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An Endless Divine Continuity - Part 6

 
Our Association With Nanna - Part 6
   
*Nanna's words
*Mothers words of benediction
*Foreword by Author
 
 
1Divine Beauty
2Weep in your Heart
3Conscious Form (Bhava Swaroopa)
4Follow the path of Saints (Mahatmas)
5Message of the Master of Rasa (Rasikacharya)
10 Sri Radhasakhi Rasavani (Message of Divine Delight)
   
 
DIVINE BEAUTY
 

 

 
 
Ya ma sa rasabhava roopamatulam bhavaika gamyam bhaje
Sa maya jagati swaroopa sadasadroopam sada bhavaye
Sarasara vichara saramathina saram sada darsaye
Sri Radha navakunja manjula rasam Radhasakhi darsitam
----
 
 

The incredible rasa that originated from Her kunj is continuously flowing from Sridham. The object related to rasa has two faces; it is only one form that appears as two. This formless brilliantly shining love is present as bliss. Such Divine beauty is always single faced.

 
 

- Sri Radhasudhanidhi

 

The human being must be linked with God's radiant rasa which is unlimited, infinite and filled with love. He must burn with the yearning for that ultimate beauty and love. He must do sadhana in the path of rasa. This is the divine principle taught by our loving Nanna. Every word of this lecture shows his love and kindness for mankind.


" Vision is of two kinds - inward or introvert vision and external or extrovert vision. Generally, one who sees outside does not see within.. We must agree that even if the external world is shut out, he can have inward vision. If he shuts out inward vision, he can see the world even if his eyes are closed. This is the blatant fact! "


" Very few persons possess inward vision. For those who desire to see God, there are scriptures about inwardness and the exemplary lives of Mahatmas. The Lalitha sahasranams are world renowned. They are read in many temples since thousands of years. The initial verse states : "

Antharmukha samaradhyayai namaha bahirmukha sudurlabhaha


" That is a warning. Do you want to worship God? Do you want to see god? Do you want to know his power? Then you must invariably have inward vision. Without this, you have no right to speak about God. Thare are so many examples to substantiate this point. "


" Srimad Bhagawata is not created by an ordinary man. Sage Vyasa is like an incarnation in the Bhagawata. It is said 'Vyasa Narayano Harihi'. He was instructed by God to write the Bhagawata. The scholars all over the world agreed that it is a great scripture. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said 'there is only one book in this world that you must believe and follow. That is Srimad Bhagawata.' "


" I will now narrate a significant point mentioned in that book. I am narrating verbatim from the Bhagawata. "


" Brahmadeva was born in the lotus that emerged from the navel of Lord Narayana. The world was not created by then. Brahma is the creator! So there was no creation till his birth. Neither Shakespeare nor his dramas were present. How was the world when there was no creation; before Brahma was born? There was only sky everywhere. Prithivyapas tejovayurakasaha. Only the five elements were present. There was nothing except sky. No Gods. Demi Gods, houses, temples..Only the vast sky filled the whole Universe. Brahma saw this and wondered from where he was born; who his father was! He had only two questions - where he was born and who his father was. "


" Brahma could not find out where he was born. He could not even find out from which dham he originated. He searched for innumerable years to find the answers to his questions in all directions but of no avail. He travelled the whole of earth yet could not find the answers. Finally he became disappointed and depressed. He thought 'there is no use of being alive; it is better to end my life; how long will I be alone;I have nobody with me in this infinite sky; no God is talking to me. Then he heard a sound in the sky - Tapa!Tapa! Those words that are not uttered by man are known as apourusheya. Nobody knows who spoke. He only heard the word Tapa. That means Brahma was asked to do tapas. Then he realised that he would get the answers to hios questions only through tapas (penance). "


