Script by Parividha das and Radha Mohan das
Based on a chapter of KRSNA "The Supreme Personality of Godhead“
By His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Based on a chapter of KRSNA "The Supreme Personality of Godhead“
By His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
By clicking on the button below you can listen to a scene of this recording
CAST
| Narrator Lord Vishnu Bhrigu Muni Lord Shiva Parvati Lord Brahma | Arjuna das Kripamoya das Kesidamona das Radha Mohan das Sri Radha dasi Panca Pandava das |
SAGES
Damodara das - Murari Gopala das - Parividha das
Engineered and mastered by Dwijamani das
Produced and directed by Parividha das © 2000
SCRIPT
Narrator: In the former age of Satya Yuga there was once an assembly of great sages, who met on the banks of the river Sarasvati, to perform a great sacrifice of the name Satrayajna. In such assemblies, the sages usually discussed Vedic subject matters and philosophical topics in great depth.
Sage 1: The three predominating deities of this material world, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, are directing all the affairs of the cosmos. They are all exalted personalities, but who among them is Supreme?
Sage 2: As Lord Brahma created this universe, I think He is Supreme.
Sage 3: I cannot agree with you. Surely Lord Shiva must be the Supreme. He is the only one powerful enough to destroy this entire universe.
Sage 4: To maintain this universe requires goodness, therefore I say: Lord Vishnu is the Supreme.
Sage 2: Who shall we depute to see who is the superior of the three?
Sage 4: Eh, Bhrigu Muni? He’s the son of Lord Brahma.
Sage 3: And brother of Lord Shiva.
Sage 1: Yes….a good choice.
Narrator: In the Srimad Bhagavatam, these great sages are described as brahma-vadinam. Brahma-vadinam means those who talk about the Absolute Truth, but who have not yet come to a conclusion as to who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. After much discussion on this subject matter, the great sage named Bhrigu, who is the son of Lord Brahma and the brother of Lord Shiva, was deputed to test all three predominating deities and report back to the assembly.
Bhrigu Muni: As you wish.
Narrator: Accepting this mission, Bhrigu Muni first travelled to his father's residence in the planet of Brahmaloka. The three deities are the controllers of the material qualities, namely the quality of goodness, passion and ignorance. The plan decided upon by the assembly of sages was for Bhrigu to identify which of the predominating deities possessed the quality of goodness in full. It is the duty of a son or a disciple to offer respects and recite suitable prayers when he visits his father or spiritual master.
Lord Brahma: Bhrigu!
Narrator: But Bhrigu Muni purposefully failed to observe such etiquette in order to see his fathers reaction to this negligence. Lord Brahma became very angry at his son's impudence.
Lord Brahma: (inhales) How dare you behave in this way! I should condemn you for this!
Narrator: However because Bhrigu was his son, Lord Brahma controlled his anger with his great intelligence. This means that although the quality of passion was prominent in Lord Brahma, he had the power to control it. His anger and his controlling of anger are likened to fire and water. Water is produced from fire, but at the same time, fire can be extinguished with water. After testing Lord Brahma, Bhrigu Muni went directly to the planet known as Kailash, the residence of Lord Shiva. Upon seeing his brother, Lord Shiva became very pleased.
Lord Shiva Bhrigu!
Narrator: Lord Shiva personally rose to his feet and approached him.
Lord Shiva: How nice to see you.
Narrator: But when he tried to embrace him.
Lord Shiva::Bhrigu!
Narrator: Bhrigu Muni refused and responded with insulting words.
Bhrigu Muni: Please! My dear brother, because you always smear your body with ashes you are not very clean, therefore, because of your impurity, I would rather you did not touch me.
Narrator: Naturally, Lord Shiva became very angry with him.
Lord Shiva:: How! How dare you!
Narrator Because the quality of ignorance is prominent in Lord Shiva, his eyes immediately became red with anger. With uncontrollable rage, he took up his trident and prepared to kill Bhrigu.
Lord Shiva: Aaahh!
Parvati: No! Pati! Don’t hurt him! Please! Please don’t kill him! Please don’t hurt him I beg you! Please! Please don’t hurt him! He is your brother! Please I beg you! Please! Please don’t hurt him. Please! I beg you!
