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An Endless Divine Continuity - Part 3

 
Our Association With Nanna - Part 3
   
*Nanna's words
*Mothers words of benediction
*Foreword by Author
 
 
1Greatest of the great
2See only Radha everywhere
3Love of Rasa
4State of separation and oneness with Mother
5Mother is with us every moment
6Single pointed devotion
7 I am God's man
8 Conquer the enemy within you
9 Mental shrine
10 Neither mother nor father
11 Sri Rasaguru's message
12 Sri Radha Sakhi Rasa Vani
   
 
Love of Rasa
Guntur ashram, 27.11.2000

Nanna was listening to the Songs to Radhaji sung by Anjani amma. We all surrounded him and watched him while explained the meaning of these songs in a state of bhava rasa. What a fortune!

'Atmarpaname kada ne raja bata; Anandamayamaina atunnatambaina.'


" Soul surrender is the high way. It is very blissful. There is nothing higher than that. There are two requirements. First, infinite bliss and joy. There is nothing beyond this. That is the highest sadhana (spiritual practice). Krishna said: "


" 'Sarva dharman parityajya mamekam saranam vraja' "


" Unless you give up all dharmas and surrender to him, Krishna cannot be attained. That means total self surrender and seeking his shelter. "

'Devi bhavame sada ne madini nilupukoni; Devi preetiye nee preetigane yenchi.'


" You must always live not in Radha nama or Radha leela but in Radha dhyana. These three should be clearly understood - Radha Rani, Radha leela and Radha bhava. "


" There is no mention of Radha bhava in the Bhagawata. He spoke of everything except this aspect. This is the deficiency of Bhagawata. Unless one attains Radha bhava, he cannot move on that path. For what and whom are we living? Only for Mother. Saying this, the sakhis weep and become unconscious. "

'Aharahmu neemadine Amma sanskriti leka; Atmarpanamu neeku sadhyamagutaye kalla'


" There must NOT be even a moment's gap. You must always live with Her and move with Her. Unless you have that bhava continuously, your talking about Radha is humbug. You are playing a false game. If you want to surrender, this bhava is essential. You must live in Mother's bhava and move with Her. "


Nanna clearly told what self surrender really means. He said that unless your life is filled with Mother and there is a constant flow of Her bhava, even speaking about Mother is humbug. His intention is not to scare us. We know that even to attain small things in life we must struggle a lot. Then how much we must yearn to attain a place at the holy feet of Sri Radha? She is indeed the Goddess worshipped by Krishna himself. How much dhyana and how much surrender are needed? In the next stanza, Nanna assured that one who surrenders himself can lead a happy life.

'Atmarpanamu cheyu jeevude dhanyundu; Hayiga naducjunu vanijeevithamepudu'


" Man is truly blessed only with total self surrender. His life will always be happy. I will give an example. "


" I was writing the third volume of Brindavaneawari Sri Radhadevi in Guntur ashram. I was determined to complete the book that day. It was around 5 p.m. Thinking that I must continue throughout the night, I planned to finish before daybreak. It was peak summer and I was profusely sweating because we had no power and no fan. I was persistently writing the book. As if to prove that the life of the person who surrenders to Her will be comfortable, a person who I did not know entered the room. "


" 'What are you doing?' "


" I am writing a book on mother "


" 'You are sweating so much. Why can't you write tomorrow morning?' "


" This book must be completed by tomorrow morning. What do you mean? Writing tomorrow morning is meaningless. "


" 'But then, even without food.' "


" This is my food. "


" Immediately he called an electrician, spent Rs 10000 and converted the room into AC. I did not have even Rs 10! So understand that you need not have anything with you. That is my point. Don't worry that you don't have anything. You have everything. Having Mother means having everything! "


" One who surrenders will not face any problems in life. I have no problems. Mother knows what I need and She gives me accordingly. Even without asking, She gives me everything I need. That is what happens when you surrender yourself. Your life is smooth sailing. "

'Atmarpana sthithilo Ammaye mataladu; Ammaye neelone kooruchundu sada..'


