Dhruva Charithram Translation

    

                Hey guys. I finished translating the second satsangam my mom did called Dhruva Charithram. This took me about two weeks because I only have Saturdays and Sundays to work on it. But, I finished it and it's looking good. Again if you want to hear my mom's satsangams in Tamil, go to https://www.mixcloud.com/krishvidhya2000/. Well, here's Dhruva Charithram translated to English

Dhruva Charithram translated to English

By: Vageeshwar Srinivasan 8^th grade Lawson middle school Cupertino

 

Shuklam bharatharam vishnum sashivarnam chaturbujam prasanna vadhanam dhyayeth sarvavignopashanthayeth

Gurubrahma gururvishnu gururdevo maheshvaraha gurussaakshaath parabrahma tasmaishree guravenamaha

Gurave sarvalokanam bishaje bavaroginam nidhaye sarvavidhyanam dakshinamoorthayenamaha

Tennarudaya periyava potri ennatavarkum eraiva potri sarvagna sarvavyaabi periyava charanam mayapiraparukkum mahaperiyava potri

 

                In the last Satsangam, we heard the story of Nalan. Last time, we not only saw how the togetherness of couples should be, but how a karpukkarasi (chaste woman), should be like Dhamaiyanthi. Today, we’ll look at the story of Dhruvan. Dhruvan is actually a small kid, about five years old, but we compare him to many Mahaans (great sages) and Gnanis (wise individuals). We repeatedly and frequently use the word Gnani to describe a wise person. But who is actually a Gnani? How is he like? At what level will they be in? If we can interpret all these answers, then we can picture how great a Gnani Dhruvan was. Or else, we’ll only consider him as just a little kid. All Jeevans (life forms), when asked what their goal is or purpose in life, will simply answer they should be happy and luxurious throughout their life. From the littlest of creatures (an ant) to the biggest of them all (Brahma, creator God with four faces), when asked this question, will reply the same way. We don’t really know what Sukham (luxury) feels like, yet we want to be like that. If you ask, why does every Jeevan want to be happy and luxurious, that is because the word Anandam (happiness) comes from the Vedas (holy Hindu scripture). Anandam has no limit. That is its speciality. Why does an organism want Anandam? We’ll take for example one of the smallest creatures, an ant. Wherever there is honey or sugar, it has a desire to consume it. In another example we take the biggest creature, Brahma. For Brahma, he wants to stay at the Brahmapattinam (where Brahma resides). That’s why he resides there. So, everybody wants to attain Anandam and Sugam in their life. Whatever we can experience or feel a heavenly sensation with each of our Pulan (sensory organs) is said to be called Sugam. Whatever we can experience is called luxury. But for Sugam, it has a limit. Why does every Jeevan from big to small want to have Anandam? The Vedam says we have originated from happiness. Because we have come from Anandam, we have the wish to repeat the life of happiness once again. We don’t understand what is Anandam, but we want to go there. Every Jeevan, according to its level of life, limits his or herself. Sugam and Anandam has a differentiation. That is, Sugam can be limited and also it is said that whatever we can experience through our Pulans is called Sugam. We see with our eyes. When we see an object, we say to ourselves, “Oh, what a lovely and beautiful thing.” We smell with our nose. When we smell something, we say to ourselves, “Oh, what an ambrosial fragrance.” We hear with our ears. When we hear something, we say to ourselves,  “Oh, what a melodious tune.” So, these make us feel Sugam. Sugam is felt through the body organs. The moment somebody wants to put some food in his mouth or the moment somebody wants to see something, he instantly has the desire. He suddenly feels that he wants to procure what he has experienced through his sense organs. He starts to think, “Will there be enough of that for me?”  