26 Aug 2021
[A question by Ms. Laxmi Thrylokya]
Swami replied: Very good question. Here only the confusion comes. Wherever there is smoke (final female birth), there is fire (surrender of body), but, wherever there is fire (surrender of the body), there need not be smoke (final female birth). If the body is surrendered to God by a female devotee, following the path of Gopikas, it need not be the final birth. If the birth is really final as in the case of Gopikas, the surrender of body will be certain. We should not think that since Gopikas surrendered their bodies to God Krishna, it is the final birth of Gopikas. Since it is actually the final birth, Gopikas surrendered their bodies to God Krishna because that bond alone was remaining unsurrendered. By their previous birth, they have already surrendered 99 worldly bonds for the sake of God and only one bond (bond with body related to bond with life partner) was remaining unsurrendered. Since only one bond is remaining unsurrendered (not sacrificed for the sake of God), God gave this final female birth for the sake of testing the one unsurrendered bond. As per the rule, that one unsurrendered bond (life partner) shall be the last 100th bond because there is no use (moreover sin) in surrendering that 100th bond without surrendering all the other 99 bonds.
Along with that one bond, other 99 bonds were also tested again because the final annual examination covers even already tested Quarterly and Half-yearly syllabai. In this annual test only 12 Gopikas (sages) passed the test. The reasons for the failure of rest Gopikas are i) the sages did lot of penance in the previous births, but, their penance was for salvation giving happiness to their selves only and not without any selfishness. Hence, Shankara says that He has no aspiration even for salvation (Na mokṣasyākāṅkṣā…). ii) A female will have lot of intensity of bond with her issues and generally, the bond with the issues is not crossed by any soul so far, especially when such bond is related to the bond with wealth (joint test). Hence, body-surrender is not the final birth and in the final birth the body-surrender will definitely take place. Therefore, Madhura Bhakti alone is not the final birth, but, in the final birth, Madhura Bhakti exists invariably. If Madhura Bhakti exists in the last bond to be sacrificed, salvation is certain. Salvation does not mean absence of re-birth. The liberated soul will accompany the God in every incarnation helping Him in His divine program.
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