Shyam Mukh Chhavi Lakhi Gai Balihar

Shyam mukh chhavi lakhi gai balihar.
One Braj Gopi says to another, “When I beheld Shri Krishna’s beautiful face, I completely surrendered my everything to Him.”

Lakhatahin banata sakhi mukh chhavi jab, hansat Shyam sarkar.
When Shri Krishna laughs, His glorious beauty is multiplied.

Dadim beej sarisa dashanana duti, damakani shveta nihar.
His dazzling white teeth are like the shining white seeds of a ripe pomegranate.

So duti adhara aruima te mili, shvetarun rangadhar.
When the whiteness of His teeth mingle with the redness of His lips, they appear to be reddish-white.

Puni shvetarun ranga me tanu ranga, neelo mili ik sar.
And when the bluish complexion of His face combines with these two…

Lakhi ‘Kripalu’ mukh rang triveni, vidhi hari har manhar.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj says, “Then seeing the wonderful triveni of these three in Shri Krishna’s face, even Vishnu and Shiva surrender themselves at His lotus feet.” (The triveni is the confluence of the three divine rivers Ganga, Saraswati, and Yamuna near Allahabad. Here triveni refers to the divine confluence of the whiteness of Shri Krishna’s teeth, the redness of His lips and the bluish glow of His complexion.)

Listen to this pad kirtan:

(Excerpted from “Shri Krishna Dvadashapadi”, written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.”)

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Anupam Neelo Tanu Sarkar

Anupam neelo tanu sarkar.
The beautiful blue-complexion of Shri Krishna’s divine body is unmatched anywhere.

Kou kaha indraneel mani sam kou, neela jalada anuhar.
Some Rasik Saints have compared it to a blue sapphire, others to a bluish rain-laden cloud.

Kou kaha neela kamala sama neelo, tanu chhavi Nanda-kumar.
Some Rasik Saints have said Krishna’s beautiful complexion is like a blue lotus.

In teenon ka prithak prithak hai, gun budha karahu vichar.
A sapphire, cloud and lotus all have different unique qualities. A sapphire is smooth with a sparkling blue radiance. A bluish cloud is soft and cool. A blue lotus is refreshing and fragrant.

Yate in tinon ke guna ka, mishrana kar taiyar.
If all of these unique qualities were mixed together,

Puni usamen mishran karu chinmaya, prem sudha ras-sar.
And then they were combined with the nectar of divine love, this would to some extent give an idea of the beauty of Shri Krishna’s blue complexion.

Kaha ‘Kripalu’ tanu upama as jas, tanu Vrishbhanu-dular.
According to Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, the transcendental divine form of Shri Krishna can only truly be compared to the divine form of Shri Radha. (Although Saints use material examples to help us visualise Shri Krishna’s divine form, in reality, it has no comparison to anything in the material world.)

Listen to this pad kirtan:

(Excerpted from “Shri Krishna Dvadashapadi”, written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.”)

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Neelamani, Tanu Lakhi Gai Balihar

Neelamani, tanu lakhi gai balihar.
A Gopi of Braj describes the beautiful form of Shyamsundar (Krishna) to her friend, “I surrendered my body, mind and soul when I saw Neelamani’s (Shyamsundar’s) divine form.”

Tribhuvan sundar Kamdev aru, Rati hai uski nar.
The celestial god Kamdeva is the most beautiful being in our world and Rati, who is equally beautiful, is his wife.

Unte aganit gunit manohar, hain sundar sarkar.
Uncountable times greater than their combined beauty, is the unlimited divine beauty of Shyamsundar.

Unki sundarta unke hi, man ko mohanahar.
Shyamsundar’s beauty is so captivating and charming, that even He Himself is attracted by His own beauty.

Unki chinmaya tanu lakhi gyanihun, manat muktihin khar.
The jnani Saints who are fortunate to experience the limitless sweetness of Shyamsundar’s divine love find their nondual bliss of liberation to be bland and tasteless in comparison.

Shiva, Shuka, Janaka, Sanaka tanu chhavi lakhi, det samadhi visar.
Great jnani Saints like Shiva, Shukadeva, Janak and Sanak and others forget the bliss of their samadhi (nondual transcendence) seeing the overwhelming splendour of Krishna’s divine form.

