Is Krishna Partial? - Part 5

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.

In the previous offerings on this topic, "Is Krishna Partial?", we saw some of the reasons to prove that Krishna is impartial to every one and He treats every one alike. We saw that,

1. Krishna is transcendental to material qualities. 
2. The prominent mode becomes victorious. 
3. Everyone enjoys the fruits of his qualitative activities (karma). 
4. Krishna responds according to one's receptiveness. 
5. Time's influence is impartial.

Now let us continue with the same discussion and see more reasons to prove that Krishna is impartial.

6. Krishna is not under the time factor and therefore impartial: In Srimad Bhagavatam verses 7.1.11 and 12 Sukadeva Goswami tells Maharaj Parikshit,

kālaṁ carantaṁ sṛjatīśa āśrayaṁ
pradhāna-pumbhyāṁ nara-deva satya-kṛt
ya eṣa rājann api kāla īśitā
sattvaṁ surānīkam ivaidhayaty ataḥ
tat-pratyanīkān asurān sura-priyo
rajas-tamaskān pramiṇoty uruśravāḥ

O great King, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the controller of the material and spiritual energies, who is certainly the creator of the entire cosmos, creates the time factor to allow the material energy and the living entity to act within the limits of time. Thus the Supreme Personality is never under the time factor nor under the material energy. O King, this time factor enhances the sattva-guna. Thus although the Supreme Lord is the controller, He favors the demigods, who are mostly situated in sattva-guna. Then the demons, who are influenced by tamo-guna, are annihilated. The Supreme Lord induces the time factor to act in different ways, but He is never partial. Rather, His activities are glorious, therefore He is called Urushrava.

In the purport Srila Prabhupada gives a very nice example of an electrician to prove the impartiality of Krishna. An electrician connects both a heater and a cooler to the same electrical energy. The cause of the heating and cooling is the electrician's manipulation of the electrical energy according to his desire, but factually the electrician has nothing to do with causing heat or cold, nor with the enjoyment or suffering that results. In the same way, when the demi gods are favoured and the demons killed, it is not His partiality but the influence of the time factor.

7. Krishna is not only impartial but very merciful as well: As it is said in above Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.1.12, Krishna is called Urushrava, because He is most merciful and His activities are glorious. When He kills the demons, they always attain higher position. In the case of Sishupala, the Lord exhibited His impartiality even when killing him in the arena of the Rajasuya yajna performed by Maharaja Yudhisthira by giving him saayujya mukti. Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport of SB 7.1.16 that, 'Sishupala was neither a jnaani nor a bhakta yet simply by envy of the Lord he attained an exalted position by merging into the Lord's body. This is the Lord's mysterious mercy to Sishupala.' It is said in Manu Samhita that when a murderer is killed by the king, it is actually the king's mercy upon the murderer, saving him from various kinds of sufferings due the reactions of his sinful activity. Similarly Krishna, the supreme judge and supreme controller, is in fact merciful when He kills His enemies.

In SB 7.1.20, Srila Prabhupada writes that the shastras give evidence that if one blasphemes the Supreme Lord, his punishment is to remain in hellish life for millions of years more than one suffers by killing many brahmanas. Also in Bhagavad Gita verses 16.18-20 Krishna clearly tells Arjuna that demons who are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence into various demoniac species of life and never reach Krishna, instead they gradually sink down into the most abominable type of existence. However Sishupala instead of entering hellish life, attained saayujya mukti. This is because Sishupala and Dantavakra were former associates of Krishna and by Krishna's arrangement they had to take three births in the material world as demons before they go back to Vaikunta. So they had to take birth as Hiranyaksha and Hirayakashipu in their first birth, as Ravana and Kumbhakarna in their second birth and in their last birth they were born as Sishupala and Dantavakra and they went back to Godhead after being killed by Krishna Himself.

In case of Putana who came to kill Him, He killed her but gave her the exalted position of His mother in Vaikunta. The superfluous act of killing her did not diminish the Lord's impartiality. Prabhupada writes in Krishna Book that Putana came to kill Krishna but because He sucked her milk, she was immediately purified and her dead body attained a transcendental quality. She attained salvation because she gave milk to Him. So what can be said of those who are affectionate to Krishna in the relationship of mother, who with great love and affection always serve Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul in every living entity? It is concluded therefore, that even a little energy expended in the service of the Lord gives one immense transcendental profit. This is explained in Gita verse 2.40, 'sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt' - "Devotional service in Krishna consciousness is so sublime that even a little service rendered to Krishna knowingly or unknowingly gives one the greatest transcendental benefit."

However, for a devotee, he does not aspire for liberation. His only aim is to serve Krishna wherever he is. In the purport of BG 8.27, Srila Prabhupada writes that for a devotee, by being absorbed in Krishna consciousness and thus being always dovetailed in His service, his path to the spiritual kingdom is safe, certain and direct. We know Srila Prabhupada himself, in his old age when he could have stayed on in Vrindavan and attained mukti, he travelled to America to be with hippies and spread the message of the Lord. He can be called the modern age Narada Muni who travels the three worlds to spread the message of Sri Krishna. To a devotee, it does not matter whether it is hell or heaven so long as he can serve the Lord.

Krishna willing, we will continue with discussions on the same topic in the forthcoming offerings.

Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev,
Uma Prathap
Abu Dhabi.