The Two Witches of Allurement
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently warns his followers about the dangers of both literal and figurative witches. While historical accounts like the deliverance of the assassin Pūtanā demonstrate the Supreme Lord's unmatched power and mercy, the philosophical teachings emphasize an even more subtle danger. By studying these quotes, we learn that the desires for material enjoyment and impersonal liberation are like haunting witches that must be driven away by the pure chanting of Kṛṣṇa's holy names.
The Pūtanā Witch
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the appearance of witches is not merely mythological but historical. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes Pūtanā as a dangerous practitioner of the black arts, explicitly hired by King Kaṁsa to murder infants. Disguised as a beautiful woman, this demoniac witch attempted to kill baby Kṛṣṇa, illustrating the extreme lengths to which demoniac figures will go to oppose the Supreme Lord.
- Lord Sri Krsna, the all-pervading Supersoul, lying on the bed, understood that Putana, a witch who was expert in killing small children, had come to kill Him. Therefore, as if afraid of her, Krsna closed His eyes - SB 10.6.8.
- After consulting with his demoniac ministers, Kamsa instructed a witch named Putana, who knew the black art of killing small children by ghastly sinful methods, to kill all kinds of children in the cities, villages and pasturing grounds.
- When Putana, the demonic witch, came to poison Baby Krsna, she came as a beautiful young girl and asked Mother Yasoda - Oh, Yasodamayi, you have a very nice baby. Will you kindly give Him to me so I can nurse Him.
The Supreme Compassion of Kṛṣṇa
The pastime of Pūtanā highlights the boundless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that although Pūtanā smeared her breast with deadly poison and approached Kṛṣṇa with pure malice, the Lord accepted the maternal act of nursing from her. In an unparalleled display of kindness, Kṛṣṇa awarded this terrible witch the eternal, exalted position of His mother in the spiritual world.
- Because Krsna embraced Putana's body with great pleasure and sucked her breast, although she was a great witch, she attained the position of a mother in the transcendental world and thus achieved the highest perfection - SB 10.6.37-38.
- This (Putana attain position of Krsna's mother) is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, where Uddhava says to Vidura that Krsna is so kind, God is so kind, that even the witch who wanted to kill Him with poison was accepted as His mother.
- He (Krsna) killed the Putana witch, although she smeared her breast with poison just to kill the Lord. The Lord sucked her breast like a natural baby, and He sucked out her very life also.
The Two Metaphorical Witches
Beyond historical demons, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns spiritual seekers of two figurative witches that haunt the heart: bhukti (the desire for material sense gratification) and mukti (the desire for impersonal liberation). He explains that as long as a person harbors these dual aspirations, their consciousness is polluted, and it is impossible to relish the genuine, sweet taste of transcendental devotional service.
- As long as one desires material benefit or liberation, which are called the two witches of allurement, he cannot relish the taste of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord.
- The material desire to enjoy the material world and the desire to become liberated from material bondage are considered to be two witches, and they haunt one like ghosts.
- As long as these witches remain within the heart, how can one feel transcendental bliss? As long as these two witches remain in the heart, there is no possibility of enjoying the transcendental bliss of devotional service.
- Srila Rupa Gosvami has compared possessing these bhukti (material) and mukti (liberation) desires with being influenced by the black art of a witch: in both cases one is in trouble.
The Ultimate Protection
Whether dealing with actual evil spirits, the external energy of māyā, or the internal ghosts of material desire, the supreme remedy is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda ensures that the chanting of the holy names of the Lord creates an invincible protective shield. Where the holy name is vibrated, the black arts of witches and all inauspicious calamities are immediately forced to flee.
- It is said that wherever the chanting of the holy name of Krsna is done, even negligently, all bad elements - witches, ghosts and dangerous calamities - immediately disappear.
- Witches can play their black art only where there is no chanting or hearing of the holy name of Krsna.
- One can vanquish them (evil stars, evil witches and evil spirits) simply by uttering Lord Visnu's name, for when Lord Visnu's name resounds, all of them become afraid and go away - SB 10.6.27-29.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda utilizes the concept of a witch to illustrate both literal dangers and subtle spiritual pitfalls. While the Lord's physical pastimes demonstrate His absolute supremacy and shocking mercy over demoniac assassins like Pūtanā, His philosophical teachings demand that practitioners cleanse their own hearts of metaphorical witches. The haunting desires for both mundane enjoyment and impersonal merging effectively block the path of pure devotion. To conquer these alluring forces, one must take constant shelter in the protective vibration of the holy name, which flawlessly purifies the heart and establishes eternal, transcendental bliss.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Witch. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.