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HH Sivarama Swami, 25th July 2006<\/p>\nHH Sivarama Swami, 25th July 2006<\/p>\n
Maharaja continues his \u201cKrishna Meditation\u201d \u2026 <\/p>\n
Sitting in the same place I sat earlier this morning, the sun is no longer to my right but is setting, to my left, about to sink behind a very tall tree. Birds continue to sing, some chirping in a staccato way, others questioning, \u201cWhere is Krishna?\u201d The doves and pigeons are cooing, making the background music to the beautiful symphony that is the heartbeat of Vrindavan dhama. At this time of day, almost 6 o\u2019clock in the afternoon, we could be thinking of Krishna, wonderfully dressed in fresh clothes that the cowherd boys had dressed Him in, decorated with the beautiful flowers from the forest of Vrindavan. Different colors, pigments, and minerals from Govardhan hill are illuminating and highlighting His beautiful transcendental form, and that of Balarama and His associates. His peacock feather fluttering in the wind, and everything, from the top of His peacock feather to His bare lotus feet\u2026Krishna is covered in the cintamani dust of Vrindavan.<\/p>\n
That dust that has been further purified by the transcendental surabhi cows who raise the dust in the air and make a beautiful cloud which then settles upon the cowherd boys, who are still full of unlimited energy\u2014dancing, singing Krishna and Balarama\u2019s names, frolicking, playing jokes amongst each other, cutting jokes about each other, throwing bael fruit like balls, and increasing the great ocean of transcendental bliss that is this pastime called go-carana, Krishna returning again from the forest pasture grounds of Vrindavan to Nandagram.<\/p>\n
But Krishna doesn\u2019t go directly back to Nandagram, but rather He will go past the village of Javat. Srimati Radharani has already returned there after Their midday meeting and is cooking sweet preparations to be taken by Her gopi associates on Mother Yasoda\u2019s instructions to Nandagram for when Krishna enjoys His supper.<\/p>\n
But Krishna wants to see Her, and wants Her to see Him. Therefore He tends His cows in that direction\u2026and everyone else wants to see Krishna and Krishna wants to see everyone else, because everyone, regardless of who they are, whether they be little children, babies in their mothers\u2019 arms, or whether they be the household animals, brahmanas, elder men, elder ladies, the young gopis, the young boys\u2014everyone loves Krishna. That is what Vrindavan is about. And when we will have such love for Krishna then we will be always living in Vrindavan.<\/p>\n
When you love someone, you want to see them. You just can\u2019t get enough of seeing them. Your senses cry out for them\u2014your eyes by seeing, your nose by smelling, touch by touching\u2026 and in the same way the Brijbasis, they have not seen Krishna all day, and they live only for the opportunity to be able to have His direct association. So when that great cloud of dust is seen on the horizon, then the Brijbasis know, \u201cOh, Krishna is returning!\u201d And to confirm that this cloud is not some ordinary cloud, that it is not one of Kamsa\u2019s demons coming to disturb the them, the Brijbasis can hear the sound of the cows\u2019 hooves; they can hear the beautiful lowing of the cows as they call out for Krishna, competing with each other just to be close to Him. <\/p>\n
And most important of all, they can hear the sound of the flute.<\/p>\n
And when they hear the sound of the flute, it is not just a sound, but it is actually a song which touches their hearts. That flute sound Krishna sings as one melody, but actually it has an individual message for every living entity in Vrindavan.
\nActually Krishna\u2019s flute song has a message for all living entities. In Brahma-samhita Lord Brahma understood the message that Krishna\u2019s flute playing meant for him, and in the same way, Krishna\u2019s flute playing has a message for us. Krishna is calling us: \u201cCome back, come back!\u201d Now we have to hear Krishna\u2019s flute and decide that yes, we want to come back, we don\u2019t want to stay here any longer in this material world. <\/p>\n
And when the gopis hear this commotion of the cows mooing, when they see the dust, they tell Srimati Radharani, \u201cQuickly come, your beloved Syamasundara, whom you have been missing for the last few hours, is just about to pass by the house!\u201d Then Srimati Radharani, with Her friends Lalita and Visakha, runs up to the top of the moon tower, a six or seven storey tower that is part of Her house, and in that way, from the top of that moon tower, She can see this vast, vast ocean of cows and cowherd boys.<\/p>\n
Actually, there is no counting the number of cows, and those cows, some of them are snow white, some of them are reddish\u2014there are so many different colors. Some of them have faces like mridangas, others have straight horns, others have curved horns. They are decorated with different colors which are generally the hand prints of the gopas, and of course their hooves and horns are gold plated. They all wear beautiful garlands, some of them\u2014the groups leaders\u2014have silk blankets on top of them, and around their necks they have bells which are jangling. Just imagine the sound of these hundreds and thousands of beautiful bells, and all of the bells are chanting Hare Krishna. Just like everyone chants Hare Krishna.<\/p>\n
And by the arrangement of Yogamaya, within the midst of this cloud, within the sea of cows, Srimati Radharani\u2014directed by the sound of the flute\u2014sees Syamasundara.<\/p>\n
