Those Who are Eager to Serve Krsna

Srila Gurudeva: What is the symptom of a bhakta? He will feel separation that, “My body, my mind, and all my senses are not engaged in serving Krsna, so I should die. What is the use of living?” But we are not thinking like so.

A desire like this is not coming in us, so we are not a good sadhaka. When this mood will come in a sadhaka, then Krsna will at once appear and he will be able to serve Krsna. Or any bhakta like Yasoda will come and she will give that sadhaka a chance to serve Krsna. She will engage that bhakta in the service of Krsna. So Yasoda saw that, “This milk is jumping into fire with the desire to commit suicide.” Now Yasoda is thinking, “Krsna, I will serve You later. First I will engage this milk in the service of Krsna.” So a real bhakta, a Guru is like this. He engages new devotees in the service of Krsna. What is the job of Gurudeva? He will engage qualified souls in serving Krsna, those who are eager to serve Krsna.

But those who have no eagerness, they will not help them. A Guru of vatsalya-rasa like Yasoda Maiya, she wants to help that milk serve Krsna. So she quickly wanted to give up Krsna and put Him down and run to save that milk. So the tendency and mood of Guru is like this. He wants to help others to serve Krsna. This is the best duty. Yasoda Maiya wanted to put Krsna aside. You know that Putana, having the power of ten thousand elephants, still she could not get rid of Krsna. And at that time Krsna was only six days old.

But now Krsna was even more stronger and when He saw that Yasoda wanted to put Him down, then He caught hold of mother Yasoda very tightly, like monkeys do with their mother, like this. So with both hands He began to grab her so strongly. Also with His mouth He was holding on very tightly. All His senses were engaged in this, “I will not give up Yasoda Maiya.” But Yasoda Maiya, very quickly, very easily, “You should sit here.” Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is full in all opulences. He has so much power to defeat the whole world, Kesi, Agha, Baka, all, Putana, Hiranyakasipu, Ravana, but yet He was defeated by Yasoda Maiya.

With only one hand, very easily, “Oh, You should sit here.” Krsna was helpless. So, this is a good siksa, a good lesson to all that if anyone has this kind of love for Krsna, then Krsna becomes like a baby. All His power goes away by Yogamaya and He becomes helpless. He wanted to catch hold of Yasoda Maiya and drink the breast milk of Yasoda, but Yasoda Maiya quickly put Him down. He began to weep loudly and He became somewhat angry. He thought, “I am not fulfilled. My hunger is not satisfied, but yet she has put Me down and she has gone to save the milk.”

[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on December 6th, 1998, Malaysia, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 25]