Lessons from Gajendra's pastime

False shelters are namesake, only Krishna is the ultimate protector and shelter:
Gajendra was the King of elephants and he enjoyed high influence over other animals, prestige, recreation and 5 Star enjoyment ( in the beautiful lake with his many wives), he was hardworking (sparying water on his wives and children) and also responsible as he maintained his large family. However inspite of such enjoyment and status when calamity struck none of his assets above could do anything to protect him.

Sukadeva Goswami narrates in SB 8.2.28:"Thereafter, seeing Gajendra in that grave condition, his wives felt very, very sorry and began to cry. The other elephants wanted to help Gajendra, but because of the crocodile's great strength, they could not rescue him by grasping him from behind"

None of the false shelters that give us a sense of security during the course of our life can do anything for us in our times of difficulties and also in our advancement in spiritual life. What are the false shelters: money, relationships, high education, position, etc. Only Lord Krishna's mercy can help us and is of true benefit. In Gajendra's case his false shelters could not help him, neither his own strength as he tried fighting on his own for 1000 years.Only when he remembered his past life and surrendered to the Lord that he was saved from the greatest calamity.

The false shelters are temporary. However I still find solace in these false shelters and derive my confidence from those and not from the surety of Krsna's protection. This is strong bodily identification. I Pray to Krishna that He situates me in the position of the spiritual identity of servant of the servant- only then will I be able to take shelter of Krishna only and none of these false shelters.

He desires full relase from material life and the present danger

Maya will attack us where we are the weakest: Gajendra was pulled into the water and he became drained of all his energy fighting in the water as he was not an animal of water.

SB 8.2.30: Thereafter, because of being pulled into the water and fighting for many long years, the elephant became diminished in his mental, physical and sensual strength. The crocodile, on the contrary, being an animal of the water, increased in enthusiasm, physical strength and sensual power.

Similarly Maya will lure us by attacking our weaknesses - we may have a weakness for power or fame. We might be doing our devotional service only for that purpose and not for pleasing Krishna. Maya will give us a service which satifies such weaknesses and gradually we will be blinded and fall down. So how can we become strong- there are so many areas we are weak?

Srila Prabhupada states in the purport to this verse "The soldiers in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must always possess physical strength, enthusiasm and sensual power. To keep themselves fit, they must therefore place themselves in a normal condition of life. What constitutes a normal condition will not be the same for everyone, and therefore there are divisions of varṇāśrama — brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa." By serving in the normal condition of life our weaknesses will also be dovetailed in Krishna's service and will eventaully become purified. By chanting Hare Krishna all the cleansing will happen. So we must chant sincerely and beg to Krishna for strength.

Sincere rigourous practice is very important:
Like Gajendra we may have all the material facilities and enjoyments and also some major troubles going on in our life. Gajendra atleast came to the understanding that You are the only shelter and he offered such beaitiful prayers to You. However I find that during miseries I am spending my energy only to counteract them. I only briefly realize that You are the Supreme controller and I am powerless and You are the only shelter. However I am mostly on the side of trying to control the situation adn not accept it as Your mercy upon me. I become callous towards You again. Please save me Oh Krishna. Gajendera offered such beautiful prayers even when he was in so much pain with his leg in the mouth of the crocodile and the struggle for 1000 years. Yet he offered such eloquent prayers to the lord. This was the result of very sincere and concentrated practice which pleased the Lord and the Lord reminded him of the prayers he had learned in His past life as we see in

SB 8.3.1: Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thereafter, the King of the elephants, Gajendra, fixed his mind in his heart with perfect intelligence and chanted a mantra which he had learned in his previous birth as Indradyumna and which he remembered by the grace of Kṛṣṇa.

Because of the gratitude King Indradyumna had in recieving Agastya Muni's curse he got the rememberance of his past devotional activity by the grace of Krishna.Please bless me Oh Lord that some sincerity develops in my heart towards wanting to be with You. I am caught on and attracted to the false shelters and think they will carry me through. Please help me understand that You are the only true object of all affection and service and You are the only protector and benefactor. Please help me surrender to You.

