There was once a brahmin named Ajamila who married a prostitute. He was contaminated by his association with her and he neglected the virtuous way of life. Ajamila earned his livelihood and maintained his family through dishonourable means: stealing, cheating and giving trouble to other people.
Ajamila wasted his life engaging in these kinds of activities. By the time he was 88 years old, Ajamila had ten sons. His youngest son was named Narayana and both his parents doted on the boy.
Ajamila spent a lot of time with Narayana because he was captivated by Narayana’s childish speech and activities. Ajamila was always taking care of Narayana and calling to him. Ajamila was so immersed in his family and his son Narayana he forgot that he was growing old and therefore death was not far away.
When Ajamila was dying he was thinking of his son Narayana. As he was dying Ajamila saw three horrible looking creatures coming towards him. They had disfigured, twisted bodies and were carrying nooses. They had come to take Ajamila away to stand before Yamaraja, the lord of death. When Ajamila saw them he was afraid and he loudly cried Narayana, Narayana.
When Ajamila called out the name of Narayana the messengers of Lord Vishnu immediately arrived on the scene. They prevented Yamaraja’s servants from forcibly dragging Ajamila’s soul from his heart.
The messengers of Yamaraja said, How dare you defy the order of Yamaraja the lord of death? Why are you stopping us from taking Ajamila? Who are you and where have you come from?
The servants of Lord Vishnu smiled and said, If you really are the messengers of Yamaraja then you will be able to describe the true nature of virtue and the characteristics of impiety. What are the principles for determining punishment and who deserves to be punished?
The messengers of Yamaraja said, The principles of virtue are described in the Vedic literature. Whatever is contrary to this is impiety. The gods, the sun, the moon, day, night, water, land and the Lord within the heart bear witness to the actions of every living being.
If these witnesses verify that a living being has performed impious actions, then punishment is appropriate. Anyone who has incurred karmic reactions can be punished according to the nature of the actions they have performed. Everyone who is living within the material world is incurring karma, therefore all living beings can be punished.
A living being’s present life indicates their past actions and their likely future actions as well. Depending on their pious or impious actions in this life, the conditions of the living beings’ next life are determined. One’s happiness or suffering in this lifetime indicates whether one performed pious or impious activities in their previous lives.
Just as someone who is asleep will consider the body they have in their dream to be their self, one will identify with their present material body which has been acquired from the past deeds and act accordingly. No-one is aware of their past or future lives.
The subtle material body consists of the mind, the intelligence and contaminated consciousness or the false conception of accepting the body as the self. This subtle body has strong attachments and desires and these cause the living being to travel from one body to the next in an attempt to fulfil those desires. This attachment binds the living being to their worldly desires and he experiences happiness, sadness, fear and suffering.
The living being is unable to control their mind and senses and the modes of natural nature force them to act. They are like a silkworm that spins itself into a cocoon from which it cannot escape. The living being becomes imprisoned within a web of their own material desires and actions and cannot find a way to escape. Thus they are subject to repeated births and deaths.
It is not possible for the living being to remain inactive, everyone is forced to act according to their attachments and desires which arise from the modes of material nature they have previous acquired. The physical bodies and the subtle bodies that a living being acquires are the form of their material desires.
This is the unfortunate position of the living being though their continuous contact with the material nature. This contact dissolves through contact with devotion to the Supreme Lord.
At the beginning of his life, Ajamila was a brahmin who studied the Vedas. He had pious qualities and his actions were virtuous. He controlled his senses and his mind and he was honest and respectful. He was compassionate to all living beings and never envious or arrogant.
One day when Ajamila was in the forest gathering fruits and flowers he encountered a low class man and a prostitute. The man and the prostitute were both drunk and they were shamelessly singing and laughing as they kissed and embraced one another.
When Ajamila saw the prostitute, his passions were aroused and he could not control them. Ajamila tried to control his desires, but he was unable to control his mind. He constantly thought about the prostitute. Soon he arranged for her to be a servant within his house and he stopped performing the activities of a brahmin.
He began to spend all his money on gifts to please the prostitute. He left his beautiful and respectable wife to enjoy with the prostitute. Because of the influence of the prostitute, Ajamila lost his intelligence, and he earned money by any degraded occupation so he could maintain the prostitute and their children.
Ajamila has spent his long life living in this way, not caring for the Vedic religious principles. He has lived an impious life addicted to sensual enjoyments. Ajamila has not tried to redeem himself for his irresponsible actions. So because of his impious life, he must be taken to Yamaraja who will give him a suitable punishment that will purify him of his contamination.
After listening to the explanations of Yamaraja’s messengers the servants of Lord Vishnu said, It is most unfortunate that those who are responsible for preserving the principles of virtue are about to punish an innocent man. A ruler or monarch must act as the protector of their citizens and treat everyone equally and fairly. But if the ruler or their servants are corrupt and try to punish innocent people, where will the citizens go for refuge and justice?