After he manages to get that, he starts to feel a sense of limit because one can’t dwell in that forever. But Anandam is not like that. Anandam is people’s Svaroopam (real nature). There are many Abhyasams (practice) for someone to realize that their Svaroopam is their Anandam. Until he obtains the Abhyasam, a man has to do so much. He needs to reach multiple goals and achievements before attaining Anandam. People say so many things about Anandam’s limit. For example Upanishad (holy book from Hindu Scripture) states Sathyam Gnanam Anantham Brahma. Anantham means it doesn’t have any Antham (limit). It also means that it is Saashvatham (permanent). Anandam is permanent, but Sugam isn’t saashvatham because we can only get it through our Pulan, it is itself beyond ourselves, it is tough to get, if we don’t have it we feel depressed, but we have the craving for it. In contrast, Anandam is in our Svaroopam itself. The Upanishad states that everything has a limit. Well it isn’t technically limit, but it is level. In the first level, every Jeevan thinks that Annamayakosam ( a body made out of food) is our full body. It thinks that we eat and eat and eat and that is how we have shaped our body. From this body, we get desires of what to eat and what to hear. Some people want to have spicy food and other people want to eat sweet food. Each person has their differentiation. So, they think that Annamayakosam is my body. That is who I am. If you ask, what is your body, they’ll answer, “It is me, my wife, my kids, my family, my food.” This is Annamayakosam. This type of Jeevan lives up to his level. This level is Annnamayakosam. This is the low level of this life. After that, he starts to become quite smarter about the way of life. That body that he once thought was Annamayakosam. The life passes away in that body. Once the life goes away, there are still people who put a garland over that body. People put Santhanam (condiment) in that body. But, the person will not know about this. He will not know that people are doing this much to his body. So, in this level, he is a little bit more smarter than the one below that. This level is Pranamayakosam. The person thinks that Pranamayakosam is my body. This person will know there’s a breath inside of him that keeps him alove and he needs to go into deep meditation to notice this inside of himself. The person thinks that Pranamayakosam is my body and thinks ahead to the next level. People research this to find its full description. The Upanishad describes it to the fullest and has its own explanation and theories to support this. I’m telling the introduction in this manner because I don’t want you all to go out of here, thinking that the story of Dhruvan is just another story from the children’s section. In the Pranamayakosam stage, he meditates thinking that the breath inside of him is truly who he is. Well, what do we do when we sleep. When we sleep, our spirit is still there. Even though it is there, we don’t know it’s there when we sleep. When you turn on the radio to listen to some music and you suddenly fall asleep, you don’t listen to the music. When you light an incense stick and you fall asleep, you don’t smell the aroma. When you are next to your wife  and you fall asleep, he doesn’t realize the Sugam of his wife being present there. But the spirit is still there. Then he determines that he is not Pranam (spirit) and he moves on to the next level. In the next level he feels that his Manasu (heart) is the reason he is functioning. His Manasu is his whole body. This is Manomayakosam. This is the next level. The person who is at this stage revolves around this idea. What he does is that he does dharma (good deeds) to others in need, he does meditation. But the heart has also got its resting place or place where it can’t operate, such as when you’re sleeping or breathing. When you stop breathing, it doesn’t always have to mean that you’re dead. It can simply mean that the person is unconscious or has fainted. When he recovers back to consciousness, he isn’t aware that he has lost breath. But, he can identify the rest of his belongings such as his wife, kids, job, place, etc. So, now that the person has understood that there are times where the heart doesn’t work, he digs deeper into his thoughts and arrives at the next level which is Buddhi (mind). After he realizes that Buddhimayakosam has flaws he ascends towards the concept of Anandamayakosam. Who can be in limitless happiness? Only Paramathma (God) can be in that stage. In the Upanishads it states, “Tasya Priyame Vaschiraha.” It is said that Paramathma’s head is fully made of Priyam. That means whoever is said to have experienced that level of happiness are Gnanis. Why I said this is that, whoever follows the concept of Annamayakosam is enjoying his wife and kids at a worldly status. He is at a low level. For instance, we are like that. One step higher is Pranamayakosam, where people enjoy the comfort and luxury of Pitru Lokam (their ancestors’ inheritance). Next, in