G - Gajendra (1-4)
Gajendra, the king of elephants, was unexpectedly attacked by a crocodile. Faced with the daunting prospect of death, he desperately petitioned the Lord to free him from the vicious predator, and from material life altogether. Moved by his sincere prayers, the Lord personally appeared to rescue Gajendra and reinstate him in the spiritual world.
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G - Gajendra (1-4)
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Gajendra, the king of elephants, was unexpectedly attacked by a crocodile. Faced with the daunting prospect of death, he desperately petitioned the Lord to free him from the vicious predator, and from material life altogether. Moved by his sincere prayers, the Lord personally appeared to rescue Gajendra and reinstate him in the spiritual world.
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Different Manus
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Different Manus
Chapter 1
From Canto Three to Canto Seven, the descriptions and discussions revolved around Svayambhuva Manu and his descendants. When Maharaja Pariksit enquired about other Manus, Sukadeva Goswami summarised the history and lineages of all fourteen Manus, who appear in one day of Brahma:
Chapter 1 – (1) Svayambhuva, (2) Savarocisa, (3) Uttama and (4) Tamasa (then the Gajendra pastime, which was in Tamasa Manu, is narrated in Chapters 2-4).
Chapter 5 – (5) Raivata, (6) Chaksusa (then the churning of the milk ocean pastime, which was in Chaksusa Manu, is narrated in Chapters 5-12).
Chapter 13 – The remaining eight Manus are then briefly described – (7) Vaivasvata, (8) Savarni, (9) Daksa-savarni, (10) Brahma-savarni, (11) Dharma-savarni, (12) Rudra-savarni, (13) Deva-savarni, and (14) Indra-savarni (then the pastime of Vamanadeva and Bali, which was in Vaivasvata Manu is narrated in Chapters 15 - 24 ).
When Svayambhuva Manu, who had renounced his kingdom and taken up residence in the forest, was attacked by demons, the Lord incarnated as Yajnapati to save him. The Lord also appeared in Svarocisa Manu (as Vibhu), and in Uttama Manu (as Satyasena). In Tamasa’s line comes Hari, the incarnation of the Lord who saved the elephant Gajendra. When Maharaja Pariksit heard about this incident he desired to know more.
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Gajendra's Crisis
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Gajendra's Crisis
Chapter 2
Within the Trikuta mountain was a beautiful valley, wherein the picturesque Ritumat garden and lake were situated. Varuna’s construction of the garden was so expert that even celestial beings would come there for leisure. Once, Gajendra, the chief of the elephants, along with his female companions, went there for an outing. In an intoxicated state they frivolously played in the lake and inadvertently disturbed the inhabitants of the water.
Angered by their insensitivity, a mighty crocodile violently attacked Gajendra, and a great struggle ensued in the lake. After one thousand years of fighting, the chief elephant was becoming weaker and weaker since he was in an unnatural environment, being an animal of the land. Gajendra finally realised that no person could save him from this precarious situation. In great desperation and helplessness, the elephant sought the shelter of the Supreme Lord.
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Gajendra's Past Life
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Gajendra's Past Life
Chapter 4
Sukadeva Goswami described the joyous scene after Gajendra was saved, and then detailed the previous lives of the two personalities.
Once, King Indradyumna, while in spiritual trance, failed to appropriately welcome Agastya Rishi and his disciples. Seeing his lack of sensitivity, the sage cursed him to become a dull elephant in his next life. The King accepted the curse with dignity, thus, when he did become Gajendra, he still remembered the prayers from his previous life.
Previously, when the Gandharva, King Huhu, was sporting with women in the water, he pulled the leg of Devala Rishi, who was also bathing in the water. Due to this offence, Devala Rishi cursed him to become a crocodile. When Huhu profusely begged forgiveness, the sage blessed him to receive the Lord’s favour along with Gajendra.