" When required, Mother will speak. Once She spoke with my voice. She is not somewhere else outside in some temple. She is within. That's why it is the same whether I eat or offer to Her. "


One lady brought some sweet to offer to Mother and then to Nanna. He took some of the items from the carrier and put in his mouth. Such a fortunate lady.


" It is one and same whether you offer to Mother or to me. I ate this even before you offered to me. I have no regrets that I did so because Mother is residing within me. You must have that strong and unwavering bhava that Mother is within you. Even now, as I am speaking to you, Mother is listening. I cannot do anything without Her listening. She is hearing me now also. "


That is self surrender. Since the bhava that the all pervading Radha Rani is within him is so strong, Nanna said that it was the same whether you offered to Mother or to him. He blessed that lady by eating the food even before offering to Mother.

'Ahladini sakthi loka janani Radha..'


" You must know who Radha is. She is the Mother of all the worlds. She is the power of bliss and the greatest power. She is beyond Vedas. There are many books describing the miraculous incidents related to that power of ecstasy. That is Radha. She is Hladini sakthi. She is Loka Janani. Why do you fear when She is in your heart? She is within you. Don't worry. "


" When we bought this ashram in Brindavan, we returned home after registration. Everyone told us that some murderers and hooligans were staying here. Even Swamiji of Rangaji Mandir said 'Why did you choose that area? It is a dangerous place. No one goes there even during day time. Why did you take an ashram there?' I said 'I don't know. Mother gave and I accepted. I don't know anything else here.' That night Anjani amma had a dream. Lord Hanuman appeared in her dream and said ''I am at the end of your lane. Have no fear. I will hit with my tail and they will fall at a distance. They are rascals. All will be well for you within three days.' "


In three days all the fellows left. Since the fourth day till the present, it is like heaven of heavens for us. Till Lord Hanuman appeared in Anjani amma's dream and informed them about his presence, neither Nanna nor Amma were aware of the temple that is exactly at the beginning of the lane. He informed them of his presence and assured them of his protection. In this way Loka Janani, Mother of the worlds is protecting them every moment.

'Atmarpanamu cheyu hridiyande niluchune'


" Mother is within your heart. When you surrender yourself, then She will be within you. Don't worship Her outside; worship Her within you. Reduce your outward rituals and see more within yourself. There is a scientific reasoning for this. "

Guntur ashram, 28.11.2000

We sat around Nanna who was totally immersed in Radha bhava. Suddenly he sang 'Na prana pranama Sri Krishna roopama' ( the life of my life; the personification of Krishna). We understood that a new song was evolving in Nanna's mind.


" The Vedas mention that 'Swayameva nayika ropam vidhaya' . He became the female lead. Hence we are referring to Mother as the form of Sri Krishna. Strangely, Nanna sang a small line 'Avyaya jeevava'. This is not a part of the song. While dictating the song he suddenly sang Avyaya jeevava and said that 'if you sing this five times, Mother will come near you.' Before we realized what he said, he drew our attention to the song Na prana pranama.. "


What is it that Nanna telling us? What does Avyaya jeevava mean? Will Mother come if we sing it five times? While we were concentrating on another song composed by him, he imperceptibly uttered this phrase. Immediately he changed the topic and prevented us from grasping what he said. If he did not want us to observe what he said, why did he say it at all? Nanna knows that we would certainly listen to these cassettes in future and print his words. Our loving Nanna inserted valuable gems of sentences in between his speeches. Such a sentence is like a jeweled crown to rasa tattwa.

'Avyaya jeevava'. The Sovereign Sri Radha is infinite, imperishable and indiminishable. We are human beings. Va means or. Human being is not merely a human but is perishable too. Being a part of God at one time, he possessed immense power. His desire for the world caused his downfall and he lost all his powers. Basically he is not a human but imperishable also. Then is Nanna an ordinary human being? No, he is undiminishing and infinite Sri Radhasakhi. He came down on earth like a human being for our welfare. Realizing his true form and worshipping him will certainly attain Mother. We can reach Her holy feet through sakhi.

