Kṛṣṇa Pleases His Devotees

Chapter Forty-eight. Heading: "Krsna Pleases His Devotees."

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For days together, Krsna heard from Uddhava the situation in Vrndavana-the condition of His father and mother, of the gopis, of the cowherds boys, all in detail-and when He was fully satisfied that Uddhava was able to solace them by his instruction and the message delivered to them, Lord Krsna decided to go to the house of Kubja, the hunchbacked woman who pleased Krsna by delivering the sandalwood pulp when Krsna was entering in the city of Mathura, described previously. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna always tries to please His devotees, as much as the devotees try to please Krsna. As the devotees always think of Krsna within their heart, similarly, Krsna also thinks of His devotee within Himself. The society girl Kubja, when she was immediately converted into a beautiful girl, she desired that Krsna would come to his place…, to her place and she could try to receive and worship Krsna in her own way.

The society girls generally try to satisfy their clients by offering their bodies to be enjoyed by the men. But this society girl Kubja was actually captivated by lust that she would satisfy her senses by Krsna. When Krsna desired to go to the house of Kubja, certainly He had no desire for sense gratification. By supplying the sandalwood pulp to Krsna, Kubja had already satisfied the senses of Krsna. So Krsna also, on the plea of her sense gratification, wanted to go to her house not actually for sense gratification, but to turn her into a pure devotee. Krsna is always served by many thousands of goddess of fortune; therefore, He has no business to satisfy His senses by going to a society girl. But as He is kind to everyone, He desired to go there.

It is said that the moonshine is never denied for shining the courtyard of a crooked person; similarly, Krsna's transcendental mercy is never denied to anyone, if somebody has rendered service unto Him, either in the process of lust, anger, fearfulness or by pure love. It is said in the Caitanya-caritamrta that if anyone wants to serve Krsna, at the same times tries to satisfy his own lusty desires, in that case Krsna handles the matter in such a way that the devotee forgets his lusty desires and becomes as fully purified devotees constantly engaged in the service of the Lord.

So in order to fulfill His past promise, Uddhava [Krsna] went to the house of Kubja, along with Uddhava, coincidentally, when the society girl Kubja was very much anxious to get Krsna for satisfaction of her lusty desires. When Krsna reached the house of Kubja, He saw that her house was completely decorated in a fashion which excites lusty desires of a man. It suggests that there were many naked pictures also, on the top of which there were canopies and flags embroidered with pearls and pearl necklaces, along with comfortable bedstead and cushioned chairs. The rooms were provided with nicely scented incense sprinkled over by scented water and illuminated by nice lamps, flower garlands and similar other things.

When Kubja saw that Lord Krsna has come to her house in order to fulfill His promised visit, she immediately got up from the chair to receive Him cordially and, accompanied by her many girlfriends, began to talk with Him with great respect and honor. In this way, after offering Him a nice place for sitting, she worshiped Lord Krsna just suitable to her position. Along with Krsna, Uddhava was similarly received by Kubja and her girlfriends, but Uddhava did not take place on the equal level. He tried to sit down on the ground. Lord Sri Krsna also, without wasting any more time, as it is generally practiced, entered the bedroom of Kubja.

In the meantime, Kubja also took her bath and smeared over the body with the pulp of sandalwood and dressed herself with nice garments, with..., decorated with valuable jewelry, ornaments, flower garlands, flavored by nice scents, chewing betel nuts and other intoxicating eatables, and in this way she decorated her body very nicely and appeared before Krsna with feminine bashfulness, smiling glance, movement of the eyebrows, and thus very gracefully appeared before Lord Krsna, who is generally known as Madhava, the husband of goddess of fortune. When Krsna saw that Kubja was hesitating to come before her [Him], He immediately caught hold of her hand, decorated with bangles, and with great affection dragged her beside Him and made her sat by His side. The society girl, simply by supplying pulp of sandalwood previously to the Supreme Lord, Krsna, became freed from all sinful reaction of her life, thus became eligible to enjoy with Krsna.

Generally, the woman feels lusty from the breast; therefore, she immediately took Krsna's lotus feet and placed on her breast, which was practically burning with the blazing fire of lust. Kubja, pressing the lotus feet of Krsna on her breast, began to smell with her nose, and thus immediately became relieved from all lusty desires. She was allowed to embrace Krsna with her two arms and thus mitigate her long desire for Krsna as a visitor in her house.

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In this way, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that nobody can be engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord without being freed from all material sinful reaction. Therefore Kubja, simply by supplying sandalwood pulp to Krsna, was already freed from all sinful reaction and thus became eligible to enjoy with her [Him] in this way. She was not trained up to worship Krsna in any other way; therefore, she wanted to satisfy Krsna in her own professional way. As it is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, the Lord can be worshiped even by one's professional way if it is sincerely offered for the pleasure of the Lord. Kubja began to address Krsna and said, "My dear friend, kindly just remain with me at least for a few days. Enjoy with me like this. My dear lotus-eyed friend, I cannot leave You immediately. Please grant my request."

