Don't Compete with Krishna but Cooperate with him

2012-03-20
by Shyamananda Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty


SB 10.7.26
trnavartah santa-rayo
vatya-rupa-dharo haran
krsnam nabho-gato gantum
nasaknod bhuri-bhara-bhrt

Translation:
Having assumed the form of a forceful whirlwind, the demon Trnavarta took Krsna very high in the sky, but when Krsna became heavier than the demon, the demon had to stop his force and could go no further.

Purport:
Here is a competition in yogic power between Krsna and Trnavartasura. By practicing mystic yoga, asuras generally attain some perfection in the eight siddhis, or perfections, namely anima, laghima, mahima, prapti, prakamya, isitva, vasitva and kamavasayita. But although a demon may acquire such powers to a very limited extent, he cannot compete with the mystic power of Krsna, for Krsna is Yogesvara, the source of all mystic power (yatra yogesvaro harih [Bg. 18.78]). No one can compete with Krsna. Sometimes, of course, having acquired a fragmental portion of Krsna's mystic power, asuras demonstrate their power to the foolish public and assert themselves to be God, not knowing that God is the supreme Yogesvara. Here also we see that Trnavarta assumed the mahima-siddhi and took Krsna away as if Krsna were an ordinary child. But Krsna also became a mystic mahima-siddha. When mother Yasoda was carrying Him, He became so heavy that His mother, who was usually accustomed to carrying Him, could not bear Him and had to place Him down on the ground. Thus Trnavarta had been able to take Krsna away in the presence of mother Yasoda. But when Krsna, high in the sky, assumed the mahima-siddhi, the demon, unable to go further, was obliged to stop his force and come down according to Krsna's desire. One should not, therefore, compete with Krsna's mystic power.

Devotees automatically have all mystic power, but they do not like to compete with Krsna. Instead, they fully surrender to Krsna, and their yogic power is demonstrated by Krsna's mercy. Devotees can show mystic yoga so powerful that a demon could not even dream of it, but they never try to demonstrate it for their personal sense gratification. Whatever they do is for the service of the Lord, and therefore they are always in a position superior to that of the demons. There are many karmis, yogis and jñanis who artificially try to compete with Krsna, and thus ordinary, foolish people who do not care to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam from authorities consider some rascal yogi to be Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the present moment there are many so-called babas who present themselves as incarnations of God by showing some insignificant mystic wonder, and foolish people regard them as God because of lacking knowledge of Krsna.