Extending my love, affection, good wishes and honour to all the devotees, disciples and other learned guests who have come to attend this religious meeting today. I am now standing before you to explain briefly the need and importance of renunciation of all material desires in order to achieve eternal happiness for all the human beings on earth. At the outset I want you all to realize the wisdom behind the proverb that among thousands of our talks, "Krishna Katha". (Talk on Lord Krishna) is the jem of all talks and the rest are all bunkum and useless.
In the world today there is a mad craze for western epicureanism for home, family, car, bank balance etc. but the question is, "Is it the real terminus of human life?" On this issue, the Gita repeatedly says that it is our infatuation for temporary pleasure that we miserably fail to disinguish good from bad. As a matter of fact we are Blinded by the dazzling light of the western physical civilization. On the contrary the preachers, sages and monks of India, throughout all ages of the world have been advising us to tread the paths, shown by them for achieving eternal and universal joy and happiness in this life as well as in life afterwards. This knowledge (Parajnan is available only through "Suddha Vakti" (Pure Devotion) that finally enables us to visualize the Absolute (the Super Soul). In this connection the great Preceptor of our Nimbarka Sampradaya Sri Sri Nimbarka Vagaban, in many of his books, has discussed various methods for visualization of the Lord in His complete appearance. If you can completely surrender yourself to the Lord, you can also get him completely. If you can offer yourself totally to the Lord with firmness and without any material desire, bear no doubt, you will not only know theology but also be able to visualize Him. As a matter of fact surrender of the "self". Offering anything to any one heartily means surrender. Suppose I have an amount of Rs. Tow lakhs with me, Now from that amount if I donate Rs. One lakh to any organization and retain the residue with me, it does not mean surrendr (Samarpan). Samarpan means sama - arpan. If I surrender every thing that I have in my possession, it becomes qualified as surrender. I must feel that whatever I claim as my own, is actually borrowed from him and as such I should return all these things to the owner, that is God. the person who can cause such total surrender to the foot of the Almighty is rewarded by his full revelation before him. Not only this, God does all round welfare in the life of such type of devotes. There are so many similar god - blessed devotees in the the world who, with their special favours from the Lord, can effect Sristi, Sthiti and Pralay on earth simply by their wishes. So if we endeavor to tread on the Paths treaded over by the sages or lead our life in accordance with their advise, we can also make us liberated from the pangs and sufferings of this material world and achieve eternal peace and happiness. There is of course, no room to have any doubt about it. Well, inorder to make the matter (i.e., Samarpan) clear, I would like to tell you a story. You have surely heard about the life story of devotees like Prahlad, Dhruba and others. But I will try to tell you a part of the life story of Garibdas which will make you learn how to effect "Purna Atma Samarpan" that is total surrender of all personal Happiness, desires, passion etc. to the foot of the lord.
Garibdas, a poor childless devotee of our sampradaya, once happended to find from the Verandah of his dilapidated hut another poor childless devotee crying and praying God for a child for the continuity of his lineage after his dath. That time Vagaban Narada also happened to pass by the road nearby the house of that childless vakta. Narada is a great Rishi (sage). He always travels the "Trilok" (Svarge, martya and Patal) playing on his lyre the songs of the Lord. Hearing the melancholic prayer of the poor man, Narada soon accosted him and enquired about the reasons of his lamentations. The poor man then first paid his obeisance to he Debarshi and said, "Oh sage, if you fulfil one of my desires, I shall remain ever greateful to your good self." Hearing the doleful prayr of the poor man, the sage gave him the liberty of asking any boon saying "I am going to meet the lord; I shall talk to Him about your problem. God is always merciful. He will of course fulfil your prayer" Garibdas then informed the Debarshi about his mental worries and anxicties. Narada gave the man a patient hearing and then in his usual syle, set out for the abode of Vagaban Bishnu in Vaikuntha. He ofcourse consoled the poor time, he met the Lord in Vaikuntha and after a good deal of talks on different matters, when he was about to return, Sri Vagaban, who is omniscient, cleverly asked Narada, "Well, have you anything more to talk? Narada thanked the Lord and said, "Yes I have forgotten a very important talk with you." He briefly narrated the whole matter relating to the childless poor man and requested the Lord to bless him with a child since he is a sincere devotee and passes his time mostly in meditation and prayer etc." He also added that as Sri Vagaban is Omniscient, he knows everything and as such He should be kind enough to see whether in the Zodiac of the poor man there is any sign in favour of his getting a child. Hearing the request of Narada, the Lord thought over the matter for some time and then said, Sorry, there is no such indication in his zodiac. Go and tell him that he is to pass his present life without any scion,"
After returning from vaikuntha, when Narada had gone to the house of the chikdkess poor man, his eagerness for a good news from Vaikuntha made him (Narada) very much sad but there had been no other way out for him; he had to tell the man that in the present life he would not get any child and so he must endure the pains there of. The ill fated man, however, adapted himself to the situation for long six years. At the end of the six years, Garibdas once happened to pass by the hut of that poor man.
