The Supreme One incarnated and came to live among the people on this earth. Yet people failed to recognise Him, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi, in a discourse.
Once, Lord Krishna went to the forest with his friends. The boys were hungry, and in the distance, they could see yagas being performed by sages. Food that was to be offered to God upon completion of the yagas was laid out. Krishna asked his friends to go to the sages and ask for food and to tell them that it was for Krishna.
But the sages turned the boys away and said the food could be given to Krishna only after it had been offered to God. Krishna then told the boys to go to the wives of the sages and repeat their request to the women.
The boys approached the wives of the sages and asked for food for Krishna. The women immediately picked up the food that was to be offered to God and brought it to Krishna.
The sages had made such elaborate plans for the yagas and did not want to miss out on any aspect of the rituals. And so they refused to offer food to Krishna without offering it to God first. They did not realise that that Krishna was the One whom they sought to propitiate through their yagas. They were blessed enough to be approached by the Lord Himself for food, but they did not recognise His Supremacy. And that is true of most people in the world.
When the Lord is in their midst, they seek Him elsewhere. Had the many who opposed Him during His avataras recognised Him, would they have dared to oppose Him? But the wives of the sages could see that He was the Lord of everything. Of what use was performing a yaga, if food was denied to the Supreme One, when He asked for it?
When Krishna and His friends had eaten the food brought by the women, He asked the women to go back to their husbands, who were busy with their yagas, for the men could not complete the yagas without their wives beside them.
But the women refused to go back. Such is true love for the Lord that leaving His presence becomes difficult for those who adore Him.
