Slokam 4

Yashoda, like all mothers scolds the Paramathma for having risked infection and disease by eating mud.  The Paramathma refutes these allegations by laughing.

In this slokam, the mother and son relationship is highlighted.  It is the natural instinct of every mother to discipline their children. The Paramathma,  behaves like any other ordinary child would and denies the allegations of the mother.  What is Yashoda supposed to make out of the allegations and denial?  She has to decide whether the Paramathma really ate the sand or not. She does not want to disbelieve either party to the dispute.

In the eyes of the Paramathma,   all beings are His children.  There are no outcasts, wayward or disobedient beings.  He is looking to constantly see which child falls in line to acknowledge His supreme being and which “wayward” child needs to be disciplined.  He does not classify anyone as an outcast.  As long as there is a glimmer of hope – either positive or negative, the Paramathma is more than willing to accept and take on the challenge of reform and to steer everyone of His Children back onto Bhakthi Margam. 

Yashoda, being the ideal mother, considers the Paramathma to have been a bit wayward in His behavior and is on the lookout to “reform” Him.  However, Yashoda’s reformation methods are a bit different from the methods used by Paramathma for reforming masses of His Children.  Yashoda would use methods such as restricting the Child’s movement or firmly telling Him that He has to forego playtime,  or deny delicate edibles such as sweets that He may enjoy.

The rise of ahankara on Earth manifests in the form of disasters such as the virus pandemic,  storms, earthquakes, on a large scale, economic downturns,  disruptive technologies that cause chaos, wars, prevalence of crime etc.  In more ancient times ahankara manifested itself in the form of one cruel King or clan of princes that would turn the path of the entire kingdom, away from Dharma.  Once these manifestations take hold of the people,  it may become impossible to make constructive progress.  Degeneration in the form of pursuit of sense pleasures will become the norm. There will be no evolution.         

As soon as realization sets in that the root cause has been due to ahankaram and resulting exploitation of mother nature,  the Paramathma rushes to provide solutions to resolve and overcome problems. 

May we ever remember that all that we perceive is the manifestation of the Paramathma.  It is we who have borrowed this consciousness from the supreme and are indebted to return the same to its source in the purest form.  There is nothing that the Paramathma owes us.  He need not be accused of stealing or taking what does not belong to Him. 

May we ever surrender our endowments and possessions without reservation to the Paramathma.