The Treasure of the Pauper ()

Often, only when we are put into circumstances where Krishna is all that we have that we realize Krishna is all that we need. That is why Queen Kunti in her prayers to Lord Krishna in the Shrimad Bhagavatam (1.8.27) addresses him as akinchana-vittaya, the treasure of the pauper: it is only when we lose everything that we consider to be a treasure and are reduced to a pauper that we realize that Krishna is our actual – and only – treasure. Of course, we don’t have to become paupers to realize this. By hearing attentively and contemplating prayerfully the messages of Krishna given in the sacred scriptures, we can gain the twin realizations that, even when we possess worldly treasures, we are still paupers for those treasures can neither truly prevent the miseries of life, nor offer substantial satisfaction to our hearts; and therefore our actual treasure is Krishna and Krishna alone. Thus, when we become material paupers at heart, we can relish Krishna as the everlasting treasure of our hearts.