Please bless me so that I can diligently carry out devotional service unto You very mindfully and attentively so that when I am bewilidered by the turn of events, You will remind  me all the lessons I learned in bhakti.

Lord is the Supreme Benefactor and Supremely merciful:
In his prayers Gajendra offered wonderful prayers recognizing You as the Supreme Father(8.3.13), Supreme Director(8.3.14), supreme Cause(8.3.15),Supreme revealer of Knowledge(8.3.16) and supremely Merciful(8.3.17). He also said that he was covered by ignorance in an elephant's body and was attracted to material enjoyment.  Oh Krishna I am also covered by ignorance and I am attracted to material enjoyment.
Its amazing even before we offer our prayers You incessantly try to deliver us :
SB 8.3.17: .. Indeed, being extremely merciful, You incessantly try to deliver me. ... but I am unfortunate as I dont follow Your instructions and hear Your message because I am covered by the modes SB 8.3.16 : My Lord, as the fire in araṇi wood is covered, You and Your unlimited knowledge are covered by the material modes of nature. Your mind, however, is not attentive to the activities of the modes of nature. Those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge are not subject to the regulative principles directed in the Vedic literatures. Because such advanced souls are transcendental, You personally appear in their pure minds. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Please remove this covering so that I can hear Your instructions and desire to be with You.
Thus Gajendra very humbly accepted his condition : I am covered, I have material qualities but I am sure of your protection because you are always trying to protect us abut because we are covered we do not hear.
Only when one surrenders can one feel the Lord's protection.


Please protect me:

Gajendra says SB 8.3.20-21: Unalloyed devotees, who have no desire other than to serve the Lord, worship Him in full surrender and always hear and chant about His activities, which are most wonderful and auspicious. Thus they always merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. Such devotees never ask the Lord for any benediction. I, however, am in danger. Thus I pray to that Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is eternally existing, who is invisible, who is the Lord of all great personalities, such as Brahmā, and who is available only by transcendental bhakti-yoga. Being extremely subtle, He is beyond the reach of my senses and transcendental to all external realization. He is unlimited, He is the original cause, and He is completely full in everything. I offer my obeisances unto Him.


Srila Prabhupada states in the purport:"Unalloyed devotees have nothing to ask from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Gajendra, the King of the elephants, was circumstantially asking for an immediate benediction because he had no other way to be rescued. Sometimes, when there is no alternative, a pure devotee, being fully dependent on the mercy of the Supreme Lord, prays for some benediction. But in such a prayer there is also regret. "

No Lamentation:
When in difficulty the devotees are not lamenting e.g Draupadi, Gajendra, Kunti devi rather the are beautifully glorifying the Lord and His energies and are offering themselves humbly for the Lord's shelter

When the Lord came to save him , Gajendra inspite of his pain was welcoming the Lord by saying :"O my Lord, Nārāyaṇa, master of the universe, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You." He wasnt comsumed in the thought of how his misery would go away but rather he was very happy to see the Lord. By offering the flower he is actually saying "I am yours" inspite of any condition I am in , I am yours.

Result of touching the Supreme Lord

SB 8.4.6:
gajendro bhagavat-sparśād
vimukto 'jñāna-bandhanāt
prāpto bhagavato rūpaḿ
pīta-vāsāś catur-bhujaḥ

Because Gajendra, King of the elephants, had been touched directly by the hands of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he was immediately freed of all material ignorance and bondage. Thus he received the salvation of sārūpya-mukti, in which he achieved the same bodily features as the Lord, being dressed in yellow garments and possessing four hands.

Purport: If one is favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead by having his gross body touched by the Lord, his body turns into a spiritual body, and he can go back home, back to Godhead. Gajendra assumed a spiritual body when his body was touched by the Lord. Similarly, Dhruva Mahārāja assumed his spiritual body in this way. Arcanā-paddhati, daily worship of the Deity, provides an opportunity to touch the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus it enables one to be fortunate enough to get a spiritual body and go back to Godhead. Not only by touching the body of the Supreme Lord, but simply by hearing about His pastimes, chanting His glories, touching His feet and offering worship — in other words, by serving the Lord somehow or other — one is purified of material contamination. This is the result of touching the Supreme Lord. One who is a pure devotee (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]), who acts according to the śāstra and the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, certainly becomes purified. Like Gajendra, he assumes a spiritual body and returns home, back to Godhead.

