BakthaVedham

Srinathji -11

2012-01-17T07:00:00.027+05:30

Barham nama vibhooshanam bahumatham veshaaya seshairalam

Vakthram dvithrivisesha kaanthi lahari vinyasa dhanyairalam

Seelairalpa dhiyaam agamya vibhavai sringara bhamgeemayam

Chithram chithramaho vichithrithamaho chithram vichithram mahah.

Radhekrishna! For this cowherd boy an ordinary peacock feather is a suitable ornament! All the other jewels having joined His divine body become attractive and are not able to decorate Him. His face adorned with gopi thilaka and the naturally sweet lips are wonderful indeed! Wonderful is His sringara bhava which can turn even an idiot into a great bhaktha! The brightness which emanates from His divine body keeps changing every minute making His friends and relatives wonder stuck! Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! Nothing else to say! Thus praises Leela Suka, in his Krishna Karnamritham.

The great bhaktha Kumbhadasa had a son who was also very much devoted to Lord Srinathji like him. He was called Chathurbhuja. Whatever happened he would not go outside Brindavan. Vittalnath used to take Srinathji with him when he went to near by places. Once he took Srinathji to Mathura with him. Chathurbhuja did not at all favour Mathura since he thought Kamsa was still there. He feared something might happen to his Srinath. Vittalnath stayed there for 2 days in Mathura. Chathurbhuja missed Srinathji very much and became dejected. He kept crying for the Lord in Brindavan.

At the same time in Mathura the sayana arathi was going on for the Lord. After the arathi Vittalnath tried to put Srinathji in bed. But he noticed that the Lord was not sleepy. Worried he asked the Lord why He was not sleeping. Srinathji replied that He didn't want to sleep in a place where Chathurbhuja was not present. He too missed him very much and said He didn't like Mathura. He asked Vittalnath to carry Him immediately back to Brindavan. Vittalnath said that it was dark already and it would be difficult to go across river Yamuna at this night. Srinathji laughed and said 'Don't tell me about the darkness of night. I left Mathura only at the midnight and I know Yamuna very well. You carry me on your head and go. I will make Yamuna to give way for us.'

Well can Vittalnath argue anymore? Immediately he packed everything and started for Brindavan. As they started the conch was sounded and people hurried towards the place wondering what was happening.When Vittalnath said Srinathji could not sleep there they laughed. How did he know that Srinathji wanted to go away! But Vittalnath did not care for their comments and proceeded.
Meanwhile Chathurbhuja was finding it difficult to spend the time. He ran towards Yamuna and kept looking towards the other shore in the hope that Srinathji might return. He even wanted to cross the Yamuna too. But controlled himself thinking that Srinathji might not like that. Ultimately he went to the Govardhan hill and pleaded with it. 'Hey Govardhan hill ! Please bring my Srinathji back. If you call out He will rush to you.' He was angry with Srinathji for leaving him like this. Suddenly he could hear the conch, bells and drums from the distance. He rubbed his eyes and looked. He saw Srinathji's group coming back. He rushed forward and hugged Srinathji. Srinathji told him that He couldnt sleep in Mathura without Chathurbhuja. Chathurbhuja was overwhelmed with emotions. Vittalnath was watching all these with tears in his eyes. He told Chathurbhuja that Srinathji missed him very much.The Lord easily conquers the heart of His devotees with His love.
Wonderful is Vittalnath's valsalya bhava! Wonderful is Chathurbbuja's unflinching devotion! Wonderful is Srinathji's pure flow of love! Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

Srinathji 10

2011-12-17T07:30:00.002+05:30

Sashtaanga paadam abhivandhya samastha bhaavai:
Sarvaan surendra nikaraan idameva yaache
mandasmidardra madhuranana chandrabimbe
nandasya punya nichaye mama bhakthir asthu!

        With humility and great devotion I prostrate down and offer my only prayer to all the devas! I pray for blessings to have deep and steady devotion in the son of Nandagopa who is blue hued, with a charming smiling face! Saint Leela Sukar thus prays to the Lord in Sri Krishna Karnamritham!
     Radhekrishna! In the last issue we saw the great sadguru Vittalnath turned an evil minded man to be a great devotee of the Lord. Great is Bharatha and great are the Sadgurus. Sadguru Vittalnath had another disciple called Kumbhadasa. He was a poor potter but very much devoted to the Lord. The King Rajasimha hearing about this devotee wanted to meet him.
      Kumbhadasa was living near Govardhana giri. When then king went Kumbhadasa was crying out to his granddaughter to bring his mirror and chair as it was time for him to apply gopi on his forehead. He had to do his daily worship. A little girl came out of the hut and said 'Oh grandpa, the goat drank the mirror and ate your chair'. Hearing this the King was confused. He couldn't understand what she was saying and turned towards his minister. The minister understood what she meant and shed tears of joy. On enquiry the minister told the king that Kumbhadasa's mirror was a pot of water, and his chair was a bundle of grass. The goat had eaten the grass and drank the water it seemed. Kumbhadasa was a very poor man. But in the midst of such a poverty he was so devoted to the Lord.
     Seeing this the king felt sorry for Kumbhadasa. Immediately he brought a mirror with a golden frame and kept it before Kumbhadasa. The potter was confused and looked at the King. The King explained that since his goat drank away his mirror, the king wanted to gift a Kumbhadasa with a mirror which the goat cannot drink. Surprised at this Kumbhadasa replied, 'but my mirror need not be kept with great care. Nobody would steal my mirror too. This mirror which you have brought needs great care and attention. Moreover I have to safeguard it from thieves too. So I am not comfortable with this. Please take these away. As long as I am poor my Srinathji showers His blessings on us. If I become richer I might lose Srinathji's blessings. Without His blessings I don't want to live. To get His blessings I don't mind being poor, or sick, or even insulted. Only due to the merits of many births and guru kripa that I have bhakthi now. I don't want to lose that at any cost. So please don't mistake me.'
The king was very much disappointed at this. He was sorry that he couldnt do any sort of service to this great bhaktha. Then he again requested the bhaktha whether he can name the village as Kumbhadasapuram. Kumbhadasa laughed at this and replied, 'why do you want to change its name? This place belongs to Lord Srinathji. We have no right to change its name. This vraja bhoomi is the Lord's. Don't think about give my name to this place. It is great fortune to have entered this place. Don't sin by doing such heinous deeds and don't make too a sinner.! Do bhakthi and enjoy the Lord instead of pulling me into unwanted problems!'
        The king couldn't say a word to the mahathma. Kumbhadasa used to sing during one of the arathis performed daily at the temple. Srinath enjoyed his singing and used to gift him with His sweet kisses. Kumbhadasa was very happy with that. He was contented with the opportunity. So he had no more needs or desires. He was well aware of his guru's blessings. Such a wonderful bhaktha! King Rajasimha considered himself to be fortunate to meet this bhaktha and fell at his feet. Great is such a bhaktha and great is such a sadguru who has a disciple like him!
     Meet you at the next issue with more stories of Srinathji! Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

Srinathji - 9

2011-11-17T14:45:00.009+05:30

Mani noopura vaachaalam vande thacharanam vibho:

Lalithani yadheeyani lakshmani vraja veethishu.

Krishna roams around the Vraja lanes with tinkling anklets on His Feet. The sound of the anklets is accompanied by the tinkling of bells on the neck of the cows. Those feet are soft like lotus flowers. They make beautiful marks of the conch, disc and the lotus on the dust of Vraja bhumi while He walks. I worship those lotus feet with all my heart, says Leela Sukar in Krishna Karnamritam.

Radhekrishna! The very same Lord saved the people of Brindavan from Indra’s wrath by lifting the Govardhana hills. He is their lovable Srinathji. Daily 8 pujas are done for Him. Morning mangala arathi is done. During this time Srinathji is woken up. He gets up late during summer and gets up early during winter. Vittalnath’s followers take turns and sing songs to wake Him up. They wipe His face with warm water with great care and love. He is offered bhog after that. Then comes sringar arathi. It is the time for Him to play. So they give flute in His hand. All play things are kept in front of Him and again singing is done. Dry fruits are offered for Him at that time. Arathi is done in the end.

Then Gwal arathi is done. Time for Srinathji to take the cows and calves for grazing. Light tiffin is offered for Him then. Arathi is done.

Then noon it is time for Rajbhog and arathi. Numerous varieties of food items are offered for Him at that time. Arathi is again done now. After a tiring day and a heavy meal Srinathji will get tired and prefers a light nap. He has to be waken up from the nap so afternoon by 3’ O'clock, uddhapan arathi is done. He is gently woken up and arathi is done.

Next comes the time for Srinathji to have discussions with all the devas who come to Him with various problems. It is said that whatever we wish at that time will be fulfilled by Srinathji. It is also said once Aurangaseb lost his eye sight. Having heard about Srinathji’s miraculous powers, he prayed to the Lord at this particular time and got his sight back. Again a variety of food is offered to Him at that time and arathi done. Then evening arathi is done when He reaches back from the forests with the cows and cowherds. Finally the sayana arathi is done when He is put to sleep. Lullabys are sung during that time. At that time after food pan (betel leaves with nuts) too is offered to Him.This system of puja was organised by Vittalnath, the son of Sri Vallabhacharya. It has been followed for the past 600 yrs without much change. Vittalnath considered Srinathji as his own son. He considered himself as Yasoda matha. He guided many disciples towards bhakthi marga and corrected them.
There was a brahmin called Shreedhaswamy who had enimity towards Vittalnath due to jealousy. He couldn’t bear Vittalnath’s fame spreading far and wide. He used to say Vittalnath was only showing off bhakthi and he did not have real devotion. One day he took a coconut, removed the kernel inside stuck the two shells together and took it to Vittalnath. He asked him to offer the coconut to Lord Srinathji. He also prayed that he was devoid of devotion like Vittalnath and let Srinathji give him that much devotion.

Vittalnath innocently tried to take the empty coconut. Srinathji held Vittalnath’s hand and told him not to take the coconut. He said there was nothing inside and the man was trying to cheat him. Vittalnath smiled at this and said:- ‘True mylord! His inside is devoid of bhakthi and so empty. Why don’t you fill it with devotion? Then he will definitely change!

Srinathji:- What do you want me to do?

Vittalnath:- Fill it with what is needed.

Srinathji:- But how is it possible?

Vittalnath:- If at the age of 7 You can lift the Govardhana hill, then is this impossible for You? Put the kernel back in the shell please.

Srinathji smiled and accepted his request. Vittalnath made the offering and turned to Sridhaswamy. He told him to consume the kernel inside so that he will get devotion. He laughed aloud sarcastically and broke the coconut to show that Vittalnath was wrong. He was stunned to find the coconut full of kernel. He broke down and fell at Vittalnath’s feet begging pardon, ‘I am a sinner who came to cheat you. But you have showered me with divine blessings. How can I ever atone for my sin? I am really sorry now.’

Vittalnath was moved with his tears and said he is not a sinner since he has uttered the name Srinathji. Unless Srinathji desires, one cannot utter His name. That means he is lucky to get Srinathji’s blessings to utter that name. Then he gave him nama upadesha. Sridhaswamy kept chanting the nama and attained the Lord ultimately. Guru kripa combined with bhagavath kripa can do wonders! Radhekrishna!

Srinathji - 7

2011-10-17T12:00:00.009+05:30

Athanthritha thrijagadapi vrajangana-

Niyanthritham vipula vilochanaajnaya.

Nirantharam mama hridaye vijrumbhatham

Samanthatha: sarasatharam param maha:

Radhekrishna! The ultimate power which controls the whole universe, is but controlled by the innocent wide eyed women of Brindavan. Oh Krishna! Let that brightness which spreads ananda everywhere shine in my heart.

Once King Akbar’s wife wanted to have darsan of Srinath on Holi day. She expressed her desire to the king. He discouraged her saying that many Hindu devotees would be coming on that day to have darsan of the Lord and it would be a hindrance for them if she went that day to the temple. But as she very much wanted to go she insisted and finally the king agreed to send her. She was sent there with all the paraphernalia. She tried to visualise the Lord in beautiful attire in her mind.

As soon as she stood before the Lord she was surprised to see that the Lord was attired in the same way as she had visualised earlier. She was still more surprised to hear somebody sing in praise of the Lord. Those songs were the same which she had noted down secretly as and when they came to her mind. She didn’t know how those songs came to be sung by some total stranger. She understood that the Lord had accepted her songs and deputed somebody to sing them. She felt herself melting before the great mercy ! She was losing her consciousness slowly. Finally she left the body to merge in to the Lord.

Now the people got very much scared. No one dared to pass on the news to the king. They didn’t know what his reaction would be. At last somebody went to the palace and informed the king of the happenings at the palace. King Akbar thought for a minute and said ‘She has gone back to where she had come from. I had the fortune of living with her during the interim period. She is a great soul !’ Great is the husband who could understand the wife so clearly ! This is real love between a husband and wife. He understood that Lord Srinathji has swallowed his wife. Many Hindu devotees felt sorry that they couldn’t do such a devotion inspite of being Hindus. The Lord considers only the devotion and He is not bothered by caste, creed etc. A muslim woman could easily attain His feet.

Everybody loved Srinathji. Days were rolling. Vittalnath daily night would put Him to sleep. Govindadas used to sing for Srinathji. But he had stopped singing now. There was a helper named Rupan at the temple. His duty was to clean the temple at night and make it ready for next day. Every night while working he saw many devotees singing before the Lord when Vittalnath put Him to sleep. After everybody was gone he used to sing softly some songs. He didn’t know proper music but used to mumble some songs to himself while doing his work.

One day when Vittalnath came to wake Srinathji, he found the Lord was wide awake. The usual red eyes were redder. Alarmed Vittalnath asked the Lord whether He didn’t sleep the previous night. Lord Srinathji said He didn’t sleep at all. Vittalnath enquired why He didn’t sleep at night. The Lord said, ‘Yesterday Rupan didn’t sing me any lullaby. So I couldn’t sleep.’ Vittalnath was surprised to hear that.

Vittalnath:- I have not seen him singing before you.

