How do we know we are studying Vedanta in Bhagavata? How would we gauge that we are actually becoming more like Bhagavan Krshna? When we feel less belongs to us, starting with less articles which becomes training for less circumstances, which then becomes training for less beings. We don’t own our mother, our kids, which becomes training that this body doesn’t belong to us either. We are simply leasing this body, which becomes training that our thoughts do not belong to us. Imagine all these thoughts that are so heavy, we just let them go. Then this becomes training that the ego does not belong to me, that the ego is not me…egoless.
Our course is training in lessening all that is not us. In doing so, we become a Maha Bhagavata. We don’t just study Bhagavata, but we become a Maha Bhagavata like Rishi Prahlada or Sri Rantideva. Sri Rantideva was the King, but never felt anything belonged to him, including his own family.
Our Bhagavan Krshna was born in Mathura, and was there for a very short time. Then He moved to Brihadvana or Gokula. Kula is family and Go means cows. So Gokula is not a place, but it is this place that the family that revolves around cows goes. So Gokula is everywhere for Bhagavan Krshna. So when everyone thought Brihadvana was cursed, they moved to Vrindavana. So this was the third stop in Bhagavan Krshna’s life so far and our most recent asura has been Agha Asura. Agha means sin. Sin is that which always has its mouth open and as soon as we enter, closes that mouth upon us. It is like dessert, one slice is not enough, like a show, one show is not enough. It closes upon us.
Bhagavan Krshna tried to share with His family and friends to think before we act. Bhagavan Krshna knew that this apparent cave was an asura, no one else did. They just acted without thinking, almost like a ritualist, just doing, doing without thinking about why we are doing what we are doing. When Agha asura was destroyed, a light emerged out of him and merged with Bhagavan Krshna. And as this python began to decay, it’s skin that remained was very big and all the kids would play in the skin of this python.
Let us look at some more details of Bhagavan Krshna’s behaviour which are such beautiful examples of His leela or play. When Bhagavan Krshna was living in Gokula, some of the people would often boss Him around. They would say, “Krshna, bring me this stool, Krishna bring me this vessel”, and He would do it. He is described as one of those push button dolls that would do whatever one wanted, but sometimes if something was too heavy or too hard, He would put his hands up, being flustered and just sigh! And so many would do that just to see this precious child be flustered. He would never want to come home. So Devi Yashoda would tell Bhagavan Krshna that His father was waiting for Him to eat. And Shri Nanda would wait till Bhagavan Krshna came home, to eat. Think about how hungry Shri Nanda would be working so much, but as soon as he saw that young boy, he didn’t need to eat.
Raja Parikshita was told by Rishi Shuka that this narration about Bhagavan Krshna destroying Agha Asura took place when Bhagavan Krshna was 5 years old. Now when all of the family and friends ran back to their families to tell them what had happened, an entire year had passed and Bhagavan Krshna was 6 years old by then. This caught Raja Parikshita’s attention, and he wanted to know what had happened in that1 year. This really indicates in a deep way that the Purana or Itihasa, though ancient, are fresh, means relevant. This did happen last year, but it is being narrated this year as it is as relevant, just as vulgar people are interested in vulgarity, Rishi Shuka tells Raja Parikshita. For one who is vulgar, does prostitution ever become old? For one who likes to escape through alcohol, they would have had many drinks, but does it ever become old for them? So we want to know what happened during that year.
Skanda 10:13:20: Rishi Shuka is telling Raja Parikshita that the Atma, that is Bhagavan Krshna, became all the cows and all the cowherds, became all of the accessories that the cows and cowherds need, like reins and buckets. Bhagavan Krshna looked after all the cows and cowherds by Himself because He is the Spirit of all. How did this happen and how did Bhagavan Krshna become all of the cows and cowherds? Why did He have to become so?
When Agha asura was destroyed, Bhagavan Brahma, the creator was watching, and he was fascinated that this 5 year old boy was able to destroy this python and also save all of his family and friends. So he wanted to know more about this beautiful boy. Another commentary shares that when Bhagavan Brahma saw how much people love Bhagavan Krshna, he became competitive and wanted to compete with this young boy.
