" For bhakti to sustain, both knowledge and renunciation are essential. Bhakti without knowledge and renunciation (gyana and vairagya) is not true bhakti. One incident in the Bhagawata highlights the importance of bhakti. While King Pareekshit was going in his chariot, he saw a lady weeping. He got down from his chariot, he saw a lady weeping. He got down from his chariot and approached her. 'Who are you? Who are these children? Why are you weeping? I am the king whose duty is to protect my people. So please tell me your problem.' O King! I am bhakti. These children are knowledge (gyana) and renunciation (vairagya). They both are emancipated. When they do not have any nourishment, how can I, Bhakti be happy? "

" That is the condition! You must enhance both knowledge and renunciation for bhakti to sustain. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa remarked that they are the two wings of a bird. Bhakti without them is blind. It has no power of strength. It is good if you follow rituals -bath, japa and tapa. But he cannot face even a small problem because he did not develop renunciation. The three desires (eeshanatraya - dareshana, dhaneshana and putreshana) for wealth and family are the forces of maya which pull man down. You must check to what extent these forces of maya are present in you. Each one must assess himself. When he sees money, he wants to possess it. That is sense of possession; egoism. 'I want to possess that attractive object or that expensive object. 'When this sense of possession and ego decrease, you will obtain renunciation. "

" God has six divine powers (shadbhagassulu). The most vast and brilliant powers is Vairagya, renunciation. Bhagwati is the one who has all the six powers. Only with bhagawati, he is Bhagawan, God! A man with strength (bal) is balwan; with knowledge (vidwat) is Vidwan. One with these six powers is Bhagwan. He should be unlimited and infinite. God is all pervading. He cannot be limited. Anything which is limited means that it has surrendered to maya. That which is not limited; which is infinite and all pervading is truly divine entity. Some devotees worship God in the form or with an idol, thus limiting his existence. That is also bhakti! "

" The Bhagawad gita tells us kind of bhakti essential to reach God. This is the science of Gita. 'Bahanuam janmanamanthe.....sudurlabhaha.' "

" Jeeva attains true knowledge after several lives; not one or two lives but so many lives! What is his state at that time? He weeps that where ever he sees, he finds Vasudeva only there. The Lord praises and appreciates such persons as Mahatmas. Only one who sees God everywhere is a true devotee. His devotion is real, powerful and capable of making him reach God. 'Bhakti vasaha Purushaha'. The Supreme Lord can be captured and mesmerised only by such devotion. "

" Prahlada was one such true devotee even as a little boy. Hiranyakasapa asked Prahlada 'you are always chanting the name of Hari. Who is that Hari? Where does he live? How does he look like? I will find him and kill him. Tell me where he is.' If somebody asks us about anyone, we will give his address-locality or street number. Did Prahlada give such an address? He said 'Indugaladandu ledanu sandehamu valadu.' - If my Lord had one address, I would tell you. But he is all pervading. He is within you and within me also. I can see Hari within you. I can see Hari within me. My Hari is everywhere. That is the greatness of true bhakti. If you don't attain that state, it means your devotion has not reached the highest level. "

" I shall narrate a leela from Panduranga Bhakta Vijayam. Bhola Kumbharudu was a devotee of highest order. One day Namadeva and others were sitting together. They jested with Bhola Kumbharudu 'You make earthen pots with such fineness. You can differentiate between a good pot and a not well burnt pot easily.' We shall all sit down. You can examine our heads and decide which is strong or not.' He examined each head and declared Namadeva's head as deficient. Everybody was surprised. 'Oh. Panduranga served for 12 years in Namadeva's house. He carried water, washed clothes...How can such a devotee be incomplete! How strange! We really doubt the existence of God. Are you speaking in your senses or not?' "

" Namadeva became sad. 'The God who served me for so long did not see the bhakti within me and blindly carried water for me.' 'Why do you call Panduranga blind?' 'He is not blind. You may have some visions. I don't deny them. But they are small ones. They are not the real leelas of God. We must understand this point clearly. We must realise the qualities of true divine leelas and those which are created by the effect of maya. We must be able to clearly differentiate them because God shows so many leelas!' "

" My parents told me about a yogi who used to drink a pot of toddy every morning. Nobody knew whether he was a Brahmin or a sanyasi. When he asked them to bring the same toddy in another utensil, they found that it was cow milk with sugar. This is a leela too; but not a divine play! In an age where there is so much speculation about Hindu religion; where there is a false propaganda that Hindus have blind faith; it is all the more necessary for us to know what is true and false; what is transcendental or tattwa and maya tattwa! We have scientific evidence to guide us to a certain extent. It is not imagination, speculation or astrology. It is a scientific formula which is acceptable all over the world. "

