After hearing these teachings, Rahūgaṇa again became repentant for his offenses to Jaḍa Bharata. He had completely disregarded him, forced him to carry his palanquin, and even threatened him. Now he understands the extent of his mistake.
“King Rahūgaṇa said: O most exalted personality, you are not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By the influence of your true self, all kinds of contradiction in the śāstras have been removed. In the dress of a friend of a brāhmaṇa, you are hiding your transcendental blissful position. I offer my respectful obeisances unto you.
O best of the brāhmaṇas, my body is filled with dirty things, and my vision has been bitten by the serpent of pride. Due to my material conceptions, I am diseased. Your nectarean instructions are the proper medicine for one suffering from such a fever, and they are cooling waters for one scorched by the heat.” (SB 5.12.1-2)
Rahūgaṇa addresses Jaḍa Bharata with the word avadhūta, accepting him in the highest stage of self-realization, even though he was behaving externally as an unqualified member of a brāhmana family who was neglecting the external rules and regulations. This is contrasted with Rahūgaṇa’s position, which identifies with a material body composed of revolting substances. In his purport, Prabhupāda notes the words kāraṇa-vigrahāya, which indicate that Jaḍa Bharata’s body emanates from the Supreme Person. Of course, everything emanates from the Supreme Person, but in the case of Jaḍa Bharata, this was literal, because in his previous life, as Bharata Maharaja, he was born from Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, who is the Lord Himself.
“Whatever doubts I have about a particular subject matter I shall ask you about later. For the time being, these mysterious yoga instructions you have given me for self-realization appear very difficult to understand. Please repeat them in a simple way so that I can understand them. My mind is very inquisitive, and I want to understand this clearly.” (5.12.3)
Rahūgaṇa couldn’t understand the instructions of Jaḍa Bharata, but he is following the right process, putting forward his questions, so the guru can instruct him.
