## Eight Kinds of Surrender That Bind Bhagwan / Akrur Ji's Praise of Bhagwan Shri Krishna / 31/10/26

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

Full Discourse

Vrindavaneshwari tav padaravindam prema makarand raso purnam hrid pitam madhupate smarta mugdham nirvay param sheetal maya param sheetal ma shrayam param sachchidanand ghan swaroop premandmay Shri Vrindavan Dham, Shri Vrindavan Dham ke yugal sarkar Shri Shyama Shyam, all the sakhi vrind, birds, deer, animals, creatures, trees, creepers, Yamuna, Ras Rani, Raj Rani, at the feet of all the Brajvasi parikar, crores of salutations, crores of pranams, namaskar. Shri Swamini Ladli Priyaji, boundless and full of grace, may we always see grace. As long as there is ego, the instruction of the scripture is also that you should reform yourself, and when you come to the state where ego has melted, then ajat pakshayu mataram khaga — like a tiny child in the nest who has not yet grown feathers, what can it do? And there is no command for it to do anything.

True surrender is of this state. Ajat paksha mataram khaga — like a little bird's chick, which only waits for its mother; she brings grain, she brings drops of water and puts them in its mouth. In the same way, yogakshema vahamyaham — our Lord; we simply stay in the shelter of the Lord, this life is offered to the Lord. He may paint us in whatever colour He wishes. But this surrender is of a very high order. It is no ordinary matter, that one is completely dependent on Bhagwan. One's intellect, one's mind, one's ego have been surrendered at the feet of the Lord. This is a surrender of a very high order.

Ajat paksha mataram khaga. Now the Lord, sitting in his heart, carries out the works of Bhagwat through him, through which the world is blessed. But until we reach such a state of bhakti, we should make an effort to protect ourselves from asats by the strength of Bhagwan, and devote as much time as possible to satkarmas — naam jap, naam kirtan, listening to the leela katha of Bhagwan, singing the leela katha of Bhagwan, and the service of Priya Pritam — service has many divisions. One is the service of the Lord's chhavi, one is naam seva, one is the service of the Lord's Shri Vigraha, and one is that the whole world is the Lord's.

The service of the whole world. In the whole world, mother, father, brothers, relatives, and all people, animals and birds, all are included. Our service is service indeed. Whether it is business, or a job, or any activity at all, if we do it in the mood of Priya Pritam, then it becomes service. It becomes that which cuts the bondage of this worldly life. Therefore, until the ego melts, the sadhak needs great caution. This mind is very wicked. It is wicked because, leaving Bhagwan, the ocean of happiness, it runs towards pleasures.

And it runs in such a way that it cannot be caught; it catches us and throws us into pleasures. There is neither happiness nor peace there. Instead, a new craving, a new desire, awakens. Therefore, as far as possible, do not come under the grip of this mind. You should keep the mind in your grip. If you come under the grip of the mind, your downfall will happen. And if you keep the mind in your grip, your progress will happen. Spiritual progress and worldly progress are both attained by one of pure conduct. The worldly progress that a sinner appears to get is only as long as his merits last.

When merits are exhausted, he will fall in a way he never even imagined. And if a righteous person is experiencing sorrow in the present, it is the result of his past sinful deeds. When the results of past sins are completed, and the present merit and the accumulated merit behind it remain, he will live in great joy. Therefore, never abandon dharma. Never abandon truth. Pure conduct and pure contemplation are essential for us in the state of being of Bhagwan's nature. Shripad Prabuddhanand Ji Maharaj is saying that this Vrindavan Dham is superior even to Baikunth. Beyond prakriti is the Vaikunth dham — durat ramad madhyam rasad adbhutam rahasyam — and this Vrindavan, vistasta vrindavan midam va sata prapade, made of the three gunas, the creation of the three gunas. The seven lower worlds, the seven upper worlds, from here up to Brahmaloka, from here down to Patal — this is the creation of countless universes. The supreme, the Lord's own abode beyond prakriti, Vaikunth; and even in Vaikunth, the great happiness that is not there — the great madhurya rasa of Priya Pritam — that is in Vrindavan Dham.

This is the wondrous, mysterious Vrindavan, and it is, by His grace, manifest on the earth. That is, on the surface of the earth, Harivansh Mahaprabhu has also said: hit harivansh vipin bhutal par, santat avichal jori — on this earth, in Vrindavan, our pair, Priya Pritam, are ever engaged in eternal play. Therefore we request the saintly people: if you have the feeling of attaining Bhagwan in this very life, then join your connection with Vrindavan. Make Vrindavan your own. Take the shelter of Vrindavan. Bow to Vrindavan. Accept residence in Vrindavan.

Two days, three days, four days, a month, a year, for as long as your life allows, as much as Shri Ji grants you — reside in Vrindavan for that long; but make your connection with Vrindavan. This is the supreme and most mysterious and supremely compassionate private palace of Priya Pritam, seated on the earth, higher than Vaikunth. Hat hriday nimajya hant vrindavan bhumi nirmal — the pure land of Vrindavan — chidasa vishay vish durasaya — with the poison of sense objects and desire, nayan tam kamit masav tano dukh sindhu — O brother, having obtained a human body, do not be called unfortunate. Who is unfortunate? The one in whose life there is no bhajan, no relationship with Bhagwan. Let the relationship that is ours be accepted.

Main Shri Bhagwan ka, Shri Bhagwan hamare. He Nath, aapke siva koi hamara nahin. He Nath, main sarvato bhavena aapka hoon. If this relationship is not accepted, you will be called unfortunate. However sinful one may be, if one has a relationship with Bhagwan — the name of Bhagwan is patit pavan. Our relationship has been formed. We are sinners, and our Prabhu is patit pavan, so a naturally established relationship has been formed. If there is even a little relationship with the Lord in our heart, there can be no greater misfortune than this. Shripad says: hat hriday — it is a great misfortune — nimajya hant: those who are jumping into the pleasures of maya.

