“Become neutral. Do not look at that person’s fault. Think him to be better than yourself.”

You may say, “How can I think that? I have not committed any great sin, whereas I can see this other person doing such wrong things.”

Well then, it seems that we are unaware of the eternal truth - the facts, the real facts, of life as stated in the Ved. You should know that there’s no sin that you have not committed. Do not judge or calculate your sins looking at only one lifetime. We have lived countless lives, and during these lives we have committed countless sins.

To give you an example, in the battle of the Mahabharat (the ancient Indian epic history), after all the Kauravas (the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra) had been killed; The Kauravas were the sons of King Dhritarashtra (the blind king of Hastinapur). They belonged to the Kuru dynasty, so they were called Kauravas. So after all the Kauravas had been killed, King Dhritarashtra, their father, was devastated. He was heartbroken. He went to Shree Krishna.

He said, “My Lord, what sin have I committed as a result of which I’m being punished in this way? All of my hundred young sons have been killed in the battle. I am still alive. I’m such an old man, and I have been left behind to cry over their deaths!”

Shree Krishna replied, “Do you mean to say that you have not committed any sin in this lifetime?”

Dhritarashtra was very pious. He said, “No, I have not.”

Lord Krishna said, “How about the previous life?”

He said, “I remember fully well that I did not commit any sin then either.”

“How about the life before that?”

“The same,” said Dhritarashtra.

He was so pious, he remembered his previous three births.

Lord Krishna said, “How about the life before that?”

He said, “That one I do not remember.”

Lord Krishna said, “Out of countless lives, you remember only three. What are merely three lives when speaking of countless? It is not even a drop of water in the ocean. You have committed every sin possible in the course of your countless past lives.”

In fact, we all have. And they are called sanchit pāp (accumulated sins). And they are forgiven only at the time of God-realization.

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“What is the purpose of crying, tears?”

You see, our five sense organs - eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin - are always running after their subjects in the world. Eyes desire to see beautiful things. Ears are always anxious to hear sweet sounds. The nose always wants to inhale fragrance. And the mouth, the tongue, is ever desirous of tasting different delicacies. Our five sense organs are always running after their respective subjects in the world. But now we must make these five sense organs develop a keen desire for Shree Krishna (the Supreme Divine Personality). This is our aim in devotional practice.

You see, up until now, our five senses have been restless for the world. They have desired to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell the world. This is how we fell in love with the world, by constantly thinking about it. But now we must make an effort to make Shree Krishna alone the subject of our five senses. We must make them long for the Divine Beloved. This is the science of devotion. We must think in the following way,

“When will the day come when these eyes of mine will behold the supreme beauty of the all-attractive Lord Shree Krishna?”

At present, worldly objects seem so desirable to my eyes, worldly objects which hold no real beauty at all.

“When will my eyes feast upon the beauty of Shree Krishna, who is more beautiful than countless kamdevs (gods of love) put together?”

We can take the combined beauty of the entire world, and still it would not equal even a billionth of the beauty that dwells in Shree Krishna.

“When will my eyes see that beauty?”

“When will I hear His beautiful voice filled with nectar?”

“When will I hear the melodious sound of His flute?”

Constant meditation in this manner is called sadhana (spiritual practice), the practice of devotion. It is called sadhana practice because our sense organs are not suddenly going to desire Shree Krishna. It is natural for them to run to the world because they are under the control of the mind, and the mind is a product of maya (Divine illusion), and so is this material world. So they belong to the same category.

So we will have to make an effort to divert these senses towards Shree Krishna.

“When will I see Him? When will I hear Him? When will I inhale His Divine fragrance? When will I attain His Divine touch?”

So this entails the practice of devotion.

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She wasn’t created or born 5,000 years ago. She has existed forever. In fact, in the Rig Veda (the oldest of the four Vedas), which people—although there are four Vedas (sacred scriptures) and they’re all equally important—but for some reason, modern-day scholars give the most importance to the Rig Veda.

So people sometimes want to ask, “Okay, but did people just come up with this idea of Radha after some time?” So if you’re giving the most importance to the Rig Veda, why don’t you go and check in the Rig Veda?

According to Sanskrit (the classical sacred language of India) grammar, a noun can be declined in seven different ways according to the grammatical context. And Radha’s name is present in all seven forms at many places in the Rig Veda—Rādhah, Rādhasaḥ, Rādhasā, Rādhasam, Rādhase, Rādhasi, Rādhāṁsi.

This is all from the Rig Veda. So Radha’s name is in the Rig Veda. Radha’s name is in the Atharva Veda (one of the four Vedas).

… न यां पुराणानि विदन्ति सम्यक् तां राधिकां देवधात्रीं नमामः ||
… Nna yāṃ purāṇāi vidanti samyak tāṃ rādhikāṃ devadhātrīṃ namāmaḥ ||

- Shree Radhika Tapani Upanishad

“We, the Vedas bow down to Radhika (another name of Radha), who cannot be fully described in the Vedas or Puranas (ancient sacred texts), and who is the source of all godly powers for all the forms of God.”

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You think, “If I were as beautiful as that movie star, then I would be more happy!”

Your satisfaction level and the most beautiful movie star’s - nowadays, I don’t know who it is - some most beautiful movie star. you think,

“If I look like that, then I’d have more satisfaction!”

No. Her satisfaction level and your satisfaction level are exactly the same. And if you don’t believe me for this life, then take all your uncountable past lives where we have been everything.

So you have been that most beautiful movie star in some past life. You’ve been the richest person in the world in some past life. And still you weren’t satisfied. You lived your life like that. You died. You’re reborn. Here you are again, looking for more happiness. You know what the world has to offer. And that’s why we have some level of vairagya (detachment), some level of detachment from this world, which makes us somewhat open to listening to the saints.

