What Do We Gain from the Company of Saints? Shri Krishna Saving the Cowherd Boys and Cows from the Forest Fire // 17/10/2026

Satsang of Pujya Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj. Watch the video above to hear the full discourse.

Full Discourse

Vrindavaneswari tav padarvindm prema makrand raso purnam hridpitam madhupte smarta mugram nirvai param shital mayam param shital mayam param sacchidanand Premanand swaroop navni nikunj mahmmahim param pavan shri Vrindavan dham
Vrindavaneshwari, Your lotus feet are full of the nectar of love. O Lord of the heart, O Madhupati, remembering.. Supremely cool, supremely cool illusion, supreme Sachchidananda, the very form of prema-ananda, Navani Nikunj, most glorious and most sacred Shri Vrindavan Dham.
[clearing throat]

O beloved, darling Yugal Sarkar of Shri Vrindavan Dham, the life-breath of our lives, Shri Priya-Pritam, to the entire host of sakhis, to the deer, animals, birds, creepers, to Yamuna, to Ras Rani and Raj Rani, and to all the Brajvasis, I offer countless salutations and countless obeisances. Victory to Shri Pyari Ji and Pyare Ji! By your boundless grace you have given all of us this opportunity to rise out of this swamp of illusion and drown in the ocean of the nectar of love.

Now you will have to drag us along yourself. Just as you graciously gave us this opportunity, please also purify our mind and intellect so that we can make this opportunity meaningful. You alone must do this, Lord. If you do not, this illusion of yours is so defiling that it will turn us away from you. So, O Ocean of Grace, you say, "Surrender the mind, absorb the intellect." We pray that you steal our mind and intellect. You are all-powerful. Please bring our mind and intellect under your control. Shripad says:

mand mand Charu has divya pit patwas neel neelda davbhas ballavi vichitra raas
Gently smiling with a charming smile, clad in divine yellow silk, blue like a rain-cloud and radiant, the wondrous rasa dance with the gopis.

You will not have to make any effort to steal our mind and intellect.

When you, smiling softly, wear divine yellow silk, your body's luster is like a fresh sapphire, like a new monsoon cloud, and beside you stands Shri Maharani Ji, the supreme beauty and the very limit of love, then what effort will it take for you to steal our mind?

mand mand Charu has divya pit patwas neel nir davbhas ballavi vichitra raas
Gently smiling with a charming smile, clad in divine yellow silk, blue like water and radiant, the wondrous rasa dance with the gopis.

You, Priya and Pritam, are dancing this wondrous dance together.

prem sampde ek vas Radhika nikunj vas maav nitya tad vilas koti chandra wakt bhashas
Wealth of love, one dwelling, Radhika who dwells in the nikunj, eternal playful pastimes, faces like millions of moons..

You who bestow the wealth of love, what effort will it take for you to steal our mind and intellect? Just now he was telling Radha Pir Ji, "Yaar, do speak sometimes, don't be shy. Everyone here is family. If you speak, what will be lost?"

Ours will be lost. Our mind, our intellect, our consciousness, our existence, our ego, everything will melt away. Please, just speak. But right now they are shy. May our love have enough strength to make them speak. Actually, they do speak. They speak in the mind, but they do not speak outwardly. Believe me, the day that love awakens, they will converse. They play along with people, and yet people ask for proof, "Show us the proof that God exists." What a defiled intellect has come upon us! There is no moment and no particle where the Lord is not present.

You are the giver of the wealth of love. O Rasa-vilasi, you are seated with Shri Swamini Ji in Navani Nikunj. This is indeed Navani Nikunj. O Radha, eternal playful one of the nikunj, O Yugal Sarkar who outshine millions of moons, please protect me, because only by your protection can we be saved. They are great masters of this game. They will set you right from such a place that the mistake will never happen again. Trust me, if you place your faith in them, there will be no mistake in the first place, and if one happens, it will not happen again. They will bring you to such a state. Believe me. I am speaking from my own life. Until we have faith in the Lord, until we truly trust him, we rely on ourselves. We rely on our japa mala, on our sadhana. However much sadhana we have, a lifetime of sadhana, if you criticize one Vaishnav, all of it gets covered over. The merit of many past births is wiped away directly. Day and night, may they keep our chitta absorbed in themselves. This is the prayer.

O Yugal Sarkar, smiling softly, wearing blue and yellow garments, seated in the rasa of Navani Nikunj, O playful one of Navani Nikunj, you who surpass the beauty of millions of moons, please steal our mind and intellect. Protect us so that we may always contemplate you. O Priyaji, you are always the necklace around Shri Lalji's neck, and Lalji is the necklace around yours. We are thirsty ones (pipasu), not curious seekers (jijnasu), thirsty to drink the nectar of your love. So, may you shine forth in my heart. Take our heart under your authority. Only then can it be steadied. Just as Jagatguru Bhagwan Shri Krishna took hold of the reins of Arjuna's chariot, and victory came to Arjuna, so, O Lord, be seated in the land of my heart and rule.

Bring the senses and the mind under your control. Only then will our affair be set right. There is one path, and then there is another: that I conquer the senses and conquer the mind. That path is very good, but it takes many, many lifetimes. You say, "Correct the mind," and then you correct it. "Correct the senses," and you correct them, Maharaj. We depend on you, we are under your shelter. Shri Swami Haridas Ji Maharaj says:

ham so na bigaran ko to so na savaran ko toh hi moh pari ho kaun dho jite kaun dho hare par badi na tod
We are the ones who spoil, and you are the ones who set right. You and I are caught up in this; who wins and who loses, yet the wager is never broken.

