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WHO IS YOUR DEAR DEER?

"Oh Lord, please transfer the attraction I have towards the objects of this world to You."

We all know the story of King Bharat from Srimad-bhagvatam who became attached to a baby deer, so much so that, he forgot to perform devotional service to The Supremely Dear Lord. Thus, his attachment and attraction to The Dear Lord was replaced by his newfound attachment and attraction to this deer. This deer became his dear deer. The result - in his next life, he was born as a baby deer. Lord Krishna explains in Bhagvat-gita 8.6

yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ

"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kuntī, that state he will attain without fail."

Krishna in this verse explains that our next life depends on the object that is dear to us in this life. Or, in the context of the example of King Bharat, our next life depends on who is our deer in this life. So, who is your deer? Unarguably, we all have our own dear deers in our life - someone or something that is dear to us; someone or something that we are hooked on to; someone or something that we are attached to; someone or something that has overpowered and replaced our attraction and attachment to our dear Lord. The result - we will be forced to take another birth in a body mirroring our dear deer. But, if we make the Supreme Lord our dearmost deer, dearer than all our other deers then we stand to attain a spiritual body like His in His service.

The question is how to make Him our most dear deer and relinquish our longtime attachment to all our dear deers? The answer is "desire". If we cultivate a strong desire to achieve attachment to Him and detachment from this world and sincerely pray to Him, then and only then, it is possible. Queen Kunti, leads the way for all of us through the medium of her super excellent prayers which are recorded eternally in the pages of the Srimad-bhagvatam and are chanted and meditated eternally by all spiritualists. She prays to Lord Krishna to replace her attachments to her deers (her sons and relatives) to Him and thus make Him, her only dear deer. May these prayers be etched forever in our hearts.

atha viśveśa viśvātman
viśva-mūrte svakeṣu me
sneha-pāśam imaṁ chindhi
dṛḍhaṁ pāṇḍuṣu vṛṣṇiṣu

"O Lord of the universe, soul of the universe, O personality of the form of the universe, please, therefore, sever my tie of affection for my kinsmen, the Pāṇḍavas and the Vṛṣṇis." - Srimad-bhagvatam 1.8.41

tvayi me 'nanya-viṣayā
matir madhu-pate 'sakṛt
ratim udvahatād addhā
gaṅgevaugham udanvati

"O Lord of Madhu, as the Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You without being diverted to anyone else." - Srimad-bhagvatam 1.8.42
- Achyut Gopal Das

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