The people accept the behaviour of the leaders as the correct example to follow. Ajamila has atoned for all his impious actions. In fact he has not only atoned for his actions in this lifetime, but the actions he has performed in millions of lifetimes because he has called out the name of Narayana. Because he called the name while he was in a vulnerable situation, his reciting of the name of the Lord had no ulterior motive and he is now qualified for liberation.
Throughout his life Ajamila would call his son Narayana. Although he was calling his son’s name, he has still recited the name of Narayana. By such recitation, he had purified himself of the reactions of all the impious actions he has performed.
Calling the name of the Lord is the most effective form of atonement for everyone. Calling out the Lord’s name will attract his attention and the Supreme Lord will then protect that person.
Even if one follows all the Vedic rituals for atonement they will not be purified as much as by once calling out the name of the Lord. Atonement may give one release from karmic reactions, but reciting the Lord’s name will remind one of the Lord and awaken awareness of the Lord’s qualities and activities.
Rituals that are performed for atonement will only temporarily relieve one of karmic reaction, because after atonement one will again be attracted to material activities. But calling the name of the Lord purifies the mind of material desire.
You should not take Ajamila to Yamaraja for punishment because as he was dying he loudly called out the name of Narayana. That has liberated him from all karmic reaction. Anyone who calls the name of the Lord is liberated from karmic reactions, even if they are joking when they say the name, or are only singing for enjoyment, or they are thinking of someone else as Ajamila was.
Regardless of how impious someone is, if they recite the name of the Lord, they are released from all karmic reactions to their deeds. Anyone who practices austerity, charity and other sacrificial vows can remove the reactions to impious actions, but those things cannot eradicate material desires. If one recites the name of the Lord, they will not only be freed from all material contamination but also from all their material desires will be destroyed.
Just as a fire turns wood to ash, reciting the name of the Lord, whether knowingly or not, will burn to ashes all one’s karmic reactions. If someone takes medicine without knowing how it will work, the medicine will still cure them of their disease. So even if one is unaware of the benefits of calling the name of the Lord, it will still produce the results.
The servants of Lord Vishnu then released Ajamila from the ropes of Yamaraja’s messengers. Yamaraja’s servants then left to report everything that had happened to their master, Yamaraja.
After Ajamila was released from the bonds of Yamaraja’s messengers, he bowed down to the servants of Lord Vishnu to offer them respect. He was very grateful to them for saving him from the bonds of Yamaraja. The servants of Lord Vishnu could understand that Ajamila was about to speak to them and thus they immediately disappeared.
Ajamila had heard all that had been said about his impious actions and the value of reciting the name of the Lord. He was feeling great remorse for his actions. Ajamila said, How regrettable it is that I could not control my sensual desires. I was degraded from my elevated position as a brahmin and thus wasted my valuable human life. I have acted in such a terrible way by dishonouring my family traditions. I abandoned my virtuous wife to enjoy with a prostitute. I deserve to be condemned for such actions.
Someone who has ignored the principles of virtue and acted in such a dishonourable way deserves to be punished for their actions. Was I dreaming when I saw those fearsome people approach me with their noose? And where are those wonderful and beautiful people who saved me? I must have previously done something virtuous to have been able to see them.
If I had not performed virtuous actions in the past it would not have been possible for me to call out the name of the Lord at the moment of my death. Although I am an impious person, I must take advantage of this opportunity and try to control my mind and senses so I do not descend into the ignorance of material life again.
Because I considered myself the body I was under the control of my sensual desires and thus imprisoned by my material desires. Now I shall abandon my material desires and free myself from the suffering of material existence. Because I have called out the name of the Lord my mind is becoming purified. I will no longer consider myself the body and I will concentrate my mind on the Supreme Lord.
Thus Ajamila freed himself from his material consciousness and left his home and departed to the Vishnu temple at Hardwar. In Hardwar he stayed at the Vishnu temple and practised devoted service to the Lord. He withdrew his mind from the senses and worldly pleasures and focused it in concentration on Lord Vishnu.
When his mind became fixed in its concentration on the Lord, Ajamila saw the servants of Lord Vishnu come before him again. He respectfully bowed before them. Ajamila then left his material body and attained a spiritual form suitable for a servant of the Lord.
Because Ajamila had engaged in stealing, lying, drinking and other impious activities, he should have been taken away by Yamaraja’s servants for a suitable punishment. He was saved by calling out the name of the Lord.
Anyone who desires to be free from material suffering should recite the name of the Lord and absorb their mind in concentration of the Lord’s qualities and activities. This is the only method that will enable one to purify their heart of all material desires.
Anyone who hears or recites this story of Ajamila will not have to suffer the karmic reactions to material life.