They are sinking into the quagmire of maya. They have turned away from the Lord. This hard-hearted state of theirs is a great misfortune. Alas, Shri Vrindavan Dham bestows the rasa of sat-chit-anand, yet they do not come to this Dham, do not take refuge in it, and do not listen to satsang. They are wasting their lives in the futile desire for sense objects. This is a hard heart, and these people are unfortunate. Alas, their life is going to waste. So what is the meaning of our life?

He says:

lok mein sadhu milte shobhit katha sada madhuri shri Vrindavan mein vas karen mam samadhi na sarwatmana sad bandhu param sam pad guru sarvasv bhu sam ta niptam dandwat sarwabhiman unta

Meet with such saints, who have offered their minds fully to the Lord.

Now, we ourselves have no capacity to find such saints. So we pray to the Lord: connect us with your loving devotees, so that seeing them, conversing with them, and meeting them becomes the most auspicious thing in our life. He says that those who are fixed in love for the Ishta are very rare to meet. Conduct, rituals, and everything else are fine. Religious practices are very beautiful. If saints do not do them, who will? But what he is saying here is somewhat different: only those who are devoted to the Ishta alone, who have given up worldly dharma,

taj lok dharm dharmam bhajaswa sattam
taj lok dharman sevaswa sada sadhu purush yatha

Renounce worldly dharma; always worship the dharma of the sadhu, the dharma of love.

That is, giving up desire and craving, giving up worldly dharma, one who abides only in bhagavat dharma, the dharma of love. May we get the company of such saints and mahatmas, and by joining them and dedicating our lives to them, may we, following their instruction, hear, reflect on, and hold in our mind the madhuri leela of Pranadhar Pranesh Yugal Sarkar, the great truth. When will we stop being called unfortunate? When will we stop being called hard-hearted? When we get the company of devotee mahatmas, hear discussion of Priya Pritam Pranesh Yugal Sarkar from their own blessed lips, do naam kirtan, chant naam abundantly, and turn our attention to their service. When we worship Shri Priya Pritam in this way, through self-surrender, and do it properly, then the supreme Guru and the supreme true friend is Priya Pritam. They are our true friends.

They are not false friends. They are our supreme Guru, the Guru of the Guru, the supreme Guru, the very life and everything. By His grace, He destroys our pride, and we get to see the beauty of His form. Without the bodily ego (deh-abhiman) being destroyed, there is no direct realisation of the Lord. When we keep the company of devotee mahatmas and hear discussion of the Lord from them, when we receive the teaching of sadhana from their blessed lips, and when we practise sadhana in that same way, then our deh-abhiman melts away, and we are able to realise Shri Priya Pritam.

We get the opportunity to return to His feet. Therefore, always remain absorbed in naam, or in the Vani, or in the form of Priya Pritam, or in hearing leela, singing leela, and naam kirtan. If we remain in this practice, our misfortune will turn into good fortune. Our life will move from death to nectar. Our life is in the state of asat; it will become established in sat. Our life is in tamas, in the darkness of ignorance; it will become radiant. Therefore, may our life become the very form of the Lord. This is our goal.

Often people ask in private: what is success in life?

Success in life is not even becoming Brahma. Success in life is the constant remembrance of the sweet, sweet Lord, every moment. There is no greater success than this. Here, everything is fruitless. However much land you have, however much money and wealth you have, however big a position you hold, all of it will be snatched away from here and sent on. You will not take anything with you. So, have you not failed? Success is that which can stay with us: that is Bhagavat sukh. What stays with us is the Bhagavat naam, hearing the Bhagavat leela and guna, singing the Bhagavat leela and guna, and serving society with a Bhagavat attitude. This will stay with you. Therefore, let us not make our life unfortunate, but make it fortunate. How? Through satsang, through the upasana we receive, through constant practice, may we attain the Bhagavat prapti.

Poojyapad Shri Udiya Baba Ji Maharaj says that the words of the mahapurushas firm us up on our path. They show us the shortcomings in our life and give us strength, so that we are saved from the very shortcomings through which we were destroying our lives. Poojyapad Baba says that the upasak should have at least one nishtha. The words of Poojya Baba are that there are eight kinds of bhagavatik nishtha. One of these should be present in you. For example: first, gyan nishtha; second, vairagya nishtha; third, satya nishtha; fourth, jap nishtha; fifth, daan nishtha; sixth, guru nishtha; seventh, bhakti nishtha; eighth, samadhi nishtha, dhyan nishtha. At least one nishtha should be there. Let us be naam-nishtha, where naam is given primacy at all times in life.

At all times, in naam jap, everything is naam. In naam nishtha, everything is naam. Our sadhana is naam. Our sadhya is also naam. For example, Sevak Ji Maharaj, whose entire sadhana is only naam of Shri Harivansh:

shri Harivansh chandra shubh naam sab sukh sindhu prem ras dham jam ghati bisre nahi

The auspicious name of Shri Harivansh Chandra, the ocean of all joy, the abode of the rasa of love, may not be forgotten even for a moment.

Sevak Ji is saying that this is the nature that comes naturally, the desire for the rasa of the name of Shri Harivansh, the boat that carries one firmly across the ocean of worldly existence. This Harivansh name is supremely auspicious and beneficial, and it is capable of bringing about the attainment of the Lord. Bhagavat prapti here means service to Priya Pritam, the love of Priya Pritam, and remaining near Priya Pritam. Sevak Ji says: I chant only the Harivansh naam, all eight watches of the day.

shri Harivansh chandra shubh naam sab sukh sindhu prem ras dham jam ghati bisre nahi

May I not forget, even for a single moment, the auspicious name of Shri Harivansh Chandra.

