- Anugraha : His Holiness Sri Sri Vidyadheesha Teertha Swamiji
- Author : Krishna Sakha, Mudarangadi
- Translation : Dr || Sudheendra Putty, Secunderabad
There is a statement of Brahma in the Srimad Bhagawata that Lord Krishna was born in the house of Vasudeva. Vasudeva grihē sākshād bhagavān puruṣah parah janiṣhyatē is the relevant averment. On a perfunctory perusal of this statement of Vyasa, the word gruha is understood as house; that the appearance of Lord Krishna was in the house of Vasudeva. However, it must be noted that the word gruha is used not only for house but also for the home-maker, viz, the lady of the house. The ancient aphorism gruhinī gruhamuchyatē bears testimony to this. Hence, when Veda Vyasa says that Lord Krishna manifested Himself in the house of Vasudeva, the intrinsic meaning is that Lord Krishna revealed Himself through the medium of Vasudeva’s wife, Devaki.
Vyasa’s averments do not restrict themselves to this meaning alone. In the fourth canto of Srimad Bhagawata, Veda Vyasa accords varied meanings to the word Vasudeva – satwam vishudḍam vāsudēva shabditham. Here, one of the meanings of the word Vasudeva is a heart that is blemishless, sublimely pure and filled with genteel attributes. A heart that is pure remains untouched by the arishadvargas or the six harmful characteristics– desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride and envy. When one extrapolates this meaning of Vasudeva to the word as appearing in the tenth canto dealing with the appearance of Lord Krishna, ‘house of Vasudeva’ (vāsudēva grihē) acquires an entirely new connotation. The esoteric meaning is that he whose heart is untouched by the six flaws of human life (desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride and envy) is the perfect sanctum sanctorum for the appearance of Lord Krishna.
As briefly seen above, one of the allusions of gruha is also to the wife. When a wife (lady) gets pregnant, she ought to estrange herself from the outside world and focus her mind and heart on the Lord of the world. Only then is it possible for her to become Vasudeva – or be one with a blemishless heart. It is in such a womb that a child with even traces of divinity can be conceived. This is yet another facet of understanding the meaning of Vasudeva.
A question is often asked that if the Almighty supreme being, Lord Krishna is present in our hearts, why is it that we don’t feel or see Him. The aforementioned lines from the Srimad Bhagawata provide answers to it. If our hearts are impure and unclean, there is no way that the blemishless supreme being would descend there. He appears only in those hearts that are Vasudeva or good-natured. If each of us can rid our hearts of the negative characteristics, Lord Krishna would surely manifest Himself therein.
Ever engaged in the sadhana of Srimadvaishnava Siddhanta of our Guru, Acharya Madhwa and all the Yatis and Dasas who have blazed this noble path. May HVG bless us all
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