" The same doubt which Brahma had that day continues till today. Man is not able to tell who he is and where he came from. Brahma could not get an answer despite all efforts. The only way for him was tapas. He closed his eyes for penance. Man people are not aware of inward and external vision. Only when man has external vision, he can see, hear, feel and sense everything in the world. When he develops inward vision, he will not see the world at all. He sees only the inner world. He will not see or hear anything around him. That is the difference! To become an introvert, you must win over your sense organs and move inwards. That is a part of dhyana yoga. Man can go inwards only to some extent. Without any contact with the external world, Brahma could go only to a certain extent, not totally. He faced an obstacle and could not move upwards. He delved deeper and then attained the bhava of self surrender. Krishna said, "

 

 

 
 
Sarva dharman parityajya mamekam saranam Vraja
Aham twam sarvapapebhyo mokshayishyami masuchaha
----
 
 


 
 

- Sri Bhagavad Geeta

 


" You must surrender at some stage, there is no other way. What is surrender? The bhava that 'nothing is mine; I don't know anything; I don't understand anything; You tell me everything; You guide me always.' It is so simple. An important person must admit his ignorance. However a person who knows should not feign ignorance because you are talking about God. From the bhava of surrender; from somewhere deep within you; from the inner most layers of your consciousness; we don't know exactly from where; a divine power extracts the inner power and pulls the human being upwards. A person who falls in the well cannot come out with his own efforts. When somebody outside throws a rope and pulls it up, he comes out of the well. That is the only way. Similarly, we have only external vision. Since we lack inward vision, we are in the well. We don't even know how and when we fell into this well. When we close our eyes it is darkness; when we open our eyes, we see the world. Then what can we do? "


" Sankaracharya said 'O God. We don't know who you are! The Vedas say that you shine with brightness more than that of innumerable Suns. With such intense brightness, you are nearer than this body; nearer than this mind. 'you are so near and so bright. Yet when I close my eyes, I see only darkness; I cannot see you. How strange! How amazing! I am not able to see you when I close my eyes because you are so close to me with all your radiance ; closer than my body; in my heart. 'Eswaraha sarvabhootanam hriddese Arjuna tishthathi' . 'I am present in the hearts of all living beings'. This is Krishna's self installation in our hearts. He says that he is present in the heart of all insects, fruits, human beings, Gods..That means he is so near to us , within us, in our hear. Yet we cannot see him. From where did this darkness before our eyes come and when? "


" It is evident that man has only external vision and not inward vision. In Lalitha sahasranamavali, the Goddess tells Narada 'Note the two essential points to attain my darshan. "

Antharmukha samaradhyayai namaha bahirmukha sudurlabhaha


" Man has both visions - inward and external. To worship me, he must have inward vision. Only then I will grant darshan to him. If you see with extrovert vision, I will not grant darshan even for many ages. "


" We have only external vision. When he does not have the basic requirement, all discussions about God have no meaning. It is like giving false evidence in a court about something you have neither seen nor know. Since you gave false evidence, you can be punished in High Court. It's a lie. You are speaking about something you did not see! In the same way, many people may tell you many things about God. They are not true. They have not seen God. It is very difficult to see God. You need inward vision to see God. The one who has inward vision will definitely attain at least a little of that brilliant radiance of God. Ah! That introvert vision can be attained only by God's grace. If we attain it by God's grace, it is beyond our imagination. Our life will be totally transformed. Then only we will realise how powerful God is! "


Nanna narrated an incident that occurred long ago in Srirangam in Tamilnadu; about the devotee who was obsessed about his lover named Hema. Sri Ramanujacharya showed that man the beauty of Lord Ranga (Vishnu) and he transformed totally. Nanna explained the difference between inward and external vision in this incident.