Look, Maharaj, a contest has begun between us in this game. We are spoiling things, and you are setting them right. Absolutely 100% true, that is the teaching of the Acharyas. Whatever we do is spoiling, and whatever you do is setting right. But Maharaj, please do not be angry with us, because we are spoiling things.

to tumhari maya baji pasari vichitra sun muni mohe kaki kod
Your illusion has spread out its game, wondrous; listen, even the sages are bewildered.

Sitting in whose lap do even the great sages and great saints forget you? That fierce illusion is yours. Hari, we keep on spoiling and spoiling, and we have won while you have lost. Yet the wager is not broken. We win, you lose, and still the wager is not broken.

Even so, you are so merciful that you never leave us, though we act against you. Even so, you keep pampering me. You have tried and tried to refine me, and you have lost, because I have not improved, and I have won. But still, Maharaj, if you stay with your own generosity, then our matter will be set right. We are the ones who spoil; you are the one who refines.

Swami Haridas Ji said:

jaj rakhat ho tyun tyun rahat ho hari

As you keep me, so I remain, O Hari.

We have no power to go against you.

This is your own Maya, which has tremendous force and is defeating us. So, Maharaj, you yourself hold back Maya and let us walk our path. Show mercy. When one enters this state of humility, the path of the Supreme Reality is illuminated by the grace of Bhagavan. Believe me, desire itself dissolves. There is no desire for this world, no desire for the next world, and no desire for union with Bhagavan. Truly, only one desire remains: that remembrance should not slip away. That alone is the one desire of the true worshipper's heart: unbroken remembrance. Then where will these desires go?

The pad that was being sung that day, the dancer's song, had in it: Ladli, you are the one holding the string. Where will these go? Because these are the kites, and you are the one flying them, holding the string. In the Ashtak of Nimbarkacharya Bhagwan Ji there is:

patango yatha Manu braah man namaste shri radhikae parae namaste namaste Mukund priyae

Salutations to Shri Radhika, the Supreme; salutations, salutations to the beloved of Mukunda.

patango yatha manra ma

Like a kite, as the flyer wishes, so it is flown. These, the Lord of countless crores of universes, the Supreme beyond, are bound by your string. In the rope of love, you will be whatever you wish. So please tell them to scold their Maya, and give our hearts the opportunity to worship you.

No, this worldly entanglement has crept in. Ask anyone of this kind about their whole life. Dear one, if you falter even a little, you will fall. Do not falter at all. Do not look here and there. Do not think that householders are very happy. We tell you just this much: ask every householder, "Brother, are you satisfied with the world?" They will say, "No, we are not satisfied." No one is satisfied. Over there are the ghost's laddoos: whoever eats them repents, and whoever does not eat them also repents. Accept the words of the saints, accept the words of the scriptures, and get out.

Close your eyes and get out. If you start looking around at the bazaar, you will not be able to get out. A king set up a bazaar where everything was free, and he announced in his kingdom that whoever reached him by sunset would be given his kingdom and throne, while he would go to the forest to do bhajan. He had no prince. But the bazaar was such that everything was free. Whoever went there, for food, enjoyment and luxury, said, "We must reach the king in time," but they got caught up in indulgence. There were the most royal delicacies, and everything to see, hear, smell, touch and enjoy, all free. The king sat until evening, and no one arrived. There was one man, a one-eyed man, who had been placed there. He reflected: this bazaar has been set up precisely so that I cannot get there. So he fixed one eye on his goal, walked on, and went straight to the king. He became the rightful heir to the throne.

Do you understand the meaning of "one eye"? It means one whose aim has become one. This bazaar was set up only so that I cannot attain Shyama Shyam. This net of kama and krodha has been cast for exactly that reason: so that I cannot reach Shyama Shyam. No citizen of the city reached. Only the one-eyed man reached. The one-eyed man, whose one aim is attainment of Bhagavan.

vishyan vishwat parityajan na padamb punarbhav bhajan dridh sarv pumartha sarta mati rasmin was Radhika

Renounce sense-objects as you would poison; do not seek rebirth; hold firmly to bhajan, the essence of every goal; let your mind dwell in Radhika.

Renounce sense-objects like poison. I tell you truly, do bhajan, and your condition will become such that the desire itself will not arise. I tell you truly, the desire will not arise, and no stirring will arise. It means: if food is placed before a person who has no hunger, there is no interest in it. There is no interest in living that way. Whether they call you today, this evening, tomorrow or the day after, going toward impure enjoyments is not the way. As long as bhajan does not happen, the mind goes toward those enjoyments. The verse says: even if liberation comes and clasps your feet, we will not give up our bhajan. Even if moksha comes and holds your feet, we will not turn to enjoyments, because we have not yet received the happiness of bhajan.

So now see: if this same contemplation begins, how beautiful are Shri Ji's fair lotus feet, how lovely is Shri Ji's smile, how red and lowered are her eyes, how compassionate is the Lord, then immediately the bliss of Bhagavan begins to come. Now that contemplation is taking form: how, how. It is a very strange matter. First understand the principle, the words of Bhagavan.

