Compassion – A wholesome perspective

When Krishna returned from Vrndavan to Mathura, He was brought by chariot by Akrura.And as He entered into Mathura one by one, He received garments, from Kubja He received fragrances and sandalwood paste, from a weaver, He received ornaments and then He met Sudama- the florist. There is a wonderful description from Graga Samhita; I’ll say it quickly- florists are always interested in getting really good flowers and he heard they have really nice flowers in Vrndavan. He is from Mathura and Vrndavan, and Mathura and Mathura are not so far away. So he ventured into Vrndavan, searching for places where he could find flowers. And one day, from a distance, He saw Krishna and he was stunned! When he saw Krishna and he was stunned, He coulden’t get Krishna off his mind not like he wanted to but Krishna stayed in his mind.And so he often went back to gather flowers in Vrindavan where is Krishna.When will I see Krishna again? So he became Krishna Bhakta in search of flowers. And he intuitively understood Krishna will fulfill my desire to see Him again and sure enough Krishna came right to his door with Balarama and some cowherds…seeking..without even Krishna saying, the florist spoke and described his appreciation for Krishna and Balaram and he knew what Krishna wanted and so he offered this most fragrant garland to Krishna and Balarama. And Krishna was so pleased. So Krishna said “I come to your door because you please Me so much by your devotion, you can ask from Me anything you like”. Now there are some places like that in Bhagvatam. Lord Narashinga Dev asked Prahlad; “anything you like is yours”. So here is what the florist asked for..He asked for unshakable devotion for Krishna, there is a verse this is directly quoting from the Bhagvatam. He also asked for friendship with His devotees. But he also requested transcendental compassion for all living beings. So any one of those, you know, what’s the goal is number 1. But number 1 is not minus number 2, and 1 and 2 are not minus number 3. The transcendental perspective on the golden rule is not just doing unto others; the transcendental perspective is unlimited devotion to Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You will hear some more on this as we go along this weekend. And almost the same this is in 10th canto back in the 1st canto after we here all these wonderful things about Maharaj Parikshit and his qualities as a person from his birth chapter12 and so forth and so on. All the way up to chapter 18. He gets cursed by the son of a brahmana. All of that is you know, Krishna and excuse me, Maharaj Parikshit and his associates, the Pandavas etc. So when he is cursed, he goes to the side of this holy river Ganges. Taking off his royal garments and his crown and turning everything over to his son, the next king Janamejaya, and he invites all the sages to come and advice him. He spoke to the sages; the holy people that had assembled there “I pray that if I should again take my birth in the material world, I will have complete attachment to the unlimited Lord Krishna, association with His devotees and friendly relations with all living beings. So the Vaishanava perspective on the golden rule is not just number 3 but number 1 and number 2. And not just number 1 and number 2 without number 3. We don’t put to the side, acts of kindness for others. It’s core to our life as Vaishnavas. But when we do so is with the purpose of pleasing Krishna, because pleasing Krishna is everything. So that service to Krishna is essential and the compassion for all living beings is essential. And the best service we can do to others, the best, your best friend or your best friends are – according to Ramananda Roy – those who remind you of Krishna…those are your best friends. Those are your best friends, and if you want to be the best friend of others, remind them of Krishna!