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How Krishna Came into their Lives is a product of the Notion Press Author Incubation Program. How Krishna Came into their Lives

Jyoti Atul Bhatt Notion Press

5 Muthu Kalathy Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600005

First Published by Notion Press

Copyright © Jyoti Atul Bhatt 2013

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9789383185573

This book is sold subject to condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold or hired out, circulated and no reproduction in any form, in whole or in part (except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews) may be made without written permission of the publishers.

This book has been published in good faith that the work of the author is original. All efforts have been taken to make the material error-free. However, the author and the publisher disclaim the responsibility for any inadvertent errors. SHRI RADHA AND SHRI KRISHNA PLEASE ACCEPT THIS BOOK AS A HUMBLE OFFERING AT YOUR DIVINE LOTUS FEET

CONTENTS

PREFACE i INTRODUCTION iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xxi MIRABAI 1 KANAK 13 KANHOPATRA 21 NARSI MEHTA 27 ANDAL 39 52 RUPA GOSWAMI 66 SURDAS 80 RAHIM 91 99 THE AUTHOR'S OWN POEMS 110 GLOSSARY 121

PREFACE

Writing this book has been an absolutely thrilling experience. I thank my Lord Krishna for igniting within me the spark of desire to write about these exceptional poet saints. The spark would have dwindled into an ember, had He not kept supplying fresh fuel with His many ideas and inspirations. Indeed it was He that kept fanning the fire that I was struggling to keep alive!

I tried to peep into the lives of these spiritual stars and as I stood at the threshold, mentally witnessing and resuscitating pictorially the glimpses of the important events of their lives, I was awestruck by their ineradicable thirst for Lord Krishna, their incredible one pointed focus, their unflinching devotion, their immense tolerance and unshakable perseverance. For me there couldn’t be a better satsang than this because the intoxication of their love for God so gripped me that after having sipped a few drops of this nectar I couldn’t resist myself from drinking more and more of the elixir of their rich spiritual experiences. The urge to share this with others translated into the form of this book.

Before beginning to write this book I had not the faintest idea as to where and how to begin but by the grace of these great saints and by the grace of Krishna this feeble attempt to glorify them got accomplished.

There have been many great souls all over the world

i How Krishna Came into their Lives who have come time and again to reawaken us from our deep slumber, to remind us of our eternal relationship with God. Their lives, experiences and teachings have impinged on the hearts of the ardent seekers with a tremendous force instilling in them hope as they struggle and fumble on the spiritual path. The seer poets of whom I have written in this book need no introduction. For years they have been torchbearers for the aspirants of the highest truth. Many a kindred soul has written, discussed and commented on them in practically all the Indian languages. I hope my humble attempt to bring them back into the limelight again will help sincere devotees to get inspired and stimulated and will provide them with all the answers to the questions that mystify their minds.

I do not deserve any credit for writing this book. The actual credit goes to Lord Krishna Himself for any intelligence or ability used in writing this belongs to Him as He says in the Bhagvad Gita, (Chapter 7.10) bijam mam sarva- bhutanam viddhi partha sanatanam budhir buddhimatam asmi tejas tejasvinam aham

Translation: O son of Pritha, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men.

ii INTRODUCTION

Krishna, the sweetest name ever, meaning one who is All-Attractive has been the cynosure of the spiritual aspirants, the sarvaradhyaya of the demigods and the humans, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of the Hindu religion since times immemorial! As Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad says He is the one ‘whom all the gods worship, so do all the lovers of liberation and all the knowers of Brahman’

For me when I think of writing about Him I feel like the tiniest speck of dust in His infinite creation. Krishna has mesmerized millions since the beginning of life. His influence on the Indian thought, life and culture has been so profound that He has entered not only its religion, philosophy and mysticism but all aspects of life. The literary field is rich with the many devotional poems, songs, stories, dramas, plays and scriptural writings written on Him. In the field of art, He has been an all time favourite of painters, sculptors, photographers and the artists of the celluloid world. His lilas or pastimes have been ceaselessly sung, recited, enacted and danced in so many different languages and festivals related to Him have always been celebrated with great joy in so many different cultures. Neither is He unknown to those who have not glorified Him in any way because they have Him hidden deep inside their hearts in the purest form of love!

The Bhagvatam has declared Him to be ‘ Krishnastu Bhagvan swayam

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‘The Brahma Samhita calls Him----

‘Ishwara param Krishna satchitananda vigraha Anadir adir govinda sarva kaaran kaaranam’

Translation :Govinda, Krishna is the cause of all causes. He is the primal cause and He is the very form of eternity, knowledge and bliss.

In the Bhagvad Gita, (Chapter 10.12) Arjun accepts Him as param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan purusham sasvatam divyam adi devam ajam vibhum ahus twam rsayah sarve devasir naradas tatha asito devalo vyasah svayam caiva bravisi me

Translation: You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala and Vyas confirm this truth about You and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.

He is the Absolute Truth and The Ultimate Reality to be known by the Vedas as He Himself says in the Bhagvad Gita (Chapter 15.15);

Sarvasva caham hrdi sannivisto Mattah smritir jnanam apohanam ca Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo Vedanta- krdveda-vid eva caham

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Translation: I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.

Srimad Bhagvatam (4:31.14) says:

Sarvarhanam acyutejya

TRANSLATION: If Achutya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped, then everyone is worshipped.