" Ramanuja questioned the man 'did you ever see the beauty of my Lord Ranga?' 'How would I see? Who showed me? If you show me that beauty, I shall see.' 'His words are very true. I must show him that beauty. But I cannot.' The Vedas clearly state that neither man, Gods, Brahma nor Shiva can show God on their own. God must shower his grace. Only if God wills, he will show his beauty to man. Man cannot see anything by himself. Vivekananda gave a very important message 15 days before he attained siddhi. He wrote a letter to his co brother, another sanyasi. That letter is preserved in Ramakrishna Mission till date. He wrote, 'I have seen Samadhi in my life. My Guru is Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. I travelled all over the world and observed a lot. I read scriptures thoroughly. I am making a statement. This is my message to the world. That man is a fool who thinks that he can easily attain God by simply uttering his name just as he pays money and buys vegetables in the market. He is ignorant if he thinks that God can be bought by uttering name. The Kathopanishad says: Nayamathma pravachena labhyaha'. The Vedas provides the answer to how God can be attained. Pravachena implies being uttered. It may be name, hymn, mantra, verse..He may be continuously chanting something or other, but he cannot see God. Na medhaya. Even if he is intelligent, even if he is a renowned scientist, he cannot attain God. Your intellect is not enough to attain God. 'Na bahunam sruthena'. He has read many scriptures and he knows the meaning of Vedas. He cannot attain God even if he listens to the teachings and commentaries of scholars. Man tried all that is possible for him. Yet God will not relent to any of these efforts. So, it is difficult to attain God's grace. What is the solution? "


" Vedas provide the answer in Kathopanishad. 'Yame vaisha vrinathe thena labhyaha'. Vrunathe literally means 'being wed'. During the wedding, the groom is made to place his hand on the bride's head and chant some mantras which mean 'I am being wed to this girl. I will not leave her even for a moment.' God is the groom who must accept us and wed us! We don't even know who he is but we are addressing him as God. We don't know where he is. He is veiled, unattainable by any means. The Vedas say they cannot even think of him. The egoist religious preachers say 'I am God.' Vivekananda mentioned about such a God and said that it is so difficult to attain him; he must accept us. The groom must accept the bride. Even if she is beautiful and intelligent, the groom must accept her. You cannot do anything if the groom rejects the girl. So, even if you have all the qualifications, that groom, that beautiful God must accept you. It does not matter whether God is present or not. The Vedas say . 'Yame vaisha vrinathe thena labhyaha'.He is attined only when he accepts you. That is the most important point. "


" Akbar was a great Emperor. His son, Saleem, the future Emperor loved a poor girl. When his father protested, he said, 'see the girl with my eyes and my heart. I am not interested in this kingdom, I want only Anarkali.' "


" Qualifications are of no use. When a man has such a strong will, you cannot expect God to come down and say 'I accepted this girl because she is beautiful or famous.' We are not aware of his criteria; of his selection. Unless we know that, we cannot reason anything due to our existence in this human world. The Vedas educated us about this. Aravinda Ghosh reiterated it and Vivekananda emphasised yet again. "


" Now the question arises 'How will God accept me? How should I appear beautiful? What exams should I pass?' There is only one question between you and God. How will he accept you? The Vedas say ''Satyam Shivam Sundaram.' These are the three qualities of God. Satyam - God is the only truth. Everything in this world is transient. It exists today and disappears tomorrow. God is the only one who is permanent; who is not present and vanishes tomorrow. He will exist for all ages to come. He is the embodiment of well being. One who constantly contemplates on God will not face any bad effects. One who makes friends with God and is fortunate to wed the Lord will never face anything negative. God has an ever righteous form. Sundaram - beauty. He is so beautiful that he is sharing his beauty with the whole world. The whole world's beauty is just a fraction of his beauty! "


" We are mesmerised by a girl's beauty. The fact is that the girl's beauty along with all other beauty in the world is just a small drop in the ocean of God's rasa and bliss. Can you imagine his beauty? We must realise that if only a drop of his beauty equals the beauty in the world, then how beautiful he must be! "


" Ramanuja was very upset when the wealthy boy aged only 25 years said 'you show me God if you can. You speak about God. But I must see his beauty. I cannot agree with whatever you say. I can buy the whole of Srirangam.' He could not reply to the boy. He went near God silently and stayed there till the early hours of 3 a.m. 'My Lord. I am your intimate companion. Our relationship is from a very long time. I never asked you for anything so far. But today I want a favour from you. That boy wants to see your beauty.. Kindly permit him to have a glimpse of a little of your beauty. It is not difficult for you. Move the curtain aside for a second. As soon as he sees you, close the curtain. This is my humble request. I don't want anything else.. Please let him see you for atleast a fraction of a second.' "