Nanna said that Mother would come if we repeat the verse five times. What is the significance of five? There are five external organs and five sense organs. By combining all these and realizing with the highest concentration, the true state of jeeva tattwa and its eternity, Mother can certainly be attained. He is the bridge of rasa between the eternal Radha and us human beings. So every human being must realize the real tattwa of Radhasakhi.and attain the fortune of reaching the holy feet of Radha through sakhi.

'Krishnude poojinchi ninu Radhaga chese'


" The Vedas say 'Krishnena aradhyate iti Radha'. She became Radha because She is worshipped by Krishna. It must be modified as 'Krishna poojanu pondi Radhaga ainavu'. Then it will match with the Vedas. "

'Sakala karmalakella siddha roopamu neeve'


" 'Radhoti sakalan Kaman tasmat Radheti keertitah'. She performs all the karmas. Nothing is impossible for Her. "


In Guntur ashram, Nanna was speaking about the importance of practicing rasa. Though practicing rasa is much more difficult than any other practice, Nanna emphasized that it is the only way that a devotee can attain rasa siddhi.


" One can pass X grade and XII grade but how many can pass IAS exam? It is not easy. Not everyone can appear and pass in that exam. It is the same here also. "


" Parikshit is a worldly human being though he was a king. He publicly questioned 'Krishna is bound by dharma. Then how did he allow so many women to touch him? How did he accept when they all surrounded him? How can he be a God?' "


" The gopikas said, 'we are not devotees of Krishna or Rama; we are devotees of rasa. We are not concerned with God. We want that rasa which even God is living for!' "


" If I will give you skin and seed of the mango and not the juice, will you buy the fruit? "


" Our prayer is like the skin and seed. The juice is lost. That juice is Radha. Only because there was not even a single rasika in that gathering, Sri Suka did not tell about Radhaji. "


" Actually nobody knows the way of devotion for obtaining rasa. We have no right to go deeper. In fact rasa is supernatural and blissfully divine. That is really rasa. Till the skin and seed are discarded, till you lose interest in them, you will not come towards rasa. You must discard them first. First throw away the skin and seed, then comes rasa. We can't throw them by ourself. We are interested in this world only. How is the bride? Her nose; her skin, ears and nose...Huge amount is paid as dowry for this skin. We are always looking at external appearance. We never pine for the juice within. "


Nanna clearly explained the correct path of rasa. It is subtle and sensitive. We are performing so many prayers and rituals. Most of them are external in nature. Whether we worship Rama or Kirshna, we are stopping near the form and not moving ahead towards the formless glow - tattwa within God. Krishna said 'It is very difficult to understand what I am by tattwa.' He is the embodiment of rasa. We must go beyond Krishna's form described in Mahabharat or Bhagawata. We must reach the tattwa of love, the formless all pervading rasa tattwa through incessant Radha dhyana. The Rasika Siromani (Nanna) identified that rasa tattwa as Radha. God came down with a form. He mercifully said 'if contemplation on that form, leelas and gunas are giving so much happiness then how much more happiness will understanding God's formless, all pervading rasa tattwa give us. You must experience this with devotion of rasa.


" Arundhati Devi did not wear any chain in her neck indicating her marital status. She said 'the chain is symbolic of my husband. My husband is with me. I bound him within me so that he is not away from me even for a moment.' Those who feel that their husband will forget them only need the ceremonial chain. When the husband is present with her, then why the symbol? Do you want original or symbol? Our love is only symbolic love. There is no real love. Arundathi said that she did not want any symbols and removed the chain. Vasista clearly said 'If Lord Rama, the incarnation of God bowed to me, it is only due to Arundathi's power. Her power is flowing through me and drawing Rama and Sita. The power drawing them to me is hers, not mine.' That is what happens when you are devoted to rasa. You will not see anything. "


