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“Yasya padanakha jyotsna param brahmeti sanditam,
Sa eva vrindavane bhu bihari nandanandana.”
(Vishnu puran)
Meaning: One whose toenails’ effulgence is called Param Brahma (the Absolute Truth), he is none other than the son of Nanda, who resides on the land of Vrindavan.
Only pure devotees can relish the sweet Mādhurya Rasa pastimes of Vrindavan. Without Prema Bhakti, such pastimes cannot be known or understood by ordinary human beings.
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 17.75)
Meaning: By following the paths of speculative philosophical knowledge, fruitive activity or yogic activities to control the senses, one cannot satisfy Krishna, the Supreme Lord. Unalloyed devotional love for Krishna is the only cause for the Lord’s satisfaction.
Knowledge of Param Brahma, fruitive activities, yogic practices or ordinary religious activities cannot control Krishna. Krishna is Vibhu (the greatest of all) and infinite. Nobody can control Him but only through Prema Bhakti, He becomes controlled (as if enchanted) by His devotees. Such is the power of Prema Bhakti!
One day, Krishna took all His Sakhas to Akrura Ghāt in Vraja. This Akrura Ghāt is a portal to Vaikuntha Dhām. It was also here that Krishna and Balarām took bath while going to Mathura with Akrura and gave him darshan as Lord Vishnu reclining on Ananta Shesha. At that time, the Mādhuryamaya Krishna stayed in Vraja and the Aishwaryamaya Vāsudeva Krishna left Vraja with Akrura. Therefore, the Mādhuryamaya Krishna who is the dearest friend of His Sakhas, beloved child of His parents and the lifeline of Gopis, never left Vraja Dham.
“Vrindāvanam parityajya sa kvacin naiva gacchati.”
(Laghu Bhagavatamritam 1.5.461)
Meaning: Krishna, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, never at any time leaves Vrindāvana.
Gyānamaya Prakāsh, Aishwaryamaya Prakāsh and Mādhuryamaya Prakāsh together make the Absolute Lordship of Krishna. None of them is dispensable. All the three aspects of His Absolute Lordship are present in Krishna at the same time. He is situated as formless Param Brahma, the Supreme Controller of infinite universes in the form of Nārāyan, Nrisingha, etc. and the sweet Mādhuryamaya form of Krishna in Vrindavan at the same time. But in Vrindavan, Madhuryamaya Krishna is the closest of all, dearest of all and the most beloved to the devotees of Vraja. They act without any hesitation with their beloved Krishna.
Krishna thought His Sakhas never accepted that He is God in any way. He must show them His opulences. Therefore, He took them to Akrura Ghāt and told them to take a dip in the waters of Yamuna with Him. As soon as they dipped themselves in the water of Akrura Ghāt, they were transported to Vaikuntha in a second. ‘Where have we come?’ thought the cowherd boys in amazement. They found themselves in a palace where the floor and the columns made of diamonds, pearls, rubies, emeralds, Hemakānta Mani (golden gems), Chandrakānta Mani (moonlight gems), Indraneel Mani (blue sapphires), Rajat Mani (silver gems), Pravāl Mani (coral gems), Muktā Mani (pearls), etc. The glare of the divine gemstones blinded their eyes!
In front of them, Nārāyan was sitting upon a golden gem-studded throne. He looked like Krishna, except that He had four arms holding conch, discus, mace and lotus. The cowherd boys were amazed by the opulence and started talking amongst themselves. “Which God is this? Where have we come to? How did we arrive here?” they talked amongst themselves. The associates of Nārāyan reprimanded them and said, “Don’t talk!” Vaikuntha Dhām is a place where everyone looks upon Narayan, the Supreme Controller of infinite universes, with awe and reverence. But the cowherd boys couldn’t become silent. They still whispered between themselves. “This God looks like Kanhaiya but His behaviour is not like Kanhaiya at all! This God and even His servants have four arms! And they are stern and grave, unlike Kanhaiyā!” one of them whispered. “Where is Kanhaiya? This place is not good. We cannot even talk here! Also, there is no love here. Let us go back to Kanhaiyā in Vrindavan.” another cowherd boy whispered. All of them agreed with him. The next moment, they had surfaced from the waters of Yamuna at Akrura Ghāt. It seemed to them that they had just woken up from a dream.
