In the previous episode, we had witnessed a detailed prelude to “Bhakti Yoga” which is given by Bhagawan Krishna throughout “Adhyaayas” 7 and 8. Unlike the “Karma Yoga” and the “Gnyaana Yoga”, Bhagawan Krishna is not straightaway going into the subject. He’s spending almost two “Adhyaayas” in setting up the context for discussing “Bhakti Yoga”. This clearly shows that Bhagawan Krishna’s emphasis is more on the “Bhakti Yoga”, even more than the previous “Karma Yoga” and “Gnyaana Yoga”. Of course, not to forget, our “Karma Yoga” and “Gnyaana Yoga” are extremely important, but beyond these to “Yogams”, the “Bhakti Yoga” enjoys enormous significance because by performing this “Yogam”, we are pleasing Bhagawan’s heart directly! Thus, to highlight the importance of this “Yogam”, Bhagawan first explains who is an ardent “Bhakta” and the important characteristics of a “Bhakta”. Subsequently, to take Bhagawan’s explanations further, we’ve witnessed a few examples of ardent “Bhaktas” like Prahlaada, Dhruva, Elephant Gajendra, etc. and we’ve tried to match their qualities with what Bhagawan is explaining here. We’ve seen how Prahlaada was so steadfast in his “Bhakti” towards Bhaagwan Vishnu, and so was little Dhruva and Elehpant Gajendra, who unconditionally prayed to Bhagawan to free itself from the clutches of a crocodile.
To continue this further, we’ve seen only one side of the story – The qualities of an ardent “Bhakta” and how these “Bhaktas” exhibit unconditional surrender. There’s another side to the story as to how Bhagawan responds to this unconditional surrender, isn’t it? In the case of Prahlaada, we’ve seen how Bhagawan Narasimha was confused and puzzled as to where He should hide before coming in front of Hiranya Kashibu. This is because Prahlaada had given a word of assurance to Hiranya Kashibu that Bhagawan Vishnu is omni-present and He is present in every cell of this world! Hence, Bhagawan Narasimha has to make Himself available at all places now, so that He could come out from wherever Prahlaada wants Him to come! Thus, finally when Hiranya Kashibu points out to a pillar and asks whether Bhagawan Vishnu is present inside it, Prahlaada straight away said a “Yes” without any hesitation! Now, Bhagawan Narasimha had to now get into the pillar which Hiranya Kashibu is going to attack, and He obeyed Prahlaada’s words by making them come true!
Similarly in the case of little Dhruva, he took to a high-level intense penance with the “Vairaagya” that he would see Bhagawan Vishnu in front of him within seven days! Unable to resist little Dhruva’s firm resolve, Bhagawan did appear in front of little Dhruva and made Dhruva sit on His lap, didn’t He? Similarly in the case of Elephant Gajendra, the innocent prayers of the poor elephant was answered immediately by Bhagawan Vishnu who ran all the way from Vaikunta without even wearing His ornaments to save its life! So from all these cases of ardent “Bhaktas”, what can we understand? It is not just the ardent “Bhakti” that is important for us to note, but it is also equally important to understand how Bhagawan responds! So why I’m talking about all this is that, we should instil this confidence in all of us as we progress towards the “Bhakti Yoga”. We might be ardent “Bhaktas” of Bhagawan Krishna in our own unique ways, but at points / situations wherein we might face challenges and troubles and when we undergo suffering, our “Bhakti” towards Bhagawan might suddenly drop down! This is where Bhagawan is testing our patience and perseverance and this is exactly where people like Prahlaada and Dhruva succeeded. All of us know what kind of sufferings Prahlaada had to undergo because of his Raakshasa father. All of us know how little Dhruva was insulted by his step-mother before he undertook the intense penance towards Bhagawan Vishnu. Hence, insults, challenges, sufferings, etc. are part and parcel of our life and especially during these tough times, we should never lose hope and faith towards Bhagawan. This is where the strength and intensity of our “Bhakti” is put under test by Bhagawan and if we’re passing these tests successfully, Bhagawan’s heart is automatically going to be pleased, isn’t it? Hence, once Bhagawan’s heart gets pleased, His response towards us is going to be in an unimaginable manner to protect us! Hence, what we’ve to learn from today’s episode as a continuation of the prelude is that, as ardent Bhaktas of Bhagawan Krishna, we should develop the tolerance, perseverance and faith as we progress forward, and these are the qualities which Bhagawan expects from us as well!
So for today, let us understand this important point pertaining to “Bhakti” and let us start putting this into practice in our daily life as well! Stay tuned for the next episode to continue this discussion further into the “Bhakti Yoga”! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 