M - Markendeya Rishi (8-10)
Markandeya Rishi, by his austere vows and determined devotion, was able to survive the annihilation of the universe. He received the audience of Krishna and personally witnessed how the entire creation is contained within the body of the tender, young, delightful Supreme Lord. Later, he was blessed and benedicted by Lord Siva.
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M - Markendeya Rishi (8-10)
M - Markendeya Rishi (8-10)
Markandeya Rishi, by his austere vows and determined devotion, was able to survive the annihilation of the universe. He received the audience of Krishna and personally witnessed how the entire creation is contained within the body of the tender, young, delightful Supreme Lord. Later, he was blessed and benedicted by Lord Siva.
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Conspiracy 108
M - Markendeya Rishi (8-10)
Conspiracy 108
“According to Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura, the Supreme Lord smiled ruefully, because He prefers that His pure devotees stay away from His illusory energy. Curiosity to see the illusory energy of the Lord sometimes develops into sinful material desire. Nonetheless, to please His devotee Markandeya, the Lord granted his request, just as a father who cannot convince his son to give up pursuing a harmful desire may let him experience some painful reaction so that he will then voluntarily desist. Thus, understanding what would soon happen to Markandeya, the Lord smiled as He prepared to display the illusory potency to him.” (SB 12.9.7)
The modern world is riddled with a variety of conspiracy theories that seem to multiply by the day. Are power-hungry underground groups like the Illuminati plotting to rule mankind by establishing the New World Order? Was 9-11 an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack, or did the Bush administration help orchestrate the entire incident to justify military policy in the Middle East? Half a century ago, did the US government cover up a UFO landing and alien interaction at Roswell, New Mexico? How do we know what to believe? The theories themselves could well be part of a bigger conspiracy to confuse people and instil doubt in everything!
There is one conspiracy, however, that we can all be sure of 100% sure of. It’s a conspiracy a little closer to home, and a conspiracy which has been going on since time immemorial. Maya , the illusory energy of Krishna, is continually conspiring to keep the living entity shackled in the material world, and employs a variety of powerful tactics to fufil that objective.
Markandeya Rishi, a great devotee of the Lord, requested to have a vision of the material energy in action. He himself had no personal interest or desire to interact with maya , but was simply intrigued to learn how that potency functions. Our situation, however, may be a little different. Conditioned souls have a special attraction to maya . In fact, Srila Prabhupada once revealed: “The problem with my disciples is that they are not sufficiently scared of maya .”
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How Maya Enters
M - Markendeya Rishi (8-10)
Conspiracy 108
How Maya Enters
When a living entity utilises its free will to seek enjoyment separate from Krishna, maya comes into play: “Turning his face away from Krishna, the jiva (living entity) develops the desire to enjoy. Standing nearby, maya slaps him and seizes hold of him.” (Prema-vivarta)
Srila Prabhupada succinctly depicts the quandary: “The Lord does not desire that a living being be illusioned by external energy. The external energy is aware of this fact, but still she accepts a thankless task of keeping the forgotten soul under illusion by her bewildering influence. The Lord does not interfere with the task of the illusory energy because such performances of the illusory energy are also necessary for reformation of the conditioned soul. An affectionate father does not like his children to be chastised by another agent, yet he puts his disobedient children under the custody of a severe man just to bring them to order. But the all-affectionate Almighty Father at the same time desires relief for the conditioned soul, relief from the clutches of the illusory energy. The king puts the disobedient citizens within the walls of the jail, but sometimes the king, desiring the prisoners’ relief, personally goes there and pleads for reformation, and on his doing so the prisoners are set free. Similarly, the Supreme Lord descends from His kingdom upon the kingdom of illusory energy and personally gives relief in the form of the Bhagavad-gita, wherein He personally suggests that although the ways of illusory energy are very stiff to overcome, one who surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord is set free by the order of the Supreme.” (SB 1.7.5)
One aspect of maya to act on the living entity is known as praksepatmika-sakti , or the ‘throwing potency.’ Another aspect of maya is known as avaranatmika- sakti , or the ‘covering potency.’ So by her intrigues, maya will throw the living entity into a material situation, and then cover that living entity’s intelligence in such a way that it wilfully remains in such an illusory and unhappy condition. Of course, through the proper utilisation of free will and sincere practice of spiritual life, one can easily become free of maya’s influences: “One is immediately freed from the clutches of maya if he seriously and sincerely says, ‘My dear Lord Krishna, although I have forgotten You for so many long years in the material world, today I am surrendering unto You. I am Your sincere and serious servant. Please engage me in Your service.’” (CC Madhya 22.33)
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Tricks of Maya
M - Markendeya Rishi (8-10)
Conspiracy 108
Tricks of Maya
The Srimad-Bhagavatam describes the absolute necessity of hearing about maya : “The Lord’s activities in association with His different energies should be described, appreciated and heard in accordance with the teachings of the Supreme Lord. If this is done regularly with devotion and respect, one is sure to get out of the illusory energy of the Lord.” (SB 2.7.53)
Here, the Lord is making an incredibly powerful point - if one constantly describes maya in relation to the Lord, remembers maya or hears about maya with proper faith, he will not be bewildered by maya . We have to be conscious of Krishna, but simultaneously cautious of maya . Both go hand in hand. In the pastimes of Srimad-Bhagavatam, we’ll find that maya employs a variety of inventive tricks to illusion the living entity into forgetfulness the spiritual reality.