Srinathji:- He sings only when all of you go out.

Vittalnath:- But he is a very bad singer. His singing is the worst I
have ever heard.

Srinathji:- No he sings the purest music. His singing is full of

devotion, devoid of ego, and so sweet for me.

Vittalnath:- Well if you like it then it is ok. But why didn’t he sing

yesterday?

Srinathji:- It is all because of that Govinda. He only told him not to

                   sing before me since he feels Rapan's music is awful
                   Govindadas told him since I am a child I may not be able
                   to withstand his terrible singing. So told him not to
                   disturb me anymore with his lousy singing. He got scared
                   and stopped singing.

Govindadas with all his love for Srinathji had stopped Rupan when he heard him singing. Rupan with all his love for Srinathji understood that and stopped singing. Real race of devotion between bhakthas ! Lord Srinathji missed Rupan’s songs filled with devotion. So He couldn’t sleep. Hearing this Govindadas came running there and apologised before the Lord. ‘Hey Srinath ! You could have told me that you liked Rupan’s song. I am sorry I interfered between you two’ said Govindadas. He immediately went to Rupan and apologised with him too. ‘Rupa ! I am sorry. Srinathji enjoys your music very much. So please do sing before Him daily. Then only He will sleep.’ Rupan was moved with emotions. His devotion attracted the Lord very much. We need not be an adept in music. But if we sing with our heart filled with devotion then the Lord is pleased. Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

Srinathji - 6

2011-09-17T05:30:00.009+05:30

Eshu pravaaheshu sa eva manye

Kshanopiganya: purushayusheshu.

Aaswadyathe yathra kayapi bhakthya

Neelasya balasya nijam charithram.

Radhekrishna! In the span of our life time I consider only those moments worth living, which are spent in enjoying the divine leelas of Sri Krishna the blue hued boy of Brindavan says saint Leela Suka in his Krishna Karnamritham !

Another of Srinathji's leelas with His bhaktha Govindadas! Govindadas used to sing very well! He was an expert in rendering bhairavi raga. Once he was rendering bhairavi raga sitting beside the Govardhana hill. At that time King Akbar came with Thansen to hear the divine rendering. He sat there on a stone and started enjoying the music. Govindadas that day was poring out his heart in the spontaneous music. The rendering was so good that King Akbar was moved very much. Tears started coming down his cheeks. Then rendering over. Govindadas opened his eyes and saw King Akbar and Thansen emotionally moved.

Akbar recovered himself first, got up and hugged Govindadas. He told Govindadas that the raga melted his heart away. Hearing this Govindadas was shocked and immediately began to cry. Akbar could not understand why he was crying. He tried to console him in vain. Govindadas could not control his sorrow. Then Thansen and Akbar some how managed to stop his crying and gently asked why he was so sorry. Govindadas said never again he will sing bhairavi raga in his life! Now it was the turn of Akbar and Thansen to get shocked. They were surprised at this and asked Govindadas why he was saying so.

Then Govindadas replied that, if his rendering of bhairavi raga could melt such a rock-hard heart like Akbar’s then what about the softest heart of Lord Srinathji? It is softer than the soft petal of a flower. How much it will melt His Lord’s heart ! He couldnt bear even the thought of it. That instant he took the decision not to sing that raga anymore. He apologised mentally to His Lord for giving Him trouble. Wonderful ! Wonderful indeed ! Actually the Lord’s heart did not melt at Govindadas’s rendering, but melted completely when he said these words ! Oh! What a bhaktha !

Usually people want to melt the Lord’s heart with their prayers and tears. But here was a bhaktha who does not want to trouble Him in anyway ! If we can acquire that kind of bhakthi then it is real treasure. King Akbar was stunned to hear this and broke down at Govindadas’s feet seeing his devotion. Never before has he seen or heard of a bhaktha like Govindadas.

Back home King Akbar narrated the incident to his wife. She was thrilled by it and a deep desire to see Srinathji grew up in her heart. So strong was that desire that whatever she did her mind was always calling out to Srinathji only ! It is a real wonder how Lord Krishna attracts muslim devotees again and again. There was a Beevi Nachiar for Sampath kumaran, and again Thulukka Nachiar for Sriranganatha ! Somehow somewhere He will pull a muslim female devotee towards Him !

On hear earnest request Sri Vittalnath took her for a darsan of Srinathji. As she had her darsan with the help of a sadguru like Vittalnath, she could enjoy the real blissful form. Her heart immediately went over to Srinathji. She couldn’t take the form she saw away from her mind and ultimately it gave her real meditation of the Lord. Her sole interest now was her Srinathji whom she was enjoying in her heart always.

One day Sri Vittalnath as usual went to wake up the Lord. He found the Lord deep asleep that day which was unusual. As he tried to wake Him up again and again He was falling asleep. This surprised Vittalnath. Ultimately he managed to wake Him up and asked Him why He was so tired that day. He even checked with his hands whether Srinathji was running temperature ! For him it was not a mere deity ! It was real bhagavan Himself. The Lord smilingly said He had no fever but was only tired after a long playful night. It was only then that Vittalnath noticed that the dress He was wearing at bed time had changed.

The Lord was wearing a cap worn by muslims. Surprised Vittalnath enquired where He had gone at night and what happened to His dress. Lord Srinathji replied that He had been to the palace of Akbar badshah.

Vittalnath:- But why did You go there of all the places?

Srinathji:- I went to meet the badshah’s wife.

Vittalnath:- What ! badshah’s wife ! What did you do there?

Srinathji:- Well I played chess game with her. I have been going there for a few nights. Daily we play chess. She wins always. Today I wanted to win so the game took long time.

Vittalnath was overwhelmed at this mercy of the Lord. He had been to a muslim’s house just because she called Him daily. What a great devotee to lure the Lord to play with her at night ! We too have nights daily. Have we at anytime spent the night with the Lord in anyway? We have spent long nights talking all nonsense with our friends, playing useless games with useless people, watching good for nothing television shows. Shame on us! How can we call ourselves devotees? Is there any other way to spend the night worthier than this? Prostrations at the feet of such a great devotee !

Vittalnath was worried over His wary nights. ‘Oh Krishna ! Now I know why You are losing Your weight nowadays. These sleepless nights lead to less appetite. So You must restrict Your night schedule.’ The Lord laughed aloud. ‘No amma. It is all your imagination. I am as plump as ever only.’ Here was a bhaktha who tied the Lord with his devotion in this kaliyuga just about 400 yrs back. Bhakthi can never be limited with time. If we want we too can enjoy bhagavan with our devotion. Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

Srinathji - 5

2011-08-17T06:30:00.005+05:30

Bhavena mugdha chapalena vilokanena

Manmaanase kimapi chaapalam udvahantham

Lolena lochana rasaayanam eekshithena

Leela kisoram upagoohithum uthsukosmi.

The childlike pranks, mesmerising looks of those beautiful eyes, increase the greed in my heart for the darsan (vision) of bala (little) krishna. I long to hug with my eyes the young form of the Lord which is the cause for paramananda (ultimate happiness)! Saint Leela Sukar says so in Sri Krishna Karnamritham.

In our last issue we saw that Vittalnath drove Govindadas away since he was blaming little Srinath! Let us continue with the story now. Noon time came. Vittalnath went in with the nivedyam. He saw Srinathji’s face was dull. He said ‘Come on my pet! I have driven Govindadas away. He is a liar, cheat, and loser but keeps putting the blame on you always. So I drove him away. I know You didn't lie, and You are straight forward.’

But Srinathji looked disappointed and said ‘But amma I want to eat with him only. I always take my food with him you know and I miss him now.’

Vittalnath:- ‘My sweetie! Don’t play with him anymore. He talks ill about you. He has been telling everyone that You are a liar, loser etc. I can’t stand him talking like that about You!’

Srinathji:- But he is not a liar. He tells the truth only.

Vittalnath:- Oh my child. He says you have stolen his marbles. How dare he say that about You!

Srinathji:- But amma he is absolutely right. Look here..’ Saying this the Lord extended His folded palm and Vittalnath saw the shining marbles in His hand.

Now Vittalnath could not hide his feeling and he laughed aloud. What a naughty child and at the same time how much He loves His friend! The real truth! Bhagavan plays all kinds of mysterious leelas. But He will never ditch His bhakthas. All these things happened in this Kaliyuga itself! Bhakthi cannot be limited by time!

Well Vittalnath went out and called Govindadas. Govindadas who was hiding outside came running to him saying ‘ Well did you ask your son? What did He say? I know He cannot eat without me. Didn’t I tell you not to drive me out. Did He admit His misdeeds?’ Vittalnath was dumbfounded by his sishya’s devotion. He was immersed in his bhava towards Srinathji! Govindadas was aware that the Lord was happy to eat with him. This is sakhya bhakthi!

Vittalnath invited Govindadas to have lunch with his Son. But Govindadas flatly declined. He said as Vittalnath told him to get awayhe felt insulted and did not want to have lunch with his Son. Vittalnath now began to beg with him forgetting the fact that Govindadas was his sishya. ‘My child! Please don’t take that seriously. You are also my child like little Srinath. Don’t I have the right to scold you?’ He wanted to go to any extent to please his Son. He said ‘ It is all because you made a big issue of this in front of everybody. I can never belittle my Krishna. So I got furious and scolded you. Please try to understand that and come with me. He says He will eat with you only. It is past His lunch time. You know He cannot bear hunger’

Hearing that Govindadas realised that it was getting late and that Srinathji cannot stand hunger. So he took hold of his guru’s hand and rushed inside. Vittalnath saw that little Srinath was sitting turning His back towards them. Govindadas touched Him and called ‘Krishna! please come for Your lunch. I am here’ Srinathji didn't turn and said ‘I don't know you or anybody.’ Govindadas pleaded with Him. ‘Look Krishna I am sorry! I admit I am the loser. You won the game’. Srinathji became happy now, turned around brightly and said ‘Yasoda matha! Didn't I tell you. I only won this game!’ Vittalnath laughed and said ‘Yes darling. I knew You only won. You are the winner always!’ Then he served food for both of them.

Many readers might think this strange. But in bhakthi it is the bhava that counts. In bhakthi bhava anybody can experience the Lord. Vittalnath and Govindadas were so immersed in their attitudes or bhava towards the Lord that they could experience the above said incident simultaneously. Nobody need criticize this. Only those with bhakthi can understand this. Others might think it is all strange or crazy. Anyone can attain this by constant chanting of the Lord’s name with full faith. The attitude for the Lord should be deep routed. There shouldn’t be an iota of doubt of any form in that. Then only one can experience and enjoy the Lord directly! So keep chanting with full faith for the next issue. Till then Radhekrishna!

Srinathji - 4

2011-07-17T16:00:00.003+05:30

Hasthamaakshipya yaathosi balath krishna kimathbhutham

Hrudayath yadhi niryaasi paurusham ganayaami they!

Hey Krishna! You pushed my hands away and ran from me. Is this a great deed?, Please try to run away from my heart if you can. Then I will accept you are a true man! Sri Leelasukar makes this challenge to little Lord Krishna! Such is the deep faith and love in him for the Lord. Now we will continue with last issue’s story.

Sri Vallabhacharya had eight main followers like the ashta sakhikal of Radhika Rani! Each of them are allotted particular timings for their service of Srinathji. Till today their lineage have the right to do the worship. Vallabhacharya had a son name Vittalanath. He was a wonderful bhaktha who considered himself as the mother of Srinathji. A great mahathma indeed! Vittalanath had a disciple called Govindadas. He worshipped the Lord in Sakhya bhava, as a friend. He considered himself as a small boy and played with Lord Srinathji.

One day the Lord appeared before him and called aloud ‘Govinda!’. Govindadas asked the Lord whether He wanted to play something. The Lord replied that He was bored with the usual games and wanted something new and different. Govindadas suggested they play marbles or pebbles. This sounded interesting for the Lord and he immediately agreed to play. But there was a problem since Lord Srinathji didn't know how to play!! The all knowing God pretended that He didn't now how to play marbles! What a divine leela! Govindadas was happy as he planned to win Lord Srinathji!!

So Govindadas agreed to teach the Lord how to play with marbles. He sincerely taught the Lord how to concentrate His eyes at the marble, and how to pick them up with two fingers without disturbing the other marbles. They started to play. Govindadas kept winning as he was an expert in the art and the Lord could not equal him in scores as He was inexperienced! Govindadas leered at Him, ‘shame on you Srinath! You cannot do even this! You claim you are an experienced shepherd but cannot even pick a marble with two fingers. Shameful indeed!’. Lord Srinathji felt very much insulted and angry. The Lotus red eyes became redder now in anger and shame. He snatched some pebbles in his hand and began to run away from Govindadas. Govindadas chased Him crying aloud ‘hey loser! Don't try to run away. Accept you are defeated! I have won this game’!

Smart as He was Govindadas could not catch the Lord. Furious he began to pelt the Lord with the marbles he had in his hands. The Lord entered the sanctum and hid Himself. Govindadas tried to follow Him. The pujaris inside the sanctum saw that Govindadas was coming inside the sanctum to beat Lord Srinathji, pushed him out and immediately closed the sanctum doors. Govindadas kept crying out ‘Open the door! He has my marbles! Ask Him to give them back to me!’ etc. The pujaris thought he was mad and laughed at him. He kept repeating that Srinathji has stolen his marbles. They got tired of him and went to complain with Vittaldasa.

On hearing this Sri Vittalnath came angrily and questioned Govindadas why he was trying to beat his little Krishna. ‘You are wicked to do like this to my innocent child’ cried Vittalnath. He was immersed in valsalya bhava and considered himself as Yasoda matha! Govindadas replied ‘It is not me but your son who is wicked. He only snatched away my marbles while playing. He doesn't know even how to play properly. He is not ready to accept His failure too. This is very unfair’. Vittalnath couldnt stand that. ‘How dare you call my son wicked? I know you are lying.’ For this Govindadas replied ‘No your son is a liar, loser of the game and playing foul’. Vittalnath became angrier ‘My son can never be the loser. He knows everything. Why do you unnecessarily blame him?’ He also told him not to play with his son any more.

