"How, O Lord, are you here?" "Well, I have come with a message from Yudhishihira to Duryodhana. I hope to deliver it tomorrow morning." "No, no; you should not go. They are very bad ones. I am afraid they may do some harm to your person." "Harm my person? Nothing of the kind is possible. If they intend doing any harm to me, I shall not wait for the war to take place. I shall give all my blessings to the Pandavas that they be rid of the trouble of making preparations for the war, and reduce the whole host of the Kauravas to ashes with my anger; and go back, and fill Yudhishthira with joy, if any such thing takes place as you are apprehending." The next morning the Lord rides to the Kaurava court, speaks in great detail, in his sonorous tone, the justice of the cause of the Pandavas, and when Duryodhana was adamant, refusing all good advice, and even tried to capture and imprison Krishna, the great Master of Yoga revealed the Cosmic Form of the Almighty in his person, striking terror to everyone, and left the palace of the Kurus.

And, how could anyone forget to rejoice over that event when Duryodhana and Arjuna went to Dwaraka to seek assistance from the Master in the war which they felt had become unavoidable? Duryodhana reached first. The Master was reclining and resting on a couch in the palace. The royal Duryodhana sat, leg over leg, on a chair towards the head of the reclining one. A little later, Arjuna arrives, and, finding the Lord resting, stands, humbly, with folded hands, at the feet of the great one.

The Lord opens his eyes and, naturally, his eyes fall on that which was near his feet. "Oh, Arjuna? How are you here, now?" accosted Sri Krishna. "I came first, Sir; I am here," spoke Duryodhana from the other side. It is said that Sri Krishna, on hearing these words from over his head, turned to that side and looked askance at Duryodhana, seated. Devotees say that this side-glance from the eternal light sealed the fate of Duryodhana, then and there. For it is held a side-glance on a person does speak ill to that person. But, here, it had to be so, because there, was no other way of bestowing honour on pride: "Oh, you are also here?" said the Lord. "No, I came first, and have been waiting for your goodself."

"Now, Arjuna, what for have you come here? Let me hear, please." "No, Master, you should speak to me first, since I arrived first, and also I am elder," intervened Duryodhana. Smilingly, the Lord replied, "King, you say you have come first. But I saw Arjuna first. It is proper, therefore, that I should speak to him first. Also, being younger, he certainly deserves a kinder treatment. Arjuna, speak."

"Great Master, What can I say before you? You are quite aware that a conflict between us seems inevitable. I seek your blessings." "O, I see; this is why you have both come here. Yes; I understand the whole situation. But, what help do you expect from me? I have a large army, known as Narayani Sena, which is almost invincible. If you so wish, have it, and be pleased. Or, I am also here, a single person. If you want me to be with you, you may so choose. But, there is one thing I have to add here. Even if I am to be with you, I shall not take part in the war. I shall not take up arms and fight. I would do nothing, and remain just a silent witness. If you think that there is any point in your having me, such a person as I am, as I have told you, you are free to have me, for whatever worth I can be." "Oh, Master, I want you alone. Bless me, O great one! I do not need the large army. I seek you, and you alone, even if you would do nothing to help me in the war. Your mere presence shall be my delight."

"I have won! The idiot has rightly proved true to his salt, by choosing an inactive single man," so thought Duryodhana in his mind, and spoke in a jubilant tone: "Master, give me the army; I shall be satisfied. Please bless me with the army." "So be it," replied the Lord Duryodhana took leave in great joy, and, returning to his court, announced loudly, before all, that he had already won the war.

"How foolish have you been, Arjuna! What made you commit this mistake of avoiding the powerful army, and wanting me, who can actually do nothing for you?" queried Sri Krishna, seeing Arjuna still standing there, in obeisance. "Worshipful Master," saying thus, Arjuna began to wipe his tears of joy, "Mighty One! What shall I do with the army, if you are not to be with me? Your blessings I consider as of far greater importance than even the whole world of militant generals. I am indeed blessed that you are with me." Sri Krishna laughed and said, "Do you want to compete with me? All right; may you succeed." Arjuna prostrates himself, and leaves.