" That's why Radha did not come here. She does not easily come as an incarnation. She is not visible to anybody. She is inside Her dham. She has no external decorations. She is the highest. Krishna will first ask Her; then he will salute Her only if She agrees. She must agree even for us to pay homage to Her. She does not allow Krishna to come near Her. You and I worship Rama and Krishna as Gods. But Rama and Krishna have no place before Radha. "


Sri Rama is the ultimate in modesty and Krishna is the highest in leelas. Nanna went beyond the secret of God's incarnation and tried to give us an insight into the unfathomable depth of rasa tattwa.


" Sri Hitaharivamsa, the incarnation of Krishna's flute wrote in praise of Radha in his book Sri Radhasudhanidhi 'Sakthi swatantra para'. She is totally independent and beyond para. She is nobody's lover or wife. She is the Swamini. "


Explaining why She is not present in the Bhagawata, he said:


" Mother called Sri Suka and said 'No rasikas are present in this gathering. So don't speak about me or my sakhis.' Even if you conduct innumerable saptahas (week long discourses) you will not gain rasa tattwa. That is not the way. You may think that you spent money and arranged the saptaha, so you will go to higher worlds. It is like thinking you will become a millionaire because you bought two skins and three seeds today.. Your Bhagawata is devoid of rasa and rasikas. The rasikas don't want even God; they want only God's love! Rasa! They yearn for that rasa. They want nothing except rasa. "


'Nanna, the Bhagawata mentions only about Krishna. Does it mean that Krishna is present along with Mother or separate from Her?'


" Whether Krishna or anyone speaks, they do so only after they obtain that bhava. You may not have noticed this. A driver must possess a license to move on the road. He is prosecuted if he does his duty without a license. "


Nanna is implying that Sri Krishna, the Supreme of Gods is always with Sri Radha. the embodiment of rasa, the embodiment of his soul. Radha and Krishna are inseparable. If the reader of Bhagawata goes deeper and reads with Sri Radha bhava, he will experience happiness constantly bubbling within him. There is no need for name, only bhava. Sri Krishna appeared in the Bhagawata along with Sri Radha, the bliss who is actually his inner consciousness.

'Was Krishna present with Mother at that time?'


" That attribute. "


'Do you mean that Mother was not present in Her comprehensive form? Was only one aspect present?'


" Quite right. That attribute, that colour is Radha. "


'Is this mentioned in Bhagawata?'


" You cannot find Mother unless you go beyond Bhagawata, Ramayana and Vedas. Everything is inferior to Her. She is not confined to Vedas. She is beyond Vedas. Even the Vedas could not describe Her rasa tattwa. In Triveni Sangam (confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers), Saraswati river is at the bottom, invisible. Similarly, the Vedas are not aware of rasa. That's why they said 'Neti neti', not this and not that while describing Her. Neti is used only when they do not know the right definition. So you will not find rasa in the Vedas. You can find it only in some literature."


'Taittireeyopanishad, Nanna?'


" Yes. It says 'Raso vaisaha' It does not explain what that means. It simply says it is rasa. It does not go deeper. "


Like Saraswati in Triveni sangam, Sri Radha is invisibly flowing between God and devotees in The Bhagawata. Even Vedas could not describe Mother, the embodiment of rasa, the inner self of Sri Krishna. Rasa is glowing witin the heart of Vedas but they could not manifest that rasa.

Sri Hitacharya explained this truth: 'Ya sanguptaya tathopanishadam hridyeva vidyotathe' Rasa is invisible in the Vedas and Upanishads. All Mahatmas in Brindavan equivocally proclaim that Radha is the rasa, which is beyond Vedas.