" At 5 a.m. somebody knocked at his door. Ramanuja opened the door and found the boy standing there, the same boy who was captivated by a girl and challenged him to show God. The boy's hair was loose and he was weeping. 'I will not leave him. I surrender my kingdom and the whole world at your feet. We must construct seven boundaries for the Lord and place him in the innermost sanctum. We must provide food to the people as long as Kaliyuga exists. I have so much wealth; we don't need to ask anybody for money. As for me, I will sit on the last step of your temple, touching the feet of the devotees and eating whatever they give me. I have no other desire. I gave up my property, wealth, houses, everything. This is my will.' The Srirangam temple constructed by him exists even today after thousands of years. "


" If we really see God's beauty, we cannot live. That sorrow of separation is so unbearable. Generally, the man who feels sorrow of separation from the Lord accepts problems and calamities with equanimity. That is the power of that grief of separation from God. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was unable to bear the separation from Lord Krishna. During his last days, he would hit his head against the floor and weep. During the last 12 days of his life, he was constantly weeping 'My Lord. I have completed the job entrusted to me. You instructed me to spread the name of Krishna. I handed over your nama (name) to everyone; moving from house to house. My work is completed. Then why are you still keeping me here?' His head was bleeding and eye was damaged. 'I don't want to live anymore. Take me near you.' That is how separation from God is like! 'I cannot bear this separation any longer. I stayed for so long because I was doing my duty. Now I cannot stay away from you any more.' Even his disciples were unable to see his state and pleaded 'Lord. Our Mahaprabhu is our dearest companion. But we are unable to see him suffer like this. We cannot bear his agony of separation from you. Please take him near you.' That separation is such that man is filled with unbearable sorrow and sadness. Even before we discuss whether God exists or not, we don't even know who God is! I will explain his Divine qualities. That's all. "


" If we really see God's beauty, we cannot live. That sorrow of separation is so unbearable. Generally, the man who feels sorrow of separation from the Lord accepts problems and calamities with equanimity. That is the power of that grief of separation from God. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was unable to bear the separation from Lord Krishna. During his last days, he would hit his head against the floor and weep. During the last 12 days of his life, he was constantly weeping 'My Lord. I have completed the job entrusted to me. You instructed me to spread the name of Krishna. I handed over your nama (name) to everyone; moving from house to house. My work is completed. Then why are you still keeping me here?' His head was bleeding and eye was damaged. 'I don't want to live anymore. Take me near you.' That is how separation from God is like! 'I cannot bear this separation any longer. I stayed for so long because I was doing my duty. Now I cannot stay away from you any more.' Even his disciples were unable to see his state and pleaded 'Lord. Our Mahaprabhu is our dearest companion. But we are unable to see him suffer like this. We cannot bear his agony of separation from you. Please take him near you.' That separation is such that man is filled with unbearable sorrow and sadness. Even before we discuss whether God exists or not, we don't even know who God is! I will explain his Divine qualities. That's all. "


As Nanna said 'that's all', a hissing voice clearly said 'Govinda'.


" One of the qualities stated by the Vedas and which is absolutely true is 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram'. There is none other who possesses such beauty. He is filled with magnificent, infinite beauty. Even if we see a minute fraction of that beauty, even imbibe a single drop, we cannot survive. That bliss is so unbearable. Each one thinks of God in his own way. Why should you name God? There is a divine consciousness above. You must leave this world aside and try to visualise that divine consciousness. The boy in Srirangam who was besotted by a prostitute attained absolute detachment after he had a vision of that divine consciousness. He gave up everything - girl, kingdom and wealth. Such unimaginable tendency of sacrifice arises in the heart. Unimaginable sacrifice, unimaginable separation, unimaginable affection and unimaginable love! Now we can understand that there is certainly some force. It does not really matter whether you think of it as a force or a form! "


