Sunit prabhu - Krishna as servant of His devotee

Paraphrased from a Bhagavad-gita Study Session given by Sunit prabhu at Bhaktivedanta Manor on Friday 19th January 2007:

"Krishna is bhakta-vatsalah, which means He becomes the servant of His devotee. In BG 1.21 it is indicated that Krishna has become the chariot driver of His devotee Arjuna. In such a role, the chariot driver is repeatedly kicked in the back by the warrior to indicate which direction the chariot should go in. But because Krishna loves Arjuna, He relishes such kicks in His back as the affection of His friend. Similarly, Bhishma is a great devotee of Krishna in the chivalrous mood. So when Bhishma repeatedly fired arrows at Krishna, and His body became wounded in all places, Krishna relished it like one who relishes the love-bites of a lover."

"In BG 1.25, it is described how Arjuna's chariot is put in front of his grandfather, Bhishma, and his teacher, Drona. This symbolises how we must face and become free of two major attachments to make spiritual progress and develop pure love for Krishna. One is family attachment (on an emotional material level) and the other is attachment to material education."