Srimad Bhagavatam – day 367
Nārāyaṇāya namah
“Through Nature (Prakriti) and Puruṣa (Self) which are the cause, the Supreme Lord creates this entire universe which is filled with names and forms”.
Swamiji explains: Grace of God is another factor responsible for creation. Each species gives birth to newer ones of its own kind. This creation takes place through the union of male and female. This is one type of creation. But at the same time, there are other creations in the universe. Think for yourself- how was ocean born? There are no male-female for entities like mountain, ocean, earth, tree etc. How then were they created? How then are they emerging?
“The Supreme Lord then created time as the refuge for creation. Time is an endless flow which causes endless births in the creation. One person is continuously created through another. When time influences traits of goodness, it appears as if the Supreme Lord, who controls time, himself is influencing the traits of goodness.
The glory of Lord Srihari, who holds Devatas very dear, is limitless. Since Devatas are filled with traits of goodness and purity (sattva), it is crucial to support them. The negative tendencies i.e. demonic tendencies need to be destroyed”.
Swamiji explains: Let us consider the case of a farmer who uses pesticides to protect his crop. Is he not committing a sin by killing pests and insects? After all they too have life, isn’t it? Yes. It is true. But if he does not destroy those pests, bigger living entities such as humans will die due to lack of food. From this we can conclude that to save one set of living species, another set of living species can at times be sacrificed. Likewise demons need to be destroyed to protect Devatas. If they are not killed they will swallow up everything, especially goodness. Goodness will come to an end in the creation. For this reason, killing demons is justified.
“When traits of action/ passion and ignorance (rajas, tamas) surge such that they subdue the traits of goodness, the Lord, whose plays are unfathomable, in accordance to time and situation annihilates these demons who are influenced by tamas and rajas”.
He endures the atrocities of the demons for significantly long periods of time. When Hiraṇyakaśipu was torturing Prahlada, why was the Lord silent? Why did He wait for many years? Could He not have come early on and protected His devotee who was suffering unnecessarily in the hands of his father? Remember that the Lord has to allow the traits of rajas and tamas to be completely drained from his devotee, before He acts. If He acts prematurely, the traits of goodness will not fully blossom in His devotee. Hence His mission will fail.
Just because it is said that He will act when the time is right, it is incorrect to stop one’s efforts and simply sit awaiting divine intervention. One has to put in his efforts. The mug will not be filled with coffee if you simply sit and pray for coffee. You have to go to the kitchen and prepare it. When you put in your efforts, the Lord blesses that your efforts be rendered fruitful. You will be able to prepare and enjoy coffee. The fruits of labour are always sweet. The person derives great delight with the flowers that have bloomed in his garden due to his physical labour. In great delight he offers those flowers to the Lord. Even if he decides to buy flowers and offer them to the Lord, he has to put in efforts to earn money. Every morsel of food tastes divine to a hungry person. On the contrary, even the tastiest dishes are not relished by a person who is not hungry.
It appears that true joy exists in awaiting for the Lord. Only through patiently awaiting the Lord’s arrival, the true rewards are obtained. Devotees such as Prahlada, Dhruva, Sakubai, Rukmini patiently awaited the Lord’s arrival. The more the devotee waits, the purer his mind becomes!
Pradyumnāya namah