Chapter 23...DELIVERING THE WIVES OF THE BRAHMANAS WHO PERFORMED SACRIFICES (Part 3) For a long time the wives had been anxious to see Krsna. However, when they were preparing to leave home to go see Him, their husbands, fathers, sons and relatives asked them not to go. But the wives did not comply. When a devotee is called by the attraction of Krsna, he does not care for bodily ties. The women entered the forest of Vrndavana on the bank of the Yamuna, which was verdant with vegetation and newly grown vines and flowers. Within that forest, they saw Krsna and Balarama engaged in tending the cows, along with Their very affectionate boy friends. The brahmanas wives saw Krsna putting on a garment glittering like gold. He wore a nice garland of forest flowers and a peacock feather on His head. He was also painted with the minerals found in Vrndavana, and He looked exactly like a dancing actor on a theatrical stage. They saw Him keeping one hand on the shoulder of His friend, and in His other hand, He was holding a lotus flower. His ears were decorated with lilies, He wore marks of tilaka, and He was smiling charmingly. With their very eyes, the wives of the brahmanas saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, of whom they had heard so much, who was so dear to them, and in whom their minds were always absorbed. Now they saw Him eye to eye and face to face, and Krsna entered within their hearts through their eyes. They began to embrace Krsna to their hearts content, and the distress of separation was mitigated immediately. They were just like great sages who, by their advancement of knowledge, merge into the existence of the Supreme. As the Supersoul living in everyones heart, Lord Krsna could understand their minds; they had come to Him despite all the protests of their relatives, fathers, husbands, brothers, and all the duties of household affairs. They came just to see Him who was their life and soul. They were actually following Krsnas instruction in the Bhagavad-gita: one should surrender to Him, giving up all varieties of occupational and religious duties. The wives of the brahmanas actually carried out the instruction of the Bhagavad-gita in total. He therefore began to speak to them, smiling very magnificently. It should be noted in this connection that when Krsna entered into the wives hearts and when they embraced Him and felt the transcendental bliss of being merged with Him, the Supreme Lord Krsna did not lose His identity, nor did the individual wives lose theirs. The individuality of both the Lord and the wives remained, yet they felt oneness in existence. When a lover submits to his lover without any pinch of personal consideration, that is called oneness. Lord Caitanya has taught us this feeling of oneness in His Siksastaka: Krsna may act freely, doing whatever He likes, but the devotee should always be in oneness or in agreement with His desires. That oneness was exhibited by the wives of the brahmanas in their love for Krsna. Krsna welcomed them with the following words: My dear wives of the brahmanas, you are all very fortunate and welcomed here. Please let Me know what can I do for you. Your coming here, neglecting all the restrictions and hindrances of relatives, fathers, brothers and husbands, in order to see Me, is completely befitting. One who does this actually knows his self interest, because rendering transcendental loving service unto Me, without motive or restriction, is actually auspicious for the living entities. Lord Krsna here confirms that the highest perfectional stage of the conditioned soul is surrender to Him. One must give up all other responsibilities. This complete surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the most auspicious path for the conditioned soul because the Supreme Lord is the supreme objective of love. Everyone is loving Krsna ultimately, but realization is according to the advancement of his knowledge. One comes to understand that his self is the spirit soul, and the spirit soul is nothing but a part and parcel of the Supreme Lord; therefore the Supreme Lord is the ultimate goal of love, and thus one should surrender unto Him. This surrender is considered auspicious for the conditioned soul. Our life, property, home, wife, children, house, country, society and all paraphernalia which are very dear to us are expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the central object of love because He gives us all bliss, expanding Himself in so many ways according to our different situations, namely bodily, mental or spiritual. My dear wives of the brahmanas, Krsna said. You can now return to your homes. Engage yourselves in sacrificial activities and be engaged in the service of your husbands and household affairs so that your husbands will be pleased with you, and the sacrifice which they have begun will be properly executed. After all, your husbands are householders, and without your help how can they execute their prescribed duties?
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 01:26:54 +0000
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