From a satsang with Paramacharya of SWAHA, Pt. Hardeo Persad
The Lord is omniscient and omnipotent; He exists everywhere in creation and beyond it. From time to time, that Supreme Being manifests on earth for the good of his devotees and to re-establish dharma (righteous conduct). His manifestations take many forms, from fish, to animals, to half animals, to human beings. Even though He is the Lord of all creation, through his manifestation He becomes a child to a mother, thus elevating motherhood.
Let us reflect on one of the Lord’s many mysterious kathas that expresses the mother’s attitude of care and love for her divine child. Bhagavan Shree Krishna manifested Himself as a baby in a prison in Mathura, and was transferred to Gokula to the home of Nanda and Yashoda for His own safety. Yashoda Maa was blessed to serve the Lord of all creation as her son. Hers was an ultimate form of bhakti, where God manifests as the child, and the parent is the devotee.
One day, Yashoda Maa bathed, dressed, fed Shree Krishna and then put Him to sleep. She then went about her daily chores. While doing so, she heard a voice calling loudly from outside the house, “Bhiksham de hi.” She saw that it was a sadhu, who had renounced the world, seeking alms. His matted hair was tied; his tilak was like a two-day-old moon; there were snakes wrapped around his neck and arms; ashes were smeared on his body. Who could that yogi be? It was none other than Shivaji Himself.
Not recognising Him as Shivaji, Yashoda Maa went into her house and gathered food and other alms for Shivaji. She gave them to Him and asked that He return quickly to his abode. She said, “My Gopal is asleep. If my Gopal opens his eyes and sees you in this ferocious form, he will be frightened by your appearance.” Even though God is the protector of all beings who removes everyone’s fears, as the mother of the Divine Lord’s earthly incarnation, Yashoda Maa is trying to remove His fear as He is her child. Such is the nature of motherhood.
Bhagavan Shankar symbolises the state of dispassion, vairaagya; as such, He lives aloof from this world except for the mysterious play of divinity by which the Lord appears to see His own manifestation. The yogi looked at Yashoda and said, “Yashoda, do you think I have come here for your possessions? My eyes are thirsting for the darshan (divine vision) of Shree Krishna. I have come from Kailash Parvat to see your divine baby.”
Yashoda Maa was in a predicament: she did not wish that her child be scared by the sight of Shivaji but one should not refuse a yogi. Eventually, she returned inside her house with some trepidation and apprehension. She gently picked up Kanhaiya, who apeared to be sleeping as part of His maayaa (delusory power), and carried Him to Shiva. She showed him to Shivaji and said, “Here is Kanhaiya. Look at Him quickly and return to your abode. Shivaji was in divine bliss to behold Himself, the Lord of the Universe, in the form of a cowherd’s child in his mother’s arms. How blessed and powerful is the Lord; and how kind, merciful and compassionate to His devotees.
If we glorify the Lord in any of his manifestations, such as Shri Krishna and Shivaji, we will experience the bliss of devotion. By going on that spiritual journey, we can transform ourselves and awaken our own divinity within. If Divinity could experience Divinity upon beholding Divinity, then we too can can experience that ultimate state by transforming our love as a mother, as a parent, to our bhakti (loving devotion) as a devotee.
