Srimad Bhagavatam – day 595
Yashoda obtains Self-realization
Narayana
We discussed that the Supreme Lord is beyond understanding. He remains the foundational support for this creation and this entire universe stems from Him alone! In other words, this world emerges from this Lord, who himself is Pure Consciousness. There is no other source from which it can originate. Every source from which this world appears to originate is nothing but a manifestation of the same Supreme Lord. If someone were to declare that the world originates from Brahma, then understand that Brahma is a form of the Supreme Lord. Brahma has emerged from the Supreme Lord.
Maharishi Śuka continued, “Yashoda thought, ‘I, Yashoda, wife of Nanda who is the ruler of Gokula, offer obeisance to that Supreme Lord who is beyond the grasp of intelligence. I offer obeisance to that supreme illusion’.”
Yashoda was in reality very intelligent. She was overflowing with devotion. Her actions in raising Krishna, which externally appear to be filled with ignorance, were, in a way, her plays enacted to bring out His essence to the world. When it is said that He covered her with the veil of illusion, we should interpret that He has covered us with the veil of illusion.
Maharishi Śuka continued, “Yashoda then began to ponder, ‘I am the wife of Nanda who is the ruler of Gokula. I am the owner of all these riches seen here. Krishna is my son. Cattle is the only possession for cowherds. All these cowherds and their spouses are my companions. My husband is Nanda. I am the queen of this hamlet. All these people whom I see are related to me’- in this manner, through the thoughts of ‘I and mine’ she was bringing her mind down to this plane. She was trying to segregate the real from the unreal. Then again, she thought,
‘Lord Srihari, whose illusionary energy is the cause for my false notions and conceptions, is my only refuge. He alone should direct me. He alone should set right my mind and help me understand this Supreme Essence. I pray that I should be able to understand this principle from my heart’.
When Mother Yashoda, prayed in this manner, Krishna instantly bestowed Self-knowledge upon her!
Yashoda, who was now bestowed with Supreme Knowledge began to think, ‘With this body I am performing actions when in reality I am not the performer of actions. I am the queen of this hamlet and yet I am not the queen. Nanda is my husband, and yet, in reality he is not my husband. Although I think that these residents of Gokula belong to me, in reality, none belongs to me’.”
Yashoda could grasp this Supreme Essence ‘I do not exist’. Only when feelings of ‘I-ness’ exist, then feelings such as ‘I live in Gokula. This is ‘my’ husband. ‘I’ am the queen of this land; this is ‘my’ house’- will come into existence. When feelings of ‘I-ness’ are totally shred, how can such feelings thrive?
When feelings of ‘I-ness’ arise in the person, everything is enveloped by illusion. When these feelings are discarded completely from the mind, then illusion will not envelop. Through this experience, Srikrishna blessed her with the Supreme Self-knowledge.
“With the intent of bringing calmness to his mother, who was filled with maternal love towards him, the Supreme Lord Vishnu, who is an ocean of compassion and who resides within every heart, once again covered her with His veil of illusion. Immediately Yashoda, who was covered by illusion, failed to recall this Supreme Essence and was absorbed in motherly feelings towards her son”.
If this Supreme Knowledge were to remain imprinted in her mind, Yashoda would refrain from any action. She would remain motionless. For this reason, the Lord once again covered her with illusion just as she was about to reach the final stages of Self-realization wherein she felt, ‘I do not exist’.
“Yashoda, who returned to normalcy, lovingly picked her son and seated him on her lap. Her heart began to once again overflow with maternal love towards her son.”
During that fraction of a second of Self-realization, she could not perceive this world, nor her son, her husband, her village nor any other existence. Now, once again the Lord had thrown her into the illusion that she was a Gopika in Gokula and that he was her son. Nevertheless, after this experience in Self-realization, Yashoda was in a different mental state.
“She began to believe that Lord Srihari, who is profusely glorified by the Vedas, by the Upanishads, by those who are established in the Self, by the Karma-yogis and by ardent devotees, to be her little son.”
He is the Lord who is glorified by Vedantins. Mahatmas externally seek shelter under His lotus feet. He is that Supreme Lord who is beyond reach. Yashoda gradually began to believe that such Supreme Lord was her son.
Until then, such feelings had not arisen within her. For so long, she had considered her son to be an ordinary human child. However, after this incident, deep within, slight changes were evident in her way of thinking. Although the Lord had withdrawn his Vishnu-māya, some traces, which were attached to her body and intellect, still remined intact. Due to this, the feeling that he was the Lord emerged in her.
All along, treating her son as an ordinary human child, she would fret for his safety. Now she thought, ‘He is Srihari, He is the one everyone seeks. This is undoubtedly true. Such Lord is my son’.