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An Endless Divine Continuity - Part 11

 
Our Association With Nanna - Part 11
   
*Nanna's words
*Amma's words
*Foreword by Author
 
 
1Importance of Brindavan
2Sri Radhasakhi’s Love
3Sri Radha’s Worship
4 Sri Radha’s Power of Rasa
5Sakhi, The well wisher
6 Sri Radha Bhava
7 Pravritthi – Nivritthi
8 Sri Radha Dhyana’s Sweetness
9 Sakhi’s Message
   
 
PRAVRITTHI - NIVRITTHI

This chapter is the last of Nanna's series of talks on the topic Pravritthi-Nivritthi. With examples of gopikas and mahatmas, Nanna explained that when a jeeva has devotion for Krishna, it will gradually develop into rasa tattwa. It appears that Nanna made a long term plan to slowly draw us into the path of rasa. In his talks during 70s, 80s and 90s, he spoke about how to mould our life to be God's instrument , the glory of divine leelas etc. He gradually made the jeevas move towards Sri Radha bhava dhyana yoga and into the fold of Sri Radha's love.


" Once we took the form of this body and came to earth, we are engrossed in the worldly leelas only. We do not know about divine leelas. Normally a human being is mostly engaged in worldly leelas and occasionally chants 'Rama Rama Krishna Krishna'. The greatness of Brindavan dham is seen by the presence of Vraja gopikas. They are great sadhakas and mahatmas. Uddhava said, 'Nanda Vraja streenam padarenumabhikshanah'. He realized Vraja dham's greatness. He thought that that the gopikas weep for Krishna like ordinary women. If they are educated about philosophy, they will shift frombhajan on the form towards the formless. Once they reach the state of formless bhajan, they will forget Krishna. He planned thus to preach them. This is an important lesson for us also. In our tussle between the form and formless, we gradually forgot rasa tattwa which is beyond form and formless. We must clearly understand divine leela now. The gopikas never thought of form and formlessness. They just thought 'let us also join in Krishna's plays and leelas. We shall adopt him and enjoy being a part of his plays.' This thought evolved into a magical execution. No wonder Uddhava was astonished by their behavior. He assumed that they thought Krishna was elsewhere. But they said 'do you think he is in Mathura? No. He is here, playing with us.' That is why gopikas are considered to be the first among those who experienced constant happiness and also enjoyed their blissful state. He said 'these gopikas, the womwn of Vraja are extraordinary. I respect and pray to the dust at their feet. I will place that dust on my head and bow before them. What did the gopikas do? 'Ya mam Harikathodgitam punathi Bhuvanathrayam' - they were constantly engaged only in the Lord's name, thoughts and songs; nothing else. Whether they were filling the pots with water or cooking or travelling in a boat or feeding their kids - they did each and every activity taking the Lord's name. It is as if God is an integral part of their life... divine leela indeed! There is nobody else who can be compared with them in all the three worlds. "


" Ordinary human beings are so engrossed in their family play that they have no time to think of God. You feel that the right way is to get prepared, shut the door, take the beaded string in your fingers and then begin to chant God's name. Well, you must realize that God is not present only in the temple or in the place of worship in your house. He is present in your daily life. The gopikas showed the unique secret of sadhana to the world - the unstinted belief that 'Krishna is present in my daily life; in every incident of my family life. I can see him befor me.' Uddhava was amazed by this secret of sadhana. He saw that their family isnot an ordinary one; it is filled with divine presence. I will narrate an incident from the Bhagawata. Once the gopikas sulked saying 'Krishna, for the past few days, you stopped coming near us. You forgot us.' Krishna replied ' The fault lies with you only. I am always present here onlyyou're your house, among your family. You maintained a passive attitude towards me. That's why you are not able to see me. That is your mistake.' "


" In this kaliyuga, why did we move away from from divine leela and divine grace? Why is man suffering so much? We reallylost God. TheLord declared 'I willplay with you in the same way as you play with me. The mistake is yours, notmine. If you think ofme day and night, I will also think of you. If you will include me in your family, I will remain with you. Include me in your midst like a child and look me asyour family member. Unfortunately, it does not happen like that. You are keeping me away from your family with a passive attitude. The jeeva is also behaving like that. "


