KRISHNA KARNAMRUTA-Sloka--14

 Madhura madhara bimbe manjulam mandahaase

Sisira mamruta vaakye sitalam drushti pathe

Vipula maruna netre visrutam venu naade

Marakatha mani nilam baala maaloka yenu !

Krishna is totally lost in the blssful experience of his own Divine music from the flute! Leela Shuka considers the Lord as his close relative and wonders why Krishna is not responding to his request to save him. Yet He is praised as an ocean of compassion! The poet is desperate and is totally at a loss. He does not know when the Lord will hear his appeal!

“Krishna is the very embodiment of causeless compassion and love. He sports childhood during all difficult situations! His long and broad eyes are capable of seeing everything in the universe. Is Krishna contemplating whether I deserve His  look.  When will the Lord cast His glance on me” feels Leela Shuka! 

Feeling dejected and disappointed at the casual attitude of Krishna, the poet cannot prevent himself from describing the glorious form of Krishna that presents itself before his mental vision. “ Am I perceiving the Lord in front of me?” Leela Shuka wonders. He describes the beautiful form of Krishna graphically. “Krishna’s lips (adharam) are red like the ' bimba' fruit! A sweet smile flits across those lips  captivating the hearts of all in the universe! Krishna's words are delectable and cool like Amruta or nectar from heaven! Similarly, Krishna's looks are extremely cool even as they are slightly red! The music of His flute is wafting in the air! With all these attributes Bala Gopala stands before me in the  black color of  “Marakatha Mani” otherwise called as “ Indraneela” precious stone!”.

On account of Madanagopala mantra upadesa Leela Suka has attained a spiritual elevation! His meditation and total surrender unto the lotus feet of Krishna is highly commendable! It is because of this unwavering devotion that he is in a position to visualize the Divine form of Krishna in his mental vision! In every sloka of his Krishna Karnamruta we get a wonderful description of Krishna and His attributes. To the poet every aspect of the Lord is sweet and pleasant! His face, the smile, lips, radiance, body smeared fully with the Vermillion on the breasts of the Gopikas, the lotus feet that make fun of the real lotus and the exceptionally beautiful peacock feather on His head are  picturesquely described by the poet!  There is no doubt that Leela Shuka is in a position to drink deep the Divine Beauty and enjoy the rare bliss coming out of it! It is the rare privilege of a great and exceptional Bhaktha!

Q

KRISHNA KARNAMRUTA-Sloka--12

 Kusumasara sara samara kupitha mada Gopi 

Kucha kalasa ghasruna rasadurasi Deve

Madalulitha mrudu hasitha mushitha sasi shobha

Muhuradhika mukha Kamala madhri Mani liyye!

Krishna has appeared in the mental vision of  Leela Shuka! Every second the poet sees his Lord in a different form and posture!  He forgets himself and feels that he has merged himself into the Divine form! Krishna is visulized as playing on His flute moving his fingers deftly and producing different swaras! The delectable music is something like the rain of Divine Amrita mesmerizing the hearts of listeners. The lower lips of Krishna--'adhara' form themselves into sweet smile and steal the hearts of all! The poet is besides himself with ecstasy at this wonderful sight and loses himself in the Supreme!

The scene shifts immediately and Krishna is visualized in a different form and posture in this sloka! Krishna is perceived as playing with Gopikas! They are playing by showering flowers at one another! In this vigorous, pleasant sport, unfortunately the Gopikas lose and are unable to cope with the movements of Krishna! Evidently they are very angry and furious at their discomfiture! Krishna, with his chest totally smeared with Vermillion from the heavy golden pot like breasts of Gopikas,  sports a delicate captivating smile!  Into that  beautiful radiance of the Lord Leela Shuka  loses himself experiencing indescribable bliss!