The Saints are telling me that there is a state of perfect happiness where you get real satisfaction, and that happiness lasts forever.

“That sounds interesting. I’m willing to listen to more.”

And the Saints tell us that happiness is God. And to get that happiness, you need God’s grace, and to get God’s grace, you have to surrender.

And we say, “Okay, why doesn’t God just grace me right now then? Why do I have to surrender?”

Now we’re right back where we started with this quarrel between the souls and God.

God is saying, “Look, this is My rule. You have to surrender, then you’ll receive My grace.”

And souls say, “Well, I’m Your child. I’m Your stubborn, spoiled child and I don’t accept Your rules! Grace me right now! Give me Divine happiness right now!”

So then Saints tell us one more important aspect to understand - that Divine happiness for which we’re demanding,

“God, give me that happiness! Give me Your grace”

That’s a Divine power and since the happiness it gives is unlimited, the potency of that power is also unlimited.

So God says, “Where should I grace you?”

You say, “Well, can You give it to me in my hands?”

God says, “No. Grace is received in the heart. That’s where happiness is received, and that’s where Divine grace is received.”

So we say, “Okay, give it to me in my heart right now.”

And God says, “Your heart, your mind, is mayic (under the influence of maya, illusion), and it’s impure, and the thing I have to give you is Divine, not just pure in a material way. It’s Divinely pure and it has unlimited potency.”

So would you try to contain a nuclear reaction in a paper bag? No.

That Divine power God has is infinite times greater than any nuclear reaction. And we’re saying,

“Go ahead, grace me! I’m ready!”

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KIRTAN WITH AMBIENT VOCALS

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Prem Ras Madira: Dainya Madhuri 50

Dīnānāth mohiṁ kāhe bisāre?
          Hamarihiṁ bār maun kas dhāre?

O Deenanath Krishna! Why have You forgotten me? And why haven’t You come up till now to see how am I doing?

Nāth! Agati ke gati anāth ham,
          kahu kavan gati mori bichāre.

O Lord, I am a homeless and hopeless orphan and You are the refuge of the helpless. Tell me what have You thought about me?

Gaṇikā, gīdh, Ajāmil, ādik,
          sunat amit patitan tum pyāre.

I have heard that Ganikā, Geedh, Ajāmil and many others have loved You and received Your Grace. (They were also downcast, sinful and fallen souls.) But,

In sam aganit patit rom-prati,
          vārat patit-virad rakhavāre.

(I am so much fallen that) uncountable such fallen souls may not even compare to a tiny part of my sinfulness. O helper of humble souls, Krishna!

Daṃbh koṭi-shat-Kālanemi sam,
          koṭin Rāvan sam mad dhāre.

My vanity is like millions of Kalanemi, and my pride is like millions of Ravan.

Lājahu jāsu lajāti adham as, haiṇ,
         na huye, na tu hvai haiṇ bhāre.

I am such a sinner that even ‘shame’ itself is ashamed to see the depth of my sins!. There is no one in this world that has ever been or will ever be as sinful as me.

Kaune mukh ‘Kripalu’ prabhu san kachhu, 
         kahiya? Nāth! ab hāth tihāre.

What can I say and how can I say to You? (I have ruined myself with my pride, attachments, and transgressions.) O my Lord! Now it is only up to You. (Whether you accept me or not, it is all in Your hands, but I still believe that only You are mine who truly cares for me!)

Additional lines chanted:

Rādhe Rādhe Govind Govind Rādhe Rādhe Rādhe Govind Govind Rādhe.
Names of God.

Rādhe Rādhe bol man Govind Rādhe, jāne kab kāl terā ṭikat kaṭā de.
O my mind, always say “Radhey Radhey”. You never know when Death is going to punch your ticket (send you to the next life).

Hari guru bhaju nit Govind Rādhe, Bhāva niṣkāma ananya banā de
Worship Hari and Guru continuously (from your mind). Maintain the sentiment of selflessness and exclusiveness.

Live recorded kirtan during Ram Navmi Devotional Intensive from Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple of JKP Radha Madhav Dham, Austin, TX.

Song Credits:

Song - दीनानाथ! मोहिं काहे बिसारे? हमरिहिं बार मौन कस धारे? Deenanáth! mohin kahe bisáre? Hamarihiņ bar maun kas dháre?

Singer - Swami Maheshvaranand Ji

Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Lyrics Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

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सोई सुख लवलेस, जिन्ह बारेक सपनेहुँ लहेउ।
ते नहिं गनहिं खगेस, ब्रह्म सुखहि सज्जन सुमति॥

Soi sukh lavles, jinh bārek sapnehuṁ laheu.
Te nahiṁ ganahiṇ khages, brahm sukhahi sajjan sumati.

- Ramayan

There are three words that are very important in this line: Soi ‘sukh lavles’ (सोई सुख लवलेस), lavlesh (an infinitesimal trace), and ‘bārek sapnehuṁ’ (बारेक सपनेहुँ). If we get even the smallest part of happiness, it is called lavalesh.

Lavalesh - what is the meaning of lavalesh? If you have a needle and put it in that way and put lots of water in it, you can pour the entire ocean also on this needle; eventually, the part of the water which stays on the tip of that needle, that is called lavalesh. You can imagine how much that is.

So if somebody attains that lavalesh of happiness, and not many times. ‘Bārek’ (बारेक)means just once and sapnehuṁ (सपनेहुँ) - (even in a dream) - not only in your wakefulness, but even if you attain that happiness even in a dream (sapnehuṁ), then what will happen? We will reject completely even Brahmanand (the bliss of impersonal Brahman).

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“I feel unsettled, I want You to just go back as You were before! I like having You as my friend!”