" Hence we need to do a scientific research about true bhakti and its qualities. Who are such devotees? Panduranga and others discussed about such bhakti. 'Now, whom should I accept as my guru. Mine is not true devotion because I am not perfect. Then who is the perfect Guru whom I should approach?' Namadeva asked Bhola Kumbharudu to certify the right person. As directed by him, he went in search of his Guru. "

" When he reached the house of the Mahatma, as told by Bhola Kumbarudu, he found that he was sleeping resting both his feet on the idol of Panduranga. 'How can this person be the perfect devotee? He is a sinner who placed his feet on Panduranga's idol. It is my misfortune to see such a person. How could Bhola kumbarudu praise this man so much? Let me wake him up'. He wanted to scold the man for his mistake. He woke him up and shouted. 'You put your feet on Panduranga's head (idol). How dare you do so? It is a sin.' 'I am an old man. My feet might have shifted unknowingly. Kindly move my feet from the idol and put them where Panduranga is not present.' Namadeva removed his feet the idol and placed them beside. Lo and behold! Another idol appeared under his feet! He shifted his feet still further and another idol appeared. Wherever he put his feet, Namadeva saw Panduranga's idol. He was astonished by this divine leela. He asked him about the meaning of this leela. Then he narrated the verse: 'Bahunam janmana.......' "

" The contemplation that Vasudeva is everywhere is only real penance! "

" In the final stages of dhyana yoga, they do bhajan on the formless. Unless you succeed in formless bhajan, you cannot escape from maya. Maya creates various forms. Maya is formed when two powers (Vikshepa sakthi and avarana sakthi) join together. It creates a form where there is none! You go to a theatre to see the pictures on the silver screen. You are not interested in the blank screen. Well, you cannot have the pictures without the screen. "

" Man has not understood what is important and what is useless! He is not used to the formless! He became interested in the form and fell. The Bhagawata narrates an interesting situation. A man is on the verge of death. Just 2-3 minutes prior to his death, all his instincts within him become most concentrated in his forehead. This is the jeeva's centre. That is the point from where he leaves the body. His life force right from his feet become concentrated in his forehead and he loses his consciousness from this point. Though his heart beat or pulse stops, there is no guarantee that he is dead. The doctor opens his eyes or places his hands on the patient's eyes. If he blinks then he is still alive. He loses his life only from this point! "

" You must realise the greatness of God and attain the state of accepting the divine formlessness. Worship on the form is good to start with. As you move higher, the form disappears. A child studying in Primary school listens to the words uttered by his master associated with a pictorial representation and repeats the same. As you progress towards higher education, you adopt silent reading. A child cannot understand silent reading. He must shout and repeat; only then he feels that he studied. In advanced classes, they pass on to silence. Towards the final stages of dhyana yoga, he becomes a Muneeswara. Mounam tapas. Satyam tapas. Silence is penance; Truth is penance. That is the effect of all sadhanas. "

" Silence does not mean that you must not speak! It is silence in the kingdom of your mind! Just as your mouth speaks, your mind also speaks. The words of your mind are your thoughts. When your thoughts begin to travel it means your mind is shouting. This is like the loud recital of a primary school child. As you move towards higher standard, the mind stops shouting. The mind becomes tranquil. Then you will start having great experiences. You can feel these experiences only in real silence, not until then. Sage Atri worshipped the one and only God in such silence. He attained a pure and thoughtless mind. Hind mind was like an ocean without waves; peaceful and calm without any thoughts. In that state, he had a divine experience. The divine Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva appeared before him. He was surprised. 'I worshipped only one divine form, not three. Then why did three of you come down? Who are you? I have only one deity, so I expect only one God to grant darshan. How did three deities come to me?' 'We belong to the world beyond Chinmaya world. If we must cross Chinmaya world to come down to this karma world, we come together. This is the law of the world. We came down according to that law. Maha maya is filled with the three gunas - satwa, rajas and tamas. We must mould according to the Maha Maya. That is why God is present as the Trinity!' "

" In the same way, when Namadeva saw the one form, he understood why Bholakumbharudu declared that man as a Mahatma. He saw Panduranga where ever he put the man's foot! Only Panduranga everywhere. Oh! What a great teaching. "

