God’s Tests Give Ultimate Happiness and Bliss

One who is building a wall will keep going higher and higher. One who is digging a well will keep going deeper and deeper.

Pavitratma-swarupas:

In the context of divinity, man is continually agitated. He makes several different attempts to recognize the atma and tries to locate nobler and higher ideas. Sometimes, forgetting this sacred aspect of the atma, he spends a lot of time in the pursuit of matters relating to external objects. The former requires inner vision and the latter requires external vision. The sacredness of Bhagavatam consists in harmonizing one’s inner vision with his external vision and making him see the unity of these two aspects. Because of their wealth and physical strength, the Kauravas were blind to the might of Krishna. Jarasandha was very proud of the fact that he was born in a sect higher than the Yadava sect in which Krishna was born and being blinded with such ideas, he could not recognize the greatness of Krishna. The pandits having lost their wisdom in their scholarship and because of the unreal ideas they created in their own minds, were not able to recognize Krishna’s divine personality. The pride which comes from their birth, the ego which comes from their wealth, and the arrogance which comes from their education also rendered several other people incapable of recognizing the greatness of Krishna.

God’s actions can be described as leelas. No one can determine the nature of such leelas. It is also not possible to understand them. Only after the event has taken place can one realize its significance. Because such leelas are generally covered by maya or delusion, man is not able to recognize the divinity that is responsible for them. Because of this maya alone, man again is not able to recognize the divine connection between man and man. All attachments arise because of maya. If there is no maya, the progress of mankind itself will come to a standstill. In any respect, maya is not bad. In fact, maya is a very helpful thing to the individual, who understands the different aspects of maya. For one who does not understand the same, it can bring about great harm. In fact, maya is very necessary for man and can be made the royal path in the search for God. For an individual who does not understand the aspect of maya, it will be a very difficult path.

Take the example of a cat. When it catches hold of its kitten, it does so to take it to a place of safety. On the other hand, when the same cat catches hold of a rat, it is for the purpose of killing the rat. For those people, who do not understand the aspect of divinity, maya is like a cat catching the rat. For those who understand God, maya will be a great help like the cat, which takes hold of the kitten. This maya is in fact a tool of God and therefore, God is sometimes described as one who wears maya as His cloak. This maya is basically responsible for maintenance, dissolution, and creation. At such times and such places, depending on the circumstances, the behavior of maya will change. Maya is something similar to an electric current. We can use this current for running a fan or lighting a bulb. It can be used for running several machines and useful devices. Because the electric current is so useful, if you catch hold of it to show your gratitude, you will be killed immediately. Thus, current does good and also does harm. In this world, we cannot find a place where there is no maya. Buddha said that, all this world is really transient and that there is nothing of permanent value in it. In that context, we should realize that all that we see around us is in reality, the leela of the Lord. Whatever we may do, we must also regard it as a leela of the Lord and experience the truth in this way.

The Pandavas lost their kingdom and wealth and were wandering in the forest, but they were always thinking of Krishna and Krishna showered His grace on such Pandavas. Although they lost the power of wealth and position, they had the strength of faith in the Lord and so, they received the grace of the Lord. The Bhagavatam has been teaching us that it is most essential for human beings to have the strength that comes from dharma and faith in God.

The battle was over and Krishna, who was responsible for the victory, was returning to Hastinapura along with the Pandavas. After some time, Krishna was planning to return to Dwaraka. When Kunti heard of this intention of Krishna, she came running to Him. She held both the hands of Krishna and addressed Him by saying, “You are the protector of the weak and those who are in trouble. You have taken care of my children and given me great good fortune. You have given us Your help at a time when we needed it most. I was under the illusion that the most important thing was love and attachment. I have now realized that this is in fact, the most poisonous quality. It has been my fortune to enjoy Your love. There is nothing greater than Your love.

When I was young, I uttered the mantra taught to me by Durvasa and had a son born to me through the Sun god. Fearing the criticism, which is likely to come from society, I discarded my young son Karna. From that day, I have been suffering because of the loss of my son. After having married King Pandu, I was traveling in the forest along with my husband. By the kindness and grace of some gods, I bore three sons – Dharmaraja, Bheema, and Arjuna. To my sister Madri, there were two sons – Nakula and Sahadeva. However, Madri ended her life along with our husband. I was worried that if I died along with my husband, there will be no one to take care of these young children and with this kind of attachment, I was looking after the children.

By the grace of the rishis, I came to Hastinapura and from that day onwards, the cruel Kauravas were giving us all kinds of trouble and they even attempted to kill my children by setting fire to the house in which they lived. They tried to humiliate Draupadi, the good-hearted daughter-in-law of mine. On all these occasions, from that day to this day, You have been looking after my children and guiding them and consoling them. You are like a brother, father, mother, relation, and God to my children. I will not be deluded and deceived by Your five-foot-long human form. You are truly God and there is no doubt whatsoever. You are the source of my pleasure and comfort. Pleasure is always an interval between two pains and in between all my troubles, You have been a great source of comfort. You have taken care of all of us for all this time and I cannot live without You even for a moment. How can I now agree to Your going away to Dwaraka? I pray that You should stay for a little longer and teach the inexperienced Dharmaraja the art of ruling over a kingdom.” We should notice here that she addresses Krishna as Madhava. ‘Ma’ means Lakshmi and it also means maya. The word ‘dhava’ means master. In this sense, Krishna is the Master of nature, Lakshmi, and maya. God is an independent entity in all aspects. Several people say that God should be like this and conduct Himself in a particular manner, but this is not possible. For one who is above gunas (characteristics), how can there be any particular qualities? For one who is formless, how can there be any limitations of form? God may take any form and may have any gunas, and He may perform any action that He likes for the benefit of the world. This will be determined as a reaction to the actions of the devotees and depending on the prayers of the devotees, God will take a particular form.

