Even after getting the darshan of the Lord, why do Kardama Muni or Aditi not become free from their material desires, the way Dhruva Maharaj did?

Question:
When Dhruva Maharaj prayed to the Lord for a kingdom, he lost that desire after seeing the Lord. But others like Kardama Muni or Aditi seemed to still want the fulfillment of their desires. Was that due to a lack of purification on their part? And since Kardama Muni is a great soul, can we say that their desire was also the Lord’s desire?

Answer:
Yes, there are multiple levels at which things happen in such pastimes. Let’s explore them systematically.

1. Free Will and Divine Will

The soul always has free will, and spiritual advancement involves harmonizing that free will with God’s will. It’s important to understand that God’s will is not always a single, fixed path—it’s often a direction. Different souls can align with that direction in different ways.

For example, in the spiritual world, everyone wants to please Krishna, yet Radharani and Chandravali—both pure devotees in Madhurya-rasa—please Him in contrasting ways. Radharani sometimes expresses displeasure, making Krishna earn her favor, whereas Chandravali fears displeasing Krishna and remains ever submissive. Both are acting according to Krishna’s plan, yet their individuality is fully preserved.

This individuality implies that not every thought or desire is externally planted by Krishna. Krishna wants loving reciprocation, not mechanical puppetry. So while He is omniscient (in terms of tattva), in lila He often appears to act as if He doesn’t know—like when He searches for butter or appears confused when Brahma steals the calves and cowherd boys.

Thus, individuality remains even in the purified stage, what to speak of in the conditioned stage. Aligning with God’s will doesn’t necessarily mean following a single predetermined path.

2. Degrees of Material Desire

When a soul comes before the Lord and experiences Him—whether through darshan or even through hearing—the degree of transformation depends on the nature of the desire and the individual’s free will.

We often categorize desires simply as “material,” but that’s a broad category. Material desires can be sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic. Just as “Asians” is one category that includes diverse subgroups, material desires also vary greatly.

• Tamasic desire: Hiranyakashipu’s wish to gain power and destroy the universe.
• Rajasic desire: Dhruva Maharaj’s wish to attain a kingdom greater than his father’s.
• Sattvic/less rajasic desire: Aditi’s desire to protect her children from danger.

Wanting to protect one’s children or to have children within a virtuous marriage isn’t simply a self-centered or sensual desire. It reflects care and responsibility for others.

3. Contextual Duty and Divine Plan

Aditi’s desire was aligned with her duty as a mother. Similarly, Kardama Muni was instructed by his father and teacher, Brahma, to perform austerities and beget children for the continuation of creation. These were not whims of selfish indulgence—they were part of the cosmic order.

Even if we consider the desire to populate the universe as material, it still serves a divine purpose, because the material world exists to facilitate the soul’s journey back to God. So in that sense, Kardama Muni’s desire was not impure or lacking in devotion—it was aligned with divine will and fulfilled through spiritual discipline.

Rather than questioning why he didn’t give up the desire after seeing the Lord, we should appreciate that even for an apparently worldly activity like having a child, he performed such intense austerities that the Lord Himself appeared and shed tears at Kardama’s devotion (at Bindu Sarovar). His example should be lauded, not doubted.

4. Avoiding Extremes: Demonizing Human Desires

Sometimes in the name of pure devotion, ordinary human desires—like wanting to protect or care for family—are unfairly minimized or even demonized. But in cases like Aditi’s, her children were homeless due to the demons’ tyranny. Wanting their protection was not selfish—it was dharmic and maternal.

5. Different Narratives, Different Lessons

Each pastime in scripture has a different focus:

• Dhruva Maharaj: How intense devotion can fulfill material desires and purify materialistic mentality.
• Kardama Muni: How austere devotion can lead to divine descent—Kapila Muni was born from his union.
• Aditi: A chapter in the cosmic war between divine and demoniac forces, leading to the Vamana avatar.

So we can say that the interplay of:

• the Lord’s plan,
• the devotee’s intention,
• the devotee’s inclination, and
• the mode and context of the interaction

—all determine the overall trajectory of a devotee’s journey. These examples remind us that spiritual advancement is not always about rejecting all desires, but about refining and harmonizing them with the divine will.