DEVOTEE: The Vedas inform us of the Sudarshan Cakra, a
manifestation of the Lord's spiritual potency which acts in different capacities
according to the Lord's desire. Generally the Sudarshan Cakra appears as
a weapon like a discus with a razor sharp edge that may also exhibit intolerable
heat. In his prayers to the Sudarshan Cakra, Ambarisa Maharäja said,
"O master of speech, by your effulgence, full of religious principles,
the darkness of the world is dissipated, and the knowledge of learned persons
or great souls is manifested. Indeed, no one can surpass your effulgence,
for all things, manifested and unmanifested, gross and subtle, superior
and inferior, are but various forms of you that are manifested by your effulgence.
[Bhag. 9.5.7] One of the functions of the Sudarshan Cakra is to chastise
the demons, but another is to uplift the consciousness of the living beings.
Do the Jewish scriptures give any information about a weapon of the nature
of Sudarshan Cakra?
RABBI: There is one verse in the Torah, after God banished Adam and Eve
from the Garden of Eden. It is said, "He drove away the man, and stationed
the cherubim (angel of destruction) at the east of Eden, along with the
revolving sword blade, to guard the path of the Tree of Life." [Torah,
Genesis, Bereshith 3:24] "Man is told that he must eventually die and
is banished from paradise. He can only return to paradise after death, and
before doing so, he must pass by these angels of purgatory (Bachya). The
prophet must also pass these angels to approach the Tree of Life."
[Torah, Note: 3:24]
Regarding the revolving sword or flaming sword that revolves, it is said
"the manner in which the sword rotates depends on the readiness of
the individual attempting to enter. If he is worthy, it becomes the mirror
through which he perceives, while if he is not worthy, he is burned out
and cut off by the fire of this sword. The one who oversees the sword, preventing
the unworthy from entering, is the angel Metatron." [Meditation and
Kabbalah p 80 Chapter 4, Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Abulafia]
DEVOTEE: There is a long history in the Vedas in which the Sudarshan Cakra
functioned both to punish a demon and to ultimately enlighten him. Very
briefly, one day, the great mystic Brahman Durvasa Muni came to visit Ambarisha
Maharäja at his palace. The king was eager to serve Durvasa royally.
While Durvasa took his bath, the king, not wanting to eat before his guest,
but obligated to break his religious fast, took only a little water. Durvasa
understood that Ambarisha Maharäja had drunk water and felt unlimitedly
offended that the king had eaten before him. Due to extreme anger, Durvasa
created a fiery demon to kill the king, but the Lord's Sudarshan Cakra immediately
came and killed the demon. Then, the cakra started chasing Durvasa Muni
all over the universe until finally the sage approached the Supreme Lord
Himself for protection. The Lord refused him protection and sent him back
to Ambarisha Maharäja to seek forgiveness for his offenses to the king.
At the humble request of the king, the Sudarñana Cakra ceased pursuing
Durvasa. After this incident, Ambarisha Maharäja sumptuously fed Durvasa
Muni and they became very good friends. By the grace of the Sudarshan Cakra,
Durvasa Muni was enlightened as to the exalted spiritual position of the
king. Thus, the Sudarshan Cakra simultaneously punished Durvasa and enlightened
him.
RABBI: Do the Vedas describe any other functions of the Sudarshan Cakra?
DEVOTEE: It is also said, "You [Sudarshan Cakra] are the original vision
of the Lord, and therefore you are known as Sudarshan. Everything has been
created by your activities, and therefore you are all-pervading." In
his explanation to this verse, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada says, "The word Sudarshan means auspicious vision. From
Vedic instructions we understand that this material world is created by
the glance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (sa aikñata, sa
asåjata). The Supreme Personality of Godhead glanced over the mahat-tattva,
or the total material energy, and when it was agitated, everything came
into existence. Western philosophers sometimes think that the original cause
of creation was a chunk that exploded. If one thinks of this chunk as the
total material energy, the mahat-tattva, one can understand that the chunk
was agitated by the glance of the Lord, and thus the Lord's glance is the
original cause of material creation." [Bhag. 9.5.5 Purport]
RABBI: There is a statement in the Zohar that "When God was about to
create the world, He produced a secret spark from which there issued and
radiated all the lights, which constitute the upper world. Then it continued
its radiation, and the Arificer made it into a light without brightness,
and thus He made the lower world. [Zohar II, 156b]
DEVOTEE: After Durvasa Muni begged forgiveness from Ambarisha Maharäja,
the king offered prayers to Sudarshan Cakra. He said, "O master of
speech, by your effulgence, full of religious principles, the darkness of
the world is dissipated, and the knowledge of learned persons or great souls
is manifested. Indeed, no one can surpass your effulgence, for all things,
manifested and unmanifested, gross and subtle, superior and inferior, are
but various forms of you that are manifested by your effulgence." In
his explanation, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada said,
"Without illumination, nothing can be seen, especially in this material
world. The illumination in this world emanates from the effulgence of Sudarshan,
the original vision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The illuminating
principles of the sun, the moon and fire emanate from Sudarshan. Similarly,
illumination by knowledge also comes from Sudarshan." [Bhag. 9.5.7,
Purport]
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