The Lord's mission failed

Dear reader,

In the last article we discussed the position of a pure devotee. Now, we will discuss the importance of his presence in the material world and why the Lord failed in His mission.

Pure devotees are coming to this world either according to Kṛṣṇa’s will or by their own will. Therefore, we are praying in the Guruvaṣṭakam; ‘‘trānāya kārunya.’’ According to Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-Siddhānta we call them “bhakta-avatāra.” We can find proof in the Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata [Madhya līlā 1.220-221] and in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [5.19.24].

The appearance of a pure devotee is auspicious not only for devotees but also for all living beings. That’s because they are empowered by Kṛṣṇa, they have the power to deliver the whole universe. Therefore, a vaiṣṇava poet Devakī-Nandana Dāsa mentions in his Vaiṣṇava Vandanā: “Brahmānda tārite śakti dhāre jane jane.” They only come here to deliver us. In the words of my spiritual master, Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja: ‘‘their heart bleeds seeing the suffering of the conditioned souls.’’

A pure devotee is able to stay within a palace or even in a mud hut or in rādhā-kuṇḍa. Wherever he may be he can perform his loving service and pure bhajana. Why is he traveling to different countries, facing so many challenges to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness like His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda? In our Gurudeva’s words, the pure devotee of The Lord is seeing kṛṣṇa-sambandha, how every living entity is a part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. However, due to entaglement with the modes of material nature, the living entity has developed a strong attraction towards the material sense objects and hence is suffering. He doesn’t know the cause of his suffering. He wants help but doesn’t know who can help him. He wants peace but doesn’t know how to get it, where to get it or when. He has cried for many lives due to his condition in the material world, just like a person in the middle of the sea without a boat at the time of a heavy storm.

After seeing the condition of the living beings, The Lord appeares to help us. Out of compassion He descends:
1. His dhāma in the material world;
2. His associates;
3. His eternal consort and internal energy Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī;
4. His performance of many sweet līlās, pastimes, to attract the condition souls. By developing attraction towards His līlās they will loose the taste towards material sense gratification.
5. His incarnation Vyāsadeva and wrote all these sweet and transcendental lilās.
6. He Personally descends as the Deity. Not only when He is present, but also after His disappearance, to shower mercy towards conditioned souls to establish their relationship with Him.
7. Because the conditioned soul has forgotten his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he doesn’t have any spiritual strength, knowledge or any idea of this relationship. He is very weak, just like a diseased person who has no power to digest any healthy food.

Although the Lord descends to help, the vision of the conditioned soul is the opposite:
1. His vision towards the Lord’s abode or dhāma is as though it is some material place [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi-līlā 5.20].
2. His feelings towards the Lord and His associates are the same as with ordinary human beings [Bhagavad-gītā 9.11].
3. Due to his enjoying mood, the soul imitates Kṛṣṇa’s līlās and wants to enjoy everything like Kṛṣṇa or thinks all His pastimes as imaginary.
4. Reading all the instructions and līlās written by Vyāsadeva the conditioned soul is unable to surrender himself and his mood to the Lord due to ignorance. Sometimes he declares himself as the lord and wants to enjoy like Kṛṣṇa and wants to give his own opinion to establish his own position as a great personality.
5. While seeing the Deity, the conditioned soul thinks: ‘’This is nothing but an idol. It is made of wood or stone and the Deity does not eat or talk.’’

However, when the Lord’s mission fails to help the conditioned soul, He applies a new trick. This topic we will discuss in the next article.

Your servant and well-wisher,

Haladhara Swami