Govindadas in turn told Vittalnath ‘Hey Yasoda matha! Don't jump into conclusions and take decisions. You will repent later. If I go away forever then your son will miss me very much and feel depressed. Don't forget that! You call Him aloof and enquire with Him. You promise Him butter and laddu, He will tell you the truth!’ This infuriated Vittalnath more. He drove Govindadas away. Govindadas went out and hid himself behind a tree waiting for Srinathji to come out some time. It is a real wonder that the two grown up men, were so immersed in their bhakthi bhava that they completely forgot themselves. Radhekrishna! Will be back in the next issue with more stories of Srinathji.

Srinathji - 3

2011-06-17T04:40:00.003+05:30

Radhekrishna! In the last issue we saw the divine child was encircled by the fire form of the Lord Vaishvanara. Seeing their child amidst the encircling fire, the parents ran towards the child to save it. Immediately the fire disappeared. They took the baby and returned home. It was an ekadasi day. On that very same day the face of the Lord formed completely in the govardhana mountain. The devotees were very happy to see the fully formed face and continued their worship. In the meantime the child grew up somewhere in Madhyapradesh! The boy was named as Vaishvanara! At the right age his father conducted the upanayana samskara for the boy. The father taught everything to the son and the boy learnt them with great interest. By and by he became a Krishna bhaktha.

Once Vaishvanara started on a grand pilgrimage visiting many temples on foot. He reached the banks of Chandrabhaga and saw Lord Panduranga! He became fascinated by the form of the Lord. When it was time for closing he was very reluctant to leave the temple. He waited at the steps when the doors closed for the night. The Lord came in his dream. “My child! Bhakthi is very special indeed! I know you intend to take sanyasa. But I command you to get married and enter family life. You can enjoy me in valsalya bhava! You offer the love you have for your wife, children etc to me. You don't have to worry about finding a suitable bride too. Tomorrow morning the proposal will come in search of you! ”

Vaishvanara woke up with a start. He was wonder struck at Bhagavan’s words. He had mentally decided to take sanyasa and lead an ascetic’s life. But here Bhagavan was asking him to get married and enter family life! He had to oblige Bhagavan now. If Bhagavan’s wish is so he must accept that. He accepted everything and decided to enter family life. At the same time Bhagavan came in the dream of a brahmin who had a daughter of marriageable age. He ordered the brahmin to meet Vaishvanara who was in Pandarpur and give his daughter’s hand in marriage to him. The brahmin came in search of Vaishvanara to the temple of Panduranga. He brought his daughter along with him. He met the brahmin boy in front of the temple and told him about Bhagavan’s command in his dream. Vaishvanara wondering at the divine leela of the Lord gave his consent and the marriage went off in front of Panduranga.

The couple lived happily in Pandarpur for a while immersed in bhakthi. Then they continued their pilgrimage roaming around the country. Finally they reached Brindavan the divine leelasthal of Lord Krishna! Even today Bhagavan is playing there for many bhakthas. His presence is felt there by many even today! Fortunate indeed are vrajvasis! The couple enjoyed their stay there very much. Daily they would take bath in Yamuna and roam around Brindavan. Vaishvanara used to give talks on Bhagavatha, explaining the slokas in it. People would gather around him to hear his talks. He used to circumbulation of Govardhana giri too.

In the course of time he got the name of Vallabhacharya!

Days were rolling in happiness for them and one day Vallabhacharya got the darsan of Srinathji!! He saw the lord holding the govardhana hill in his left hand standing in front of him. As he looked fascinated at the form the Lord began to run away. Vallabhacharya ran behind chasing! The lord climbed the govardhana hill and disappeared. Vallabhacharya searched the govardhana hill and reached where Bhagavan protruded His hand and face! The complete form had come out of the hill as the deity of Srinathji! He was moved with emotions at the mercy of the Lord. . “Oh Lord! You gave darsan for a mean person like me? Great is your mercy!!” he cried.
The Lord was chubby with the left hand raised upwards. He looked really enchanting. The eyes were sparkling, the lips coral red, curly hair, wearing a peetambara smiled at Vallabhacharya. “My child! Worship me in valsalya bhava! Become my Yasoda matha! Shower me with all your love and enjoy” said Bhagavan.

Sri Vallabhacharya took out the deity and built a temple for the Lord. He set up a system of worship of Srinathji! The valsalya bhakthi way of Pushti marg was established by Sri Vallabhacharya! Even today we can see Srinathji worshipped in valsalya bhava! His decoration (alankar) is unique, His dress is unique, His nivedyams (offerings) are unique in every way. His clothing differs according to the seasons. Even the colour of the flowers offered will match the colour of His dress! His food too varies according to the seasons! An unique function of bhog called annakkoototsavam is done for Srinathji. 2300 kilos of rice is prepared as a hill and offered to Srinathji! Vallabhacharya set up a unique system of worship of the Lord which is being followed till now. Radhekrishna!

Srinathji - 2

2011-05-17T09:00:00.002+05:30

Radhekrishna! Last issue we saw how Krishna lifted the govardhana giri and saved the people of Brindavan! Nandagopa and Balarama were full of appreciation for Krishna’s deed while Yasoda matha was worrying herself to ward off evil eye on Krishna! Gopa boys took His hand and massaged it while gopis sent meaningful glances at Him. Indra subdued by Bhagavan’s feat came and feel at the lotus feet. He conducted Govinda pattabhisheka on the Lord with the help of Surabhi, the divine cow.

Bhagavan finished His avatara and returned to Vaikunta. Govardhana giri was lying like that for many years. Many bhakthas came, prostrated, circumbulated the mountain, and worshipped it. Years rolled by. In the year 1410, one day Bhagavan’s left hand was seen protruding from the mountain. It was lying like that for some time. Then after some time the Lord’s face also slowly appeared. People began to worship that. There was a mahathma in Andhrapradesh known as Lakshmana bhatt. The family had a great lineage of conducting yagas. His ancestors had completed 95 yagas and it was his duty to do 5 more to make a centinary.

Then he decided to spend some time peacefully on the banks of Ganges in Kashi kshethra. He stayed there for some time with his family and relatives. His wife was pregnant at that time. Suddenly there was muslim attack and they ran for their life. Lakshmana Bhatt and his wife ran to a safe place and she delivered a baby premature. The baby seemed to be still born. They were running for their life and so couldnt do anything. They covered the baby with a cloth and put it in a hole in a tree trunk and left the place with heavy hearts. They reached a village where some good hearted family gave them assylum hearing their pitiable story. The mother was tired due to the delivery and the father too due to the strain of their escape. They fell into a deep slumber at the house. Bhagavan appeared before them in dream! "Hey Lakshmana! The yagas done by you have given fruits. I am pleased by your devotion and namajapam. Your child is not dead, he fainted in my dhyanam. You can go and take him now" said the Lord. The couple were surprised that both of them got the same dream! They ran towards the forest where they had left the baby. To their dismay the place was surrounded by fire. The tree where they left the baby was fully surrounded by fire, but the baby was safely playing inside. The fire was nothing else but Vaishvanara, Bhagavan’s form! The child was staring at Bhagavan’s form of fire! Radhekrishna! Wait till the next issue comes meditating on Bhagavan's form!

Srinathji - 1

2011-04-17T10:00:00.001+05:30

Srinathji

Naam umakku chonna naalkalum naniya aana

Semam nankudaithu kandeer seripozhil ananthapuram

Doomam nal virai malarkal thuval ara aaynthu kontu

Vaamanan adikku endru etha maaynthu arum vinaikal thaame!

Radhekrishna! Swamy Nammalvar in his bhakthi, extols the greatness of Ananthapuram. One can realise the greatness of Ananthapuram only when immersed in bhakthi. Ananthan is endless! His greatness is also endless. Nammalvar says if u take flowers, sweet smelling sandal paste, or Tulsi leaves to offer at the feet of Lord Ananthapathmanaabha, all your prarabdhas will come to an end. So powerful is the Lord, so powerful is the kshethra. According to him it is only Vamana who is lying as Ananthapathmanabha in Thiruvananthapuram. So people of this world dont lose this golden opportunity says Nammalvar. We need to go and stand in front of Him. He will shower His grace on us.

The great Pathmanabha became a sweet child for the sake of sage Divakara muni and came to Syanandapuram assuming a large form. He is lying down peacefully in a relaxed posture as if He is taking rest after lifting the Govardhana mountain to save His people from Indra’s wrath. The Govardhana mountain was raised to the status of Giriraj after Bhagavan lifted it in His hand.

It was during the period of Lord Rama’s sethubandhanam, that Anjaneya brought this mountain in his hand with the promise that the mountain can have Lord Rama’s darsan. But as he neared Brindavan Rama’s instructions reached him that the construction of the bridge was completed and all should keep down whatever they were bringing, where they stood. At that time the mountain cried to Anjaneya that it was denied of Rama darsan. Then Anjaneya consoled that the Lord was an ocean of mercy and would definitely fulfill its desire. He kept the mountain there and returned to Lord Rama. On his request Lord Rama promised to give darsan to the mountain in Dwaparayuga. The mountain accepted Anjaneya’s words and waited patiently with full faith for Dwapara yuga.

It was towards the end of Dwaparayuga that the Lord came down as Sri Krishna. The mountain waited till Bhagavan reached Brindavan. Bhagavan came to Brindavan from Gokulam. The gopas used to conduct Indra yagam every year to please Lord Indra. Indra became very proud with ego. Bhagavan interfered and convinced his father Nandagopa to do Govardhana puja instead! Little Krishna said that all things happen due to the result of karma only. So there was no need to worship Indra, He said. He told them that Govardhana was the God who gave them rain and grass for the cows and so has to be worshipped. The people of Brindavan accepted whatever Krishna said. They were happy that Krishna revealed them the truth which so far they were unaware. They asked Him as to how to do the puja. Krishna told them to make all sorts of eatables, rice etc, and heap them to equal size of the mountain. Then worship with flowers and sandal paste.

The people of Brindavan accepted everything and did as He said. When the food mountain was prepared, buckets of milk, curd and ghee were poured over it. Then camphor was lighted

and showed around Govardhana. By this time the Lord Himself took a form to represent the Govardhana mountain and appeared before them in person. The offerings were accepted in person! They were very much impressed by the grace of Govardhana mountain. All of them were asked to prostrate before the mountain. Krishna also prostrated along with them. Then all of them circumbulated the mountain. Govardhana shed tears at this mercy!

The wrath of Indra knew no bounds. He felt very much insulted by a small 7 year old boy. He started showering the rains fiercely. The whole was becoming flooded. The people of Brindavan had no other refuge than Krishna! So they approached Him in distress with full faith. It was the Lord’s duty to save them who have surrendered to Him with full faith. He called them all to come with Him. All were wondering what He was going to do. In a minute He was standing with the Govardhana mountain in His hand. Krishna called everyone to come underneath the mountain. All were wonder struck at this feat. All of them surrounded Him filled with divine love. The gopa boys couldnt stand their Krishna bearing this weight and all of them tried to hold the mountain with their respective sticks.

Meanwhile the gopis were thankful to Indra for the heavy down pour. Because of him only they could enjoy their Krishna at such a close distance. They need not go away from there and they could stare at Him as long as they wanted! For full seven days Krishna stood holding the mountain in His hand. Govardhana mountain was overwhelmed with the grace! He thanked his guru Anjaneya from his heart. Indira defeated thoroughly ran out of rain clouds in his stock. When the rains stopped, Krishna asked everyone to move out from underneath the mountain. They all ran out and turned to see how Krishna kept the mountain back. But they could see Krishna walking calmly behind them and the mountain stood where it was before! Wonder of wonders!

Sri Periyazhvar has sung 10 pasurams on Krishna holding the Govardhana mountain. Nandagopa and Balarama were full of appreciation for Krishna’s deed while Yasoda matha was worrying herself to ward off evil eye on Krishna! Gopa boys took His hand and massaged it while gopis sent meaningful glances at Him. Indra subdued by Bhagavan’s feat came and feel at the lotus feet. He conducted Govinda pattabhisheka on the Lord with the help of Surabhi, the divine cow. Radhekrishna!

Dwarakanatha - 9

2011-03-17T09:00:00.003+05:30

Dwarakanatha - 9

Once there was a devotee of Dwarakanatha, Banvari Rajaputhra! He was living away from Dwaraka. But had staunch faith in Ranchodji. It was a Deepavali day and Banvari Rajaputhra chanted Krishna Krishna along with many devotees. They all jointly were singing bhajans. Suddenly Banvari Rajaputhra stopped singing and with his hands made signs of brushing his dress. The king was also at the bhajan and asked Banvari why he behaved strange. He replied that it was aarathi time at Dwaraka and a piece of camphor from the pujari’s hand fell on Lord Dwarakanath’s dress. So he hurriedly brushed the dress with his hands to put out the fire. The king could not believe this. How come when the accident occurred at Dwaraka this man brushed his dress to put out the fire? Bhakthas don’t buy dress for themselves and wear. What ever they wear they wear it as Krishna prasadam only. So as far as Banvari was concerned he was wearing Bhagavan’s dress only. We say that some dress was gifted to us by somebody. We can mentally offer our dress to Bhagavan and then wear it. Uddhava knows the pleasure of wearing the dress worn by Krishna! Is there anything to equal the greatness of this? Banvari Rajaputhra realised its greatness and enjoyed. The king wanted to know the truth of this incident. He sent a messenger from his country to the present king of Dwaraka to convey his Deepavali wishes and asked if there was anything special in Dwaraka on Deepavali day. The reply came that everything went on fine there and on Deepavali day it so happened that during the Arathi time a piece of burning camphor from the arathi fell on Bhagavan’s dress. The dress caught fire and as all of us rushed to put out the fire it subdued by itself miraculously. The king was stunned to hear this. He fell at the feet of the bhaktha Banvari Rajaputhra and asked him how he got to know about the accident. Banvari replied that only his body was there during the bhajan and his mind was in Dwaraka only and so he could see what happened there! Such a great devotee!

