![[Radha-Krishna]](https://i0.wp.com/krishnasmercy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Radha_Krishna_altar_temple_103.jpg?resize=119%2C122&ssl=1 "[Radha-Krishna]")
Download as podcast episode (right click and save)
“I am going to surprise you here. I will take something that you consider praiseworthy and turn it around. Not just you, either, I think everyone considers this to be a positive point. It is something to pivot off of. If you were tasked with giving class in an ashrama dedicated to bhakti-yoga and you ran into writer’s block, you could always lean on this. You could use it as the starting point, to kick off the discussion.
“The teaching which I reference is the ananta property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. More specifically, this ananta has both a corresponding image/identity and a practice. In the eternal realm of Vaikuntha, which is the spiritual world, the Supreme Lord is at rest. Nothing troubles Him. As He never has anxieties, the realm is appropriately named. Just how relaxed is Vishnu? He rests on the serpent bed known as Ananta Deva. This serpent has unlimited hoods. As if being completely free of anxieties weren’t enough, Ananta is singing glories. Of Vishnu, who is also known as Narayana. Ananta has unlimited hoods, to match his name, and he is unable to reach an end to the glories of Vishnu.
“This is supposed to be a wonderful thing. You see, if the glories of God have no limit, then a person can continue on in their glorification. This is why Vedic culture is not limited to a single book. You can perhaps say that Bhagavad-gita is the equivalent of the Bible in this tradition, but that is really just to make others feel better, in being polite. Vedic literature consists of volumes upon volumes of beautiful poetry, consisting of history, philosophy, and also predictions for the future. You have the original Veda, then the four divisions known as the Vedas, and then the supplementary works like the Puranaas. Any derivative work tied to the Vedas can also fall into the same category. This means that Vedic literature is constantly expanding, branching out into languages other than Sanskrit, such as Braja, Awadhi, Bengali, and Hindi.
“I have a different take on this. If Ananta Deva cannot properly glorify Vishnu, just what are we doing here? What is it that we are trying to accomplish? We will never come close to reaching the level of the person who is the intimate associate of God in the spiritual world. Nor do most of us have any desire to compete. By the very definition of the word ananta, we will fail. If we are destined to fail, why even try? Why step foot in a hopeless endeavor?”
In the following hypothetical situation, you are the father to a young child. As strange as it may sound, you are not interested in running a comparative analysis. There is no social mileage to extract. There is nothing that you want to show off. You do not care what this child grows up to be, what occupation they follow in adulthood, where they live, or how much money they earn. Your sole concern is happiness. You want that happiness to be steady. From childhood into old age. From student life to married life. Within each and every day, from morning until night.
To accomplish the objective, you reach for reference points. These are pleasurable experiences that you can recall. From your own history, you draw upon certain settings. Going on vacation with your parents. Spending time with grandparents. Playing games. The problem here is that nothing can be replicated. Your parents are no longer in this world. You cannot play the same games without getting bored. You cannot return to the college days, where your friends lived right across the hall.
Rather, you settle upon something that you have validated for yourself, in its ability to provide renewing happiness. Granted, you started out in a routine. You went down this path because others recommended it. You gave it a try, and for some reason it is the only endeavor you can recall where your enthusiasm today is just as strong as it was in the beginning.
You decide to pass along this secret to your child. You advise them to wake up every morning, preferably around the same time. After routine maintenance of the body, the next activity is to chant the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Follow that by reading from a sacred text. Perhaps just a single verse for each day. Make that the focus of your meditation for the next twenty-four hours.
If the routine continues without issue, without diminishing the standard, the child can then add new things. Preparing food and offering before the deity. Worshiping the deity with beautiful songs. Perhaps writing down reflections, focusing on content they have consumed. The reflections might later turn into glorifications. In this way, the child can stay happy under any and all circumstances.
![[Radha-Krishna]](https://i0.wp.com/krishnasmercy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Radha_Krishna_altar_temple_103-1.jpg?resize=404%2C413&ssl=1 "[Radha-Krishna]")
यत् करोषि यद् अश्नासि
यज् जुहोषि ददासि यत्
यत् तपस्यसि कौन्तेय
तत् कुरुष्व मद्-अर्पणम्yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi
yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam“O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.27)
This is indeed the key, that no matter how much everyone else is worshiping Him, God makes room for more. He not only accepts additional glorifications, He also appreciates them. That is why we can find the direct recommendation for this path in sacred texts. That glorification will make us happy, in lifetime after lifetime. What can be better?
In Closing:
Ananta unlimited to be,
In glorifications to see.
Admitting failure to teach,
That end impossible to reach.
Just what our purpose then,
If lower standard when?
Even a little isolated and pure,
To please Supreme Lord for sure.