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Act of divine grace

CHENNAI : The Supreme Being is glorified in the scriptures as the abode of infinite auspicious qualities and among them His easy accessibility (Saulabhya) is important from the standpoint of humanity. Unless He deigns to make Himself accessible man will not be able to experience God. His accessible nature was most evident in His incarnation as Krishna.

The cowherds among whom He grew were simpletons who had no pretence to learning or sophistication but He singled them out because they had abundant love in their hearts. Right from the moment Vasudeva transferred the newborn babe to Nandagopa's household He became the cynosure of all eyes in Gokul and every act of His brought immense delight to His foster parents and the entire cowherd community. Not a day passed without Krishna regaling them with a prank or a divine sport (lila); yet, the fact that He was the Lord incarnate never impinged on their consciousness to distance Him due to His Maya (deluding power).

In his discourse, Sri Hari said the companionship the cowherd boys enjoyed with Krishna and the liberties they took with Him made even the celestials, who witnessed His deeds, wonder what merit they must have done to merit such a privilege. Even the creator, Brahma, wished to witness His lila enacted especially for his sake and an opportunity presented itself one day when Krishna and His friends allowed the calves to graze and retired to the bank of Yamuna to eat their lunch. Brahma hid the calves and seeing the boys frightened at their disappearance Krishna allayed their fears by telling them to eat and went searching for the calves.

The moment He went deep into the forest Brahma hid the boys too. He, who is omniscient, knew at once that it was Brahma's doing when He did not find them and in order to afford delight to both their mothers and Brahma, He assumed all their forms and returned them to their respective homes. No one was any wiser for a year (equivalent to Brahma's one day); only their love for their young ones surged, not with the knowledge that it was Krishna in the form of their offspring. Only Brahma and Balarama, who witnessed the reunion of the cowherd and their boys, and the cows and the calves when the year drew to a close, intuited Krishna's act of grace.

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