" Krishna has Radha in his heart; he does not express openly. Look at me. Normally all gurus have a beard, tilak on the forehead etc. I don't have any of these. I have neither beard nor tilak. I don't go out to give talks in public. I don't go to anybody's house. Those who want to know about Radha will come to me. I have no problem even if they don't come. I don't worry about why they did not come. This is my life. You cannot really see rasikas. "


Saying that Krishna has Mother in his heart and does not express openly, Nanna commented he does not have a beard or tilak like other gurus. He is not concerned with any external indications of a guru. Like Krishna, Nanna constantly worships Radha in his heart. Then where is the need for external indications? Whenever I see Nanna glowing with Sri Radha rasa, I recollect the verse from Sri Radhasudhnidhi:
 

 

 
 
Likhanti bhujamoolatho nakhalu sankha chakradhikam
Vichitra harimandiram na rachayanthi phalasthale
Lasattulasi malikam dadathi kantha peethe na va
Gurorbhajana vikramatka iha the mahabuddhayaha
----
 
 

The Mahatmas who are immersed in the nectarine flow of the Supreme Guru Sri Radha's thoughts do not have identifications like sanku and chakra on their shoulder, shrine of the Lord on their forehead or garland of tulsi in their neck.

 
 

-Sri Radha Sudha Nidhi 

 

The rasika siromani, Nanna is a Rasaguru irrespective of these indications. He is the mahatma of mahatmas who sees the Rasa Devi everywhere. 'That is my life' 'Rasikas cannot be seen'. This world, which cannot recognize a person only by external appearances, cannot identify a Mahatma like Nanna who appear like ordinary persons. Nanna often said that he possesses the real wealth of rasa and only those who are eligible to receive it will go to him. Though he is endowed with divine luster, he concealed his divinity and appeared as an ordinary person. Though he tried to appear ordinary, the hladini glowing within him drew people towards him. All those who reached Nanna are indeed blessed!

Talking about Kishori Ali ji, a Rasika mahatma in Brindava, Nanna said:


" I was in Brindavan for fourteen years but could not identify a rasika living here. Fourteen years! We realized at last. He is 94 years old. When we went him, we found only Radha everywhere. All almirahs are full of books on Radha. The books are 700 -1000 years old. He gave us those books. He does not go anywhere. He sought permission from Mother in his divine vision and then only came to our ashram. He does not visit any other ashram. They are not interested in name and fame. They are trivial for them. "


'Nanna, yesterday we talked about natural fusion of Radha and Krishna. While we were thinking what that natural fusion means, Mother sent the answer that Krishna transforms into Mother's colour and worships Her.'

'He transformed into the colour and became inseparable from Her'


" There is no difference between Mother and Her colour. "


'Yes Nanna. Then is it the Krishna who permanently became Mother's colour present in Bhagawata?'


" Whether he is in Bhagawata or elsewhere, it is his original colour. Only in the presence of Mother, he becomes pink coloured. Once he descends from Her kingdom and comes into contact with nature, he attains his original colour. The shyama varna is itself transformed. "


'He appears with Mother's colour in the intimate leelas of Nikunj.'


" Yes "


'He is constantly in fusion with Sri Radhaji. When he comes down to earth..'


" He attains his original colour. While narrating Bhagawata, if Suka Maharshi really had the darshan of Mother...he could not survive. He cannot narrate the epic. He will become unconscious. If he could continue the story, it means that Mother stepped aside. "


The intellectual man tends to argue. The mind looks from logical point of view. Our logic and intellect can be applied to worldly matters. Can we do the same for the leelas of the Divine Duo? Saying that Krishna is permanently transformed into Mother's colour and worshipping Her, he explained the 'abhinna tattwa' and clearly stated that they are only one. My logical brain prompted 'the natural fusion of Radha and Krishna is inseparable. Krishna transformed into Her colour and worships Her, In the Bhagawata, he is the blue complexioned Shyam. How could Krishna who permanently transformed into pink again become blue? Though Nanna explained in detail, I could not understand clearly as I did not reach that state of bhava. I was pondering over this when I recollected Nanna's words


