Hare krsna
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
17. Grateful
18. Determined
19. Expert Judge of Time and Circumstance
“Any person who is conscious of his friend’s beneficent activities and never forgets his service is called grateful.” (NOD, Chap. 21, p. 166) Lord Krsnaa was grateful to Draupadî because while He was away from her, she cried with folded hands, “He Govinda!” Krsnastates, “This call for Me has put Me in her debt, and that indebtedness is gradually increasing in My heart!” The mahå-mantra (Hare Krsna Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna Hare Hare/ Hare Råma Hare Råma, Råma RåmaHare Hare) is also simply an address to the Lord and His energy. So to anyone who is constantly engaged inaddressing the Lord and His energy, we can imagine how much the Supreme Lord is obliged. It is impossible for the Lord to ever forget such a devotee. It is clearly stated in this verse that anyone who addresses the Lord immediately attracts the attention of the Lord, who always remains obliged to him. —NOD, Chap. 21, p. 166 Someone may think that God is not obliged to anyone. That is true in the sense that God doesn’t borrow power from anyone. Neither does He need anyone’s favor. No one can add to His stature by offering Him gifts. He is never in trouble and never needs help. By His causeless mercy, however, He is grateful to His devotees.
Kesna is a person and He has all-attractive qualities. He is strong and hard (“Of punishment I am the rod of chastisement”), but also soft and grateful when He is offered anything with devotion. The Supreme Lord desires that the lost souls, His parts and parcels, rejoin Him in His eternal pastimes. He asks us to give up our sinful life of disobedience and perform devotional service. When a jîva responds to Krsna’s advice, Krsna is grateful. He is especially pleased when someone favors His pure devotees who work on His behalf in this world. When I make an effort in my chanting of the holy name, Kesna is grateful. I must have faith in His reciprocation. I may still be struggling to overcome the ten offenses, but Krsna is more pleased than displeased if He sees I am chanting sincerely. Krsna magnifies whatever good we do. Therefore, we should not become depressed by our slowness. At least we should never give up our practices or think that Krsna doesn’t hear us. He hears everything and He is keen to see the good essence in our attempts. He is bhåva-gråhî janårdana. It is comforting to meditate on Krsna’s quality of gratefulness. The pure devotee takes pleasure in hearing and chanting about the qualities, names, and forms of Rådhå and Mådhava. “In Him reside . . . [these and] many other qualities, which are eternally present and never to be separated from Him.” (Bhåg. 1.16.26–30) Krsna is determined. The example of the Lord’s determination given in The Nectar of Devotion shows His decision to always protect and please His devotees. When He decided to fetch the pårijåta flower from the heavenly planets to please Satyabhåmå, Lord Krsna was undeterred even when Indra and all his allies tried to defeat Him. Recalling that victory, Srî Krsna said to Nårada, “ . . . declare to the devotees in general, and to the nondevotees in particular, that . . . none could make Me break My promise to My queen.” (NOD, Chap. 21, p. 167) Krsna makes this promise not only to His favorite queen, but to all devotees: “O son of Kuntî, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.” (Bg. 9.31) Let us not be faithless or forgetful of Krsna’s promise. Let us respond with gratitude. We have such a dear and grateful Supreme Personality of Godhead to serve; surely His service deserves our utmost determination. “Krsna, I shall never desert You. By Your grace, I will always be resolute in service to my spiritual master. If by some trick of måyå I am diverted, I will use all my powers to get back on track. Please keep me in Your care.”Krsna is also an expert judge of time and circumstance. If God were simply all-powerful and had no tact or consideration, He could push His programs through with no care for time or circumstance. Ruthless dictators act like this. Their only criteria are to fulfill their own desires. Krsna responds to a situation by looking for the most satisfaction for Himself and His devotees. If necessary, He can adjust the circumstances to make them more favorable, or He can make the inauspicious time auspicious by His own will. For example, as the yuga-avatåra, the Lord introduced a system of religion appropriate for the age. Kali-yuga is a bad age. People’s life duration is short and they are always disturbed. Judging these circumstances, He appeared as the most merciful Lord Caitanya and granted a dispensation: in the age of Kali people can attain the highest goal, love of God, simply by chanting His holy names. When Krsna appeared in Mathurå, the moon was waning. Because taking birth during a waning moon is considered inauspicious, He arranged for the full moon to accompany His appearance. He also took advantage of the full moon night in autumn, in the best place in the universe, Vrndåvana, to enact His råsa dance with the most beautiful girls, the gopîs. All this was arranged by His maidservants, Yogamåyå and Virndå-devî, but ultimately, the arrangement is under the Lord’s control. Since Krsna is so grateful and considerate of persons and situations, we should be that way also, as His servants. We should appreciate Krsna’s efforts to save conditioned souls. He has done everything possible to bring us out of the suffering of material life. We should not be dull or unmindful. After all, we have the same qualities as Krsna,if only in minute proportion. Therefore, we want to live gratefully, with determination, with sensitivity to Krsna’s arrangements, and be always active in His service.