" That God is known by Krishna and not any other name. Krishna is not a name of the person. Krishna is not a man. Then who is he? What did the Vedas say? 'Eswaraha paramaha Krishnaha Sacchidananda vigrahaha anadiradirgovindaha sarvakarana karanam.' The Vedas depicted his form as the personification of sacchidananda. That form has no ears and nose like us. Infact, it is not a form in the real sense. It is the personification of sacchidananda. He showed us an iota of the beauty of that vast infinite sacchidananda in the form of an idol. That beauty is known as Krishna. Vedic grammar further explained that Krish means sacchdananda and na means attraction. There is some force that attracts you towards sacchidananda kingdom and dham. Nobody knows what that force is. It strongly pulls you towards sacchidananda. That force is Krishna! He possesses complete consciousness - vast and infinite consciousness. He has infinite consciousness, infinite beauty and infinite truth. So do not consider him as an ordinary man. We are visualising God with a form only to help us in our sadhana. We have a human body and we love this body in the form of a wife or a son. "


" So, to start with, let us think of God with a human body and love him. We are not capable of loving the formless; we need some form or other. We love only the form. We have the power to love the formless but it is latent within us. Since you are accustomed to loving the human form, there is nothing wrong in loving God with a human form. He does not mind however you visualise him. If you think of him as a man, he will appear as a man. If you think of him as a buffallo, he will appear as a buffallo. Krishna said in the Gita 'Ye yathamama prapadyanthe tham sthavaiva bhajamyaham'. 'In whichever you will contemplate on me and worship me, I will appear before you in that form. And that bhava.' This is Krishna's assurance to us. He will certainly keep his word. Ocassionally he will test us by appearing in disguise. "


Nanna was glowing with the shine of divine beauty as he was visualising the vast, infinite and formless beauty of God as he spoke to us. He continued his talk about the nameless and formless tattwa.


" Hanuman assured Tulasidas that he would have Rama's darshan. 'I never lie. Rama promised me that he would come near you on Sunday evening. The Lord will not miss his word. Make all arrangements for his arrival. Keep the mattress ready, spread jasmine flowers on it, light incense sticks and keep some perfume ready. I cannot say in what form but he will certainly come that day. That is his promise.' "


" On Sunday evening, a pig which was fully drenched in mud and dirt came to his house and rolled on the mattress. Tulasidas was enraged saying 'I arranged this mattress for my Lord. This dirty pig spoilt it.' He hit the pig with a stick and drove it away. Tulasidas was upset, went near Hanuman and narrated about this incident. 'What do you say? Is Rama a pig?' hanuman replied 'Rama came near me and said that he came to you because I insisted. 'I can come in any form because I have no form at all. One who does not have a form can take any form. It is my will. I went as a pig. Could he not say that any form of mine is acceptable to him and he likes me in any form? You sent me near such a person.' You insulted my Lord. You may leave right now'. Tulasidas wept 'I made a mistake. I did not know how to realise the Lord's presence. I do not have inward vision. I have only external vision. I could see only the pig because I saw with external vision. You have the inward vision. You are great; you could see Rama in the pig. Please forgive me. If you don't give me another chance, I will die. I cannot bear this sorrow.' Hanuman took pity on him and assured him of Rama's presence on Tuesday evening. "


" On Tuesday, Tulasidas was performing his evening prayers on the bank of the river and kept some water to perform the rituals. Two Muslims came on horses, addressed him as a Muslim and asked him for water to quench their thirst. He was upset that they called him a Muslim instead of a Brahmin. Moreover they asked for the water which he used for prayers. He refused to give them that water. They argued for a long time and finally left when he scolded them rudely. "


