Who is eligible for satsang? / Shri Krishna's grace on the yajna-patnis / The pride of the Brahmins of Mathura is broken

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

Full Discourse

Vrindavaneshwari, tava padaravindam, prema makaranda raso purnam, pitam madhupate smarata mugram, nirvapaya param shitala mayam, param shitala maya, param satchidananda ghana premanda svarupa, nava nivrit nikunj vilasi, maha premamay karunamay pran priya yugal sarkar Shri Shyama Shyam, to all the sahachari vrind, birds, animals, beasts, trees, creepers, Yamuna, Ras Rani, Raj Rani, and all the Brajvasis, crores of salutations and prostrations at your feet. By the grace of Swamini Ji, the darshan of Shri Vrindavan Dham, staying for a few moments in Shri Vrindavan Dham or living there for a lifetime, is a very great grace.

Once someone has come to Vrindavan, the foundation for the destruction of their sorrows and for their welfare is laid. Now, if they hold on to the words heard in satsang and chant "Radha, Radha, Radha" at all times, understand that the Radha naam is a great siddhi. Many lifetimes have been lost in contemplating sense objects. Give the time that is left in this one lifetime to the Radha naam. You will win. Even though you are a person of sense objects, sinful in nature, the state that great souls attain, the Radha naam will grant you that. Have faith: Shri Hari himself relishes this naam, the Radha naam.

Seated in the groves on the pure banks of the Yamuna, in lotus posture like yogis, they keep repeating "Ha Radha, ha Radha, Radha", letting go of inauspicious currents. This is the most majestic Shri Dham Vrindavan. Shripad Prabodhanand Ji Maharaj says: Radha and Krishna, unceasing, ever-increasing mutual affection.. Radha and Shyam Sundar are increasing their mutual love; Vrindavan, every moment, is increasing love in the heart of the Yugal Sarkar. This Vrindavan is the one that is increasing love between Priya and Pritam, who are the very form of love. It makes all that is moving and unmoving here, all that is inert and conscious, and the Lord of the Mind, intoxicated with the love of Priya and Pritam.

How wondrous is its glory.. Whoever is a visitor in Vrindavan, who has just arrived: once they have met Bihari Ji, once they have locked eyes with Radhavallabh Ji, once they have returned to the dust of Vrindavan, they say that at the final moment they will receive a chidghana body. Becoming of the nature of the Divine, they will become a resident of the eternal abode of the Lord. In such a place Priya and Pritam perform their eternal play. Such is the glory of the Vrindavan Dham, which is increasing love in Priya and Pritam. Vrinda Avi, which makes all that is inert and conscious intoxicated with the love of Priya and Pritam.

Those visitors who come to Vrindavan and chant the name of Shri Ji, who spend their time carefully, who commit no offence: by that much alone, Vrindavan will bring them to the attainment of the Divine. Believe it: the glory of the Divine Dham is immeasurable. Here the Lord of Kashi himself, Vishwanath Ji Maharaj, worships this dust. Brahma Ji himself, Uddhav Ji, the great sages, worship the dust for which.. "Jo raj Shiva Sanakadik yachat, so raj sheesh chadhaun, Kishori tere charanan ki raj paun" (the dust that Shiva and Sanakadi beg for, I place that dust upon my head; Kishori, may I obtain the dust of your feet). Such is the most majestic land: one visit can transform the life of a life, and many lives have been transformed.

Whoever has heard the glory of Vrindavan, taken refuge in Vrindavan, stayed in Vrindavan even for a few moments, their life takes on a quite different current. Because where Radha is, a current of love will certainly begin to flow. Shripad says that this illuminates such a rasa of love. Ashupt chetana haran hetu rev dhruvam, tatha patal mand takar manas maad kaha chetana hai.. Though the mind is not sleeping, it is asleep. As in deep sleep one hears nothing, nothing at all. Such a one is absorbed in tamoguna. Likewise, the bhajanandi here is awake, but without consciousness.

Without awareness. Who is saying what? Who is doing what? It is a state of deep love. Sometimes, even while talking, the naam and mantra keep running in the way that those who bhajan continuously do. Just as you see, the letters of electric light keep running: you are conversing, but it keeps running. When it reaches a deep state, then no outer sounds are heard, even if drums are beaten; no outer sight is seen, even though the eyes are open. Ashupt chetana haran het rev dhruvam, dhruvam — one has to say that this is the supreme truth; do not doubt it.

The relish of bhajan grows to such a degree that one remains asleep even while awake. "Asleep while awake" means: completely apart from sound, touch, form, taste and smell, immersed in the love of Priya and Pritam. It is not the sleep of ignorance, but it is like a deep sleep, and such is the samadhi. Come, in samadhi, "bhutar it nachit dula", Swami Shri Haridas Ji says: here the eyes are not diseased, so that one cannot see. The eyes are perfectly good, yet nothing is seen except Priya and Pritam. Wherever one looks, the eyeballs themselves have become Priya and Pritam. Priya murti naina basein, te ras rahya samaye; ye lakshan sun prem ke aur na kachhu suhaye. Narayan Swami Ji says: "Roop chhake ghumat rahe, tan ko tanik na bhaan; Narayan drig jal bah, prem pehchaan." The form has entered the eyes; there are eyes, but nothing else is visible except Priya and Pritam. One is awake, yet there is no sound, touch, form, taste or smell: it is like a deep sleep, the deep state of bhajan. "Dhanam nidhan jat dati doorat pooorat paresh, ras vadh mudit ashva" — Vrindavan is the great wealthy one, yet it lives like a poor person.

Those who dwell in Vrindavan are the greatest wealthy, and the one who has the name of the supreme wealth, Satchidananda Ghana, Priya and Pritam, is truly rich. "Kabira sab jag nirdhana, dhanavanta nahin koi; dhanavanta soi janiye, jake Ram naam dhan hoi" — Kabir says the whole world is poor; no one is truly rich. Know that one to be rich in whom the wealth of Ram naam dwells: may the Radha naam be their wealth, may the Krishna naam be their wealth. They are rich in the Bhagwan naam, yet they live with great humility and poverty. To become small is a very great thing. Everyone is ready to become great. Become so small that no one is left smaller than you. "Trinadapi suneeche, taruvar sahishnuna; amanina manadena, keerthaniyah sada harih" — consider yourself lower than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, giving honour to others without seeking it for yourself. For one whose Priya and Pritam are theirs, who could be a greater wealthy one than that?

Many sadhaks make this mistake: they do not first accept the Lord. Surrender (sharanagati) does not mean only taking initiation. It means surrendering the ego. If you have not learned the process of surrendering the ego, you are just going around like an ox on an oil press. There is an obstruction in bhajan. The ego is strengthened, surrender has not happened, and it does not work from the heart. The connection is not right. The bulb is right, the cord is right, your board is right, the switch is right, and you have put it into the board, but if the connection is not right, then when you switch it on, it will not light. From body, mind, speech and ego, say: "I am in your shelter."

