How to Attain Divine Love or Para Bhakti? Swami Mukundananda | Part 1 of 6
The theme for this retreat preaching (pravchan) that I have chosen is a song a chanting written by Kripalu Ji Maharaj "Jo Piya Ruchi Mahan Ruchi Rakhe, Prem Ras Soi Chakhe". This Kirtan is otherwise Kripalu Ji Maharaj every kirtan is very special but from the philosophy view point this kirtan is most amazing. The sage Narada has described the Tatwa (Element) of Bhakti in 84 Sutras in his scripture called Narad Bhakti Darshan. When I go through these lines I find that what Narad Munni Devarshi could say in 84 sutras Kripalu Ji Maharaj has put in these lines. if we understand these lines on the topic of divine love there is nothing that remains to be understood.
He is explaining to us here how to get prem ras? The Bliss you may have noticed that - this word Ras figures again and again in Maharaj ji 's writings. His primary philosophy book, his prem ras siddhant, his primary Kirtan book "Prem Ras Madira". Apart from that he has written braj Ras Madhuri, Yugal Ras, Saras Ras, so what is this Ras? To relish bliss that is Ras. It is the essence of happiness.
Now let me show you the whole spectrum of this word Ras start of with a Rasgulla. This rasgulla is a favorite Indian sweet because it gives the person eating the experience of Ras.The same Rasgulla if it is made in milk the ras becomes greater it becomes a rasmalai. To that if you add cardamom the ras increases further and through some kesar(saffron) on top the ras increases even further.
So in the material realm all the rasas can be divided into three categories one is "Tamsik", the other is "Rajsik" and the third is "satwik" Ras. In other words the ras of the mode of ignorance, the ras of the mode of passion and the ras of the mode of goodness. So what is this Tamsik Ras? for example if somebody irritated you and caused harm to you and you experienced the emotion of anger and you gave vent to your anger. You get ras & you tell your friend, you know this fellow was troubling me so much and I taught him such a lesson he will remember for life. Now in giving vent to that anger there was an experience of ras that is why people do it, but that is Tamsik Ras.
This Tamsik ras is also experience from addicted, from narcotics, for some people that is irresistible, no matter how much they go to alcoholics, anonymous etc. They are not able to give up their addiction. So the Tamsik ras is highly destructive to the soul. It throws the person in deep darkness.
Higher than that, there is the rajsik ras - that is the ras we get when the senses come in contact with the objects that gives the experience of ras. Like for example when your tongue comes in contact with the jalebi(India sweet dish) so this ras is a higher experience. However this term Rajsik Ras is the mode of passion is also not at all satisfying. In fact it is very disturbing to the mind because first of all one creates a desire with the senses and then when the object is received that desire goes away and the experience of ras is in the release of the desire. Try and understand this point, let's say you are getting at itch somewhere now it's a pain, it's irritating you scratch it, what a relief. So what you did, you release the pain and then it is not a solution because that it is going to come back then again you scratch it then again it comes back again you scratch it. So this is the rajsik ras that you get by enjoying the objects of the world, the mode of passion.
Higher than that is the satvik ras for the mode of goodness. when the mind becomes peaceful calm serene. The satvik ras is experienced in serving others in acquiring knowledge, in practicing compassion, goodness, kindness. This is elevating to the soul but not yet liberating that. Satvik ras is much higher than the rajsik and tamsik rasas. However even the satvik ras cannot satisfy the soul because the soul is divine and the soul is looking for its divine experience, that is the ras of God.
The specialty of the divine ras is firstly, it is infinite in extent. Secondly, once received it will always remain. Unlike the hangover that one gets after drinking at night the next morning there's a hangover but the divine ras "Tad Vishnoh Parmam Padam, Sada Pashcyanti" that ras once we get we will get it forever and after that there will never be any discontentment. But even on the divine realm there are many categories, many varieties, there is the Bliss of the formless aspect of God of the "nirakar Brahma". That is called brahmana's.
It is so amazing that great kings they rejected their kingdom like a piece of straw, renounce their whole family everything and sat in the forest to experience Brahmanand. However even beyond that is the bliss of the personal form of God that was infinite times the bliss of the formless. That is why the saint Tulsi das says - if a person experiences one drop of the bliss of the personal form of God "Prem Ras" he will get detached from brahmanand and what to speak of rasgullanand and the bhagwatam gives us examples of such Gyani's (Gurus) who was situated at that platform where they were relishing the bliss of Brahmanand and yet when they had the experience of premanand they naturally got detached and attracted to the personal form.
Like I was very amused by a remark part passed by dr. das somebody talked saying about Arya Samaj. You know in the Arya Samaj they worshiped the person of the formless aspect of God so he said - yes, even sukadeva paramhansh was an arya samaji before he heard the bhagavatam. he wasworshiping the formless aspect of God but when he was told at verse of the beauty of the personal divine form of Shri Krishna, there was no question of going back.
Just like if somebody is eating gud (गुड़), gud for those who have not come from India, is very crude form of molasses so if somebody is relishing the bliss of gud and you place a hot gulab jamun in front of him, see how quickly the detachment takes place from gud. So that is what happened to sukadeva Paramahansa in that divine love blister or other categories that will be described further but Kripalu ji Maharaj here talking about that prema Ras the highest ras.
Shri krishna is the biggest Rasik. He is called a Rasik Shiromani and he is considered Rasik in two ways "sanskrit hymn here" just like Radhaji we are now in the rasheswari Radha Rani temple. So radhaji this word Radha has two meanings, she who worships Krishna - the number one worshipper of Krishna is radha and she who is worshiped by Krishna "Krishnen Aradhyate iti Radha".