Such a merciful Bhagavan! Dwaraka is always crowded with pilgrims from all over. Let the Lord of Dwarakanath who swallowed Meera Matha swallow us too. For that we must do bhakthi as the great devotee. Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

Dwarakanatha - 8

2011-02-17T09:00:00.000+05:30

Dwarakanatha - 8

The great devotee Narasimha metha had deep devotion for Dwarakanath. He ran away from his home once and reached a Shiva temple. He took hold of the Lingam and cried to Lord Siva to give him manthra upadesam! Lord Siva appeared before him and gave Krishnamanthra for him and also showed him Bhagavan’s divine Rasakreeda! Narasimha metha was also inflicted with the prema roga as Lord Siva. He forgot everything including his family. Now it was Bhagavan’s duty to take care of his family including the marriage of his daughter. From somewhere a rich man came in search of Narasimha metha’s daughter’s hands for his son. The marriage went off well. But it was only after the marriage that the mother in law realised she was cheated as Narasimha metha did not have much money to give his daughter. She began to torture the poor daughter in law. She asked her son to leave the daughter in law at her house and she should come back only with the necessary money and things. Narasimha metha left everything at the feet of Ranchodji. At a particular stage the people around also began to talk about Narasimha metha’s daughter. So one day he took her to her in laws house. The mother in law showered insults on him and told him not to come here without the money. Narasimhametha with full faith in Dwarakanatha made a promise to her that he would come back in a short time with the necessary money and left. He surrendered completely to the Lord. At that time some pilgrims from far off came to meet Narasimha metha. They were going to have darsan of Dwarkanath. They were carrying money for their expenses there. But as it was not very safe to carry money on the way they wanted to keep it in the safe custody of Narasimha metha. But at the same time Narasimha metha should do some arrangement for them in Dwaraka for their expenses there. They hoped that Narasimha metha had some contact there in Dwaraka. Narasimha metha took advantage of the situation and lied to them that he had a shop there in Dwaraka which was run by a man called Shyamala. He wrote a letter for Shyamala signed it as Krishnadasa and handed over it to the pilgrims. They left their money in Narasimhametha’s custody in the faith that his contact there, Shyamala would take care of their needs there. Narasimha metha handed over the money to his daughter’s mother in law who was now pleased very much. Now Narasimha metha began to feel guilty of what he had done. He began to cry out Krishna Krishna thinking the difficulties those pilgrim would be facing there in an unknown place like Dwaraka. The pilgrims also searched everywhere in and around Dwaraka for a person called Shyamala who was Narasimha metha’s aid. They could not find such a person and by evening they became tired and sat on the beach worryig what to do next. Just then a dark coloured pleasant looking young man came there calling out Narasimhametha’s name. They were relieved to see the young man. He gave them the money due to them and also a note signed as Shyamala for the money he had paid them and after sending his love to Narasimha metha he went away. With that money the pilgrims stayed comfortably there and returned after a few days. Meanwhile Narasimha metha could not forgive himself for the mean way he had cheated the devotees. At last the pilgrims reached Narasimha methas house. He fell at their feet and begged for their pardon. They didn’t understand why he was behaving like this. Then he told them that he had no shop or contact there as he had lied to them. He apologised for being to mean with them. But they had an entirely different story to tell Narasimha metha. Narasimha metha could not believe their words. They described Shyamala as a dark skinned, pleasant looking young chap. Narasimha metha understood who it was and broke down at the mercy of Bhagavan. The pilgrims were thoroughly surprised at this and fell at Narasimha metha’s feet as it was because of him that Bhagavan came to them as Shyamala! Narasimha metha cried out that it was the pilgrims’ bhakthi that gave them the divine darsan and not his. He himself had not had Bhagavan’s darsan till now. Sadguru is like this. He would do all the work for the disciple to enjoy Bhagavan. He would not want to enjoy for himself alone! Narasimha metha cried out to Dwarakanatha to give darsan for him too. Bhagavan appeared as Shyamala. He cried “Prabho you obliged even a liar like me?” asked Narasimha metha. Bhagavan responds to pure bhakthi only.

Once a devotee from Brindavan decided to go to Dwaraka with some pilgrims. At night Radhika Rani appeared in his dream and told him not to go. She said “ Don’t go to Dwaraka! It is Krishna’s official place! You will find Krishna holding the conch, disk, gada etc. You can only see Him there! Only in Brindavan you can enjoy Krishna’s leelas! So don’t go!” But the devotee did not pay heed to her words and started for Dwaraka. He had darsan of Krishna with conch disk etc, and chanted Narayana Narayana! After some time he reached back Brindavan. As he was tired he lied down to sleep and Radhika Rani came in his dream. She ordered him to get out of Brindavan as he did not pay heed to her words before. The bhaktha with folded hands prayed to her “Hey Radhe I am leaving Brindavan. I came back just to see your reaction only. With your blessing only I saw Dwarakanatha. I know now onwards I will always be in your mind as you keep remembering those who leave Brindavanam. You cant stand anybody leaving Brindavanam!” With this peayer he returned to Dwaraka.

Srinathji - 12

2011-02-17T08:00:00.000+05:30

Dwarakanatha - 7

2011-01-17T09:00:00.003+05:30

Dwarakanatha - 7

Once a sage did penance in Dwaraka in order to enjoy Bhagavan as a child. He wanted to pet Him, play with Him, and enjoy Him as his own child. Controlling all his senses and mind with full concentration chanted Krishna nama continuously.

Kulasekhara Alwar gives the greatness of the nama very clearly in the following sloka in Mukunda mala –

“Shathru chedaika manthram sakala upanishad vakya sampujya manthram

Samsaarothara manthram samupachitha thama sangha niryana manthram

Sarvaisvaryaika manthram vyasanabhujaga sandashta santhaana manthram

Jihve sree Krishna manthram japa japa sathatham janma saaphalya manthram!”

No puranas or ithihasas have given such definition for the greatness of bhagavannaama as Sri Kulasekhara Alwar. This manthra is capable of defeating all our enemies such as kama, krodha, madha and mathsarya! Just the chanting of the nama is enough to shatter our enemies. All Upanishads praise Krishna manthra as the ultimate manthra. With the help of this manthra it is very easy to cross the ocean of samsara because it removes the darkness of agyaana from us. It gives us all sorts of riches because it is capable of making us cross all our difficulties easily. So hey tongue ! Chant the manthra again and again so that your birth attains its purpose !

The yogi sitting in Dwaraka, doing puja for his Salagrama murthy, chanted the nama with great sincerity. Bhagavan became tied by the sincere namajapam of the sage and appeared before him as a 2 year old child. Seeing the charming plump child, dark skinned, with lotus like feet, hands, eyes and coral lips, the sage was very much impressed and attracted towards it. With his anklets tinkling, the peacock feather on his hair swaying, he came rushing towards the sage. The sage could not take his eyes away from the child. He asked the child who he was. The child stared at him for some time. Then brushing the amritha trickiling out of the corner of His mouth, He smiled and told the sage that He had no parents or anyone. Seeing His actions the sage was losing his heart to the child. The child said He liked the sage very much and would like to stay with him. The sage felt immensely happy at this and readily welcomed the child to stay with him. The child now put on a condition that the sage should never get angry with Him. The sage couldn’t help smile at the innocent condition of the child and promised Him that he would not get angry with Him at any cost. All his senses were attracted towards the child and he completely lost his heart to Him.

“Thath kaisoram thath cha vakthraaravindam,

That kaarunyam they cha leela kataksha!

That saundaryam saa cha mandasmitha shree

Sathyam sathyam durlabham daivatheshu”

says, Leelasukar in Krishna Karnamritham. Absolute truth only! Bhagavan’s beauty, the enchanting smile, are indeed irresistable! No wonder the sage fell for Him! Now the child re assured that the sage would keep his promise of not getting angry with Him whatever he did. The way the child asked pointing his finger at the sage in a threatening manner was so enticing that the stage immediately assured Him that he would never get angry with Him. He couldn’t control himself any more and hugged the child with both his hands. The child sat on the sage’s lap ready to be fondled. The sage’s happiness knew no bounds. It was in explicable. Anyone with sincere bhakthi and namajapam can experience all these. Only the mind is needed for it. Didn’t Periyaazhwar and Swami Ramanuja experience it in this same Kaliyuga? Everyone should take efforts for the experience. That is the purpose of human life! The sage gave Him a tight kiss on the cheeks. The cheeks reddened with the force. The child complained that it hurt Him and told the sage not to do like this again. The sage was in heavens living with the divine child. At night the child would lie on his lap and insist him to tell some stories. The sage would tell about a blue little boy, with lotus like feet, lotus like arms, coral red lips, lotus like eyes, wearing a pitambaram, with tinkling anklets on his feet, and a fluttering peacock on his hair. Inquisitive the child would ask who was that boy. The sage would immeidately reply with a laugh it was none other than the child. The child seemed to be pleased with that. The sage did not realise that it was the same Bhagavan, to attain whom he was doing penance for long years. Morning the child would wake up and would again gladden the sage’s heart with fresh pranks of His. The sage would sit for meditating the Lord while the Lord Himself was playing in front of him. The child would hug him from his back and the sage would feel that a softest thing in the world has brushed him. If he turned to see who it was the child would try to hide Himself behind a tree and or shake Head negatively as if to say “not me! not me!” Sometimes when the stage was meditating it would jump on to his lap, pull his tied hair down and pretend He was riding a horse! These actions were very much pleasing for the sage. Sometimes the sage would do nivedyam or offering food to the Lord. He would close his eyes and mentally offer the food to the Lord with all sincerity. He would be startled to hear the sound of the bell near his ear, done by the naughty boy, requesting him to hurry up the process as He was really hungry ! Sometimes as the sage closed his eyes before offering the nivedyam the boy would silently slip in and finish off with the food by Himself ! ! Sometimes when the sage was immersed deep in meditation the boy would pinch his thigh and wake him up. As he opened his eyes He would say ‘an ant bit him’ ! Oh the great devotee Radhika knows the pleasure of being pinched by Krishna. At times when the sage sits with closed eyes for meditation the child would cover both his eyes with His lotus like soft hands and ask him who was covering his eyes ! Sometimes while the sage was drenched inside in Bhagavath dhyaana, the child would drench him outside too with the water in his kamandaloo ! The sage enjoyed all these pranks very much. He never got tired of His pranks. So ultimately Bhagavan was slowly being defeated by the devotee. Bhagavan decided to irritate him some how. So one day while the sage was doing puja for his Salagrama murthy, the child took the murthy in His hands and put it inside His mouth.

Due to divine sankalpa the sage got furious with the child for playing with the Salagrama murthy which was his object of worship for the past few years. In a fit of anger he pushed the child away with his left hand. Immediately He became insulted and His eyes became redder and began to run away from him. Now the sage was in a fix. He could not stand the child going away and tried to run behind to call him back. The child did not pay heed to his calls and kept running. Thoroughly defeated the sage surrendered to Bhagavan and resorted to namajapam. Now he hated Dwaraka and began wandering from that place chanting and asking everybody on the way about the child. He was crying aloud and was holding on to his life with the sweet memories of the child’s pranks. He wandered a long way and at last he reached a place where he saw the child sitting inside the cavity of an old iluppa tree. Delighted he ran towards the tree when the tree fell down with a loud noise and he saw Bhagavan lying as Padmanabha stretching over a few miles. He was lying with His head in Mathsya thirtham, feet in sankha theertham, and both his hands in dharma theertham and adharma theertham in a huge form, with a lotus in His naval. It was only Dwarakanatha who came here as Pathmanabha !

The sage Divakara muni was scared at the sight itself. He pleaded with Bhagavan to shrink this huge size so that he can see Him properly and also do pradakshina. Bhagavan complied to the prayers of this devotee and condensed His form to three times of the stick or dhantu in the sage’s hands. This leela is depicted in Syanandurapura varnanam by garbhasriman maharajah Swathi Thirunal. So the residents of Ananthapuram need not go to Dwaraka to see Dwarakanath for He Himself has come down from there for the people of Ananthapuram.

