Meditation on Feet Nails of the Lord - Part 6

Date: 2018-11-23 Author: Narahari das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

We will continue to meditate on the glories of the Lord's feet nails.

Helps to transcend material existence: We find in the 10th canto of the that sent many demons to kill Lord Krishna, but they were all killed by the Lord. So finally Kamsa planned to invite Lord Krishna and to with a view to destroy them. He summoned Akrura and asked him to go to Vrindavana and bring Krishna and Balarama to Mathura. Akrura was very much happy to hear this because now he got a chance to see Lord Krishna in person and get His association.

On the way to Vrindavana, Akrura was meditating on the Lord's form and how he will have darshan of Lord Krishna and how the Lord will embrace him. His main meditation was on the Lord's lotus feet which enticed Akrura very much. He said to himself, "Today all my sinful reactions have been eradicated and my birth has become worthwhile, since I will offer my obeisances to the Supreme Lord's lotus feet, which mystic yogis meditate upon. Those lotus feet are worshiped by Brahma, Shiva and all the other demigods, by the goddess of fortune, and also by the great sages and Vaishnavas. Theirs are the same feet that great mystic yogis striving for self-realization bear within their minds."

Akrura felt so much ecstasy that he thought Kamsa to be his true well-wisher who has showered mercy on him by sending him to Vrindavana. The reason for his ecstasy was the remembrance of the Lord's feet nails and lotus feet. Akrura exclaimed as follows glorifying Kamsa. In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 10.38.7, Akrura says,

kaṁso batādyākṛta me ’ty-anugrahaṁ drakṣye ’ṅghri-padmaṁ prahito ’munā hareḥ kṛtāvatārasya duratyayaṁ tamaḥ pūrve ’taran yan-nakha-maṇḍala-tviṣā

Indeed, today King Kamsa has shown me extreme mercy by sending me to see the lotus feet of Lord Hari, who has now appeared in this world. Simply by the effulgence of His toenails, many souls in the past have transcended the insurmountable darkness of material existence and achieved liberation.

Srila Prabhupada states in the Krishna book, "Akrura also considered that he was very much favored by Kamsa, who was sending him to bring back Krishna and Balarama and thus enabling him to see the Lord. Akrura continued to consider that formerly great sages and saintly persons were liberated from the material world simply by seeing the shining nails of the lotus feet of Krishna." The words 'ati anugraham' means extreme mercy which means the Lord's nails were so attractive that Akrura forgot Kamsa to be a demoniac person and thought him to be a devotee who showered mercy on him and taken him close to Krishna.

According to the above verse, we see that it is not needed to have darshan of the Lord's form completely; it is enough even if one takes darshan of the Lord's feet nails constantly and develop attraction to the Lord's feet nails, the spiritual effulgence from those nails can take us above the darkness and back into the spiritual world. This realization of Akrura also reveals that each limb of the Lord is identical with the Lord i.e. One can get the result of seeing the complete Lord's form just by meditating on His transcendental effulgent feet nails.

Krishna willing, let us meditate further on this subject in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai.