Hello and welcome to episode 146 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today I want to talk about curses. Do they come true and do they have evil side effect? What does Krishna say about them?
Today’s question comes from Sunita and she asks “I have read books about evil curses and how powerful they are. In my case they say it is a powerful curse that is holding me back. Is this true?”
Thanks for the great question. The first thing I want to acknowledge is that the person speaking is more important than what is being said. This applies to almost everything.
In the case of these subtle truths Ram Krishna says that when a truthful man who only speaks the truth and acts the truth says something then that will definitely come true.
A true person
In one case Ram Krishna’s brother was ill and for whatever reason the doctor told him not to drink water so when his brother tried to drink he took it away. His brother was so angry that he told Ramakrishna that in his final days he too would suffer and would not be able to drink. In the end the curse came true because he got throat cancer and he was not able to drink any liquid. He attributed it to his brother’s words before he died. When someone of a very high sattvic nature says something that will come true.
Curses can help in the end but not in the beginning. All curses only come from truthful people so they will benefit in the end even though when you first hear them you may feel bad or even fearful. But know that they only bear fruit when they come from those who tell the truth and they will eventually bear fruit.
Krishna says “surrendering all works to me knowing me Krishna Paramhansa to be of all. With a concentrated mind fix your mind on me. Fixing your mind on me you will overcome all obstacles due to my divine grace but if ego is tickling your purses you will perish.”
Surrender
You don’t need to worry because when you surrender everything to Krishna you go back to the shore and all curses will be dissolved. Ram Krishna could have chosen to dissolve the curse but he didn’t because he knew it would be a way for him to eventually leave his body. When you surrender all to Krishna you won’t have to worry.
Brigu
I want to share a story with you that was once told by Ramakrishna. It is as the story of the sage Brigu who was a great seer. People came to him wanting to know who was the greatest of all Gods. Was it Brahma, the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or Shiva the destroyer?
Brigu agreed to find an answer for them and because he had so much powers he directly went to Brahma’s abode. Brahma was angry at this and drove him away. Brigu was unhappy and said this guy was not fit to be a God and should not be worshipped by them. He cursed him and said he would no longer be worshipped. Now on earth there is only one temple dedicated to Brahma out of all of the millions and millions of temples across India.
He then went to Shiva and barged in the same way as before. At the time Shiva was enjoying the company of Parvati and Brigu did not like this. Shiva was very angry about this disturbance so he chased Brigu away. As he ran away he said told Shiva that he was there to seek answers yet all he saw was a God enjoying the same pleasures as a mortal man. Again Brigu came to the conclusion that Shiva was not the greatest either. There are many temples devoted to Shiva in India but none depict him in human form and this is the reason why.
He then went to Vishnu and at this stage he was fuming from his last two encounters. When he barged into Vishnu’s abode he saw Lakshmi massaging his feet. Brigu was so enraged that he raised his leg and kicked Vishnu directly in the chest.
When this happened Vishnu did not react in anger or rage. He simply turned to Brigu and apologised asking him if he had hurt his leg. The then started massaging Brigu’s leg to ease the pain. His heart then melted and he decided that Vishnu was the greatest of all of them. This is why Vishnu is worshipped everywhere in human form.
The curse of Lakshmi
At this stage Lakshmi was very unhappy with what he had seen. They say on the chest of a man lies the heart of a woman so this was like kicking Lakshmi herself. She was angry so she cursed Brigu and all other intellectual people. She said that people who do not treat women well will be cursed and they will always lack prosperity and fame.
We all know this is true. It happens all around the world every day. Vivekananda says when women are kept happy gods in heaven delight. In place where women are not treated well you will find that success will be out of the reach of men even if they do everything else right. Sometimes this is not the case but it is complex and there are often other factors involved.
So the moral is you must treat the women of your house well and you will have the blessings of the God of wealth. Do this and you will achieve fame and prosperity.
There is also the other side of it. Krishna says “Rejecting the prescription of the Shastras and living a desired life one does not attain happiness. Therefore the Shastras should be your guide in regards to what should and what should not be done.”
Follow dharma
There is also the other side of it. Krishna says “Rejecting the prescription of the Shastras and living a desired life one does not attain happiness. Therefore the Shastras should be your guide in regards to what should and what should not be done.”
The great ones say that happiness is only achieved when you follow dharma and the yoga of Krishna. A few people understand the first part of the above scripture about keeping women happy. Happiness is disappearing because they are not following the second part by not following dharma. Without this you will never achieve true happiness and will always be living a life of desires, likes and dislikes based on your gunas.
This is why you must be happy first before you become successful because success without happiness is nothing. It is pointless. For most people happiness is only an emotion but this is not true happiness. True happiness has no breaks. It does not come and go.
The gift of the spirit
Today women operate through their mind which makes it the most dangerous part of them. It means that their minds are always moving out towards like and dislikes. Women should be focusing on their spirit because this is their greatest gift. Right now time sits in the mind of a women because it is more powerful than you or I. If you are a woman reading this you should try as much as possible to not operate through your mind but rather your spirit. This is how you will get both happiness and success.
For men it is important that men should have an innocent mind, similar to that of a child. The gunas will be ripe like horns and will make men act through ego. Remember a child is loved and is always the hero of the household and men should try and emulate this by surrendering all and practicing the yoga of Krishna.
When men and women live this way they will never have to worry about any curses because they will never bear fruit. We will talk more about Brigu in the next episode.
I hope I answered your questions. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
