Sharanagati

“At the auspicious time for the appearance of the Lord the entire universe was surcharged with all the qualities of goodness, beauty and peace.”[1] So, when the time comes, the auspicious qualities will manifest. It is said that the divine things will wait for their turn. We have to pay some price and we have to pay some time in order the divinity to manifest. Sometimes we wait twenty, thirty, forty years for joining the devotees. And this is just like leaving many, many lifetimes behind, opening our wings to fly. But also we should understand that until we do not find our goodness, our beauty and our peace, we have to pay more time and more labor to achieve that level. Yet we can be sure, when the time comes, the change will also come. When the secret wants to erupt and burst out, it will. Fire is hiding under the ashes for a long, long time, but all of a sudden it can manifest again. Sometimes we are in a hiding or waiting position, but we should use this time to collect more and more energy for the spiritual leap forward.

So, the entire universe was surcharged with these divine qualities. That means, there was a big change, because usually the world is not surcharged with divine qualities, but with worldly qualities. And we know all the worldly qualities are limited and painful. Still, whenKrishnais coming, these limited qualities turn to unlimited, perfect.

What is a human being? Is it not a small universe? And is it not the universe a big human or divine personality? The universe is just like a human body and the human body is just like a universe. So if the universe can be surcharged with divine qualities, it is possible for the human body, mind, intellect to be also surcharged. The more you inviteKrishna, more peace, more beauty and more goodness will come.

“The constellation Rohini appeared, as did stars like  Ashvini. The Sun, the Moon and the other stars and planets were very peaceful. All directions appeared extremely pleasing and the beautiful stars twinkled in the cloudless sky.” So, nature has shown her most beautiful features: like the stars twinkling on the sky, all the auspicious stars and constellations appeared – everything was very harmoniously and auspiciously arranged to show that the time is perfect, everything is done in order to receiveKrishna. In the same way, if we want to inviteKrishna, if we want to have Him in our human universe, we also have to arrange the best constellations.

But we should think why nature was changing. Is it a cause or effect that the natural scene was changing? Most probably this was a consequence, becauseKrishnawas ready to come and due to the power, due to the sway of His appearance, all of a sudden, without any efforts, automatically everything was arranged nicely. So, let the stars on your heart horizon twinkle to receiveKrishna.

“Decorated with towns, villages, mines and pasturing grounds, the earth seemed all- auspicious. The rivers flowed with clear water and the lakes and vast reservoirs, full of lilies and lotuses were extraordinarily beautiful. In the trees and green plants, full of flowers and leaves, pleasing to the eyes, birds like cuckoos and swarms of bees began chanting with sweet voices for the sake of the demigods. A pure breeze began to blow, pleasing the sense of touch and bearing the aroma of flowers.” Again, these are natural scenes and it very peacefully describes how beautiful is nature by herself, without any extra efforts. So, be like nature, be natural! Nature is naturally pure, naturally nice. Nature, in order to inviteKrishna, does not really change herself, but shows the best part. Sweet breeze instead of a heavy storm; crystal clear water instead of a flood. Be like nature – show the best part of you.

“And when the brahmanas, engaging in ritualistic ceremonies, ignited their fires according to Vedic principles, the fires burned steadily, undisturbed by the breeze. Thus when the birthless Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was about to appear, the saints and brahmanas, who had always been disturbed by the demons like Kamsa and his men, felt peace within the core of their hearts and kettledrums simultaneously vibrated from the upper planetary systems.” This is the correct moment when everything is prepared forKrishna to appear. And I think we could prepare our hearts, ourselves, our minds to be so pure and so peaceful and so beautiful forKrishna to appear there.

Question: All right, all the nature and all the saints were very pleased, but what was happening to Kamsa? He was also expectingKrishna to come, what about his peace of mind?

Tirtha Maharaj: Kamsa also understood that something is happening outside: too much peace is there, too much beauty is there; something is coming. That gave some trouble to him: “Ah, something should be done!” And we should not forget, that Kamsa is an example of very stabile and very deep Krishna consciousness – he was always conscious of Krishna. While expecting His appearance, while He was appearing, after that, he was always conscious of the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is not enough to be conscious – Krishna bhakti is necessary, the loving mood is necessary.

Here it is mentioned that the saints were pacified, although before they were harassed by the demons. So, when your inner demons are torturing you, just let Krishna come; it is enough to expect Krishnato come – you will be peaceful. Krishnabhakti is very powerful; even without real manifestation, simply the expectation will change. Somewhere in the scriptures it is said, thatKrishna is taking care practically of unlimited number of cows, some billions. Usually the cows go in front and the cowherd comes at the back. So even beforeKrishna enters your village of heart, millions of cows will come. And even from a distance you will see the dust, the powder of dust: “Ah, He is appearing, He is coming!” Then you will meet the cows first. And that is a big change – to accept millions of cows in your heart. But finally He will also enter. So, only to expect that He is coming – the big change is entering your hearts.