By him saying that, he’s indicating something else which is beyond the Gita (Divine scripture) which is that you can have a personal relationship with God which is closer than just accepting Him as Almighty God.

You can think of God as formless. That’s fine, but then you can’t really relate yourself to a formless God. How can you have a relationship with something that doesn’t have a form? So, luckily for us, God does have a form.

Normally, when people start thinking of God with a form, they think of Almighty God like a supreme judge who hands out the consequences of our actions, who is responsible for creating, maintaining, and destroying the universe. That supreme Almighty God, all-powerful, all-knowing, is normally how people think of God - in that way. And that’s the form in which Arjun saw Shree Krishna (the supreme Divine Personality). He saw His total Almighty power, and it actually unsettled him.

Why? Well, don’t you feel nervous when you meet even a great person, someone that you respect and look up to? When you meet them, you’re amazed, and you’re in awe, and you feel nervous; you’re a little unsettled. So imagine if you met the supreme Almighty God. That’s how Arjun reacted even having received Divine eyes. So it was okay for a while, but he was trembling and shaking, and it was too much.

So Shree Krishna gives us the option. He says,

“Yes, I am the supreme Almighty God, but you can also relate yourself to Me in a much sweeter, closer way. You don’t have to think of Me as Almighty God.”

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Jai jai Dashrath naṇdan Ram, Jai jai Shree Raghunaṇdan Ram.
Glory to Shree Ram, who is the son of Dashrath, and is the descendant of Raghu.

Jai jai sat chit sukhaghan Ram, Jai jai Madan Vimohan Ram.
Glories to Ram who possesses sat, chit and anand. The one who attracts Kamdev.

Jai jai Jãnaki jeevan Ram, Jai jai nij man mohan Ram.
Glories to Ram who is the very life of Janaki, and whose Divine beauty and charm capture His own heart and mind.

Jai jai ānand ghan tan Ram, Jai jai ag jag jeevan Ram.
Glories to Ram who is the embodiment of bliss, and who is the life-force of the universe.

Jai jai Avadh bihārī Ram, Jai jai muni manhārī Ram.
Glories to Ram, who is the King of Ayodhya, and captivates the heart of all the Saints.

Live recorded kirtan during the evening Satsang from Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple of JKP Radha Madhav Dham, Austin, TX.

Song Credits:

Song - जय जय दशरथ नंदन राम, जय जय श्री रघुनंदन राम I Jai jai Dashrath nandan Ram, Jai jai Shri Raghunandan Ram

Singer - Jas bhaiya

Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Lyrics Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

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Saints never say enough is enough. They never say,

“I don’t need this.”

So Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj is saying, you know, that this situation is not favorable towards the Saints, so they should be sensible and just stay in the Divine abode and keep enjoying their Divine bliss over there, but they have one fault, one doṣh (flaw), that is their nature.

पर उपकार बचन मन काया, संत सहज सुभाय खगराया I
Par upakār bachan man kāyā, saṇt sahaj subhāy khagarāyā.

- Ramayan

The Saints are under the effect of their own gracious nature. They can’t help it. You would have heard of the story of the frog and the scorpion.

The frog said, “Let me give you a ride across the river!.”

The river was in flood. The scorpion wanted to get to the other side.

The frog said, “I can swim. Why not hop on my back?”

And the scorpion said, “It’s my nature to sting.”

And the frog said, “Okay, whatever, let’s try to get across and, you know, that if you sting mewe’re both going to sink, right?”

“Yes, yes, I know.”

“Okay, hop on my back.”

The scorpion gets on his back, and he can’t help himself. Halfway across, he stings the frog, and the frog dies and sinks to the bottom. So the scorpion is like us; we worldly people can’t help our nature. We’re always finding fault and criticizing.

And the Saint is like there’s another story of a Saint on the bank of a river who saw a scorpion drowning and said,

“Okay, let me help that scorpion.”

And he reached his hand in, and just as he was going to pick it up, the scorpion stung him. So he recoiled his hand, but then he tried to pick the scorpion up again, and the scorpion stung him again. The scorpion is drowning, and the Saint is trying to pull him out of the water, but keeps getting stung again and again. And somebody said,

“Oh, Guruji, what are you doing? The scorpion’s just going to keep stinging you! It’s his nature.”

And Guruji (spiritual teacher) said, “But it’s my nature to help. He can’t help his nature. I can’t help my nature.”

So Saints will keep coming in this world because of one fault they have, (which is) their causeless graciousness. They just can’t help it. Shree Krishna (the supreme Divine Personality) can’t help it, and His Saints can’t help it. They have to try to help us. It’s their nature. They just have to try to help other people all the time. They can’t change their nature. And that’s lucky for us.

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So Shreedama (elder brother of Radha in this leela) also liked to tease young Lali (affectionate name for Radha). Like, in fact, in the very next pad kirtan, (devotional song) in this section, Radha comes back and tells mother Kirti (Radha’s mother) after an incident,

“I don’t want Shreedama to be My brother anymore! I’m not making him My brother anymore!”

Like She’s decided, and it’s final,

“He’s not my brother!”

Why? What happened? So She’s telling Maiya (mother),

“You know, I always go and play in those kunj (flower groves) with My friends!”

Young Radha, five- or six-year-old Radha, She would go and play with the other gopis (cowherd girls) of the same age. So on this particular day, Shreedama went ahead. He was alone. He went ahead, and he had a black blanket with him, and he hid in the bushes on the edge of the kunj where they couldn’t see him, and he covered himself completely in that black blanket.

And when Radha and Her friends got there and They started playing, after some time he started making some noises, some scary noises, like there was some monster nearby. So Radha and Her friends started getting worried, and then all of a sudden he started standing up, and he was covered in the black blanket. So while he was making all those scary noises, he started standing up, and then Radha and Her friends just started running as fast as they could, and he was yelling,

“I’m going to eat all of you!”

