SB 01.15.10 – Let our chanting and our dramatic and traumatic times symbiotically increase our relationship with Krishna

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.15.10 Arjuna is speaking to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira and he is talking about one of the most fulfilling and one of the most agonizing incidents from their life, both of which were related to their beloved wife Krishna or Draupadi. Draupadi also because she was dark complexioned, she was also known as Krishna.
So Mahābhīṣeka during the Rajasuya sacrifice, the queen along with the king, they were decorated very beautifully and then they performed the sacrifice. So patnāsthava dhimakaklipta mahābhiseka. So although Draupadi is the wife of Arjuna also, Arjuna is so respectful here to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja and he is saying patnāsthava, it is your wife, your Arjuna’s wife.
During that glorious sacrifice, she was well dressed and within the sacrifice, there is the bathing that happens and at that time the mahābhiseka. So her hair were very beautifully decorated and there are different ways in which honor is offered in the Vedic culture which we may not be able to conceive of right now. But at that time the mahābhiseka when it is poured on the hair, that is considered to be in Vedic culture a great honor.
So that Draupadi who was so greatly honored. Now in the Vedic culture women were cherished and the honor of the woman was considered to be the honor of the whole family and the dishonor of the woman was considered to be the dishonor of the whole family. So when Draupadi was just decorated and during the mahābhiseka her hair was bathed, that was considered to be a glory for the whole family, for the whole Kuru dynasty.
In fact, Kuru means Kauravas and Pandavas, both are in the Kuru dynasty. But then in the Asat Sabha, in the assembly of the Kauravas where Draupadi was dragged by Dushyasana and he caught her by the hair. As she was dragged by her hair, her hair had become already loosened because of being dragged by the hair and as he dragged and pulled her, she fell to the ground in despair.
And when this great dishonor was done to Panchali, what was the reaction to that? Just as they dishonored, the Kauravas dishonored Panchali, similarly their queens were dishonored. So actually in the Vedic culture again, if a woman dies, oh sorry, if a man dies, then at least during the period of mourning, the woman loosens her hair. So in the first case, the loosening of the hair is a sign of being forcibly dishonored.
And in the second case, it is a sign of grieving, of mourning because of the loss of one’s husband. So and he is saying, Akrita Hatesha, Hatha Eesha, the Eesha refers to the lord or master. The Kuru queens, they lost their husbands because all hundred Kauravas were killed and their queens also wept.
Now in this case, Krishna in both cases was actually present and yet not present. Krishna was not directly present in the gambling match, but he came to rescue Draupadi’s honor by providing endless saree. And in the war when the Kauravas were killed, Krishna did not lift any weapons, yet he lifted the hearts of the Pandavas just by his presence.
And just by his presence, he sank the hearts of the Kauravas because Krishna used his intelligence and his omniscience to give the Pandavas timely guidance by which they were able to make the correct moves and attain ultimate victory. So in both cases, although Krishna was not active, still he was active and Arjuna is acknowledging that and he’s saying that it is O Yudhishthira Maharaj, that lord who was there at the Rajasuya sacrifice, who was there for us at the time of our greatest dishonor and then who was at the time when we were able to avenge, take revenge for the dishonor, for that lord is the lord whom I am remembering right now. It is that lord who was central to all our lives, good and bad times.
So actually a devotee even when there are dramatic and traumatic events in life which don’t seem connected to Krishna, a devotee sees how whatever is happening is ultimately the plan of Krishna and devotee directs whatever intense material emotions might be there coming from those dramatic or traumatic situations, a devotee directs them towards Krishna, trying to see the hand of Krishna in those events, trying to feel the guidance of Krishna and all that seeing the hand, feeling the guidance that becomes possible when we are able to connect with Krishna, when he is more readily accessible and perceivable to us, when we are praying to him, when we are chanting his holy names, at that time if we tune our consciousness to Krishna more and more, then at other times also we will be able to absorb, we will be able to see the Krishna factor and when we see the Krishna factor in those dramatic and traumatic times, then that will inspire us to take more shelter of Krishna through prayer and meditation and chanting and in this way our time of spiritual sadhana and our time while doing other activities will become mutually symbiotic in increasing our relationship with Krishna and our consciousness of Krishna. Thank you.