As stated in the Vedic versions that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has multipotencies. This Kubja is, according to expert opinion, representing the bhu-sakti potency of Krsna. As Srimati Radharani is representing the cit-sakti potency of Krsna, similarly, Kubja is also representing another similar potency of Krsna. Although Kubja requested Krsna to remain with her for some days, Krsna politely impressed upon her that it was not possible for Him to stay with her, as much as Krsna visits this material world occasionally, whereas His connection in the spiritual world is eternal. Either in the Vaikuntha planet or in the Goloka Vrndavana planet Krsna is always present. The technical term of His presence in the spiritual world is called prakata-lila.

In this way, after satisfying Kubja by sweet words, Krsna returned to His place along with Uddhava. In this connection there is a warning in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that Krsna is not very easily worshipable, because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the chief amongst the visnu-tattvas. Therefore, to worship Krsna or to have association with Him is not very easy job. It is specifically warning therefore for devotees who are attracted with Krsna by conjugal love that it is not good for them to desire to have sense gratification directly by association with Krsna.

Actually, the sense gratification activities are material activities. In the spiritual world, although there are symptoms like kissing, embracing, but there is no sense gratificatory processes as they exist in the material world. This warning is specifically for those who are known as sahajiya, who take it for granted Krsna as ordinary human being and wants to enjoy sex life with Him in a perverted way. Sense gratification in the spiritual relationship is most insignificant. Anyone who desires like that must be considered as less intelligent and requires to be reformed in that mentality.

Similarly, after some time, as He promised Akrūra also to visit his house, He desired to go there, accompanied by both Lord Balarama and Uddhava. As Akrūra was in relationship with Krsna of servitorship, Krsna wanted to accept some service from him in this connection. When Krsna, Balarama and Uddhava was approaching the house of Akrūra, he immediately came forward, embraced Uddhava and offered respectful obeisances, bowing down before Lord Krsna and Balarama. Krsna, Balarama and Uddhava also in turn offered him obeisances, and they were offered very nice sitting place by Akrūra.

When all of them were comfortably seated, Akrūra immediately washed their feet and sprinkled the water on his head. Then he offered nice clothing, flowers, sandalwood pulp to worship them regularly, and all three of them became very much satisfied with the behavior of Akrūra. After this, Akrūra bowed down before Krsna, putting his head on the ground and then, keeping His lotus feet on his lap, began to press them mildly in the way of massaging. When Akrūra was fully satisfied in the presence of Krsna-Balarama, his eyes became filled with water for love of Krsna and began to offer his prayers as follows.

"My dear Lord Krsna, it is very kind of You that You have killed Kamsa, along with his associates, and thereby You have delivered the whole family of the Yadu dynasty from the greatest calamity. Your saving of the Yadu dynasty in this way will always be remembered by them. My dear Lord Krsna and Balarama, You are the original personalities from whom everything has emanated. You are the original cause of all causes. By You have inconceivable energy, You are all-pervasive and present everywhere. Except Yourself, there is no other cause and effect, both gross and subtle. You are the Supreme Brahman, realized by the study of the Vedas. Now You are also, by Your inconceivable energy, actually visible before us. You create this cosmic manifestation by Your own potencies, and by entering into it Yourself.

"As the five material elements, namely earth, water, fire, air, sky, is distributed in everything, manifested by different kinds of bodies, similarly, You alone only enter into such different varieties of bodies, created by Your own energy as Your part-and-parcel living entities, as well as independently Yourself as the Supersoul, and thus it appears they are all differently situated. In other words, all the different forms of living entities, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita, sarva-yonisu [Bg 14.4].

The material body is created by the inferior energy of Krsna, and the living entities are part and parcel of Krsna, and the Supersoul is localized representation of Krsna. Now, this material body, the living entity and the Supersoul combined together constitute an individual living being, but originally they are all different energies only of the Supreme Lord.

"In the material world, You are creating and maintaining and dissolving the whole manifestation by interaction of three qualities, namely goodness, passion and ignorance. You are not implicated by the activities of those material qualities and work. The reason is that Your supreme knowledge is never overcome by such activities, as it is in the case of individual living entity."

The idea is that as the Supreme Lord enters into this material creation and thus the creation, maintenance and annihilation go on in their due course, similarly, each part and parcel, the living entity, enters also in this material elements and a material body is created for him. But the difference is that the living entity, being part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, has the tendency of being overcome by the interaction of material qualities, whereas Krsna, the Parambrahma, or the Supreme Brahma, being situated always in full knowledge, is never overcome by such activities. Therefore Krsna's name is Acyuta. Acyuta means who never falls down. Krsna's knowledge of spiritual identity is never overcome by material action, whereas the minute part-and-parcel living entity's identity is prone to be overcome by material actions. The individual living entities are eternally part and parcel minute spark of the original fire, Krsna. Therefore, as the spark has tendency of being extinguished but the original fire hasn't got, similarly, the living entities are overcome by material activities, whereas Krsna never becomes so.

