Why Often No Benefit Even When Near Great Souls? / Liberation of Aghasura / Brahma Ji's Delusion 12/10/2026

pujya shri hit Premanand Govind sharan ji maharaj ka satsang — pura sunne ke liye upar video dekhen.

Full Discourse

vrindavnesheshwari tav padarvindm prema makrand raso purnam hadpitam madhupte smarta mugam nirvapay param shital mashyam param shital masya param param sacchidanand ghan Premanand swaroop nav nivat nikunj mahmmahim param pavan shri Vrindavan dham shri Vrindavan dham ke ladlele pranaaradhy pranapriy shri yugal sarkar shyama Shyam samasth sahachari vrind khag mrig pashu panchhi tarulta shri yamuna ras rani rajrani samasth brajvasi parkar charnon mein koti sa pranam koti sa naman namaskaar shri swamini ji ki kripa se bhajan karne ka avsar milta hai.

O Queen of Vrindavan, Your lotus feet are full of the nectar of love. O Madhupati, remembering You, grant supremely cool peace to the heart that has fallen at Your feet. O supreme embodiment of Sachchidananda, of love and bliss, ever-new Nikunj, most glorious and supremely pure abode of Shri Vrindavan Dham. To the beloved darlings of Shri Vrindavan Dham, life-worshipped and life-dear Shri Yugal Sarkar, Shyama-Shyam, all the sakhi-vrinds, birds, deer, animals, creatures and creepers, Shri Yamuna, Ras Rani, Raj Rani, and all the Brajwasis: at your feet, a crore salutations, a crore namaskars. By the grace of Shri Swamini Ji, we get the opportunity to do bhajan.

kai janmon ke sukrit bhi sahyog karte hain is marg mein age badhne ka. Aur kai janmon ke dushprarab badha phuanchte hain. Par badha usi ko parast kar sakti hai jo guru vachno mein avhelnatmak bhav rakhta hai. Agar guru vachan rupi lakshman rekha ke antargat rahe to maya kabhi parast nahi kar sakti. Guru charnon mein amani hokar anannya hokar unke vachno ka palan maya naam ki chij hi nahi kya maya hai hamen batao yah maya hai mike aapka sahyog kar raha hai bhakti mein yah kaagaz ismen likha hua brahm akshar ye sab maya mein ye sharir baitha maya mein ye vani nikal rahi hai maya mein ye aapko maya se mukt kar rahe bhagwat virodhi aacharan to aapki vasna hi maya hai aur bhagwat anukul aacharan to upasna hi prem aur bhagwan ka sakshatkar hai.

Good deeds from many past lives also help you advance on this path. And the bad karma of many past lives creates obstacles. But an obstacle can be overcome only by one who holds a dismissive attitude toward the words of the Guru. As long as one stays within the Lakshman Rekha of the Guru's words, maya can never defeat you. Becoming humble at the Guru's feet, devoted with single-minded focus, following his words: is there no such thing as maya? Tell us, what is maya? This is maya. The mic is helping you. In bhakti, this paper with the Brahm-akshar written on it, all of this is maya. This body sitting here is maya. This voice coming out is maya. These things are freeing you from maya. Conduct opposed to the Lord is your lust, and that is maya. But conduct favourable to the Lord is upasana, and upasana is love and the direct realisation of God.

ye baat samjhna hoga. Siddh Ramdas ji maharaj kathiya Baba unko guru ji ne kath pahraya tha dand rup mein ki tum so na jao to unki seva mein ek shishya rahta tha bade-bade dhani mani purush ate the usko laga ki khas asarphiya aadi iske andar hai aur jo nahi karna chahiye wah karya kar diya. Apne guru ji ke bhojan mein jo nahi milana chahiye mila diya. Wo siddh mahapurush koi fark nahi para. Bulaya aur kaat kaat ke dikhaya. Kuch nahi beta. Ab aap vichar karo siddh brahm bodh sampann parmanand Swami kai bar bataya unke shishya ne ye kya hai?

This must be understood. Siddha Ramdas Ji Maharaj, Kathia Baba: his Guru had put a wooden yoke on him as punishment, so that he would not fall asleep. A disciple stayed in his service. Very wealthy and respected people used to come, and the disciple thought that gold coins (asharfiyan) and such were inside him. So he did what should not be done. He mixed into his Guru's food what should not have been mixed in. That siddha mahapurush felt no difference at all. He called him and showed him by cutting himself again and again: "Nothing, son." Now think about it: the siddha, full of Brahm-realisation and supreme bliss, and the disciple himself asked many times, "What is this?"

dur ka vachan palan karke nikal gaya. Maya mukt ho raha hai. Kyonki wah vachan palan kar raha hai aur uske hriday mein ek tadap rahti hai. Kaash main jinke vachno se aisi unnati ko prapt ho raha hoon. Agar 10 minute bhi mujhe unki seva ka sanidhy milta to main apna jeevan sarthak samjhta. Aur jinko mila hua hai unki unnati koi birla hi kar pa raha hai. Kyon? Kyonki pyar dular aur bina sadhan ke bhagwat anand to [gala saaf karne ki aawaz] wah bahak jaata hai. Jaise mehnat se kama karke ₹100 na to kharch karne mein usko pata chalega ki kitni mehnat ki tab ₹100 hai aur pair chu ke ₹100 de diya usko kharch karne mein aapko bilkul vivek lagane ki zaroorat nahi pare kyonki aapne koi mehnat nahi ki to guru kripa bina kharch ke aapko bhagwat anand mehnat nahi ki na apni shakti urja nahi lagai tap nahi kiya aur wah kripa se to wah avhelna karke wahi anand use jab ufan mein aata hai usko sahan karne ke liye tapasya chahiye.

Having followed the Guru's word from afar, he got free. He is being freed from maya, because he follows the word, and there is a longing in his heart: "Oh, I am attaining such progress through his words! If I got even ten minutes in his service, I would consider my life fulfilled." Those who have that nearness, however, very rarely make progress. Why? Because divine bliss that comes through love and pampering, without any sadhana, [sound of clearing throat] goes to his head. Take someone who earns ₹100 through hard work: when he spends it, he knows how much effort went into those ₹100. But if someone touches feet and is handed ₹100, he needs no discrimination at all in spending it, because he has put in no effort. So with the Guru's grace, divine bliss comes to you at no cost. You have not worked for it, not applied your strength and energy, not done tapasya. And if you take that grace lightly and disregard it, then when that same bliss surges up in overflow, you need tapasya to bear it.

upvas, vrat, niyam, sanyam inke dwara us anand ko sa jaata hai. Alp sukh bogi bhuma sukh ka adhikar kho deta hai. Isliye shripad bahut jor ki baat kah rahe hain. Niche se shlok padhte hain kyonki arth uska niche se banta hai. Swanandam kaasht kud vadap vastam raat vrinda tavyam ab upar se yat naam pravah chalti nayanta sanvang romo bhed shwad prakit ssa murchhad bhawa ye asht satvic vikar hai ta bhakti pravah parbhat swanubhavat kinka bole jo Vrindavan mein ka aur divar ki bhanti apne jeevan ko samarpit kar diya hai Vrindavan ko kasta eenta maro hath jodo pair chha koi usko fark nahi parta divar koi fark nahi parta ek bar devrshi narad ji maharaj Janak ji ke paas gaye raj simhasaan par baithe chvar dulae ja rahe hain sab devrshi narad ji ne kaha main aapse ek prashn karna chahta hoon.

Through fasting, vows, observances, and self-restraint, one is able to bear that bliss. One who indulges in small pleasures loses the right to the infinite bliss. That is why Shripad is speaking so emphatically. We read the shloka from the bottom, because its meaning is built from the bottom.

swanandam kaasht kud vadap vastam raat vrinda tavyam

Self-bliss … of those who dwell in Vrindavan …

yat naam pravah chalti nayanta sanvang romo bhed shwad prakit ssa murchhad bhawa

The flow of tears in the eyes, horripilation, breaking of the voice, perspiration, trembling, paleness, stupor, and fainting: these are the eight sattvik emotions.

ta bhakti pravah parbhat swanubhavat

That is the flow of bhakti, known through one's own experience.