These are the words of Shri Krishna Chandra Ji. If you contemplate sense-objects, the desire for enjoyment becomes strong and drowns you in enjoyment.

Sanga supte aur sang sanjayte kamma kamat krodh bhi jaate krodha samoha samoha smriti bhrama smriti bhasa buddhi nasho buddhi na prannasati

From contemplating sense-objects, attachment arises; from attachment, desire is born; from desire, anger arises; from anger, delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from confusion of memory, loss of intellect; and from loss of intellect, one perishes.

What is the root of total destruction? Contemplation of sense-objects. And what is the root of the bliss of Bhagavan? Contemplation of Bhagavan. If you contemplate sense-objects, you are striking a very deadly blow upon yourself. Truly, believe me, the action itself is not as dangerous as the contemplation of sense-objects. Contemplation of sense-objects makes the whole inner faculty impure.

So the teaching is: vishyan vishwat parityajan. Poison is poison: if you eat it, you die; if you smell it, you die; if you even see it, you die. It is that sharp. Merely seeing it means you fall from your state. Vishyan vishwat parityajan, na padamya punarbhav bhajan: even if liberation comes and clasps your feet, do not give up bhajan. Radha Radha Radha Radha. Firmly, having renounced the enjoyments, live in Shri Vrindavan, and you will attain the Beloved and the Beloved's Beloved.

As Pujyapad Mahamahim Brahma Murti Shri Udiya Baba Ji Maharaj has asked: what is attained through the company of saints?

The first is that those who keep the company of saints receive discourse on the Lord. Shastra, the principles, longing to attain Bhagwan, the destruction of all sins, the destruction of sinful tendencies, and progress in spirituality [clearing throat]. This happens because satsang is their nature. Saints talk about the Lord and discuss him among themselves. Where the deeds of Raghupati are told, there listen. Shri Sanak, Sanandan, Sanatan and Sanat Kumar Ji: one becomes the speaker and three become the listeners. The flow continues unbroken. The provision to hear the Lord's leela, qualities, abode and glory from the mouths of bhakts and saints exists, and it is mostly from their mouths. Otherwise, Paramhans Shiromani Shri Sukhdev Ji would not have been given the Shrimad Bhagwat.

Not to anyone else. There were many disciples, and Bhagwan Ved Vyas Ji saw who was qualified. Bhagwat Rishi Ji is saying: first, listen to the Bhagwat, the bhakt's words, the Lord's words, the Gita and the Bhagwat. The upasak should first hear it from the mouth of a saint or bhakt. When the Lord's discussion is heard from the mouths of bhakts, ruchi for the Lord arises directly, without any sadhan. Ruchi for Bhagwan arises directly in the Lord himself.

When we have darshan of saints, a burning begins in our heart: how lowly I am, what conduct I have had. My conduct itself begins to come up. The upasak feels a desire to wash away all his impurity at the lotus feet of the saints. Many devotees come and say that they have a longing that someday they will get your seva. We say: never do our seva. Do the Lord's and the scriptures' words. Chant Radha Radha, do not act wrongly, do not take intoxicants, do not look at any mother or sister with a lustful eye. Make this your seva, and it will be the seva of all saints. If you follow this, then when you keep the company of saints, your eagerness grows.

Curiosity for the Lord grows. How is Bhagwan? How can I meet him? How can I give up worldly objects and become devoted to Bhagwan? When satsang begins, a strong eagerness to attain the Gurudev arises: may I have a Guru who guides me on the path to Bhagwan through discipline and affection. Bhagwan then brings him to you, because Bhagwan himself is the Gurudev, and the Gurudev is Bhagwan.

Bandau guru pad kanj kripa sindhu nar roop hari.
I bow to the lotus feet of the Guru, the ocean of grace, who is Hari himself in human form.

Hari himself takes human form and is present as the Gurudev.

There must be firm faith in the mantra received from the Gurudev: that through this alone, attainment of the Lord will happen. With firm faith, whatever satsang we hear, we will hold on to what suits our Gurudev. We will worship only our Gurudev, and follow only the path and mantra the Gurudev has given. Look, when elders speak, even in jest or in mockery, there is supreme auspiciousness in it. They scold, or they mock, but there is supreme welfare in it. Like: "Look, he is going around doing this, doing that."

Do not think that you were disgraced in the assembly. No, you were thoroughly washed. What you could not purify in your heart through sadhana over many days will strike your heart like a cannonball. It will set a fire and lift you up. Doubt, contrary feeling, fear and grief are blemishes on surrender. Fearlessness, freedom from anxiety, freedom from grief, abandoning contrary feeling, and abandoning doubt strengthen this surrender. So saints and mahatmas lead you to the Gurudev, and the Gurudev leads you to Bhagwan.

What cannot be achieved by firm faith in the mantra the Gurudev gave, through satsang? What cannot be done through satsang? Sesame oil, which is sold by the litre, when it keeps the company of attar, begins to be sold by the tola, for ₹00 per tola. The dust that lies under your feet, when it gets the company of the wind, begins to fly up into the sky.

Gagan chadhe raj pavan prasanga.
Dust rises to the sky in the company of the wind.

So what cannot satsang do? Even Bhagwan cannot change someone who does not want to change. Bhagwan cannot either. You will ask: why can Bhagwan not change them?

