“In the way that parents intervene when the children play with a snake or put a hand in fire, Sita and Rama are like the mother and father who protect Tulsidas in the manner of a small child.” (Dohavali, 147)

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खेलत बालक ब्याल सँग मेलत पावक हाथ
तुलसी सिसु पितु मातु ज्यों राखत सिय रघुनाथ

khelata bālaka byāla sa~ga melata pāvaka hātha
tulasī sisu pitu mātu jyoṃ rākhata siya raghunātha

“Don’t ask me how I got into this, but lately I have been exploring different situations and how I might feel if placed in them. How I might behave. How I might respond. I imagine the joy I would feel, or in some cases, the elation. These are my fantasies, if you will, that have nothing to do with enjoying in the typical sense. I am not sure when this started or where it is coming from, but I must say that it is fun. I do not discuss these mental excursions with others, so you should feel fortunate in that respect.

“One situation I have considered recently is that of an elderly person dealing with young children within their family. I have some vague recollections myself, from during my childhood. The experiences were overwhelmingly positive. The elders always wished us children well. When it was time to depart, they would often reach for the wallet and give us cash. There was a whole song-and-dance routine, after that. We had to pretend that we couldn’t accept it. Our parents would object, you see. Then the elders would act offended. They would insist that the children be allowed to receive the gift. Funny thing is, I don’t remember what happened to the money. Our parents likely kept it safe somewhere and then later forgot.

“Anyway, I now imagine how I would behave in a similar situation. If I was experienced with the ways of life, in the triumphs and tragedies, in the passions and defeats, in the steady decline in ability, how would I respond to seeing someone fresh and new to the field of play? Would I be bitter that I am no longer as vibrant and as full of life? Would I want to spoil their fun, in telling them just how miserable they are going to be at the end of it?

“Rather, I would choose to keep them in the dark, if I could. I would certainly lavish them with gifts. Most importantly, I would wish them well. I would want them to succeed in whatever they were interested in. I would want them to never experience disappointment, betrayal, agony, or separation. I would never want them to be in poor sorts.

“Do you believe such a sentiment corresponds with the mood of saintly people? Particularly of the Vedic tradition, where they are sharing knowledge more than they are demanding allegiance. Where they are trying to pass along wisdom to later be practically realized, as opposed to shaming others for failing to fall in line with a particular orthodoxy. In other words, are these saints like the elderly people I described?”

There is one key distinction to consider. This happens to also be the dividing line between worship of the devas, who are the gods, and approaching the benefactor of benefactors. After all, Bhagavad-gita explains that people who worship the devas are actually worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but indirectly. Every gift they receive, in turn, must first be sanctioned by the one who presides over the ritualistic performance, or sacrifice, in the first place. For these reasons, one of His many names is Yajneshvara.

स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते
लभते च तत: कामान्मयैव विहितान्हि तान्

sa tayā śraddhayā yuktas
tasyārādhanam īhate
labhate ca tataḥ kāmān
mayaiva vihitān hi tān

“Endowed with such a faith, he seeks favors of a particular demigod and obtains his desires. But in actuality these benefits are bestowed by Me alone.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.22)

The worship of the gods resembles a business transaction. Arrive at the store at the appropriate time. Get an idea what the price of a particular item is. Pay that price in the form of currency. The exchange from the other side is the item. There are no questions asked. The provider does not usually conduct a survey as to how the item was later used. They do not inquire as to the purpose. Neither does the customer wonder what the provider thinks about life and the ultimate goal of living.

With worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is oversight. There is consideration. Accounting for the future implications, the service provider might fail to deliver. From our example above, if translating to the role of an elderly well-wisher, the hope might be for failure. The person sees the young child heading in a dangerous direction. They predict the future calamity, before it occurs. They hope that the child fails in their endeavor, such that they never return to it again.

Goswami Tulsidas compares this to the oversight provided by loving parents, in how they might prevent a child from placing a hand in fire. There is no need to teach a lesson, in that case. In ordinary dealings, in following the path of karma, there is one lesson after another. That is because karma has associated phala, which are the consequences. For every action, there is a reaction. The people in karma tend to have many desires, jumping from one thing to another.

व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिर्
एकेह कुरु-नन्दन
बहु-शाखा ह्य् अनन्ताश् च
बुद्धयो ऽव्यवसायिनाम्

vyavasāyātmikā buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca
buddhayo ‘vyavasāyinām

“Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.41)

In bhakti-yoga, in approaching God the person directly, there is the potential for interference. The benefactor not only hopes that we fail in unprofitable ventures, but they might actually intervene to make that failure a reality. For this reason, another name for God is Hari. He can take away, where the devotee has to go kicking and screaming. They chastise God for such interference, but there is little that can be done. The responsibility for outcomes has been turned over already, in the surrender that is bhakti. What can be better than this?

In Closing:

How could you do that to me?
Because my intense desire to see.

That really that outcome to hope,
Now with dreaded failure to cope.

All because of the devotion applied,
Restricted no matter how much tried.

In the end most wonderful intervention,
That over demise steady prevention.

Categories: questions

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