Manomayakosam, they enjoy the comfort and luxury of Swarga Lokam (heaven, where Vishnu resides). But after all the Punyam (good deeds) that he has done are over, then he has to come back down to Earth. People in Buddhimayakosam enjoy the comfort and luxury of Brahma Lokam (where Brahma resides). But Brahma is just like the president level. When one’s term is done, another one steps up front. Beyond all of that is Anandamayakosam, where only supreme Gnanis like Maha Periyava and all have attained. That’s why we even have this Satsangam. Satsangam itself means Sat-Sangam. By being here, we learn that Bhakthi (belief) is actually an emotion. But Bhakthi is not seen from outside. If we are trying to build a cement building, our supply list will be huge for as we need cement, brick, etc. We all need them to build that type of structure. But, if there’s no water, none of it will glue together. If we finally finish that type of building, will the water be seen explicitly? No. Like that water is Bhakthi. If we do anything without Bhakthi, we’ll become technical. We’ll be like robots trying to assemble building blocks. If the Bhakthi is inhaled by you, you’ll feel happiness and pleasure with your service. Many people in isolated locations, don’t have anything but Bhakthi, and are happy as they are. They are at Anandamayakosam. That big of a thing was attained by Dhruvan. How? In five years of age! He’s not an old aged man or a grandpa. If you ask, why are you telling five years, it’s because Dhruva Charithram is in the Bhagavatam. In Bhagavatam, there’s a king named Parikshit, who was Arjuna’s grandson. The Bhagavatam is a collection of stories that Suka narrates to Parikshit. Parikshit was going to die in seven days. Well, that’s a different story. They’ve put a curse on him and he was going to die in seven days. Parikshit decided that before he dies he should at least listen to some of these holy stories to gain some Punyam. Sukha tells the story acknowledging the sting in his heart. Parikshit thought that he wasn’t old at all, and he was listening to these types of stories that usually old people would heed to and will he come to understand of it. So, like this, Sukha tells the Dhruva Charithram to Parikshit. Sukha said, “Twenty and thirty years is more than plenty to hear these types of stories as a five year old himself can realize his potential to be a Gnani.” Like this he begins the story. There was a king named Manu and he had five children. From the five, there was a child named Utthaanapaadhan. This is his Charithram. Ahuthi, Devahuthi, and Prasuthi were the three daughters of Manu and Utthaanapaadhan and Priyavrudhan were his two sons. If you say the name Manu itself, it’s said to be Punyam. By listening to Charithrams involving greats who did countless number of Punyam, we indirectly obtain some Punyam for our family. That is why there’s a Satsangam and I’m telling these stories. If you listen to this story with your mind saying, “Oh, I’ve already heard this story before,” you won’t properly get the Punyam out of this. They are taking Manu’s son, Utthaanapaadhan and telling this story. Utthaanapaadhan is a very big king with two wives: Sunithi and Suruchi. Sunithi has Nithi (good behavior) in her name which means she is a very honest and good girl. Because she is good and kind, he doesn’t like her that much. On the other side, we have Suruchi. She has Ruchi (tasteful and luring) in her name, so he likes his second wife better. Suruchi has a strong aversion towards Utthaanapaadhan’s first wife, Sunithi. She is always bugs to her husband about throwing Sunithi out of the house so that Utthaanapaadhan and she can live together happily. Utthaanapaadhan, in reply, always said, “Yeah, we’ll see. We’ll see.” Then Utthaanapaadhan says, “If it is one day, I’ll send her into the woods. From here on out, I will not speak to her.” Couple of days passed. After those days have gone by, Suruchi will become pregnant. When she is about to have a child, Sunithi will also become pregnant. Then Suruchi confronts Utthaanapaadhan and says, “You told that you would not speak to her. Then how can she become pregnant?” Utthaanapaadhan said, “I simply followed the Panigrahanam (code of conduct for marriage).” You see, in these stories there are so many morals that you can interpret. The Panigrahanam states that once you are married and let go of your wife, that is considered to be Pavam (opposite of Punyam). He explains to Suruchi that this is why he didn’t follow his