“The Personality of Godhead heard the appealing voices of His friends, and casting a pleasing glance over them, He began to answer. By speaking through His eyes, He impressed His friends that there was no cause for fear. Then Krishna, the supreme mystic, the powerful Personality of Godhead, immediately swallowed up all the flames of the fire. The cows and boys were thus saved from imminent danger.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 19)

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“Trust me, I am familiar with the sections in Bhagavad-gita that provide detail to the dividing line between sura and asura, with respect to qualities. Arjuna, the recipient of that famous talk, should not be worried. He is born with the divine qualities. He is divyam in nature. The asuras are what you would expect them to be: petty, vindictive, mean, easily agitated, and envious, especially. I am familiar with that side of things, but what blurs the lines a bit is when you get into devotional circles.

“Let me explain. So many people have left Krishna consciousness because of a horrendous personal experience. They were the victim of abuse, theft, harsh words, or just gross negligence. They entered the institution through the books, through reading Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Shrimad Bhagavatam. They were fired up, as you would say. They had enthusiasm, utsaha. They were ready to get to work. They found the chanting of the holy names to be blissful: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

“Everything was going well, until it wasn’t. They assumed everyone around them was a devotee. Referencing the teaching above, the assumption was that these people were divyam. They were at least on the divine path, leading towards liberation. This was sadhu-sanga, which automatically accounted for asat-tyaga. It was association with saintly people and separation from worldly-minded people.

“Except some other devotees turned out to be some of the worst people you would meet. Not just in the ashrama, but anywhere in life. Arrogance at a level never previously considered. The supposedly most advanced, the highest in the chain of command, the licensed gurus, had egos so large they could barely be contained in the temple room. I get it that everything about this world is uncertain, but if even devotees have to be on guard and carry a healthy level of skepticism, just what hope do any of us have? How can someone know for sure if they are associating with the right people?”

दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोध: पारुष्यमेव च
अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ सम्पदमासुरीम्

dambho darpo ’bhimānaś ca
krodhaḥ pāruṣyam eva ca
ajñānaṁ cābhijātasya
pārtha sampadam āsurīm

“Arrogance, pride, anger, conceit, harshness and ignorance—these qualities belong to those of demonic nature, O son of Pritha.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 16.4)

For this particular exercise, rather than focus on value judgments and pointing fingers, we can take the following hypothetical situation to map out potential responses. We have a key characteristic belonging to a single person. We have associates to that person. Upon noticing the characteristic, the associates can follow one of two ways.

The person in question is powerful. They have special abilities. They do not necessarily broadcast their exceptional level of strength, intelligence, fortitude, and steadiness. It is just that these qualities cannot be suppressed. As much as the person tries, others eventually figure it out. The situations out them. People discover the amazing ability. These people are friends, family, and close associates.

One group decides to exploit. Their mindset is that if my friend is so amazing, then I should be all set. I can ask things of him all the time. He can handle it. He is in a superior position. He should not mind my requests. Sure, other people are hovering around, looking to exploit, but why should that be an inhibiting factor? I am behind. He is ahead. He has ability. I do not. Therefore, he is obligated to assist. Whenever I should ask, at any opportunity, he should be ready to react with a solution.

Another group chooses a different route. They know of the qualities, but they are more interested in the person. They have a loving relationship. They just want to associate. Their friend might have once lifted a mighty hill as a way to deal with an emergency like torrential flooding. Their friend might have battled one intruder after another to save others. He might have done so much, but without boasting. Without reminding others or putting them down. He is just one of the boys, after all.

This begins to describe the path followed by the cowherd boys of Gokula-Vrindavana, in their friendship with Shri Krishna, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In one incident, Krishna leaped into a river in order to deal with a serpent. That serpent was named Kaliya, and his presence in the river caused poison to flow everywhere. Some cowherd boys and the calves under their care were negatively affected by this poison.

Krishna dealt with the issue by Himself. No one else assisted. At one point it looked like Kaliya was winning. Krishna was doomed. The well-wishers watching from land began to lose hope. But then Krishna flipped the script. He ended up dancing on Kaliya’s hoods. The wives of the serpent offered prayers in hopes of release. That was then granted, and Krishna told Kaliya to leave, as he would be safe due to the sacred footprints left on the hoods.

Krishna saved everyone, but everyone did not suddenly look to exploit. They went back to the relationship, as per normal. With nary a moment to rest, the next emergency came out of nowhere. A fire threatened to devour everyone in the forest. The friends again looked to Krishna. They knew there was no other hope. They knew Krishna had saved them in the past. Krishna then proceeded to effortlessly devour the fire. Crisis averted.

This is one way to identify the presence of devotees. They know that God is great. They know that God is powerful. They know that God can rescue them. Armed with this knowledge, they still avoid the route of exploitation. Instead, their only desire is continued association. If ever in trouble, they will surely call out to Him, but the relationship is based on love. They are always wishing Krishna well. They will do anything to see Him happy.

In Closing:

Amazing strength to see,
That most wonderful is He.

Once that massive hill to lift,
Serpent through the waters to sift.

And that fire instantly devour,
Called upon at danger’s hour.

But friends only association to desire,
Pure devotion in dealings to transpire.

Categories: questions

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