In order to prove the supreme position of Srimati Radharani, one day, Krishna appeared to suddenly fall ill. As He lay sick, He came in another form, disguised as a physician, and said: «O Yasoda, I have heard that your boy has caught some disease. Is it true?»
«Yes, yes, who are you?»
«I am a physician — a mystic physician. I would like to see your son. What is His disease?»
«He fainted; perhaps He has a headache.»
Then, Krishna in the dress of the physician told Mother Yasoda, «This is a very serious disease. I want to cure Him. But I can only do so if I can have some water brought in a porous pot. Some water should be brought from the Yamuna in a pot that has many holes in it. Only a chaste lady can do this. A chaste girl must bring some water in a porous pot. With the help of that I shall give some medicine to this boy, and He will come to consciousness immediately.»
Then, Yasoda madly began to search Vrndavan for a chaste lady. Jatila and Kutila were Radharani’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Because they naturally preached that there was doubt or suspicion about the chastity of the other girls among the gopis, they themselves were generally considered to be chaste. So, Yasoda appealed to one of them, Jatila, first. «Take this porous pot and fetch some water from the Yamuna.»
«How is it possible? To fetch water in a porous pot is impossible.»
«No. The physician says that if one is really a chaste lady, then she can fetch water in a porous pot.»
Jatila could not avoid the mad request of Yasoda. Her request was so intense that she had to go. But she could not fetch water from the Yamuna because there were so many holes in the pot. Then Kutila was requested to fetch water in the pot, but she dared not venture to try it, seeing the attempt of her mother. Still, Yasoda was so earnest in her request that Kutila also could not avoid the task. Yasoda couldn’t tolerate for a second that her son was in such a condition. And so her request was so intense that Kutila had to go. But she could not fetch water either because there were so many holes in the waterpot that the water just poured through.
They were astonished, thinking, «What can we do? Among all the girls in Vraja, not a single chaste girl is to be found? What a horrible thing!» So, Krishna, in the garb of a physician, singled out Radharani, saying: «I think that She is a chaste lady. Request Her to fetch the water.»
And at the request of Yasoda, Radharani could not avoid the task. She had to go fetch water, but She was thinking of Krishna: «If You come to My relief, then only it may be possible; otherwise, it is impossible», She prayed. Radharani dipped the porous pot in the water as Krishna touched the pot from within the water. And Radharani with great suspicion took the pot from the water, and in great wonder She said, «The water is there!» She had taken some of Her maids, the sakhis, Her chief friends, with Her, and they were all astounded to find that She drew the water from the Yamuna. The holes were there, but still the water remained within the pot. So, She brought the water to Yasoda, and everyone was astounded. And that water with some fictitious medicine was given to the boy Krishna, and Krishna arose from His «unconscious» state.
This was a tactic by Krishna to show the position of Radharani, to show what chastity is. What is chastity? Ordinary «chastity» is not real chastity. Real purity, real chastity, is far above all relative considerations of chastity. And that is inconceivable, beyond our knowledge and reason, just as how a porous pot can contain water. It is a miracle.
But God works wonders. His ways are filled with miracles. We should be prepared for that. We should be prepared that all the knowledge of this world, all our experience, will prove to be wrong. So it is said, jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva: be clear of your past experiences, what you have drawn from the world of the senses, empirical knowledge (pratyaksa-jnan). Your tendency will always be to try to push your way into the transcendental world on the strength of mundane knowledge. But this verse is saying, «You fallen people, your capital is the experience of this world, of the senses. But it won’t do, it won’t have any value in that higher plane. What is found there is a new thing, so approach that world with an open mind; understand that everything is possible with the infinite. All your expectations, your past experience, have no value. Why don’t you give up trying to dodge this point?»
The transcendental world is something quite new to us. It is very difficult to get out of this superstition of so-called «truth» here. But still it is necessary that we accept that anything and everything is possible with God. He is the master of impossibilities. Possibility and impossibility are found only in our dictionary, yet even Napoleon wanted to remove the word «impossible». He said, «’Impossible’ is a word in a fool’s dictionary.»
How are we to understand that the original Guru of our sampradaya becomes bewildered? It is «impossible». We must suspend our «knowledge» (jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva). We may take it that Krishna is playing hide and seek, perhaps, with Brahma, our Gurudev. It is like a game of hide and seek. Sometimes Krishna is defeating others, and sometimes He is defeated.