Wasp

Expressions researched:
"wasp" |"wasps"

SB Canto 3

Living entities that have many legs, like the wasp, are better than plants and grasses, which have no legs.

SB 3.29.30, Translation and Purport:

Better than those living entities who can perceive sound are those who can distinguish between one form and another. Better than them are those who have developed upper and lower sets of teeth, and better still are those who have many legs. Better than them are the quadrupeds, and better still are the human beings.

It is said that certain birds, such as crows, can distinguish one form from another. Living entities that have many legs, like the wasp, are better than plants and grasses, which have no legs. Four-legged animals are better than many-legged living entities, and better than the animals is the human being, who has only two legs.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

Just as a wasp imprisons smaller insects, he arrogantly threw both men and women into caves in a mountain valley and sealed the caves shut with boulders.

SB 10.67.7, Translation:

Just as a wasp imprisons smaller insects, he arrogantly threw both men and women into caves in a mountain valley and sealed the caves shut with boulders.

I have taken shelter of twenty-four gurus, who are the following: the earth, air, sky, water, fire, moon, sun, pigeon and python; the sea, moth, honeybee, elephant and honey thief; the deer, the fish, the prostitute Piṅgalā, the kurara bird and the child; and the young girl, arrow maker, serpent, spider and wasp.

SB 11.7.33-35, Translation:

O King, I have taken shelter of twenty-four gurus, who are the following: the earth, air, sky, water, fire, moon, sun, pigeon and python; the sea, moth, honeybee, elephant and honey thief; the deer, the fish, the prostitute Piṅgalā, the kurara bird and the child; and the young girl, arrow maker, serpent, spider and wasp. My dear King, by studying their activities I have learned the science of the self.

Once a wasp forced a weaker insect to enter his hive and kept him trapped there.

SB 11.9.23, Translation:

O King, once a wasp forced a weaker insect to enter his hive and kept him trapped there. In great fear the weak insect constantly meditated upon his captor, and without giving up his body, he gradually achieved the same state of existence as the wasp. Thus one achieves a state of existence according to one's constant concentration.

CC Madhya-lila

The astrologer said, ‘The treasure is in this place, but if you dig toward the southern side, the wasps and drones will rise, and you will not get your treasure.

CC Madhya 20.132, Translation:

“The astrologer said, ‘The treasure is in this place, but if you dig toward the southern side, the wasps and drones will rise, and you will not get your treasure.

Karma-kāṇḍa is compared to wasps and drones that will simply bite if one takes shelter of them.

CC Madhya 20.135, Purport:

The Vedic literatures, including the Purāṇas, state that according to the position of the conditioned soul, there are different processes—karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, the yogic process and the bhakti-yoga process. Karma-kāṇḍa is compared to wasps and drones that will simply bite if one takes shelter of them. Jñāna-kāṇḍa, the speculative process, is simply like a ghost who creates mental disturbances. Yoga, the mystic process, is compared to a black snake that devours people by the impersonal cultivation of kaivalya. However, if one takes to bhakti-yoga, he becomes quickly successful. In other words, through bhakti-yoga, one's hands touch the hidden treasure without difficulty.

The results of this process are compared to wasps and drones. The living entity is bitten by the wasps and drones of fruitive activity and thus suffers in material existence birth after birth.

CC Madhya 20.135, Purport:

The western side represents jñāna-kāṇḍa, the process of mental speculation, sometimes called siddhi-kāṇḍa. The northern side represents the speculative method, sometimes known as the mystic yoga system. It is only the eastern side, devotional service, that enables one to attain life's real goal. On the southern side, there are fruitive activities, by which one is subject to the punishment of Yamarāja. When one follows the system of fruitive activity, his material desires remain prominent. Consequently the results of this process are compared to wasps and drones. The living entity is bitten by the wasps and drones of fruitive activity and thus suffers in material existence birth after birth. One cannot become free from material desires by following this process. The propensity for material enjoyment never ends. Therefore the cycle of birth and death continues, and the spirit soul suffers perpetually.

