Jada Bharata

Today, unexpectedly, I remembered the story of Jada Bharata from the Bhagavatam. He renounced his kingdom and became a great saint, but in the last days of his life he became attached to a deer and was reborn as a deer. While listening, a sudden insight arose in me: he did not fully trust the universe and believed he personally had to take care of the deer, as if without him it could not survive.

If a deer in danger comes to me, it is natural that I offer shelter. A quiet inner voice prompts that response, and I follow it. This inner voice is the movement of the universe, of God, within me. When the mind is calm and still, that guidance is easy to sense and act upon. This is a form of surrender to the God within.

Yet there can still be a subtle sense of “I am the one doing,” a trace of ego, even when there is awareness of divinity and surrender. This seems natural; without that slight sense of “I,” functioning in the world might even appear passive or dull. The real problem begins when the thought arises, “I have to take care of it,” as if everything depends on me. In that moment, the fact that the universe (or God) can take care of it is forgotten. Just as the universe used this body to help the deer once, it can use countless other forms to support it further. Why should I believe that I alone must take care of it?

When there is trust in the universe, there is no need to cling to the role of caretaker. The deer (or any being) will come when it needs my form, and at other times it will be held by life through other forms. My task is simply to be available and responsive when it appears, not to possess or claim responsibility for it.

Appendix:

Love is always present. It does not arise from the surface mind, but from the depths of being, from the universe or God. God is all‑pervading. Sometimes this divine love expresses itself through this body to care for the deer, and sometimes it expresses itself through other bodies. The essential thing is to trust the universe or God, to let love move freely, and not to cling or attach by taking ownership of the responsibility. Simply be present and attend when life brings it to you to take care or respond.