Pure and spotless, I am yours, not for the fulfilment of any desire. Is there something for you that I have to do? The Lord accepts the burden of surrender. The one who has surrendered is fearless, free of grief and carefree. But surrender is simply not happening. The word dainya (humility) is very hard. To consider yourself lower than a blade of grass is a very difficult thing. This comes when the supreme wealth arrives. Just as a branch bends when it bears good fruit, so too, when the fruit of bhajan is received, a person bows down. Sadhan is at everyone's feet, [unclear in the captions], Vrindavan. If you can, once, leaving behind attachment and possessiveness, come to Vrindavan even for two or four days. Do the parikrama here, return to the dust here, sit at the feet of the rasiks here, and talk with them about Priya-Pritam, talk about siddhanta and peace. Your life will change.

bum bandhu jan sadaiv yatte du sneh paas maha maya kapi vimohini shishu kala lapiya shatam
Bandhu-jan is always striving; the noose of affection is hard to escape. This great Maya, the bewildering one, binds with the prattle of children.

See how terrible this Maya is. Attachment to one's family binds the jiva so tightly, like the lisping talk of children. The sweet glances of a woman, her sweet speech, a son speaking in a lisping voice: a person gets so bound up in these pleasures and in family that Vrindavan, attaining Priya-Pritam, bhajan, sanyam and niyam mean nothing to him. He considers only the family. Believe me truly, you have infinite grace. The shackles of attachment were cut, and you do not know how or when. It is so strange that even after entering the path of Bhagavan and taking vairagya, the same worry about home, the same thinking about family members, the same love and the same attachment keep dragging you back, and not towards the Lord. Love for the Lord could come only in some rare, pure heart.

This is an indescribable, bewildering Maya. While contemplating the bewildering nature of Maya, the whole life passes. More, and more, and more; the number keeps increasing. Deposit in the bank, deposit, deposit, and then die. Then others will enjoy it. You have ruined your life. Ghora anartha, a terrible harm: this rupee has ruined the whole life, and the whole life has gone in thinking about rupees, to no purpose. It is all rubbish. If it will not go with you, then you have only gathered rubbish. Hari naam and Radha naam will bring welfare to you here and in the hereafter. Therefore Shripad is saying: you have earned things that have no purpose. Come to your senses a little and fulfil the purpose. The purpose of your human birth is sadhan, dham and moksha. This is the gateway to moksha. The human body is for being established, free from all sins, miseries, hardships and calamities, in the Lord who is the form of supreme bliss. So understand your self-interest. This is not your self-interest: that you have destroyed your whole life in attachment to family.

Not even for twenty minutes have you sat and chanted Radha Radha. You never went to Bhagavat-dham. You never served anyone. You never worshipped Bhagavan, and your life has passed in vain. So now come to your senses.

swarth bhransh karam tadan saklam tav Vrindavan
Give up self-interest; all of this is your Vrindavan.

Come to Vrindavan once. Listen to satsang once. Roll in the dust once. This alone will be enough for your life. When it is written in the register that you went to Vrindavan once, had darshan of Bihari Ji once, and rolled in the dust once, that itself will save you from the punishment for all your wrongdoings. It will save you from the punishment for all sins.

Pujyapad Shri Udiya Baba Ji Maharaj, the very form of Brahma and the body of Bhagavan himself. Question: who is qualified for satsang? Who can benefit from satsang? He said: the jiva who has a longing to attain Bhagavan benefits most from satsang. The first benefit of satsang comes to the one whose goal has become attaining Bhagavan. The second kind of person thinks, "Come, our sins will be destroyed, we will hear some good things, and our life will improve a little." People in this second category also take the benefit of satsang.

In the third category, people think, "Why are you sitting there? Come, let's listen to satsang for a while. Someone has inspired us, let's see what they are saying." Even they receive a benefit. Even if someone goes to satsang with the intention of criticising and still listens, their welfare will still happen. But the best benefit can be received by the one whose goal has become: "In this very life I must attain Bhagavan." That person can receive the special benefit of satsang. As long as there is no affection for saints, there cannot be affection for Bhagavan.

Until today, whoever has attained Bhagavan has attained him through the grace of saints. If our feeling of Bhagavat-bhav towards saints begins to grow, if pure feeling begins, and if faith and conviction become firm, then love for Bhagavan will arise naturally. But pray to Bhagavan: "Give me such saints that their company may bring love for your feet." If there is the company of great souls, contemplation of their words, and study of the scriptures, then the zeal to attain Bhagavan will surely be kindled. As you keep listening to satsang, its fruit appears: the world begins to feel unpleasant.

Let the mind not turn toward dirty things. And let a longing arise in the heart that my bhajan may go on without a break. We speak of our own life. There is one thing we have kept in life: we have received the darshan of Bhagavan. We did not even consider ourselves qualified for it. We kept only one thing: that bhajan should never be given up. O Prabhu, O Gurudev, O Vrindavan Dham, be so merciful that I am neither forgotten nor cast aside. This is the gift I ask of you. O beloved of Shri Harivansh, make me your own. Let this confidence remain: that I am yours, and that your contemplation keeps flowing at every moment. Through this alone nothing has to be asked for. All of Bhagavan's grace came on its own. The fruit of satsang is this: the world begins to feel like a dream, and bhajan begins to flow in the heart at every moment.

This wealth, the children, the daughters, the family: all of these have come as Bhagavan, in this form. Serve everyone. Use everything well. Wealth that is spent with the feeling of welfare for others becomes the cause of attaining Bhagavan. And wealth that is spent to fulfil desire becomes the cause of downfall. The greater benefit of satsang comes from those sants and mahapurushas who have an ishtakar vritti, whose day and night have one single aim: Bhagavan, and no other aim. Under the cover of Bhagavan, the games of fulfilling great desires keep going on. Because of this, the wish for the direct realisation of Bhagavan does not awaken at all.

Where the intellect is set on enjoyment and opulence, there is no talk of attaining Bhagavan at all. Bhagavan says:

bhogaishwaryaprasaktanan tayaphritchetsam.
vyavsayatmika buddhih samadhau na vidheeyte ॥

For those attached to pleasure and power, whose minds have been carried away by them, the resolute intellect is not established in samadhi.

Whoever's aim is bhoga and aishwarya, name, fame, money, pleasure, and doing as one pleases, cannot even form the resolve that "I will attain Bhagavan." They cannot even think of it. These are Bhagavan's own words, because the chitta has been fully taken over by pleasures. Then the contemplation will be of pleasures, not of Bhagavan. The intellect cannot make the decision to attain Bhagavan. Whoever it is, the greater benefit of satsang comes from those whose vritti is ishtakar, whose vritti is bhagavadakar.

