Three Questions To Ask When Worshiping Mahadeva For Material Benefit

“Lord Shiva’s worshipers sometimes appear more opulent than the worshipers of Lord Vishnu because Durga, or Sati, being the superintendent in charge of material affairs, can offer all material opulences to the worshipers of Lord Shiva in order to glorify her husband, whereas the worshipers of Vishnu are meant for spiritual elevation, and therefore their material opulence is sometimes found to decrease.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.4.21 Purport)

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In America there is something known as the payday loan store. If you need cash right away, you can visit one of these establishments and essentially borrow against your paycheck. The interest rate is very high, and so is the likelihood of default on repayment. Nevertheless, the option is there in case you are really desperate.

When following worship in the tradition of the Vedas, there are certain ways to achieve success quickly. You won’t have to do as much. The reward will arrive sooner, and the benefactor will not discriminate as to your purpose.

The key is to approach the right person. Due to his transcendental glories, Lord Shiva has many names. As his association is auspicious, there is always some purification when making the approach. Since he grants rewards without requiring much in return, he is also known as Ashutosha. This means “easily pleased,” but before approaching him for material rewards, a sober-minded person should ask some questions.

1. Why doesn’t Mahadeva ask for wealth

Who doesn’t need money? Who actually thinks that they have enough at the moment? On the television channel devoted to business, there is an interview with a leader of a company. The chyron graphic describes him as a “billionaire.” Yet there he is talking about the stock market. He has more money than anyone could ever dream of, but that is not enough.

Mahadeva can certainly make someone wealthy. A simple offering like a leaf or water poured over his deity form is the requirement. Yet one interesting thing to note is that Lord Shiva himself is not very wealthy. If he is, then he must be doing a great job of hiding his assets. He lives in a remote cave high atop a mountain that is basically inaccessible to human beings. He barely has any clothes, and there are ashes smeared over his body.

2. Why doesn’t he enjoy the senses

While there may be variety in the material reward sought, the ultimate purpose is always the same: enjoying the senses. Money for buying things. Beauty for enhancing attractiveness. Good health to live long to enjoy the different aspects of the material world.

Yet Lord Shiva does not pass the time in this way. He barely has anything to begin with. He has the most beautiful wife in Parvati Devi, the daughter of the mountain king. No one is around to bother them. They could spend hours and hours in physical enjoyment, but they don’t.

3. What does he do with his time

Mahadeva is fixed in meditation. He is concentrated on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord in His form of Rama. Lord Shiva is expert at Rama-katha. He discourses on the qualities and pastimes of Vishnu in this specific avatara, and his wisdom gets passed on to other saintly personalities. The teachings reach notable poets like Goswami Tulsidas, who is forever grateful in the process.

It is said that the general tendency is for worshipers of Shiva to be wealthy and worshipers of Vishnu to be poor. Mahadeva himself embodies this. He is actually the richest person due to the wealth in devotion, but material accumulation is not very important to him. He fulfills the role assigned to him of helping those in need, but he takes the most pleasure in contemplating the Absolute.

In Closing:

When of quick assistance in need,

Towards Mahadeva to proceed.

From just a little water poured,

Money and wealth to award.

But his situation different why,

Renounced so why myself to try?

Focused on Vishnu and lila explaining,

Wisdom for highest realm attaining.

Three Reasons Brahma Didn’t Play Tricks On Hiranyakashipu

“In order to convince Brahma that all those cows, calves and boys were not the original ones, the cows, calves, and boys who were playing with Krishna transformed into Vishnu forms. Actually, the original ones were sleeping under the spell of Brahma's mystic power, but the present ones, seen by Brahma, were all immediate expansions of Krishna, or Vishnu.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 13)

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“My young child has been really into watching video depictions of Krishna’s pastimes lately. I know that there is some controversy surrounding the issue, but as a parent there isn’t much choice. We don’t have extended family around to assist in childcare. If I can get my kid to be calm through watching videos of Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I jump at the chance.

