritual qualities will remove the impious deeds of humanity.
You become pleased when your servants offer you prayers and items of worship like water, leaves and sprouts of grass. We do not think that all these arrangements we have made for your worship are necessary to please you. You have no need of all these offerings, they are all performed for our benefit so we may receive your mercy. You are the supreme benefactor, and by appearing before us you have given us the greatest blessing.
Saintly people continuously speak of your excellent virtues. By the power of their spiritual knowledge they have already achieved detachment from the material world. But even such saintly people have rarely seen you. King Nabhi desires to have a son so he has worshipped you. By performing this worship our only aim was to obtain a son. This is not very intelligent because we have worshipped you for material gain. Please forgive us for our ignorance.
The Supreme Lord said, Your prayers are pleasing because they are honest. You have prayed for King Nabhi to obtain a son like me. However this is difficult to attain because I am the supreme person and no one is equal to me. Since you are all saintly brahmins I consider your words to be as good as my own, so your words should not prove to be false. There is no one equal to me, so I will personally exhibit a part of myself and appear as the son of King Nabhi.
The Lord said this and then disappeared. The Supreme Lord decided to appear as King Nabhi’s son so he could fulfil King Nabhi’s desire and also demonstrate to the world how the sacred vows of the renunciant sages should be performed.
From the beginning of his appearance as the son of King Nabhi, he displayed the characteristics of the Supreme Lord. He was peaceful and impartial, he was unattached to sensual pleasure and had great influence and power. Because of his competence and his wonderful qualities of strength, beauty, fame, influence and bravery, King Nabhi named him Rishaba, the greatest one.
King Nabhi knew Rishaba was popular among the citizens and the administrators, and so at the appropriate time he retired from the throne and crowned Rishaba as the monarch. Rishaba accepted his kingdom and set an example to the people by his actions. He accepted instructions from a spiritual teacher and when his education was complete he gave gifts to his teacher. He then married Jayanti and had many sons who were all as qualified as he was. He performed the duties that are specified in the Vedas for a married man and also for a king.
Rishaba was the Supreme Lord and thus completely independent and transcendental to the material world. He was always self-controlled and peaceful. He was friendly and compassionate towards all living beings. Although he was the supreme controller, he acted as an ordinary human being in order to teach the people. By his personal example, he showed the people how to perform their everyday activities and live in family life so they could develop spiritual awareness, material prosperity and finally achieve liberation from the material world.
Although Rishaba was aware of the confidential conclusion of the Vedic literatures, he still followed the scriptural regulations and ruled over the people with a controlled mind, controlled senses and tolerance. Once Rishaba and his sons were attending a meeting and listening to the instructions of the spiritual teachers there. At that meeting, Rishaba gave instructions to his sons, despite the fact that they were already self-controlled and devoted. The citizens of Rishaba’s kingdom were also present and listened to the instructions he gave to his sons.
Rishaba said, My dear sons, those who are fortunate enough to have received a human body in this lifetime should not waste their time in the pursuit of sensual pleasure because this leads to misery which is fit for animals like dogs and pigs. The human form of life is meant for enquiry into the absolute truth. Humans should perform austerities to purify the heart and thereby achieve eternal spiritual bliss.
To serve the great souls is the path leading to liberation from suffering. To associate with people who are attached to women and sensual activities is the path that leads to a hellish existence. The great souls view all living beings equally. They are always peaceful, desire the best for everyone, and are never offensive.
People who are trying to develop their love for the Supreme Lord are not eager to associate with materialistic people. Although they are not neglectful of their family duties, they are not overly attached to their home and family. They are only interested in acquiring what they need for their maintenance.
It is not intelligent to engage in performing undesirable actions only for the sake of sensual satisfaction. It is due to such behaviour in the past that one has received a temporary material body which is in fact the cause of suffering. Anyone who does not enquire into spiritual matters and engages in material activities must accept a material body and all the suffering that involves.
When the soul is covered by ignorance, the mind is dominated by material activities. If one does not develop love for the Supreme Lord one must accept a material body. A person may be well educated, but if they do not understand that the pursuit of sensual satisfaction is futile, they are unaware of their own self-interest. Anyone who tries to find happiness in this temporary material world is a fool.
Sexual attraction reciprocally binds a man and woman. From sexual attraction one becomes attached to home, relatives and wealth. Under this illusion one thinks in terms of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’. When the tie of material attachment in the heart is loosened, the soul gives up the illusory false conception of ego. Thus they are liberated from the material world and attain the spiritual world.
To give up the false identification with the material world one should practice devotion to the Supreme Lord under the guidance of a spiritually advanced person. One should avoid sense pleasures and practice self-restraint. One should try to understand the truth of the miseries of the material world and hear about the Supreme Lord in association with spiritually inclined people.
One should view everyone as equal in the spiritual conception. One should abandon hatred and subdue anger and despondency. Do not identify yourself with the material body and things associated with it. Observe celibacy and do not speak unnecessarily. Always think of the Supreme Lord and develop spiritual knowledge. By practising devotion in this way, one can give up identifying with the material world which is the cause of all suffering.
By carefully practising this yoga I have described, you will become free from the desire for material gains. One should consider achieving the Supreme Lord’s grace and reaching the spiritual world as the ultimate goal of life. Whether you are a monarch teaching their citizens, a parent teaching their children or a guru instructing their disciples, you should instruct your students and not be angry with them if they do not follow your instructions.
People who are engaged in material activities have lost sight of the path to good fortune. They are foolishly preoccupied with fulfilling their passionate desires. In order to find temporary happiness they create an atmosphere of envy and achieve only suffering. A person who understands spiritual knowledge would not engage someone in material activities.
How could a wise or compassionate person seeing someone approaching danger allow them to continue? If one is not capable of rescuing their dependants from the cycle of birth and death, they should not become a parent or spiritual teacher.
Although my body appears material, it is a spiritual body composed of eternal, blissful, knowledge. My spiritual heart is occupied with devotional activities and has forsaken irreligious activities. Because of this, civilised people know me as Rishaba, the best one.
It is the brahmins who study the Vedic knowledge and realise the Vedic conclusions and thus maintain my eternal body in the form of the Vedas. In the brahmins one finds the qualities of supreme goodness: control of the mind, control of the senses, honesty, compassion, austerity, tolerance and realisation of the position of the living being and God.
I am superior to all the gods and have infinite power and can grant celestial comforts and even liberation, yet the brahmins never ask me for anything. They have no desire to possess anything and only perform devotional activities. One should be respectful to everyone and because I reside in the hearts of all living beings, by respecting them, you are indirectly offering respect to me.
Unless one engages their mind and all their senses in my service they can never gain liberation from the illusory material world and the noose of illusion that binds him to death.
After instructing everyone, Rishaba handed over the rule of his kingdom to his eldest son Bharata and retired from material life. He left his palace to adopt the life of a renunciant and roam around the world. He wandered around speaking to no one and acted as if he was blind, deaf and dumb.
As Rishaba wandered around, people insulted him and gave him trouble. He didn’t care about such insults because he understood the physical body was temporary. He didn’t become angry with anyone and continued wandering throughout the world unconcerned.
Because Rishaba acted as though he was dumb and materially entangled, no one could see his divine glory. He did this to instruct others. While he was wandering he entered a forest in South India. While he was in the forest a fire began and Rishaba’s body was burnt to ashes. We should offer all respect to Rishaba, who out of compassion taught the world the true identity of the soul.
Whoever hears this commentary of Lord Rishaba’s activities will achieve devotion to the Supreme Lord and thus be relieved from the troubles of material existence.