Of whom is this said? Of one who lives in Vrindavan and has dedicated his life to Vrindavan like a wall. Throw stones or bricks at him, fold hands, touch feet: it makes no difference to him. A wall is not affected.

Once, Devarshi Narad Ji Maharaj went to Janak Ji. Janak was seated on the royal throne, with chamaras being waved, and everyone was present. Devarshi Narad Ji said, "I want to ask you one question."

"You are sitting as a king in body. All your luxurious life, all the royal splendour: now how are you Videha Raja? 'Videha' means a jivanmukta mahapurush, on whom the influence of the body has no effect at all."

Janak said, "Now there is court. We will answer some other day. Stay here today." He arranged accommodation for him in the palace.

Avadhoot Dattatreya Ji Maharaj also says: "Sometimes I am in kings' palaces. Sometimes I am on the pavement, in the ashes. Sometimes I get good food. Many days I remain hungry."

We simply watch according to the prarabdha this body has.

When Devarshi Narad Ji slept in the palace, at midnight, at 12:00, an order came from Videha Raja Janak Ji: "Go and have your consort lie down beside Narad Ji."

Narad Ji was absorbed in contemplation of the Lord. A saint's night is spent in contemplation of the Lord, and even his sleep takes the form of the Lord. He saw a woman lying there, and he thought: "The consort of such a great, learned man cannot be ignorant, she who has had the good fortune to be called the mother of Siya Ji." Without looking at her face, when a wall was there, he turned toward it and spent the night in peace. Then he did not look again to see whether she was there. After a little while, she left. Devarshi Ji awoke in anger, went to Janak Ji, and said: "What is this mockery? Having trusted you and stayed in your palace, who knows what kind of woman that was. Maharaj, what happened to us? We bore it with her…"

"What happened? I only saw a little, so what? When there was a wall, I got peace. Why did you not consider the woman as a wall? You took the wall as a wall, but you did not take the woman as a wall. This is the difference between your high state and our state."

One day, Narad went to have darshan of Janak Ji and saw: one hand on the chest, and a foot in the brazier, burning from its heat, and one hand on the chest. He saw Videha Raja's state: neither the pleasure of the soft touch of the chest nor the pain of the heat of the fire. So he said, "Maharaj, I…"

Unaware of your own glory, you see a wall as just a wall. Why not see yourself the same way? This body, made of the five elements, is like a wall or like wood. Those who have dedicated their lives to Vrindavan are the fortunate ones. Those who only adorn this body are unfortunate. Hey, you are only decorating this body. You are only dressing up this body. Your pride is only in this body. What do you think? Will you attain the supreme state by disobeying the Guru's command? You have indulged the body in pleasure, while your heart burns with desires. What will come of it? What will come of it?

Ignorant beings think that through their own mind and their own cleverness they will conquer Maya. The philosopher's stone exists, but if it doesn't touch the iron, if it just sits in one place, or if there is even a slight gap in the touch, it will not turn into gold. All of this is without touch. The connection is not right. The bulb is right, the board is right, the electricity is right, the wire is right. But it has gone in only this far. It appears to have gone into the board, but the connection hasn't been made. Keep switching it on and off, and it will never light. In the same way, this supreme path of those without connection:

janani Janak bandhu sutara tan dhan dham suhad parivara
sabki mamta tag batori mam pad manah bandh bhar dori
samdarshi ichchha kachu nahi harsh shok bhay nahi man mahi
as sajjan mam urwa bas kaise prabhu kah rahe lobhi hriday bashu dhan jaise

Mother, father, brother, son, wife, body, wealth, home, friends and family: one who gathers all their attachments and binds them to My feet with a cord, who sees all alike, who has no desire, and in whose mind there is no joy, grief or fear. How does such a saint dwell in My heart? The Lord says: as wealth dwells in the heart of a miser.

Just as a miser thinks of his wealth all the time, I think of my devotee that way. But who is the devotee? You have not known it, and you have not taken the spiritual path to be real. The Lord's state is so attractive that Maya pulls people away from it. "Daivi hy esha gunamayi mama maya duratyaya." When wealth comes, a woman comes, honour and prestige come, and that itself is the obstacle on this path. You do not understand "kanchan kamini," gold and women. Maharaj Ji is saying:

snandam kaasht kyaad vastam Vrindavan

One who dwells in Vrindavan should make themselves like wood.

In that self-bliss which manifests there, the life of that worshipper becomes like wood, like a wall. Spit on a wall and it makes no difference. Apply sandalwood paste or garland it, and it makes no difference. Honour, dishonour, criticism or praise mean nothing to it. Such a person is like wood, like a wall, like a dead body. What do we hear here? What do we understand? Hey, in satsang every day we catch a new point and remove our faults.

If you cannot remove your faults, then what have you gained? Self-surrender to the Lord has not happened. The very feeling of this body has to be erased and wiped out, but you do not understand this. Instead you keep decorating this body, keep attachment to this body, and keep company with men on the wrong path. When you keep bad company, satsang itself cannot benefit you. So great is the influence of gold, women and fame that when Kansa sent Akrur Ji to bring Shri Krishna and Balram Ji, Shri Sukhdev Ji described the great state of Akrur Ji.

Parikshit, this is the supreme gain of life that Akrur Ji has now. As he entered Braj Vrindavan, he saw footprints: the flag, the goad, the thunderbolt, and so on. He said, "These are the footprints of my Lord." It took the whole evening to come from Mathura to Vrindavan. In his overflowing love, he kept jumping down from the chariot, and kept seeing my Lord's footprints. Such was the devotee devoted to Shri Krishna. Then, in the Dwarka leela, when Satrajit obtained the Syamantaka mani through the worship of Lord Surya, and Akrur Ji learned that, even though Lord Shri Krishna had said so, this Syamantaka mani had not been deposited in the royal treasury with King Ugrasen.

The Lord was saying it would remain safe, and that you would keep receiving gold eight times over. It was disregarded. By coincidence, his brother Prasen Ji went hunting with the mani around his neck. A lion killed him. Thinking it was some food, the lion pressed the radiant, luminous mani in its teeth and was carrying it off. Jambavan saw it, dragged the lion down and killed it, and entered a cave with the mani. There were footprints. Satrajit spread it all over Dwarka: "We did not obey Shri Krishna, so Shri Krishna has abducted our brother too, and the Syamantaka mani.."

When the Lord heard this, he went with many distinguished people of Dwarka to the place where he had gone hunting. There he saw the horse was dead. After a while they saw that Prasen was dead too. Then, following the lion's footprints, they found the lion dead at the entrance of the cave. He told the people of Dwarka, "Please wait, I will go into the cave." He found the trail of the Syamantaka mani. When he went there, he saw Jambavati Ji playing with the Syamantaka mani. Then the nurse cried out, and Jambavan Ji came. There was a fight for many days. Then he realized that his Lord, Shri Ram, had descended in the form of Shyam.

So he gave the Syamantaka mani to Jambavati Ji. Satrajit was deeply ashamed, because Prasen had died. When he learned the whole story, he realized he had slandered [Krishna] for no reason, so he wanted to give the Syamantaka mani as dowry by marrying Satyabhama Ji. They said, "No, you keep it yourself. I don't want the Syamantaka mani." The Lord had gone to Hastinapur with Satyabhama Ji for an invitation. A plan was made: kill Satrajit and take the Syamantaka mani. A man named Sudhva, perhaps that was the name, agreed. Kritavarma and Akrur Ji gave advice.

Satrajit was killed and the mani was taken. When this news spread, [coughing sound], the Lord came there and pursued him. When he learned that the Lord wanted to kill him, he ran. He ran a long way, with Balram Ji also along, and Lord Shri Krishna too. His horse got tired. The Lord killed him with the Sudarshan Chakra and granted him the supreme state, but the Syamantaka mani did not come out of him. Where is that Syamantaka mani? The Lord himself searched him. Balram Ji said, "Since he killed Satrajit, it must be with him." The Lord said, "No, it is not with him."