“I am familiar with the real-life stories, as I have studied Shrimad Bhagavatam and other Puranas. I must say that despite the cartoon-like nature of the videos, the content is rather true to the original. One episode I have had to play frequently is the stealing of the cows and cowherd boys by Lord Brahma, the creator.

“One thing dawned on me. Why didn’t Brahma play a similar trick on other people, such as Hiranyakashipu? If he felt the need to interfere in Krishna’s pastimes, why didn’t he step into the situation of a powerful asura causing havoc around the world? You see what I am saying, right? Krishna was not bothering anyone in the land of Vrindavana. There was no purpose to interfering. Why not do some good with your efforts, instead?”

1. Nothing to gain through interference

One significant difference is that Hiranyakashipu is not God. There would be no reason to test his abilities, since the ascension to power occurred through Brahma’s favor. The Daitya leader previously wasn’t as strong. He underwent tremendous austerities in order to get the attention of the four-faced creator.

With Shri Krishna, people are always testing His limits. They want to be sure that He is actually God. Brahma wondered how Krishna would react to the situation of His friends going missing. The creator should have known better, but he had a close relationship with the Almighty.

Krishna was not empowered by Brahma, so how great was His ability exactly? By expanding into identical forms of the missing children and animals, Brahma’s plan was foiled. No damage was done. Krishna even showed the identical forms as Vishnu to Brahma, just in case the creator was still unsure.

2. Maya was already playing tricks on Hiranyakashipu

Shri Krishna is the controller of maya. He is never in illusion. Brahma thus indirectly wanted to see if he could succeed in an area where maya could not. As the creator of the species, perhaps Brahma had enough proficiency to baffle someone who is able to enchant the entire universe.

Hiranyakashipu was already under illusion. There was no reason to play an extra trick on him. The Daitya leader either thought there was no God or that the Vishnu person worshiped by the saintly class was actually an enemy to the people.

Hiranyakashipu would not listen to sound logic and reasoning. Prahlada’s teachings were a kind of interference, and they made no impact on the stubborn father. Prahlada already baffled the great atheist by surviving the many attacks made against him. Hiranyakashipu was suffering greatly in illusion, and so intervention by Brahma was not necessary.

3. Vishnu would save the day

Hiranyakashipu was causing problems for the devatas, the demigods administering the material creation. The situation on earth was dire. Yet Vishnu promised to arrive at the appropriate time. He would save the day. Prahlada was the first responder, the clandestine agent highlighting the need for outside intervention.

Vishnu eventually descended as Narasimha, the half-man/half-lion. He baffled the already bewildered Hiranyakashipu by breaking through the boons of protection. What Brahma gifted ended up being worthless when faced against the nails of the transcendental protector of Prahlada Maharaja.

In Closing:

Brahma boons to asura gave,

Why differently with Krishna to behave?

Where with pastimes interfering,

Wrath of Krishna not fearing?

With Hiranyakashipu not necessary to go,

Since already under illusion so.

Never understood God to be,

Thus no reason for limits to see.

Three Areas Where It Is Difficult To Be A Self-Starter

“How can I ensure that the purpose of my task does not get destroyed? How shall I avoid mental disparity, and how do I ensure that my crossing of the ocean does not go for naught?” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 2.41)

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न विनश्येत्कथं कार्यं वैक्लब्यं न कथं भवेत् |
लङ्घनं च समुद्रस्य कथं नु न वृथा भवेत् ||

na vinaśyetkathaṃ kāryaṃ vaiklabyaṃ na kathaṃ bhavet |
laṅghanaṃ ca samudrasya kathaṃ nu na vṛthā bhavet ||

When someone is praised as a “self-starter,” there is a need to distinguish from those who aren’t. That is to say it is much easier to find someone who needs assistance, who cannot go it alone. We come across many such situations in life where an extra boost from an outside participant provides significant help in jumpstarting the process.

1. Working from home

“I thought this was going to be great. No more facing the rush-hour commute. No more sitting in traffic, waiting forever to reach the office, only to then begin the work day. Now I can sleep in peace the night before. Get up whenever I want. Work from my bedroom, if I so desire. Gather some momentum in the critical early morning hours.