Suppose we build a house in a small place. The house has been constructed in the allotted place and there is no external place available. Although there is no place available outside, there is enough place for the owner to move about within his own house. In a similar manner, the universe is the mansion of the Lord and He moves about freely in all places. This is the reason why when a door, which cannot be opened, is asked to be opened, we see a smile in Krishna’s face. When the entire universe is His mansion, what is the fun in searching for the main door of this mansion? “When the Lord Himself is always behind me, where am I to search for the main door and where am I to look for the Lord?” Play on the strings of the Lord’s name and concentrate on the Lord in Kailasa. That is the main door to the mansion of the Lord. Our heart filled with ananda, is really the Kailasa and the Lord has all the right to move about in our heart.

Kunti recognized that God dwells in our heart. Before this realization, she was under the illusion that attachment and moha (delusion) were important human qualities. She also recognized the truth that for one who realizes the greatness of the Lord and relies on Him, there is no danger of any kind.

God is not happy unless He gives you some occasional sorrow. Even the mother will not be happy unless the child cries heartily. Even while kissing the child, the mother twists the cheek of the child and then kisses him. In the same manner, God also causes several troubles and tests and then, will please you. It is because of this that Kunti said to Krishna, “It is Your nature to play on the flute happily, when Your devotees are in discomfort and crying!” God makes you cry only to give you extreme happiness after that. We will be able to eat more food if we are hungry and are able to digest well. If the food we take is not digested, how can we eat more food? In this manner, at first, God gives troubles, sorrow, and pain and then, after your digesting these, He gives happiness and bliss. In this context, we must realize that it is not possible to easily understand the divine actions of the Lord. Only those who can experience them will be able to enjoy them and others can never understand this.

Because of some external troubles, we think God is a very unkind person. That is not so. Actually, God is preparing you to receive eternal happiness. Material pleasures are momentary and transient. Because Kunti recognized this basic truth, she could not bear separation from Krishna.

A small instance will enable us to recognize the intensity of Kunti’s love towards Krishna. After Krishna’s nirvana, Arjuna was returning to Hastinapura in a very dejected manner and even as he was walking back, he witnessed a large number of bad omens. As soon as Arjuna reached the palace, he gave the news of the nirvana of Krishna. All the Pandavas were grief-stricken.

Although Arjuna was a very strong person, he could not draw his bow after the nirvana of Krishna. Then, Arjuna realized that all his strength by which he won the battle of Mahabharata and by which he burned down the Kandava vana, was in reality the strength acquired by his proximity to Krishna. He realized that he had no intrinsic strength of his own. Arjuna was also wondering how he could convey the sad news to the old, blind mother. As they entered the mansion, Kunti was informed that Arjuna was coming. Because of her old age, it was natural that she could not see or hear properly. As soon as she realized that Arjuna was coming, she thought that Arjuna was bringing news of Krishna. She began to shower a number of questions on Arjuna and wanted to ask many questions about Krishna. Arjuna was greatly worried as to how he could convey the news to Kunti. Unable to give a reply to her questions, Arjuna cried out and said that Krishna was no longer alive. As soon as she heard of this sad news, she left her life as if she was going in search of Krishna. She could not live for even one moment without Krishna.

The Pandavas also had great affection for Krishna and they were no ordinary people. The Pandavas were like the pancha-pranas (vital airs) for Krishna and Krishna was the mainstay of the Pandavas. On one occasion, Dhritarashtra told Krishna that He should not show any extra partiality to the Pandavas, because to Him, the Pandavas and the Kauravas were equally important. To this, Krishna replied without fear or favor and said, “There is no comparison whatsoever between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. I will now tell you the kind of connection I have with the Pandavas. Dharmaraja is like the head in the body. Arjuna is like the shoulders of the body. Bheema is like the stomach of the body and Nakula and Sahadeva are like the two legs, and in such a body, I am the heart and the moving force. Without a body, the heart cannot exist and without a heart, the body cannot exist. Such is the inseparable connection between Me and the Pandavas.” Krishna, who had given such a reply, was treating the Pandavas with great affection and in turn, the Pandavas were treating Krishna as their life-moving force. In fact, at all times, in pain and pleasure, in joy and sorrow, in ease and difficult times, they were always thinking of Krishna and leading their lives. That is why when the Pandavas were told of the nirvana of Krishna, they were greatly agitated and disturbed.

The kind of detachment they developed towards the world after this incident cannot be found in any other household. Dharmaraja took the head of the departed mother onto his lap. He addressed one of his brothers and asked him to make arrangements for the last rites of the mother. He asked another brother to make arrangements for the coronation of Parikshit and he and yet another brother to make arrangements for their departure to the forest, for leading a secluded life. On one side, he was making arrangements for the last rites of his mother and on another side, he was arranging for the coronation, and on another side, he was preparing to lead a detached and secluded life. Such a combination of events is very unusual and singular. It is the love, which the Pandavas had towards Krishna that is responsible for this.

The Bhagavatam has been teaching the people of the world this sacred devotion of the Pandavas. Krishna was a great individual, who had an intense and affectionate feeling towards the Pandavas. Therefore, you should make an attempt to understand the sacred acts of Krishna in the true perspective.

The Krishna that we see depicted in the cinemas and dramas of today is not the true Krishna. In fact, He is sometimes depicted like a modern college student with many profane ideas and doing several irresponsible acts. Truly, the aspect of Krishna is very sacred and His actions are full of divine love. These sacred actions of Krishna, which are seen at many places in the Bhagavatam, must be well and properly understood by all of you.