How vairagya arises: Najabgarh, which is said to be on the bank of the Ganga in Kanpur, was home to a supremely dispassionate paramahamsa, about 95 years old. Long before we were born, he would come and go from home. Sants were served there, so from childhood one could see him and hear his words whenever sants came in sant-vesh.

When we went to him, he was very pleased. He said, "Beta, the path is very hard, but it gets carried through by surrender to Bhagavan. Just understand one thing: the mind has to be killed." Just as a snake strikes at a monkey, the monkey cleverly dodges and catches its hood. Then it rubs the snake against a tree, and then against its ear. If [the snake] is not subdued, then kaam, krodh and the others strike again. Through your discriminating intellect, with the attitude of a witness, they come into the mind, not into you. You save yourself, catch hold of that mind, and rub it in bhajan, rub it so much that the mind dies.

man marya tan bas bhaya, bhram sab dur.
bahar se kachu dekht nahin, andar chamke nur ॥
The mind is killed, the body is brought under control, all illusion is gone; from outside nothing is seen, but within, the light shines.

apo tyag jagat mein baithe, nahin kisi se kam.
unmein to kachu antar nahin, sant kaho chahe Ram ॥
Having given up self, sitting in the world with no need of anyone; there is no difference in them, whether you call them a sant or call them Ram.

He gave the first teaching: kill the mind. He gave the second: kill the ego. He said, "Throw bread to a dog, then show it a stick. It runs away. Then you pat it and throw the bread again, and it comes back. Son, I was chased off and driven away from one place seven times, and the eighth time I took the same bread and walked away." Ego must not be there at all. By destroying ego, dainya, humility, arises, and it kills the mind.

His influence was such that at four in the morning, sitting on the sacred bank of the Ganga where we stayed with him, he would say "Shivoham." It felt as if "I am Brahman" started flowing from within on its own, and "I have been caught in this body through illusion." The whole science of experience was there.

His discourse flowed like this, but he lived in such seclusion because few could reach him. And even when someone did reach him, his words were beyond their reach, because he was a mahapurush endowed with pure Brahma-bodh. Such a great light came from these mahapurushas: the bank of the Ganga, vairagya, and that life. We bow to that life. That life came about only by Bhagavan's grace, and through the grace of these mahapurushas.

So he says: when satsang with such mahapurushas happens, life is transformed. The purpose of life changes. Sorrow, calamity, negative thinking, overthinking, all of it comes to an end. A auspicious contemplation, a positive contemplation arises. If you do not want to give something up, no one can make you give it up. Cultivate enthusiasm to give up the vikaras by listening to satsang. You will get strength from the sants and from Bhagavan.

A sadhak should keep company very carefully. Often, those in sadhu garb whose aim is not Bhagavan cause great harm through their company. So keep company with great caution, or this shraddha will fly away. It is like camphor: if you keep camphor out in the open, it flies away. Keep your shraddha hidden, and keep company with understanding. If you keep company with understanding, you will never fail. Kusang has a very great effect. That is why it is said:

isht mile aru man mile, mile bhajan ras riti.
tahan nishank hoe milie, tason ki priti ॥
Where your Ishta and your mind meet, where the rasa and method of bhajan meet, go there fearlessly and meet them, and cultivate love with them.

Go fearlessly only to the place where satsang of your ishtakar vritti is happening, where our upasana is met. Otherwise there will be trouble. Look, wherever you apply the mind, the mind will get attached there. If you cultivate love with the sants, sattvic qualities will arise in you.

And the saints have God in their hearts. The contemplation of God goes on there. So the atoms of their company will make you contemplate God. If you meditate on the saint, God is in the meditation on the saint. Your welfare will be done. You will love more. You loved a deer, so you became a deer, didn't you? Now see what you choose. Pujya Udiya Baba is saying that whoever becomes deeply attached to something, its contemplation keeps going on at all times, and he attains that very birth. The great souls speak about this fearlessly, but for this reason, change your attachment.

Love everyone, but with the feeling of devotion to God. Then you will attain God. If you turn away from God and become attached to anyone, that very thing will become the cause of your next birth. Just as the company of holy people is, so the tendency awakens within us. That kind of contemplation goes on, and that kind of state comes. There was a saint who was going somewhere, and he was telling his companions that saints remain established in Ram at all times, sleeping or waking, while a worldly person remains established in the world, sleeping or waking. So they asked, "Maharaj Ji, how can someone be established in God while sleeping?"

When they reached the station, a man was sleeping there with his suitcase kept beside him. They went up and touched him like this, and said, "Brother, all we know is when the train is coming." He got annoyed. Then a saint was sleeping there. They went up, touched him like this, and said, "Ram Ram Ram Ram, Siyaram Ram, Siyaram." "Yes, brother," he said. "Maharaj Ji, when is the train coming?" They told him. He got up, and Ram. He immediately got up, like Vibhishan ji did, and said:

Ram Ram te sumiran kina hriday haras kap sajjan cheena

He remembered the name of Ram, and the heart of Kapi rejoiced, for he recognised a saint.

These are the people of God. Wherever our contemplation is, that is considered our state, sleeping or waking. If you are doing bhajan while awake, then your time of sleeping will also be considered bhajan.

Know for certain that sleep is a state of samadhi. That is why the words "abhyas" (practice) and "asakti" (attachment) are very powerful. If the practice is contemplation of the world, and attachment to the objects of worldly enjoyment, then see, it is total ruin. Look at Pujyapad Goswami Shri Raghunath Das Ji Maharaj and Dhruvdas Ji Maharaj, residents of Radha Kund, whose minds were attached to Priya-Pritam. They said:

sovat hu rasna rate Radha Krishna

Even while sleeping, the tongue keeps chanting Radha Krishna.

It is heard that even while he was sleeping, his tongue kept saying, "Radha Krishna, Radha Krishna, Radha Krishna." So if you become attached to your home, you will have to become a lizard and cling to that very wall. [unclear in captions] Such an account is not found in the life of Pujya Radha Baba. There was a certain Seth Ji who was very

Leaving behind his whole house, home and family, he would stay at the doorway, where a bitch lived, and he was reborn as a puppy of that very dog. Radha Baba was passing by, and he looked at him with his own gaze. "Ah," he said, "Seth Ji, Seth Ji! I used to say, chant Ram Ram, chant Krishna Krishna, but you never chanted. Now look, you have become a dog! Now you are eating my own offering, and you keep coming in front of me again and again. You were a seth, and you were a puppy too. Now I will certainly liberate you." Radha Baba made a resolve and liberated him from the birth of a dog. That is why it is said that however it happens, if a saint's gaze falls on you, whether in irritation or in delight, they bring about your welfare.

