Śuka, also known as Suka Deva, was the son of the sage Vyasa (author of the Vedas and Puranas) and was the main narrator of the Bhagavata Purana. Most of the Bhagavata Purana consists of Śuka reciting the story to the dying king Parikshit. Śuka is depicted as a sannyasi, renouncing the world in pursuit of moksha (liberation), which most narratives state that he achieved.
According to the Mahabharata, after one hundred years of austerity by Vyasa, Śuka was churned out of a stick of fire, born with ascetic power and with the Vedas dwelling inside him, just like his father.
As a child, he used to spend all of his time meditating in the forest near his father’s ashram. By inquiring into the ways of the world, he was awakened to truth in his heart. By inquiring himself with his own intelligent mind, he obtained the eternal truths. In spite of gaining such knowledge about truth, his mind remained restless. He could not develop faith in his finding `that this is the truth'.
One day while he was meditating, a desire arose in his mind to go to Vaikuntha to see Lord Vishnu. However, when he reached there the gatekeepers informed Lord Vishnu who declined to met him. The gatekeepers came and told him, “We are very sorry, but you have no Guru and those without a Guru can never enter here.” Suka returned to his father and told him what had happened. He was a bit vain and proud, thinking that he was the son of a great rishi, that he had already done so many years of tapas, and so there was no need of a Guru. However, as Lord Vishnu Himself had said that a Guru was necessary, Suka sought his father’s advice as to who he should select as his Guru.
He asked his father, Krishnadvaipayana (Vyasa) – who was residing in solitude on a peak of Meru – thus: “O sage, how did this vain display of `samsara' arise? Where is it going? When will it subside?” Having been questioned thus, by his son, the great Vyasa who knows the Self, gave appropriate reply. However, Suka could not give respectful attention to his father's words thinking that he knew all that already. Bhagwan Vyasa understood the conceited opinion of his son and told him: “There is only one Guru for you and that is King Janaka of Videha. I do not know more than this. The great king Janaka knows everything about Self. Please learn from him all that is to be known.”
“Father, have you lost your mind? What is there in common between a king and a sannyasi? How can I take him as my Guru?” asked Suka.
“There is nobody else who could be your Guru,” replied the sage.
Twelve times the sage sent the boy to King Janaka and twelve times he returned even before reaching there due to his doubts and misgivings.
Once he even reached the palace, but on seeing the richness of the palace and the great assemblage of worldly people, he thought that the king must be one who is given up to sensual pleasure, and so he was not prepared to accept him as his Master. The more doubts and suspicions one has about a Realized Soul, the more one harms oneself.
Suspecting or slandering a Mahatma destroys one’s merits (punyam). When Suka was being sent back to the king for the thirteenth time, the sage Narada took pity on him. He disguised himself as an old brahmin and was carrying a basket of earth on his head. As he approached a small river that was flowing nearby, he would throw the earth into it and it would get washed away. Seeing this, Suka accosted him and said, “Look here, old man. First put some sticks across the stream and then some large lumps of earth on them and then only throw the earth on that. Otherwise it will be only fruitless labour if you are trying to build a dam across the river the way you are doing it.”
“I am only losing my day’s effort,” said Narada, “but there is a young man who is a bigger fool than I am, and he is Suka Deva, the son of Vedavyasa. For he has already lost 12 of the 14 merits that he possessed. He has only two left.” When Suka heard this, he fell down in a faint. When he regained consciousness, he was all alone, but he remembered the words of the old man and rushed to the king’s palace.
Still having some pride that he was the son of Vedavyasa, he thought that the king would come and meet him on the way. But no one came to meet him. When the king was informed of his arrival, he gave the orders, “Let him stand right where he is.” Suka just happened to be standing on the spot where the palace garbage was thrown over the wall, and as a result, it was not long before he was buried under the refuse.
Four days passed in this way when the king enquired, “What happened to Suka who had come to see me?” “He has been standing in the same spot, Maharaj,” replied the servant.” Let him be extricated from the heap of rubbish, bathed, dressed and brought here,” ordered the king.
When Suka was brought to his presence as told, Janaka said to Sukadeva, "Give me my dakshina before I teach you anything, because after you learn this teaching, you will reject everything, including me (the Guru)." The Guru Janaka was already a Videha (one who had renounced all attachment to the body. Suka, after getting the brahma jnana would also become a videha (losing sense of his body). When both the Guru and disciple lose their sense of their body, it will neither be possible for the disciple to give dakshina to the Guru nor for the Guru to receive it. Hence Janaka asked Suka to give Gurudakshina before revealing the brahma jnana. No teaching is beneficial to the student unless the Gurudakshina is given, and hence the emphasis by Janaka for Gurudakshina.
