Autumn Howard World Civilizations: India October 7, 2011 Purun Bhagat: Attaining Moksha

It is hard to say whether or not Purun Bhagat attained moksha, but in the end, it seems as though he did. Moksha is an event; it is the end of samsara when one accepts the nature of God and let go of all other illusions. One needs to spend his time seeking oneness with god without thought to his own desires.

Purun Bhagat was born Purun Dass, a Brahmin who spent completed the first three stages of the old laws by being a youth, a warrior, and then a lawmaker. Purun Dass gained great knowledge and achievements during theses first 60 years and even became Prime Minister. Purun Dass was knighted and given great honors; the next day he died and Purun Bhagat was born. This is where the last stage of his life begins, the journeyman.

He has been born a Brahmin, which is the highest caste and a male, completed the first three steps of the old law, now he needs to accept the nature of god and let all others fall away. He traveled to the hills his mother was from and there he decided to stay. He never once asks for food or water; the village below provides him daily with his meals. Purun is in devotion By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries

[by going back to Godhead]." (Bhagavad Gita, 2:51) He no longer bothers to cut his hair or mark the passage of time, day and night he strove to think out his way into the heart of things, back to the place whence his soul had come. (The Miracle of Purun Bhagat). Purun spends his time meditating and becoming one with god. He makes friends with the animals of the forest by just existing with them. These animals are, like everything, god. One night there was a great storm and the animals came to warn him and take him to safety. Purun, with the help of a deer, warned the villagers and lead the whole village to safety. Once they all reach safety, Puruns body gives out and he dies. He ran from the storm, not to save himself, but to save the villagers. As said in class, If everything is an illusion, when why did you run? I did not run, it was only an illusion.

Purun has gone through renunciation with the death and leaving behind all his millions and other worldly goods. As it says in the Bhagavad Gita 3:5, "Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment." When Purun saved the villagers it was pure action, done without that, which is the definition of karma yoga. It was a selfless act that in which he gave no thought to the consequences. Chapter 2, verses 71-72 of the Bhagavad Gita state A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false egohe alone can attain real peace. That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God." At the hour of his death Purun wanted no gratification and did not

even talk to a single person after telling them to count there people, he lived free from any desire and just spent his time seeking god.