20. Seer by the Authority of the Scriptures
The Nectar of Devotion reminds us that Srî Krsna cited the Vedånta-sütra as authority while making His arguments to Arjuna. Also, when Lord Krsna appeared as His pure devotee, Lord Caitanya, He exemplified the tattvadarçi, the one who sees the truth through the scriptures. Prabhupåda calls Lord Caitanya the ideal preacher of Ûrîmad-Bhågavatam. Lord Caitanya was constantly immersed in reciting slokas and tasting their meanings with His devotees or preaching to the nondevotees and impersonalists. Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself, but when He wants to express the mellows of pure love, or when He wants to defeat Måyåvåda philosophy, He turns to the perfect statements given in the çåstra. When Lord Caitanya taught Sanåtana Gosvåmî, Sanåtana asked Him to give explanations of the åtmåråma
verse of Srîmad-Bhågavatam: åtmåråmåç ca munayo
nirgranthå apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukiμ bhaktim
ittham-bhüta-guºo hari˙
All different varieties of åtmåråmas (those who take pleasure in åtmå, or spirit self), especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. This means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls. —Bhåg. 1.7.10)
Lord Caitanya gave so many brilliant expositions on that verse that Sanåtana fell at His feet and declared that Lord Caitanya was that same Nåråyana who had originally breathed forth the Vedas. Lord Caitanya replied, “Why are you praising Me? You should praise the Srîmad- Bhågavatam.” Thus we see that the Lord wanted to deflect praise from Himself and have us see the amazing truth of the såstra itself. Therefore, if Krsnaquotes the scriptures, it does not mean that His knowledge is incomplete or that He is disqualified in any way. When Lord Caitanya felt separation from Krsna in the mood of Arîmatî Rådhåråºî, He quoted the words of the gopîs from Srîmad-Bhågavatam and other såstras. In this way, He taught us that we never depart from the çåstras
even when we experience the most personal and intense ecstasies of spiritual life. Rather, if we do depart from the çåstras, we become a disturbance to the society of devotees. The Bhaktirasåm amrta-sindhu states, çruti-smrti-puråºådi-pancaratravidhiμ vinå . . . “Devotional service to the Lord that ignores the authorized Vedic literatures like the Upanißads, Puråºas, Nårada-Pañcaråtra, etc., is simply an unnecessary disturbance in society.” (BRS, 1.2.101) It’s no wonder that Krsna sees through the scriptures because the scriptures are compiled by Him in His literary incarnation as Srîla Vyåsadeva. Krsna and Vyåsa collaborate to put the eternal Vedic truths into the Sanskrit verses we know as the sruti, and their different supplementary forms of smrti. If Krsna comes in different incarnations aside from Vyåsa and speaks what He has already spoken in that form, that does not make Him a mere student of scripture. The scriptures are nondifferent from Krsna. Krsna is bhågavata in person and the scriptures are bhågavata in literary form. Our seeing through the eyes of çåstra is different than Krsna’s seeing. We have no other way to see perfectly. Therefore, the Srîmad-Bhågavatam declares that those who want to see the light in this dark age of Kali must receive the brilliant light of Srîmad-Bhågavatam. When we see through the såstra, we see ourselves as unique individuals. We are one of K®ßºa’s many servitors in the spiritual world, and to recover that eternal identity, we must understand who we are in the generic sense: we are eternal spirit souls. Krsna teaches this point right from the beginning of Bhagavad-gîtå, and what He teaches Arjuna applies to each of us. So it goes as we continue to be students of the Bhågavatam, starting with sraddhå and continuing to prema. For one who never departs from the çåstric truths, those truths will lead him to the higher levels of personal and free expression of love for the Lord. Seeing through the scriptures,therefore, is real seeing. Everything else is hallucination.
