The Honeybee That Got Trapped

All of us have experienced moments where everything seemed right—yet the outcome was not as expected.

Same is the case for our honeybee here….

A male honeybee wished to carry sweet honey home to his wife on her birthday. In search of nectar, he travelled to a beautiful pond filled with blooming lotuses. He landed on a lovely lotus flower and began to collect honey. Tasting some of it himself, he became deeply satisfied by its sweetness. Thus, his eyes gradually closed, and he drifted into sleep.

By the time he awoke, the sun had begun to set. As dusk fell, the lotus flower gently closed its petals, trapping the honeybee inside. Confined within, the honeybee began to console himself with hopeful thoughts:

ra:trihi gamishyathi
the night will pass

bha:sva:n ude:shyathi
the sun will rise

hasisyathi pankaja sri:hi
the lotus will bloom again

ittham vichinthayathi
as he was thinking thus,

ko:sagathe: dwire:bhe:
while the bee remained enclosed within the lotus,

ha! hanta hanta!
alas! Alas!

The-Honeybee-That-Got-Strangled-An-Elephant

An elephant stepped into the pond,plucked the lotus from its roots
nalini:m gaja ujjaha:raha

When Effort Does Not Guarantee Outcome

He never made it to his wife. Why?

How do we understand such outcomes—small or great, pleasant or unpleasant, expected or unexpected, desired or undesired? Are they the result of our past karma? And is there a way out of it?

These are precisely the questions the gopikas once asked Goda Devi nearly 5,000 years ago. Goda Devi—revered as Andal —is celebrated and worshipped for the way she tied Lord with her love for Him and for all of us.

Before we reveal the timeless guiding principle she blessed us all with, let us pause and reflect on what made the honeybee’s efforts appear “futile.”

Did he succumb to drowsiness and lose track of time? Was it carelessness?

Gathering honey is his everyday activity—one he performs with natural skill and awareness. He is wise enough not to make such a mistake. Then what changed on that particular day? It points to something deeper—something operating from within. And why that day, and not another?

Is There Meaning Behind Uncertainty?

According to the law of karma, it was the fruition of his past actions. His accumulated karma had reached a point where the present life was destined to end at that moment—no earlier, no later. In modern terms, we might call karma the accumulated effect of past choices, habits, and circumstances—many of which we no longer remember, but which continue to shape our present.

The scriptures explain karma as being of three kinds: 🔍 Read more

Sanchita karma — the accumulated store of past actions, held in reserve,
Pra:rabdha karma — the portion of that store currently being experienced, manifesting as one’s present body and life circumstances,
A:ga:mi karma — new actions performed in the current life, the results of which will bear fruit in the future and later join the accumulated store

Karma is classified as either punya (that which yields a pleasant experience) or pa:pa (that which yields an unpleasant one). Clearing karma is beyond the individual’s scope of control due to the vastness and nature of it – we neither know the mechanism of how it’s stored or how it is meant to function. So, what can we do about it?

When All Support Falls Away

Draupadi was being disrobed in the royal assembly of the Kuru kingdom. In that moment of extreme distress, she remembered the words of Sage Vasista, spoken to her when she was young:

Mahathya:padi sampra:pthe: smartavyo bhagava:n Harihi

When you are faced with great danger, remember and call upon Lord Hari.

With complete surrender, she cried out:

Govinda Puṇḍari:ka:ksha sarana:gatham
“O Govinda, O Pundarikaksha!

I surrender unto You.”

The Lord’s name is so powerful that it protected Draupadi without requiring Lord Krushna to appear in person. Psychologically, this moment represents a complete release of control—when fear ends, clarity and strength emerge from knowing the Supreme who has control over everyone’s karma.

So, regardless of the task one seeks to accomplish, or the nature and huge load of the karma standing behind it, chanting the Lord’s name transforms how one perceives, faces and overcomes obstacles… often dissolving inner resistance, fear, and confusion.

If Surrender Works, Why Do Outcomes Still Differ?

But does this mean that the honeybee could have been saved had it surrendered to and chanted the Lord’s name? If so, shouldn’t everyone who does the same experience only positive outcomes?

Addressing this very concern, in response to the gopikas’ question, Goda Devi explained definitions of punya karma and papa karma.

Right definition of Punya karma and Papa karma

For those who only seek realisation of their eternal relationship with the Lord, they pray that whatever pleases Him should alone become their punya karma, and whatever displeases Him should alone become their pa:pa karma. So, such seekers naturally choose actions that bring Him joy and refrain from those that do not. Such seekers naturally accept everything that’s happening as that of God’s wish.

Life is seen as part of a larger journey, where individual success or failure, pleasure or pain become less important than alignment with a deeper purpose.

All feelings are offered to and aligned with the purpose of long-term and universal well-being. As a result, no karma will seem as an obstruction.

But I cannot see a difficult situation in my life as God’s will and accept it. I want to act on it and come out of it. Can God still help?

That’s a very natural feeling and a very likely situation for most people. In such times too, seeking Lord’s name alone for support will protect and alleviate one to a better place because He alone can help with the unseen forces of karma…

God says…

sakruth krutha:njalihi (even once, with folded hands)
thvadanghri muddhisya (offering oneself at the Lord’s divine feet)
kada:pi ke:nachith yatha: thatha:va:pi (at any time, by anyone, in any manner,)
thava:smi (if one can sincerely say, “I belong to You, O Lord,”)
thathaiva mushna:thi asubha:ni ase:shathaha (He immediately robs away all accumulated sins,)
subha:ni pushna:thi (and fills one’s life with auspiciousness and joy.)
na ja:thu hi:yathe: (and His grace continues, and continues…)

Must listen - HH’s voice

God’s name helps us cross through all obstacles. Let’s learn about Him further, Trust in Him, Love Him, do our duty as He advises with clarity in mind about why, how, what etc. Stay blessed and blissful in life, making Him our constant loving companion…

This is the quiet power Goda Devi revealed—one that helps us act, endure, and grow, even when life does not unfold as expected.

– From the discourse of HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji
– Thiruppavai, 5th Pasuram
– Statue of Equality,
– 18^th Dec 2025