Pastimes of Priyā-Priyatama in Nidhuvan

One morning Priyā-Priyatama were sleeping in Nidhuvan surrounded by their dear sakhīs, when suddenly Rādhārāṇī woke up crying. Rādhārāṇī said to Śyāmasundar, “O Prāṇanāth! Wake up! I have had the most amazing dream.

“I dreamt I saw a fair youth with a body bright as gold. I have never seen anyone like him. In a battle of beauty, his gorgeous figure would conquer a legion of kāmadevas. He was full of sweetest joy, the prince of bliss (rasarāja).

“His tender golden body was ornamented with bliss-jewels like shivering, horripolation and tears as he sang and danced in madness. Seeing his incomparable form, the home of all loveliness and radiance, my eyes were soothed and my heart was spellbound.”

Rādhārāṇī anxiously cried, “O Prāṇa-Bandhu! Why does my mind yearn so much for this other boy? From the day I was born until today I have known nothing in waking, dreams or deep sleep but your beautiful body, dark as a monsoon cloud ready to rain, a deep well brimming with rasa. Why now this strange reversal? In my life here in Vṛndāvan I have seen men and devatas, sylvan sprites and even Narāyaṇa himself. Seeing them never satisfied my mind, but this Gaurāṅga has stolen my heart!”

As she spoke Rādhārāṇī fell into a deep swoon. Then rasika-nāgara Śrī Kṛṣṇa embraced Rādhārāṇī and kissed her again and again (as the poet Jagadānanda watches in delight).

Surrender to A Spiritual Master

We should first faithfully surrender to a Guru (a God-realized Saint whom we have chosen to be our Spiritual Master). We should wholeheartedly follow His every instruction and teaching. This is the true beginning of Sadhana or spiritual practice. By surrendering ourselves to a Guru, we begin our spiritual journey.

In the material world, we gain knowledge by trusting the words of people with a higher intellect. Let us suppose that a person without any knowledge of law visits an advocate. The advocate teaches him how to tackle questions in a court to escape penalties. If the person does exactly as told by his advocate, he might win the case. We see that by having faith in the advocate's words, the person overcomes his challenges.

Similarly, when we are sick, we completely trust a doctor for our treatment without having any knowledge of medicine. We follow his instructions with full faith to get well. If we take medicine according to our wish, then it could be harmful to us. Even at school, we follow the words of people with a higher intellect (teachers), and complete our education.

We have to apply the same principle in the spiritual realm also. First, we have to search for a true Saint. Till we find a true Saint (God-realized Saint) we have to keep searching for Him. Once we find and accept such a Guru, we must stop searching and visiting other Saints. We have to surrender our mind to that Guru and do exactly as He instructs, without any questions or arguments. This is true or complete surrender - surrender of the mind.

Arjun committed the same mistake as above, with respect to the point of surrender of the mind. At the start of the great war (Mahabharat), Arjun said "O Shree Krishna! I do not know what I have to do. You are my Guru and my shelter." Shree Krishna said "If you consider me as your Guru, then I order you to go to war". Arjun replied "That is alright but..."

Here we see that Arjun applies his mind (intellect) against the wishes of his Guru. He is not following his Guru's instructions. Shree Krishna replies "If you use your mind then why do you consider me your Guru? Arjun says, "If I kill, it will be considered as a sin and the wives of soldiers will become widows. Their next generation will suffer." Shree Krishna replies, "If you know more than me, then why don't you become the Guru, and I will be your disciple?"

Accepting a saint as a Guru implies, "I do not know anything. You are my master (guide) and hence I am surrendering my mind (and intellect) to you."

So, in this way we have to surrender our mind to our Guru, and govern our intellect according to His teachings and instructions.

Shree Krishna said in Geeta-

ajñaśhchāśhraddhdānasya sañśhayātmā vinashyati | nāyam lokosti na paro na sukham sañshayātmanaḥ |

"A sceptic or the one who doubts the authenticity of the spiritual path is bound to fall down". The one who has no faith in God or Guru is destined to fall down. That person will neither be happy in this world, nor can he aim to attain happiness in the spiritual realm. Even in this material world, we survive on the basis of faith, which is the pillar of our lives. For ex., we work all day in an office in the hope and faith that at the end of the month we will get paid. If we begin to doubt whether we will be paid or not, then we will not be able work.