Who could have it? Find out. We will go and meet the King of Videha. Balarama set out to meet the King of Videha. Now Bhagwan became very worried. Kritavarma had already fled, because if it came out that he had given the advice, they would be killed. Akrur ji also went to Kashi, and in Kashi he performed great yagyas, because the Syamantak mani gave him eight loads of gold every day. Its influence was great. When Krishna heard of it, he called him and said, "Uncle, you keep the Syamantak mani with you, but show it to Satyabhama and the others, because the right to it belongs to them. The mani appeared through the tapasya of their father." Akrur said, "No, I don't have it." Krishna said, "Uncle, I know it is wrapped in cloth in your pocket." Then Akrur showed it. We learn from this episode how much power gold has. It pulled a great mahatma like Akrur away from Bhagwan.

Akrur, a great mahatma, began to regard the Syamantak mani as great and took Neelmani to be small. That is why Neelmani is saying, "Show the Syamantak mani." He said, "I don't have it." Krishna said, "It will stay with you. I know it is wrapped in cloth, take it out and show me." He showed it. Gold then has its influence even over great mahabhagwats. Do not think it is an ordinary thing. And kamini is even stronger than that. That is why the order is one after another. It is not like one being the best. Here, the order is one after another.

Kamini is superior to gold, and kirti is superior to kamini. Kamini has the strength to defeat even victory. And kamini can defeat one's standing, one's honour, one's name. Giving up gold is easy. Giving up woman is easy too. But giving up pride, praise and envy is rare:

kanchan tajna sahaj hai. Sahaj tiyaka ne man badhai irshya durlabh tajnae.
Giving up gold is easy, giving up woman is easy, but giving up pride, praise and envy is rare.

If one gets past these three, one is victorious on the path of Bhagwat. But if even a little distortion arises in the mind, one runs back toward the world. It doesn't happen like that by itself. Kashthavat kudyadiva, like wood, like a wall, like wood. Tell me, who knows whether you are lustful? Who knows whether you are at fault?

Why do you speak? Why do you make an effort? One who is silent is reduced to ash. Crying out like that is not how it's done. It is not like that. All this happened through the power of merit. Aparadha means that merit is destroyed. Finished. If this inclination to follow the vachan comes, then what is maya? Maya is not, that which does not exist, which has no reality. Understand the meaning of "sat vidyate," the reality of what exists. You give reality to the unreal and bring the real into non-existence, while the unreal has no existence and the real has existence. You are not able to understand this. Whoever in Shri Vrindavan keeps their life like wood and like a wall, in their eyes Priya and Pritam become visible, and a stream of tears begins to flow.

In the body, sweat, goosebumps, trembling, rolling on the ground, long and deep sighs, and even fainting from love: such a state is what Vrindavan illuminates in the heart of one who keeps their body in Vrindavan, innocent, like wood and like a wall. This is the most extraordinary bhakti of Vrindavan.

taad bhakti pravah khal paratto adbhut swanubhavat
Such a flow of devotion is wondrous, known through one's own experience.

Its rasa is known only to the one who has experienced it. It cannot be understood through teaching alone. Serving the dust of Braj (Rajrani), and keeping company with rasikas, one must become very patient. Now that you have been given the names "wood" and "wall," understand this: being very patient means being generous, with forbearance, and discerning. Brother, on the path of the Supreme, a soul surrounded by the darkness of ignorance runs toward pleasures. It is like trying to take a worm to a pool of nectar, and it will still prefer to feed in the drain instead of the nectar pool.

Just as, when Prahlad ji said he would take a pig to Vaikuntha Dham, she said, "There I will get stool." He said, "There is no stool there." This is the condition of the minds and senses of our people. Bhagwan showed mercy to us, as if he gave us this body. Priya Ji showed mercy by dragging us into Vrindavan and giving us a beautiful opportunity to conquer this maya, and to experience the joy of Bhagwan, and to be freed from the cycle of birth and death, from anxiety, grief, fear and restlessness, over countless lifetimes. But these lowly minds and lowly senses flow downward. Their current is downward.

mana kastan indran prakriti sthan karti
The mind and the six senses, which rest in prakriti, pull one along.

Now, to turn them toward the Supreme, a mantra is needed. Just as a machine is needed to lift water that flows downward, so a mantra is needed to turn the mind and senses, which flow downward, toward Paramatma. The mantra has been given: the Sharanagat mantra, the nij mantra. Four things are taught to those who give diksha: eleven malas of the guru mantra daily, recited every day, and inner reflection and contemplation daily. Twelve pads, at least eighty-four. Renounce food that is not fit to eat, and renounce bad company. Just these four things, hold on to them, and you will be freed from this maya.

Now, if you don't accept this and act in the opposite way, how can you remain on the path of the Supreme? Do you think the path of the Supreme is a game? One gives up the whole life for it. In fire, there is only suffering. Then one blooms like a flower. It is not that one walks this path out of greed for happiness. On this path, one must first cross over. First the mind asked a question: "Where will you eat?" "Bhagwan, where will you live?" [sound of clearing throat] Bhagwan answered as well. Both the question and the answer were given by the same person, and the feet moved forward. When one came out of the birthplace, the question came: "Where will you eat outside? Mother used to feed you here. Bhagwan, you used to live at home here. Where will you live outside, Bhagwan?" Then Bhagwan answered, and to this day, it is Bhagwan who carries life. Where is Bhagwan in your life? In your life there is family, there is wealth, there is property, there is the world. As long as there is no sense of belonging to the Lord, the great tapasvis of Dandakaranya were..

What was the special thing about Mother Shabari? Taking refuge at the Guru's feet, and faith in the Guru's words. How much patience Mother Shabari had. When Gurudev was leaving, she wept at his feet and said, "Here in Dandakaranya no one wants to see me. Everyone neglects Gurudev. I was alive only by your support. If you go, who will there be for Shabari?" He said, "Child, by the power of my bhajan I am going to the supreme abode of the Lord, and the Lord of that supreme abode will come to you here, walking. He will come." Then he gave up his body. Shabari ji stayed firm in her Guru's words. Every day she swept, sprinkled water, laid flower carpets, and gathered fruit. "My Gurudev has said that the Lord of the supreme abode will himself come walking." A year or two did not pass; a very long time went by.

Shabari ji did not lose faith in her Guru's words. She did not think, "Did the Guru say this just to console me?" Every day was the same routine, and the Lord still did not come. Shabari ji's Gurudev had said the Lord would come. Then one day, to bless her, Ram and Lakshman came asking the way. They asked the ascetics who used to respect Shabari, "Where does Shabari Maa live?" And those who were full of their own pride, saying, "I am a great ascetic, I am.., I am..", the Lord did not even look at them, let alone speak to them. The Lord sat beside Mother Shabari and praised her.

This Navadha Bhakti is not an upadesh (teaching). Shabari attained the supreme abode in the Lord's presence itself, and an upadesh is given to one who will go on to practise sadhana. The Lord says that even one of these nine is enough to make him yours. All nine of these dwell in you. Apnapan (a sense of belonging), here, we divide that sense of belonging among so many. So the mind will certainly play the game of desire. Upasana works only when there is one reliance, one strength, one hope, and one faith, all gathered together. "One who gathers in is a lover; one who spreads out is the world, which is maya." One who has gathered in is a lover of Hari.

Vrindā ṭavyāṁ navye bhoḥ śyāmo rādhā premo tasyā śyām bhoj bhajan mādhavī tṛṣṇā kṛṣṇo vyādhav

In Vrindavan, the new dark-cloud Shyam, and Radha, the lightning-bright, drinking in with their eyes the beauty of Radha's lotus face, are intoxicated.

Shri Ji and Shri Lal, like a fresh dark cloud in Shri Vrindavan, and like lightning and countless flashes of light, are intoxicated by drinking in the beauty of Radha's lotus face through their eyes. Such are Priyaji and such is Lal, who always protect those who take refuge in them. But surrender must be from the heart. If surrender is not from the heart, you will suffer the consequences of your own karma. They will not come to protect you.

Understand this for certain. Was Draupadi not among the Lord's own people? But there was weakness in her surrender. She had trust in her husbands. She had trust in her arms. She had trust in Bhishma ji and in the assembly. When all those trusts were washed away, then trust in the Lord awakened. That is why Hariram Vyas ji says:

Kāhū ke bal bhajan ko kāhū ke ācār vyās bharose ko

Bhajan does not rest on anyone's strength, nor on anyone's conduct. Vyas rests only on trust.