“Of course the reality is totally different. I am behind on a lot of projects. Others in the family seem to think that I have no pressing responsibilities. Therefore, they feel free to interrupt me at any time of the day, asking to run this errand and that.

“It has also been difficult to find an appropriate work space. I need some sort of deadline in order to get the impetus to begin. When something is due, I need a place to go and concentrate. The office environment was helpful in that there were others with whom to collaborate. I could take inspiration from them to proceed forward and challenge myself to reach new heights.”

2. Sticking to an exercise routine

It is one of the great ideas for a business in an industrialized nation. Start a fitness center franchise. As there is ample opportunity to eat any kind of food, the general tendency is towards overconsumption. Due to riding in automobiles, daily physical exertion is greatly reduced.

In steps the gym membership. Join an establishment in order to improve health. The issue is that most people stop going after joining. The membership fee continues to be deducted month after month. The owner of the franchise essentially collects money for free.

Then when the member finally does quit, they find it difficult to start an exercise routine on their own. The equipment could be as nearby as the next room in the home, but to actually set aside time to try and exercise is not easy. After a hard day at work, the sofa and the bed seem to have a magnetic effect.

3. Worshiping in isolation

Here a person is interested in purifying the consciousness. They have taken lessons on the science of self-realization, atma-tattva, and studied sacred texts like Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam, which describe the essence of living and the real form of yoga.

The issue is similar to the desire to exercise. How to start out by yourself? Chanting the maha-mantra is a pleasurable experience: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. To follow a routine, to gather numerical strength from repetition, is difficult when you are on your own. If there could be at least one program a week, where you meet with like-minded individuals, something like a club or association, then progress would be easier to make.

…

Juxtapose these real-life issues with the problems faced one time by Shri Hanuman. He was in a foreign territory all by himself. He had no choice but to be a self-starter. He already had made significant progress. No one would believe that a monkey-like individual could leap across a massive ocean. Though it certainly occurred, there are still skeptics to this day.

Yet that achievement would be rendered meaningless if Hanuman did not fulfill the mission of finding Sita Devi, the missing wife of Shri Rama. The dedicated servant to the Vanara-king named Sugriva had no means of communicating with the home base. There were no friends in this enemy territory of Lanka; only people who would try to kill him if his presence were discovered.

Hanuman had to decide where to go next. He had to figure out a way to remain undetected. He needed to think of a plan to win Sita’s favor and trust, should she be found. Then he had to determine how to return back to Rama safely, with the proper information remembered.

As he ended up succeeding, Hanuman proved to be the ultimate self-starter. He worships Sita and Rama to this day, mostly in isolation. Through his strength a person can persevere and cross over the vast ocean of suffering that is birth and death, returning to the spiritual kingdom to which everyone actually belongs.

In Closing:

With potential staying in mind,

Self-starter difficult to find.

Like with working from home,

Lazy when all alone.

That exercise equipment just sitting,

Purchased after membership quitting.

Juxtapose with Hanuman in Lanka’s ground,

Where success in difficult mission found.

What Proof Is There That Animals Have The Same Kind Of Soul

“When the living entity wants to enjoy the modes of material nature in their totality, he prefers, out of many bodily forms, to accept that body which has nine gates, two hands and two legs. Thus he prefers to become a human being or a demigod.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.29.4)

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यदा जिघृक्षन् पुरुषः
कार्त्स्न्येन प्रकृतेर् गुणान्
नव-द्वारं द्वि-हस्ताङ्घ्रि
तत्रामनुत साध्व् इति

yadā jighṛkṣan puruṣaḥ
kārtsnyena prakṛter guṇān
nava-dvāraṁ dvi-hastāṅghri
tatrāmanuta sādhv iti

Friend1: I think one of the more eye-opening teachings from the bhakti school, at least for someone who doesn’t grow up in that culture, is the equality with the animals.

Friend2: You mean that human beings and animals are no different?

