Becoming Fearless Of Maya

A concise summary of Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2 Chapter 7

Lord Brahma tells Narada that whoever regularly listens to the Lord’s descent into the material creation (Avatara) from his expansive spiritual existence will get the following benefits:

• Becomes fearless of the Maya (illusory energy)

• Cleanses the dirt accumulated in mind over many lifetimes

An Avatar is not a concocted idea of fanciful men who create an avatar out of imagination. The descent of the Lord happens under certain extraordinary circumstances like the below-mentioned events. The descent can be classified broadly into three categories: Lord himself, a portion of his qualities, and a subset of his powers.

The Lord’s descent described here is not chronological.

Varaha

1. Lifted the Earth that was sinking in the Garbodhaka ocean

2. Only under certain conditions do the planets float as weightless balls in the air, and as soon as these conditions are disturbed, the planets may fall down in the Garbhodaka Ocean, which covers half the universe. The floating of the planets in the weightless air is due to the inner constitution of the globes, and the modernized drilling of the earth to exploit oil from within is a sort of disturbance by the modern demons and can result in a greatly harmful reaction to the floating condition of the earth. A similar disturbance was created formerly by the demons headed by Hiraṇyākṣa (the great exploiter of the gold and oil), and the earth was detached from its weightless condition and fell down into the Garbhodaka Ocean. The Lord, as maintainer of the whole creation of the material world, therefore assumed the gigantic form of a boar with a proportionate snout and picked up the earth from within the water of Garbhodaka.

Yajna

1. Born as a son of Ruci and Akuti

2. Filled the position of Indra during the Manvantara of Syambhuva Manu

3. A Manvantara is a time period of 71 Yuga Cycles. Each Yuga Cycle has 4 Yugas

4. The current period is the Manvantara of Vaivasvatha

5. There are 14 Manvantaras in each day of Lord Brahma

Kapila

1. Born as a son of Kardama and Devahuti

2. Taught the knowledge of the formless spiritual energy

3. The propounder of Samkhya philosophy

Dattatreya

1. Son of Atri

2. Founder of Ashtanga-Yoga, which was later codified by Sage Patanjali

Four Kumaras

1. Sanat, Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatan

2. Taught knowledge of the soul

Nara-Narayana Rishi

1. Son of Dharma and Murti (the daughter of Daksha)

2. Taught penance to the world

Prthu

1. Son of King Vena

2. Relieved his father from suffering

3. He produced all kinds of crops and bestowed the Earth with different minerals

Rishabhadev

1. Son of Nabhi and Sudevi

2. Demonstrated the process of becoming Paramahamsa (a state of complete control of mind and senses)

3. Rishabhadev is considered as the founder of Jainism

Hayagriva

1. Also known as Yajna Purusha (the deity in a fire sacrifice)

Matsya

1. Identified by Vaivasvatha Manu

2. Rescued the Vedas from the demon “Hayagriva” (not the same Hayagriva incarnation)

Kurma

1. Supported on his back Mandara mountain which acted as the churning rod when gods and demons churned Ksira Sagara

Narasimha

1. Appeared to kill the demon Hiranyakasipu (one who is only interested in wealth, sleeping, and mating)

2. The Lord appeared from the pillar. This shows that the Lord doesn’t need to be born of a mother’s womb to descend (incarnate) into the material world

3. The Lord also appeared in half man half lion form. No living being possess such form. This validates the point that the Lord’s appearance is all spiritual and unaffected by the Maya and Karma. He is the controller of Maya and Karma. He chooses how to descend, who to descend from when to descend etc.

4. Protected his devotee Prahlad

Aprameya

1. Descended to protect Gajendra (a devotee elephant) from the jaws of a crocodile

2. Aprameya means one whose powers can’t be estimated by logic and reasoning

3. Gajendra in his previous life was King Indradyumna

4. The symbolic meaning refers Gajendra to a human being, crocodile to sin, and the lake to Samsara

Vamana

1. The Lord snatched away King Bali’s material possessions and favored him with His personal service for eternal life. Such taking away by the Lord should be considered a special favor upon a devotee

Hamsa

1. Taught knowledge of Bhakti (devotion) to Sage Narada

Manu

1. Maintained the continuity of Manu’s race by disciplining the wicked kings

Dhanvantari

1. Gave the science of medicine (Ayurveda) to the world

2. Vested his power to cure ailments and diseases in “Om Sri Dhanvantaraya Namaha”

Parasurama

1. Uprooted miscreant kings on the Earth

2. This says that Parasurama appeared a total of 21 times

Rama

1. Descended to save gods from the evil ruler Ravana

Krishna

1. Removed the distress of the Earth which was pounded by the armies of irreligious rulers

2. Lord Brahma asserts here that this descent is the Lord himself in full and makes a point the Lord killed the demon Putana when he was only a 3 months old baby

3. Several other Lord’s activities are highlighted by Lord Brahma. Each activity is worth exploiting on its own:

   1. Defeating giant serpent Kaliya

   2. Teaching a lesson to Indra

   3. Removing Brahma’s illusion

   4. Showcasing the entire creation in his mouth to his mother as a baby

   5. Saving of cowherd boys from the demon, Vyomasura

   6. Defeating demonic personalities like Pralamba, Dhenuka, Baka, Keśī, Ariṣṭa, Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, Kuvalayāpīḍa elephant, Kaṁsa, Yavana, Narakāsura and Pauṇḍraka, great marshals like Śālva, Dvivida monkey and Balvala, Dantavakra, the seven bulls, Śambara, Vidūratha, and Rukmī, as also great warriors like Kāmboja, Matsya, Kuru, Sṛñjaya and Kekaya

Vyasadeva

1. Divided the Vedas into four

2. Divided each Veda into Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads to target people of different interests

3. Compiled the natural commentary on the Vedic conclusion, Srimad Bhagavatam

Buddha

1. Attracted irreligious people by propounding a tailored philosophy

Kali (at the end of Kali-Yuga; future)

1. The Lord will appear to establish religious principles when the world becomes devoid of austerity, purity, truthfulness, and compassion

Trimurti

1. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva

2. The Lord assumed these manifestations for the purpose of creation

No one can understand the full potency of the Lord.

Anyone (men, women, sinful person, animals, Brahmanas, Sudras, Siberians) can become purified and can get liberated by surrendering to Lord Hari