This trust awakens in a siddha purush. It is a mature state. To have trust in the one and only Ishta, who has trust in Priya-Pritam, is very difficult. It is possible to gain this trust if one person says it to you.

Once I scolded my own heart very harshly. I was on the bank of the Ganga. For several kilometres there was no village. It was dark, foggy, and winter. Then fear filled my mind. I asked my mind, "What are you afraid of? What do you have that you are frightened of losing? No money, no wealth, not even your life. Even this life is not yours; it is offered to the Lord. Why are you frightened?" I had no answer. Then, in the distance, I saw a flickering light. Trust came that someone was there, and I sat down. Then I thought, "What a fool! I have so much scriptural knowledge, I have suffered hardship on the path of bhagavat, and still this dishonest mind has no idea who that person is. I only saw a light, and I felt trust that someone was there. But I have no trust that the Lord is with me." The mind became very stubborn and refused to take another step. It said, "We will sit here, we will not go." In the morning it said, "We will sit here." I scolded myself again and again: "You have trust in that light, that someone is there, but you have no trust that the Lord is with you."

Understand that having trust in the Lord is a matter of siddhavastha. You are very fortunate if you have trust in the Lord. If you look at the Guru, and if you see that Gurudev is there, then Gurudev pervades the whole unbroken sphere of creation:

Akhaṇḍa maṇḍalākāraṁ vyāptaṁ yena carācaram / tat padaṁ darśitaṁ yena tasmai śrī gurave namaḥ

Salutations to that Shri Guru, who pervades the whole moving and unmoving creation like an unbroken sphere, and who revealed that Supreme State.

And if Gurudev is the bliss of Brahman, supreme happiness, pure embodiment of knowledge, beyond duality, like the sky:

Brahmānandaṁ parama sukhadaṁ kevalaṁ jñānamūrtiṁ dvandvātītaṁ gagana sadṛśaṁ tattvamasyādi lakṣyam / ekaṁ nityaṁ vimalam acalaṁ sarvadhīsākṣibhūtaṁ bhāvātītaṁ triguṇarahitaṁ sadgurum taṁ namāmi

I bow to that Sadguru: the bliss of Brahman, the giver of supreme joy, the pure form of knowledge, beyond the pairs of opposites, like the sky, the goal indicated by "That thou art"; one, eternal, pure, unmoving, the witness of all intellects, beyond all states, free of the three gunas.

If you have not recognised the Guru, have not known the Guru, and have regarded the Guru only as a person, and have taken the Guru as the sole support for your sustenance, then you have not yet known the Guru principle. If you have trust in the Guru, and trust in the Ishta, then go and sit in a place where no one can see you.

If you do not get food, tell me. We are speaking from the experience of our whole life. Yet it has never happened that I trusted anyone except the Lord's grace, from childhood onward. That is, I have seen the causeless grace of Hari. Such a thought should never enter the mind of any upasak, because it shakes trust. The Guru principle is trust. The Guru principle is truth. The Guru principle is faith. The Guru principle is shraddha. If these things are not there, then you have not understood the Guru. You have considered a human a human. Hari himself is a human form. When Hari is everywhere, how can Hari not be in the Guru?

So when Hari exists, the service of sustaining and nourishing is Hari's. Hari sustains all the universes. Then what is there for us to worry about? My Guru is Hari. Guru Govind revealed the secret, and as for the sustaining, Vishvambhar takes care of it. Then what worry do I have?

If we have not understood this yet, strengthen this surrender (sharanagati) of ours, because it is weak. Otherwise a storm of maya will come, blow us far away, and throw us into filth. This craving to enjoy the passages of filth is dirt, brother. Is this some sachchidanand happiness? Everyone is enjoying, everyone is consuming. Having enjoyed, there is the craving to enjoy again, and then birth and death again and again. This is the game of maya.

Get up, wake up, strengthen your sharanagati. Brave ones are rare. Cowards are found in the hundreds of thousands. Those who take bullets in the chest are very rare. On this path, direct blows have to be endured. The path of Bhagavat is the path of lions, not of jackals. This path of Bhagavat is the path of lions.

Once I was sitting, sad and dejected.

A very lean saint came. He was a very carefree saint, a very joyful one. He asked, "Why are you sitting like this?" I offered my pranam.

"What a state! How many battles are there? You are not even fighting them. They are not even in front of you. You are inside the fort. Out here, in the open field.." He said to me:

chal chala chal raah mein anubhutiyon ka le sahara
kaun tera saath dega vyarth mein kisko pukara

Keep walking on the road, taking the support of realizations. Who will walk with you? Why call out to anyone in vain?

He had the whole pad by heart. I had forgotten it for a long time. With the whole pad, such enthusiasm rose again, and I ran again, straight to the bank of the Ganga. Wherever a ray of hope was about to rise, some saint would meet me and give me knowledge, and the flame would flare up again. Then, "No, no, run! Go forward, go forward! This is not a path of return. Coward, coward is the one who steps back. When a brave warrior gets a wound, his enthusiasm rises."

If there is life in you, you will not take the enemy's life and stop there. Inside you, enthusiasm rises. The coward, on seeing blood, runs away. On this path of supreme truth, the blows of lust, anger, greed, attachment and pride strike directly into the chest. Say "Radha, Radha," and keep moving forward. Until you take shelter at her feet, you will find no rest, no peace, and no freedom from dualities. If we are walking with the mood of renunciation, then God, only God. We say this every day in satsang: let him sit in your heart.

Mother, father, family, relatives, brothers, friends, whoever comes, we meet them with great love. When we meet everyone, what is there to it? Namaskar, pranam, that kind of relationship. How can talk of love and discussion of Bhagavat be? It is great happiness. What suffering is there in the refuge of Bhagavan? It is great grace. It is the blessing of all of you. There is no problem with Bhagavan. No problem, no problem, no problem. The solution to every problem is found at the feet of Bhagavan. By your blessings, we have attached ourselves to the feet of Bhagavan. Now there is nothing else.

sahat sahit baadh bhagat ga tan gur

Endure, endure, the flood of devotion, the body, the Guru.

And if I think there is no problem, then I tell you, you have not seen the problem at all.

It was the cold season, and the whole month of Margashirsha had passed. There was no blanket to cover up with. Once, at an ashram, the personal saint there, who had come from outside, did not know whether he was a saint or not, because he had such a form, with matted locks and only one loincloth. In the saints' community, above, there was a room with no window and no door. The wind of the Ganga blew, and he spent the whole night in wet clothes, in bliss. When the cold became very intense, he would stand in the water of the Ganga, because only the top layer of the Ganga's water is cold. The water below is warm.

Through what blows did he advance on the path of Bhagavat? In his life there was no hand fan. Because of that, you do not feel the discomfort at all. Do not think that one cannot attain Bhagavat without experiencing that suffering. No, no. Sevak Ji Maharaj was saying:

shri Harivansh pratap naam nauka nij khevak bhavsagar sukh tart nikat Harivansh

The glory of Shri Harivansh: the Name is the boat, and he himself is the boatman. Crossing the ocean of worldly existence with ease, Harivansh is near.

If you cross the ocean of existence happily, then, he said, why was suffering given to you? Suffering was given to control your mind. If you keep your mind occupied only with your own mind, someone can hack your mind. Nothing has been born in the world that could not be hacked.

moh kapt chhal chhidr na bhawa

Attachment, deceit, trickery and hidden faults are not liked.

Speak to me something, and then do something else behind my back, and it will no longer be in my hands. This is not the path of deceit and trickery. It is the path of pure faith. At least in one place, trust. At the feet of the Guru, speak the truth. At the feet of the Guru, do not practise deceit. But, bless him, the same deceit happens where there should be auspiciousness. Maya kicks you so far that you experience happiness in pots of filth, and you think, "Where was I trapped? Now what happiness there is!" What you call happiness is not happiness. It is the shadow of happiness, and it does not seem to be understood. The maya of my Girdhar will trap you so badly that you will cry out "Trahimam!" Look, you will see it.

God gave you an opportunity, and if you reject that opportunity, you will have to cry "Trahimam!" Surely, all this fortune has risen, that we have found the path of Bhagavat. Right now we are not able to understand. We are not able to understand. It is a strange game. We cannot understand that God has given us the opportunity to remember his name. If you do not learn to struggle, you will be defeated. The struggle began on the sixth day, even for Bhagavan himself. Putana came to kill him. We are parts of Bhagavan, so will questions not come before us? Will struggle not come before us? In whose life does struggle not come?

