Citraketu Maharaja and the Soul Relative

23 March 2017 - Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.16
Citraketu Maharaja was unable to accept spiritual knowledge from Angiri Rsi the first time they met. He was blinded by the desire for a son. Angira Rsi said to him at that time, “Very well, I will give you a son, but he will not stay with you forever.”
Only God and the members of His own family are our true relations. God does not look at our faults, just like a loving parent, but it is our great misfortune that we offer our affection to our so-called relatives and other worldly people and not to Him. We work hard to please others, but not Him. Really no one in this world is our friend or beloved. They are just cheaters. Because they take us away from God they are actually our enemies. If we have love for God then we can have an affectionate relationship with everyone in relation to God.
Citraketu had ten million wives, but he had no child. Disturbed by this, he requested Angira Rsi to bless him with a son. Angira Rsi said, “Very well, but this son will not be your property. Everyone belongs to God.”
“Yes, yes. Just give me a son.”
Then the sage arranged that he have a son, but as soon as that soul left him, Citraketu lamented and thought his life was useless. Did he think about God and how many lifetimes he had been separated from Him? Did he find pain in this? No. This is the mentality of those under influence of the three gunas, they become spiritually dumb, lame, and blind.
When it seemed the king was about to die out of his grief, Angira Rsi and Narada Rsi appeared to him and explained to him how to transcend the worldly plane, gain self-realization, and make relationship with God and God’s family. Then, on the request of Angira Rsi, Narada Risa gave Citraketu mantra initiation.
If the person who gives mantra is unqualified, meaning he has no relationship with God Himself and instead is attached to maya, then the person who chants that mantra will give it up after some time. False gurus cannot awaken within the jiva a mood of renunciation toward the mundane world and attachment to Bhagavan. Sri Guru has the power to give that.
Thus, Narada Rsi gave mantra to Citraketu and told him that after seven days of chanting the mantra, Lord Sankarsana would appear to Him. “He is an ocean of kindness,” he said. “The conditioned souls constantly run away from Him but He never leaves them.”
Then Narada Rsi brought the boy that lay dead back to life. He asked him, “Why have you left your family and friends? Why do you make them cry?”
At that time, the boy spoke words of such knowledge that everyone there, who were previously weeping, became astonished at his wisdom.
“The queens poisoned me,” the boy said. “This is not a problem though. Whatever happens to me as I move about in this world is the result of my own karma. I am tired of collecting things and relationships in this world.”
If we collect the things of maya we will definitely suffer and fear death. If we do not collect anything then we are free, and if we focus only on our relationship with God then we will be even happier. People do not understand this and they think that collecting sattvik, rajasik, and tamasik things is very good. Someone who collects only nirguna things is very rare.
Many people pray to God for their bread, butter, and maintenance, without desiring to do any seva for Him. This world is not meant for comfort, it is meant for suffering. This world is the prisonhouse of Maya, who is Durga, the warden. No matter how many mundane things the jiva collects—he will always suffer until he collects eternal truths and relationships.
False pride and the understanding that, “This is my son. This is my family,” is not good. We were born with nothing and will leave this body with nothing. The soul is eternal, above birth and death. The soul moves about in this world within many types of bodies according to his karma. The embodied soul has one name today and another name tomorrow. He speaks one language today and another the next day. This is all according to his karma. But the truth is that the soul has no country, state, happiness, or distress.
Hearing the words of wisdom from the boy, as well as the advice of the two sages, Citraketu and the others became fixed in spiritual knowledge and completely free from lamentation. The queens who had poisoned the child lived the rest of their lives doing austerity and prayascita. Citraketu renounced His kindom and family life and went to the bank of the Yamuna.
tataḥ katipayāhobhir
vidyayeddha-mano-gatiḥ
jagāma deva-devasya
śeṣasya caraṇāntikam
Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.16.30
Thus, within a few days, by the power of the mantra that Maharaja Citraketu chanted (having received it from his spiritual master Narada Rsi), his mind and heart became increasingly enlightened in spiritual progress, and he obtained the shelter of Anantadeva’s lotus feet.
Our only interest should be how to, in this life, develop relationship with the bhaktas and Bhagavan. By being present inside fire, iron becomes just like fire. We are like that iron. We must think, “Where am I? Where is my consciousness? Am I with maya or am I with Guru and Vaisnavas?” If we are with Maya-devi then we become her puppets, but if we are with Guru and Vaisnavas then with the power received by such association we can serve the Supreme Lord.
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