And he’s running after them. So Lali told her mother,

“Mother, we ran and ran as fast as we could! We were afraid for our lives, and when we couldn’t run anymore, we were about to fall down out of exhaustion, then he threw off the blanket and said,

“It’s only me, your brother!”

“So you see, Mother, this kind of thing happens all the time, and he teases us so much! So I don’t want him to be my brother anymore!”

So in that particular case, Kirti said to her daughter,

“It’s okay, I’ll take care of him. He’ll have to come around sooner or later. He’ll get hungry, he’ll want some roti (flatbread) and butter or something. So when he comes around, then I’ll take care of him.”

So in that case, Lali was pacified. She said,

“Okay, good! Brother’s going to get some punishment!”

But here in this case, the brother is complaining about Lali that she never plays with me,

“She’s always playing with that dark-complexioned son of Yashoda (Krishna’s foster mother), Maiya!”

And then Lali comes back with her own argument,

“So Mother, you see, he’s always teasing me, mocking me, pinching me, showing his teeth to Me, trying to scare Me!”

So this type of back and forth is going on between Lali and her older brother Shreedama. So in the end, Shree Kripaluji Maharaj comes and he explaines to Lali and Shreedama that brother and sister shouldn’t fight. They should get along.

And that’s how this leela ends.

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Jai Jai Hanuman, Jai Jai Hanuman, Jai Jai Hanuman, Jai Jai Hanuman
Pavan suvana Jai Jai Hanuman, Jai Anjani Nandana Jai Hanuman

Jai hanuman, Jai Jai Hanuman.

Siya Ram Siya Ram, Siya Ram Siya Ram, Siya Ram Siya Ram, Siya Ram Siya Ram
Koti kam abhiram Siya Ram Siya Ram, Koti kam abhiram Siya Ram Siya Ram

Siya Ram Siya Ram, Siya Ram Siya Ram...
Jai Jai Jai Hanuman, Jai Jai Jai Hanuman,

Live recorded kirtan during the evening Satsang from Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple of JKP Radha Madhav Dham, Austin, TX.

Song Credits:

Song - जय जय हनुमान Jai Jai Hanuman

Singer - Jas bhaiya

Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Lyrics Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

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So Bhishma is there on his chariot, and he notices,

“Oh Krishna, my beloved Krishna, the one I worship, the beloved of my soul, He’s looking at me, and His eyes are angry! His brow is furrowed! He’s holding this wheel above His head, and now He’s running towards me! And look how His pitambar (yellow garment) is fluttering as He’s running towards me! And oh, look! It looks like He’s going to throw that and kill me!”

And as He’s looking, He’s just so blissful, looking at His beloved Krishna, having this jhanki (Divine vision) of Krishna coming to kill him! So seeing the look on Bhishma’s face, Shree Krishna also stopped in His tracks, and He remembered,

“Oh yeah! I had made a vow that I wasn’t going to raise a weapon in this war!”

So He put down His weapon. Now Bhishma had also made a vow on that day that today ‘I’m going to show that bhakti (devotion) is more powerful than God, because God has vowed not to pick up a weapon, and I’m vowing I’m going to make Him pick up a weapon today, and the devotee won’.

It shows that the devotion of the devotee is more powerful than God Himself. So Bhishma made Krishna pick up that weapon, and he also got to have the jhanki (Divine vision) of Krishna with that angry face running towards him.

A few days later, once Arjun (the warrior disciple of Krishna) had shot Bhishma Pitamah with the arrows and he was lying on that bed of arrows. In fact, for months he remained in that state; he was doing roopdhyan (meditation on the Divine form) the whole time, thinking of Krishna.

So was he thinking of ‘tribhangi’ Lal (Krishna in the three-fold bending posture) Krishna holding the flute and smiling at him? No. He was thinking of ‘paiya dhari’ Shree Krishna (Krishna holding a wheel as a weapon), Krishna holding that wheel of the chariot with that angry look, bloodshot eyes, clenched teeth, furrowed brow, red face, running towards him to kill him.

He just did roopdhyan of that and thought of Krishna all the time.

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“Oh, this is so good! Kanha (affectionate name for Krishna), have some!”

Giving your jūṭhā (half-eaten food) to Bhagwan! You may do it to each other, right? In a very intimate setting, just the family. So we do that kind of thing. But Bhagwan? No, no! There are big rules in Vedas (eternal Divine scriptures)!

You have to do proper yagya (ritual sacrifice) and proper puja (worship) and offer with mantra, and you can’t have tasted it. It has to be according to all these rules and regulations. And Brahma (the creator deity) is witnessing that gwalbals are feeding Krishna their own jūṭhā (leftover food).

And Krishna, even if they’re not giving it, He’s grabbing it out of their mouths!

“That one looks good! Give me that rasgulla (Indian sweet)!”

And He eats a half-eaten rasgulla out of His friend’s mouth. Brahma thought,

“What is happening here? Maybe He’s not Bhagwan!”

See, this is our mind. Our mind is very dangerous. The second it feels even an iota of doubt, our mind says,

“No, no, no, there’s no such thing as God!”

It is so ready to make big mistakes like that. This is why we can’t allow our mind to intellectualize Shree Krishna’s leelas. We have to take them with love and faith.

So look at Brahma’s situation. He just started doubting, “Oh, is Krishna really God?”

Why? Just because He was eating informally with the sakhas (cowherd friends)? Yes! Brahma didn’t know that because of the love of the sakhas, Shree Krishna forgets He is God. And that’s a higher status than being God. He is still God, but now He is in a higher status where He is drowned in the sakhya ras (the devotional mood of friendship) of His Divine friends, the gwalbals.

