TEXT 35
madhukära-mahä-sarpau
loke ‘smin no gurüttamau
vairägyaà paritoñaà ca
präptä yac-chikñayä vayam
TRANSLATION
The bee and the python are two excellent spiritual masters who give us exemplary instructions regarding how to be satisfied by collecting only a little and how to stay in one place and not move.
TEXT
virägaù sarva-kämebhyaù
çikñito me madhu-vratät
kåcchräptaà madhuvad vittaà
hatväpy anyo haret patim
TRANSLATION
From the bumblebee I have learned to be unattached to accumulating money, for although money is as good as honey, anyone can kill its owner and take it away.
PURPORT
The honey gathered in the comb can be taken away by force. Therefore one who accumulates money should realize that he may be harassed by the government or by thieves or even killed by enemies. Especially in this age of Kali-yuga, it is said that instead of protecting the money of the citizens, the government itself will take away the money with the force of law. The learned brähmana had therefore decided that he should not accumulate any money. One should own as much as he immediately needs. There is no need to keep a big balance at hand, along with the fear that it may be plundered by the government or by thieves.
Text: 32. The brähmaëa continued: I am actually seeing how a rich man, who is a victim of his senses, is very greedy to accumulate wealth, and therefore suffers from insomnia due to fear from all sides, despite his wealth and opulence.
Text: 33. Those who are considered materially powerful and rich are always full of anxieties because of government laws, thieves and rogues, enemies, family members, animals, birds, persons seeking charity, the inevitable time factor and even their own selves. Thus they are invariably afraid.
Text: 34. Those in human society who are intelligent should give up the original cause of lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, attachment, poverty and unnecessary labor. The original cause of all these is the desire for unnecessary prestige and money.
Text: 35. The bee and the python are excellent spiritual masters who give us exemplary instructions regarding how to be satisfied by collecting only a little and how to stay in one place and not move.
Text: 36. From the bumblebee I have learned to be unattached to accumulating money, for although money is as good as honey, anyone can kill its owner and take it away.
Krishna reveals truth through material nature
An acarya is one who practices what he preaches. The Avadhuta Brahman is a clear example. He is explaining to us the great necessity for Vairagya or renunciation within our life. And he is living as a personal example to the highest degree of this principle. Here he is showing how Krishna reveals truth through the agency of this material nature. Factually at every moment of the day, there is great lesson unfolding before us. But we can only understand that message, if we open our hearts with humility to see how Krishna is arranging everything, for everyone’s ultimate benefit. How everything is taking place in this world, is most instructive. Krishna does not do anything whimsical and everything is working under his direction. Therefore everything that takes place everywhere and at every moment has very very specific divine purpose. And Krishna Consciousness means to try to understand this divine purpose. And material consciousness is to be dull headed. To simply see things from the superficial point of view and think that the things are happening by accident or by chance or there is no real meaning or cause behind what is taking place in our lives. Or we become philosophical and try to speculate and concoct what everything means that is taking place around us.
A intelligent man sees through ears (guru, sadhu, shastra)
But as described in the Sashtra a learned and intelligent man sees through his ears. By hearing from the sashtra, by hearing from the guru and by hearing from the sadhu, we are given the vision by which we can understand how this world is going on and why? And how it affects us personally and directly? Without the association of such great souls, the mysteries of Krishna’s divine instructions are never revealed to us. Even when Krishna directly or personally speaks, without the help of the spiritual master and the great souls, we cannot understand what is being said. And that is why it is said “tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet…” That one cannot understand the Vedas without the help of a spiritual master. It is said by Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita
“tad viddhi praëipätena
paripraçnena sevayä
upadekñyanti te jïänaà
jïäninas tattva-darçinaù
Qualification of a disciple
That, if you want to know the truth about anything, you have to approach the spiritual master, inquire submissively and be a servant and if you are not willing to do that, in another words, the total mood of a disciple is submissiveness in humility. To the degree you are humble and submissive, to that degree knowledge can reveal to you. To degree you are not to that degree you can have the greatest spiritual master but you will not understand anything. You see, there is a qualification of a guru and there is a qualification of the disciple. The guru must be self realize, he must be repeating what he has heard from the previous authorities and he must practice. Such a person can impart truth. But unless you are a bona fide disciple, even if you have the greatest most self realized spiritual master, you will not understand anything. And the qualifications of the disciple all have to do is submissiveness in humility. Krishna said you must inquire submissively and render service. That means you have to become obedient, humble servant. To the degree you are freed of any sense of false prestige to the degree you consider all of your previous learning and all your previous talents to be so many zeros, having no meaning, to that degree you can hear. To the degree you think you are great, to the degree you think you are learned, to the degree you think that you know, what is what? To that degree you cannot hear. You are creating a barrier, a dam between the river of the nectar that’s flowing from the mouth of Krishna through his devotees and your heart. So therefore, one must learn to see through submissive hearing. By submissively hearing from the great authorities we can understand how Krishna is arranging and orchestrating everything within this world according to His mercy for us individually as well as for all living beings collectively. We have to give up our speculation, our concoction of what we like? What is good? Or we think God should do and He should not do.