21. Pure
In the beginning of The Nectar of Devotion, we read about the six characteristics of bhakti. One of them is the purity of devotional service. We learn how devotional service is so pure that it can banish all sins without having to perform separate atonement. Bhakti is so pure that people who are born and raised in sinful conditions can become washed of all bad habits. In other words, purity means potency. Krsna conscious purity is not a minor form of cleanliness or a neutral attribute; it is a purity so forceful that it can drive out all contamination. Ultimately, that purity is krsna. If bhakti is pure, and bhakti means the method of devotional service, then certainly Lord Krsnais the supreme pure. Unless we become pure, we cannot
know Him. According to the philosophy of the Absolute Truth, Krsna’s name is as good as Krsnain person. His name is the most merciful, most accessible form of the Lord. We can avail ourselves of the potency of Krsna’s purity by chanting His holy names. However, everything has stages. That is, our performance has to become pure. The three stages of chanting are offensive, clearing of offenses, and pure. Pure chanting, Suddha-nåma, is the full potency that delivers us to pure love of God. In explaining the Brahma-saμhita, Prabhupåda says that Krsnacan actually be seen. He is not formless. The only qualification we need to be able to see Him is premåñjana- schurita-bhakti-vilocanena, that our eyes are anointed with the salve of love of God. We have to be free from sense gratification and mental speculation. These two big impurities are sometimes referred to as bhukti and mukti, the two witches or pots of poison. Sense gratification and mental speculation bring us into a
relationship with the material body. That is another definition of impurity. Krsnaconsciousness offers a series of purifications—by saμskara, by initiation, by åcamana, and especially by the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, which purifies us of doubt, fear, and other anarthas. Lord Caitanya says that the chanting acts to cleanse the mirror of the mind: ceto-darpaºa-marjanaμ bhava-mahå-dåvågni-nirvåpaºaμ. Krsna Himself is so pure that if anyone approaches Him with impurity, He is never affected. He always accepts the good in our actions, even if we act to kill Himas Pütanå did. Krsnawas not only just in His treatment of Pütanå, but He recognized her as one of His nurses and gave her liberation in Goloka V®ndåvana. Therefore, who should we worship but Krsna, the all-merciful Lord? Krsna’s purity is also shown by His ability to enter into the heart of all living entities as the Supersoul. When Krsna is in the heart of a hog, He doesn’t become compromised
or dirty by the hog’s activities. He remains transcendental, although He is apparently associated with that
spirit soul residing in a lower species. Krsna is never corrupt. In the material world, we say that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is human frailty to cheat and misuse power. One may think, therefore, that purity and power are at opposite poles. One can “afford” to be pure if he has nothing to lose, but if we provide him with wealth, he will fall prey to greed and ambition.,In Krsna, however, these two qualities exist harmoniously and infinitely. Whatever Krsnadoes is good and pure. He is pure power and pure mercy. Even if He becomes angry, His anger is also pure—always transcendental and for the good of all souls. Of course, we are mentioning all these qualities as a way to glorify the personhood of the Lord, the Personality of Godhead. We wish to defeat the Måyåvåda conception of the Absolute. Yet Krsna is also impersonal. It is not that He is only personal. He is the pure light, the pure land, the brahmajyoti. For those who wish to see Krsna only as purity in terms of pure force or pure light, Krsnaappears in these ways. However, as the Bhagavad-gîtå states, the pure light of Brahman is an emanation from Krsna in His personal form. Krsna’s being a person is not an impurity because everything about Him is perfect. His purity is not onesided or composed only of impersonal light. Rather, all varieties of emotion and activities reside in and emanate from Him. His purity is accepted as incomprehensible, and then relished as such by the devotees. The nondevotees and demons choose to see Him in fear.
