What Does It Mean That God Is The Best Cheater

“Neither the demigods nor any exalted personalities were there helping Rama, for He acted alone. You should not entertain any doubt on this matter. Indeed, Rama shot feathered arrows, plated with gold, which turned into five-headed serpents that devoured all the Rakshasas. The Rakshasas were oppressed with fear, and wherever they went and wherever they turned, they saw Rama in front of them. In this way, O spotless one, have your Rakshasas been destroyed in the forest of Janasthana by Rama.” (Akampana speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 31.18-19)

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नैव देवा महात्मानो नात्र कार्या विचारणा।
शरा रामेण तूत्सृष्टा रुक्मपुङ्खाः पतत्रिणः।।
सर्पाः पञ्चानना भूत्वा भक्षयन्ति स्म राक्षसान्।
येन येन च गच्छन्ति राक्षसा भयकर्शिताः।
तेन तेन स्म पश्यन्ति राममेवाग्रतः स्थितम्।
इत्थं विनाशितं तेन जनस्थानं तवानघ।।

naiva devā mahātmāno nātra kāryā vicāraṇā।
śarā rāmeṇa tūtsṛṣṭā rukmapuṅkhāḥ patatriṇaḥ।।
sarpāḥ pañcānanā bhūtvā bhakṣayanti sma rākṣasān।
yena yena ca gacchanti rākṣasā bhayakarśitāḥ।
tena tena sma paśyanti rāmamevāgrataḥ sthitam।
itthaṃ vināśitaṃ tena janasthānaṃ tavānagha।।

“I like how Vedic literature tries to assign qualities to God. Maybe that is not the best word. The acharyas describe features to the Almighty, who is actually without features. Both nirguna and saguna. He is not tied to material qualities in the way that we are, temporarily.

“At the same time, He has features which we can identify. The nature of His eyes is different. Whereas I can’t see beyond the building across the street, the Supreme Lord can see everyone and everything. Whereas I cannot remember what time I went to sleep last night, the hard-drive in the memory of Bhagavan contains every recorded observation since the beginning of time.

“In one section of Bhagavad-gita we see that Krishna compares Himself to gambling. Of the many varieties of cheating, He is equivalent with gambling, which is considered to be the best. I am not sure I totally understand. Why would we want to compare the Almighty, who is purity personified, to something dishonest?”

The idea is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the best at everything. We can look at an election, for instance. My candidate can do everything right. Travel to different states. Purchase television advertisements. Do everything in accordance with the best interests of the country.

When it comes time for the election, they have popular support on their side. In an overwhelming majority people will vote for them. The problem is that the other side cheats. They have the voting machines controlled by a bad actor, electronically. I go to the machine, pick my candidate, receive a print-out, but in truth the machine records something different. An algorithm applied across the many polling places so that only the keen observer will notice the theft, weeks later.

We can say that Shri Krishna is the greatest observer. Even if you kick Him out of the room, He sees the illegal activity going on. If you try to steal votes using a computer, He knows what you are doing. If you try to shame Him for calling out the treason, He is not intimidated or afraid.

When it comes to cheating, He will always outsmart the other side. A real-life example is the attack on Janasthana described in the Ramayana. Here the same Supreme Lord, the Shri Krishna speaking in Bhagavad-gita, was roaming the world as the warrior prince named Rama.

The bad guys, the cheaters from Lanka, attacked in full force. The leader of Lanka, Ravana, sent fourteen thousand of his men to deal with Rama. Just imagine. One against fourteen thousand. Is that a fair fight? In what universe would anyone even attempt such a thing?

This was the greatest form of cheating, but Rama was ready. He had His own defense. It was really an unfair fight in the other direction. There was no match for the arrows released from Rama’s bow. As Akampana later attested, those weapons were like heat-seeking missiles. They showed the face of a five-headed serpent in the end, just as death approached for the villains.

These incidents further underscore the reality that Bhagavan is the best at everything. There is no reason to try to cheat Him. Rather, stay on His good side, invite His protection, glorify His countless good qualities, and be forever blissful: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

Dedicated in worshiping seat,
No reason intention to cheat.

Since nothing to be gained,
All good qualities retained.

And everywhere are His eyes,
Witnessing cheater who tries.

Like Rama against army defeating,
Rakshasas in fear retreating.