“O sober Vidura, King Indra, his honor having been insulted, poured water incessantly on Vrindavana, and thus the inhabitants of Vraja, the land of cows, were greatly distressed. But the compassionate Lord Krishna saved them from danger with His pastime umbrella, the Govardhana Hill.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.2.33)

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वर्षतीन्द्रे व्रज: कोपाद्भग्नमानेऽतिविह्वल:
गोत्रलीलातपत्रेण त्रातो भद्रानुगृह्णता

varṣatīndre vrajaḥ kopād
bhagnamāne ’tivihvalaḥ
gotra-līlātapatreṇa
trāto bhadrānugṛhṇatā

“This is what we are reduced to now. We have come so far in terms of comfort. It is no longer that we have to anxiously await that one time in the week to see that one person, appearing on that one television program, for that one time in the year, to provide that one piece of vital information. Rather, it is like the entire library of recorded programming is available at an instant. You just have to know the right search terms to enter.

“There is so much content available now that new terms have to be invented to accurately describe certain behaviors. I heard of one recently which, sadly enough, applies to me. The term is ‘doomscrolling.’ I looked it up just to get confirmation, but the name already explains what it is. I doomscroll all the time, it seems. I am just waiting to see what they will do next to that political figure they hate, for instance. At some point, after all of the bogus investigations and the kangaroo court trials, I thought the only thing left was an assassination attempt. Sure enough, that happened.

“But I doomscroll over a variety of topics and subjects. Will the local government finally get that bill passed, wherein they will be allowed to place law-abiding citizens into concentration camps for not agreeing to take the latest injection? Are we on the verge of nuclear war with that foreign country? What new means of torture have they applied on the innocent children attending school? What perversion are they now trying to force down us, to make us accept? What reprehensible practice are they trying to normalize now?

“In all seriousness, how do we explain the decline? Is this another fault attributed to Kali-yuga? I don’t think the attachment to the negative is good for any of us, but we are drawn to it like a magnet. We want to stay informed, after all. If there is bad news on the horizon, we should adjust accordingly. What hope do any of us have? Is there something that is the opposite in nature, wherein we can constantly scroll to feel uplifted and perpetually full of hope?”

If we were to consider a practice opposite to the one described above, it would be something for remaining steady and fixed in one particular activity and thought. The subject matter would be hopeful, in the sense that there would be this constant of bliss. It would be like repeatedly receiving and tasting nectar, despite what was already enjoyed. In his Ramacharitamanasa, Goswami Tulsidas compares this to rivers rushing into a body of water, but the repository never overflowing.

Only something transcendental could rise above the modes of nature and their dualities. Shri Krishna describes in Bhagavad-gita how devotees engage in discussions that repeatedly bring joy and bliss, ramanti. The discussions are about Krishna and events and people related to Him.

मच्-चित्ता मद्-गत-प्राणा
बोधयन्तः परस्परम्
कथयन्तश् च मां नित्यं
तुष्यन्ति च रमन्ति च

mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā
bodhayantaḥ parasparam
kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ
tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca

“The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered to Me, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss enlightening one another and conversing about Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.9)

Instead of scrolling, we could stay in one place. Our only activity would be hearing and chanting: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This is a kind of meditation, dhyana. Through this positive activity, pravritti, the negative side, nivritti, is automatically accounted for. If you are always discussing Krishna, or God, then it is like you have found a way out of the misery. You have been swiftly delivered from the ocean of birth and death. You have experienced that rescue even prior to the conclusion of this current iteration known as a lifetime.

ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि
मयि सन्न्यस्य मत्-पराः
अनन्येनैव योगेन
मां ध्यायन्त उपासते
तेषाम् अहं समुद्धर्ता
मृत्यु-संसार-सागरात्
भवामि न चिरात् पार्थ
मय्य् आवेशित-चेतसाम्

ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi
mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ
ananyenaiva yogena
māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate
teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā
mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt
bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha
mayy āveśita-cetasām

“For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Pritha, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 12.6-7)

If we are interested in scrolling, in hearing new things, in learning about what is happening, there is more than sufficient literature available which discusses and describes Krishna. For instance, there is the situation of impending doom in the land of Vrindavana. The people are about to become targets in a feud between the king of heaven and a seven year old boy of bluish complexion. It is the superior party instigating the hostilities. He is offended at the supposed insult from the young Krishna, who is the son of Nanda and Yashoda. How dare the people of Vrindavana listen to that child and His recommendation to worship Govardhana Hill at the expense of the annual Indra-yajna?

There is destruction set to strike in the torrential downpour, in the rapidly rising floodwaters to wash the entire site of the worship clean. It is like the first Govardhana Puja will be erased from memory. It is like the people will immediately reap the reward of their sinful act of following a made-up ritual, one not mentioned anywhere in the Vedas up until that time.

The situation turns around after Krishna uses the just-worshiped hill as an umbrella. While only a small child, He is able to lift it up and offer protection to the people. The hill nourished the community and now it would give safety against a vengeful king of heaven. What can be more blissful than the sight of that uplifted hill? Simple villagers taking rescue in a simple way, without hesitation, with full faith in their Krishna, who they trusted all along.

In Closing:

Constant in doom to scroll,
Practice taking its toll.

Negative, sad, and afraid,
Why so much attention paid?

Better in Vrindavana to land,
And Krishna-lila understand.

Like when Indra directing the rain,
And shelter underneath Govardhana came.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, hinduism, krishna lila, poem, poems, poetry