Spiritual master helps us regain our spiritual identity

SB 7.15.43-44: In the conditioned stage, one's conceptions of life are sometimes polluted by passion and ignorance, which are exhibited by attachment, hostility, greed, lamentation, illusion, fear, madness, false prestige, insults, fault-finding, deception, envy, intolerance, passion, bewilderment, hunger and sleep. All of these are enemies. Sometimes one's conceptions are also polluted by goodness.
SB 7.15.45: As long as one has to accept a material body, with its different parts and paraphernalia, which are not fully under one's control, one must have the lotus feet of his superiors, namely his spiritual master and the spiritual master's predecessors. By their mercy, one can sharpen the sword of knowledge, and with the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's mercy one must then conquer the enemies mentioned above. In this way, the devotee should be able to merge into his own transcendental bliss, and then he may give up his body and resume his spiritual identity.
SB 7.15.46: Otherwise, if one does not take shelter of Acyuta and Baladeva, then the senses, acting as the horses, and the intelligence, acting as the driver, both being prone to material contamination, inattentively bring the body, which acts as the chariot, to the path of sense gratification. When one is thus attracted again by the rogues of viṣaya — eating, sleeping and mating — the horses and chariot driver are thrown into the blinding dark well of material existence, and one is again put into a dangerous and extremely fearful situation of repeated birth and death

The format for grhastha life should be dedication to the Lord

In the chapters 11,12 and 13 of the 7 th canto Narada Muni explains the duties and activities of Brahmacaris, Vanaprasthas, Sannyasis and women. All the three varnas mentioned are very important to achieve the goal of life.Also Narada Muni wanted to stress that sex life was not at all necessary and if one so desires it he can go enter grhastha ashram.
Yudhisthira Maharaj inquires for our benefit on what should the activities of a person in grhastha ashram be. How can one in the grhastha ashram without any knowledge of the goal of life attain liberation according to the instructions of the Vedas.The asrama is very difficult and offers many diversions , how can one in such an ashram also attain the success of life.

In this post the instructions given by Narada Muni in answer to the above question are presented:

• Work to earn the livelihood but offer the results to Krishna and satisfy Him
  

Srila Prabhupada states in 7.14.2 "The format of Grhastha life should be dedication to the Supreme Personality of Godhead". One must act only to satisfy the Lord.One must live a very simple life

• Through Association one learns the science of satisfying the Lord:

In 7.14.2 "saksad upasita maha-munim" - How to satisfy Vasudeva in this life can be perfectly understood through the association of great devotees of the Lord.
maha-muni refers to those who have not only studied the goal of life but who are actually engaged in satisfying the Lord.These persons are known as devotees. Unless one associates with devotees, one cannot learn the science of "vasudevarpana" -dedicating ones life to the Supreme.

• What is the recommended way of association: Hearing from saintly persons

In 7.14.3-4 Narada Muni says: "A gṛhastha must associate again and again with saintly persons, and with great respect he must hear the nectar of the activities of the Supreme Lord and His incarnations as these activities are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Purāṇas. Thus one should gradually become detached from affection for his wife and children, exactly like a man awakening from a dream."
By hearing from great souls on topics of SB and BG one gets purified of their sinful inclination.
One should hear repeatedly - again and again (abhiksanam) because bhagavat-katahare the words spoken by Krishna or about Krsna- thus they are amrtam. The more one drinks this amrtam one advances in his eternal life.
Srila Prabhupada says: "One should work eight hours at the most to earn his livelihood, and either in the afternoon or in the evening a householder should associate with devotees to hear about the incarnations of Kṛṣṇa and His activities and thus be gradually liberated from the clutches of māyā."
After hearing from the great souls one's detachment to material life reduces. Also the relationships within the family become based on a Krsna centric conception rather than the material conception of enjoyment.

