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Swami on Radha's Devotion

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Swami on Radha's Devotion Aum Sri Sairam Swami on Radha’s devotion Radha is anyone who surrenders to the Lord; it does not denote only a woman Bhagawan says said, “When you can surrender your actions and thoughts to Krishna, you will have reached the stage of Radha. Therefore, the word ‘Radha’ does not refer only to a woman. We should understand that anyone who surrenders himself to Krishna will become Radha. Radha teaches that not only should you fill your head with knowledge and wisdom, but you should also fill your heart with intense love. She teaches us that it is better to fill the heart with love rather than the head with knowledge. Radha is telling us that we should find diversity in divinity, which is really universal. Radha is telling us that we should surrender our sensory organs to Krishna. Otherwise, they will take you along the wrong path. Radha is telling us that we should not believe in the transient and impermanent world. We should fix our attention on the permanent aspect of the Lord. She has been telling us that we should not believe in the world, should not fear death and should not forget God. Radha is one who has given these three main injunctions. Radha is telling us that we should, at all times, and in all the gunas, enjoy the bliss of the Lord. Radha is telling us that we should get rid of jealousy, particularly when we see others prosper. Radha was one who cleared the suspicions of the other Gopikas and made them give up jealousy.” Source: http://sssbpt.info/summershowers/ss1978/ss1978-23.pdf Swami on Radha’s devotion The devotion of the Gopis was pure and selfless. It was steady, unshakeable and unwavering. Radha was the most prominent among them. She felt herself one with Krishna, tadatmya, total identification. Radha had only Krishna trsna, thirst or desire for God, and not lokatrsna, worldly desire. One day Krishna went to a nearby place in his vehicle along with Rukmini. All the inhabitants of the place gathered there and gave them a tumultuous welcome exceedingly jubilant. Rukmini noticed Krishna gazing intently at a person to her side. That person too was casting looks on Krishna. Krishna slowly and softly said,“Rukmini! Do you know Radha? She is an ardent devotee of mine.” Hearing this, Rukmini got down from the vehicle and rushed close to Radha and after exchanging pleasantries, invited her to spend some time with her in the palace in Dwaraka. Accordingly, on the following day, Radha went to Dwaraka. Rukmini received Radha at the main entrance and escorted her into the palace. Radha stayed with Rukmini in the palace for some time talking about Krishna and singing the glories of Krishna. They began sharing the joys of their experiences with Lord Krishna. Rukmini served hot milk to Radha so that she could be with her for some more time and talk a little longer about Krishna, as she would sip the milk slowly. But, Radha gulped the whop cup of hot milk at once. All the same, the conversation went on for some time and then Radha left the palace for her village. Krishna returned in the evening, very much tired. He said to Rukmini “Rukmini! Look ! I am very tired and exhausted; I have a burning sensation in my feet, it is unbearable”. Rukmini noticed some blisters on His feet and wondered how and why such a thing happened to Sri Sathya Sai Balvikas, Tamilnadu www.sssbalvikastn.org Aum Sri Sairam Him. Krishna then said, “Rukmini! You served very hot milk to Radha this afternoon when she came to visit you in response to your invitation, didn’t you? Radha drank the whole lot at one gulp. As my feet are located in her heart, the hot milk spilt on my feet and so you now find blisters there where I feel the burning sensation”. This was the level of Radha’s devotion. One day to test Radha’s devotion, a Gopi gave her a pot with holes to fetch water from the river Yamuna. Radha didn’t notice that. She was constantly repeating the sacred name of Krishna as she was dipping the pot in the river. With her every utterance of Krishna’s precious name one hole after another got cemented. The pot never leaked and Radha brought home a pot full of water. That was the height of her devotion! In the very name Radha: ‘R’ signifies ‘Radha ‘, ‘A’ is Adhar or foundation, ‘D’ signifies Dhara or continuous, uninterrupted flow and the next ‘A’ means Aradhana or worship. Her devotion was unflinching like a dhara, continuous flow like oil. As Radha repeated the name of Krishna, Krishna also thought of Radha repeatedly. This is the link and the intimacy between a devotee and his or her personal God or Deva. Source : Satyopanishad – Upanishad Of Sri Sathya Sai – Part 26 Attraction of Krishna He attracts every heart by His divine plays, miracle powers, and by His love and draws the mind away from sensory desires. Baba says this attitude of attraction is characteristic of Divinity and adds that the Divine attracts not to deceive or mislead us, but to transform, reconstruct, and reform us. The cultivating aspect of Krishna The name ‘Krishna’ also comes from the root ‘Krish’ which means ‘to cultivate, as a field, for growing crops’. The name therefore means ‘He who removes the weeds of negative tendencies from the heart of humans and sows seeds of positive traits such as faith, courage and joy’. Krishna cultivates the harvest of joy in the hearts of His devotees and makes them aware of His being Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. Swami as Krishna Here is the experience of a devout lady named Gali Sharada Devi. She was blessed to be a contemporary of our Bhagawan in His avatar as Shirdi Baba and she later came to Him in Puttaparthi. Swami affectionately called her 'Pedda Bottu' meaning 'Big Bindi', referring to the big round dot of vermilion that Hindu ladies wear on their forehead. She was a very pious and noble lady and lived in Prasanthi Nilayam till the end of her days. She was very attached to Swami and He too reciprocated the love. From her young age, she was very devoted to Lord Krishna. She was used to worshipping an idol of Lord Krishna. Throughout her life, she had several divine experiences and visions. After she came to our dear Swami, she felt the desire to see Swami as her beloved Gopala but she never asked Him for this. Sri Sathya Sai Balvikas, Tamilnadu www.sssbalvikastn.org Aum Sri Sairam On one occasion, when Swami was talking to her, she caught hold of Swami's feet and chanted a shloka whose essence is that Baba is the mother, father, relative, friend, knowledge, wealth and so on and that she sought refuge in He who is the indweller of the heart. What happened next? Let us hear from Pedda Bottu herself. In her autobiography, she writes "I closed my eyes and put my head on His feet. I could see His feet up to the knees and they were covered with yellow silk. I could see six-year-old Krishna with a yellow silk robe and His little feet wearing anklets. After regaining consciousness, I said, 'Swami, why did you do that? Why can't you give me full darshan?' He said, 'That is enough. When I gave you half darshan, you were half dead. If I give you full darshan, you will be fully dead!'" Source: Autobiography of Pedda Bottu, pg 251 Sri Sathya Sai Balvikas, Tamilnadu www.sssbalvikastn.org.
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