Similarly, when we deposit money at the bank, the cash is presented at the counter to the cashier. The banker counts the money while you wait outside. Finally, he gives you a receipt/voucher. Now, if you begin to doubt the banker and say, "Why don't you give me receipt first, I will then give you the money"? The banker will surely be surprised and will advice you that it does not work that way. So, without faith there is no transaction.

Even in the spiritual realm, faith plays a very important role. It is only on the basis of faith that we can surrender to our Guru. We should have a firm faith that, whatever our Guru instructs is for our own benefit. We should have this unwavering belief that our Guru will never cheat or betray us. A Saint always wishes the best for any person, so whatever He advices or instructs is for the welfare of that person. When we gain complete faith in His words, then we will surrender to Him blind-folded and without any fear.

Ved Vyas said -

dhāvannimīlya vā netre, naskhalennapatediha

"Bhakti is such a Divine path that you can embrace it blind folded."

God Himself protects his devotee or Bhakt in this path. If we take one step towards God, He will take many more towards us. Be faithful and you will undoubtedly receive His Grace in the form of true devotional feelings. Hence, Faith is the foundation of surrender on which we can move ahead in the spiritual path.

The Bible says:

We walk by faith and not by sight.

This means we move towards God on the basis of faith and not what we perceive with our material senses. In the beginning, we can only associate with a Guru and cannot meet God directly. So, we have to first build that trust in a Guru.

There is a very good story related to faith. Once upon a time a Saint and his disciple were traveling. To beat the afternoon heat, they decided to rest under a tree. It so happened that the Guru woke up in between and to his surprise, saw a vicious snake about to sting his disciple. At that very moment, Guru decided to kill the snake. Startled, the snake said "Don't kill me. I cannot rest in peace till I drink his blood to avenge his actions from a past life." The Guru replied, "If you want his blood, I will give it you, do not bite him." The snake agreed to this deal.

So the Guru held a knife at his sleeping disciple's neck, to draw blood for the snake. Meanwhile, the disciple woke up and saw his Guru sitting on his chest and cutting his neck with a knife. The disciple was not at all worried. He was completely relaxed. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep. The Guru continued to cut one of the veins and gave the snake what it asked for.

When the disciple finally woke up, his Guru asked him "I held a knife at your neck, yet you did not doubt my intentions. Why?" The disciple answered "Guruji, I know that you are my well-wisher and you will always think of my benefit. That is why I was totally relaxed and slept peacefully."The Guru said "Very Good Son! Well done. You have made me proud today."

If anybody can develop such a strong faith in a Guru then God realization is not very far. But it is difficult for a disciple to have this kind of faith in the preliminary stages, even if the Guru is a God-realized Saint. This is because the disciple is under the influence of Maya (eternally existing, lifeless, cosmic power of God) and a Guru is beyond Maya.

That is why in the beginning, a disciple tries to judge the capabilities of a Guru and starts doubting or arguing with his Guru's instructions. "Why did Guruji order me to do this job? should I do this or not?" The disciple questions and argues in his mind, but the Guru also knows his disciple's thoughts. He knows that a child learns to walk step by step.

What is the meaning of true surrender? Shree Maharajji tells us to use our mind in accordance with the desire of our Guru (unite our mind with that of our Guru). That alone is the true surrender of the mind. If we say that "Guruji, I am your disciple and under your shelter", Guruji says "Ok then, do this task". If we reply, "No Guruji, I cannot do this", then this is not true surrender.

King Harishchandra demonstrated true surrender to his Guru, Sage Vishvamitra, who asked him to give away all his wealth. Harishchandra surrendered all his wealth without an argument. Vishvamitra again asked for ten thousand gold coins. Harishchandra was penniless, yet he never refused. All he said was "I want some time to carry out your instruction". He worked hard but could not collect the required money. He then sold himself and started working in a cemetery. In this way he paid the money and fulfilled the desire of his Guru.

