Swami Nikhilanand Ji discusses how devotion can be incorporated into daily life, even for householders living busy, worldly lives. Citing scriptures like the Bhagavatam and examples like Mirabai, he shows that spiritual advancement is possible even amidst family duties.
He elaborates, “You would have all heard of Mirabai. Mirabai was married. And you might not realize this because she became more famous later in her life. But after being married, she had many duties. She looked after her in-laws. She performed all the duties of the household, just like ordinary people do, but her husband, seeing her devotional heart, built her a little mandir and she used to go there in the evenings and pray after all of her duties were taken care of. She used to go to this little mandir, and she would worship her Gopal Krishna. In other words, she found a way.
She didn't have any less level of commitment than you all have with your children and your spouse and your in-laws and your extended family, but she found a way. It's another matter that later on in life, her in-laws opposed her to such an extent that she had to leave the house and go to Vrindavan and just do devotion to Shri Krishna. But up to a certain point, she fulfilled all of her family duties until those she was living with made it impossible for her. They even tried to kill her, tried to poison her. At that point, she left, but she's a great example of someone incorporating devotion into daily life.”
Swami Nikhilanand Ji then narrates another story. A young boy lived with his mother near a jungle and had to walk alone each day to school. Sometimes, when it grew dark, he felt scared. After one frightening evening, he asked his mother if he had any siblings to protect him. She told him he had an older brother named Gopal who lived in the jungle and would come if he called. Later, lost and afraid again, the boy finally cried out for Gopal; and Krishna appeared, comforting him and promising to walk with him every day. When the boy asked why He hadn't come sooner, Krishna gently said, "You only called me today."
Swami Nikhilanand Ji emphasizes that in loving Krishna, there are no strict boundaries or formalities. Someone asked if, when thinking of Shri Krishna as part of the family, there should be a formal boundary like we maintain with parents (respectful but not overly casual). The answer given was, “No. With Krishna formality is optional. Unlike human relationships, which have strict roles (father, friend, etc.), Krishna can be everything to us at once, father, son, friend, husband, without contradiction.” This complete and unrestricted relationship, called samyak sambandh, is unique to our bond with Krishna. In raganuga bhakti (spontaneous devotion), there are no rigid rules or fears; Krishna's devotees love Him freely in any mood, at any time, in any way.
Swami Nikhilanand Ji contrasts vaidhi bhakti with raganuga bhakti, saying, “Vaidhi bhakti restricts you. How you worship, when you worship, what to wear, what direction you should face.” In contrast, in raganuga bhakti, “We can love Him anyway we want, any time we want, anywhere we want.” Shri Krishna’s friends were examples of ragatmika bhakti; those with “full right over Krishna” as shown in a vivid story where Krishna loses a game and His friend got on His back and said, ‘Giddy up, horsey!’” This type of love forgets Krishna’s Divinity: “In raganuga bhakti, you forget the God part. Shree Krishna gives you permission.”
Swami Nikhilanand Ji urges the audience to adopt this intimate devotion, saying, “Make me forget I'm God. We have that power. To do so, one must remember two truths: our true identity is the soul and our only eternal relationship is to Shri Krishna.” This eternal relationship, or sambandh, is defined by being “complete,” “eternal,” and “swarthrahit” - free of self-interest, unlike worldly relationships which are ultimately self-serving. Our self interest dominates our thinking. Where will I find happiness? He emphasizes that true happiness is only in God, who is Sat Chit Anand - unlimited, everlasting, and ever increasing. In contrast, worldly happiness is limited, fleeting, and ever decreasing. They explain that the world reflects God’s attributes in a distorted way: sat (existence) becomes temporary, chit (knowledge) becomes worry, and anand (bliss) becomes frustration.
While worldly happiness is an illusion, the world itself is not without purpose. “This world is a means to an end,” he explains, stressing that God gave us this human body “so we could do devotion to Him and thereby attain Divine happiness.” Therefore, devotion doesn’t mean rejecting the world. Instead, “we need this body, and this body needs this world.” Swami Nikhilanand Ji cautions that “raganuga bhakti is not an excuse to be irresponsible,” advocating for a balanced life as described in the Gita, “Arjun, this path is for one who leads a balanced life.”
In conclusion, while God is the goal, the world is “necessary as a means to reach our goal.” True devotion integrates responsibility, discipline, and constant remembrance of our Divine relationship, ensuring that “we will find a way to make Shri Krishna a part of our family.”
Memorable Quotes from the Discourse:
"God is Sat Chit Anand."
“Sat means His existence is unlimited.”
“He is Sat and we're Sat, but He's vibhu and we're anu. Anu means tiny. “
"Chit means knowledge, Divine mind."
“He has unlimited knowledge. We have very limited power in our mind.”
“Sat Chit Anand manifests in a distorted way within this mayic world.”
“All the forms manifested by maya are asat because they're temporary. Asat meaning not permanent.”
“So see that the Sat is there in maya, but in a distorted way. Chit is also there. But how does Chit manifest in maya? (It manifests) as worry, tension, stress, chinta.”
“And Anand is also there in maya. But how does it manifest? In that distorted way, limited, temporary, ever decreasing.”
“This world has a reason for its existence, and it has an importance in our life also. This world is a means to an end, and we can't do without it.”
“And what is the world for? God decided to do srishti (creation) out of compassion for the souls, seeing them in that inactive state during mahapralay (grand dissolution), He decided, let Me again activate maya.”
“At least these souls can get a human birth, and they can get a chance to attain Me. That's the whole reason He did srishti.”
“You can't do bhajan without a tan, without a body. You cannot worship God.
And if you need your body to worship God, then you need food, water, shelter, medicine, vitamins, minerals, calories, protein. You need all of these things for your body. That's why God made the world. He made the world for your body. And instead of taking it as a useful thing we need to keep our body healthy, we take it as the source of ultimate happiness.”
“Raganuga bhakti is not an excuse to be irresponsible and careless in the world.”
“That excelling switch in your mind that I have to do my best, that can't be turned on and off at will. So if you turn it off, it means it's off when you need it for devotion as well.”
“We can't be careless on the physical side and expect our mind to be under our control. You've heard Maharaj Ji say that, By following external rules and regulations, you condition your mind. Maharaj Ji says the more you let your mind get away with what it wants to do, the more balwan (strong) it becomes. It becomes stronger and stronger and more difficult to control.”
“So, whether you live in the family of an ashram or you live in the family in your house, we should keep that in mind that as we progress on this path, are we becoming more compassionate and forgiving and patient with those in our life? We should be. That should be one of our goals. That will help us keep things in balance.”
“Maharaj ji says, ‘What does it cost you to speak sweetly?’ Don't cause suffering. Don't cause sadness to anyone. Don't hurt anyone”
“People think that doing devotion to Radha Krishna might be difficult. No. I think controlling one's emotions and and putting in the effort required to maintain harmony in the family, that's where the real effort is.”
“We have to strive every day to make God important in our life.”
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