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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com)

 

The mystery of God, devotee relationship

 

CHENNAI, AUG. 8. The deeds of the Lord during His incarnations,

especially when He assumed a human form as the eighth son of

Vasudeva and Devaki are legion. He performed the majority of

those supernatural deeds during His childhood and youth in Gokul

where He grew up in the house of His foster parents, Nandagopa

and Yashoda. Lord Krishna bringing back to life His preceptor

Sandipini's son who was lost in the ocean at Prabhasa is one such

act which He did for discharging the debt He owed to his teacher.

The god of the ocean when demanded that he restore His

preceptor's son replied that he had not carried away the child

but the demon Panchajana who lived under water in the form of a

conch. Krishna retrieved the conch and when He blew it, Yama, the

god of death, appeared before Him and returned the child when the

Lord bade him to.

 

Sandipini was naturally overjoyed and blessed Krishna and

Balarama, ``May your glory purify all and let the Vedas remain

fresh in your memory...'' This incident shows that the Lord

submitted Himself to the norms of worldly life by learning from a

teacher and showed by example the importance of revering and

expressing gratitude to one's preceptor. After returning to

Mathura, though affording delight to His parents and people

there, His mind dwelt on His foster parents and the cowherd folks

whose lives revolved round Him. With the intention of providing

solace to them, Lord Krishna despatched Uddhava, His close friend

and devotee to Gokul, said Sri B. Sundar Kumar in his discourse.

 

Krishna's words spoken to Uddhava in this context give an inkling

into the special bond between the Lord and His devotee which

remains a mystery until one sees it with the eye of devotion. He

told Uddhava, ``Proceed to Vraja and bring delight to Our

parents, Nanda and Yashoda, and relieve in particular the agony

of the cowherd women through my messages. The latter have not

only given their minds to Me but their very life is centred in

Me; they have renounced for My sake everything connected with

their body and have mentally taken refuge in Me alone, their

beloved friend, the highest object of their affection, their very

Self. I stand (through thick and thin) by those who have not only

given up their interests in this as well as in the other world

but have set at naught their moral obligations for my sake.''

These unlettered women had attained one-pointedness of mind

through devotion to Krishna which was difficult even for sages to

attain. They had forsaken even their duties and abandoned their

hearths and homes in their overwhelming devotion to Him.

 

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