After this incident, Harishchandra's son died of a snake bite. Harishchandra's wife came to the graveyard with her son's body and said "I want to cremate the body but I do not have the money for it. Harishchandra said "I cannot disobey my master. Instead of money you can give me a part of your clothes."


At that very moment God and Guru appeared in front of them. His Guru said "Stop! This is enough. You have exceeded your Guru's expectations and set the finest example of surrender to a Guru."

Therefore, Kripaluji Maharaj writes in 'Radha Govind Geet' -

guru ājñā pālan hī govind rādhe |
hariśhchandra ko golok dilā de ||

By faithfully obeying Guru's instructions, Harishchandra attained Golok.

Why Human Life is so Important?

  

There are 8.4 million species on the earth planet. Amongst them, the human form of life is the only one where spiritual practice is made possible to get rid of all sorrows and attain eternal happiness. This human life is so rare that even celestial Gods long for it. This human form can only be attained by the ultimate grace of God. 

   We are already aware that Supreme God, Shree Krishna is synonymous with Bliss. Therefore, this proves that the attainment of God is the only goal of human life, since we all seek happiness. We also know that the only way to achieve this is to practice Bhakti (Devotion). In Bhakti, all we need to do is remember God in our mind and keep increasing our love for Him. We have to increase the longing for His Divine vision. This alone has the power to purify our hearts and when the process is complete, our guru will bestow upon us the priceless Divine love of Shree Radha Krishna.

   There are many types of Bhakti, but three of them are most significant: - Shravan Bhakti, Kirtan Bhakti and Smaran Bhakti.

   Shravan Bhakti means to listen to knowledge related to God, understand it and follow it. To chant, sing and immerse ourselves in the Divine names of God, His virtues, His glories and His pastimes is known as Kirtan Bhakti.

   Smaran Bhakti is to deeply meditate on the form of God in your mind. This is called as Roopdhyan. Every individual is qualified and has the right to do Bhakti, unlike other paths (Gyan and Yog) where there are many rules, conditions and pre-requisites.

 There are three main conditions which every follower of the path Bhakti has to fulfill.

trinādapi sunīchen tarorapi sahiṣhṇunā |
amāninā mānden kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ ||

Humility trinādapi sunīchen - A devotee must be more humble than a blade    of grass. A devotee must realize and consider oneself to be more humble than a blade of grass. When you crush grass under your feet, it never protests or complaints. It bends as directed and then becomes straight after a while. In the same way, one should always be humble in his/her behavior.

Forbearing / Tolerance tarorapi sahiṣhṇunā  - A devotee must be more forgiving/tolerant than a tree that bears fruits. When someone throws a stone at the tree, it does not get angry but in return, gives us a fruit, is it not amazing! It replies to your anger with a sweet fruit for your benefit! Svayam na khādanti phalāni vṛikṣhāḥ. The tree itself does not eat the fruits. It feeds everybody.

Respect for others - A devotee should not be looking for praise or compliments, but rather have respect for others. A devotee should always give respect to others and should not desire respect in return.

   In this way, one should lead a life filled with humility, tolerance and respect for others. A devotee should always chant, sing and remember God, His pastimes, His grace and virtues with affinity every moment.

   Having respect for others without seeking any compliments, being humble and always forgiving, all of these virtues can be expressed in one word,

Humility. It is the foundation of devotion. Devotion starts, stays, and develops only on the basis of humbleness. Any touch of pride and ego spoils it, just like a pinch of salt spoils a cake. Pride or ego is an obstacle in devotion. Humbleness of a devotee develops dedication to his master and dependence on God's Grace.
   We like to be appreciated by others. This is a major reason for a person's downfall spiritually. We should try to become a good person, rather than expecting others to appreciate us even though we might have ill-feelings for others. When someone criticizes or scolds us, we start feeling bad. We get angry and annoyed with that person and we sometimes turn hostile towards that person. We harbor hatred and negative feelings for others. This kind of feeling is very harmful for us.
   If we continuously remember people or incidents that increase negative feelings inside us, then we are causing harm to ourselves by dirtying our mind. Our aim should be practice the art of continuously remembering God and Guru, who are pure and Divine personalities. This alone will cleanse our heart and mind. In our lives, we have developed a one-sided attitude where we only like to be appreciated and not criticized.