" Namadeva grew into a young devotee. He was returning from Kasi and carrying the water from sacred Ganges. He was at a short distance from the hermitage. He saw a donkey kicking its hands and feet with thirst, unable to bear the scorching summer heat. He was in a dilemma. What should he do with the sacred water from Ganges? Should he pour it into the dying donkey's mouth or should he worship Shiva? He walked almost 6000 miles through the jungles only to bring sacred water and worship Lord Shiva. This was a test by Panduranga to know how much of his lessons he imbibed! He put the donkey's head in his lap and poured the sacred water in its mouth. As it drank the water, the people passing by looked at him strangely and ridiculed him. 'He would have been a donkey in his last life. This donkey may be his mother or uncle. That is why he is pouring the sacred water which he carried for 6000 miles in its mouth instead of worshipping the idol of Lord Shiva. He is a mad man.' His ego vanished. As you move towards formlessness, you give up ego. They are interlinked to one another. You have ego as long as you are associated with the form. When you overcome the form and reach formlessness, when maya is unveiled; your ego is destroyed to a great extent. He did not care for what others commented. He remained unmoved. As soon as the donkey drank the water, it disappeared and Panduranga appeared in its place. 'Namadeva my son! You succeeded. The quality of true bhakti is seeing God everywhere. See only me in every object and every living being. Do not harm anybody; do not hate anybody. This is how a true devotee must conduct his life. ' "

" To which category does the Gopika's devotion belong? The Bhagawata states that there is a higher devotion than this. That is Bhakti sastra. As the end of every chapter in the Bhagawata, there is a compilation of text meant for Paramahamsa. It is a text book of bhakti that helps a devotee to become a Paramahamsa. "

" We learnt that in devotion, formlessness is greater than the form. This is what Prahlada showed us. God is pleased with such devotion. But there is a bhakti greater than this - Bhakti par excellence; bhakti of the highest kind. It is that bhakti to which Krishna promised he would surrender. The Gopikas specially came down from their divine dham to spread this bhakti in the world. Chaitanya Maha Prabhu told Goswamis that the Gopikas devotion is true devotion of the highest order. Hence one must understand that tattwa. This is a very deep secret; deepest of the deep! "

" A scholar came near Chaitanya and the Shadgoswamis. 'you are Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! I heard about you and came from a very far off place to see you. I understand that you a great devotee and have created several devotees. My salutations to you.' He wrote one verse praising him. 'Oh great devotee! You came to spread devotion everywhere in this world.' The Goswamis knew that Chiatanya would tear off the verse after reading it. So, they noted down the verse before sending him to meet Chitanya. This incident took place about 5-6 days before Chaitanya left this world. When he read the verse given by the scholar, Chaitanya got angry. 'You call me a devotee! You are lying.' He tore off the paper. 'If I was really a devotee, how am I still alive? If one has true devotion, he would not leave Hari and come to this world. He would not be able to bear the separation and survive. But I am still alive! That means I am not a devotee. A true devotee cannot bear the separation from his deity.' "

" One day, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was totally immersed in this highest plane of incredible Gopi bhakti. With that bhakti bhava, he was unable to bear the separation from Goddess Kali. 'My Mother, I cannot live away from you. I want to die. I don't want to live in this world.' He took a sword to cut off his head. Suddenly from nowhere, a hand held him and stopped him. Immediately he went into Samadhi. So, it is so difficult to bear this separation. The disciples of Chaitana Mahaprabhu were unable to bear this agony during the last 12 days of his life. They prayed to God to take Chaitanya near him as they could not see him suffer like that. Chaitanya used to hit his head against the floor and beat his chest in the pain of separation from God. He had bruises all over his body. His nose was bleeding, his teeth were broken, his chest was swollen. He jumped into a river. Somebody save him. 'My Lord! I cannot live anymore. I completed my work assigned by you. You sent me to spread the name of God in every house. I did my duty. Then why should I stay here any longer? I cannot live even for a split moment without you anymore.' He made suicidal attempts every minute. The Goswamis and other disciples kept watch during day and night. "

" That bhakti is Gopika bhakti! Religious science described this devotion and its features. They are so astonishing that one wonders if it is really possible to have such devotion. Can the human beings or even Gods follow such devotion? Yes, it is! It has six main qualities. This bhakti was practised by Gopikas, Chaitanya Prabhu, Nimbarkacharya and many more in Brindavan. This Gopi love is typically known as 'Prem Bhakti.' Technically, it is neither Prem (love) nor Bhakti (devotion). It is a happy combination of Prem also Bhakti. That is its uniqueness. Roopa Goswami described the six qualities of Prem Bhakti in his books 'Bhaktirasamruthasindhu' and 'Ujjwalaneelamani'. They are also explained in other Hindi literature. "

" This is the first quality of this bhakti. It means free from gunas; free from maya. Maya is linked with the three gunas. When bhakti is free from the three gunas, it means that maya is no longer present. Where there is no maya, there is no form. There is only formless worship. So, the first principle of Gopikas is formlessness. That is why it is free from gunas. 'yatra yatra manoyathi tatra tatra samadhi'. This is the Gopikas state. Whether they look at a tree or a hill, they see only Krishna. It is Shyam in the bhava, not form. They see him and swoon in ecstasy. This state was experienced by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa also. We must practise this bhakti free from gunas in our dhyana yoga. Though, in the initial stages, you may adopt form like the shouting and chanting of a young student, you must gradually move towards formlessness in the final stage. You may feel that formlessness is difficult. How can the mind which is linked with forms do dhyana on the formless? There is a way! We are getting ready for formless worship. The necessary condition is Prembhakti; the state of mind free from gunas. "