And when She sees Him then He sees Her. And at this time different things may happen. Sometimes, with their eyes locked in a glance, Krishna faints in ecstasy; sometimes Srimati Radharani faints in ecstasy; sometimes both of Them faint in ecstasy. Sometimes He pretends not to see Her. Sometimes She turns away. There is no telling what the exchanges of love induce in the Prince and Princess of Vrindavan.<\/p>\n
In any case, Rupa Goswami says aher iva gatih premnah; that these loving exchanges are just like the movements of a snake. They are winding and crooked, and it is very difficult to determine whether there is any cause to them, or they simply happen by some transcendental accident. <\/p>\n
In any case, when Krishna and Srimati Radharani have seen each other, when the inhabitants of Javat have seen Krishna, and even Jatila and Kotila, who are Krishna\u2019s greatest critics, they can\u2019t help but come on top of their rooves and, on the plea of criticizing Krishna for His loose behavior, they also fill their eyes with His beauty, His loveliness, His sweet smile which melts everyone\u2019s hearts. And they fill their ears with the sound of His flute. If this is how those who are transcendentally inimical to Krishna react, then you can just imagine the reaction of Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja, who have been standing on top of their palace for such a long time. <\/p>\n
For them it appears like yugayitam nimeshena; it appears like ages, just to hear the sound of the flute, just to see that cloud raised by the hooves of the cows. And when they finally do see it, then their eyes become so full of tears of love for Krishna that they again don\u2019t see it, and they panic thinking, \u201cMaybe it is just an illusion, maybe I didn\u2019t see,\u201d but thankfully their assistants are there to tell them and therefore Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja turn to each other, and Nanda Maharaja says to his beloved wife, \u201cYour son is returning to give joy to your eyes and your senses\u2026very soon you will be able to hold Him on your lap and embrace Him to your full satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when Mother Yasoda hears that she becomes so overwhelmed with ecstasy, the tears pour forth from her eyes and her body shivers, and if not for the assistance of her gopi friends like Rohini and others, she would faint on the spot. But they tell her, \u201cNo! Yasoda-mayi, you must make arrangements to receive your son, get the arati tray to remove any inauspiciousness that may have clung to Him as a result of being out there in the forest with wild beasts, where Kamsa\u2019s demoniac friends come. Make sure that the feast is being properly prepared. What about His bath? Is that being properly set out? And His new clothes that you had the tailor specially design for this very occasion, and the special ornaments that you want Him to wear tonight. You must immediately make these arrangements!\u201d<\/p>\n
And as soon as Mother Yasoda hears about the many services that she has to do for Krishna, immediately she is the transcendental and ultimate temple commander of Nandagram; she starts giving many instructions to her friends, associates, and servants and they are bustling, running back and forth, because Krishna is coming back to Vrindavan. <\/p>\n
And if this is how Mother Yasoda is when Krishna is still some far distance away, then you can just imagine when she actually sees the cowherd boys approaching, and when amongst those cowherd boys, she sees her sons, Krishna and Balarama, she becomes so ecstatic, so overwhelmed that although she reaches out her arms she can\u2019t move, she becomes stunned in ecstasy just standing there like a statue. It requires Krishna to come running into her arms and touch her so that she can then melt in motherly affection and resume again her non-statue-like form. <\/p>\n
This is the wonderful return of Krishna to Vrindavan that happens at this time of day. Learned Vaisnavas who try to think about the Lord meditate upon this pastime. In fact, Krishna\u2019s pastimes as they happen throughout the twenty-four hours of the day are the subject of absorption of both practicing devotees as well as perfected devotees. So in that way, we should also take the opportunity whenever we have an extra moment to think, \u201cWhat is Krishna doing now?\u201d We are always thinking about what our family is doing, we are thinking about what we are doing, or what we want to be doing, or about the news, about what materialistic people are doing what things all over the world. But rather than spending our very valuable time with this, why don\u2019t we always make a point that at least a few times a day we ask ourselves, \u201cNow what is Krishna doing?\u201d and try to remember what Krishna does as it is written in KRSNA Book, in Srimad Bhagavatam; Venu-gita describes Krishna\u2019s daily activities\u2026and we spend a few minutes remembering them. It will only bring us ecstasy.<\/p>\n
tava kathamritam tapta-jivanam \u201cThe nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one’s sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.\u201d SB 10.31.9. The Gopis\u2019 Song of Separation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is the wonderful return of Krishna to Vrindavan that happens at this time of day. Learned Vaisnavas who try to think about the Lord meditate upon this pastime. In fact, Krishna\u2019s pastimes as they happen throughout the twenty-four hours of the day are the subject of absorption of both practicing devotees as well as perfected devotees. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspirational","category-sivarama-swami"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nkavibhir iditam kalmashapaham
\nsravana-mangalam srimad atatam
\nbhuvi grinanti ye bhuri-da janah<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Hare](\"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sivaramlezacture.jpg\")
By Sivarama Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n