Our inner enemies and the adversities outside us must both be fought, and in that struggle our spiritual practice (paramarth) is strengthened. Maharaj Ji explains this again and again. Understand it and settle it firmly in your mind. If you think happiness can be found anywhere apart from God, history is the witness. Great kings and emperors, barbas raj sutah narap dina hari hit aap gavan ban, forcibly gave up their kingdoms and went into the forest for the sake of God. If even the condition of emperors was like this, then we say: if you go searching the world for happiness, your whole life will pass.

You will get nothing. So accept this word. By the grace of the one Sachchidanand Bhagwan, I was given the path of Bhagwat. Now my only task is to do His bhajan and bear everything.

Let us take up Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran. Bhagwan Shri Krishna Chandra destroyed Bakasur. The whole night passed, and the Brajvasis kept discussing it, saying, "We came from Gokul to Vrindavan precisely to escape troubles like these. Bhagwan protected our Lala. Otherwise, see what kinds of troubles keep coming."

Maiya had put Shri Krishna to sleep, and she sat near His feet, watching the sweetness of His form as He slept.

But she could not sleep at all. Lotus-eyed Shri Krishna Chandra got up on His own at dawn, giving happiness to His mother. "Brother, look, it isn't late today. I woke up by myself. So there must be a reason, Lala."

"Yes, Maiya, I have a wish. Today we will not have bal bhog here. Today the cowherd boys and I will go and sit in the groves and kunjs of Vrindavan and take our bal bhog there."

kasmin napni anudit eva kare pushkare kshano janani muvach madhya nirav vipin bhojne bhojneshwari vihit lal sosh

Krishna said to His mother, "Mother, please pack our chhak for us. The sakhas and I will go and sit in a secluded kunj and have our bal bhog there." Seeing her beloved Lala's wish, Maiya Yashoda accepted it readily.

A mother is always ready to fulfill the desire of her son. This is the dharma of a servant: to blend his own inclination with his master's inclination and walk along with it.

man man ki ruchi jaan neh vidhi anusare sakhiya

Knowing each one's inner inclination, the sakhis followed the way of love.

This bhajan-power brings siddhi: the one who is truly devoted to his Ishta comes to know what is going on in the mind of the Ishta. The one who is exclusively devoted to his Guru will know what is going on in the Guru's mind. The one who is exclusively the Guru's, and who touches no one but his Gurudev, knows the moment he touches Him what state his Gurudev is in.

Nabha Ji was exclusively devoted to his Gurudev. He did not speak to anyone, did not look at anyone, did not hear anything else, and remained absorbed in his Gurudev's joy, like a small child with its mother. Then Bhagwat Rishi Ji said, "Like a child at its Gurudev's feet.." At that time, one disciple of Agradevacharya Ji was a wealthy man whose ship had got caught in a whirlpool in the ocean. He called out, "Gurudev!" Agradevacharya Ji was about to garland Siyaram Ji.

In the bhav-desh, in the bhav, in the mental leela, Nabha Ji saw that his Gurudev's mind had become restless. When there was an obstruction to the mental seva, he fanned him with a fan and said inwardly, "Gurudev, the work in your mental seva is done. The ship has been saved. Please garland Siyaram Ji."

"Who? Who said that?"

"The one you raised by giving him your leftovers. The one whose service you completed by feeding him your leftovers, and to whom you said, 'I see a Bhagwatik radiance in you that will do a very great work. Write the characters of all the bhakts. You have my blessing: whichever bhakt you remember, he will come himself and tell his own story.'"

Guru-ananyata and Ishta-ananyata: the seva is considered truly accomplished only when it is in harmony with the Ishta, in harmony with the one being served, and not merely in harmony with oneself. Serving according to one's own liking and serving according to the Ishta's liking is a very great difference.

Maiya agreed. "As you wish." Yashoda Maiya, nodding her head, fulfilled her son's desire. "Yes, son. But Bhagwan Shri Krishna Chandra is of a very stubborn nature."

"Maiya, I have to go now. Right this moment I have to go." "My Maiya, caressing me like this with your lotus hands, my Maiya, I must go now." Something is running in His mind. He is all-knowing.

Maiya made up her mind. "Let Him eat a little from my hand first. Otherwise He will run off right away, and who knows when He will eat. Once He has eaten a little from my hand, then let Him go to the forest for His meal. Then we won't have any trouble." Yashoda Maiya fell silent.

sapthan murnu nathya tadnu modnam karya

Mother, I swear by you. Now let me go at once; you have no reason to worry.

Why is He showing such great enthusiasm? Because Aghasur has to be slain. When Kansa heard that Bakasur had been killed, he became very sad and distressed. What should he do? Vatsasur, Pralambasur, Bakasur, and, on the other side, Putana, Trinavarta, Shakatasur: all these great and powerful demons had been killed. In that assembly, Kansa became very worried. The demon ministers said, "You have a friend, very strong, Aghasur. He can swallow the whole Brajmandal. Give the order, sir." And his plan was already in motion.

Here, the Lord took the Mother's hand and made her swear an oath: "Mother, I swear to you, let me go today. Today I will take my meal in the forest." The Lord had already planned this forest meal during the vatsacharan. When He killed Bakasur, the Lord came to know, because the Lord is all-knowing, that Aghasur was about to enter here. When he enters Braj, what arrangements must be made? So the Lord had already decided: He would get up early, and then come here and perform the leela of taking His meal. And He had already told His sakha mandal that they should all assemble in front of Nand Bhavan at the early morning hour.

Everyone should bring their own packed lunch from home, and we will share it and eat together in the forest. No one has ever objected to Bhagavan Shri Krishna Chandra Ji. All the sakhas are ready for this, because they all follow this same way. Whatever pleases the beloved also pleases the heart. Again and again Lala makes his request to Maiya, and Maiya says again and again, "What is lost by eating only a little?" The Lord is thinking, "My sakhas are standing outside, and it is not right for me to eat first." In every leela there is a teaching of Bhagavan. If you have a friend, a guest, or anyone at home, feed them first, and then you eat.

It would be unjust if a guest, a relative, an elder, or anyone is sitting in your home and you eat in private without even asking them. First ask them, feed them what you are eating, and then you eat. This is the method. The matter was not settled. Maiya said, "If I accept your words, then you must accept mine too." "Yes, what is it?" "Let me adorn you first." The matter was settled. Meanwhile she told Rohini Ji, "You prepare the offering." Lal Ji said, "Please adorn me." Bhagavan Shri Krishna Chandra Ji was adorned by Maiya, and he was very beautiful. Now he is truly an ocean of beauty. He came and stood in the courtyard, on his chubby feet, with anklets, a waist-belt, and a yellow dhoti. Such beautiful adornment: a peacock-feather crown, earrings, a tilak on his forehead, a black kohl dot so that no one's evil eye would fall on him, and kohl in his large eyes. Adorned like this, he stood in the courtyard. Mother ran to him, with one hand held behind her, and butter on his lips. "You will have to eat a little."

The Lord said, "All my sakhas were of the opinion that I would not eat, and that we would eat in the forest." Mother, your love is this much, but we had promised the sakhas that we would eat in the forest. When Shri Krishna Chandra Ji stepped out of Nand Baba's house, the sakhas' joy knew no bounds. Thakur Ji arrived adorned in such beauty. Now someone is blowing a horn, someone is playing the flute. "Kanhaiya has come!" "Look, Kanhaiya Bhaiya has come!" Everyone became absorbed in bliss. Today there is a special excitement among the sakhas. Even Maiya is absorbed in the thought that he got up without being called. Otherwise, one has to coax him much to get him up.

And now it is the early morning hour, and the sakha assembly has already gathered and is seated. Now the entire parivar set off toward the forest. The cowherd boys ran toward the cowsheds to call the calves. Bhagavan Shri Krishna Chandra Ji merged his calves with those from every cowshed. Countless white calves, in heaps and heaps, are moving toward Vrindavan. The calves are in the middle, the cowherd boys are with them, and at the back is Shri Krishna Chandra Ji. All the Brajvasi boys are delighted to see the sweetness of the Lord's face.