" We are passive towards God. That is why he is passive towards us. When you see a religious minded lady facing problems in life, you feel how God could be so heartless. Did that lady include God in her family? Sakkubai was a devoted wife who led her life serving her husband and his mother. One day a mahatma blessed and gave her an idol of little Krishna. Immediately She was attracted towards him. 'I do not have children. I will adopt Krishna and love him like my child. I will dress him, feed him, make him sleep near me and sing a lullaby.' As soon as she was drawn towards Krishna and mentally decided to look after him like her son, he silently crept into her family. This is the secret of Vraja leelas. She was very happy and excited when she saw the idol and wanted him to be with her all the time. She requested the mahatma and took the idol from him. From that day onwards, she was not passive anymore. Please understand carefully. When we accept our relatives within our family why can't we accept Krishna? We are passive. The Lord clearly mentioned that whatever is your attitude towards me, I will adopt the same attitude towards you. No wonder this verse is considered to be one of the significant verses in Gita. "


" If you want God to play with you, you must play with God. You are not attentive towards him; you are immersed in your family life. Since you are playing with your husband and children only, he is staying away. This is your mistake. The gopikas and Sakkubai were not like that. They were immersed in thoughts of the Lord all the time. You may have noticed that one girl got up abruptly and left. She gives tea to Krishna daily at 3 p.m. Why can't you have such devotion and care? In Brindavan, the people adopt Krishna as an integral part of their life. We also must do like that. That is our duty in life. We need not follow the yogic path. Strangely, the gopikas did not have any specific path; their path is unique. They think of the Lord all the time. Suppose you prepare a sweet, you will feed your child first. They won't do like that. They offer the sweet to Krishna first, feed him fondly, serve him water and then only serve to their family members. This is the secret. He is before us; we must follow him. "


" We put our ego in the forefront and God behind. We act as we want but blame God if something goes wrong. Our worship is not proper; yet we don't hesitate to blame God. There is only one right way - we must include him in our life. We must play with him . We isolated him from us by maintaining a passive attitude. The gopika's life is exactly opposite to ours. Their life is strange and wonderful to observe. He is a part and parcel of our life. One day a gopika was milking the cow. Suddenly she began to weep. While she was milking the cow, Krishna came behind her and said 'I came to drink some milk. Will you give me?' 'Why not!' As soon as she turned around, he vanished. That is why she began to weep. 'How I wish he would come here and drink some fresh milk.' See her thoughts... There is nothing wrong in leading a family life. We think it is wrong. When you include him into your midst, your life becomes heavenly. When you feel that you are wrong, why can't you include Krishna into your family? Uddhava realized this significant truth. 'I was ignorant till now. I must admit that though I am physically so close to my dearest friend Krishna, I cannot think of him as deeply as the gopikas whom are so far away from him.' He regretted for his mistake. We all need to learn a lesson from him. Tapasya is not limited to a few hours in the morning and evening in the temple. Tapasya is that which happens every moment in your life,at all places and in all situations. We are not doing such tapasya. "


" Brindavan dham gives a message to the world - Do not think that God is somewhere. He said 'Mad bhaktha yatra gayanthi tatra thishtami Narada' - Narada, wherever my devotees and my loved ones sing about me,I am present there only, not anywhere else. Ah! How nicely said. A mahatma in Brindavan wanted to arrange Bhagawata saptaha ( one week of discourses on Bhagawata). He is a good speaker with command on the subject. He planned to collect donations and feed the sadhus during that week. Suddenly he fell ill and could not collect donations. He was weeping helplessly. 'Why did this happen? I am sick and unable to move. I have no money to make any arrangements. Radhaji, what can I do?' That night Mother appeared in his dream. 'Why do you worry? Go ahead with your programme. Everything will move smoothly.' Brindavan stands testimony for many such leelas. Even in our ashram, we witnessed many leelas related to Mother's happiness. She is always happy, ready to bless you. If you attract Her, She will come near you. If you think there is nothing in the world, there is nothing. That is the influence of maya. But if you see Gopala in any object, you will see only Gopala and not the object anymore. Superimpositon! You cannot define any object as long as you see him everywhere. Contemplate on him allthe time; somebody will always be behind you to protect you. "