Just as the company of holy people brings supreme welfare, so too, if bad company happens, it leads only to downfall. It is certain downfall. Therefore, avoid bad company. The identification of bad company is this: any company, person, or place that makes you lose the remembrance of God, and makes the world seem good to you, is great bad company. Whoever goes to satsang every day becomes a righteous person, becomes a mahatma. He begins to hate unrighteousness. Three things begin to happen in his heart: love for God, detachment from the world, and knowledge of his own true nature. This is the greatness of satsang, for whoever goes to satsang.

Whoever goes to satsang begins to feel even his smallest faults as a prick. And the one who listens to satsang, when he cannot tolerate his own faults, then his faults are removed. Those who do satsang should pay attention to these things. One should not mock anyone. One should not get angry with anyone. One should not slander anyone. One should make a vow, and take an oath to give up each and every fault within us. "I will not do this anymore." Slowly, the heart becomes pure, and one becomes worthy of God's grace.

Maharaj Ji, nowadays the feeling of atheism is growing very much among people. I wonder what their fate will be. Oh brother, think about your own fate. Pujya Baba replied: whoever looks at others, his downfall happens. Think about your own fate. The man who has love for bhajan and chants the Name abundantly will attain supreme peace. He should not slander anyone, not even an atheist. Someday God's grace may fall on them too. You only have to step away from disbelief. The believer is already a believer, isn't he? If the atheist steps away, the believer will be spared, and someday grace may fall on him too. If one man is doing wrong and another man is watching his wrongdoing, both of them are being ruined while standing there, and both will have the same fate. It is like people gambling on Diwali. When government men (police) came, the gamblers got the stick later, but the onlookers got it first.

Someone said, "Sir, we were only watching." He replied, "Why were you watching? If you speak ill of others, the same state will come to you, the one who watches, and to the one who criticises. So why do you look at another person and call him an atheist? See God in him. Whatever God wants to get done through someone, He will get it done. If you are a shraddhalu, protect your faith and trust. Keep the company of great souls who have realised the truth, become a bhajanandi, and attain God."

Sadhus do not criticise anyone. Free from the pull of qualities and faults, the sage of equal vision, self-delighted, wanders the world.

Who is a muni? One who contemplates the Vedas, the shastras and the mantra. One who reflects on the teachings of the shastras, on the mantra, on the naam, is called a mananshil, and a mananshil is called a muni. A muni does not describe anyone's qualities or faults. He speaks only of God, contemplates God and chants God's naam. Neither anyone's qualities nor anyone's faults. Listen: qualities and faults are the creation of maya. There are many qualities and many faults. Do not look at either, but see with your own discernment.

Do not criticise anyone's bad deeds, and do not praise anyone's good deeds. Someone who is a very good person will still give others a reason to find fault. So, neither qualities nor faults. Talk only of God. One who is not pleased or saddened by his own praise or blame.

One who does not praise or criticise others is a muni. A muni should turn his mind away from praise and blame, from seeing faults and seeing qualities. He should stay constantly in the chanting of God's naam and mantra, detached from the world, with his mind fixed in the form of God. The self-delighted sage should show himself to be mad, unfit for the world, and should bhajan constantly. No criticism, no praise, no qualities, no faults.

Maharaj Ji, many yoga teachers have come these days. Should one learn yoga or not? Pujya Baba says: "Oh brother, stop. Those who teach yoga do not teach real yoga. Real yoga is what Krishna describes: "Teshaam satata yuktaanaam bhajataam preeti purvakam, dadaami buddhi yogam tam yena maam upayaanti te."

To those who are always united with Me and worship Me with love, I give the yoga of intellect by which they come to Me.

Chant only the naam of Bhagavan. Your kundalini will awaken, your chakras will be pierced, and everything will happen. Chant the naam, and without any effort the kundalini awakens. Meera loved Girdhar, and Girdhar awakened her kundalini.

It is said in Meera ji's life that all the siddhis of yoga come through the naam. Bhagavan says, "Teshaam satata yuktaanaam bhajataam preeti purvakam," to those who chant His naam constantly with love, I give yoga. You will not even know it, but your kundalini will awaken, your chakras will be pierced, and you will become eligible for the supreme state. Everything happens through the naam.

Na karma na bhakti viveku, Ram naam avalamban ek.

In Kali Yuga there is no karma, no bhakti, no discernment. The one support is the naam of Ram.

Pujya Baba says that in Kaliyug no other dharma or karma gives siddhi. Bhagavan's naam alone is what gives you all the siddhis.

Maharaj Ji, a sadhu comes to our place and teaches everyone to meditate, to do yoga. These days many pretenders are wandering around like this. They have no connection with the naam of Bhagavan, the leela of Bhagavan, the gunas, attachment or seva. Pujya Baba says: in Aligarh a yogi came. He taught yoga to people for five rupees each. Many people paid a lot of money and learned yoga. Most of them, in our view, became mad. Their minds were spoilt. Some of them became sick. Brother, yoga and bhog are not something you have to be taught. Does anyone need to be taught bhog? Remember Bhagavan, and yoga will happen by itself.

Bhagavan has also said that greater than the ashtanga yogi, the gyan yogi and the karma yogi is His bhakt, who constantly contemplates Me. Brother, beware of many of those who teach yoga these days.

Pujya Baba says: if you do not do good bhajan, you will struggle along, perhaps fixing your liver for ten or fifteen more days, and then you will eat good chaat. You will die anyway. Will you become immortal? If, with every breath, you chant the naam, that is good yoga. Look, you breathe in and breathe out while chanting the naam. Do not hold anything. When the mind is happy, everything is happy, and you will become healthy. I have told you many times, you can say it comfortably: whether you are sitting on a sofa or anywhere else, chant "Radha, Radha, Radha, Radha, Radha, Radha, Radha." Carry it up while breathing in, "Radha, Radha, Radha," and let it go gently while breathing out. Pranayam happens by itself. Yoga happens by itself. Because the naam of Bhagavan is the supreme yoga, remembrance of Bhagavan is the great yoga. Bhagavan has described it: the yogi is greater than the ascetic, greater than the wise, and greater than the ritualists. The naam japak who remembers Bhagavan is greater.

Maharaj Ji, these days after taking initiation, a sadhak wants to be independent. Which is better, freedom or dependence on the guru? Pujya Baba says: dependence, the subordination to the guru, is better. Freedom means acting according to whatever is inside you. There are two kinds of people who do that: either madmen, or siddha purush, those who have become perfected, in whom God Himself is personally present. There is nothing auspicious or inauspicious for them. Otherwise, a person acts as his mind pleases, which is madness. Under the general principle, the highest benefit is obtained by being dependent on God, dependent on the shastra, and subordinate to the guru. In this world, the one who is truly free is the one who has attained God. He is the siddha. Even when he takes part in the objects of the senses, he has no attachment to them. Wherever he moves, he is not attached. Look, even Bhagavan Himself accepted subordination to Vashistha ji and to Vishwamitra ji.