Rama, Brahmani, Vani, lakhi nahin pativratadhar.
Divine Goddesses such as Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati can’t maintain their marital vows of fidelity to their husbands once they see the all-attracting beauty of Shyamsundar.

Unke rom rom te santata, bah braj ras ki dhar.
The nectar of divine bliss is continuously flowing from each and every pore of Shyamsundar’s divine body.

Kaha Kripalu un tanu ras chakhat, bhal Vrishbhanu-dular.
Jagadguru Kripalu Ji Maharaj says, “It is only Radha Rani who fully experiences the sweetness of the divine love bliss of Shyamsundar’s divine form.”

Listen to the audio:

(Excerpted from “Shri Krishna Dvadashapadi”, written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.”)

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The True Givers – Part 1

Hari Guru Do Hi Data Govinda Radhey,
Shesh sansar to bhikari bata dey.

(Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 18, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

We are all beggars. What are we begging for? Happiness. What kind of happiness? Divine happiness or premananda. We have been experiencing the happiness of the world for uncountable lifetimes. But worldly happiness has two defects. First, it is limited, and second, it is temporary.

Limited means when you see or learn about a happiness beyond what you are presently experiencing, your current state of happiness ends. A poor man is contentedly eating a dry piece of bread until a man comes before him eating a delicious and rich dessert. The poor man thinks dejectedly, “Is this dry bread something that’s fit to eat? Look at what he has…”

A poor man is traveling by bicycle. A rich man passes him driving an expensive sedan. He thinks, “This bicycle is worthless. If I just had a car…”

A person graduates from the university and wonders how and when he will locate a job. Finally he finds employment. Someone asks him, “Do you have a job?” He replies, “Yes, I do.” That person asks, “What is your pay?” He proudly says, “10,000 rupees a month. What is yours?” The other man says, “50,000 a month.” The happiness of the person who earns less disappears.

As an axiom, when we see a greater happiness than our own, our present happiness ends. Even if we were to experience the greatest worldly happiness, its nature is to slowly diminish in intensity until it comes to an end. Thus, no matter how great it is, it is only temporary.

This is what happens whenever you see anything pleasing in the world. A person visits India and sees the Taj Mahal, “Oh, it’s really beautiful!” If that person is asked some time later, “Come on, let’s go see the Taj Mahal.” His answer, “What for? I already saw it once.”

From a distance, a boy sees a girl outside her home and goes mad for her. By chance they ended up getting married. Once they start living together, he begins to see each and every one of her physical defects and personality faults. Now he thinks, “Oh no, my life is over!”

The happiness related to everything in the world continuously reduces. On the other hand, God’s greatest happiness always steadily increases, no matter how many times you experience it. So that true happiness is what we have eternally desired, but we are looking for in the world and asking for it from beggars. We are asking our mother, father, spouse and children to give it to us. We are begging like this 24-hours a day. Even though we are shamed, discouraged and belittled by these same people, we keep on asking them.

Really, what could they give you? Just as you are begging from them, they are also begging for happiness from you. We say to each other, “I love you”, but do we understand the definition of love? We have merely memorized this phrase and keep on saying it.

(Continued in Part 2)

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Worshiping Radha Krishna – Part 4

Ishton men Radha Krishna Govinda Radhey,
Bhavon men madhurya shreshta bata dey.

(Part 4 – Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

After God realisation one does not continue to have material desires.

Bhidyate hridayagranthish-chidyante sarva sanshayah.
Ksheeyante chasya karmani tasmin drishte paravare.

This verse is found in the Mundak Upanishad 2/2/8, Yogashika Upanishad 5/45, Saraswati-darshan Upanishad 32, Bhagwatam 1/2/21 and 11/20/30. It says that after God realisation, one’s mayic ignorance is destroyed. As a result, all of one’s material desires are eliminated. Really, after experiencing such great divine bliss, why would one continue to have material desires? God’s bliss is unlimited. Worldly happiness has no comparison to this.

So there can be nothing more foolish than to ask God to fulfill your material desires. To say one’s desires were fulfilled by God is utter nonsense. If they were  fulfilled, this was bound to happen anyway according to one’s karmic destiny. We wrongly give God the credit for this.

