Beyond Birth and Death
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nature, and we are servants of nature. Therefore Kuntīdevī says,  kecid āhuḥ : “Someone may say that the unborn has taken birth.” It may appear that He has taken birth just like us, but in fact He has not. Kuntīdevī distinctly says,  kecid āhuḥ : “Some foolish persons may say that He has taken birth.” Krṣṇa Himself also says in  Bhagavad-gītā  (9.11),  avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam : “Because I have appeared just like a human being, those who are rascals think that I am also just like an ordinary human.”  Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ : “They do not know the mystery behind God’s taking birth like a human being.”
Krṣṇa is everywhere. The Lord is situated in everyone’s heart ( iśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ‘rjuna tiṣṭhati ). And since He is within us and is all-powerful, why should it be difficult for Him to appear before us? When the great devotee Dhruva Mahārāja was engaged in meditation on the four-handed form of Viṣṇu, all of a sudden his meditation broke, and he immediately saw before him the same form upon which he had been meditating. Was it very difficult for Krṣṇa to appear in this way? Of course not. Similarly it was not difficult for Him to appear before Devakī in the same four-handed form. Therefore Krṣṇa says,  janma karma ca me divyam : “One must understand My transcendental birth and activities.” Kuntīdevī has this understanding. She knows that although to some fools Krṣṇa appears to take birth, in fact He is unborn.
But why should Krṣṇa perform the pastime of taking birth? Kuntīdevī replies,  puṇya-ślokasya kīrtaye : to glorify those who are very pious and very much advanced in spiritual understanding. Krṣṇa comes as the son of Devakī to glorify His devotee Devakī. Krṣṇa becomes the son of Yaśodā to glorify Yaśodā. Similarly, Krṣṇa appears in the dynasty of Mahārāja Yadu. His great devotee, just to glorify Mahārāja Yadu. Thus Krṣṇa is obliged to take His birth in a particular family or country, but He takes birth to glorify a certain person or a certain family because of their devotion. Therefore His birth is called  divyam , transcendental.
The Lord is not obliged to take birth, but we are obliged to do so. That is the distinction between our birth and the birth of Krṣṇa. If by our  karma , or activities, we are fit to take birth in a good family in human society or demigod society, we shall do so, but if our activities are low like those of animals, we shall have to take birth in a family of animals. That is the force of  karma .  Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantor dehopapattaye  ( Bhāg.  3.31.1). We develop a certain type of body according to our  karma .
The human form of life is meant for understanding the Supreme, the