The Story of Prajapati And Its Meaning-(The Moral of the Story)

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The Vedanta Kesary, p. 510-514, December 2007

The story of Prajapati is instructive in many ways.

Some people criticize Prajapati saying that deliberately he misled his students by not speaking of the Atman outright. This view is not correct. He was leading his students gradually from a lower to a higher state of understanding. A good teacher always suits his teaching to the receptivity of his student. Had he given the highest truth at the very outset, they would not have understood it. This becomes clear if we reflect on the life of Sri Ramakrishna. He used to say that no one could achieve anything until the right time comes.

A mother-bird will not break open the shell until the chick is fully formed and is ready to come out. Here 'right time' means acquisition of fitness to receive what is given. We may recollect that Sri Ramakrishna awakened the spiritual consciousness of many of his devotees on first January 1886 by his divine touch. But on that day he did not bless two devotees saying they will have to wait but will receive his grace later on.

We may also recollect that the great Swami Vivekananda was also not able to withstand Sri Ramakrishna's touch on his first visit to Dakshineswar. So also Mathur could not sustain the ecstatic state granted to him by Sri Ramakrishna. Likewise, the same teaching was given to both Indra and Virochana. While Indra's education continued, Virochana's progress stopped because he did not reflect on the teaching properly but was satisfied with what he (mis)understood. This shows us that much depends on our aspiration, sincerity and receptivity. Austerities purify the mind and that is the only way to develop our receptivity.

Both Indra and Virochana were asked by Prajapati to live the life of celibacy (brahma- charya) for thirty-two years. Both of them did as they were instructed. Yet Virochana was unable to grasp the teaching clearly. Just as we can infer the cause by observing the effect, we can guess that though Virochana did perform austerity, it did not serve the purpose for he could not grasp his teacher's words rightly.

In Hindu mythology we come across many instances of demons like Ravana, Narakasura or Bana who performed rigorous austerities. Instead of making their minds pure, their austerities only intensified their worldly desires like lust, greed, jealousy and anger. As a result, they did immense harm to others and in the end had to be vanquished. Swami Yatiswarananda (1889-1966), Vice President of the Ramakrishna Order, used to say that the development of concentration without some amount of mental purity can only harm us and others.

To Be Continued

About the author

Swami Dayatmananda

Swami Dayatmananda is the Minister-in-charge of Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, Buckinghamshire, UK.