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Dwār ik yogī ‘Alakh’ pukār.
A Gopi of Braj tells Mother Yashoda.... “A yogi has been calling out to that unseen Ultimate Entity at your door, “Alakh! Alakh!”

Chandra-bhāl gal muṇḍ-māl bhal, shīsh Gaṅg-jaladhār.
A beautiful crescent is decorating His forehead, and He has a garland of skulls around His neck.There is a stream of the holy Ganga flowing out from the top-knot on His head.

Ripu anaṅg prati ang bhujangan, rang shubhra balihār.
He appears to be an enemy of Kamadev and His limbs are ornamented with entwined snakes!

Nāṁv Shambhu aru ṭhāṁv batāvat, giri Kailāsh majhār.
He has a beautiful fair complexion. He says that His name is Shambhu and that He resides on Mount Kailash.

Ghar te nikari maharī Yashumati tehi, pūchhati kari satakār.
Mother Yashoda came out of the house to greet the yogi with respect.

“Sunahu amaṇgal bhesh! bhaye mam, mangalamay sukumār.
O you who are so inauspiciously attired! A tender Child with all auspicious signs has been born to me.

Yā te jo chāhahu so māṅgahu, maṇin motiyan-thār.”
Therefore ask for anything you wish. I will give you platters of pearls and precious jewels if you so desire!

Jogī kah “Maiyā maiṇ jogī, mohiṁ na chahiya sansār.
The yogi replied, “I am an ascetic and have no desire for worldly things.

Ihai bhīkh de māy kripā kari, lakhāṁ Lāl ik bār”.
If you wish to give Me alms, mother, grant Me a glimpse of your Son just once.

Maiyā kah “Mam Lāl ḍarego, jogī tohiṁ nihār.”
Yashoda replied, “My little Darling will be scared seeing your formidable appearance.”

“Sunu Maiyā yah Lāl tihāro, saguṇ Brahm sākār.”
The yogi replied, “Listen Mother! This Child of yours is the Supreme Lord with a Divine form and attributes.”

Tum to jogī! “Alakh Alakh,” kah, puni kimi lakh karatār’.
Mother Yashoda said, “Even if what you say is true, you chant “Alakh! Alakh!” (The unperceivable Supreme Truth) so why would you want to see Him?”

“Maiyā! Alakh na kahyoṁ kahyoṁ hauṁ, ā lakh Nandkumār.”
The yogi cleverly replied, “I was not saying “Alakh,” I was saying ‘a-lakh Nandakumara’ (Come see the Son of Nand!).”

Lyāī Lāl Yashomati bhorī, Hari Har dṛig bhaye chār.
Hearing this, the innocent and compassionate Yashoda brought her Darling Child and the eyes of Shyamasundara and Lord Shankara met, reawakening the eternal love they have for each other.

Lakhi ‘Kripalu’ yehi madhur-milan kahaṁ, koṭi prāṇ dauṁ vār.
Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj says, “I sacrifice countless lives on this sweet blissful reunion of two eternal acquaintances!”

Live recorded kirtan during evening satsang in February 2026 from Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple of JKP Radha Madhav Dham, Austin, TX.

Song Credits:

Song - द्वार इक योगी ‘अलख’ पुकार। Dvāra ika, yogī ‘alakha’, pukāra

Singer - Chirag Bhaiya

Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Lyrics Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

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जिह्वैकतोऽमुमपकर्षति कर्हि तर्षा शिश्न‍ोऽन्यतस्त्वगुदरं श्रवणं कुतश्चित् ।
घ्राणोऽन्यतश्चपलद‍ृक् क्व‍ च कर्मशक्तिर्बह्व्य: सपत्न्‍य इव गेहपतिं लुनन्ति ॥

Jihvaikato ’mum apakarṣati karhi tarṣhā
śhiśhno ’nyatas tvag udaraṁ śhravaṇaṁ kutahśhchit.
Ghrāṇo ’nyataśh chapala-dṛik kva cha karma-śhaktir
bahvyaḥ sapatnya iva geha-patiṁ lunanti.

- Bhagwat Mahapuran 11.9.27

In Udhao Gītā (Krishna’s teachings to Uddhav), Bhagwān Krishna (the Supreme Divine Personality) says to Udhao, (in which) He compares the five senses to the five wives of a man. Let’s suppose a man has five wives. Just as each wife tries her level best to attract and possess the husband to herself, in the same way, each sense, each desire, tries to capture the heart to itself, thereby leading to that person’s complete ruin and degradation. This is why all the scriptures and all the Saints have pronounced desire to be the most dangerous disease of the mind.

Little Prahlād (devotee of Lord Vishnu), he says to Naṛsiṇh Bhagwān,

विमुञ्चति यदा कामान्मानवो मनसि स्थितान् ।
तर्ह्येव पुण्डरीकाक्ष भगवत्त्वाय कल्पते ॥

Vimuṇhchati yadā kāmān mānavo manasi sthitān.
Tarhyeva puṇḍarīkākṣh bhagavattvāya kalpate.

- Bhagwat Mahapuran 7.10.9

He says, “Hey Bhagwān (God), forget about becoming a Saint. If a person can give up all desires, he becomes Bhagwān.”

But why has desire been described to be the most dangerous disease of the mind, the root cause of all our pain and sufferings? What about greed and anger?

…कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ।

…kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate.

- Chapter 2, Verse 62, Gita.

“The mother, the root cause, the origin of both greed as well as anger, is desire.”

A desire can either be fulfilled or remain unfulfilled. You desire something - to eat ice cream, pizza, to meet a girl, meet a boy. (There’s) some desire. Either you fulfill it or it remains unfulfilled. When the desire is fulfilled, it leads to greed, lobh (insatiable craving), which is ever-increasing and insatiable.