He says, "Or, this is my natural nature, it has become my habit: the rasa of the name of Shri Harivansh, all eight watches, the rasa of naam." This is naam-nishtha, always in the Harivansh naam.

vansh bina hari naam ho leo na jaki tek pave soi vastu ke ko jako hai vat ek aisi

[Remainder of this verse unclear in the caption.]

Nishtha. Shri Harivansh, Shri Harivansh, Shri Harivansh, Harivansh naam. Do not let the naam slip away, not even for a moment. Shri Harivansh is the good and the refuge. Know this as the manifest dharma: take the naam of Shri Harivansh, and recognise the siddhi of the naam. The naam is all siddhi and all rasa. Whoever enjoys the naam needs nothing else. He does not beg for a body, for sustenance, or for worldly wealth. Shri Harivansh arranges everything and gives the splendour of Vrindavan's sweetness.

Dharma is manifest in the heart of the one on whose tongue the naam is seated. To gain the nitya vihar rasa of Vrindavan, first say the good name of Shri Harivansh. Bring the good dharma along with it. Be in the company of dharmi people, and let the naam be on your tongue. Hold to one nishtha in the naam, day and night.

Some hold to gyan nishtha: "I am Brahman, there is no other matter. Brahman is true, the world is false, and that truth is I." Some hold to vairagya nishtha: renunciation of all enjoyments, from here up to Brahmaloka. Satya nishtha means speaking the truth, acting truthfully, and contemplating truth. Daan nishtha means complete generosity: giving and receiving without any hesitation in the mind, always doing good to the extent of one's means. A daan nishtha person never turns away anyone who comes to ask. Even if he must give his life, he gives it. Many great souls have been like this. Guru nishtha means that our life-wealth, our sadhana, and everything we have is our Gurudev, and we are completely attached to him.

There are eight nishthas, and a sadhak should hold to at least one of them: gyan nishtha, vairagya nishtha, satya nishtha, naam jap nishtha, daan nishtha, guru seva nishtha, bhakti nishtha, or samadhi-dhyan nishtha. Pujya Baba says, look within yourself and see which nishtha you have.

Only one nishtha remains. There are not two kinds of nishtha; there is only one. Never bring a feeling of greatness into yourself. The moment a feeling of "I am something big" arises, in any form, that is where the fall begins. Either become the greatest, so great that you contain the whole universe and countless universes within yourself. That is brahm bodh: there is nothing but me. Or become so small that you are lower than a blade of grass (tṛṇādapi sunīcena). Those in the middle get crushed. Become small through bhakti, or become great through gyan, so great that no one else is left and only you remain. To see greatness in yourself, and to see others as small, to see sin in others, to keep a wicked intellect and a base intellect: this is the ruin.

Immature sadhaks have these faults. They see others as sinners, as wicked, as lowly. They consider themselves good and great. See your iṣṭa everywhere. Criticism and praise, sin, base and superior, high and low: all of this is the contemplation of deluding maya.

Pujya Baba says: the eight nishthas must be practised with care in conduct. Consider yourself small, or consider yourself the greatest and embrace everyone within yourself, so that there is no one but me. This is brahm bodh. Or become the smallest, lower than a blade of grass, and call yourself lowly. Then practise these eight kinds of sadhana. These eight sadhanas are very useful in sadhana.

The first is that the sadhana you are doing must not have any show-off quality. Any such thing is a sign of akrpa, of the absence of grace. Shri Sevak Ji Maharaj has described this:

sab jag dekh chahe ka kaho hari bhakti binu priti kah nahi ai
shri Harivansh kripa bina

Looking at the whole world, what can one say? Without devotion to Hari, where is love to be found? Without the grace of Shri Harivansh.

We look at the whole world, and we call someone a bhakt, or we say no one is a bhakt. Everyone is a bhakt of Hari, because Hari is seated in every form. But we cannot see love. Sevak Ji says that we do not see anyone with love for God, anyone who is intoxicated with God's love and longs to love God. He says all of this is a sign of akrpa.

Bhakti is happening. It is happening a great deal. Even if someone offers a lota of water, it is bhakti. Some do bhakti of worldly objects, some do bhakti of God. Bhakti happens in many forms. But it is not bhakti that carries Hari-prem. Where there is no Hari-prem, it is a sign of akrpa. There is a lot of singing and music going on, but it is done to please the people of the world, not to please Hari.

gavat geet rasal taal shobhit prit binu dekht sakal abhag
shri Harivansh kripa bina

They sing sweet songs with beautiful rhythm, but without love, all of it is misfortune to behold. Without the grace of Shri Harivansh.

Very beautiful songs are being sung, but they are sung to please the world, and so that is misfortune. Even if you have deep knowledge of ragas and raginis, all of it is misfortune.

If the feeling of singing to please the Lord with love has not come, there is no taste in it. A worldly person may find taste in it, but where one is not given the right to sing in the assembly of great souls, everything becomes meaningless. However many ragas and raginis you sing, if you do not sing them in the assembly of Bhagavat bhakts, then your ragas and raginis have no value. That is akrpa, not grace.

When Swami Ji Maharaj sang his pads to Bihari Ji, even Tansen-like disciples were present, and a shower of prem-rasa truly fell. He sang only for Bihari Ji. His singing was only for Bihari Ji.