Dwarakanatha - 6

2010-12-17T04:00:00.004+05:30

Dwarakanatha - 6

     Once some of the residents of Dwaraka became proud with ego. Sudarsana azhvar had the ego that he was the foremost among the attendants of Krishna. Garudazhvar thought that there was no one to equal his speed and power to carry Bhagavan wherever He goes. The 16108 consorts of Bhagavan developed the feeling that Bhagavan liked them most. Bhagavan can never stand ego of any sort. He decided to subdue their pride. He decided to use Anjaneya the great bhaktha.
      As antharyami He induced Anjaneya   to come to Dwaraka. Anjaneya entered a park in Dwaraka and began to destroy it. The security people came running and reported about a strange monkey which they couldn't control. Bhagavan first sent Sudarsana azhvar to take care of the monkey. Sudarsana felt very proud that Bhagavan knew his powers and dedication and so has selected him for this kainkaryam. He kept circling around Anjaneya for some time to scare him. Anjaneya noticed this strange thing whirling around him with a whistling noise. Disturbed, he caught it in his hand and kept it under his armpit. Bhagavan waited for some time but Sudarsana did not turn up.
      The all pervading Bhagavan knew what had happened and now called Garuda towards Him. Garuda was happy that Bhagavan had some kainkaryam for him.Bhagavan told Garuda that a strange monkey had entered Dwaraka and was destroying a garden there. He instructed Garuda to tell the monkey that the King of Dwaraka was calling him. Garuda wondered why Bhagavan was sending him for such a trivial service. Anyway he went and called Anjaneya - "hey monkey! Our Lord of Dwaraka, SriKrishna has sent for you."
Surprised, Anjaneya retorted - "And who are you, a bird to call me like this?"
Garuda, irritated said "I am the topmost among the attendants of Bhagavan SriKrishna. People call me Periya thiruvadi."
Anjaneya:- Oh is it so? Well I am not concerned with that.
Garuda:- My swamy wants you to meet him immediately.
Anjaneya:- Who is your swamy?
Garuda:- Sri Krishna, the Lord of Dwaraka.
Anjaneya:- Well I don't know him.
Garuda:- What? Haven't you heard about my swamy Sri Krishna
               who killed Kamsa?
Anjaneya:- No
Garuda:- Haven't you heard about the cowherd boy of Brindavan
                  who lifted the Govardhana mountain with one finger?
        Anjaneya who himself had lifted heavy mountains looked
                sarcastically as if what is so great in it and said "No".
Garuda:- Haven't you heard about the lover or Radhika Rani?
Anjaneya unconcerned said "No".
Garuda:_ Don't you know about Brindavan?
Anjaneya:- No.
Garuda:- Then what else do you know?
Anjaneya:- I know about Ayodhya, Rama, Sita matha, Lakshmana,
                   Bharatha, Dasaratha, etc.
       Garuda could not force him further. Thoroughly defeated he came back to Bhagavan and told Him that he could not bring the monkey here. The monkey was a devotee of Rama and refused to come here he said. Then Bhagavan instructed him to go again there and tell the monkey that Rama calls him. Garuda felt humiliated when he was asked to go again. His ego got a big blow.
      Second time he approached Anjaneya with more respect. He told him that Bhagavan Rama calls him. Anjaneya also showed respect now and said he would come immediately. Garuda thought that as Anjaneya was a monkey it would take much time for him to reach the palace and so asked him to hurry up. Anjaneya laughed at him and told him that he would go and meet Bhagavan. He asked Garuda to proceed.
      Meanwhile Bhagavan was excited in the palace awaiting Anjaneya. Seeing His excitement everyone became inquisitive. Bhagavan replied them that His great bhaktha Anjaneya was coming and He was preparing to meet him. So Bhagavan now turned Himself into Rama and said that some one should come as Sita to meet Anjaneya. Bhagavan's queens hurriedly dressed up themselves as Sita and came. Bhagavan could not find any one to equal Sita, who was without an iota of ego in her. She had only Rama dhyanam in her. But all his queens thought they could become Sita and their ego defeated them. If they had prayed to Bhagavan for His grace to turn themselves in to Sita then they would have definitely become Sitas. Anjaneya came inside shouting Jai Sitaram! He prostrated before Bhagavan and stared at Sathyabhama who was sitting near him.
"Rama! who is this> Is this your maid servant? Why are you sitting near her? Swamy! where is my Sita matha?" asked Anjaneya.
Sathyabhama was thoroughly shattered to hear this. She was under the impression that she was the most suitable wife of Krishna and the blow she got was very heavy. Meanwhile the real Sita entered from somewhere. Anjaneya prostrated her happily.
      Bhagavan enquired Anjaneya what he was holding under his arm. Anjaneya replied that it was nothing but a disc (chakram) - a play thing of kids which was whirling around him making noise and so he had kept it under his arm. Sudarsana felt blasted. He thought himself to be the topmost of attendants while Anjaneya degraded him to a child's play thing. When Bhagavan requested Anjaneya to give Him the disc Anjaneya released Sudarsana and handed over him to Bhagavan.
   Anjaneya now turned towards Sita matha.
"Sita matha! Please take care of our Swamy. Beware of these maid attendants. They take too much freedom with our Swamy which does not suit Him." After taking leave from Rama and Sita Anjaneya left.
      Great men say it was none other than Radhika Rani who came as Sita matha because she never had any wish of her own. She always changed herself according to Bhagavan's wish. Great is Radhika Rani's selfless devotion!
     By this time Garuda reached the palace. He prostrated before Sri Krishna and informed Him that the monkey at last has agreed to come there and would be reaching there in a short while. Everyone laughed at him Garuda looked puzzled. Bhagavan smiled at Garuda and told him that Anjaneya had already come and left before Garuda could reach the palace. Garuda could not believe his ears. So far he was under the impression that there was no one to equal him in speed whenever Bhagavan wanted to go somewhere. His ego was subdued then and there. Thus Bhagavan played this wonderful leela by changing Dwaraka into Ayodhya for a few minutes for the sake of the bhaktha Anjaneya and also for destroying the ego in His people. This Dwaraka is now called Pett Dwaraka . Still more to hear about Dwarakanatha!! Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

Dwarakanatha -5

2010-11-17T04:00:00.003+05:30

Dwarakanatha -5

Can anyone buy Bhagavan with gold? Only bhakthi can buy Bhagavan. Ramadasa looked at his wife meaningfully. She gave him a consoling look and took out the only gold ornament she was wearing - her mangalsuthra, the icon of a married woman which is her most precious jewel. Ramadasa completely surrendered to Bhagavan. He prayed to Bhagavan that he was not a good devotee as Rukmini who with a leaf of Tulsi could equal the weight of Bhagavan where Sathyabhama failed with all her gold ornaments. But he requested Bhagavan to consider him too as His child and save him from this situation. Bhagavan looks only for the pure heart and not the riches we offer. He accepted the handful of rice flakes brought by Kuchela with great love.

Now Bhagavan was kept on one side of the balance against the woman's mangalsuthra. Bhagavan became lighter than thelight jewel and his side of the balance went up to everyone's bewilderment. "Pathudai atiyavarkku elliyavan"!! Nobody could believe their eyes. Were they dreaming they wondered. The devas from the heaven too were watching all this. The pujaris tried to lift Dwarakanatha and check the weight. He weighed heavy. When they took the jewel it was light. But Bhagavan's side of balance remained up only. They checked the balance again and again for any problem. But the balance was correct. Slowly the truth began to dawn on them. All of them could now understand the poor couple's devotion and surrendered to them. They told Dwaraka Ramdas that he had every right for the deity, so could take it with him. They decided to make another deity for their temple. Dwarakanatha is an ocean of mercy indeed! Just for the sake of the poor couple he denounced everything including His temple, wealth, people and country and came with them.

Antal has sung in praise of Dwaraka in her Nachiyar thirumozhi. Antal brought up a parrot in her home. She taught the bird to call out Govinda! Govinda! She was in krishna viraham. Viraham is a feeling which hurts and pleases the heart at the same time. It cant be explained. Unless one has guru kripa one cannot experience it. It happens in a higher state of devotion. When Antal was suffering in Viraham the parrot sings in loud voice - Govoinda! Govinda! which only highterns her pangs of seperation. She feigns anger and tells the bird to shut up and not to repeat the name. Actually one side of heart ached to hear her lover's name repeated, but at the same time the name triggered the viraham in her. Just like the gopis who are very happy to see a messenger from their Krishna. But they pretend they are angry with Krishna and say that they don't want to hear anything about Him. But at the same time their hearts were singing His nama only. Likewise Antal also is angry with the bird for singing Krishna's nama and reminding her of Him. She closes her ear and scolds the bird not to utter the name of Krishna whom she hates. She warns the bird that she would not give it food since she was starving for Krishna. The bird now understood that Antal does not want it to repeat the nama Govinda. Then it started to cry out Ulakalanthaan Ulakalanthaan loudly. Antal became exaspirated. What spell Krishna has done to this parrot she wonders. She complains to her relatives that she has lost her heart to a truant who rant away from Mathura to Gokulam when He was born, from Gokulam to Brindavan, from Brindavan to Mathura again and from Mathura to Dwaraka. 'So please leave me at Dwaraka which is full of sky scraping palaces and beautiful gardens. I hope Dwarakanatha will hear my cries then. I will be Krishna's Dasi along with the 16,108 consorts' says Antal. So deep was her devotion to Bhagavan that she imagined Bhagavan was still living there with his consorts!

Once sage Durvasa visited Dwaraka. When Bhagavan heard the quick tempered sage was coming he called Rukmini and entrusted her the responsibility of entertaining him without evoking his wrath in anyway. Rukmini agreed and made all arrangements. The sage was seated and honoured, then food was served to Him. Krishna was supervising the services and telling Rukmini to offer this and that to the sage. Rukmini obeyed Bhagavan in everyway and in that

hurrying she felt thirsty. As she took sometime to come out Krishna went inside and enquired. Rukmini complained to Bhagavan that He was pressurising her too much and that the sage was quite comfortable but for Krishna's pampering. She requested Him to stand aside for some time and just watch her do. Krishna agreed to that but asked Rukmini to take some water if she felt thirsty. But Rukmini hurriedly refused saying that it was not dharma to take even water before the sage finished his meals. Krishna convinced her that there was nothing wrong in it and that Durvasa would not mind. At sKrishna's repeated telling Rukmini agreed to drink water. Just as she had a mouth Durvasa noticed that and instantly got angry. He blamed her of having insulted a sage like him. Krishna now turned sides and blamed Rukmini for doing so and pleaded with the sage to pardon her. Rukmini understood that Bhagavan had some plans and so this leela. Durvasa cursed Rukmini to remain seperated from Bhagavan. Rukmini could not hear that and cried for mercy. Bhagavan also interfered and the sage agreed that after doing penance for some time Rukmini can come back to live with Krishna. Till then she will be living in a corner of Dwaraka and do penance. So Rukmini had to stay from Krishna for some time. We can see the temple of Rukmini which is situated away from Krishna's temple. After some time she came back to live with Krishna. We will be back with more of Dwarakanatha's stories! Radhekrsihna! Radhekrishna!

Dwarakanatha - 4

2010-10-17T04:00:00.005+05:30

Dwarakanatha - 4

     Radhekrishna! Bhagavan's mercy is limitless. Nobody can predict to what depth it can go. For the sake of a true bhaktha like the old man Ramadasa, Bhagavan was prepared to leave even Dwaraka and go with him. Hearing Bhagavan's instructions the old man was very happy. He hurriedly called his wife and asked her to pull with him the cart containing Bhagavan before anybody noticed. She didn't understand a thing. Bhagavan sat inside the cart and the couple began to pull the cart. This is the secret of life! Bhagavan should be made to sit in the cart called life and the couple should jointly pull Bhagavan. This is the great difference between the animal life and human life. Animals live for the sake of their body only. Humans must live for the sake of Bhagavan only.
      This blessed couple began to pull Bhagavan jointly. After sometime they became tired. They were old and not very healthy as to pull the weight of akhilanta koti brahmaanda naayakan!   They felt so sleepy that they didn't know that they had stopped the cart. Both of them sat there and slipped into a mild slumber. After some time they woke up with a start and saw the cart was moving. They were surprised to find themselves inside the cart and Bhagavan was pulling them with His four arms. The same Bhagavan who helped the devas and asuras during the churning of the ocean of milk. by holding the mountain- manthara parvatham with his four arms was pulling couple in the cart. The secret is once we start pulling Bhagavan in our life then He will take over and pull our life smoothly. The couple were bewildered to the core. This is the greatness and kaarunyam of Bhagavan!
    Ramadasa cried out in agony in seeing the plight of Bhagavan. He couldn't stand the sight of Bhagavan bearing their weight. Bhagavan obliged and again sat inside the cart and the couple began to pull Him now with new energy. Meanwhile it was morning and the temple of Dwarakanath was opened for morning puja. The people were shocked to see the absence of Bhagavan's deity inside the sanctum. They began to search for Him everywhere. Their sorrow knew no bounds. Then somebody said that Dwaraka Ramadasa was seen sitting in front of the sanctum at night crying. Then the people putting one and one together came to a conclusion that he would have stolen Bhagavan. So all of them started to catch Ramadasa red handed.
   They ran and reached him. Seeing them approaching Ramadasa was bewildered and asked Bhagavan to hide Himself into a well on the road side. Bhagavan did so and prompted Ramadasa to lie to the people of Dwaraka. The people of Dwaraka reached and questioned Ramadasa again and again about the deity. Bhagavan was prompting him from inside to say 'I don't know! I don't know!' The old devotee was repeating what Bhagavan was telling him. But as he was not used to lying he kept glancing at the well again and again. Now the people began to get their own doubts and somebody peeped inside the well to find the deity inside it. For them it was the deity of Ranchodji. But for the old couple it was Bhagavan Himself. They took out the deity and the old man cried in pain. It pained him to know that they would take away Bhagavan from him.
      Bhagavan consoled him and asked him to tell the people that he was prepared to give gold to equal the weight of Bhagavan. Then he can take the deity with him. The poor man was in a fix now. He was very poor. How can he promise gold equal to the weight of Bhagavan the Lord of the Universe? He looked at Bhagavan questioningly. Bhagavan assured him not to worry and carry on with his promise. So he requested the people to come to a compromise. He made the promise of giving gold to equal the weight of Bhagavan to get the deity for himself. The pujari and the other devotees laughed at him. Even the temple authorities were finding it a great task to decorate Him with enough gold jewels. How can this poor old man give gold equal to the weight of Bhagavan? They sarcastically agreed to the condition thinking that the old man can never keep his promise. Was he able to fulfill his promise? Or was he punished by the authorities for stealing the deity? Keep chanting till the next issue to know that. Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

