Krishna Won't Burden Gopis

SHAMMI PARANJAPE





Once the gopikas of Vrindavan were lifting heavy pails of water, while their cowherd friend, Krishna, stood by and watched. He made no move to help them. The gopis marked His indifference. However, later when they wanted to remove the pails from their heads and place them on the ground, Krishna rushed to help them.Asked why , He replied that His task was to help human souls unburden themselves, not assist them in adding burdens.Often, we pray for things that God does not want to give us: added burdens. We seek fame, fortune and power but none of these give us the happiness we are seeking. Why? Because these are external and related to the world whereas true happiness is internal and related to the spirit. We may strew our lives with pleasures, but that will not help because there is a difference between pleasure and happiness. The former is related to the senses and is evanescent; the latter is of and from the soul and is abiding.
The scriptures tell us that to attain soul-abiding happiness, there is nothing to attain since we are sat-chitananda, or embodiments of bliss, it just needs to be realised. The aim of life is this Self-realisation.
A basic concept underlying the Hindu attitude to life is that of the four ends of man, or purusharthas: dharma, righteousness; artha, wealth; kama, desire; and moksha, liberation.Dharma is the regulating factor, and if artha and kama are kept within the parameters of dharma, the individual will proceed towards the final and supreme aspiration, moksha.