" When Tulasidas realised that for the second time he did not realise the presence of Rama in the form of the Muslim, he prayed to Hanuman 'I did not recognise the Lord again. I don't have inward vision. Please bless me and enable me to recognise him. You must show God to me. What is the use of scolding me? Without his grace, I can never recognise him.' When Hanuman granted him inward vision, he could see the Lord, not before. "


" So let us not debate whether God exists in this world or not. Why do we need God? Have we reached that stage? It is like a student who failed II Std. asking for detailed about graduate courses. We have no right to question God. We only need his grace. We don't know in which form he will appear. We want God in whatever form he may appear! "

'Eswaraha paramaha Krishnaha Sacchidananda vigrahaha anadiradirgovindaha sarvakarana karanam.'


" He is Govinda! Sankaracharya preached the recital of Krishna's names. 'Say Bhaja Govindam bhaja Govindam. Without that, there is no moksha. Govinda is Krishna.' The Vedas also tell us to recite the names of Govinda because Govinda is Krishna only. Name may be one but what about the qualities? What are the divine qualities that Krishna has? He must atleast one important quality which qualifies a real God. "


" What are the divine qualities? Even Brahma, the creator is not God. When he cannot be God, then how can we human beings ever be Gods? Never. The divine qualities possessed by God will not be present in man, yogis or sadhakas. They must be present exclusively in God only. No matter whether he comes as a pig or a monkey. Don't be deceived by appearances. Let him come in any form he likes. If that form has the power of God, you must prostrate before that form. With a single glance, God has the power to take everyoneto his dham. Suppose we meet in the market, you will invite me to your house. If you buy a car, you will invite me to see it. God's dham is present somewhere. He desires that we visit his dham. He is taking incarnations only to show us his dham. "


" 'Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkrutham dharma sanstapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge'. 'I want to establish dharma'. 'Dharmo vai Vishnuhu.' Vishnu is the personification of dharma. 'I represent dharma. I am present where dharma is present. I follow dharma. I cannot live without dharma. Dharma is my life.' This is one quality which clearly distinguishes God from a human being. "


" Man , Gods, demigods, Brahma and even Shiva became a prey to maya. 'Daivihyesha gunamayi mama maya duratyaya'. Maya is a power related to divinity. It is not easy to overcome it. 'am God. The power of maya is equal to my power. You cannot overcome it.' Even Brahma cannot conquer maya. That is my power. Nobody can overcome my power.' 'Mameva ye prapadyanthe maya yeva taranthithe'. 'Whoever shows devotion unto me and pleads with me to remove maya because he cannot overcome it by himself, I will grant them that state.' Nobody can remove maya by himself. Even Narada failed to face maya. He became helpless befor the power of maya. Brahma and Shiva also failed. Only Krishna did not fail before maya nad thus indicated his divine power. That is the original divine power. His one glance is enough. If he glances at you once, all maya within you will vanish. All the three modes - dhareshana, dhaneshana and putreshana will disappear. You will reach the state where you feel 'I have nobody. I don't need this body. Lord, you came near me. I am blessed. Nothing else matters now.' He will prostrate before him and surrender himself. He will reach such a state that he does not want anything else except God. Unable to bear the separation from God, he will hit his head against the floor. There are tales of many devotees who gave up their life as soon as they attained the darshan of God. "


Nanna stressed on a few important points in this prolonged lecture. He established the true form of God as accepted by Vedas. Due to penance and yogic practice, some people attain certain powers. One who uses these powers for the welfare of the people is a true yogi. But one who uses the powers for his own benefit, calls himself as God and deceives people must not be trusted. Nanna cautioned us against such people. He clearly explained the divine qualities possesses by God. He will uplift the human beings and take them to his dham; he will remove maya from those who surrender to him by a single glance at them. Only he who possesses this divine power is God. Nanna also explained the true meaning of Krishna and his divine tattwa.