Bhagavan Krshna and all of the cowherds were sitting on the sand dunes near the Yamuna with Bhagavan Krshna in the middle and all the others around Him, almost like a flower, He being the center and all the others like the petals. As described in the Bhagavata, “With his flute stuck between His waist cloth and the abdomen and with a blow horn and staff in His left armpit and left hand respectively, with balls of curd rice in His right palm and various condiments between the fingers, He sat in the midst of his friends cracking jokes and making them laugh, as the celestials looked on steeped in wonder.” They were immersed in enjoying themselves and then they stopped hearing the noises of their cows that were grazing in the field. So all the boys got up to find their cows, but Bhagavan Krshna told them all to enjoy and that He would go to gather all of the cows. So He, but He couldn’t find these cows anywhere. So when He came back to the Yamuna to tell them where the cows went, the boys were gone too, and Bhagavan Krshna was all by Himself.
What had happened was that Bhagavan Brahma had taken all of the cows and Gopas and made them go to sleep and hid them. He didn’t hurt them. When Bhagavan Krshna realised what was happening, what did He do? He became all of the cows and He became all of the Gopas, and they all went back to the Gokula and their families. And for an entire year, Bhagavan Krshna, as Bhagavan Krshna, and as the Gopas and as the cows, He just interacted, as usual and looked after all the Gopas and cows by Himself. What was happening was that all of the cows were giving more milk, and all of those children were giving more joy to their parents. It was an amazing year for everyone.
As this was all going on and on and on, Bhagavan Brahma thought he should dig in and let this play out, but he realized that he could not compete with Bhagavan Krshna. So he surrendered to Bhagavan Krshna. After he surrendered, then all of the factual cows and gopas came out of their sleep after one year and then went back to their families and narrated what had happened. When Bhagavan Brahma had asked Bhagavan Krshna why He had played this trick on him, Bhagavan Krshna told him that he wanted to bring him more joy. As Bhagavan Brahma wanted to know more about Bhagavan Krshna, He did this to bless Bhagavan Brahma and bless all those families. He did this to bless the cows. Bhagavan Krshna’s only agenda is to bless.
Vedanta: Thus far we have studied a lot of Asuras who are symbols for vices. Bhagavan Brahma is a Sura, not an Asura, who is also a symbol for a vice that is arrogance. Bhagavan Brahma forgot that he was created. He only thought of himself as the creator and forgot that he too was created. All that is created is limited, but he forgot that and thought himself to be limitless. If we apply this to our lives, and we think we are going to create happiness, whatever we are going to create is going to be limited. It will come, it will go. That is why independent joy is not created, but is realized — I have forgotten, but now I remember.
Shared differently, Bhagavan Brahma is the effect and Bhagavan Narayana is the cause. That is why Bhagavan Brahma emerges from the navel of Bhagavan Narayana. So what should the effect do? The effect is to serve the cause. We too are the effect and should serve the cause, our parents, our grandparents and grow past that to community, society, humanity and divinity — part to whole. This narration also shows how the ego expresses through the intellect and that expression is as doership and Bhagavan Brahma feels that he is the doer. If there is doership, there will be deservership and that is where he felt that he needed to compete, that this 5 year old boy is getting more recognition, more appreciation, more inclusion than himself. If he didn’t have the doership, he wouldn’t have the deservership either. If there is a doer, that Doer has to be Bhagavan. There is only oneness. If there is twoness, it has to have come from that oneness. So these are some insights into why this happened, why even if we are good people, trying to become great, arrogance can still creep in and manifest. So what can we do most practically? Acknowledge generously. Whenever we have the opportunity to acknowledge, be generous about acknowledging. We tend to not acknowledge. Whatever we become in life, we tend to hoard that. When we become great, we tend to become independent of the Guru-Shishya parampara. So it is important to remember that it is Bhagavan Brahma who is symbolizing this arrogance. Acknowledge generously.
Some poetic insights: Rishi Shuka is pointing out to Raja Parikshita –
- Shri Nanda had untied Bhagavan Krshna from that mortar and thought it was very humorous that Shri Nanda was untying the One who frees us all. What a leela, he shares.
- Bhagavan Krshna was given the responsibility to guard the calves, when He is The Guardian of creation, of the multiverse.
- So many came to Bhagavan Krshna with the agenda of death, but they are the ones who died. He is death, He is the destroyer.
- Now Bhagavan Brahma comes spewing out Maya at Mayapati. What a leela! Bhagavan Krshna is so charismatically playing with this. He never got mad at Bhagavan Brahma; He only played the same game.