word, because he cared about the life he was going to live. He didn’t want to accumulate more and more Pavam. Utthaanapaadhan concludes, “OK. Let her be pregnant. It’s all right. Let Sunithi have a girl child while you have a boy child.” He said this to reduce both wives’ quarrels and his tension. Ten months goes by very quickly. But Suruchi still is jealous by the fact that if Sunithi gives birth to a boy, then the whole kingdom will go to him. Suruchi will have a boy child. But, Sunithi will also have a boy child. Suruchi will not be happy that she has given birth to a boy child, but she will be disappointed since Sunithi has given birth to a boy child. Suruchi’s son’s name is Utthaman while Sunithi’s son’s name is Dhruvan. Utthaanapaadhan has given a word that he will send Sunithi in to the forest if she gives birth to a male. So, remembering his oath, Suruchi reminds him of his words and demands him to send Sunithi in to the forest. Utthaanapaadhan says, “Here, look. She is innocent. She has a fragile baby in her hand.” They are all Kshatriyas (warriors). So, Kshatriyas have Punyavachanam (baby name ceremony) on the twelfth day while others have it on the tenth day itself. So, he said that we’ll wait for twelve days and then he’ll decide. Dhruva Charithram is not only said in Bhagavatam, it is said in various different types of Hindu scriptures. In the Puranam, it is said that they sent Sunithi to the forest before the twelve days were over. The details vary in different scriptures. Sunithi was only about 20 years old, she also wasn’t that old. People in those days marry young so, that’s why she was still that young when she had her first child. So, she takes her child and walks towards the forest. There she performs Pooja (prayer) to Narayana and places Dhruvan near his legs. Sunithi then says, “From here on, Dhruvan should be under your care,” and raises the kid there. Dhruvan grows up there. Then, he is about five years old. He is also a descendent of a king. Maha Periyava told us to try hard to find your ancestors. Not only in India, but also here, in America, people have started to say that. If you ask why, it’s because we need to know. We need to know what struggles and hardships that our ancestors have gone through. That is, where we belong is more important. So, Dhruvan, now about five years old, is a king’s son, right. So, he won’t just be sitting around. He’d be playing 10 miles away with his friends. One time, what happened was, at about Diwali time, he comes to his mom and says, “Mom, my friend got pretty gifts from his dad for Diwali. Who is my dad? Why didn’t he buy me anything?” Then, Sunithi says, “Your father is no ordinary father. He is Utthaanapaadhan.” Back then, Utthaanapaadhan ruled a huge chunk of India, so he was very well known. All the kids will automatically know who the ruler is. Dhruvan instantly recognizes the name. He says, “Oh, is it? Utthaanapaadhan is my dad? Then why are you living in a lackluster house when you should be living in a majestic palace?” Sunithi replied, “It’s all the Pavam that I’ve done. He doesn’t even like when my name is being called. He was the one who sent me here to live in this forest. It’s all right.” Because he’s a Kshatriya, when he takes something deeply into the heart, laziness won’t prevail. Immediately, Dhruvan got out of his shoes and headed towards Utthaanapaadhan’s palace with his mom. Sunithi warned Dhruvan, “No. Don’t go there. There’s your step mother there. She’ll kill you with poison if she can.” Dhruvan didn’t listen to his mom and kept going straight because once he has something in his mind, he won’t let it go. He already cemented the motive that he wants to see his dad, so nothing could stop him. On the way, Dhruvan meets some of his friends and says, “Your dads are just like any other. But my dad is Utthaanapaadhan. Don’t worry I’ll get something for all of you.” So other kids who were Dhruvan’s friends also followed him and his mother to the palace. When they arrived at the palace, everybody knows that Utthaanapaadhan had let go of his first wife and do not let Sunithi enter the palace. There, there’s a very old man. He says, “One day, he might be the ruler and Utthaanapaadhan’s post might be broken. So, give them the right of way to enter the palace.” Dhruvan enters the palace. There, Utthaanapaadhan sits comfortably on his throne. Suruchi is to the right of him with her son, Utthaman. Utthaanapaadhan tries to make Utthaman sit on his lap, but Utthaman