Even Lord Shri Krishna obeyed the command of Sandipani ji. We are only jivas. If there is no submission to the Guru, but only freedom, then nothing will be gained. On the banks of the Ganga we have seen freedom among the siddhas. Pujya Baba says that everyone else must live in submission, because otherwise they will stray from their path.

How can one know that one has become fit for Bhagavat-prapti? Pujya Baba answered: the one whose mind is one-pointed, who has no need to enjoy any object, who has no desire left at all, and who has no attachment to any object.

No desire for any enjoyment, and constant remembrance of Bhagavan flowing without a break. Now you have come near to Bhagavan. You are about to attain Bhagavat-prapti. So listen again: the one whose mind is one-pointed, who has no attachment to objects and no desire for any enjoyment, and who is continuously absorbed, one-pointed, completely immersed in the contemplation of Bhagavan, is fit for Bhagavat-prapti. Some day, Bhagavan will give him darshan.

Let us proceed with Shrimad Bhagavat Mahapuran. The merciful Param Brahma Paramatma Bhagavan Shri Krishnachandra granted the state beyond the body to the gopis. They had worshipped Katyayani Devi and asked that Nand Nandan be obtained by them as their husband. You heard yesterday the leelas Bhagavan performed. Then Bhagavan commanded that in the coming Sharad night they would enter the Raas.

Receiving Bhagavan's command, those Braj maidens went with great difficulty, meditating on the lotus feet of Bhagavan Shri Krishna, for it is very hard to take one's gaze away from Bhagavan. Absorbed in the meditation of Bhagavan, they all came to Braj, fulfilled in their desires. Now no desire of any kind remains in the heart of any gopi, because Bhagavan had granted them the state beyond the body.

Dear Parikshit, one day Bhagavan Shri Krishna went with Balarama and the cowherd boys, grazing the cows, far away from Vrindavan. It was summer, and the rays of the sun were very fierce.

But the dense, thick trees were providing shade over Bhagavan Shri Krishna like an umbrella. Seeing the trees giving shade, Bhagavan Shri Krishna addressed his eternal friends: Stoka Krishna, Anshu, Shridama, Subala, Arjuna, Vishala, Rishabha, Tejasvi, Devaprastha and Varuth. He said: "My dear friends, look, look how fortunate these trees of Vrindavan are! Their whole life is only for the welfare of others. They themselves bear the gusts of wind, the rain, the sun, the hail and the frost, but they always protect us."

I say that the life of these trees of Vrindavan is the best of all, because through them all beings find support, and the livelihood of living beings is sustained. Just as no supplicant returns empty-handed from the house of a noble person, no one who comes near these trees of Vrindavan goes away empty-handed. Their darshan and their touch alone destroy sins. And the creepers of Vrindavan, like the wish-fulfilling trees (kalpataru), fulfil desires by the crore.

My dear friends, there are many living beings in the world, but the success of their life lies in this: as far as possible, with one's body, one's wealth, one's intellect and thought, and one's speech, one should do good to other beings and bring them welfare.

Bhagavan is saying that, in my understanding, there is no greater gain than this. With one's body, one's wealth, one's speech and one's mind, the welfare of others should be done and auspiciousness brought to them. Let there be actions that bring happiness to others, and let no one be given pain. There is no dharma like the good of others. Goswami ji is, as it were, commenting on exactly this:

parhit saris dharm nahi bhai
There is no dharma like serving others, brother.

[sound of singing]

isse bada koi dharm nahi aur par pida sam nahi agmai
There is no greater dharma than this, and no sin equal to causing pain to others.

The greatest sin is giving pain to others.

Parikshit, on both sides, in the lanes of Vrindavan, there were such trees, bent low, laden with flowers and fruit, their branches touching the ground. Bhagavan Shri Krishna and Balarama walked between them, singing the glory of the trees of Vrindavan.

Then they reached the sacred sandy bank of the Yamuna. Everyone drank the sweet, cool, most pure and clean water of the Yamuna: the friends, Bhagavan and the cows. Then the cows were allowed to graze freely on the green grass and rest comfortably. The cowherd boys, seeing Bhagavan Shri Krishna and Balarama Ji at rest, said: "Prabhu, you came so early this morning to graze the cows that no one has brought the chhak (midday meal)."

Ram, Ram! O mighty Krishna, O wicked one, .. O Balarama Bhaiya, you are very valiant and have the strength to kill great wicked ones. O Chitchor Shyamsundar, you are very merciful. One wicked one is giving us great pain: this hunger. Destroy it, O Shri Krishna, O Balarama. This hunger is causing us pain like the greatest of wicked ones.

Both of you, now, please destroy our hunger. You brought the cows so hastily this morning, and came from such a direction, that the gopis will not even be able to bring us food. We are very hungry near Mathura. All the cowherd boys said: "Bhagavan, you are very mighty. Please end our hunger."

Shri Sukhdev ji says: Parikshit, this hunger of the cowherd boys came about by Bhagavan's own resolve. Why did he resolve it? Malini, the flower-seller of Vrindavan, who gathered flowers and gave them to the holy brahmins of Mathura for the worship of the deities, used to recount every day: "Today Shri Krishna and Balarama came dressed in such attire, and came like this. Then today they killed Bakasura. Then Aghasura.." The leelas were heard again and again, and the Bhagavat-leela remained in their hearts: "Shall I ever once, with eyes full, see Shri Krishna and Balarama?" Only by hearing the katha, only by hearing the story, comes Bhagavat-prapti.

Parikshit, when the cowherd boys prayed to Devaki's son Bhagavan Shri Krishna and to Rohini's son Balarama Ji, then, to show grace to the brahmin devotee wives of Mathura, he spoke.

My dear friends, there is something here we must watch very carefully. By hearing this episode you will learn that attainment of God comes through God's grace. And God's grace descends upon the one who chants God's naam and listens to and sings the leela-katha of God. Be sure of this. Now you will see that when the brahmins say who they are, they also tell what their sadhana is and how they have turned away from God. The brahmin wives, simply by hearing God's katha and remembering God, will attain direct realisation of Bhagwat.

God said, "My dear friends, not far from here, Vedavadi brahmins are performing a yajna called Angirasa, desiring heaven. Go to their yajnashala, all of you, but do not go and simply say, 'Give us food.' First offer dandavat. Then tell them that Shri Krishna and Balram have come, and that they are hungry along with the sakhas. Please give some food. Go and bring it back."

Tatra gopa yachita visarjita kirt bhagwat aryam cha itya bhagwata gataya chate tatha kritanjali puta vipra dandata bhoom he bhoom deva krishna syadesha karana prapta jaan bhado gopan ram nodita gop gan

There the cowherds made their request and were dismissed. [The Lord said], "O brahmins, with folded hands, prostrate on the ground, O gods of the earth, Krishna's command.." Having understood, the cowherds, sent by Ram, went.

