“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

Of late, your friends are not pleased with you. Concerns are growing within the extended family, as well. They think you have prioritized one person, at the expense of others. More importantly, it is at the expense of your own happiness. You don’t do anything for yourself; you think of this one person all the time. Of course, it is no issue to you. Everything is going fine, according to your assessment. This interest that is supposedly detrimental to everything else in your life can also be found in the stories passed on from the sacred land of Gokula, where a child at the center of danger managed to communicate His desire to move, all without speaking a word.

In this hypothetical situation, the person of interest is your child. You like them. Not that you are necessarily using them for clout. You are not looking to extract social mileage. You do not view them as a fashion accessory. The child is not something to necessarily show off, like the remodeled kitchen or the upgraded vehicle parked in the garage. No, this is a genuine sentiment, from your part. You have set aside other interests, without anyone asking.

Since the child is so small, they cannot verbally communicate, in terms of approval or disapproval. That ability will surely be there at a later time. Instead, you decide to try new things. Experiment. Trial and error. You then gauge the response. For instance, when you started to go on a walk outside, pushing the stroller with the baby in it, the experience was pleasant. No crying. Quite the contrary, in fact. The child had eyes wide open, as if they were taking in the world. They were all smiles the next time they realized you were preparing for a return trip. This means that they are communicating their intent. They enjoyed the experience you tried for them. You are now eager to oblige and to even find new places that they may wish to go.

With the avatara known as Shri Krishna, the first instance of travel was directly suggested. Krishna showed the vision of Vishnu to His birth parents, Vasudeva and Devaki. He informed them that to remain in Mathura was dangerous. Krishna wanted to spend the early years in Gokula. Vasudeva obliged by carrying his newborn son across a raging Yamuna River in the middle of the night.

“While Vasudeva was carrying his son Krishna in the falling rain, Lord Shesha in the shape of a serpent spread His hood over the head of Vasudeva so that he would not be hampered by the rainfall. Vasudeva came onto the bank of the Yamuna and saw that the water of the Yamuna was roaring with waves and that the whole span was full of foam. Still, in that furious feature, the river gave passage to Vasudeva to cross, just as the great Indian Ocean gave a path to Lord Rama when He was bridging over the gulf.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 3)

The next place Krishna wanted to go was Vrindavana. The elders of the community describe that area as mahavana, or a great forest. This time, Krishna revealed His desire through external events, pivoting off of the pure love of the caretakers. You see, Krishna, who was still a baby, happened to find one dangerous situation after another. Just how dangerous? The common thread was a fall. Something was dropping and hitting the ground. That something was large by comparison. The fall could not be blamed on anything ordinary. There was no visible fault, or dosha.

The witch came crashing to the ground, while Krishna was near. The handcart happened to collapse. Krishna was right there. Then the two trees fell, with Krishna close enough to give an indication that perhaps He was responsible. But there was no way. Though He was known as Damodara for being tied to the mortar, how could a child carry enough force to knock down trees? It simply was not possible.

“When the twin arjuna trees fell to the ground, making a sound like the falling of thunderbolts, all the inhabitants of Gokula, including Nanda Maharaja, immediately came to the spot. They were very much astonished to see how the two great trees had suddenly fallen. Because they could find no reason for their falling down, they were puzzled. When they saw child Krishna bound up to the wooden mortar by the ropes of Yashoda, they began to think that it must have been caused by some demon. Otherwise, how was it possible? At the same time, they were very much perturbed because such uncommon incidences were always happening to the child Krishna.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 11)

The elders decided a change was in order. They should move to Vrindavana. This was Krishna’s desire, expressed through the loving sentiments of the elders. Krishna was everything to them. They did not mind the inconvenience of packing their belongings. They would make the sacrifice. They were not looking for devotional points from a higher figure. They were not looking to please a higher authority. They were simply interested in the welfare of Krishna. This is the way bhakti-yoga manifests, in the purest form.

Your friends might think you have lost your mind. Your family is worried about you. Meanwhile, you are only concerned with God and His happiness. He expresses His satisfaction through the continued connection, which is known as yoga. The more we see Him the more we know our efforts are appreciated. In this way, we can always stay with Him, no matter the external conditions.

ये तु धर्मामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते
श्रद्दधाना मत्परमा भक्तास्तेऽतीव मे प्रिया:

ye tu dharmāmṛtam idaṁ
yathoktaṁ paryupāsate
śraddadhānā mat-paramā
bhaktās te ’tīva me priyāḥ

“He who follows this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engages himself with faith, making Me the supreme goal, is very, very dear to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 12.20)

In Closing:

Abundant and clear,
That very very dear.

Those inhabitants looking to please,
After vision of crashing trees.

Who inexplicably to fall,
Where Krishna as Damodara to call.

Better to a great forest to move,
Perhaps threat of danger to lose.

Categories: moving to vrindavana

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, krishna lila, moving, poem, poems, poetry