Madhuvrata dāsa: Do the material mind and senses become spiritual?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No, we will have to give them up here. Only our soul is spiritual, and only our soul reaches the spiritual world. But the soul has everything: a nose, eyes, ears, a very beautiful form, and all qualities. In fact, there is ultimately no need of the material senses, mind, and body – gross or subtle. Do you understand?
Once upon a time, when the battle of Mahābhārata was finished and Duryodhana and his one-hundred brothers had been killed, Arjuna and Bhīma began to argue.
Arjuna exclaimed, “I have killed all those mahārathīs (powerful warriors).”
Bhīma announced, “I am the cause of winning this battle. I killed all the brothers of Duryodhana, Duryodhana himself, and so many others. If I had not participated in the battle, we could not have won.”
Arjuna said, “Without me, this battle would not have been won by us.”
Bhīma had a son named Ghaṭotkaca, whose son was Barbarika.
Before the battle of Mahābhārata, Barbarika had approached Kṛṣṇa and said, “Why are You collecting so many soldiers? I will destroy the entire army for You.”
When Kṛṣṇa asked how he would do that, Barbarika took a piece of grass and, reciting a mantra over it, threw it into the air. At that moment everyone’s chest was struck with a red mark. All the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, and even Śrī Kṛṣṇa, had that red mark on their chest. Kṛṣṇa was very amazed to see this, and at once took His Sudarśana cakra and cut off Barbarika’s head.
Barbarika’s head spoke, asking, “Why have you killed me like this?”
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said, “You have the greatest power of any warrior here. If you participate in the battle, everything will be finished too quickly.”
Barbarika replied, “Still, I want to see the battle. I want to see who is prominent. Please keep my head on the top of any mountain so that I can see.”
Now that the battle was finished and Bhīma and Arjuna were arguing, Kṛṣṇa called for Barbarika – that head. Barbarika’s head was brought and Kṛṣṇa asked, “Barbarika, please tell us who was the greatest fighter.”
Barbarika replied, “I saw that no one was a prominent fighter.
I saw that Kṛṣṇa alone did everything. He killed Duryodhana, Kṛṣṇa, Duśāsana, Bhīṣma Pitāmaha, and others. No one else could have done it.”
Bhīma and Arjuna became silent.
What is the meaning?
Tamopahā dāsa: Kṛṣṇa is the doer.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: We think that we are expert, but really we are not.
Kṛṣṇa wants to take some service from us for our benefit; He doesn’t need our service. Therefore, we should avoid any kind of pride and false ego that “I am the hero.” So many heroes came and went.
Always be very polite, as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu states:
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
(Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam, Verse 3)
[Thinking oneself to be even lower and more worthless than insignificant grass which has been trampled beneath everyone’s feet, being more tolerant than a tree, being prideless, and offering respect to all others according to their respective positions, one should continuously chant the holy name of Śrī Hari.]
If false ego comes and you at once remember this verse, that false
ego will subside.