Krishna is always associated with Sringara rasa! Jayadeva, the Bengali poet glorifies the Love between Radha and Madhava in his Gita Govinda Kavya. The ardent love and passion of Radha for her paramour Krishna, her pangs and suffering for the sight of Krishna are beautifully described in the Astapadis of the poet. Krishna is a Sringara Nayaka! Once again the Bhagavatha purana exults in narrating the Divine sports or leelas of the Lord in His childhood and youth. The Rasa Leela episode where Krishna dances with every Gopika, is not only astonishing but has spiritual significance!!

The background of poet Leela Shuka has an influence on the various visions that he sees in his mind! The poet himself was great lover of Chintamani for whom he was ready to swim across the Krishna!  Not only this, he was granted the powerful Madanagopala mantra by his Guru! Chastened by the counseling of Chintamani, he opened his spiritual eye and started a new life! Chintamani had admonished Leela Shuka by saying that if he had shown a part of his passion and lust for her on Krishna, he would have saved himself! The turning point in his life came after this rare but significant advice!

Tendencies or Vasanas in individuals will not disappear easily! They remain dormant in the person and raise their heads off and on! Though the poet has taken to the life spiritual advancement, he cannot extricate himself from the romantic and erotic sensations that bound him to material life!  Madana Gopala, KRISHNA, as indescribably beautiful as Manmatha, God of Love, fires his poetic imagination  and hence his erotic descriptions of Krishna along with other interesting and excellent sketches in his slokas! There is nothing wrong in these descriptions since they are suffused with pure love and devotion to Krishna! The very fact that he wants to merge in to the radiant form of Krishna absolves him of any other intention! The purpose of human existence is to merge into the Absolute—Jivatma losing itself into the Paramatma!!

GOD AND HIS DEVOTEE

GOD AND HIS DEVOTEE

“ The relationship between a devotee and God is only Heart to Heart and Love to Love. True devotion lies in obeying  the Lord and spreading His message. There is none greater than a true devotee in this world.”  declares Bhagawan SrI Satya Sai Baba. It is total dedication and surrender to the Lord that impels God to be with the devotee.  A true devotee does everything as a service to God. He sees God in everything, in human beings, animals, nature and even inanimate objects! He recognizes the manifestation of the Divine in all creation. “ atmavat sarva bhutani.”He lives in God, eats with God and sleeps with God! There is nothing in this universe that is not suffused with the spirit of God for a true devotee. He sings the glory of Him always and quenches his thirst for God. The mystic that he is, the devotee sees God in the colour of the cloud, bird, flowing water, the grand and majestic mountain and various other things. The devotion of true devotee is such that  Lord Vishnu tells sage Narada that he does not reside in his abode Vakunta nor in the hearts of yogis but is firmly established in places where his true devotees sing his glory! Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that a true devotee is dearer to Him than anyone else! This is because of his detachment from all mundane things and attachment to the lotus feet of the Lord!  SrI Ramakrishna beautifully explains the difference between the Bhaktha and the jnanni  In the Muslim janana none is allowed without permission including the husband of the lady. But the child has access freely at any time. He can play according to his will without any inhibition. The bhaktha is like the child whereas the jnani is similar to the husband! There Is a taint of selfishness in the yogi while it is totally absent in the bhaktha.

It is because of these traits that the bhaktha is dearer to God. He cannot tolerate any harm or injustice to His devotee. He may even subject himself to any abuse or ill-treatment by the ignorant and atheists but under no circumstances will He allow his bhaktha to be troubled! Instances galore are present in our Puranas where Divine intervention has saved the devotee from the persecution and harassment of the ignorant! After a series of persecutions to his son Prahlada, Hiranyakasipu demanded him to show Vishnu, his inveterate enemy. Prahlada said that Lord Vishnu is omnipresent and is present even in the pillar in front of him.Honoring the the words of His true devotee, Vishnu was ready to manifest in every object to come out and kill the demon. When Hiranyakasipu smashed the pillar  the Lord emerged as Narasimha -- man-lion and tore him to pieces!The word of His true devotee is a law for the Lord! When the god of death Yama came to take the life of Markandeya, the staunch devotee of Lord Siva, he was severely punished and warned not to approach His devotees!

