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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00083 Jul 2004

 
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Dear Prapannas here is another vignette that I wish to share with you from
the Vishnu Purana 

Vaishnava lakshana (Vishnu Purana 3:7: 19 ­ 34)
Conversation between Lord Yama and his servants

Having heard these injunctions of Yama, the messenger addressed the lord of
righteousness, and said: "Tell me, master, how am I to distinguish the
devotees of Hari, who is the protector of all beings?"

Yama replied ? "You are to consider the person to be a devotee of Vishnu,
one who never deviates from the duties prescribed to his station in life;
who looks with equanimity upon friend or enemy ; who takes nothing (that is
not given), nor injures any being. Know that person of unblemished mind to
be a devotee of Vishnu. The one whose mind is pure and undefiled by the dirt
of the Kali age; and which has been freed from delusion, focussing his
thoughts on Janardana ? know that person to be a devout devotee of Hari.
Know that excellent one to be a Vaishnava, who, finding gold in secret,
considers it to be as valuable as straw, and who regards another's property
as the same [ie treats it with the same care and respect as his own]. That
superior person who thinks only of the Lord is a true Vaishnava. Pure is
he as a mountain of clear crystal; for how can Vishnu abide in the hearts
that are filled with malice and envy, and other afflictive emotions
(doshas)? The glowing heat of fire cannot abide in a cluster of the cooling
rays of the moon. One who lives pure in thought, free from envy, tranquil,
leading a pure life, who treats all beings with loving kindness, speaking
kind and beneficial words, humble and sincere, Vasudeva is ever present in
his heart. 

As the young Sal tree by its beauty declares the excellence of the juices
which it has imbibed from the earth, so when the eternal has taken residence
in the heart of any one, that person appears agreeable in this transient
world. Depart far, my servant, quickly from those whose sins have been
destroyed by the practice of Yamas* and Niyamas** whose minds are daily
immersed in Achyuta, and who are free from pride, uncharitableness, and
malice. Sin cannot remain in the heart in which the divine Hari, who is
without beginning or end, abides, armed with a sword, a conch and a mace;
for it cannot co-exist with that which destroys it, as darkness cannot
continue in the world when the sun is shining. The Eternal One does not
take up residence in the heart of that person who covets another's wealth,
who injures living creatures, who speaks harshness and untruth, who is proud
of his iniquity, and whose mind is evil. Janardana occupies not the mind who
envies another's prosperity, who defames the virtuous, who never sacrifices
nor bestows gifts upon the pious, who is blinded by the darkness of
ignorance. That vile wretch is not a Vaishnava who through avarice is
unkind to his nearest friends and relations, to his wife, children, parents,
and dependants. The animal-like man whose thoughts are evil, who is addicted
to unrighteous acts, who constantly seeks the association of the wicked, and
who daily engages in the perpetration of sin, is not a Vaishnava.

Run far away from those, in whose hearts Ananta is enshrined; from those
whose sanctified intellect conceives the Supreme Being and ruler ? Vasudeva
? to be one with the devotees, and with all this world. Avoid those holy
persons who are constantly invoking the lotus-eyed Vasudeva, Vishnu, the
supporter of the earth, the immortal wielder of the conch and the discus,
the refuge of the world. Don¹t even come into the sight of one in whose
heart the imperishable Supreme Self resides, for he is defended from my
power by the discus of Vishnu: he is intended for another realm."


*Yama ? absence of violence or cruelty to other beings (Ahimsa), honesty
(Asteya), truth (Satya), living a holy life (Brahmacharya), and non
acceptance of gifts (Aparigraha).
** Niyama ? purity (Saucha), contentment (Santosha), self-discipline
(Tapas), study of the Scriptures (Svadhyaya), and surrender to God
(Isvara-pranidhana).

daso'smi Sri Ram




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