The Puzzle of Pastimes

A soul that has successfully transitioned from the realm of Maya into the divine realm of God is a God-realized saint . Upon God-realization, a saint is forever liberated from the bondage of following the rules prescribed in the Vedas , as the primary purpose of these rules is to guide ordinary souls and create an environment conducive to devotion.

ब्रह्मवित् श्रुतिमूर्ध्नि
brahmavit śrutimūrdhni
"The Vedas are subservient to the saints. Saints have the right to place their feet on the head of the Vedas."

This is like a student who must abide by school rules, but once he graduates, he's no longer bound by them. Similarly, a saint, having completely surrendered their mind to God, is no longer the doer of actions ( akarta ). Since the mind's involvement is imperative for any karma , it is God Himself who performs all actions through the saint. Consequently, a saint does not bear the fruits of their actions. To read more about this topic read Is My Life Scripted by God?

Yet, history is full of examples of saints who appeared to perform material duties, even conflicting ones.

A jeev is rightfully called a saint after completely surrendering their mind to God. We already know that involvement of the mind is imperative for performing any karma . So, it is obvious that a saint does not perform any action, because his mind is surrendered to God. It is God Himself, who performs all the actions of a saint

Consequently, a saint does not have to bear the fruits of his actions, as he is a non-doer. But history is full of numerous examples of saints who are seen as performing material duties;

​For example:

1.   Arjuna killed thousands of Kauravas, in the battle of Mahabharata [1] , yet, those actions were not recorded as sins.

2.   Prahlad, who was a God realized saint is known to have performed the last rites of his father, a demon by the name of Hiranyakashipu.

3.   The milk-maidens of Braj ( Gopis ), who are the examples of the highest class of devotees and whose mind is constantly attached to Lord Krishna, continued to perform all their household duties.

4.   King Janak, the great Karmyogi , ruled his kingdom for thousands of years.

5.   Similarly, Ambarish and Dhruv judiciously ruled their respective kingdoms for hundreds of thousands of years.

We also read about saints who performed actions in violation of Vedic rules:

1.  Jagadguru  Shankaracharya performed the last rites of his mother, an act forbidden for a sanyasi .

2.  Rishabh Dev a great Karm Sanyasi , wandered with unkempt hair and his body covered in excreta, forsaking all material and Vedic duties while his mind remained constantly affixed on God.

In the world's eyes, some of these saints performed good actions, while others seemed to perform bad ones. But in the eyes of God, they performed no action at all, as they were constantly immersed in divine remembrance. God was the governor of their minds and performed various actions through them for the welfare of His devotees or to set an ideal.

As Shri Krishna says in the Gita:

न मे पार्थास्ति कर्तव्यं त्रिषु लोकेषु किञ्चन । नानावाप्तमवाप्तव्यं वर्त एव च कर्मणि ॥
na me pārthāsti kartavyaṁ triṣu lokeṣu kiñcana. nānāvāptamavāptavyaṁ varta eva ca karmaṇi (Gita 3.22) "Arjun, there is nothing in the three worlds that I am prescribed to do, nor is there anything I wish to attain that I cannot; yet, I engage Myself in action! Because I wish to set an example."

God performs actions for the benefit of the devotees at two different spiritual stages -

• Yogarurukchha (योगारुरुक्षु): Seekers of God realization and
• Yogaroodh (योगरूढ़): God-realized souls.

Most of Shri Ram's pastimes were for seekers, while Shri Krishna's loving pastimes in Braj were for the exclusive pleasure of accomplished souls. His pastimes in Dwarika were for the benefit of spiritual seekers.

Who Should I Follow?

Given this, which pastimes should we follow as an example? The Bhagavat Purana says:

ईश्वराणां वचः सत्यं तथैवाचरितं क्वचित । तेषां यत्स्ववचोयुक्तं बुद्धिमांस्तत समाचरेत्॥
īśvarāṇāṁ vacaḥ satyaṁ tathaivācaritaṁ kvacit. teṣāṁ yatsvavacoyuktaṁ buddhimāṁstat samācaret (Bhagavatam 10.13.32)
"The words and actions of divine personalities are always pure. However, a wise person should imitate only those actions that relate to their own spiritual level."

