 “When Lord Krishna was present in this material world to manifest His eternal pastimes of the transcendental realm of Goloka Vrindavana as an attraction for the people in general, He displayed a unique picture of subordination before His foster mother, Yashoda. The Lord, in His naturally childish playful activities, used to spoil the stocked butter of mother Yashoda by breaking the pots and distributing the contents to His friends and playmates, including the celebrated monkeys of Vrindavana, who took advantage of the Lord's munificence.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.8.31 Purport)
Mother Yashoda works so hard during the day to maintain the household. A good mother never gets the proper credit she deserves. Selfless in motive, the mother runs the household, attends to the needs of the children, both large and small. There are the children designated by nature, who need help in doing everything from getting up in the morning to dressing properly for school. Then there is the biggest child in the husband, who needs help in similar areas and also admonishment with respect to errant and forgetful behavior. Yet the leader of the family assumes her duties in stride, not asking for anything in return. She wants everyone else to be happy, and for this so much work needs to be completed every single day. Bearing this in mind, it’s a little strange that the person who created this and many other universes, a person who is all-knowing, would delight in foiling a good mother’s work, in making her tasks a little more difficult to complete. Through the elation that would result, the hidden meaning to the plan of the greatest plan-maker would be revealed.
 “Mom, I’m hungry. Mom, I need something good to eat. Mom, can you make my favorite dish tonight? Mom, I need a ride to such and such place, can you take me?” For such statements to be uttered by children is not out of the ordinary, but if you look at them on the surface, they indicate odd behavior. The human being craves freedom, for the many violent uprisings throughout the course of human history have revealed this fact. Without freedom of action, man feels trapped, made to work against his will and restricted from doing those things that he likes to do. Yet concomitant with freedom is responsibility. If I want to be able to do whatever I want, I should at least know how to do what it is I am desirous of.
With each pursuit that freedom enables comes responsibility. If I want the freedom to be able to play sports, I should take the responsibility to prepare myself for the games. Preparation doesn’t just involve the action on the field of play. One must additionally eat and sleep properly, which requires consideration to both time and quantity of consumption. Ideally, my exercise of freedom should not impose on the ability of others to enjoy life. I may want the freedom to go places and experience new things, but if others are obligated to take me from one place to another and manage my wellbeing, where is the question of theirfreedom?
The head of the household takes all of this into consideration when the dependents want this thing or that. Freedom is wonderful, but the good mother knows that the children shouldn’t have too much of it. Rather, accepting responsibility during childhood bodes well for the individual when they mature into adulthood. Nevertheless, the specific requests made by the children are more times than not granted by the mother. Though they may specifically ask for things, she doesn’t consider her child to be spoiled. Rather, the opportunity to serve is the greatest reward, for that is the way the parent offers love. If the child were completely self-sufficient or if they never asked for anything, how could the parents show their love?
 Shri Krishna, the Supreme Lord, knows these ins and outs of human behavior. In the science that describes the interactions the living beings have with God, the exchanges of transcendental emotions are known as rasas. The offering of paternal affection is known as vatsalya-rasa, which was particularly enjoyed by mother Yashoda. The living being gets its yearning for freedom from its identifying aspect: the spirit soul. Lord Krishna
Some five thousand years ago, the ideal playing field on this earth was Vrindavana
In a similar manner, accepting the statements found in Vedic texts like the Shrimad Bhagavatam
The manager of the most sacred home in Vrindavana is the person who Shri Krishna especially blessed. How did He arrange for this? If Jesus were to come up to us, would we not feel a tremendous thrill? If the Supreme Lord in our worshipable form of choice were to bestow His glance upon us, revealing His identity and form, should that not be enough to fulfill the mission of life? While seeing God is wonderful, the spirit soul still craves action under conditions of freedom. Better than seeing God is being able to interact with Him. Better than interacting with Him is serving Him with every thought, word and deed.
 This is precisely what mother Yashoda did. Under the pretense of motherly duties completed to maintain a family consisting of the child Shri Krishna and the father Nanda, Yashoda went to work every day. Though these were traditional times, where the women weren’t formally educated or allowed to freely intermingle with other men not their husbands, mothers like Yashoda worked very, very hard. Everything they did was for the benefit of their household. Shri Krishna enjoyed mother Yashoda’s cooking very much, but since He also took delight in enchanting the other residents of Vrindavana, He would sometimes steal from the stocks of butter in the homes of the neighbors.
