Me, My guru – Bhagavatam - On the lost city of Dwaraka!

 

Me, My guru – Bhagavatam - On the lost city of Dwaraka!

Our Guru came, straight to the class, sat down, and started straight away “Krishna had a maternal uncle named Kamsa. He was the ruler of Mathura. Krishna’s mother was Devaki. Devaki was Kamsa’s sister. Thus, Kamsa was Krishna’s uncle. Kamsa loved his sister – Devaki a lot. But, a heavenly voice predicted that Devaki’s eighth born would kill Kamsa.

Kamsa was alarmed. He was a very powerful king. With great power comes greater ego, arrogance and fear. Due to that fear, he decided to kill Devaki. King Vasudeva was Devaki’s husband. He was no match for Kamsa in power. So, he pleaded with Kamsa to take them as prisoners. He argued, “Devaki’s 8^th born is destined to kill you. So, why kill Devaki. I’ll give you our 8^th born. Do what you please to do with that kid”.

Kamsa saw reason in that argument and took them prisoners. When the child was born to Devaki, Kamsa didn’t wish to take any chance and killed it. Thus, he killed every child born to Devaki and Vasudeva.

But, when the 8^th child was born he was smuggled by his father, Vasudeva out of the prison and left in his friend’s house – Nanda Gopal. Nanda’s wife had given birth to a girl child. Vasudeva and Nanda swapped the children. Now, Nanda’s girl child was shown as Devaki’s 8^th born to Kamsa.

Contd....

# Me My Guru series, Bhagavatam, Krishna accepts the curse, destruction of Yadavas, the lost city of Dwaraka, curse and blessings, fate and destiny, karma, as we sow so we reap, cause and effect, 

also read suggested  https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2009/03/oh-god.html

Suggestion worth understanding and applying every single time you read this blog - Look at the quotes/images very particularly. 

Not all of your questions are found in the written post. 

Some of your questions are answered via images.

Read the images/quotations more than once. You'll find your answer. You will find the solution to your problem. You will find a reason to rest your mind. You will find a way to come out of that agitated mind too!

They are not some random images. They are chosen for a reason.

Me, My guru – Bhagavatam - On the lost city of Dwaraka!

 

Contd....

Me, My guru – Bhagavatam - On the lost city of Dwaraka!

Devaki and Vasudeva assumed Kamsa wouldn’t kill a girl child. But, Kamsa didn’t flinch. He tried to kill her too. But the child flew from his hands and warned Kamsa that the real 8^th born was safe and sound. One day he would be back to kill Kamsa. Kamsa was both terrified and devastated. Years rolled by. Stories of Krishna – the 8^th born of Devaki and Vasudeva spread far and wide. Though he was called Nanda and Yashoda’s son, Kamsa realized he was the one he had been fearing about. So, he sent for Krishna. He invited Krishna to his capital Mathura.

There, Krishna still in his teens found Kamsa, his maternal uncle, and vanquished him. Kamsa was just not an ordinary king. He was very powerful and a very skilled fighter. He was also dear to the then-emperor Jarasandha, not just because of his prowess but also for being Jarasandha’s son-in-law.

Jarasandha being an Emperor was a foe no one dared to have. As such, no king was ready to stand by Mathura and Krishna. Jarasandha’s army came to kill Krishna. The people of Mathura sought protection from Krishna. He realized he was still a kid not yet ready to face the mighty army of Jarasandha. So, he took the people of Mathura along with kids, old and cattle and marched towards the present day Gujarat. Then, Gujarat was a dense forest. No one was believed to come out of that forest alive. Jarasandha’s army felt Krishna and his aides would anyhow meet their end in that dangerous forest. So, they left them. 

Krishna with his people cleared the forest, cultivated the land, and built a big, prosperous, magnificent, glorious city of Dwaraka. Trade prospered. Slowly Dwaraka became a powerful and prosperous state. It grew powerful too!

All the kings of Aryavarta, then Bharath considered Krishna as the king-maker. He played a he role in the politics of Aryavarta.

Now, when prosperity comes, it becomes a very conducive atmosphere for persons to become complacent, avaricious, egoistic – in short become adharmic.

“Good times are proved to have broken more people than bad times”.

It is in good times that ‘the real character’ of the person exhibits itself.

Contd....

# Me My Guru series, Bhagavatam, Krishna accepts the curse, destruction of Yadavas, the lost city of Dwaraka, curse and blessings, fate and destiny, karma, as we sow so we reap, cause and effect, 

also read suggested  https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2021/12/on-reflections-on-dog.html 

and read https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2020/05/me-my-guru-on-death-and-healing_23.html how healing helps or works. When we heal but the results seems contradictory to our expectations how do we understand or accept that healing and God are with us/working for us?

I am not going to give "Pointers to understand assuming you have got the knack to understand from all the pointers I have given to date". 

Expecting you to enjoy the reading and also the understanding from all these posts...

On love - Bhagavatam

...contd....

Take a leaf from any page of his life and all that you see is struggle, work, fulfilling duties and responsibilities and above all – never doing or wanting anything for himself and from anyone. His life itself was a ‘sacrifice’ – so pure and divine and yet he was an epitome of bliss, satisfaction, patience, humility and light-heartedness.

When you read about him, talk about him or think about him, don’t brush aside ‘his greatness’ as the by-product of his Godliness. Instead read it as ‘the pre-requisite to regain our Divinity’.