Similarly Krishna is a rashik Shiromani in two ways - he grants ras to the devotees and he experiences ras himself in both ways he is Rasik. He experiences ras from his devotees but if you become a little philosophic you will wonder why does God need ras from us puny insignificant souls he is called Atmaram. Atmaram means that personality who is complete in himself. He has no need of anything external. So Shri Krishna is called atmaram, then why should that Shri Krishna become Gopiram and goparam, do leelas with the gopi's and the gopa's too?
The reason is that the ras Shri Krishna gets from his ownself is called Swarupanand - the bliss of his own personality and the bliss that he grants to his devotees who engaged in his devotion is called Swarupanand - the bliss of his Swarup Shakti is yogamaya power. So himself he experiences Swarupanand, to his devotees he grants Swarupsatyanand. That Swarupsatyanand is sweeter than his own bliss. So he grants his devotees a higher level of bliss and then he sits inside the devotee and relishes that bliss from within the devotee.
So the bliss that he gets from his devotees is higher than his own bliss and that is why he becomes a slave of his devotees. We hear such things - shri krishna says in the bhagwatam - I am NOT independent I am a slave of my devotees. why shri krishna enslaved by his devotees? Shri krishna's enslaved by his devotees because he is experiencing the Swarupsatyanand from them and that is why we hear these amazing pastimes when descends in this world he displays, how he dances to the tune of his devotees.
So Kripalu Ji Maharaj says "Albelo Hamaro yaar, prem ke bandhan me" Albela means - Strange, where there was no love his rule is different, where there was love his rule is different. So "Nahi Jaat samadhin yogin jeyi,Nachat tathai-3 braj naran ki taran ke tar prem kebandhan me" big big yogi spent ages sitting in the himalayas in Samadhi that they should get a glimpse of the light of God and he doesn't care to enter their samadhi to give them his darshan and that same God is dancing the Gopi say "Shri Krishna dance"- We will give you Chhachh(छाछ). To know what is chhachh all of gujarati's will tell you you take out the butter from the yogurt and what you get is chhachh. So the go pieces I'll give you chhachh dance and Shri Krishna is dancing.
That Lord whose Maya material energy makes us all dance he is being made to dance by the gopi's that is the power of his love. So this ras divine love bliss prem ras is the ultimate the highest thing that the soulcan ever hope to achieve or attain. There is nothing higher. So some people are by nature ambitious, some are easygoing, some are ambitious. You know in school I have to be the highest and sports have to be the first in business. I have to be the richest so what is your ambition. To get go ahead of Bill Gates? that's penny.
what is the ambition to get or "Riddhi-Siddhi" - Mystic Power? that's puny. If we wish to be ambitious, why not be ambitious for the ultimate thing, that power which can make God dance as one saying "Daulat mili h ishq ki, ab aur kya mile". I have got the wealth of divine love what else remains."Wah chij mil gai h jisse khuga mile" I have got that thing by which you get God but this divine love God does not give it easily. It's the last thing he gives the sage Narad in his bhakti darshan.
He says "Prakashyte twapi patre" very rarely once in a while some fortunate soul is given divine love. Tulsi das says "kahu-kahu vristi sardi thori, koyu ek paavan bhagati kahu mori" for example in the month of Karthik that is October November it doesn't rain in India. In USA you don't have concrete monsoon seasons coming from India. I ask what is your monsoon season? You reply - Swamiji it can come any time but in India we have very concrete this is the summer, this is the monsoon this is a winter and the month of Kartik is after the monsoon.
So the general rule is that nowhere in India rain falls in the month of Karthik. By chance as an exception it may fall somewhere. Like somebody said Swamiji - have you heard it's raining, now I said - Really. So in the same way Tulsi das ji says this divine love one out of millions gets it. That is why Lord Rama when he had asked Kag Bhusundi what do you want? "Kag Bhusundi magu var ati prasann mohi jaan,animanik sidhi nidhi moksh sakal" you want riddhi-siddhi moksh? Kag Bhusundi said my lord please if you wish to make a fool of anyone don't pick on me, I don't want any of these things.
Ram Said- Kag Bhusundi I am giving you such fascinating things, Riddhi - opulences Siddhi - mystic abilities moksha liberation. Kag Bhusundi said my lord "Avirah bhakti visuddh tab,shruti puran jehi gavai, jehi khojat yogi muni, prabhu prasad kou paway" that divine love which big yogi's and muni searched for but one out of millions gets it, I want that divine love.
So that divine love we wish to make as the goal of our life and we will settle for nothing less. how do we get? first of all - the first condition is to have an intense aspiration to get it because when you go on this path you will experience a number of difficulties, a number of challenges, a number of obstacles that you will have to overcome and our best guarantee to keep on is an intense aspiration. Somebody who has got that deep aspiration boning divine love and nothing else.
Even if the whole world turns against, he will still keep going on. So that aspiration must be intense. Now you all have that aspiration, you know people who come for the public lectures are of two kinds - one is Jigyasu and the other is pipasu. Now the JK yog devotees who have been hearing the lectures in different cities, they have seen that the people who come not all of them make to the retreats. why? they made it to the discourses they were all jigyasu, they were curious to know. Some amongst those jigyasu, who were curious to know are also Pipasu. A pipasu are those who have the hunger for God, the thirst for God, that has a vocal in them as a result of their pasts and scars as a result of their present effort as a result of the grace of the Guru they have.
They said just to hear is not enough, I want the experience. If you just keep on telling a lady keeps on saying to a hungry person - you are hungry? Yes! you know this is how the rasgulla's are made, this is how the samosa is made, this is how the jalebi's are made. All right, All right very good. so what will I eat? but you have not heard how the kalakand is made? he will say this is madness, I am feeling hungry and you are giving me the cookbook. so similarly the pipasu has the thirst for God.
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