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An Endless Divine Continuity - Part 14

 
Our Association With Nanna - Part 13
   
*Nanna's words
*Amma's words
*Foreword by Author
 
 
1The all pervading Sovereign
2Sri Radha-The manifestation of dhyana
3Fortune of Sakhi darshan
4Experience is evidence
5Radha, The manifestation of love
6 Radhaji’s leela is so beautiful
7 Sri Guru’s message
   
 
RADHA, THE MANIFESTATION OF LOVE

1997, Radha Krishna temple, Secunderabad.


Nanna installed the idols of Radha and Krishna in the temple and also created a dhyana mandir. Every year, he visited this temple on Bheeshma Ekadasi and celebrated Mother's function. On this occasion Nanna gave a speech after sankeertan.


" Today I will speak only on one subject. Who is Radhaji? Everybody is aware of a little about Krishna. But many people do not know who Radha is. They chant 'Radhe Govinda' but do not know who Radha and Govind are; what is their relationship; what do we gain by knowing about them. Let us delve on this aspect. "


" When you enter Brindavan, you will hear only Radhe Radhe everywhere, no Rama and Krishna. When friends meet, they greet each other with Radhe Radhe. When the telephone rings, they wish not with Hello but Radhe Radhe. The milkmaid comes and knocks the door shouting Radhe Radhe. The lady inside acknowledges with Radhe Radhe indicating that she is coming to open the door. Radhe inside and Radhe outside nobody else. You will find only jai Sri Radhe written on every wall and every tree. None other than Mother! "


" A magazine titled 'Subhavartha' (Good News) printed that two temples were constructed in Austin, America in a vast area of 30,000 feet with an expenditure of around 7.5 crores. Out of the temples has the idols of Radha and Krishna while the other temple has only Radha! "


" In Brindavan, rasa is enacted by 15-20 young boys every day. Nearly, 2000 to 4000 people go to see these plays. Huge halls costing Rs.25 lakhs are constructed exclusively for Rasa. The hall is crowded with spectators to see Radha Krishna's leelas. "


" The first scene of Rasa is the same everyday. Mother's sakhis approach Krishna with a request to play Rasa leela. He says, 'I cannot initiate Rasa. It is Radhaji's will, I shall ask Her.' He goes to Radhaji. She is seated on the throne. He stands near Her feet. Isn't it strange? She is the Sovereign of Rasa world. "


" Musicians playing the instruments and singers come all the way from Delhi to enact Rasa leelas. They do not sit down throughtout the play as they consider themselves in the presence of the sovereign of all the Worlds. As they sing in the background, Krishna requests Her to begin Rasa and She agrees. "


" Musicians playing the instruments and singers come all the way from Delhi to enact Rasa leelas. They do not sit down throughout the play as they consider themselves in the presence of the sovereign of all the Worlds. As they sing in the background, Krishna requests Her to begin Rasa and She agrees. "


" Only Mother has the complete authority to begin rasa, not Krishna. In the famous Banki Biharji temple in Brindavan, you will find only one idol with a plait on one side. You will not understand whether it is a male or female form. We must consider it as half man and half woman. That means Radha and Krishna united into one and established themselves there. The feet of the deity are displayed to the devotees only one day every year. That day is known as 'charan darshan'. Devotees flock in thousands to have a glimpse of their holy feet. What is the significance of this? Krishna said, 'the devotees must see my face. My face will give them joy but it will not fulfil any of their wishes. Ordinary people come with materialistic wishes-children, money, job, health and the like. All of them are related to the three base modes. I do not like that. I did not come to earth to fulfil such wishes. I came here to bring everybody near me one by one and take them to the divine rasa dham someday. That is permanent and everlasting. It is an endless, infinite and wonderful world. "


" Lord Shiva (Eswar) desired to watch the Rasa. He went to see Rasa leela playing the hand drums. 'My son, You cannot watch the Rasa. They will not show you. It is very confidential and filled with Rasa. You must do penance and become a gopika first. As long as you are in a masculine form with male ego, you cannot see the divine play. So you must become a woman first, a gopika. Only then you will be permitted to the Rasa. Lalitha sakhi, one of the Mother's eight sakhis gave mantra deeksha to Lord Shiva. With that mantra, he did penance. Mother appeared before him and said 'You must become a gopika to have Rasa Leela darshan.' Lord Shiva became a gopika. That is why he is worshiped as Gopeswar. The Shiva Linga is worshipped by thousands of devotees every morning by offering milk and flowers to the idol. In the evening only women go to the temple and drape the idol in a saree and decorate it with ornaments. That is the place where Eswar became a gopika, hence Gopeswar! "


