7 Garuda Purana Teachings That Will Make You Understand The Purpose Of Life
Garuda Purana is a key part of the Vedic Scriptures. Do you know the Puranas?
Puranas literally means old or historic.
So, Puranas are old historic accounts depicting the Vedic culture through real-life stories. You will end up finding answers to many life questions in the Puranas. Moreover, these revelations come about in a question and answer type conversations between great Vedic personalities.
In other words, you may call Puranas as Frequently Asked Life Questions that are put up in a conversational format between great personalities.
Garuda Purana is an ocean of knowledge. It covers various topics that describe almost all known subjects for living a happy material life. However, where Garuda Purana makes its mark is the wealth of spiritual knowledge. In this post, we will look at the core spiritual teachings from the Garuda Purana.
Srila Prabhupada provides the below list of seven key teachings from the Garuda Purana.
1. Garuda Purana states that The Purpose of Human Life is incomplete without becoming a devotee of the Supreme Lord
pāraṁ gato 'pi vedānāṁ sarva-śāstrārtha-vedy api yo na sarveśvare bhaktas taṁ vidyāt puruṣādhamam
“Even though one may have gone to the other side of all the Vedas, and even though one is well versed in all the revealed scriptures, if one is not a devotee of the Supreme Lord, he must be considered the lowest of mankind.”
Your human body is the real Holy Grail. Well, that’s true.
Your journey to get this form has been difficult. A human form is rare. Look around, you can see it for yourself. The trees, the insects, the beasts, and the birds – all of them exist in billions.
Don’t they?
Even in a cup of your hands lie billions of micro-organisms.
So, you see, these numerous living entities are struggling in their current form. The evolution of their intelligence is not complete.
Yet, you stand as the lucky one. You, in the human form, have greater intelligence.
No, not the one who just knows Calculus or how to get to the moon. But, the one who can understand the spiritual subject matter.
Yes, the Vedas differentiate humans from the rest of the species on this very key differentiation. Humans can receive spiritual subjects but not other species.
In fact, you know what, the human body is the passport to get us out of the miseries of this world. You may think it is some hyperbole. But, believe me – it is not.
Human body is a reward for our austerities in millions of other species.
You can imagine the austerity of the insect that dies even before seeing another sun. Even more, the lion, which goes hungry, finding its prey for weeks. Moreover, the bird in fear that her enemy will steal her eggs while she is out. For that matter, the worm that dies under the stumps of the beasts. The count of such fear is infinite.
Not to say that your human life is a bed of roses, but it does have the rare opportunity to end all your miseries.
Yes, Garuda Purana states that this golden opportunity that you have in the human form is to understand God. Finally, to become a devotee of the Supreme Lord and attaining the love of God.
Why?
Because by being a devotee of the Supreme Lord, one sets on a definite path to return back home. Our Home is the Spiritual Abode, the abode of the Supreme Lord.
Therefore, anyone who wastes this opportunity of human life is no better than the animals.
2. Lowest of the Lowest can achieve Perfection through devotional service of the Supreme Lord
kīṭa-pakṣi-mṛgāṇāṁ ca harau sannyasta-cetasām ūrdhvām eva gatiṁ manye kiṁ punar jñānināṁ nṛṇām
“Even the worms, birds and beasts are assured of elevation to the highest perfectional life if they are completely surrendered to the transcendental loving service of the Lord, so what to speak of the philosophers amongst the human beings?”
Garuda Purana gives a lot of importance to the human body and its purpose of becoming the devotee of the Lord. Then, what about the other species? Can they never attain perfection?
What do you think?
Usually, it is hard for other species to surrender to the Supreme Lord. You would have never seen animals doing worship. It is because their intelligence is not fully accessible. Therefore, the idea of surrender to the Lord is easier in the human form.
However, sometimes by the mercy of the Lord or His pure devotees, even the lower species may end up surrendering to the service of the Lord. Such beings attain the highest perfectional life even without the human form.
And yet, that is not the key point.
The key point is that if animals, who otherwise have no access to spiritual matter can attain perfection. One can imagine the fate of a devotee, who has a better form to access spiritual knowledge. Moreover, he has understood the purpose of the human life is to serve the Supreme Lord.
3. Garuda Purana declares that chanting the Holy Name of the Supreme Lord eradicates all sinful reactions
avaśenāpi yan-nāmni kīrtite sarva-pātakaiḥ pumān vimucyate sadyaḥ siṁha-trastair mṛgair iva
“If one chants the holy name of the Lord, even in a helpless condition or without desiring to do so, all the reactions of his sinful life depart, just as when a lion roars, all the small animals flee in fear.”
You have understood so far from Garuda Purana that human life is rare. The purpose of human life is to become a devotee and perform devotional service for the Supreme Lord.
So, this good. But the question arises that how do you perform devotional service.
This Garuda Purana verse is the answer.
Chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord is prime devotional service. There is no comparison to the merits of this simple devotional service.
Why?
Because chanting is like the Lion roar. The sinful reactions flee away hearing the vibrations of the Supreme Lord. Many Vedic scriptures describe the power of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.
Chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra will dissipate all miseries immediately. You can try. There is no point rejecting it without trying.
Here is the thing, you have nothing to lose if you try to chant this mantra. The gain is enormous.
So, let me propose to you something. Everyday you should chant the below mantra 108 times twice. Can we make this deal?
The mantra is –
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
I can assure you that you will experience immense joy that will remain special forever. Well, I can only say so much. It is up to you to give a try and then let me know your experience by commenting below.
4. A low born person who is a devotee of the Lord is the best of the Brahmanas
bhaktir aṣṭa-vidhā hy eṣā yasmin mlecche ‘pi vartate sa viprendro muni-śreṣṭhaḥ sa jñānī sa ca paṇḍitaḥ
“Even if one is born a mleccha, if he becomes a devotee he is to be considered the best of the brāhmaṇas and a learned paṇḍita.”
You see this is inclusivity. Inclusion does not mean to call everyone equal even when we know they are not. I mean you cannot just call out to say we are equal. The strong bodybuilder is always more powerful than the skinny man. How can we say we are all equal?
So many ways we remain different to each other. In like manner, our birth is also according to our past karma. It means we may get different conditions of life depending upon our previous lives.
Therefore, people may not always have conducive environment for devotional service. For example, one may be born in a meat-eater family. Now, to perform devotional service like offering food to Krishna is not conducive.
But, we have many examples of such people becoming devotees of the Supreme Lord. So, the point is that anyone can become a devotee. There is no restriction. There may be impediments due to the situation, but there is no restriction.
Therefore, a person born in such non-conducive environment has to face many impediments to become devotee. We cannot belittle them by their birth or environment, rather Garuda Purana states that they are the best of the Brahmans.
5. Position of a Vaishnava who remains fixed in devotional service is rare
brāhmaṇānāṁ sahasrebhyaḥ satra-yājī viśiṣyate satra-yājī-sahasrebhyaḥ sarva-vedānta-pāragaḥ sarva-vedānta-vit-koṭyā viṣṇu-bhakto viśiṣyate vaiṣṇavānāṁ sahasrebhya ekānty eko viśiṣyate
“It is said that out of thousands of brāhmaṇas, one is qualified to perform sacrifices, and out of many thousands of such qualified brāhmaṇas expert in sacrificial offerings, one learned brāhmaṇa may have passed beyond all Vedic knowledge. He is considered the best among all these brāhmaṇas. And yet, out of thousands of such brāhmaṇas who have surpassed Vedic knowledge, one person may be a viṣṇu-bhakta, and he is most famous. Out of many thousands of such Vaiṣṇavas, one who is completely fixed in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa is most famous. Indeed, a person who is completely devoted to the service of the Lord certainly returns home, back to Godhead.”
Now, Gaurda Purana goes on to explain the rarity of a devotee. Firstly, a human birth itself is rare.
Besides, coming to a stage of goodness or becoming a Brahmana is extremely rare. Brahmana means one who is ready to understand God and begin the purification process by committing to stay in the mode of Goodness.
Furthermore, among the brahmanas there are many gradations. The final level for a Brahmana is to become a Vaishnava or a devotee of the Supreme Lord.
Such a person, is 24 x 7 fixed in the transcendental loving devotional service of the Supreme Lord.
6. Garuda Purana expounds that Srimad Bhagavatam is the explanation of the Brahma Sutra, the expansion of Gayatri Mantra, and the essence of Vedic Knowledge
artho 'yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo 'sau vedārtha-paribṛṁhitaḥ grantho 'ṣṭādaśa-sāhasraḥ śrīmad-bhāgavatābhidhaḥ
“The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the authorized explanation of Brahma-sūtra, and it is a further explanation of Mahābhārata. It is the expansion of the gāyatrī mantra and the essence of all Vedic knowledge.
Garuda Purana states that if you want to understand the essence of Vedic knowledge, then you have to read Srimad Bhagavatam. Srimad Bhagavatam is the core scripture for the devotional service of the Lord.
Therefore, Srimad Bhagavatam is the essence of all knowledge.
Garuda Purana expounds that Srimad Bhagavatam is the commentary on Vedanta Sutra. Moreover, it is the expansion of the Gayatri Mantra.
Hearing Srimad Bhagavatam is the another great way to perform devotional service. You can hear Srimad Bhagavatam here.
7. Garuda Purana reveals a pure devotee of the Supreme Lord is extremely rare in Kaliyuga and such a position is extraordinary
kalau bhāgavataṁ nāma durlabhaṁ naiva labhyate brahma-rudra-padotkṛṣṭaṁ guruṇā kathitaṁ mama
“In this Age of Kali, the fame of one who is known as a great devotee is very rare. However, such a position is superior to that of the great demigods like Brahmā and Mahādeva. This is the opinion of all spiritual masters.”
In Kali Yuga, it is rare to find a pure devotee of the Lord. However, if one does find a pure devotee, it is to be understood that his position is superior to the greatest of demigods.