07 May 2019
Dr. Annapurna asked: Why is the Shrimad Bhaagavatam said to be the highest scripture?
Swami replied: With reference to any action, there is the doer of the action (kartaa), the object of the action (karma), the action or the activity itself (kriyaa) and the fruit of the action (phalam). Shrimad Bhaagavatam describes the life and the divine deeds of God Krishna as He interacted with His devotees, the Gopikās. It is the story of the highest action (kriyaa) done by the highest Human Incarnation (kartaa), to the highest devotees (karma), which caused the devotees to attain the highest divine fruit (phalam). It means that all the four parts of the action, as mentioned above, were the highest. Let us see this in greater detail.
1) God Krishna, whose divine deeds are described in the Shrimad Bhaagavatam, is said to be the highest Incarnation expressing His divinity to the fullest extent. The 1/16th fraction of God’s unimaginable power is called a kalaa. A kalaa means a light or a ray of light. The 16 kalaas also refer to the 16 phases of the moon. In the context of an Incarnation, the kalaas refer to the extent to which divinity expressed by the Incarnation. An Incarnation expressing just one kalaa is said to be a Kalaa Avataara. An Incarnation expressing more than one kalaa is said to be a Partial Incarnation or an Amshaa Avataara. An Incarnation expressing 12 kalās is said to be a Complete Incarnation or a Puurna Avataara. God Krishna expressed all 16 kalaas and therefore, has been described by this scripture as the Most Complete Incarnation or the Paripuurna Tama Avataara. In fact, it is said that Lord Krishna alone is the Most Complete Incarnation of God (paripuurna tamah saakshaat, Shri Krishno naanya evahi). Thus, the doer (kartaa) of the action described in the Bhaagavatam is the highest.
2) The action, mentioned here, was done to the Gopikas. The Gopikas were the cowherd women of Vrindavanam village, who were reborn sages. They were the highest souls, who had done immense penance over millions of births for attaining God. Thus, the Gopikas, who were the recipients (karma or object) of the action done by Lord Krishna were the highest.
3) As a result of the action done by Lord Krishna to the Gopikas, the Gopikas attained the highest divine fruit (phalam). They attained the eternal companionship of the Lord in the highest world called Goloka. Before the Gopikas, there were fourteen worlds altogether. It included seven lower worlds, earth as the middle world and six heavenly worlds above earth. Brahma Loka or Vaikuntha Loka is the fourteenth world and the permanent abode of God. But God created the Goloka especially for the Gopikas even above the Vaikuntha so that the dust from the feet of the Gopikas would fall on Him continuously. Even while He was on earth, God Krishna applied the dust of the feet of the Gopikas on His head to cure His headache.
4) The activity (kriyaa) done by the highest doer Krishna to the highest objects, the Gopikas, which yielded the highest fruit called Goloka, must also be the highest. What was this activity involving these three highest items? The activity was stealing butter and dancing with the Gopikas secretly at midnight! How can this activity be the highest? It does not even seem to fit in with the other three highest items mentioned above. In fact, this activity seems to be the lowest. If at all it has to be called the highest, then it must be called the highest sin!
Actually, it is the lack of proper analysis which makes people think of this highest activity as the lowest. This activity of Lord Krishna is related to salvation. Salvation means the liberation from worldly bonds. The highest salvation means the liberation from the highest or strongest worldly bonds. What are these strongest worldly bonds of a soul? The three strongest worldly bonds, which are known as the three eshanas are: (i) the attachment to wealth (dhaneshana), (ii) the attachment to one’s issues (putreshana) and (iii) the attachment to one’s life-partner (daareshana). God Krishna tested the sages who were reborn as the Gopikas for their ability to overcome these three strongest or highest worldly bonds for His sake. These were tests of whether the Gopikas were more attached to God Krishna or to their worldly bonds.
To test the Gopikas’ ability to overcome their attachment to wealth, He stole their butter. Butter was the wealth of the cowherd women. They would sell it in the nearby Madhura city (Mathura) in order to procure household provisions. A portion of the butter was stored in earthen pots as food for their own children. By stealing the butter, both the attachments to wealth and issues were simultaneously tested by God. The Gopikas who could not overcome their worldly attachments for the sake of Lord Krishna, went to His mother and complained to her about His theft of their butter. They clearly were more attached to their worldly bonds than God Krishna and they failed the test of God. The successful Gopikas were the ones who were not only happy about the theft, but they also, gave extra butter to Krishna secretly on their way to Madhura city. Their attachment to God Krishna clearly exceeded their attachment to the worldly bonds. The third strongest worldly bond is the bond with one’s life-partner. Lord Krishna tested the Gopikas’ ability to overcome this bond by inviting them to dance with Him secretly at midnight. The successful Gopikas willingly left their husbands and their families for the sake of Krishna. All the Gopikas who succeeded in overcoming the three strongest worldly bonds due to their attachment to God Krishna, were granted liberation from the worldly bonds. They reached Goloka, the highest world.
God Krishna performed this secret dance not out of lust, but with the attitude of an examiner evaluating His students, the Gopikas. He was like the male doctor who helps a pregnant lady deliver a child. The doctor’s focus is only the medical treatment of the lady and not lust. Once the examination was over, Krishna neither returned to Vrindavanam throughout His life nor did He ever repeat such an examination elsewhere since eligible candidates for such examination were not available at any place. Had there been lust in the mind of Krishna, He would have either returned to Vrindavanam sometime to repeat it or He would have repeated the same elsewhere in His life.
So, we see that the theft and the secret dance of Lord Krishna were not the lowest sins. Instead, they were the highest tests to prove the devotees’ detachment from their three strongest worldly bonds. The tests were necessary to give the devotees, the highest salvation, which is the liberation from the three highest worldly bonds. The action done by Lord Krishna to the Gopikas was thus, the highest divine action.
In short, Shrimad Bhaagavatam describes the highest divine action done by the highest Incarnation of God, to the highest devotees, in order to grant them the highest divine fruit. Hence, Shrimad Bhaagavatam is treated as the highest spiritual scripture. In order to correctly understand the essence of this scripture, the highest analysis is also required. As a result, it is considered to be the acid test of the spiritual knowledge of scholars (Vidyaavataam Bhagavate pariikshaa).
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