As the Lord had said, they went to the yajnashala and saw the brahmins from a distance. "Victory to you, Maharaj!" They offered full prostration and, with folded hands, said:

Kritanjali puta vipran prithvi ke murtiman devtao brahmano aisa hai jo trikal sandhya karta hai, sadaiv pavitra rehta hai, adharm acharan nahin karta, us brahm tej ke samne koi tej nahin hai.

O brahmins, the embodied gods of the earth, one who performs trikal sandhya, always remains pure and does not practise adharma: before that brahma-tej, no other radiance stands.

Now the influence of Kaliyug has taken hold. Everyone is sliding down from their own dharma. The intellect is dominated by enjoyment, and by wealth. The intellect dominated by dharma remains only in a rare few. One who performs trikal sandhya, speaks the truth, walks in dharma, and does not accept useless gifts from anyone, accepting only in keeping with his anushthan: if the words of a truthful pratigraha and of the yajnapati are spoken and do not take effect at once, tell us. We say this from experience. But brahma-tej is destroyed. If even one drop of wine goes into the mouth, the brahma-tej is destroyed.

A single meal, a single morsel of forbidden food, and brahma-tej is destroyed. Great emperors, rich in brahma-tej, used to tremble. Wearing torn clothes, a staff in hand and the Vedas under the arm, seeing such a person, the mightiest emperors would stand up. But understand, this is Kalikaal, and dharma is being abandoned more and more.

Daivadhinam jagat sarvam mantradhinam tu devata te mantra brahmanadhinas tasmad brahmana devata

The whole world is under the control of the divine; the gods are under mantra; mantra is under the brahmins; therefore the brahmin is the deity.

Now, when that [brahmin] is not on his own ground, everything goes awry. The brahmins are the eternal friends of God, and are the very form of God.

What are they saying? "O brahmins, the embodied gods of the earth, we request you: we are cowherd boys of Braj. By the command of Shri Krishna and Balram ji, we have come to you. Please hear our words. Balram and Shri Krishna, grazing the cows, are just a short distance from here. They are hungry. The Lord himself, the enjoyer of yajna, is asking for food. But because you are without bhakti toward God, all of your effort is in vain. They wish that you give a little food. O brahmins, you know the essence of dharma."

What is dharma? If a yajna is being performed and someone comes asking, one should not let them go empty-handed. This is the dharma of yajna. For example, in Maharaj Bali's yajna, when Bhagwan Vamana came, the one who asked was fulfilled right there, before the yajna could be halted. And when Janamejaya performed his serpent sacrifice (sarpa-satra), when Astika Muni came, the oblations were stopped and [Janamejaya] had to give what was asked. The essence of the dharma of yajna is that if any beggar comes, you must first satisfy him; only then is the yajna considered complete. So you, who know the essence of yajna dharma, please give us some food.

We came to ask for food. In a yajna where animals are sacrificed, food is not asked for, and likewise in the Sautramani yajna, because in those there are forbidden substances. That is a different category. But you are of the Angirasa lineage and are performing a supremely pure yajna. Therefore Shri Krishna has asked for food. Food can be requested in any yajna except these two: the Sautramani yajna and the yajna in which animals are sacrificed. Leaving those aside, the brahmins stood there with folded hands. They did not even look, because their attention was on their own karma.

Their yajna is aimed at going to heaven through its power. Bhagwan is asking for grain, and the enjoyer of the yajna is Bhagwan. Still they gave nothing. They paid no attention and did not even speak. To tell the truth, those who desire trivial fruits, such as heaven, through yajna are still children in the eyes of knowledge. Shukadev ji is saying: these men are ascetics and Vedic scholars, but in the eyes of knowledge they are children, and yet they consider themselves very learned.

O Parikshit, place, time, the many kinds of materials, the various karmas they are applied to, the method of mantra anushthan, the ritviks, Brahma and the others, the fire-god, the yajaman, and yajna dharma: all of these have one purpose. The fulfilment of a yajna means that God becomes pleased, and God himself is asking.

These brahmins paid no attention. The Supreme Brahman, beyond the senses, the Paramatma, whose desires are all complete, was asking for food through the cowherd boys. But these fools, as Shri Shukadev ji says, consider themselves to be only the body. Regarding God as an ordinary person, they disregarded him and did not obey his command. When the brahmins neither said yes nor no, said nothing, did not even look, and paid no attention, the cowherd boys stood there for a while. Deeply embarrassed and disappointed, they came back and said, "Prabhu, where did you send us? They did not even speak with us."

Let us leave aside talk of food. Hearing this, the Lord began to laugh. Shri Krishna, Lord of the whole world, laughed, so listen carefully to what he said. He told the cowherd boys: failure happens in the world again and again, and one should not be disheartened by it. If you keep striving for success, success is certain. This is the Lord's word: failure is met in the world, but on failing, do not sit down in despair. Success comes through repeated effort. It certainly comes. So what are you trying to say? My dear friends, go once more.

They said, "The Lord will not go there again. Those husbands did not pay heed, because they are utterly heartless. He said, 'I am not sending you there.' So go to their wives and tell them that Krishna and Balram have come. They will give you as much food as you want, because they are acquainted with me. They love me, and their minds are always fixed on me." The cowherd boys went on his command, but they were doubtful. If the husbands are so heartless, they wondered, what will the patnishala be like? And the Lord said, "Come, let us see, just once."

The Lord was saying, "They know me, because they hear my story every day." The cowherd boys went to the patnishala, where the brahmin wives, highly radiant, were. They fell at full length before them in prostration, and humbly said, "O wives of the brahmins, we bow to you. Shri Krishna and Balram have come nearby. They have sent you word that they are hungry, and ask you to give them food." Parikshit, as soon as they heard this news, these women, who had always listened to the Lord's charming leelas, and who every day desired to hear talk of him:

Those who had always heard of him, and whose minds had been taken by his stories, had heard of him from every side.

"O Lord, when will the day come that I get your darshan?" As soon as they heard from Krishna that he had come near and was hungry, they took all four kinds of extremely tasty food, bhakshya, bhojya, lehya and choṣya, and heaped it high on their trays, caring about nothing else. Husbands, brothers and kin were all forgotten, just as the gopis forgot everything on hearing the sound of the flute. Forgetting themselves, the brahmin wives set off with fine offerings, going just as rivers in flood rush toward the ocean. Now no one can stop them.

Prīti na jāti kī kān vicāre, mārg apamārg vithit man ko anusrat nivāre; jaise saritā sāvan jal umgat sanmukh sindhu sidhāre; nād(a)h man deh kurangan pragat pārthī māre.

Love does not heed caste or custom. Ignoring road and byroad, it follows the pull of the mind, as a river swollen with monsoon water rushes to meet the sea. The hunter openly strikes down the deer of mind and body.