God obeys the orders of His true bhakthas who are his dearest possessions! Tirumazisai Azwar, one among the great Azwars, incurred the displeasure of the palaval king of Kanchipuram. He had refused to grant youthfulness to the king for which he was banished  from the region. The Azwar, in his true devotion, commanded the Lord, Yathotkari of the temple to leave the place and come with him! “kanikannan is going out of Kanchipuram. Oh! Manivanna! You don’t have to lie here any more since, as the fluent poet that I am also leaving with him, you also roll your serpent bed and follow me!” commanded the Azwars! Lord Vishnu is said to have rolled up his snake mattress and left with His true devotee!

God will never tolerate those who try to destroy or belittle his true bhaktha. He will compel them to beg pardon from the very  same devotee whom they want to trouble and disrespect! The story of king Ambarisha is an illustrious example. He belonged to the famous Ikshvaku clan and was the son of Nabhaga. He was righteous and ruled  the country wisely looking after the subjects as his own children. He performed a great yaga for the well being of people with great devotion and faith. Pleased with his bhakthi, Lord Vishnu  presented His  Sudersana Chakra and said that it would protect him always. Ambarisha was overjoyed at the benign grace of the Lord. He had started the ‘ dwadasi vrata’ according to which he had to fast on the ekadasi day and break the fast the following morning on the dwadasi. On that day,when the king had to break his fast, the renowned sage Durvasa came to visit Ambarisha.

The king received the sage with respect and thought that it was his fortune to get an atithi- unexpected guest like the sage.  Sage Durvasa wanted to refresh himself and went to the river near by. Meanwhile the time to break the fast arrived and the sage did not return. Ambarisha waited for long but in vain.He was In a dilemma whether to break the fast or not. On the advice of sage Vasishta, he drank water with Thulasi leaves and waited for sage Durvasa. Soon the sage came and knowing what had happened, became furious. He felt that he was humiliated and in his anger created a demon from his matted hair and sent it to destroy the king for his misdeed! The demon advanced forward menacingly towards King Ambarisha.

Meanwhile the Sudersana Chakra installed for the protection of the king plunged into action and In a moment killed the demon that was nearing the king. Not stopping at that, it went after sage Durvasa, who in utter horror started running! The Chakra chased him across the forests and mountains and in desperation he went to Satya Loka and requested Brahma to save him from the Chakra. But he threw up his hands and expressed his inability. Sage Durvasa reached Lord Shiva in Kailash and He too could not stop the Chakra! The Sage,now,approached Lord Vishnu,the owner of the Chakra to save him. but the Lord said it is Ambarisha alone who could control the Chakra and save the sage! Sage Durvasa ran to Ambarisha, begged pardon for his arrogance and requested him to withdraw the Chakra. Ambarisha prayed to the Lord and soon the Sudersana Chakra settled calmly in it place. Sage Durvasa was happy and felt sorry for his  illconceived action. He praised the king for his  extraordinary devotion to Lord Vishnu and blessed the king.This is how God teaches lesson to the haughty and proves that His devotees are greater than Him.This is one among the numberless incidents when God glorified His own true devotees!!

SIVA MANASA PUJA

Siva Manasa Puja  sthothra is one of the finest and ideal praises composed by Adi sankara. Sankara is regarded with utmost respect and devotion for his contribution to Indian philosophy and religion. He established the Advaita school of thought and devised ways for different types of worship according to the personal preferences of devotees. He is known as  ‘ shanmata sthapanacharya”—one who established six types of worship---Saiva, Vaishnava, Ganapathya, Saktha, Kaumara  and  Saura. Though he established these forms of worship, his catholicity is indicated in the different wonderful compositions he has given us on various deities like Siva, Vishnu, Devi, Skanda and various others. Usually, worship of any God or Goddess is performed with  sixteen “ upacharas’ called as ‘Shodasa Upacharas’ or services. With the concerned ‘mantras’ we invite the deity which is called’avahanam’ Then we offer Him a seat  which is called ‘asanam’  Then we offer the invited God or Goddess  ‘padyam’—water to wash His feet. Next we give some water to His hands which is called ‘arghyam’.

