Bhagavada Vahini - Chapter 35

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Bhagavada Vahini by Sathya Sai Baba

 

Chapter 35

The Ananda Krishna Gives

 

 

 

Rama transformed the world into a realm of righteousness, through his

varied activities and example. During the great Horse Sacrifice that

he performed, all the sages and scholars of ritual who had assembled,

honoured him as a great upholder of tradition and culture. His

compassion and softness of heart are beyond description; no words can

convey their depth and extent. He placed the dying eagle - Jatayu

<http://vahini.org/glossary/j.html#Jatayu> , a bird, which no one will

ordinarily honour - on his lap; he wiped with his own flowing hair,

the dust that had enveloped it; when it breathed its last, he

performed the obsequies, even as a son does when his father dies!

 

His very appearance cast a charm on all who saw him. Love, Beauty and

Virtue emanated from him and spread to all around him. He treated the

Vanaras (monkey-tribals) with as much affection as he had towards his

brothers, Bharatha, <http://vahini.org/glossary/b.html> Lakshmana

<http://vahini.org/glossary/l.html> and Satrughna.

<http://vahini.org/glossary/s.html>

 

Rama was the full manifestation of Righteousness or Dharma. The sages

extolled him, saying that Dharma Itself had taken that human form!

There is no need to dilate and speak of a thousand details. For all

householders, Rama is the Ideal. His advent was for restoring

spiritual values and saving the world from moral disaster. How

affectionately he moved with his brothers! Everything was ready for

his coronation; but, at the last minute, when he was exiled and had

to go to the forests, the populace of Ayodhya wailed in

uncontrollable anguish; but, Rama moved out of the City and Kingdom,

with as much joy and equanimity as he had, when he moved towards the

throne for the coronation! What greater example is needed than this,

for the Sthithaprajna (the person whose consciousness is calm and

beyond all agitations)?

 

He felt that the plighted word was worth the sacrifice of even life.

He suffered, with perfect equanimity, grievous hardships, in order to

preserve the plighted word of his father. His sincere persistence in

carrying out the promise made by his father is an inspiration and an

example to every son of man.

 

Sitha, too, insisted on accompanying her husband to the forest, since

the true wife can keep alive only in the company of the husband; she

had never before exposed herself to sun and rain; but she spent her

days in the terror-striking forest, as in duty bound, and in

unsullied joy.

 

" He who is born with you, is more worthy of affection, than she who

joined you later " , that was the view of Lakshmana, when he joined his

brother Rama, leaving his wife, Urmila, in Ayodhya itself.

 

Bharatha could not but obey Rama's wish; he came back to the Capital

with a heavy heart, since Rama declined to come and enthrone himself.

Bharatha created an artificial 'forest' for himself (that is to say,

he led an ascetic's life, out of inner compulsion, since he felt he

must live like his exiled brother).

 

Consider the difference between Dasaratha, the father and Rama, the

son; they are as different as earth and sky! To please his wife, to

make her happy and contented, the father was prepared to bear the

utmost agony; finally, he even sent his dear son as an exile to the

jungle! The son sent his wife into the jungle, as an exile, in order

to respect the opinion of a commoner in his empire! Think of the

different ways in which the two carried out their duties to the

people, over whom they ruled. Dasaratha was overwhelmed by the

illusion that he was the physical body; Rama was moved by the

realisation that he was the Atma.

 

Ah! The virtues and excellences of Rama, I am incapable of describing

to you, O King! What greater task and mission in life can a man have,

than the contemplation of that Supreme Person? To save oneself from

downfall, the only exercise needed is: listening to the glorious

narrative of the lives of Avatars. When you do so, all sin is washed

away " , said Suka.

 

At this, Parikshith was delighted; his face flushed with excitement.

He said, " Master! While your account of the life and activities, the

virtues and charm of Rama - the embodiment of Dharma - is bestowing on

me such great Ananda, I wonder how much greater would be the Ananda I

can derive when you describe the career of Krishna! He is dark blue

beauty personified. How sweet must be the account of Krishna's

child-hood pranks, his boyish adventures, his Divine Leelas, His

Divine prattle! I pray that I may be kept immersed in the thought and

contemplation of the might and majesty, the charm and beauty, of

Krishna Himself, during the days that I still have to live. I pray

that I may be saved from the cycle of birth and death, thereby " .

 

The Ananda Krishna Gives

 

Hearing this prayer, Suka said, " 0 King, truly, the Leelas

<http://vahini.org/glossary/l.html> of Krishna are, as you said,

amazing, wondrous; but, yet, sweet and meaningful. They are not

tainted by the desire to show off the Divine Nature. The common man

is drawn by external pomp, and apparent motives. So, he judges the

Leelas as common and even low. The inner meaning and purpose are not

easily patent to all. But, the Lord can never engage Himself in

purposeless and paltry activities. His advent is for the uplifting of

the world from the morass of wickedness and unrighteousness, for

fulfilling the needs of those devoted to Him, for the re-

establishment of Right and Morality and for the revival of the Vedas;

He has to take into account the merit acquired by each in previous

lives and shower His Grace accordingly; He makes Himself available

through the grant of boons; His Leelas or Divine activities are so

shaped that they suit the time, the person, the aspiration and the

compassion which cause each shower of Grace. Therefore, who can

comprehend correctly and interpret aright these Leelas?

