SB 10.23.33 – Krishna Blesses the Brahmans’ Wives

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Today, we are discussing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Twenty-Three, The Brāhmaṇas’ Wives Blessed. This Chapter contains so many wonderful instructions and attractive descriptions of Krishna and His devotees that we could discuss it for days and weeks. To begin, I will just summarize the basic storyline. Of course, it’s not a story in the sense of a made-up story.

Krishna and Balarama and Their cowherd boyfriends were in the forest of Vrindavan, and the cowherd boys felt very hungry and they addressed Krishna, “O, subduer of enemies, we are very hungry, so please arrange some food for us.” The significance of addressing Krishna as subduer of enemies is that their hunger was their enemy, so they wanted Krishna to subdue their hunger. Now, this is also a very interesting point because in pure devotional service, the residents of Vrindavan who are engaged in service to Krishna are on the highest platform of pure love. In such devotional service, one does not ask the Lord for anything for oneself, but here, the cowherd boys are asking the Lord to arrange food for them.

Once, we were riding on the train with Srila Prabhupada, and we were in the same compartment with him, and he asked the disciples that were with him to read from Kṛṣṇa book. And one of the devotees asked, “Any particular place?” And Srila Prabhupada said, “No, it’s all nectar, you can read from anywhere.” So, the devotee just let the book open to someplace and it was a story that comes a little earlier in the Tenth Canto about the killing of Dhenukāsura.

And in this story, the cowherd boys are smelling the tāla fruit from the Dhenuka Forest, and they became attracted, and they wanted to eat those fruits, so they asked Krishna and Balarama to arrange it. Then, Srila Prabhupada opened his eyes wide and commented, “Just see how the cowherd boys are using Krishna for their sense gratification.” Which is a joke, of course.

So, these activities are performed under the influence of a special energy of Krishna called yoga-māyā. We, conditioned souls, are under the influence of an energy called mahā-māyā, which makes us forget Krishna. But the spiritual realm is under the influence of yoga-māyā, especially Vrindavan, and yoga-māyā helps the devotees remember Krishna in a loving mood but forget that Krishna is the Supreme Lord. Because if they were conscious that He was the Supreme Lord, they would not be able to exchange in such intimate ways. And so, they forget that Krishna is God, and in that loving atmosphere, blissful atmosphere, Krishna also forgets that He is God and thus, they enjoy it as friends. But Krishna’s pleasure is the central point, He is the central point of attraction, and so in that mood, they said, “Oh, subduer of enemies, we are hungry, please arrange some food.”

So, Krishna is always mindful of His devotees. In fact, He is mindful of every living entity, but especially His devotees. And so, He thought of the wives of the brahmans who had deep love for Him, and He wanted to reciprocate with them. He told the cowherd boys that there were some brahmans performing Vedic sacrifice for material elevation to a heavenly abode, and they should ask these brahmans for some food. So, they went and the brahmans were very proud, and although it was allowed by the rules of the sacrifice for them to give food, they completely ignored the request of the cowherd boys who said very directly, “Krishna and Balarama are nearby and They are hungry, and They send us to you to ask for food, for prasāda.”

So, the cowherd boys were discouraged, but when they told Krishna what had happened, He just laughed and said, “This is the way of the world.” And in Kṛṣṇa book, Srila Prabhupada comments, “This is the way of begging. When you go to beg or request people to help, you can’t expect that everyone will always agree. But we don’t become discouraged, we try again.”

So, Krishna said, “This time, go to the wives of the brahmans. But don’t tell them that we are hungry because if you tell them that we are hungry, they’ll feel so much pain in their hearts, and I don’t want to cause them that pain. So, just tell them that we want food.” So, the cowherd boys went and they told the wives of the brahmans, and those saintly ladies became very ecstatic and they immediately filled huge pots with food and went to see Krishna and Balarama.

And at this point, there is a very beautiful exchange between Krishna and the brahman ladies, in which He congratulates them for leaving aside everything to come to Him. Their husbands, children, relatives all forbade them to come, but they came anyway. And Krishna uses a word that means that what they did was completely appropriate because Krishna is atma-priya, He is the most beloved of the soul, He is the soul of the soul. And anything in this world has meaning when it’s connected with the soul, and Krishna is the soul of the soul, so everything has meaning really only in relation to Him. Just like the body, our body has significance as long as the soul and Super Soul are there. As soon as the soul leaves the body, the body has no value.

