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The Glorious Month of Damodar
BY: SUN STAFF
Yasoda Vishvarupa-darshan
Nov 13, 2013 — CANADA (SUN) — Srila Prabhupada's Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1.22, December 13, 1970, Indore.
Yasoda Vishvarupa-darshan
One of the Krsna-lila pastimes glorified during the month of Damodar is that of Yasoda Ma getting vishvarupa-darshan in Krsna's mouth. In a lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.25, Srila Prabhupada explained the pastime in terms of vatsalya-rasa:
"When Kṛṣṇa was playing as a child, He ate earth and the playmates complained to mother Yaśodā: "Mother, your son Kṛṣṇa is eating earth." Mother Yaśodā called for explanation:
"Kṛṣṇa, why You are eating earth? I have given You sandeśa. " Kṛṣṇa said, "No, mother, I have not eaten." "No, Your friends are complaining." "No, they have become My enemies this morning. We had some quarrel. Therefore they have combined together to make Me chastised by you." So in this way... Then mother Yaśodā wanted to solve this problem: "All right, show Your mouth, open Your mouth. I want to see." And when Kṛṣṇa opened the mouth, the mother saw innumerable universes are within the mouth. This is Kṛṣṇa. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. Kṛṣṇa enters within the universe, but at the same time, millions of universes are within His mouth. This is the explanation of "the greater than the greatest and the smaller than the smallest." Of course, mother Yaśodā, although she saw, she could not believe it because mother Yaśodā never thought of that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She always thought that "He is my teeny child." That's all. "I have to take care of Him." This is called paternal feelings. Vātsalya-rasa."
(Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.25 -- Hyderabad, November 29, 1972)
And in a 1970 lecture, Srila Prabhupada said:
"As a boy Kṛṣṇa was eating clay. Some friends complained to mother Yaśodā that, "You gave Him nice foodstuff, and He is eating clay." So mother called Him: "Oh, Kṛṣṇa, You are eating clay?" Kṛṣṇa said, "No, mother. They're all liars." (laughter) "Oh, Your elder brother Balarāma is also saying." "Oh, He is angry upon Me. He is angry upon Me; therefore He is also speaking lie." Then the boys still stressed, "No, mother. He has eaten clay. We have seen." So mother said, "All right. Open Your mouth. I'll see." So Kṛṣṇa opened His mouth, and she saw the whole material cosmic manifestation. Not only Yaśodā, thousands of Yaśodā and thousands of planets, sun, moons, and everything saw. Mother's thought, "Must be something jugglery. All right. Forget. Don't do it again.'"
(Lecture, day before the San Francisco Ratha Yatra, 1970)
Yasoda Sees the Universe in Krishna's Mouth
Bhagavata-purana, Mewar c. 1550
National Gallery of Canada
And in a Question & Answer session in New York, September 6, 1968, Srila Prabhupada explained the Yasoda Vishvarupa-darshan pastime in comparative terms with the performance of miracles:
Devotee: Why do you say that Jesus Christ performed so many miracles when he (indistinct), and you never said that Krsna performed any miracles. When Krsna lifted up Govardhana Hill, nobody said that was a miracle. But when Jesus Christ made so many things, they say it's a miracle. How is that?
Prabhupada: The difference is that in Vrndavana they are pure devotees. They knew that "Oh, this is not a miracle for Krsna. Krsna can do anything and everything." So they were not surprised. If I lift one mountain, you will be surprised because you know that "Swamiji is man. How he is lifting?" But they know that Krsna is all-powerful. So there was no surprise. It is just like natural work. They were so much affectionate to Krsna that... He was not only lifting. Every day He was doing so much great performances, and His boyfriends, they would come home, and they would narrate the story to their mothers, "Oh, mother, today Krsna performed like this. There was a great demon, and He killed him immediately." And the mother will say, "Oh, Krsna did that? He is very nice boy, very nice." (laughter) Because they were so affectionate to Krsna, they always think, "Everything is possible for Krsna. Krsna is so nice. Krsna is so great." That is their idea. So (indistinct) that is not miracle. That is ordinary thing for Him. Just like Yasoda. Krsna's friends complained, "Mother Yasoda, Krsna has eaten earth. You gave Him sweetmeat, but He was not eating sweetmeat." You know. The boys, they complain each other and again make friends. So Yasoda was..., "Oh, Krsna, I gave You sweetmeats. You are eating earth?" "No, mother. I have not eaten. They are telling false." And they were still, "Yes. We have seen, mother, He has eaten." Then mother asked Him, "Oh, show Your face. Open Your mouth. I want to see." So He opened His mouth, and she saw all the universe within His mouth, not only earth, the whole planets, sun and moon, and everything, within His mouth. Then she thought, "Oh, what I have seen? All right. Don't do it." That's all. (laughter) She is not at all surprised. She thought that "I saw something. Maybe I wrong or right. All right. Don't do it." That's all. So they were so much affectionate to Krsna that Krsna's this jugglery could not enchant them. (chuckles) You see? Therefore Krsna said to the gopis that "Your love is so pure that it is not possible for Me to repay." Krsna is declaring insolvent to pay their debt. "You be satisfied with your love only. I cannot repay." That is the position of Krsna. Krsna and the residents of Vrndavana so affectionately connected, that there is no such conception that "Krsna is God, Krsna can play wonderful things." They simply love Krsna. And out of love they forget everything. "All right. That's all right. That's all right." So that ecstasy of love is only possible in Vrndavana. (break)
Pradyumna: Is there a difference in the quality of service between a person who is, just accepts outright Krsna, service to Krsna, and one who wants to scrutinize and inquire more and more about it, between someone who just accepts, "That's it, this and this," and someone who inquires more and more?
Prabhupada: One who loves Krsna without inquiry, that is nice position. To inquire about Krsna is knowledge. And pure devotion is transcendental to knowledge. Love does not depend on the greatness. If a boy loves a girl or the girl loves a boy, even in this material field, it does not depend on the greatness of the boy. Of course, here everything is on material consideration. But actual love is without any consideration, what He is or what He isn't. That is real love. That is the perfectional stage of love, without inquiring how great He is or what He is. But for the neophytes it is necessary to know about Krsna. Because we have no love, so if we understand that Krsna is so great, then gradually we can love. Our position is different because when... Therefore Caitanya-caritamrta, it is said that siddhanta boliya citte na kara alasa: "Try to understand about Krsna." Just like Krsna is explaining in Bhagavad-gita that "I am this amongst the trees. I am this. I am this planet. Amongst this, I am this. I am this." So just to impress upon the neophyte devotees about the greatness... And those who are advanced devotees, they do not want to see whether Krsna is great or small. They simply love Him. That's all. That is pure love. In Vrndavana, at least these gopis, they never saw Krsna's any jugglery or any greatness. But they still love, pure love. Pure love means
Without any cultivation of knowledge, without any activities of fruitive action, without any desire, simply to love Krsna in order to please Him--that is the highest perfectional stage of devotion. There is no consideration "Whether Krsna is God or not, whether we are getting benefit or not." "Simply we love Krsna." That is the perfectional stage.
 Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
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