When we sing to the Lord, He accepts even our broken, out-of-tune singing. The tune may be very good, and the raag and raagini may be beautiful, but if it is not sung for the Lord, it is misfortune. Dekhat sakal abhaag (seeing all this, it is all misfortune).

You dance very well. Dance is one of the sixty-four limbs of bhakti. Through dance we please our Prabhu and delight Him. If we dance only for the Lord, our bhakti grows strong and the Lord will bless us. But if the inner feeling is for people, and the dance is done to be seen by others, then it is not for the Lord.

There is a verse on this:

nachat rasal taal na shobhit prit bin jan bandhe janjal
shri Harivansh kripa bina gavat geet rasal bhaal tilak shobhit ghana
Dancing and singing without love for the Lord, with rhythm and tilak, do not shine. People are bound in the snare of the world. Without the grace of Shri Hit Harivansh, the singing has no sweetness.

When you dance like this, it looks as though you are trying to free yourself from a net. If you dance for the Lord, then however you dance, the Lord is pleased to see it. This is misfortune.

darshan bhakt anup rup sushobhit prit bin bhram bhatkat bhoop
shri Harivansh kripa bina
Even a devotee of matchless beauty, without love, wanders in delusion, like a king lost in illusion. Without the grace of Shri Hit Harivansh..

Your devotee's form may look very beautiful, and great kings may be impressed by your appearance and think you a great devotee. But it is your misfortune, because it is ungrace upon you. You are called the servant of the Lord, yet you do not love the Lord and you do not feel close to Him. So we should understand ungrace and understand grace.

There is a great deal of ungrace within us. Dikhaava (showing off) must be avoided. The eight rules of sadhan are very useful. The first is to be free of dikhaava. Our sadhana must not be for showing others. It must be to please the Lord. We dress our Prabhu for His happiness. We serve the Lord for His happiness. We do naam kirtan and leela katha for our Prabhu's joy, not for the world to see. This is the first rule.

The second is brahmacharya. This is a very, very difficult subject.

The first is not to show off. Among the eight useful sadhans, the first is that there should be no showiness in any sadhan at all. We see that showiness among our people is growing, and this showiness turns a person away from the Lord.

Sevak Ji Maharaj wrote:

mul mantr tatora ki riti dharm puchhat badan duravat
He searches for the root mantra, he hides his face when asked about dharma. He grasps from here and grasps from there, and thinks himself a siddha.

He neither stays one way nor the other. He is caught in the middle, belonging neither to the world nor to renunciation. His life passes in between. So great care is needed, and there should be no showing off.

The second sadhan is brahmacharya. Without the grace of the Lord it cannot be sustained. Except by taking refuge in the grace of the Lord, we have no strategy of our own in it. If there is the strength of the Lord's grace along with our own care, then it can be upheld. Grace and strength are very necessary. Nothing is achieved through ego. Grace is essential here, because it is the greatest vow. You can keep a fast without water for nine days, or on fruit alone, or even without water. But to remain in brahmacharya for your whole life is a great thing.

This brahmacharya is very difficult. Only one on whom the Lord has special grace, who is especially favoured by the Lord, can take up this vow. We may say you can keep a waterless fast, you can keep a fruit fast, but you can keep brahmacharya only by the grace of the Lord. This is not a vow of a day or two. It is a vow for life. If at some turn, somewhere, we slip, then the whole vow breaks. It is a dam of sand. A small hole in a sand dam and the whole thing washes away.

This is a very useful sadhan. Whether one follows the path of Brahm gyan, the path of Ashtang yog, or the path of bhakti, it is necessary. Here we make a distinction. There is one way, where we walk in brahmacharya. And there is another, where we let ourselves be led as the Lord directs. In that second way, we no longer care about brahmacharya or any sadhana, because we have given our body, mind, breath and life to You.

Now you see how You are to lead us. This is an even stronger matter, far stronger. If this is understood, well and good.

yadyapi bhakt anannya jo vishay indriy bas hoe karmth koti jitendra te samlayan ko
Even an exclusive devotee, if he is ruled by the senses, .. One who has conquered the senses, a karmic seeker, is .. Such a one is found in the midst of all.

In this state there is joy in every situation. We have many faults within us, so our gaze goes that way. Look, Priya Pritam: this is Your house. Now it is no longer mine. I am very lowly. Why should I touch it? When I am no longer there, I have given it to You. I have written the house in Your name. Now You may paint it saffron or yellow, as You like. Get it whitewashed. Put love-colour in it, put lust-colour in it, put wickedness in it, put nobility in it. It is now in Your hands. Jai Shri Radhe, I am Yours. This vow is even stronger than that. This vow is even stronger than that.

je bya ja Bali so sukanth pun keen kuchali
soi kartut vibhishan keri sapne Ram na tan tanri
Whoever committed treachery against Bali, and Sugriva afterwards also acted wickedly, such was the conduct of Vibhishan. In dreams, Ram was not in his body or thoughts.

Nityanand Mahaprabhu was a renunciate and an avadhut from childhood. This is an avadhut state, not avadhut dress. Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Dev commanded Shripad: for the welfare of the world, accept the role of Vyas.

Jai Shri Radhe.

Those who were not even aware of a loincloth. Naked, absorbed in the mood of Krishna, in the young adolescent stage, they do not remember even the loincloth. Those in the parikar who tie the loincloth for them do not remember it either. To such Nityanand Mahaprabhu, Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Dev gave the command for the welfare of the world, because the progeny that would manifest from a great soul like you would be for the welfare of the world. Shripad did not ask even once, "Mahaprabhu was a sannyasi from childhood, a vairagi from childhood, so how can he have two wives?" There is a memory that Nityanand Mahaprabhu had two wives. Mahaprabhu Harivansh Chandra, Shri Vachand Mahaprabhu, Shri Krishnachandra Mahaprabhu, Shri Gopinath Mahaprabhu and Sahiba Devi: these four had already appeared in Devavan.

