Damodarashtakam 2 How Krishna is the God of love who fulfills our longing for love
Thank you for coming today, Inay. And today is the sacred occasion of, this is the sacred month of Kartik, and as we sign the Namo Rashtakam. So I'll speak on the topic of how our longing for love is best fulfilled in Krishna.
And I'll talk about this particular verse, and based on that, I will address this topic. Now, all of us at our very core, we have many desires. But our deepest desire is ultimately the longing to love and be loved.
We may want good looks, we may want a lot of wealth, we may want education qualifications, we may want professional positions. We want all of these because we hope that through all of these, we will attract someone's love. We want to become more lovable in other people's eyes.
And this is a very deep and universal longing. Not just in human beings, but in all living beings. And this longing, the Bhakti tradition explains, it originates from the soul.
And it is meant to be directed ultimately to the whole. The soul is a part of the whole. And as long as the soul is disconnected, the whole is the ultimate reality, the absolute truth.
As long as the soul is disconnected from the whole, the soul has a hole in the heart. The soul always feels a sense of emptiness and incompleteness. And because of that, we always keep craving, no matter how much we have, something more, something more, something more.
And this way, we often end up perpetually dissatisfied. So this longing for love is best fulfilled when we direct it toward the ultimate reality. Why? Because that ultimate reality, the Bhagavad Gita describes, is the source of all attractiveness.
Everything attractive in this world manifests a spark of the Lord's splendour. And that means the Lord is like an ocean of attractiveness. And the various objects in this world are like drops of attractiveness.
Now what is this ocean of attractiveness? There are different theistic traditions in the world and they all urge us to direct our hearts and life towards God. But the Bhakti tradition from ancient India gives the most vivid revelation of God. Basically, on any, if you are able to take any journey, say if you decide from here you want to go to the big area, then if you want to go there, there should be something there which makes the journey worthwhile.
If the destination is attractive, that's when we feel the need to go there. Sometimes we travel because of business, sometimes we travel because of profession, sometimes we travel because of pleasure, whichever way. There should be something over there that makes the journey worthwhile.
So similarly for us, if we are to direct our heart from the world towards the Lord, what is it that will make that journey worthwhile? So, there are many traditions which talk about how God's punishment should be feared. And, in the Bible it is said fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. And that, at one level, is true.
We all need to have a certain level of fear of the consequences of our actions. Because the world acts according to natural laws. Now, some people, suppose somebody slips and falls down, do you fall down? He says, no.
I was just testing if gravity still works. Well, if somebody walks up a 10-storey building and they say, I was just testing gravity. Well, if you put gravity to test, gravity will put you to rest.
So, there are immutable laws in the world. And ultimately, we need to harmonise with them. And, these laws work under the supervision of the Supreme.
Krishna says that the laws of material nature work under his supervision. So, at one level, fear of God is essential because otherwise we are disharmonious in the way that nature works. And that will have consequences.
But God is not just an object of fear. Nor is God just a person to be ignorated, to be respected with all your hearts. That's true.
But there's much more than that. And beyond that, God is an object to be loved. So, broadly speaking, Bhaktivinod Thakur, who is a prominent Acharya, is a great Vaishnav saint and scholar.
And he analysed the world's various religions and wisdom texts. And based on that, he said that people may approach transcendence, the ultimate reality, at four different levels. Fear, desire, beauty, and love.
So, fear is, if I don't obey God, I'll be punished. Therefore, I'll be obedient. That's fear.
And, okay, that's also, some amount of fear is also good. That is that, a person who has no fear of God is a person whom I should fear. Because then they have no conscience.
They will do anything at all. So, fear of God is important. But that doesn't mean we live perpetually in terror of God.
This fear is more like a child. It's not so much fear of punishment, as fear of displeasing someone whom we love. A child shouldn't be terrified of the parents.
But a child should have some fear of the parents. My parents. That's how obedience comes.
So, fear is one level. Then beyond that is desire. Desire means that if I worship God, He will give me what I desire.
So, this is at least a little more positive conception. That we are approaching God because we want something from Him. And we think that He will do that.
Not that He will punish us, but He will provide us something desire. So, this is positive, but still this is not a full relationship. It's like, maybe, a child who's grown up with a college student, and the only time that college student calls the parents is when he or she wants money.
Well, at least his calling at that time, the parents will be happy. But still, that's not a very palatable relationship. So, if we go to God only to ask for things from Him.
In Christianity, there is a prayer, O Father, Thou art in heaven. Heaven will be Thine in the end. Give us our daily bread.
So, Prabhupada would say that it is good that they are approaching God for bread. But this prayer, literally shows people's love for bread, not love for God. And if they can start getting bread from some other means, then there is no need for God.