Govinda, Gopal, Shyam, Mukunda, Damodar, Madan Mohan, Giridhari, Gopinath, Hari, Raas Bihari, Sharad Bihari, Keshav, Madhav, Trivikrama are a few of the thousands of names by which He is lovingly addressed. In South India, amongst His many names He is most popularly known as Balaji, Venkatesh, Balbhadrashaahi and Ranganath. In the east Jaganath, in the west Dwarkadheesh and Bankey Bihari in the north are some of His favourite names.

It is only with Krishna that devotees enjoy a unique transcendental relationship where they can chastise and scold God, tease God, play with Him, take His service or even woo Him as a lover.

So the natkhat Kanha of Yashoda, the Nilamani of Radharani, the Madhusudan and Murlidhar of the Vrajvasis and the Makhan Chor of the Gopis has been the stealer of hearts, the Chit Chor of both the young and old, rich and poor, men and women, mendicants and householders down the ages.

v How Krishna Came into their Lives

His infinite names, qualities and pastimes are impossible to describe or pen down but yet every time one reads, writes, hears or speaks about Him it is ever new, ever blissful and ever rejuvenating. No wonder the great saint had vowed to write one million verses on Him. Many other poets too who have been heroic in their devotion to Him have written extensively about Him. The coming generations too will continue to eulogize Him and desire Him with an unmitigated yearning.

God is an embodiment of love and in the ultimate analysis it is only when the creature who is part and parcel of the Creator expresses his love for Him and thrives on it can he feel fulfilled and perfected and can he understand the true meaning of life. It is only through love and devotion –bhakti which transcends reason and intellect that a seeker can find his ultimate path of salvation. That is why Blaise Pascal a great mystic and scientist had written, “it is the heart which experiences God and not the reason” and “the heart has its reasons which reason does not know”

Caught up in worldly duties and desires a human being slaves for the body in countless ways in trying to fulfill its myriad wishes, in trying to give it endless pleasures and comforts and in struggling to give it social, economic and emotional security. He becomes so lost in body consciousness that he forgets the true purpose of human birth, the spiritual duty towards his soul. Like everything else the body too will leave him one day and the thirst of the soul that took birth and went through the hazards of life will remain

vi How Krishna Came into their Lives unquenched. Dissatisfied by the elusive happiness and the scant potential of sensory pleasures the soul naturally begins to look for eternal peace and a better place of existence. The soul as it journeys through the tortuous paths of life realizes that no human being however near and dear remains his constant companion the way God does who in the form of paramatma in his heart is always with him through thick and thin, not only from birth to death but also after that from lifetime to lifetime until he finally goes back to Him. Thus the soul is forever thirsty for God because it belongs to Him and is a part of Him and He alone can give him the eternal peace he is looking for. To revive and reawaken one’s consciousness and to remember his lost relationship with God is man’s primary duty. To recognize his source and reconnect with it with an anchor of love is his basic Dharma as Sreemad Bhagvatam (1.2.6) says: sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje ahaituki apratihata yayatma suprasidati

Translation: The supreme occupation (dharma) for all humanity is that by which man can attain loving devotional service (bhakti) unto the transcendental Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the Self.

What then is pure bhakti ? What is this great force that has driven votaries into rapturous and blissful moods? How does the bhakta get transported to ecstatic realms beyond the mundane?

vii How Krishna Came into their Lives

Narad Muni defines bhakti as an intense love for God. defines bhakti as a “real genuine search after the Lord, a search beginning, continuing and ending in love. One single moment of the madness of extreme love to God brings us eternal freedom from worldly fetters.” Naradji is the paradigm of devotion and his Narad Bhakti Sutras are the highest and most reliable sources to understand bhakti in depth. They are the heart and soul of the science of devotion. The scripture is particularly appealing because of its brevity, incisiveness, consistence and the thorough understanding it gives to the term, bhakti. The five chapters in the book speak of the value of bhakti, the definition of bhakti, the means of attainment, pure and mixed devotion and on attaining attainment. The eighty-four aphorisms of the book which though brief is a storehouse of deeply hidden spiritual gems. It is a subject for those ensconced in spiritual wisdom but yet whoever reads it will definitely feel his own life enriched and his dormant devotion replenished.

Before we go on to understand the devotion of the great saints it is important for us to understand devotion in its purest term so that we can tap the springs of divine love within our heart and bathe in the crystal clear water of pure devotion as it gushes forth towards the Lord.

I am making a humble attempt here to explain Naradji’s aphorisms on bhakti from Narad Bhakti Sutra and I request the readers to bear with my efforts and to tolerate my faults.

Naradji begins by saying that bhakti is intense love

viii How Krishna Came into their Lives for God and the nectar of love after attaining which man desires no more. Pure bhakti begins only after one is self realized and has attained the brahmabhuta state, a state which Krishna explains in the Bhagvad Gita(18.54) :

Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati Sama sarvesu bhutesu mad- bhaktim labhate param

Translation: One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed towards every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.

When a person gets this pure devotion he is undisturbed by delusion. In this state he loves all, hates none and becomes self satisfied and contented. This love for God can never be for obtaining any earthly favours and benefits because it is only when man has risen above his motley hued desires can pure love spring up in his heart. In this state he is not jealous of anyone, he is undistorted by the kinetic currents of pride. He abandons the luxuries of the senses and has a strong detachment for mundane temptations. He is free from anger rising from thwarted longings, all doubts vanish, he neither grieves when an unpleasant situation arises nor longs for pleasant situations to arise. When the sovereignty of the ego is removed his heart fills up with unalloyed devotion which brings him perpetual bliss. Living in constant remembrance of the Lord he experiences the blissful, all surrendering love for the Lord. With his wholehearted concentration on Him the devotee

ix How Krishna Came into their Lives