" Our ashram is in the same street as Gopeswar temple. We consider it as our fortune to have our ashram there. You cannot construct an ashram so nearby without the Lord's blessings. His leelas are also very popular. One day, 21 year old boy came from Allahabad to see Gopeswar's beauty. 'Gopeswara! I do not know your real gopi form. If you grant me darshan in your true form, I will be blessed. Krishna granted a boon that whoever has a darshan of Lord's true gopi form will not have any more births. It is very difficult too! Well, the Lord did not respond. The boy stopped eating and vowed to remain like that till the Lord gave darshan. Eleven days passed; the boy became weak. On that night, he heard a woman's voice ' my son, I will show you my gopi form. But you will not remain alive after that. The day you see me will be the last day of your life. If you see my beauty, grace and power, you cannot live! If you are prepared for this, I will show you my true form tomorrow at midnight. Are you prepared to die?' 'I am ready to die. I will be happy to have your darshan and die. What is the use of living an ordinary human life and finally facing death? Mother, Gopeswari Devi, Please bless me and grant me the sight your complete form. I will see you and die.' He informed everybody in Brindavan. 'I will live only for one more day. Tomorrow night, I will have a darshan of Mother Gopeswari. Due to my uncontrollable bliss, my blood vessels will burst, blood will flow out of my nose and ears and I will die. I am very happy to die. Please take one of my bones and bury it the place where I shall have her darshan and build a grave there. This is my wish. I will come back here now and then and do tapas.' Exactly at midnight, he had her darshan. He screamed out loudly 'Mother Gopeswari and fell. His blood vessels burst and blood flowed out from his body. His bust size image was made in marble and ficed on the wall where he did penance. The devotees who come to worship Eswara bow to this image before entering the temple. This is a regular ritual. A portrait of the boy was made in his memory. So, every leela is a real story. The houses in which such devotees lived are present even today. Such actual leelas and Krishna's leelas and Mother's leelas are true and amazing. I will tell you about them. "


" Who is Radha? Who is Krishna? The idol consists of both of them. What is their role? There are two roles in their play. What is Radha's role and what are her powers? What is Krishna's role? What are they both doing for mankind's welfare? There are 5500 temples in Brindavan dham. It will take you more than one year to visit all of them. Each temple was constructed spending more than Rs.1 crore. Every temple has the idols of Radhaji and Krishna. What is her importance? Where was She born? How was She born? I will tell you what is mentioned in the Vedas. I will not quote any person or religious commentary. In Brindavan, only Vedas are accepted as facts. "


" 'Anadyoyam....' This is a Veda mantra. Originally, there was only one purusha-He is God. You may call him as Paramathma, Bhagawan, Parabrahma, Allah or by any other name. God is only one! There is no second God. 'Anadyoyam Purusha Eka Evasthi'---There is only one God since eternity. 'Tadekam roopam dwidha vidhaya!' that one God wanted to depit his leelas to the world and uplift them. He decided to show his divinity in two forms; thus one God became two forms. 'Swayameva Nayika roopam vidhya'-He himself took a male form and a female form. 'Tam Radham rasikanandam Vedavidho Vadanthi.' While the Vedas were in samadhi, a bright light and a voice emerged from the female form - Radhe Radhe Radhe Radhe and filled the whole earth. Listening to that name, God went into a blissful trance. Rasa was being showered everywhere. "


" So, if a devotee hears Her name, he cannot live in this world anymore. He will become detached towards this materialistic world. He will develop intense attachment for God. These two will happen. But how? God may give you money and children. But no God can grant your wish to have detachment towards the world and attachment towards God. Unless you develop them, your family worries and problems, the cycle of birth and death will not end. The jeeva cannot have the opportunity to continuously play and sing with God. This truth of Vedas is shown in Brindavan when the God became two for leela sake. "


