Slokam 2

Brindavanam is a place of abundance. Brindavanam provides its inhabitants with all their basic needs.  We are all born into an environment that has already been tailored to meet our requirements.  The environment is not only a sustainer, it is also primary place of encouraging interaction between people and brings out the necessity to function as one society. 

The slokam points out beautifully, that the place  by itself was not a place of abundance, until the Paramathma steps in and places His sacred steps in Brindavanam.  The slokam points out that the Lotus Feet of the Paramathma had been tenderly caressed by the Lotus Hands of Lakshmi Herself !! The implication being that the endowment of abundance is the result of Lakshmi’s eternal love for the Paramathma.

This is true in every household.  We all experience this in our lives.  Yet we choose not to acknowledge the phenomena. If there is love and affection between the husband and the wife, material abundance results for the family.  The reason is simple.  Love and harmony opens our eyes to the reality of abundance and prosperity that has been already endowed on us by the Paramathma. Discord and discontent makes us see only the negative aspects and delve in conflict.

The sequence of events that the Paramathma exposes us to during our lives, is also meant to teach us the lessons in self-realization.  There is no other reason for this creation.

A sanyasi, treads the path of life by himself.  He does not depend on any one for his sustenance.  His food is what he can get from the forest – fruits, leaves, roots etc.  He uses wood for fire and the river for water source.  The home is nothing but a thatched hut.  There is no family. He exposes himself to insects, diseases and the vagaries of the weather. 

If we seek material comfort, it will not happen without working or without interacting with people.  All the great sanyasi’s suffered huge tragedies in their personal lives in order to attain saint hood. 

No one is born as a sanyasi. We are born in a complete state of dependance.  We have to transition to a state of complete independence. This is the challenge of this existence and the objective of the spiritual journey.  One by one we have to drop our dependencies on the physical realm and ultimately transcend our worldly needs.  Overcoming hunger, thirst, the need for air, which in turn creates the dependency on the senses and intelligence, have to all be overcome. We are all born with these dependencies. The environment in which we are born is also give to us to feed these needs.  The environment may not always be perfect (as in Brindavanam).  The environment in which we are born is a reflection of the extent of our effort at transcending our physical needs and how much of effort we have put in at dedicating our lives to the Feet of the Paramathma.  The more we have attained mental detachment, the better. 

We can only attain mental detachment.  The physical realm is not in our control.  Once we attain a state of complete mental detachment and are in a steady state of dedication to the Paramathma, then the Paramathma will relieve us from the burden of the physical realm.  To reach this point, we must completely give up all attachment.  In the world of karma, one of the best ways of attaining this state is to continue to perform our duties, without seeking any reward.

When we are on the right path, the Paramathma will transport us, like the Yadavs, to Brindavanam.  If we misuse that privilege then it is likely that we will be pushed backward to an earlier stage of evolution.  In the world of the devas, punyam and papam,  we perform good deeds, accumulate punyam and then enjoy the life of swargaloka, till the accumulated punyam is exhausted.  We then return to the earth to once again try and accumulate punyam all over again. The life of swargaloka is temporary peace.  There is nothing long lasting in the world of transience. 

The Paramathma, on the other hand, takes us forward in a series of irreversible steps.  Once we Hold His Outstretched Hand,  our journey becomes irreversible.  We will not revert from Brindavanam back to Vraja.  Why would we go back from a land of plenty back to one that is (seemingly) devastated by demons.  This is the basic technique that the Paramathma uses to move us from one level to the next level of existence. The move does not happen unless we have completely mastered the level from which we are moving.  It may seem like a contradiction to move from a place of perceived danger to a place of peace and plenty.  Should the move not be the other way?

Should we not move from a place of plenty to a place of danger (so that our attainment can be fully tested)?  The answer is two fold. If we were born in a place like Brindavan, there would be no need to move anywhere.  In other words, we will not evolve, unless the existing environment is not conducive.  Secondly,  once we learn to cope with discomfort and deprivation, only then will there be a realization and appreciation of what we have been endowed with.  If we were born and brought up in the company of the Paramathma, we would be completely spoilt and incapable of learning to look at what we have. We will also not be motivated to learn about the self and evolve. This is the bane of Kali Yugam.  We may soon reach a point where material needs are fully satisfied.  So we will never be motivated to search within or attain eternity.  We will simply vegetate and wallow in illusion.

The Yadavas having attained the exalted state of the Paramathma, are then herded by the Paramathma to their new abode which is at a higher level.

Extract from - Vrindavan story: Lord Siva visit to Sri Krishna in Gokula! | Bhagavatam-katha

If one becomes a real devotee of Krsna, Krsna will undoubtedly manifest to him.