Hello and welcome to episode 147 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today is part two of curses and how whether they can come true or not.
If you haven’t yet, I highly suggest you watch episode 146 so you can get the full benefit from this episode. I will give a quick recap but you really need to read the full thing.
We talked about curses and how only curses from truthful people can come true. This is why you don’t have to worry about curses that come from worldly people they mean nothing and have no power behind them.
Surrender
We spoke about Krishna’s words “surrendering all works to me knowing me Krishna Paramhansa to be of all. With a concentrated mind fix your mind on me. Fixing your mind on me you will overcome all obstacles due to my divine grace but if ego is tickling your purses you will perish.”
We spoke about coming back to the shore and how Krishna’s grace can dissolve all curses. It doesn’t matter whether you are a saint or a wicked person your problems will always be dissolved because the consciousness does not discriminate. This is not an opinion it is spiritual law like all the other spiritual laws that have been discovered by great people.
Today we will continue with yesterday’s story. We spoke about Brigu the great seer. His followers went to him asking him who was the most powerful Shiva, Vishnu or Brahma. Brigu visited each of them and barged into their abodes without being invited and was disgusted when he seen them indulging in what looked like worldly pleasures.
Brigu
When he went to Vishnu and kicked his chest Vishnu remained calm and did not react with anger. He treated him with love and care but Lakshmi who was with Vishnu at the time, was angered at this man’s behaviour because at the heart of men lies in the spirit of a women. By kicking him he was kicking her too. She then left Vishnu and put a curse on worldly people saying any man who did not treat a woman well would never achieve success or fame.
The story continues with Lakshmi coming to earth in the form of a beautiful baby. I will read the rest of the story from my book called The Stolen Idol.
The Stolen Idol
“Laxmi using her spiritual powers came down to earth and took the form of a beautiful baby child and was relaxing in a golden lotus on the river Godavari. Vishnu, unable to locate her and missing his beloved, came to earth looking for her. His quest brought him to the Seshadri Hills where he stopped to rest in an anthill.
“Meanwhile, the two other main gods, Shiva and Brahma, were unhappy with the spat between Laxmi and Vishnu. They decided to intervene. Taking the form of a cow and a calf respectively Shiva and Brahma arrived at the place of the Chola king who ruled close to the Seshadri Hills. A cowherd took them everyday to graze in the Seshadri Hills where the cow would secretly visit the anthill where Vishnu was living without food. Emptying her milk and nourishing Vishnu the cow would return to the palace. This followed for days and the cowherd became angry that the cow never yielded any milk to him. One day he closely watched the movements of the cow and his investigations brought him to the anthill. Filled with curiosity in what lay beneath the anthill, the cowherd struck it with an axe injuring Vishnu on the forehead.
“Full of pain Vishnu wandered in search of herbs to heal the wound. He repented his decision of favoring Brigu, the sage whose act of kicking him on the chest had hurt his consort Laxmi. ’I run the whole world and yet without her I am nothing short of a beggar on earth,’ thought Vishnu. ‘No wonder devotees who pray to me but who don’t take care of the women of their house are doomed. This is a big lesson for me and my devotees.’”
Vishnu finally reached a desolated point on the hilltop close to the Godavari river. There he built a hermitage and a faithful old devotee, Vakuladevi, looked after him like a mother. She gave him the name of Srinivasan.
In a nearby kingdom there was a ruler, King Aksha Rajan. Childless for many years he one day found Laxmi, still a baby sleeping on the golden lotus. He named her Padmavathy and brought her to his palace. She grew up into a beautiful and pious girl. One day Vishnu renamed as Srinivasan went hunting in the forest and his wanderings led him to a garden in a pond. Thirsty and tired Vishnu rested in the shade of the tree after quenching his thirst from the pond. Padmavathy along with her companions had also arrived at the same garden. She had a beautiful soft voice and her blissful singing roused Vishnu. The striking appearance of Padmavathy deluded Vishnu and he was attracted towards her. She too was drawn too him but her companions mistaking Vishnu for a hunter drove him away. Laxmi as Padmavathy failed to recognise Vishnu but her heart longed for this handsome hunter. In the palace she dreamed of the hunter all day.
Back in the hills, Vishnu narrated his dilemma to Valukadevi. He revealed to her his true identity and his reason for coming to earth. Vishnu urged Vakuldevi to approach Padmavathy’s father, King Akasha Rajan with a marriage proposal.
Disguised as a fortune teller Vishnu went to the court and assured Padmavathy that the hunter she had fallen in love with wasn’t an ordinary man but the god Vishnu himself.
Joyful, Padmavathy revealed her feelings to her parents. At the same time Vakuladevi arrived on the scene with the marriage proposal. The king consulted his astrologers and the wedding date was finalised.
However, there was a big problem for Vishnu. He was marrying the daughter of a king and needed to make royal arrangements but he had no money. Vishnu sought the help of Kubera, the god of wealth. Kubera promised to grant Vishnu a loan of 100 million gold coins with one condition.
“You’ll have to pay the interest on these gold coins,” Kubera said. “It wouldn’t be fair if I waive the interest.”
“You’ll receive your interest, Kubera. My devotees will pay this sum to you every single day.”
“How will they know to do this?” Kubera asked.
“After my marriage to Padmavathy, Vakuladevi will build a temple installing the idol of Srinivasan and Padmavathy on the foothills of Seshadri. In time this temple will be become famous as the Tirupathi Temple. Devotees who visit the temple will be blessed with a happy and prosperous married life and the donations by the devotees towards the temple will help me to pay you the interest.”
“But the interest is steep and with the passage of time it will get many times bigger than the principal amount,” Kubrera argued. “The contributions by your devotees won’t match up to the needed amount.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Vishnu said, smiling with assurance. “I’ll line up millions of devotees every single day.”
Kubera left and the gods of heaven transformed the Seshadri hills into heavenly suroundings. Vishnu decked in golden ornaments and bathed in holy waters set off in a procession to the court of King Akasha Rajan. Padmavathy, glowing in radiance, waited for her beloved. The marriage of Vishnu and Laxmi took place on earth.
“His heavenly mission over, Vakuladevi as planned built a temple of Vishnu and Laxmi on the Seshadri Hills. Today, this temple is known as the famous Tirupathi Temple. It’s the richest place of worship in the whole world.
Benefit
To this day this is still the wealthiest temple In India and you can see from this story that although a curse can make you feel fear in the end if it comes from the mouth of a truthful person then it will always benefit you in the end.
I hope I answered your questions. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