Further, if we have material desires, this only means we have not yet understood the ABCs of spiritual philosophy. We are still confused about whether happiness is in the world or in God. This is the very first stage of understanding. And if one realises that there is no happiness in the world  including up to Brahma’s abode, then why would we ask God for the world? Why don’t we pray to God to realise God?

Urvashi

Once God went to the celestial abodes. Indra welcomed Him with great respect, “God has come to my kingdom!” When He was leaving, God said to Indra, “Son, ask for a boon.” Indra said, “Please give me such a woman whose beauty has never been equalled in the past nor will be in the future.” God smiled and thought, “I can’t believe what a foolish request this is. What does he lack here in the celestial abodes? The most beautiful maidens are already here.” Celestial gods have so much power they could  produce thousands of such maidens simply by thought.

But to fulfill Indra’s desire, God produced thousands of extraordinarily beautiful women and said, “Choose one from among these.” Indra only saw the very first maiden and said, “I choose that one.” Her name was Urvashi. Indra took her to his Guru, Brihaspati. Brihaspati said to Indra, “Who have you brought with you? This isn’t Indrani, your wife.” Indra sheepishly said, “Oh, well, God appeared today… and… He said I could ask for something…” Brihaspati said, “What? You have given your Guru a bad name! You asked for this from God?”

So when the emperor of the celestial abodes can make this kind of mistake, how much more foolish are those who go to the temple and pray to God for the fulfillment of their material desires?

The defeat of Abhimanyu

Even if God Himself where to appear before you, He will not fulfill such prayers. What is it that God could give? Take a look at history.

Even Abhimanyu, who was sinless, had to die. Although Veda Vyas, a descension of God, performed Abhimanyu’s marriange, and Abhimanyu’s uncle was Lord Krishna, who was supreme God, and his father was Arjuna, a true saint, decension of Nar-Narayana and knower of the Bhagavad Gita, no one could save him. Why not? What is death to God? Is anything impossible for Him to do? Surely He could have saved him.

Yet, when Arjuna was weeping after Abhimanyu’s death, He asked Lord Krishna, “Please let me see him just once.” Even at that time, Lord Krishna couldn’t bring him back. He said, “One’s time of death is determined by the destiny created by one’s actions. I do not interfere in this.”

So unlike Abhimanyu, when you have no relationship with Lord Krishna, what will you receive by asking Him to fulfill your desires?

Even Lord Ram’s father, Dasharath, had to die. Lord Ram Ram did not save him, even though He saved thousands of monkeys killed in the battle of Lanka. This is because when one’s destined time of death has come, he must go. We can’t do anything to alter this. Then why do we hope that merely by asking God to fulfill our material demands He will do so?

Material desires are only a source of suffering, and to ask God to fulfill these is outright foolishness. This is also pure selfishness, sakamata. What is selflessness, niskhamata, will be described next.

(Continued in part 5)

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Worshiping Radha Krishna – Part 3

Ishton men Radha Krishna Govinda Radhey,
Bhavon men madhurya shreshta bata dey.

(Part 3 – Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse.)

What is the nature of selfless devotion? People are very confused about this, including those who are supposedly learned. There are two areas – Maya’s area and God’s area. For this reason there are two kinds of desires – desires for material things related to the world and desires related to God. Therefore selflessness or niskhamata is of two kinds. One kind is directed towards the world and the other kind is directed towards God.

To have worldly desires is only natural. We perceive the world before us and so we form worldly desires thinking that by fulfilling them we will attain happiness. If clarified butter is poured on a fire, the flames reduce as if the fire is being extinguished, but then they rise up again. Similarly, when we fulfill worldly desires, these desires don’t come to an end, they only grow stronger. The Ved says,

Na jatu kamah kamanam mupabhogena shyamyati... Narad Parivrajak Upanishad, 3/37.

This verse is also in the Bhagwatam, the Vishnu Purana and the Padma Purana. Worldly desires don’t come to end when they are fulfilled; they grow stronger.

