Make hay while Sun shines

Once King Parikshit ( a great emperor who was the grandson of Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers) came to the banks of the Ganges seeking a way to liberation.

By his good fortune, he came across Sage Suka a Jivan Mukta (a liberated soul)

Sage Vishwamitra was able to create a heaven for King Trishanku. Sage Agasthya could contain the mighty ocean in no time. If Parikshit had wanted to escape death and had requested the same from Sri Suka, the latter would have readily granted him the same. Sri Suka was very much capable of bestowing that wish on Parikshit. Parikshit was also well aware that Suka could grant that wish and yet he remained steadfast in his dispassion and never deviated from his goal even for a moment. Liberation was all he sought and that is very great indeed!

The lesson that Srimad Bhagavatam teaches here is that when faced with a difficulty in the world, one should use it as en excuse to strive for liberation an d not try to find a remedy to it.

One may never know what one's next Janma (birth) will be and when one may get the darshan (glimpse) of a Jivan Mukta.

So, make hay while the sun shines!

Source : As it strikes me..., H.H.Sri Muralidhara Swamiji