Now, Here I want to make you realize how much dear was Garibdas to Sri Vagaban and how did he surrender himself completely to the foot of the Lord. Through this story I want you all realize how one can affect total self surrender through love and devotion. But remember a man without spiritual bias in mind can neither follow this system of prayer and worship nor understand the significance of the system. In this connection I would like to draw your attention for reading the Gitaa regularly. There we will find instructions and advice about what we are to do and what we are not to do as social beings. The study of the Gita, like a mirror, will reflect before us all our mistakes and wrongs in life. The Gita, the mirror, will help us to follow the dictations of the sages, monks, for leading a righteous life. Not only this, the Gita will also teach us where we may get sorrow, where we may get joy and happiness, where we may find other elements like rest, unrest, right and wrong etc. In fine, suffice it to say that if we positively want eternal peace and happiness, we must follow the “code of conduct†as enunciated in the Gita. Anyway, let us go back to our story now.
When Garibdas had come before the house of the poor man, the later went near him, paid due obeisance and then said, "Sir, you all are great devotees, if you wish, you too may do such favours like Sri Vagaban. See, I am a childless poor man. For this I have been praying to God round the years but nothing has happened till date, Had I been favoured with a child, my lineage would have been saved." The man thus entreated our Garibdas ultimately told him, "Go back home; you 'II get for children."
In course of time, four children were born to that poor man. He was now a quite satiated person with a happy family and as such passing his days in chanting the holy name of the Lord and in prayers and worships etc. After four years once wfhen Narada had been traveling by the same road, he become much surprised at the sight of that poor man playing with two children on his two knees. Out of curiosity he asked the man, "what's the matter? Where from do you have these two little Kiddies? Sri Vagaban had told me that you would have no child in your present life." The man then told narada everything shout the favour showed to him by Garibdas in getting four children of whom two are now playing with him and two others are inside the room. The incident made the Debarshi unable to control his passions. He murmured within himself, "strahnge! has Garibdas so much power as to change the injuction of god himself? In a fit of rage, Narada directly went before Sri Vagaban in Vaikuntha and said," who is Garibdas? How has he become such a devotee of you as to nullify your own laws? By favouring that poor man with four children, Garibdas has deliberately insulted you." Actually in the heart of his heart, Narada bore a banity, "I have no second on earth in the arena of devotion." Garibdas by his act of grace to the poor childless man, had howaver, pricked the vanity balloon of Narada and as such there had been an out burst of anger in him. Sri Vagaban felt amused at the elibies of Narada for claiming himself as the best devotee of Sri Vagaban in the world. The Lord however, admitted that he had some weakness for Garibdas for which very often He Himself had to fall into very awkward situations. " I have no power to resist him" -the Lord admitted. Actually He then wanted that Narada should atleast once meet Garibdas to realize the depth and firmness of the devotion of His most beloved Vakta. As wished by the Omniscient, it then so happened that on hearing the power of Garibdas from the Lord, Narada became very eager to meet him (Garibdas). Accordingly Sri Vagaban, together with Narada playing on his Lyre the songs of Sri Hari, set out bare footed for the house of Garibdas, without the least difficulty.