So, I’ll read some verses, one verse, and this verse describes the beauty of Krishna, and when devotees read or hear such a verse, they become attracted. And I’ll just read the translation. But again, to feel that attraction, you have to be somewhat purified. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Krishna is all-attractive. Like a magnet attracts iron, naturally, it’s attractive to iron. But if the iron is covered with rust, it won’t be attractive.” So, the soul is naturally attracted to Krishna, but when we are covered by material contamination, that natural attraction is not felt. But by this process of chanting and hearing about Krishna, the rust becomes cleansed and our natural attraction is felt. So, this is just for devotees. This is an extremely attractive description of Krishna.

ŚB 10.23.22

His complexion was dark blue and His garment golden. Wearing a peacock feather, colored minerals, sprigs of flower buds, and a garland of forest flowers and leaves, He was dressed just like a dramatic dancer. He rested one hand upon the shoulder of a friend and with the other twirled a lotus. Lilies graced His ears, His hair hung down over His cheeks, and His lotuslike face was smiling.

COMMENT

So, Krishna, although He accepted the brahman ladies as completely appropriate in their love for Him and in their action of disregarding all the people who tried to stop them from coming to Krishna, He sends them back, and He said, “You are brahman ladies, I’m just a cowherd, and it’s not appropriate socially for us to have a relationship. And you are married and your husbands need you for performing their rituals, so you should go back.”

And the ladies were completely heartbroken, they said, “We’ve already left our husbands, we’ve left our families and relatives. We just want to serve You, we have nothing else in our hearts, we have nothing else in this world, we just want to serve You. And even if you think that it’s not appropriate for us to have that relationship with You, we will just remain in the forest, and when You pass through the forest and some of the tulasi leaves from your lotus feet fall or from your garland fall, we will pick up those tulasi leaves and worship them, and we will be satisfied.”

But even then, Krishna insisted. They said, “If we go back, our husbands won’t accept us.” And Krishna said, “I will arrange that your husbands, children, relatives, everyone will welcome you back and accept you and will not find any fault with you.” And then, He gives some instructions that are very relevant for us all.

Devotee: What number verse, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: I hope I have not typed it wrong. It’s 10.23.33. Well, I think I’ll read the Sanskrit.

TEXT 33

śravaṇād darśanād dhyānān

mayi bhāvo ‘nukīrtanāt

na tathā sannikarṣeṇa

pratiyāta tato gṛhān

TRANSLATION

It is by hearing about Me, seeing My Deity form, meditating upon Me and chanting My names and glories that love for Me develops, not by physical proximity. Therefore please go back to your homes.

COMMENT

So, when devotees are attracted to Krishna, they may feel, and I’m sure many of you have felt, many of us have felt, that they don’t want to do anything else except to serve Krishna. When I spoke here on Friday, some of the newcomers expressed the same feeling, they didn’t even want to continue their studies because it was so dry, and Krishna’s consciousness was so nectarine.

And this verse contains an instruction, of course, He is saying, “Go home to your husbands, go home to your duties.” Now, of course, He would not give them an instruction that would discourage them in their love for Him, but He was giving them a way to maintain and increase their love for Him even at home. And therefore, He explains śravaṇāt, by hearing about Him. How did these ladies become so attracted to Krishna? It was by hearing about Him. They had not met Him before in person, but they had heard about Him from various women folk of Vrindavan. And just by hearing about Him, they became attracted.

In fact, we also haven’t in this lifetime met Krishna directly, but we are attracted by hearing about Him. Śravaṇāt darśanāt, by seeing the Deity form, we have beautiful Deities here, beautiful Deities in the Alachua, and just by seeing Their beautiful forms, we become attracted. And we want to serve Them, we want to become part of Their entourage. Dhyānāt, by meditation. Meditation here means meditating on Krishna, His name, His beautiful form, His magnanimous qualities, His loving pastimes. And these all elevate us above the material platform.

The example is given of the lotus flower, that the roots of the lotus flower are in the mud and the stem comes up and the actual lotus flower is above the water. So, by being absorbed in Krishna consciousness, even though we are rooted in the material world in our studies and other duties and responsibilities, our consciousness by being absorbed in Krishna is above the water, it’s above the whirlpools of material existence. Anukīrtanāt, by chanting Krishna’s names and qualities, kirtan, we like kirtan, and anu has two meanings: one meaning is continuous, continuous chanting, and hearing about Krishna. And anu also means to follow, we chant following the examples and instructions of our exemplars, of our teachers, present and past.

So, the ladies went back, and just as Krishna promised, all their family members accepted them, they found no fault in them, and they saw by the association of their wives these brahmans, proud brahmans, had their spiritual intelligence awakened. And they realized, “We are fools. The goal of all of our sacrifices is Krishna, every element of the sacrifice and the result of the sacrifice, of our opulence is Krishna, and Krishna was nearby. He was personally asking for food and we refused.” And they felt very remorseful and repentant. And within their hearts, they surrendered to Krishna.

