Hari Aum.
Aum Sri Krishnaya Namah.
The annual celebration of the birthday of Lord Krishna (known as ‘Janmashtami’) is coming up in a week. As this auspicious day approaches, I was reflecting a little on my relationship with Him as a devotee.
Since the age of sixteen, I have been fascinated by Krishna, interested in hearing stories of Him, reciting His names and in reading, writing and singing about Him. Like many devotees, I aspired to be like a gopi, a parabhakta (one who has acquired true devotion). He has granted me many experiences over the years of my life, both 'good' and 'bad', both mundane and spiritual.
In the past couple of years, I have to admit that I have become increasingly irked by Him (for a whole range of different reasons!). It got to the point recently, where I told Narayana that I would not like to worship this particular avatar of His ("Can’t stand His 'player' mentality", I said to Narayana! "I am not worshipping Him any longer, I much prefer Your more sedate avatars such as Vamana, Hamsa, Kapila and so on!").
And so, as I was packing for a trip to India around three weeks ago, I told the little statue of Krishna on my altar that I would not be taking Him with me (I usually always take Him along when going on any holiday). "You're not coming this time." I said firmly, "I will take only a picture of Vishnu, not You as You have been very troublesome of late. You may remain here!".
On the day that my family and I were to travel to Kerala, we arrived at the airport well on time. I was in charge of the travel documents for everyone (as I have a not-very-popular reputation in the family for being very particular about making sure that nothing is forgotten when travelling—I admit I have been known over the years for ticking family members off for forgetting important things and am therefore viewed by them with some wariness! On this occasion, the tables were turned!).
At the baggage drop-off counter, I produced the necessary documents as requested but then realised that my lifelong visa card for India (known as the 'OCI') was missing. (I had everyone else's visas as I had been very careful to pack these but had somehow managed to forget my own!).
This had never happened to me before and I was completely aghast as there was now a very real risk that I would not be able to make the flight! I apologised profusely to the lady at the desk who was sympathetic. However, she said I would need to have the visa card to be able to travel and asked if there was any way that I would be able to return home to get it.
I said that I could certainly try and she said I needed to be back at the airport in just over an hour (which would be ninety minutes before the flight took off; the journey home with minimal traffic was around half an hour so this was cutting it fine). If I was much later than this, it would likely not be possible to travel.
I then rushed off to a taxi stand outside the airport and informed a driver that I needed to urgently return home to get a travel document and be back at the airport within an hour. He was very helpful and comforting, saying "Don't worry madam, I see this all the time!". "We will do our best!" he declared, as we set off.
On the motorway home, I noted a large build-up of traffic on the opposite side (this did not bode well for returning on time). We made it home in around half an hour and I rushed to the room where the document was and found it.
As I was about to leave, I noticed the mini-statue of Krishna sitting on my altar and felt that He had a slightly satisfied air about Him. (“Well, you’re back soon!”, He seemed to say).
I had a strong feeling that I had been summoned back home to take Him along with me! I therefore speedily wrapped Him up in a silken cloth and, placing Him into my handbag, said "Alright, You can come along! I’ll make sure I take You with me on holidays in future".
Dashing back to the taxi, we set off again on a stressful journey back to the airport. The driver said he might need to a take a different, longer route back (due to the traffic on the motorway) which would likely have meant I would reach too late.
However, by the grace of God, the traffic cleared (I was feverishly checking Google maps on my phone regarding the traffic and updating the driver— he was very patient and a true godsend) and we travelled by the shortest route and got back in around half an hour.
I told Krishna on the way, "Now that You made me return for You, You had better make sure I get on the flight!" and fervently repeated His mantras (quietly!) throughout the journey. I feel He helped me get back on time— the taxi fare turned out to be 108 in the local currency which is a sacred number in the Vedic tradition— this made me feel even more strongly that the entire episode was a typical troublesome Krishna lila!
Upon arrival at the airport, I thanked the driver and hastened to the baggage counter and everything went smoothly from there onwards (some of the staff looked rather surprised when I apologised for being late, even claiming that there was plenty of time—but that was not the message that I had been given previously!). My family politely refrained from commenting on my forgetful nature on this occasion after I apologised profusely to them for the drama!
I had a lovely time in Kerala in the past fortnight visiting family as well as our temples of Kali and Vishnu. As it rained quite intensely on some days (being the end of the monsoon season), going out of the home then was tricky (it was relatively cool and pleasant though due to the rain).
As temple visiting was limited this time due to the weather, I suggested inviting a priest to our home to conduct a homam and puja (to Ganesha, Durga and Vishnu) and my family gladly agreed. It was a beautiful experience.
(Priests in Kerala generally have an excellent mastery of Sanskrit and their pronunciation of the mantras is usually impeccable. This is not always the case in all parts of India as the local language spoken can influence the pronunciation of Sanskrit).
There were no further untoward incidents during the trip by the grace of Krishna. Overall, it was a very enjoyable visit and there was an uneventful return home a couple of days ago.
My Krishna statue continues to have a slightly smug look about Him. I am not pleased but unfortunately there is not much that I can do! One has to be careful when dealing with someone like Him, that is all I can say.
I would like to write a post about the Vamana avatar soon as ‘Onam’ (the biggest festival day in Kerala) celebrating His Lila approaches (it occurs on August 26th this year based on the Vedic lunar calendar). It is a very interesting story and the message is most relevant to life on our planet today.
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
P.S. The Krishna books that I have written will be available for free download as usual on Janmashtami and for some days after this (August 16-20 inclusive).