The other night at the Khar centre some one was very seriously inquiring that in Mahabharat, since the last few shows of the television series. So many people are criticizing Lord Krishna, thinking that He is a political man. They are thinking Why Krishna is being political? He should not be like this. He should be like we want him to be. He should not be the way, He thinks He should be. He should be like we think He should be. We do not think He should be getting involved in these political affairs. So therefore there is something wrong. Now who are we to judge God, who happens to be the supreme controller of the all controllers, the source of everything and the cause of all causes. Who are we with our tiny little infinitesimal brains and our conditioned senses to evaluate how God could best manage His universal affairs. We simple have to inquire submissively, How Krishna is supreme? And why he is doing, like he is doing? It may be inconceivable to us. But we must accept, ultimately. That He is the supreme controller and we are always under his control. He is the master, we are the servant and everything He does is all good. Everything he does is all perfect. And everything that is taking place under His direction is all perfect. It just happens that everything is taking place under His direction. So therefore
“oà pürëam adaù pürëam idaà
pürëät pürëam udacyate
pürëasya pürëam ädäya
pürëam evävaçiñyate”
Everything is all perfect. But due to the bodily conception of life, due to trying to accumulate more and more and more wealth and prestige in this world, as a process of gaining greater and greater forms of sense gratification, Through this process we become bewildered and we cannot perceive the all perfect arrangement of God in anything or any where. Therefore Krishna is so wonderful that in every step of material nature He is simply instructing the spirit soul to give up his illusory struggle for sense enjoyment and surrender to Him. If you hear submissively and apply, what you have heard, to your vision of life, You will see in every instant whether you are in city, whether you are in country, Every sound, every action is taking place, is reminding you to surrendered to Krishna, reminding you that this material world is not a place of happiness. Therefore such a great soul he may have one guru, but he hears his guru speaking and sees his guru working through everything in this existence. And that is a fact. Krishna is Jagad Guru and He is speaking through the spiritual master to instruct us. But that same Jagad Guru who is speaking to our spiritual master, He is speaking through everything and everywhere. If we simply hear the words of our Guru submissively and look for the confirmation of the instructions in everything, you will find the confirmation of everything he says at every second of your life. Actually life is most exciting, it’s most dynamic and adventurous, when you have this vision.
When we are always looking to see, what Krishna is trying to tell you for confirmations of his divine instructions and divine instructions of guru in every thing. We become very philosophical. Everything that comes upon in your life, you see in a very philosophical light and it only increases your faith and increases your conviction and your devotion. And this is the way devotees are supposed to see. We are supposed to see Krishna everywhere and in everything. We are supposed to hear His voice everywhere and in everything. And it is possible if you just be little humble and you are looking for Krishna in everything and everywhere. When people come to abuse you, one way to respond is just, why is he abusing me, I am actually a very nice person and he is not speaking the truth and this is all nonsense and I am leaving this place. or we can see, Krishna, what is He trying to tell me through this person. He has some special plan. This is not just an accident. Krishna is the doer, this person whatever his motive is, that is between him and God. All I know is God is using him, as an instrument of love to teach me something. Now what I am supposed to learn here? If you approach like that, you know how much you learn in that situation. You will learn infinitely. When you are put in predicament, we can’t see, where we are just inevitably struggling, striving, and failing. One way to see it is, Why is god doing like this? I tried so hard. I am trying to please my Guru Maharaja. This is not. I’ll give up. This is not the way it should be. Or may be understood useless I just give up. But a devotee should see that the circumstance is superficial. The circumstances were not so concerned with it’s all temporary. But what is the essence of the circumstance. The essence of the circumstances that Krishna is the supreme controller and He somehow or other is orchestrating things just like this to teach me something out of love. And if we see that and we calculate, what is my guru maharaja teaching me and what am I to learn according to His instructions in this situation, You will learn. Your realization will go deeper. You will see the perfection of all perfect. Of course at the same time when everything is going just the way you like it, instead of becoming proud and prestigious, thinking just see how great I am and everyone just watch what I can do. We should philosophically see that Krishna is the supreme controller. Somehow or other as unqualified is I am, he is allowing to be right. How is it possible? What does He want to teach me? May be He wants me to evaluate, just see, how my ego is going crazy, as soon as I get little success. He is testing me. He has an instruction to reveal to me. This is a fact. Every incidence of life is learning experience that is lovingly being taught by Krishna and it can be understood only by hearing submissively from the sadhus. Then we see through our ears.
