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).