Goverdhan
Shri Maharajji was once obsessed with an impulse to go to Goverdhan on a pitch dark night. The sky was still overcast with clouds although it had rained some time back. Maharajji was moving fast on the path to Goverdhan. He must have covered about three to four miles when a ray of hope flashed in his mind: If there had been a tonga he would have boarded it. Ignoring the toilsome walk and possibility of rain he walked ahead in joyous abandon. A tonga arrived a little later. Maharajji was walking speedily. The thought of sitting in a tonga had totally disappeared from his mind.
The Tonga Driver
When Maharajji answered in the affirmative on hearing his sweet voice, the 14 to 15 years old boy driving the tonga stopped and said, “ mokun hoon goverdhan, radhakund janon hain. voh rastageeran kon loot leya hain.” or “ I too, have to go to Radha Kund, Goverdhan. Come along and sit in the tonga. Thieves tend to loot travellers on this path.”
Maharajji sat at
the backside of the tonga. Since grass was stashed in the mid portion of the tonga Maharajji was unable to see the boy’s face.
The tonga cantered ahead. After covering some distance Maharajji asked the boy's name.
“Giriwar!” he replied in sweet Braj dialect.
Radha Kund
In the morning Maharajji started looking for the tonga driver. He went to the place where tonga drivers used to live and asked them about Giriwar. They said that no tonga driver by the name of Giriwar lived there. In a small basti like Radha Kund is not difficult to search for a person. It took Maharajji no time to grasp that Giriwardhari[1] Krishna was the one who had come in the form of that young boy. As soon as this thought struck him he went into a religious ecstasy and remained in that state for quite some time.
Punchhari Ka Lota, Goverdhan
After staying for a few days at Goverdhan Shri Maharaj ji walked to Shri Vrindavan Dham. It was summer. Evening had set in and he had been hungry all day long. Someone had given Maharaj ji two annas. He bought pakodis [2] from a shop at the grain market crossing for an anna.
An old Bengali saint wearing
filthy clothes came and stood near him.
“Baba,ek-dui-tu pakodi aamake au davo |” or “ Baba! Give me a couple of pakodis!”
he requested.
Shri Maharajji was left with
one anna so he bought the snack and handed it to him. Delightfully the saint began eating the
pakodis.
“I will go right away,” was Maharaj ji’s instant response.
Thereafter the Bangali saint left whereas Maharajji went to Bihariji’s Mandir.
He found that a very beautiful flower bungalow had been set up. Enraptured, he went on gazing.
Phool Bangala, Shri Banke Bihari Temple
He found that a very beautiful flower bungalow had been set up. Enraptured, he went on gazing.
Maharajji was circumambulating the Mandir when he met Shri Sant Ramji, a former acquaintance.
“A very beautiful phool bangala has been made today.” Maharajji told Sant Ramji.
“Have you drunk hemp? Where has the phool bangala been set up today?” was Ramji’s astonished response.
“I have just had darshan; come along I shall show you,” said Maharaj ji
Both of them went inside Bihariji’s Mandir and saw that there was no phool bangala. Maharajji understood that he had seen the divine phool bangal due to the divine
grace of the Bengali saint which had been showered on him.
The Rasa Lila
Shri Maharaj ji Has a Vision of his Gopi Svarupa
Seva Kunj, Vrindavan
Having darshan of his divine gopi svarupa had been possible due to the causeless mercy of those siddh saints
on Shri Maharaj ji. Detachment from the world and taking the Name of God, as
well as meditating on the divine sports of Krishna had attracted their mercy and created a mental ground which was capable of imbibing heavenly blessings.
Srila Roop Goswami says:
Srila Rupa Goswami
'krishnastadbhaktakarunamatralobhaikahetuka |
pushatimargataya kaishchadiyam raganugochayate ||'
'The compassion of Lord Krishna and His bhaktas is the sole reason of our inclination towards the raga marg or the path of
loving devotion.'
Shri Jayadeva's Ashtapadi
The initial influence of Shri Paramahamsa Dev had culminated in a secluded, ascetic lifestyle of sadhana whereas association with these great saints had been momentary. It seems that they had removed the ash from the embers. hidden within Maharaj ji, which
had then flamed up with their own heat.(Commenting on Shri Roop Goswami's shloka mentioned, above Shri Vishwanath Chakravarti remarks that the favour granted by godly devotees originates two kinds of cravings for divine love—one ancient and the other modern. The sweet emotion transmitted from former births is ancient and the feeling of sweet craving experienced in the present birth is modern.)