refuses to do so. But, Dhruvan goes straight towards Utthaanapaadhan and tries to sit on his lap while shouting, “Dad, dad.” Utthaanapaadhan recognizes that the kid running towards him is his son. As much as he wants Dhruvan to sit in his lap, Suruchi is right there staring him down and Utthaanapaadhan becomes afraid of her. Dhruvan goes to sit on his lap, but he is met by Suruchi. She says that Dhruvan can’t sit on her husband’s lap. Dhruvan forcefully replied, “Why can’t I sit? He is my dad too. I’m going to sit.” Suruchi calmly said, “He is your dad, but you still can’t sit on his lap.” Dhruvan, tired of repeating the same words, asked, “What should I do so that I can sit on my dad’s lap?” Suruchi replied, “You can sit on your dad’s lap only if you’re born in my womb. If you are born to me, then you can sit on his lap.” He is a little kid, right. Because he is a little kid, he asked, “What should I do to be born in your womb?” Suruchi answered, “If you want to be born to me, go and do Thapas (meditation) to God. If you do Thapas, then God will materialize in front of you, so you can tell him that you want to be born in my womb.” Back in those days, when someone does something bad, the primary option for forgiveness is to confront and pray to God. Dhruvan becomes adamant and demands a seat in his father’s lap. As Suruchi repeatedly denies him access, she pushes Dhruvan off the stairs. Dhruvan falls down hard on his back. Dhruvan tries hard not to cry while he bleeds and other kids watch him being thrown down the stairs in humiliation. Everybody was scared and all the kids told Sunithi what happened inside. When Dhruvan approached his mother, tears started pouring out of his eyes. Sunithi then carried Dhruvan in her hip and wiped the tears off his face. Then Sunithi asked about what happened inside. All the other kids replied at first, “They pushed him off the stairs and he fell hard and he’s hurt.” Then after their voices dialed down, Dhruvan asked his mom, “Why did they push me? They asked me to do Thapas.” Dhruvan described what happened over there. Dhruvan wrapped his thoughts up by saying, “I’m going to do Thapas right now, this instant.” Sunithi’s condition was very difficult. She thought that she drove Dhruvan in the wrong path. She thought, “Since I am a great sinner, whatever I told, may not come true also. So it is better that Suruchi told you to do Thapas.” Once, she thought that this boy will one day become a major, a person in great shape and condition. But she couldn’t find any shore for her sadness. That is, if Dhruvan is saying I want to be born in Suruchi’s womb, how will Sunithi feel? It’ll be very heartbreaking and hurting, right? Dhruvan asked Sunithi, “Why didn’t you tell me to do Thapas?” She replied, “I am a great sinner. I can’t say those type of precious words out of my mouth.” Dhruvan asked, “What do you mean Pavam, what sins have you done?” Sunithi responded, “There are three types of Pavams: preventing of the offer of food, separating intimate couples, like this I’ve done many Pavam. Go and do Thapas. Your grandfather, Manu, has spent so much time doing Thapas. You should do it too and acquire a lot of Punyam to this family. We have the practice of doing Pooja and Thapas, so you go ahead and do it.” Dhruvan asks Sunithi, “Why didn’t you tell me about this type of practice?” “God is a Karunaa Moorthy (compassionate soul). God’s Karunai is bigger than all oceans. He will drown you in his compassion and will take very good care of you. If you do Thapas the same way that other Gnanis do it, you’ll get that ocean of Punyam.” Dhruvan makes up his mind and says, “OK. I’ll do as you say so. I’ll start doing Thapas right away.” Sunithi tries to bring Dhruvan back to her house to do Thapas. But, Dhruvan looks straight up and replies, “Mom, you only told me that I should go to a place with Nirjanam (no man’s land). If I come with you, then you’re there with me.” Sunithi addresses that she would be of help to Dhruvan. Dhruvan becomes stubborn of going to a place with Nirjanam, so Sunithi doesn’t keep him from going. Sunithi sadly says, “Look here. I’ll be waiting in this very spot, outside of our little hut. I will not bath, eat, sleep, or go in the hut. I’ll be here until you come back here.” Dhruvan departs from that area screaming, “Where is the God that my mom told about.” He screams in that monotonous, high pitched voice. Whose ears did those words land in? It was Naradha. Naradha follows the echo of Dhruvan’s voice. Naradha