So, desire is also not a very steady level. Above that is duty. And at the level of duty, the idea is not that God will provide me things, but God has already provided me so much.
Our very existence depends on so many things which are beyond our power to arrange for. Right now, we are living, we are taking an end. We don't produce the day.
Even if you say, I work hard and earn money to produce my food, to keep on my food. But still, we don't produce food. Nature produces food.
And even after food is produced, we eat it. But we don't digest it. Scientists have been trying to create artificial replacements for dysfunctional bodily parts.
If somebody has an arm that doesn't work, you can prosthetic limb. If the heart is a problem, you can have a pacemaker. If the kidney is not working, you can have a dialysis unit.
So they are trying, somebody's digestion doesn't work. Can we have artificial digestive machines? They found that what we need is not a machine, but a factory. And not just a factory, at least three years ago, four years ago, they said, the factory will run 51 miles.
Maybe nanotechnology will become smaller. But it's an incredibly complicated process of digestion now. So, the only time, Hare Krishna, the only time we think of our digestion is when it doesn't work.
So, if God gives and forgives, we get and forget. So, that level of beauty, our existence is dependent on many things beyond our own capacities. And thus, a person who is thoughtful feels that God has already provided me so much.
So I have a duty to worship Him, a duty to serve Him. This is a more mature state where, say, the child has grown up, the child has become adult and feels grateful, my parents have so much hope. These are all progressively higher levels.
The highest level is, what level? Love. Love of God. And at the level of love of God, one is interested in God, not for what God does for us, but for what God is, or who God is.
So, for this level to be approached, we need to see God, not just as the provider of desirables, but we need to see God as the supreme desirable. And how do we see God as the supreme desirable? That vision, that revelation, is provided by the Lord's intervention. And here we see, this is a very intimate vision of Krishna in the Damodarashtakam.
The first verse describes how Yashodamayi, Krishna is running away, and Krishna is coming again. And when He started what is happening, Nama Madhudeshwara was angry with Him. And rudantamu, this is the verse which we sang just now, rudantamu gunaitham yudham yujandham.
Rudantamu, Krishna is crying. Now, the world's religious traditions talk about fear of God. But here, there is fear in God.
God is fearful. So what is going on here? Who can God be afraid of? Can anybody be more powerful than God? No. But the idea is, this is such an endearing vision of the Nimayi.
That is, God has no official role. He is the judge. He is the overseer of the universe.
But just like everybody has their professional roles, and they have their personal life. So the bhakti tradition has revealed, especially, God at His home. God in Vrindavan.
He is, in His home, He doesn't delight in the exhibition of Godhood. He delights only in the reciprocation of love. And for that reciprocation of love, He takes on whatever low role is required.
So the world's theologies, various theologies, Theology is the study of God. So various theologies have talked about God in many different ways. But the bhakti theology has one unique revelation.
And that unique revelation is the concept of Leela. Leela means play. That is play or pastime.
What it means is, that God in His personal life, just for the reciprocation of love, performs sweet pastimes and takes whatever role is required for facilitating and intensifying the reciprocation of love. Just like somebody might be a big billionaire. You are a billionaire.
And though they are billionaires, maybe their family get together. And then that billionaire may start doing a drama. And in that drama, that billionaire is acting like a villain.
And he says, I have not eaten for three days. Please give me some food. They may have eaten thrice on the same day.
Why? In the drama, in the drama they act. And actually it's not just acting for the sake of acting. In the sense that, a drama is relished most when the characters actually enter into the role.
The characters start experiencing emotions the way the role is being played. And then the audience also enters into it. And that way they play various roles and have sweet interactions.
Just as a billionaire might play the role of a beggar, similarly, the supreme lord who is the father of all the billions takes the role of a child. And in that role of a child, he is acting fearfully. Now why particularly a child? The idea is that, God experiences and relishes all the rich gamut of relationships that we long for in life.
We, now, God is a supreme being. But, if everybody is simply adoring and worshipping him, then there is only one flavour of that relationship. And, I have travelled across the world.
I have been travelling with some very famous people, some celebrities also. So at one level, often they tell, if you get too close to them, they tell that actually, the closer you get to the top, the lonelier it becomes. Because what happens, you have many admirers.
And when you have fans, when you have admirers, in front of your fans, you always have to put on a front. A front of being flawless, of having a magnetising personality. And, you cannot be yourself.
This is one of the great ironies of life. That sometimes people struggle lifelong to become famous. And once they become famous, then they have to put on black sunglasses and masks to go out for a normal walk.
Because they may get mobbed. And they just, they want to, many of the celebrities whom I have interacted with, they just want to be treated like a normal human being. Now most people feel, I want to be treated like a special human being.
Yeah, that is true. That is a desire which everyone has. But, we all want a wide variety of relationships.
