CC daily 58 – M 5.24-28 – Our decisions are shaped not just by our determination, but also others’ expectations

Chaitanjali Tamil Madhya Leela chapter 5 text 24 so this is a part of a conversation between the two brahmanas the elder brahmana elderly brahmana has offered his daughter Kanyadaan to the younger brahmana as an expression of gratitude for the service that the younger brahmana has rendered the younger brahmana is saying no no I did not serve you for any such thing he said I served you in order to please Krishna when brahmanas are served at that time Krishna becomes very pleased Krishna becomes very pleased and by the when Krishna is pleased Bhakti Sampad Bhakti Sampad the treasure of bhakti increases so here we see the elevated consciousness of this brahmana, younger brahmana although he has just said that I am Akulin and a Dhanavidyahin he has actually great understanding understanding of the subtleties and the dynamics of bhakti he says that actually when we serve the brahmanas now in general whether it is the Bhagavatam or the Chaitanya Charita Amrit usually it is understood that the brahmanas are Vaishnavas are devotees they are and so when the word brahmana is used often it is used interchangeably with the devotees unless of course the pastime is drawing a contrast between somebody who has brahmanical qualities but does not have devotion as compared with somebody who may not be a brahmana but has devotional qualities say like Durvasa Muni and Ambarish Maharaj the story which comes in 9th Canto but usually brahmanas are considered to be respectable and often it is understood that they are devotees so here he is talking about Brahmana Seva that when brahmana says Krishna Krishna is not only pleased but he is very pleased Krishna is hugely pleased in the Bhagavatam it is said that Krishna says that I am not as much pleased by offering sacrifices in the Yajna as I am when food is offered to the brahmanas through whom I eat Krishna Eta Preeti Bada Hai so this scripture will import that the best way to please Krishna is by serving his devotees that this particular young brahmana knows so he has actually learned and then Tahaara Santoshe what happens when Krishna is pleased, what do we get sometimes people think if God is pleased he will give me money he will give me power, he will give me connections so he says no, Tahaara Santoshe by his by his pleasure Bhakti Sampada Bada Hai Bhakti Sampada Bada Hai that our treasure of Bhakti increases so in general a person who has a treasure and who realizes the value of the treasure, cherishes it and wants to increase it so a devotee understands what a great treasure Bhakti is that Bhakti is what will last forever Bhakti is what will give lasting fulfillment so therefore the taste of Bhakti devotee gets and devotee wants to preserve it and increase it and he says that I serve you not to get any material gain but simply to please you, to please Krishna and therefore to enhance my devotion I did not want anything material now further he says so after the younger Vipra protested about the agreement which the elder Vipra had made this elderly Vipra responded do not have any doubt do not have any hesitation that I will give my daughter to you this is my resolve I have decided it and I am going to do it now it is not that the elderly Brahmana was not aware of the difficulties so he is saying that you don't have any doubts I have the position, I have the power I have the plan by which whatever difficulties come I will overcome them, this is my resolve so the younger Brahmana said that okay he is now actually anticipating obstacles to what the elderly Brahmana is proposing and then he is saying that we have to plan how to deal with this you have wife, you have children you have sons and you have many family relationships and you have a large social circle so in general when we live in a community our decisions are often not our own we may want to take a particular decision but if everyone around us disapproves that decision criticizes us for that decision sometimes even rejects us for that decision then it often becomes very difficult to stick to that decision because we all need a sense of community we all need a sense of acceptance we all need to feel accepted and even to some extent respected in the community where we belong that is a natural human need and that concern about being accepted and respected that also drives many of our decisions or that pushes us to change our decisions after we make them so he is pointing out that you may have resolved to do it but your decisions are not your own we don't live in an isolated independent place we live in a community and that community we have to actually decide how to live with a proper sense of considering what others will say and accordingly know the difficulty level of that decision and then take a proper decision so without the without the consent of without their consent you will not be actually able to give your daughter so he is immediately in the culture was so centered on scripture that whenever even now we see it is a very mundane point we want to say you cannot marry you cannot even give your daughter in marriage without the consent of your family members now we may say this is a common sense point but the people's consciousness was so absorbed in scripture and especially this particular brahmana's consciousness was so absorbed in scripture again it proves the falsity that when he says that I am Vidyahin he is actually quite learned he learned in scripture immediately he is quoting from scripture and he says so Rukmini's father Bhishmak is the praman is the proof for that so how deep is the consciousness how deeply absorbed in scripture is the consciousness that not only for for spiritual points scriptural precedent is being talked about but even for a social point for a familial point immediately a scriptural precedent is being talked about Narila Harpite so he says over here Bhishmaka's desire was what that I wanted to give he wanted to Krishna Kanya Samarpite he wanted to give his daughter to Krishna but he had a son that son Rukmi Narila Harpite but his son opposed it his son was Rukmi and Rukmi wanted to give wanted to have his sister married to his friend Shishupal and now normally the father is the head of the family and the father's word is said to be supposed to be final but again the father also if there is strong opposition from within the family father may also not be able to implement his will and that's what is that's what happened to Rukmi's father and Bhishmaka although he wanted his daughter to be married to Krishna because his son opposed he could not do it so the younger saying that similarly it will not be easy for you to do this so please as he will say in the future don't take such a don't make such a decision don't take such a resolution without considering all the complications that will be involved so we see how the brahmana the younger brahmana is so learned and so considerate about the problems that may come up with a unconsidered promise and this itself shows his considerate nature we'll continue the story in our next talk.