Stupid, of course, was Duryodhana, who thought that he gained all the power because he had the army, and that Arjuna had only a non-combatant single individual. He never knew that the millions of soldiers were millions of drops, and the one chosen by Arjuna, the only one, just one only, was indeed one; but it was the one ocean, which could swallow any number of millions of the drops. Who can appreciate that God Almighty, is greater than all the incredibly great and vast universe of power and glory!

There is no necessity to dilate on a chronological narration of the various miraculous incidents that hinge upon the life of Sri Krishna, but it is enough if we try to understand that the completeness which God portrays in this Incarnation, Sri Krishna, is perfection in every sense of the term and that it is a many-sided relationship with the whole of reality. There is no dearth in any aspect of the manifestation. Sri Krishna is a completeness in every field of activity and existence. The greatest was he in every arena, every field and every undertaking. Unparalleled learning and knowledge, incomparable majesty of a prince-this Sri Krishna was. And he was a matchless warrior in battle whom no one could encounter, and Maha-Yogesvara, the great Lord of Yoga, greatest genius, and yet the most humble servant of mankind. That which is the greatest can also absorb into itself the lowest. Extremes meet at the same point. Perfection is not a one-sided greatness but an unthinkable arrangement of values, where to have one thing is to have all things at the same time. No one has succeeded in writing a competent biography of Sri Krishna, because to attempt such a task would he to assume in oneself the capacity to think in such an integrated manner as would be commensurate with the characteristics embodied in Sri Krishna's Life. He was a mini-universe acting, God descending on earth as spiritual wholeness, the whole cosmos dancing in a single atom, as it were; infinitude operating through the finite features of a visible human form.

Sudama Receives Blessings

The childhood friend of Sri Krishna, Sudama, now beggared and poor, approaches the palace gates in Dwaraka and requests to be taken in to his beloved friend. The gate-keepers were astonished and even annoyed at the impertinence of the beggar wanting to meet the king. The Lord knows everything. On importunity, the news was formally conveyed to the great Master. The Lord, we are told, got up from his throne and ran to receive the poor man, personally, to the consternation of all the gate-keepers and the 0fficials of the palace. Carefully, he led the guest inside, embraced him with immense love, and made him seated on a soft, elevated cushion, in a raised royal sofa. The feet were washed with great care. They were kneaded by Sri Krishna himself, massaged to relieve the limbs of pain after the long journey. "Why, dear friend, have you come all the way walking on bare feet? You are tired. Your feet must be aching." Thus saying, the Lord was pressing gently the feet of the poor old one, who looked astounded, dejected and much intrigued to find himself in such an atmosphere of cleanliness, neatness and gorgeous magnificence of a princely court, where he was a total misfit in every way.

After a few minutes of hearty conversation, Sri Krishna, in his own mischievous way, asked the friend, "You have come all this way. You must have brought something for me to eat. I can imagine that you would not have come without something for me." Though it was true that there was a little, wretched handful of beaten rice tied in a half-torn towel clutched under the armpit of Sudama, which had been handed over to him by his wife while starting from home days back, the stunned poor man was not courageous enough to reveal that he had brought anything. He was in utter shame even to think that he could offer such a petty thing to this great one in that palace. So he hid it tightly under the armpit and said, "I have nothing, great one. Dear friend, what can I give you? There is nothing that I can offer you. I have not brought anything." "No, no, you must be having something. Let me search. Let me see." Sri Krishna pulled out the little rag. Naturally it broke; it was a piece of old cloth. And there was a gold plate that lay there on which was poured the so-called handful. Tradition goes that the poor handful of beaten rice multiplied itself into a little mountainous heap overflowing the large plate of gold. It was not a handful, certainly. The last is the first, and the humblest is the greatest. The handful of stuff becomes a delicious fragrant offering, overflowing on that large plate placed before all there. Now, the Lord eagerly took a mouthful of it and ate it in almost an ecstasy of the joy of taste. "How nice; how tasty! How, beautiful; how grand!" And he took another handful and put it into his mouth. And when ho was about to take a third handful, the queen Rukmini is reported to have held his hand and prevented him from attempting to eat it, for reasons she alone knew. Devotees tell us of this marvel. With one handful the blessings of the entire earth were bestowed on the guest. With the second handful, final liberation was assured. Rukmini could not understand what was the intention of taking the third morsel, when the earth and heaven were already offered with the two morsels. "Do you want me also to go as a servant? Enough of it." And she stopped him from taking the third morsel. But the poor man had no guts to speak the purpose for which he had come. He was in consternation, that is all. He was flabbergasted. How could he speak, wretched that he looked in that atmosphere? He uttered nothing, though he was treated with such a wonderful hospitality and kindness. He was made to relax and rest on the beautifully laid cot. But, with all this graciousness of the host, the guest was not offered any thing. He was not even asked the purpose for which he had come, or whether he needed anything. "Do you want anything from me?" This Sri Krishna never uttered, nor did the old man say anything about his needs, though he had really taken all this pain on himself to request for some economic aid, on persistent pressure from his wife. The night passed. In the morning he was permitted to leave with the same love and kindness.