Mahaprabhu, completely dyed in the colour of love of the Priya-Pritam, set out for Vrindavan. Rukmani Devi stayed behind there, by Mahaprabhu's command, to look after the family and strengthen the children. Along with his own parikar, the ones who surrendered their lives, Gangu ji, Maida ji and Govind Das ji, were with him. Though only four or five of them appear to be there in body, their lives were surrendered. Harivansh Mahaprabhu, as soon as they heard of Mahaprabhu's passing, their lives departed. Such were they. In the village of Tirthavali, Mahaprabhu received the command: "Rest here."

Mahaprabhu rested outside the village. There was a great, most devoted Bhagwat couple seated there, and they received the command: "Your two sakhis, Krishna Dasi and Manohari, Hit Ji Maharaj has come to your town. Bring him respectfully, and give Radhavallabh ji and the two sakhis to him." The command was given to Mahaprabhu, that Shri Ji was coming. Hearing this, not even once did he ask, "We are giving up everything and going for you, so whatever you wish, that alone is pleasing." And Radhavallabh Lal was carried in a palanquin, with two sakhis in his service. Mahaprabhu Harivansh Chandra, at that time, Vrindavan was entirely inconvenient, and in an inconvenient high place he seated Radhavallabh Lal. One sakhi was in santa seva and one sakhi in shringar seva. The parikar was there too, and Navaldas Bairagi and other great personalities were with Mahaprabhu. So we are saying this: there is one kind of life surrendered, like "you are the master, this life is yours," and there is another kind, where one says "we will walk like this." And there is a walking that is not walking.

Sit down. Simply sit down in your refuge. This is even more forceful than that. Third: every sadhak must surely rise in Brahma Muhurta. Here, on this thread, another thread will follow. Every sadhak will have to get up at one in the night, because when we reach there at two o'clock, everyone arrives, roughly quarter to five. When we too sometimes come at ten to two, everyone meets there, and after that you cannot sleep. Look, they are sitting in satsang. This routine of ours will run until 9:30, and theirs until 11:30 or 12. After taking prasad and resting for a while, then the incense offering to Shri Ji, then for Shri Ji, it begins again at 3:00. Here he says that every sadhak

in Brahma Muhurta. For outsiders we can say this. In Radha's nikunj and in Vrindavan, we feel Brahma Muhurta here is already at one in the night. Otherwise, Brahma Muhurta means four o'clock. Four o'clock has been declared the time of Brahma Muhurta. At 4:30 everyone should get up. For those who are outside, there is a prayer: those who are listening to this satsang, at least get up at four o'clock in Brahma Muhurta. [sound of clearing throat] The fourth is a clear description: little food, mitahar.

Once I read that with 400 grams of grain in 24 hours, the life-nourishment comes, and the power we need for good sadhana is received. Since then we try. If there is dialysis, then there is great disorder about this. Interest in food and drink is lost somehow, but we try that when 400 grams of grain is enough, then adding the rest on top will only be a burden. So try: take two times, four grams each, and thereby, to nourish life, take a little mitahar. This is the fourth thread: mitahar should be practised.

The first is that there should be no show-off at all in sadhana. The second is the observance of brahmacharya. The third is always to rise in Brahma Muhurta. And the fourth is mitahar: eat little. Practise this. Sleeping and eating come under practice. As much as you want, practise it, and it will come to you at that measure. If you keep reducing, it will reduce. If you keep increasing, it will keep increasing. Pujya Shri Raghunath Das Goswami ji of Radhakund: Shri Dhruvdas ji has written that he never ate anything except buttermilk.

takra lon braj ko leo paras nahi kachu aa

He took only buttermilk and salt of Braj, and touched nothing else.

Shri Dhruvdas ji said: "He took only buttermilk and salt; he touched nothing else." Then his state was such that:

sovat hu rasna rate Radha Krishna sunam

Even while sleeping, the tongue repeats the holy names of Radha and Krishna.

Very pure food, and little food: whatever has been offered to the Lord as bhog, look, it is always calm and pure. Just as the tongue becomes completely full of flavour when eating a rasgulla, in the same way the tongue becomes full of flavour in chanting the Bhagwan's naam.

Be firmly established in deep naam. Keep your eyes open and naam goes on; close them and naam goes on; let naam be in the heart, in bliss. Improve your diet. Fifth, give up whatever food, person, or object is dear to you, because this dearness has to be directed toward Bhagwan. Do not love any person, do not love any object, do not love any substance. "This is our favourite." Then Shri Ji has not become the favourite, Prabhu has not become the favourite. We say things like "this is our favourite" without knowing the meaning. Favourite means special liking, one's chosen preference. So "this is our favourite" is one thing; when will you say "Shri Ji is my manpasand (favourite)"? You never say "Lal Ji is our favourite." You say "this is your favourite" about things, substances, and people. Worldly words, worldly objects, worldly persons, worldly enjoyments: our sense of dearness should be bhagwatik (directed to the Divine).

So whatever food, person, or object is dear to us, we should keep as much distance from it as possible, because we must attain the love of Priya-Pritam. Amazing. You are right. The grip of the mind is very wrong. How much joy we find in describing every worldly matter in elaborate detail! But when it comes to speaking of Bhagwan, speech does not work, intellect does not work, the mind does not work. This is the great irony. Whatever thing, substance, person, or sight is dear to us, we should move away from it, because the true sense of "dear" still belongs only to the world.