           Some more water is offered  for His face called ‘achamaniyam’. Next important ritual is to bathe the deity which is done with milk, curd, fruit, ghee, honey and sugar. This is called ‘Panchamrutha abhisheka’. Later the deity is bathed with pure water, cleaned and dressed .Sacred thread is offered and sandal paste is smeared to the idol. Then ‘archana’ with flowers is performed followed by ‘ dhoopa’ scented sticks, deepa-- Offering of lamp and ‘ naivedya’-- dishes prepared for the deity. ‘ Thamboola with betel leaves and arecanut and spices is offered next and finally ‘ nirajanam’ is offered by showing ‘harathi’ with lighted camphor. With ‘ manthra pushpam’—offering of mantras as flowers the worship is completed. Then you prostrate yourself and pray for His grace and blessings and send back the deity to His place which is called ‘punah puja’. Veda mantras are recited and you dedicate every action of yours to the Lord! Al these activities are to be done with devotion and faith as if you are personally inviting God and offering Him worship!

              Fixing up the Supreme in your heart, meditating on him and worshipping and offering him the ‘ ‘shodasopachara’ in your heart is the best according to Sankara and that is exactly what he does in this Sivamanasa puja sthothra.” Oh Lord! I have provided you a seat bedecked with diamonds, bathed you in water from the Himalayas, offered you the best dress, and adorned you with varieties of precious stones. I have put ‘thilaka’ with ‘kasthuri’ and sandalwood. I have performed archana with divine, beautiful flowers like jasmine, bilwa and thulasi. I have offered you sweet fragrance and ‘deepa’ – all in my heart, O,pasupathi! Kindly accept “, says Sankara in the first sloka. He continues:” I have placed in a golden platter with diamonds, ‘payasam’ made of ghee, the five kinds of delicacies,  milk, curd, plantains, and other preparations, tasty water, and ‘ thamboolam with spices! Kindly accept these that I have offered with bhakthi!”

               “I have offered through my ‘sankalpa’ or wish in my heart all the following namely, the umbrella—(chatram), chamaram—fans,  a clear mirror and pleased you by the sweet music of the veena, ‘bheri, and mridanga’ and other instruments. I have presented songs and dance too. I have   prostrated myself to you and  praised your glory in many ways!  Oh Lord, accept my worship!” Prays Sankara. “You are my Atma, my intellect is Girija, the sakthi,  my friends are the five breaths—Prana, apana, samana,Dana and vyana! My body is your abode, the temple!  My involvement in material things and luxuries is your worship or puja! My sleep is the Samadhi state! Why, whatever karma or activity I do is worshipping you! Oh Mahadeva! whatever mistakes I have committed  through my limbs, body, speech and deeds or through ears and eyes or manas , whether allowed or prohibited, pardon them with grace! Victory to you, the sea of compassion!”

                   The great Sankara illustrates the significance of total surrender to the lotus feet of God through this sthothra! Every action of ours should be dedicated to God! There is nothing ‘mine!’ Everything is ‘thine!’ Physical, ostentatious worship is of no use, it is enough if you sincerely meditate and offer worship in your manas! That is more acceptable to the Providence! When Adi Sankara feels like this can anybody dispute?