On this side, our Garibdas some how got the tidings of the arrival of his Divine Darling Sri Vagaban to his dilapidated hut on that very day. Garibdas was them beside himself with joy. To day his most beloved God Sri Hari, who is dear to him as his own life is coming to his humble but. But even in such delightful condition of his mind, Garibdas could not avoid his anxieties regarding the reception of his dear most God. He was poor not only in name but also in life as well. While Garibdas was thinking about the reception and accommodation of his Lord in his hut, he found Sri Vagaban and Narada coming towards him, Seeing the miserable financial condition of Garibdas after entering the house, Narada could not help taunting Sri Vagaban, “So this is your Garibdas. I thought him to be a rich and wealthy man..........but actually he has nothing in his home and he is your best devotee".
Inside the house, Garibdas was extremely perturbed for saving the Lord of the universe from the biting cold. He searched every corner of his house but alas, there was not even a piece of cloth to wear. Actually, save and except, a torn out piece of dirty cloth, a lamp, a little bit of clarified butter for worshipping and a match box there was nothing else in his house. By this time, due to extreme cold, the body of the Lord began to tremble violently, within moments, Garibdas hit upon the idea that the value of his body would never be higher than the value of the dirty piece of cloth, so it should be set on fire. This may at least temporarily, save the lord from the cold waves. He also thought that his body is also a gift of God and so it should be made over to Him now. Immediately he smeared the clarified butter over his body and put himself on fire for the comfort of his beloved God.
Now let us remember that God is omniscient, He knows everything and as such in his own presence, the body of his dear devotee can never be harmed. Agni Decs (God of Fire) became non operative. Sri Vagaban then told NBarada, “See, Garibdas had set fire to his body only for my comfort – he had surrendered his own self completely for me. For me he set fire on his bodyd which we love, excessively in this word - no other material object like home, family, wife, children, car, and wealth etc. can dome near to our body in this regard. But look, how easily did Garibdas burn his body with the only attention of saving me from cold. “Mean while, by the grce of the Lord, Garibdas had got back his body that was equally brilliasnt like the previous one. Through this incident, Barada could understand well to what exteut the devotion of a vakta may rise occasionally. He admitted, "such devoted Vaktas of you like Garibdas can sometime alter your laws. He is undoubtedly your most favoured and beloved devotee." Bow if any devotee likes to surrender himself to God without any desire, it must be done in the way that had been shown by Garibdas. If a man can make himself free from all material infatuation like Garibdas, he becomes eligible for causing such situations. In the life of Sri Ramdasji Kathia Babaji Maharaj also there is a reference to the super power of the sincerely devoted Vaktas. After the death of Sri Ramdasji, the image of the Divine couple in the temple was seen shedding tears for long thirteen days. After "The Vandara" on the thirteenth day, shedding of water from the stone eyes was automatically. The image of Radharamji shed tears so profusely that Her eyes were to be replaced soon by an artisan from Joypur. Such pure souls take their birth in this world only to propagate the glory of the Divine Couple, i.e. Sri Tadha Krishnaji. We can, therefore, admit the truth that there are some great souls who can by their wish change the code of conduct.
So long I have tried to present before you the correct way of complete self surrender to God. We should, in this connection, always bear it in mind that whatever we have got in this world, or whatever knowledge we have gathered here, from whatever source we may have gathered them, are all given to us by lsvara Himself. So, let all of us be indoctrinated in the philosophy of returning everything of ours in this world to Him who has given them to us temporarily, Real and eternal happiness lie in this path of complete surrender to God. But here we must be meticulously careful about our firmness, sincerity and sanctity in respect to out prayer and wsorship. If we cans really surrender ourselves completely to God without any ulterior motive, if we can, without any desire, greed and passion etc, follow the teachings and ideals of the sages and the heralds of the Gita and other sacred books on religious and spiritualism with pure devotion and belief, we will, before late, be able to find that all our problems are dead and gone. Be steady and follow the way of life as are followed by the great souls. Nourish no doubt about them in your heart.
Extending my good wishes. Love and blessings to all present in this religious assembly of today, I now stop my discourse here.