Right now Radha Priya Ji has not become dear. Right now Thakur Ji has not become dear. We only say it with our tongue. Prana-aradhya, prana-priya, jeevan-dhan: these have not truly become dear. On the day they become dear, nothing will run except bhajan. As we were asking one day: "Tell me, yaar, apart from bhajan, what else runs?" Because this is our life's wealth, what else would run? For us, this is everything. Relatives, kin, whoever they are, all of it is this. So what else would run? Later it became clear to us that the attachment to the world that we have carried through endless lifetimes keeps running naturally.

The vritti (mental inclination) does not go toward the bhajan of Prabhu. And what is called manorajya (mental daydreaming): idle talk, idle thinking, idle imagination, keep on going. Sixth, when someone gets angry with you, become silent. Do not let your mind be stained, and do not open your speech. This is very useful in sadhana.

People provoke anger. They ridicule. They ridicule the bhakt, they disregard him, they provoke him to anger. This is driven by maya. You must not get angry. You must stay calm, and at that time you must smile.

When someone abuses you, insults you, or slanders you:

Seventh, whatever sadhana your Guru has given you. For example: chant 11 malas, do 51 dandavat, recite this much path, wake up at this hour, do this. It should continue for a long time, in a regular number and at a regular time. It must never break. When sadhana is done regularly, with a fixed count and discipline, it matures. Just as it was prescribed: do this many dandavat to your Thakur Ji. If you have a female body, do panchang; if you have a male body, do sashtang. That is the rule.

Or, place your Thakur Ji in the middle of your kutiya, circumambulate four times, and do your dandavat with the door closed. Whoever you are, in solitude, everyone keeps their Thakur Ji in their kutiya. So if Thakur Ji is not there, then Thakur Ji is nowhere; and when Thakur Ji is everywhere, Thakur Ji is there too. Place your Shri Ji, your Thakur Ji, in the middle of the room, circumambulate four times, and offer your dandavat. Niyam and nishtha must not break. Path, naam japa, mantra japa, dandavat seva: all of these must continue.

We have seen that when gurujans had a very high fever and had not eaten, they still did not give up the seva of Shri Ji. When we prayed, "We will give the bath, Maharaj Ji; just have darshan," he said "No, no, no," got up, and with great difficulty bathed Shri Ji, applied sandalwood, performed aarti, and then lay down. We have seen this in great souls: they do not break their seva or their niyam-nishtha. But among our own people, no niyam-nishtha lasts very long. This is our shortcoming. Niyam-nishtha that continues steadily for a long time is what matters.

Eighth, everyone should do this. At bedtime, observe your daily routine: in which part of the day did sinful conduct or error occur, which niyam broke, what should not have been said or done but was. After observing, note it in your mind. Do prayaschit. Feel the burn of remorse: "Oh, this should not have happened." What our gurujans instruct should be followed; it should not go against them. And the niyam given to us must be completed. For example, you are going to sleep and have not done your dandavat today. If you are one with niyam-nishtha, you will not feel the pull toward sleep. At first the mind will say, "Alright, even in the room, let's do 51 dandavat now, then sleep." But one without niyam-nishtha, his mind will advise him otherwise. If you do dandavat, heat will come into the body and sleep will not come. So quietly go to sleep; we will do it tomorrow, we will do 108 tomorrow. And if tomorrow comes and you do it, fine. Otherwise, after three or four days, it comes to mind suddenly. This is not what is being said. Baba is saying: japa, dhyan, and the sadhana given by the Guru must be done with niyam-nishtha at the fixed time. And eighth: before sleeping, examine what mistakes and errors of every kind occurred today. Note them in your mind, pray to Bhagwan, and make effort to remove them.

Let us continue with the Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapuran. Akrur ji is taking Bhagavan Shri Krishna and Balram ji to Mathura. When Akrur ji bathed in the Brahma-hrad, he saw Shri Krishna and Balram seated on the chariot. He thought, "What sight is this? The chariot is standing outside." When he raised his head above the water, he again saw Shri Krishna and Balram on the chariot. He dived again, and in the water he saw Shri Krishna and Balram. He was greatly astonished. Then the Lord changed the scene. He saw Ananta Bhagavan Shesh ji, from whose hoods the light of divine jewels was shining, and on whose bed Bhagavan Shri Hari was lying in rest.

Great beings, great powers, great devas, the Lokapalas, rishis and munis were all offering vandana. Seeing this darshan of the Lord, Akrur ji's heart overflowed with supreme bliss. His whole body was thrilled with joy. As love welled up, tears began to flow from his eyes. Akrur ji gathered great courage and placed his head at the Lord's feet. This was not seen merely in feeling. Bhagavan had actually appeared in the water. He bowed with his head placed at the Lord's feet, and with folded hands, very carefully and slowly, with a choked voice, he began to praise the Lord.

na to ham le hetu het naraynam purush madhyamavyayam yanajata darwind ko brahma virasi yate shoka bhoom pawan khamadir mahan jadar man sarwendriy vibhdha sarve ye tavaste jagat bhuta nate swarup viduratmaste jayo ajob sagun rajaya gum vedte swarup

I bow to you, the cause of all causes, Narayana, the primal and imperishable Purusha, from whose lotus navel Brahma arose. The true nature of your form is known only to the wise.

Akrur ji said: Prabhu, you are the supreme cause of prakriti and of all causes. You are the imperishable Purushottam, Bhagavan Narayan. Shri Brahma ji appeared from your navel lotus, and Brahma ji created this moving and unmoving world. I bow at your feet.