'Ananyaschinthayantho.......vahamyaham'


" I never leave them who have one pointed devotion towards me. Even if you have portraits of many Gods at home , you must have only one God in your heart. Just one, not even two! When a lady is serving food to her family, she sees each one with a different bhava - husband, son, brother, uncle- no two bhavas are alike. In this way, you also must treat Kannayya with one bhava and the rest of the world differently. Then the world is no longer an illusion. You can see the truth in the world. So you have the Lord who is the manifestation of truth on one side, the world on the other side and your family in between, The Lord is in your mind only. Don't deceive yourself that he somewhere else. He is with you every moment. You are unable to realize this truth. We must change this passive attitude towards God. "


" In Brindavan dham, an idol is not merely an idol. They address the idol as Kanhaiya. Then his bhava superimposes on the idol. When the idol is enveloped by the Lord's bhava, the thought that is an idol will never cross your mind. Your mind will be filled with Hari only. 'I am feeding him, I am dressing him, I am decorating him...' This is Vraja bhava; this is Brindavan's secret. "


" Yashodamma was a great devotee in Brindavan. Her husband was a Professor in Oxford University. Nixon, his student came to live in Brindavan. They treated him as their son. He used to visit their house daily. He always watched her serving the idols of Radha and Krishna very diligently and was silently amused. He wondered 'God is all pervading and filledin all the worlds. Then why is mother restricting him to this small idol?' One winter night, she was sleeping in the God's room after putting Kanhaiya to sleep in the cradle. Nixon was sleeping in the front room. In the middle of the night, he heard a voice from the God's room calling him dada (brother). He wondered who was sleeping in that room and inside. He realized that the voice was coming from the idol in the cradle. 'Brother, I am feeling very cold. You are using a blanket but I have nothing to cover.' He recalled that his mother told him to cover the idol otherwise the little one would feel cold in the early hours. 'Brother the windows are open. Please close them.' Nixon wept and fainted. 'I committed a big blunder. I thought mother was worshipping the idol but she worships the Lord himself! Normally, the idols are immobile and lifeless. But these idols are not like that. They are not lifeless, they can speak! The little one addressed me as his brother. Since mother treats both of us like her children, I am indeed his brother. How sweet! What love!' Later he accepted sanyas ashram, took mantra deeksha from his mother and travelled to many places. Yet the Lord's bhava always remained in his heart. "


" What you consider as an inert object is indeed full of life. It becomes alive as soon as you address it as Kanhaiya. If you treat it as an inert object, it remains lifeless. This is a great secret in this world. Everything in the world is transformed according to your bhava. Nobody really knows what is world is. If you say it is vacuum, it is vacuum. If you say object, it is object. If you nothing, there is nothing; otherwise everything! This is the strange world of maya. Prahlada said that there is no doubt that the Lord is everywhere. You can find him wherever you look for him. He neither talked about vacuum nor illusion. He stressed that the Lord is present in each and every object on earth. Infact, he proved this truth to the world. When his father asked him whether his Lord was present in the pillar, he emphatically said yes. When he destroyed the pillar, Lord Narasimha emerged from it. What does this mean? This is the secret of Hindu religion's spiritual tattwa. The world moves by your bhava.That is divine leela! Though God is everywhere, you are unable to see him who is in your heart due to your ignorance and passive nature. You can't see him or do dhyana on him. It is your mistake. If someone is a true devotee, the Lord is always with him. The Vedas said 'Bhakthi vasah Purushah'. The Lord easily yields to true devotion because he is so benevolent and easily pleased. You are keeping such a God away from you and considering him as non existing. Blunder indeed! "


