God Plus One Is A Majority

“My dear Krishna, Your Lordship has protected us from a poisoned cake, from a great fire, from cannibals, from the vicious assembly, from sufferings during our exile in the forest and from the battle where great generals fought. And now You have saved us from the weapon of Ashvatthama.” (Queen Kunti, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.8.24)

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विषान् महाग्नेः पुरुषाद-दर्शनाद्
असत्-सभाया वन-वास-कृच्छ्रतः
मृधे मृधे ऽनेक-महारथास्त्रतो
द्रौण्य्-अस्त्रतश् चास्म हरे ऽभिरक्षिताः

viṣān mahāgneḥ puruṣāda-darśanād
asat-sabhāyā vana-vāsa-kṛcchrataḥ
mṛdhe mṛdhe ‘neka-mahārathāstrato
drauṇy-astrataś cāsma hare ‘bhirakṣitāḥ

So much corruption surrounding you.  The journalists; you sort of knew that before.  You thought they were biased, for sure, but now they have shown themselves to be below contempt.  They are flat-out liars.  They fabricate stories.  They use video footage from an unrelated event and present it as recent and indicative of a larger problem. They pile on and echo what their colleagues say.  You could never imagine being so dishonest, in so public a fashion.

The government, from low to high; they are all corrupt.  The members may divide into different parties and segments, but it is almost like they are acting.  They want to get paid.  They make money off foreign influence.  They will do whatever their donors want.  They display passion in opposing certain legislation, but that is just for show.  They clip videos of their speeches and include them in their fundraising communication.  In reality, they are interested only in improving their personal fortunes.

The courts; they are obviously bought off.  The law is just a piece of paper to them.  They first see what the plaintiffs or defendants are seeking.  Then they decide whether they can make that happen.  They choose sides.  They are not blind, as justice is supposed to be.  They will make cheating and stealing legal, if it serves their purpose.

You feel as if you are only one person.  Everyone is against you.  There is nothing that can be done.  Either keep quiet or expect to lose the fight.  The other side has the numbers.  They are an overwhelming force, and maybe it is better to go along to get along.

A wise person realizes that God plus one man is a majority.  If you have the favor of the Supreme Lord, then even an overwhelming force on the other side is not enough to overcome you.  Not that you expect miracles to occur regularly or that you call upon God to specifically help in a particular situation, but you have assurance that the effort in righteousness will not go in vain.

From shastra a clear example comes to mind, though there are many.  The Pandava brothers were kicked out of the kingdom that rightfully belonged to them.  They were out on the street, homeless and with no money to their name.  They had to simultaneously support their mother and wife.  It was not an easy condition to endure.

The entire time they were favored by Shri Krishna.  This means they had the majority.  When the hostilities eventually concluded with a massive war, it was Krishna who steered the chariot of Arjuna, the leading warrior for the Pandava side.

The Kauravas did not stand a chance.  They had tried desperately to completely eliminate the Pandavas on several occasions.  After the fact, Kunti Devi fondly remembered those incidents.  Though the family was put through so much trouble, in that difficulty they were completely surrendered to the lotus feet of Krishna.  He was their savior, from beginning to end.

The world of illusion and its countless followers may have the overwhelming majority in sheer numbers.  They may subtly give me the message every day to stop worshiping someone you can’t see, who is otherwise imaginary, who doesn’t really exist.  They want that I fall into the bottomless trap of sense gratification, which is the most hellish existence.  They won’t get in my way if I choose that direction; they will relent in their interference.

Since I have the Supreme Lord protecting my devotional efforts, I always have the majority.  It is they who will be defeated, who will be forced to manifest again and again, in conjunction with the arrival and departure of kalpas tied to the day and night of Lord Brahma, the creator.  I will continue in my devotional efforts, knowing they will never be destroyed:  Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

Attacking one most dear,
Immense pressure from peers.

That devotional path wrong,
Useless and time wasted long.

Better with the senses to play,
And follow unrighteous way.

But majority since Krishna with me standing,
Authority over all commanding.