Nitai: "My dear Krsna, Yasoda took up a rope to bind You when You committed an offense, and Your perturbed eyes overflooded with tears, which washed the mascara from Your eyes. And You were afraid, though fear personified is afraid of You. This sight is bewildering to me."
Prabhupada:
gopy adade tvayi krtagasi dama tavad
ya te dasasru-kalilanjana-sambhramaksam
vaktram niniya bhaya-bhavanaya sthitasya
sa mam vimohayati bhir api yad bibheti
So this is the description of Krsna's becoming Damodara. Krsna's another name is Damodara. The Damodara Temple, Radha-Damodara Temple, is there in Vrndavana, and I was staying there. Still I have my two rooms. So this Damodara description... The Damodara month is coming, and it will begin on the 18th of this October. So from that day, we'll observe Damodara-vrata for one month. From 18th to 17th November. The duty will be that in the evening you'll offer candle, a small candle, all of you, just before the Deity, not within the room, outside the room, and chant the Damodarastaka, namamisvaram. That is already printed in our song book. So this will be Damodara-vrata. That Damodara is explained here.
Srimati Kunti is also motherly. So how Krsna was afraid of His mother, Yasoda, that is described here. Gopya: "By Your mother, Yasoda." The Vallabhacarya made a book of Krsna's various names. And he came to Caitanya Mahaprabhu to request Him to hear that how he has described Krsna's name. At that time, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that "I know Krsna's two names: Syamasundara and Yasodanandana." Syamasundara, "beautiful Syama, Krsna." Yam syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam. He's not syama--syama means blackish--but at the same time, the most beautiful. Here in this material world, if somebody is blackish, he cannot be called beautiful. But Krsna, although He is blackish, He is sundaram, very, very beautiful. How much sundaram? Kandarpa-koti-kamaniya-visesa-sobham. Kandarpa-koti. If you keep one side millions of Cupids, still, Krsna will appear more beautiful. Just like we sing, nitai-pada-kamala, koti-candra-susitala. Koti, millions of moons together, they cannot be so peaceful and cool as the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda. These examples are given in the sastra. They are not exaggeration but actual fact. And we have to take it in good faith. Then we'll make advance in spiritual life. Otherwise, if we think these things are exaggeration in the sastras or by the devotees, that is aparadha, offense.
So here it is said that krtagasi. Krtagasi... So Krsna was offender before His mother. The mother, Yasoda, was taking care of the milk, and Krsna wanted to suck his (her) breast. So mother was very busy. So when the milk was overflowing, she immediately left Krsna and went to take care of the milk. Krsna became very much angry. So He went to the butter stock and broke the butter pot, spoiled it, and when mother Yasoda saw that the child is breaking the butter pot, he (she) immediately wanted to catch Him, and Krsna fled away. And then, after all, He was a small child, and Mother Yasoda caught Him and wanted to bind Him with a rope. This is the fact. Krtagasi. Then gopy adade krtagasi tvam: "Because You were offender, therefore he (she) wanted to bind You." Dama. Dama means rope. Tavat. "And what was Your condition at that time? The condition was ya te dasa." Dasa means condition. So He was crying. Lord Krsna, out of fear of His mother--"Now Mother will bind Me"--so He was crying. And while crying, the tears washed the, what is called? Kajala? Mascara? So they were dropping, and He was fearful, crying, and He was, His head was down, flapping. This condition. Niniya. Vaktram niniya, face. He felt culprit, that "I have done wrong." Bhaya-bhavanaya. He was so much afraid that "Mother will bind Me. My freedom will be lost." Sthitasya: "In this way, when You were situated..."
So Kuntidevi is remembering that scene, and she became astonished. Why? Now, bhir api yad bibheti. The... There is one thing, bhaya. Everyone is afraid of something. That is called bhaya. So there is the personified bhaya, bhih. So he's also afraid of Krsna. Because Krsna is the supreme being, controller, isvarah paramah krsnah, so He can control... Just like the superintendent of police. So everyone is afraid of the superintendent of police. Especially those criminals, they are very much afraid. But why the governor should be afraid of the police superintendent? As that is not possible, that is unnatural, similarly, if there is any director of the fear department in the kingdom of Krsna, so he's afraid of Krsna because everyone is servant. Ekale isvara krsna ara saba bhrtya. Whoever may be... Just like Goddess Kali. She is personified fear. Just see, just imagine the bodily feature of Goddess Kali. She is killing all the asuras. So many asuras has been killed that all their heads have been made into a garland, and she is putting on the shoulder. And one asura killed, and she has taken the head in the left hand. And the other hand is engaged with the, what is called, chopper? Khanga. What is the English of khanga?
Devotee (1): Chopper.