Friend1: At the individual level, based on the soul. This whole dichotomy between body and spirit. I think most religions, or faiths if you want to use that term, do not delve into that area.

Friend2: Yeah, take the idea of a savior, be absolved of sin and don’t inquire any further.

Friend1: You are a bad person. Don’t risk eternal damnation. Avoid the sentence to hell. Sign up with our denomination.

Friend2: No inquisitiveness at all as to the nature around us. If I am condemned for not believing, what happens to the people who never get to make that choice?

Friend1: Such as the children who don’t make it out of the womb alive.

Friend2: And to err is human. If based on my circumstances I can’t become convinced of a certain path, why would I forever be punished? Shouldn’t I get another chance? God is so miserly as to take revenge on me? Makes no sense, because then many authority figures would be superior to God in that area.

Friend1: Because they are forgiving. Like the parent not minding if the child happens to reach onto the altar and take a sacred picture of Sita and Rama.

Friend2: The child shouldn’t do that, but still. They are a child. They don’t know better.

Friend1: Back to my original topic. If someone argues that the animal has a different kind of soul or no soul at all, how do we respond?

Friend2: You can go off symptoms. This is the comparative method employed by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The animal eats. It sleeps, mates and defends.

Friend1: As do the humans.

Friend2: The nature of the interaction may be different. A tiger consumes different food than a cow. A king may enjoy a fancy dinner while the average person subsists on inexpensive noodles.

Friend1: But no one would say that the king has a different kind of soul than the citizen they protect.

Friend2: Exactly.

Friend1: Okay, so that is a kind of empirical evidence. Not direct perception, in the true sense. What about evidence from shastra?

Friend2: Isn’t that the foundation of this entire discussion?

Friend1: Do you have any specific verses? In the Bhagavad-gita we get hints, such as the living entity carrying conceptions to future lives, like the air carrying aromas.

शरीरं यद् अवाप्नोति
यच् चाप्य् उत्क्रामतीश्वरः
गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति
वायुर् गन्धान् इवाशयात्

śarīraṁ yad avāpnoti
yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ
gṛhītvaitāni saṁyāti
vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt

“The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.8)

Friend2: The body/spirit distinction explains everything. There is no qualification on the type of body. The same spirit soul can occupy any form, of which there are 8,400,000 available. This is due to the artistic ability of Lord Brahma, the creator.

Friend1: Again, any type of direct verse reference would be helpful.

Friend2: You can find them in Shrimad Bhagavatam. The teaching is so fundamental to the entire culture that specific references aren’t required. You also have the instances where someone had a future birth in a different kind of body.

Friend1: Oh, right! Like King Nriga as a lizard. Bharata as a deer.

Friend2: Don’t forget the sons of Kuvera as trees. You see, your focus is only on the animals, but the soul can inhabit any type of body. The soul within the tree is identical in quality to the soul in any other kind of form.

Friend1: That’s good to know. Thanks.

Friend2: Atma is the animating force. Soul inside. Paramatma is the ultimate guiding force. Without Paramatma nothing would exist. Join atma and paramatma. That is yoga. As Shri Krishna advises, in every respect become a yogi.

In Closing:

First from shastra known,

Confirmed by behavior shown.

That animal and human similar so,

One kind of soul in forms to go.

Body-spirit dichotomy at play,

Not mythical secret to say.

Atma matched for yoga ideal,

Truth in human birth to reveal.

Three Symbolic Aspects To The Draupadi Sari Incident

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.27)

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प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि
गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः
अहङ्कार-विमूढात्मा
कर्ताहम् इति मन्यते

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate

1. Man is ultimately helpless

This is a lesson I never seem to remember. After all, without some effort no result will manifest. Though it is easy for Him, Bhagavan still had to do something in order to create the universes. As Vishnu, He rests comfortably on the bed created by Anantadeva, His number one servant. While exhaling, the universes manifest, and when subsequently inhaling, everything returns into Him. The time in between is where we find ourselves at present.