A poor person thinks, “If only I could have $100,000.” After attaining this, he starts thinking, “$100,000 is nothing. I want $200,000!” Desires keep on growing like this. The greatest billionaires feel distressed that in the coming year someone else’s wealth will surpass theirs. Even in an ordinary family it is seen that if one person is more financially successful than the others, those who have less feel jealous. This is also seen in the celestial abodes,

Surapatir brahmam padam yachatey.

Indra is the emperor of the celestial abodes. All the other celestial gods like Varuna, Kuber, Yamaraj and others are under his command. Even so, he is not satisfied with his own abode; he desires the abode of Brahma. He feels restless and has no peace of mind.

Remember this: Desires only increase when you fulfill them. This is where everyone is stuck. There are five kinds of desires of the five senses – to see, to hear, to smell, to taste, and to touch. Whatever kind of desire you have, it will either be fulfilled or not. We feel happy when a desire is fulfilled. But after this, that desire grows stronger. This is the double danger with worldly desires.

If someone says he will pray to God to fulfill his material desires, what will happen? Nothing. Why? Because God only listens to His devotees. If one hundred people go to the temple and pray to God to make them prime minister the next day – how is this possible?

Imagine that you are standing on the side of the road and you must reach Allahabad. You flag down an approaching car. The driver wonders, “Who is that person? Why is he trying to stop me?” But he does stop and you tell him, “I must go to Allahabad.” The passenger refuses and as he drives away he thinks,”That person is absolutely crazy. I have no idea who he is but he wants me to take him to Allahabad?!”

But if that driver’s relative were standing by the side of the road or if his Guru suddenly appeared there, he would immediately stop and ask, “Why are you standing here?” “My car broke down.” “Oh! Please come with me.” Without even asking, that person is invited into the car. This is because there is a relationship between the driver and that person. There is a feeling of love and devotion and that is why he stopped.

Similarly, great Saints such as Tulsi, Meera, Sur, Kabir, Nanak, Tukaram asked for something from God, and God had to fulfill their desire, even if that meant making the impossible possible. But what about the other requests that people make? Nowadays people rush to pilgrimage places like Vaishno Devi or a particular Shankar Temple, Ganesha Temple or Durga Temple to ask God for something. What is this? Fruitless effort. God will not listen to even 1% of such requests. Why not?

You had a desire so you went to Vaishno Devi and prayed, “Bless me with a son.” By chance you had a son. You believed, “Vaishno Devi performed a miracle for me!” You went to Vaishno Devi a second time. When you returned home you learned your son had died. Now you believe, “This is all a deception! There is no God. My neighbour had five children and he just had a sixth. But I had just one child and he died!”

If you believe your worldly acquisitions are the result of the grace of God or Guru, when these acquisitions are lost or destroyed, you will blame Him, lose faith in Him and act adversely towards Him. Thus, as long as you haven’t attained God realisation, do not ask God, even by mistake, to fulfill your worldly desires.

(Continued in part 4)

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Worshiping Radha Krishna – Part 2

Ishton men Radha Krishna Govinda Radhey,
Bhavon men madhurya shreshta bata dey.

(Part 2 – Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

Now let’s consider bhava or devotional sentiment. How should Radha Krishna be loved or worshiped? As almighty God? Arjuna listened to the teachings of the Gita from Shri Krishna on the battlefield before the Mahabharat War. Again and again Shri Krishna referred to Himself as supreme almighty God, “There is nothing beyond Me. Everything has arisen from Me. I reside in everyone’s heart.” But Arjuna thought of Shri Krishna as his friend. He said, “You keep on saying that you are almighty God. How am I to believe this? Any one could say this. Show me how you are God!”

Shri Krishna said, “How will you see this? Your eyes are mayic, material. They are made of the same material elements as is this world. Your body and senses are made of material elements and after your death they will merge into material elements. But I am divine. My body is not made of material elements.”

The Padma Purana explains that the body and soul are separate in all living beings, including celestial gods and goddesses. In God’s case, however, God’s body and soul are one. Shri Krishna asked Arjuna, “So how will you see My divine body with your material eyes?” Material eyes only see the material objects of the world – provided a person has good eyesight and light is present. These two conditions must be met. Even so, we can see only a limited distance, and small objects such as atoms are imperceptible to us even with magnification.