Not just one flavour. So God doesn't delight in His glory. He wants a rich flavour of relationships.
And among those rich flavours of relationships, one is a parental relationship. Although He is the supreme parent of everyone, He wants that He become a child. And He get the love of a parent.
And there are devotees who wish to serve Him in that way. Now, when I say this is a Leela is a play or a pastime, it is not false. It is not a show.
It is actually, everybody enters into that and delights in that. So, when Krishna and His devotees are performing pastimes, as they do in Vrindavan, actually, every one of them enters into that room. And, just like if a person is a billionaire, and they, while acting as a beggar, they maintain that swagger of being a billionaire.
Then they can, you know, they are doing a show, isn't it? Some people do some acting, but they are good at that. They just go through the motions, but there is no emotion. So, not just go through the motion, but to go to the emotion, one has to enter into the room.
So, Krishna, actually, when He starts playing the role of a small baby, a small child, He is entering into that room. And Mother Yashoda enters into that room. And Mother Yashoda, she is, she is concerned, she is upset, she is angry, that why is Krishna being mischievous like this? So, what has happened previously, that Mother Yashoda was offering her breast milk to Krishna, and suddenly, a storm nearby, where she had put some milk, the milk started overflowing.
So, Krishna, he saw the milk is overflowing, and she just left Krishna. Now, she put Krishna down, and she went away. And Krishna was with eyes closed, taking milk from his mother's breast, and suddenly the poor milk is gone.
It's like, suppose, we are savouring our feast, and there is a bowl of sweet rice, and we take one spoon and we eat it, and then we close our eyes and relish it, and then we put our spoon down, and there is no more milk. Hey, what happened? Where did it go? We will get agitated. So, like that, Krishna got agitated.
He saw the milk is gone, she has gone there, she has left me. He got angry. He was angry, and he was hungry.
Both. So, sorry? Hungry. Oh, that's interesting.
Laughter. Who? He's hungry. Yeah, that's right.
Laughter. So, because of this, he saw some milk somewhere, he saw some pots, where there was some yoghurt, some butter, and just broke those pots, ate as much as he could, and the thing was, when we are angry, we do certain things, and then after that, when the anger cools down, we say, what did I do? If we get angry, and then we lash out with our anger, we will give the best, if we are angry, and we speak, we will give the best speech that we will regret. Laughter.
So, he first broke the pots, ate, and then did some mischief, and then he maybe I did too much, and then he decided to run away from there. He ran away, and tried to hide in another room. But then, still, little anger was there.
So, there also, he tried to break some pots, and give some milk to the monkeys. So, Mother Krishna came in, quietly from behind, and so, the whole pastime, she tried to run and run, and Krishna couldn't catch him. Krishna ran away for a long time, and finally, Krishna was caught.
Now, when Krishna was running away, he was really angry, afraid, what will Mother do? And then, when he was finally caught, he was scared, that Mother is going to punish him. So, now he is crying. So, Rudantam Mohur Netram Rudantam, he is crying.
Mohur, again and again, he is crying. Netram, from his eyes, Yugam Rajantam. And tears are coming out.
What is happening? Karanambhoja, which is I am, it is two I am, each of them notices. Yugamena Satamkaritram. So, he is crying, and he is trying to wipe his tears with his hands.
And, Atamka, Atamka is terror. We have Atamka, terrorists. So, Atamka is terror.
So, Sa Atamka, means with terror. So, Krishna is crying. Sometimes, if we have done something wrong, and somebody is angry with us, we don't even have the courage to look up at them in the eyes.
And then, so Krishna is looking down. He is looking up. Is my mother still angry? Okay.
So, Satamka Netram. His eyes are filled with tears. And, because he had just led his mother on a merry-chain and tried to run away and escape.
So, because of that, he is also breathing heavily. Mahishvasakamba. And he is breathing heavily.
His chest is heaving because of that. And Trirekha So, his, on his neck, three lines are formed. His chest is going up and down.
Those three lines are traditionally considered to be a sign of beauty. And, and that Lord Damodar is eventually bound by the rope of his mother. So, here we see the complete inversion of hierarchy.
Normally, a soul lives in fear of God. But here, God is in fear of a soul. And how does that work out? Because Krishna is hungry for the love of his devotees.
And, if a devotee desires to express love in a particular way, Krishna does everything that will enhance their love relationship. You see, if he is a child, he will act as the most endearing child. The most endearing child, who is it? Sometimes a child is very well-behaved, though he isn't.
That's nice. But, in every relationship, there are different mellows which flavour the relationship. See, for any relationship to be sustained, there has to be a certain amount of predictability and a certain amount of unpredictability.
If there is only predictability in a relationship, then it becomes almost like we are interacting with a robot. I know if I speak this, that's what this person will speak. I do this, this person will do this.