न जातु काम: कामानामुपभोगेन शाम्यति ।
हविषा कृष्णवर्त्मेव भूय एवाभिवर्धते ॥

Na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām upabhogena śhāmyati.
Havihṣhā kṛiṣhṇa-vartmev bhūya evābhivardhate.

- Bhagwat Mahapuran 9.19.14

(Pouring ghee into fire does not diminish the fire, increasing it instead, the endeavor to stop desires can never be successful.)

The Bhāgwat (eternal Divine scripture) says,

“Trying to satisfy a desire…”

You know, sometimes you want something very badly, or you like something,

“I like to eat pizza, it’s not good for me, but I’ll eat a lot, 12 pizzas at one time. Then I won’t want pizza anymore!”

No! Trying to satisfy a desire is like pouring ghee (clarified butter) into fire!

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This Yogmaya is referred to Radharani (the Divine consort of Krishna). Whom else would Krishna worship and devote Himself to? The Supreme Brahma worships Radha.

आराधित इति राधा…
Anayaradhitah iti radha…

Even Vedas (eternal Divine scriptures) declare. So for sure, here Yogmaya, upasana of Yog Maya here, in 10th to 29th chapter, first verse, is referred to Radharani.

So in this manner, in various ways, Radharani’s glorification is done by Shukdev Paramhansa (Saint absorbed in the). But not openly could he ever say “Radhe” like we all chant. He had so much love.

We sing “Radhe Govind, Radhe Govind” as if some bitter poison is being forced into your mouths. Yeah, (it seems like) some bitter, kaḍuva, poison. What is sweet?

“You know, my daughter, my son, my mother, my parents, my job, or my body.”

These are very sweet when we talk about them. We are one with them.

“Radhe Radhe, Radhe Govind!”

We say ‘Radhe Govind’ from here (from the tongue), not even from here (the stomach), not even from here (the heart), and not even from here (the throat) - (we) only (say) from here (the tongue). And the mind? It is in the mother, and the father, and the brother, and the sister, the wife and the husband - all spouses, siblings, friends, society. This is what is going on in the mind.

Very rare ‌few seated here may be chanting “Radhe Radhe,” trying very hard to bring the form of Radha (into their mind). That too is so difficult for us devotees who have been spending our entire life in the chanting of Radhe nām (the Divine name of Radha), for us even to do roopdhyan (meditation on the Divine form) without even saying, “Radha”. Check yourselves; if I’m wrong, (then) excuse me.

But if I am telling correctly and saying the right thing honestly, it is so difficult to bring the Divine form to our minds, even when we are chanting. Forget about when we are not chanting. When we are not chanting, then other thoughts are there,

“He said this, she did that, this is to be done, that is to be done!”

Where is the thought of Radha all the time?

But Shukdev Paramhans is one who is drowned and immersed in the love of Kishori Ji (young Radha), of Radha Rani’s love, Radha Rani’s adoration, Radha Rani’s prem (Divine love), Radha Rani’s kripa (Divine) grace unto him (so much so) that he can’t even take the name because he is so filled with emotion that he would fall into ecstasy.

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KIRTAN WITH AMBIENT VOCALS

This mix can be downloaded by clicking on down arrow icon.

Prīti kī ati aṭapaṭ gati hāy.
The ways of love are crooked and mysterious!

‘Gopanīya ati’ kahat rasik jan, sochat uchit lakhāy.
The rasik Saints say that it remains hidden in the depth of a devotee’s heart and this appears correct.

Pai jab prem siṇdhu baṛhi umaṛat, man budhi det ḍubāy.
But when a tidal wave arises in the ocean of love in his heart, it drowns even the mind and intellect.

Uṭhati taraṇg aṇg aṇgani nav, kaun thāh tehi pāy.
Newer and newer waves arise which manifest on various parts of the devotee’s body as trembling, perspiration, change in complexion and so on. Who can gauge the depths of such love?

Jahaṁ man gaman na budhi bal saṁbal, tahaṁ ko kehi samujhāy.

Divine love is something where the mind has no access, nor is the intellect capable of fathoming it.

Yah ‘Kripalu’ gopan tab hī lauṁ, jab lauṇ kari sak jāy.
Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj says, “Divine love remains dormant and hidden up to a point, but then erupts out of control and manifests in the form of the eight symptoms of ecstatic love known as sāttvik bhāvs”.

Live recorded kirtan during the evening satsang in April 2026 from Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple of JKP Radha Madhav Dham, Austin, TX.

Song Credits:

Song - प्रीति की अति अटपट गति हाय । Prīti kī ati aṭapaṭa gati hāya

Singer - Vrinda Didi

Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Lyrics Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

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So in that case, meditation is going against the flow of the mind. When we try to stop the mind—“Let me think of nothing, let me just have a clear mind, a peaceful mind”—that’s against the flow of the mind, because the natural flow of the mind is, wherever we’re attached, the mind wants to keep thinking of those things. That’s one reason why meditation is so difficult.

But the meditation of the Gita (sacred scripture) is not to think of nothing, and the meditation taught by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj is not to think of nothing, or to simply calm the mind, or to think of a light, or any number of things that have become popular nowadays.

No, the meditation of Gita is मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धि mayy arpita-mano-buddhir (from Gita 8.7)—Shree Krishna says, “Arjun (the warrior disciple of Krishna), put your mind in Me”. Not just in any random thing you’re trying to meditate on. Meditate on Me.

So this is the first thing. This is the first deficiency in our meditation—is that we try to meditate on other things other than God.

Meditating on God is the easiest. Why? Because the mind wants happiness.

It’s our nature, it’s everybody’s nature, and it is in fact the reason we get attached to people and things of this world. We’re looking for happiness.

