protection

Verse 4.8: To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.

Krsna is saying here, that He comes to deliver the pious and annihilate the miscreants. Those are some strong words and their meaning could very easily be misinterpreted to mean that the Divine which the bhakti texts speak of is not very compassionate. Nothing could actually be further from the truth.

This verse demonstrates exactly how loving and protective the Divine actually is.

To really understand what this verse means, it's important to understand what the words "pious" and "miscreants" mean as per the Gita. The pious, are those that are trying to live by the principles of humility, compassion, cleanliness, and truthfulness. They see everyone as spiritual sparks, worthy of their respect and try to live their lives as spiritual warriors who are empowered by grace. The miscreants, simply put, are those who try to destroy and hurt those who are trying to be pious.

I'd like to share a beautiful story that illustrates this point. In the great bhakti text known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, the life of a young bhakti yogi is described. At the tender age of five, a prince known as Prahalad became a great lover of the Divine. Despite his young age, he was greatly learned and shared his knowledge of bhakti yoga with his friends. However, Prahalad's father was, quite simply put, a terror. Thinking himself to be God, Prahalad's father (who was the king) would torture anyone who would say otherwise.

In fact, his father was so power mad and deluded that he actually started despising his own son since Prahalad accepted him to be his father, not God. Prahalad was continuously tortured in different ways such as being thrown off a cliff, into a pit of poisonous snakes, and was even fed poison. Every time though, by the grace of the actual Supreme, he was saved. This infuriated his father to no end.

Throughout all these trying times, Prahalad kept his calm and his faith never wavered. Can you imagine? Despite being exposed to such horrendous treatment, from his father no less, Prahalad never wished him any ill will. After so many failed attempts at killing his own son, his father demanded from him "Where is this Supreme you speak of? Is he in this pillar?" To this, his sweet son Prahalad replied, "Of course, the Divine is in everything." When his father rushed at the pillar with a weapon to break it, the Divine appeared and saved Prahalad once again.

I love this story since it illustrates just how personal and loving the Divine actually is. It also explains why He appears millennium after millennium. The Divine doesn't have to come personally to take care of trouble-makers, but he actually does so just to interact with those who are trying to love him. In fact, that's why the words "to deliver the pious" come first in this verse since it highlights what's dear to the heart of the Supreme.

That's how protective, loving and personal the Supreme actually is. So the next time you feel lonely or stressed, just remember: protection and care are just a mantra away.

help!

Verse 2.1: Sañjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion, his mind depressed, his eyes full of tears, Madhusūdana, Kṛṣṇa, spoke the following words.

I think most of us have had this experience. It's when you've completely given up, thrown your hands in the air and with all sincerity say to God, "HELP!" that helps comes. Arjuna is in that position right now. He's said his piece and feels he's at a complete loss. Now he is quietly sitting and waiting for Krsna to speak.

We too like to think to that we can solve it all and Krsna is so kind that he doesn't interfere with our free will. So he watches. Make no mistake, it's not that Krsna is ignoring you, he's actually paying very close attention. Krsna is not only paying attention to our actions but our mentality as well.

And that's what we forget to recognize. The question often comes up, "Why isn't God helping me? I need help but he's not providing it! Why?" See, intellectually we may realize that we need help but if deep within our heart we still are not 100% convinced, help may not necessarily come. Many of us, in our low moments, blame God already so he doesn't want to give us another reason! Krsna doesn't want to be in the position that he sees we need help, although we are not totally convinced, and he comes and helps and then instead of thanking him, we blame him! Sound familiar?

Krsna is really intelligent. Instead he gives us all the time we need. He allows us to go through all the stages from "I don't need help," to "Maybe I need help," to "I need help but I'm not sure I want it" to "Ok. Enough of this. Please help!"

It's not so much the cry for help that is of value as the emotion and intensity behind it. Just as a Mother knows when a child really needs her attention and when he/she is just calling out for Mom for the sake of it, Krsna knows. When we genuinely feel that there is no where else to turn and Krsna is the only person we can seek refuge in, you think he's going to abandon you?

There is a beautiful story in the Mahabharat that illustrates this point. At one point in time, Draupadi, the wife of the five Pandavas was being publicly humiliated in an assembly. Her husbands were incapable of doing anything to prevent this dishonour and so Draupadi, a great bhakti yogini in her own right, started appealing to the numerous personalities present. She appealed to the elders, to her equals and finally she realized that no one could help her but Krsna. At that moment, she threw her hands in the air and started praying to Krsna who immediately provided her with help. Later on Draupadi asked Krsna, "Why didn't you come sooner? You knew I was in trouble!" Krsna responded by saying, "You were turning to so many other people that I thought you didn't need my help. But as soon as you called out to me, I came right away."

This beautiful pastime illustrates an important message. As long as we think that our shelter, protection or refuge is anywhere else but in Krsna, Krsna may not come. But the instant we too put all our faith in Krsna and ask him to be our protection, without a doubt we can count on him to come.