El Romance de Shakuntala Parte V

Los hijos de Paṇḍu se sentaron en silencio a escuchar a su madre contar la historia de Shakuntala, la madre de Bharat, su bisabuelo. Igual que lanzaban chispas las brasas de la hoguera que se desvanecía, así Kunti devi continuó con su historia:

Dushyant y Shakuntala

El rey también estaba transformado de amor, bebió la imagen de Shakuntala, su cabello oscuro como lluvia de media noche. Sus ojos del más profundo azul océano.

Cuando las mujeres del ashram se excusaron para ir a realizar sus deberes, Shakuntala encontró una excusa para quedarse con el rey y su amigo con el pretexto de la hospitalidad. El tonto les dejó y fue a caminar a la orilla del río y a tocar su flauta junto al bambú cercano a las aguas. Al fin solos, se profesaron amor mutuo en un huerto sombreado junto a un alto árbol de mango.

Shakuntala y Dushyant, Pintura miniatura de la India

Hablaron y rieron, el rey ahora locamente enamorado, se comprometió con Shakuntala entregándole su anillo real como emblema de su corazón auténtico. Shakuntala se entregó sin reparos a la descendencia de Puru mientras se abrazaban. 

Dushyant y Shakuntala, ilustración de libro victoriano

Se abrazaron y compartieron sus anhelos, hicieron todo lo que los amates hacen bajo el hechizo de la primavera. A la caída del sol se susurraron la promesa de amantes de nunca partir.

“Pasaron algunos días. El bufón entonces se dedicó a la meditación y el estudio, y las mujeres del ashram se ocupaban en los deberes a su guru mientras tanto a lo largo de los quince días que pasaron juntos, la feliz pareja se encontraba secretamente en las noches y admiraban la puesta del sol a través de los árboles del bosque.

Dushyant y Shakuntala en la selva

“Enamorados pasaron muchos días. Tiempo en el cual, Shakuntala y el Rey se prometieron entre ellos e intercambiaron guirnaldas de flores, se casaron en privado al estilo Gandharva. El Rey Dushyant le regaló un anillo fino que brillaba como el sol con un diamante puro.

Anillo de boda Hindu, tradictional

“Una noche un grupo de merodeadores yakshas o espíritus del bosque atacaron el ashram de Kanva, y después regresaron al bosque. 

Yakshas, terracotta, Sunga period (1st century BC), found in Chandraketugarh (West Bengal) - Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York

La noche siguiente, esperaban por ellos mientras la luna llena se elevaba sobre el ritual de sacrificio de humildes brahmanes, el rey encontró a los yakshas, los derrotó y los envió al exilio.

“Llegaron entonces mensajeros de la corte al huerto. Llamaban de la corte real a Dushyant. El rey estaba obligado a volver a sus deberes de en el palacio real. Con el peso en el corazón, antes de que pudieran hacer público su amor y casarse formalmente, el rey tuvo que regresar. Le entregó a Shakuntala su anillo real y su afilada espada prometiendo que se casarían pronto al estilo formal de la realeza. Prometió su lealtad a Shakuntala y le dijo que nunca la olvidaría y se fue.

Mientras tanto, la pálida Shakuntala atendía el ashram esperando el regreso del ermitaño Kanva.  Tal como las papayas brotan y florecen en el jardín así lo hacía también el hijo que crecía en su vientre. Su hijo sería Bharat, el gran gobernante de India, quien dio su nombre a India por generaciones y a su historia, el Mahabharata. Su hijo no tendría temor, sería un rey compasivo, venerado por todos, el ancestro de todos ustedes los Pandavas.”

Kunti Devi

Kunti hizo una pausa, miró hacia el fuego. Conmovido por la historia que su madre les contaba, Yudhiṣthira su hijo primogénito y el mayor de entre los Pāṇḍavas le preguntó a Kunti Devi. “¿Qué le ocurrió a Shakuntala y a Dushyant y como terminó su historia? ¿Nació nuestro ancestro en el ashram de Kanva?”