One who is bereft of devotional service is swallowed by the black snake of the yoga system and bitten by the wasps and drones of fruitive activity, and he suffers consequent material miseries.

CC Madhya 20.135, Purport:

Considering all these points, devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is the real treasure house for the living entity. When one comes to the platform of devotional service, he always remains opulent in the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who is bereft of devotional service is swallowed by the black snake of the yoga system and bitten by the wasps and drones of fruitive activity, and he suffers consequent material miseries. Sometimes the living entity is misled into trying to merge into spiritual existence, thinking himself as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This means that when he comes to the spiritual platform, he will be disturbed and will again return to the material platform.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

The astrologer Sarvajña further advised the poor man: "Don't dig on the southern side of your house to find the treasure, for if you do so you will be attacked by a poisonous wasp and will be baffled."

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 4:

The astrologer Sarvajña further advised the poor man: "Don't dig on the southern side of your house to find the treasure, for if you do so you will be attacked by a poisonous wasp and will be baffled. The search should be conducted on the eastern side where there is actual light, which is called devotional service or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. On the southern side there are Vedic rituals, and on the western side there is mental speculation, and on the northern side there is meditational yoga."

Śrī Kṛṣṇa even described the devotional service which the bees and wasps were rendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

Indeed, it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.21.14) that the birds are devoted to the service of the Supreme Lord. It is also stated there (10.15.6) that black bees always follow Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Concerning this, Śrī Kṛṣṇa even described the devotional service which the bees and wasps were rendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa said:

ete 'linas tava yaśo 'khila-loka-tīrthaṁ

gāyanta ādi puruṣānupadaṁ bhajante

prāyo amī muni-gaṇā bhavadīya-mukhyā

gūḍhaṁ vane 'pi na jahaty anaghātma-daivam

"O supremely virtuous one, O Personality of Godhead (Balarāma), just see how these bees and wasps are following You, glorifying Your transcendental fame and worshiping You. Actually these wasps and bees are not as they appear; they are great sages who are taking this opportunity to worship the supreme soul. Although You are not known by ordinary persons, they know You, and they are following and glorifying You."

Nectar of Devotion

The gopīs' sleeping condition is compared to the white swans, and the sound of Kṛṣṇa's flute is compared to a black wasp. When Kṛṣṇa's flute sounded, the white swans, which represent the sleeping condition of the gopīs, were immediately vanquished, and the black wasp sound of the flute began to enjoy the lotus flower of the gopīs' beauty.

Nectar of Devotion 30:

A messenger from Kṛṣṇa came to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī while She was sleeping, and Rādhārāṇī immediately awakened. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa began to blow on His flute in the night, all of the gopīs, the beautiful daughters of the cowherd men, immediately got up from their sleep. There is a very beautiful comparison made in this connection: "The lotus flower is sometimes surrounded by white swans, and sometimes it is surrounded by black wasps who are collecting its honey. When there is a thundering in the sky, the swans go away, but the black wasps stay to enjoy the lotus flowers." The gopīs' sleeping condition is compared to the white swans, and the sound of Kṛṣṇa's flute is compared to a black wasp. When Kṛṣṇa's flute sounded, the white swans, which represent the sleeping condition of the gopīs, were immediately vanquished, and the black wasp sound of the flute began to enjoy the lotus flower of the gopīs' beauty.

Another devotee expressed his impudence by saying, "My dear Lord, without considering my lowly position, I must confess to You that my eyes are just like black wasps, desiring to hover at Your lotus feet."

Nectar of Devotion 38:

Another devotee expressed his impudence by saying, "My dear Lord, without considering my lowly position, I must confess to You that my eyes are just like black wasps, desiring to hover at Your lotus feet."

In the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Fourth Chapter, verse 37, the great sage Nārada informs Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira about Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was a devotee from the very beginning of his life. The proof of Prahlāda's natural devotion is that even when he was a small child he did not play with his playmates, but was always eager to preach the glories of the Lord. Instead of joining in their sportive acrobatic feats, he remained an inactive child because he was always in trance, meditating on Kṛṣṇa. As such, there was no possibility of his being touched by the external world.