Yoga Under Duress

By Krishna's Mercy

"Yoga Under Duress" is a collection of essays describing bhakti-yoga, the science of self-realization, and Krishna consciousness based off select verses from sacred Vedic texts like Bhagavad-gita, Ramayana, Chaitanya Charitamrita, and others.  Estimated length of 246 pages.

 

"If one is engaged in the advancement of spiritual knowledge, there will be so many insults and much dishonor from others. This is expected because material nature is so constituted. Even a boy like Prahlada, who, only five years old, was engaged in the cultivation of spiritual knowledge, was endangered when his father became antagonistic to his devotion." (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 13.8-12 Purport)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Krishna's Mercy
• Release date: Nov 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223921127

Book preview

Krishna's Mercy

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Yoga Under Duress

Daily articles from December 2011

Copyright Krishna’s Mercy 2023

www.krishnasmercy.com

Contents

Damodara

If At First You Don’t Succeed

Defined By Attributes

A Red Carpet Event

Best Fit

Who Else But Hanuman

Cleland Notes

Next in Line

The Smoking Gun

Combing The Earth

See No Knowledge

A Captivating Scene

Yoga Under Duress

Thinking The Worst

Tilting the Scales

General Admission

Language Learning

What If Scenarios

Incriminating Evidence

Raising the Roof

The Right Use of Energy

Highest Standing

Protecting the Cows

All the Pieces Fall to His Wish

Credibility on Both Sides

Quitting the Body

Branching Out

Little Did He Know

Catch Me If You Can

The Sword of Devotion

Double Or Nothing

Damodara

It is natural that when a child becomes angry he can begin crying with false tears in his eyes. So Krishna did this, and biting His reddish lips with His teeth, He broke the pot with a stone, entered a room and began to eat the freshly churned butter. (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.9.6 Purport)

Beautiful Mother Yashoda, sitting peacefully, doing her household chores, was one day approached by her beloved son, her cherished darling who was the delight of Vrindavana. He had just awoken from sleep and was hungry. Though she was churning butter at the time, her work didn’t preclude her from harboring motherly affection and tending to her child. She had the perfect setup going, seated wearing a nice sari and a belt and pulling on a rope to help her churn the butter. Nevertheless, despite the time and effort she had put in, she was not too busy to feed her child. The work was dedicated to her son to begin with, so why should she want to disappoint Him personally? After she began to feed her child, an urgent matter forced her to stop and get up for a moment. The darling Shyamasundara did not like this, for the mother’s attention was meant for Him. In retaliation, He did something that would both make His mother angry and satisfy His desire to eat at the same time.

A pot of milk boiling over in the kitchen was what caused Mother Yashoda to leave the scene. Her prioritization makes perfect sense. How long does it take to turn down the heat on the stove? Just get up for a second, fix the situation and then return to where you were. Plus, she had just interrupted her work to tend to Krishna, so hopefully the young child would understand that a moment’s interruption is not the end of the world. But Shri Krishna wanted exclusive devotion, for that is what He offered to His mom. He was not distracted by other obligations within the home, though He didn’t have any as a child. Regardless, a restless child is known to jump from one play activity to another. A blessed child is the one who knows the parent’s level of affection and reciprocates by allowing them to offer their love as often as possible. Krishna’s insistence that Mother Yashoda stop churning butter was actually for her benefit, as she was thinking about her beloved child at the time anyway.

The sweet mother had composed songs about His many pastimes, which included the slaying of wicked characters that had travelled to Gokula for nefarious purposes. Somehow Krishna managed to survive the attack of a witch named Putana, who had disguised herself as a beautiful woman coming to nurse the young child. The innocent Krishna also survived the attacks of a giant whirlwind and the breaking of a cart He was resting on during infancy. Trouble seemed to lurk around Krishna, yet He was unbreakable, giving delight to the residents through His invincibility.