Prabhupada: Chopper?
Devotee (2): Sword?
Prabhupada: Yes. And the, she's standing, bhih, bhir api. Bhih means personified, personified fearfulness. So those who are criminals, they worship Kali, Goddess Kali: "Mother, please excuse me. I, I am criminal. I'll give you one goat."
So these things are going on in the name of worshiping God. But that is not God worship. That is worshiping the fearful personified by the criminals. Just Durga... Kali is expansion of Durga. Just like Visnu is expansion of Krsna, similarly, Krsna's energy... Energy has also many expansions. Dasa maha-vidya. There are many expansions of Durga because she has to look after... Just like police department. Police department is there, but there are many officers in that police department. Similarly, Durga is the superintendent of police of this universe. Durga. Durga means the fort, durga. Ga means going, and dur means difficulty.
So where you cannot go unless you accept so many difficulties, that is called durga, or fort. So this universe, material world, is just like a durga. You cannot escape. Conditioned souls, you cannot escape. It is very difficult. Daivi hy esa gunamayi duratyaya. There are rules and regulations. Just like immigration department, security department--same thing. These are simply reflection of the original function of the supreme government. So this is... Just like prison house. You cannot escape so easily. If you try to escape, then you'll be again punished. So the bhih, the superintendent of police... The original superintendent is Durga. Durga means the protector of this durga, where you cannot escape. So she is also servant of Krsna. Therefore it is said, bhir api yad bibheti. This Durga is the fearful personified, but still she cannot disobey Krsna's order. That is her position, dasi. Mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te. The bhih, the fearful feature of Krsna's potency, can only excuse you when you are surrendered to Krsna. Otherwise, you have to suffer these material pangs. We can understand how we are materially inconvenienced. We are... We have got such a nice house, and we are living on the third floor, so nicely decorated with marble. But the Durga's agent, the flies, they can go there and disturb you, so much so that you would like to go away from this house. This is our position. So the bhih, the fearful personified agent, can punish you anywhere. You may think that "I am very comfortably situated," but that fearful agent can go anywhere.
So that fearful agent, Durga, is also fearful of Krsna. This is Krsna's position. Because she is servant. Srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga. She is so powerful, Durga, that she can create one universe. Just like Krsna can create, Krsna also creates through her agent. As it is stated, na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate. He does not do anything directly, but as soon as He desires, "Let there..." Sa aiksata sa asrjata. These are the statements of the Vedas. In the Bible also it is said, "God desired: Let there be creation." Is it not like that? "And there was creation." Yes. The modern men, they cannot understand. "Eh! What is this? If somebody says 'Let there be creation,' and immediately that is ready? And He hasn't got to do it? These things are simply exaggeration." But no, that is the fact. God does not do anything by Himself. He's so powerful. Simply by His will... There are so many agents, and they are so powerful that immediately they can do it. The foolish people, they cannot see the hands of God is working everywhere.
So srsti-sthiti... Mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram. So prakrti, this material nature is working, and if one is criminal... Criminal means we are. Just see the flies, the insects, how much they are suffering. Whole night, they struggle to enjoy the lamp. And in the morning all dead. All dead. This is their life. So we are thinking that we are better situated. No, we are not better situated. Our, the principle is the same, that you come here, you accept a certain type of body, and whole night, or whole life... Night means ignorance, darkness. So in ignorance you go on struggling whole life, and then you become dead, finished. The same thing. There is no difference between the life of the insect... Therefore Prabodhananda Sarasvati says that, that the, these big, big demigods... Yat karunya-kataksa-vaibhavavatam. There is a verse. I just now forget it. Kaivalyam narakayate. Prabodhananda Sarasvati says that kaivalya, the impersonalists' theory of becoming one, monist, with the Absolute... That is called kaivalya. So he says: kaivalyam narakayate: "For a devotee who has got little favor of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, for him, this kaival ya-sukha, happiness of becoming one with the Supreme, is as good as the hell." Kaivalyam narakayate. And tri-dasa-pura akasa-puspayate. Tri-dasa-pura means where thirty-three millions of demigods live, heavenly planets. It is something like phantasmagoria, akasa-puspa, which has... Just like in Bengal they say, jokingly, ghora dim. Ghora dim means a ghora, a horse, never gives eggs. It is fantastics. It is not possible. Similarly, these heavenly planets, for a Vaisnava, is ghora dim. They don't care for it. It is no fact.
