Once there was a man who asked Krishna for a flower and a butterfly. But Krishna gave him a cactus and a caterpillar. The man was sad. He didn’t understand why his request was mistaken. Then he thought: ‘Oh! Krishna has too many people to care for.” So he decided not to question.
Acceptance and Trust: After some time, the man went to check up on his request that he had left forgotten. To his surprise, from the thorny and ugly cactus a beautiful flower had grown. And the caterpillar had been transformed into the most beautiful butterfly.
Moral of the Story: Krishna always does things right. His way is always the best way, even if to us it seems all wrong. If we ask for one thing and receive another, we should patiently accept it and have trust in Him. We must be sure that He will always give us what we need at the appropriate time. What we want is not always what we need. So let us just surrender unto Him without doubting or murmuring.
Scriptural Insight
In Bhagavad Gita 18.66, Lord Krishna says:
sarva-dharmaan parityajya / maam ekam sharanam vraja
aham tvaam sarva-paapebhyo / mokshayishyaami maa shucah
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”
Understanding Surrender: We should simply surrender to Krishna. Generally, when we meet someone, we may go with some agenda, but that does not apply when we go and meet our Supreme Lord. Instead of serving Him, we often approach the Lord with our own agendas and want Him to serve us. Such an attitude will only distance us from Him. The first and foremost quality required to meet/approach the Lord is “surrender”.
The Aspects of Surrender
In Hari Bhakti Vilasa (11.676), six aspects of surrender are very nicely explained:
aanukulyasya sankalpah / pratikulyasya varjanam
rakshishyati iti vishvaaso / goptrtve varanam tathaa
aatma-nikshepa-kaarpanye / shad-vidhaa sharanaagatih
“The six aspects of surrender are: Acceptance of whatever is conducive to bhakti, Abhorance of what is detrimental thereto, Conviction that the Lord is one’s only protector, Acceptance of the Lord as one’s maintainer, Resignation of the self, and Sincere humility.”
To clarify the point of complete surrender, Srila Prabhupada in his wonderful purport to the verse 18.66 has quoted the above verse. His Divine Grace says – “One should be confident that in all circumstances Krishna will protect him from all difficulties. There is no need of thinking about how one should keep the body and soul together. Krishna will see to that. One should always think himself helpless and should consider Krishna the only basis for his progress in life. As soon as one seriously engages himself in devotional service to the Lord in full Krishna consciousness, at once he becomes freed from all contamination of material nature.”