Kachitśāya mano dadhāt prātaḥ samāya vayasyaiḥ saha gopālaḥ prabodha śṛṅgave cāruṇā vinirgataḥ sa puraḥ saro hariḥ
(Lines as written in the recording; the meaning evident here is that Hari, the Lord, goes out in front of the herd in the morning, with his friends and the cowherd boys, in a radiant and lovely procession.)

Today the Lord has such a form that every cowherd boy turns around to look at him. "Veṇuṁ bibhrat laya-dakṣiṇa-kara-yaṣṭi-kakṣa vetraṁ dala-viracitaṁ śṛṅgabhūtaṁ ca barhatanasaṁ cikura-nikare.." The flute is held in his left hand and the staff in his right hand. The flute is held to his mouth like this, and the staff is in his right hand. All these locks of hair are swaying on his cheeks. The curly hair, the peacock crown, the gunja garland, and the beautiful earrings: the beauty of Shri Lal Ji is very splendid.

The earrings, which cast their glow on the cheeks, together with the gunja garland, the jewelled necklace, and the armlets set with gems. Today the Lord's form is wondrous, and all the cowherd boys are overjoyed to see their sakha, Shri Lal Ji. Unbearable joy is arising. "Unbearable" means it cannot be endured. Each cowherd family packed as much food as they could for their boys, for they know that all will eat together, and that they will feed Shri Krishna. Good butter, buttermilk, and many other foods. Every Brajvasi is anxious that no item should be missing, for no sakha eats without first feeding Shri Krishna.

Now the community of sakhas, a thousand cowherd friends, and countless other calves, which were merged with Shri Krishna's calves, became innumerable herds. Kṛṣṇa vrasa rasakhyāta yūtha-kṛta sva-sakān.. Now Shri Krishna Chandra Ji, who defeats even crores and crores of Cupids, is surrounded by his sakhas in their circle. Nanda-suvana so mili ke chale lāgata saba maina se bhale, maina māne kāma, tinhun mohana ati sukhadāya naga jarāī mada jo manāī. Walking along with Nanda's son, everyone looks lovelier than Cupid himself. The enchanter, the giver of great joy, adorned with jewels, is celebrated in intoxication. Today both the sakhas and Shri Krishna are in great joy. Nobody knows what special festive joy this is in everyone's heart.

But today Balram Ji is not with them. Rohini Maiya forcibly kept him back. Baladevasya mātra janmakṣa śāntika snānārtha gaha eva balā dakṣitā. Today is Balram Ji's birth-star, so a bath and gifts to Brahmins as a purification rite are being performed for him. This morning the Lord set off, and Dau Dada was not with him. Dau Bhaiya had earlier told the sakhas, "Keep him safe." "Today Maiya is not letting me go. I am very worried. This has been going on since morning. Something may happen. Who can know what anyone is thinking or what they will do?"

So he said to the sakhas and to Shri Krishna, "I am being held back against my will. But you are capable of performing whatever leela you are thinking of. I know that." He said, "I am being held back by force. Otherwise I would not want to stay. I am staying only because I know you are capable of doing the leela you are planning." The sakhas thought that the talk must be about a forest feast and games. Balram Ji gave a signal to the Lord: "You are capable. Go with a free mind." Now, Dau Bhaiya had such a moment that no one could remember whether Dau Bhaiya was with us or not.

With fresh enthusiasm, Lord Shri Krishna's restless lotus eyes fell upon the faces of all the sakhas. Some were adorned with gunja berries, some with glass beads, some with pearls and gems, and some with ornaments of gold. The cowherd boys and sakhas were all decorated, and Neelamani, the Dark Lord, was dressed in enchanting finery. Now their play began, and the Lord performed the many childlike pastimes of the sakhas, just as ordinary children play. The cowherd boys carried beautiful slings, flutes and horns, and the countless calves of Vrindavan. Shri Krishna picked flowers of yellow, green and red.

They picked new shoots, clusters of blossoms, colourful flowers, peacock feathers and red ochre, and decorated one another, each sakha adorning the others. Then one would steal another's sling and a quarrel would begin: "This is mine!" Another would take someone's flute, someone else their stick, and they played like this. One would hand another's stick to a third, who would pass it to a fourth, and then the first would run around looking for it. Then they all clapped their hands and laughed. Looking at the beauty of the forest, they moved on. When a sakha saw the Lord ahead, he said, "I will touch him first!"

"I will touch him first!" They competed with one another, running, and each embraced Shri Krishna and became absorbed in joy. What fortune to embrace the Sachchidananda! Some played the flute, some played the horn, and some hummed along with the bumblebees. Others matched their voices to the cuckoos. When a peacock called, one sakha called back in the peacock's voice. Another tried to fly like the birds whose shadows crossed the sky. Some mimicked the swans, some the herons, and some danced when they saw the peacocks dancing. Some caught hold of the monkeys' tails and pulled them.

When the monkeys made their frightening gestures, the sakhas copied them. One made a monkey's face, and another leapt from branch to branch as the monkeys did. There were many sakhas. One played hide-and-seek in the riverbank reeds. Seeing frogs hopping there, they hopped like frogs, and the Lord smiled as he watched them, and his joy grew. Some laughed at their own shadows. When their voices came back as echoes, one would say, "Who is this who speaks just like me?"

Such is Lord Shri Krishna, rare even for the great scholars. He is the embodiment of Brahmananda. For those who worship in the mood of servitude, he is the supreme God, Bhagwan, Parameshwar, the mighty Paramatma. For those deluded by sense objects, he is only an ordinary human boy. [sound of clearing throat] Together with the Lord, these sacred souls and great-souled ones have become the cowherd boys and are playing these games. They attained this through many lifetimes of effort, hardship, austerity, conquest of the senses, and taming the inner mind.

This bliss, which the sakhas receive, is unattainable even for the yogis. It is a very rare gain. That same Lord, who is not caught even by the great yogis, plays hide-and-seek with the Braj boys. Shri Sukhdev Ji says, "Parikshit, how can we describe the glory of their fortune?" At this time the sakhas, the calves and Shri Krishna were, as it were, lost. Do not worry. Whoever goes returns saying the same thing. You trust in our strength. Kansa says, "If I wished, I could devour the whole Braj region."

Such is his form. Kansa said, "Our friendship is already great, and your kindness will be a great help to me. I cannot rid myself of this fear." Aghasura said, "Be at ease, I have gone and returned. Do not worry." Then Aghasura came from there. He was very powerful. Among the powerful, he was one of the most formidable. First he secretly watched the joyful play of Shri Krishna and the cowherd boys. He became very envious. He was extremely terrible. Having drunk the nectar, Aghasura had become immortal. Even the gods were frightened of him and wanted to protect their lives. The gods were waiting to see when Aghasura's death would come.

Aghasura is the younger brother of Putana and Bakasura. He looked closely at Shri Krishna and thought, "He killed our elder sister Putana and our brother Bakasura. If I kill him today, the hearts of our guests will be at peace. Today I will kill him for the peace of our own souls." Seeing Shri Krishna and Shri Dama among the cowherd boys, he thought to himself, "You, who killed my own brother and sister, will not survive today. I will kill you today. When I kill him, my brother and sister will receive their last offerings, and all the Braj people will die of their own accord without Shri Krishna."

If he killed all the sakhas and Shri Krishna, the Brajvasis would die of their own accord. Having resolved this, the wicked demon took the form of a huge python and lay down in the path along which the calves and sakhas were coming, playing. How large was the python's body? One yojan is four kos. How long is four kos? A yojan is very long, and its height was like a mountain. Its intention was amazing: in a single gulp it wanted to swallow the calves, the sakhas and Shri Krishna. So it opened its mouth wide. A python has a force of attraction. When prey comes before it, the wind pulls it in, and once it seizes the prey, one cannot escape unless one cuts its body apart. Its grip is so strong that there is no escape.

See how no one, not even Bhima, could escape a python's grip. Nahusha was once in the form of a python. When he caught someone, even the mighty Bhima would tear the python apart and throw it off. When Bhima's form is described, we hear that when he went toward the mountain to fetch the second flower, the one that had flown to Draupadi, he crushed great trees and struck down elephants, dripping with musk, with his fists. He terrified lions with his roar and his stamping. That is when Hanuman Ji said, "He is taking on his fierce form."