Sarve Vabantu Sukhino,
Sarve Santu Niramaya
In the world today there is a mad craze for western epicureanism for home, family, car, bank balance etc. but the question is, "Is it the real terminus of human life?" On this issue, the Gita repeatedly says that it is our infatuation for temporary pleasure that we miserably fail to disinguish good from bad. As a matter of fact we are Blinded by the dazzling light of the western physical civilization. On the contrary the preachers, sages and monks of India, throughout all ages of the world have been advising us to tread the paths, shown by them for achieving eternal and universal joy and happiness in this life as well as in life afterwards. This knowledge (Parajnan is available only through "Suddha Vakti" (Pure Devotion) that finally enables us to visualize the Absolute (the Super Soul). In this connection the great Preceptor of our Nimbarka Sampradaya Sri Sri Nimbarka Vagaban, in many of his books, has discussed various methods for visualization of the Lord in His complete appearance. If you can completely surrender yourself to the Lord, you can also get him completely. If you can offer yourself totally to the Lord with firmness and without any material desire, bear no doubt, you will not only know theology but also be able to visualize Him. As a matter of fact surrender of the "self". Offering anything to any one heartily means surrender. Suppose I have an amount of Rs. Tow lakhs with me, Now from that amount if I donate Rs. One lakh to any organization and retain the residue with me, it does not mean surrendr (Samarpan). Samarpan means sama - arpan. If I surrender every thing that I have in my possession, it becomes qualified as surrender. I must feel that whatever I claim as my own, is actually borrowed from him and as such I should return all these things to the owner, that is God. the person who can cause such total surrender to the foot of the Almighty is rewarded by his full revelation before him. Not only this, God does all round welfare in the life of such type of devotes. There are so many similar god - blessed devotees in the the world who, with their special favours from the Lord, can effect Sristi, Sthiti and Pralay on earth simply by their wishes. So if we endeavor to tread on the Paths treaded over by the sages or lead our life in accordance with their advise, we can also make us liberated from the pangs and sufferings of this material world and achieve eternal peace and happiness. There is of course, no room to have any doubt about it. Well, inorder to make the matter (i.e., Samarpan) clear, I would like to tell you a story. You have surely heard about the life story of devotees like Prahlad, Dhruba and others. But I will try to tell you a part of the life story of Garibdas which will make you learn how to effect "Purna Atma Samarpan" that is total surrender of all personal Happiness, desires, passion etc. to the foot of the lord.
Garibdas, a poor childless devotee of our sampradaya, once happended to find from the Verandah of his dilapidated hut another poor childless devotee crying and praying God for a child for the continuity of his lineage after his dath. That time Vagaban Narada also happened to pass by the road nearby the house of that childless vakta. Narada is a great Rishi (sage). He always travels the "Trilok" (Svarge, martya and Patal) playing on his lyre the songs of the Lord. Hearing the melancholic prayer of the poor man, Narada soon accosted him and enquired about the reasons of his lamentations. The poor man then first paid his obeisance to he Debarshi and said, "Oh sage, if you fulfil one of my desires, I shall remain ever greateful to your good self." Hearing the doleful prayr of the poor man, the sage gave him the liberty of asking any boon saying "I am going to meet the lord; I shall talk to Him about your problem. God is always merciful. He will of course fulfil your prayer" Garibdas then informed the Debarshi about his mental worries and anxicties. Narada gave the man a patient hearing and then in his usual syle, set out for the abode of Vagaban Bishnu in Vaikuntha. He ofcourse consoled the poor time, he met the Lord in Vaikuntha and after a good deal of talks on different matters, when he was about to return, Sri Vagaban, who is omniscient, cleverly asked Narada, "Well, have you anything more to talk? Narada thanked the Lord and said, "Yes I have forgotten a very important talk with you." He briefly narrated the whole matter relating to the childless poor man and requested the Lord to bless him with a child since he is a sincere devotee and passes his time mostly in meditation and prayer etc." He also added that as Sri Vagaban is Omniscient, he knows everything and as such He should be kind enough to see whether in the Zodiac of the poor man there is any sign in favour of his getting a child. Hearing the request of Narada, the Lord thought over the matter for some time and then said, Sorry, there is no such indication in his zodiac. Go and tell him that he is to pass his present life without any scion,"
After returning from vaikuntha, when Narada had gone to the house of the chikdkess poor man, his eagerness for a good news from Vaikuntha made him (Narada) very much sad but there had been no other way out for him; he had to tell the man that in the present life he would not get any child and so he must endure the pains there of. The ill fated man, however, adapted himself to the situation for long six years. At the end of the six years, Garibdas once happened to pass by the hut of that poor man.