   Once, a person started to abuse and criticize Lord Buddha and continued to do so for the whole day. By evening, he could hardly speak a word. Lord Buddha advised His disciple, "Give him something to eat. He has been at work since morning and he must be tired". The man abusing Lord Buddha was completely surprised. He said to Lord Buddha, "Are You made of stone? I have been humiliating you the whole day and you give me food to eat?"
   Lord Buddha replied, "Tell me something my friend. If you give something to a person and he does not accept it, what will happen to that gift? It will remain with the same person who gifted it in the first place. In the same way, whatever abuse you hurled at me has remained with you since I did not accept it. If you had spoken a few words about God, His virtues, His pastimes or His abodes, I would have gladly accepted them."

Hence, we should aim to develop a liking for criticism and resist the temptation to be appreciated. When we reach such a stage where we like to be criticized and dislike being complimented, then we will progress at a very fast pace.

   We should always remember a very important fact. Till the moment we attain God, we will be under the influence of Maya and we will continue to suffer from the diseases of the mind like desire, anger, jealousy, hatred, ego, etc. We have also accumulated innumerable sins from our past lives and all of these will be destroyed only with the attainment of God.

sarvadharmān parityajya māmekam śharaṇam vraja aham tvām sarvapāpebhyo mokṣhayiṣhyāmi mā śhuchaḥ

   If someone calls us names or criticizes us as an angry, sinful or a bad person, then what is wrong with it?  It is a fact and we should happily accept all these faults and try to rectify them.

   Here is an interesting analogy. When we introduce a policeman as a 'Policeman', he never complains or asks us to identify him as a 'Director General'. He is happy to be called as a 'Constable'. In the same way, when we people are sinners, why do we feel bad about being criticized?

Saint Tulsidas says:

  nindak niyare rākhiye āṅgan kuṭi chhavāy

   The one who points out our faults or mistakes is our well-wisher. When a snake or a scorpion creeps up our body, and someone alerts us, we call him our well wisher.

   There is one more point that we should remember. As long as we remember God, only that period (moment) can be considered as 'good' or 'right' deeds. The rest, we can conclude that only bad deeds are performed since that time (moments) are not dedicated to God. Have we ever realized how many hours do we think of God in a 24-hour day?

   We must repeatedly think and resolve that even if someone criticizes us, we will not feel bad. Practice makes a man perfect. Every day at night, before we sleep, we must recall, "How many times have I erred today? How many times did I commit the same mistake?" The next day, we will be more alert and cautious. In this way, by constant and relentless practice, we will stop feeling bad when others talk ill of us.

   Shree Krishna resides in our heart and notices each and every idea of ours. We should not get hurt or feel bad or get disturbed, because His Grace is dependent on our mind being detached from worldly feelings and completely attached in Him.

   Constant remembrance of this thought will lessen our faults, and at the same time, we will attempt to remember God. We should not have any ill feelings towards the one who criticizes us because Shree Krishna resides in his heart also. Be neutral with the one who finds fault in you and do not have a feeling of hatred towards anyone.

Shed tears by this saying prayer again and again:
  

yadi dainyam tvatkṛipāheturnatadasti mamāṇvapi

tām kṛipām karu rādheśh! yayā te dainyamāpnuyām 

   It means "O Shree Krishna! If you bestow your grace on humble ones then I am not at all humble. Therefore, grace me in such a way that I develop the feeling of being humble and shed tears." Remember that there is no way out of this and it is absolutely mandatory to practice this Sadhana, as human life is temporary and momentary.

   Eventually by constant practice, our faults will vanish.  Hence, with practice, all our faults will slowly and gradually vanish and you will feel calm and peaceful.

Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Unique spiritual discourse among IIT intellectuals....

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