Bhakti Bliss

(Synopsis of a lecture by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj given in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, on January 7, 2010)

It is extremely important to understand who Barsanevari Radha is because our love for anything is limited to the extent that we understand its value.

Imagine a street sweeper finds a ring lying on the ground. He asks someone, “How much do you think this is worth?” That person says, “25 or 30 rupees. What else? It’s just glass.”

Experts on diamonds are one in thousands, and they are found only in very few shops. So this person thought, “If I lose it, what difference will it make?”

One day an expert jeweler came. From afar he saw the ring and asked the man, “Where did you get this from?” “Oh, I was sweeping and it was just there lying on the ground.” The jeweler said, “Come here so I can see it in the sunlight.” The man said, “How much could it be worth?” The jeweler said, “At least 5 million rupees.” “What did you say?!” That street sweeper earned 1000 rupees a month at his job. As soon as he heard “5 million” he fainted. When he regained consciousness, he looked at the ring and felt a deep attachment and a special caring for it. “Hey, why should I work anymore?” He was so happy he went skipping and hopping all the way home to show his wife. She said, “Don’t believe that person. You should bring it to a jewelry store and show them. Come on, let’s go.” When they showed the ring at the jewelry store, the appraiser said, “It’s worth 7000 rupees.” The man had faith in this appraisal and his love for the ring reduced accordingly.

Similarly, a man is walking ahead of you. You don’t recognize him. You glance at him and see his appearance is like anyone else. Someone tells you, “It’s the prime minister!” “Really?” A huge crowd develops. If you hear the name of anyone famous, your affection for that person immediately grows.

All our scriptures and all Saints say we should practice devotion to God, but who are Radha Krishna, the ones to whom we are devoted? Until we understand this, our love for them won’t develop. You will just understand that there was a wealthy landowner called Vrishabhanu who lived in a village called Barsana with his wife Kirti, and who had a daughter called Radha. This is the history, but knowing this isn’t anything special. This is why you need to understand Her importance.

There is some God, who created the entire universe and then entered into it omnipresently. He resides within everyone. He is the supreme protector. Did you ever think that everything came into existence on its own? Did you think your body was created in your mother’s womb and there was no ultimate creator? Yet from the union of sperm and ovum such an amazing body was formed. How did all our internal organs develop? How amazing and complex it is. Could the body have done this on its own?

To date there have been millions of scientists. Has any one of them been able to create any part of the human body? When they cannot understand how to do this, then actually doing it is out of the question. No one to date has been able to produce even a single hair so baldness could be cured.

God has produced so many amazing life forms and each is different from the others. And apart from this, before the creation was manifested, absolutely nothing existed. Where did all this come from?

Nowadays scientists produce things from what already exists in creation. An atomic bomb is created. How was this done? They took existing material elements, combined some and subtracted others and created something. This is just like the combination of different ingredients found in a cook’s dishes. What do these contain? Flour, grains, oil, spices, vegetables and so on. Where these already existing in God’s creation? Yes. So then what did the cook actually create? So we just add and subtract what already exists and “invent” something. But just see the miracle that God performed to create something from absolutely nothing.

So there is an all-powerful God who has done all this, who, without the help of any pre-existing elements and by only thinking, created this universe. He merely thought, “Let there be creation,” and the world came into existence. This is described in the Vedas.

(Continued in Part 2)

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss