Srimad Bhagavatham is full of nectarine stories which induces deep contemplation in our minds. One such story is the story of King Bharath!
The great nation of Bharat was named after the benevolent king Bharat, who was the son of Shakuntala and Dushyant. After ruling his vast kingdom for many years, King Bharat, left his riches to his sons and retired to the forests to meditate upon the Lord and attain His lotus feet at the end of his life. Destiny had different plans for him and therefore despite his painstaking sadhana, King Bharat became attached to a deer and left his body in thoughts of his pet deer. As a result, he was born a deer in his next life time!
However the merciful Lord, always ensures one never loses one’s accumulated sadhana from previous lives! Hence the Lord gave him the next birth as Jada Bharatha, a boy in a Brahmin household. Jada Bharatha, was born a Gyani in this lifetime. Being fully aware of the futility of material existence, he never uttered a word right from the time of his birth. Mistaking him to be a fool, his own kind, ill-treated him and abandoned him! A group of tribal huntsmen found him and decided to offer his head in their worship of Mother Kali! Even though he was fully aware of everything around him, Jada Bharatha chose not to make any efforts to protect himself! He surrendered himself completely to the will of the divine. It was up to the divine to protect him or let him die at the hands of the merciless huntsmen.
Jada Bharatha was bathed and his body was decorated, as was the common practice of the tribes before offering a human sacrifice. Drums were beating and horns were blowing in preparation. His body was anointed with perfumes and his neck was adorned with garlands. He was brought to the sacrificial altar and his head was about to be chopped off! All of a sudden, there was shriek that exploded the skies and tore open the Earth! What was it? Did Jada Bharath survive? Did Mother Kali come to the rescue of Her helpless child? Come, find out! Join us at the Radha Krishna Temple of Dallas for a 7 day discourse on Srimad Bhagavat Mahapuran starting from July from July 21st!