Chapter summary
घटिकाचलमाहात्म्यम् Ghaṭikācala Māhātmyam
The Glory of Ghaṭikācala
**The revered Sadguru said:**
The Seven Sages – Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, and Bharadvāja – were renowned for their unwavering resolve and magnanimous spirit. Masters of their anger and senses, they were rich in asceticism, profound yogis, and ever dedicated to the welfare of all worlds. (v.1-2) They subsisted on grass and leaves, and at times on air alone, steadfastly enduring the five fires, regarding the three worlds as insignificant as a blade of grass. Endowed with knowledge of the three times – past, present, and future – and well-versed in all scriptures, they journeyed to Ghaṭikācala to deliberate upon the nature of Brahman. (v.3-4)
There, they beheld the son of the Wind-god, a celibate whose mind was supremely one-pointed, deeply meditating on the highest reality. He was meditating upon Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Brahman, the cause of all causes, His lotus-eyes closed in profound contemplation, and His form bound with a *yoga-paṭṭa* [a meditation band used to support the posture during deep meditation]. Filled with immense wonder and curiosity at the sight of Māruti, the monkey-form bearing the conch and discus, the seven sages approached him with questions. (v.5-7)
**The Sages said:**
"O best of monkeys," they inquired, "how did you attain this form, so similar to Vishnu? Upon which supreme deity do you meditate, having come to this secluded place? From what has this universe arisen? In what does it perpetually abide? Into what will it ultimately dissolve? If you possess this knowledge, pray tell us of that Deity. By whose command do all the gods diligently perform their functions? Who is that reality, higher than which nothing exists, according to all valid means of knowledge? What must be known by those who seek liberation, the knowing of which grants immortality? Reveal to us, O Māruti, that which is the Supreme Knowledge." (v.8-11)
**Hanuman said:**
"Listen, all you sages," Hanuman began, "to the essence of all Vedānta, a truth contemplated by the expounders of Brahman for the destruction of sorrow and delusion. For those seeking liberation from the ocean of worldly existence, there is indeed no other path. By knowing the great, all-pervading Self, one is freed from sorrow. O great sages, that which is unlimited by time, space, and substance is the one, supreme, absolute Brahman alone. That by which the validity of all means of knowledge is established for the world – by what means of knowledge can a learned person truly know That? The understanding that It is unknowable is remembered as the true knowledge of It. That Supreme Reality is indeed the inmost Self, distinct from all perceptible objects." (v.12-16)
"It is neither female, nor neuter, nor male; neither a god, nor a sage, nor a human. The Supreme Self shines forth uniquely, distinct by its very nature from everything else. It is not the body, nor the vital airs, nor the mind, nor the intellect. That Supreme Self is the inner witness, full of the essence of pure consciousness. Devoid of modification, pure, the Self of consciousness, the Great Lord – He Himself shines forth in the hearts of all beings. One should contemplate Him alone, who pervades the universe, by whom this entire world, from Brahmā down to the humblest worm and insect, is animated. One should know Him as the witness of the waking, dream, and deep sleep states, situated within as the inmost Self, who is Truth, Knowledge, and Infinity, the cause of all." (v.17-21)
"He is the cause of the creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the universe, the Supreme, immutable, eternal, everlasting, true, and imperishable. That is One only, without a second. It is said to be neither existent nor non-existent. Sages perceive That as their own true nature, wherein the mind itself dissolves. Through the mind alone, this entire world, consisting of sorrow and happiness, appears. When that mind is dissolved, whence is sorrow, whence is happiness? That which is of the nature of bliss itself, attaining which one does not return – on that very Supreme Self, the sages meditate in their hearts. Those deluded ones who disregard the Lord, thinking Him to be like an ordinary god, for them there is no liberation from *Saṃsāra* [the cycle of birth and death], even in countless lifetimes." (v.22-26)