If I go, if I… If we get entirely predictable behaviour, then it becomes so predictable that it becomes boring to another. It's like interacting with a robot. But, on the other hand, if a person's behaviour is entirely unpredictable, then also the relationship becomes very unstable.
Because when we say something, we don't know what they are going to say. What will make somebody angry? What will make somebody annoyed? If it's completely unpredictable, then the relationship has no stability. It's almost like we are walking on a territory where there is a minefield.
So, which step will cause a boom, an explosion? So, too much unpredictability is also not healthy for a relationship. So, basically, every relationship to be alive and healthy needs a balanced blend of predictability and unpredictability. Just as it applies in any relationship.
The predictability, in our sense, stabilises the relationship. And the unpredictability spices the relationship. It's like when we eat food, we want it to be nutritious, but we also want it to be tasty.
Something to spice to it. When we do something and another person says, I didn't expect you to say that. That's interesting.
What happens? When we interact with people, the more we interact with them and we see them in different settings, different scenarios, then we get to know them better. So, each life situation, it's like, suppose, you want to do a photoshoot. And then, at the end of the camera, you tend to start in different poses, different postures, and take photos from different angles.
So then, some postures become very attractive, and that becomes like a profile photo or whatever. So, similarly, each situation that we are in, or each situation in which we interact with some other person, that's like a different frame, a different setting in which we see that person. And that way, different situations, they reveal different aspects of that person.
And similarly, Krishna, when he acts as a child, he has this healthy blend of predictivity and unpredictability. So, when he's hungry, he will come to his mother and start crying, demanding, I want food. So, when he starts pulling at her sari and says, Krishna knows I'm hungry now.
Even if he doesn't speak, he knows, she knows that. So, there's a lot of predictability. But then, there is somewhat of unpredictability also.
So, Mother Yashoda didn't think that if I just put him down, he would go and blame all this. And, in Ananda Vrindavan Champu, which is a book written by Kavi Karanapur, where the Krishna Leela, which is given by Srimad Bhagavatam, the Death Canto, is further elaborated by Kavi Karanapur. Then he describes very beautifully what goes on in Mother Yashoda's mind.
Why is she so upset that he's broken some pots? You could say it's just a big mess. I'll have to clean it up. But that's not the only thing.
Mother Yashoda started thinking that till then, now Krishna was small, but she said if Krishna is mischievous like this, and he will develop a reputation of being mischievous. If now Mother Yashoda had heard from some of the other gopis that Krishna sometimes comes and steals butter from us. And she never believed it.
She said, why will Krishna steal butter? And Krishna also, he is such a sweet boy that sometimes some people do wrong, and then they make such a face that you feel, I can't tolerate this person. They act so sweet and innocent and harmless. So, Krishna said, I didn't steal.
Yashoda, why would I steal? You have the best butter at home. So, when you have the best butter, why should I go and steal anyone's place? Mother Yashoda said, why are they saying like this? Actually, they are envious of you. That I stole your butter and not their butter.
So, Krishna, this small, he knows how to flatter his mother also. So, then his mother doesn't believe it. But then, she still has a worry.
Sometimes, what happens? When we hear something negative from someone whom we love, at one level, we don't want to believe that because we trust that person. But still, that thought stays in the mind. Could there be some truth in this? And then, if we see anything else just similar, then that is actually real.
So, now, what happened? Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. So, Yashoda had that fear, is Krishna really like a thief? Does he go and steal? And then, she saw that in her own house, he was doing the same thing. That, he had broken those pots, and then he sneaked out to another chamber where he was stored.
And then, he was stealing from over there. She became upset, not just because he had made a mess of things, but she was upset. What does this mean? Love, at one level, means that we are concerned about the other person, the object whom we love.
But that love, that concern has two aspects. There is concern for the other person's feelings, and there is concern for the other person's future. Both are in a dynamic tension.
Say, that means, if a child doesn't want to study, then the mother may have to speak very strongly, you have to study. But a child may get upset, a child may start crying. The mother is concerned about the child's feelings.
But it's not only about the feelings. The mother is also concerned about the future. And for your future well-being, you must study.
So, if we are concerned only about our loved one's feelings and not their future, then, that is attachment. If we are concerned only about the future and not their feelings, then that is insensitivity. But when we are concerned about their feelings, their present feelings, and their future, both, that is matured love.
That is genuine affection. So, now, Mother Yashoda, she was concerned, what will happen if Krishna steals like this? He will grow up and steal more and more. And then, if it develops a reputation that he is stealing, then, parents, especially in traditional settings, always have a worry.
She starts thinking, if Krishna develops a reputation that he is a thief, then who will give their daughter in marriage to him? And, my Krishna will have to stay alone then. No, no. She gets upset by that.
