As one ever established in Brāhmaṇ, Sukacharya did not accept any ignorance whatsoever in Parikshit.
As Darkness is not real to the Sun, to the Knower of Đ Self,
Ignorance has no existence.
(1/9)
Hence, in the 7 days that followed, Sukacharya leisurely expounded upon the Bhagavāta Purāna without any anxiety whatsoever.
Even though Parikshit lamented that he had only 7 days left to live,
Sukacharya consoled him
& said,
वरं मुहूर्तं विदितं घटते श्रेयसे यतः।
ŚB 2.1.12
'One moment is all you need to attain d Highest. Have No fear at all.
But for You,
सप्ताहं जीवितावधिः।
You have 7 long days to Live!
Once You come to know your real Nature, You will wake Up to d Immortal,
Bodiless Nature of Đ Self.'
When the Mind becomes Pure, One beholds Within oneself the infinitude of the Ātman like the boundless Sky;
यथा खं अमलाशयः।
It is this ever-attained natural state of oneself that the Guru points to.
This is the Essence of Śruti Gītā.
In a way, Đ entire Bhagavāta is a Śruti Gītā.
निगमकल्पतरोर्गलितं फलं।
(ŚB 1.1.3)
Nigama is Śruti, & it's fruit is the experience of Brāhmaṇ.
Once Realised,
Renunciation becomes natural like the fruit (र्गलितं).
Such a one is Sukacharya, & his experience is Bhagavāta.
य: स्वानुभावमखिलश्रुतिसारमेक-
मध्यात्मदीपमतितितीर्षतां तमोऽन्धम्।
संसारिणां करुणयाह पुराणगुह्यं
तं व्याससूनुमुपयामि गुरुं मुनीनाम्॥
(ŚB 1.2.3)
He, out of Compassion for those who suffer in the World, gave out his own Innermost experience which is the essence of all Upaniṣhads.
This lamp of realisation is Bhagavāta.
When a dispassionate seeker approaches an enlightened Rṣi, that which is transmitted from the heart of Đ Guru is Śruti Gītā.
Nārāyaṇa~Brahmā~Nārada~Vyāsa~Suka~Parikshit ;
Đ Knowledge that is transmitted in this succession is also nothing
but Śruti. From Suka, Suta too received it, & He, in turn,, Spoke to the Ṛṣis in Naimisharanya.
This is also Śruti.
What Maitreyi spoke to Vidura is also the same.
Kapila to his Mother,
Rishabha to his sons & subjects,
Bhārata to Rahugana...
Thus goes the list of innumerable speakers.
Later,
Śrī Kṛṣṇa gave it to Uddhava who sought it directly from him.
Even now,
The teaching that is transmitted from an authentic teacher to an earnest disciple is the same Primordial song of Śruti.
In the Śloka here, #Aṣṭāvakra points out the subtle distinction between the two higher states in Meditation.
येन दृष्टं परं ब्रह्म सोऽहं ब्रह्मेति चिन्तयेत्।
किं चिन्तयति निश्चिन्तो द्वितीयं यो न पश्यति॥
"He, who sees the supreme Brāhmaṇ, Meditates upon ‘I am Brāhmaṇ.
(1/9)
He who has transcended all thoughts and when he sees ‘no second’,
What should he meditate Upon?"
At the earlier stage the student, as a result of his deep study & long reflection,
becomes intellectually convinced of the one Infinite immutable Reality which is the Substratum
for the illusory play of names & forms that constitute the Universe.
Here,
The student ‘sees the supreme Brahman’ meaning,
He intellectually conceives the Existence & Understands the nature of the supreme Reality.
At this stage the student should strive to Meditate on,
तस्मात् 'therefore';
सर्वेषु कालेषु, at all times;
मामनुस्मर, think of me;
अनु, means Continuously;
मामस्मर, 'think of Me'.
I am the Self behind your own little self,
I am the Infinite One,
I am that Akṣara Puruṣa, that Imperishable Reality hidden within You.
So,
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च।
& carry on the battle of Life!'
These two will have to go together. Thinking of the Divine, carrying on the battle of Life.
You are active in Life;
You have got plenty of work to do;
that cannot be an excuse for not remembering
सनत्सुजातीयम्~Sānatsujātiyam : ii
An Unusual Parallel :
A little digression is Worthwhile here.
Sānatsujāta has listed the 6 most fundamental Virtues that any seeker should have,
before even embarking on the Spiritual path Upward.
(1/21)
In the same #Mahābhārata ., there is another context occurring very much earlier in the Chronology of events,
Which lists for Us the 6 most Fundamental Evils one should Avoid.
Đ Scene is in Sabha Parva, (the 2nd one out of 18 Parvas) where Yudhishthira has just been crowned the
prince of Indraprastha.
Đ Divine roving Rṣi Narada appears on the Scene & in his blessings to the Newly crowned prince,
gives pieces of advice in the form of some Rhetorical Questions.
One of these Questions is whether as a King & Adminstrator He has avoided certain 6 Evils.
Among musical Instruments,
Đ bamboo Flute is considered d most Organic.
Now the Question is,
How did this Flute get d blessed fortune to be with Śrī Kṛṣṇa all the time?
Bhagavān’s love for His flute was such that,
Never would He leave it Here & There.
(1/11)
Đ Bhagavān’s Flute received the touch of the Bhagavān’s nectarean lips,
Which everyone longs for, for lifetimes together.
The Gopīs, or women of the cowherds,
were ever Jealous of the Bhagavān’s Flute,
talking to it & chiding it, saying, “You are Stealing our right.
The Bhagavān’s lips are Our right. So long as you are seated on His lips,
We will not get to touch them.”
Someone once asked,
“O Flute,
What Meritorious deeds did You perform,
that the Bhagavān always keeps You with Him & places You on His lips?”
Like Vineyan,
The Student has another name "अन्तेवासि~Antevāsi" which means "one who lives with".
Just as "Upanayana" (leading near) means "leading near the Guru",
Antevāsi (living with) must be taken to mean "one who lives with the Guru".
(1/12)
Strictly speaking "ante" does not "with or by the side".
It means "in" or "Within" in the same way as it means in the words in
"Antaranga",
"Antarātman",
"Antaryāmin".
Đ "anta" here means "in the Mind".
Đ ācārya must, in keeping with this meaning, harbour the student in his Mind
so to speak, which suggests that he must have deep affection for him.
The ācārya has a great responsibility towards his student. If He does Not Fulfil it,
He will himself come to great harm.
Teachers nowadays say :
"What does it matter whether or not the student is doing well?
People normally find a hundred excuses for Not performing,
doing Spiritual practices like Pūjā, or
Visiting the Mandirā.
‘I am unwell’,
‘I cannot afford rituals’,
‘I have no time’,
‘I do not know the chants’,
there is no place at home where I can worship’
& So on.
Normally,
people feel Pūjā is a mechanical action,
Which has to be ‘got over & done with’ as part of one’s daily routine (Dinacaryā).
People say,
‘pūjā kar ḍālī’ (Hindi),
or
‘pūjā karī nākhī’ (Gujarati),
which indicates, that one has finished it with a sense of relief that it is over, rather than with a sense of fulfilment of having done it well.
Our attitude should be ‘Pūjā kar lī’ ~ completed (with good feelings derived from it).