Devotion, easiest way to please Lord Krishna

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Hare Krishna,

The sincere display of exclusive and unwavering devotion is the most effective and the easiest way to please Lord Krishna and to obtain His grace. The highest goal reached through this path cannot be the monopoly of a caste, or of a particular group, or of sex or rank or station in life. Nor is this route restricted to age. Uneducated persons going through the narrow avenue of toil for their daily bread, can, through this medium, storm the gates of heaven.

Devotion results in the development and perfection of humility and shedding of one's ego and getting detached from worldly desires. Such a man's whole joy is to carry out Lord Krishna’s will, fully realising that he is but a tool in His hands and that he cannot function independently without His guidance. The Bhagavad Gita points out how a sincere devotee will remain unconcerned about mundane affairs.

Instances of various persons from different strata clinging to Krishna's feet without any vacillation are contained in the thanksgiving prayers of a child devotee in the Bhagavatham. Prahlada's categorisation of several beneficiaries of the Lord and the essence of his outpouring has been presented in the Narayaneeyam verse. The first was that of a butcher, who neither had scholastic distinctions nor was a strict follower of the spiritual directives or austerities. But he was absolutely dedicated to Lord Krishna on whom he attended with devotion before taking up

his daily sales at the meat shop. He had no status but practised what is commanded in the Divine revelations.

The child-devotee Dhruva who, even when he was about five years, ``forced'' the Lord to appear before him by his sustaining efforts. Age was thus of no consequence in his case. The elephant king, Gajendra, had no education but was able to praise the Lord. ``Let me get rid of the worldly bonds'' said he, presenting the Lord with a flower in spite of his agony. Vidhura (in the Mahabharatam) hailed from a lower caste, though he was a minister and appreciating his sentiments, Lord Krishna visited only his house when others were waiting to welcome Him to their mansions. A deformed woman offered

sandalwood paste to Lord Krishna for which He rewarded her by removing her defect. Beauty was of no significance. Kuchela was a poor scholar and Lord Krishna lavished wealth on his family. Guha, the hunter chieftain, who was unlettered and Vibhishana, from a demon race, who discarded all comforts and surrendered himself to Rama were some among the others who represented motiveless devotion and the Lord saved them.

The example of King Ambarisha has been cited by Sage Suka, when he narrated the Bhagavata Purana to King Parikshit, to explain the merit of devotion.

Though Ambarisha inherited a vast kingdom and was the most powerful ruler of his time, he was always preoccupied with devotional activities and was not infatuated with furthering his wealth knowing well its perishable nature. Among the observances which he followed stringently was the Ekadasi vow and the Lord pleased with his love and devotion had bequeathed His ‘Chakra’ (Sudarsana) to him.

Once when Ambarisha had observed the vow and was on the verge of breaking his fast on the following day, Durvasa, the eminent sage known for his temper, arrived as an unexpected guest. Putting off his meal, the king honoured the sage according to custom and extended his invitation to dine with him. Durvasa accepted and went to the river to offer his ablutions.

The anxious king who had to break the fast before the appointed hour, did so by sipping a little water as his priests advised, as the sage did not return. Learning about this Durvasa felt slighted and discharged an evil spirit to kill the king but the Lord's ‘Sudarsana’ came to Ambarisha's rescue and the sage had to surrender to the king for protection at the instance of the Lord.

Please Chant:Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare HareAnd Be Happy.