22. Self-controlled
Krsna’s self-control is exemplified by the fact that He has thousands of beautiful wives and yet remains unagitated. Krsna is Hrsîkesa, the master of the senses. “All thesixteen thousand wives of Krsnawere so exquisitely beautiful that their smiling and shyness were able to captivate the minds of great demigods like Lord siva. But still they could not even agitate the mind of Krsna, in spite of their attractive feminine behavior.” (NOD, Chap. 21, p. 169) Bhîsmadeva offers similar praise to Krsnaduring Yudhi߆ hira’s råjasüya sacrifice. Bhîßmadeva said, “I am a brahmacårî, but if I were to associate with all the beautiful gopîs
the way Krsna did, I would not be able to keep my brahmacårî status. However, Krsna is always with the gopîs in the råsa dance and other situations, but He does not become uncontrolled.”
It is obvious that the Supreme Lord should be able to control His senses. All universes depend upon His steadiness and infallibility. If Krsnawere not in control, how could He be God? In fact, this is the main doubt of the agnostics. Their minds cannot accommodate the concept of a Supreme Controller. Because they measure the cosmic manifestation against their own limited experiences, and because they have no experience of a Supreme Controller, they think no one is able to have complete control. In the material world, no one has control over their birth or the identity of their parents. We are simply dumped into our mother’s womb and then out into the world to engage in whatever activities we must engage in according to our karma. No one is ever able to gain complete control over their lives. Therefore, our mind boggles when we try to contemplate a Supreme Controller. We may concede that some God or some powerful being has some control, but how can He have all control? If we use clear reason, however, we will see that control is actually being exerted over everything. The seasons are controlled, the movement of the sun and ocean tides are controlled, and the time of death is controlled. Due to our limited vision, we may not be able to understand the identity of the controller, but the såstra can give us that information. When we hear that the Supreme Controller is a person and that He can control His own senses, that shouldn’t sound astonishing. Krsnacontrols everyone and everything; certainly He can control Himself. For a conditioned soul to gain control over his senses usually means imposing rules and regulations and accepting various austerities. Krsnadoes not need to follow any restrictions or regulations to gain self-control. He is naturally and sublimely self-controlled. Sometimes Krsnaappears to be out of control when He becomes attracted to His pure devotees’ loving dealings. He appears to submit to bhakti when rendered by a pure devotee. Therefore, although Krsnais called ajita, the unconquerable, it is said that He becomes conquered by the love of His devotees. However, bhakti is also within Krsna’s control. Krsna
gives the supreme control to bhakti, and bhakti serves Him by sometimes appearing to control Him through the
beauty of His pure devotees’ service to Him. Therefore, when we say that Krsnais self-controlled, we shouldn’t
think of Him as a neophyte devotee straining to avoid sinful activity, or who only remains self-controlled under the strictures of såstra and the watchful eyes of a master. Krsna’s self-control is part of the ecstatic flow of His activities. He is such a nice Supreme Personality of Godhead that He does not act randomly, under the control of His own passions, but everything is done beautifully. Krsna is unfailing in whatever He does. Self-control is just one example. The astounding thing is not that Krsna controls His senses, but that He is a person. His personhood is the transcendental fact which is asserted and glorified in all the scriptures. O Sanåtana, please hear about the eternal form of Lord Krsna. He is the Absolute Truth, devoid of duality but present in V®ndåvana as the son of Nanda Mahåråja. Krsna is the original source of everything and the sum total of everything. He appears as the supreme youth, and His whole body is composed of spiritual bliss. He is the shelter of everything and master of everyone. The original Supreme Personality of Godhead is Krsna. His original name is Govinda. He is full of all opulences, and His eternal abode is known as Goloka Vrndåvana. —Cc. Madhya 20.152–3, 155
23. Steadfast