They had already given their hearts away. The brahmin wives went, having heard again and again the sweetness of the Lord's leelas and qualities. They saw, on the sacred bank of the Yamuna, in the Ashok grove adorned with fresh new sprouts, the Lord surrounded by cowherd boys. The boys stood around him in a circle, and in the middle stood Shri Krishna and Balram. Their beauty was very great.

The dark-complexioned body was wrapped in shimmering yellow silk. They saw all around them the cowherd boys, and in the Ashok grove the dark Lord in yellow silk, shimmering like crores of lightning. He wore a garland of forest flowers around his neck and a peacock-feather crown on his head. Every limb was decorated with coloured minerals that the friends had painted on him, and clusters of fresh new sprouts were placed on his body. He was dressed as a dancer, with one hand on a friend's shoulder and a lotus flower in the other hand, twirling it.

Śyāmaṁ hiraṇya-paridhiṁ vana-mālya-barha-dhātu-pravāla-naṭa-veśam anuvrat-āṁse, vinyasta-hastam itareṇa dhunānam abjaṁ karṇotpalālaka-kapola-mukhābja-hāsam.

Dark, clad in gold, with a forest garland, a peacock-feather crown, coloured minerals and sprouts, dressed as a dancer, one arm on a friend's shoulder, the other hand twirling a lotus, with lotus earrings, curls on the cheeks, and a lotus face with a smile.

Lotus earrings in his ears, curls hanging lightly on his cheeks, and on his lotus face a line of gentle smiling blossomed. Parikshit, until now they had only heard of the Lord's beauty, the sweetness of his qualities and his glory. Today they saw his form with their own eyes.

Prāyaḥ śrutapriyatamodaya-karṇa-pūraṁ yasmin mana(ḥ) cadavi(śat)..

Those whose minds, having heard the beloved's stories as ornaments for the ears, had entered him, let go of their worldly attachments.

Until now they had only heard of him. Today, on seeing him, a desire to embrace him arose. They closed their eyes, and taking the form they had seen through their eyes into their hearts, they embraced him in their minds, and remained absorbed for a long time. The brahmin wives went beyond the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep, and beyond the feelings of "I" and "mine." This state is beyond the three gunas.

Mam darśan phal param anūpā, jīv pāv nij sahaj svarūpā.

The fruit of seeing Me is incomparable: the soul attains its own natural form.

The burning of birth after birth was extinguished by the Lord's darshan. How very fortunate that soul is, for the cycle of samsara comes to an end and the Lord is realised directly. Behold that state: all their hopes were destroyed at that very moment.

No desire, no hope. Like the gopis' state after the Lord's cheer-haran leela, a state beyond the body, there is now no desire at all. In the hearts of the brahmin wives, while they had the Lord's darshan, all hopes, every single one, were given up. They were only washing the Lord's feet. This is the state of having renounced everything.

Tyakta sarvāśā, ab kachhu nāth na cāh.

Having given up all hopes, Lord, now I want nothing.

This is the attainment of the Lord's darshan. They attained self-realisation: self-vision was awakened, the sense of self was awakened, and the inner sight came alive. Ah, the vision of wisdom opened fully. Wonder, and a joy that burst from their lips. With eyes closed, embracing the Lord, they were established in their own true self.

Now the Lord, smiling, said: was this spoken only to the gopis, or was it spoken to the brahmin wives too? The Lord has said this in only two places.

swagtam wo mahabhaga ashtam karva kim yadakshaya prapt uppandam

Welcome, O fortunate ones. Be seated. What may I do for you? You have come desiring to see me, and this is fitting for you.

They were still absorbed in the bliss of Brahman, with their eyes open, so the Lord smiled and said: Welcome, welcome, O fortunate ones. The one who truly meets the Lord is the fortunate one; otherwise, one is unfortunate. What is the use of a life in which there is no remembrance of the Lord, no contemplation of Him, no devotion to Him? Those in whose hearts there is no devotion to the Lord are living corpses.

jin hari bhagat hriday na jivit sab samante prani

Those beings in whose hearts devotion to Hari has not arisen are like corpses, even while they live.

These are the nectar-words of the Lord: Welcome, welcome, O most fortunate ladies. Come, tell me, what can I do for you? You have come with the desire to see me. This is fitting for people with loving hearts like yours; there is no doubt about it. All the wise men in the world who understand their own true welfare worship me.

They love me as they love their beloved. They love me most. It is a love with no desire at all, which is ahaitukī vihitā bhakti, ātma-priya: a love without any obstacle, hesitation, concealment, doubt, duality, condition or desire. In the world, the wisest person is the one who loves the Lord.

pran buddhi mla swatma dara pat dhanad yat samparkat Priya asat ko par Priya

Life, intellect, mind, self, spouse, children, wealth and the rest are dear through their connection with Him. So who could be dearer than Him?

Life, intellect, mind, body, relatives, wife, sons, wealth: all the things of the world are dear for the sake of that which makes them dear, and that is Me, the Atma, the Paramatma. How? A son is very dear, but when the Lord leaves him from within, his body is burned. A wife is very dear, but when the Lord, in the form of the Atma, has departed, her body is burned too.

So whatever is dear, whether one's own or another's, is dear because of the Lord. Nothing can be dearer than me, Shri Krishna.

Therefore:

tadyat dev yajan patyojat parti yushmmabhar grih medhna

Go to the place of sacrifice. Your husbands, the householders, are performing the rite.

I have now received the offering you brought, and you have all had my darshan. Now go, because your husbands are performing a sacrifice, and a sacrifice is not complete without the wife. Go and complete your husbands' yajna.

The brahmin wives said: Antaryami Shyamsundar, the word antaryami means you know everyone's heart.

mam vibhti bhavan gadit tum nasam satyam kur nigam tav pad mulam praptavyamm tulsi dam pda sashtam kes nivti lang samasth bandhu ganti yaa pito sutava na bandh suda kutav cha tasmat bhavat prapadyo patitatma namo nyaa bhave gatim ta vidhe

Please do not speak such cruel words. Fulfil the truth of the Vedas: we have come to your feet, having cast off all our kin, to wear in our hair the Tulsi garland that fell from your feet. Give us no other refuge but you.

The brahmin wives said: Antaryami Shyamsundar, you are saying that we should go back. This is full of cruelty. Such words should never come from your sacred mouth, that we should go back. We are Vedavadi brahmin wives, and we know the Vedas well. The Vedic shruti says that whoever once attains the Lord never returns. He does not go back into the world. So if this Vedic word is true, make it true. Keep me with you now. Do not send me away. I have disobeyed all my relatives' commands and given up everything, and I have come to your feet only for you. Wearing in my hair the Tulsi garland that fell at your feet, I will drown in supreme bliss. I will not go now. Even if I obeyed and went, our husbands would not accept us now, because we disobeyed their command to come to you.

O crown of heroes, we have come to your feet. Now we have no one else. We need no one and have no support. So we should not have to look to anyone else for shelter. Lord, please arrange things so that I may remain in the refuge of your feet.

