“O king, the beauty of Rukmini was indeed unparalleled on this earth. The highly effulgent Vasudeva desired her simply by hearing about her. Indeed, through hearing Janardana was also desired by her. She thought, ‘As He is heroic, resplendent, and strong, He should become my husband.’” (Hari-vamsha, 87.14-15)

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रुक्मिणी त्व् अभवद् राजन् रूपेणासदृशी भुवि
चकमे वासुदेवस् तां श्रवाद् एव महाद्युतिः

स चाभिलषितस् तस्याः श्रवाद् एव जनार्दनः
तेजोवीर्यबलोपेतः स मे भर्ता भवेद् इति

rukmiṇī tv abhavad rājan rūpeṇāsadṛśī bhuvi
cakame vāsudevas tāṃ śravād eva mahādyutiḥ

sa cābhilaṣitas tasyāḥ śravād eva janārdanaḥ
tejovīryabalopetaḥ sa me bhartā bhaved iti

1. A movie

“You mean to say that I saw this movie already? We sat together in the same row, at the movie theater? I was so little at the time. I guess I completely forgot. You should at least give me credit for behaving. Many children, especially today, would not be able to sit still throughout the entirety of a three-hour film.”

2. A television show

“I know that I saw this episode when I was younger. We watched the show as soon as it aired, every Thursday night. We did not have a VCR yet. There was no way to record the programs. Still, I don’t remember anything about this one. The story. The characters. The plot twist. The ending. I guess enough time has passed that it feels like the original experience never took place.”

3. A friend

“I vaguely recall having met you. Wait, we actually hung out a lot? On a regular basis? We lived on the same floor in college? You have pictures to prove it? Man, how could this happen? How is the entire experience erased from my memory? I am so sorry. That is crazy to think about, that our time in this world is so temporary that it feels like events never even took place.”

4. A sacred place

“You know, I watched some old footage shot from our family camcorder. We visited this sacred place one time. My only memory was negative. I particularly did not like the lack of television in the housing quarters. I thought I picked up on this culture only recently, but there I am in the video looking around, seeing pictures and sculptures that are now familiar to me. I was literally there, taking the video, and I have no recollection of the experience.”

5. A picture

“Where was this picture taken, you ask. I am not entirely sure. That is my father. That person is my brother. We must have been doing something fun. I am sure we looked at the pictures after they were developed. The image is the proof of the experience, but right now I am drawing a blank. That period of time was so long ago that it is like a different life experience. Take that, you reincarnation skeptics!”

…

According to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a wise person does not place too much emphasis on a specific vision, in seeing, with respect to validation of the concept of Divinity. In other words, to insist upon seeing God before believing, for specifying a strict requirement of vision, is not the best approach. For starters, there is the issue of qualification. If there is a God, He must be the highest concept there is. The most important person. The one with the most potency. The one commanding the greatest respect. Should we expect such a person to acquiesce to our insistence, as if He is a vending machine in the local arcade? Is He someone in debt to us, that He must pay up whenever we insist?

The above review shows another issue with seeing. We can easily forget. We saw something with our own eyes. We had validation of existence. We could serve as a witness to support authenticity. We could sign a sworn statement attesting to the presence of a specific thing, be it a production for entertainment, an exhibit in a museum, or even a person. We saw, and therefore we carry evidence.

Except that we also forget. If the experience gets erased from memory, what good was it, really? What was the benefit to it? Someone like Arjuna saw the vision of the virat-rupa. This was upon request. The person who showed it to Arjuna happens to be identical to that vision. Shri Krishna is the universal form. This is one way to understand Him. He pervades the entire space. If we want to attach a specific label, to give an identification, Krishna is known in the impersonal way through the avyakta-murtina.

मया ततम् इदं सर्वं
जगद् अव्यक्त-मूर्तिना
मत्-स्थानि सर्व-भूतानि
न चाहं तेष्व् अवस्थितः

mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ
jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni
na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ

“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.4)

Arjuna saw the virat-rupa, but he already believed. He already knew that Krishna was the sum total of everything. Otherwise, how would he know to ask, in the first place? Someone with a different relationship to Krishna, such as mother Yashoda, also gets to see the universe. Like a personal showing in a museum, with the time element added to the three-dimensions, devotees can travel through the vast and infinite expanse. Through the energy of yogamaya, they might forget the entire experience mere moments after.

The Vedic tradition places greater emphasis on hearing. As a vision involves one of the senses, so the same applies to hearing. We can validate Divinity through sound. We can create a longing, a desperate desire for association, such that the thoughts consume us from morning until night. This is a blissful experience, described as Krishna consciousness. This change in thought-patterns is like a purification. Krishna consciousness is the normal condition; it is like the state after healing from the condition known as illusion.

We see that someone like Rukmini Devi, the princess of Vidarbha, had an attachment for Krishna through hearing. She did not require a vision. She did not insist upon it for evidence. The hearing, facilitated through trusted and respected sources, was sufficient. Her insistence upon Krishna for a husband was so strong that it became a reality. She took the steps necessary to subsequently turn the impossible into possible. She sent a secret letter to Krishna describing both her desire and the means to approach the undertaking. She did more than sit back and pray for a miracle.

In the same way, we can make our desires known through explicit action, such as chanting the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Through hearing, through deliberating, through contemplating, through comparing against our own life experiences, we have decided that the worshipable Lord of Rukmini, the darling child of Yashoda, the well-wishing friend of Arjuna, the object of attention for Narada, and the life and soul for countless others is the only person worth our undivided attention. We have heard already. We wish to continue to hear and to keep that steady connection in yoga.

In Closing:

Urge in direction resist,
That upon sight to insist.

Because already much to forget,
Even if firmly in that moment set.

But different when to hear,
Like conception established clear.

Such that to forever remain,
Work in yoga to sustain.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry