Shri Govind Dev ji Mandir, Vrindavan
Maharajji began to reside in Shri Vrindavan Dham after this episode. He would
take a round of Braj whenever he wished but would always
come back to live in Shri Dham. Here he would do darshan of Shri Bihariji, associate with saints and roam around in joyous abandon. Sometimes he would sleep on the sandy banks of
river Yamuna, or in the Mandir of Govind Devji or
on the path in front of Shri Rangji.
A Beautiful Divine Gopi Appears
Once Maharajji started for Goverdhan in a state of religious rapture. Night fell while he was on the way and Goverdhan was still at a distance. A village lay right in front. He thought of taking some rest here and then proceeding ahead. He sat beneath a tree at the edge of the village. A marriage party was staying under a tree not very far away. Suddenly an idea struck him that he should rest here for the night and go
to Goverdhan in the morning. He had not eaten anything all day long. Maharajji was extremely hungry but did not wish to go to the village to beg for alms. These were the days of summer. Laying out the small black blanket, he was lying partially under the shelter of a tree. In the meantime, a
freshly youthful beautiful gopi, wearing lovely clothes and ornaments came to him.
“ Baba, come along. Feed yourself at my home,”
she offered while pulling his hand unabashedly.
Maharajji was aware of the simple and sincere nature of Braj denizens and had a sense of affinity with them. Simply picking up his small black blanket, he went along with her. Holding his hand the Braj gopi kept walking in front, she laughed and went on talking as well. There was the sound of her scattered laughter
while the anklets of her moving feet
tinkled sweetly.
Laughing loudly, Braj residents who were members of the marriage party joked, “ are le gai re, baba koon le gai ” or “ Hey, she has taken Baba, she has made off with him.”
That Braj belle was looking at the marriage party with a sidelong glance from behind her veil and laughing.
Krishna Lala
The denizens of Braj are pure at heart and of a guileless disposition. They are Lord Krishna's own people. They go to the temple not to have darshan of Lord Krishna but to see their 'Lala[1]' or darling child. In this context, the feeling Lord Krishna has towards saints is of close friendship. The saints too have a feeling of kinship and share a bond of closeness with Him.
Tugging Maharajji's hand the Braj gopi took him home. Affectionately she made him sit down for a meal.
“ A marriage party has come to my house today because of which many delicacies have been prepared. Eat to your heart's content asking for whatever you wish to have,” she said while serving him.
Maharajji had indeed been famished for the whole day, and seeing her affectionate insistence he ate well, to his heart's content. Thereafter, he returned and rested under the same tree and then started for Goverdhan.
Shri Radha Kund
He must have walked for just a few moments when he reached Radha Kund. Maharajji was astonished at how he had reached Radha Kund so soon. He assumed that it was a new path with a very short cut and decided to commute on this path in the future.
In the morning Shri Maharajji bathed in Radha Kund and circumambulated Goverdhan. Staying here for a couple of days he started for Vrindavan by
the same route. Even after walking for long time he could not find that village on this path. Later on he went to Radha Kund and Goverdhan several times but never saw the small village or that short cut ever again. Hee realized that the village had materialized and the path had shortened only for that short span of time. The village, the marriage party, that shapely belle of Braj and that short cut were all divine and they had vanished soon after catering to his needs.
An incident
occurred after this event. One fine day
Shri Maharajji saw the Rasa Lila and had darshan of Shri Bihariji. Then he came and sat in a corner of the huge jagmohan or the hall of audience of Shri Govind Devji's temple.
Prankster Krishna with a Broad Smile
Suddenly he saw a vision of the form of Lord Krishna, which flashed forth in front of him. He saw Lord Krishna standing in front, just two steps away and smiling slightly. Rays were emanating from His rows of pearly teeth. Enraptured by the beauty of those
gleaming teeth, Maharajji wished to touch
them. He moved a finger of his right hand forward to touch the rows of teeth. It seemed as if Lord Krishna was moving back gradually. As He shifted backwards Maharajji kept advancing and moving his finger ahead. All of a sudden
his finger bumped into the wall of the temple. Maharajji was startled and saw that there was nothing except the wall in front. The spirited flash of Lord Krishna's form had vanished. He had a joyous laugh at this prank of the Lord and kept laughing by himself in the isolated place for quite some time.
These transcendental incidents occurring all
the time, intensified his ardent longing to have prataksh darshan or actually
behold God. Restless due an
ardent longing to see Lord Krishna he went to great siddh[2] saints of Shri Dham Vrindavan in delicious anguish. He met Shri Awadh Dasji, Shri Gaurang Dasji, Shri Manohar Dasji of Govind Kund-Goverdhan, Shri Madhav Dasji of Topi Kunj, Pandit Amolak Ram Shastri, Pandit Baba Shri Ramkrishna Dasji and cultivated their noble company. Pandit Baba Shri Ramkrishna Dasji Maharaj was present as the crest jewl of rasika[3] saints at that time. His life story is well known.
One fine day Shri Maharajji went to Dauji's garden to call upon Pandit Baba.
After talking of spiritual matters, Maharajji asked Pandit Baba,“Can one attain gopi bhava[4] by merely chanting the Mahamantra repeatedly?”
Shri Pandit Baba
Pandit Baba's reply was, “Why not? One surely can! By constant incantation of the Mahamantra one can achieve the gopi bhava and develop love for Lord Krishna.”
Maharajji's second question was, “Are external religious observances like initiation, applying tilak and wearing kanthi[5], needed?”
The answer was, “ It is not as if these outward formalities are a necessity. The insistence of sectarianists for these external observances is simply customary. The gift of God's grace is the actual initiation. There is no harm in taking diksha if a siddh saint initiates you.”
The spiritual guidance given by Pandit Baba resolved
Maharajji's probem as it was in accordance with his principle and conduct.
Shri Radha Sudha Nidhi
'likhanti bhujamoolatho nakhalu sankha chakradhikam
vichitra harimandiram na rachayanthi phalasthale | '
(Shri Radha Sudha Nidhi)
' Truly loving devotees who are immersed in the nectarine flow of the Supreme Guru Sri Radha's thoughts do not have identifications like conch shell and discus of Vishnu on their shoulder, shrine of the Lord on their forehead or garland of tulsi in their neck.'
Always steeped in relishing the rasa of God's Name and eagerly to see the Lord's divine play, Shri Maharajji was assured by the utterance of Pandit Baba and went to Nandgaon for sadhana[6] for continuous incantation of God's Name. While staying there in Chhitariya Pandit's isolated hut surrounded by a dense clusters of trees, on Lalita Kund[7], he got engrossed in akhand Naam japa. Shri Avadh Dasji had done bhajan on this very kund. His bhajan sthali or place of worship stands there, even today.
About four months passed by in this manner. Maharajji heard that Shri Kripasindhuji Maharaj, a favourite saint of Pandit Baba, was staying at Prem Sarovar[8], the site of Lord Krishna's playfull dalliances, and is situated between Nandgaon and Barsana. He came to know that Kripasindhuji has discourses on holy subjects with one or two intimate saints at night. Maharajiji wished to hear his satsang and so he set off for Prem Sarovar.
Shri Kripasindhu ji
Maharajji saw a small earthen lamp glimmering in a dense cluster of creepers near a hut from a distance. Shri Kripasindhuji Maharaj was reading from a religious text to a saint sitting in front. Shri Maharajji eagerly advanced ahead. Kripasindhuji was startled to hear the sound of footsteps. Raising his eyes he saw someone coming. Instantly he shut the sacred text and hiding it behind his knees, extinguished the lamp. Shri Maharajji came and sat down after prostrating before him. Shri Kripasindhu Dasji Maharaj wanted to know from which place Maharajji had come and to which sect he belonged? Shri Maharajji told him that he was initiated into the Ramanuja Sect. Maharaj Kripasindhu Dasji had been initiated into the Gaudiya Sect and secretly meditated on the 'ashtyam lila[9] '. One devotee initiated into a particular sect does not talk about his sadhana to a person initiated into another sect.
Chaturbhuj Naryan
Moreover, the Shri Sampradaya propagated by Shri Ramanujacharya, is popular for predominantly worshipping the divine majestic form of Chaturbhuj Narayan which is very different from the sweet upasana or worship of Lord Krishna. Therefore, Shri Kripasindhuji Maharaj went on talking casually of unspecific matters. Shri Maharajji stayed there for a while and then came back to Lalita Kund. He was dejected that considering him ineligible, Shri Kripasindhuji had hidden the religious text and not read it in front of him.
Shri Maharajji zealously engaged himself in the spiritual practice of Naam Japa. But impediments began to crop up here. Denizens of Braj would come to Nandgaon for bathing, early in the morning.
