Srimad Bhagavatam – day 606
Symbolism behind Yashoda trying to bind Krishna to the stone mortar
“As Yashoda began to tie him with the rope, she realized that the rope was short by a length of two fingers”.
In the previous episode we discussed the story of the goldsmith. To be frank, differences such as Vishnu, Shiva or Brahma do not exist. Using our intellect, we perceive differences and then praise the Lord’s creation in different ways. We are seeing the Lord and His creation as distinct entities. There is nothing wrong in this approach. From one angle, seeing Him and His creation as distinct entities is wrong. From another angle seeing oneness between Him and His creation is wrong. Anyway, as these unnecessary discussions about dualism and non-dualism take us nowhere, we will revert to the story.
The experience of the goldsmith was another transcendental sport of the Lord. It is said that this is a true incident which took place in Pandharpur.
“Yashoda was deeply astonished when the rope fell short by a length of two fingers. Immediately she attached another rope to it and just as she was about to tie her son, she realized that the rope was still short by a length of two fingers.
‘What is this? Why is the rope falling short? Have I got trapped in some illusion? Or did I estimate the width of the stone mortar wrongly?’- wondered the perplexed Yashoda. She fetched some more rope, attached it to the existing rope and tried to tie Krishna with it.
To her surprise, even then the rope fell short exactly by a length of two fingers. She again went in, fetched more rope, joined it to the existing one and tried to tie him but, to her amazement, it was short again by a length of two fingers.
The perplexed mother went on fetching more rope, joining it to the existing one and trying to tie her son but each time the rope fell short by a length of two fingers. By then she had exhausted all the ropes from her home. Krishna however remained stationed at the same place, smilingly watching her. He kept waiting for her to bind him with a rope”.
He is the Lord who gets bound by devotion. The devotee has to tie the Lord in his heart. Nevertheless, tying Him in one’s heart is no easy task, is it? Even after the mind is totally focussed upon Him and He is firmly tied within that mind, He escapes. It appears as if He is within reach, it appears as if a distance of just two fingers are to be covered before He can be bound in the mind, but then He cannot be bound.
A new app called Dhyana Brahma is available these days. You need to experience it to know of its benefits. The small device ensures that, irrespective of your location in the world, Swamiji monitors your meditation.
Likewise, the devotee believes, ‘Aha, today my mind is calm and is best suited for meditation. I will catch Him today’- but then he finds that he is falling slightly short in reaching his target. As we all know it is impossible to retain the mind fixedly at a point. As we attempt to restrain it at a point, suddenly some new obstacle crops up. Just as we are about to experience divine bliss, a new thought enters the mind.
Who knows how many births each one of us has taken so far? Do we have any idea of the number of wombs into which we entered, or of our actions in each of those births, or of words we uttered then, of the sorrows we experienced, of the happiness we enjoyed, of the sins we committed or of the meritorious deeds we performed then? Do we know of our relatives in any of those births? If we were to think in those lines, we get tired of this universe. ‘I do not need this world. It is illusory. I am alone. Paramatma is my only relative. I should merge into Him. That is all what I seek.’
As we listen to Bhagavatam, the desire to merge into the Lord intensifies in us. It appears as if we are very close to achieving total concentration, but then it slips suddenly. Towards this, regular practice is a must. Only when, through the medium of our Spiritual Guru, we begin regular practice, our efforts at achieving total concentration will yield some positive results.
Here, the stone mortar represents the stony heart. Within this stony heart the person is trying to bind the Supreme Lord with the rope called devotion. With absolute, unflinching concentration he tries to tie the Lord. But it is impossible to tie Him down in a stony, wavering heart.
Every single day, we chant our daily prayers. Without any negligence we worship Him. We faithfully read the Bhagavad-gita. Unfailingly we listen to spiritual discourses or Bhagavatam discourses. Despite all these activities, we feel as if we have erred somewhere; it is as if something is missing or as if mind is needlessly wavering. While chanting Lalita Sahasranama if some unwanted desire crops up in the mind, then the entire chanting has gone for a waste, isn’t it? When chanting Lalita Sahasranama, if unnecessary words fall into the ears, then it can be said that the rope has fallen short. If any obstacle crops up during the process of Puja, we focus on that obstacle. With this the entire Puja is washed out. We can never get back the original level of concentration.
We should, with full determination, push away any thought, desire or obstacle that comes during the process of our spiritual pursuits. We should not focus upon them, but should, with total concentration, continue our worship.
Every time Yashoda tried to tie Him, the rope fell short by a length of two fingers. In other words, Yashoda was falling short in achieving the state of absolute concentration. From this it is evident that in this stony heart it is extremely important to tie down the Lord using the rope called devotion. Her devotion consistently fell short by a length of two fingers. Without losing hope, untiringly she went in and fetched additional rope, joined the new rope to the old one and tried to tie Him down.
“The Gopikas who were witnessing this incident laughed at Yashoda. Yashoda who was perplexed and exhausted could not figure out why the rope was consistently falling short despite adding additional rope. By now the original rope was filled with hundreds of joints, nevertheless it was falling short.
Although she was anxious, she continued to remain adamant. She was sweating profusely and was exhausted beyond limits. Her back and legs began to ache. Feelings of anger and helplessness began to build within her”.
As obstinacy and anger increase in the person, he drifts further from achieving absolute concentration. Emotions such as anger, worry, urgency and speed do not allow the person to achieve absolute concentration during the process of meditation.
In his attempt to achieve absolute concentration, the person would have studied every scripture, tried every known method and followed every known principle. Nevertheless, the mind refuses to remain steady. Yashoda, being unable to tie Krishna even after fetching many ropes reflects this state.
Narayana