Vāsudeva Srihare Krishna

Krishna thought, ‘I am the Self who exists within every living entity. As such, I am illumining in the form of their Self. More importantly, I am loved by them very dearly.’

The term ‘lover’ here refers to the Supreme Lord upon whom the devotee showers the utmost love. It is unconnected to sensual and other desires. The term lover connotes relationship with the Self and not with the body.

“It is this contact with the Self which makes life-force, intellect, mind, body, spouse, children, wealth, renown- dear to a person. Even then, to any living entity, there can be nothing dearer than such Self.”

None of the associations, which arise due to the Self, are as important as one’s own Self. No object in this creation is more valuable to a person than his Self.

“Krishna continued, ‘O women-folk! Please return to the sacrificial hall. Through you, your husbands will successfully complete the Satra-yaga they have begun and will obtain the resultant fruit”.

If the ladies complete all the associated Yagna activities and assist their husbands, the latter will reap the fruits of the yagna. For the men to obtain the fruit, the assistance of the ladies is a must.

Maharishi Śuka continued, “Hearing these words, the wives of the Brahmins replied, ‘O Lord, it is incorrect on your part to be so unkind to us’.”

The ladies had decisively determined to not remain separated from the Lord any longer. They felt, ‘As instructed by you, we have given up everything and reached you. Now you ask us to revert back to the path of action. Is it right on your part? More importantly, it is hard for us to go back to that path now that we have seen you’.

They continued, ‘Please make true the Vedic statement which declares that the person with absolute unflinching, single-focussed devotion towards You is freed from re-birth’.”

We possess ekanta bhakti (single focussed devotion) towards You and have worshipped You with absolute devotion. Our worship was not external nor was it pompous. It was performed secretively in our hearts such that even our husbands remained unaware of it. Although we worked night and day completing our daily chores and assisted in Yagna rituals, we never revealed your presence in our hearts to our husbands and to other male members in our homes. We have worshipped you so as to understand You completely. There is none apart from You that we seek. Only Your stories and Your glories run in our minds and ears. Who apart from You is our refuge, O Lord? Now if you ask us to go, where can we go? Do not ask us to leave, please. We have come here to merge into you. Please make true the Vedic statement that devotees who have ekanta bhakti will not have re-birth. Thus the ladies spoke very intelligently.

The term ‘punarāvŗtti’ means ‘no re-birth’. The ladies used this term to mean ‘no returning back’ and asked the Lord to make true this statement. Thus they indirectly implied that they would not return back to their homes.

They continued, “Abandoning all relations and relationships we have reached the sole of Your lotus feet. We have discarded all desires including attachment towards this gross body”.

We have let go of all attachments towards husband, sons, uncles, nephews, brothers and other relatives. We have no attachment towards our body either.

“We will wear on our head even the garland of Tulasi leaves which You indifferently kick towards us”.

Even if You kick that basil garland with your feet, we will reverentially wear it on our hair.

“You destroy desires, anger and other inner enemies, O Lord. Our husbands, parents, brothers, sons, other relatives and friends will refuse to accept us back into their fold now”.

Now that we have disregarded their words and arrived here, they will reject us. We cannot return home now.

“O Lord, please accept the food brought lovingly by us”.

Your hunger was only for our benefit. It was an excuse to bless us with your darshan. If not, could we have arrived here today?

“When our own family members reject us, is there any scope for others to accept us? Therefore, we, the embodied souls who have sought shelter in your holy feet, have no other recourse. You are our only refuge. Please permit us to serve You”.

The Supreme Lord Srikrishna replied, “Your husbands, brothers, parents and sons and other relatives will not rebuke you since you all have been blessed by Me. Even the Devatas will find you faultless. As such there is no need to fear the relatives’ wrath or rejection’.”

In fact, the world will revere you for abiding by my commands. They will appreciate that you returned home to enable your husbands to complete the Yagna. Even the Gods will speak of you in high esteem. In the absence of your presence and co-operation, your husbands will be deprived of the ability to complete the Yagna successfully. Therefore, returning home is in the best interest of everyone. You have given food to us when we were hungry. Can there be any worship greater than this? Therefore, unhesitatingly return home. You have successfully passed the test I have put. My blessings are eternally with you all - implied Krishna.

Krishna Krishna