Skip to main content

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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LET THE CHANTING NEVER STOP

" Make the worship of the Holynames, the most important aspect of your life " - Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati, foremost reformer of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. We all know that what is a reality today may not be a reality tomorrow. This world is in a constant flux, a constant change. Only God and His Holynames are a reality - today, tomorrow and forever. As one great soul sings in his song "Kevalashtakam" - abrahma stamba paryantam sarvam maya-mayam jagat satyam stayam punah satyam harer nama eva kevalam "The entire universe right from Brahma to an insignificant clump of grass are products of illusory energy of the Lord. The only reality, reality again I say reality - the Holyname of Lord Hari alone is everything." Therefore, real intelligence is to take shelter of the Holynames and not stop chanting at any cost. Good times - bad times, high times - low times, let every time be chanting time. In life or in death, let the chanting not stop. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more

GOVARDHAN REFLECTION

While doing parikrama around Govardhan Hill, I was reflecting back on all the times I have performed Govardhan parikrama in the last so many years. I reflected that each time I have performed it, it was always with different devotees at different phases in my life. My companions during the parikrama and my situation during the parikrama were all different. The only similar factor in all these parikramas was Govardhan Himself. Being an eternal form of the Lord, He is always the same. The more we realize Krishna and His various forms to be the only constant factor in this changing world, we can seek our refuge in the Lord and experience shelter and stability in a changing world.   Srila Prabhupada, one time was sharing with the devotees life lessons connected to his visits to Jagannath Puri. He explained that, he came to Jagannath Puri for the first time as a small child along with his father. He then came as a young college student. Then as a yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE RIGHT SIGHT

There is an elderly and a blind devotee named Bilwa Mangal Das, who stays in our temple at ISKCON Belgavi, Karnataka. It's been many years since I have seen him but the memories and impression about him are still fresh and new. Some people with their character and nature tend to make a deep impression in your heart. He is surely one of them. I remember seeing him for one of our annual pilgrimage to Vrindavan, the holy land of Lord Krishna. He was very old but very enthusiastic like a little boy. He would literally run with excitement as we went to see one holy site after another. I was wondering what this person was so excited about. He couldn't see anything. For him everything and everyplace is the same - all dark. But still he was very excited. I was thinking for myself, "Even though I had the eyes to see and was less than half his age still I didn't have the enthusiasm and excitement that he had." I was convinced that I may have materially eyes but I defi...
Post a Comment
Read more