Bhagavatam-daily 261 – 11.12.18 – Sacred fire and sacred sound are manifestations of and means to Krishna.mp3

Reconnect with our source and realize our highest aspirations for everlasting happiness thank you is similarly i am manifested through vedic sound so what is that’s the point that krishna is making and what is the metaphor that he’s using here that just as when there is friction between two pieces of wood and that friction produces in the space between them fire and if there is wind that fire blazes if there is air the fire blazes and if he’s added in the fire blazes further and does the fire becomes very strong and just as the fire becomes manifested similarly it is said over here that krishna manifests through vedic sound so uddhava had asked a question about the ultimate import of the vedic literature and krishna has answered krishna is now saying that i will answer your question uddhava i’ll answer in detail and for the answer krishna gives the standard metaphor of fire manifesting and growing now let’s first look at the literal aspect of the metaphor and then we look at its non-literal or symbolic aspect also so from a literal mechanical point of view fire which is present in the wood is not visible or manifest to us with the naked eye there is a process that is required for the manifestation of the fire and that process involves multiple things there is friction there is aeration and then there is fueling suppose there is friction that triggers starts the fire and there is not aeration in the sense of extensive putting under a fan but we know if there’s absolutely no air then the fire gets extinguished so it needs air and further some fuel needs to be if it is added to it then the fire will blaze for much stronger so here that fuel is mentioned to be ghee and this refers clearly to sacrificial context so even when sacrifices are performed krishna is clearly not talking here about fire lit for destructive purposes as an arson krishna is talking about fire as a metaphor for cleansing and manifesting transcendence so this is there is a process by which the fire that is invisible within the wood becomes perceivable and even relishable if it’s very cold then the fire lit for warmth will provide a very comforting warmth and when the fire is performed when the fire sacrifice is being performed at that time as the fire gets lit then that indicates auspiciousness because the higher beings ultimately the highest being is being invoked through the fire and that in such invocation is always auspicious similarly the lord is present within our heart but although we are there he is there we are unable to perceive his presence because our consciousness is misdirected but when we start reciting vedic sound especially when we start chanting the mantras given in scripture you can refer to either the vedic mantras or in our context the bhakti mantras the more we chant these mantras the more we realize that that actually these are not just ordinary sound vibrations that through these sounds there is some higher presence that is being manifested we start as we recite these higher sounds we start feeding a sense of stability a sense of serenity a sense of spiritual energy that permeates our being by the chanting of the mantras that is the indication the more the stability serenity and spiritual energy start manifesting within us the more we understand that the transcendence is manifesting here so now we need the friction in terms of the utterance of the mantras and just as a conducive environment is needed which will involve for the fire to blow place that is air and ghee similarly we need a spiritual environment around us and we need the inspiration that comes from the devotee association their inspiration can help us to take bhakti to infuse our mantra chanting with much greater bhakti and thereby attract much more mercy so this is the parallel in a direct sense this is fire blazes forth by a process similarly the supreme transcendence manifests by a process now another point here is that fire itself represents transcendence in his third chapter when he talks about the while explaining the yajna section 3.9 to 3.16 he goes about how yajna is a manifestation of Vishnu himself and what this saying means is that actually when we chant the holy names or rather when yajna is performed chanting is also a kind of yajna that is a different subject but when we perform fire sacrifices although at one level fire sacrifices are performed frequently for karmakandya purposes for attracting people so that they will give for attracting people so that they will get material resides from their sacrifices but that is a external purpose krishna says that the performance of yajna by that contact with the transcendence manifesting as the fire the yajna performers become purified and as they accept the remnants of sacrifice those remnants purify them further and they attain the ultimate spiritual destination so here krishna is saying that just as when the fire is properly taken care of it blazes forth similarly in the karmakandya sacrifices the in the fire sacrifices although initially there may be karmakandya motives but just as the fire which is tender initially blazes forth in the proper conditioned atmosphere similarly as we keep performing sacrifices with in a proper spiritual environment our understanding increases our capacity to recognize the ultimate purpose of such sacrifices becomes strong greater and thus we understand that the sacrifices were ultimately meant for the purpose of vishnu krishna the master and the enjoyer of all sacrifices is krishna indeed and thus from the performance of sacrifices also krishna manifests in our heart thank you