Slokam 9

Having gone through three disastrous events, Nandagopal and Yashoda, and thankful for having escaped  are concerned that this should not happen again.  They prayed to Govinda,  to take away all distress, and to protect their Child.

Sri Bhattadri points out that Nanda and Yashoda prayed to the Parmathma for His own protection. The implication is that the Paramathma is within all of us.  Our prayer is to protect the Paramathma within us.  As long as the Paramathma is within us,  our journey onward will be unhindered. In order to retain and protect the abode of the Paramathma, within ourselves, we pray to the supreme.  So we are separating the Universal Paramathma and the Paramathma within us.  Exactly like Nanda and Yashoda,  we are unaware that it is the Paramathma Himself that resides with us and within us. We think we are praying for protection of ourselves and our family. However, unintentionally,  we are actually praying to protect the Paramathma who is within us in the form of Jivatma.

We have to protect, nourish and evolve this Jivatma within, so that it will ultimately merge with the supreme.  This merger is facilitated, when at the point that life leaves our body,  the mind should be focused only on the Paramathma.  The point of death is the point in time when the JivaAtma leaves the body.  At the point in time when the JivaAtma leaves the body,  the state of our mind and its orientation will determine the destination of the JivaAtma. It does not matter how we lived, what we did and how wealthy or healthy or learned or accomplished we are. The only factor for acceptance of the Jiva Atma by the Paramathma is intense meditation on Him at the time of death.  This will not happen unless we have been preparing for this moment all our lives,  by taking out all links of attachment to this world.

So we emerge from the Paramathma, with Him residing within us.  All our effort in this life is meant to protect, nurture, evolve and release the Paramathma back into merging with Himself.

Is this not what Nandagopa  and Yashoda do with the Paramathma in the form of a child?

May we ever stead fastedly hold the Paramathma in our consciousness.