The mothers would complain to Yashoda, but they secretly loved the fact that the adorable Krishna was attracted to their homes. They would find new places to hide their butter so that Shyamasundara
Since Yashoda worked so hard for His satisfaction, you would think that Krishna would oblige by being a well-behaved son. On the contrary, under the pretense of feigned anger over having been neglected for a moment while feeding, Krishna broke the pot of butter His mother took so much time to fill. To make matters worse, He ate some of the butter and distributed the rest to monkeys, animals who are known for stealing others’ food. It may sound strange to those who have never been in India for too long, but in places like Vrindavana and Chitrakuta, monkeys roam the streets just like ordinary citizens. They cause a disturbance by sneaking up on people and stealing whatever they have in their hands, hoping it is food. The unsuspecting visitors have to pay attention especially to their eyeglasses, as monkeys are fond of taking these.
As monkeys are already prone towards theft, the fact that Krishna was voluntarily handing over Yashoda’s wonderful butter was a brave act of defiance. Yet the mother delighted in this naughty behavior of her son. As He was playing the part of a delightful child, Yashoda made sure to stay true to the role of a caring mother. She chased Krishna with a whipping stick and then bound Him to a mortar as punishment. Rather than child abuse, this was a sparkling display of divine love, for the event is so wonderful that people still sing about it to this day.
 When Krishna was caught He faked tears of fear, which rolled down His face, mixing with the anjana, or eye-ointment, so carefully applied by His mother. This scene of Krishna crying after being caught by mother Yashoda was appreciated by Kunti Devi, the mother of the famous Pandava brothers. During adulthood, Krishna was particularly favorable to the Pandavas. After the brothers survived numerous attempts made on their lives and eventually reclaimed the throne of Hastinapura that was rightfully theirs, Kunti Devi offered a set of prayers to Krishna, thanking Him for His kindness and attention. In these wonderful offerings, she remarked on the good fortune of Yashoda, who was able to tie up the Supreme Lord with ropes of affection.
Mother Yashoda worked hard to keep her family happy, and the young Krishna made sure she worked even harder. While carrying out duties it is easy to forget the purpose behind them, the tie that holds all the actions together. Shri Krishna purposefully created situations where His mother could stop working for a few brief moments and give Him personal attention. That same opportunity is created for every living entity desirous of transcendental association, freedom of spiritual movement. Through the excuse of following a routine in bhakti-yoga, the devoted soul can take time out of their busy day to give attention to Krishna. By regularly chanting
In Closing:
Have to take care of my duties you’ll say,
But how to make this work actually pay?
From Shri Krishna’s charming glance you’ll find,
Supreme wisdom, tie that everything binds.
Children, young and old, to ask have the nerve,
Mother responds, never gets credit she deserves.
Yashoda to Krishna’s welfare was dedicated,
Lord acted like her efforts not appreciated.
All done for transcendental love to increase,
In caring for Krishna Yashoda never to cease.
 |
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Making Work Pay
HOW TO SPOT A SRI LANKAN...!!!!
This is so true and so funny. You know that you are definitely a Sri
Lankan if:
* Everything you eat is flavored with garlic, onion and
Chilies.
*You try and re-use gift wrappers , gift boxes,
aluminum foil and of course disposable cups & plates.
*You try to eject food particles from between your teeth
by pressing your tongue against them and making a
peculiar noise like, tshick, tshick!
* You are standing next to the two largest size suitcases
at the Airport.
* You arrive one or two hours late to a party, and think
it's normal.
* Your toilet has a plastic bowl next to the commode.
* You name your children in rhythms (example, Honey &
Money, Sita & Gita, thunga & --singhe, Nimal & Vimal)
* All your children have pet names, which sound nowhere
close to their real names.
* You take Sri Lankan snacks anywhere it says 'No Food
Allowed'
* You talk for an hour at the front door when
leaving someone's house.
* You load up the family car with as many people as
possible.
* You use plastic to cover anything new in your house
whether it's the remote control, VCR, carpet or new
couch.
* Your parents tell you to not care about what your
friends think, but they won't let you do certain things
because of what the other Uncles And Aunties' will
think.
* You teach you kids to say uncle and auntie to anyone
older related or not.
* Owning a rice cooker is a top priority.
* Use the dishwasher to store dishes - use it only for
special occasions.
* Say 'NO' after every sentence. i.e . that's good NO,
very expensive NO...etc
* Men use the word 'PUT' frequently i.e PUT a drink, PUT a
Jump !
* You live with your parents even if you are 40 years old.
(And they like it that way).
* If she is NOT your daughter, you always take interest in
knowing whose daughter has run with whose son and feel it's your duty
to spread the word.
* If you don't live at home, when your parents call, they
ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight
* When your parents meets a Sri Lankan for the first time
and talk for a few minutes, you soon discover they are
your relatives..