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Gajendra's Prayers
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Gajendra's Prayers
Chapter 3
Gajendra, who was formerly King Indradyumna, had offered beautiful prayers to the Supreme Lord in that previous birth. Faced with a crisis, the elephant remembered those exquisite verses and instinctively recited them to attract the Lord’s attention. Gajendra glorified the personality of the Supreme Lord, recognising that pure devotees only seek service and never request any superficial benedictions. Nevertheless, because he was in acute danger, he prayed for the Lord’s assistance.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, miraculously appeared there, seated upon Garuda. Gajendra immediately offered a flower to the Lord, who compassionately rescued the King of elephants from the water. The Lord then invoked His spinning disc weapon ( cakra ) and severed the crocodile’s mouth from his body.
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Power of Prayer
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Power of Prayer
“Gajendra, in his previous birth, had been a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. His name was Indradyumna, and he was the King of the Tamila country. Following the Vedic principles, this King retired from family life and constructed a small cottage in the Malayacala Hills, where he always worshipped the Supreme Personality of Godhead in silence. Agastya Rishi, along with many disciples, once approached King Indradyumna’s asrama , but because the King was meditating on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he could not receive Agastya Rishi properly. Thus the rishi became very angry and cursed the King to become a dull elephant. In accordance with this curse, the King was born as an elephant, and he forgot all about his previous activities in devotional service. Nonetheless, in his birth as an elephant, when he was dangerously attacked by the crocodile, he remembered his past life in devotional service and remembered a prayer he had learned in that life. Because of this prayer, he again received the mercy of the Lord. Thus he was immediately delivered, and he became one of the Lord’s four-handed associates.” (SB 8.4 Introduction)
Prayer is an intensely personal process, and perhaps the most universal, since prayers are found in religions and cultures across the world. Prayer is everything from our most intimate and personal conversations with the Lord, to the celebrated expressions of praise and gratitude echoing through generations. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is filled with such sincere outpourings and heartfelt expressions, such as those of Queen Kunti, Dhruva Maharaja, Vritrasura and Prahlada. Gajendra also recited beautiful prayers that had become etched within him from a previous life. Such prayers reflect the devotee’s realisation and unique relationship with Krishna. Prayer is not a language of words, but a language of the heart. The real beauty of a prayer, however articulated, is in its sincerity.
While heartfelt prayers address the Lord, they simultaneously help us to clarify our own jumbled-up minds, which often play host to a multitude of competing emotions, desires and ideas. Prayer reminds us of our cherished aspiration and ultimate goal – something that may get lost and forgotten in the bedlam of life. Thus, prayer is an essential component for progressive devotion. It can be seen as the steering wheel for life, not just the spare wheel we call upon in times of emergency. A modern dictum tells us that a week without prayer will make one weak. Without prayer, our activities can easily become mechanical, impersonal and uninspiring.
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Keep Calm: Krishna will come
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Power of Prayer
Keep Calm: Krishna will come
Once, I met a lady who expressed frustration in her attempts to find God. She told me her story: two years of spiritual travels, countless nights of prayer, diligent scriptural exploration and persistent introspection, but still no sign! “Will I ever find Him?” she asked. “I’m beginning to question whether He even exists!” What to speak of the ‘searchers,’ even the faithful may sometimes doubt that their Supreme friend is alive, alert and active. A seeming lack of reciprocation and intervention can discourage even the most devout spiritualist. Where is God when we need Him? Why doesn’t He answer our prayers? While desiring a divine audience, we’d do well to bear the following in mind:
Action – internal yearning should be accompanied by external endeavour. When a man made a diligent daily prayer to win the lottery, God was more than willing to acquiesce – if only he went out and bought a ticket! Thus, it could also be that God wants to see a practical demonstration of our eagerness to see Him. What are we willing to sacrifice and what tangible efforts will we make to search Him out?
Reaction – God is not a cosmic order-supplier, but a real person. As persons, we don’t mechanise our reciprocation, but rather operate based on feelings and inspiration. Thus, we can’t force open the doors to see God, but can humbly engage ourselves with enthusiasm and determination, doing everything in our power to attract His attention. We should eagerly anticipate a divine audience, but simultaneously be willing to patiently wait.
