Kshara sat beside Krishna admiring the magnificent manifestation of the supreme personality of Godhead. Her eyes sparkled in awe of the breath-taking view of the entire cosmos. “Its magical!” she exclaimed. Krishna was quiet, unperturbed by the magnificence. “Don’t you feel like being amidst all the splendour, you have created? You stay aloof, far away from the magical lands.” she said. Krishna smiled at her innocent query and said “ I am a part of it and yet I’m not. I’m always there but I don’t have to be there all the time.” Kshara didn't understand, “I am very eager to go and explore the magical lands, especially the special place called Earth. Life there I’ve heard is pretty exciting and a great learning experience too” she said. “As you wish!” said Krishna, “but remember it will be a long journey, you will have to live according to the laws of the material nature. There will be happiness and pain, loss and gain, love and hatred, it’s a world of dualities my dear. You have to bear them all with equanimity.” he explained. “ Why do I need to worry when You are there” said Kshara. “ I will seek guidance from you when needed". She added.
In Krishna’s world every soul was entitled to ‘free will’. It was his way of expressing love for them. Their happiness was his priority, so he let them be, as they wished to be. Kshara, driven by desire began her journey into the magical lands. “Be careful my dear!” warned beloved Krishna “ As Maya takes charge from here. Never forget my name, that’s the only way to connect with each other again.” Kshara promised to keep her word and delved into the magical world.
She wished to be among the flowers as a butterfly, then as a bird soaring in the sky. Krishna fulfilled her every wish. After taking different forms and different births, she finally got the privilege to live the human life, it was her most awaited designation. It felt great to be a human, proud to have many abilities, a beautiful form and a strong mind with the power of imagination. There was so much to explore one lifetime did not seem enough. She wished for many such lifetimes to fulfill her dreams and all that she desired for. Her needs and wants knew no bounds. She craved for knowledge, power, wealth, beauty, perfect spouse, a happy family, prosperity, success and an heir to inherit her legacy. The list never seemed to end. Alas! Blinded by ignorance, she forgot her eternal friend. Whenever there was pain, loss or suffering she would blame Krishna considering him to be the reason for her miseries. Krishna watched from above unperturbed by the condition of his love, for it was the path she had chosen.
Thus Kshara was entangled in the cycle of birth and death. There was no escape, it was due to her desires that she was entrapped. Happiness seemed momentary and sorrows endless. Her will power began to crumble, her spirit crushed by the troubles. She cried, totally agonised, each time she was approached by death. It was her 'deeds' good and bad and her 'unfulfilled desires' that determined the next life, her next step. Soon, she lost belief in her beloved, when certain people claimed that the Supreme did not exist, she believed in whatever they said.
There came a day when she was so overcome by grief, she questioned the purpose of existence, and asked one and all about the meaning of life. Everything seemed worthless, even the beautiful world she once aspired to live in. She was now detached from all the material wealth, relationships, goals and the need to excel. Nothing in this world is permanent, what is there today is gone tomorrow. As this realisation, dawned upon her, she learnt to move beyond ‘me and mine’ the cause of human sorrow.
The clutches of Maya were so strong that she felt anxious, aimless, could not reach out to her beloved and re- establish their severed bond. But Krishna was kind enough, he knew what had to be done. He sent few noble souls to show her the way back home. A devotee is what the world called them. They dedicated their life to pure devotion. They spent their precious time to enlighten the fallen souls, to free them from the clutches of material nature and help them rise above the miseries of the world.
They taught her to dwell upon the holy name, spoke of his glories and his all pervasiveness. “He resides in your heart and also in every particle of this universe” they said. They told her how important it is to follow the Sanatana dharma, to connect with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They called this Krishna Consciousness. Under the Guidance of A Bonafide spiritual master, Kshara learnt to include Krishna in everything, making him an integral part of her being. Shravanam, kirtanam, vishnu. smaranam, archanam, vandanam, pada-sevanam, dasyam, sakhyam, atma-nivedanam- the Nava Bhakti or theNine types of devotional service, she heard were practised by all devotees to attain the Supreme. She practised along with them, thus began her penance. Chanting his holy name was the simplest form of purification. She chanted as many times, as many number of days and nights she spent in this material world, as many number of births that she had acquired, as many number of breaths she had taken in her many lifetimes, as many number of needs and wants she had wished to fulfill in her all life , as many number of desires and thoughts that had crossed her mind.
Day by day her faith in him strengthened and the clutches of Maya weakened. She now included him in all her thoughts, the all pervasive Krishna’s presence awakened in her heart. The once severed bond was revived again. As she meditated upon him in happiness and pain. She accepted everything that came her way, as a blessing for the betterment of self. She spoke of his pastimes, sang hymns in his praise and to the entire world preached about his greatness and opulence. Then came a day when the time had come for Kshara to re-unite with her loved one. While she meditated upon him in pure consciousness, discarding her material body she rose in the form of a spiritual spark and merged into the effulgence of the Akshara; the Supreme Personality of Godhead for eternity in the highest spiritual realm.
tesam satata-yuktanam
bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te
TRANSLATION
To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me
Bhagwad Gita 10.10