" The same Krishna was dearest friend of Pandavas and foe to Kauravas. When Arjuna heard the news that the Lord left the earthly plane, he walked slowly, head bent down. His eldest brother Yudhishtir asked 'Arjuna, you are brave warrior with yiour head always erect. Why did you bow your head? What is the problem? Didyou commit an unpardonable mistake?" Gone..our Gopala is gone!' Immediately Yudhishtir threw down his crown and tore off his clothes in frenzy. Draupadi rushed out from the kitchen on hearing the news. Soon they coronated Arjuna's grandson and went to Himalayas and ended their life there. The scriptures consider that if someone ends his life in Himalayas it is not suicide and he will not become a ghost. "


" We are fighting with one another in the name of religion but nobody is able to see God. If we really saw God, there would be only love everywhere. While religion teaches about God, maya intervenes. If we think of God only, there is no chance of hatred being born from divine thoughts. As God is the manifestation of love, only universal love can emerge from our thoughts. Whoever is engaged in constant thoughts of the Lord, his heart overflows with love. This is the rule. "


" One day, Krishna was sitting in Yashoda's lap as she was about to feed him cream and candy. When she was about to put the spoon in his mouth, a gopika came there with a bowl in her hand. She saw Yashods ready to feed Kanhaiya and sighed in disappointment. 'Come here. Why are you sad?' 'Mother, since 15 days I want to feed Kanhaiya some cream with my hands. As his mother, you have the right to feed him. Though I am trying everyday, my family problems did not allow me to come here. Today I woke up at 3a.m., completed all the domestic chores quickly and rushed here walking 3-4 miles. I would feel happy if I was in time to serve him cream and candy.' Suddenly Kanhaiya turned his face away and refused to eat what his mother gave him. He stretched out both arms and ran near the gopika to carry him. She was overjoyed because her desire was to carry him and feed him . 'Ye yatha mam prapadyanthe thamsthvaiva bhajamyaham' With whatever bhava you approach me, I will come towards you with the same bhava. If you remain passive towards me, I will also be passive towards you even if you are dying. It is not as if God is not present. Due to your passive approach he is not responding to you. He protected Prahlada all the time. We know that he came to the rescue of his devotees so many times. This is divine leela! "


" The gopika carried Krishna in her arms and fed him to her heart's content. There was no hatred in Yashoda's love. That is why she thought 'she too loves Kanhaiya like me. Her happiness is like mine only. No wonder he stopped me and ran towards her..' We must realize that bhakti, Bhagawan and bhaktha (devotion, God and devotee ) exist in the same form. The devotee enacts whatever devotion instructs. Whatever the devotee does is already decided by God. "


" King Kulachandra's life is another glaring example. He brought the Lord into his life. Since then, he was more of a devotee than a king. The difference between us and the great yogis is that the Lord is always in their heart while there is only maya in our heart. Vivekananda mentioned about Pahvari Baba, a great mahatma who he saw with his own eyes. The baba lived in a cave near Kolkata where tigers and snakes also lived. He was always immersed in Krishna bhava. He would hug and kiss a tiger addressing it fondly as Krishna. The tiger would reciprocate his bhava. At such time, many people would think of him and pray to him. All their jobs were successful. When he was in God's bhava, a divine aura surrounded him. This all pervading radiance spread around him without his knowledge. We must realize many candles lit in one place dispel darkness and give light. Similarly if millions of people invite God into their homes and life, he will surely appear to dispel the darkness of kaliyuga. "


Nanna clearly explained that everything depends on our bhava. Yadbhavo tatbhavathi. Descibing Sage Kanva's ashram where tigers, deers and rabbits played together Nanna said that it was possible only due to the divine all pervading bhava shining in him. We saw many unique incidents in Nanna's divine life. When somebody was engaged to kill Nanna, he herad a voice from within him 'he is a mahatma; don't harm him; don't commit this sin.' He folded his hands before Nanna and left. Many fortunate ones also experienced Radha bhava in his presence.


