Talk:Forgetting that Bhagavān resides in the Hearts of all Creatures

By Vishal Agarwal

The Divine is immanent in every creature and non-animate object due to His omnipresence. A Bhakti Yogī sees his beloved Bhagavān everywhere, in every creature. But sometimes, an imperfect Bhakta gets too focused or fixated on his ‘object’ of worship which might be a Mūrti, or even the Bhagavān, forgetting that the Divine he seeks also resides in the hearts of other creatures. The stories below illustrate how such imperfect Bhakta-s have been chastised and returned to perfection.

Story: Kṛṣṇa teaches Ṛṣi Uttanka to See Bhagavān in Everyone

On his way to Dvārakā, he met Ṛṣi Uttanka, who had just come out of a long meditation and did not know what had happened for a long time in the world. The Sage asked Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, “How are the Kaurava-s and the Pāṇḍava-s doing? I was in meditation for a long time, so I do not have the latest news about them.” Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa then relayed to him the tragic news of how the war had killed all the Kaurava-s except Yuyutsu (who had sided with the Pāṇḍava-s).

Sage Uttanka became very angry with Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa on hearing the news because he thought that Kṛṣṇa could have prevented the war if He had wanted to. He threatened to curse Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa and blamed Him for the death of the Kaurava-s. But Kṛṣṇa explained to him patiently how He had tried and tried to bring peace between the two families without success.

When Sage Uttanka heard these details, he repented for being angry with Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa unnecessarily. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa forgave the Sage for his arrogance and instead asked the Sage if he wanted a boon from Him. Now, Sage Uttanka lived in a desert region between Hastināpura and Dvārakā. Therefore, he requested, “Bhagavān, this place has a scarcity of water. Please make water available whenever I feel thirsty.” Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa replied, “Whenever you are thirsty, remember Me, and you will find water immediately.” Then, He departed for His kingdom.

One day, when Sage Uttanka was traveling through the desert, he felt thirsty and therefore remembered Kṛṣṇa. Immediately, a Caṇḍāla (a barbarian man) accompanied by two ferocious dogs appeared. The Caṇḍāla had a pot filled with water, and he offered to quench the Sage’s thirst. But the arrogant Sage thought that the Caṇḍāla was not worthy enough to offer water to him, and therefore he stepped back instead of accepting the water. The Sage thought that Kṛṣṇa had played a cheap joke on him by sending such a lowly person to quench his thirst and started criticizing Kṛṣṇa instead. Immediately, the Caṇḍāla and his two dogs disappeared and instead, Kṛṣṇa appeared.

The Sage said, “Bhagavān! Why did you send that lowly Caṇḍāla to quench my thirst? How can an ascetic accept water from such a person?” Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa replied, “A Sage sees all creatures without prejudice, with the same eye. You have practiced so many spiritual austerities and have practiced meditation for a very long time. Therefore, it was unbecoming of you to have scorned someone because he was a Caṇḍāla. But you turned him away, and as a result, you remained thirsty. In reality, the Caṇḍāla was Indra, the King of Deva-s in heaven, and he had come with the nectar of immortality in his leather bag instead of water. But you judged him by his appearance, forgetting that the same Soul resides in him as it does in you.”

Hearing this, the Sage was greatly repentant and asked for forgiveness. He begged Kṛṣṇa that there should be rain in the desert to quench the thirst of all creatures. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa granted his wish. To this day, the clouds that rainwater in the Indian desert are called Uttanka clouds.

Story: Feeding Kṛṣṇa Through Children

It was the day of Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī. Every home in the city made cakes with rice, ghee, and jaggery to offer to little Kṛṣṇa in the form of mūrti. But the richest person in the city, a multi-millionaire, did not allow his wife to make any. He said, “Why waste money on baking these cakes and then distributing them to the poor? We did not become rich by practicing useless charity!”

But his wife tried to argue, “Let me at least make some cakes for our servants and our children.” The millionaire replied, “Why should the servants eat free cakes? If the servants make them, they will surely taste a cake or two. I want you to make only three cakes with your own hands. Do not make any extra cake to taste them. Once they are ready, we will lock the kids on the lower floor and go to the upper floor so I can eat them without them knowing.”

The wife was shocked at her stingy husband’s heartlessness, but she had no choice. She did as told, and arrived with the three cakes in a room upstairs, locking it from inside. As soon as the millionaire was about to eat the first cake, the window in the room popped open. Through the window, little Kṛṣṇa peeped and said, “Will you not share this cake with me?”

The millionaire said, “Why should I give you a free cake just because you are Bhagavān?” Kṛṣṇa said, “If you are not going to share the cake with me, then I will get your children here right away.” Within a second, Kṛṣṇa appeared with the couple’s youngest child in the room.

When the five-year-old boy looked at the cake in his father’s hand, his mouth salivated and he asked to eat the cake. But his father refused. Kṛṣṇa was not very happy with this behavior and said, “All right if you do not want to share the cake with me. At least give it to your son, and I will eat it through him.” But the millionaire retorted, “What will you do if I eat it myself?” Kṛṣṇa replied, “Then it will burn your mouth!” The millionaire arrogantly took a bite, and his mouth started burning as if he had swallowed a red hot coal. He spat it out immediately.

Kṛṣṇa said again, “Give the second cake to your boy. Then, you can eat the third one yourself.” Terrified, the father gave a cake to his son. And then, as he was eating the third one, he was pleasantly surprised. It was the most delicious cake he had ever eaten! He looked at Kṛṣṇa and asked, “What is this miracle Bhagavān? This cake was the most delicious one I have ever had.”

Kṛṣṇa replied, “It was no miracle. It is a fact of everyday life. We enjoy our possessions more not by clinging on to them, but by sharing them with others.” The millionaire learned his lesson and requested his wife, “Please ask our servants to make at least a thousand cakes and distribute them to poor children.” When the cakes were ready, he offered a plate full of them to Kṛṣṇa.

But Kṛṣṇa said, “Everything in the world belongs to me. I have shared my world with you and want you to share it with others as well. If you feed these cakes to the poor children, you will be feeding me through them.” Saying this, Kṛṣṇa disappeared.

From then onwards, the millionaire would gift a lot of cakes to the poor as an offering to Kṛṣṇa.

Story: Svāmī Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṃsa Sees Bhagavān in Starving Tribals

“Sometime in 1868, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa went on a pilgrimage with Māthur Bābū and family. Māthur was the manager of the Kāli Mandira at Dakṣiṇeśvar. The party stopped at Deoghar. The town and its surrounding villages were then in the grip of a terrible famine and the Sāntāl-s, the local tribal people of the place, had gone without food for several days. Already, some had died of starvation. Their bodies were like skeletons and they had hardly any clothes to cover themselves with.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa could not bear the sight. He took his seat by the side of the Sāntāl-s, wept bitterly with them, and asked Māthur Bābū to help them in their suffering. Māthur Bābū said: “There are so many poor people here. How can I help them all?” Moreover, we must be able to cover our expenses in places of pilgrimage like Vārāṇasī, etc.” Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa replied: “I do not want to go to Vārāṇasī leaving these victims of famine behind. They are the children of the Mā Kāli. I shall fast with them unto death. Who cares for your pilgrimage schedule!”

Māthur Bābū had to spend a lot of money on feeding and clothing the Sāntāl-s. Only then did Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa agree to resume the journey.