UNIT-2 OPEN BOOK ASSESSMENT

BALARAMDESH
28 AVRAO PRABHU

Q 7: Present, in your own words, how Krishna Bhakti can

be easily performed with reference to 9.26 verse and
purport.
Ans: The simplicity of bhakti is explained in this verse.  Expensive things
are not always precious, and precious things are not always
expensive.  The Lord accepts simple offerings such as a leaf, flower,
fruit or drops of water.  These things are plentiful and easily attained
in nature and can be offered by any person, regardless of their social
status.  The magnitude of the offering does not matter however, it
should be made with cheerfulness, devotion and enthusiasm.  
Krishna is looking at the devotee’s heart and love towards Him.  In
verses 9.20 and 9.21, it is explained that one can go to the heavenly
planets by following elaborate rules and rituals but the benefits are
temporary as they come back and cannot escape the cycle of
repeated birth and death. However, connecting to God with pure love
and devotion can ultimately take us to the eternal destination. 

There are many examples of devotees who were totally dedicated to

Lord Krishna and served Him with love and devotion.  Sudama, the
childhood friend of Lord Krishna, offered Him a small amount of
beaten rice when he went to meet Him.  Because he was poor, that
was all that he could afford.  The mood with which one serves God is
important. Krishna praised the offering, ate it with great relish and
accepted it as the best gift He received.  Sages such as Sanat-
Kumara simply tasted the tulasi leaves lying on the feet of the Lord
and in this way, became great devotees.  Similarly, Queen Kunti is
well known for her unalloyed devotion for the Lord.  She prayed to
Lord Krishna – “O Lord of Madhu, as the Ganges flows to the sea
without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You
without being diverted to anyone else.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam
1.8.42). 

Lord Krishna factually has all that He needs.  But He gives us a

chance to come to Him and express our devotion.  He is attracted by
the attitude of a devotee who offers Him unmotivated love and
simple surrender.  It does not matter how wealthy or scholarly a
person is, devotion is all that matters. Krishna gets joy from the
complete surrender of the devotee. 

Having established the benefits of worshipping the Supreme, Shree

Krishna now explains how easy it is to do so.  In the worship of
the devatās and the ancestors, there are many rules to propitiate
them, which must be strictly followed.  But God accepts anything that

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 UNIT-2 OPEN BOOK ASSESSMENT
BALARAMDESH
28 AVRAO PRABHU

is offered with a loving heart.  If you have only a fruit, offer it to God,
and He will be pleased.  If there is no fruit available, offer Him a
flower.  If it is not the season for flowers, offer God a mere leaf; even
that will suffice, provided it is a gift of love.  If leaves are also scarce,
make an offering of water, which is available everywhere, but ensure
again that you do it with devotion. 

The word bhaktyā has been used in both the first and second lines of
the verse.  It is the bhakti of the devotee that is pleasing to God, and
not the worth of the offering.
By making this wonderful statement, Shree Krishna reveals the
merciful divine nature of God.  He is not concerned with the material
value of our offering.  Rather, He values, above everything else, the
love with which we make the offering.  Quoting from the Gautamiya-
tantra, Hari Bhakti Vilas states:

tulasī-dala-mātreṇa jalasya chulukena cha

vikrīṇīte svam ātmānaṁ bhaktebhyo bhakta-vatsalaḥ   (11.261)

“If you offer God with sincere love, just a Tulsī leaf and as much
water as you can hold in your palm, He will offer Himself to you in
return because He is endeared by love.”  How wonderful it is that the
Supreme Master of unlimited universes, whose glorious qualities and
virtues are amazing beyond description, and by whose mere thought
multitudes of universes come into existence and disappear again,
accepts even the most humble offering of His devotee that is given
with genuine love.  The word used here is prayatātmanaḥ, implying,
“I accept the offerings of those whose hearts are pure.”

The Shreemad Bhagavatam contains exactly the same verse as the

above verse of the Bhagavad Gita.  While eating dry rice at the
house of His friend, Sudama, Shree Krishna said:

patraṁ puṣhpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayachchhati

tadahaṁ bhaktyupahṛitam aśhnāmi prayatātmanaḥ   (10.81.4)

“If one offers Me with devotion, a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even water,
I delightfully partake of that article offered with love by My devotee in
pure consciousness.”

Whenever God descends upon the earth, He exhibits this quality in

His divine Pastimes.  Before the Mahabharat war, when Shree
Krishna went to Hastinapur to explore the possibility of fashioning an

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 UNIT-2 OPEN BOOK ASSESSMENT
BALARAMDESH
28 AVRAO PRABHU

agreement between the Kauravas and Pandavas, the evil Duryodhan

had proudly prepared for Him a meal with fifty-six different items. 
However, Shree Krishna rejected his hospitality and instead went to
the humble hut of Vidurani, who had been longing deeply for the
opportunity to serve her beloved Lord.  Vidurani was overjoyed on
receiving the Supreme Lord at her home.  All she had to offer was
bananas, but her intellect so benumbed with loving sentiments that
she did not even realize she was dropping the fruit and putting the
banana peels in His mouth.  Nevertheless, seeing her devotion,
Shree Krishna blissfully ate the peels, as if they were the most
delicious food in the world. 

Srikrishna explains that only the remains of sacrifice are purified and
fit for consumption by those who are seeking advancement in life
and release from the cluthes of the material entanglement. Those
who donot make an offering of their food. He says in the same verse
are said to be eating only sin. In other words,, their every mouthful is
simply deepening their involvement in the complexities of material
nature. But preparing nice prasadam, simple vegetable dishes,
offering them to Lord Krishna and bowing down and praying for Him
to accept such a humble offering, enable one to advance steadily in
life, to purify the body, and to create fine brain tissues which will lead
to clear thinking. The offering should be made with an attitude of
Love. Krishna has no need of food, since He already possesses
everything that be, yet He will accept the offering of one who desires
to please Him in that way. The important element, in preparation, in
serving and in offering, is to act with love for Krishna.

Unlike us Krishna’s senses are transcendental. Our senses are

limited and can perform only one function. For example, we can only
see with our eyes, eat with our mouth and smell from our nose.
But Krishna can do anything by any of his senses.  He can see with
his eyes, hear from his eyes and only can eat with his eyes.
Similarly, he can eat, see, hear, walk, talk from his mouth. His
senses are extremely powerful. He impregnates the living entities in
this world just by looking at the material nature.

Krishna too has feelings and he loves to reciprocate with the

devotees in a personal way.  So, when we offer food to Krishna with
love then he accepts it, eats it and enjoys it. And when we are able
to give joy to Krishna our life gets filled with joy.

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 UNIT-2 OPEN BOOK ASSESSMENT
BALARAMDESH
28 AVRAO PRABHU

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is not much

interested about the items we are offering to him, but he is interested
with what intention we are offering those items to him. Krishna is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. He owns everything which is there
in the entire creation. He is self-sufficient. So, he does not need
anything from us. But he expects one thing from us and i.e. love. And
that love should be free from all desires. Should be pure and
selflessly.

TOTAL WORDS : 1296

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