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Dear devotees

There is a question that a lot of people ask,

“When I try to meditate, why is my mind so difficult to control?”

And this same question was asked by Arjun (the warrior disciple of Krishna) in the Gita to Shree Krishna (the Supreme Divine personality).

चञ्चलं हि मन: कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम् |
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ||

Hañchalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛiṣhṇa pramāthi balavad dṛiḍham.
Tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva su-duṣhkaram.

- Gita 6.34

(The mind is restless, turbulent, strong, and difficult to control like the wind,)

Arjun says, “O Krishna, You keep telling me to put my mind in You, meditate on You. But this mind is chanchal (fickle, restless). It is so active. It would be easier to control the wind than to control one’s mind, and it is strong. You try to stop it, it won’t stop. So what to do?”

Shree Krishna said,

असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् |
Asanshayam mahābāho mano durnigrahaṁ chalam.

- Gita 6.35

“Yes, Arjun, without a doubt, the mind is very difficult to control.”

However,

अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ||
Abhyāsen tu Kaunteya vairāgyeṇa cha gṛihyate.

- Gita 6.35

“With practice, you can overcome the fickleness of the mind. You can learn to control your mind.”

So first of all, let us briefly understand why the mind is so fickle. There is a science behind it, and it is very straightforward.

यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् ।
Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajatyante kalevaram.

- Gita 8.6

य: प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशय: ||
Yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti nāstyatra sanśhayaḥ.

- Gita 8.5

This is also from Gita. Shree Krishna is telling a principle that whatever you think about a lot, your mind gets attached to that thing, and it starts naturally thinking about it.

All on its own; that is where the mind gravitates. In this context, He is referring to the moment of death: that whatever you are attached to, that is what you will remember at the time you are leaving your body, and accordingly that is what you will attain. That is why we always attain the world, because we are always attached to the world. We have never been attached to Shree Krishna.

The same principle can be applied here to meditation. Our mind is drawn away from Shree Krishna and towards the people and things of this world. Why? Because that is where we are attached. It is like a gravitational pull.

The greater the attachment, the stronger the pull. And since our attachment in Shree Krishna is currently weak, therefore when we try to meditate, instead of thinking of Him, our mind goes naturally to the world. The people of the world pop into our mind. The things of the world pop into our mind - our desires, our fears; all these things start rattling around inside our mind. It is quite natural. Wherever we are attached, that is what the mind is going to naturally think about. In that case, meditation is going against the flow of the mind. When we try to stop the mind...

“Let me think of nothing. Let me just have a clear mind, a peaceful mind.”

That is against the flow of the mind. Because the natural flow of the mind is, wherever we are attached, the mind wants to keep thinking of those things. That is one reason why meditation is so difficult.

But the meditation of the Gita is not to think of nothing. And the meditation taught by Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj is not to think of nothing, or to simply calm the mind, or to think of a light, or any number of things that have become popular nowadays. No, the meditation of Gita is,

मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धि…
Mayyarpita-mano-buddhi…

Shree Krishna says, “Arjun, put your mind in Me, not just in any random thing you are trying to meditate on; meditate on Me.”

So this is the first thing. The first deficiency in our meditation is that we try to meditate on other things other than God. Meditating on God is the easiest. Why? Because the mind wants happiness. It is our nature. It is everybody’s nature. And it is, in fact, the reason we get attached to people and things of this world. We are looking for happiness. And wherever we believe our desire for happiness could be fulfilled, we start repeatedly thinking,

“Oh, I saw a person! Oh, they are very beautiful, very sweet! If they become my friend, I’ll be so happy!”

They are not even your friend yet. You haven’t gotten any happiness from them, but you keep thinking,

“If they become my friend, I’ll be so happy! I’ll get so much happiness!”

All of a sudden, now the mind is thinking about that person. Nowadays people call it an infatuation; we get infatuated with somebody. It is natural. Our mind made a decision,

“There is happiness in this person!”

So then we start thinking about them. If we hadn’t made that decision, we wouldn’t have started thinking about them, but because we started that process, now we get attached to them. Then if you were to sit down and try to meditate, the mind is going to go right to that person. This is how the mind works. So it is very natural that when we try to meditate, the mind continues on with its normal activities. And it is going to race off towards the objects and the people of our attachments.

However, if we take the same principle of the mind to get attached, and to seek happiness, and we just divert that towards Shree Krishna. It’s a fact that Krishna is the very form of Divine bliss. He is sat-chit-anand (eternal existence, consciousness, and bliss). So if we were to dwell upon that, just like we saw a person. We don’t even know anything about them, we met them today. You remember, maybe it doesn’t happen to you nowadays. You are married, or you are beyond those days, but when you were in high school, you would see someone and automatically think,

“If this person loves me, I’ll be so happy!”

And in one day, you become infatuated with that person. You don’t know them, you haven’t talked to them, but you are thinking about them constantly. So why not do the same thing for Shree Krishna?

All the Saints and scriptures are telling us,

“He is your true Divine friend, He is your true Divine beloved, He is the perfect friend, perfect companion, and He can give you perfect love, unlike anyone in this world.”

That is an unfair expectation from anyone in this world, but it is a realistic expectation from God. Shree Krishna has perfect Divine love, and He can give it to us. So if we really believe that, if we really thought of that,

“Oh! Krishna is mine! In every life I change all my relations. When I leave this body, all the relations are cut, and I form new relations every life. But my relationship with Krishna is eternal, and He lives right in here (in our heart). There is no separation between Him and me! He resides inside my soul!”

If we dwell upon all of these points, all of a sudden the mind will get attracted to Shree Krishna.

“He is mine! He has perfect happiness and perfect love!”