It is natural for a mother to think of her beloved son, but with Yashoda she was so attached that she would compose songs on the fly and sing them out loud for pleasure. Since Krishna awoke and came on the scene during the time the mother was working and singing, we can guess that He was able to hear these songs, that the mother’s dip into the transcendental pool of nectar made up of her son’s pastimes became known to the object of service.

How was this possible? How could a young child even understand what His mother was singing about? The child Krishna was none other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That God can come to earth and play the role of an ordinary human being, that of a tiny infant no less, is very difficult to accept for many well-intentioned people. Lord Shiva, the worshipable figure of the Vedic tradition tasked with destroying the creation at the appropriate time, was asked about these issues one time by Sati, his first wife. Sati is also known as Bhavani, which means Lord Shiva’s wife. She is the past incarnation of Mother Durga, who is forever Mahadeva’s consort.

One time Lord Shiva was anxious to hear about Lord Rama, his ishta-deva, or desired worshipable figure. Though Mahadeva is worshiped by so many who are desirous of receiving boons, he himself is quite renounced. His only desire in life is to chant the holy name of Rama, which represents the Supreme Lord’s incarnation as the warrior prince of the same name who appeared on earth during the Treta Yuga, the second time period of creation. Wanting to hear more about Rama, Lord Shiva approached Agastya Rishi, a famous Vedic sage who witnessed many of Rama’s activities. Just by hearing from Agastya, Mahadeva felt so much delight.

Not satisfied, Lord Shiva then came upon the scene to get a quick glimpse of some of Rama’s activities. He did so very quietly so that no one would know he was there. If people found out he was watching Rama, then maybe Rama’s true position as the Supreme Lord would be revealed, which was not the purpose at the time. Seeing Rama, who was in a pitiful condition at the time because of His wife Sita having gone missing, Mahadeva felt tremendous happiness, so much so that he was dancing and of general good cheer. Mahadeva was happy just to see Rama. He paid no attention to exactly what the Lord was doing, for God works in mysterious ways, especially when He appears as an avatara and engages in activity.

Bhavani was quite puzzled by this. She knew of Rama’s glory, but couldn’t understand how He could be the Supreme Lord and appear on earth as a human being at the same time. Moreover, how could God be lamenting the loss of anyone? Why was her husband now so thrilled just upon seeing Him? Therefore she kindly asked Lord Shiva to explain further, to settle her doubts, and Mahadeva replied that the person she was watching was indeed the Supreme Lord and that He is never subject to illusion or the forces of material nature, despite what the external appearance may indicate. Everything is carefully arranged by the Lord to fulfill a purpose.

In the same vein, Lord Krishna’s interruption of Mother Yashoda during her churning of butter also served a purpose. Krishna’s appearance in Vrindavana gave pleasure to those truly deserving of it, those who had no other desire in life. The qualification of pure is often placed in front of devotion to distinguish the highest religious system versus other kinds. The purity is measured from the ultimate desire of the practicing individual. For instance, we may be devoted to someone, but there may be an underlying motive in the background. Pure devotion is present when there is no other desire except to remain devoted to the Supreme Lord in love.

As an example, in his Gitavali Goswami Tulsidas describes the scene in Ayodhya after Lord Rama returned home from His fourteen year exile and took over the control of the kingdom. It was Rama’s birthright to be king, and He was ready to be crowned to the delight of all the residents. Suddenly, however, everything was turned upside down and Rama was instead banished from the kingdom, with His younger brother Bharata given the throne. After an arduous time spent in the forest and a host of other events so nicely described in the Ramayana, Rama finally returned home. Not only was He made the new king, but He acted in such a way that everyone was pleased. In ancient times, the kings would host public assemblies to answer the questions and concerns of the citizens. There were also days when the king would distribute whatever was asked of him. Any person could go up to the king on this day and get whatever they wanted. In describing this occasion, Tulsidas says that he is on the scene and approaching Rama for his gift. Tulsidas only asks to be devoted to Rama forever, and because of the nature of that day, the king is forced to agree to the poet’s request. That is pure devotion.