               

VARIETIES AND SHADES OF BHAKTHI

                                                    

Extreme love and devotion to God is called Bhakthi! The devotee is never divorced from God.  He lives in God, sleeps with God and eats with God! The best examples of pure and astonishing devotees who lived for God are the Azwars and Nayanmars of south India and the sants and saints of the North, According to the Bhagavatha purana, there are nine kinds of devotion. The devotee can get his fulfillment by   following any one of the nine ways. The nine kinds of devotion are 1 Sravanam –hearing the stories of the glory of the Lord 2 Keertanam—singing His glory 3 smaranam—remembering his name 4 padasevanam—serving his lotus feet 5  archanam—worshipping Him 6  Vandanam – bowing down to Him  7 dasyam – servant-master relationship 8 Sakhyam--- as a friend and finally 9 atma nivedanam—total , utter surrender.

       According to Sri Ramakrishna, love or bhakthi is of three varieties. Unselfish or Samartha, mutual or samanjasa and sadhrana  or the ordinary. The best and the highest is unselfish love. The lover is more concerned about the well being of his beloved rather than his own suffering. In mutual love the lover  is particular about the happiness of his beloved but has an eye on his own happiness. In the third, selfish love,  the person cares only for his personal happiness  regardless of the welfare of his beloved. Selfish love is the worst and the lowest! According to the three gunas or qualities, sathva, rajas and thamas,  bhakthi differs in its practice. Humility is the stamp of sathva bhakti’. Ostentation characterizes rajas and brute force is the quality of tamas. The satwic devotee is simple, secret in devotion, eats plain food and is not luxurious The rajasic  bhaktha has distinctive sectarian marks on his body and beads round his neck  interspersed with some golden ones .He is particular of outward observances, wears silk and celebrates worship with pomp and splendor. Fiery faith is the distinctive quality of the thamasic  devotee.“ He applies force to God like a robber seizing things by force.”

        In violent form of devotion, the devotee dances like a madman with raised hands and shouting the name of God. In this age, the violent form seems to be suitable.”The citadel of God must be taken by storm” says Sri Ramakrishna! In Vaidhi bhakthi the devotee practices scriptural mandates like japa, fasting, pilgrimages and other observances. Practice of this for a longer period elevates the bhaktha to the higher level of Raga Bhakthi. One should be free from all worldly attachments to realize Him. It is impossible to attain God without Raga bhakthi Another type of devotion is Prema or Para Bhakthi or Ecstatic Love after realizing God! This prema is like a string in the hands of the bhaktha holding the Lord under his control! While ‘ bhava’—speechless absorption in God is similar to an unripe mango, ecstatic Love or Prema is like the ripe fruit! The bhaktha considers God as his ‘ dearest and nearest relative.’ it is like the love of the Gopis to Lord Krishna! They considered Krishna as the Lord of the Gopis , not as the Lord of the universe!

         The distinctive qualities of Prema Bhakthi are total oblivion of the external world and forgetfulness of one’s own body! There is a quality of supreme possessiveness,like ‘ I am the devotee and my God is wholly mine’ Yasoda felt  that none could look after her Gopala better! She was averse to consider her Gopala as the Lord of the Universe. It is the fortune of a very few to attain ecstatic Love. They are endued with extraordinary powers entrusted with ‘divine commission.’ Ecstatic Love is present in a few naturally even from their childhood as in the case of Prahlada. Such people weep and long for God even from their childhood! They are called ‘ nithya siddhas’ or perfect men from their very birth! The love of divine incarnations does not follow the scriptural rules. It is a spring emanating from the soul. They reach the Absolute in their Samadhi and come down from that height retaining their self  and loving the lord.

THE STORY OF JAYADEVA

                                         

India is the land of sages, saints,  philosophers and  Bhaktas. Time and again they have taken birth in the country and by their devotion and selflessness guided the lives of ordinary folk. Of the three paths that lead to realization of God namely Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga and Jnana yoga it is Bhakti yoga which is the easiest and the best. Lord Krishna reiterates the value of Bhakthi yoga to Arjuna in the Bhagavadgita. It is through Bhakti and singing the glory of God and namasmarana that many a bhakta has attained  realization and salvation. One such great devotee of Lord Krishna was jayadeva, the Bengali poet whose classical work “GITA GOVINDA” remains as the greatest of the ‘sringara kavyas. Jayadeva sings the glory and the sensuous relationship of Radha and her paramour Madhava or Lord Krishna. Jayadeva’s  life was full of miracles and indicate how God comes to the rescue of his devotees in times of need!