* Your parents don't realize phone connections to foreign
countries have improved in the last two decades, and
still scream at the top of their lungs while talking.
* You have bed sheets on your sofas so as to keep them
away from getting dirty but the sheet on your bed has
not seen water for months!
* It is embarrassing if your wedding has less than 500
people. (How abt ur wedding... hehe)
* You list your daughter as 'fair and slim' in the
matrimonial no matter What she looks like.
* You have a big cabinet in your hall to keep glass wares
& ceramic utensils (you have never used)
* You have really enjoyed reading this mail because you
know some, or most of them apply to you.
Lankan if:
* Everything you eat is flavored with garlic, onion and
Chilies.
*You try and re-use gift wrappers , gift boxes,
aluminum foil and of course disposable cups & plates.
*You try to eject food particles from between your teeth
by pressing your tongue against them and making a
peculiar noise like, tshick, tshick!
* You are standing next to the two largest size suitcases
at the Airport.
* You arrive one or two hours late to a party, and think
it's normal.
* Your toilet has a plastic bowl next to the commode.
* You name your children in rhythms (example, Honey &
Money, Sita & Gita, thunga & --singhe, Nimal & Vimal)
* All your children have pet names, which sound nowhere
close to their real names.
* You take Sri Lankan snacks anywhere it says 'No Food
Allowed'
* You talk for an hour at the front door when
leaving someone's house.
* You load up the family car with as many people as
possible.
* You use plastic to cover anything new in your house
whether it's the remote control, VCR, carpet or new
couch.
* Your parents tell you to not care about what your
friends think, but they won't let you do certain things
because of what the other Uncles And Aunties' will
think.
* You teach you kids to say uncle and auntie to anyone
older related or not.
* Owning a rice cooker is a top priority.
* Use the dishwasher to store dishes - use it only for
special occasions.
* Say 'NO' after every sentence. i.e . that's good NO,
very expensive NO...etc
* Men use the word 'PUT' frequently i.e PUT a drink, PUT a
Jump !
* You live with your parents even if you are 40 years old.
(And they like it that way).
* If she is NOT your daughter, you always take interest in
knowing whose daughter has run with whose son and feel it's your duty
to spread the word.
* If you don't live at home, when your parents call, they
ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight
* When your parents meets a Sri Lankan for the first time
and talk for a few minutes, you soon discover they are
your relatives..
* Your parents don't realize phone connections to foreign
countries have improved in the last two decades, and
still scream at the top of their lungs while talking.
* You have bed sheets on your sofas so as to keep them
away from getting dirty but the sheet on your bed has
not seen water for months!
* It is embarrassing if your wedding has less than 500
people. (How abt ur wedding... hehe)
* You list your daughter as 'fair and slim' in the
matrimonial no matter What she looks like.
* You have a big cabinet in your hall to keep glass wares
& ceramic utensils (you have never used)
* You have really enjoyed reading this mail because you
know some, or most of them apply to you.
Monkeys pick up local "accents"
Courtesy of BioMed Central
and World Science
Apes and monkeys have regional "accents"-and as with people, this behaviour is learnt rather than genetically programmed, a study suggests.
To what extent animal communication is learnt rather than inborn is hotly debated. Monkeys and apes, some of the closest evolutionary relatives to humans, are born with various calls and sounds specific to the species. But overlying this there is some flexibility: for example, you can tell where a gibbon, a type of ape, is from by its accent.
In the new research published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, scientists studied free-living monkeys of the species Cercopithecus campbelli campbelli, also known as Campbell's monkeys. They observed social interactions, particularly in mutual grooming, and recorded "contact calls" made by females to stay in touch with other monkeys while travelling, foraging or resting.
The investigators used DNA tests from monkey droppings to determine how closely related different individuals were. Their social structure and family groups were well known because they have lived near a research station at Taï National Park, Ivory Coast, for over a decade. Groups comprised one male, four or six females, and their offspring.
"Each female has its own distinctive vocalisation but they appear to pick up habits from each other," said Alban Lemasson of the University of Rennes in France, who led the research.
Similarities between "contact calls" depended on the length of time adult females spent grooming each other and who their grooming partner was, rather than genetic relatedness, he observed. He explained that while the general call repertoire depends on genes, "the fine structure within this is influenced by the company they kept."
"This behaviour also fits with the theory that human speech has evolved gradually from ancestral primate vocalisations and social patterns," he added. Primates are the evolutionary lineage of animals comprising humans and their close relatives, such as apes.
Source: World Science
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek
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