So with what feeling should we love God? Even the celestial gods and goddesses are terrified of God in His almighty form. When Narsingh Bhagwan appeared on this earth to kill Hiranyakashipu, all the celestial gods and goddesses said, “We must give thanks to Him. He appeared in our world to kill such a terrible demon. But He is manifesting such a scary and angry form! Who will go first?”

They said, “Brahma, you are His son. You go.” Brahma said, “No, not now.” They then said, “Shiva, you have the power to reduce this world to ashes. Please go.” Lord Shiva also said, “No, I won’t go right now.” Finally they decided, “Send for Prahlad and let him go first. After all, God appeared on his account. When He sees Prahlad, He will cool down. Then we will all go to Him.” When Lord Narsingh saw Prahlad, He started smiling. He took Prahlad in His lap and affectionately hugged and stroked him, as you see parents do with their children. Then all the celestial gods and goddesses, and Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva came forward with songs of praise.

So Shri Krishna said to Arjuna, “First I will bestow on you divine vision, then afterward you will see God.” He graced Arjuna with divine eyes so Arjuna could see His almighty form. But Arjuna started to tremble in fear. He shut his eyes. He started perspiring. Stammering, he said, “I don’t want to look! You really are almighty God! Until now I had no idea. I always accepted You as my friend. Please forgive me!”

So if you worship God’s almighty form, you will not be able to love Him. Instead you will feel afraid. However, God says, “My children, don’t think of Me as a supreme almighty power. Relate to Me in the same way you relate to others in the world.”

The first type of relational feeling with God is that of dasya bhava, the love of a servant for his master. Now our devotional feelings have a way to develop because a master is benign, not angry. In the world we see there are servants in homes. A prime minister or president has a personal assistant. But the familiarity a servant is entitled to with his master is very restricted. The Ramayana says,

Sir bal chalau dharma as mora, sab tey sevak dharma kathora.

When Ram, Lakshman and Sita were leaving Ayodhya to enter the forest, Lakshman would walk behind Ram and Sita in such a way so that he would not step in their footprints. How difficult this is! A true servant instead places only his head wherever his Guru places his feet. Does this mean we have to walk on our head? How is this possible? What this implies is the role of a servant is very difficult. There are many rules of propriety that must be observed.

Beyond this is sakhya bhava, the relational feeling of a friend to a friend. What does a friend do? He places his arm around his friend’s shoulders and informally asks, “Hey, where did you go today?” Still, the rights of a friend are also restricted.

Beyond this is vatsalya bhava, the relational feeling between a parent and child. In this bhava God is loved as your child. You may spank Him, twist His ear and scold Him for being naughty. You may request, “Son, please bring my slippers…” And He will have to bring them! He has become your son. But even this feeling of love still has some restrictions.

Beyond this is madhurya bhava. This is the relational feeling of a lover and a beloved. This is not the same as the love between a husband and wife. The feelings of a lover and beloved are even beyond this. A woman’s husband is at home, but she secretly loves another. This quality of love, which was the love of the Braj Gopis for Krishna, is called jar prem.

Love in madhurya bhava is selfless. This is its uniqueness. Selfless means with no personal desire for one’s happiness. The other unique quality of this bhava is one may think of God as one’s beloved, one’s child, one’s friend, or one’s master. However, those who love God with any of the lower types of relational feelings may not think of Him with the intimacy of madhurya bhava. They do not have this right. A devotee who thinks of God as his master, cannot even love Him as a friend, let alone as a beloved. If any servant were to place his arm around his master’s shoulders, his master would scold him and say, “What is this nonsense! Maintain your distance!” A servant is not entitled to this kind of closeness.

The feelings of a lover and beloved are the most intimate. Whatever the lover asks, the beloved must do. A wife, on the other hand, cannot speak like this to her husband. She has to abide by the rules of propriety that relate to her prescribed duties as a wife. There are many social rules that relate to this kind of relationship. A wife can’t say her husband, “Son, come here.” Her husband would think, “She called me ‘son’?!” His next thought might be to send her to the hospital for treatment.

But God gives us the right to love him with all these relational feelings in madhurya bhava. We may relate to Him and love Him as a Beloved, as a Son, as a Friend and as a Master.