       Who is Radha? Many interpretations are given regarding her. One such story is that on an occasion Sachi  Devi, spouse of Lord Indra visited Vaikunta and was  amazed at the  bewitching beauty of Lord Vishnu! She made amorous advances to Him. Knowing her intention the Lord told her that He would take avatar as Krishna in Dwapara yuga. He directed her to be born as the sister to Nanda in Gokulam  and  be called Radha. Her desire shall be fulfilled then!

          Jayadeva  was  the son of the pious and devoted couple Bhojadeva and Ramadevi who lived in a village Tindubilva near the Jagannath Shrine.  Ramadevi had sincerely prayed for a devoted and spiritually oriented son and jayadeva was the blessed son! It is said that Lord Vishnu directed the sage Vedavyasa to be born as the son of the couple and propagate bhakthi in the world! Jayadeva was a very smart child devoted to Lord Jagannath  and  composed and sang melodious songs on the Lord. His greatest contribution is the composition of “ ashtapadis” (eight footed songs) describing the erotic feelings of Radha and Madhav in his work “ GITA GOVINDA.” It describes the ‘ Nayaki—Nayaka’ bhava throughout. The pangs  of separation—viraha tapa- of Radha and the description of Krishna by her friends.

            GITA GOVINDA has twenty four ashtapadis and seventy two slokas in wonderful Sanskrit unparalled in their nature. Satyaki, king of Odisha, a poet himself, envied Jayadeva for his popularity and that of Gita govinda. He wanted to test the popularity of their work. He ordered both the compositions to be kept at the feet of Lord Jagannath.  He declared that the composition that remains at the feet of the lord in the next morning would be declared the winner!  Next morning, King Satyaki’s composition was found outside the sanctum of the Lord! Gita Govinda remained at the feet of the Lord! The king accepted the greatness of Jayadeva and took him as his guru.

               On one occasion, Jayadeva’s disciple presented money  and  Gold  in spite of his wishes to the contrary! The palanquin bearers, who knew this, hatched a plan. In the midst of the forest, as they went, they dumped him in the valley after cutting off his limbs and fled with that money and jewels! By chance, the king of the country saw Jayadeva, and saved him and took him as his guru. Meanwhile the bearers who dumped Jayadeva in the forest came to the king disguised as sadhus! They had spent away all the money and were in dire straits! They were detected and brought to Jadeva. The thieves were shocked to see Jayadeva whom they had dumped in the forest. But the great Jayadeva recommended them to the king who honored and sent them away with money and presents! The thieves told the guards who saw them off that they saved Jayadeva from a death sentence and left him alive after cutting off his limbs! The moment they uttered this terrible lie, earth cleaved asunder swallowed up the two thieves! Learning this from the guards, Jayadeva came to the scene, and prayed to the lord to show compassion to the wrong doers. To the utter astonishment of all, Lord Jagannath appeared and saved the two disguised thieves. He granted Jayadeva fresh limbs and blessed him.

                Padmavathi, wife of jayadeva was much devoted to her husband and popular with all. The queen was jealous of her and wanted to test her devotion. She spread arumour that jayadeva was killed in the forest by some one. The moment Padmavethi heard the news she fell down and died on the spot! The queen was shocked at this unexpected turn of events. Hearing this news, Jayadeva came to the spot and sang in praise of the lord with utmost devotion. In a few minutes Padmavathi came back to life as if from sleep!!The king and queen and all others who witnessed the scene were amazed at the devotion of Jayadeva and his power to bring God to his presence. It is pure devotion that makes the impossible possible!!!