So, she starts getting worried because of this. And thus, she gets angry. She is not just angry because he has made a mess, but she is worried about his future.
And thus, she catches him, and she has a stick with her. She says, okay, stick. And then, Krishna says, look at the stick.
Krishna is terrified. Mother Yashoda thinks, okay, I don't want to really scare him. I don't want to scare him so much that he becomes paranoid.
So, then she puts the stick on him. And Krishna says, relieved. Mother Yashoda thinks that you cannot go scot-free like this.
So, some punishment has to be there. So, what to do? And she looks around and she says, okay, Krishna has to punish. She says, I will tie you up.
See, now, what happens for all of us, mobility is a basic freedom that we all want. When people are put in the prison, what has happened? Their mobility is restricted. And that is painful.
And especially for children. To be made immobile, children have so much energy. Especially when they are 5, 6, 10 years old, they can exert in maybe 2 hours as much energy as we exert in maybe 20 hours.
There is so much up to there. So, now, for children to be immobilised, that is an especially painful punishment. It's not physically painful.
It's just that the rope is tied around them. But it is actually very it is a big deprivation for them. Now, of course, if Mother Yashoda had been there today, domestic abuse charges would have been filed against her.
So, the ways of parenting have changed. She was completely out of love. And out of love, she wanted to restrain Krishna.
And when she wanted to restrain Krishna, at that time, she tied a rope and she found that the rope just wasn't enough. And she added some more rope. And she added some more rope.
And that itself is a very beautiful pastime of how Krishna, no matter how much rope Mother Yashoda applied, she just couldn't tie him at all. So, what is happening over here? Even with Krishna as a small child, he still remains God. He still retains all the potency of God.
And when he wants, he can manifest that potency. So, Krishna sometimes plays with his mother. And of course, one is just childish, play with mother.
But sometimes, while playing, suddenly he manifests his omnipotence, his divinity. Which is another famous pastime, in which Krishna suddenly reveals to Mother Yashoda that he is God. Or he is divine.
He is not an ordinary child. Eating mud. Yes, eating mud.
After that, when does he actually show? What does he do? Yes. So, Mother Yashoda hears that Krishna has eaten mud. Balram and others come and say, no, I haven't eaten mud.
He says, no, are they lying? Oh no, they just want to get me into trouble. She says, no, but do you think your Balram will lie? Krishna doesn't say anything at that time. He says, okay, go, open your mouth.
And he opens his mouth. And now, normally, if our mouths are open, probably we might see some dental fissures. Some cavities or something like that.
But, when she opens the mouth and she sees the whole universe in Krishna's mouth. And not only does she see the whole universe, she actually sees the whole universe and she sees Vrindavan. And in Vrindavan, she sees herself.
And she sees herself looking at Krishna's mouth. So, it's like sometimes in computers, you have picture in picture. So, you have big picture and you have small picture.
But, in picture in picture technology, if you see the viewers, you see themselves. So, it's like Krishna reveals. And you should start thinking, what is going on? Am I asleep and am I dreaming? Or is this some kind of illusion which Maya has put me in? She says, I'm sleeping.
I'm awake. She says, Maya put me in some illusion. She says, I'm simply an innocent cowherd girl.
Why would Maya bother with me? Why would she mess with me? And he says that, is Krishna some extraordinary boy? Is Krishna some celestial, some god? She says, but no. Who is Krishna? How can he be god? He says, when he is hungry, he starts crying and he can't wait even for a few moments. If he can't even control his senses, how can he be god? He says, I'm confused.
What is this? What is going on? And as he sees his mother getting confused like this, she starts thinking maybe something extraordinary is going on. And her mood starts changing towards reverence, toward Krishna. And Krishna doesn't like that mood of reverence.
अईश्वर्य शितिल भक्ति न ईश्वर्य न भुजाय अईश्वर्य शितिल भक्ति न ईश्वर्य न भुजाय In the Chaitanya Charita, if, with his intimate devotees, if Krishna finds that they are approaching him with great reverence, that, he feels, weakens their devotion, weakens the intensity of their affection. And therefore, he says, he doesn't want this. So, Krishna exhibits this temporarily and then he stops it.
Suddenly, Mother Yudhisthira opens, suddenly she looks and she says, Oh, it's Krishna with his open mouth. And the whole universe disappears. She says, what happened? And as she is thinking, Krishna suddenly says, Ma, I am hungry.
And he runs to her and hugs her. Mother Yudhisthira forgets everything. All at CSC.
Similarly, sometimes, Krishna plays and he exhibits his omnipotence sometimes. And that is what he also does over here. Mother Yudhisthira is trying to tie him.
At one level, she has caught him. She has caught him. She is fearful and she has tied him to the grinding mortar.
