UDDHAVA GITA

                                                 UDDHAVA GITA

       Swami Prabhupada (Founder of ISCKON) wrote about the Uddhava Gita: “Lord Sri Krishna is factually the spiritual master of the three worlds, and He is the original source of all Vedic knowledge. It is very difficult, however, to understand the personal feature of the Absolute Truth, even from the Vedas. His personal instructions are needed in order to understand the Personality of Godhead as the Supreme Absolute Truth. Bhagawad Gita is the evidence of such transcendental knowledge in gist. One cannot know the Supreme Lord unless one is graced by the Lord Himself. Lord Krishna exhibited this specific mercy towards Arjuna and Uddhava while He was in the material world. Undoubtedly Bhagawad Gita was spoken by the Lord on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra just to encourage Arjuna to fight, and yet to complete the transcendental knowledge of Bhagawad Gita, the Lord instructed Uddhava. The Lord wanted Uddhava to fulfill His mission and disseminate knowledge which He had not spoken even in Bhagawad Gita.” From this we can understand that although Uddhava Gita contains instructions similar to those imparted to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, it also contains very confidential teachings that are not available even in Bhagawad Gita. The five truths that embody the teachings of Bhagawad Gita— Ishvara (the Supreme Lord), Jiva (the living entities), Prakrati (material nature), Kala (time), and Karma (activities)—are fully elaborated upon in the Uddhava Gita. The Vedic literature offers us many Gitas, or songs. There are the Gita Govinda, Venu Gita, Bhramara Gita, Gopi Gita, Avanti Gita, Bhagawad Gita, Uddhava Gita and many more. The purpose of these songs is to invoke our forgotten eternal loving relationship with the Supreme Lord. Thus, the songs found in the Vedic literature are not like the ordinary songs of this material world, which are compared to the croaking of frogs, simply inviting the snake of death. Near the end of Lord Krishna’s manifested pastimes in this material world five thousand years ago, the demigods, headed by Brahma and Shiva, went to see Him at Dwaraka. At that time, they submitted this appeal: “My dear Lord, previously we had requested You to remove the burden of the earth. O unlimited Personality of Godhead, that request has now been fulfilled. You killed innumerable demons in order to protect Your devotees, and You re-established the religious principles that had been forgotten in the course of time. You have certainly broadcast Your glories throughout the world, so that everyone can easily become purified simply by hearing about You. Descending into the dynasty of King Yadu, You have manifested Your unique transcendental form, and for the benefit of the entire universe, You have executed magnanimous transcendental pastimes. My dear Lord, pious and saintly persons, who, in the age of Kali, hear and chant narrations of Your transcendental pastimes, will easily cross over the dense darkness of that terrible age. O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O my Lord, You have descended into the Yadu dynasty, and thus You have spent one hundred and twenty-five autumns with Your devotees. My dear Lord, there is nothing remaining for Your Lordship to do on behalf of the demigods. O Lord, You are the basis of everything and if You so desire, then kindly return to Your own abode in the spiritual world.” Lord Krishna replied, “I have very well understood your prayers. I have certainly executed My duty of removing the burden of the earth, but if I depart for My own abode at this time, the members of the Yadu dynasty will constitute another great burden. Therefore, before I depart from this world, I shall arrange for the withdrawal of the Yadu dynasty.” Thereafter, Lord Krishna inspired Durvasa Muni and other Sages to curse the members of the Yadu dynasty, so that while quarrelling with each other, they would be annihilated. Lord Krishna then met the elder members of the Yadu dynasty and informed them, “Because of the curse of the Brahmanas, I see many inauspicious omens foreboding great disturbances and destruction. We should therefore go to Prabhasa-teroha, which is a very sacred place. There, we will be able to counteract the ill effects of all our sinful activities by satisfying the Brahmans with gifts of charity.” Then, in obedience to the Lord’s desire, the members of the Yadu dynasty went to Prabhasa-teroha, and a fire sacrifice was performed. At that time the men of the Yadu dynasty drank an intoxicating beverage that made them forget everything, even the identities of their mothers, brothers, fathers, children, and friends. Being intoxicated, by the will of the Lord, they fought with each other, and the result was the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. Actually, the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty was a display of the Lord’s illusory energy, Maya. The Yadavas are eternal associates of the Lord, and are therefore eternally liberated souls. When He had contemplated winding up His pastimes within the material world, the Lord considered how, in His absence, the members of the Yadu dynasty would suffer greatly in separation from Him. It is for this reason that the Lord arranged for their return to His supreme abode before His own departure from the material world. Thereafter Lord Balarama appeared in His form Sisa-Naga and departed from this world. Lord Sri Krishna then sat underneath a banyan tree, meditating upon Himself. At that time, Uddhava came before Him and prayed, “My dear Lord, I know that You want to return to Your eternal abode in the spiritual sky. I cannot bear to live without You, and so please take me with You.”