nears to Dhruvan. He inquires, “Where are you going in this part of the forest where bears, tigers, and lions roam around?” Dhruvan told Naradha that he was seeking the God that his mom told him. Naradha told about himself, “Look, I am Brahma’s son, Naradha.” Dhruvan opened his eyes to the fullest and said, “You’re Naradha. My mom has told a bunch of stories about you and your adventures.” Dhruvan described the events that led him to being here. Naradha then said, “In your house there will be some minor quarrels, but that doesn’t mean you have to come here. Go home.” Dhruvan exclaimed, “If you’re going to tell me the direction to God that my mom mentioned, then tell me. You don’t need to tell the way back to my house.” Naradha thought that he is taking this case straight to heaven. Naradha was impressed by the depth of this child’s belief that he would find God. Naradha immediately turned around and said, “I’ll teach you how to do proper Thapas. Just to Pooja and Thapas the way do it and you’ll surely find the God that you are seeking.” Suddenly, Dhruvan started crying. He didn’t know anything about how to do Pooja or Thapas. Naradha told to him that he’ll teach him everything that he knows about Thapas and Pooja. Everything needs a Guru (master or teacher). Just like everyone needs a broker, there’s always a necessity of a Guru. He thought, “How will the kid understand all of this?” He faced the kid and said, “Do you know how God looks like? Do you want to know how God looks like? He’s not in some particular place, waiting for visitors. You think God is residing in heaven? He is in your heart. We are all always and full of ignorance. There’s a thick wall that separates you and God. If you find an opening that leads to the other side, I am sure you will notice God.” As Nardha chants the slokams and mantras, he describes the appearance of God to Dhruvan. He explains of God having a diamond encrusted crown. God has a beautiful, curvaceous nose and a graciously, pink lips. Naradha describes God in the right words so that a kid like Dhruvan could perceive the image. He describes God having a picturesque appearance that no individual could compete with. God has various and expensive jewelry wrapped around his neck. Naradha tells this description and eventually finalizes his ideas. Naradha tells Dhruvan to envision the details that make up God and then start his Thapas. Dhruvan bows down to Naradha for spending his time for teaching about the concepts that are vital to attain the Godly status. Out of curiosity, Naradha asked Dhruvan, “Are you going to start now?” Dhruvan looks at Naradha with a straight eye and says, “My mom told me that my Thapas will only be of value if I go to a place with Nirjanam. With you here, I can’t reach the Godly status.” Naradha looked at Dhruvan proudly and saw the confidence in him. He says goodbye to Dhruvan and exits the forest. Dhruvan’s eyelids slowly close as he visualizes God and starts his Thapas. Meanwhile, Naradha proceeds towards Utthaanapaadhan. As he nears him, Naradha asks, “Do you still have lust over your wife? Or is it different?” Utthaanapaadhan comes down to Naradha’s knees and begs, “Look, I’m a changed man right now. I will never make those types of errors again. Do you know where Dhruvan is? I want to know where Dhruvan is.” Naradha explains about how Dhruvan is meditating in the forest. Utthaanapaadhan panics and is very anxious to see him. Naradha calms Utthaanapaadhan down and says, “No. You don’t need to cause even more tension to Dhruvan. All the Devas are there to protect him. There’s no need to see him right now. You can see him later.” Naradha justs transmits the information to Utthaanapaadhan and departs from the palace. As Naradha leaves the site, Dhruvan is concentrated on his Thapas. Three days pass as Dhruvan’s involvement and concentration in doing Thapas is at the maximum level. After these three days, he eats a small amount of java plums and goes back to meditation. Six days pass by. After these six days, he eats a few dry leaves and goes back to meditation. This eating habit becomes a procedure for months to come. In the third month of his meditation, he could gradually visualize the signs of God. After he sees this, each month passes by like a second to him. Dhruvan comes to the state of ecstasy. In the fourth month of his Thapas, he only caught breaths for moments and held it for twelve days. This is the types of greats I was telling you guys earlier. They are always dwelled in whatever is important to them. In the fifth month of meditation, Dhruvan stands in one leg and strongly meditates. How strong? It was strong to set fire on Dhruvan’s head. The Devas look at this and wonder what’s smoking. Usually when someone meditates, the Devas distract them to test the strength and power of their meditation. But this is a five year old kid we’re talking about. You can’t lay a fingernail on him. The Devas see the kid’s head burning with flames. The Devas then inform Vishnu in heaven about this. Vishnu calmly replied, “Dhruvan is doing this level of Thapas to attain me.” Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi enters the scene and asks, “Who is this Dhruvan? How long has he been doing Thapas.” Vishnu shocks everyone by saying, “Dhruvan is a five year old child who has been doing Thapas for six months.” Lakshmi says in amazement, “What? A five year old kid has been doing Thapas for six months and you didn’t do anything about it?” A mother always feels the compassion no matter where her kid is. Lakshmi immediately feels the compassion towards Dhruvan even though he is the son of someone else. Vishnu responded, “If I go there now, since he’s a son of a king, they’ll question me of coming so swiftly.” After trading a couple of nods back and forth, Vishnu and Lakshmi agreed to both appear to the kid to show him the pathway to God. They both face Dhruvan while Dhruvan is in Anandamayakosam. Even though Vishnu and Lakshmi both tried calling the boy, he wouldn’t move even a smidge. Then, Vishnu softly taps Dhruvan on the shoulders. Dhruvan rapidly opens his eyes as if he was electrocuted. The God that was within Dhruvan is now standing beside him. As soon as Dhruvan saw Vishnu and Lakshmi, tears started to melt out of his eyes. Dhruvan felt like he wanted to tell what he wants with them and chant some slokams, but he couldn’t do no more than just stand there and observe the aesthetic pleasure of God. Vishnu touches Dhruvan’s neck and all the slokams and whatever he wanted to express with Vishnu gushes out of his mouth. Dhruvan realizes, “Only because you’re inside of me like Atman, my body is active and running. That is why I can see. That is why I can hear. That is why I can speak. That is why I can feel. It’s all because of you.” Why this all is true is because of the Sangam. When we are constantly in the Sangam, we read and gather information and process the information to solve problems. Likewise in this Satsangam, you hear these stories, you process the true values in to your actions and use it in your good will. Then only one can attain Bhakthi (devotion). After Dhruvan synthesizes these thoughts, he begins to chant slokams to God. Then, Dhruvan asks Vishnu to take him to Vaikuntam (Heaven). Vishnu asks him to stay in Earth and rule his kingdom for 36,000 years and then he can be granted a place in Vaikuntam. Dhruvan listens to Vishnu’s words and heads back to his palace to rule the kingdom. Utthaanapaadhan, having faith that Dhruvan will return back to his palace from his meditation, places guards in every direction of the palace to welcome him. Dhruvan arrives at the front of his palace. Right when he enters the palace, he holds Suruchi’s legs for apology. He apologized for his judgement of her and thanked Suruchi for making him doing Thapas so that he could attain this Godly stature. Suruchi understood his apologies and said, “Look, it’s not because of me that you did Thapas. It’s because of you. You had the courage to stay in the same place for six months and do Thapas like no one else. God is always inside of you and is at your feet when you need him.” Then, Dhruvan falls at in Sunithi’s feet.  All the Devas also fall down at Sunithi’s feet and thanked her for teaching him to do Pooja and always supporting Dhruvan throughout his journey. They said, “A mother like you should be blessed with flowers.” Utthaanapaadhan hands over his kingdom to his son, Dhruvan, and goes to the forest to do Thapas of his own. From then on, Dhruvan went on to rule the kingdom for 36,000 years. Dhruvan had a wife named Brami. She was a very kind and gorgeous girl. Meanwhile Yakshas capture Suruchi’s son, Utthaman, and kill him. Suruchi couldn’t bear to see the death of her child, so she burns herself alive. Dhruvan, furious of this incident, fights the Yakshas. Manu, Dhruvan’s grandfather, mediates the fight and settles the dispute so that Dhruvan will stop fighting the Yakshas. One day, when Dhruvan was sleeping in his