" Kulachandra was the king of Mnaipur near Brindavan. Radha and Krishna were always in his heart. He was very fond of Radhaji. Many times he would be in the bhava that 'my Mother is present in Brindavan in the form of Radhakund. I will go near Her'. In this bhava, he would bathe in the lake and sprinkle the water of Radhakund on his head weeping that Mother is here. The British tried to defeat several times but failed. All the British Generals discussed that 'it is very difficult to defeat him. He is a devotee of Radha and Krishna. Radhaji likes cows and he loves Radhaji. The only way out for us is to tie thousands of cows before our army. If he shoots us he must kill the cows. He will certainly not do that. He will surrender to us'. Their devious plan worked. Kulachandra faced the dilemma. 'If I fight, the cows will die. I will move away from my Mother. What will Mother think? If Mother thinks 'the cows are My form only. He killed them so cruelly. He is such a wicked man', then what is the use of this kingdom? My link with this kingdom, family, children, the world and this body is temporary and short lived. I must leave this kingdom one day. Then why shouldn't I surrender my life to Mother during this period? My life, my kingdom, my happiness, my status are not important. Mother is important. Her love is priority for me'. Thinking thus he surrendered to the British army. He was taken to the Commander in chief with respect. 'I do not treat you as a prisoner; you are a devotee. Please sit on the chair next to me. I will construct two buildings wherever you wish because I know penance is your desire.' 'Radhaji is more than my life. She likes Radhakund very much. Please construct two buildings on the banks of Radhakund. I am not bothered about my kingdom.' Even today, many people from Manipur live in these buildings. They bathe in the holy Radhakund every morning and do bhajan chanting Radhe Shyam. "


" Where there is contemplation on God, there is love and sacrifice. There is no place for hatred. Each religion addresses God by a different name but the divine qualities are the same. He is loving and benevolent. The same qualities are attained by theose who contemplate on God. Lord Rama did not want to kill Ravana. He wished to give him an opportunity to avoid war and sent a message of peace. 'Why do you to fight with me. Live happily with your family. I will not kill you if you admit your mistake that you were wrong in bringing her with you. I will forgive you, take my wife and leave.' Ravana did not agree and faced the consequences of the war. "


" By divine glory contemplating on God will make us attain his qualities. There is no doubt about this. He will enter your house. Now it is your duty to look after him. Don't treat him like an idol because it is not an idol but God himself. Sakkubai used to bathe the idol, dress him carefully, feed him with the bhava that the idol is God personified. Just as Prahlada's devotion became intense due to the test of hurdle by his father, Sakkubai's husband and mother in law became hurdles in her path of devotion. This is divine leela indeed! Her mother in law used to scold her that she was neglecting her family and showing attention only towards Gopala. She literally threw the idol outside the house. Sakkubai began to weep but was astounded to see that the Lord was near her only. How could this happen? Divine grace! "


" The human beings are not seeing the world in the correct way. If you consider them as stones, they are stones; not otherwise. Some rich busimessmen came to Brindavan and stayed in a place called Tatiyasthal. Many devout devotees stay here. They are immersed in divine thoughts all the time. One businessman plucked a leaf from the garden. Immediately the head of Tatiyasthan called him and said 'instead of enjoying the beauty of this garden , why did you pluck a leaf? The creeper came near me and wept that a stranger came and plucked my leaf. I am very sad.' Is it true? Did you pluck the leaf?' Amazing! The businessman was astonished. In Brindavan, God's leela and radiance is superimposed on each and every object. This was proved in this incident and many more like this. No wonder the soil is not just soil; innumerable devotees did penance in various forests and wet the land with their tears. The gopikas' tears flowed and overflowed in Brindavan dham. How strange! "


" So where is God? He is not in idols or temples; he is in his devotees hearts. 'Eswarah sarvabhootanam hriddese Arjuna tishthathi'. I am in your heart . If you see inwards, you will find me.' Lord Brahma searched everywhere with outward vision but could not find his father. The Bhagawad Gita categorically stated that you cannot see God with external vision. None other than Brahma is a glaring example to prove this. Finally he heard a voice from the sky 'tapa tapa'. Understanding that he must do tapasya to reach his goal, he gave up external vision, directed his senses inwards, goal inwards, mind inwards and then only attained inward vision. As you move further towards inward vision, at one stage, God will pull you down and show his divine dham. Brahma was surprised to see this dham. 'My son. You cannot see me with outward vision. You attained inward vision. That is why you could see him. You will soon begin the process of creation. The jeevas must experience their karmas. If they move inwards and reach create them with external vision only. That is why we are born with external vision. We see only darkness when we close our eyes light when we open them. Adisankaracharya praised Maya Devi thus; 'Oh Maya! You are so powerful. God is so near to us, closer than our body. But when I close my eyes, I see only darkness but not my Lord. The Vedas state that God shines like millions of suns. Through such a dazzling and bright God is so close to me, in my heart, I can't see him when I close my eyes. Ah Maya. You closed the door. You created the veil that prevents me from seeing the Lord. Though the veil is thin, you do not allow us to see the Lord inspite of our sincere efforts. That is your greatness.' "