The residents of Vrindavana had the same level of purity, for Krishna was everything to them. Just the fact that the Supreme Lord descended to earth and remained in their land for such a long time shows that they could not have harbored any other desire in mind. When Mother Yashoda went to tend to the milk that was boiling over, Krishna became angry and broke the pot full of the butter she had so nicely churned. Faking tears in his eyes because of his anger, Krishna then went to another room and ate the butter. So not only did he spoil her work, but he began eating the butter that was to be used for other things.

In the aftermath, Yashoda chased Krishna with a stick and then tied Him to a mortar as punishment. The fact that Krishna would allow this to happen shows just how much He loves His mother. Celebrated thereafter as Damodara, Krishna is honored every year in the month of Kartika with candles offered by the devotees to His form bound up by the ropes of Yashoda’s motherly affection.

From Krishna’s behavior we see that devotion to God on the highest level flows in both directions. Just as the devotee is anxious to see Krishna, the Supreme Lord is eager to see the devotee, so much so that He’ll get angry if the worshiper’s attention is diverted elsewhere, even for a moment. Though Krishna broke the pot of butter in anger, He actually did Yashoda and countless future generations of listeners a huge favor. He let Yashoda know that He was not happy when she left Him, that He accepted and appreciated her love more than anyone else’s. It is not surprising therefore that such a sweetheart of a son would be honored by all types of transcendentalists.

With so many engagements available to the conditioned soul residing in the material world, there are many avenues to take that promote forgetfulness of Krishna. But if there is a sincere desire to remain connected with Him – a wish best revealed by regularly chanting, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare – Krishna Himself will ensure that the distractions are minimized, that the flow of devotional ecstasy can continue in the worshiper’s mood of choice.

In Closing:

In anger young Krishna cried tears that were fake,

Broke pot and butter to other room did He take.

Yashoda’s attention innocently diverted,

Tended to boiling milk pot so that crisis averted.

For Krishna’s stubborn anger there was no need,

Mother to Him milk would surely again feed.

Nevertheless showed anger because company she forsook,

Protested separation by the churned butter He took.

The pastimes with Krishna and His mother so lovely,

Hearing them gives heart delight always so timely.

If At First You Don’t Succeed

Indeed, perseverance is what always propels one to pursue all profitable objects. It makes the actions it inspires in living beings successful. (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 12.11)

anirvedo hi satatam sarva artheṣu pravartakaḥ |

karoti saphalam jantoḥ karma yac ca karoti saḥ ||

Hanuman is such a humble soul that he has no idea that through his own actions he gives proof to the age-old adages about perseverance and fortitude. When we are in a troublesome situation, a calming technique is to take shelter of past incidents involving people who had to struggle. Hey, if other people got through similar circumstances, then maybe I can as well. The most frustrating aspect to a particular task is lack of progress, the fear that success will never arrive. When that fear arises, it helps to look back to examples of past figures who persevered through difficulty, who fought the hard way and eventually got what they wanted. Hanuman, reminding himself of the benefits that come from perseverance, would himself set about creating a wonderful example for millions of people, spanning countless future generations, to follow. That example reveals yet another reason why his glories continue to be sung, honored and remembered.

The difficulty of a task and the fear of what might result with failure take away rational thought. In every aspect of adult life there is some sort of fear, as this is ingrained into the mature human being. Even the animals have fear, along with desires to eat, sleep and mate. With the human being lacking full knowledge of the spirit soul and its relationship to the Supreme Lord, fearing can reach a new height. The fear easiest to identify is that of dying. Lord Rama, the Supreme Lord in His form as the two-armed warrior prince of Ayodhya, notes in the Ramayana that for the mature human being there is no other fear except death.