Perception – it’s possible that God has already intervened in our life, but not in the way we were expecting. We don’t see things as they are, but see things as we are. When we carry stereotyped perceptions of how God should deal with us and what He should do, we leave little scope to witness how He is expertly working on a bigger and better plan that will satisfy our deepest needs and desires. God often saves us from our own short-sightedness by overlooking our pleas and instead arranging something far more valuable.
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The Key Ingredient
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Power of Prayer
The Key Ingredient
What attracted Lord Krishna to this elephant? Was it the incredible and unusual sight of an animal reciting a prayer? Was it the comprehensive delineation of Krishna’s glories that attracted Him to the scene? This is not enough to grab the attention of the Supreme Lord. After all, eloquent prayers are regularly recited in His honour by all kinds of beings. The outstanding feature of Gajendra’s prayer was the sheer desperation with which it was uttered. Gajendra finally realised how precarious his position in the world was, not simply under the attack of the crocodile, but under the grips of the material energy. His eternal position was to be an eternally joyful servant of God, and when Gajendra understood this, he spontaneously uttered those beautiful prayers. The point was not that he knew the prayer and used it to remove himself from an ugly predicament, but that he felt the prayer, and recited it with his heart.
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Types of Prayers
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Power of Prayer
Types of Prayers
Just as food cannot be eaten without salt, any service offered to the Lord which is devoid of the devotional mood, sincerity and purity of consciousness, is considered sub-standard. Acting with a prayerful mood in spiritual life is at the heart of devotion. In Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada describes the variety of prayers that can be offered to the Lord:
S – Sorry ( dainya-bhodhika ) – in the process of cleansing our hearts, we become acutely aware of how much we fall short of the ideals, and how many imperfections we are riddled with. Realising this, the devotee offers humble prayers lamenting his fallen condition, seeking forgiveness and the strength to improve.
A – Ask ( lalasa-mayi ) – in an advanced stage of spiritual life, when one rekindles their strong attachment to Krishna, one may lovingly express their intense desire to serve the Lord in a particular way. While this is very elevated, one thing that everyone can ask for is more devotional service and more dedication to the process of Krishna consciousness.
L – Listen – after offering prayers we listen to the Lord’s response, which may come to us in a variety of ways.
T – Total ( samprathanatmika ) – sam means ‘complete,’ and thus the ‘complete prayer’ is one of total submission. It’s a prayer offered with great feeling, ardently desiring to be connected to the Lord in body, mind and words and thus restored to wholeness.
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What to Pray for?
G - Gajendra (1-4)
Power of Prayer
What to Pray for?
We learn prayers from our childhood. There are simple prayers of gratitude, prayers for the welfare of loved ones, and, of course, prayers for some cherished desire to be fulfilled. We offer prayers for forgiveness, and prayers for strength to change ourselves for the better. Atheists think that a prayer to God is sheer imagination. For centuries, however, thousands of sincere practitioners have accumulated definite evidence of the positive results of prayer. The serious doubt regarding prayer is not whether God can hear and respond, but whether the things people pray for are worthwhile. Saint Teresa of Avila once said that “More tears are shed in this world from prayers that are answered than from those that go unanswered.” Before we approach God with our requests, we ought to educate ourselves in what to pray for.
Our basic problem is that we are attracted to the wrong things – things that won’t bring us what we are ultimately looking for. When we reconfigure our desires and turn our attention towards the right things, spiritual things, things that allow us to connect with our very essence, then everything falls into place perfectly. Lasting peace, happiness and fulfillment are available to everyone, but only on the spiritual platform. Thus, the real purpose of prayer is not to gain material resources or even spiritual salvation for oneself. The power of prayer is best utilised when we call to Krishna out of a desire to do His will. Srila Prabhupada explained that this is what the maha-mantra is – a prayer to be engaged in Krishna’s service. Whether we call on Him from the darkness of our fallen state in the material world, or whether we praise Him amidst His liberated associates in the kingdom of God, the pure prayer is the same:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
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— S.B. Keshava Swami, Book Bhagavata