Someone or other will curse them. This is the region of the rishis. This is the region of the siddhas. So Hanuman Ji sat down on the path. "Son of the Wind, this one too, and the Son of the Wind, that one too. Old monkey, give way." "Remove the tail. It has already been said, he is old, so we cannot lift our tail. You lift it." They said, "Do you take this for a joke? Remove the tail." "Arre, I am old. If you lift the tail and go, what will happen? Because stepping over, nangna, should not be done to any living being by any discerning person. If someone is lying there, one should not step over them like that."

Their merit (sukrit) is destroyed. Here nobody knows this, but even animals and birds should not be stepped over. If it is an animal like that, don't step over it. Go by the side. Stepping over destroys merit. Kicking destroys all merit. Very few people now listen to or read the scriptures. Bhima could have stepped over him, but he did not, because merit would be destroyed. That is why he said, "Remove the tail." "So you remove it." Bhima said, "Then your life is about to be at stake, because you are violating our command," and the tail did not move.

He lifted it with both hands, and still it did not move. He applied his full strength, and still it did not move. Hanuman Ji said, "I am old, I am powerless. Apply your strength." Folding his hands, Bhima said, "Are you my elder brother, the Son of the Wind, Hanuman?" Then he smiled and said, "Prabhu, why are you playing such a leela? Because, brother, if you go ahead, you will receive a curse, since you will be intoxicated with a feeling like yours." When such a mighty Bhima was wrapped up by Nahusha in the form of a python, he cried out "Trahimam" (save me). From the python's coil he said, "Let Yudhishthira come and answer my questions." He was freed from the python form and was saved.

Now Aghasura stretched out his body, four kos long, with a mouth like a cave. His lower lip was on the earth and his upper lip reached the clouds, like caverns. His jaws were like mountain caves, and his fangs were sharp like mountain peaks. Inside the mouth was deep darkness, like a cave. His tongue looked like a road leading into that cave, and his breath blazed like a furnace.

Seeing Aghasura, the cowherd boys said, "Look, look! We have never seen this splendour of Vrindavan. What a wonder! Look, look, it seems like the mouth of a python." They thought it was the beauty of Vrindavan. One said, "Friends, tell me, does this scene before us really look like the open mouth of a python?" Another said, "Yes, yes, because of the rays of the sun falling on it, what appears red over there looks like the upper lip of a python. And what is visible below, from the shadow of the clouds, looks like its lower lip."

A third cowherd boy said, "Yes, yes, look! These caves on the left and right look like the jaws of a python. These high mountain peaks clearly look like its fangs." A fourth friend said, "Brother, this long road runs right through the middle. It looks like the python's mouth for entering the cave." Another cowherd boy said, "Look, hot, hot breath is coming. We think a forest fire has broken out somewhere. Does this breath match the scene? It seems to be coming from inside the python."

It is as if the stench of the flesh of dead creatures is coming. One said, "Hey brother, shall we walk along this road and see? Is there really a python inside? If it is a python, it will swallow us." Another said, "Arre brother, if it swallows us, then it's my Kanhaiya. Like Bakasura, he will tear it open and throw it out. This is swagger. Hey, what fear? My Kanhaiya is here." "Just as Bakasura was killed, so Aghasura will be killed. This my Kanhaiya cannot leave me." Two such thoughts were sitting inside them: "This my Kanhaiya cannot leave me. If it tries to kill us, it too will be killed."

"My Kanhaiya is here." This swagger comes from a great deal of the Lord's grace. Now Lord Shri Krishna saw that they were taking the python for a cave, taking it for a road. All the friends were clapping. Aghasura, in the form of a python, said, "My plan has worked. I didn't even have to try. The prey is coming on its own." All the sakhas, a new creation of Vrindavan. "Come, let's see." Four kos long, with a raised mouth, clapping, looking towards Shri Krishna: Praveesh nagar keeje sab kaaja, hriday raakh kushalpur koi

Enter the city and get all your work done; keep the King in your heart, and no harm can befall you.

They entered Aghasura's mouth. "What a fine road, so soft, so soft is its tongue." Shri Krishna thought, "Oh, they think the real Aghasura, who has become a python, is just a toy." Well, nothing remains hidden from the Lord's sight.

The Lord, who dwells in the hearts of all beings, thought, "Good, he has not yet swallowed any of the sakhas, because he is waiting for the leader to go inside." Shri Krishna thought, "To save the sakhas, I will have to go. I will have to go into his mouth." As the Lord was just thinking this, Aghasura gave a jerk, and two thousand sakhas who had entered his mouth in play all went down into his belly. Now the Lord thought: if they stay longer, all of them will die. So, just as Putana went and Bakasura went, this one too must be sent. The Lord ran and entered his mouth. Now Aghasura was delighted, because his plan had worked. The sakhas had gone inside, and now with one jerk the leader too would go in. He tried to swallow the Lord. Shri Krishna is the giver of fearlessness.

He saw that his dear friends, the sakhas, were trapped in trouble. It is like someone who leaps into fire on their own: now Aghasura's digestive fire will burn them to ash. I must now save them from death, because our sakhas are very innocent. Parikshit, Shri Krishna sees past, future and present, all of them, as if they were before him. Understand: our Prabhu sees our past, our future and our present, all three, as if directly before him. What is there for us to fear? He knows what is going to happen. What will happen? For him, knowing what to do now and how to save them was not difficult at all.

All the gods cried out in dismay when the Lord entered the mouth of Aghasura. When the gods heard their cries, the spies reported to Kansa that the work was done. The cowherd boys are all inside, and Shri Krishna is in Aghasura's mouth. Kansa was overjoyed. He gave garlands to many of his spies. "The work is done." He had not yet thought about whose work it would turn out to be. Now the demon spread its mouth miles wide and tried to chew up and crush everyone, the calves, the cowherd boys and Lord Shri Krishna. Lord Shri Krishna expanded his body into a cosmic form.

He grew and grew, fat and long, so perfectly that his mouth could not close, and no air could pass in or out. Soon the life-breath stopped. His eyes rolled up. He became agitated, he writhed, and his body came to a halt. Now he was sealed shut from the outside. His life left through bursting open the brahmand, the cosmic egg. Life left through bursting the brahmand. How fortunate all of these are! For those whose name is on the tongue, the supreme state is attained. Now they are in his mouth. Tell me, is it the life of yogis, the great souls perfected in ashtang yoga, that leaves through the brahmand? Lord Mukund looked upon all the senses with a nectar-filled gaze, and all the calves and cowherd boys came out of Aghasura's mouth healthy. The Lord also came out. Aghasura had died. For the Lord, is there any need to take birth to kill these demons? Creation and dissolution happen with a single resolve, a flicker of his eyebrow. This was done to give happiness: to these great mahatmas who became cowherd boys and calves, to give them happiness.

Then a wondrous event occurred. When the Lord came out, the radiant light that had emerged from Aghasura blazed up in all ten directions. As soon as the Lord came out, it merged into him, in full view of the friends and the gods. The friends had seen that, just as with Vatsasura and Bakasura, from Aghasura too.. The gods began to shower flowers, the apsaras began to dance, the gandharvas began to sing, the vidyadharas played their instruments, and the great Vedic personified beings all offered praise, secretly worshipping the Lord. By killing Aghasura, the Lord did a very great favour to the world, for this demon was extremely destructive. Then came wondrous praise, beautiful instruments, auspicious songs, shouts of victory, celebration and auspicious sounds. All of these were divine sounds, and they reached Brahmaloka. When Brahma ji heard the sound, he wondered, "What has happened?" So he mounted his swan and came to where the sound was. He saw that in the sky of Vrindavan, the deities of sound were resounding.

On seeing Lord Shri Krishna, he was astonished. This is the supreme Brahman, the Paramatma principle that is described. This is it, because he had killed such a huge demon. Brahma ji did not yet know what had happened, and a doubt began to arise in him. Parikshit ji said, "Prabhu, what happened next?" So he said: the dried-up hide of the demon remained, and the Braj boys kept playing in it. This account took place in the fifth year, the death of Aghasura, and the story was told in Braj in the sixth year, that Aghasura had been killed. One year later. Aghasura was embodied sin, and by the touch of the Lord he attained sarupya liberation. This is no wonder, because attaining sarupya liberation through the touch of Paramatma Shri Krishna is no rare thing.

