hindu story about why Naiskramya(renouncing desires of the senses) is wrong and anti-spiritual
Shiva, lord of the universe, was engaged in ascetic practices, absorbed in deep meditation, when he suddenly felt a flush of lust. Though two of his eyes remained shut in serene contemplation, his third eye flickered open, looking for the force which had disturbed his concentration. Sure enough, there was Kama, the god of love, grinning playfully, having just unleashed an arrow of desire. Instantly a laser-like bolt arced from Shiva’s open eye, incinerating Kama. The eyelid fluttered shut and the lord resumed his meditation.
From the ashes of love arose the demon Bhanda, flaming with desire for power, wealth, and sensual indulgence. Bhanda had an extraordinary power: whenever he made war on an enemy, half his opponent’s power would be transferred directly to Bhanda.
Bhanda quickly became a mighty king, conquering a vast dominion. The sage Narada appeared to the gods to warn them of the increasing threat Bhanda represented. “You must worship the Divine Mother Lalita,” he said, “for only she can help you ward off this menace.”
Alarmed, Indra, the king of the gods, made his way to the Himalayas to perform penances in order to gain the inner strength necessary to defeat Bhanda. On a bank of the Bhagirathi River, “blooming profusely with every kind of splendid flower,” Indra worshiped the Mother of the Universe.
The planet Venus noticed what Indra was up to and rushed to Bhanda’s court—where all Venusian pleasures were extravagantly indulged—to alert the demons. Quickly assembling an army, Bhanda hurried to the Himalayas to disrupt Indra’s penance, but seeing the demons coming to disturb her divine son’s meditation, the Mother of the Universe instantly threw up a protective barrier. With considerable effort, the demons smashed the wall but the moment it crumbled, another bulwark appeared in its place. The demon army tried again and again, but defensive walls continued to materialize out of the ether.
Meanwhile Indra called the rest of the gods together and announced, “Bhanda’s army is so powerful there is no way we can defeat him on our own. We will have to dig a fire pit a mile long and propitiate the Goddess with human sacrifice.” So they lit a great fire and offered a human body, as they chanted the mantras sacred to the Mother of the Universe.
A circular mass of blazing light materialized over the fire. At the center of the shining wheel sat the Great Goddess, resplendent as the rising sun. The gods recognized Lalita immediately: she was the life force of the entire cosmos, the quintessence of beauty and desire, adorned in robes the color of pomegranate, smiling at them with a loving glance as cool as moonlight. In her four arms she held a noose, a goad, a sugarcane bow, and five arrows tipped with flower petals.
What is the text saying? To those initiated in the yoga tradition, the meaning is clear. It isn’t possible to annihilate the force of desire within ourselves, because this force arises from Kameshvari, the Empress of Desire who is none other than the Mother of the Universe herself. Attempting to suppress his desires, Shiva tried to obliterate Kama, god of sexual desire, but another powerful entity instantly took Kama’s place. Unlike Kama, who represents the sacred movement of nature to cherish others in order to reproduce itself, Bhanda represents distorted, aggressive, selfish lust.
The text goes on to say that at the sight of the Power of Consciousness, the soul and its inner senses fly into ecstasy. Smiling at the upturned faces of the enraptured gods, which glowed with the reflection of her own light, the Goddess said, “My dear ones, be joyous! I will remove your fear. I bless all of you with virtue, prosperity, and fame, and with loving spouses, devoted children, and trustworthy friends.”
Hearing that the Mother of the Universe was manifesting in a visible body, sages and cosmic intelligences like Brahma the Creator rushed to the scene. Catching a glimpse of the Mother’s supremely beautiful face, and seeing the magnificent city which the cosmic architect Vishvakarma had instantly built for her, Brahma thought, “It is no more appropriate for a woman to rule such a city alone than for a king to rule a kingdom without a queen. The Supreme Goddess must have a husband, but who in all these worlds is worthy of her? Only Lord Shiva himself, but he sits in meditation, naked as pure consciousness, so she may not accept him.”
Sensing the Creator’s thoughts, Shiva materialized before Brahma’s eyes. For this special occasion, the lord of the universe assumed a stunningly handsome form, draped in gorgeous robes and gems. Then Shiva turned to look at the Goddess. Shiva, the ascetic god who had incinerated the force of lust, found himself melting like butter in the hot sun before the bewitching beauty of the Mother of the Universe, who embodied in herself the very essence of sexual power.
Smiling, Lalita announced, “Whatever I say or do is according to my own will alone. Whichever man accepts me as his wife must also accept my complete independence.” Saying this, she pulled the garland from her neck and tossed it into the sky. It circled the heavens before finally landing around Shiva’s neck. In this handsome, garlanded form Shiva became known as Kameshvara, “the Emperor of Love.” He and Lalita were immediately united in marriage, to the great delight of the assembled deities.
There was no honeymoon. The Divine Mother had promised to free the gods from fear, so immediately she set out to meet Bhanda in battle. The Brahmanda Purana lovingly describes the powerful military commanders who accompanied her, all awesome and intelligent shaktis, demi-goddesses eager to free the world from evil, riding in extraordinary chariots the likes of which had never been seen on earth. This section of the scripture too is entirely yogic: the shaktis are the innate energies of the subtle body, and their chariots are the yantras or sacred mandalas in which these energies embody themselves when yogis worship their yantras with reverence
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