If we carefully observe his lectures over the years, we can realise how he handed us that divine tattwa. For about 50-60 years, he tolk about divine tattwa and love in such a way that it touches the heart. Gradually he went into the depth of tattwa. He stated that rasa is Krishna's inner beauty; he worshipped that rasa which personified as Radha. He moulded us into worshippers of rasa. His prime aim is to take us near the holy feet of Sri Radha. To achieve this goal, he made a detailed planning for 60-70 years and handed over rasa all these years. He induced some power into everyone who came near him and converted them into worshippers of Sri Radha. He never publicised this divine service. That is not his nature. During 2001-2003, about 2-3 years prior to shedding his mortal frame, he spoke only about the Sovereign of rasa. Since Krishna is within Radha, the Rasika Siromani said 'Krishna as Krishna is false; Krishna as Radha is true.'


" Many devotees ended their life after having God's darshan. Roopa Goswami is known for his one pointed devotion towards Chaitanya. Among the Goswamis, Raghunatha Goswami is renowned for his sacrifice. He left his house at an early age of 17 years. When he heard that Chaitanya was not alive anymore, he thought 'I attained God's darshan only due to Chaitanya. I am still alive after Chaitanya attained siddhi'. He went to the top of Govardhan hill to jump down and end his life. He was unable to bear the separation from Chaitanya. Then Roopa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami stopped him because he had some duty to perform. It is evident that we cannot live when we are away from something we love. We can cite so many examples. Our most beloved object is God. He is sacchidanandamoorthy. He is so beautiful and so benevolent. His goodness is not matched by anyone in the whole Universe. He is the personification of sat, chit and ananda which has pervaded all the worlds. He is present in everybody's heart. Such love! 'Eswaraha sarva bhootanam hriddese Arjuna tishthathi.' 'I am near you, in your heart'. He is so compassionate. "


" We must maintain a link with that God. How is this possible? God himself gave the answer. It is our duty to know who the great God is and how to establish a link with him. What more do we need? Generally, it is our duty to get the girl married, so we look out for a groom. The Mahatmas accepted God as their own, gave up everything and surrendered to him. If we know about God and his divine beauty, we need not think about this world. We have seen so many Goswamis attempting to end their life. Chaitanya jumped into the sea because the sorrow of separation from God is so unbearable. More valuable is the object; more is the sorrow of separation from it. As the value increases, the sorrow of losing it also increases. Krishna is the highest. There is none equal to him. We cannot bear separation from that magnificent and beautiful one. This is God's nature! "


" What is the present day Guru doing? He is projecting his own ego, his own personality before you. A guru must never project his beuty. He must remain in the background. "


" Chaitanya's disciple wrote a poem praising him as a great devotee who spread God's name all over the world. Roopa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami were standing at the entrance. They noted down the verse immediately before the disciple went inside because they were sure it would never come back to them. They wanted to include this poem in Chaitanya's history. As they expected, he tore the paper as soon as he read the verse saying 'You call me a devotee! If I am really a devotee, would I still be alive? I would not live this long. A true devotee cannot live away from his Lord. It is impossible to live away from God.' "


" The Valmeekam narrates the incident when Sita tells Hanuman that Rama must take her back within two months, otherwise she would fall in Ravana's hands and not be alive. If Rama would not kill Ravana within two months, there is no need to search for her. Rama need not come to Lanka after two months. Nobody can live away from their object of dharma. That is intense divine love. True divine love is such that man cannot even survive. Chaitanya was upset that he was called a devotee and tore the paper. Since he is alive, he did not consider himself as a devotee. Either you are alive or with a feeling of being dead. Raghunatha Goswami survived by drinking only a glass of buttermilk. How many of us can do like that? Mother saw his state and felt that this buttermilk is not enough for his nourishment. Seeing that he became weak, She gave him a glass of kheer in his sleep. Who took care of him and gave him kheer? None other than Mother! Mother and Krishna are not different. They are one and the same. "