The Rasa Lila, Karhala VilIage
In those days several competent theatre troupes performing the Rasa Lila in Shri Vrindavan Dham were being conducted by Swami Brijlalji Bauhare, Swami Damodarji, Laxman Swami, Chetram Swami, Kishanlal Swami and so on. Shyamji of village Khaira used to enact the role of Thakurji (Lord Krishna) in the mandali of Swami Murlidharji. Many a time he would be emotionally charged with religious rapture during the enactment. Shri Maharajji would go to see the Rasa Lila performed by this particular troupe. Sattvik bhavas would be aroused in him and tears would stream down his cheeks on seeing the enactment.
Butter Thief Krishna
Tearing through the crown Rasbihari Thakur reached him in an instant and shaking his head with one hand said, “baba, baba, ye lo makhan to ho khaya le!” which means “Baba, Baba, take this butter! You too eat it.”
He caught Maharajji's hand and put the butter in it with his other hand. Laughing and prancing merrily he then went on to the stage. This incited Maharajji's bhava all the more. He sat with the blob of butter for a long time, tears streaming down his cheeks, absorbed in bhava. However he stood up quietly before the conclusion of the show and slipped away to avoid the inquisitive glances of people.
Shri Radhe-Krishna in the Rasa Lila
These episodes very much augmented Maharajji's samutkantah [9] for the real visitation of God. His steps took the road to Rishikesh once again.
One day while sitting beside the banks of the Jahnavi, he thought, “God comes in the form of a Sikh sardar, at times as a young boy driving the tonga, at other times he gives me prasad as Rasbihari and obliges me but he does not give me darshan, letting me behold His real divine svarupa. Thus, he resolved to give up his body and Maharajji headed towards Rishikesh. He climbed on to a high summit at night on
reaching Rishikesh. The Ganges was flowing about a hundred feet below.
Surging Waters of the Ganga, Rishikesh
Maharajji was startled. On turning round he saw an armed constable in front.
“Go away! Go back immediately.” rebuking him sharply, the constable ordered
him to retrace his steps.
Shri Maharajji was speechless. Bending his head, he returned sadly. The policeman followed him for some distance and thereafter left. With saddened heart Maharajji came back to his place and lay down. Being able to sleep was out of the question and the entire night passed by in tumultuous thoughts.
Somehow Maharajji passed the day. The same obsession gripped him once again with the onset of night. Piercing the dense forest he had reached the same summit by midnight.
Shri Maharaj ji Is Ordered to Go Back
”Who are you? You were forbidden to come here yesterday. Then why have you come? Return! Never come back again! “The same constable's voice resounded like the blowing of a conch shell,”
Maharajji was stupefied and returned with bent head as if
driven by a machine.
Next morning Maharajji naturally asked a saint whether constables went on guard in the mountain at night.
“Is there gold or silver stashed in the mountain that police guards need to patrol the place. We have never heard of or seen such a thing for the past so many years”
the saint replied with a laugh.
Maharaj ji Returns to Vrindavan
[1] Giriwardhari: Krishna
had lifted mount Goverdhan
when Indra lashed down
his fury on the
denizens of Braj
[4] Religious rapture:
emotionally charged state
or trance like state
of religious rapture, through deep absorption one
may directly experience the
feelings and moods of
another realm.
[6] Ragatmik bhakti:
Sri Rupa Gosvami has
defined raganuraga-bhakti as spontaneous attraction
for something while completely absorbed
in thoughts in it,
with an intense desire
of love.The spontaneous dealings
of the residents of
Vrindavana in relationship with
Krisna are called raganuraga.
These being don’t
have to learn anything
about devotional service; they are
already perfect in all
regulative principles and have achieved
the spontaneous loving service of
the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. For example, the
cowherd boys who are
playing with Krisna do
not have to learn
by austerities or penances or
Yogic practice how to
play with Him. They
have passed all tests
of regulative principles in their previous
lives, and as a
result they are now
elevated to the position
of direct association with
Krisna as His dear
friends. Their spontaneous attitude
is called raganuraga-bhakti.
[9] Complete eagerness:
when one is sufficiently eager
to achieve success in
devotional service it is
called samutkantah. This means complete
eagerness, actually this yearning
is the price for
achieving success in beholding
Krishna
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