“The Lord immediately got up from His seat and invited Narada Muni to sit on His personal seat. The Lord again worshiped him with as much paraphernalia for reception as He had in the palace of Rukmini. After worshiping him properly, Lord Krishna acted as if He did not know what had happened in the palace of Rukmini.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 2, Ch 14)

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“I know there is the common criticism of Shri Krishna that He is too lusty. He cannot be God since He danced with young girls in the middle of the night, out in the forest under the bright moonlight of Sharada Purnima. Many of these girls were already married, so He was breaking their chastity through this prohibited act.

“I realize that these criticisms generally come from the less intelligent, who intentionally skip over the lengthy descriptions of the same Krishna being the source of the material and spiritual worlds, the twenty-four elements, the change factor known as time, who is the protector of the surrendered souls, and so forth.

“I don’t want to go down that line of criticism, as it doesn’t hold water once you analyze the situation honestly. I do want to bring up something else. This idea of fidelity; not necessarily in the formal sense. I will give you an example to help explain.

“The reason someone feels a strong bond towards their significant other is the idea that no one else makes them as happy. That person is perfectly content with me. They do not need to go outside in order to be satisfied. Hopefully, I offer the same comfort to them. There is appreciation through exclusivity.

“Well, in the city of Dvaraka you have Shri Krishna married to over sixteen thousand queens. Do they not feel inferior, as a result? Do they not wonder why Krishna feels the need to experience with others? Why isn’t a single queen good enough for Him?”

…

There is the story of Narada Muni visiting Dvaraka. He first sees Krishna in one palace, living with Rukmini Devi. When he visits another palace later in the day, he meets the same Krishna, but with a different queen. Krishna acts as if the prior meeting did not take place.

It is not that the Supreme Lord is forgetful. It is not that God is playing tricks on Narada. The same God is not divided or distributed to facilitate the sixteen-thousand marriages. He expands Himself to the point that each queen feels as if Krishna is only for them.

They rarely get the opportunity to feel as if He is away from them. The same takes place in the rasa-lila. In the dance with the gopis, each individual maidservant has Krishna dancing with them. They feel as if He is entirely their own.

In fact, this is true for every living entity. God is inside of us through His expansion of Supersoul. My interest might stray. I may temporarily go elsewhere for satisfaction and happiness. This is known as material existence. Lifetime after lifetime, I get as many chances to enjoy on my own as I like.

Meanwhile, Krishna is always there. He accompanies me in every birth, sitting back as a neutral observer, until the time of my wise approach. When I have become exhausted of the ups and downs of a temporary existence, when I have realized that transcendence is the only way, He is the steady friend to rescue me.

अहम् आत्मा गुडाकेश
सर्व-भूताशय-स्थितः
अहम् आदिश् च मध्यं च
भूतानाम् अन्त एव च

aham ātmā guḍākeśa
sarva-bhūtāśaya-sthitaḥ
aham ādiś ca madhyaṁ ca
bhūtānām anta eva ca

“I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.20)

This means that He is the most faithful friend. He is the only constant companion. He is the only one who will never leave me. He is not affected by time, which means that the entire world could be destroyed but He will always remain. For these reasons and more I will at least try to dedicate this life to Him, describing His glories and singing His names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

Wanting that exclusively mine,
With no others to find.

But situation already true,
Best friend to me who.

In each life accompanying where,
In heart standing there.

Such that finally turning when,
Guiding to eternity then.

Categories: questions

Tags: devotion, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, worship, yoga