Supreme Lord’s solemn Promise & Footprints in the Sand
Here is a beautiful, reassuring verse from Bhagavad-gita as It Is by Srila Prabhupada Chapter 9.Verse 22.This is verse is situated almost in the middle of Bhagavad gita and here Lord Krishna is confirming his promise to his exclusive devotees.
ananyas cintayanto mam
ye janah paryupasate
tesham nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-kshemam vahamy aham
TRANSLATION : But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form — to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.
There is an interesting pastime of the devotee Arjunacharya, we learn that The Lord personally takes care of the material and spiritual needs to His devotees who are fully engaged in His service. I have heard of a story of Arjunacharya,a brahmana who, when writing his commentary on the Gita, saw this verse and thought it a mistake to believe that the Lord would personally carry whatever was needed to each devotee. So, he therefore scratched out vahAmi(I personally Carry) and inserted karomi(I have it done) as he thought, “what is the need for Bhagavan doing it Himself? Being all powerful,He will get it done.” He was extremely poor. After making the change in the text he went for Unjavrithi. While he was gone, his wife heard a knock at the door. Two beautiful boys fearfully insisted that she quickly accept the food that her husband had forced them to bring. These beautiful boys were anxious to get away from her house, because, they told her, the great brahmana scholar Arjunacharya, would probably beat them again. When Arjunacharya’s wife expressed disbelief that her husband would beat such boys, the dark boy said,”see?” and turned to show her the marks on His back where He had been struck. Then they both dashed away.
Arjunacharya’s wife was bewildered, and she began to cook and eat the food the boys had brought. Upon Arjunacharya’s arrival, he was shocked to see his wife eating, as it was against the Vedic custom. When he challenged her, she replied, Acharya, why have you acted so inappropriately and become so cruel? She then told him that two boys had come and left a bountiful supply of food and after the dark boy had showed her the marks on His back, He rushed away and they asked her to cook and have her food and so she was doing so. The acharya thought for a few moments and asked what the boys looked like. Upon hearing that one was of a beautiful darkish complexion and the other was white, he could understand that his fortunate wife had been blessed with the darshana of Krishna and Balarama. The beating marks were the result of his having scratched out the word vahAmi. Krishna had been forced to come personally to prove the truth of His words, “I carry what they lack with my own hands.”
And, this inturn reminds me a Poem that as a child, used to love.
Footprints in the Sand:-
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
Questioned the LORD about it:
“LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you’d walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me.”
The LORD replied:
“My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
When you see only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.” written by Carolyn Joyce Carty.