• Simplicity(7.14.5-8) : Give up the sense of proprietorship
  

One should live unattached to family affairs even though one may look externally attached like others. Thus household life centered around Krsna may externally look like any other household but in consciousness and principle they are unattached to family affairs and are working on developing attachment towards Krishna.

Those in grhastha life should work enough to keep body and soul together and keep the focus in fulfilling the purpose of life.Even when others may give suggestions, the householder must agree externally but internally he should be fixed in the goal of life and keeping his activities centered around that.

Claim proprietorship to only as much as needed to keep body and soul together. Anyone desiring more than that must be considered as a thief. If there is extra money it should be spent in furthering the Krsna Consciousness movement- building temples, books, etc.

• Non-envious and maintain others (7.14.9 and 7.14.11)
  

Animals like deers , asses, monkeys, mice, snakes etc should be treated exactly like one's own children. They are also innocent. They should be allowed to live peacefully and we should not disturb them. Infact if possible the householder can maintain them by giving them prasad. If he doesnt do that he is envious and does not like it that all other animals also have a claim to God's property.

One should give up the attachment to one's material life and pleasures and should engage in maintaining even dogs, fallen persons, untouchables, etc.

One should give up one's excessive attachment to one's wife - i.e. the idea of ownership towards family must also be abandoned.

• Give up excessive attachment to wife(family members)

We are eternal souls and any material attachments that we have will not be eternal.Only the Supreme Lord is eternal. Thus one must develop a stronger spiritual conception and base the relationships one the spiritual conception. Excessive material attachment towards family members will divert one from services. Instead basing the relationships on devotion to Krsna and thus engaging in service to Krsna is favorable.

Thus "offering even one's wife in reception of guests and people" means offering that material attachment as an oblation in the sacrifice of devotional service.Thus giving up any activities centered around that material relationship.If one does so one can direct one's energies towards devotional service.

The relationship between man and women based on sex is the strongest relationship - if that can be given up one can conquer the Supreme.

• Grhasthas should eat only prasad.
• Respect and worship all living entities:Worship the Supreme Lord everyday by worshiping the demigods, saintly persons, forefathers, other human beings and living entities.
• Offer sacrifices with wealth and knowledge : in this day and age chanting the Hare Krsna mahamantra and participating in Lord Caitanya's sankirtan movement with one's wealth and knowledge is the recommendation.
• Service to vaishnavas by serving them nice prasad and distribute prasad to other living entities.
  

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the enjoyer of sacrificial offerings. Yet although His Lordship eats the oblations offered in the fire, my dear King, He is still more satisfied when nice food made of grains and ghee is offered to Him through the mouths of qualified brāhmaṇas.

• Offer oblations to forefathers

Idea is : In one's life shouldnt be restricted to selfishness
If cannot become great devotee, or give up one's life like a brahmacari, sannyasi or vanaprasthi, or live simply - atleast one should minimize one's selfishness by becoming charitable. Charity to be done atleast to one's family members and forefathers if one cannot perform the charity of maintaining other living entities and animals.
By acknowledging that the ceremony we do now will benefit the forefathers who have passed away one develops the consciousness of eternalness of the soul. One's self is benefited by this consciousness. One's heart expands a little bit.In grhastha life - one is usually very self-centered and thinks about his benefit and that of family members. This contracts the heart and makes it heard for giving charity. One develops envy and desires all enjoyment for oneself. The contraction of the heart by which one feels one needs more and more creates greater dissatisfaction and thus UNHAPPINESS.The oblations one performs towards one's forefathers and the charity and non-enviousness exhibited towards other living entities(7.14.9-7.14.11) helps one open their heart a little bit. Thus people gradually become less selfish and more charitable. This helps one give up the sense of proprietorship over all that pervades - it helps one recognize that all entities are God's creation and they have as much right to be maintained as much as oneself. So makes some advancement by this process it is eternal.