Now, Here I want to make you realize how much dear was Garibdas to Sri Vagaban and how did he surrender himself completely to the foot of the Lord. Through this story I want you all realize how one can affect total self surrender through love and devotion. But remember a man without spiritual bias in mind can neither follow this system of prayer and worship nor understand the significance of the system. In this connection I would like to draw your attention for reading the Gitaa regularly. There we will find instructions and advice about what we are to do and what we are not to do as social beings. The study of the Gita, like a mirror, will reflect before us all our mistakes and wrongs in life. The Gita, the mirror, will help us to follow the dictations of the sages, monks, for leading a righteous life. Not only this, the Gita will also teach us where we may get sorrow, where we may get joy and happiness, where we may find other elements like rest, unrest, right and wrong etc. In fine, suffice it to say that if we positively want eternal peace and happiness, we must follow the “code of conduct†as enunciated in the Gita. Anyway, let us go back to our story now.
When Garibdas had come before the house of the poor man, the later went near him, paid due obeisance and then said, "Sir, you all are great devotees, if you wish, you too may do such favours like Sri Vagaban. See, I am a childless poor man. For this I have been praying to God round the years but nothing has happened till date, Had I been favoured with a child, my lineage would have been saved." The man thus entreated our Garibdas ultimately told him, "Go back home; you 'II get for children."
In course of time, four children were born to that poor man. He was now a quite satiated person with a happy family and as such passing his days in chanting the holy name of the Lord and in prayers and worships etc. After four years once wfhen Narada had been traveling by the same road, he become much surprised at the sight of that poor man playing with two children on his two knees. Out of curiosity he asked the man, "what's the matter? Where from do you have these two little Kiddies? Sri Vagaban had told me that you would have no child in your present life." The man then told narada everything shout the favour showed to him by Garibdas in getting four children of whom two are now playing with him and two others are inside the room. The incident made the Debarshi unable to control his passions. He murmured within himself, "strahnge! has Garibdas so much power as to change the injuction of god himself? In a fit of rage, Narada directly went before Sri Vagaban in Vaikuntha and said," who is Garibdas? How has he become such a devotee of you as to nullify your own laws? By favouring that poor man with four children, Garibdas has deliberately insulted you." Actually in the heart of his heart, Narada bore a banity, "I have no second on earth in the arena of devotion." Garibdas by his act of grace to the poor childless man, had howaver, pricked the vanity balloon of Narada and as such there had been an out burst of anger in him. Sri Vagaban felt amused at the elibies of Narada for claiming himself as the best devotee of Sri Vagaban in the world. The Lord however, admitted that he had some weakness for Garibdas for which very often He Himself had to fall into very awkward situations. " I have no power to resist him" -the Lord admitted. Actually He then wanted that Narada should atleast once meet Garibdas to realize the depth and firmness of the devotion of His most beloved Vakta. As wished by the Omniscient, it then so happened that on hearing the power of Garibdas from the Lord, Narada became very eager to meet him (Garibdas). Accordingly Sri Vagaban, together with Narada playing on his Lyre the songs of Sri Hari, set out bare footed for the house of Garibdas, without the least difficulty.
On this side, our Garibdas some how got the tidings of the arrival of his Divine Darling Sri Vagaban to his dilapidated hut on that very day. Garibdas was them beside himself with joy. To day his most beloved God Sri Hari, who is dear to him as his own life is coming to his humble but. But even in such delightful condition of his mind, Garibdas could not avoid his anxieties regarding the reception of his dear most God. He was poor not only in name but also in life as well. While Garibdas was thinking about the reception and accommodation of his Lord in his hut, he found Sri Vagaban and Narada coming towards him, Seeing the miserable financial condition of Garibdas after entering the house, Narada could not help taunting Sri Vagaban, “So this is your Garibdas. I thought him to be a rich and wealthy man..........but actually he has nothing in his home and he is your best devotee".