Profit , adoration and distinction is the motivating force behind every one in human society
So here the great Avadhuta is describing, what he has learned form the bee and from the python. The bee is such a insignificant creature. How many times a day people in this world see bees? Everyday billions of people in this world see bees fly by. And what did they think? They do not think any thing. They do not even notice it or at the most they think ohhhhh I hope he does not sting me, something like that. But here this great Brahaman, Avadhuta, he is describing that he learned everything about life just from watching the bee. He learned everything about material existence. The moral of the story to the entire material world, he learned by simply examining a bee. Try to understand, this whole society, if they just understand, what the bee is telling them there would be no longer any anxiety, there would be no longer any violence, there would be peace on earth. If they would just listen to the message of the bee, that Krishna is speaking through. Everyone in this world is mad to accumulate prestige and wealth. And factually the whole world is going around on that basis, profit adheration and distinction, it is called by Srila Prabhupada subtle sex life. That is the motivating force behind everyone and everywhere in this human society. The wars in this world, even the religious wars, so called, They are not based on any religious principles. They are simply based on the desire, and greed for prestige and wealth. Of all wealth, the greatest form of wealth is land. So nations are fighting one another and conquering one another, building bombs everyday, spending billions of dollars, building nuclear weapons. Simply because they want to defend and procure more and more land, which is wealth. and through the process, they attain great prestige. And through this false ego they can think more and more that they are the lord, all should be obey, that they are the enjoyer. And it is on a large level. And in a smaller level, people are simply struggling hard and doing so many sacrifices and enduring so many pains and sufferings, implicating himself in so much pious and sinful karmas, for what purpose? For wealth and prestige! Men are hungry, they are mad, and they are greedy for wealth and prestige. Even pious people are mad for prestige. In this way we can calculate, if we study practically any ordinary person in this world, we will find that is the state of their consciousness. When we go to colleges, schools, all you are taught is the great glory of wealth and prestige and how you should sacrifice so much to study, so that you can acquire more wealth and prestige in you future life. And that is all true. So the bee which is such an insignificant little creature hardly one inch in size, one single bee can give you all the information you need to immune your self from the whole dilemma of this spell that all living entity from the greatest scholars, to the greatest heroes through out history, they are all under the spell of the same energy and if they just listen to the bee, they will become liberated. Because the bee is teaching by his example, the condition of whole human society in it’s futility. The bee is out collecting all day the pollen. He is working so hard and then he takes that and transforms it in to honey and he puts it in his honey comb and the bees are working to gather as entire civilization individually, collectively just accumulating more and more and more honey. Have you ever seen some the size of the beehives? Some times beehives are ten feet big and six feet wide and bees are working all day, practically all day and all night just going out and accumulating little particles of pollen, working hard, transforming into honey, and packing them very nicely. The honey comb is very very scientifically designed apparatus to protect the honey and to keep it fresh. Man has never, in all his years been able to perfect such a container for honey in his life, as the bee has perfected. They create wax, they seal perfectly uniform little compartments and they seal it on all side with wax and it tastes very fresh and very pure. And they are working so hard collecting, collecting, collecting, more and more. They are all thinking the future, their happiness, their welfare for them selves, for their families, for future generations. and then, what happens? The bee keeper comes, shoots all the bees away takes all the honey away and sells it. The whole bee’s life of work within a moment is all taken away. The bee takes such a pleasure in drinking that honey. It is the nectar of his life and it’s just all gone. Here it is described that money is like honey. Money is like honey because it is very sweet. Because it is through the agency of money that all forms of the sense gratification are available to us and there is nothing sweeter than sense gratification. And the means to sense gratification is facilitated by money. So money is honey. But it is the same type of honey as the honey is to the bee. You work so hard accumulating; you work so hard through out your life, simply to accumulating more and more funds, more and more prestige. Not knowing today or tomorrow everything you have done is simply going to be taken away.