Teenage is the age which knows only whiling away time with friends. Its’ all about fun and frolic. But that was the age (he was around 16 then) when his reality was told to him (that he was a prince born to Devaki Vasudeva) and he had to go to Mathura on the invitation of his evil minded uncle – Kamsa to meet him.  Everyone knew that it was certainly not an invite to celebrate. It was ‘the invitation of death’. Everyone knew the intention of Kamsa. It was not hidden from Krishna and Balarama. Kamsa being such a ‘powerful king’ and evil too, nobody could dare his design but wait and watch. Krishna and Balakrishna – the gentle, tender youngsters brought up as cowherds were to face the challenges thrown by Kamsa in his own place and palace. Yet, Krishna

didn’t cry like a sissy teenager. He saw the inevitable and decided to face it with grace. Each one of us has to face such evil-minded people and tough situations in life. What do we do then and how we face it decides if we are working towards our Divine Nature or demonic self. Both are within us. Salman, the actor has already told “dar ke aage jeet hai” meaning ‘there

is victory beyond fear’. Do we simply listen to it or live it? The difference between winners and losers is just that. They both face the same situations that give them fear. One faces it and comes out successful and the other chooses fear to stop him and remains a failure. If fear stops me, I am a failure. I have fear but don’t let that stop me, well then I am a winner.

Don’t let ‘fear’ make you a ‘quitter’. Remember that!

Was it mere luck or was it because he was God he won the most powerful wrestler in the court of Kama in the duel? Nothing of that sort was true! They both beat Kamsa’s wrestlers and finally ‘great warrior’ like Kamsa too in a duel because of years of practise of yoga and wrestling practise in Gokul. Yes, before taking cattle for grazing, Krishna and Balarama practised for couple of hours all forms of exercise – mind you they were very rigorous forms of exercise. Indian villages have ‘more rustic gyms’ than the urban ones called

‘Akhada’ where the practise even today is very tough, enduring and more effective. Our modern day world famous wrestler ‘Dear old Dara Singhji’ is the product of such ‘Akhada’ only. But the training here is especially given in the early mornings and Krishna would be up by 3am and practise. We sit back read or see this scene in a TV show and eating popcorn brush it aside as ‘oh, he was God, so he could do it.’ No one shows the hardwork he put in all those years and he doesn’t flaunt it too! Nothing comes easy. Even Rama practised for years to become ‘the greatest warrior’. We don’t see their hard work and brush aside their achievements as ‘acts of Divine’.

.......contd.....

On love - Bhagavatam

...contd....

“Exactly!” she continued with a chuckle “your aunts and uncles or for that matter any relative/boss are not even as dangerous and powerful as Kamsa. Then why are you afraid of facing them?”

“But we are afraid of life and its situations more!” came the voice from behind.

“Still the same” she replied “whether it be person or situation, can’t you be bigger than them? You already are! You just haven’t realized that and believed that. If your intent is ‘right’ and ‘pure’ then no problem, time or situation is big enough to crush you. What’s life if there are no challenges thrown? How can you call yourself ‘hero’ of your story if you don’t fight your ‘villain’ and win over him – be it a person or a tough time. Each one of us is a ‘hero’ in our story! We may not be ‘hero’ of millions – koi gal nahi (no regrets!). Let’s start by being ‘hero’ in our story. Don’t make someone else hero in your story.

Yes, the moment you pity self and expect other to pity you, he becomes ‘hero’ and you his ‘pal’ (a mere side kick of hero). The moment you complain, one who wipes your tears becomes a ‘hero’. If you gossip about other, they become famous and ‘hero’. By envying, you make object of your envy ‘hero’. So think before exhibiting or ‘feeling’ their qualities. If ever in your script, you are not a ‘hero’, don’t expect others to ‘hero-worship’ you! That’s all!”

She got up to give us long due ½ an hour tea break. We relished tea and biscuits – courtesy Vivek who was generous enough to bring them. They were not usual ones! He really went an extra mile to buy and share them with us! They were bit expensive, novel in taste and were relished by all of us! Why couldn’t I think of such things was beyond me...... I guess I still had lots of learning by way of sharing, caring and giving. I found it wanting in large amounts. But now our talk centered around our little ‘Kamsa’s in our life!

“My Kamsa is certainly my boss....”

“and mine is my colleague for sure!”

“my neighbour..”

“parent....”

“sibling....”

“my spouse.....”

...contd....

Fear of society – Me, my Guru

Fear of society – Me, my Guru

Today some criminals were shot dead. And we were disturbed because of that ‘news’ and yet she (our Guru) was her natural self – calm and composed and smiling as if nothing had happened. Sometimes, few of us even considered her insensitive because of this behaviour. But there were few like Rahul and Aziz who admired her for this exact quality.



Our Guru replied to Deepa's question “Every era or yuga (period in time) has its set of asuras or demonic personalities creating havoc in simple pure minded weak people. These demons caused troubles to people who were leading simple lives and adhering to “path of dharma” (righteousness). The acts could be simple like hurting them, causing trouble to them or harming them in some way or the acts could be more dangerous and heinous like molesting the women folk, kidnapping them and killing men and women for no particular reason. Take out any history page it is written with the blood of the innocent and weak. Look into our mythology. Every era had its “mega villains” apart from the small ones causing havoc in the life of the people in general – be it Bakasura, Ravana, Hiranyakashyap, Kamsa. These villains or demons even killed or tortured their own kith and kin. Read the related posts to go through these characters once again. https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/search?q=prahlad "

https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/search?q=kamsa

contd........

# criminals, bad people, end times, kali yuga, demonic characters, fall of characters, dark ages, 

Questions answered and points to be understood:

• Why everyone is so bad now-a-days?
• Goodness can't be practiced now as it is kali-yuga (dark ages)..
• Politicians and terrorists are a bane of kali-yuga. Coming to think of it only 'the way they were called changes. Nature or attitudes and character is the same all through the pages of time....
• Are we more obsessed with the bad and asuric behaviour and less validating of pure and good souls and their works.?