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down to earth again to see how Krishna was feeling the loss of his companions, he was astonished to see the children playing as usual, and ran to the cave to see if it was empty. On arriving there, he was astonished to find them lying as he had deposited them there, and, on reflecting, came to know the Illusion of the Absolute, and worshipped him. This is clearly illustrative of the imperfections of the human intellect which depends on memory as compared with the all-knowing nature of pure consciousness.
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
When Bramha and other gods are in trouble, Vishnu, as representing Wisdom, comes to their rescue, as happened when Shiva, unable to settle matters with a demon worshipper of his, found himself in difficulties. What had happened was this: the demon had worshipped the great Mahadeva wholeheartedly, and the latter, pleased with the devotion offered to him, had decreed that on whomsoever's head the former might place his hand, he would immediately destroy and burn him up. Delighted with the boon, the demon sought to test its efficacy on Shiva's own head. Shiva ran for dear life, and took refuge with Vishnu, who destroyed the foe by making him imitate his own movements, with the result that, deluded by maya, the demon put his hand on his own head and was immediately reduced to ashes. What is meant is not that the incident actually took place as an historical event, but the simple fact that when will is irritated, consciousness at once appears, as light from heat, in consequence of 'friction,' just as it happens in dreams. So long as a man is sound asleep, life 'flows' freely through his body, but the moment some
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