Dwarakanatha -3

2010-09-17T04:00:00.003+05:30

Dwarakanatha -3

In the last issue we saw the different attributes of Dwaraka, and its origin, disappearance and rebirth. During the later years once upon a time the temple doors were closed and no pujas or oblations could be done for sometime. There was no way that the doors could be opened and pujas done. It was at the period of the great bhaktha Meera Matha. She left her palace and went to Brindavan and was living there happily. But rumours started that if Meera Matha would come then the doors of Dwarakanath could be opened. The rumour spread so wild and far that the people of Dwaraka utimately decided to approach her. They collectively went to Brindavan singing bhajans to meet Meera Matha. They met her and requested her to come and open the doors of their temple. Meera Matha refused saying that she had no such powers and also she had taken a vow to be only in Brindavan till her end. But the people insisted her saying even Radhika Rani had come to Dwaraka and at last she had to agree. Getting permission from her guru Raidasa she left for Dwaraka. All the people singing bhajans approached the temple entrance. Meera Matha with folded hands and closed eyes prayed to Dwarkanath that she was fed up with wordly life and that she wanted to mingle with Krishna. She cried out in the agony of viraham - seperation. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she her pain expressed in bhajans which melt everyone's heart. "I have nobody else but you. Where else will I go" she sang. The; crowd sang with her full of emotions. They all cried out 'Giridhari Giridhari' along with Meera Matha. Their prayers pulled Dwarakanatha towards them. He couldn't hold on any longer and suddenly the doors burst open by themselves to the astonishment of everyone who had gathered there. If a temple is without any puja or prayers for some time the divinity of the deity will disappear gradually. But the deity of Dwarakanath even after being without any puja for a long time shined in full splendour hearing Meera Matha's bhajans. Bhagavan stretched His hands towards her and Meera rushed into his outstretched hands. Then she just disappeared. Ranchodji swallowed her as such. People were spell bound at the scene. Even today Meera matha's saannidhyam or presence is felt very much inthe temple. Those with the power of namajapam canfeel it. The place where Bhagavan had swallowed Meera Matha is known as Pet Dwaraka.
Another devotee had great love for Dwarakanath. From his village he would go to Dwaraka whenever he got time. His name was Ramadasa. He was getting old but was immersed in Krishna bhakthi. One day he went to Dwaraka with his wife to have Ranchodji's darsan. Bhagavan smiled at him as if to say "Oh you have come at last. It is a long time since you came here. I was thinking of you only!" The devotee had darsan to his heart's fill. He was not sure whether he would be able to come back again. Anytime life would come to an end. Looking at Bhagavan his eyes filled with tears. His tears moved Dwarkanath. Bhagavan appeared before him and asked why he was crying. The old man told Him that he was afraid whether he would be able to have this darsan again in this life. Even if he was alive except his wife who too was old like him, his family people would object to his coming here again.
Only those who help us to go near Bhagavan are the real relatives. But the world is based on selfishness only. The old man told Bhagavan that he did not want to go back at all. He could not even think of not seeing Bhagavan again. Bhagavan laughed at him and said "Then take me with you". The old man was surprised at this.
"Are you sure you want to come with me?" he asked.
Bhagavan replied "yes" and said without a bhaktha like him nothing was there for Him. Ramadasa could not believe his ears. Bhagavan promised him that he would come with Ramadasa. The bewildered Ramadasa asked Bhagavan how he could carry the plump, well built Bhagavan to his village. He was old and frail. Bhagavan repllied that he had made ready a small cart for that pupose and that He would sit inside the cart. The old man and his wife could pull Him to their village. Ramadasa was delighted at this proposal. Radhekrishna!

Dwarakanatha -2

2010-08-17T04:00:00.003+05:30

Dwarakanatha 2

Radhekrishna! In the last issue we saw that Bhagavan decided to move the people of Mathura to a safer place. The all powerful Bhagavan wanted to create a new country in the sea. On Bhagavan's request Samudraraja made space in the midst of the sea for a new country. He pleaded a boon from the Lord that once the Lord leaves the earth he would take back the country into the seas. He wanted to enjoy the place where Krishna lived for some time. Bhagavan agreed to his condition. Vishvakarma constructed a country in the most wonderful manner. There was no place to equal that. It was greater than Indra's Amaravathy.

During that time Kalayavana who was a friend of Jarasandha chased Krishna. Krishna pretended to run away from him and entered a cave. The great king Muchukunta was lying there sleeping. Kalayavana mistook him for Krishna and kicked him unaware of the boon Muchukunda had got from the devas. He was instantly burnt down to ashes. Bhagavan then gave darsan to Muchukunda and blessed him. Jarasandha made another attempt again at Krishna. This time Krishna and Balaram left the battlefield mid way and disappeared. Jarasandha was searching for Krishna everywhere when Krishna along with his people entered Dwaraka, the place created by Krishna Himself!
This is supposed to be the door way - dwaar to Parabrahmam. It is called the golden city. All the devas offered whatever they could for this city. It shone like thousand suns. Andal in her Nachiyar Thirumozhi describes Dwaraka as a place sung in praise by the black birds in the woods. A holy place indeed with the presence of Lord Krishna! The Lord of Dwaraka is also known as Ranchodji - meaning one who ran way from the battle front!! The Lord of the Universe who is the assylum for everyone, ran away from the battle field and took assylum in Dwaraka. We can well imagine its greatness then !

Dwaraka is a holy city where Krishna married His 16,108 queens. It was only after coming here that Rukmini sent message through a brahmin for Krishna, to take her away from her impending marriage with Sisupala. It was here that Bhagavan brought Rukmini and married her. Manmatha was reborn as Pradyumna in Dwaraka only. It was from here that Anirudha was taken away by Usha, Bana's daughter to release whom Bhagavaan had to fight with Bana.

It was in Dwaraka that one day Bhagavan saw Sathrajith wearing the Syamanthaka stone. The people of Dwarka thought it was Lord Surya who was coming to meet Krishna. Krishna explained to them it was not Lord Surya bu the Syamanthaka stone that Sathrajith had was emitting so much brightness. They were all astound at that.Bhagavan Krishna asked for the stone which Sathrajith refused. The stone caused Sathrajith the life of his brother. Later the blame was put over Bhagavan Krishna. In Brindavan Krishna was called a thief and He never contradicted it. But here in Dwaraka when he was blamed of stealing the stone from Sathrajith, He made every effort to prove that He was innocent. So again Bhagavan had to go in search of the truth and in the process married Jampavathi and Sathyabhama too. Bhagavan wanted to give Dwaraka the fame of His marriages. Lord Narada had a feeling that while his father Brahma had the fortune of seeing a number of Krishnas in Brindavan, he never had such a luck. It was as if to please him Bhagavan married the 16,108 queens in Dwaraka at the same time in 16,108 forms.

It was here that Narada could enjoy Bhagavan conducting His family life in various forms with his various consorts. At one house Krishna was taking oil bath, in another house he was seen doing sandhyavandhana -daily oblations. At one place He was playing games with Uddhava, in one hosue He was seen fighting with two boxers. He was taking care of cows insome place while was giving offerings to people in another house. Somewhere He was deep in thought and somewhere deeply engaged in marriage arrangements of His children. Somewhere he was feeding brahmins with great respect and care. Somewhere He was doing jalakreeda with his queen, and somewhere He was discussing with the spies of His country. Saint Narada witnessed all these in Dwaraka only.

It was in Dwaraka that King Nriga got released from his form of chamillion due to a curse. It was in Dwaraka that Krishna feigned to quarrel with Rukmini and when she fell down in anguish and fear, took her in His lap with His four arms to console her. It was from Dwaraka that Lord Guruvayurappa and Udupi Krishna reached their places. Dwaraka is the base for many divine temples of India. It was in Dwaraka that Krishna's friend Kuchela was ushered into His bedroom and fully honoured by Him and His people. He forcibly took the rice flakes brought with great love and care by Kuchela.

Dwaraka had lofty buildings. It was from Dwaraka that Bhagavan took a brahmin along with Arjuna to Vaikunta for retrieving the brahmin's demised children. It was in Dwaraka that Radhika Rani came to Rukmini's palace one day. Rukmini ushered her inside and honoured her. Radhika and Rukmini kept talking for sometime and then Radhika left. When Krishna returned home at night with a shock Rlukmini noticed that His feet were full of blisters. Horrified at the sight Rukmini asked Bhagavan the reason for that. Bhagavan laughingly replied that it was because of Rukmini only He has burnt His feet. Surprised and pained at that Rukmini asked Krishna how she had burnt Him. Then Bhagavan said that Rukmini had offered hot boiling milk to Radhika Rani. Radhika immersed in her Krishna Prema did not at all notice that and accepted it. As Radhika has Bhagavan's Lotus feet in her heart always the hot milk she consumed burnt them. Hearing this Rukmini broke down and wondered at the bhakthi of Radhika Rani !!!! Radhekrishna!

Here in Dwaraka Bhagavan played a divine drama to subdue the ego of Sudarsana the disk and his consorts using Anjaneya. For the great bhaktha's sake He assumed the form of Lord Rama too. It was in Dwaraka that Uddhava the great bhaktha surrendered himself to the Lord and got His divine messages exclusively. It is said that the population of Dwaraka was about 56 crores. Bhagavan came down as Krishna in order to lessen the burden of Mother Earth. With that purpose He decided to destroy His lineage also without any partiality or prejudice. All of them fought within themselves due to the curse of some sages and killed themselved by divine sankalpa. Just as Bhagavan shed His mortal form, the sea plunged Dwarka from all sides within minutes. It was Bhagavan's great grandson Vajranabha the only survivor of the lineage, who built the present temple on a raised sand dune. To this day Bhagavan's court, palaces, etc lie under the sea. Such a wonderful place is Dwaraka. The present temple is said to be around 200ft tall. Even this temple has been said to be rebuilt 7 times over the years.

Usually in almost all temples Bhagavan's deity stands with 4 arms, holding Sudarsana the disk, and Padma the lotus on the rightside. He holds Panchajanyam, the conch and kaumodaki the gada on the left side. But here in Dwaraka it is exactly vice versa. Bhagavan holds the conch and gada on his right side arms and the lotus and the disk on the left side arms. Rukmini too has a seperate temple. Balarama, Pradyumna, Anirudha and Lord Shiva too have temples for them here. The flag on the dhvajasthambha is said to be 52ft long. It is said Dwaraka was divided into 52 divisions, entrusted with 52 ministers and supervised by Lord Krishna. The flag is changed thrice a day in the temple. Flags are given as offerings by many people to Dwarakanath. Bhagavan is offered food for about 17 times a day. Starting from milk as the first offering in the morning it continues with varieties of sweets and dishess. Bhagavan's alankaram -decoration is also changed 17 times. Dwarka is indeed a very special holy place ! Though enemy countries such as Pakistan have tried to demolish the divine place many times, it has escaped the disasters. Even Tsunami could not do much damage to this temple. This is the greatness of this place. The people here believe that they are still ruled by Lord Krishna only. Radhekrishna!

Dwarakanatha - 1

2010-07-17T14:27:00.006+05:30

Dwarakanatha - 1
'Amararay thirikindrarku aadi ser ananthapurathu
Amarar kon archikindru anku akappani seyvor vinnor
Namarkalo solla kelmin naamum poyi nanuka vendum
Kumaranar thathai thunpam thutaitha Govindanare!'

   Radhekrishna! We will begin Dwarakanatha's attributes from Ananthapathmanabha. According to swami Nammazhvar it is Govinda who is lying as Ananthapathmanabha in Thiruvananthapuram. He who saved Lord Shiva from his predicament raised the Govardhana mountain on his finger to save His people from a disaster. The same blemishless Govinda sees that nobody in this place has any complaint (kurai). This Govinda declared that under any circumstances it was His duty to protect His people who have surrendered unto Him. If one surrenders completely to Pathmanabha saying 'I have none but you to protect me' He will definitely take their responsibility in His hands. We have to raise both our hands as Draupathy did and cry out 'Govinda! Pundareekaksha! Rakshamam saranaagatham!' He saves all from the pangs of diseases, confusions in mind, scandals of the world, prarabdha karmas, and from all dwandwas or dualities of the world.
     Just as we eagerly look at Him through the three doors, all the devas too are looking at Him with great devotion inside the sanctum, says swami Nammazhvar. They seem to say to us that we don't have to worship them serperately, and that if we worship Pathmanabha all the devas will be pleased. Nammazhvar says Pathmanabha is their leader - 'Amararkon'. So it is better to worship Him. All the devas have gathered here to do service to Pathmanabha. At night when the temple is closed and nobody is around, the devas start their services - 'kainkaryam'. They discuss about the devotees who had visited Pathmanabha that day. They eagerly come out of the sanctum to see how it feels to look at Pathmanabha from outside through the three doors. They envy at us humans at our fortune!
   The cats, rats, and cocroaches that run around the place are all some great sages - 'Rishis' who have come down in that form to enjoy Pathmanabha. There would be Shri Sukabrahmarshi, or Ambarisha, or Dhruva or any other great bhaktha among them. Swami Nammazhvaar says we have more rights than those divine beings as Pathmanabha has come down to our place. 'So hey people of this world, go there, advises Nammazhvar. This Govinda once removed the suffering of Skanda's father Mahadeva when he was inflicted by an asura. The eighteen feet moorthy of Pathmanabha is an ocean of mercy only! The people of Thiruvananthapuram are indeed very fortunate! The great need is devotion or bhakthi for Him.
   The people of Mathura had such devotion for Bhagavan Krishna. They had heard about all the stories of asuras getting killed in Brindavan by a cute little blue boy. They had their mind filled with his leelas. They gossiped among themselves that the boy was none other than the son of Vasudeva that had come to kill Kamsa the evil asura. It was only because Nandagopa and Yasoda brought Him up He looked like a Yadava. So when Akroora brought Krishna from Brindavan, the people of Mathura were very happy. Krishna too behaved as if He was very familiar with the place. He went straight to the malakara's house and accepted his offerings. He blessed the hunch back Thrivakra by changing her into a beauty. He killed the big elephant Kuvalyapitam, the boxers Chanura, and Mushtika, broke the bow kept for worship byKamsa and ultimately killed him too. He fell at the feet of Vasudeva and Devaki as if He knew they were His parents. He made Ugrasena the king. In everyway He pleased the people of Mathura.
   After finishing His education at Sandeepani's gurukul, He was back in Mathura protecting the people. Only Jarasandha the father in law of Kamsa was very much angry with Krishna. He came with his 23 akshauhini sena or battallion to attack Krishna. Each and everytime he met with defeat at the hands of Krishna. But he was not prepared to accept the defeat and fought with Krishna for 17 times. Krishna killed all his battallion each time leaving him free to go to bring back more. It is said that the Mathura people were disturbed by the continuous wars. They prayed to the Lord to help them. So Bhagavan decided to shift the people of Mathura to a new safe place. Radhekrishna!

Sakshi Gopal -7

2010-06-17T04:41:00.003+05:30

Sakshi Gopal

In the last issue we saw that Bhagavan for the sake of his bhaktha left his abode in Brindavan and came to Vidyanagaram. Just to fulfill the promise made by His bhaktha, Bhagavan in His deity form revealed the brahmin's promise to everybody. Now let us see what happened next.