Bhagwan is capable of doing, not doing, and doing otherwise. He was explaining to Duryodhana as a messenger for peace: brother, look, you set a condition that if you completed twelve years of exile and the thirteenth year in disguise, you would return our kingdom. They honestly gave the full account, with dates and times, that it was completed. Now return it. He said no, we will not give the kingdom. Then he said, give half the kingdom. Bhagwan was refusing. He said no. Half the kingdom, then. Give five villages, he said. Five villages. He said: not even the tip of a needle, O Keshava, will I give.

You see, Bhagwan was explaining, and he understood, and in the end the war happened, the Mahabharata war. If you do not want to change, no one can change you.

So you must be firm in the mantra and worship that the Gurudev gives. You must bring great firmness. Usually people attach themselves to the Gurudev, but through the surrounding environment they deprive themselves of the Gurudev's grace. The upasak should connect directly to the Gurudev. Just understand this much. If you grasp it, your faith will remain strong for life. We are connected only to the Gurudev, not to those around.

The Gurudev's command, the Gurudev's words: the Gurudev will never be the object of your disbelief. You will never go wrong. Only the Gurudev's words, the Gurudev's mantra and the Gurudev's worship: no one in the three worlds can defeat them. And whom were you connected to? Whom were you connected to? Think about it. If you are connected only to the Gurudev, then you must stay firm only on the Gurudev's words, his worship, his mantra and his command. No one can defeat you. Without devotion to the Guru, there is no attainment of Bhagwan. What was the result of keeping the company of saints? The embracing of the Gurudev.

And the fruit of Gurudev's grace is the attainment of Bhagwan. When Gurudev's seva is done, the senses must be restrained. Please note: the fruit of Gurudev's seva is the restraint of the senses, not giving the senses free rein and behaving as one pleases. We see that among so many satsangis, everyone's feeling is bhagwat-bhav. That is why, though they are all sitting here, not everyone's aim is the attainment of Bhagwan. Everyone sitting here should save themselves and save others. Understand this thread of the path of paramarth: whoever is wicked, he goes astray himself and leads others astray. I say, the one who nurtures satsang: if you make mistakes, my Swami will bring you to the straight path through sama, dana, danda and bheda. He will make the fake into the real. These devotees who stand in my mind are the jewel of my crown, and Bhagwan removes all their shortcomings.

The meaning of guru-sang is the restraint of the senses and the control of the mind, turning the mind away from sense objects and turning the senses away from objects and toward Bhagwan. This is the fruit of guru-sang:

sarwatmana na je bahirindriyani

Wholeheartedly, withdrawing the outward senses.

An upasak who stays near the Guru should no longer have attraction or aversion. He should attain equanimity and see Bhagwan's presence in everyone and throughout the whole world. One who stays near the Guru acquires the art of being content with whatever he gets, and the craving for worldly enjoyments is destroyed. The mind of one who remains in Guru-seva becomes simple in conduct, steady, and relies only on Bhagwan. In his heart, joy, sorrow, meekness and grief all come to an end.

Oh, the meaning of guru-seva is seva of Paramatma. If someone does guru-seva for twenty minutes and spends the rest of the time in deception, then he is a servant who wants pleasure and honour. A beggar who wants respect is a sannyasi, so what kind of renunciate is he? A servant who wants happiness, a beggar, an addict, one who is always in vice, one who seeks a good destination while being immoral, one who is given to every kind of wrong path, and one who becomes rich: what kind of servant is he? So be very careful. Pujyapad Udiya Baba Ji Maharaj said: if you see someone unhappy, think with compassion about how to end their sorrow. Keep complete faith in the Vedas, the scriptures, the mahatmas, the Guru and the words of Bhagwan. Keep the discrimination between sat and asat alert at all times. All enjoyments up to Brahmaloka lie within maya.

Thinking this, do not be attracted to any enjoyment. Do not collect anything for yourself. Do not collect for your own sake for the attainment of Bhagwan; collect for society and for the family, for those who are householders. To collect for your own enjoyment means filling yourself with delusion. Give up sinful conduct completely, and engage in actions only as the Guru has instructed. Maharaj Ji said: this is to be done in this way, this and that is to be done, this is not to be done. He explained: it is to be done like this. Gurudev sits in my mind at all times, and I perform my actions according to his words.

Even in great calamity, the remembrance of Bhagwan should not slip. Even in great calamity, for the one who abuses you, slanders you and insults you, pray to Bhagwan that his intellect be purified, that he be blessed, and that he never meet with misfortune. Never be frightened of anyone, let there be no desire in the inner self, and remain constantly mindful of Bhagwan and happy. These are the signs of the attainment of Bhagwan. Whoever has these will himself attain Bhagwan. Now listen to one more thing: when you see someone suffering, let a feeling of compassion arise for them.

Complete faith in the words of the Vedas, the scriptures, the mahatmas, the Guru and Bhagwan. Timely and correct decision between sat and asat. Non-attachment to all enjoyments up to Brahmaloka, without mamtv or bhog-buddhi, and collecting nothing for oneself. No doubt should remain in surrender to Bhagwan. Complete renunciation of sinful conduct, and engaging in all daily duties exactly as the Guru has said. Even in great calamity, do not forget Bhagwan. Even toward one who criticises us, who wrongs us, who gives us pain, hold the wish to give happiness.