"The host of Upaniṣads declare Nārāyaṇa to be the Supreme Brahman – the eternal, auspicious, immutable, one, and everlasting Reality. I was born of the goddess Añjanā by the grace of the Wind-god, on the Vaishnava mountain Añjanācala, situated amidst seven hills. Then, initiated by the Sun-god and devoted to celibacy, I studied the Vedas and the nine systems of grammar. Seeing my natural devotion to Vishnu, the four-faced Brahmā himself, after performing the *Pañcasaṃskāra* [five purificatory rites for Vaishnavas], bestowed upon me the status of a Vaishnava. Meditating on the *Brahmavidyā* [knowledge of Brahman] of the eight-syllabled mantra with a well-composed mind, I came to Ghaṭikācala and am performing very great penance. Through uninterrupted yoga of meditation, I have attained a form similar to Vishnu. Meditating on everything as pervaded by Vishnu, including my own self, I reside here. Thus, for me, who sees Vishnu, the all-pervading one, everywhere with a non-dualistic attitude, there is no sorrow or fear anywhere. You too, with the eight-syllabled mantra, should worship the eternal Vāsudeva, the Supreme Brahman, with the desire to realize Him directly here." (v.27-34)
**The revered Sadguru said:**
When Hanuman, the preceptor of the world and the lord of life-breath, had thus spoken, the seven Brahmarṣis of yore performed penance right there. Unaffected by the differences of cold and heat, free from hunger and thirst, those sages, rich in asceticism, stood there like logs of wood, absorbed in their meditation. Then, fearsome Brahma-rākṣasas [demonic beings, often spirits of Brahmins who committed grave sins] came there to burn them. But the sages, having abandoned the notion of the body as the Self, remained deeply absorbed in their contemplation. (v.35-37)
At that moment, Mādhava, appearing there in the form of Nṛsiṃha, killed the Brahma-rākṣasas with the mere sound of His fearsome roar. All the sages arose, hearing that terrible roar, and beheld the eternal Narasiṃha seated peacefully. He possessed diamond-like fangs and diamond-like claws, roaring again and again, yet He was the god Vishnu, holding the conch and discus, seated in a yogic posture. Seeing that being with a lion's face, the protector of Prahlāda in former times, all the sages praised Him with profound devotion. (v.38-41)
**The Sages said:**
"You are the imperishable, supreme, of the form of knowledge, free from ailment, without attributes, and immeasurable. You are the eternal, everlasting, primeval One, the non-dual Brahman, That which is beyond both being and non-being. The gods, whose minds are turned towards external objects and who reside in the ten sense organs, do not truly know this supreme, holy, inner, causal, and immutable nature of Yours. You are behind and You are in front. You are to the left and also to the right. You are above and You are below, O Lord. You Yourself shine forth everywhere." (v.42-44)
"Your chief devotee, Prahlāda, thus remembering You, felt no pain at all, even though he was tormented excessively by his father with fire, poison, the ocean, tridents, demons, great mountains, elephants, and serpents. Through duality, desire, impurity, anger, violence, and death arise for people. Through the feeling of non-duality, one would conquer with happiness and peace everywhere, by the vision of the supreme Self. When the demon king, pointing to the pillar, asked his son before him, 'Is Hari here?', You, O abode of the three worlds, appeared right then and there in the form of Nṛsiṃha. Having torn apart that demon, the thorn of the three worlds, with Your fearsome claws, and having given fearlessness to the host of gods, You, being peaceful, now shine forth here on Ghaṭikācala." (v.45-48)
"What is this deed of Yours, who does everything favorable for Your own servant? To make true the words of Sanaka and others, the father of Your own devotee was killed by You, who were acting under the compulsion of love for Your devotee. Nevertheless, Your chief devotee named Prahlāda, remembering in his heart this compassion of Yours, the regulator of the world, became peaceful and experienced great joy. We take refuge in You, the illusory Nṛsiṃha – who are a beast, yet fearsome; a wanderer on earth, yet dwelling on the mountain; who are Rudra, the three-eyed one, the Supreme Lord; who are ferocious, yet peaceful, and affectionate to those who seek refuge." (v.49-51)
**The revered Sadguru said:**
Having thus praised that Nṛsiṃha, their desires completely fulfilled, all the sages worshipped the infallible one right there. Nṛsiṃha, though of fierce valor, became peaceful at heart and, seated in a yogic posture, eternally taught the path of Yoga. Following the method taught by Śrī Nṛsiṃha, the great sages, while practicing yoga on Ghaṭikācala, attained the supreme perfection. (v.52-54)
This is that sacred place, the destroyer of Brahma-rākṣasas. What fortunate person in this world would not serve Ghaṭikācala? He who stays even for a *ghaṭikā* [a traditional unit of time, approximately 24 minutes] in the region of Ghaṭikācala – the sin committed in seven lifetimes is destroyed in that very moment. (v.55-56)
Thus ends the twenty-third chapter, entitled "The Glory of Ghaṭikācala," in the Second Volume of the Divyadeśavaibhavam, composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