" Let us talk about one leela. Many devotees were on their way to Hrishikesh to do penance. A ten year old boy joined the group. 'My son, where are you going?' 'I am going to Hrishikesh' 'why?' 'I want to do penance for the remaining life there.' 'Oh! I am also going there only.' The train was yet to arrive. When the train arrived, the boy took the old man and a few elderly persons into the train. He asked the old man 'Do you have a ticket? Your destination is decided if you have a ticket. Our life also does not have a ticket.' See, how the boy is implying a hidden meaning in his words. Jeevas are travelling without ticket. Where will you go? What is your goal? Which world will you reach finally? Nobody knows. Each one is leading a routine life-eating, sleeping, earning money, having family, finally death and becoming a ghost thereafter. A journey without destination is useless. You must decide where to go-Heaven, Vaikuntam or some other world. That is what the little boy who is none other Banke Biharji said. Well, they got down the train in the morning. The old man said 'I am hungry.' 'I know an old lady here. She will serve food for us.' After food, he asked her, 'We must to Hrishikesh. How far is it from here?' 'Hrishikesh! You came to Mathura. Brindavan is six miles from here. You did not come to Hrishikesh. That boy brought you to Mathura.' 'Oh! He cheated us and brought us in the wrong direction. I must ask him about it.' When the boy came near him he asked 'Why did you bring us here.' 'You ignorant one! If you go to Hrishikesh and do penance, you will attain some powers but they are small and transient powers. You cannot go higher with those powers. You cannot even attain moksha. I know where to take you. I will make you take a ticket to your destination-Brindavan.' They reached Brindavan the next day. The old man was hungry 'go to Mirzapur bungalow. A little girl serves porridge every morning.' He went there directly and found thousands of people in the queue. A nine year old girl was serving porridge. "


" Krishna dropped them in Brindavan and disappeared. As they were hungry they also stood in the queue. The girl said 'Baba! There is no queue for those who come to me. I can take you wherever you want to go. Come forward.' What does queue mean? According to our karmas, we may take one or two thousand births before we attain moksha. That is queue! But for those who attain Radhaji's grace, there is no queue. We can go upwards in this life itself. We can become free from all problems, break the fetters of karma and attain the highest life. This is Mother's message to us. "


" The little boy did not serve porridge, Mother did. So, Krishna's duty is to bring the people who take the wrong direction on to the tract towards Brindavan. In other words, we all have lost our track and are moving in different directions, may family or elsewhere. He will change their mind, bring them to Brindavan and give them Mother's name. They chant Radhe Krishna. Good, but how to forget the world? Who will give up materialistic pleasures? Who can weep for God? We must reach the stage where we cannot stay away from God. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa wept like that. 'Mother Kali, I am waiting for you since yesterday. You did not come even today. I am unable to bear the pain of separation from you. I think it better to die rather than face this pain.' He closed his eyes and got ready to cut his head with a sword. Immediately, Mother came and held his hand. "Why do you want to die? I am with you only. I will appear before you when the time comes.' "


" So such a devotee will be totally detached from the world. That is not easy. An ordinary guru or ordinary powers cannot give that state. 'I don't want these materialistic pleasures. I want to be near Mother only. I cannot live without Her.' He will always have this bhava intensely. So, you must develop yearning for God as well as passively towards the world. Till the life in which you can attain both, you will not have peace. You cannot escape the worldly problems or the cycle of birth and death. That is the rule! "


" When Krishna brings the people who strayed from the right path back near Radhaji, she grants rasa(serves porridge). She makes the heart filled with rasa. Then he feels 'I don't want this world. I don't want these pleasures. I will go to Brindavan and do penance there.' She will bring about such a change. "


" A Swamiji came here from an ashram near Rajamundry. They followed the Gowdi tradition. When he came to Brindavan, he attained Krishna's grace who took him near Mother. "


" Radhaji grants rasa! When a child is hungry, mother serves food. Father brings the child to the kitchen. It is mother who actually serves food. That is Radha's role, indeed the greatest. Well Radhaji served porridge. When he was about to eat, the girl disappeared. Like Rama Krishna wept for Goddess Kali, he also wept for Mother. From that day, he is travelling in the forests for Her. Nobody knows where he is. People are searching for him. Without food and water. He is searching for Her. 'I want Mother. I want Her. I cannot live without Her.' So a devotee who attains Her grace will yearn for God and become passive towards the world. I do not want this world. "


" Many women who attained Radhaji's grace reside in Brindavan. They are educated and work as lecturers or Principal. They spend only what is necessary and save the remaining amount of theirs for their life in penance. They do not marry. Each one has an independent room. They keep Krishna's portrait and serve him by offering milk and food at the regular time. They speak to Radha and Krishna. Mother also responds to them. They don't merely worship idols, they serve them! If they do any mistakes, Mother will come in their dream and correct them. That is the greatness here. "


