Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.29 Devotee: na veda kascid bhagavams cikirsitam tavehamanasya nrnam vidambanam na yasya kascid dayito ’sti karhicid dvesyas ca yasmin visama matir nrnam ”O Lord, no one can understand Your transcendental pastimes which appear to be human and so are misleading. You have no specific object of favor, nor do You have any object of envy. People only imagine that You are partial.” Prabhupada: So the Lord says in the Bhagavad-gita: paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bg. 4.8]. So two purposes. When God incarnates, He has got two mission. One mission is paritranaya sadhunam and vinasaya dus… One mission is to deliver the faithful devotees, sadhu. Sadhu means saintly persons. The sadhu… I have explained several times. Sadhu means devotee. Sadhu does not mean the worldly honesty or dishonest, morality or immorality. It has nothing to do with material activities. It is simply spiritual, sadhu. But sometimes we derive, “sadhu,” a person’s material goodness, morality. but actually “sadhu” means in the transcendental platform. Those who are engaged in devotional service. Sa gunan samatityaitan [Bg. 14.26]. Sadhu is transcendental to the material qualities. So paritranaya sadhunam. The paritranaya means to deliver. Now if a sadhu is already delivered, he is on the transcendental platform, then where is the necessity of delivering him? This is the question. Therefore this word is used, vidambanam. It is bewildering. It is contradictory. It appears to be contradictory. If a sadhu is already delivered… Transcendental position means he’s no longer under the control of the three material modes of nature, goodness, passion and ignorance. Because it is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gita: sa gunan samatityaitan [Bg. 14.26]. He transcends the material qualities. A sadhu, devotee, Then where is the question of deliverance? The deliverance… He does not require deliverance, a sadhu, but because he is very much anxious to see the Supreme Lord eye to eye, that is his inner desire, therefore Krsna comes. Not for deliverance. He’s already delivered. He’s already delivered from the material clutches. But to satisfy Him, Krsna is always… Just like a devotee wants to satisfy the Lord in all respects, similarly more than the devotee, the Lord wants to satisfy the devotee. This is the exchange of loving affairs. Just like in your, in our ordinary dealings also, if you love somebody, you want to satisfy him or her. Similarly, she or he also wants to reciprocate. So if that reciprocation of loving affairs is there in this material world, how much it is greatly elevated in the spiritual world? So there is a verse that: “Sadhu is My heart, and I am also the sadhu’s heart.” The sadhu is always thinking of Krsna and Krsna is always thinking of His devotee, sadhu. So the appearance and disappearance of Lord within this material world, that is called cikirsitam. What is the word meaning of cikirsitam? Devotee: Pastimes. Prabhupada: Pastimes. It is Krsna’s pastime that He comes. He… When He comes, of course, He works something. The The work is to give protection to the sadhu and to kill the asadhu. But both the activities are His pastimes. He’s not envious. He cannot be envious. The killing of the demons, that is also His affection. Just like sometimes we punish our children, we give him a very strong slap. That is not out of love. There is love. So when Krsna kills a demon, the, the business is not on the platform of material jealousy or enviousness. No. Therefore it is mentioned in the sastras that even the demons, who were killed by Lord, they also get immediate salvation. The result is the same. Just like Putana. Putana was killed. Putana wanted to kill Krsna, but who can kill Krsna? That is not possible. She was killed. But she was killed, but what was the result? The result was that she got the position of Krsna’s mother. Krsna accepted her as His mother. She came with poison-coated nipple, that: “Krsna will suck my nipple, and the child will die immediately.” But that is not possible. She was killed. Krsna sucked the nipple and the life altogether. But Krsna took the bright side, that: “This woman, demon, she came to kill Me, but somehow or other I have sucked her breast milk. So she is My mother. She is My mother.” So she got the position of mother. These are explained in the Bhagavatam, Uddhava explained to Vidura that Krsna is so kind, God is so kind, even the person who wanted to kill Him with poison, she was accepted as mother. Such a kind God, Krsna, that “Whom shall I worship others, except Krsna?” This example is given. So actually Krsna has no enemy. Here it is said: na yasya kascid dayitah. Dayitah means favor. Nobody is favored. Na yasya kascid dayito ’sti karhicid dvesyas ca. And nobody is His enemy. But who can be His enemy, who can be His friend? Suppose we create friends. We expect some benediction or some profit from the friend and enemy means we expect some harmful activities by the enemy. But Krsna is so perfect that nobody can do any harm to Krsna, neither anybody can give anything to Krsna. So where is the necessity of friend and enemy? There is no necessity. Therefore it is stated here: na yasya kascid dayito ’sti. He doesn’t require anyone’s favor. He’s complete. I may be very