In Kaliyuga Government themselves are thieves
And it is described in Kali-yuga it is so evident. At death you know everything is going to be taken away but during our life we try to protect it as far as possible and the whole purpose of a government is to protect the innocent from the rouges and thieves. In Sanskrit the administrators who are protecting the citizens are called kshtriyas. Kshtriya literally mean, one who protects from harm. One protects from pain. now the greatest pain is when you are attached to something, when it is taken away. There is no pain more severe than that. To loose something that you are attached to, to loose something you have great affection for. It is horribly painful. So the kshatriyas are meant, their whole purpose in society is, those innocent people to protect them from the rouges and thieves, who are trying to take away from them, trying to take their lives, trying to take their wealth, trying to take their prestige. But in kali yuga the very people that are supposed to protect you, are the greatest most expert and most useless thieves. You work so hard and you are thinking the government will protect you from burglars coming in your house, from people coming and taking away your state. But the government themselves through their laws come right into your house, and they steal most all of your income and all of your, everything. It is described in Srimad Bhagavatam that taxation will become so severe that by the end of kali yuga, Actually in the progress of Kali Yuga People will become so fearful of the government and consider the government as such plunders, rouges, and thieves, that they will be running into the forest to live in wilderness, just to escape from the people who are supposed to be protecting them because of their heavy laws for taxation. And this is happening today. Of course in India, when the Mogul rule was here, some of the more notorious of the emperors, If you are not of their religion they put such heavy tax on you and they would be forced to go to jail and you will loose everything and this is the way they converted so many millions of people to their religion through taxation. These are the people, they are supposed to be protecting us, and it is going to be worse and worse and worse.
Sometimes there is a little sense of relief in the middle of it all. But we can understand, right now people are so positive and so encouraged that, they are tearing down their building wall and Romania is having free election, and Czechoslovakia is having elections and all these places. And Russia is opened for so much free enterprise. The world is becoming very nice. and the governments of the world are becoming very liberal. And it is true that there is sometimes, when you are suffering horrible disease, sometimes there are some moments where you feel good. So at this particular time, it appears that, yes, things are very nice. But don’t think that they are going to keep getting better. We have to see things through our ears. In our ears, it is explaining this is the age of kali yuga, and things will become more and more and more degraded. And the most the vehement and demoniac of all the agencies of Maya in Kali yuga will be the governments, exploiting the people like anything, becoming the worse enemies of the people in general. Whether you call it capitalism, communism or socialism, these are all just so many names but the idea behind all of them is exploitation of sense gratification.
Maya is like a bee-keeper
And therefore, although, it is explained there is appearing of golden age within kali yuga, by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, this golden age will only really take affect, when people take to religious life and chant the holy names of the god. That is the only possible way of the immuning yourself from the influence of Kali yuga. So just as the bee keeper simply feeds the bees more and more and more just to get them to make more and more and more honey, knowing that in due course of time, he just could take it all away. So maya is like a big beekeeper. She has whole civilization of bees just swirling around and working like mad man to accumulate more and more of the honey of wealth and money, knowing that she is just going to take it all the away in due course of time. So from the most insignificant little bee, how much we can learn about life.
Give up false sense of proprietorship
And the Python, he is giving the example, how the Python, he is just the opposite of the bee. He just seating in one place and everything is being provided for him. He does not have to do any thing. Because he is willing to live a simple life, because he is not concerned with all kinds of extraneous luxuries in life, he can live very peacefully. To the degree we become attached to elaborate living conditions to that degree we are in anxiety and we are in fear. There is such fear. But the python has nothing to fear. Why? because he has nothing to loose. If you have nothing to loose, you have nothing to fear. So why does not everyone just become like a sanyasi and live in the jungles. That is not required. You see this principle of having nothing to loose means nothing to fear, does not mean you have to give up everything you have. You have to give up the false sense of proprietorship. Even if you are very very wealthy person, with a very prestigious position, if you understand clearly through hearing from the great sadhus, that nothing is mine. It all belongs to Krishna. It’s all His property. It’s all His energy. Then even though you may have millions and millions, you have nothing to loose. Because you not claming anything to be yours. And if you have nothing to loose you have nothing to fear. You see the python is someone who is simply detached from anything for himself. Therefore he is willing to live the simplest life, a very peaceful and fearless life.
