“Here someone sat down, decorated with flowers by Him. She must have worshiped Vishnu, who is the soul of all, in a previous birth.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.13.34)

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अत्रोपविश्य सा तेन कापि पुष्पैर् अलंकृता
अन्यजन्मनि सर्वात्मा विष्णुर् अभ्यर्चितो यया

atropaviśya sā tena kāpi puṣpair alaṃkṛtā
anyajanmani sarvātmā viṣṇur abhyarcito yayā

There is the saying, “You should never meet your heroes.” It is a kind of recommendation, as well. Some might call it a friendly warning. The justification is based on the potential in outcomes. What if everything goes well? What does “well” even mean in this situation? How do you define success? How much time will you get to spend in that meeting? How can a lifetime’s worth of dedication, focus, and inspiration be put into words suitable for a short conversation? In the following hypothetical account, we cover the more clearly defined outcome, in the negative, when the meeting does not go well. There is a silver lining, as one person happens to be the greatest hero of all, and because of His Absolute nature there is the chance to meet Him every day.

The poster hung on your wall. The VHS tapes were cut to perfection. You could recite statistics on command, with pinpoint accuracy. This was long before the days of the internet search. Certainly no AI assistant to promptly respond to your inquiries delivered repeatedly, with increasing complexity. No, these were the good ole days of paper and pencil. You certainly had plenty of paper. Every kind of magazine publication. Every mention in a newspaper. If a documentary crew happened to visit your childhood home at that time, they would think that your room was an informal museum dedicated to this one person.

At one point, you learned of the opportunity for a meeting. An autograph signing. You begged your parents for permission to go. After noticing your persistence, which bordered on obsession, they relented. You had permission to attend the signing. One of your parents drew the short straw, so they had to drive you. On the day of, you entered the car holding something. It was a large poster, wherein you made a collage. The idea is to offer this to the person signing the autographs. Your parent laughed, at first, and then made fun of you for going to such trouble.

Undeterred, you waited on the long line until you finally reached the front. You offered the biggest smile, while the person in question appeared disinterested. They would not even look at you. They quickly signed a card or two, more out of obligation than anything else. Then you tried to get their attention, in offering them the collage. They scanned it up and down. They responded with a quizzical look on their face. They politely said, “Thanks”, and then moved along to the next person in line.

In your estimation, the meeting was underwhelming, to say the least. But what happened next turned the whole affair into a disaster. You see, you were one of the last people in line. The session was over a few minutes later. You hung around the place to see what would happen. You noticed that as this person was about to leave, after signing autographs for hours, someone reminds them of the collage. This person, to whom you have such strong affection, tells their assistant to throw the collage in the garbage. It is not worth anything, you see. As much as this person means to you, they do not feel the same way back. At least that is what you take away from the interaction.

With the tradition of bhakti-yoga, as kindly passed forward and presented to the modern world by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, religion moves beyond a formality. Rather than relegated to an item you check on a form or a kind of identification to be broadcast within the local society, there is a change to the way of life. This kind of religion is different. It is not made-up, either. The recommendations can be directly found in the source text used as the primary basis for the instruction.

As with any other religion, there is an object of worship. He is God, but with meaning. He is Bhagavan, since He possesses all opulences simultaneously and to the fullest extent. He is Krishna since He is all-attractive. He is Govinda since He gives pleasure to the senses. He is Janardana since He maintains the people. He is Achyuta since He never falls down from the highest platform of behavior and characteristics.

यत् करोषि यद् अश्नासि
यज् जुहोषि ददासि यत्
यत् तपस्यसि कौन्तेय
तत् कुरुष्व मद्-अर्पणम्

yat 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)

That same person can be worshiped. Not just on Sundays, where people are more afraid than happy. Not just on holidays, when people want to inject change into the daily routine. Not just during times of trouble, when someone needs assistance. Bhagavan can be worshiped every single day. He can be worshiped all of the time. He can be worshiped at any location, including within the home.

To that end, someone can take the same spirit of allegiance offered to the celebrity, but direct everything towards Krishna. The Supreme Lord is like the greatest champion in the world. He is always winning. He holds all of the records. He is better than everyone else, though He never needs to boast. While in this temporary world, He even once remarked that true heroes do not speak much. They let their actions do the talking.

“My dear King Jarasandha, those who are heroes do not talk much. Rather, they show their prowess. Because you are talking much, it appears that you are assured of your death in this battle.” (Lord Krishna, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 49)

In bhakti-yoga, we can let our actions show how much we love God. We can gather together flowers to string into a garland. We can view each flower as symbolic of an individual truth. All of those truths rest on a single thread, in the same way that Krishna is holding up the entire universe. We can offer that garland and know that it will be appreciated, so much so that the remnants become prasadam, or the Lord’s mercy. Not only do we benefit by this practice, but so does everyone else. In this way, we can meet our hero each and every day and never leave disappointed.

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्
किञ्चिद् अस्ति धनञ्जय
मयि सर्वम् इदं प्रोतं
सूत्रे मणि-गणा इव

mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat
kiñcid asti dhanañjaya
mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ
sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva

“O conquerer of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.7)

That hero is so kind, so merciful, and so appreciative of devotion to Him that He is known to return the favor, on occasion. As described in Vishnu Purana, the gopis of Vrindavana once observed that Krishna went away into the forest with His beloved. Based on the markings on the ground, those cowherd girls deduced that Krishna must have reached for flowers. In another place, He must have offered those flowers, as a garland, to the most beautiful Shrimati Radharani, who is the greatest devotee.

In Closing:

Leaving sad and dejected,
Meeting not as expected.

Despite so much effort to try,
Now only wanting to cry.

Because celebrity my offering taking,
And at trash bin forsaking.

But Krishna the greatest hero of all,
Daily as my champion to call.

Categories: stories

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, radha, yoga