(Continued in Part 3)

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Worshiping Radha Krishna – Part 1

Ishton men Radha Krishna Govinda Radhey,
Bhavon men madhurya shreshta bata dey.

(Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

The one who is worshiped (ishta) or the one who is served (sevya) is of many kinds. Some are even mayic or material, such as celestial gods and goddesses. These include Indra, Varuna, Kuber and others. Such ishtas are millions in number. By acquiring spiritual understanding through the teachings of a true Saint, we come to know that the worship of a material personality results in a  material consequence.

The word deva applies to both celestial beings and to supreme God.

Kah paramo devah. Krishno ha vai paramam daivatam.

This verse asks: Who is the greatest deva? Here the word deva refers to supreme God. Similarly, the word divya (divine) refers to both material celestial beings and also to God. The word atma (soul) refers to both the individual soul and God. Only Saints know which  meanings apply to what words in the scriptures. Those with merely intellectual understanding of the scriptures don’t have this knowledge.

One single God has many worshipable forms. These include impersonal brahm or Brahman and paramatma. Paramatma has three aspects: (1)  karanarnoshayi paramatma, (2) garbhodashayi paramatma, and, (2) ksheerodashayi paramatma. Even though these forms are non-different from each other, the aspect of paramatma is superior to impersonal brahm.

Impersonal brahm is completely neutral, and remains this way even when loved or worshiped. Brahm is purely a divine existence. It reveals no divine powers or qualities. For example, a grain of wheat lies in a cabinet for years. An innocent person might say, “I put that grain in there, thinking in ten days it would sprout and then after a month it would be a fully grown plant, but it has stayed the same for years!”

A grain or seed is full of power but this manifests only after it comes into contact with the soil, the sun, water and air. When all these are present, a seed could grow into a plant in one month. Similarly, even though brahm possesses all the divine powers, none of these are manifest. Therefore, brahm is called avyakta shaktik – endowed with powers that remain unrevealed.

Paramatma, on the other hand, manifests powers, form, name, and qualities, but does not perform leelas or divine pastimes, and does not have divine associates. However, don’t be confused about this point – the same brahm is paramatma, because God is only one.

So paramatma has three aspects. Karanarnoshayi paramatma permeates uncountable worlds. Garbhodashayi paramatma permeates one world. Ksheerodashayi paramatma resides in all our hearts, notes our thoughts and gives us the consequences of these actions. This is the object of worship for yogis.

The final and supreme form of God is Radha Krishna, who manifest all the divine powers, including divine love and divine pastimes. Brahm and paramatma are Their other forms.

These three forms all pertain to the same one God, but in the form of Radha Krishna every kind of divine bliss is manifest. That is why this kirtan verse says, “Out of all the worshiped forms of God, I worship Radha Krishna.” There is no other form beyond this.

(Continued in Part 2)

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God is a Magnet

Hari Guru chumbak Govinda Radhey,
Man loha shuddhi matra so kinchva dey.

(Synopsis of a talk by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 16, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

A mother and father have four children. They all live in the same home, share the same environment and eat the same food, but the aim and interest of each is different. All four children went to see a Saint. One of them sincerely followed the Saint’s teachings. One half-heartedly following them and then stopped. One didn’t follow them at all. One criticised the family member who was practising devotion, “Why has he started this ‘Radhey Radhey’ in our home?” Why is there so much difference? This verse gives the reason.

Our mind is filled with the stored impressions of actions from uncountable past lifetimes. This is collectively called sanchit karma. During this time we have committed uncountable sins. There is no such sin, even one such as murder, that we have committed just two or three thousand times. We have performed such actions uncountable times. Because we have been in existence as long as God, we have had uncountable births. If we had committed one murder in uncountable lifetimes, then we have committed uncountable murders, because our lifetimes are innumerable. There is no such sin that we have committed in the thousands and millions; we have committed them all uncountable times.

When all of Dhritarashtra’s sons were killed in the Mahabharat War, he called Shri Krishna. Dhritarashtra knew that Shri Krishna was supreme God. He asked, “You know everything. What sin did I commit that all my children died?” Blind Dhritarashtra at that time was sitting alone and weeping. Shri Krishna said, “How many of your previous lifetimes do you remember?” Dhritarashtra said, “Three lifetimes.” Shri Krishna said, “What is uncountable minus three? Can you calculate this? You can’t even calculate the sins from three lifetimes.”

