Your tears don’t diminish your glory—they deepen it

rudantam muhur netra-yugmaṁ mṛjantam

He wept and rubbed his tear-filled eyes,
His cries rose loud with aching sighs.
The Lord who wipes everyone’s tears,
Now cried, his heart filled with fears.

(Damodarashtakam — Verse 2, Line 1)

My dear Lord, you have the power to remove the tears of everyone. Indeed, when life brings me to tears and takes away my power to remove them, that’s when I turn to you—not merely as a cultural custom or religious ritual, but as an existential necessity.

O all-good Lord, you can do what I cannot—wipe away my present tears. Beyond that, with your glance, you can destroy all the desires that impel me to actions that end in distress. With your gentle smile, you can infuse my heart with such joy that whatever distress remains becomes weightless.

O omnipotent Lord who can remove the tears of all beings, how can you be moved to tears by the fear of your mother’s chastisement? Help me, my Lord, to appreciate this wondrous mystery that reveals how much you seek and savor love. Indeed, to facilitate loving pastimes with your devotees such as mother Yashoda, you readily conceal your supremacy so that love can reign supreme. When you cry, your tears do not diminish your greatness; they magnify your glory, for they reveal the supreme power of love—the love that subordinates divinity to elevate intimacy.

O infinitely loving Lord, please bless me to take pleasure in and taste that divine love above everything else in this world.