Even upon witnessing such Aishwaryamaya Prakāsh of Krishna, they never believed Krishna to be God. They thought it was all the work of some divine power, deity or special planetary position. “Kanhaiyā, my brother, O Kanhaiyā, you are my closest and dearest friend,” such are the sentiments of the Sakhas. They can never accept Krishna as God. This kind of Upāsanā path does not exist anywhere else other than Vraja. This is the easiest Upāsanā path where the only thing required is to consider Radha and Krishna as the closest and dearest persons to you. To do this, you don’t have to give, lose or destroy anything. You don’t have to go anywhere. The only thing you have to do is love Radha Krishna. This is enough to please Them. The scriptural do’s and don’ts are not very important here. Only love is important here.
God says, “You love your children, spouse and family so much. Similarly, love Me just like a family member. Love Me and see what I can give you! What can these materialistic people give you? How much do they love you? Love Me, give your heart to Me and see how much I love you! I will unlock the treasure of infinite love for you! I will make your heart full of nectarine bliss! All kinds of pleasures that exist in the three worlds and infinite universes will become dull and negligible before you! Just try to love Me once and see for yourself.” This is Truth! This is Vraja Prema. Only Prema is important here.
“Ye yathā mām prapadyante tāns tathaiva bhajāmyaham.”
(Bhagavat Geeta 4.11)
Meaning: In whatever way one surrenders unto Me, I reward them accordingly.
Those who love Him as their dearest friend act without any hesitancy with Krishna who is immensely pleased by their behaviour! There is no shame, hesitation or fear of Aparadha between them. There is no awe and reverence for Krishna at all!
Once, there was a Babaji named Gwāriyā Baba. He was a sadhak of Sakhya Prema and was constantly immersed in his Sakha mood. At that time, Govind Dev was still residing in Vrindavan. Gwariya Baba went to Govind Dev Temple in Vrindavan in his Sakha mood. He could see himself in the form of a Sakha and in that mood, he raised his leg upon the wooden barrier just outside the Garbhagriha (inner main temple where the deities give darshan). “O Kanhaiyā, oho Kanhaiyā! Come, touch my feet! Otherwise, today, I will not let you play with us Sakhas,” he said to Govind Dev, pointing at his feet. “Quickly touch my feet and apologize to me. Then I can let you play. Otherwise, don’t even dream of playing with us! Come, come, quickly!”
This is a true incident. Not a made-up story. The Pujari saw that this madman was audaciously showing his feet to Govind Dev in such a rude way. How can one raise his leg towards Govind Dev who is the Supreme Controller of infinite universes and whose lotus feet all Jivatmas worship?! Rishis and Munis engage in severe austerities and penances for innumerable centuries to attain the dust of His lotus feet but are still unable to attain it! The light of His toenails is called Param Brahma. And this madman is rudely showing his feet before His lotus face? The pujari came down angrily and gave him two slaps. “Mad man! Go away from here!” he said angrily and threw him out of the temple’s door.
The state of Sphurti (where he could see himself as a Sakha) of Gwariya Baba did not subside. Instead, he became very angry with Govind Dev. “You beat me up using your people!” he said and picked up his stick. He sat down outside the door of the temple with his leg stretched out. “Come out, I will show you the result of beating me! If you come humbly, touch my feet and apologize to me, I can consider forgiving you. But, otherwise, I will not let you go today! I am sitting here. Come out, I will beat you today!”
This is Sakhya Prema! This kind of Prema cannot be imitated. Ordinary people should not think that they can also act like this with Krishna. When one is situated in his eternal form and immersed in that mood, this kind of behaviour happens automatically out of love for Krishna. In that state of immersion in a divine mood, the devotee becomes naturally intimate and one with Krishna. In the state of the pinnacle of divine loving mood, the devotee loses all hesitation towards Krishna. In that state, there is only divine love and no trace of any worldly thought in the mind of the devotee. This is the Vraja Upāsanā path or Mādhurya Upāsanā.
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