LORD BALARAMA (BALADEVA) – DIARY OF 12 INTERESTING POINTS!
WHO IS BALARAMA (BALADEVA)?
(1) Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter 5 Says:
“LORD BALARAMA is the first personal expansion of Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All other incarnations expand from Him.
In Lord Krsna’s pastimes, He plays as Krsna’s older brother. Together Krsna and Balarama enact many pastimes as cowherd boys in the land of Vrndavana. Lord Balarama carries a plow and club and is known for His great strength. ”
(2) As said by Srila Prabhupada, Lord Balarama (or) Sri Baladeva is the original spiritual master for all of us, and any one desiring to make spiritual progress must first get the mercy of Lord Balarama.
(3) Sri Baladeva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. He is equal in supremacy to the Supreme Godhead, yet wherever Krishna appears, Sri Baladeva appears as Krishna’s brother, sometimes elder, sometimes younger.
(4) In his vaibhava-prakasa feature, Lord Krishna manifests Himself as Balarama. The Balarama feature is as good as Krishna Himself, the only difference being that the bodily hue of Krishna is dark and that of Balarama is fair.
(5) These two Lords, Krishna and Balarama, are each the seed and womb of the universe, the Creator and His Creative potency respectively. They enter the hearts of living beings and control their conditioned awareness. They are the primeval supreme.
WHY SHOULD WE WORSHIP BALARAMA?
(6) Srila Prabhupada about the mercy of Lord Balarama. “The word of knowledge is given by Krishna, and when one serves the guru and Krishna in order to hold the sword of Krishna’s instructions, Balarama gives one strength.
(7) Balarama is Nityananda. Thus one should accept the sword of knowledge from Krishna and be strong with the mercy of Balarama. We are therefore worshipping Krishna-Balarama in Vrndavana.
(Points 3-7 are taken from “Appreciating Sri Vrdavana Dhama”)
(8) TRANSFER OF CHILD FROM ONE WOMB TO ANOTHER:
Yogamaya transferred Ananta Sesa (Balarama) from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini. Seven months later during the most auspicious moment in Sravana month, Rohini, just like a lioness gave birth to Lord Balarama. Thus, today’s modern technologies were practiced even 5000 years ago.
(9) Lord Balarama is constantly serving Lord Krishna in every respect. In all of Krishna’s incarnations and manifestations. In Rama-lila, Balarama serves Lord Ramachandra as His younger Brother, Laxmana. In Kali-yuga, Sri Balarama spreads the Sankirtan movement of Sri Caitanya as Lord Nityananda.
(10) KRISHNA & BALARAMA’s GURU DAKSHINA (DONATION) TO THEIR GURU
It is the recommendation of the scriptures that we should offer donations as Guru Dakshina if we learn something from someone. Krishna and Balarama too followed this.
In Mathura, both Krishna and Balarama were initiated by Gargamuni in the Gayatri mantra.
Later They went to live under the care of Sandipani Muni who instructed Them in all the Vedic arts and sciences in sixty-four days and nights especially in military science, politics and spirituality.
As an offering (guru-daksina) to Their teacher, They recovered his son from death. Although God does not need instruction from anyone else, Lord Krsna and His brother set the perfect example : one must accept instruction from and serve a bona-fide spiritual master to advance in spiritual life.
(11) MARRIAGE & CHILDREN FOR BALARAMA – SWEET DETAILS!
Its Balaram and Revathi, Balaram the elder brother of Krishna,was searching for a suitable partner who met Revathi.
Revati was the only daughter of King Kakudmi (or Raivata), a powerful monarch who rule Kusasthali a prosperous and advanced kingdom under the sea, and who also controlled large tracts of land, including Anarta kingdom. Feeling that no human could prove to be good enough to marry his lovely and talented daughter, King Kakudmi took Revati with him to Brahma-loka to ask Lord Brahma’s advice about finding a suitable husband for Revati.
When they arrived, Lord Brahma was listening to a musical performance by the Gandharvas, so they waited patiently until the performance was finished. Then, Kakudmi bowed humbly, made his request and presented his shortlist of candidates.
Lord Brahma laughed loudly, and explained that time runs differently on different planes of existence in space, and that during the short time they had waited in Brahma-loka to see him, 27 chatur-yugas (a chatur-yuga is a cycle of four yugas, hence 27 catur-yugas total 108 yugas) had passed on. Lord Bramha upon meeting Raivata informs him about Balaram.
The Daughter and father then found Balarama and proposed the marriage. Because she was from an earlier yuga, Revati was far taller and larger than her husband-to-be, but Balarama, “beholding the damsel of excessively lofty height”, tapped his plough (his characteristic weapon) on her head and she shrunk to the normal height of his. The marriage was then duly celebrated.
Revati bore her husband two sons, Nisatha and Ulmuka. Both her sons Nisatha and Ulmuka were killed in the Yadu fratricidal war, after which Balarama also ended his earthly incarnation by meditating on the Coast of Arabic Sea. At his funeral ceremony, Revati ascended onto his funeral pyre and was immolated with him.
(12) LORD BALARAMA’S DISAPPEARANCE
Due to a curse placed on the Yadu dynasty they were to be the cause of their own destruction, thirty-six years after the end of the battle of Kuruksetra.
After Balarama took part in the drunken battle that caused the destruction of the rest of the Yadus, and after He witnessed the disappearance of Lord Krishna, Lord Balarama sat down in a meditative state and At the last stage, He departed from this world by producing a great white snake from His mouth, and thus He was carried by Sesanaga in the shape of a serpent (Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto-1)
Hope you felt bliss by reading this article. Let Lord Balarama bless you!