Prabhu, earth, water, fire, air, ether, ahankar, mahat-tattva, prakriti, purusha, the mind, the senses, the objects of all the senses, and their presiding deities, this whole moving and unmoving world and its functioning rest on these. And all of these are your own limbs and forms. Pay attention. Earth, water, fire, air, ether, ahankar, mahat-tattva, prakriti, purusha, the mind, the senses, and the objects of the senses: all of these are you alone, having become these. They are Bhagavan himself. Prabhu, through the process of knowing, these are called anatma and inert. Therefore, because of them, one does not get direct darshan of you, since they are outward, maya-made forms, and you are the one who has become them. If ignorance is not removed, there are two methods for this: vyatireka and anvaya. First cut this away: "it is not." Then "it is." When you reach "is," everything is That alone, and then the experience comes that you yourself are the Atma.

Our atma is our Prabhu. Brahma ji is your form, but he is endowed with rajas, a quality of prakriti. Therefore he too does not know your form, which is beyond prakriti and its qualities.

twaan yogino yajante mahapurusham sadhyatmam sadhbhutam cha sadhdevam cha sadhav

The yogis worship you, the Supreme Purusha, as the inner Self, as the elements and as the deities; the sadhus worship you as well.

Sadhus, sants, mahatmas and yogis, those who contemplate you within the antahkaran, reveal you and realize you directly in the heart. You can realize Bhagavan through upasana in whatever form you wish: as the Antaryami, as the Paramatma pervading all beings and material things, as the deity-circles of the sun, moon, fire and others, as the witness, as the Mahapurushas, or as the controlling Ishvar.

Many karmakandi Brahmins, through the Trayi Vidya that teaches the path of karma, describe your many names as devas, such as Indra and Agni, and your many forms, such as Vajrahasta and Saptarchi. They perform great yajnas, and through them your upasana takes place. Many jnanis renounce all their karmas and remain established in a state of peace. In this way, through jnana yajna, they worship you, the form of knowledge. Many sanskar-endowed, pure-minded Vaishnavas, absorbed in the Pancharatra and other methods you taught, worship your Chaturvyuha and your many forms, and your single form as Narayan.

Bhagavan, other people follow the path shown by Bhagavan Shankar, which has many sub-divisions according to the differences among acharyas, and they worship you in the form of Shiva. You alone are Shiva. Swamin, those who devote themselves to other devatas and consider them separate from you, they too in truth worship you alone, because you are in the form of all devatas and are the sovereign Lord of the devatas. Prabhu, just as many rivers flow from every side of the mountains, swelled with rainwater, wandering and winding, and enter the ocean, so too, whatever worship it is, sooner or later it reaches you alone.

Prabhu, your prakriti has three qualities: sattva, rajas and tamas. From Brahma down to the immovable beings, all moving and unmoving creatures are subject to this prakriti. Just as cloth is woven through threads, everything is pervaded by the qualities of prakriti. But you, being the form of everything, are not attached to them. You are unattached. All your vrittis are only witness. The creation that flows from the flow of the gunas is rooted in ignorance. You pervade all beings, gods, humans, animals, birds and every other species, and yet you are also separate from them.

O Shri Krishna, I bow to you. Fire is your mouth. Earth is your feet. Sun and moon are your eyes. Ether is your navel. The directions are your ears. Heaven is your head. The devatas are your arms. The ocean is your womb. This air alone has been imagined for upasana as your prana-shakti. All trees and herbs are your body hair. Clouds are the hair of your head. Mountains are your bones and nails. Day and night are the opening and closing of your eyelids. Prajapati is your reproductive organ, and rain is your virility.

O imperishable Lord, just as many aquatic creatures live in water and tiny insects live in the fruit of the fig tree, in the same way, in your mind-born cosmic form (manomaya purusha) accepted for worship, worlds full of many kinds of living beings and their guardians (lokapalas) have been imagined. Lord, all the incarnations you take on earth for play wash away the grief and delusion of people, and then everyone joyfully sings your pure glory. Lord, you took the form of a fish (Matsya avatar) to protect the Vedas, the sages, the herbs, and Satyavrata and others, and you freely sported in the ocean of dissolution.

I bow to your fish form. You took the Hayagriva incarnation to slay the demons named Madhu and Kaitabha. I bow to your Hayagriva form. You took the vast tortoise form and bore Mandarachal. I bow to your tortoise form. You assumed the form of Varaha playfully to lift up the earth. I bow again and again to your Varaha form. Lord, who removes the fear of holy people like Prahlad, I bow to your wondrous Narasimha form.

Taking the Vamana form, you measured the three worlds with your steps. I bow to your Vamana form. To cut down the arrogant kshatriyas of demonic nature who transgress dharma, you took the form of Parashurama, Lord of the Bhrigus. I bow to that Parashurama form. To destroy Ravana, you took incarnation in the Raghu dynasty as Lord Ram. I bow to your Shri Ram form. To nourish and protect the Vaishnavas and the Yadavas, you revealed yourself in the fourfold form (chaturvyuha) of Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.

I bow to you in this fourfold form again and again. To bewilder demons and danavas, you took the form of Lord Buddha, the founder of the path of pure non-violence. I bow to you. When the kshatriyas of the earth become almost like mlecchas (barbarians), you will descend as Lord Kalki to destroy them. I bow to you in the form of Lord Kalki. Lord, all these beings are bewildered by your maya, and because of this delusion they think "I am this" and "this is mine." Trapped in this false obstinacy, they wander along the paths of karma.

My Lord, in the same way, I too, considering the false body-home, wife, children, wealth and relatives, which are like objects seen in a dream, to be real, am snared by attachment to them and wandering. Just see my foolishness, Lord. I have taken the impermanent to be permanent, the non-self to be the self, and suffering to be happiness. Surely there is a limit even to such inverted intellect. In this way I got lost in ignorance and in the pairs of opposites such as worldly happiness and sorrow. I completely forgot that you alone are my true beloved. It is like an unknowing person who goes to a pond for water and, seeing it covered with the moss that grows from it, concludes that there is no water here.

