“In the way that parents intervene when the children play with a snake or put a hand in fire, Sita and Rama are like the mother and father who protect Tulsidas in the manner of a small child.” (Dohavali, 147)

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खेलत बालक ब्याल सँग मेलत पावक हाथ
तुलसी सिसु पितु मातु ज्यों राखत सिय रघुनाथ

khelata bālaka byāla sa~ga melata pāvaka hātha
tulasī sisu pitu mātu jyoṃ rākhata siya raghunātha

“You would have to admit that the process of deity worship turns silly after a while. I am not arguing against its value. It certainly has a place within an overall discipline of sadhana. Duties performed on a regular basis, as with any endeavor, lead to advancement in spiritual life.

“With archanam, we have the merciful incarnation of the Almighty. He can be like a doll, a statue, or a painting. We bring our offerings before the object of worship, which is distinct. It is known as the saguna form since it has just that, form. We cannot visualize the Almighty, since He encompasses anything and everything, and so we have this specific object that we can worship.

“But isn’t that like a child playing with a doll? The doll is not a real person. It cannot actually hear anything. It does not respond. It cannot reciprocate. The child merely imagines that it has a new friend. Okay, the exchanges are endearing. The expression of love is nice, but we are talking about worshiping God here. The deity must be for the less intelligent, since transcendental potency is, by definition, all-pervading.

“Moreover, this persistent reliance on a higher being to account for everything, to support mistakes, to fill in gaps of deficiency, is also childish. At least that is how I see it. Should not the person in the yoga discipline eventually grow up? Should they continue to rely on their parents for everything? Should not they become responsible for helping others instead of constantly remaining in a dependent state?”

The analogy appears to hold true. Young children can behave like children. No one will blame them. The parents are not culpable, either, since this is part of the gradual development. The individual inside remains the same, but there are periods known as kaumaram and yauvanam for a reason.

“If we keep our stock of yogurt, butter and milk in a solitary dark place, your Krishna and Balarama find it in the darkness by the glaring effulgence of the ornaments and jewels on Their bodies. If by chance They cannot find the hidden butter and yogurt, They go to our little babies and pinch their bodies so that they cry, and then They go away. If we keep our stock of butter and yogurt high on the ceiling, hanging on a swing, although it is beyond Their reach, They arrange to reach it by piling all kinds of wooden crates over the grinding machine.” (Gopis speaking to mother Yashoda, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 8)

Where the analogy falls apart is in the area of ascension. Just exactly how can a person become a parent in a relationship with someone who is the original seed-giving father? How can I ever teach Him anything? Is it possible for Him to be dependent on me? To what heights exactly am I trying to reach? What is the end-goal of the maturity?

सर्व-योनिषु कौन्तेय
मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः
तासां ब्रह्म महद् योनिर्
अहं बीज-प्रदः पिता

sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya
mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ
tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir
ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā

“It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 14.4)

Rather, this persistence in competition, in trying to become the Supreme Father, sparks the very birth which leads to every other problem. Birth is the root of all suffering. Birth causes death. Birth causes association with dualities such as heat and cold, up and down, wealth and poverty, and good health and sickness. Desire, kama, is the cause of birth.

If a person gives up worshiping the deity by mistakenly considering it to be subordinate to more esteemed paths like jnana, karma, or mystic yoga, they are equally as doomed as the person who simply tries to enjoy as much as they can. This is because merging into nothingness, into trying to become God, is the last snare of maya, as His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada describes it.

“The last illusion, the last snare of maya to trap the living entity, is the proposition that he is God. The living entity thinks that he is no longer a conditioned soul, but God. He is so unintelligent that he does not think that if he were God, then how could he be in doubt? That he does not consider. So that is the last snare of illusion.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 18.73 Purport)

The wise have no issue with perpetually remaining a child in their relationship with the Almighty. Goswami Tulsidas understands that Sita and Rama are always protecting him. They will be swift to intervene at any sign of trouble, preventing any unintended consequences due to mistaken decisions. They are like the parents keeping the unknowing child away from fire.

Someone like Arjuna is well-equipped to fight his own battles, but he still depends on Shri Krishna for guidance. He is never too old, too mature, or too smart to take help from the one who is supporting the entire universe. Arjuna proceeds to act as but an instrument of the Divine will, fully protected the entire time.

तस्मात् त्वम् उत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व
जित्वा शत्रून् भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम्
मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वम् एव
निमित्त-मात्रं भव सव्य-साचिन्

tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva
jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṁ samṛddham
mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva
nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin

“Therefore get up and prepare to fight. After conquering your enemies you will enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasachin, can be but an instrument in the fight.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.33)

Others may mock the show of allegiance. They may consider the devotees to be less intelligent, to be involved in a kind of make-believe world, but this opinion on the matter has no bearing on the reality. The Supreme Father will always remain in His position. No one can take that away, no matter how many lifetimes they try.

In Closing:

Despite maturity to gain,
Perpetually as child to remain.

In the eyes of the father,
Who protecting like no other.

Because never His position to get,
Always as dependent set.

But protected the entire time,
Like Arjuna on battlefield to shine.

Categories: dohavali 121-160, questions

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, parenting, poem, poems, poetry