Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 03.10.2017 morning, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Monday)

Why is Krishna considered to be the highest agent of harmony, of harmonizing power? Because everything serves His like, His pastimes. And He doesn’t want anything to be excluded from His pastimes. Therefore, He wants to harmonize opposition, because otherwise if opposition should win, it would be outside of His lila, right? Therefore, better He embraces even disharmony and harmonizes that.

“Chandravali is in opposition to Shrimati Radharani. Yet, by yoga-maya their competition produces more satisfaction for Krishna. Everything is for Him.” So, one party of devotees, another party of devotees – both serve Him. “Through this ultimate personification of all rasa, all possible types of ecstasy are harmonized. Justification of all existence is found there. That diversity and unity is all to satisfy His purpose. Radharani Herself said: “The other gopis do not know it, but I have no objection if they come forward. For my only concern is Krishna’s satisfaction. My concentration is always on that, but the standard of their service is not so exclusive as to give full satisfaction to Krishna properly. That is My objection. They rush forward to serve Krishna, but they do not know how to fully satisfy Him; otherwise, I would allow them.” In this way Radharani’s statement justifies Her feelings.”[1]

So, this feeling of exclusive devotion to Krishna – that is Her special beauty.

“What is the purpose of this world? That is known only to Him. The first verse of Shrimad Bhagavatam states that He alone is fully aware of the purpose of His activities. He is the Absolute and He doesn’t have to explain Himself to anyone. Everything is for Him; nevertheless, in some way He is for us. It is also said in the Bhagavatam: aham bhakta para dino[2] – “I do not know anyone but My devotees. All the saints are in my heart. And I know that I’m also in their hearts. They do not know anyone else but Me and I also don’t care about anything else but them.” Krishna is for the devotees and the devotees are for Krishna. “That is the substance and the potency, the enjoyer and the enjoyed, the positive and the negative, the served and the servitor – both combine to make the whole, the subject and the object. No subject can exist without an object. Subject means the thinking thinker. And there must be something to be thought; otherwise the subject cannot exist. There must be some thinker and then recognition of a particular thing.”

So, without an object, the subject cannot exist. How do you feel – like subjects? If we feel our subjective existence, we need to find the object of our life. Because without that you just float in the air. No meaning. Therefore, everything is based on relationship; as above, so below. If Krishna is searching for a relationship to exchange the mood and the feelings and the mercy that He wants to exercise, therefore we, in this reflected reality, we also need to find a proper objective for our life. The best is if you can find the most delicate and the highest ideal; and then you can live for that.

(to be continued)

[1] From Shrila Shridhara Maharaj’s Centenary Anthology

[2] Shrimad Bhagavatam 9.4.63