Narayana Hare Krishna
Maharishi Śuka continued, “The wives of the Brahmins, who were extremely devoted to Srikrishna considered repeatedly listening to His divine glories as ornamentation for their ears”.
For the past 5 to 6 years, they had been endlessly listening to His divine glories. Every day, every minute and every second was dedicated purely to these tales of the Lord. Time and again people, who carried His stories as they travelled, would come and narrate the same to them. With rapt attention they would listen to these nectarous stories which would transport them to a state of bliss. Such was the ecstasy they derived that they considered this listening itself to be the ornamentation to their ears.
After all, what purpose do these ears serve if they don’t listen to the divine tales? The Lord has provided us with ears so that divine names and divine stories fall into them. The ears have been provided so that we can hear from our Guru who we truly are. Why have we taken birth? In order to hear and understand about our original Self. Our ears are to help us understand the connection between God and us. The ears are not for listening to tensions and problems.
Problems are nothing but actions (karma) associated with the physical body. Hence, time and again, the problems of our family members, of our neighbours, of our extended kith and kin fall into the ears. Night and day, we hear of problems to such an extent that we now relish listening to them. The day we do not hear of any problem, gossip or sorrowful news, we lament. The moment such news is brought to us, our ears are delighted. They are eager to listen to more of it.
If someone known to us is involved in an accident, we seek to know all the happenings in minute detail, although they are irrelevant. What is relevant is that the accident victim should be provided the right medication and other timely help. Our involvement in gathering the details of the accident far surpasses the need to offer timely help to the person. In what way can you help by trying to determine the cause of the accident and as to who was responsible for it? There are specialized officers who are responsible for it. Instead focus on the help that you can render to that person and his family members. The duty allotted to you is to offer timely help. The duty of the police officer has not been allotted to you.
The wives of the Brahmins used their ears purely to listen to the divine tales of the Lord and not otherwise. Like robots they mechanically went about their household chores and cooked for the Yagna while dedicating their ears to Krishna. Due to their involvement in Krishna’s stories, they had in them the ability to complete enormous chores easily. They would pound large quantities of grains, cook food for a large number of people without even the slightest tiredness.
Even to this date, the villagers have in them such ability. The ladies hold the baby in one arm and while swinging it to bed, they grind grains with the other hand. They will be joyfully singing songs of Rama, Krishna, Shiva and other deities as they continue with their chore. In this way they work from morning to evening without any tiredness. In efficiency, they surpass robots. Their effectiveness and their lack of tiredness arises solely because they have placed their mind totally upon singing songs of the Lord.
Practice this. As you go about the household chores, chant the hymns from Bhagavad-gita. Or chant the hymns that you normally chant every day. Sing the bhajans that you have learnt from your Sadguru. Place your mind on these hymns and bhajans. You will enjoy supreme mental peace. Even if some sorrowful news falls into your ears, you will remain undisturbed. Such transformation is visible in those who eternally think about the Lord. Those who have not placed their attention on the Lord will lament uncontrollably when confronted with any sorrowful news. They will share their distress with everyone they come across just as Television channels carry the same story repeatedly all through the day. On the contrary, these people set aside all their agenda to recount and analyse this sorrowful incident. They thus spoil and waste their day.
When such unhappy news reaches the ears we should not spend the entire day analyzing the incident. Those who are directly connected with that incident should be engaged in it. You should just listen to it. Thereafter chant ‘Narayana, Govinda’ and carry on with your tasks on hand. You should move on. Instead we churn the news in our head for 3 days and discuss the same all the time. Agreed that a well-known personality has met his end. But then, does it require discussion for days at stretch?
Learn to discuss about the Lord. The incident is also permanent and the story is also permanent. Discuss this. Discuss about Bhagavatam. Discuss subjects related to spirituality. Ultimately you need to merge into this spirituality. Hence discuss about the topics you have newly learnt from your Guru. As long as the ears listen to such topics, they will be joyful.
The wives of the Brahmins were true devotees who, unaffected by the disapproval by the male members of their families, eternally dedicated their ears purely for listening to divine stories. Upon knowing that Krishna was in vicinity, they did not get into any heated arguments with their male relatives who were dissuading them. They silently walked away. In fact, seeing the adamancy and eagerness of these women-folk, the men were terrified and they let them go.
After all, women are manifestations of the Divine Mother. If the Divine Mother gets angry, she becomes Maha-kāli. If She is pleasant, She is Maha-lakshmi or Saraswati. All women overflow with compassion. Although externally they project a stern image, deep within they are filled with compassion.
Krishna Krishna