We only see the present, and even in the present we don’t understand what is a right action and what is a wrong action. Not even 1%  of the people in the world understand this, including those who are very knowledgeable. During my lifetime, I have met many great scriptural scholars. They would come to me and ask, “What is sin? What is virtue? What is good? What is bad?” The definition of this is very simple.

That amount of time that we remember God or Guru is the amount of time that we do not commit sin. Everything we do apart from this is a sin.

Now a person can calculate how much remembrance of God he has done during the course of his lifetime. He alone is our only relation. It is for realising God that we were given a human birth. Why have we forgotten this and instead of loving Him we love each other?

So there is one philosophy that applies to sin and virtue: Whatever time your mind is absorbed in loving remembrance of God is the amount of time you are saved from performing wrong actions. Otherwise, we are always performing wrong actions. For example, you loved our mother. Is this wrong? When you go to the temple and say,

Tvameva mata cha pita tvameva tvameva bandhusch sakha tvameva,
tvameva vidya dravinam tvameva tvameva sarvam mam deva deva.

Do you know the meaning of ‘tvameva‘? It means ‘only You’, not  ‘also You’. This prayer says, “Oh my beloved God, You are my only father, You are my only mother, and You are my only property and wealth.”

Yet if a hungry beggar comes comes to the window of your car and starts speaking to you, even though you have $10,000 in your pocket, you will turn your face the other way and say to the driver, “Let’s get out of here!” If you takes something out of your pocket for that beggar, you give the smallest bill you have and throw it at the beggar disdainfully, “Here! Take it!”

You have all been like this beggar in uncountable births. How must that poor person have felt when that money was thrown at him? Yet we have all heard and read and believe that God dwells in everyone’s heart. If you are going to give him something, even if it’s just a few pennies, give it with love. This is just your pride. The different ways in which you have hurt others is part of your sin.

So the amount of attraction one feels for God and Guru depends on the extent of the sin he has committed. This is proof positive of how sinful we are. Is our mind attracted to God and Guru or is it attracted to our worldly relations and property? When you are alone you can assess both and then you will know what is your status. It is our material attachment that has not allowed us to go towards God. If we did go towards God, we were just pretending. If we sincerely went towards God, we went some distance and then turned around and went back to our material attachments.

Take a magnet, for example. Place a variety of needles around it. Some needles are pure iron, some are 10% iron, some are 20% iron and so on. The needles of pure iron will be immediately attracted to the magnet. The ones mixed with another metal will be attracted slowly. The needles that have very little iron will remain where they are. Our minds are similar to the needles.

Papvant kar sahaj subhau, bhajan mor tehi bhavana.

You people are so lucky. You may be traveling by train or airplane and if someone says, “Radhey” even while yawning, you will immediately think he is a good person, “Oh, he said ‘Radhey’!” You have acquired this attraction through the grace of God and Guru. Otherwise you would never have these positive feelings. You might feel instead that God’s name was painfully piercing your ear like an arrow.

When we were building Shyama Shyam Dham, we set up loudspeakers to start playing kirtan at 3 am. I thought, “Everyone will hear God’s name and feel happy.” It didn’t take even a month before I started receiving complaints and that, too, from so-called holy men who have renounced family and home to live in Vrindaban, “Could you please request the Jagadguru Ji to change the position of the speakers so they are not facing in our direction?” It is only our sins that do not allow us to feel receptive to the divine name.

Yavatpapaistu malinam hridayam tava deva hi.

Our attraction to God and Guru is related to the extent of our sin. If one has a perfectly pure mind, he will be attracted immediately, and that, too, just by sight. So if in the future you wish to know how far you have advanced, you can use this as a measure.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

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Jagadguru Divas 2011

Hari Guru bhaju nit Govinda Radhey,
bhava nishkam ananya bana dey.

(Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj at Bhakti Dham, Mangarh, India, on January 14, 2011, explaining this kirtan verse.)

