We see that the aboriginal lady had a basket of fruit and Krishna came as a child and He brought some grains to barter, but He dropped all the grains on the way - only a little left - but she didn't care any more because He was just so wonderful she gave Him all the fruits, although that was her livelyhood. So it was not a small thing - because she was very poor, and she gave away basically her livelyhood. How was she going to maintain? But somehow or other Krishna lifted her above this kind of calculating spirit.
"He was so wonderful,I must give Him this fruit. I must!"
Then of course the basket was filled with jewels. In this way Krishna reciprocated. She became even purified from her mundane concerns for survival.
Always thinking about survival:"How am I going to manage"
"It depends on my endeavor here!"
"You know, we're eating because of my hard work!"
"Because of my intelligence, because of all the arrangements that I'm making we are surviving in this world"
"It's very important! I mean, this is not play! I mean, we're not messing around here! We're getting serious now! We are surviving by work, by intelligence, by scheming, and somehow or other I figured it out! You know, and I'm doing it! I mean, I even put a sign on my door: "Self-made man!"
You see some sort of man that screws a piece of an arm on here and a piece there; a self-made man!
There are so many self-made men in the world who are convinced that by their own endeavors they are maintaining themselves.
Transcribed by Bhakta Frederick
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Radhadesh, Jan 2011)
