Cosmic Story

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Cosmic Story - Kunti's Prayer

 

Kunti was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. She was one of the two wives

of King Pandu. She raised the five Pandavas, the heroes of the

Mahabharata.

 

When Krishna would visit Hastinapura, he would come and stay with Kunti,

who was His maternal aunt as well as His great devotee. On one visit,

she fed Him bananas. Totally overwhelmed with love and affection for

Krishna, her mind was in bliss and she hardly noticed what her body was

doing. Instead of feeding Krishna bananas, she gave him the banana

peels only! Out of affection for her, He ate them! (How many of us

have also had this feeling at the Temple worshipping Baba, where we lose

all track of body and surroundings? )

 

Kunti had many difficulties in her life. Her husband was King, but due

to a curse, he abdicated and moved to the forest with his two wives.

Due to the curse he died. The second wife jumped on Pandu's funeral

pyre in order to follow him. Kunti was left to raise their five sons as

a widow. While raising the boys, the sons of her brother-in-law began

making attempts on their lives. They did not want to share the kingdom

with the Pandavas. This is all Indian history before 3000 B.C., as

recorded in the Mahabharata.

 

Kunti, her five sons, and their wife Draupadi had intense faith in Lord

Krishna. Thus, even though they were faced with many life threatening

disasters throughout their life, Lord Krishna also came to their rescue.

 

Kunti's prayer, as recorded in the Srimad Bhagavatam, was " Oh Lord

Krishna, please keep bringing me more and more calamities so that I may

always be seeing You again and again. "

 

This is a very unique prayer! Who else but Kunti would pray to have

more problems??? Many people deny it, but it is true that we think most

intensely when trying to resolve a crisis. This is why there are so

many new inventions in wartime. If our mind is naturally inclined

towards God, we also look most intensely to God during a crisis.

 

Kunti's son Arjuna is an example. Arjuna spent thousands of hours of

leisure in the company of Lord Krishna. Krishna and Arjuna were more

than best friends. They were inseparable, like two halves of the same

coin, Nara and Narayana. The affection they bore each other cannot be

fathomed.

 

Lord Krishna could have told Arjuna the truths recorded in the Bhagavad

Gita at leisure any times. But it was only when Arjuna was faced with

the greatest dilemma, the outset of the huge battle and the prospect of

having to murder friends, teachers, and relatives, that he fully

surrendered himself to Krishna. It was then that Krishna could give him

supreme knowledge.

 

Grief is a better teacher than prosperity. Happiness cannot grow from

happiness, but only from trouble. Crops do not grow unless we throw

disgusting dung (fertilizer) on them. Taking this attitude, losing fear

of loss and gain, one realizes that life is just a game, so let's play

it!

 

When Kunti learned that Krishna had left his mortal frame, she

immediately collapsed and fell down dead herself

(Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Austin)