" The rasa tattwa which could not be understood even by Vedas cannot be comprehended by human mind. The Upanishads say that this tattwa cannot be attained simply by listening to scriptures or discourses. The supernatural divine rasa leela of Radha and Krishna are beyond understanding. Your logic does not work there. For us 1+1 =2 but for them 1+1=1. How can you explain this? Sri Radha and Krishna are embracing each other and dancing. Yet they are experiencing the sorrow of separation. Though they are away from each other, they enjoy the bliss of their union. What do you understand? It is ignorance to even try to understand God's tattwa, particularly rasa tattwa with the human mind. We must only enjoy the experience of rasa granted to us by the benevolent Mother. "


When I looked at Nanna, he was smiling. He knows all the thoughts within us. He gives us the answers from within us. Nanna you are glowing like the peaceful ocean of rasa.


" Our colour was originally pink. We came down to earth, became degraded and got this colour. Once we go the upper worlds, we will lose this colour. We will not have this colour and form in bhava loka. We will be like small girls. We will always be weeping. Here we never weep, we are always happy. We weep only when we face a problem like losing a job. Nobody weeps because he did not attain God...How many such persons are there? Only he who weeps for God belongs to me. "


Nanna is saying that our true form is that of Radha sakhi. We can certainly attain the fortune of being in the presence of the holy feet of Mother in the bhava loka with rose colour in the form of a little girl if we follow the path shown by Nanna. He said that only those who weep for Mother belong to him. We must never forget this point. Nanna once that weeping for God is most pleasurable. That weeping should come naturally. I pray that we all must reach the holy feet of Nanna as soon as possible.

'Krishna poojanu pondi Radhaga ainavu''


" By Krishna's prayers, She became Radha. When we worship Radha, The shadow of Her Hladini sakthi envelops us. Due to this, we don't have desires. Even if he sits in the lap of a woman, the man will not feel desire. If you do not have Her grace, you are badly affected. Brahmadeva fell only due to this desire. Vishwamitra, Saubhari and even Lord Shiva fell due to this. Desire for woman is so fatal. But if he attains the grace of Sri Radha, he has no downfall. He will not even think of gender, whether he is a man or woman. He will always be weeping for Mother. "

'Swayameva nayika roopam vidhaya'


" The scriptures mention that Radha is also present in the male form. Till date nobody knows whether Radha is a man or woman. This is mentioned in one of the books, 'Bharateeya vangyame Sri Radha.' "


" In this book, Radha is being worshipped as a man. Sri Radha is the strength of Sri Krishna. The subject of All India Pandit's Conference in Patna discussed only one topic - Radha. Who is Radha? She is also Swamini. Swamini means husband. They consider Her as husband, as sakthi. She plays both roles - husband for the world and the power. Many people are not aware of this. "


" She must not be defined hastily. Don't draw any outline. It must be vague. Mother should be kept a little vague in worship. "


Sri Radha, the embodiment of rasa is neither male nor female! Even the Vedas were unable to explain the form, nature or qualities of rasa. Nanna said that the Supreme Goddess worshipped by Krishna grants darshan occasionally in female form and sometimes in male form too! Nanna elucidated this with a vision he had at 10.50 a.m. on 17.10.2002


" Mother came once in man's form. She was wearing a dhoti and glasses. Her face was glowing with radiance. She appeared in the form of a Vedic scholar. How did I recognize Her? As soon as I saw Her (even in man's appearance), I felt like weeping. Earlier I read in a book that Mother has not only female form but male form also. "


From Nanna's vision it is clear that Sri Radha possesses both male and female forms. It is Nanna's instruction to keep it vague and not go deeper.
 

 

 
 
Radha prem sudharas Radha
Rasika janonki jeevan Radha
Lalithadhika sakhigan ki nitsukh
Prem rasayan pan sada rakh
----
 
 

The nectarine flow of rasa, Sri Radha's love is the life of rasikas. Her love always grants pleasure to sakhis. Be always immersed in this rasa.

 
 

-Sri Radha Sudha Nidhi 

 
 

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