The Nectar of Devotion defines steadfast as “a person who continues to work until his desired goal is achieved.” The Collins English dictionary defines steadfast as referring especially to a person’s gaze when “fixed in intensity or direction.” Krsna is steadfast in seeking out Jåmbavån, who was hiding in his cave. Although many people approached the tunnel leading to Jåmbavån’s cave with Krsna, Krsna entered the tunnel alone. The people from Dvårakå waited outside for twelve days, but they returned to Dvårakå before Krsnare appeared. Krsna stayed and fought alone for twenty-eight days, and in the end, defeated Jåmbavån. Of course, Lord Krsnacould have accomplished all this in a minute, but He enjoyed His pastime of endurance and combat with His devotee, Jåmbavån. Lord Krsnafixed His steadfast gaze on many demons, such as Ari߆åsura, who came to fight with Him. The Lord also told Arjuna to be steadfast before his enemies, the Kurus, in the battle of Kuruksetra. Arjuna asked Krsna to drive the chariot between the two armies so that he could see with whom he had to fight that day, but when Arjuna turned away from the battle, Krsnasaid, “My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life.” As conditioned souls, we waiver and want to abandon our purposes after a little endeavor. We have to pray to Krsna for the strength to endure in our lives and to continue practicing devotional service. After being trained in Krsna consciousness and having our eyes fixed on the goal, måyå may attempt to divert us. Whatever the reason may be to give up our stead fastness, it is petty and should not turn us away from Lord K®ßºa’s devotional service. We need bala, strength, to remain fixed. Even if we fail to take Krsna’s help, Krsna will remain loyal to His vow never to abandon us. He will wait for us and present us with opportunities to return to Him. Krsna is not a quitter and we shouldn’t be either. When Krsna stole the clothes of the unmarried gopîs, He showed steadfastness in another context. The gopîs pleaded with Him, and then threatened Him, not to persist in this joke, but “when the gopîs saw that Krsnawas strong and determined,” they had to surrender to His will. Steadfastness is our qualification for attaining Krsna\ consciousness. Måyå’s test is to see whether we are worthyto be with Krsna. If we don’t practice steadfastness in earnest, then we will fall away. Lord Krsnaalways tolerates our failings. We are absorbed in our own struggle and we don’t always appreciate how steadfast the Lord is. Even when we turn our back on Him, He remains our best well-wisher. We are fickle. Actually, our inattention to Krsnais insulting, such as when we chant the holy names inattentively. But Lord
Krsna is steadfast and sends us the spiritual master, and He mcontinues to see the good in whatever we do. Even if we chant many rounds without attention, if finally we chant one Hare Krsnamantra with devotion, Krsna immediately accepts our surrender. He is our best well-wisher.
24. Forbearing
The Nectar of Devotion gives this single example of Lord Krsna’s tolerating austerities as a student in gurukula: “When Krsna was residing at the place of His spiritual master, He did not mind taking all troubles in rendering service to His guru, although His body was very soft and delicate.” The Lord recalled His gurukula days fondly in later years when He met His old schoolmate, Sudåmå. They both agreed that their spiritual master had not been cruel, but had trained them. Srîla Prabhupåda also explains that if a student is not called to eat, he should fast rather than push himself forward and demand food. How hard it is not to step forward and ask for what we consider our due. Even if we manage to stay in the background, we grumble and complain when we are not recognized. Lord Caitanya compared forbearance to the nature of a tree. A tree does not complain if it is not watered or even if it is cut down. Despite neglect and ill treatment, a tree continues to produce fruits and flowers for others. Krsna consciousness means following the Bhågavatam verse, tat te ’nukampaμ su-samîkßamåºo. Any trouble that we encounter in our lives is actually only a token of what we deserve according to our karma. A devotee not only endures life’s reverses, but offers heartfelt obeisances to
Krsna, confident that He will eventually take him back to Godhead. Srîla Rüpa Gosvåmî coupled enthusiasm with patience as the first two items of auspiciousness in bhakti. Patience is almost synonymous with forbearance. It is important that devotees work to attain both these qualities. We should do the best we can, always be enthusiastic even about small gains, and patiently wait for Krsna’s mercy. By remembering Krsna’s pastimes, we can gain strength from His perfect example in our own times of stress. When we need forbearance, for example, we can remember Krsna’s life at gurukula, how He went hand in hand with Sudåmå into the forest, how they were overtaken by the storm, and how they stayed alone all night in the flooding waters, faithful to the order of their spiritual master. Krsna’s pastimes can thus provide inspiration in our own Krsnaconsciousness. It may seem odd to us to think of God as having to be patient or to endure difficult times. One may ask, “Why doesn’t Krsnasimply overcome the opposition?” But these pastimes are in Krsna’s nara-lîlå. Sometimes Krsnais impatient, such as when He demands His mother’s breast milk. Similarly, Krsnais never harried by the demons who attack Him. Sometimes He takes His time in dispatching them, and sometimes He kills them immediately. He is not afraid. When Indra poured rain on the residents of Vrndåvana during the Govardhana-lîlå, the Lord was forbearing. He was able to humiliate Indra in a way that did not seriously damage the demigod’s prestige or endanger his life. Whatever Krsna does is perfect. Therefore, Krsna’s devotees live lives of endurance and forbearance and are always confident that Krsnawill triumph in the end.