Complete absence of fear. No desire or craving in the inner self. Remain happy while constantly remembering. These are the signs of the attainment of Bhagwan. Pujyapad Shiv Baba Ji Maharaj, in the course of the Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran, tells how Bhagwan Shri Krishna Chandra subdued Kaliya. He made the Kali Hrad full of water like nectar. Kaliya Nag went with his family to Ramanak Dvip. Now he has no fear, because the marks of Bhagwan's feet are on his head. So Garuda ji will not be able to do anything. Wherever Garuda ji sees the marks of Bhagwan's feet, he no longer strikes.

Even Bhagwan had to face struggle after struggle. So why should we not have to struggle? He had just purified Kaliya Dah. The next day Pralambasur came again and was carrying off Bhagwan Balram ji. Bhagwan Balram ji delivered Pralambasur. I heard this discourse yesterday. The next day, Parikshit, Bhagwan had the same daily routine: leaving the cows and calves in the green grass of Vrindavan with the cowherd boys, the sakhas and gopas, and playing together. The cows, unrestrained, wandered deep into a thick forest. It was the summer season, and they reached the reed forest of Munja Atavi. Many gopas went to bring them back from there. Shri Krishna, Balram and the others saw that the cows were not visible. Oh, they had gone into the reed forest. They followed the hoofprints of the cows. Bhagwan began calling the cows loudly by their names. The cows heard the sound of their own names, recognised that Bhagwan was calling them, and began to low in reply. While this was happening, a fire broke out. The rubbing of the bamboo produced a forest fire. And Munja Atavi, which spreads fire very quickly, was engulfed. All the calves, cows, gopas and sakhas were in danger, and a very strong wind began to blow.

From all sides came towering, blazing flames, strong enough to consume every living being. The cowherd boys and the cows were surrounded by the forest fire. This happened once before, when they had stayed the night after Kaliya Naag was subdued, and now such an incident had happened again. Just as a living being, frightened of death, takes refuge in the Lord, all the cowherd boys took shelter in Lord Shri Krishna and Balram and called out: "O brave Shri Krishna, O beloved Shri Krishna, O most mighty Balram, we have taken refuge in you. Both of you, save us from this!"

Shri Krishna, for whom you alone are brother and kin, and those who have fully accepted you as their own never suffer any affliction. You know all the dharmas, so you also know the dharma of one who takes refuge. We are all in your shelter. Therefore, O Lord, you alone are our protector. Please save us.

Shri Krishna said loudly, "Do not fear, do not fear. Close your eyes."

vacho nisham kripnam bandhu naam bhagwan hari nimlatma bhashta lochna nitya bhashat

Hearing the piteous words of his kin, the Lord Hari said: "Close your eyes, do not be afraid."

Now he told you all to close your eyes. Around you the flames are very high. The grass in the Munjatavi is very tall. In the village it is called munj. The scholars, in scriptural language, call it Munjatavi. Some call it sarkanda, a reed. They grow very big, and from them rise white flames, like bubbling foam.

Shri Krishna told them all to close their eyes, and then he drew in his breath. The entire fire went into the mouth of the Lord and was extinguished. The Lord drank the fire for his devotees. The same mouth that had tasted butter and drunk milk now drank the fire.

When the cowherd boys opened their eyes, they found themselves near the Bhandirvat tree. "Our Shri Krishna is truly miraculous! From such a great crisis, where had we got stuck? We were in the Munjatavi, and now look where we have come! Here at Bhandirvat, he lifted all of us, the cows, calves and friends, carried us here, and drank the fire." Parikshit, when evening came, Lord Shri Krishna, together with Balram, returned the cows. Playing his flute, he came home behind them, and the cowherd boys were praising him.

In Braj, for the gopis, every moment without Shri Krishna passed like a hundred yugas. In the evening, all the gopis would stand along the path, and when they saw the Lord returning from grazing the cows, they would be immersed in supreme bliss at the sight of him. The cowherd boys, on reaching home, told their mothers, sisters, other women and elders about the wondrous deeds of Shri Krishna and Balram: "We would all have died. A fire had broken out in the Munjatavi, and Shri Krishna brought all of us to Bhandirvat and drank the fire in his mouth."

Hearing this, the great gopas and gopis began to believe that Shri Krishna and Balram are very great deities who have come here to protect us, the people of Braj.

After the summer, when the rains arrive, the tiny creatures multiply greatly. In the rainy season there are many insects, moths and very small beings. Trees that dried up in the summer regain life when they receive water. The sun and moon are repeatedly surrounded by halos. Clouds, wind, flashes and thunder make a great splendour appear in the sky. Dense dark-blue clouds come, lightning flashes, thunder rumbles, and rain falls.

Just as the jiva is of Brahman nature but is covered by the qualities of maya, and begins to think of itself as the body, so the sun and moon, when covered by clouds, cannot be seen. The jiva is of Brahman nature. The sun, like a king, draws water for eight months from the earth, its subjects, with its rays, and then distributes it again. Just as a compassionate person, seeing that his subjects are suffering greatly, sacrifices even his life and breath out of compassion, so the lightning flashes, the dense clouds come, and they keep showering the water that is the life of all beings.