" This bhakti has no desires, not even moksha. 'I am living in a pitiable condition. My parents are living in poverty. You are very rich. If I marry you, I will take your money and give my parents some financial relief.' This is certainly a desire. In true bhakti, you will not have any desires. That is why even moksha is considered to be a desire. Generally people pray for moksha when they cannot bear the suffering of family life or the grief of life, and death. Hence that is also a desire. If there is Prem bhakti, you don't need moksha. Vivekananda wrote a book on the life of Ramakrishna. He quoted a great sentence uttered by his Guru. 'Mother, Goddess Kali! If I have to be born as a dog to serve you, I will be born as a dog again and again in any number of lives. Please grant me the life of a dog.' That is the highest essence. Prembhakti does not long for that state which is free from the cycle of birth and death. It does not need moksha. They are ready to take any form to serve God. That is why kamanarahitham is greater than gunarahitham. He has no desires whatsoever. He does not even have the thought that he must not take birth again. Infact he is ready to be born again, if he is instructed by God. Ramakrishna received instruction from Mother Kali within him. Accordingly, he said that he would become a scavenger for the scavengers and do for them what they do for us. From the worldly point of view, a scavenger belongs to a lower class. As long this differentiation of class exists, it means that ego is reigning in you. You cannot reach the higher state unless the ego is completely erased. One must assess what state he has reached within him. To be free from desires, you must be mentally prepared for life and death. He has nothing to fear because it is only God's grace and love which protects him and guides him every moment. He will experience intense rasa within him all the time. Though he may guides him every moment. He will experience intense rasa within him all the time. Though he may face many problems outwardly, he experiences rasa within him continuously. "

" I saw a maid in Brindavan who was holding the sacred chain of beds to chant the divine name in her right hand and clearing the street with her left hand. I saluted her devotion. She told me 'Gopala has given me this job. I have no right to neglect it. My guru gave me this garland of beads. I consider it as God's blessing. So this is also important. I cannot give up either this chanting or my job because both are important. If being a priest in a temple is important, cleaning the streets is also equally important. One who sees both equally is a Prem devotee. He is a true Vaishnava.' I received such a divine message from her. That is why being free from desires is so important. He does not want anything under any circumstances. He does not even ask God for anything. God gives me whatever I need. I do whatever he tells me to do. I don't say that any work is big or small. I do any work sincerely. If I do not do the work assigned by him sincerely, my life is a waste; I will die. "

" Hanuman ji was searching for Sita everywhere. 'What can I tell Rama? How can I tell him that I could not find Sita? He will not live. If he dies, Lakshmana will also give up his life. Then Sugreeva and all of us will follow. When they hear this news, nobody in Ayodhya will survive. I will become the cause of everybody's death. It is better that I end my life right now.' Whenever a Prem devotee faces a problem, a divine voice always comes to his rescue. He need not fear from any external assault because he gets protection from within. The Bhagawata says that a potter makes pot with fresh mud. Though the mould faces external force, his left hand supports it from inside. In the same way, though you are battered from outside, you need not be afraid. You have support within you every second. So nothing will happen to you. He is fearless. That is what happened to Hanuman ji. When he wanted to die, the Lord spoke within him 'Hanuman, you have not searched the forest in that corner.' With that divine inspiration, he searched in Ashokavan and saw Sita. A true Prembhakti is one who obsequiously follows the orders of his Lord. Ramakrishna told Vivekananda 'Only after you finish serving Mother completely, she will give you the key to the divine treasury, not before that. That key is with Mother only.' "

" He was very upset and weeping within himself. Oh what a valuable treasure. It is a repository of rasa. What exquisite experience of rasa! Will I ever receive that key? How long will it take? He personally approached Roman Roland another devotee in Ramakrishna Mission and requested him to write a book compiling the salient incidents in their Master's life. He agreed to do so and asked why he was appearing so lost. "You seem to be pining for something. You are a sanyasi who gave up everything. Is there anything left which you did not give up? What are you weeping for?" 'it is not for something which I did not give up. I had a divine experience but again lost that feeling. I am unable to live. I am struggling all through my life for that experience once again. When I have that experience again, I shall gladly end my life.' This pain of separation from the divine becomes union at one time and again separation...Jeeva progresses only by this oneness and separation from the divine! That is the only way. In dhyana yoga, God will make him experience exquisite bliss suddenly. Even if he has this experience for just a single moment, he develops an aversion for sensual pleasures and gives them up. We must gain that exquisite bliss. We must obtain the key to the Divine treasury. For this, dhyana is the only royal path. "