This verse contains the essence of all spiritual philosophy. It mentions four points:

(1) Hari Guru bhaju – The scriptures do not prescribe that our worship should be to God alone. Yasya deve para bhaktir yathe deve tatha gurau. The Vedas explain that the Guru should be worshiped with the same devotion as God. Devotion to both is compulsory.

(2) Nit – Many people practice devotion, but only for a short time. This is like saving $10 and spending $20, or washing your clothes once with soap and afterward making them dirty ten times. If you do this, your clothes will never become clean.

First, we don’t practise devotion properly. Even if we do practise devotion for an hour or two, we do it pridefully. People observe with some awe, “Do you know that person is a tax collector and he worships God for one full hour?” But just ask him what he did during that time. He recited the Hanuman Chalisa or the Shiva Chalisa or Durga Chalisa. He did a little japa. This isn’t devotion.

Even if someone were to properly practice devotion for one hour, afterward he virtually becomes an atheist. How is this so? Just consider one small point, which we need to bring into our understanding: Shri Krishna is seated in our hearts. This is stated everywhere in the scriptures and everyone knows this. “God resides within all!” But how many truly realise this? This realisation should be continuous or nit, not just for 10 minutes, half an hour or 23 hours.

For example, we feel a continuous sense of “I am.” We know the same ‘me’ that existed yesterday is the same ‘me’ that observed dreams while we were sleeping, and it is the same ‘me’ that is existing now. Just as we have a continuous sense of “I am”, we should continuously realise with full confidence that our divine Father, our soul-beloved God is seated in our hearts. If we do this, then we are a true believer.

If we should forget this, even for just a minute, then we start having private thoughts, “No one knows what I’m thinking right now!” There are even those who sit before their Guru and silently criticise him. It may be that the Guru doesn’t know what his disciple is thinking, but God is still dwelling in that person’s heart. He forgot this point.

In fact, everyone forgets this. This is everyone’s shortcoming, regardless of how knowledgeable they are. For this reason, Kripalu has written ‘nit‘ – devotional remembrance of God and Guru should be continuous.

(3) Bhava nishkam – 99% of the devotion that people are engaged in is selfish. There is a huge crowd at a particular temple. Why has everyone gone there? Because the form of God worshiped there performs miracles! On this basis, some temples collect millions in gold. A person places a heap of gold before a statue of Sai Baba. He explains, “God blessed me – I just won the lottery! So, of course, I have to give God a percentage.”

This is selfish devotion. If such a selfish devotee encounters the slightest hardship, “Oh Lord! Hear my cry! My son is very sick.” But your Guru taught you to be selfless – so selfless that even at the point of death you should not request God, “Let me live.” Your material attachments to your family and relations have made you forget spiritual philosophy.

(4) Ananya – People worship a god or goddess, then someone convinces them they should instead practise tantric meditation, so they leave their worship and start that. Then they go to the shrine of a deceased holy man where huge crowds gather and they also worship there.

People pilgrimage to such places simply due to hearsay. The holy man who left this world is gone now. If he was a Saint, he has gone to Golok, God’s abode. What did he leave behind? Just his mortal remains which must have decomposed by now. Still people are convinced, “He performs great miracles!” Even presidents and prime ministers frequent such places.

When we worship celestial gods and goddesses and also supreme God, this means we still don’t understand who is the supreme divine power. If we did understand, then why don’t we worship Him alone? This just means we don’t understand spiritual philosophy, even though we have listened to it a lot. Spiritual philosophy has been explained to us in every age. We have listened to it, understood it and then forgotten it.

So we have to constantly reflect on these four points and practise them. Without practise, neither God nor Guru will give you anything. God Himself is already seated in your heart; what are you receiving from Him? Even if a person were to find a true Saint and stay with him 24-hours a day, this doesn’t automatically guarantee anything. Everything is dependent on practise.

Thus these four important points have been incorporated in this verse:

1. Hari Guru bhaju – worship God and Guru with the same devotion;
2. Nit – your remembrance of God and Guru should be continuous;
3. Bhava niskham – your devotion should be selfless;
4. Ananya – your devotion should be exclusive

If you forget the philosophy of the scriptures, by simply remembering these two lines you could attain your spiritual aim.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

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