King Janaka’s test of Suka
King Janaka, knowing that Suka was proud of his renunciation, created an illusion. Just after Suka entered the room, a servant came running in with a report that the entire town was on fire. “It’s all God’s Will,” said Janaka cooly. After a short while another report came that all of the king’s courts were reduced to ashes. “God’s Will,” said the king. Then the news came that the king’s own palace was on fire. “All God’s Will,” repeated the king. Suka was thinking what a fool the king was not to do anything about the fire. Suka grabbed his bag and started to run away to save himself from the approaching fire, but the king caught hold of his arm.
“Look,” said the king, “all of my wealth and possessions have been burnt to ashes, but I haven’t bothered about them. Now that the fire has reached the palace, you have taken hold of this small bundle of your possessions with the intention of saving them. After all, what are your things worth? Now, who exactly is the greater renunciate – you or I?”
Next, the king ordered that a great festival be held in honour of Suka’s visit to the city. Festivities, dances, plays and various stalls were set up. All was to entertain Suka. When everything was ready, the king asked Suka to go through the city and enjoy everything, “But,” said the king, “please carry this full cup of milk with you wherever you go.” He then bade the soldiers who were to accompany Suka, “Take Suka through every part of the city. Let him see everything and miss nothing. But if he should spill a single drop of milk from this cup, my orders are that you should behead him on the spot.”
Suka went out with the soldiers and came back in the evening. “I am sure that you had a nice time? How did you enjoy everything?”
“O king, as it turned out, I saw nothing, for at every moment all of my thoughts were concentrated on this cup, lest I should spill a drop and lose my life,” said Suka.
“Suka, that is how I live in the midst of all this luxury and grandeur. I see nothing. For at every moment my thoughts are centered on the Lord lest I too should lose my life,” said the king.
“Imagine that the cup is death, the milk is your mind, and the festivities are the ephemeral pleasures and splendors of the world. I pass through this world with great caution, so that the milk of the mind is not spilled, or agitated, and all attention is concentrated every moment on God. For even a moment spent in not thinking of Him would be death to me.”
The king could now see that Suka’s mind was cleansed of pride and was ready, so he initiated him. When Śuka asked Janaka about the way to liberation, Janaka recommended the traditional progression of the four stages recommended for human life (Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprasta and Sanyasa), which included the householder stage (Grihasta). After expressing contempt for the householder life, Śuka questioned Janaka about the real need for following the householder path. Seeing Śuka's advanced state of realization, Janaka told him that there was no need for the householder stage in his case.
King Janaka asked Suka : ` You have done everything that is to be done in this world. You have obtained whatever you wanted. What do you want now?'
Suka: ` O Guru, How did this vain display of samsara arise? How will this subside? Please tell me everything?
Asked thus by Suka, Janaka gave the same reply as given earlier by Vyasa.
Suka: My father also gave me the same reply. I have known this myself earlier through my intelligent inquiries. O best of the knowers of the word, these are elaborated in the same way in the scriptures. All this is self-deception. It will vanish when this self-deception vanishes. This wasteful world is sapless (and uninteresting). This is evidently true. `But why is it so.? O mighty king, please tell me the firm truth. Let my wandering, unstable mind gain repose'.
Janaka: “O sage, there is nothing else other than what you yourself have understood and what your father told you.” “There is no other existence other than that undifferentiated consciousness – Self. He is bound by self-will. He is unbound without that will.” “With your disinterest in pleasures of this phenomenal world, you have very clearly known all that is to be known by great souls.” “Even at a very young age you have become a great conqueror of sickening pleasures. What else do you want to know or hear?' `Even your father, the great storehouse of all knowledge and an embodiment of `tapas', has not attained the fullness and perfection as you have.” “I am greater than Vyasa. You are his son and disciple. Having conquered the desire for pleasure, you have exceeded me even.” You have gained whatever is to be gained, you have become one with perfect mind. O knower of Brahman, you will never slip into this phenomenal world. You are liberated. Throw away the illusion.” Having been declared thus, by the great Janaka, Suka fell silent and rose to abide in the supreme state. Having dispelled of all doubts, desires and being free from fear and sorrow, Suka went to meru peak to sit in samadhi. There he remained in nirvikalpa samadhi for ten thousand years and attained nirvana like a lamp without oil. Sukadeva attained oneness with Brahman, having become completely pure devoid of all deformations, fancies and imaginations. He was totally free from all vasanas. His unity was like a waterdrop merging in the ocean waters.
Stories recount how Śuka surpassed his father in spiritual attainment. Once, when following his son, Vyasa encountered a group of celestial nymphs who were bathing. Śuka's purity was such that the nymphs did not consider him to be a distraction, even though he was naked, but covered themselves when faced with his father. Śuka is sometimes portrayed as wandering about naked, due to his complete lack of self-consciousness.
However, Devi-Bhagavata gives an entirely alternate version of the later life of Śuka. In this account, Śuka is convinced by Janaka to follow the ashrama tradition, and returns home to marry and follow the path of yoga. He had five children from his wife Pivari – four sons and a daughter. The story concludes in the same vein as the more common tradition, with Śuka achieving moksha.
Source: 1. Wikipedia; 2. Sri Yoga Vasishtam