Krishna had been standing on the grinding mortar and as he was standing on the grinding mortar, he was reaching out to the butter pots, breaking the butter pots, getting the butter from there and feeding various monkeys around him. So, especially in childhood, there is a tendency for parents to personify the objects with which the children play. Just like if a child maybe hits their head against a wall and the parents will come, oh, this wall hurt you? I'll slap this wall.
Slap. See, I punished this wall. And the child feels a little good by that.
So, and children have their toys and they give names to their toys and they personify their toys. So, similarly, what Mother Yudhisthira does is she says, Krishna, this grinding mortar is your accomplice in crime. You broke the pots and you spilled the butter and gave it to monkeys and how did you do it? By standing on this mortar.
So, because this mortar is your accomplice in crime, so, I will tie both of you together. And that's how she tries to tie both of them together. And at one level, Krishna is like a small child who is fearful of his mother.
But at another level, he is also God. And suddenly, see this is the predictability and unpredictability. The predictability is like a child who has been caught after doing something wrong while his mother is fearful.
And that's the predictable part. But suddenly, Krishna manifests the unpredictable part. What is it? He is a child but he is not a very child.
His mother tries to tie him but he is just not able to tie. And, when children are small, as children grow up, they dress themselves. When children are very small, the parents dress them.
So, that very morning, Mother Yudhisthira has tied a thread around Krishna's waist. She said, the morning I tied, that was a small thread and I was able to tie. And now there is so much rope and I am not able to tie.
What's going on? And she gets more rope. And she gets more rope. And it's not enough.
And then, Vrindavan has a small town mystique to it. A small town appeal to it. Like, in big cities, people often don't even know their neighbours.
People live in apartments but apartments are not apart. You know, they are very close to each other. People may live with their neighbours but they just don't know each other.
But in small towns, everybody knows everyone. And if anything unusual happens in anyone's house, everybody comes to know about it. So, in a sense, nowadays people have this concern about privacy.
And my private information should not be stolen or lost or misused. That's a valid concern. But in small towns and villages, there is no privacy.
Everybody knows everybody else's life. What is going on in their homes and their lives. So now, when Krishna is being caught and punished by Mother Yashoda, that news spreads everywhere.
And all the other neighbouring ladies come. And the men have gone out for taking care of the cows, for grazing them. So the ladies come and they say, Mother Yashoda is trying to tie and they are not able to tie.
And they get ropes from their place. They get more and more and more rope and still they are not able to tie. And finally, Mother Yashoda is getting exhausted.
And Krishna, he is, Krishna interacts at multiple levels. At one level, he is still upset with Mother Yashoda. He says, you made me run like that.
Now, I will make you run. And what will make you run? Not physically. She also ran physically earlier.
But now she is running around trying to get more ropes. And she holds on to Krishna. Others run around with the ropes.
And Krishna gets exhausted. Krishna, what should I do now? He starts thinking. And now Krishna thinks, okay, I have played enough with them.
And also the Acharya has described that actually, initially Mother Yashoda is very angry. And anger is in the lower modes. It's in Rajas and Tamas.
The lower modes of passion and ignorance. And as long as one is in the mode of passion and ignorance, one cannot perceive things clearly. Generally, when we are in passion, we overestimate our capacities.
We think, any problem, I can solve it. Any job, I can do it. In ignorance, we underestimate our capacities.
Every job seems too much. I can't do it. I can't do it.
But in goodness, we start estimating realistically. What is within my capacity and what is not within my capacity. So generally, in the mode of goodness, perception becomes clear.
So initially, Mother Yashoda is in the mode of passion. She is upset and angry with Krishna. But as she keeps trying to tie Krishna, tie Krishna, she is not able to tie Krishna.
She starts thinking, what is this wonderful, amazing, how amazing my child is. So her thoughts shift from her anger with Krishna to Krishna. And thus, at one level, she is always a pure devotee.
But at that time, she rises from anger to appreciation of Krishna. How wonderful she is. And then, Krishna is not conquered by anyone who is in the lower modes.
But Krishna submits himself to be bound when his mother appreciates him out of her love. And then eventually, Krishna's ropes are two fingers short. But finally, she is able to tie them.
So those two fingers represent our endeavour and God's grace. Whenever we have to do something, we have to do our part and then God also has to bestow His grace. Then everything works out.
So here it is said, He became fixed at one place. Bound. How? He was not bound by ropes.
The rope was simply a physical instrument. But the physical instrument was inadequate. Because what bounded was the love of her heart.
The loving concern which she had. The great affection that she had. And Krishna saw that.
And out of that, he was bound. So, this again, this last vakti paddam, this also demonstrates the amazing inversion of hierarchy. Normally, we are all in this world karma paddam.
And we are bound by our karma and it is one of the names of Bhagawan is Mukunda. Mukunda means the granter of liberation. So we are bound and it is God who liberates us.
