Bhagavata Dharma - Part 3

Date: 2013-07-02 Author: Sudarshana devi dasi

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

This is in continuation of the series, "Bhagavata Dharma". In the previous offering we saw the below points:

1. Narada Muni due to his eagerness to worship Lord was able stay in Dwaraka for a longer time. 2. Vasudev, in spite of being father of Supreme Lord Krishna, received Narada Muni at his home with great respect. 3. Knowing the value of sādhu-sanga, Vasudev humbly inquired from Narada Muni the duties by which he can please Krishna.

In this offering we shall see the other inquiries made by Vasudeva to Narada Muni.

Vasudeva regrets to Narada Muni that although he worshiped the Lord in his previous birth to get the benediction of getting the Lord as his son, he did not worship him for liberation. In verse 11.2.8 of Srimad Bhagavatam he says,

ahaṁ kila purānantaṁ prajārtho bhuvi mukti-dam apūjayaṁ na mokṣāya mohito deva-māyayā

In a previous birth on this earth, I worshiped the Supreme Lord, Ananta, who alone can award liberation, but because I desired to have a child, I did not worship Him for liberation. Thus I was bewildered by the Lord's illusory energy.

This conversation between Narada Muni and Vasudev took place after the curse of the brahmanas at Pindaraka against the Yadu dynasty. After the Kurukshetra war, when Lord Krishna decided to wind up His pastimes in this material world, He decided to annihilate the members of the Yadu dynasty as well. So as per His arrangement, the children of Yadu dynasty somehow disrespected the brahmanas by their playful cranks and as a result received a curse that their dynasty will be annihilated soon. In purport to verse 11.2.8 of Srimad Bhagavatam it is mentioned, Srila" Jiva Goswami states that from the anxiety of Vasudeva, which is expressed in this verse by the words 'apūjayaṁ na mokṣāya mohito deva-māyayā' it is to be discerned that Vasudeva had heard of the curse of the brahmanas at Pindaraka against the Yadu dynasty and that he could understand from this curse that the Lord's disappearance from the earth was imminent. Vasudeva understood that the Lord's manifest pastimes within this universe were coming to an end, and he now lamented that he had not directly taken advantage of the opportunity to worship Krishna to go back home, back to Godhead."

To have the Supreme Lord as son is indeed a very great fortune. But for people like us in Kali yuga, Srila Prabhupada recommends in purport to verse 10.3.38 of Srimad Bhagavatam that since we are neither qualified like the exalted souls like Vasudeva and Devaki, nor are we capable of performing penances for thousands of years, we simply need to learn how to love Krishna and how to always be engaged in His service. "Instead of bringing the Lord here for some material purpose, to have a son or whatever else, if we go back home, back to Godhead, our real relationship with the Lord is revealed, and we eternally engage in our eternal relationship. By chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, we gradually develop our eternal relationship with the Supreme Person and thus attain the perfection called svarūpa- siddhi. We should take advantage of this benediction and go back home, back to Godhead."

Whatever happened in the life of Vasudev and Devaki is as per the supreme will of Lord and so their praying for son is not under the influence of external illusory energy. In the purport to the above verse, it is mentioned thatVasudeva's " statement, 'apūjayaṁ na mokṣāya mohito deva-māyayā' should be taken to mean that Krishna's internal potency bewildered Vasudeva so that he would desire Krishna as his son. This paved the way for the Lord's appearance as the son of His loving devotees ." But the lesson for us is that many a times when we go to pray to the Lord, we ask Krishnathose things which we think is good for us materially or spiritually. But reality is only Guru and Krishna knows what is good for us. So the best prayer to the Lord is to keep us always engaged in Their service, so that we don't forget our eternal relationship with Them.

Krishna willing we shall continue to learn more about Bhagavata Dharma from the conversations between Narada Muni and Vasudeva in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Sudarshana devi dasi.