And like one who runs after a mirage, mistaking the shimmer of the sun's rays for water, so too I, hidden by your own maya, have strayed from you in search of special pleasures. O imperishable, O immutable, O Shri Krishna, of the form of knowledge, I bow to you. I am without knowledge. Lord, because of this, desires for many things and resolves to act for them keep rising in my mind. Lord, these senses are very powerful and unconquerable. They churn the mind and drag it here and there by force.

Lord, I am not able to restrain the senses and the mind. Look, even the great ones throw up their hands. Akrura ji is saying this, so I cannot restrain these senses and this mind. They are very powerful and unconquerable. Wandering in this way, by your grace I have come under the parasol of your lotus feet, which is very rare even for sinners and wicked people. My Lord, I consider this too to be your gracious gift. Because, Padmanabha, when the time comes for a soul to be freed from worldly existence, the mind's inclination becomes fixed on you through the worship of holy people.

When the time comes for a soul to be freed from worldly existence, it receives the company of great souls who love the Lord, and through their company the colour of devotion to the Lord's worship takes hold. Lord, you are of the nature of wisdom, a mass of wisdom. Of all the perceptions and all the mental modifications, you alone are the cause and the substratum. In the form of the jiva, and in the form of the causes of the jivas' happiness and sorrow, of time, of karma, of nature, and of prakriti, O Shri Krishna, you alone are present. You alone are the controller of all of them. In the form of the jiva, in the form of the causes of the jivas' happiness and sorrow, time, karma, nature, and prakriti, you alone are present.

You alone are the controller of all of them. Your powers are infinite. You yourself are Brahman. I bow to you. Lord, you alone are Vasudeva. You alone are Sankarshana, the refuge of all beings. You alone are Pradyumna and Aniruddha, the presiding deities of intellect and mind. I bow to you again and again. Lord, protect me, who have taken refuge in you. Parikshit, having praised in this way, Akrura had finished. The Lord withdrew his divine form. Then Akrura saw that the Lord's form had disappeared, and he came out of the water.

Quickly he changed his clothes and went off to the chariot. Akrur Ji was very astonished at that time. Lord Shri Krishna Chandra asked, "Uncle, did you see some wondrous thing on the earth, in the sky, or in the water? You look very astonished; your bearing suggests it."

Akrur Ji said, "When I am seeing only you, what else is there to see as a wonder on earth, in water, or in the sky? Prabhu, all the wondrous things in the whole world, on earth, in the sky, and in the water, are all you, their origin, because you are the Vishwaroop. When I am looking at you, what wondrous thing could remain that I have not seen? Bhagwan, all the wondrous things, whether they are in the earth, in the water, or in the sky, are all in you, and I am seeing you."

"Now then, you tell me, what wondrous thing remains for me?" When Akrur Ji, the son of Shvaphalka, said this, Bhagwan smiled. Akrur Ji drove the chariot on, and by the time the day was fading they reached the city of Mathura. Along the way, villagers came to meet them at every place. Seeing Shri Krishna and Balram Ji, they became absorbed in joy. They began to gaze at them without blinking and could not take their eyes away. Nanda Baba and the other Brajvasis had already reached Mathura and were waiting in the outer garden of the city.

When Akrur Ji's chariot reached them, Jagdishwar Bhagwan Shri Krishna and Balram got down with humble bearing. Akrur Ji also got down. Smiling, Prabhu Shri Krishna took Akrur Ji's hand and said, "Uncle, now take the chariot into the city of Mathura and go to your home. We will come to see the city afterwards."

Akrur Ji said, "Prabhu, I cannot go into the city of Mathura without you two. I am your devotee. Bhaktvatsal Prabhu, do not leave me; you must come along. My supreme well-wisher, my true friend, Bhagwan, you, Balram Ji, the cowherd boys, and Nanda Rai, all of you, please walk to our house and stay there.

"We are householders. Make our home holy with the dust of your feet. By the nectar of your feet-water, Agni, the gods, and the ancestors are all fully satisfied. Prabhu, Mahatma Bali attained the glory that saints sing of by washing your pair of feet. Not only glory, he received incomparable opulence and the state that is attained by devotees who are exclusively loving. Prabhu, your charanodak, the water that washed your feet, purified the three worlds as the Ganga. Truly, Ganga Ji is embodied purity, because she is your charanodak. By her touch alone, the sons of Sagar attained sadgati."

Shiva took that same Ganga water and held it in his matted locks on his head. "O crest-jewel of the Yadu dynasty, you are the adored deity even of the gods. You are the Lord of the universe. Hearing and chanting your qualities and leelas is very auspicious. Noble persons keep on singing your qualities. O Shri Krishna, I bow to you."

Shri Bhagwan said, "Uncle, I will come to your house with Dau Bhaiya, but not first. First I will meet my maternal uncle. First, by killing this treacherous maternal uncle Kansa, I will do what is dear to my well-wishers and good people. Then I will come to your house."

Parikshit, on hearing this, Akrur Ji became somewhat uneasy. Entering the city, he went to Kansa and said, "I have brought Shri Krishna and Balram. They are staying in the garden." Then he went home.

Now, the next day, the Lord, with Balram Ji and the cowherd boys, is entering the city of Mathura. The beauty of Mathura city is very lovely, and now even more so, because the supremely beautiful Shyamsundar, Gaursundar Balram Ji, these two, and their companions are entering. What leelas they will do begins right from this entrance; you will hear more of that ahead. Victory to Shri Radhavallabh Lal!

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

Original video: Shri Hit Radha Kripa (YouTube)