But here what has happened? Here God is bound. And what is it that can bind the infinite? That is bhakti alone. Such is the power of love that Krishna demonstrated in the past times of Indra.
Krishna out of love for His devotees and seeing their love for Him, takes on a completely subordinate role. Being ready to become bound by them. And that all-loving Krishna is present in the hearts of each one of us.
He is present as a super soul, as the paramatma. And He is present because He loves us, because He cares for us, because He wants the best for us. Ishwara sarva bhutana videshe arjuna tishthati brahman sarva bhutahe yantrarandhani mayaya So He resides in every heart and He guides everyone to take wise decisions.
To come to direct ultimately the wisest decision is to direct our love towards the Lord. So here we all want someone to love us. And not just someone to love us but someone who is really loving.
Someone who is attractive, somebody who is powerful, somebody who is wise. We want to have a relationship with somebody like that. But here there is a supremely wise, supremely beautiful, supremely strong person who is already there in our heart.
And He already wants to have a relationship with us. And the pastimes of Krishna are at one level descriptions of what has happened in the past. But they are also invitations that this is something we all can join.
They are both a trailer of what happened. Like a movie has a trailer. Watch the full movie.
Krishna Leela is like a trailer. Have you seen some pastimes which are described in the wisdom texts? The bhakti texts. There are many many more pastimes that happen endlessly in the spiritual world.
This is a trailer that we get. And Krishna's pastimes are not just a trailer they are also a trail. Trail means that they are the path.
If we absorb ourselves in Krishna's pastimes we develop our devotion to Krishna. And by that absorption in Him we can have elevation to Him. If we strive to remember Him.
If we strive to make Him our foremost love in the world. Then, if we remember Him throughout our life by practising bhakti, we'll remember Him at the time of death. And if we remember Him at the time of death, then we will attain His eternal abode.
For one who has devoted themselves to Krishna, at death we won't leave home. At death we will go home. Because home is the place where our loved ones are.
So if we practise bhakti diligently then Krishna will become our greatest loved one. And then at death we won't leave home, we will go home. And that is the invitation that these beautiful pastimes of Krishna offer all of us.
That every one of us can direct our love toward Krishna and experience loving reciprocation in this world and beyond in this world for all of eternity. So I'll summarise. I spoke on the topic of how our longing for love is best fulfilled in Krishna.
So we seek various things. We will seek wealth, looks, positions, possessions. All so that we can become more lovable and we can gain love.
That is the universal longing in all living beings. However, the love that we get in the world is temporary. It doesn't last forever.
This longing for love is best fulfilled when we direct it toward the Lord. He is all-attractive and how He is all-attractive is revealed in the bhakti tradition. Among all the various traditions in the world, God is approached on different levels.
What are the four levels? Fear, desire, duty, and love. So, fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. It is good to have fear but not, that shouldn't be the basis of the relationship.
Fear is a restrainer. If a person has, somebody has no fear of God, then that person is, we should have fear of that person. Because they have no conscience.
But there is a negative conception of God. And there is desire where we think that God will provide me things. That's a more positive conception but still it's utilitarian.
Like a child approaching the parents only when they need money. Then there is duty. We see what all God has already provided me.
And therefore I should be, I should worship by the service to Him in reciprocation. However, in all these three, the focus is on what God is giving me. It's not primarily of God.
But at the level of love, the focus shifts primarily to God. And that, what is described is that actually the bhakti tradition reveals how Krishna is so, how the ultimate reality is so lovable. That is through the concept of leela.
God does not delight in the display of Godhood. But He performs leela, play, pastimes, for the sake of reciprocating love. And in that even He takes positions which are subordinate to His devotees.
This is a billionaire may play the role of a beggar. The Lord, whom everyone fears, He is in fear of His mother. Because He wants to reciprocate with the devotees who want to love Him in a maternal mood.
And He also wants to relish love in it, in all its flavours. We talked about how a loving relationship has both a predictable and unpredictable aspect. So Krishna behaves like a child predictably at times and sometimes unpredictably He becomes mischievous.
So here I saw Krishna became mischievous and He broke some pots and He stole the butter. Mother Yashoda became upset, not just because He had created a mess but because she was concerned about His future. Love means that we are concerned about other person's feelings and their future.
Concern only for their feelings and not for the future's attachment. Concern only for the future and not their feelings is insensitivity. So Mother Yashoda in this case, because she is worried if Krishna develops a reputation of being a thief then He will be ruined.
So then she decides to punish Him. And while punishing, she tries to tie up Krishna. But Krishna He plays.
And one way He plays the unpredictability is sometimes He acts like an ordinary child and sometimes like God. Just as He showed the universe within Him here He now He mystically arranges so that the rope is always inadequate. And thus Krishna has this endearing oscillation between ordinary child and the divine child.