Look, Parikshit. If someone meditates on even one limb of the murti of Lord Shri Krishna and seats it in the heart, the Lord grants liberation such as salokya, samipya and so on. Then the Lord himself entered Aghasura's mouth in person, so there is no doubt that he attained the Lord, because the Lord himself entered. Parikshit ji seized on the point. He said, "Bhagwan, you just said that the pastime of the fifth year was told in Braj in the sixth year. Why is this time-bound pastime told one year later?"

"Mahayogi Gurudev, is there some wondrous, rasa-filled event in this? Is there curiosity? Please tell us, because a guru reveals the most secret things to a worthy disciple. Surely some wondrous leela of the Lord has happened here." When Parikshit ji, the beloved devotee of the Lord, asked this, Sukhdev ji said, "Parikshit, you are very fortunate. You are listening to the Lord's discourse with great concentration. This is the quality of a listener, to listen with great subtlety. Among the Lord's loving devotees, your place is the highest."

That is why you caught the point so cleverly and asked the question. You are listening to the Lord's leela-katha very attentively. You have been blessed with the great good fortune of asking about the Lord and making the discourse sweeter. The speech, ears and heart of rasik saints are meant only for the Lord. With speech: singing the Lord's leela, naam kirtan, naam jap. With the ears: hearing the Lord's leela and naam kirtan. With the heart: serving the Lord and contemplating him. It is the nature of devotees and saints that when the Lord's discourse has fresh, ever-new rasa, even if this same discussion happens 100 times, it feels new to them, as if they are hearing it for the first time.

Just as men find fresh rasa in talk about women. Parikshit, listen with concentration. Although the Lord's leela is extremely mysterious, I will recount it to you, because compassionate acharyas reveal even secret mysteries to their beloved disciples. I have already said that Lord Shri Krishna saved his companion cowherd boys from the mouth of Aghasura, which was the form of death. After this, he came to the banks of the Yamuna and began to say, "Dear friends, this is a very delightful land. The sand here is very soft."

There is everything here for us to play with. Look, red and multicoloured lotuses have bloomed, and the bees are humming, drawn by their fragrance. On the other side, beautiful birds are calling, and their echoes resound. How beautiful these trees are! Kunj and nikunj everywhere. From morning they had set out, intending to offer the bal bhog right here. Now, sitting on this sacred sandbank, we will take prasad. Everyone said, "Yes, yes." The Lord said, "Gather the calves from the grass nearby and bring them here, and all of you sit down in a circle. The water of the Yamuna is fit to drink."

Sitting here, they sipped the water. After giving the Yamuna water to all the calves and leaving them to graze on the green grass in the shallows, they began to eat with great joy. How did they sit? The Lord sat in the middle, and the sakhas sat in row upon row around him, not in a single line but in many rows. Everyone could see the Lord. In a circle, only some can see straight ahead, yet those on the right, the left and behind also see the Lord as though he were in front of them. Every eye was turned towards the face of Shri Krishna.

During the forest meal, the cowherd boys sitting with Shri Krishna looked splendid, like the smaller and larger petals around the pericarp of a lotus, with the pollen at its centre. Some made their plates from large leaves, some from leafy twigs, some used a chhika, some used bark, and some used stones. Each took his own portion and began to eat. And Brahma ji, who had just now come after liberating Aghasur, was seated above on his swan, deliberating: "Is this the Supreme Brahman, the Paramatma, who has taken an avatar?"

If the Lord wishes to confuse, he can confuse even Brahma. What strength do you or I have? Brahma ji, seated on his swan, waited a little longer to see what leela would unfold. The sakhas' way of offering bhog is the old method of bhakti: one feeds God and then eats. That is not the way of Braj. First each one takes a morsel for himself, and then, going close, he feeds Kanhaiya from his own mouth into the Lord's mouth. Whatever bhog has come, the first morsel is very sweet, like kheer. The Lord is there. He is the dear life of all, the Lord of every prana. In any case, all ordinary living beings offer bhog in this way, through their naam, their body and their mind.

Within everyone's heart he becomes the digestive fire and consumes the offering. Brahma ji thought: "The Lord is here? Is this a cowherd boy? No, God is not like this. The all-knowing God, the sachchidanand God, how can he be one who eats the leftovers of these little cowherd boys? And the Lord, with great relish, has now begun a tussle over chhena. These are his sakhas. Brahma ji could not accept that these could be God." What a wondrous play! The Lord, showering great bliss, is taking his bhog. Laughing, someone rolls over. Someone teases him. Someone, full of humour, snatches his food and eats it. Someone smears butter on his mouth.

In such joy, Brahma ji could not recognise him. He is the Paramatma, the Param Brahman, the object of meditation, who dances in Tai Ahir's chhariya for a small pot of buttermilk. This is Braj. One makes another laugh, another displays his own particular taste, and another rolls over laughing. In this way, everyone began to eat.

At that time, Shri Krishna's splendour was the most unique. His flute was tucked in front of his waist-sash, and he had pressed his horn and cane under his arm. In his left hand was rice mixed with ghee and curd, and a morsel in his right. Between his fingers were pieces of ginger and lemon preserve. The cowherd boys sat in a circle all around, and in the middle, speaking playful words, laughing and making others laugh, snatching and eating, such a rain of joy was falling.

The enjoyer of the yajna, the Lord himself, sat among the cowherd boys and took his bhog. Brahma ji was astonished. While eating, the Lord had immersed everyone in rasa. Then suddenly some of the sakhas noticed: "Kanhaiya, the calves are not visible." So he said, "You all eat. I will bring the calves in a single moment. I'll bring the calves right now." The Lord rose just like that and began searching for the calves. He searched for a long time.

Brahma ji, seated in the sky on his swan, had been astonished to see Aghasur attain the state of moksha. He thought, "If he is the Paramatma, let me see one more wondrous leela." So the calves had not gone anywhere. Brahma ji had abducted them, taken them to Brahmaloka, and put them to sleep through yogamaya. And when the Lord went to fetch the calves, Brahma made all the sakhas vanish. The Lord, the master of maya, displayed his own maya. When the calves could not be found, the Lord returned. He saw that none of the cowherd boys were there, and the food lay as it had been. "Brahma, this is your doing!"

In a single moment, the Lord, the sole knower of the universe, Shri Krishna, said: "You wish to see? As many calves as there were, of the same ages, and as many sakhas as there were, wearing the same clothes, with the same natures and ages, the Lord became exactly that many sakhas and that many calves, with the stick, the chhika, the cloth and garments. All of them became the Lord, sachchidanand himself, in every form, because the Lord had created the world in the blink of an eye." Nobody needed anyone's help. Infinite universes were created and dissolved by a mere flicker of the brows, bhrikut vilas.

The calves' clothes, their nature and age, the boys' age and nature, were exactly as they were. Their forms, their hands and feet, their speech, the stick, the horn, the flute, the leaf, the chhika, the rope, the garments and ornaments, their character, nature, qualities, names, memories, forms and ages, all were exactly as before. As they ate, drank, walked, spoke, saw, rose and sat, so was everything. Just as the Vedic hymns say, the Veda declares:

sarvam khalwidam brahm
All of this is indeed Brahman.

So he himself, the very Lord, became everything. Now when they returned home, the cow, seeing her calf, lowed and loved it intensely, just as she loves Shri Krishna. Each sakha's mother, overjoyed, loved them just as she loves Shri Krishna, because Shri Krishna had become them.

Even the mothers of the children who had given up drinking milk had milk start to drip from their breasts out of loving affection, because the Supreme Brahman himself is going to drink milk today.

God has put his leela, his daily routine, Brahma ji, the sakhas and the calves to sleep through Yog Maya. Let them sleep; we will wake them tomorrow. Jai Shri Radhavallabh Lal.

This text is taken from the video's auto-generated subtitles, so there may be word errors. Please listen to the video itself for the authentic words.

Original video: Shri Hit Radha Kripa (YouTube)