Tuesday, February 3, 2015

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter 22:

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.39
neyaṁ śobhiṣyate tatra
yathedānīṁ gadādhara
tvat-padair aṅkitā bhāti
sva-lakṣaṇa-vilakṣitaiḥ

na — not; iyam — this land of our kingdom; śobhiṣyate — will appear beautiful; tatra — then; yathā — as it is now; idānīm — now; gadādhara — O Kṛṣṇa; tvat — Your; padaiḥ — by the feet; aṅkitā — marked; bhāti — is dazzling; sva-lakṣaṇa — Your own marks; vilakṣitaiḥ — by the impressions.

Translation

O Gadādhara [Kṛṣṇa], our kingdom is now being marked by the impressions of Your feet, and therefore it appears beautiful. But when You leave, it will no longer be so.

JOURNAL:

There is a lot spoken of in this chapter. I have chosen these four quotes from Srila Prabhupada. He opens the chapter thus;

There are certain particular marks on the feet of the Lord which distinguish the Lord from others. The marks of a flag, thunderbolt, and instrument to drive an elephant, and also an umbrella, lotus, disc, etc., are on the bottom of the Lord's feet. These marks are impressed upon the soft dust of the land where the Lord traverses. The land of Hastinapura was thus marked while Lord Sri Krsna was there with the Pandavas, and the kingdom of the Pandavas thus flourished by such auspicious signs. 

It is not that this applied only when Krsna was present and Kunti was speaking. Rather, the truth is always the same. Despite the advancement of our civilization, if we cannot bring Krsna and Krsna consciousness into the center of everything, our civilization will never become beautiful.

He then closes the chapter with this reminder;

"O son of Kunti [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man." (Bg. 7.8) Why then do people say, "I have not seen God"? Why don't they see God as God directs them to see Him? Why do they manufacture their own way? One cannot see God by one's own way.

If I want to see the President of the United States, can I see him in my own way? If not, then how can I expect to see God in my own way?

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