“Upon observing the brahmana’s rigid vow, Lord Shri Ramachandra ordered His younger brother Lakshmana to deliver a pair of Sita-Rama Deities to the brahmana. The brahmana received the Deities from Shri Lakshmanaji and worshiped Them faithfully as long as he lived.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 9.11, Purport)

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1. They respect time that is sacrificed for their benefit

“Wow, we have been sitting here for over an hour. Some of us have to go to work in the morning. The restlessness of the children is increasing. Here comes this person and they do not even apologize. The arrogance they exude is unbecoming. We are supposed to go along with it because of how ‘advanced’ they are. Where is the appreciation? It is like they think the lowest of us, that we should feel honored to be in their presence.”

2. They remember favors

“The amount of things I have done for this person. We have stood out in the cold for the last seven hours. They cannot be bothered to come and simply address the supporters. They are blaming us for everything going wrong. We should have worked harder, you see. We should have worked smarter. Meanwhile, this person appears to be intoxicated anytime they show up in public. Just what exactly is going on behind the scenes?”

3. They understand what the supporters feel

“Yes, I got to meet them in person. I was able to snag an autograph. Sadly, it was not a pleasant experience. This person did not make eye contact with any of us. They appeared to be in a rush. They did not look happy to have to talk to us. I guess that is why they say to never meet your heroes.”

4. They are devastated at forced separation

“I heard the strangest thing the other day. We are all victims to this nonsense being imposed by corrupt governments across the globe, right? I get it that most people will choose survival. It is a basic instinct. I do not blame people for accepting this ridiculousness for that reason.

“But it is a different story when some of the people of prominence seem happy about what is happening. I heard a person who is in charge of a large house of worship essentially welcoming the shutdown. They are so happy that their place of residence is now free of noise. There are less people, you see. They do not have to be bothered by the common man. The attendance went from thousands to zero, overnight.

“Umm, hello? Why are you living in the temple to begin with? Are you not begging the general public for donations? Does the house of worship not facilitate elevation to a higher standard of consciousness? Some people cannot live without visiting on a regular basis. How can you take joy at their suffering? What kind of dirt-bag are you?”

5. They think of ways to make life easier for their supporters

“Great, I guess I am out of luck. What happened, you ask. Well, this person published a new book. It was long anticipated. The followers have been desperate for more material. Some of us out here still like to read. We are big fans of this particular person, and so it is not surprising that the announcement of a new release generated significant buzz.

“The problem is I did not hear about it until recently. It is now too late. The printing was limited to only a few thousand copies. That is it. No digital versions. No plans for another run with the press. I guess they wanted to make this a truly ‘limited edition’. Well, it turns out that a lot of us were shut out because of that limitation. We have been limited out of association. It makes no sense to me.”

…

It is comforting to know that the Supreme Personality of Godhead checks all of the boxes that we can think of in this particular area. He meets every criteria and more. If there is an important person to whom we wish to show allegiance, there is no better person to follow. The volumes of Vedic literature consistently expand across the continuation of recorded time precisely because the transcendental glories, gunas, are endless. Vedic literature is for glorifying Ishvara, and in the manner that Ananta Shesha Naga uses His unlimited hoods to praise Ishvara, so there is no shortage of sacred sound to access in understanding that object of worship.

फटिक-भीत-सिखरन-पर राजति कञ्चन-दीप-अनी
जनु अहिनाथ मिलन आयो मनि-सोभित सहसफनी

phaṭika-bhīta-sikharana-para rājati kañcana-dīpa-anī
janu ahinātha milana āyo mani-sobhita sahasaphanī

“The kingdom was decorated with golden lamps of crystal, looking beautiful as if the king of serpents had arrived to meet the Lord, with a jewel on each of the thousand hoods.” (Gitavali, 309.2)

There is evidence from history to support the claim. In His avatara of Shri Rama, the Supreme Lord allowed supporters to worship Him in a variety of ways. There is one tradition that stands to this day. Known as Diwali, the origin is a spontaneous outpouring of affection to welcome home the valiant and chivalrous prince. After Rama was sent away for fourteen years, the people of Ayodhya desperately longed for His return. They lit many lamps as a visible sign of their affection.

That gesture was appreciated. Any kind of worship, which is a step towards transcendence, will be remembered. Rama is not a miser in this regard. He feels the pain of sacrifice of the supporters. He respects their time. He understands what they go through. Moreover, He thinks of ways to relieve the burden of separation. There is the story of Lakshmana gifting deities to a devoted brahmana within the community. Lakshmana is one of Rama’s younger brothers. The deities facilitated steady and dedicated worship. Through such worship, a person is able to maintain a connection even when the object of worship is not nearby in the physical sense.

We have the story of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu carrying with Him a page from the Kurma Purana. During this period of time, there was no internet to consult. There was no link that could be sent to settle a dispute, to resolve a contradiction, to check a fact, or to alleviate a concern. Mahaprabhu was a travelling preacher, a parivrajaka mendicant, at the time. This means that it was not easy to travel to someplace and retrieve a physically written down page of reference from shastra.

सेइ पुरातन पत्र आग्रह करिऽ निल
रामदासे देखाइया दुःख खण्डाइल

sei purātana patra āgraha kari’ nila
rāmadāse dekhāiyā duḥkha khaṇḍāila

“Indeed, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu eagerly tore this page from the Kurma Purana, although the book was very old, and He later showed it to Ramadasa Vipra, whose unhappiness was mitigated.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 1.119)

Nevertheless, understanding the pure devotion of a specific supporter, Mahaprabhu went to such great lengths. This is a small glimpse into the kindness of the most important person. There is never anything lost in worshiping the highest being of all, who happens to also be the kindest being of all.

In Closing:

The highest being of all,
Also as the kindest to call.

Pain of supporters sharing,
With consideration and caring.

Like Rama those deities to gift,
Out of separation’s sadness to lift.

And Mahaprabhu page from Purana to send,
For brahmana’s lamentation to end.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, life, people, poem, poems, poetry