He Who Cares, Provides and Protects
Jagannath Mishra was a very learned scholar. He was always engrossed in thoughts of God. He wrote a commentary on 100,000 shlokas of Mahabharat. But when he was writing the commentary on Gita he came across the verse –
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जना: पर्युपासते |
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ||
9.22
ananyāścintayantō māṁ yē janā: paryupāsatē |
tēṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yōgakṣēmṁ vahāmyaham ||
9.22
“Those who constantly meditate on Me and selflessly serve only Me, I bear their yogakshem ”.
The word vahayaham means “I bear the burden".
In this verse when Jagannath Mishra came across the word vahayaham he thought God is too great to Himself take care of the needs of an insignificant jiva. He can order any of the devi-devatas to take care of the needs. No bid man does menial jobs. So this must have been mis-spoken. So, he crossed out the word vahami – which means “I bear” - and instead wrote the word dadami – which means “I extend help”. Then he left to bathe in the Ganges river. Incidentally, that day there was no food in their house to cook even a single meal.
Meanwhile, Lord Shri Krishna assumed the form of a young child and arrived at the door of Jagannath Mishra with a basket of 20 kg full of vegetables, rice and other grains. The Lord then gave the basket to his wife. The wife noticed that the boy was very beautiful but it seemed like somebody had punched his mouth.
She asked, “who has bullied you”?
The young boy replied,” Jagannath Mishra punched me”.
Her husband was a calm and even-tempered person. She knew he was not capable of hurting anyone. She was very confused and asked the young boy, “Why did he hit You”?
The boy innocently replied, “I said something. It was right but he didn’t agree with it. So, he punched Me,”.
Then the boy left.
When Jagannath Mishra reached home he found his wife very upset with him that he hurt an innocent cutest little boy she had ever seen. Worse still that he also asked such a small kid to deliver such a heavy basket of groceries.
Jagannath did not understand what his wife was saying. When the wife narrated the whole story Jagannath Mishra understood that his Lord had come to take care of his physical needs to prove to him that God himself takes care of the needs of a totally surrendered soul. Jagannath fell to the ground on his knees and cried bitterly for having hurt his Lord by making the change in the original text of Gita.
Moral -
Bhagwat Gita is the veritable words of Supreme Lord Shri Krishna. In Gita Shri Krishna affirms if someone has given up all material desires and also renounced the desire of mukti and surrenders exclusively unto Me, I give what the soul does not possess and preserve whatever they have.
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