Everyone were astonished to see a deity open its mouth and speak. Brahmachari broke down at Bhagavan's mercy and began to cry. He said he did not want any marriage and that he only wanted to prove that Bhagavan is truth. He was happy now that Bhagavan has taken the pain of coming with him and at this moment he wanted to leave this life with Bhagavan's thoughts. The old brahmin realised his mistake and accepted before everyone that he had made the promise of giving his daughter in marriage to the brahmachari. Only because he was scared of his wife and son that he lied to everyone. The brahmin's wife and son too realised their mistakes and apologised with the brahmachari, the panchayath and Sakshi Gopalan. The people of Vidyanagaram also apologised with Kalyana brahmachari for being sarcastic and rude to him. Seeing all these brahmachari was melting at the mercy of Bhagavan. Malini was very happy that Bhagavan Himself has blessed her marriage.

It was Kalyana brahmachari's bhakthi that brought Bhagavan Gopala from Brindavan to Vidyanagaram. One who was once an orphan became the pet of everyone in the town. Many people came forward to volunteer his marriage duties. Some offered to gift him clothes and other things for the marriage. One who is accepted by Bhagavan will be accepted by the whole world. The marriage was conducted in front of Sakshi Gopalan in the presence of everyone in the town. Bhagavan blessed the couple. Malini thanked Bhagavan for giving her such a pious and good husband. How many people have the luck of having Bhagavan at their marriage? How many people tend to invite Him for any functions in their family? If He is invited with love He will definitely be present at the occasion and bless us. Everyone who attended the marriage of Kalyana brahmachari could completely experience Bhagavan's presence there. Bhagavan pleased with His bhaktha's devotion decided to stay back there itself. He ordered Kalyana brahmachari to do the daily puja for Him. Malini and Kalyana brahmachari enjoyed endless happiness. All the people joined together and built a beautiful temple for Sakshi Gopalan there. Radhekrishna!

Bhagavan is an ocean of mercy.He will do anything for His bhakthas. We have to do our duties properly and think of Bhagavan always, rest Bhagavan will take care. Kalyana brahmachari's story is a proof of this. It is said in our sasthras that if a bhaktha is born in a family the lineage before and after his birth are benefitted. Mother earth also feels happy to bear a bhaktha. In the couse of time Sakshi Gopalan who came to Vidyanagaram left this town and went to Puri Jagannath for the sake of another bhaktha. He is still in Puri Jagannatha kshethra. The pilgrimage to Puri is complete only when this Sakshi Gopalan too is visited. Bhagavan got His name Sakshi Gopaloan as He stood witness to Kalyana brahmachari. He got the name Parthasarathy as He became Arjjuna's sarathi during the Kurukshethra war. In Tamil Nadu there is a place called Thiruvekka. There for the sake of a bhaktha called Kanikannan, Bhagavan left the place and stayed for a single night at a place called Orirukkai, meaning one night's stay. These stories of bhakthas show us the mercy of Bhagavan and the greatness of bhakthas. When this story was narrated to Sri Chaithanya Mahaprabhu by Sri Nithyananda, Sri Prabhu forgot himself and danced chanting 'Hare Rama hare Rama Rama Rama hare hare, hare Krishna hare Krishna Krishna Krishna hare hare'! Hey bhakthas! Bhagavatha bhoomi is a place for bhakthi. Bhakthi is common for everyone. Anyone can attain Bhagavan through bhakthi. Whoever realises the true meaning of bhakthi from this story of Sakshi Gopalan will attain all happiness in their life by the mercy of Bhagavan. Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

Sakshi Gopal -6

2010-05-17T06:00:00.002+05:30

     Radhekrishna! In the last issue we read that Bhagavan agreed to come with Kalyana brahmachari to Vidyanagaram on one condition. Now we will see what happened after that. Bhagavan asked the brahmachari to proceed in front and that He would follow him. Brahmachari was surprised at this request of Bhagavan. That Bhagavan, behind whom the whole world is waiting to follow is ready to follow a bhaktha! It was really surprising for him. But he had no other option but to agree to Bhagavan's condition. The condition also insisted that at any cost brahmachari should not turn back to check whether Bhagavan is coming with him or not. Bhagavan also said that brahmachari can hear the tinkling of His anklets while he proceeded. Brahmachari agreed to this arrangement and proceeded. Who can relly understand the divine leelas of Bhagavan! Bhagavan gives ananda to those who obey Him completely. Brahmachari promosed he would not turn back and look. He felt guilty that he was making Bhagavan walk all the distance. At the same time he was overcome with emotions that Bhagavan agreed to oblige an ordinary devottee like him. The same Bhagavan who walked over the forests for 14 years as Rama and who walked over Brindavan grazing cows as Krishna was walking behind brahmachari. Brahmachari was hearing the sound of anklets as he walked.
      Bhagavan too was equally moved by this devottee's devotion. Isnt he like 'Akroora' who ushered Him to Mathura? Bhagavan playing His flute, with His anklets twinkiling the garland on His neck dancing, the peacock feather on his hear fluttering, walked like a bull, a lion or an elephant behind brahmachari. All the devas who were watching from heaven were surprised and debated among themselves whether it was Bhagavan's mercy or the devottee's bhakthi that was great. A great fortune for the brahmachari to be followede by Bhagavan for days together. If his marriage had been conducted without any hindrance he would not have had this fortune. So be happy when some problem or other rises in your life. It means another great fortune is waiting for you! Radhekrishna!
     Five year old Dhruva was denied the opportunity to sit on his father's lap. But that earned him Bhaavan's darsan ultimately. Only because Pandavas were denied theiru rightful country they had Bhagavan their side in Kurukshethra war. Because of that only Arjjuna had the fortune of hearing Bhagavath Geetha from the Lord. Hiranyakashipu tortured his son Prahlada because he did Haribhakthi. But Prahlada had the fortune of having Bhagavan appear before him as Narasimha. Kalyana brahmachari had started realising the secrets of life now. He did not worry about his marriage or the insult he had to face anymore. Now his attention was completely turned towards the sound of anklets of Bhagavan. Radhekrishna!
   In the meantime in Brindavan the people were terribly upset because the deity in the temple was missing. Serious search was going on there to find out the deity. Now Bhagavan preferred to play with this bhaktha called brahmachari. Suddenly brahmachari felt that the playing of the flute and the tinkling of the anklets had stopped completely. Brahmachari got scared terribly. He didnt know what to do. He wanted to turn back and see what was happening behind his back. But did not have the courage to do so and continued walking further. They reached the outskirts of Vidyanagaram. From somewhere a doubt got into his mind that Bhagavan might have been lured away by somebody else mid way. What if he reached his place and Bhagavan were not there? Won't the people again laugh at him? He was confused now. He did not hve the courage too to look back. But the confusion going in his mind at last provoked him to turn back and look. He saw Bhagavan walking behind him quietly. As soon as he turned, Bhagavan stood mid tracks and laughed aloud. "So this is all the faith you have on me" asked Bhagavan.
   Brahmachari was ashamed of himself for doubting Bhagavan. Bhagavan told him that as he had breached the promise, he should bring everybody to His place now. He will stand as a witness from this place only. That instant brahmachari knew that this was all His divine sankalpa only. He immediately went inside the town and called everyone. They asked him sarcastically whether he had brought his witness. He replied with tears in his eyes that his winess was standing outside the town. Most of them could not believe his words. Some who knew understood his bhakthi were happy that he was at last successful in bringing Bhagavan. Anyway everyone followed brahmachari to see for themselves. They were all totally taken off by what they saw. Some non believers began to blame brahmachari that he had stolen some deity from somewhere and brought it here.
     The panchayath asked the old brahmin whether it was the same deity in front of whom he had made the promise. The old man scared as immediately told the truth. Now that the witness had come everybody expected the witness to tell the truth. While brahmachari saw bhagavan all others could see only a deity. Brahmachari now requested Bhagavan to tell the truth from his own mouth. Bhagavan opened his lotus lips and told that the old brahmin made the promise of giving his daughter in marriage to the brahmachari with Him as a witness. That Bhagavan who ignored the promise not to take any weapon in the Kurukshethra war to take His weapon for the sake of his great bhaktha Bhishma, now had come here leaving his abode in Brindavan for the sake of brahmachari.
"Parithranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritham
    Dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge"
Krishna says that I take birth in all yugas to save my sadhu bhakthas. We must realise Bhagavan's great mercy from many bhaktha charithras. Let us see what happened later in our next issue. ?Till then Radhekrishna!

Sakshi Gopal 5

2010-04-17T06:00:00.000+05:30

Radhekrishna! Kalyana brahmachari was overwhelmed by Bhagavan's leela. Once he wanted to visit Brindavan atleast once in his life and now Bhagavan has forced him to come again there. But for the situation he was in he would not have thought of visiting Brindavan again. He was doing namajapam with full faith and reached Brindavan. He went straight to the temple and stood before the deity. He narrated all that happened at his town to Bhagavan and asked him to accompany him. The temple pujari also noted this and laughed at his innocence. For him he sounded as a lunatic. Kulasekhara Alwar in his Perumal Thiurmozhi says:-
Peyare enakku yaavarum, yaanum oar peyane
evarkkum ithu pesi en
Aayane arangaa endru azhaikindren peyaayozhinthen empiraanukke"
'I am a lunatic for others and as far as I am cocerned all others are lunatics only, mad after worldly things. I would better be Krishna crazy than otherwise.' Bhakthas dont care what others think about them. Kalyana brahmachari was also in the same state. He stood in front of the deity and kept calling 'Gopala! Gopala! Come!' But for Gopala nobody else could understand him. At night the temple was locked and everybody left. It is said that the temple closes to give rest to Bhagavan. But brahmachari knew athat Bhagavan has no rest and he takes care of everyone even when they sleep. He chat in front of the tempe and kept crying for Bhagavan. Bhagavan had no other choice but appear before him. We should have such a determination in bhakthi. But the pity is we have great determination in every other thing in this world than bhakthi. We have great determination to become a doctor, to attian riches etc. Radhekrishna! Kalyana brahmachari forced Bhagavan to appear before him. The doors of the sanctum opened at last and Bhagavan gavae his real darsan to brahmachari. Brahmachari drank the beauty with his two eyes and was very happy. He forgot everything and lost himself completely in Bhagavan's beauty. How can anybody put in words athe divine beauty of Krishna? From tow to top and from top to toe he was enjoying again and again. Radhekrishna!
Bhagavan asked him what the matter was. He was immensely happy to hear Bhagavan's sweet voice. Recovering himself he told Bhagavan everything that happened and asked Gopala if he remembered the brahmin's promise. Bhagavan agreed that he remembered his promise. Brahmachari requested him to come with him to Vidyanagaram as his witness. Bhagavan smiled beautifully and asked the brahmachari whether such things are possible in this world. Brahmachari replied that there is nothing that Bhagavan cannot do. Bhagavan then replied that he would invisibly come to Vidyanagaram and hep him. Brahmachari refused that and forced Bhagavan to come with him in His form. Bhagavan again asked him whether a deity can do all these. Brahmachari cleverly replied that whether a deity or not He is Bhagavan and so all powerful. Hearing his reply Bhagavan was very much impressed and agreed to start with him to Vidyanagaram on one condition. Radhekrishna!
Want to know what Bhagavan said? Do visit this blog next month same date. Radhekrishna! Until then keep chanting like brahmachari. Radhekrishna!

Sakshi Gopal 4

2010-03-17T14:16:00.002+05:30

     Radhekrishna! Kalyana Brahmachari was doing all his karmas with Krishna dhyanam.The old brahmin's family were thinking of getting the girl married.They were on the look out for a suitable alliance for her. The brahmin's wife was on the look out for a rich son in law while his son wanted a handsome well educated boy for his sister. The brahmin did not have the courage to tell him that he had promised to give his daughter in marriage to the orphan boy next door. It was true that the boy was good looking very pious and well behaved. But will they consider and accept him? One day he gathered courage and told his son about Kalyana Brahmachari and his promise to him. The son got so wild that he immeidately took a wooden log to beat his father. His wife also started showering abuses on him. They did not care for his age or his promse given to the brahmachari. People give respect only till a man is of any use to them. After that he is only ignored. The old man was ordered not to interfere in his daughter's marriage issue. His daughter Malini respected her father and was a pious girl. She kept consoling her father that Bhagavan will never let his promise go invain and that he would somehow fulfill his promise. What a staunch faith! Radhekrishna!
     The old man was relieved that at least his daughter understood his predicament. But he was reluctant to face the brahmachari. He avoided going out when brahmachari was around. If at all he happened to meet him he would not look at him. Brahmachari noted all these and started worrying for the brahmin. He had made the promise in Brindavan in front of Krishna. If he failed to fulfill it he would definitely become a sinner. He wanted the brahmin to realise this and went to meet him one day. He directly reminded him of his promise made before Gopala. Hearing this the brahmin's wife and son insulted the boy and drove him out of the house. The brahmin kept quiet throughout. The boy silently went away without retorting. Theythought that he got scared and ran away. Bhakthas are never afraid of anything in this world. However much Hiranyakashipu tried, he could not scare Prahlada. The great sage Durvasa couldnt scare King Ambarisha with his evil spirit. Bhakthas have deep faith in Bhagavan so they are unbeatable. Radhekrishna!
     Kalyana brahmachari was worried that the old man had broken his promise. He was also sorry that he was insulted by them. He kept thinking of the Gopala of Brindavan who only was the witness to everything. He had served the brahmin out of pure love only and it was definted by them as selfish motive. That hurt him very much. Insult is more painful than death. Bhagavan in Bhagavath Geetha tells Arjjuna that "Akeerthihi maranaath athiriachyathe". He was insulted in a mean way by the brahmin's family. Though he was deeply hurt by it he did not want to commit suicide for that. He knew committing suicide is a great sin and will have to suffer greater disasters for doing so. Instead he must win and live before the people who had insulted him. Brahmachari was very clear in his mind. He wanted to win and depended on namasankeertan to get a way. Whatever be the problem if we do namasankeertan with full faith the right way will come up. Bhagavan in Bhagavath Geetha tells Arjjuna that when anybody is in a confused state, should surrender at my feet, then I will show them the right path. Brahmachari also, keeping Bhagavan's words in mind sat and did namajapam for a while.
     At last with a clear mind he approached the village panchayath and presented his problem before them. The old brahmin and his family were summoned before the panchayath. They put the blame over him saying tht he had wanted to marry the girl and was creating this drama in favour of him. They said that with this intention in his mind he had accompanied the old man, cheated him and taken the promise from him. Kalyana brahmachari did not worry about anything and kept chanting Bhagavan's nama continously. "Sarvadha, sarva bhavena nischinthaih bhagavan eva bhajaneeyah" says Narada maharshi is his Bhakthi Sutra. The panchayath asked the brahmin the truth. He in his hurry to escape his family's wrath said he did not remember any promise he had made. Truth always has to face test in this world. Radhekrishna!
      Now the panchayath asked the brahmachari if he had any witness to support his words, He said he had only Gopala of Brindavan to prove his words. They laughed at him and sarcastically told him to bring his witness there if he can. They said they cannot take a decision without proper enquiry. Heairng this the brahmachari got so determined that he declared he would bring his witness Gopala there to prove his words. Everyone laughed at him. Malini's brother immeidately said that if he could bring Gopala as a witness he was prepared to give her in marriage to him. Some people were astound at his deep faith. Brahmachari had unflinching faith in Bhagavan and was sure that he could bring Him over there as a witness. Everybody thought that Bhagavan will never come directly as a witness and so agreed to the challenge. Radhekrishna!
     Want to know how Bhagavan helped brahmachari? Wait with namajapam till next issue. Radhekrishna!