bed next to Brami, he went back and thought, “All of this, the bed, my wife, it’s all just a major illusion. Living like this from here on would be nothing for me. I need to go to Vaikuntam right now.” He makes up his mind to go to Vaikuntam. The time has come for Dhruvan to leave this world. When Dhruvan was packed and ready to go, Yama comes to pick up Dhruvan. Yama trembles and shivers in fear as he approaches Dhruvan. You can’t ask a policeman, “Where’s your license?” In the same way, it isn’t easy to tell Dhruvan, “Your time on Earth is up.” So, a feared Yama came with the Pushpaka Vimanam (a form of transportation that will send Dhruvan to Vaikuntam). Dhruvan couldn’t reach the vehicle, so he used Yama’s back as a stool to climb up and sit in the vehicle. Half way to heaven, Dhruvan realizes that he has forgotten to bring his mom, Sunithi, with him too. Yama tells Dhruvan, “Don’t worry. We knew you were going to say that. That’s why we’ve sent another vehicle to fetch your mom. No worries.” Dhruvan and Sunithi reach Vaikuntam and he stands so close to Vishnu. That is why there’s a star named Dhruva Natchathiram in our Hindu calendar. Every culture has a tradition. The tradition is not superstitious or orthodox, it just simply has a more complex explanation. But, there’s no one to research and study about it these days. We can say whatever we want, but we have to justify it with correct proof. We avoid the justification and just blurt out our opinion. Gnanis are very high-level saints who can explain the justification to about everything. They are having great pleasure and happiness the way they are. Like this, Dhruvan is big, great Gnani. That is Dhruva Charithram. This story is being told by Sukha to Parikshit. Sukha is Vyasa’s son. Vyasa is also a big, great Gnani. Gnanis are people who surrendered all their worldly objects and come to live in peace for their whole eternity. I’ll tell you a short example. Santoor Maharaja was very eager to see Maha Periyava. His son studied at Yale University. You know Maha Periyava, sitting in some cowshed, doing some prayer, helping other people out.  Santoor Maharaja and his family went to Maha Periyava’s shrine and asked for his blessings. The son in Yale University just stood there since he didn’t know anything about great Gnanis.  Maha Periyava was still and relaxed. He asked to the son, “OK, where did you study?” The son, thinking that Maha Periyava would not have the knowledge of famous universities, softly whispered, “Yale University.” Maha Periyava inquired further more on his studies, “What did you study in Yale University?” The son thought that this was matter that Maha Periyava would certainly not understand. Santoor Maharaja nudged his boy and mouthed, “Periyava’s asking. Go ahead. Say it.” The son said to Periyava, “I’m a mathematics reader.” Periyava in rebuttal asked, “What major did you take?” The son thought that Maha Periyava was getting too complicated with his work. He replied, “Quantum theory.” Periyava asked, “Plus or Minus. Did you take positive quantum theory or negative quantum theory?” The son immediately folded his hands and was about to fall in Periyava’s feet. He replied, “Positive quantum theory.” With Maha Periyava there were many kids learning Rig Veda. Maha Periyava selected one of those kids to explain the positive quantum theory. Maha Periyava said, “You see, there’s positive quantum theory and negative quantum theory.” The son understood everything that they said since he studied this. This is what I’m trying to tell you. From just sitting in the same place, Maha Periyava comes to know of everything about him. He inquires him as if he didn’t know. That is a true Gnani. Proving is not his job. He didn’t do this to brag that he is a Gnani. But Gnanis are like this. That’s why we have this Satsangam. We talk about great Gnanis. It is very difficult to find a Gnani. That’s why discussing about their great achievements make them closer to us. At least we get that type of thinking. We need to use sacred Hindu books for a foundation of every footstep we put forth. We have to have that as the base for our services. If you go further and find a counterargument, you’ll only be wasting your time by not seeing the common values these stories have.  That’s why they’ve told me to narrate this Satsangam, so that kids can come to know of what we should adhere and avoid throughout life. With that, I conclude this Dhruva Charithram.

Namah Parvathi Pathaye

Hara Hara Maha Deva