And finally Mother Yashoda's emotion shifts from anger to appreciation of Krishna. Her consciousness rises upward. Then Krishna lets Himself be tied.
And He is tied not by physical ropes but by actually the love of His mother, by the devotion. So that Lord who is so hungry for love that He is ready to completely invert the cosmic hierarchy. People are bound in karma but He is Himself bound.
That Lord who is so loving is present in the hearts of all of us. Wanting us to love Him. And the practise of bhakti is the way by which we express our love for Him and we have entered into a loving relationship with Him.
And if we understand how loving Krishna is, then we see Krishna's pastimes both as a trailer of how wonderful life with Krishna is as well as a trail. Because remembering these pastimes, absorbing ourselves in these pastimes enables us to become closer and closer to Him till He becomes our foremost attachment. And then at the time of death we won't leave home but we will go home.
Thank you very much. So any questions or comments? Yes. Yes.
Yes, definitely. Yes, you perform these pastimes so that for all generations devotees can have something to hear, to speak, to remember. Ultimately to participate.
Thank you. Okay. Okay.
Any questions? Any questions? Okay. So when Krishna oscillates between His Godhood and His Childhood, so what is the message that He is conveying? It's just that, like I said, the relationship is spiced. Then there's some amount of unpredictability in it.
And then that increases the things we remember about this. See, if you look back at our past, you don't see the past simply as a flat plain or a flat plateau. If you look back at the past, last six months, last one year, what do we remember about the past? It's the unusual events.
It's, oh, that day that happened. That time we went there and that happened. So in a sense, our memory is not just linear or symmetric.
Our memory zeros in on that which is unusual. And if you can apply the same thing to the relationships also. At one level, if somebody is predictable, there is some stability in the relationship.
And that makes us feel safe and protected. But then, if we want to look back at specific moments, then it is the time when something out of the ordinary happened. Maybe the other person did something special to express their affection for us, spoke some words, did some actions.
Some situations came up in which we saw some strength of character in the other person. Or of course, the other way also, we saw some weakness. But that's what we remember.
So it is usually in our memory, it is the extremes that stand out. So Krishna also wants to intensify the love of his devotees for him. And thus, sometimes, every parent has a dream that my child will be extraordinary.
And Krishna does something extraordinary. His mother is astounded. She is also delighted.
So that's how Krishna basically does whatever is required to flavour and intensify the relationship with his mother. His oscillating between Godhood and Childhood is simply to intensify the relationship with his mother. Beyond that, there can be specific reasons, specific pastimes.
Like in this pastime, we will see that he will bring down the trees and deliver the celestials. So, contextually, each pastime may have a particular purpose. But overall, the purpose is to flavour and intensify the relationship.
Thank you. Very nice. That was a very nice point you made that when we are in the mode of ignorance, then we underestimate compassion, we overestimate goodness.
So, in fact, my practise is professional life. So, mostly, the work is going on in the mode of compassion. So, basically, in order to make the right decision, there has to be a mode of goodness.
So, how to do that? So, in our professional life, we are often in the mode of passion. We are in the mode of achieving. That's okay.
It's not that Arjuna, when he was fighting the Kurukshetra war, was he in the mode of passion at that time? No, he was basically always intent was transcendental. But the activity, you have to fight. Calmly, you know, you have to be busy, super fast.
So, different roles may require different ways of functioning. But, there is, there's a time when we, even in competitive circles, there's a time for planning, there's a time for debriefing. So, when we are in the heat of the moment, we may act fast.
But, there should be a time when we regulate ourselves. With respect to our professional life, and even our sadhana that we do, that's also meant to anchor us in goodness. We can't expect to always be in goodness, because the world around us is in passion.
But being completely in passion is also unhealthy. So, when it is required, we might be in passion. See, being in passion is not necessarily a problem.
Being controlled by the mode of passion is the problem. That means we can never go out of passion. And that's the problem.
Using devices is fine. But some people just can't put down the device. Like, five minutes they have to put down the device.
Now there are apps, which you know, somebody showed me an app called Zen Mode or something. You make a commitment that the next 20 minutes you will not touch the phone. And then the phone gets locked for 20 minutes.
And that causes anxiety to me. 20 minutes I can't even touch the phone. So, using a phone is no problem.
It's a vital necessity in today's world in many ways. But being obsessed with it can be a problem. Similarly, being in passion is not a problem.
Being controlled by the mode of passion is a problem. So, if we have other activities that we are doing in goodness and we are regulating ourselves, then that's reasonable enough. We can't exist like transcendental bubbles unaffected by the world around us.
We have to function in the world. But we don't have to be consumed by the world and its value systems. We try to maintain our value system and function in the world.
Did I answer your question? Thank you very much.