Testing the Devotees

[dattaswami]

Testing the Devotees

 

Lord Krishna or Datta tests devotees by exhibiting bad qualities. Several devotees misunderstood Krishna for this dance and thus the depth of their faith was exhibited. Lord Data came as a human incarnation in Punjab by the name Ramlal. Ramlal stayed in a village and attracted all the devotees by His divine knowledge and miracles. When He was finally leaving the village, all the villagers followed Him stating that they could not live without Him. They said that Ramlal was their very life and entire love. Then Ramlal stood for sometime and smiled. He asked the villagers whether they could accept Him as the husband of their wives. Ninty percent of the villagers scolded Him and returned back. Only ten percent accepted the statement of Ramlal and followed Him sincerely. Ramlal was extremely pleased with them and gave them full divine knowledge and assured them that He would protect them always.

 

The word ‘husband’ in Sanskrit is translated as ‘Bharta’ which actually means the maintainer and protector. Ramlal used the word in that sense. But people took the word in another sense and were misled. The egoism of the husbands was touched. They boasted of their extreme love for Ramlal and that they could sacrifice anything or anybody for the sake of Lord Ramlal. Ramlal knew exactly the item, which they could never sacrifice—their bond with their wives. Thus, Ramlal exposed the hypocrisy in devotion. He used the word in different sense and tested their faith and sacrifice.

 

The only protector and maintainer is the Lord. Thus, the Lord is the only husband for all the souls in this world. The difference between a male and female is only in the external gross body. The soul is the same in the gross body of a male or female.