Srila Prabhupada said to us, He said, “a saintly person is not attached to living in a palace, if Krishna wants him to live under a tree. And he is not attached to living under a tree, if Krishna wants him to live in a palace. He is only attached to Krishna”. If Krishna wants you to live in a palace, then you should think this palace is not mine, this palace is god’s. Whatever prestige is given to me, it’s all His. “sarva-loka-maheçvaram”. Nothing is mine. So, if nothing is mine, there is nothing that can be taken away from me. And if nothing can be taken away from me, there is nothing to fear. In this way you could be the king. And live according to the principle of simple living and high thinking.
Examples from Srimad Bhagvatam
The Srimad Bhagavatam gives many stories of great renunciates. Like Kadam muni, like Narada Muni. But how many stories in Srimad Bhagavatam are there of great king’s, emperors, like Parikshit, yudhisthir, Rshabh Deva, Bharat, Priyavrata, Ambarish, Dhruva Maharaja, Prahalad Maharaja, and Maharaja Nimi. Most of the stories of Srimad Bhagavatam are about the pure devotion of great kings, who have royal palaces, infinite prestige, tremendous amount of influence over others, wonderful family members, and it is describing how, they lived simple living and high thinking. They were the simplest of all creatures on the earth. Why? Because in their hearts, they claimed proprietorship over nothing! Simple living and high thinking means You can either live on a little plot of land with a cow and if you have grains growing and run and raise your family like that and just spend a good portion of your time having Kirtan, reading from the sashtras and associating with Sadhus. That is simple living high thinking. Living in the jungle or in a holy place like Vrindavan, Mathura, Ayodhya, Jagannathpuri dham, just living, performing tapasya, begging for chapatis, madhukar, spending all your time just hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord in the absolute bare maintenance of your body, that is also simple living and high thinking. But Srimad Bhagavatam also describes Kings who are living in the palaces, with royal families and royal assembles and fabulous wealth and how they were living? Just as simple. The principle of simple living high thinking was as much manifest in their lives, as the sannyasis in the jungles, why?
Renunciation does not mean to not have anything
Because renunciation doesn’t simply mean not to have anything, because there are poor people in the streets, beggars in the street who are attached to their little blanket. And because they are attached to their little blanket, they are not living a simple life. They are living a very complicated life. They are constantly in fear that someone is going to steal their blanket. And amongst the other beggars, there is a sense of prestige, that I have a better blanket than you. So simple living high thinking, even if you are the poorest person, it does not necessarily mean tht you are like that. Any even if you are the richest person it does not mean you are not like that. Simple living and high thinking is a question of our consciousness.
And this the great Brahman learned from the python. He is simply content with whatever Krishna provides knowing that everything is his. Therefore he does not lament when he looses something and he is not elated when he gains something. He is simply thinking Krishna, I am simple working on your behalf. And the great kings of the Bhagavatam, that’s how they lived. The most celebrated persons setting the highest examples for all of us that “when you have nothing, you have nothing to loose. And when you have nothing to loose, you have nothing to fear, when you have nothing to fear, you are peaceful”. There is no anxiety in your life and you are in Vaikuntha. And the fact is nothing is yours. The fact is you do not have anything to loose. And the fact is you that are in Vaikuntha. But you have forgotten due to material attachment. In this way, through these most insignificant and lowly creatures of the earth, Krishna is speaking the highest philosophy to each and every one of us, and by simply hearing their message we will never be bewildered but we will progressively march forward in the path back home back to godhead.
D Q: Nothing belongs to us but yet at the same time we posses something for Krishna’s service and we have to protect it and comes the fear. So how are we in Vaikuntha?
Answer: You are not possessing it, You are simply utilizing the facilities on behalf of Krishna. It is your duty to take care what Krishna gives you. If you defend something for Krishna that is not fear. Why is it not fear? because you are not thinking in terms of loosing your sense gratification. You are thinking in terms of devotion to the lord and devotion to the devotees, devotion to Krishna. Therefore, that type of defending nourishes our Krishna Consciousness. But if you are defending it for our sense gratification then it simply diverts our mind away from Krishna Consciousness. And you will find when you are doing it for Krishna you become fearless but as soon as you doing it for sense gratification you become very fearful. You will find that if you really and sincerely thinking I am defending this and protecting for Krishna you become so fearless. But as soon as you start thinking of your own profit adoration distinction or your own physical or mental condition immediately you become very fearful.
D Q: ……?