"I came all the way from my hut, my little cottage. What for is this my painful trekking? What am I going to tell my lady in the house? She expects me to bring her some wealth from Dwaraka. I had already told her that I had no wish to go and beg from Krishna. How could I, myself, ask anything? I thought he would understand my condition, he being so great. Probably he felt that I should not be bothered with wealth, the sorrow of all people. It is a bondage. It is a harassment. It is a suffering. In his great wisdom he must have known that it is not good for me to have these anxieties. I told the lady that I should not go spreading out my palms before my friend. God is great and He knows my state of affairs, which is to be worked out well. I thank my destiny. I go back with empty hands. I have received nothing, and I was not even asked if I had need of anything, though I was treated with the prince's love and affection as an honoured guest. Yes, he was considerate to me. Poverty is a blessing. The rich have their load of sorrow. Yes, I am blessed. I go." Once again, he walks back the terrible distance in the-heat of Saurashtra and Rajasthan, to reach Ujjain, his abode. He was staying in Avanti, so was today's Ujjain called then. Having covered the journey back, he was trying to find the location of his residence, which he could not visualise. In the place of the old broken cottage, he saw radiance, magnificence, gorgeous decorations a shining palace, angel-like people waiting for his arrival. He thought he was mistaken, that he had by chance entered the capital of a king, and his house lay in some other direction. When he was passing by, he enquired of a boy, "Could you tell me what is the direction in which lies the hut of that old man, Sudama?" The boy pointed out, "There it is," indicating the palatial structure. A very well-dressed, celestially happy woman comes and greets him. "Mother, where is the house of the old man, Sudama? I seem to have missed my way." "You do not recognise me? Am I not your beloved consort? Overnight this has been bequeathed to us by some miracle." In the place of that little hut, there was heavenly grandeur.

Anyone who has a mind to think will be able to understand what all this meant. The blessing which Sri Krishna bestowed upon the poor man was a secret communication, not publicly announced. But the purpose was fulfilled. God does everything in the manner in which it has to be done, and he does things in the exact and precise way as required, and not in any other way. Everything is done at the proper time, at the correct hour, in the most proper manner. Often it appears that God has many other ways than what we have in our minds. He is not always the bestower of material wealth, though in this instance of Sudama, we have the revelation that God showers on devotees material prosperity also; indeed, infinite prosperity. God can, on the other hand, rend a person to extreme poverty and the worst torment. "Yasyaham anugrihnami tasya vittam haramyaham" "Whenever I bestow my grace upon a person, I absolve him of all material possessions, the centres of his pleasure." The greater the love that God has for his devotees, the less seem to be the material amenities available to that devotee. The more one moves towards God, the more also one moves away from the world! The securities of life which are materially construed are not necessarily the ways in which God thinks what is right. There seems to be some other way altogether, in which he can consider the welfare of people. God is truth, pure reality, and, therefore, whatever the world has we can have in God, also; yet, God is more than the world, and, perhaps, he is not the world at all.

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