Shuka
Shuka ( Sanskrit शुक, śuka, m.), Also Shukadeva , was the son of the sage Vyasa , the mythical author of the epic Mahabharata , in which his life story is told. He is described as an important, highly gifted yogi who effortlessly achieved spiritual liberation ( moksha ) and various siddhis at a young age . He is also the main narrator of the Bhagavatapurana which he recited to King Parikshit.
Life story in the Mahabharata
Shuka is first mentioned in Book 1, Adiparvan, where it is said that Vyasa instructed him and three other disciples in the Veda and Mahabharata. His life story is told in relative detail in the 12th book, Shantiparvan. Vyasa wanted to become the father of a very special child and devoted himself to intensive ascetic exercises in order to win the favor of the god Shiva . After much hardship he succeeds in this, and Shiva promises him that his son will gain great respect with his spiritual realization. There is a myth about Shuka's conception, but it does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about his physical mother.
At his birth, gods and goddesses like Shiva and Ganga appear to greet the newly arrived, pure soul who already has a knowledge of all the Vedas. He quickly gains a lot of additional knowledge with the help of Brihaspati and his father Vyasa and makes great strides on the spiritual path. Finally his father sends him to King Janaka of Mithila, who has a high reputation as a world-active housekeeper with spiritual knowledge. During the journey Shuka passes all kinds of exams and finally receives a final training from Janaka and the confirmation that he has reached the highest goal, Moksha, and is firmly anchored in Brahman consciousness.
Then Shuka begins the journey home, this time by means of Siddhi through the ether (Akasha), and reaches his father Vyasa in the Himalayas , who is currently giving Veda lessons to some students. In the text it says that Shuka floated up “like a shining fire, similar in its shine to the sun. The great soul did not touch trees or rocks, was completely focused on yoga and hit like an arrow, shot from a bow. "
Shuka once again joins a small Veda study group that asks his father for the exclusive privilege of passing on Vedic knowledge to the world after completing his training. Vyasa complies with her wish and then dismisses his students with blessings. After meeting the sage Narada , however, Shuka decides to break away from the world in absolute liberation. He goes to Mount Kailasa and engages in meditation, whereupon he goes up in various inner steps in an impersonal cosmic consciousness. Vyasa, who follows Shuka during the outer and inner journey, is saddened to lose his son in this way, but Shiva appears to him and comforts him with the words: “As long as the mountains and the sea continue, so long will your fame and yours be Your son's glory endure. ”Shiva grants Vyasa the favor that he will always see his son with him like a shadow. Vyasa then went home full of joy.
Swami Vivekananda on Shuka
"And remember, the historian who tells the story of the love of the Gopis [in Bhagavatapurana] is none other than Shuka Deva, ... who was born pure, the eternally pure Shuka, Vyasa's son."
“He alone among the people was granted to drink a little water from this one, undivided sea of Sat-Chit-Ananda - being, knowledge and absolute bliss. Most saints die after just hearing the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. A few get the vision, and even fewer 'taste' it. But he drank from the sea of bliss. "
literature
Shuka in: Wilfried Huchzermeyer . Yogis, yoginis and ascetics in the Mahabharata. Karlsruhe 2008, ISBN 978-3-931172-26-8 , pp. 32-42
Individual evidence
- ↑ MMS Shastri Chitrao, Bharatavarshiya Prachin Charitrakosha , Pune 1964, pp. 975-76
- ↑ Mbhr. I, 57.74-75. All references to sources refer to the Sanskrit text of the Pune Critical Edition by VS Sukthankar.
- ↑ Śāntiparvan, chap. 310-320
- ↑ See Mbhr. 12.311.1-9
- ↑ Mbhr. 12.314.25-27. Similar scenes can be found in Paramahansa Yogananda's autobiography of a yogi , see especially chap. 33.
- ↑ Mbhr. 12.320.26
- ^ The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Calcutta 1964, Vol. 3, p. 258 and Vol. 8, p. 278