Rukmini, the only daughter of the King of Vidarbha, had five brothers. Rukmini wanted to wed Krishna. But her brothers wanted her to marry Sisupala. We can look at the five brothers as symbolic of our indriyas, and Rukmini as the jivatma wanting to reach the Supreme One, said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse. The indriyas always lead us towards attachment to material life, and Sisupala is symbolic of this material life. So, Rukmini’s five brothers were leading her to a material life. But Rukmini was clear about her goal, namely, reaching the Supreme One. She was determined to spurn her brothers’ ideas, and to reach Lord Krishna — the Paramatma.
The only way out for jivatmas is to seek an Acharya, who will help us cross the ocean of samsara. Rukmini, too, in order to attain her goal, sought the help of a learned man. There was a Brahmin scholar who visited Vidarbha often, and Rukmini chose him to be her messenger to Krishna. She wrote a letter and asked the Brahmin to take it to Krishna. Just as an Acharya makes representations to Bhagavan on our behalf, so did this Brahmin act on behalf of Rukmini, by taking her letter to Krishna. The Lord’s avataras were all dramas which He scripted and enacted, with the purpose of making us realise that moksha should be our goal. The end is to attain the Lord’s feet and the means to that is also the Lord. But we need someone to guide us in the right direction. So we need a good Acharya to speak for us to the Lord.
In the Krishna avatara, Rukmini shows us this, by choosing a messenger, who will act as the bridge between her and Lord Krishna. We tend to be inattentive when we are given advice, but a story helps us remember important lessons. That is why Krishna gave us messages through dramatic stories.
