The Prakash volume is a description of the agony of Virah (separation from the Lord). It says again that penance, rituals will only take us so far, and no more. In the end, they have to culminate in Love for the Lord.

The entire story of creation, as described in the Bhagwat, is also mentioned in Prakash (Prakatvani - the last chapter). At first, there was only Aksharatit Brahma, the Supreme Lord. He is ever-present, immutable, blissful. He then motivated Akshar Brahma to create this world - to let the souls experience the pairs of opposites - joy-sorrow, separation-union, love-hatred. Akshar has several powers, one of which is Mool Prakriti (the origin of Nature). It is this power that created Moh (attachment). That is how the celestial souls were deluded - with the power of Moh - they were unable to even visualise Paramdham (their own abode). So they consider this illusory world to be real. This is the source of all misery. Krishna appeared in Gokul to let souls experience Bliss. Prannathji says, the powers of Krishna have come again to release divine souls from this grip of misery.

After the creation of Moh, Ahankar (ego) was created. This ego spread like an ocean everywhere. Nothing else was apparent. Akshar Brahma's desire for creation started floating on this ocean like an egg. This egg was beautiful, golden - hence it is called Hiranya Garbha (the womb of creation). Akshar Brahma's power, his attention, - Will to create - entered this egg and the egg burst. From this appeared Lord Shree Narayan like a child lying on a leaf. Shree Narayan got the feeling, "I am one, let me become many". With this desire, he manifested as Lord Maha Vishnu and went to the bottom of this ocean. There he lay on the great snake, Sheshnaag, who provided a bed for him. Maha Vishnu rested on that bed with his consort Lakshmi. From the belly button of Vishnu appeared a beautiful lotus with a long stem. On this lotus appeared Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer) - the Trinity. From them, manifested the three gunas (attributes) - Sat, Rajas, and Tamas which underlie all activities. Then appeared the five elements (air, fire, water, matter, and space) which comprise the entire creation. All creatures have these five elements and 3 gunas in different mixtures - thus accounting for all this variety. That is when the Brahmatmas (divine celestial souls) manifested.

It Hi Baithe Ghar Jaage Dham, Purna Manorath Huye Sab Kaam
Mahamat Hans Taali De, Saath Utha Hansta Sukh Le.
Prakash Hindustani 37/112

Prannathji says, the commonly-held belief that the souls moved from Paramdham to earth is itself false. In fact, nothing happened - the souls did not move anywhere. They are still in Heaven - their celestial abode. It is only Maya that makes them feel that they are in another world. But when God clapped and laughed, they awoke from their dream state. That is when they realised their folly. Their desire to experience this world of opposites was fulfilled. They re-discovered their true nature.

Shree Prakash also contains references to the Bhagwat - like the episode of Hansa Geeta (Geeta told by Shree Vishnu in the form of a Swan). We consider this Maya to be all powerful - it has created this world and deluded us. But in fact, this is nothing but an illusion, a magic trick. Our spiritual power is so immense that Maya's strength is nothing compared to it.

The Rosary (Mala) has 108 beads - what is the significance of that? Prannathji says, this symbolises the 108 sectors or stages of devotion and experiences that the Atma (soul) goes through. The 108 number is obtained as follows: there are 9 kinds of devotion or methods of prayer - (Navdha Bhakti) listening, contemplation, studying the scriptures, singing His glories, bowing to Him, remembering His name, affection for the Lord as a child, as a friend, self-surrender. There are three kinds of people in the world - Satwic (spiritual), Rajsic (passionate), and Tamasic (lazy). Each one performs this Bhakti in his own way i.e. 9 X 3 = 27. These 27 types of prayer are performed by people depending on their attitude (Maryada, Parvah or Pushta). People performing actions in Maryada, follow blindly the ritualistic methods. Parvah means flow - such people go with the flow, carry out devotion and prayer just because everyone else is doing it. The Pushta people work for fulfillment and their satisfaction. Their prayer is not for worldly success but for achievement of the highest goal. So, 27 X 3 = 81. Once the soul crosses these 81 forms of devotion she attains joy based on the nature of the Jiva's activities. She can experience Vaikunth-lok of Maha Vishnu (called Malkoot in Semitic scriptures). Above this is Shunya Niraakar (immense, formless void). The highest goal of the soul is Paramdham, where she plays with the Supreme Lord in her celestial form. Paramdham is divided into 25 stages of blissful existence. So 81 + 27 = 108, the beads in the Mala. The last 25 stages are the blissful experiences of the supreme abode Paramdham.

So, we see that the volume Prakash, as its name implies, illuminates various aspects of religious practice. It removes our ignorance and makes us understand the real meaning of life. 

Next: Chapter 3: Shatritu

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