The earth, parched by the heat of Jeth and Ashadh, became green and lush after being watered by the rain. Just as when someone performs austerity with a desire for results, the body becomes weak, and when the fruit of the austerity is attained, the body becomes strong and healthy again. In the evening of the rainy season, when dense darkness of clouds covers the sky, the light of the planets and stars is not seen, but fireflies shine. In the same way, in Kali Yuga, the company of true mahatmas is found very rarely.

Hypocrites gain great prominence. He says: just as in the evening of the rainy season the dense darkness of clouds covers everything, and the light of the sun and stars is not seen, and only the fireflies begin to shine, with only the firefly's light, so in Kali Yuga, when sin becomes dominant, meeting true saints will become difficult. The propaganda of hypocritical sects will spread, the Vedic principles will disappear, and hypocrites will hold sway.

The frogs that earlier lay quietly, hidden in the mud, as soon as the rain came, all came out and began to croak, "tar tar tar tar."

Just as after completing their daily routine, on the command of the guru, brahmacharis recite the Vedas, the small rivers that had nearly dried up in Jeth and Ashadh now swirled and surged and began to flow beyond their banks. Just as the body, wealth and property of an unrestrained man are all spent on the wrong path, the ajitendriya person, who is turned away from the Lord, squanders his money enormously. He considers himself fortunate, and his pride grows.

A very great misuse. Across the earth, here and there, was the green of fresh grass. Here and there was the red of the veer bahuti mites. Here and there, because of the rain mushrooms, it looked white. It is like the rivers that dry up in the months of Jeth and Ashadh, and then fill again when the rains come in Sawan and Bhadon. Wealth that comes to people who are turned away from the Lord is used in the wrong place and spent in the wrong way. If it is spent rightly, then every single rupee becomes very great.

so dhan dhanya pratham gati jaki
Blessed is that wealth, and blessed is its first course.

All the fields were full of grain and swaying with it, and the farmers were overjoyed to see them. But everything is under prarabdha, the fruit of past actions.

People who do not know this feel great envy in their hearts. Some are so envious that, in the standing crop, they quietly throw a matchstick and run away. Who knows about it? The whole farm burns. What will happen to that household now? It is like the mustard crop. The clouds came in the evening, and in the morning the mustard was to be cut. The whole family sits sad. "O Lord, do not let it rain!" If it rains, the ripe mustard standing in the field will burst open at the first light of the sun, each pod will open, and all the mustard will scatter.

The farmer is a very great ascetic, very hard-working. Now that tractors have come, it was not so. Before, a single plough was the way. From two in the morning until eleven, they ploughed, and only then was so much land turned. It is very hard, very hard, farming is very hard, and poverty is very hard. They work with great effort, like oxen, and only then is their belly filled. So those who are envious look at the crops and burn. They plan to destroy them. In the rainy season, water creatures and land creatures multiply. When one serves the Lord, a beauty comes both inside and outside.

Nature becomes beautiful in this way during the rains. In the rainy season, with the gusts of wind, the ocean was already full of high waves, and now that the rivers were pouring into it, it became even more full of rising waves. Like a sadhak who wants to hold back the mind and the senses and fix them on the Lord, but when contact with objects comes, when contact with the indulgent comes, a surge rises in him. Now he cannot hold it.

That is why it is written:

kasta maya kastati maya to bole yo sangajti yo mahanubhav sevte yo nirmamo bhavti
Who crosses over maya? Who crosses over maya? The one who gives up attachment, serves the great souls, and becomes free of "mine."

Do not have attachment to anyone. Have no company except the company of a devotee of the Lord, a great soul. Do bhajan, detached. Yesterday a saint of the Lord came in many forms. A saint of the Lord asked a question: should a new sadhak do bhajan in solitude, or should he stay in the company of the saints?

The answer is that first, he should stay in the company of saints: Prathm bhagat santan kar sanga, because he is a new plant. If a goat eats it, the plant that the goat has eaten does not sprout again. Priyadas Ji has written in the Bhaktamal that when the sprouting of bhakti is happening, you should put up a fence of saints, a boundary of the company of saints, so that the goat of maya cannot enter. Once the goat has grazed, not even the stubble is left; it chews the stalks away. Then bhakti will not sprout. Such is the power of maya. So stay in the company of the saints.

He said that in our Guru's place, those who take initiation first stay for a few days like this, and then they say, "We will live in solitude," and they leave the Guru and go away. They give up serving the Guru. What will happen to them? They will never attain a mature state. Those who turn away from the Guru, the giver of naam, will never reach a mature state. Everyone feeds the belly, but the progress of mature spirituality, the grace of the Guru, and sadhana without the ego of having done it, come only through service at the Guru's feet. So when a sadhak full of desire comes into contact with objects, he is destroyed by the surge of his desires.

A mountain is not affected even when it is struck by heavy rain for a long time. Likewise, when a sadhak is mature, the blow of lust, the blow of anger, blame, praise, insult make no difference. As with a mountain, if heavy rain falls, there is no difference. Such is the heart of a saint.

The paths that were never kept clean became covered with grass. It became hard to recognise them. In the Kaliyug, the paths of the Lord will be covered. They will be hard to recognise. The paths of hypocrisy will open. Pure discussion of the Lord, the pure path of the Lord, has become very hard.