Inside the house, Garibdas was extremely perturbed for saving the Lord of the universe from the biting cold. He searched every corner of his house but alas, there was not even a piece of cloth to wear. Actually, save and except, a torn out piece of dirty cloth, a lamp, a little bit of clarified butter for worshipping and a match box there was nothing else in his house. By this time, due to extreme cold, the body of the Lord began to tremble violently, within moments, Garibdas hit upon the idea that the value of his body would never be higher than the value of the dirty piece of cloth, so it should be set on fire. This may at least temporarily, save the lord from the cold waves. He also thought that his body is also a gift of God and so it should be made over to Him now. Immediately he smeared the clarified butter over his body and put himself on fire for the comfort of his beloved God.
Now let us remember that God is omniscient, He knows everything and as such in his own presence, the body of his dear devotee can never be harmed. Agni Decs (God of Fire) became non operative. Sri Vagaban then told NBarada, “See, Garibdas had set fire to his body only for my comfort – he had surrendered his own self completely for me. For me he set fire on his bodyd which we love, excessively in this word - no other material object like home, family, wife, children, car, and wealth etc. can dome near to our body in this regard. But look, how easily did Garibdas burn his body with the only attention of saving me from cold. “Mean while, by the grce of the Lord, Garibdas had got back his body that was equally brilliasnt like the previous one. Through this incident, Barada could understand well to what exteut the devotion of a vakta may rise occasionally. He admitted, "such devoted Vaktas of you like Garibdas can sometime alter your laws. He is undoubtedly your most favoured and beloved devotee." Bow if any devotee likes to surrender himself to God without any desire, it must be done in the way that had been shown by Garibdas. If a man can make himself free from all material infatuation like Garibdas, he becomes eligible for causing such situations. In the life of Sri Ramdasji Kathia Babaji Maharaj also there is a reference to the super power of the sincerely devoted Vaktas. After the death of Sri Ramdasji, the image of the Divine couple in the temple was seen shedding tears for long thirteen days. After "The Vandara" on the thirteenth day, shedding of water from the stone eyes was automatically. The image of Radharamji shed tears so profusely that Her eyes were to be replaced soon by an artisan from Joypur. Such pure souls take their birth in this world only to propagate the glory of the Divine Couple, i.e. Sri Tadha Krishnaji. We can, therefore, admit the truth that there are some great souls who can by their wish change the code of conduct.
So long I have tried to present before you the correct way of complete self surrender to God. We should, in this connection, always bear it in mind that whatever we have got in this world, or whatever knowledge we have gathered here, from whatever source we may have gathered them, are all given to us by lsvara Himself. So, let all of us be indoctrinated in the philosophy of returning everything of ours in this world to Him who has given them to us temporarily, Real and eternal happiness lie in this path of complete surrender to God. But here we must be meticulously careful about our firmness, sincerity and sanctity in respect to out prayer and wsorship. If we cans really surrender ourselves completely to God without any ulterior motive, if we can, without any desire, greed and passion etc, follow the teachings and ideals of the sages and the heralds of the Gita and other sacred books on religious and spiritualism with pure devotion and belief, we will, before late, be able to find that all our problems are dead and gone. Be steady and follow the way of life as are followed by the great souls. Nourish no doubt about them in your heart.
Extending my good wishes. Love and blessings to all present in this religious assembly of today, I now stop my discourse here.
Sarve Vabantu Sukhino,
Sarve Santu Niramaya
Sarve Vadrani Pashyantu
Ma Kaschid Dukshavag Vabet
Ma Kaschid Dukshavag Vabet
OM SHANTI OM SHANTI OM SHANTI
Swami Rash Behari Das Kathia Babaji
Saint and Abbot of Nimbarka Monastery
Collected from a speech delivered in Dharmasava
Saint and Abbot of Nimbarka Monastery
Collected from a speech delivered in Dharmasava
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