There is illusion created from success. The trip to my parents’ house took place through my effort. I got in the car, turned it on, and drove it on the highway. There wasn’t some higher force guiding the way. I landed the job I wanted because of studying and preparing for the interview. I can alter my health for the better through proper diet and exercise.

The underlying factor is that someone must give sanction. Not every person who gets into a car successfully reaches their destination. Many people could be applying for that position, but only one will get it. Some people will never get a slimmed down waistline, no matter how much they exercise.

2. Krishna is Ananta

Life is limited, which means that everything within that experience has the same restriction. If I can only keep the body for so long a time, it means that my money, my car, my clothes, and all of my other possessions will only stay around for a fixed duration. In Sanskrit this is known as anta, or the end.

Shri Krishna is Ananta. He is also without beginning, anadi. No one can trace out His origin, as He is the beginning of the entire universe. He is also the end and beyond it. Try to accurately measure His properties and you will fail. There is no fixed height or weight. His strength is unlimited, as is His mercy towards the devotees.

3. Asuras can never remove His influence

Freedom is nice, but it can be exercised in a host of directions. While a particular nation may boast of having a democratic-style government, the issue remains that the bad guys have the potential for ascending to power. Those who openly violate life and property, who have no compassion towards a child just born, who do not respect the laws involving entry into the country, can get elected to power through verbal manipulation of the innocent voting public.

In the same way, not every person will choose the Divine way of life. Those going strongly in the other direction are known as asuras, and one of their goals is to remove God entirely from this world. They try their best to stop any type of worship, even if it should occur within the same family. They create such a dangerous environment that the saintly class is too afraid to speak the truth. They go into hiding.

Yet God is at the center. He is within the heart of the sinner as well as the saint. He can no more be removed from this world than the existence itself. The asuras can try as much as they want, but they are still subject to the aforementioned rule pertaining to the doer.

The case of Draupadi and her sari is illustrative in these areas. Though a factual historical event documented in the Sanskrit work known as the Mahabharata, since the Supreme Lord is directly involved there is always accompanying symbolism of significance.

Draupadi is an innocent princess who unfortunately gets caught up in a rivalry between two families that are related as cousins. She is the collateral to a lost wager, and the winning side, who cheated, wants to strip her naked in front of an assembly of dignitaries.

At first the princess tries to prevent the calamity herself. Yet she is no match for the strong warriors on the other side. She is losing the tug-of-war match, and fast. Realizing that she has no other way, she surrenders to the Supreme Lord, who is also known as Govinda.

Shri Krishna takes the form of the sari and transfers the ananta property to it. Thus no matter how much the fiends try, they cannot fully remove the garment from the wife of the Pandavas. Draupadi is saved, and the asuras get further proof that they cannot do any harm to the Supreme Lord. Unfortunately, they require more lessons on the same.

In Closing:

Kauravas pulling more and more,

Stripping Draupadi naked for.

To prevent calamity herself trying,

Futile effort against force applying.

Finally when to Shri Krishna to turn,

The desired result to earn.

Without end like Him sari extended,

Interests of devotees always defended.

Four Areas Where I Worry Over Money

“When he had decided to go to Krishna, he asked his wife if she had anything in the home that he could offer to Krishna, because he must take some presentation for his friend. The wife immediately collected four palmsful of chipped rice from her neighboring friends and tied it in a small cloth, like a handkerchief, and gave it to her husband to present to Krishna.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 2, Ch 25)

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1. Retirement investments

“They keep stressing the S&P 500. This is a list of the five hundred biggest publicly traded companies in the United States. One of the most famous investors says that this index will beat the performance of most financial advisors. You don’t have to think. Simply leave the money in there. Buy and hold. Long-term growth. The essence of passive investing.

“Then there are those who highlight the importance of market timing. If you had put some money into the index in a particular year, you would have needed thirteen years before you got your money back. That means breaking even. I don’t want that to happen. I’d like to not think about all of this, either. Can’t I just put my money somewhere that I know it will be relatively safe and that I am not missing out on significant returns?”

