“It is not proper to remain in this place. Let us go to another great forest, as here we have seen numerous calamities which are causes of ruin. The destruction of Putana and the reversal of the cart, and similarly the falling of the trees without the intervention of the wind. Therefore, let us without delay depart from Gokula to Vrindavana, where the earthly calamities will not overpower us.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.22-24)

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स्थानेनेह न नः कार्यं व्रजामो ऽन्यन् महावनम्
उत्पाता बहवो ह्य् अत्र दृश्यन्ते नाशहेतवः

पूतनाया विनाशश् च शकटस्य विपर्ययः
विना वातादिदोषेण द्रुमयोः पतनं तथा

वृन्दावनम् इतः स्थानात् तस्माद् गच्छाम मा चिरम्
यावद् भौममहोत्पातदोषो नाभिभवेद् व्रजम्

sthāneneha na naḥ kāryaṃ vrajāmo ‘nyan mahāvanam
utpātā bahavo hy atra dṛśyante nāśahetavaḥ

pūtanāyā vināśaś ca śakaṭasya viparyayaḥ
vinā vātādidoṣeṇa drumayoḥ patanaṃ tathā

vṛndāvanam itaḥ sthānāt tasmād gacchāma mā ciram
yāvad bhaumamahotpātadoṣo nābhibhaved vrajam

1. A better school

“Yeah, it happened again. They came home with a black eye. I don’t know what is going on in that building, but enough is enough. These children must come from broken homes. The parents obviously are not embarrassed at the uncivilized behavior. We need to find a new school, one which better aligns with our values.”

2. A better neighborhood

“It shouldn’t be an issue walking home from the bus stop. We shouldn’t need to equip the children with bulletproof vests or pepper spray. The politicians have long since abandoned interest in protecting this place. We need to find another neighborhood. This place has gone to shambles.”

3. A larger property

“Wouldn’t it be great if they had their own yard to play in? What about a swimming pool, so that they could enjoy in the summer? Perhaps we could get some animals and the kids would be responsible for them. I think now is the right time to think of upgrading our living arrangement.”

4. A better opportunity for advancement

“Yeah, we almost had no choice. They were getting too good in that particular sport. We needed a place where they could train year round, under the tutelage of top instructors. The weather where we lived was not conducive to such a lifestyle. We don’t know if they will make it to the professional ranks, but at least we can try. We don’t want to have regrets later on.”

5. Better luck against earthly calamities

This was the justification by the elderly men of the rural community of Gokula. The setting was thousands of years in the past, during the manifest pastimes, prakata-lila, of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Shri Krishna. Amongst supporters, there will always be a mild controversy as to who is the origin. Is it Vishnu or is it Krishna? Did Vishnu advent as Krishna or is Krishna the origin the entire time? Bhagavata Purana reveals that Vishnu gave prior notice of His arrival, through an internal message delivered to Lord Brahma, who is the creator.

“After all the demigods offered the Purusha-sukta prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they apparently heard no response. Then Lord Brahma personally sat in meditation, and there was a message-transmission from Lord Vishnu to Brahma. Brahma then broadcast the message to the demigods.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 1)

Irrespective of the side on which a person falls, the interactions in the earthly realm are pleasing to hear, instructive for elevation out of ignorance, and relevant to any population of beings and period of time. In this case, Krishna is the dependent. He is a young child. He can barely speak, but if He could communicate anything, it would be lack of fear. He seemingly has no idea of the danger that surrounds Him. He manages to pull through the worst calamities, and the caretakers, the people in charge of protecting Him, are left scratching their heads.

There is the witch who fools everyone with her external. She pretends to be a beautiful nurse, resembling a heavenly denizen. She manages to feed poison to baby Krishna, except it is like she is the poison which needs to be extracted from this world. Her hideous form eventually reveals itself, as she comes crashing to the ground. Deprived of her life, baby Krishna is unharmed. He is found playfully crawling on her dead body.

There is the cart that suddenly collapses. Baby Krishna is underneath that cart. There is no rational explanation. It could have been a disaster but wasn’t. Then there were the two trees that come crashing down. The elders could not identify a fault, dosha, on which to pin the blame. No sudden breeze. No lumberjack fleeing the scene, axe in hand.

The elders made a decision. They would move to a great forest, mahavana. They would pack up their things and make the shift to Vrindavana, leaving Gokula behind. We see from the above review that this is not a case isolated to that period of time. As long as there have been caring and attentive parents, there have been shifts made to address issues related to the dependent children.

An astute observer might notice a potential vulnerability. In ordinary cases, an acharya of the Vaishnava tradition, who is devoted to the same Krishna, might use the events in real-life as an opportunity to criticize. The parents are in maya, you see. They are in illusion. They are bound by the hard knot of sense gratification, as described by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

“Everyone comes to this material world attracted to sense gratification, and the hard knot of sense gratification is the attraction between male and female. By this attraction, one becomes overly attached to the material world in terms of griha-kshetra-suta-apta-vitta—that is, home, land, children, friends, money and so forth. Thus one becomes entangled in the bodily conception of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.29.85 Purport)

The spiritual leaders criticize everyone else for being too attached to family and children, but just see what Nanda Maharaja and the leaders in Gokula did. They left an entire community behind. They turned Gokula into a ghost town. Why are they not held up for ridicule? Why is their attachment to a single child praised, while the same attachment in others indicates anarya, or distance from the higher principles for a civilized society?

The distinction, of course, is in the vulnerability. I can do everything for my child. I can take years off my life in struggling with depression, anxiety, and isolation from my longtime friends. I feel the pressure to rise up to the occasion, to provide for someone else. Later on, that same dependent turns on me. They sever ties due to a dispute over politics. They carelessly indulge various vices, to their own detriment, while only looking to exploit me for financial assistance. Just what did that long-held attachment get me?

On the other side, attachment to the Supreme Lord will never come back to hurt me. It is something never to be regretted. This is because that attachment continues through to the next life. That attachment is my way of moving closer, upasana. The worship I follow at home, in the temple, in association with community members, is no different than the concern shown by the elders in Gokula.

मन्-मना भव मद्-भक्तो
मद्-याजी मां नमस्कुरु
माम् एवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवम्
आत्मानं मत्-परायणः

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.34)

In Closing:

Not concern of elders to shame,
Because to worship the same.

That at home already to do,
In temples and sacred places too.

From witnessing inexplicable falls,
Danger for abrupt move calls.

To Vrindavana despite exhausting chore,
Love for Krishna everything and more.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, damodara, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, vrindavana