Your purpose is successful even when my service isn’t

sthitāgraivaṁ dāmodaraṁ bhakti-baddham

There unfolded the wondrous sight,
Behold the Lord of love and light.
He could not be by rope confined,
Yet bound by love and hands so kind.

(Damodarashtakam — Verse 2, Line 4)

My dear Lord, you are always acting successfully at some level—even when I feel you are not helping me succeed in serving you.

You, O supreme lover, illustrated this truth when you churned mother Yashoda’s heart and led her emotions on an ecstatic journey as she tried to tie you, which she saw as her service to you. Being your mother, she felt duty-bound—indeed, love-bound—to discipline you.

O Lord of all emotion (rasa), first came annoyance at your mischievousness, then anger at its extent, followed by alertness to ensure that once she had caught you, her angry actions neither scared you too much nor scarred you permanently. Then, resolving to tie you instead of using a stick, she felt amazement at her inability to bind you—no matter how much she extended the rope—and finally admiration for how wonderful you truly were.

When her emotions thus turned from agitation to adoration, you reciprocated by allowing yourself to be bound. Though Yashoda struggled and faltered again and again in her attempts, even during that apparent failure, you were leading her toward an ever-deepening, emotionally multihued absorption in you.

Bless me, my well-wishing Lord, to remember that even when my service seems to falter, you are still churning my heart and drawing me, through my emotions, closer to you. Let me not be consumed by what I do or fail to do in the outer world; let me remain open and receptive to what you are doing within my heart.