Although they are great benefactors of the people, lightning does not stay steady in them. Like women of corrupt conduct, who never follow their husbands, who are not devoted to their husbands, whose nature has become restless. Then how can they remain steady? And in today's times, the trend of girlfriend and boyfriend has already corrupted all feelings. Impure feelings. Then how will household life be good for them?

In the sky, the clouds thunder and roar very loudly, and a rainbow appears. Like sattva, rajas, and tamas: in the tangle of this world, the formless Brahman is hidden. But these three are visible: sattva, rajas, tamas. Like a rainbow, these qualities are visible, yet the Supreme Soul that pervades them is not felt.

With the arrival of the clouds, every feather of the peacocks blooms, and they dance and celebrate with joy. In just the same way, when people in household life meet a devotee of the Lord, their hearts dance with joy. "Today is a great fortune, the darshan of a devotee of the Lord. Today is a great fortune, to hear his words. Today is a great fortune, that I got to serve him."

The trees that had dried up in the heat of Jeth drank water through their roots, and now they are richly adorned with leaves, flowers and branches. It is like a person who performs true austerity and then receives the fruit of it, and becomes radiant with joy. The banks of ponds are often disturbed by thorns, mud and the flow of water, yet the saras crane does not leave them, not even for a moment. It is like impure-hearted, worldly people who are always engaged in sense enjoyments. They cannot even imagine giving them up. In the rainy season, by Indra's inspiration, there is heavy rain.

So the embankments of rivers break, and the boundaries of the fields break. In Kaliyug, through the false doctrines of hypocrites, the correct path of Bhagwan will become hidden. The correct path of Bhagwan should not become hidden. Oh brother, only by chanting the name of Bhagwan will this world and the next be made. This "chhoo-chhaa" business will not accomplish anything. Whoever feels in chhoo-chhaa that there is truth in it, whether one does it from close or from far, its effect will come even from a breath of wind. The power of the mantra is such that when a yagya was being performed here on earth, Takshak was sheltered at Devraj Indra's feet, and when the word "svaha" was spoken, he came down from above.

The mantra has such great power. If our prarabdha has been exhausted, we will be well. If our prarabdha has not been exhausted, can any doctor cure us, or any chhoochha? Prarabdha is very mighty. Prarabdha cannot be erased. It can only be endured through bhajan. It can be held back a little, and much can be reduced to little. Completely erasing prarabdha is very difficult. Those who have the capacity to erase it attain knowledge, and then they do not erase it. That is why it is said that in Kaliyug the rule of hypocrites will prevail.

It is a very strange play. A very strange play. There was a Bargadiya Baba. A tortoise bit his foot, worms developed there, and his whole foot was rotting, yet he was a great soul endowed with realization of Brahman. How do you understand this? Even great people must bear the fruit of prarabdha. That is why it is said that in Kaliyug the doctrine of hypocrites will run and gallop. Chant the mala day and night, do bhajan, walk the true path, walk the path of Bhagwan, which is imperishable. In all three times, one can never be deceived. But this is not believed. Everyone feels that we give something to Babaji, we enjoy our pleasures, Babaji does the yoga, and we give some fruit, flowers and money and remain completely at ease. No, brother, that is not the law. Certainly:

bhoktuvi kritam karm Subha shubham kon kan ke sukh dukh kar data aur nij krit karm bhog sun bhrata
One must certainly experience the fruits of one's own deeds, good and bad. No one is the giver of happiness or sorrow to another. Brother, listen: one must enjoy the fruit of one's own actions.

We can understand that chanting Bhagwan's name, Bhagwan's mantra, serving Bhagwan, and worshipping Bhagwan's devotees makes sense. But what we cannot understand is that someone will touch you and you will become siddha. It is not like that. Look, see how powerful karma is.

In the Bhagwat, at the beginning, Atmadev became very stubborn: either give us a son, or we will die in front of you. So the sant gave him a fruit. Now, reading his destiny, they said that for seven lives he would have no children. So what happened? When he brought the fruit home, his wife Dhundhuli did not eat it. She fed it to a cow. Did you see? Prarabdha changes the intellect, so that she gave such a perfect fruit to a cow. It did not happen for them; what came was Dhundhukari, just as dense clouds, moved by the wind, shower water like nectar on living beings.

Sometimes great saints order wealthy people to serve the poor. Taking wealth from the rich and putting it into service of the poor, or ordering the wealthy to serve the poor. There are people who do not have money for medicine. There are elderly people whom no one serves. There are elderly mothers who are suffering greatly. If one has wealth, one should do this. [sound of clearing throat] Keep ten or five such attendants, have them look after the elderly, and arrange their medicines. All of this is the best use of wealth.

so dhan dhanya pratham gati jaki.
Blessed is that wealth whose first destination is charitable use.

In Vrindavan, adorned with such splendor, amidst trees and creepers, Bhagwan Shri Krishna and Balram go to graze the cows. The cows graze on plenty of green grass. Their big udders are full of milk, and when Bhagwan Krishna calls them by name, they come running to him, overflowing with love. Because of their haste, the land of Vrindavan is watered with their milk. The Bhil men and Bhilinis, the forest dwellers, are also very joyful. Streams of honey flow from the rows of trees. Waterfalls come down from the mountains with a sweet, melodious sound, and there are beautiful caves. When the rain falls, Bhagwan hides in the caves, hides in some nook, and eating roots and forest fruits, he sometimes plays in the rainwater with his sakhas.