Just as the ripened fruit has no other fear than falling, the man who has taken birth has no other fear than death. (Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 105.17)

The comparison Shri Rama makes is to the ripened fruit. The fruit starts off as nothing but a tiny seed within a larger plant. Through the gifts of nature and the influence of time, gradually the seed matures into a full blown fruit. Maturity takes a while, so there must be good fortune for the fruit to reach ripeness. Any of the inhibiting influences of material nature can take effect at any second. The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, group miseries into three categories. There are those inflicted by the heavenly forces, acts of God if you will. These miseries include hurricanes, tornadoes, and just about any general unpleasant weather event. Then there are the punishing influences of other living entities, those who infringe upon others’ natural rights. These people may also harm us with their insulting words aimed at breaking our resolve.

Last but not least, there are the miseries inflicted by the body and mind. These can include diseases and also fearing. The mature fruit does not have the advanced consciousness to fear, but once it reaches its peak development, its destiny is to fall off the plant and get eaten. It has nothing else to wait for. Similarly, the human being matured through the various stages of life, after acquiring so many objects relating to the senses and forging so many relationships, has nothing left to do but die.

As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change. (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

As the body was at one time accepted, a sober person can realize that it must also be renounced. In this sense there is nothing to fear, but the forces of material nature are such that fear nevertheless takes over. From the fear of death come all other types of worries and concerns. For young children, there is a fear of not performing well in school. In our youth particularly, in every year of school we were afraid of being left back, forced to repeat the same grade. We even had a recurring dream where we regularly skipped a particular class, only to have a final exam forced upon us at the end of the year that we weren’t prepared for. This isn’t an uncommon dream, as the fear of failing in the classroom is quite widespread.

As one gets older, the fears turn toward the safety and security of family members and occupation. Since fear of failure is so common, and since frustration is found at every corner of the material existence, young children are given lessons on perseverance. Famous fables relay the importance of sticking with a task and seeing it through to completion. Sayings like, early to bed, early to rise, the early bird gets the worm, and put your nose to the grindstone reinforce the need for regulation and dedication in attaining a beneficial end.

In the sports world there are so many instances of athletes overcoming obstacles and defying the odds through perseverance. When a famous athlete fails on the big stage, the impulse reaction for the fans and sportswriters is to label that person a bum. Oh, they choked. They can’t win the big one. Perhaps they will never win. They will stay a failure forever. Driving these fatalistic predictions is fear, the thought of what would happen should such and such player or team never achieve their desired end.

Those who do overcome obstacles and finally achieve the victory that everyone thought was impossible become almost folklore. Their stories are honored and remembered for many years, as everyone takes comfort in their triumph over inner demons. The more stories there are like this, the more people will have faith in their abilities and the benefit of fighting through adversity.

When you throw spirituality into the mix, the benefits of perseverance take on a divine nature. What does this mean exactly? Just as the human being is destined to renounce his body, or die, the rewards accumulated that relate to the enjoyment within that body are also short-lived. Perseverance in running the race can bring victory, a trophy indicating an achievement. Fighting through the difficulties in school can result in a degree, and fortitude at work can make others happy, but all of these things will be given up along with the body at the time of death.

The spirit soul, on the other hand, continues its existence. Like a natural acrobat, a space traveller not requiring any rocket ship or spacesuit, the soul jumps from one body type to another through what is known as reincarnation, or the transmigration of the soul. But this cycle does not have to continue perpetually. One who has their consciousness properly situated before renouncing their body does not have to take birth again. As soon as birth ceases, so does death. When death is stopped, the most inhibiting fear, the root of all other worries, is eliminated for good.

And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt. (Lord Krishna, Bg. 8.5)

How do we know that a specific type of consciousness can stop death? Aside from the fact that Lord Krishna – the same Shri Rama who appeared on earth some five thousand years ago and delivered the Bhagavad-gita on a battlefield – clearly says so, we know from our own experiences that consciousness can alter future fate. Taking shelter of perseverance is an act of the consciousness, for there is no physical work involved in generating motivation. The physical work itself can only harm motivation or cause doubts within the mind. It is through rational thought that situations become favorable or unfavorable. The fruitive worker driven by sense desires looks at the scorching sun as the cause of pain and discomfort, while the yogi who limits their food intake and