"Less intelligent class of men who adduce it that Your transcendental form is also made of material energy and designation is not at all applicable. Nothing is directly different from You. As such, there is no difference from You and Your body. And because there is no difference between You and Your body, there is no question of Your being conditioned or Your being liberated. You are ever-liberated in any condition of life, and as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, only the fools and rascals consider You like ordinary man. So to consider Your Lordship as one of us, conditioned by the material nature, is due to our imperfect knowledge.

"When people deviate from this original knowledge of Vedas and try to identify ordinary living entities with Your Lordship, at that time Your Lordship appear on this earth in Your original form in order to reestablish the real knowledge that living entities and the Supreme God are neither one or equal to Him. My dear Lord, You are always situated in uncontaminated goodness-within brackets-[suddha-sattva]. Your appearance is only necessary to reestablish actual Vedic knowledge, against the atheistic philosophy, which tries to establish that God and living entities are one and the same.

"My dear Lord Krsna, this time You have appeared in the home of Vasudeva as his son, along with Your plenary expansion Sri Baladeva, and Your mission is to kill all the atheistic royal family, along with their huge military strength. You have advented Yourself to minimize the overburden of the world, and in order to fulfill this mission You have glorified the dynasty of Yadu, appearing in the family as one of the members.

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"My dear Lord, today my home has become purified on account of Your presence. I have become the most fortunate person in the world, because in my home the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is worshipable by all different grades of demigods, pitrs, living entities, kings, emperors, and who is the Supersoul of everything, and the wash water of whose lotus feet is purifying the three worlds, has now so kindly come at my place. Who is there in the three worlds amongst the factual learned men that will not take shelter of Your lotus feet and surrender unto You? Who is such a foolish person that will deny to become Your devotee, knowing it well that nobody can be affectionate like You to His devotee?

"In the Vedic literature, You have declared everywhere that You are the most dearest friend of every living entity. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, suhrdam sarva-bhūtanam [Bg 5.29].

You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, completely capable of fulfilling the desires of Your devotees, real friend of everyone, and in spite of Your giving Yourself to Your devotees, You are never deviated from Your original prowess. Therefore, Your potency has neither any decrease or increase in volume.

"My dear Lord, it is very difficult even for the great mystic yogis or for the demigods to ascertain Your movements. You cannot be approached even by them, and still, out of Your causeless mercy You have kindly consented to come at my place. Therefore, this is the most auspicious moment in the journey of my material existence. By Your grace only, I can just understand that my home, my wife, my children, my worldly possession, all of them are different bondages of my material existence. Please therefore You cut the knot and save me from this entanglement of false society, friendship and love."

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Lord Sri Krsna was very much pleased by the offering of prayers by Akrūra, and while He was smiling and captivating Akrūra more and more, He began to reply his submissive devotional statement. The Lord replied as follows in very sweet words: "My dear Akrūra, in spite of your all submissiveness, I consider you as My superior, on the level of My father and teachers, and most well-wishing friend. You are, therefore, worshipable by Me, and as your child I am always to be protected by you. I desire to be maintained by you, because I belong to the group of your own children. Apart from our this filial relationship and exalted devotee's life, you are always to be worshiped by everyone. Anyone who desires his auspicity must offer his respectful obeisances unto personalities like you.

"You are more than the demigods. People go to worship to the demigods when they are in need of some sense gratification. In other words, the demigods offer some benediction to the devotees after being worshiped by them. But a devotee like Akrūra is always ready to offer the greatest benediction to the people. In other words, a saintly person or devotee is free to offer benediction to everyone, whereas the demigods, they can offer benediction after being worshiped. One can take advantage of the place of pilgrimage and the demigods after going there or by worshiping them, respectively, which takes lots of time for fulfillment of the desire. But a saintly person like you, My dear Akrūra, can immediately fulfill all desires of the devotee. My dear Akrūra, you are always our friend and well-wisher. You are always ready to act for our welfare. Kindly, therefore, go to Hastinapura just to see what arrangement has been made for the Panḍavas."

In other words, Krsna was very much anxious to know about the sons of Panḍu, because they had lost their father in very minor ages. Krsna, being specifically very much friendly to His devotees, was anxious to know about them, and therefore He deputed Akrūra to go to Hastinapura and take information about the real situation.

Krsna continued to say that "I am hearing that after the death of King Panḍu, his minor sons like Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva, along with their widow mother, has been taken charge by Dhrtarastra to look after them as their guardian. But I have heard also that Dhrtarastra is not only blind by birth, but he is also blind in affection for his cruel son, Duryodhana. Although the five Panḍavas are the sons of King Panḍu, still, on account of Dhrtarastra designing plan, he is not very much favorably disposed towards the Panḍavas. If you kindly go there and study the situation how Dhrtarastra is dealing with the Panḍavas, and on receipt of your report I shall think over the matter how to do good to the Panḍavas." In this way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, ordered Akrūra to go to Hastinapura, and thus returned home, accompanied by Balarama and Uddhava.

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Thus ends the Forty-eighth Chapter Krsna in the matter of "Krsna Pleases His Devotees."