Jaws of death

Here's another excerpt from the book 

"Sri Guru and His Grace," 

by
Srila Bhakti Rakshak Shridhara deva 
Goswami Maharaja

 

 compiled, edited and published by 

His Holiness Bhakti Sudhir Goswami 

and B. V.  Mahayogi, Editor-in-Chief 

at Guardian of Devotion Press, 1984.

Jaws of death

Everyone is rushing into the jaws of death. This is the sum total of the news of this world; it is the only news. Every second, everyone is entering the jaws of death. This is the real problem—nothing else. The whole problem, if summarised, will come to this, that every second, every atom here is entering into the jaws of death. 

This is the great and only danger in the world. So, all other talks are irrelevant to the real problem of life; try to help them from entering into the jaws of death. This is the only problem in the whole world.

Go forth and tell everyone about Kṛṣṇa. Whatever you do, make them talk about Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa. Save yourself, and prepare yourself for the highest goal. Whenever you meet anyone, wherever you meet anyone, only talk of Kṛṣṇa. All other talks are irrelevant and redundant.

Mahāprabhu says, “It is My command. Don’t think that if you do this and take the position of guru, when the people come to honour you, you will forget your own ordinary position, become puffed up with pride, and go to hell. No, no, no! I order you, ‘Go on!’ The relief work is there. You can’t stand idle as an onlooker. So I say, ‘Jump! Start relief work.’ I order you to do so. And I shall take whatever responsibility is there. The whole world is dying. So, always, at every second, the real need is Kṛṣṇa-kathā. You will get My association only by obeying My orders and discharging the duty that I am entrusting with you. You will find Me there in your obedience of My order, in the discharge of the duty I impose on you.”

Is it reasonable or not? Every one of us can judge. What will be the relief work to save those in the mortal world? What will give real help to the people? Not clothing them or feeding them, nothing of the kind. Everyone is dropping down dead. Once, when I was in the Madras Maṭh, someone came and criticised us saying, “Oh, you are only talking about Kṛṣṇa, and people are dying without food. Don’t you mind?” I said, “No.” He told me, “The Ramakrishna Mission is doing real relief by feeding so many. If a man dies of starvation, how will he hear you? Where will you get a listener if he dies? First make them live, feed them, and then you can tell him about Kṛṣṇa.”

I told him, “Suppose there is a famine. I have some food. I am distributing that to so many people. There is a great crowd before me. If, while I am distributing food, someone from the crowd flees, what should I do? Should I distribute the food, or run to catch him?” He said, “You must distribute the food; that is natural.” I said, “The crowd is always ready to hear from me about Kṛṣṇa. Why should I waste my time running after one man? So many people are coming to hear from me about Kṛṣṇa, and I cannot attend them all. Why should I stop distribution of the nectar, and run to catch one man? This is a foolish attempt.”

We are interested in helping people by distributing Kṛṣṇa-kathā, and we pay no attention to any so-called danger. All are in need of this guidance. You must only engage yourself in Kṛṣṇa-kathā. Go on talking about Kṛṣṇa, and continue with that vibration.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu dancing with the tigers

When Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu was going from Purī to Vṛndāvan through the jungle path, the elephants, deer, and tigers were chanting, “Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!” and dancing. How? His Kṛṣṇa-kathā created such a fine vibration that it entered into the ears of the tigers, deer, and elephants and awakened their hearts. And they began to chant, “Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!” and dance. Mahāprabhu’s vibration of Kṛṣṇa’s Name was so fine and surcharged with force that the sound entered within the animals, and aroused in their hearts the innermost plane which was covered by the elephant’s or tiger’s body. Just like electricity, the finest current of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa entered into the hearts of all the animals, and their souls were aroused. And when their souls were awakened, then they began to chant “Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!”

chanting hare krishna in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Everywhere the environment is full of animation, and just as a ray of light penetrates the darkness, in a similar way the vibration of Kṛṣṇa-kathā will strike a chord within the soul and create some inspiration there towards Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So continue preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have no other duty, no other work. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupāda went the length and breadth of the world with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The fact that you have all come here is due to his earnestness. He has gone to the upper world, and so, in his name we are going on with some sort of transaction.

"He has gone to the upper world..."