poor man. I expect some friend’s favor, somebody’s favor. But that is my expectation because I am perfect. I am not full. I am deficient in so many ways. So I am in needy always. Therefore I want to create some friend, and similarly I hate the enemy. So Krsna, His being the Supreme nobody can do any harm to Krsna, nobody can give anything to Krsna. So why we are offering Krsna so much comforts? We are dressing Krsna, we are decorating Krsna, we are giving nice food to Krsna. So the idea is… Try to understand this fact. Krsna does not require your nice dress or nice flower or nice food. Krsna does not require. But if you give Him, then you become benefited. It is Krsna’s favor that He’s accepting. The example is given: Just like if you decorate the original person the reflection of the person in the mirror, it also appears decorated. So we are reflections. In the Bible also it is said that man is made after the image of God. So our, as Krsna is transcendental, we… He has got two hands, two legs, one head. So man is made after God means we are reflections of the image of God. Not that we manufacture, imagine some form according to our form. That is mistake. The Mayavadi philosophy is like that. It is called anthropomorphism. They say that: “Because the… The Absolute Truth is imperson, but because we are persons, we imagine that Absolute Truth also person.” Just the opposite. Actually that is not the fact. We have got this personal form as reflection of God. So in the reflection, if the original person is benefited, the reflection is also benefited. That is the philosophy. The reflection is also benefited. So if you decorate Krsna, so you become decorated. If you satisfy Krsna, then you become satisfied. If you offer nice foodstuff Krsna, then you eat them. Perhaps those who are outside the temple, they have never imagined such nice foodstuff. But because it is being offered to Krsna, we have got the opportunity to take it. This is the philosophy. So you try to satisfy Krsna in all respects. Then you’ll be satisfied in all respects. This is… Krsna does not require your service. But He kindly accepts. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. Krsna is asking you that: “You surrender unto Me.” It does not mean that Krsna is lacking one servant, and if you surrender then He’ll be profited. Krsna can create millions of servants by His only desires. So that is no point. But if you surrender to Krsna, you becomes saved. You become saved. That is your business. Krsna says: aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami. You are suffering here. Just like without any shelter. You see so many people loiter in the street, no aim, no life. We go in the beach side. We see so many boys and girls, without an aim, loitering, do not know what to do, all confused. So… But if you take shelter of Krsna, then you’ll know: Oh, I have got now shelter.” There is no more confusions. There is no more hopelessness. You can understand it very well. And I receive so many letters daily, how they are hopeful in Krsna consciousness. So Krsna has come here, has descended, to collect some servant, that is not the fact. If we agree… Instead of becoming Krsna’s servant, we are servant of so many things. We are servant of our senses, and sense activities. Kama, krodha, lobha, moha. Actually the whole world is serving the senses, servant of the senses. Godasa. But if we engage the senses in the service of Krsna, then we shall no longer remain the servant of the senses. We shall be the master of the senses. Because we, we, we shall not allow our senses to be engaged otherwise. That strength we shall get. Then we shall be safe. So here Kuntidevi is describing that: “Your appearance in this material world is not misleading, bewildering.” We are thinking that: “Krsna has got some mission, some purpose. Therefore He has appeared.” “No. It is His pastimes.” It is pastime. Just like sometimes the governor goes to inspect the prison house. He has no business to go the prison house. He is getting report from the superintendent. He does not… Still sometimes he comes: “let me see how they are doing.” It is called pastime. It is his free will. Not that he has become subjected to the prison laws and he has to come to the prison. No, not like that. But if the prisoners think: “Oh, here the governor is also in the prison. So we are equal. We are equal. I am also governor.” The rascal thinks like that. “Because Krsna has come, descended, avatara, so I am also avatara.” This rascaldom is going on. So here it is said: na veda kascid bhagavams cikirsitam. “Nobody knows what is the purpose of Your appearance and disappearance. Nobody knows.” So tava, tava ihamanasya nrnam vidambanam. It is bewildering. Nobody can understand what is the real purpose. The real purpose is His free will. “Let Me go and see.” He doesn’t require to come to kill the demons. There are so many agents that if there is a strong wind, thousands of demons can be killed in a moment. So Krsna does not require to come to kill the demons. And He does not require also to come to give protection to the devotee. By His simply will, everything is there. But He takes a pleasure pastime, “Let Me go and see.” Sometimes He wants to fight. Because the fighting spirit is also there in Krsna. Otherwise, where we get? Because we are part