<<Part 1 of the story | Part 3 of the story>>
Diti however clearly understood that the sons within her womb would be the cause of great disturbances to the demigods and she therefore continuously bore them for one hundred years without delivering them. By the force of her prolonged pregnancy, the light of the sun and the moon diminished in the various planets and the demigods themselves were highly disturbed and distressed by this force. They therefore approached Lord Brahma and requested him to be merciful towards them as this darkness had hindered their work.
Understanding the demigods’ plight, Brahma narrated the tale of his four sons – Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanat Kumara to them. These four sons of his were born from his mind, and were the predecessors of the demigods. They were known to travel throughout the material and spiritual worlds without a definite desire or purpose in mind.
On one of their travels, the four sages came across Vaikunta where by dint of their superior spiritual powers, they could sense unprecedented happiness inside. Vaikunta has seven entrances and these sages passed through the first six entrances without being unduly astonished at all the wonders that each and every one of these six chambers presented to them. They arrived at the seventh entrance which was guarded by two doorkeepers Jaya and Vijaya adorned quite richly.
Given that these four sages were highly evolved spiritual beings, they looked five years old in physical appearance and were not dressed at all. For all practical purposes they looked like five year old boys without wearing any clothes and therefore the doorkeepers blocked their way when they tried to go through the seventh entrance.
Enraged by the fact that they were not allowed to see Srihari, the supreme, the four sages’ cursed the doorkeepers. In Vaikunta, who are these two who have developed a discordant mindset even though they are in service of the Lord? Where is the possibility of an enemy of the Lord coming to Vaikunta? In Vaikunta, where all beings exist in harmony, how can these two creatures exist, whose minds are filled with disharmony? Although they are dressed like residents of Vaikunta, they are probably impostors, given that they don’t seem to fit in, they said.
Since they find duality in Vaikunta in the form of harmony and disharmony, they are contaminated and should therefore be banished from this place to the material world. Saying so, the four sages cursed the two doorkeepers, Jaya and Vijaya, to be born as mortal human beings.
<<Part 1 of the story | Part 3 of the story>>
