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Shri Bharat ji's Immense Love for Lord Ram
Shri Hari
Shri Vrindavan Dhaam
13th October 1964
Dear Nirmal,
With love, Jai Shri Hari.
I was very pleased to receive your letter. You have given a beautiful account of Shri Bharatji's fondly affectionate heart! The deeply moving union of Bharatji and Lord Rama can enchant anyone with its loving tenderness. Most fortunate of all brothers is Bharat, the recipient of Lord Rama's love. His focused affection on Ramji is blissful!
Because of which highly revered Shri Goswamiji Maharaj exults:
Vandaun pratham Bharat ke charana,jasu nem vrat jai na barna
Ram charan pankaj man jasu-mat madhup iv tajai na pasu.
Bharatji's eagerly desirous mind is never detached from his beloved Lord's lotus feet. It is said that there is no fixed principle in love but truly speaking the dedicated devotion in love is not possible elsewhere. Yes, the Lord's name doesn't just remain a religious observance! The two are in essence a single entity. Therefore Goswami Maharaj affirmed that it is impossible to give an account of singing his glories or religiously taking his name.
Bharatji was engulfed by surges of exquisite desire to possess the Lord, without cease. He is as capricious as the inconstant bee counted on to alight from flower after flower of worldly joys. No earthly pleasure could bind Bharatji; Devi Mandvi's intense love, his mothers' doting on him, the revered esteem of ministers, the adulation of his subjects, and Shri Shatrughan's brotherly affection centering around him. But none of the foibles could draw his mind away from the lotus feet of Lord Rama. Goswamiji has posited him beautifully as 'Ramprem Murtitanu Aahi' and 'Dhare deh janu ram snehun'. Shri Ramji is the supreme object of his enthused adoration and also a perfect discerner of love.
Therefore 'Barbas liye uthai, ur laye kripanidhan'. Thus least concerned about the anger of his spiritual mentors and the presence of a thronging crowd, Lord Rama, the paragon of modesty did, Kripa kari panvri deenhin. Apprehensions did crop up but not allowed to escalate were blown away like blades of grass in the terrifying rush of love. Once again Ramji hugged Bharat warmly. You never know what loving entreaties Bharatji made to Ramji and what assurance he got as answers. Since Sabte upar Ram Rajai, following his command was paramount and Bharatji had to go back to Ayodhya. Once again the two hearts, in essence a single entity, parted ways. But now Bharatji was aware that the Lord existed intensely in his heart when he sang his praise and dwelt in his longing for him that did not require Rama's human presence. Sri Ramji observed the scenario with 'Sajal nayan rajeev' and treasured his brother's phenomenal adulation.
On the other hand Bharatji strolled along lazily, finding respite from the pathos of separation. The anguish which used to engulf him now transformed into a state of rapture with the joy of belonging. Ko kahi sake mook jimi svadu. By the grace of Bharatji, the embodiment of brotherly affection, we should also attain a fragment of this parabhakti or perfected devotion.
Hopefully, Shyamsundar the true essence of our lives, satiates our perennial quest of union with God by total absorption in his love. In the midst of such a spectral revelation we don't feel like harping on the selfish deities. One can conclude that the Lord's loving tenderness blesses an innocent bhakta who has no desire of self-gratification. A mind flawed by pride and conceit is not easily impressed and in case it is, the grace is momentary! The deities also showered flowers several times, celebrating Bharatji's love but soon forgot the incidence on recollecting their self-interest.
Yes, it is certainly surprising that the deities were untouched when the brothers' union reached lofty aesthetic heights and clung on to self-gratification and the world's well being. The underlying reason for this condition is Ramji's wish and his divine play. Thus Lord Shankar reveals to Goddess Parvati that the individual soul becomes precisely what Raghunathji wants it to be by stimulating it in a certain fashion. A knowledgeable person is not foolish but the arrogance of being the doer makes him famed or disgraced whether he is a deity, mortal or a demon for that matter. Why should we hover around this controversial topic? Let us absorbed in the same nectarine ocean of Bharatji's love, not dwell upon the impediments.
Nirmal, when I sat down to write I never knew we could have such a lengthy comforting discussion but by the grace of the supreme motivatar, Raghuvanshmani ( a title of Rama, the lord of the race of Raghu) this charming revelation of the divine incarnate and his adorable brother was feasible. Now it feels great. I really appreciate what you had written as it made me recollect several contexts of his divine play.
The Kartik month starts from this Purnima. Bathing at daybreak and tulsipujan is considered sacred and has spiritual significance during this time span. I am writing a pada which eulogizes Tulsi.
Jai tulsi Hari pran priya ki.
Vrinda naam dhaam mein kahiyat,samsari karai kaun kahi taki.
Sundar komal harit saurbhi, dukhdalmalan sumal hiyaki.
Pitambar jan kanthin dharat, nahi upeksha aan tiya ki.
Truly speaking, Shri Tulsiji is the beloved of Shri Hari. She is the one who lives in Shri Dhaam by the name of Vrinda and Shri Dhaam acclaimed as Vrindavan is named after her. As the divine exemplar she is singular; one without a second. Her assemblage of beauteous tender green leaves exuding a unique fragrance, enraptures Shri Hari. Tulsi Maharani destroys all sorts of sorrows. The supreme lover Lord Krishna, lodges her in his throat. Even on such good fortune she is not conceited and does not demean other beloveds. I bow before the virtuous and large hearted Bhagwati Tulsi.
Nirmal, just listen to two lines I just remembered:
He Tulsi.Kalyani. Shri Krishna Pyari.
Kyon na kaho tum Nandsuvan son dasha hamari.
Well then, Jai Shri Hari
With love,
Yours Bobo.