25. Forgiving
Rüpa Gosvåmî defines a forgiving person as “a person who can tolerate all kinds of offenses from the opposite
party.” Lord Krsna tolerated siçupåla’s blasphemy. “Ûrî Yamunåcårya further says in his prayer that the forgiving power of Lord Krsnais even greater than that of Lord Råmacandra, because Sisupåla was always in the habit of insulting Krsna—not only in one lifetime, but continually throughout three lives. Still, Krsna was so kind that He gave Sisupåla the salvation of merging into His existence.” (NOD, Chap. 21, p. 171) Krsna is the supreme father. He loves all living entities. He is confident, secure, and filled with well-being. This is the basis of His forgiving nature. In turn, Lord Krsnawill be pleased with us if we are forgiving toward others. In the Bhagavad-gîtå, Krsnasays that forgiveness as well as intelligence, knowledge, truthfulness, fearlessness, nonviolence, and austerity—“all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone.” (Bg. 10.5) To attain forgiveness, therefore, is to triumph in saintly behavior.Cånakya Pandita describes forgiveness as a sådhu’s chief quality. Mahåråja Ambarîßa exemplified this forgiveness by showing mercy to Durvåså Muni, even though Durvåså tried to kill him. Similarly, Lord Nityånanda forgave Jagåi and Mådhåi. Lord Krsnas ets the standard for a devotee’s forgiveness. He insists that since we want Him to forgive us, we should first of all be forgiving toward others. A saintly person forgives not only his own family members, but his enemies. (Krsnais so kind to His enemies that He grants them liberation.) Prabhupåda reminded us that Jesus Christ asked God to forgive the ignorance of those who crucified him. Christ gave his followers the following words in the “Lord’s Prayer”: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” A good way to demonstrate forgiveness is to continue to give people Krsnaconsciousness despite their ingratitude. This is the preacher’s mood. Although there are so many reasons why we may want to reject the nondevotees, a devotee displays forgiveness by continuing to preach. Forgiveness requires honesty and humility. We have to first be honest enough to admit that we ourselves are offenders and in need of forgiveness. In humility, we pray to be forgiven by the Supreme Lord. We know that we should be punished for our misbehavior and offenses and
for whatever intentional and unintentional violence we may commit toward other living beings. We hope the Lord will forgive us as we attempt to rectify ourselves. As we expect the Lord’s kindness, we should be kind to others for their intentional or unintentional violence against us.
26. Grave
“A person who does not express his mind to everyone, or whose mental activity and plan of action are very difficult to understand, is called grave.” Even in the conditioned state, people can possess gravity. They don’t attain gravity by practicing virtue, but as karma from their past lives. Srîla Prabhupåda sometimes refers to the psychophysical,nature by which one person will be inclined to brahminical life and another to administration. These qualities are often displayed even in childhood and are part of a person’s conditioned nature. Whether a devotee possesses the quality of gravity or not, all devotees should aspire for it. For example, simply because we are in the company of people speaking prajalpa doesn’t mean we have to waste our time in a similar way.
If someone laughs, we don’t have to laugh with them. If someone cries, we don’t have to cry with them. To possess gravity means to keep our central focus deep. Surface exchanges or irritations won’t make us lose that focus. If we are not grave, but are susceptible to others’ influence, we should be careful to associate with persons who possess gravity, purity, forgiveness, and other devotional qualities.Srî Krsna cannot be carried away by the whims of another, nor can His inner meanings be immediately understood. Lord Krsnadoes not allow most people to know Him: “I am covered by the curtain of Yogamåyå, and therefore the fools of this world do not know Me.” When a devotee is fortunate enough to see the Lord, then he or she is awe-struck by the Supreme Lord’s inconceivable beauty and gravity. When the four Kumåras met Lord Visnu in Vaikuº†ha, He spoke to them at length and in excellent words, yet they could not fathom His meaning or being. Srîla Prabhupåda writes: The sages tried with wide-open ears to understand the words from the lips of the Supreme Lord, but although His speech was very concise and meaningful, the sages could not completely comprehend what He was saying.
