Hare Krsna,
There are two wonderful lessons I draw from this lesson – (a) eagerness to serve and please Krsna spontaneously, as demonstrated by the brahmana wives, and (b) perfection of hearing leading to Krsna’s darshan and service.
“Immediately upon hearing this, the wives of the brāhmaṇas became anxious for Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. These reactions were spontaneous. They did not have to be convinced of the importance of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma; immediately upon hearing Their names, they became very anxious to see Them. Being advanced by thinking of Kṛṣṇa constantly, they were performing the greatest form of mystic meditation. All the wives then became very busily engaged in filling up different pots with nice foodstuff. Due to the performance of the sacrifice, the various food was all very palatable. After collecting a feast, they prepared to go to Kṛṣṇa, their most lovable object, exactly in the way rivers flow to the sea.” (Texts 13-23: Kṛṣṇa Book)
This shows that Krsna reciprocates according to one’s level of surrender and devotion – ya yatha mam prapadyante (BG 4.11). Depending on what we desire earnestly, Krsna reciprocates accordingly. Being the Supersoul in everyone’s heart, Krsna knew that the wives of the brahmanas had been eagerly waiting to serve Him. And thus they were given the opportunity to serve Him, Lord Balarama and Their cowherd friends.
There is a similar pastime in Ramayana – a heartwarming tale of Lord Rama and Shabri’s half-eaten berry fruit. Seeing her faith and devotion, Shabari had been blessed by her spiritual master (Sage Matanga) that she will have the good fortune of having the darshan of Lord Shri Rama. She waited and waited for years on end. She became old and feeble, but the assurance in her heart that Lord Rama would arrive, remained ever-fresh. At last in search of Mother Sita, Lord Rama and Lakshman arrived at Sage Matanga’s ashram, after killing the demon Kabandh. Shabari welcomed them and washed their feet reverentially with the tears that flowed from her eyes. Lord Rama asked her to fetch some fruit. Shabari offered him berries (ber) and fruits but before giving them to Lord Rama, she tasted each one of the berries, drowned in devotion. She forgot that she was feeding Lord Rama with berries that were bitten and therefore unfit and impure for offering. But swayed by her intense devotion, Lord Rama ate the berries with joy. It was a moment when the devotee and divine were joined in immense love and devotion. Laxman, with tears rolling down his cheeks, was silently observing the pure love between God and the devotees. Similarly, Lord Krsna reciprocated with the pure love of His devotee brahmana wives by asking them for food.
The second lesson is the result of perfecting the art of hearing about Krsna.
“O ruler of men, for a long time those brāhmaṇa ladies had heard about Kṛṣṇa, their beloved, and His glories had become the constant ornaments of their ears. Indeed, their minds were always absorbed in Him. Through the apertures of their eyes they now forced Him to enter within their hearts, and then they embraced Him within for a long time. In this way they finally gave up the pain of separation from Him, just as sages give up the anxiety of false ego by embracing their innermost consciousness.” (SB 10.23.23)
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura writes that their ears had become successful by hearing repeatedly about the excellent qualities of their beloved, and thus their minds became absorbed in Kṛṣṇa. This mood of the ladies is called śuddha or nirguṇa-bhakti (pure devotion). In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.29.11-12, Lord Kapiladeva said to his mother, Devahūti,
“O Mother! If one simply hears about my virtues, his mind flows without interruption to me, living in the hearts of all, like the Gaṅgā flows to the sea. Such causeless and ceaseless devotion to me, the Supreme Person, has been spoken of as a characteristic of nirguṇa-bhakti-yoga.”
This perfection of hearing by the wives of the brahmanas led to direct vision of Krsna.
In Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.2.21, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura describes fourteen steps of a jīva’s journey to attain the highest attainment]: (1) the grace of sādhus, (2) service to a great person, (3) śraddhā, (4) taking shelter at the feet of a guru, (5) desire for [engagement in] practices of bhakti (bhajana), (6) bhakti [i.e., engagement in sādhana-bhakti], (7) disappearance of anarthas, (8) niṣṭhā [i.e., fixity in the practice of bhakti], (9) ruci (taste), (10) āsakti (affinity), (11) rati [i.e., bhāva-bhakti], (12) prema (divine love), (13) darśana [i.e., direct perception of Bhagavān], and then (14) experience of his mādhurya (mellifluousness).”
satāṁ kṛpā mahat-sevā śraddhā guru-padāśrayaḥ |
bhajaneṣu spṛhā bhaktir anarthāpagamas tataḥ ||
niṣṭhā rucir athāsaktī ratiḥ premātha darśanam |
harer mādhuryānubhava ity arthāḥ syuś caturdaśe ||
As we can see, stage 13 is darśana [i.e., direct perception of Bhagavān]. The wives of the brahmanas attained this stage of bhakti by constantly hearing about the Lord and attaining prema.
This is the power of chanting and hearing about Krsna.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 