I Can Cheat Better Than You

“In the yoga system, by the perfection called mahima-siddhi, one can expand himself as he desires. The demon Aghasura expanded himself up to eight miles and assumed the shape of a very fat serpent. Having attained this wonderful body, he stretched his mouth open just like a mountain cave. Desiring to swallow all the boys at once, including Krishna and Balarama, he sat on the path.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 12)

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“Listen, Krishna-lila is heartwarming. The feeling is one of the benefits to following this religion, if you want to call it that. I understand that sanatana-dharma is more a way of life. It is not a faith that you try for some time, in the manner of a passing fad. It is not something you abandon later on. Dharma is what always stays with the individual. Dharma is what defines them. Sanatana describes the time element. That dharma has no beginning and no end. That is why religion in the genuine sense is sanatana-dharma.

“The lila is pleasing to the soul because it describes the object of worship playing on a field. As we have competitors, rules, accomplishments, victories, and defeats, so the Supreme Lord subjects Himself to those varieties. He does not have to do this. The depiction of Narayana shows rest. The Supreme Lord lays down, without a concern in the world. Simply by His breathing we get the different universes. Those places of amazing space and variety stay alive, so to speak, up until the time of the inward breath. Through something we consider to be involuntary, breathing, we get life as we know it.

“There is one thing to consider, though. Especially in Krishna-lila, there is this kind of deception in return. In modern-day parlance, it would be like the unranked player in a tournament. The other players prepare. After consulting with their team of coaches, they settle upon a plan of attack. They have their strategies. But that gets thrown for a loop when they come upon a stranger. They think the matchup will favor them, that it will be an easy victory. There is nothing obvious in the visual of the competitor that reveals extraordinary ability. It is like this player is concealing their true nature.

“Is that not what Krishna did? Putana had no idea that the small child of Yashoda could extract the very life out of a nurse. Trinavarta did not know that Krishna could become unbelievably heavy. After all, Trinavarta was able to carry Krishna high into the air. It was child’s play, so to speak.

“The demon named Aghasura could take the shape of a python and expand to the size of a cave. He could open his mouth and invite others to enter that cave, carrying ill-intent the entire time. How could Aghasura possibly know that Krishna had a similar ability? Do you see what I am saying? Why didn’t Krishna just announce His divine nature? Why didn’t Krishna let the adversaries know that they were in for a bruising, that they had no chance of winning?”

It is interesting to see the burden of honesty placed on the victim in these instances. Why should a baby have to say anything? If Putana, a dreadful witch, wants to give the illusion of beauty and kindness, why is the impetus on the victim to reveal Himself? Why should Krishna have to play fair while the perpetrators do not? Is not attempted murder something to criticize? Is not targeting innocent youths and children of cows something to be condemned?

If the argument is that as the Supreme Lord, Krishna should not have to resort to underhanded methods, we have the explanation from Bhagavad-gita itself. If we want to consider cheating a category of behavior, Krishna would earn the top prize every year at the annual awards ceremony. No one can cheat better than Krishna. If you want to deceive others, know that the all-knowing, omnipresent husband of the goddess of fortune can deceive in ways that you would never even consider.

“There are many kinds of cheaters all over the universe. Of all cheating processes, gambling stands supreme and therefore represents Krishna. As the Supreme, Krishna can be more deceitful than any mere man. If Krishna chooses to deceive a person, no one can surpass Him in His deceit. His greatness is not simply one-sided—it is all-sided.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 10.36 Purport)

Aghasura was another of Kamsa’s associates to try to eliminate Krishna in Gokula. Aghasura was not playing fair. Aghasura did not identify himself. He did not put on a uniform. He did not unwind a scroll to read an official proclamation of war, to commence hostilities. Moreover, Krishna was a mere child. It is not like Krishna was preparing for battle. He was not a uniformed officer. Krishna was simply playing with His friends. He was living up to the name Kunjavihari.

Aghasura got exactly what he deserved. He made use of the mahima-siddhi to expand himself, but Krishna is the greatest mystic. Krishna entered the false cave and expanded Himself such that Aghasura could no longer tolerate the size. Krishna’s use of expansion killed the demon. Since Krishna is the ocean of compassion, as a kind of parting gift for participating in this particular lila, Aghasura was granted liberation. His life force merged into Krishna.

तेनैव सर्वेषु बहिर्गतेषु
प्राणेषु वत्सान् सुहृद: परेतान्
द‍ृष्टय‍ा स्वयोत्थाप्य तदन्वित: पुन-
र्वक्त्रान्मुकुन्दो भगवान् विनिर्ययौ

tenaiva sarveṣu bahir gateṣu
prāṇeṣu vatsān suhṛdaḥ paretān
dṛṣṭyā svayotthāpya tad-anvitaḥ punar
vaktrān mukundo bhagavān viniryayau

“When all the demon’s life air had passed away through that hole in the top of his head, Krishna glanced over the dead calves and cowherd boys and brought them back to life. Then Mukunda, who can give one liberation, came out from the demon’s mouth with His friends and the calves.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.12.32)

In Closing:

Approached with ill intent,
On path of deception bent.

Like Putana her poison to save,
Aghasura showing a cave.

Why burden on Krishna to show,
When demons with trickery to go?

Rather the greatest cheater of all,
Savior of the surrendered to call.