This is also revealed in the Vedas:

यान्यस्माॅ्सुचरितानि तान्येवत्वयोपास्यानि नो इतराणि ॥ yānyasmāaisucarītāni tānyevatvayopāsyāni no itarāṇi

For example, when Lord Shiva drank the halahal poison that emerged from the churning of ksheer sagar , the milk ocean, His throat turned blue. This gave him the name Neelkanth, the one with a blue throat.

If we were to mimic this action and consume poison, it would lead to an immediate end.

Another point to note is that it's impossible to comprehend divine actions with a material intellect. Any attempt to do so can cause a great spiritual downfall. This happened to:

• Goddess Parvati , who saw Lord Ram wailing for Mother Sita and doubted His divinity. She thought, "God is Omniscient, yet He doesn't know the whereabouts of Sita Ji." She also thought that her husband, Lord Shankar, is Omniscient, yet he bowed down to Lord Ram and addressed him as the Supreme God. "How can Lord Shiva be wrong?" Such doubts bewildered her, so she assumed the form of Sita Ji to test Lord Ram. The Omniscient Lord Ram, who recognized her true identity, said, "Dear Mother, why are you sitting here alone? Where is Father Shiva?"
• King Parikshit , who was unable to comprehend the amorous pastimes of the Gopis with Lord Shri Krishna. He kept casting aspersions on the Gopis' character and had to be reprimanded multiple times by Shukdev Paramhans.
• Garuda , who doubted Lord Ram's divinity upon seeing him ensnared by snakes. He thought, "I thought He is the one whose name alone is enough to release anyone from the clutches of Maya, and He can't free Himself from these snakes!"

These instances teach us never to use our material mind to try and comprehend the incomprehensible pastimes of divine personalities. We must have a firm faith that divine personalities are Almighty and Omniscient, and the sole purpose behind their actions is the welfare of their devotees.

Lord Brahma says in the Bhagavat:

नाहं न यूयं यदृतां गतिं विदुर्न वामदेवः किमुता परे सुराः । तन्मायया मोहितबुद्धयस्त्विगदं विनिर्मितं चात्मसमं प्रचक्षमहे ॥ nāhan na yūyaṁ yadr̥tāṁ gatiṁ vidurna vāmadevaḥ kimutā pare surāḥ. tanmāyayā mohitabuddhayastvigadaṁ vinirmitaṁ cātmasamaṁ pracakṣamahe (Bhagavatam 2.6.36) "O Narad! Neither I, nor you, nor even Lord Śaṅkar can analyze His mysterious pastimes. How, then, can other celestial gods understand Him?"

The Ramcarit Manas also states:

नारद शिव विरंचि सनकादि । जे मुनि नायक आतमवादि । तेउ न जानहिं मरम तुम्हारा । और तुमहिं को जानन हारा ॥ nārada śiva virañci sanakādi . je muni nāyaka ātamavādi. teu na jānahiṁ marama tumhārā . aura tumahiṁ ko jānana hārā

Instead of wasting time analyzing the inscrutable pastimes of God and saints, it is wise to derive benefit from their association. This will lead to your own spiritual experiences, with the appearance of the symptoms of divine love, validating your progress. This is a faster way to reach your goal.

Conclusion

As Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj wisely advises:

सिद्ध भक्त आचरण​, गोविंद राधे । अनुकरणीय नहिं होते बता दे ॥ गुरू आदेश ते ही ​, गोविंद राधे । अधिकार युक्त आचरण बता दे ॥ siddha bhakta ācaraṇa​, goviṁda rādhe . anukaraṇīya nahiṁ hote batā de ॥ gurū ādeśa te hī ​, goviṁda rādhe . adhikāra yukta ācaraṇa batā de ॥ "One must not imitate the actions of an accomplished devotee. One must perform actions only in accordance with the instructions of their Guru."

In conclusion, understanding the pastimes of God-realized saints requires moving beyond a material perspective. Their actions are not bound by worldly rules, as they are mere instruments of God's will. The divine realm can't be understood through logic alone; it must be pursued with faith and devotion. This fundamental principle guides us to a faster spiritual path: follow the direct instructions of a realized Guru rather than attempting to mimic the actions of perfected saints.

LEARN MORE

• The Test You Must Pass to Attain the Greatest Bliss