Hari OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
We will look at two verses this week, as they are purely directed at the Lord in descriptive terms. Who is the 'family' and the many ways to call Him.
dara varakrvrsuta te tnUjae iviriÂ>
Staeta vedStv surg[ae _a&tyvgR>,
mui´maRya jgdivkl< tavkI devkI te
Maata imÇ< blirpusutSTvYyvae=NyÚ jane.33.
k&:[ae r]tu nae jgTÇygué> k&:[< nmSyaMyh<
k&:[aenamrzÇvae ivinhta> k&:[ay tSmE nm>,
k&:[adev smuiTwt< jgidd< k&:[Sy dasae=Smyh<
k&:[aeit:Qit svRmetdiol< k&:[ r]Sv mam!.34.
Daaraa vaaraakaravara-sutaa te tanuujo viringchiH
Stotaa vedas-tava suragano bhRtya-vargaH prasaadaH,
Muktir-maayaa jagadavikalam taavakii devakii te
Maataa mitram balaripu-sutas-tvayyavo'nyanna jaane ||33||
kRsno rakshatu no jagattraya-guruH kRsnam namasyaamy-aham
kRsnenaamarashatravo vinihataaH kRsnaaya tasmai namaH,
kRsnaad-eva samutthiitam jagad-idam kRsnasya daaso'smy-aham
kRsne-tishthati sarvam-etad-akhilam he kRsna rakshasva maam ||34||
Regarding You, I know not anything other than this; Your wife is the daughter of the mighty ocean (milky way); Your son is Brahma the creator; the Vedas are those which praise You; all the gods are Your servants; liberation is by Your grace alone; all this world is (due to) Your power of illusion; Devakii is Your mother and Arjuna is Your friend.
May Krishna the teacher of the three worlds protect us. I salute Krishna.
The demons who are enemies of gods are killed by Krishna. My salutations to that Krishna.
This world has originated from Krishna. I am the servant of that Krishna.
All this completely stays in Krishna. Oh Krishna, protect me!
A straight-forward verse of adulation is number thirty-three. "You are glorious and all your relatives are too"! What evidence is there of this? Why the Vedas are continuously singing the glories. All possible Knowledge is contained there, even that of how your power called Maya expresses as this cosmos. ..
How are we to take this verse? Well, think about the people around you - not just the family you are born into, but - perhaps more importantly - the 'family' you gather in life. Friends, acquaintances, those we chose to follow. The will all, ultimately, be a reflection of who we are. It is a simple fact that 'birds of a feather flock together'. It is not without precedent, then, to extrapolate that by studying the social circle of someone will give us a reasonable impression of who that person is themselves. We know this instinctively. We tend not to associate with those whom we believe are opposed to our own views or behaviour. It is a natural survival instinct. Safety in numbers.
The Lord IS the entire universe, therefore, everything it is but a reflection of who He is.
Shloka thirty-four makes full use of what is known as the vibhaktis. Eight grammatical declensions. In English we see only the name of Krishna, but here is a fine example of how rich Sanskrit is by comparison, for by altering the verbal tense we get fine variations in meaning.
The name itself, to, by, for, from, of, in and exclamatory.
What help are we to ask or expect of the Higher. He helps those who help themselves. By surrendering our ego to that Higher through such praise, we put ourselves in contact with the Totality of being and thus strengthen ourselves to deal with whatever life places before us.