Narrator: Fortunately for Bhrigu, Lord Shiva's wife Parvati, was present. Falling down at the feet of her husband she pleaded with him. In this way Parvati saved Bhrigu by evoking Lord Shiva's quality of goodness.
Lord Shiva: Very well.
Narrator: After being saved from the anger of Lord Shiva, Bhrigu Muni journeyed directly to Svetadvipa the abode of Lord Vishnu. There he saw the Lord lying on a bed of flowers, while His consort Laksmi was engaged in massaging His lotus feet. The offense committed to Lord Brahma was mental, the offense to Lord Shiva was vocal and now Bhrigu Muni was about to offend Lord Vishnu in a corporal way. He approached Lord Vishnu and kicked Him purposefully on the chest. Instead of showing anger towards Bhrigu Muni, Lord Vishnu immediately got up from His bed, followed by His wife.
Lord Vishnu My dear Brahmin, it is a great blessing for Me that you have come here. Please, please sit down on this cushion. I am very sorry that when you first entered I could not receive you properly. It was a great offense on My part, and I beg for your pardon. You are so pure that the water which washes your feet can purify even the places of pilgrimage on earth. I request you: Purify my Vaikuntha planet in which I reside with My associates. My dear father, O great sage, I know that your feet are very soft, like the petals of a lotus flower and that My chest is as hard as a thunderbolt. I am afraid you may have hurt yourself. Please allow Me to massage your feet to relieve the pain you must have suffered.
Narrator: Lord Vishnu then knelt down and began to massage the feet of Bhrigu Muni.
Lord Vishnu: Prabhu, My chest has now become sanctified because of the touch of your feet and I am now assured that Laksmi will be very glad to live there perpetually.
Narrator: Bhrigu Muni was struck with wonder at the behaviour of the Personality of Godhead.
Bhrigu Muni:I eh eh…
Narrator: His voice choked up and he was not able to reply to the words of the Lord. Tears glided from his eyes as he simply stood silently before Him. Lord Vishnu is all-merciful. He did not become angry at the activities of Bhrigu Muni because Bhrigu was a great Brahmin. A Brahmin is to be excused even if he sometimes commits an offense, and Lord Vishnu Himself sets the example. Yet it is said that from the time of this incident, Laksmi, the Goddess of Fortune, has not been favorably disposed towards the Brahmins, and therefore she withholds her benedictions. This is why the Brahmins are generally very poor. When Bhrigu Muni returned to the assembly of great sages on the bank of the Sarasvati and described his experience, they all listened with rapt attention.
Bhrigu Muni: And then He knelt down and began to massage my feet!
Sage 1: Of all the predominating deities, certainly Lord Vishnu is situated in the mode of goodness to the highest degree.
Sage 2: It’s quite clear that..
Sage 3: Yes I realize now
Sage 4: I’m quite amazed how Bhrigu Muni
Sage 1: If Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva could loose their peaceful disposition on account of such slight provocation, then how could they assure the peace and tranquility of their devotees?
Narrator: All of the sages thereafter engaged in devotional service to Lord Vishnu, and thus they achieved the transcendental result of going back to Godhead. It is stated in the Bhagavad Gita, that anyone who accepts Lord Vishnu or Krishna as the supreme friend attains the perfection of peace.
REVIEW
Radha Madhava dasi Malasya: I'm so glad to have your CD's. They are great! I love theater, therefore I am so happy you have presented Krishna stories in this way. They're fantastic! I love listening to them, and I can visualize the scenes on my mind. This is especially good for my future baby! My mind calms down, and I am absorbed by the stories. I love this feeling! I can also feel the hard work behind all the wonderful CD's. They are really helping people to know more about the beauty of the Lord. Thank you!Dayal Nitai das (TKG) Taiwan: Your impressive productions reflect your personality, as I know that you're driven by an awesome sense of perfectionism. Besides being well directed, your productions are captivating, philosophically correct, and always inspiring to the heart. I've been moved to tears by some of them, and laughed at other parts, and still laugh remembering them. I have learned many things as well, and have pleased guests at our home by letting them listen.
Lilananda das (RNS) Rome Italy: The CD's sounded so professional. It seemed to me as if I was there. I hope someday I could stage them in one of the squares here in Rome. I also appreciated the fact that the stories are very close to the way they are described in the Bhagavatam.