Sakshi Gopal 3

2009-12-27T14:42:00.000+05:30

Radhekrishna!! Worldly people can never understand Bhagavan’s sankalpa. True bhakthas understand Bhagavan’s intentions in the right way. A rich brahmin was living near Kalyana Brahmachari’s house. His family consisted of his wife, one son and daughter. He had riches, a big house and other luxuries. His wife and son lived life for the comfort of their bodies only. The rich man’s daughter was very much devoted to Krishna. The old brahmin wanted to go for a pilgrimage. Visiting holy places where there are Bhagavan’s temples and taking bath in holy rivers destroy our accumulated sins. In Bhatarha desam plenty of such holy places are there. The old man asked his wife and son to accompany him. But they refused as they had no interest in that. He hesitated to take his daughter with him as her safety and comforts cannot be guaranteed. But his desire for the pilgrimage became severe. He firmly believed that God will show some way for him. We should have firm belief that Bhagavan will fulfill our desire some day. Patience is necessary for bhakthi. When a seed is planted it takes time to grow into a sapling, plant, tree, then flower and fruit. Do not we wait patiently till then? God also will shower His grace upon us. Don’t imagine that things should happen the way you want. Let Bhagavan take the charge. Gajendra, when caught by the crocodile cried out ‘Bhagavan save me!.’ He never gave instructions to Bhagavan as to how to save him. Did not Bhagavancome to his rescue? Draupathi in the Kaurava court while being humiliated rose both her hands up and cried out ‘Govinda! Pundarikaksha! Raksha mam saranagatham!’. She did not ask Him to kill Dussasana and save her. Actually Bhagavan could have carried her away from the court and saved her or even could have appeared on the spot and killed all the sinners. Draupathi did not ask any of these. She only wanted Him to save her. Bhagavan provided her with unending clothes. Nobody else dared to do so with her again. So we should also do our duties and keep praying leaving our responsibilities to Bhagavan. The old brahmin also with full faith in Bhagavan kept waiting. Radhekrishna !

One day the old brahmin saw his neighbour, Kalyana Brahmachari standing outside his house. Then it struck him to seek the youth’s help for the pilgrimage. He prayed to Bhagavan and then asked the youth whether he could do him a favour. It is only proper to pray before talking with anybody. Antharyami will guide us and we will definitely win. We should always keep Him by our side. Kalyana Brahmachari with folded hands replied he would do whatever he could to help the old brahmin. He had clear idea of his strength and weakness. The old brahmin then told him his desire of a pilgrimage and that he wanted the brahmachari to accompany him. Hearing these words Kalyana Brahchari was moved with emotions and started shedding tears. In his heart he thought: ‘Oh Krishna! now I understand why you made me wait this long for my Brindavan yathra. You are aware of the reasons behind every action.’ He had the desire but did not have the money , while the brahmin had the money but needed a help to take him. Bhagavan co ordinated these two in His beautaiful way. This is the secret of life. If we understand this there will never be sorrow for us. The old brahmin’s family also agreed to this and a date was fixed for their travel. Both of them prayed Bhagavan before starting for the pilgrimage. Radhekrishna ! They visited many pilgrimage centres and holy rivers. They enjoyed good darsan and prasadams. Both of them had many things regarding Bhagavan and bhakthi to share with each other. Both of them chanted the divine nama together. At last they reached the holy place of Sri Brindavan.It was their life’s dream. This is where Lord Krishna enacts his various divine leelas. Irrespective of caste, creed, age or status everybody in this place keep chanting the nama Radhe Radhe. The whole place is flooded with prema bhakthi. This is the holiest place in the whole world. Andal in her Nachiyar thiurmozhi has sung 10 pasurams in praise of Brindavan. There are many great men who have experienced Krishna’s presence in Brindavan. One should have the desire to experience Krishna leelas. Along with effort, guru kripa and namajapam they can definitely achieve their aim. Periyazhvar also in his Divya prabandham describes Krishna’s ‘venugana leela’. The cows of Brindavan are in ecstacy when they hear His flute. Being an animal the cow is very fortunate to have some connection with Krishna. He tended to its needs of food and also happiness. He enjoyed grazing the cows. Isnt he the best shepherd? It is said that even now daily Bhagavan plays there with his friends and cows in Brindavan.

It was here that Dhruva and Ambarisha realised Sri Hari by doing penance. It was here that Indra’s ego was subdued by Krishna, and he did Govinda pattabhishekam to Bhagavan.It was here that maha papis like Aghasura, Bakasura, Vathsasura, Dhenukasura got moksha. It was here that the brahmana pathnis got their long cherished desire of Krishna darsanam. It was here that the gopis enjoyed the great rasakreeda with Krishna. Here we can find plenty of peacocks, parrots, monkeys, and Koels. Even a minute spent there is worthy. They did not have much time to spend there. But the old brahmin suddenly fell ill there and they had to prolong their stay. The brahmachari took this as Krishna sankallpa and took care of the brahmin very well. The old man was immensely pleased with the service he did and wanted to compensate him in some way. As he knew kanya dana (giving a girl as gift) is the greatest of all danas he decided to give his daughter in marriage to this young man who had great Krishna bhakthi. For him that was a good enough qualaity. But brahmachari was more practical and was aware of the ways of the world. He declined the offer saying that the brahmin was rich and he was a poor orphan. He also told the brahmin that old man’s family would never accept this proposal. He advised him to drop the idea then itself, for if the brahmin made a promise here he would be later forced to forgo that and that would turn out to be a sin. But the brahmin in his mood of happiness would not listen to any of his words and made a promise in front of a deity in a temple that if at all he forgets the promise Gopala would come and stand as a witness for the brahmachari. Brahmachari took everything as Bhagavan’s wish only and accepted it. They spent some more days in Brindavan and then returned to Vidyanagaram. Radhekrishna !

Wait till next month to know more...
Till then...
Radhekrishna..Radhekrishna..

Sakshi Gopal 2

2009-11-19T07:54:00.005+05:30

Without bhakthi you can never have peace. Radhekrishna!

‘Thrisathyasya bhakthireva gariyasi’

Sage Narada in his Naradabhakthi suthram says that in past, present and future bhakthi is the only truth and there is nothing greater than bhakthi. Only if we do bhakthi we can realise its quality. Bhakthi is the easiest thing in the world. There are four types of bhakthas says Sri Krishna in Bhagavath Geetha.
‘Chathurvidha bhajanthe mam janaH sukrithinorjuna!

Artho jijnjaasu arthaarthi njaani cha Bharatharshabha!

Slo:16, Chap: 7

Those who approach Bhagavan to fulfill their needs, those who want relief from their problems and difficulties, those who want to know more about Bhagavan and those who are fully realised and are enjoying Him are the four types of bhakthas. Bhagavan likes all the four types of bhakthas. We must have full faith in Bhagavan all the time. To whatever extent the situation might go the real bhaktha will win definitely. Bhagavan takes care of the needs of his bhaktha who believes Him. If we think whether these things are practical in this kali yuga, we should say they are. Many think that in this present age no such leelas are taking place. Also when some terrible incidents happen they think that Bhagavan is not present in this age. They decide their life according to the sufferings of the body. Life is nothing but the mixture of incidents due to our deeds of past janmas. A two year old cannot understand life. If it has wrong notions about life it is not God’s mistake. Dharma and the qualities of men in the four yugas change. But Bhagavan’s karunyam never changes. Bhagavan is blemishless—‘kurai ondrum illaatha Govindan’. In fact with our bhakthi we can fully realise Bhagavan’s karunyam in this kali yuga itself. Bhagavan is present everywhere. We have to become Prahlada to experience Him. Like King Parikshit, if we want we can mingle with Bhagavan even in a week’s time. We must have that unchanging faith in a Sadguru as Parikshit had. We can bring Bhagavan in front of us in five months as Dhruva did. We should have that much yearning for Bhagavan as he had. Radhekrishna!

Faith is the base for our life. Nobody with faith failed in their lives. So hey bhakthas! surrender yourselves completely unto Bhagavan. U can experience Him definitely. Even when we have nobody on our side, be assured that Bhagavan is always with us. He is inside us watching everything we do as a witness. He is the permenant power, wonderful ocean of mercy!. We must believe Him. He does not know to discard those who believe Him. Sri Krishna is really great! He resides as Gopala in Brindavan. One should have the desire to spend at least a minute in His presence. Live your life with Him. It is indeed a great experience!

       On the banks of river Godavari, is the city called Vidyanagaram. There was a bachelor boy named Kalyana Brahmachari. He was an orphan with no relatives at all for him. He was a poor brahmin with great devotion. He did not have the pride of lineage, education, or riches. The most important quality one should have is humility. The mind free of jealousy will enjoy bhakthi. Bhagavan also likes one who is devoid of ego.
         ‘Isvarasyaapi abhimaanadveshithvaath dhainya priyathvaachcha’.
          (Naradabhakthisuthram -27)

Those with humility are more liked by Bhagavan than those with selfishness. This youth lived his life for Bhagavan. He did all his Karmas for the sake of Bhagavan and offered the results too to Him. He was watching all the incidents happening in this world as the divine leelas, accepting everything that came in his life as Bhagavan’s prasadam, chanting the divine name always and living life happily. He used to pray to Bhagavan that all his indrias (senses) should yearn for Bhagavan only, and that the bad qualities of kamam (desire), krodham (anger), madham (pride), mathsaryam (jealousy) should be completely eradicated from him. He prayed for pure bhakthi alone. Each day whatever he did his lips were chanting the divine nama. each day he would pray that he too experience the different experiences of different bhakthas. The cows of the Brindavan had the fortune ot pulled, tied, hugged and kissed by Krishna. He wanted to become like them. It was enough for him to become a product of Bhagavan. He wanted to become the thamala truee on which bhagavan sat. He wanted to become all those things which were enjoyed by Bhagavan. Radhekrishna!

He had a long time desire of going to Sri Brindavan. He had heard great mahans say that a birth of blade of grass in Brindavan is a great sowbhagya. If we go on a pilgrimage our prarabdha gets destroyed. But this young man did not get the chance so far. But he firmly believed that some day Bhagavan will take him too to Brindavan. Bhagavan knows when to take whom to somewhere. It took eleven years for Akroora to reach Brindavan. Akroora waited with full faith till that time. Kalyana Brahmachari also with prayers and full faith was waiting for that day. Prayer never fails. Most of the times during prayer we slip into imaginations. That is why sometimes our prayer does not give results. Pray with full faith and without any sort of imaginations. Radhekrihsna!

See you next month !

Sakshi Gopal - 1

2009-10-17T18:30:00.001+05:30

Radhekrishna ! We are very happy to give you the english translation of Guruji Gopalavallidasar's Tamil book "BAKTHIYUM, BAKTHANUM, BAGAVAANUM" about "SAKSHI GOPAL'S DIVINE HISTORY". Checkout this blog every month to read the divine short stories of various great bakthas.

Radhekrishna! Life is a special experience. It is only a mixture of crores of incidents. The time between birth and death is called life. Everyone has the right to live. All want to be happy only. Happiness is connected with the mind. Those who have mind can definitely enjoy happiness. Only those who have clear mind enjoy all the incidents in life as such. Nobody can change or deny your life. It is only yourself who is trying to do both. Radhekrishna!

According to the mind the world is either lofty or terrible. When the man is perfect his world too becomes perfect. But everyone keeps watching other’s life more than theirs. Or else they are more concerned with what others think about their life. Learn to live life for Bhagavan. The important thing is how we live and not how long we live. Whether we are rich, beautiful, or intellegent, everything is a waste unless we have peace in our hearts. Only when the heart is filled with Bhagavan it derives peace. Radhekrishna!

Bhakthi is the highest form of love we have for Bhagavan. Everyone is in search of love. Bhagavan Krishna only gives that completely. Bhakthi is a lofty experience. It can never be attained with riches, beauty, leneage, or power. Bhakthi is the only thing indestructable in this changing world. Bhakthi is the great purpose of human life. Many are under the impression that to do bhakthi one should renounce everything and become a sanyasin. Some people separate bhakthi from normal life and say both cannot co- exist. Some others think that we need to do bahkthi only at the fag end of our lives. Actually bhakthi is needed for living life perfectly. There is no need after its end. Bhakthi only accompanies us even after our life ends here. Like food, shelter and dress, bhkthi is our daily necessity. Without bhakthi you can never have peace. Radhekrishna!

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Radhekrishna ! Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!