If we really deeply reflect upon these points, our mind will start to get attached to Him. This is the secret of meditation. If you understand this philosophy of our relationship with Shree Krishna, and we start attaching our mind to Him, to the extent our mind is attached to Him, to that extent our meditation will become easy. There is a point we cross where we become more than 50% attached to Him. It’s a changing balance. If we are 10% attached to Shree Krishna, it means we are 90% attached to the world. Then meditation is going to be difficult. You try to meditate on Shree Krishna, and the world pops in your head, because that is where you are attached.

But if you cross that 50% threshold, then you get to 51% in Shree Krishna and only 49% in the world. That pull, that gravitational pull, of your attachments on your mind will be more towards Shree Krishna. So when you try to meditate on Him, all of a sudden it feels easy.

“The world isn’t intruding on my meditation,” because you crossed that threshold, and it gets easier and easier all the way up to God-realization. But the key is we have to meditate on Shree Krishna’s form. Not just meditate on any worldly thing or any number of things that people teach to meditate on nowadays. We have to do roopdhyan .Roopdhyan means picturing the form of Shree Krishna. This is why we have the murti (sacred deity form) in the mandir (temple). To give us an idea, like a jumpstart - this is how you can picture Radha Krishna. Now close your eyes and do it. That’s what the murti is for. Radha (Divine soul Beloved of Krishna) and Krishna are omnipresent. So they are present in the murti, they are also present in your mind.

So when you create their image in your mind, They’re also present in that. So with that kind of feeling that real Radha Krishna right in front of me (then) now you have something beautiful to focus your mind on. That’s another key to meditation. When we try to focus on something vague or abstract, there’s no beauty in that. It doesn’t attract the mind. When we try to focus on something impersonal, like an object, there’s not much attraction to the mind. But when you focus on the beautiful form and personality of Radha Krishna in front of you, They’re alive in front of you. That has a beautiful attraction to the mind. This is an important factor in making meditation easy.

So first of all, we have to do roopdhyan of Radha Krishna. We can also think of Their leelas (Divine pastimes). And we have to bring into this our relationship with Them that we’re eternally related to Them only, not to anyone else. So if you really feel that They are mine only, then you’ll keep thinking about Them, and They are the source of happiness and love. When we feel that my happiness will be fulfilled by Them, then we’ll keep thinking about Them, we’ll get more and more attached to Them, and meditation will become easier and easier.

This type of meditation on Radha Krishna, that we call roopdhyan, has the added benefit of purifying the mind, not just relaxing the mind, but purifying it. No other meditation purifies the mind. Because only if you think of God will the mind be purified. It’s straightforward. God is Divine and Divinely pure. So if you bring God into your mind, your mind will be purified. If you only meditate on worldly things, then the mind can never be purified. When the mind is purifying, then all the good qualities begin to arise, and the negative qualities are suppressed.

So these are some of the benefits of practicing roopdhyan, which is the form of meditation taught here at Radha Madhav Dham, and, of course, by Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj.

We’ll spend a few minutes doing this roopdhyan now.

The other key to meditation is to do it with kirtan (devotional chanting). If we do it in silence, it’s again making it easier to get bored. We do the kirtan because by chanting God’s names, again, it’s bringing our focus back to Radha Krishna. And the act of the chanting keeps the mind more focused. If we’re sitting without chanting, our mind is more likely to wander. But if we’re chanting the names “Radhe Govind,” then the mind is more likely to stay focused.

So let us spend a few minutes doing some kirtan and roopdhyan.

Bolo Vrindavan Bihari Lal ki Jai!

Glory to the beloved Lord of Vrindavan!

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इदं ते नातपस्काय नाभक्ताय कदाचन |
न चाशुश्रूषवे वाच्यं न च मां योऽभ्यसूयति ||

Idaṁ te nātapaskāya nābhaktāya kadāchan,
Na chāśhuśhrūṣhave vāchyaṁ na cha māṁ yo ‘bhyasūyati.

- Gita 18.67

“You need to live a life of sacrifice to enjoy My ras (Divine nectar of love).”

So in this manner, Putana (the demoness who tried to poison Krishna), now comes back to her original form.

“Here, this is who I am! Nobody is here to protect and save me. And You, little one, I know You are not that little one. You are the same (God). Now, now please, please, now give me Your love, give me Your bliss!”

She is so thrilled and immersed in the love while Shree Krishna is drinking the milk that Krishna says,

“Okay, I better liberate her now and free her from this form and this life!”

So Shree Krishna, He takes the life of Putana and places Putana in Golok, in His Divine abode, where the place was reserved for Maiya Yashoda (Krishna’s foster mother). Maiya Yashoda gave all the nectarine milk, all the love, and here place is given to the lady, a demon, who gave poisonous milk.

Yes, this is how merciful Krishna is! Shukhdev Paramahans (a realized Saint absorbed in Divine bliss), immediately wakes up from his samadhi (deep absorption); his samadhi breaks.

“Huh! Oh, then there is a chance! Oh, (there’s) a chance for me also! No matter how fallen, ugly, whatever I am, the Lord will accept me!”

He is ocean of mercy! When He could grace Putana and give the position of Maiya Yashoda in Golok, rather than sentencing her to narak,to hell. Putana who came to feed Him with poisonous milk!

“Then He will accept me! I am not making Him drink poison or something.”

“Where did you hear this?” He cried out to those disciples. “Where did you hear all this? Come on, take me there.”

The disciple says, “Yes, come, follow, follow, follow.” They took Shukhdev Paramahans to Maharishi Ved Vyas’s (the sage who compiled the Vedas) ashram (hermitage), and that’s where Shukhdev Paramahans gets immersed while drinking the Bhagawat Mahapuran (scripture narrating Krishna’s Divine pastimes).

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