Shuka (Sanskrit: शुक IAST: Śuka, also Shukadeva Śuka-deva) is a rishi (sage) in Hinduism. He is the son of the sage Vyasa and the main narrator of the scripture Bhagavata Purana. Most of the Bhagavata Purana consists of Shuka reciting the story to the king Parikshit in his final days.
Bhagavan Sankara appeared before Veda Vyasa and granted him the boon of getting a son who would be a rare example of Purity, Great Virtue and Spiritual Enlightenment. Veda Vyasa was carried away by what Sankara blessed and initiated the Agni Homa action by the ‘Arani’ process of rubbing wooden pieces to light up. Just then, the Celestial Apsara (nymph), Ghritachi made a flashy appearance and cast amorous looks at the Maharshi. Being unsure of the romantic reaction of the Maharshi who no doubt got disturbed in his mind about her presence, she took the form of a tempting Parrot and flew across the Homa Kunda; Maharshi could not resist his lust for the Apsara and discharged his masculinity on the wooden sticks meant for Arani. Thus emerged from the Arani Fire, a boy of extraordinary radiance and chiselled body features resembling Veda Vyasa himself. He was named ‘Suka’ at the Name Giving Ceremony, since the Apsara took the form of a parrot at the moment of relieving his lust.
The Maharshi enjoyed supreme happiness in fondling the child and bringing him up. He was in fact born with full comprehension of the Holy Scriptures and added to this, Veda Vyasa’s early training and subsequent tutorship under Deva Guru Brihaspati made him an excellent ‘Jnani’. He learnt Vedas, Sastras, and the entire gamut of Scriptures beyond which there perhaps was left little that was worthy of imbibing. As the Brahmachari attained marriageable age, Maharshi Vyas desired to perform the wedding of Suka Muni who resisted the idea vehemently. He said that having been trained as an ascetic, he had no desire whatsoever to enter into married life. Veda Vyasa explained that that according to ‘Agamas’, the stage of ‘Garhastya’ or married life was an integral part of human life of the four chapters viz. ‘Brahmacharya’, ‘Garhastya’, ‘Vanaprasthya’, and ‘Sanyasa’ as that was a logical evolution of normal living.
Vyasa said that the order of life was disturbed in his own example but that exception was not a rule. Moreover, he realised that he regretted his own action of remaining single and infringed the Laws of Nature as stressed in the Sciptures. Suka Muni explained that human life was a very valuable achievement and as such he would rather abstain from the so-called pleasures, causing the inevitable pain, that ‘Samsara’ was a knife-edge existence of humanity and that he would prefer the skip-up of the Garhasthya phase in his limited existence. He further explained that the entire human existence was constantly engaged in a struggle to get released from the complicated of ‘Maya’( Illusion) and in a virtual warfare against the ‘Arisht Vargas’or the Six Enemies of ‘Kama’ leading to and the logical resultants of ‘Krodha’(Anger/ Intolerance),‘Lobha’(Meanness or Possesivenes), ‘Moha’( Infatuation), ‘Mada’ (Arrogance) and ‘Matsarya’( Jealousy). Between the two steps of temptation of entering into the net and the desperation to break it out, there would be a wide abyss which would occupy successive cycle of births and deaths owing to the concepts of ‘Sanchita’ ( latent), ‘Prarabdha’( Carry forward), and ‘Vartamana’( the Current Account) and to perpetuate the vicious ‘Kala Chakra’ ( the Wheel of Time) further on would be a conscious stupidity, if not an ignorant folly, thus argued Suka Muni.He further stressed to Veda Vyasa that let alone normal human beings, but even Indra, Brahma, Vishnu or Maheswara could never exist in peace as Indra always kept protecting his throne from Asuras as he was their first target; Brahma had this entire creation as His ‘Samsara’ or His family; Vishnu no doubt had Maha Maya Lakshmi Herself as His partner but was fully engaged with the wily Demons’ atrocities to overcome and protect the balance of the entire Universe; Maheswar was constanly busy with the destruction of evil forces. Humanity without exception thus was persistently subject to want, struggle, helplessness, and pessimism.
King Parikshit's Question to Suka Maharishi
Parikshit put a question: “What is good for man, especially at this hour when my life is about to end?”
In the freezing heights of the Himalayas, it is good to have a blanket over oneself. But a blanket is not good in the hot deserts of Africa; we would like to have cold water there. When we are hungry, it is good to have delicious food;
Riches will end, the body will wither, and life is uncertain. None of these things connected with life in this world can be regarded as really good in their ultimate sense. Then, what is really good for the human individual? The difficulty in answering this question arises because we think that we are living only in this world of sensory perception. To this great question, Sri Suka answers in a majestic manner. The ascent through the levels of creation through which one has to pass, and in which one is involved even at the present moment, is not merely a future event; it is only an unfolding of the involvement that is already there even at this present moment. Suka's answer was that we belong to all the worlds at the same time. We are citizens of every level of existence.
Eighth chapter of the Srimad Bhagavadgita when Bhagavan Sri Krishna says:
akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ svabhāvodhyātmam ucyate bhūtabhāvodbhavakaro visargaḥ karmasaṁjñitaḥ (Gita 8.3);
adhibhūtaṁ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaś cādhidaivatam adhiyajñoham evātra dehe dehabhṛtāṁ vara (Gita 8.4).
Our involvements in this life are explained in this beautiful contextual answer of Bhagavan Sri Krishna to Arjuna when He says, “That which is the ultimate good is the Supreme Brahman.” A similar question was raised by Yudhishthira at the end of the Mahabharata war when he went to Bhishma, who was lying on a bed of arrows, and Bhishma's answer was that it is better to remember Vishnu and recite his name one thousand names, not only at the end of time, but at all times, because the end of time is at any time. Even this very moment can be the end of time. So, when we ask the question, “What is good for us at the end of time?” it is implied that it is that which is good for us at all times because, knowing the brittleness of things in the world, all times are the end of time.
The supreme good, therefore, is the Supreme Brahman, the Ultimate Reality – akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ – which is intimately, vitally, inextricably connected with svabhavah, which is called the Atman. The internal, essential nature of the human individual, known as the Atman or the Self, is the true nature of a person. That is why it is called svabhava, the true disposition of an individual. Our selfhood is what we are; and how we behave, how we act, and how we think and feel depend upon the true nature which is our own self displayed through the various categories constituting this psychophysical individuality. This is svabhava.
Action is cosmic action, and the characteristic of all visible physical things is its perishable nature –
bhūtabhāvodbhavakaro visargaḥ karmasaṁjñitaḥ (Gita 8.3); adhibhūtaṁ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaś cādhidaivatam (Gita 8.4).
The Purusha, who is the principle of cosmic sacrifice as we have it described in the Purusha Sukta, is also the indwelling presence in all our hearts. He is the source of individual sacrifices and right action, virtuous action, etc. He is the impeller from the recesses of our own heart. This is the source of individual impulses. Adhiyajñoham evātra (Gita 8.4) – the field of activity is also God Himself. God is the director of the drama of creation, as also the actor. He does not employ people to act in the theatre. He himself appears as all the actors in all forms of manifestation, and he also directs it from another point of view. He is the performer as well as the witness of all performances.
At death, the consciousness withdraws itself. That is why we feel such a fear; some tremendous upheaval takes place when we leave this body. The fear of death that was hovering on the mind of Parikshit had to be removed by this kind of great admonition by Sukadeva Maharishi, which is the highlighting feature of the beginning of the second chapter of Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana.
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