Sairam,                                                     

Krishna Janmaashtami & Gokulaashtami day

 Prashaanthi Nilayam, 1963

One day Yasodha was searching for Krishna who had strayed away. She sought almost everywhere and atlast she went to the house of Raadha. Raadha just closed her eyes and meditated on Krishna for a while and when she called "krishna", Krishna was there. Then Yasodha shed tears of joy and said, "I love Krishna as a mother; I have a sense of egoism in me that He is my son and that I must save Him from harm and seek to give Him guidance and protection. Your prema is pure; it has no egoism prompting it." Everyone should develop that one-pointed prema (love) i.e., unwavering, clear and pure love. The relationship of gopees with krishna can be understood by one who reached the regions of Thuriya---beyond the regions of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep.  

There should be no artificiality, no affectation, no pride, no egoism in your attachment to the god. The only prema that will not allow pride and envy to interfere with its purity is prema towards God. Every step taken towards the Lord makes you shed bit by bit all attachment to the world. Every craving will be sublimated into the higher realms of pure consciousness the moment enters the spiritual field. Dhruva went into the forest to get the boon of sitting in thapas from the lord. That wish disappeared from his mind and his mind was elevated to great spiritual heights. Lord is condemned as thief (Chiththachor i.e., stealer of hearts) because he stole the butter (bhakthi of the heart) that is got after the process of churning. Unlike the other thiefs, this thief wakes the maser, tells him that he has come. The victim is left supremely happy and satisfied. 

The lord's name is appetising to all tongues when Bhakthi is tiled in correct proportion of jnaana, yoga and karma. The Lord can be addressed by any Name that tastes sweet to your tongue or pictured in any form that appeals to your sense of wonder and awe. It makes no difference if you sing of him as Muruga, Ganapathi, Shaaradha, Jesus, Maithreyi, Shakthi or you can call on Allah or the Formless or the Master of all Forms. He is Sarvanaama and Sarvaswaruupa (all names and all forms). He is the beginning, the middle and the end; the basis, the substance and the source. Any story that brings his Glory, his Grace and his Beauty into your consciousness must be dear to you. The Name is enough to give you all the results of every type of saadhana (spiritual effort). This is accepted by all the Shaasthras and all the saadhakas (spiritual aspirants) who have left accounts of their struggle and success. 

Every thought agitates the stillness of the mind; it Sets up a Vriththi. A vriththi is like the circle that emanates from the place where a stone falls into the still water of a lake. The water gets agitated and the circle affects the water up to the farthest end. All Vriththis (mental modes or functions) are A-nithya (impermanent). Keep the agitating thoughts away. 

Pravriththi maarga (path of attachment) multiplies these circular waves and seeks to create further and wider agitations. But, the Nivriththi maarga (path of detachment) aims at stilling the waters. Concentration on the Name and Form of lord tends to calm the waves of Vriththi. One should not give chance to be agitated by a secular vriththi (thought wave) and all vriththis should be awakened by divine promptings and urges. Then heart acts like a magnifying glass which catches the rays of the sun and directs all of them to one spot to ignite, burns and reveals the truth using the rays of purified vriththis awakened by divine promptings and urges. 

One day Krishna pretended to have severe stomach ache. Sathyabhaama tried all the remedies to give relief. Even Rukmini was not allowed inside to inquire about Krishna's health because he is in Sathyabhaama's house. Rukmini found one gopee named Suguna pining outside the door in great agony at the illness of the lord. Rukmini asked her to go in. Krishna welcomed Suguna and made her sit at his feet and ate the fruits she had picked up from Sathyabhaama's own garden. The agony at the lord's condition and her simple sincere devotion was so effective that the ache had gone. The fruits became tasty and attractive for the lord as they are saturated with the devotion of the gopee. The lord cares for the bhaava (inner feeling) not the baahya (outer show).  Do not create factions or revel in hatred in your daily affairs. See the good in others and the faults in yourselves. Revere yourself as the seat of god and others as having God installed in them; Make your heart pure so He can reside therein.                       

--SATHY SAI

Omsai Srisai Jaijaisai