So kaivalyam narakayate tri-dasa-pura akasa-puspayate. Karmis, they want to go to the heavenly planet. This is the sarcastic remark upon the karmis. And kaivalyam narakayate, a sarcastic remark upon the jnanis. They want to become, want to become one. Kaivalyam narakayate tri-dasa-pura akasa-puspayate, durdanta indriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate. Durdanta indriya. Our senses are very powerful, durdanta. We cannot control. Just like snake. A snakes..., if you get some snakes here, it is very difficult to control. If you go to control, immediately it will bite and your life is finished. But mantrausadhi, those who know mantra and osadhi, they can control. But common man, they cannot control. But this Prabodhananda Sarasvati says that there is no control. There is no question of control. The snake is horrible, very fearful, so long it has got the poison teeth, visa-danta. So sometimes the physicians, according to Ayur Vedic system, they take out the poison from the teeth. They do not kill, but catch and take out the poison. So if the poison teeth is taken away, the snake is no more fearful. So Prabodhananda Sarasvati says that durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate. Damstrayate. Just like the dentists take away the teeth, similarly, if one snake's poison teeth is taken away, so no, it is no more fearful. In Bengal it is said that visa nai kula pana cakra.(?) So one who knows that this snake's poison teeth is taken away, he's not afraid. But this snake is fearful to the boys, to the children, not to the elderly men.
So anyone who has become devotee, for them, these senses, which are compared with the snakes, are not fearful. Just like Haridasa Thakura. He was young man, he has got all the senses, and the young girl, beautiful girl, came before him. But he was not fearful because the poison teeth is taken away of his senses. The senses, being engaged in Krsna's service, it is no more controller of the sense proprietor. This is the system. Therefore Prabodhananda Sarasvati said that durdanta: "The senses are like the snakes; it is very difficult to control. But it can be controlled because the poison teeth is taken away." This is the position of devotee. Kaivalyam narakayate tri-dasa-purakasa-puspayate durdanta indriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate.
And what is the other? Now, vidhi-mahendradis ca kitayate. I was going to come to this point. Vidhi-mahendradis ca kitayate. Vidhi means Brahma, and mahendra means the king of heaven, Indradeva. Such, such, big, big men, what to speak of these Churchill or Subhash Bose or... These big, big, they're kitayate. Kitayate means a devotee thinks this Brahma and Indra exactly like these insect. That is the conception. So that is actually the fact. Everyone... It is the relative world. Relatively, it looks very gorgeous, but the actually... Just like proportionate. You put five upon ten, and five millions upon ten millions. The ratio is the same, half. Similarly, these big, big men, these big, big politicians, they are struggling exactly like the insect. The whole life, they struggle. And in the morning, at a certain time, they're heap, heaps of dead body. That's all. We have seen it in Calcutta. When there was Hindu-Muslim riot, they fought, and in Bhag Bazaar there were heaps of dead bodies. And when it is dead body, nobody could understand who is Hindu and who is Muslim. Simply it was to be cleared from the road. So our position is like that.
So we may be afraid of this fearful agent, but Krsna is not fearful, afraid of fearful agent. We do... Because we should not. Therefore Kunti is astonished, vimohayati, that "This is my astonishment, that how Krsna is afraid of His mother? The... Everyone is afraid of Krsna." That Krsna, Kunti admits that... Therefore it is called lila. Everything, whatever Krsna does, it is lila. Lila means He's enjoying that fearful attitude of Himself. Everyone prays Him as the Supreme Lord. He is adored, He's worshiped. Nobody can be fearful to Him. Nobody goes to Krsna: "I have come to chastise You, Krsna." That is not possible. Nobody goes to the temple with the attitude, with a stick--"Sir, I have come to chastise You." Everyone is praying. So when Krsna thinks that "I want to be chastised," at that time He become subordinate to His devotee to be chastised. This is Krsna's lila. Krsna agrees that "Nobody comes to chastise Me, all My devotees. If some devotee comes to chastise Me, I would like it." So Krsna accepts such great devotee as His mother and father, and they are able to chastise Krsna.
So these people, these Mayavadi people, they are trying to become one with the God. But a devotee doesn't like to be one with God but better than God or higher than God. That is devotee's position. Devotee's so powerful that Krsna, a devotee can claim to become higher than God. They can produce God. Just like Yasoda-mata, Devaki. He (she) produced God. And God agrees. These Devaki and Vasudeva, they underwent severe penances, austerities. Without any conjugal union, they undergone tapasya. And Krsna came to them, that "What do you want?" "Now I, we want a son like You." So Krsna said, "Who can be equal to Me? That is not possible. I shall become your son." This is the reason that Krsna took birth as the son of Devaki, because they become... Krsna... Vasudeva and Devaki or mother Yasoda or Nanda, they became the father and mother of Krsna, and now they are chastising Krsna. It is not so easy thing. They had to undergo thousands of years in penances to take this position of chastising Krsna. It is not... (end)
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