M Answer: Exactly how everything manifests, Krishna will reveal in time. Through out history this is always been the case. The battles between the demigods and the demons have been going on from the beginning of the creation. But the Lord always protects his devotees. Even in the Satya Yuga there was war between the demigods and demons. What to speak in Kali yuga? But you see in Kali yuga the general populace is so demoniac that as Kali yuga gets more and more progressive, the devotees become so out numbered, it is described towards the end of Kali Yuga the devotees have to be just living in the forest. People will be hunting them to eat them. In that situation they are in a helpless condition by their own efforts to protect themselves. All they can do it just chant the holy names. At the end of Kali Yuga, because the devotees, are in such a helpless condition the Lord Himself responds to the chanting of their holy names and comes as Kalki Avatar and He personally has to come and kill the demons, which is practically the entire population of the earth. The demons become so powerful that the devotees do not stand a chance of defending themselves. They are simply depending on Krishna and like always Krishna always comes to save the day. In every circumstance when we take shelter of Krishna, Krishna saves us. There is never a time; Krishna did not save His devotee, when his devotee called out for His help. How he saves His devotees, sometimes that may not be so easily understood by our physical eyes. On a higher level we can know for sure that Krishna never neglects us, the sincere call of His devotees. In regard to your question of wars between religious and irreligious people, this is something that has always gone on and will always go on. You see according to the modes of material nature sometimes the demons are more powerful and sometimes the devotees are more powerful in the physical sense. When the modes of passion and ignorance are strongest within atmosphere the demons derive power from that and godly people derive power from the mood of goodness. So the demigods and the demons, they are always conflicting, When the mode of goodness was predominant, the demigods would win. When the mode of passion and ignorance were predominant the demons would win. There is always this conflict. There is always this battle of the three modes of material nature within this world. But the devotees factually, the pure devotees of the Lord, who are beyond the religion in the sense of artha, kama, dharma, and mokshya, They are transcendental; they are beyond the modes of material nature. They are simply crying out for Krishna in all circumstances. For them there is no question of victory or defeat. They are always victorious in every situation of life. They are always successful because whatever happens they are going back to godhead.
D Q: …..?
MA: Historically, wasn’t Hiranyakasipu a politician? He was the king, wasn’t He? How much he prosecuted Prahalad and the more he prosecuted and in the end the more Prahalad became glorious. Lord Jesus Christ, who is a persecuted by, he was sentenced to death by the politicians, by the governor and his persecution and execution what made him so famous to the world for all time to come. The sign of the Christianity is the Cross, which means the persecution. And Haridasa Thakur, was it not the government leaders that persecuted him. Even Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates, when chand Kazi was persecuting them, that was a various serious matter. You cannot imagine how fearful the devotees must have been, If they were not completely depending on the Lord. Because in those days, if you read historically, the Mogul emperors, they were so cruel to people, who were not following their religion, there was massacre. They threatened to massacre and imprison every one of the associates of Lord Chaitanya. if they continued with Hari Nama Sankirtan. it was such a disturbance and it was no joke because all around them people were being murdered and imprisoned for life for just doing a little puja, what to speak of doing Hari Nama Sankirtan? And they came, they broke the Mridanga, and they threatened that “if we ever see this again and the devotees knew that these men are serious. But Lord Caitanya said, no no you just keep going out. Don’t worry about them. Krishna will protect you. They went out but they were very afraid. So then Lord Caitanya decided I’ll take you out myself. Then he defeated the entire government and saved His devotees. So you see the devotees are always persecuted from time to time. But the Lord always comes to save His devotees, if the devotees turn to him for shelter. That is His promise. He never breaks his promise, in relationship to His devotees. He told Arjuna
“kaunteya pratijänéhi
na me bhaktaù praëaçyati”
Arjuna you declare that I will always protect my devotees. Krishna says I sometimes break my promise for the sake of service to my devotees. But I will never tolerate seeing my devotees break his promise. Krishna broke his promise just so that Bhisma would not break his promise. Krishna promised I’ll not raise a weapon. Bhisma promised that I’ll force Krishna to raise His weapon. So what happened? Krishna raised His weapon. Just so that Bhisma would not lie. The word of a devotee is more priceless than His own word. Through out Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna so many times said “I will protect my devotees” But then he told Arjuna you declare, you promise, Because if you promise before me then everybody will know that I will never allow that promise to be broken. That promise was “Arjuna you declare that my devotee will never perish. I will always be there to protect him”. Devotee is one who cries out for Krishna. So we must have that confidence and through out history we see, even when the devotees are most desperate and all odds against them, Krishna is always there. And this is how Krishna glorifies His devotee by showing that the devotee never gives up his faith, never gives up his devotion, loyalty to the lord under any circumstances.
Thank You very much.
Hare Krishna.
