Krishna, the Perfect Friend

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Krishna, the Perfect Friend

 

By Ajitananda dasa

 

The desire for friendship is universal. It is based on our

propensity to love someone. This propensity is thoughtfully

explained by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in

the `Nectar of Devotion', one of the philosophical cornerstones of

the Krishna consciousness movement.

 

In his preface, Srila Prabhupada writes: `The basic principle of the

living condition is that we have a general propensity to love

someone. No one can live without loving someone else. This

propensity is present in every living being. Even an animal like a

tiger has this loving propensity, at least in a dormant stage, and

it is certainly present in the human beings. The missing point,

however, is where to repose our love so that everyone can become

happy. That missing point is Krishna. The `Nectar of Devotion'

explains how to stimulate our original love for Krishna and how to

be situated in that position where we can enjoy our blissful life.'

 

The Vedic literatures tell us that our original friend is Lord

Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the material world,

we mistakenly try to re-create our blissful, primeval relationship

with Him through various temporal relationships, all of which fail

to satisfy our perpetual longing for perfect friendship. Krishna, or

God, is the divine fountainhead of the loving sentiment that can be

seen in all living beings. The Vedas explain that God created us out

of His inexhaustible desire for loving exchanges. Thus friendship

with Him is the original state of the soul.

 

Since we are eternally part of Krishna, there is a natural intimacy

between Him and us. He is residing within our hearts as the

Supersoul, graciously accompanying us as we wander throughout the

universe, life after life, in search of lasting happiness. Unlike

us, God possesses a spiritual vision that is never dimmed by

material contact, and thus He is perfectly aware of our folly. As

our true friend, He exhibits His kindness upon us by allowing us to

learn through our own experience the futility of our efforts, and He

lovingly deflects our attention back to Himself, the abode of all

happiness. Because Lord Krishna is supremely pure, His friendship is

never contaminated with the selfish motives that stain material

relationships.

 

In the material world, everyone is ultimately concerned with his or

her own interest. Even our friendships are part of our plan for our

own enjoyment. Lord Krishna, by contrast, is always anxious for our

ultimate well-being. Although we have turned away from Him, driven

by our envy of His position as the Supreme enjoyer, He continues to

provide all our necessities. The air, the sun, our inherent

abilities, and countless other gifts are all clear indications of

His good will.

 

And Krishna's greatest ex-pression of friendship is His association,

which He generously offers us through the revealed scriptures,

saints, and spiritual masters, who regularly appear throughout the

millenniums to invite us back to the spiritual world. The

attractive, dynamic qualities of the soul tend to remain static in

the material world because of the soul's marriage with inert matter.

As a result, the thrill of material relationships diminishes

quickly. We grow bored seeing the same faces day in and day out. But

Krishna is never boring, for His transcendental qualities are ever-

fresh and ever-expanding. In the Vedas it is stated that even if the

scientists could count all the grains of sand on a beach or all the

atoms in the universe, they could never estimate even one drop of

God's blissful, all-attractive features.

 

The `Nectar of Devotion' offers an illuminating summary of Lord

Krishna's spiritual qualities. By studying this great work in a

spirit of devotion, we can enhance our appreciation for the Lord and

thus develop the desire to know His sublime friendship. For example,

the `Nectar of Devotion' explains that no one is more appreciative

than Lord Krishna, as shown in His dealings with His friends. Once,

a poor devotee named Sudama offered Krishna a few grains of rice.

Because he was penniless, he was unable to present the Lord with a

valuable gift, as was his desire, but because his humble offering

was saturated with love, Krishna eagerly accepted it and ate it with

great delight. Out of deep gratitude, Krishna reciprocated with

Sudama by giving him more opulence than can be imagined even by the

wealthiest person in this world, and in the end he was granted

entrance into Krishna's spiritual abode.

 

Hearing of Krishna's limitless capacity for appreciating and

reciprocating the love of His devotees can inspire us to rekindle

our friendship with Him. Lord Krishna is also the most faithful and

considerate friend. He will never abandon us or allow us to feel

neglected. Although His propensity to love is so great that He

desires to interact with countless living beings simultaneously, He

can do so without neglecting even one of them. When He appeared on

this earth, He expanded Himself, by His supreme mystic power, into

many personal forms, giving spiritual bliss to each one of His

sixteen thousand queens, each of whom thought that Krishna was

residing with her alone. Another reason that God's friendship is the

most desirable relationship is that it is eternal. In the material

world we may sometimes form a relationship with another person that

seems to be of sterling quality, but even that soon fades like a

dream.

 

At the time of death, the karma of both friends carries them far

apart from one another, as strands of seaweed, meeting momentarily

on the crest of a wave, are separated forever when the wave breaks

to shore. Happily, this is not the case if we befriend Krishna. The

exchange between God and the living entity is never checked. Even if

one begins the attempt to realize Krishna in this life and is not

completely successful in his spiritual development, he begins in his

next life from where he left off, until at last he achieves

perfection.

 

Since we are all Krishna's servants, it is important for us to

remember that any attempt to approach Him must be attended by a

serving attitude. Just as the Lord, out of His kindness, is always

busy making arrangements for His devotees' happiness, we must also

try to act for His pleasure. This is the beginning of real love. And

there is no loss for us if we agree to cultivate our devotional

sentiments. In fact, serving Krishna is so pleasurable that Krishna

Himself appeared in the form of a devotee, as Lord Caitanya

Mahaprabhu, to taste this pleasure and to show us, by practical

example, that there is no greater aspiration for the living being

than to achieve Lord Krishna's friendship.

 

The Krishna consciousness movement is in the direct line descending

from Lord Caitanya. It was established by Srila Prabhupada to assist

those seriously interested in reviving their dormant love for God.

Its doors are open to everyone.

 

Persons who aspire for perfect friendship will certainly embrace

this rare and wonderful opportunity to find lasting spiritual

happiness in the eternal company of Lord Krishna, the perfect

friend.

 

Ram Chugani

Kobe, Japan

rgcjp