There was a Gopi, for example, called Suguna, who had
no other thought than those related to Krishna. Now every
evening, it was the usual routine in Brindavan for every housewife
to light the lamp from the flame of the lamp at the house
of Nanda; they believed that getting light from the flame
of the lamp of the eldest and highest is auspicious. Suguna
went with the lamp to Nanda’s house and when she reached
the house her mind was lost in the thrill and joy of seeing
the very house where Krishna spent his childhood days; to
which his pranks and prattle drew all the cowherd boys and
girls. She stood there with her unlighted lamp for a long
while, near the big oil lamp, illumining the central hall.
She was holding the lamp near the flame, but not near enough.
She had her finger right over the flame. She was not aware
that her finger was being scorched by the flame; she was too
full of Krishna Consciousness to be aware of the pain. It
was Yasoda who saw her plight and woke her from the reverie,
or shall we say, vision? For, to her, the house was alive
with Krishna wherever her eyes turned. That is the Thanmayathwam
or identification one must achieve. There is no use if the
fledgling stays in the nest; it should develop wings and fly
into the sky. There is no use if man grovels in the dust;
he should see the distant goal, clear and grand; he should
take to his wings and fly.
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