2. Direction of savings

“I finally have some discretionary spending ability now. No more having to tap into the savings to pay the monthly bills. No more worrying how to put food on the table. I understand that life situations are temporary. The entire thing could collapse at any moment, but for now I am doing well.

“Where should I put my savings? The extra money coming in, I know the stock market is too volatile. At the same time, the interest rates offered by banks are pathetic. I really don’t know what to do. It is something I would rather not think about. Yes, yes, I am well aware that this is a nice problem to have.”

3. Employment income

“Am I earning as much as I could be? Sure, I like this job. I have been here for a long time. People are amazed when I tell them my length of tenure. There is the adage that if you really want to keep increasing in salary, jump to other companies every three or so years. Another place will pay more to get you to leave than if you were looking out of desperation.”

4. Destitution

“I really have nothing. I am in such bad shape, I don’t even want to think about it. You would cry if you saw how much credit card debt is owed. I don’t pay off the balance every month. Just the minimum is enough. I understand that I could be cutting my expenses significantly, but I have a family to support. The children need to feel loved. The wife wants our house to be just as big as her friend’s. What should I do? Who can help me?”

…

There never seems to be enough money, and so financial security is like a pipe dream. At the same time, if a struggling person were to suddenly realize that they have an extremely wealthy benefactor waiting to support them, that would surely ease some of the tension.

In truth, everyone has such a connection. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan, is the richest person in the world. He is married to fortune herself, Lakshmi Devi. He has the rightful claim on property across the three worlds, and so He can help any person in need.

An accompanying realization is that the animal community makes no such plans. They are not aware of financial investments and neither can they consider annual salary. They don’t engage in prayer, either, and yet their basic needs are more or less taken care of. This is because they have the same link to Bhagavan.

Those who know Him may be in a destitute condition, such as with Sudama Vipra. A poor brahmana living close enough to visit Shri Krishna in Dvaraka, his wife gave the final nudge to make the request. Their family needed help, and so Sudama went to pay a visit to his childhood friend.

Unfortunately, he could not get up the nerve to ask for help. As antaryami, Krishna already knew the situation, and through the brahmana’s carrying a single morsel of chipped rice as an offering, the goddess of fortune became pleased. Rukmini Devi blessed the brahmana with a home transformed into a palace and many servants to help the family.

Everything in the situation changed, except the devotion stayed the same. The idea is that whatever is required for maintaining the service in love will be provided. In this way the yogis in devotion are the wealthiest people in the world. They can survive any market condition, working life or retirement, single or with a large family. They are connected to the person who supports the entire universe, so they have no worries.

In Closing:

Both in times of abundance and tough,

Money never having enough.

Worrying that investments to grow,

Where significant savings should go?

Brahmana Sudama destitute so,

But Krishna his condition to know.

Rukmini Devi the situation addressing,

Lord His devotees appropriately blessing.

Five Instances Of Krishna Showing The Ananta Property

“You are the origin without beginning, middle or end. You have numberless arms, and the sun and moon are among Your great unlimited eyes. By Your own radiance You are heating this entire universe.” (Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.19)

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अनादि-मध्यान्तम् अनन्त-वीर्यम्
अनन्त-बाहुं शशि-सूर्य-नेत्रम्
पश्यामि त्वां दीप्त-हुताश-वक्त्रं
स्व-तेजसा विश्वम् इदं तपन्तम्

anādi-madhyāntam ananta-vīryam
ananta-bāhuṁ śaśi-sūrya-netram
paśyāmi tvāṁ dīpta-hutāśa-vaktraṁ
sva-tejasā viśvam idaṁ tapantam

The human being is restricted by two limits. Tied to infinity, it is difficult to get a firm grasp on the idea. The primary reason is that the analysis never completes. Like the unfortunate bug in computer programming known as the infinite loop, the more a person contemplates a certain aspect, the more they have to continue down that path.

The two concepts are time and space. There is a beginning to the beginning and an end to the end. If you reach some point in time that you can safely identify as the origin, know that something exists prior to that. The same applies for the end, the point of annihilation. Time will continue to operate.