Loudly they would laugh and joke, talk of worldly dealings and worthless exchanges, which created a disturbance in his sadhana.
The Peelu Tree
That is why Shri Maharajji decided to sit under a dense peelu[10] tree behind the garden of Nand Baba and sing
devotional hymns and worship God. Kadamba Khandi, the site where Shri Roop Goswami did bhajan is closeby. A few saints lived there as well. Shri Maharajji began akhand Naam Japa or constant chanting of God's Name here. He would chant the name of God, three and a half lakh times, from morning till evening, go to Nandgaon for bhiksha, go to Krishna Kund for eating the cooked food he got in bhiksha and slept anywhere around the place while doing Naam Japa. Again in the morning, he would steep himself in the regime of reciting God's Name under the same peelu true. The branches of the peelu tree were bent and touching the ground from all sides. Thus because of being seated beneath the peelu tree outsiders could not see him. In his
tender voice Shri Maharajji would loudly chant the Name of God with an ardent longing, hearing which passersby commuting on the nearby path to Nandgaon would be transfixed and stand listening to the
Mahamantra. Attracted by the constant flow of God's name even snakes etcetera would come and sit in front of him
Govind Lilamrta
This matter spread among mahatmas and reached the ears of Shri Kripasindhuji Maharaj at Prem Sarovar, in due course of time. On hearing this he was very pleased and called
Maharajji to Prem Sarovar.
Immediately, Maharajji eagerly went there in the night. Shri Kripasindhuji Maharaji was describing the 'Govinda Lilamrta[11]' to a couple of saints sitting under the kadamba trees in Prem Sarovar. Shri Maharaji also took his seat beside them.
Shri Radha
The tryst of the supreme lovers was being depicted in the discourse. A sakhi gave the news that Lord Krishna was grazing cows in Vrindavan. Sakhis like Lalita disguised themselves as sakhas so as not to catch the attention of elders, for a daytime meeting at the
rendezvous. They decked Priyaji, Shri Radha, in the guise of Subal because his appearance closely resembled that of Radha's. They decked her in the guise of a sakha but how were they to hide her well-developed breasts.
A Fawn Arrived
The sakhis were contemplating how to do this when skipping about a fawn came and stood infatuated in front of them. Laughing, Lalita ji caught hold of him and gave him in Priyaji's lap. Priyaji was overjoyed to see this providential good fortune and hugging him, started converging towards Shri Van.
Sakha Subal
Guised as a sakha Shri Priyaji was looking splendidly beautiful, as she fluttered along amidst extraordinary perseverance of the sakhis, undulating in a strange sea of emotions to meet Krishna, the Supreme Lover. Her amazing emotional frame of mind was generated by the beauty of creepers twining around the tamal and kadamba trees, the touch of the cool gentle breeze laden with the pleasing smell of pollen, the sweet warbling of peacocks, parrots and cuckoos and the swarm of droning black bees. She would stop all of a sudden on sensing the actual presence of Her beloved Krishna. Urging Her by juicy, amusing and delightful remarks, the sakhis were taking Shri Radha ahead. The entire forest region was resounding with their tinkling anklets, getting illuminated by the radiance of their limbs and becoming fragrant by their bodies' scent..
Shri Maharajji was listening to this new lila with eager concentration. This lila manifested and flashed forth in Maharajji's extremely pure and pious heart, enriched by the bhava[12] of
Kripasindhu Maharajji's narration. His body could not withstand the upsurge of this gushing rapture. Having reached the heights of elation and ecstasy, his body jumped one foot high. Streaming tears, curl of body hairs, trembling, and the thrill of religious rapture pervaded
Maharajji's bodily frame. Having an extremely sober nature and given to concealment of feelings, Shri Maharajji controlled his emotions with great effort.
[9] Ashtyam lila:
A method of devotional remembrance and meditation introduced by Jagadguru Nimbarkacharya which means that a selfless devotee should remember the lilas of Radha Krishna; whatever They normally do since early morning on getting up from the bed till the night when They go off to sleep.Meditating upon their lilas or divine play, the devotee must feed and dress Shri Radha-Krishna accordingly. (ashtyam literally means every three hours or eight times a day.
[11] Govinda Lilamrita
is a work explaining
the daily pastimes of
Krishna and his associates
in Vrindavana which has been
written by Krishna Dasa
Kaviraja Goswami.
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