Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.
While narrating how Supreme Lord Krishna protected Pandavas and Uttara from the brahma-astra released by Ashwattama, Suta Goswami says to the sages headed by Shaunaka Muni in Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.8.17 as follows:
brahma-tejo-vinirmuktair ātmajaiḥ saha kṛṣṇayā
prayāṇābhimukhaṁ kṛṣṇam idam āha pṛthā satī
Thus saved from the radiation of the brahmaastra, Kunti, the chaste devotee of the Lord, and her five sons and Draupadi addressed Lord Krishna as He started for home.
In the word to word equivalents, Srila Prabhupada translates the word sati as "chaste, devoted to the Lord." In his wonderful purport to the above verse, His Divine Grace further explains the meaning of chastity. "Kunti is described herein as sati, or chaste, due to her unalloyed devotion to Lord Sri Krishna...A chaste devotee of the Lord does not look to others, namely any other living being or demigod, even for deliverance from danger. That was all along with the characteristic of the whole family of the Pandavas. They knew nothing except Krishna, and therefore the Lord was also always ready to help them in all respects and in all circumstances. That is the transcendental nature of the Lord. He reciprocates the dependence of the devotee. One should not, therefore, look for help from imperfect living beings or demigods, but one should look for all help from Lord Krishna, who is competent to save His devotees. Such a chaste devotee also never asks the Lord for help, but the Lord, out of His own accord, is always anxious to render it."
In the incident of Ambarish Maharaj and Durvasa Muni, we find that when Durvasa Muni sent the fiery demon to kill Maharaj Ambarish, the king remained cool and calm and just remembered the Supreme Lord. He didn't even ask the Lord for any help. But Lord was very much anxious to save His dear devotee and so instructed Sudarshana cakra to punish Durvasa Muni. Durvasa Muni, on the other hand, was not as chaste as Ambarish Maharaj in his devotion to Supreme Lord and so he ran to Brahma, Shiva, and everywhere to get rid of the Sudarshana cakra. At last, being guided by them, he takes shelter of Lord Vishnu who makes him realise his mistake of offending a pure devotee of the Lord.
Our beloved spiritual master, H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj always insists that we must be dependent on Krishna at all times. We should simply do our prescribed duties to the best of our ability and always take shelter of the Supreme Lord. Maharaj says, "Our business is to just chant Krishna's names and Krishna's business is to handle our problems." In this regard, Maharaj used to quote one instance from the Mahabharata war, when Bhishmadev promises to Duryodhana that he will kill at least one of the Pandavas in the war on the subsequent day. On hearing the news, Krishna becomes very anxious as to how to protect Pandavas from Bhishmadev. But Arjuna remains very calm and composed. When Krishna asks him as to why he is not worried, Arjuna replies, "As long as You are worried about us, there is no need for us to worry about anything." To that extent, the Pandavas were completely dependent on the Lord. Both Kunti and Pandavas were always facing some problem or the other in their life. But never did they complain or grumble to the Lord. They continued their service to the Lord with full faith, in all circumstances and this chaste attitude pleased the Lord very much.
His Divine Grace mentions in purport to verse 1.8.8 of Srimad Bhagavatam - "All the members of the family of the Pandavas were completely dependent on the protection of the Lord, and therefore the Lord protected all of them in all circumstances. The Lord protects everyone, but one who depends completely upon Him is especially looked after by the Lord. The father is more attentive to the little son who is exclusively dependent on the father."
I pray at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev so that I remember these wonderful souls and make a genuine effort to always be a chaste devotee of the Lord.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev,
Sudarshana devi dasi.
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