Waves of Devotion

Dhanurdhara Swami October 17th, 2022

Help Wanted: Messenger needed to deliver confidential message to pacify the anxiety of My dearest family members and friends, especially My girlfriends residing in Vrindavan, who are near dead from the snake bite of separation from Me. Must have ministerial and communication skills, be very dear to Me, highly educated in śāstra, and extremely intelligent. Only close associates need apply. Those interested contact Śrī Krishna, Palace of Rukmiṇī, New Dvārakā.

 

Just having some fun here. I just finished studying and teaching the pastime of Uddhava visiting Vrindavan. I was intrigued by the character of Śrī Uddhava and why Śrī Krishna chose him to execute two of the most challenging tasks: to deliver a message from Him to pacify the gopīs, headed by Śrī Radha, and to witness, understand, and disseminate the glories of the gopīs’ topmost devotion.

 

Let’s analyze below the qualities of Śrī Uddhava that made him ideal for task at hand as expressed in the first verse of the story:[1]

 

vṛṣṇīnāṁ pravaro mantrī (The best counselor of the Vṛṣṇi dynasty)

 

The gopīs were in a most highly intense emotional state. Anything in reference to Krishna could easily set them off into an even deeper emotional state. One trying to pacify them would need the most highly developed emotional intelligence and the most profound skill in counseling to understand their mind and to know exactly what to say to them.

 

kṛṣṇasya dayitaḥ sakhā (The beloved friend of Krishna)

 

Uddhava was the dearest devotee of Krishna in Dvārakā and thus held a position of great status. The pride of any devotee in their own devotion, however, no matter how advanced they were, would be crushed to dust in comparison to the topmost devotion of the gopīs. Anyone carrying this task would therefore require the deepest love for Krishna to not be overcome with some form of envy. What better candidate to deliver a message to the gopīs than the beloved friend of Krishna?

 

The message was also extremely confidential, which means not easily understood outside of the frame of reference of one’s own heart and mind. Krishna could therefore only share this missive with someone so close—a beloved friend—with whom He could trust to share His heart.

 

śiṣyo bṛhaspateḥ sākṣād (Direct disciple of Bṛhaspati)

 

Uddhava was a direct disciple of Bṛhaspati, the guru of the demigods. He was therefore learned in practically all subjects of knowledge. Although he was being sent to Vrindavan to learn about the prema of the gopīs, only one with such vast knowledge in śāstra would have the frame of reference to identify and appreciate their topmost ecstasies and not be confused by them.[2]

 

uddhavo buddhi-sattamaḥ (Having the highest quality intelligence)

 

When Uddhava returned from Dvārakā he was able to successfully share what he experienced with Śrī Krishna, Lord Balarama, and some of the elders of Dvārakā such as King Ugrasena and Vasudeva. Only one with the highest quality of realization and intelligence would be able to successfully conceptualize and express such deep ideas.

 

These four qualities allow Śrī Uddhava to successfully pacify the gopīs and to understand and communicate their glories. They also serve another purpose. They help demonstrate the exalted love of the gopīs. If the topmost devotee of Krishna outside of Vrindavan, the chief counselor, and the most intelligent and learned person of Dvārakā is so humbled by the devotion of the gopīs that he prayed to be grass in Vrindavan so the dust of their feet may fall on him, we can only imagine the glory of their rūḍha-bhāva, the very height of devotion.

 

My prayer: I am not the most intelligent nor the most learned, and certainly not the most beloved friend of Krishna, but I am the humble servant of Śrīla Prabhupāda. By his mercy, may I carry His sweet message of devotion to all!

 

 

 

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[1] śrī-śuka uvāca
vṛṣṇīnāṁ pravaro mantrī
kṛṣṇasya dayitaḥ sakhā
śiṣyo bṛhaspateḥ sākṣād
uddhavo buddhi-sattamaḥ

Synonyms

śrī–śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; vṛṣṇīnām — of the Vṛṣṇis; pravaraḥ — the best; mantrī — adviser; kṛṣṇasya — of Kṛṣṇa; dayitaḥ — beloved; sakhā — friend; śiṣyaḥ — disciple; bṛhaspateḥ — of Bṛhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods; sākṣāt — directly; uddhavaḥ — Uddhava; buddhi — having intelligence; sat–tamaḥ — of the highest quality.

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The supremely intelligent Uddhava was the best counselor of the Vṛṣṇi dynasty, a beloved friend of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and a direct disciple of Bṛhaspati.

 

[2] Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was the most learned scholar in South India. When he saw Śrī Caitanya faint in the Jagannath temple he had his servants take Him to his house to recover. Although Śrī Caitanya was in a catatonic state, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was able, by his vast knowledge, to know that Śrī Caitanya was not suffering from a physical ailment but rather was in a state of ecstasy.

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