And they wanted to go and beg Krishna to forgive them and accept them as His servants, but they didn’t actually go. You know why they didn’t go? Because they were afraid of Kaṁsa, the evil tyrannical king Kaṁsa, that if Kaṁsa found out that they were going to Krishna, he might kill them. But their wives were not afraid to go because of their overwhelming ecstatic love.

So many messages, but these brahmans, although they recognized Krishna, they were still in the bodily concept of life, and that held them back. But their wives were completely on the spiritual platform, and nothing held them back and they did not suffer in any way. And to the contrary, their heart’s desired what the Bhāgavatam describes, that they perceived the form of Krishna, and He entered the aperture of their eyes, and entered their hearts. And He embraced them from within their hearts.

So, these stories of Krishna’s kindness to His devotees should make us feel that we could also have that relationship with Krishna. This is not just something that was possible for people who took birth in Vrindavan five thousand years ago, this is something that’s possible for us. And therefore, Krishna says a bit later in the Tenth Canto that He comes in His human-like form to attract the conditioned souls to His pastimes, so that they will engage in such loving service to Him.

So, I’m not sure, I mean, there is so much that can be said, but they usually leave time for questions?

Devotee: Yeah.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Yes, sir?

Devotee: Thank you very much, Giriraj Swami Maharaja, for your class. You mentioned the brahmana women. My question is whether women have a varna, and how it’s determined? And what do you think is the best way to interpret and apply Srila Prabhupada’s teachings about women in the United States? And women in general, when we are in the United States, which would be foreign or provocative in this culture?

Giriraj Swami: Well, the brahman’s wives were on the spiritual platform, and as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu expressed, “I’m not a brahman, I’m not a kshatriya, I am not a vaishya, I am not sudra, I am not brahmachari, I am not grihastha, I am not vanaprastha, I am not sannyasi, but gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ, I’m just the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna.” And a pure devotee is really beyond any of these designations, and the brahman ladies were also beyond them, and that also came up in their exchange with Krishna.

But even though they were transcendental and did not belong to any varna or ashram, but Krishna, and we also, in a way, have to be mindful of how society sees things, and in that particular context, the brahman ladies leaving their home and having a relationship with Krishna would not have been acceptable.

So, I believe you are making the point that we have our own social context now, and therefore, as Krishna was mindful of the social context, then we should also be mindful of the social context now. And therefore, we might do things in consideration of what other people might think. Is that what you are saying?

Devotee: I’m asking.

Giriraj Swami: I think it’s true, I think it’s true. I mean, Srila Prabhupada, you could say, made adjustments when he presented Krishna consciousness in the west. He did things that no one before had done in India, but he had to do it because of the importance of Krishna consciousness, which is much more important than social considerations or even cultural traditions that are not that central to Krishna consciousness. So, that’s something that we do have to consider, how to make Krishna consciousness appealing to our audience, and at the same time preserve the core values of it.

Devotee: Do women traditionally have a varna?

Giriraj Swami: Well, they do in the sense that. . . Yeah, they do. These women, their parents were brahmans, their husbands were brahmans, they came and they were placed in the category of dvija-patni. I mean, it’s an intricate science, it’s really an intricate science. There is a type of marriage called pratiloma. There are many sorts of rules that govern these interactions. But the ultimate instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā,

18.66

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

COMMENT

Give up all other considerations and surrender of Krishna. And that’s what these ladies did.

And one other point I might add in the three minutes, two odd minutes left. There is a verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that says, “No one should become a mother, no one should become a father, no one should become a husband, no one should become a guru unless they can deliver their dependants from the repetition of birth and death.”

And Srila Prabhupada and others have given examples of how this applies, and one example they give is the wives of the brahmans. Because in tradition, it’s the duty of the wife to obey the husband, but in this case, the husband was not acting in a way that would deliver them from the cycle of birth and death. You can only be delivered from the cycle of birth and death by surrendering to Krishna. So, they weren’t helping them to surrender to Krishna, they were trying to hinder them. So, by this standard, they were not real husbands, and therefore, there was no fault in the ladies disobeying them.

And Prabhupada was using that to encourage us, who were in the room with him when he quoted this verse and commentary, “You’ve left your parents to join, but unless your parents are really helping you to become free from the repetition of birth and death, they are not really parents, and so there is no fault in disobeying them.” But devotees, we were discussing this the other day, devotees often end up being the most loving and caring for their parents, especially if their parents are old age. But by surrendering to Krishna, they really become qualified to serve their parents, or any family member, or friend, or any living entity. So, it’s good all around.

Hare Krishna. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!