and parcel of Krsna, all the qualities of Krsna in minute quantity, they are within us. We are sample of Krsna, but the, wherefrom we get this fighting spirit? The fighting spirit is there in Krsna. Therefore, just like sometimes a big man or king, they engage some wrestler to fight. They, they pay the wrestler to fight with the king. But he’s not enemy. He is giving pleasure to the king by fighting, mock fighting. Similarly, when Krsna wants to fight, who will fight with Him? Some of His devotee, great devotee will fight with Him. Not ordinary. Just like a king, if he wants to practice mock fighting, some very exalted fighter, wrestler will be engaged. Similarly… That is also service. Because Krsna wants to fight, therefore some of His devotees come down to become His enemy. Just like Jaya-Vijaya. This Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa. Do you think they are ordinary living entity? If… That… Nrsimhadeva, God Himself has come to kill him. Do you think they’re ordinary? No, they’re not ordinary. They’re devotees. But Krsna wanted to fight. In the Vaikuntha world there is no possibility of fighting because everywhere there, everyone there is engaged in Krsna’s service. With whom He’ll fight? Therefore He sends some devotee in the garb of enemy and Krsna comes here to fight with Him. At the same time, to teach us that becoming enemy, enemy of Krsna is not very profitable. Better become friend. That will be profitable. Therefore it is said that: na veda kascid bhagavams cikirsitam. “Nobody knows what is the purpose of Your appearance and disappearance.” Tava ihamanasya nrnam vidambanam. “You are in this world just like ordinary human being. This is bewildering.” Therefore ordinary man cannot believe. “How God can become ordinary person like…?” Krsna is playing. Although He was not playing ordinary person. He was playing as God. Wherever there was necessity… Just like He married 16,000 wives. When He married He was one, and 16,000 girls offered the surrender to Krsna that: “We are now kidnapped. If we go home, nobody will marry us.” That is a strict Vedic system. If an unmarried girls goes out of home even for one night, nobody will marry her. Still it is going on. Nobody will marry her. So this is the old system. All the 16,000 girls who were kidnapped by Bhaumasura… So they prayed to Krsna and Krsna came, killed the Bhaumasura, delivered all the girls. So when Krsna asked them: “Now you can safely go to your father’s house,” they replied: “Sir, if we go back to our father’s house, what will be our fate? Nobody will marry us. Because this man, this raksasa, they kidnapped us.” “Then what do you want.” “ We want that You become our husband.” So Krsna is so kind. “Yes.” Immediately accepted. That is Krsna. Now, when they were brought at home, not that 16,000 wives will have to wait for 16,000 nights to meet Krsna. Krsna expanded Himself into 16,000 forms, and constructed 16,000 palaces, and establishment, on each palace… The description is there in the… That is Bhagavan. So those rascals, they cannot understand. They criticize Krsna, that: “He was very lusty. He married 16,000 wives.” Even if He’s lusty, He’s unlimitedly lusty. Because He’s unlimited. Why 16,000? If He would marry 16,000,000s of wives still it is imperfect. That is Krsna. So for Krsna there is no such thing that you can accuse Krsna as lusty, sensuous. No. He showed favor to all His devotees. There are so many devotees Of Krsna. Some devotee’s asking Krsna to become her husband. Some devotee’s asking Krsna to become his friend. Some devotee’s asking Krsna to become His son. And some devotee’s asking to become his playmate. In this way, millions and trillions of devotees are there all over the universe. And Krsna has to satisfy them all. He does not require any help from the devotees. But, as the devotees want… So these 16,000 devotees wanted Krsna as their husband. Krsna agreed. And that is… Just like common man. But as God, He expanded Himself into 16,000 forms. So Narada came to see. “Krsna has married 16,000 wives. How He’s dealing with them, let me see.” So he, when he came here, he saw in 16,000 palaces, Krsna is acting differently. And somewhere He’s talking with His wife. Somewhere He’s playing with His children. Somewhere He’s getting marriage ceremony of His sons and daughters. So many, 16,000 ways He’s engaged. That is Krsna. Krsna, although… Just like He was playing just like ordinary child. But when Mother Yasoda wanted to see His mouth open, whether He has eaten earth, dirt, He showed within the mouth all the universes. So this is Krsna. Although He is playing just like ordinary child, ordinary human being, but when there is need, He shows His Godly nature. Just like Arjuna. He was driving the chariot, but when Arjuna wanted see His universal form, immediately He showed him. Thousands and millions of heads and weapons. This is Krsna. So na yasya kascit. Otherwise Krsna has no enemy. Krsna has no friend. He is completely independent. He does not depend on enemy. But He plays like that for the benefit of the so-called friend and so-called enemy. He’s Krsna… That is Krsna’s absolute nature. When Krsna favors either as enemy or as friend, the result is the same. Therefore Krsna is absolute. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Los Angeles, April 21, 1973