The Lord said: husbands, sons, parents, brothers and kin will scorn you. No, no. You have become mine, so everyone will bow to you. Now no one in the three worlds can scorn you. The whole world will honour you. The Lord is saying this.

Understand this: when someone becomes the Lord's, the whole world bows to them. You are mine. You have become united with me. Look, he said, pointing to the sky, the great Lokapala deities are standing there. These deities are endorsing what I say. Now no one in the world can scorn you.

What the Lord is saying now is well worth understanding carefully.

na preetay anuragay rang sango nanamah tan mano manjna achan mavath

Love and attachment for me do not come so much from physical association with me. They come from fixing the mind on me, chanting my name and hearing my leela-katha.

This verse is the life of us devotees. The Lord is saying that attachment to Him does not arise so much from being physically near Him as it does from fixing the mind on Him, chanting His name and hearing His leela-katha. In this world, physical closeness to me is not the cause of love and attachment for me among human beings. The cause of attachment is chanting my name, my leela and katha, remembering me and contemplating me. So go. Even if you go far from my physical company, fix your mind on me. You are established in me. Be one who has attained the Lord in the present. Attainment of the Lord is not only in the future. The one who never separates from the Lord, not even for a moment, has attained the Lord in the present.

Understand this, the essence of the matter: remembrance of Him with supreme longing. The special point is to be continually immersed in contemplation of the Lord, from your own side.

Parikshit, when the Lord said, fix your mind on me, the brahmin wives obeyed the Lord's command, bowed, and returned to the sacrificial hall. Now the brahmins saw these wives, who had attained the Lord, and their gaze lowered. No anger arose.

Why have you come back? You went against our command.

Nothing of the sort. Just as the Lord had said, the whole world would honour them. So in the eyes of the brahmins, the brahmin wives appeared as the Lord, Sachchidanand.

Some brahmins had forcibly detained certain women. Before giving up the body, those women, in chidanand bhaav, reached the brahmin wives first and offered food to Bhagwan. Then Bhagwan returned them in that same body. Now those brahmin wives, with the same form, the same contemplation, the same naam, the same qualities and the same leela, kept contemplating again and again, and their body became pure, true and divine. They attained a body of bhaav. Bhagwan sat with the sakhas and partook of the beautiful bhog. This prasang is very powerful. In it we are taught that there is no other sadhan.

The brahmin wives heard only discussion of Bhagwan, and they attained the direct vision of Bhagwan. But among the brahmins a fire was lit in their hearts: Bhagwan had asked for bhog, and I did not even pay attention. They felt great remorse. All of them said to one another, "By disobeying the commands of Bhagwan Shri Krishna and Balram, we have committed a great sin and an offence. Alas, the Supreme Lord himself was asking for food, and I did not even pay attention." Yet one thing gladdened their hearts: "We are blessed, because we have received such wives, who attained the vision of Bhagwan."

Bhagwan's love is extraordinary. Though we deserve rebuke, we are blessed beyond blessed, because we received such wives. The brahmins, repenting, began to condemn themselves: "Alas, we have turned away from Bhagwan Shri Krishna. We were born into a high lineage, we took the Gayatri, we are dvijas, we studied the Vedas, we performed great yajnas and great tapasya. What is all this worth? Shame, shame on our learning! Shame! Our vows have proved bad. Shame on our knowledge of the many scriptures. Our birth into a high lineage and our skill in ritual action have all become futile. Shame, again and again! Surely it is the maya of Bhagwan, which bewilders great yogis, that has bewildered us. That is why we are called teachers and brahmins of humankind, yet in our own welfare and in our supreme welfare we have fallen completely low."

How astonishing! Bhagwan is purna-kaam. What does he need from anyone? For our welfare he asked for food, and we ignored him. But blessed are these women! Their boundless love and unbroken devotion for Jagatguru Shri Krishna cut through the great noose of household life, and having conquered death, they became established in their own true nature. Look: my wives did not wear the sacred thread of the twice-born, did not perform the Gayatri anushthan, did not do tapasya, did not undergo any sanskar, did not live in a gurukul, and did not gain any knowledge of atma and anatma. Yet merely by listening to discourse on Bhagwan, they attained such love for Shri Krishna, the Lord of the yogeshwars, the punyakirti, and they attained the vision of Bhagwan. And we performed our sanskars, lived in a gurukul, did tapasya, investigated the self, maintained purity, did good deeds and performed great yajnas. Yet all of it became futile, because we have no love at Bhagwan's feet. It is a true thing: we, entangled in household affairs and occupations, have missed our supreme welfare.

We do not know where our welfare lies. But what great grace of Bhagwan! The devotee-loving Prabhu sent the cowherd boys and, through their words, warned us and reminded us of himself. Bhagwan is purna-kaam, the fulfiller of every desire up to kaivalya moksha. If he did not intend to make us aware, why would he, who is purna-kaam, ask for food from us insignificant embodied beings? Surely Bhagwan's grace upon us is very great. The one whose feet are worshipped by Lakshmi ji, by great devatas and great lokapals, and whose feet they long to touch: for that Bhagwan to ask food from anyone is simply a bewildering matter.

The place, the time, the separate materials, the method of the mantra-anushthan in those rites, the ritvij, Agni Devta, the yajman, the yajna and the dharma are all Bhagwan. That same Bhagwan, in the form of Shri Krishna, the Lord of the yogeshwars, has descended among the Yaduvanshis. We had heard this, but our intellect was destroyed. We could not recognise him, and we disobeyed Bhagwan. Even so, we are blessed beyond blessed, our good fortune is immense, because we received such devoted wives. By their bhakti, our intellect too has become united with unwavering love for Bhagwan Shri Krishna.

O Prabhu, O Shri Krishna, you are the master of inconceivable and infinite opulences. O Shri Krishna, your knowledge is unobstructed. O Shri Krishna, our intellect is bewildered by your maya alone, and we wander in the tangle of karmas. O Shri Krishna, salutations to you. May that primeval Purushottam, Bhagwan Shri Krishna, forgive our offence, for our intellect is bewildered by his maya. We are ignorant people who do not know his power.

Parikshit, those brahmins had disobeyed Bhagwan Shri Krishna. So the memory of their offence brought them great remorse, and they could not go at once for darshan. They feared Kansa: if Kansa heard that they had gone for his darshan, he would kill them. Out of this fear, they did not go there.

Now the next episode is about Giriraj Maharaj. Prabhu averts Indra's yajna and has Giriraj Ji worshipped. Indra becomes angry and sends rain. Bhagwan lifts Giriraj Ji and protects all the Brajvasis. The rest of the discussion: Shri Radhavallabh Lal ki Jai.

This text is taken from the video's automatically generated subtitles, so it may contain word errors. For authentic words, be sure to listen to the video.

Original video: Shri Hit Radha Kripa (YouTube)