 

" The amazing Leelas of Hari <http://vahini.org/glossary/h.html> are

known to Hari alone " , it is said. He can be interpreted by Him alone,

not by another. One observation however, can be made with confidence.

The Manifest Incarnations of God will not engage themselves in the

least, for their own sake or for the sake of fulfilling any personal

likes! All activity is for the good of the world! Though without Them,

the world cannot exist and survive, They move and act as if the world

has nothing to do with them. In every word and deed of Theirs, one can

observe the underlying current of total renunciation. For Them who

hold the worlds in the palm of Their hands what can the world give or

withhold? They can shape it as they like.

 

Fools, persons without faith, persons who deny God, persons caught in

the coils of ignorance, those who do not learn anything-these may see

the Leela's of God as self-centred and even motivated by delusion,

like the actions of ordinary mortals. But, genuine Bhakthas

<http://vahini.org/glossary/b.html> will cherish them as significant

and sustaining examples of Grace. How can Thath be grasped by those

who are engrossed in Thwam?

 

King! the actions of Rama, Emperor of Kosala, and of Krishna are, you

should remember, wide apart. When the wicked and cruel enemies of

righteousness were about to overwhelm the good, Krishna and Balarama,

the two brothers were born, the one black and the other white (as a

head of hair, both black and white), and by their acts that

transcended the comprehension of man, astounded the world.

 

The Leelas of Krishna are beyond the comprehension of any one,

however, scholarly or wise. His movement, his walk, his talk, his

smile, his laughter, his gesture, his speech, his song, each is

charming with a unique artistry.

 

It all looked so peculiar, so extra-ordinary. Very often, it resembled

lawlessness and sheer mischief. While walking in the eastern

direction, his attention was fixed in the western direction! He

conversed through His eyes; the flash of His eyes spoke out His plans

and intentions. He did not care for human limitations and

disciplines. He did not recognise the distinction between new and old

acquaintances; He treated both alike. He did not respect kinship or

yield to the demands of convention.

 

Wherever He went, He created some strange mischief or other. Like a

typhoon sweeping over the land, He left behind in every home that He

visited a series of upheavals, quarrels, wailings and tears!

 

There was no need to invite Him ceremoniously into any house; He would

enter, uninvited, unannounced. Every house belonged to Him; He would

get in and take whatever He desired from wherever it was hidden, and

eat them to His heart's content.

 

He was everyone's dearest kinsman, fastest comrade. So, He could take

anything from any house with impunity. But, He was not content with

that. He took away much more than His own need, for, He gave away

large quantities to His companions too. And, they were quite a large

number! The owners might bewail the loss, and condemn the theft, but,

He did not care; He gave the things away as if they were His own! No

one could hinder His sport; no one could go against His word. If any

dared oppose or threaten, the sufferings that will be heaped on his

head were indescribable!

 

But, the truth must be told. The smallest act of His was saturated

with supreme sweetness. Even the sufferings He inflicted on those He

wanted to punish were sweet. So, no one felt the least anger towards

Him. Instead, they yearned to meet Him more often, to play with Him

longer, to talk with Him and stay with Him as much as possible.

Whatever His pranks and practical jokes, the victims never felt

annoyed at Him.

 

The reason was: the Prema, the undercurrent of Love, that motivated

all His words and acts. The cow-herd maids rushed towards Him with

sticks to beat Him off, but, when they neared Him and cast their

looks at Him, their hearts were filled with Prema, and they came

away, with a prayer on their tongues. Whatever He did, appeared as

Divine sport, Leela.

 

And the manner of His speech! It was so pleasing and so clever, it was

mostly intended to mislead! He put sand into His mouth, before all His

companions; but, when His mother took Him to ask for it, He denied it

and put out His tongue to prove His denial! He rendered true

statements false and false statements, true! He went daily to

Vrishabhendrapura, the village where Radha lived. Many people saw Him

on the road, while going and returning. But yet, when His mother

accosted Him and challenged Him, saying, " Why are you trekking every

day such long distances? Have you no comrades here, in this place

itself, to play with? " He replied, " I do not know that road at all! "

He caused confusion in every home, created factions between mothers-

in-law and the daughters-in-law, set them one against the other, and

enjoyed the fun. He was seldom stationary in one place, from dawn

when He rose from bed till the hour when He went to sleep. This

little bundle of mischief roamed from house to house, without rest.

 

In spite of all this, the villagers could not bear His absence, even

for an instant! If He did not put in His appearance any day the

milkmaids watched for His visit, peeping at the road through the

windows or looking into the distance from the terrace. Such was the

charm of the Divine Love that Krishna showered on them and the Love

that the people had towards Him. His pranks were so heart-warming;

they were so inspiring and meaningful.