It is raining, and Krishna, Balram and the sakhas all play, drenched in water. Sometimes they sit openly on a rock. Sometimes, together with the cowherd boys, they eat the curd, rice, dal and vegetables brought from home. In the rainy season, the cows, bulls and calves, tired from the heavy weight of their udders, quickly graze on the grass. Sitting on the green grass with their eyes closed, they keep chewing the cud. The beauty of the rainy season is immeasurable, and even more beautiful in union with Vrindavan. There is no doubt that this season, these cows, these bulls and these calves are all the divine playful displays of Bhagwan's leela.

Seeing this, Bhagwan becomes very pleased. Again and again he is delighted: sometimes he dances, sometimes he sings, sometimes he praises. In this way, Shyam and Balram live in Braj with great joy. Meanwhile, the rainy season passed and autumn arrived. Now there are no clouds in the sky. The water became clear, and the wind began to blow at a very gentle pace. In autumn, the lotuses appear, and the waters of the reservoirs reveal their clarity. It is like a sadhak who has fallen, and then takes up a strict vow and practises yoga, and becomes pure again.

In this way, in autumn, ponds that have been muddied by the rains become clear again. If someone has fallen, that does not mean we must keep falling. No. Take a firm vow and move forward again. The autumn season dispelled the clouds in the sky, the creatures that had multiplied during the rainy season, the mud of the earth, and the murkiness of the water. In the same way, devotion to Bhagavan destroys all kinds of inauspiciousness, sins and impurities, whether one is a brahmachari, a grihastha, a vanaprastha or a sannyasi. Through devotion to Bhagavan, a person, like the clouds that have given away all their water, shines adorned with a bright radiance.

Just as a person who has much wealth should, for the next world, restrain his desires and enjoyments a little and apply his wealth to the welfare of others, to auspicious works for others. In some places streams flow down from the mountains, and in other places they do not release their life-giving water. Likewise, when a wise person sees that someone is qualified, he gives away the gift of his knowledge, and when he sees that someone is not qualified, he falls silent and does not speak with them. The aquatic creatures living in the water of small pits do not know that after four days this pit will dry up.

And then we will have to die. In the same way, people who are estranged from Bhagavan, absorbed in supporting their family and household, do not know that after four days their life will be spent, they will die, and the benefit that they should have gained from the human birth they will not be able to obtain. Is Bhagavan's bhajan now causing pain, like the sharp rays of the autumn sun? Just as the senses of a sadhak who does not have his senses under control entangle him in all kinds of heat and sin, the senses do. Only the sadhak who keeps his senses under restraint, the sadhu, attains supreme bliss. The earth slowly began to release its mud.

The grass and leaves slowly began to release their rawness. Just as a sadhak endowed with discernment gradually renounces non-self objects and becomes established in his own atma. In autumn, the water of the ocean became still, deep and calm. Just as the mind of an atmaram person becomes free of sankalpa and calm, he no longer falls into any entanglement of worldly show, enjoyment or ritual. Farmers strengthened the embankments of their fields and began to stop the flow of water. In the same way, the sadhak protects his knowledge by pratyahara, not letting his senses come into contact with their objects.

The more you enjoy sense pleasures through the senses, the more ignorance grows, and the more you renounce enjoyments, the more knowledge grows. In autumn, the sun is very harsh during the day, and people suffer greatly. But at night the moon shines and removes that heat in the same way. Just as the body-conscious person suffers in sadhana, and when the attainment of Bhagavan happens, he becomes immersed in supreme bliss. Therefore, do not seek entertainment in the enjoyments of the world, but move forward towards Bhagavan. This is a little suffering. After this is great happiness. And for the world there is only suffering upon suffering.

dukhalai masam.
This abode of sorrow, which is impermanent.

Trees and creepers laden with flowers, and a beautiful breeze blowing through them. Neither too cold nor too hot. The touch of that breeze removes everyone's burning, but the burning of the gopis increases even more, because Shri Krishna has stolen their hearts. The beauty of autumn is very lovely, and in that very beauty is the intoxication of love for Shri Krishna. Just as, with the good rule of a king like Parikshit, all people become fearless except thieves and robbers, so with the sunrise, every kind of lotus has blossomed except the kumudini.

In big cities and villages, festivals related to Indra began to be celebrated with new offerings. The grain ripened in the fields. Vrindavan, with the presence of Bhagavan Shri Krishna and Balram Ji, is endowed with divine beauty. Just as a person who has become perfected through sadhana, when the time comes, attains his Bhagavat body and abides in great bliss, in the same way sannyasis, kings, graduates and merchants who had stayed in one place because of the rains set out from there and went toward their respective goals. Vrindavan is very beautiful, and Lal Ji's very lovely flute is playing. Listening to that flute, what feelings arise in the hearts of the gopis, they describe.

This is called the Venu Geet. We will discuss it further ahead. Jai Shri Radhavallabh Lal ki Jai.

yah path video ke swachalit (auto-generated) upasheershkon se liya gaya hai — ismen shabdon ki trutiyan ho sakti hain. Pramanik vachan ke liye video avashya sunen.

This text is taken from the auto-generated subtitles of the video, so it may contain errors in words. For authentic words, be sure to listen to the video.

Original video: Shri Hit Radha Kripa (YouTube)