Miscellaneous - Religion   

Purpose of Leelas

CHENNAI: Many who live during the periods of the Lord's incarnations are fortunate to experience first-hand His unique and divine qualities — easy accessibility (Saulabhya) and excellent character and disposition (Saushilya). The Bhagavata Purana celebrates the auspicious event of the birth of Lord Krishna and shows how the Lord assumes full control of the situation right from the time of His incarnation.

The Lord was born as a child but endowed with all the divine majesties of Maha Vishnu — with a shining crown, bracelets, and other ornaments, and with the conch, discus, lotus and mace in His four arms. Vasudeva and Devaki beheld this Supreme Being incarnate and began to sing hymns in praise of the Lord. At Devaki's request, after revealing the truth of how He had been born to the same couple in two earlier births, the Lord assumed the form of a charming child.

Many things had to be executed and He instructed Vasudeva to shift Him to Nandagopa's residence and bring the girl baby of Yasodha to the prison. In a lecture, Damal Sri Ramakrishnan and Srimati Perundevi pointed out that during Krishna's early childhood He performs many Leelas so that devotees may develop the Bhakti Bhava that is essential for salvation. Every devotee is special to Him and He responds to each one accordingly. Out of His infinite compassion for the suffering Jivatma, the Lord gives them an opportunity to seek Him. His penchant for butter was an opportunity for the simple folk to serve Him. If Yasodha tried to bind Him to a grinding stone, it was because He allowed Himself to be bound. He chose to handle all the threats to His life from Kamsa single-handedly and liberated those who approached him with the intention of killing Him.

The simple womenfolk in Brindavan knew only love for Krishna and longed to be united with Him. They had focussed their mind on Him with extraordinary determination. Yet He saw to it that there was no trace of ego in their love and taught them the path of selfless love that leads to salvation. The essence of the Rasa Leela episode is the Jivatma's longing for union with the Paramatma.

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