“’O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.’ Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

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यदि शक्नोषि गच्छ त्वम् अतिचञ्चलचेष्टित
इत्य् उक्त्वा च निजं कर्म सा चकार कुटुम्बिनी

yadi śaknoṣi gaccha tvam aticañcalaceṣṭita
ity uktvā ca nijaṃ karma sā cakāra kuṭumbinī

“You hear people reference this, when trying to persuade others to follow a certain religion or faith. They claim that it is not enough to acknowledge. You have to go beyond the regular attendance at a house of worship. Sure, proclaiming your faith, sharing your testimony, speaking in front of others, and the like is great. That is how people will know on which side you stand. That is what they can later reference, to deal with your loss, in case it occurs unexpectedly.

“They say that it is more important to have a relationship with God. Keep Him in your life. Feel Him in everything that you do. Really walk the path with the chosen savior. Of course, they insist upon a specific savior, described in a specific book. Apparently, every other description of the origin of everything, the one who programmed seeds to continue life, is demonic. Other people worship false gods, you see. Just where is the evidence for that derisive label? Well, these people don’t have any.

“I am always skeptical of this line of reasoning. I mean to say that when someone claims to have a relationship with God, I see it as a cheap excuse to escape responsibility. Instead of punishing an evildoer in society, they say that God told them to offer forgiveness. They let the worst of the worst run wild, all while sitting back and presenting this fake image of spirituality.

“But I do believe in God. I do think a legitimate relationship is beneficial. The thing is, what does that relationship look like? How do we tell that we have someone with us all the time? Going beyond the theory, can you offer a few sample visions of that relationship manifesting in real life?”

There are different factors to consider when identifying the presence of the relationship. To begin, there should be a certain level of being, a kind of consciousness, if you will. Arjuna asks a related question in Bhagavad-gita. He learns about the dichotomy between attachment and renunciation. The best version of yourself in rising to the standard of yoga and being mired in seeking enjoyment of the temporary. Arjuna wants to know how to identify where someone lands.

अर्जुन उवाच
स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव
स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत व्रजेत किम्

arjuna uvāca
sthita-prajñasya kā bhāṣā
samādhi-sthasya keśava
sthita-dhīḥ kiṁ prabhāṣeta
kim āsīta vrajeta kim

“Arjuna said: What are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is thus merged in Transcendence? How does he speak, and what is his language? How does he sit, and how does he walk?” (Bhagavad-gita, 2.54)

The teacher in that instance, Shri Krishna, describes a series of qualities. These manifest in response to stimuli. How does a person react to adversity, for instance? How do they feel if their desires get frustrated? What is the general disposition they carry on a daily basis?

दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्न‍मनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः
वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थिधीर्मुनिरुच्यते

duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ
sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ
sthita-dhīr munir ucyate

“One who is not disturbed in spite of the threefold miseries, who is not elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.56)

A cool customer. Someone who does not get disturbed easily. A person who is not carried away by the good times and who does not fall to their knees, totally debilitated, at the experience of heartbreak. These are different signs of a person who is merged in transcendence, through consciousness. As transcendence is one way to understand God, we could say that such a person has a relationship with God.

One person of faith promises followers certain rewards. The followers might get to enjoy in heaven with a sufficient amount of female companions, who are beautiful and chaste. Another leader says that you get the gift of eternal life. That is the reward for being faithful.

“In the spiritual world there are five kinds of relationships with the Supreme Lord – shanta, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya. The perverted reflections of these rasas are found in the material world. Land, home, furniture and other inert material objects are related in shanta, or the neutral and silent sense, whereas servants work in the dasya relationship. The reciprocation between friends is called sakhya, the affection of a parent for a child is known as vatsalya, and the affairs of conjugal love constitute madhurya. These five relationships in the material world are distorted reflections of the original, pure sentiments, which should be understood and perfected in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. In the material world the perverted rasas bring frustration. If these rasas are reestablished with Lord Krishna, the result is eternal, blissful life.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi 1.56 Purport)

The Vedic tradition highlights the different kinds of relationships the individual can have with God through the Sanskrit concept of rasa. This is like a mellow or flavor of interaction. The word is ancient in origin, but the concept is not difficult to understand. This is because we already have variety in our relationships. The original question is how do we know if we have a relationship with God. We know by comparing against our own experience.

We have ways to identify the presence of a relationship with a living person. I relate to my parents as their child. I was once a dependent. Even though they are no longer in this world, I still feel a kind of protection. It is like they are always with me. I have the opposite relationship with my children. I am their guardian. I try my best to protect them. I am related to someone else as their friend. At the office, I have someone I report to. I am their subordinate.

In the Vedic tradition, the reward for walking along the Divine path, for maintaining a consciousness of the Supreme Being, as a person, is association with that person. He might be so obliged by my devotion that He agrees to become a dependent. He once appeared within the sacred community of Gokula. He was the protected son of a householder lady named Yashoda. She was the very embodiment of the kutumbini. Close proximity with a young Krishna was not going to shake her commitment to her family responsibilities. She had such a strong relationship with God that she could unashamedly try to bind Him to a mortar as deserved punishment. She had the courage and determination to try, and God was kind enough to agree, earning the new name of Damodara.

In Closing:

With enough courage to try,
Upon determination to rely.

Such that from God assistance,
Finally relenting resistance.

Bound to the mortar shown,
Now as Damodara known.

Better relationship can there be?
Blessed that kutumbini.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, damodara, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, religion