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In the Vedic pantheon the god of Fire is 'agni-dEva'.
He is a very important and sacred one. No Vedic ritual
("yagnya") can normally be undertaken without
'agni-dEvata'. This 'dEva' is a benign god bestowing
upon the whole world the comfort of warmth, protection
against dark dangers, the blessings of good health and
the wholesomeness of spirit...

The 7-tongued flame of 'agni' ("sapta-jihvA") that
glow inside a sacrificial mound of fire are
reverentially tended to in the ancient Vedic rite
called 'nitya-agni-hOtra". The fire that appears in
such a sacred rite is worshipped as a 'dEva'... only
because it is firmly 'controlled' by the restraint of
'dama'...

Yet, 'agni', the same 'dEvata', is feared and loathed
whenever he is seen to lose self-control or 'dama'. A
wild forest-fire that goes berserk is everybody's
nemesis. An accidental fire that suddenly blazes out
of control is everybody's nightmare. An inferno brings
about tragedy and death on an epic scale... 

No one ever calls such malevolent, uncontrollable Fire
as 'agni-dEvata'... 

************

In the 'Srimadh-Bhagavatham', a Vedic 'purANa' of
lofty spiritual values and insights, there is the
story of Hiranyakasipu, the great 'asurA' who had no
'dayA', not an iota of compassion, in his heart... not
even for his little child.

Hiranyakasipu's little son, Prahlada, a mere boy of
six years, in spite of the father's best, and often
violent efforts, could not just be weaned away from
his religious conviction that the the Almighty was
none else than Srimann-Narayana. The father furiously
resented the son's faith. He wished the boy would
instead recognize and defer to Hiranyakasipu's own
power and glory... he being, as he was, the monarch of
all that he surveyed. The 'asura' was indeed a great
one... he had attained superhuman powers and qualities
by dint of long and severe austerity, will and labour.
He had conquered empires and subjugated peoples all
over the world. He believed he was entitled to the
obeisance of all. Why his son alone should think
otherwise and persist in his apostasy in search of
another God, another faith was beyond Hiranyakasipu's
understanding.

After subjecting the little child to all manner of
oppression and torment only to make him somehow
recant, and meeting with no success whatsoever, the
'asura' finally decided to have Prahlada murdered in
cold blood by his own palace courtiers. 

The story of the 'Bhagavatham' tells us that the
'asura' King possessed all great and noble qualities
behoving a world leader. Except one. 'dayA',
compassion... He lacked the unique compassion which
normally would move any father's heart, however
steely, towards his child no matter how errant or
wayward the little one may be. And for the one
solitary virtue that mighty Hiranyakasipu lacked, he
paid penalty with his own life in the end... at the
hands of God Himself.

***************

There is another story in the Bhagavatham which tells
the story of a 'manushya' and the Upanishadic virtue
of 'datta' or 'dAna'. It is the story of Sudama (also
well known by his alias, Kuchela).

This man was a good Brahmin who had a loving wife. The
couple had lovable children. They were all living a
modest but happy life... until one day they woke up to
the rude reality that they were destitute. The
children's next meal was an uncertain prospect and
Sudama desperately had to do something.

Brahmins are generally not obliged to give alms. They
are sanctioned by Vedic scripture ("sAstra"), in fact,
to receive charity. Looking around for a kind donor in
town to help the family in dire straits, Kuchela's
wife suggested the husband should try knocking on the
royal doors of his old friend and school-mate, Lord
Krishna, whom Kuchela had not met for several years.
Kuchela the Brahmin, thus set out, a trifle
reluctantly, on the mission to seek alms from his old
boyhood friend and benefactor, Krishna.

Krishna and his queens, Rukmini and Satyabhama,
received Kuchela into the royal quarters with all the
courtesy due to an old friend... but no more. They
feasted him, entertained him and Krishna recollected
all their pleasant boyhood memories. And then, quickly
enough, it was time for the guest to go. The Lord and
consorts politely prepared to take leave of him and
Sudama knew it was the moment to exit. A sense of
shame overtook him and prevented him from disclosing
to his host the real purpose of the visit. Kuchela
resigned himself to returning empty-handed to his wife
-- his mission an utter failure.

On his way out, Kuchela suddenly remembered he had
brought with him a little gift meant for Krishna...
just for old times sake. It was a little pack of
rice-bran. In his boyhood days, Kuchela had
remembered, Krishna had relished bran so much as an
afternoon snack. "Oh, Krishna, I almost forgot", said
Kuchela as he took leave, "Here is some rice-bran I
brought for you! I remembered how much you'd enjoyed
bran snack back in those young days! Here, please
accept this". The Bhagavatham recounts how Krishna
received the little gift of rice-bran with overjoy! He
embraced his poor Brahmin friend for the kindness.

The overjoy, notwithstanding, the Bhagavatam records
that Krishna still let the poor Sudama return home
empty-handed.

It was when the Brahmin journeyed back home, however,
that the miracle happened! 

Kuchela's shabby hutment turned into a grand mansion
with liveried servants on call! His wife and children
were no longer in tatters! They were dressed in finest
silks and all decked up in brilliant gold! Sudama was
invited into his own opulent quarters by a bevy of
hand-maidens who showered petals upon him, washed his
feet with perfume, laid out a moonlit banquet for him
with serenading bards in attendance..!

Sudama and his family lived happily thereafter!

A 'manushyA's' single act of 'datta' or 'dAna' had
possessed enough power to work God's own miracle upon
Sudama...

************ 

Although the story in the BrhadAranyaka Upanishad
gives us the impression that Prajapati is addressing
'dEva', 'manushya' and 'asura' separately, as if they
were three distinctive individuals, actually it is Man
alone, the 'manushya', who is being addressed here. It
would be quite tempting otherwise to conclude that the
virtues of self-control and compassion are of little
concern to Man since, as Prajapati himself makes it
appear in the story, "dama" and "dayA" are for
celestials and demons to worry about! In the story
"dEva" and "asura" are really the Upanishad's metaphor
for the higher and lower self within Man. Each
represents a certain stage of advancement along the
path up the ladder of man's evolution. The "asura"
represents the lower rungs; and the 'dEvas' are the
higher reaches of the evolutionary spiral. 

**************

The 'manushya' with no 'dayA' in his heart is an
'asurA' worse than Hiranyakasipu; and the 'manushya'
who has mastered the senses, that Man of 'dama, is
verily a 'dEva' greater than 'agni'. 

To Man's eternal question of Life, "To be or not to
be?", the BrahadAranyaka Upanishad thus gives a direct
but profound answer: "If you must 'be' then be with
Compassion. If you must 'not be', then be not without
Self-control".

This is the principal message of the story. This is
the call of the ancient 'sruti'. This is the wisdom of
the Upanishad. It is also the eternal song of the
Voice from the clouds: the Thunder which keeps saying
to us: "da, da, da".

---------------

(CONCLUDED)
Regards,
dAsan,
Sudarshan


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