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EDITORIAL August 26, 1999 VNN4589 Comment on this story Astavakra Muni And The Bodily Conception BY MAHAVEGAVATI DASI EDITORIAL, Aug 26 (VNN) — Astavakra Muni while residing within his mother's womb, used to hear his father reciting the mantras of the Vedas. At times during his recitations Astavakra Muni's father would mispronounce some of the words contained in those mantras. Because Astavakra Muni could not bear to hear these mistakes made by his father, he would wince and twist in pain in reaction to these mispronunciations. Thus, his body while being formed within the womb, became curved and twisted in eight places. One day, Astavakra Muni decided that he would go to the court of Janaka Maharaj to hear the philosophical discussions that went on in that assembly. Janaka Maharaj was himself so famed for his knowledge of the Vedas. His court was also very well known for the so many learned scholars, self-realized persons, and ministers that either resided there, or who just came there for the intellectual and philosophical discussions which went on within his court. Because Astavakra Muni's body was so deformed, even with the help of a walking stick, it took him thirty days to make that journey to Janaka Maraja's court, a journey which would have taken a normal bodied person only one day to walk. So slowly he walked, and with such great difficulty, but he finally made it to his journeys end. When Astavakra Muni entered the court, everyone looked at him and started to laugh. "Look at him! His body is SO crooked. Look at how ugly and twisted he is..." So much laughter there was. "Look at his clothes! He has no good clothes. Just see how his feet are twisted as is the rest of his body. Here he is twisted; there he is twisted. EVERYTHING about him is distorted." The WHOLE assembly ROARED with laughter. Astavakra Muni just looked about with silence and then broke into such laughter that everyone was shocked at his intensity of laughter. Astavakra Muni was laughing harder and louder than ANYONE else in the assembly. Janaka Maharaj approached Astavakra Muni and asked, "Who are you, and why is it you are laughing so intensely?" "Who am I?" Astavakra Muni asked? "Why am I laughing? Actually, I am not laughing, but rather I am crying. I have come from so far away in such a pitiable bodily condition. Every movement that I make gives me great pain, and yet I have come because I heard that in your court, you have the greatest of counselors who speak on such high philosophical subject matter. I have come with my hopes to hear their discussions because I have been told that they are so greatly learned, but yet, I have been very greatly disappointed. I was hoping to find atmaramas here, but I have simply made a useless journey because I have only found shoemakers here in your assembly." "Shoemakers?" Maharaj Janaka asked in confusion. "How is that? What do you mean? It is a well known fact that I have within my court the greatest of learned men and the best of rshis. So many greatly learned persons come from all over the world to hear and to partake of the discussions that go on within my court. This includes the greatest of brahmanas, the greatest of the rshis, those who have knowledge of the self and knowledge of so many other vast subject matters of the Vedas. How can you say shoemakers? There are SO many learned persons here." "No, " Astavakra Muni said, "There is no one here who is learned. I am only seeing shoemakers in this assembly. Thus I have come here for nothing. I can only simply weep for having made such a useless and painful journey." Maharaj Janaka then became very serious, "Why do you say that everyone here is a shoemaker? You don't see ANYONE here who you think is learned, anyone who has come from a great dynasty of brahmanas, anyone who knows the Vedas?" "No, " Astavakra Muni said, "They are all shoemakers. They see only skin. They do not see the atma. They have no realization of the soul and the Supreme Soul. They are simply seeing the skin and they are making their judgements on this basis only. This is the occupation of the shoemakers; they look at skin. 'This skin is good; that skin is not good. This one is smooth; that one is rough.' It is because your counselors are seeing only the skin, the externals, and they are not seeing the soul and the Supreme Soul, thus, I say that they are simply shoemakers, and I have wasted my time in coming to this assembly." Janaka Maharaj and everyone in that assembly became deeply affected and very ashamed hearing the words of Astavakra Muni. So simple were his words, but so true. Janaka Maharaj bowed down to Astavakra Muni and touched his lotus feet. Janaka Maharaj then escorted Astavakra Muni to his own throne and washed his feet and begged his apologies. Thus, as is explained in the sixth verse of Srila Rupa Goswami's Upadesamrita drstain svabhava-janitair vapusas ca dosair na rakrtatvam iha bhakta-janasya pasyet gangambhsam na khalu budbuda-phena-pankair brahma-dravatvam apagacchti nira-dharmaih One must be VERY careful in considering a devotee based upon the externals of his/her body. In BG 9.29, 32 Krsna explains that irregardless of ones' body and birth, anyone who takes shelter of His Lotus Feet can come to Him. Krsna's vision is very different than that of the conditioned soul. There are other verses in this regard: SB 2.4.18; 3.33.6, 7; 7.11.35 and of course Sanatan Goswami's verse: yatha kancanatam yati kamsyam rasa-vidhanatah tatha diksa-vidhanena dvijatam jayate nrnam As bell metal when mixed with mercury is transformed to gold, so a lowborn person can be transformed into a brahmana by the initiation process. Amazing how we speak these very same verses, and we talk talk talk in classes about how we are NOT these bodies, but WHEN, oh WHEN are we going to learn to practice what we preach. Dare I ask the next question: WHEN oh WHEN are we going to STOP DRIVING AWAY sincere devotees who have given up everything to serve bonafide Guru and Krsna? Humbly, and with risk submitted. I remain your servant, Mahavegavati Dasi Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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