• Any place where there is a Vaishnava, or a temple of Lord Krishna ,etc are auspicious places to perform worship and purificatory rituals.
• Lord Krsna is the best person to whom everything must be given - He is the object of all our worship. e.g Rajasuya sacrifice all the assembled sages unanimously decided that Lord Krsna must be the first person to be worshiped.
• One must be respectful to all living entities as the Lord resides as the Supersoul in all of them.
• Deity worship is recommended to overcome envy and develop respectful dealings with everyone. Refer for further explanation:One who worships the deity must be non-envious and Engagement in deity worship encourages respectful dealings between Vaishnavas
  
• Brahmanas are to be considered the best because by practicing austerity, Vedic studies and satisfaction he becomes the counterpart body of the Lord.
  

Women's duties

View this label "chaste wife" for other excerpts of Texts and Srila Prabhupada's purports on this topic.

SB 7.11.25: To render service to the husband, to be always favorably disposed toward the husband, to be equally well disposed toward the husband's relatives and friends, and to follow the vows of the husband — these are the four principles to be followed by women described as chaste.

SB 7.11.26-27: A chaste woman must dress nicely and decorate herself with golden ornaments for the pleasure of her husband. Always wearing clean and attractive garments, she should sweep and clean the household with water and other liquids so that the entire house is always pure and clean. She should collect the household paraphernalia and keep the house always aromatic with incense and flowers and must be ready to execute the desires of her husband. Being modest and truthful, controlling her senses, and speaking in sweet words, a chaste woman should engage in the service of her husband with love, according to time and circumstances.

SB 7.11.28: A chaste woman should not be greedy, but satisfied in all circumstances. She must be very expert in handling household affairs and should be fully conversant with religious principles. She should speak pleasingly and truthfully and should be very careful and always clean and pure. Thus a chaste woman should engage with affection in the service of a husband who is not fallen.

SB 7.11.29: The woman who engages in the service of her husband, following strictly in the footsteps of the goddess of fortune, surely returns home, back to Godhead, with her devotee husband, and lives very happily in the Vaikuṇṭha planets.

One who worships the deity must be non-envious

7.14.40:
Sometimes a neophyte devotee offers all the paraphernalia for worshiping the Lord, and he factually worships the Lord as the Deity, but because he is envious of the authorized devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, the Lord is never satisfied with his devotional service.

From the purport:
Deity worship is especially meant for purifying the neophyte devotees. Actually, however, preaching is more important. In Bhagavad-gītā (18.69) it is said, na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ: if one wants to be recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he must preach the glories of the Lord. One who worships the Deity must therefore be extremely respectful to preachers; otherwise simply worshiping the Deity will keep one in the lower stage of devotion.

Engagement in deity worship encourages respectful dealings between Vaishnavas

SB 7.14.39: My dear King, when great sages and saintly persons saw mutually disrespectful dealings at the beginning of Tretā-yuga, Deity worship in the temple was introduced with all paraphernalia.

From Srila Prabhupada's purport:

"A powerful Vaiṣṇava who has converted others into Vaiṣṇavas is to be worshiped, but because of material contamination, sometimes such an exalted Vaiṣṇava is disrespected by other, minor Vaiṣṇavas. When great saintly persons saw this contamination, they introduced worship of the Deity in the temple. This began in Tretā-yuga and was especially prominent in Dvāpara-yuga (dvāpare paricaryāyāḿ). "

"A prākṛta devotee, or neophyte devotee, is still on the material platform. He certainly engages in worshiping the Deity, but he cannot appreciate the activities of a pure devotee. It has actually been seen that even an authorized devotee who is engaged in the service of the Lord by preaching the mission of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sometimes criticized by neophyte devotees. Such neophytes are described by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura: sarva-prāṇi-sammānanāsamarthānām avajñā spardhādimatāḿ tu bhagavat-pratimaiva pātram ity āha. For those who cannot properly appreciate the activities of authorized devotees, Deity worship is the only way for spiritual advancement. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya 7.11) it is clearly said, kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: without being authorized by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot preach the holy name of the Lord throughout the entire world. Nevertheless, a devotee who does so is criticized by neophyte devotees, kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs, who are on the lower stages of devotional service. For them, Deity worship is strongly recommended."