They could not even comprehend the purport of the speech or what the Supreme Lord wanted to do. Nor could they understand whether the Lord was angry or pleased with them. —Bhåg. 3.16.14, purport Krsna’s gravity does not preclude His ability to be lighthearted and accessible to His pure devotees. When He played in His childhood lîlå, Krsna’s parents and eldersthought they knew His mind—He wanted milk or to be patted or to play with the cows and cowherd boys. That is the power of Yogamåyå. When He desires to hide His purposes, however, then even Lord Balaråma cannotknow His mind. The Nectar of Devotion states: “Krsnawas always very silent about His love affairs with Rådhårånî, so much so that Baladeva, Krsna’s elder brother and constant companion, could not understand the transformations of Krsna on account of His gravity.” (p. 171) We who met Krsna’s dear devotee, Srîla Prabhupåda, know that he displayed such gravity that we never knew what he was thinking, even though he was often candid, childlike, and open. Thus it is said, vaisnavera kriyå mudrå vijñe nå bujhaya, “One should not try to understand the mind of the Vaisnava.” We can be satisfied and happy to know that the Supreme Lord and His pure devotee are ultimately unknown to us—unless they wish to reveal themselves out of their causeless mercy.
27. Self-satisfied
“A person who is fully satisfied in himself, without any hankering, and who is not agitated even in the presence of serious cause for distress, is called self-satisfied.” The Bhågavatam states: “All different varieties of åtmåråmas [those who take pleasure in åtmå, or spirit self], especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. This means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls.” (Bhåg. 1.7.10) This proves that Lord K®ßºa’s name, form, and qualities have nothing to do with the material modes of nature. Krsnaa ttracts everyone from all different points of view, whether they be åtmåråma sages or whatever. Similarly, the young cowherd damsels were attracted
by the bodily features of the Lord, and Rukmiºî was attracted by hearing about the glories of the Lord. Lord Krsna attracts even the mind of the goddess of fortune. He attracts, in special cases, the minds of all young girls. He attracts the minds of the elderly ladies by paternal affection. He attracts the mind of the male in the humors of servitude and friendship. —Bhåg. 1.7.10, purportBecause Krsnacontains everything within Himself, He never tries to take credit for His activities and is never disturbedor threatened. Krsnawas glad to give Arjuna the credit for being victorious on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, and He gave credit to Bhîma for killing Jaråsandha. Lord Krsna’s apparent hankering for affection from His parents, cowherd boyfriends, and gopîs, are all brilliant displays of His loving dealings. They do not indicate thatKrsna is incomplete in Himself. When the gopîs wanted to dance with Krsnain the autumn night, Krsnadisappeared from their presence and thus they lamented for Him with their beautiful songs known as the “Gopî-gîta.” When Krsnare appeared to them, they then criticized Him in a
loving way and asked Him to tell them His opinion about worthy lovers. They described three kinds of persons, “one class simply receives, another class reciprocates favorably, even if a lover is very contrary, and a third class neither acts contrary nor answers favorably in dealings of love. Out ofthese three classes, which do You prefer or which do You call honest?” Lord Krsnathen described Himself in terms of those three classes. He said He was not like a merchant who reciprocates only to get sense gratification. He said He preferred the second class who love in spite of the opposite party’s contrariness, because at least they have some tinge of love beyond the mercantile exchange. As for the third class, those who neither reciprocate with nor neglect their lovers, Krsnasaid they can be further divided into two classes. “One is the self-satisfied, who does not require anyone’s love. They are called åtmåråma, which means they are absorbed in the thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and do not care whether one loves them or not.” The other class who don’t care are ungrateful. Then Lord Krsna described Himself. Ûrîla Prabhupåda writes in his Krsnabook: “In answer, Krsnasaid that He, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is self-satisfied. He does not require anyone’s love, but at the same time, He said that He is not ungrateful.” Lord Krsnathen went on to tell the gopîs that they should not be aggrieved by His disappearing from them. He left them just to increase their love for Him. Thus Krsnais self-satisfied, but deeply moved and always reciprocal with the love offered to Him by His devotees.
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