With as many boundary walls erected as can be conceived, there is still the infinite space beyond. No one can say for certain where the universe ends because the limits of travel thus far have shown more space in which to proceed.

This concept of infinity, of lacking limits, directly descends from the Supreme Lord. The Sanskrit word is ananta. In His incarnation as Shri Krishna, Bhagavan several times gave a hint of this feature.

1. After eating dirt

Balarama came home to warn the mother. Yashoda needed to know just what her boy was up to. Krishna had been playing with His friends. As children are known to do, they put foreign objects into the mouth. At some stage of maturity they should know better, but curiosity gets the best of them.

Krishna denied the accusation. He hadn’t eaten dirt. The brother and friends were lying, trying to get Him into trouble. To get confirmation on the truth, mother Yashoda decided to look into Krishna’s mouth.

What she saw was the entire universe. Forward and backward, left and right, in every direction infinite variety. It was like going on a ride throughout the creation. The unlimited was seemingly inside the mouth of a child, which would be a limited space.

2. After breaking the pot of butter

One time baby Krishna became angry over mother Yashoda leaving His side for a moment. She had been breastfeeding her darling child when she remembered something cooking on the stove in the kitchen. Krishna did not like being separated from His preferred form of consumption, so He retaliated by breaking a pot of butter that was nearby.

Knowing that He did something wrong, He immediately scampered away, leaving footprints of butter in His trail. Yashoda eventually caught up to Him and decided on a mild form of punishment. She would bind Him to a mortar.

The problem was that she could not find rope that was long enough. She eventually joined together all the rope that was available, but each time she came up just short. As He is Ananta, Krishna took charge of the rope that was seemingly unlimited in size. He shrunk it every time to make it short enough for the mother to fail. When He saw the dedicated effort of Yashoda, He finally relented and allowed her to succeed.

3. Saving Draupadi

With Yashoda the rope was never long enough, and with Draupadi the sari had no end. The same Krishna was behind the scenes, this time saving a distressed princess from a great embarrassment. She wished to avoid being shown naked in front of an assembly of respected personalities. Her husbands would not save her; they were too dedicated to honoring the rules of a lost wager.

She tried herself to hold on, but the people on the other side were too strong. It was a lopsided tug of war match. Rather than standing on the other side directly and showing His immeasurable strength, Krishna simply took the form of the sari. This meant that no matter how much the fiends pulled, Draupadi would not be shown naked; there was always some garment remaining.

4. Response to Duryodhana’s plan

That was not the first time the plans of the Kauravas were foiled, nor would it be the last. As hostilities escalated between the two families, who were related as cousins, war seemed imminent. Showing the ideal behavior of an ambassador, Shri Krishna went to visit the leader of the Kauravas to see if war could be avoided.

Duryodhana thought he could take advantage of the kindness by binding Krishna and thus dampening the spirits of the Pandavas, who loved Him so much. As Krishna is antaryami, He knew of the plan as soon as it was hatched.

Rather than run away, He gave Duryodhana every opportunity to succeed. But how was the leader of the Kauravas going to bind someone who is without limits? Krishna showed a version of the universal form and welcomed anyone to come and put Him under their grasp.

5. The virata-rupa to Arjuna

While the universal form has been shown several times to different personalities, the vision received by Arjuna was unique. This took place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjuna specifically asked to see it, knowing that the skeptics in the future would try to deny the idea that Krishna is God.

That vision was quite amazing. Something like the entire universe put into a single picture, except this was both three-dimensional and animated. Arjuna could see the future, meaning that both time and space were equally represented.

The ananta property extends to activities done in honor of Shri Krishna. This explains how something as basic as the maha-mantra can be chanted over and over, for many lifetimes, with bliss continuing to increase: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

Krishna also as Anatna known,

Several times property shown.

Like with mother adjoining rope,

But only from His sanction a hope.

Form of Draupadi’s sari took,

Yashoda into His mouth a look.

Same property to bhakti descending,

Resulting bliss infinitely ascending.