p182 _
-chap- _
toc-1 _
p183w _
toc-2 _
+chap+ _
p184
----- bhagap183.html
preserve thee and thy followers. There you shall always find me at
your door. Thy Asura nature shall be there entirely destroyed
under my influence."
Prahlada was also ordered by Bhagavan to accompany Bali
to Sutala. So they all went to Sutala.
THOUGHTS ON THE ABOVE.
We now find Bali shorn of all materialism and restored to
spiritual purity. We can well understand the removal of Bali from
the kingdom of Triloki, for the cyclic movement was tending that way
since the last Manvantara, and the Devas were to have supremacy
over Triloki. We have to study the future of Bali, as holding further
light for us.
We must repeat here the distinction made between the two
classes of Asuras: Daityas and Danavas. The Daityas trace their
origin to the gate-keepers of Vishnu. They had inherent Satva in
them, which was eclipsed in their downfall. Therefore, though they
acted as materialistic forces following the cyclic tendency, they were
themselves not incapable of spiritual development Thus we find words
of wisdom and spirituality in Vritra, in Hiranyakasipu, unselfish
devotion in Prahlada, and complete resignation in Bali. Hiranyaksha
and Hiranyakasipu went back to their old place in Vaikuntha.
Vritra became united with Sankarshana. Prahlada is immortal in
his unselfish mission, and we have just heard the future of Bali. The
Maruts become Devas after their very birth.
Therefore there is no extinction for the Asuras, except for
those that do not follow Bali and do not place themselves under
the influence of Vishnu. The cyclic weapon or Chakra is ever ready
to destroy those that hopelessly go against the law.
Now a word about Sutala. The arrangement of Patalas as
given in the text is the reverse of what they should be in point of
spirituality, for Atala is the most and Patala the least removed from
spirituality.
The influence of Vishnu does not extend beyond Sutala, and
nothing can save those that transgress the limits of this nether plane.
For in Vitala the destructive Purusha reigns and a passage to that
plane is only a door to utter extinction. And in Atala there is not
a trace of spirituality, the work of destruction is already done, and
[[183]]
p182 _
-chap- _
toc-1 _
p183w _
toc-2 _
+chap+ _
p184
v?