" We must note that the goal of man who is engulfed in the world of maya must be directed towards Krishna. That must be the aim in man's life and also the duty of a guru. Taking photographs is not necessary. Why do you need a photo? The guru is projecting his ego. In fact you don't need anybody's photo. You need Krishna's divine qualities. Contemplate only on his divine qualities. The demons also contemplated on name. You can certainly do better. Ravana chanted Shiva's name nine crore times a day. You can never do that. But would you name your child after Ravana? Never! Till today, Ravana is disliked by everybody. Although he chanted name, possesses powers and conquered the three worlds, he lacked humility. He did not contemplate on God and did not feel the sorrow of separation. Then what is the use of chanting name? Chaitanya asked 'how are you able to live away from God?' "


" One lady who lost her son jumped into the well. I saw this incident. When she lost an object created by maya, she jumped into the well. Then how are we able to live without Krishna. We must put him before us, not our ego. You have nothing to do with my photograph. You must establish a direct link with the divine qualities of Krishna and follow them carefully. Within a short span, he will be attracted towards you. The Upanishads state that 'Bhakthi varsha purusha'. He accedes only to devotion. You may chant his name innumerable times, do extensive penance, bathe in holy rivers but all of no avail. He is attained only through devotion. Bhasmasura and Bhanasura made many efforts but lacked devotion, which is most essential. Vedavyasa received Lord's instruction to preach devotion to the world. He wrote many books - ashtadasa puranas but they did not give him happiness. Narada advised him to concentrate only on one book detailing how to surrender to God, how to make God belong to you and how to love Vishnu and Krishna. God will be pleased if this book is given to the world. God is not happy with the other books. Unless God is happy, he would not experience happiness. We must live only for Krishna's happiness. We must live in that bhava only. "


" God possesses unique power. We are not interested in small powers or even in wealth. The Bhagawata says that even Brahma and Shiva were not eligible to reach Sri Radha. We must concentrate only on that highest power. The origin of all powers dispels maya and creates intense yearning (madness) for devotion towards Hari. You must attain madness related to God, not madness related to maya. You must yearn for Krishna and not for maya. You must feel that you exist only for his happiness; you want nothing except him. You are alive only for him. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa attempted to cut off his head weeping 'Mother, how long will I live for you? I expected you on Tuesday and Wednesday but you did not come. How long can I wait for you? I cannot wait any longer. I will cut off my head and end this life without you.' The benevolent came as a small girl, and held his hand and stopped him. 'Why are you taking such a severe step? I am near you. When was I ever away from you?' "


" A little child sleeping in a dark room is not aware that her mother is beside her. She wakes up in the middle of the night and cries for her mother. When the mother puts her hand on the child and says 'why are you weeping. I am near you', the child calms down. The separation from a loved one is unbearable. When detachment towards the world and attachment towards God are compared, the scales tilt towards attachment only. When you are totally detached from this world, you will certainly attain attachment towards God. That is the rule. He who is able to do this is a guru. Look out for such a guru. He must have the attribute of God...Not everyone can do so. Even if you are unable to do it, God will take care. He will certainly take care because he is so benevolent. How will he look after you? Even if you don't make any effort for him, he will come for you. He has so much love towards human beings. He is striving to make them cross the eligibility criteria to obtain divine grace. "


Speaking about so called gurus, Nanna cautioned us about them. He stressed that a guru is one who enhances love towards God; who has divinity and can lead us towads God. He must not put his ego before him. He must hand over God's bliss to mankind. Nanna cautioned us not to run after gurus who lure us with small miracles and advised us to live with affection towards God and attain his blessings and grace. Nanna stressed that only one who possesses the divine attribute can transform man and lead him towards God. Nana, who is the attribute of Sri Radha's divine love, possesses the power to lead human beings on the path of rasa.
 

 

 
 
Satyamu sivamu sundaramu
Sada bhavaroopambani chintana cheyuma
Muraliloluni Mohiniroopamu
Dhyanamu cheyavalen janmameedaran'
----
 
 

Contemplate on the embodiment of bhava who is the truth, the bestower of well being and bliss and so beautiful. Do dhyana on that Mohini form of Sri Krishna throughout your life.

 
 

 

 

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