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Krishna - All-Renounced
When someone possesses any of the above opulences, he naturally
becomes very attached and proud of them. But •nspite of possessing all the
opulences, Krishna is not in the least attached
to or proud of them. Thus He is also the possessor of the supreme
opulence of renunciation. In the Chaitanya Charitamrita, the multi-volume
treatise on the life and teachings of Lord Chaitanya, there is a beautiful story of a South Indian
brahmana. It illustrates how Lord Krishna, although the source of all that
exists, is completely renounced and how He becomes the humble servant of His loving devotees out of His love for them.
This is due to His opulence of renunciation.In the holy place of Sri
Ranga-kshetra, a Vaishnava brahmana would daily visit the temple of Lord Ranganath and recite the entire text of
Bhagavad-gita. However he was not able to pronounce the Sanskrit words
correctly, and so Sanskrit scholars around the tempie used to make fun of
him. But, just by reading the
Bhagavad-gita, he was overflowing with great spiritual ecstasy, and so he did
not in the least bother about what people were talking about him.
When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Sri Ranga-kshetra and saw
the brahmana shedding tears of love, He asked the brahmana, "My dear sir,
why are you in such ecstatic love? Which
portion of Bhagavad-gita gives you such transcendental pleasure?"
The brahmana replied, "My Lord, 1 am illiterate and therefore do not know
the meaning of the words. Sometimes I read
Bhagavad-gita correctly and sometimes incorrectly, but in any case I
continue with my reading because it is the order of my spiritual master."
The brahmana continued, 'Actually whenever I open the
Bhagavad-gita, I only see a picture of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, sitting on the magnificent chariot of Arjuna as his charioteer.
With the reins in His hands, Lord Krishna appears very beautiful. When I see
this picture of Lord Krishna driving the chariot of Arjuna, His beloved
devotee. I am filled with ecstatic
happiness."
Thus we see that, though Lord Krishna is Lakshmipati (husband of
the goddess of fortune) He readily took the humble position of a chauffeur.
For this extraordinary pastime of His, He is glorified even today as Partha-sarthi (the charioteer
of Partha or Arjuna). In the material world, everyone wants to show off his
greatness to others; nobody wants to become a menial servant. This is all the more true for anyone who possesses some
opulence. But Lord Krishna, inspite of being the most opulent person ever, is
so renounced that He becomes bound by the love of His devotees and takes the position of their servant.
• In the Mahabharata, when the rajasuya yajna
was to be performed, Maharaja Yudhisthira, after consulting with Vyasadeva,
asked his various relatives to take up different services. He asked Bhishma and Drona to oversee the organisation
for the sacrifice. Dushashana was put in charge of food distribution, while
Ashwathama was solicited to look after the brahmanas. Duryodhana was appointed to receive all the gifts that
were brought for Yudhisthira, and Vidura became the master of the treasury.
With a desire to gain the blessings of the brahmanas and the guests. Lord Krishna, personally undertook the humble
service of washing their feet as they arrived. In this way Lord Krishna, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead exhibited His great renunciation.
• Lord Krishna became a simple messenger on behalf of the Pandavas
to negotiate with Duryodhana as stated in the Shrimad Bhagavatam (1.16.16).