Four Sayings To Describe A Situation Of Weakness

“While Vasudeva was carrying his son Krishna in the falling rain, Lord Shesha in the shape of a serpent spread His hood over the head of Vasudeva so that he would not be hampered by the rainfall. Vasudeva came onto the bank of the Yamuna and saw that the water of the Yamuna was roaring with waves and that the whole span was full of foam. Still, in that furious feature, the river gave passage to Vasudeva to cross, just as the great Indian Ocean gave a path to Lord Rama when He was bridging over the gulf.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 3)

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1. Desperate times call for desperate measures

“I couldn’t believe that fight on television last night. I thought I had seen it all, until this one. To give you a background, the odds-makers had this one fighter heavily favored. They were the champion and this challenger did not have many accomplishments to his name. I’m not even sure why they would schedule such a mismatch. Maybe they needed to fill airtime.

“Anyway, I still watched and I am glad that I did. The fight went according to expectation, at least for the beginning. The favorite was pulverizing the underdog, except there was no quit. The weaker opponent would not give up. I kept waiting for the fight to be called.

“Then something interesting happened. The underdog secretly landed what is called a low-blow. This is an illegal punch. The referee missed it, so they could not issue a violation. The favorite was now greatly damaged. They could not fight the same way. In the end, the match resulted in a draw. The entire sports world is stunned by the outcome.”

2. Beggars can’t be choosers

“I don’t understand this economy. People are ready, willing and able to work. They have been locked down in their homes for way too long. This is the equivalent of putting the entire population under house arrest.

“The justification is protection from a deadly disease, which is highly contagious. I don’t doubt the seriousness of the virus, but I don’t see how this remedial measure will work. Say that one person doesn’t see anyone for an entire month. Then they step foot outside just once, come into contact with another person, and then get the disease. Now that entire time at home went to waste.

“You can’t keep everyone locked down forever. That is not sustainable and neither will viruses vanish just like that. But I am in the minority in thinking on this issue. No one is listening to me. Now I am about to lose my business. I have no choice but to sell, to whoever will come and make an offer. I have been turned into a beggar, through no fault of my own.”

3. A blind uncle is better than no uncle

“During my childhood, so many elderly family members would pass through our home. By passing through, I mean they lived with us for a certain period of time. By elderly, I mean they were a generation or more above. Uncles, aunts, and grandparents. With large families on both the mother and father’s sides, you can imagine how busy our house was.

“But I did not mind. It was nice to see new people. My friends in school were a little envious, too. They never had anyone staying with them. Granted, some of these uncles were a little kooky. They were kind of annoying to be around, after a while, but I was still glad to meet them. This confirms the Bengali proverb often invoked by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada about it being better to have a blind uncle than no uncle at all.”

4. Any port in the storm

This saying refers to the lack of choices in a bad weather situation. Vasudeva faced this predicament a long time ago. He had just become a father again, except this time it looked like the child would live. King Kamsa failed to immediately kill this child, as no one was aware of its birth. This was the eighth child to mother Devaki destined to be the end of Kamsa.

The plan was to take baby Krishna to the nearby town of Gokula. Just a few obstacles in the father’s way, and they were quite formidable. The jail cell had kept Vasudeva and Devaki locked up, against their will. The darkness of night would make it difficult to see.

Vasudeva did manage to escape, and then he came upon the Yamuna River. How do you cross such a body of water by yourself, while carrying an infant? The falling rain made matters worse. You can’t expose a child to the elements that way. The rain will be detrimental to their health.

Any port in this storm would do, but fortunately Krishna is the best recourse. Anantadeva immediately arrived on the scene to provide an umbrella for the child. The Yamuna River agreed to allow safe passage, in the same way that Shri Rama was previously allowed to cross the great ocean to reach Lanka.

The acharyas advise in favor of approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead for the fulfillment of any desire. Whether in desperation or a position of strength, His shelter is the most meaningful. He will purify any ulterior motives which may be present. He removes the impurities, and what remains is His association, which is the most valuable.

In Closing:

Devaki and Vasudeva without a voice,
Held in prison against their choice.

Kamsa at that time standing tall,
But destined for perilous fall.

With Shri Krishna guiding the way,
Even when river keeping at bay.

Father allowed passage through,
Best resort that savior who.