How to Meditate on Shree Krishna Part 2 of 7
Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj
When you have all the bhāo (devotional moods) at your disposal, if mādhurya bhāo (conjugal mood) doesn’t suit your mood, then imagine Krishna as your Son. If you get bored, imagine He is your Friend and make Him into a horse. You are free to love Him with all the bhāo, but a dāsya bhāo (servitude mood) devotee can’t think of Him as a Friend. What to say then of loving Him as a Son or Beloved? This would be a transgression.
Tulsidas (the poet-Saint) went to Vrindaban (the holy land of Krishna), to the Radha Raman Temple (devotional temple in Vrindavan), and saw Radha Krishna standing and embracing each other. He wasn’t seeing a stone Deity; he saw Their actual forms. We see the stone Deity. What is the miracle in that? Tulsidas had Their Divine vision.
As soon as he saw Their Divine form, he lowered his eyes because Tulsidas regarded God as his Mother, Father, and Master. If a servant’s masters are expressing love for each other, a servant does not have the right to see this. He is not permitted, but he did see that pose.
He went to see the temple, and in place of the stone Deity he saw Radha Krishna standing there. Krishna is very naughty; He played a humorous leela (Divine pastime). So Tulsidas closed his eyes and said,
“O Lord! Please take up a bow and arrow in Your hands (as Ram). If not, then the world will say Tulsidas violated devotional discipline. I don’t care for myself, but this would blemish the path of devotion.” So Krishn had to take up a bow and arrow.
A devotee of dāsya bhāo has to observe great disciplines. We could say that it is nearly impossible to follow dāsya bhāo. Imagine there is a Guru. He has a dāsya bhāo disciple. If that Guru were to walk inside this building, wherever the Guru places his feet, the disciple shouldn’t walk. It would be a transgression.
When Ram went into exile and Bharat (brother of Shree Ram) went to meet Him, people said to Bharat,
“Please sit on the chariot. How far will you walk? You will get tired. You are a delicate prince.”
Bharat said, “The dharm (duty) of a servant is that wherever the master places his feet, that is where the servant should place his head.”
But it’s not possible to walk on one’s head. There are many disciplines in dāsya bhāo. There are fewer in sakhya bhāo (friendship mood), even fewer in vatsalya bhāo (parental mood), and in mādhurya bhāo disciplines come to an end.
Once in Dwarika (Krishna’s kingdom), Krishna playfully said, “My body is paining.” He started crying aloud and writhing in distress. He is, after all, the foremost actor.
All of His 16,108 queens gathered and wondered, “What happened to our Beloved?”
In the meantime, Narad (Divine sage) arrived. Narad said, “It is very serious.” He asked Rukmini (chief queen of Krishna), “Mother, what is the matter?”
She said, “He is experiencing tremendous pain.”
Narad asked, “How did this happen?”
She said, “I don’t know. It happened suddenly!”
Narad went to Krishna. Narad had been fooled many times in the past by Krishna. This time he went cautiously and said with a smile, “O Krishn, since You created this illness, You should also be able to tell the remedy for it. A doctor can give a remedy for every physical illness, but only You Yourself could prescribe a remedy for Your self-created illness. O my Lord, please tell me the treatment.”
Krishna said, “Narad, are you joking? I feel I am dying.”
Narad said, “I am asking You in all seriousness. What is the remedy for this illness?”
He said, “If some devotee gives his footdust (dust of one’s feet), and if that is mixed with water and I drink it, then I will become absolutely well.”
Narad said, “Devotee? I am a devotee, but I’m not getting involved in this leela.” He thought, “I could give my footdust, but I don’t know what He is up to. I’ll just stay out of this.”
But all of His 16,108 wives are great Saints. Narad said, “O Rukmini! O Satyabhama! Please give your footdust so your Husband will get well.”
They said, “Narad, is there something wrong with you? Would any wife give her footdust to her husband? She will get a bad name and will also attain a hellish abode. Are you in your right mind?”
Narad said, “I am definitely in my right mind, but now what should I do? Your husband is prescribing this medicine.”
Krishna said to Narad, “Come here! You won’t find it here. Go to Braj (the land of Krishna’s childhood). You will find it there. Bring the footdust from there and then my aim will be achieved. Why are you asking here?”
Narad went to Braj and requested the Gopis (the cowherd maidens of Vrindavan), “Krishna’s condition is very serious. The remedy is His devotee’s footdust.”
All the Gopis extended their feet. Narad was stunned! The Gopis said,
“Narad! Don’t delay! Our soul-Beloved Krishna is suffering. Quickly! Use your yogic powers and take this to Him!”
Narad said, “This is all fine, but aren’t you afraid of attaining a hellish abode? Aren’t you afraid what people will say about you in the future? Your reputation will be ruined.”
The Gopis said, “O Narad! This is not the time to lecture. First take the footdust to Krishna and then come back and give us a lecture. If someone were seriously ill, you wouldn’t stop to talk to a friend in the street. You would run directly to give the medicine.”
So Narad took their footdust, but first he applied some to himself and thought, “Because I’m afraid of going to hell or being socially disgraced, I’m not ready to give my own footdust. Shame on me! And look at these Saints.”
The Gopis said, “We may attain a hellish abode, but we have attained that before in uncountable births since eternity. We are ready to go there again, but our Beloved Krishna should get well.”
If someone were to go to hell for the first time, he might wonder what hell is like. But every soul has experienced both the hellish abodes and the celestial abodes uncountable times. Thus all devotional disciplines end in mādhurya bhāo.
So from the time of sādhana bhakti (devotional practice), you should make mādhurya bhāo your aim and do devotion with whatever bhāo you prefer, whenever you like. There is no restriction of any kind.
Source: Excerpt from the lecture published on Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Philanthropy YouTube channel.