" So those who really want to see God and attain his presence but live with inward vision. The Lalitha Sahasranamas alo emphasise on inwardness. 'Antharmubha samaradhayai namah Bahirmukha sudurlabhava' 'Mother! We must serve you with inwardness. Only then we can attain your darshan and touch. There is no use to worship you with outwardness.' So inwardness is the important path of sadhakas. You must do tapasya in the state of inwardness for atleast 30 minutes daily. During this time you must forget that you have a body. 'I am consciousness. I am the mind I am not in this inert body.' With such thoughts you must concentrate on your consciousness and forget the body. Gradually you will forget the world and slowly develop inward vision. Those who wish to have spiritual width must invariably develop inwardness. This is slowly declining in our country. Though you do bhajans with other devotees, inwardness is the highest state. "


" The seventh chapter of Bhagawata describes Lord Narasimhaswamy carrying Prahlada in his lap. The little boy wept and said 'O Lord. My father abused you in many ways. Yet you silently bore them. You are so benevolent. Though he behaved very wrongly with you, please forgive his mistakes and send him to some good world in the astral plane.' The Lord laughed. 'My little one. You do not know about my intense love towards my devotees. Since you are devotee, I have blessed 21 generations beforeyou. Not only your father but your forefathers also are blessed. Understand my infinite love towards my devotees. 'My Lord. My father threathened to fight with you. What happened?' 'I hid.' 'Where?' 'When your father was sleeping, I became infifnitestimally small, entered his body through his nose and hid in his heart.' 'Oh you were in his heart, yet he could not catch you.' 'That is the irony. The jeevas lack inwardness. They have only outward vision. That is why they can't see me though I am in their heart. That is the strangeness of this world. Though I am so near, the human beings cannot see me because they do not have the inward vision to see me. When you were in your mother's womb, I sent Narada near you. He spoke to you about me and you began to weep for my darshan. ''Yes I was crying inside.' 'Then Narada explained the quality of inwardness. You could see me with inward vision.' "


" Once you see Kanhaiya in inward vision, you will see only Kanhaiya in the whole world. That is the greatness. The Vedas stated 'sarvam khalidwam Brahma. The world is filled with Brahma. Some others say that the world is neither Brahma nor anything else. It is an illusion. Prahlada envisioned and said that the world is filled with God in each and every object. His father asked him whether God was present in the pillar . Prahlada said yes. He destroyed the pillar and God came out. So is there any place where God is not there? Pahvari Baba lived in the cave along with tigers and snakes happily. They were also attached to him. What do you say to this? You see them as tiger and snakes. The devotees feel the world is Brahma or kanhaiya. The Vraja gopikas saw only God everywhere. 'Yatra yatra manoyathi tatra tatra samadhibhih' This is the state of gopikas. Uddhava noticed that when they looked at any object, it was no longer an object but Kanhaiya only. They sawhim in the sky, cow, everywhere..We also must inwardness like the gopikas. "


Through the conversation of Prahlada and his father, Nanna gave us a divine lesson. The Lord entered through his nose and hid in his heart. The jeevas are unable to see the Lord in their heart because they lack inwardness. This is Nanna's message to us.
 

 

 
 
Nimishambainanu ninnu maruvani Premanosangumu Devi
Anni roopamula Ninne ganchuchu Ninne cheredanamma
----
 
 

Mother, Please grant me such love that I will not forget You even for a moment; that I see You only in everything and reach You.

 
 

 
 

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