1) “Just this once” – Trick: Complacency
We often succumb to a temptation or allurement, considering that a slight interaction will be harmless. Maya , however, comes in like a needle and goes out like a plough. Even one who has made substantial investments in their spiritual growth must remain vigilant and cautious, avoiding any sense of complacency. When Putana smoothly entered Vrindavana guised as a beautiful maiden, nobody suspected how dangerous and deviant she was.
2) “You are better off alone” – Trick: Isolation
Aesop’s fable tells of how sticks bundled together are unbreakable, but when separated can be easily snapped. Our strength and protection in spiritual life lies in being surrounded by sincere spiritualists. Maya will often trick us into distancing ourselves from spiritual company – an argument, misunderstanding, personality difference or cultural barrier, and we convince ourselves we are better off alone. Rather, we must find like-minded spiritual friends and stay with them if we are to remain strong and safe in spiritual life. When Bharata Maharaja became attached to a deer, one of the contributing factors to his fall down was the fact that he was isolated in the forest, with nobody to rectify him.
3) “It’s too difficult” – Trick: Hopelessness
Every spiritual practitioner is confronted with the gap between the real (of where they are) and the ideal (of where they’d like to be). That gap is uncomfortable, and can create feelings of guilt, frustration and hopelessness. We know where we want to be, but can’t find the strength to reach there, and thus lose hope, wondering if we’ll ever make it. We should always remember that spiritual life is difficult, but material life is impossible. Though the material energy is strong, Krishna and devotion to Him is even more powerful. Though many influential personalities had tried to convince Dhritarastra to change his ways, each one was unsuccessful. Vidura, however, never lost hope, and was finally able to help the blind King sever himself from his material attachments.
4) “Problem is outside” – Trick: Diversion
Maya often tricks us into thinking that the problems are outside – the people, places and situations surrounding us. Thus, we’re often compulsively busy on addressing the externals, all the while diverting ourselves from the internal work that is the root cause of all problems. The Avanti brahmana famously prays: “These people are not the cause of my happiness and distress. Neither are the demigods, my own body, the planets, my past work, or time. Rather, it is the mind alone that causes happiness and distress and perpetuates the rotation of material life.” (SB 11.23.42) Though we surely need some stability in life, we’ll never be able to fully control the outer world, and therefore, we have to learn to control the inner world.
5) “You are there” – Trick: Pride
Maya is an equal opportunities employer – she doesn’t look at age, history, gender, achievements – anyone is a poetntial candidate! Sometimes we feel we have achieved spiritual maturity, and the subsequent pride that arises instigates our downfall. In a game of Snakes and Ladders , one may reach the 99th square and then be caught. When we gain name, fame, appreciation and success in spiritual circles, we can feel our journey is complete, yet the internal purity has not yet manifested and thus leaves us vulnerable. Krishna orchestrated the lifting of Govardhana Hill to expose the pride of Indra, who had risen to prominence by dint of his incredible sacrifices. Real love ( prema ) is always accompanied by humility ( dainya ). Such meek, saintly personalities are ever-enriching their spiritual connection with Krishna.
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Markandeya’s Austerity
M - Markendeya Rishi (8-10)
Markandeya’s Austerity
Chapter 8
Having heard about cosmic annihilation, Saunaka was confused about Markandeya Rishi, who seemed to defy this universal scheme.
Suta Goswami narrated how Markandeya had taken the vow of perpetual celibacy, and maintained this for six lifetimes of Manu. In the seventh Manu, Indra sent Kamadeva and a host of other allurements to seduce him, but the Rishi was undeviated. Pleased by his complete focus, the Lord appeared before him as the Nara-Narayana Rishis. Markandeya was overjoyed, and warmly received Them in the customary way while offering wonderful prayers.
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Markandeya’s Vision of Maya
M - Markendeya Rishi (8-10)
Markandeya’s Vision of Maya
Chapter 9, 10
Seeing Markandeya’s impeccable spiritual character and hearing his beautiful prayers, the Lord was ready to benedict him as he desired. Markandeya considered the audience of the Lord to be the highest benediction. That said, he was still intrigued by the Lord’s illusory potency ( maya ) which orchestrates the movements of the entire creation. Understanding his desire, the Lord agreed to grant him a vision of maya .
One day, a great storm suddenly appeared, bringing gushing winds, deafening thunderbolts and torrents of rain. The waters of devastation violently appeared and flooded the three worlds! After the deluge, Markandeya Rishi wandered amongst the carnage, hungry and thirsty, feeling increasingly exhausted with every step. Millions of years passed in this torturous condition, being attacked by the elements, until the Rishi spotted a blossoming banyan tree with fruits. On a leaf of that tree was a beautiful, effulgent boy sucking on His toe. As the Rishi inched forward for closer examination, he was sucked into that boy’s body!
Inside the body, Markandeya Rishi saw the universe exactly as it had been before annihilation. Within a moment, however, the vision was interrupted and he was thrust outside again. When the Rishi went to embrace the Lord, the charming boy disappeared, as did the waters of annihilation, and he found himself back in his hermitage exactly as before. Markandeya Rishi had now experienced the incredible power of the Lord’s illusory potency.
Later, whilst travelling through the universe, Siva saw Markandeya in trance and was impressed. He entered the heart of Markandeya Rishi, who subsequently saw Siva in his meditation. When Markandeya Rishi opened his eyes, he saw Lord Siva right in front of him and offered his respectful homage. In great appreciation, Siva offered him a series of unique benedictions to aid him in his spiritual ascent.
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— S.B. Keshava Swami, Book Bhagavata