" We also worship the portrait of Radha whom we call 'Chinnari'. She also responds to us when we speak to Her. She is so powerful. WE take Her along with us, wherever we go. We serve Her only cow milk. When we went to my daughter's house in Kakinada, I told her that all the roses in the garden are Mother's. She was surprised. She did not allow anybody to pluck the roses from the garden. She gives us guidance for every small matter. Krishna brings us near Mother. She takes care of our life. Paramahamsa said 'Lord Shiva is Shiva when he is along with Goddess Parvathi (Sakhi), otherwise he is Shava (corpse).' We also are like that only. When we lose all our power, we are like a corpse too. Nothing is left. Not only jeevas, Brahma and other Gods also need Sakthi. "


" Brahma will lose his power at 55 years of age. Brahma and Shiva also face death! Sakthi is very important in the world. Man needs power and energy for everything-sit, stand, digestion, intellect. He needs power at every step. Sri Krihsna's power is Radha! Radha is the manifestation of Sri Krishna's hladini power. "


" Mother showed innumerable leelas. You must understand their meaning. Gulab baba was a great singer and played the sitar. He was also a renowned poet. He taught his nine year old daughter all the songs he composed. She was a good dancer. Everybody in Brindavan tries to serve Mother in some way or other as this is more valuable than prayers and sankeertan. He told his daughter 'We must serve Mother. We shall go to Barsana hill top at 8 a.m. everyday. I will play the sitar and you shall dance. Mother will be very happy with music and dance. Serving Her does not mean offering sweets only. She will be very happy if you sing a song for Her. We must always do only what pleases Her. We shall serve Her with your dance and my music.' They continued with this ritual for five days. That night Mother appeared in the dream of the temple priest. 'It is becoming difficult for them to go down and then beg for food. From tomorrow, give them the food offered to Me. They need not go down. Let them eat here in the morning and night.' The priest followed Her instructions. The girl grew up. As advised by everybody, gulab baba performed his daughter's wedding. She left with her husband. "


" The next morning, he went up to serve Mother alone. 'Mother, you removed one hand on mine! How can I serve you until dance and music join together? I am too old to dance. My daughter has left. I cannot serve you anymore.' He believed that a life which can't serve Mother is useless. He does not deserve to eat. He wept for Her grace on the temple steps. 'Mother, I don't have the right to eat because I am unable to serve you. I shall not eat anything from today. After two days, he became very weak. "


" On the third day, Mother showed Her leela. She came out of the temple in the guise of his daughter. 'Baba, I came back to dance. I will dance while you sing.' He forgot that his daughter was married and left. He was under the impression that his daughter came. Mother made him forget everything by Her Yogamaya. 'My child, you select a song I will sing and play the sitar. You shall dance.' She stated her choice.''Radha is my eyes my speech, my hearing, my heart.....' 'Everything is filled with Radha. I gave up my whole body to Mother.' She danced while he sang the song. After a while, She gave him the memory of his daughter. Gradually, She moved above the ground and began to dance in the air. "


" 'How is my daughter dancing in the air?' He shouted and fell in a swoon. Then he remembered that his daughter left him. 'Mother, You came out of the temple and danced like this.' Unable to bear the joy of ecstasy at Mother's presence, he fell at Her feet and died the same moment. "


We need Sakthi (power) for every step we take. Without power, jeeva is a corpse. Nanna told us clearly that Radhaji is that power flowing in every jeeva. She is Sri Krishna's hladini sakthi, the power of infinite ecstasy. Through Gulab Baba leela, Nanna stressed that Radhaji is more fond of seva (service) than prayers and chanting Her name. She appeared in the dream of the temple priest to take care of the needs of Her devotees. Eventually, She took the form of his daughter and danced! She has such infinite love towards Her rasika devotees. In every speech, Nanna repeatedly stresses that we must surrender our lives to such a Mother.

Sri Radha. You are the manifestation of love. Please bless me.

You have the power of your eight sakhis. Brahma and other Gods could reach You only after attaining gopi bhava. Mother, please bless me.

You are the Queen of Rasaleela and You rule all the worlds. Nobody can understand Your divine plays. In all my lives, I surrender to You and trust only You. Mother, Please bless me.

 

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