 

The blue Boy was the Master of subterfuge and diplomacy. He saw

through every artifice, however cleverly camouflaged. When the ogress

Puthana approached Him as Mother to feed Him at her breast, He

pretended to be taken in, by that stratagem; He sucked her life out

and felled her to the ground. Many an Asura

<http://vahini.org/glossary/a.html> came near Him to destroy Him,

Some assuming the familiar forms of the cowherds and milkmaids of the

village; but, He discovered their identity and despatched them to the

City of Death. One Asura took the form of a calf, and moved among the

calves and cows which Krishna was tending, awaiting an opportunity to

kill Him! But, the three year-old Divine infant saw through the

device; He caught him by the tail, raised him, swung him one

round and beat him on the ground, so that he breathed his last.

 

Such strength and skill were quite out of proportion with that Infant

Form. But, He demonstrated His Divinity in a million ways, in order to

convert and convince men. He taught every one, whether they were

elders, women, or crooks, or His own kinsmen and well-wishers. He

advised them into good ways. He entangled some of them in dilemmas.

His maternal uncle, Kamsa, was drunk with imperial power and heroic

audacity. He caught him by the tuft of hair, pulled him down from the

throne, fisted him to death, and dragged the body along the main

thoroughfare right down to the bank of the Yamuna! The entire

population of the City of Mathura saw in every act of His, a wondrous

mixture of the amazing, the astounding, the sweet, the charming, the

enticing, the beautiful and the simple.

 

While yet an infant, He ended the lives of Puthana, Thrnavartha, and

Sakatasura; He was then, a tiny thief in search of butter in every

home! When His mother tied Him to a wooden mortar; He dragged it

behind Him, and with it, He pulled down two giant trees, growing

together. He curbed the conceit and fury of the serpent Kalinga,

which poisoned the waters of the Yamuna and made them disastrous for

men and cattle. When His mother attempted to tie Him up with a rope

round His waist, He revealed to her His Universal Form, the Form in

which the entire Universe was found to be but a part of Him. The

parents and the people of Gokula were wonder-struck at the remarkable

experience of His Divinity. Through His yawn, He showed them the

macrocosm and the microcosm, both!

 

He showed His dear cowherd comrades His Paradise, which knew no grief

or loss (Vaikunta). He persuaded Nanda to stop the usual Puja for

Indra and to offer worship to the Govardhana Hill, instead. When the

Rain-God Indra, stung by this neglect, poured terrible rains on the

Village, Krishna held aloft on his little finger, the Govardhana Hill

inviting the entire village to take shelter under it!

 

He raised the cowherd boys and maids into ecstatic moods, by means of

His playful pranks and His melodious music on the Flute. To interpret

this as low and sensuous is a sign of foolishness.

 

When Krishna danced in the moonlight [see also SB 10-33

<http://srimadbhagavatam.org/canto10/chapter33.html> ], with the

maids, each maid having a concrete Krishna by her side, it is

interpreted by low minded persons as laxity of morals and as a vulgar

pastime. There is no basis for such inference at all. Krishna was

only five or six years old when these miraculous incidents took

place; how then call the experience be con- demned as lascivious? The

Lord has no attributes or qualities. The Rasa Kreeda, as this,

incident is called, is but a means of rendering the Gopis worthy of

Grace, an example of Devotion and the fruit of Devotion, Dedication.

The Lord was showering on them the Grace they had earned by their

meritorious acts. It was a boon, a blessing.

 

When that super-human Divine Manifestation is taken to be merely

human, lasciviousness and thievishness may be attributed; but,

consider, which human can achieve even an iota of what He did? He

saved the world from the harassment of such monstrous evil-doers as

Pralamba, Dhenuka, Kesi, Banasura, Arishta, Mushtika, Kuvalayapida,

Kamsa, Naraka, Poundraka, Dwividha, Jarasandha, Dantavakra, Sambara,

Kambhoja, Kuru, Matsya, Kaikaya and many such powerful heroes. Can it

be said that all this is within the capacity of a mere man?

 

In this unique Avatar, every act is an amazing miracle. Even when

angry, He could not but evince His overflowing Prema. In Love His

compassion flowed unhindered. Through His Darsan, Sparsan and

Sambhashana, one could earn Liberation. He granted Immortality to

those who reminded themselves of His Name. The cowherds among whom He

lived and moved tasted the nectar of ecstasy whenever they witnessed

His deeds or remembered them.

 

O King! The Bhagavatha is not merely the narrative of the Lord's

story, in the background of Mathurâ, Brindavan, Gokula, the banks of

the Yamunâ, Nanda-Yasodâ, Vasudeva-Devakî, and others. Bhagavatha

includes the stories of all the incarnations of Bhagavân or the Lord.

All incarnations were the manifestations of the selfsame Gopala,

Krishna, from Goloka or Vaikunta. The story of each is but the story

of Vâsudeva, emerging from Him and merging in Him. That Divine Power

is the sustaining factor for all incarnations as well as all living

beings.