by Sri Sandip Dasgupta
Welcome to the Raas Purnima edition of our quarterly spiritual magazine.
Our Master has repeatedly asked us to always remember the Absolute I-Reality in all our thoughts, actions and deeds – and try not to cling on to our own individuality/Myness. According to him, the sense of duality leads us to maintain our individuality – and hence is the cause of all our sorrowness and grief in everyday life. He has lucidly explained to us how the individual I-Reality emanates from the Absolute I-Reality – and the whole world is the divine game of the Absolute I-Reality. The Absolute I-Reality resides in each and every one of us – and hence we do not need to seek God outside of us. He has repeatedly urged us to surrender our individual identities at the lotus feet of the Absolute One – just like a river loses its identity once it merges into the ocean. Similarly, all the Gopis of Vrindavan surrendered their souls to Lord Krishna and became One with Him.
Our Master, Sri Sri Babathakur has narrated several
stories to us to explain the concept of complete surrender. In this editorial,
I will try to recount a few them:
● The Bhagavad story of Nouka Bilash. The Gopis want to cross the river to meet their beloved Lord Krishna. The Gopis are asking Lord Krishna (disguised as the rower, boatman) to help them cross the river, and they are negotiating the price with Sri Krishna (disguised as the boatman). They start with a price of one anna and keep increasing their offer. The boatman does not agree to any price less than 16 annas, which signifies the complete price. The moral of the story is that you have to surrender 100 percent to the Absolute I-Reality who is the creator – if you want to be re-identified with the Lord.
● In another story, Lord Krishna takes Arjuna to a devotee’s place who is extremely poor, yet very devoted to the Lord. The devotee tries her level best to serve the Lord (and even borrows money to serve the Lord). Lord Krishna is very happy by the seva performed by the lady. When Lord Krishna is about to leave her residence, she falls at His feet and asks that she be liberated and unified with the Lord. She also asks her only son to accompany Lord Krishna and Arjuna as they cross the river. While crossing the river, a storm comes and the son is drowned. To Arjuna, it appears that Lord Krishna has done injustice by taking away her son and causing grief. However, the Lord clearly explains that He has removed the only obstacle (love for her only son) for the devotee to be unified with the Lord. Our Master terms it as the completion of evolution. How beautiful!
● Arjuna was proud of the fact that he was a very strong person, a great warrior and that he had a strong bond with Lord Krishna. This Abhimaan/pride was a barrier for being united with Lord Krishna – so, Lord Krishna wanted to break this pride. Sri Sri Babathakur lucidly explains that we need to buy a ticket to go from point A to Point B – however, the validity of the ticket expires as soon as we reach our destination. This example illustrates the temporary nature of the relationship between the ticket, the purchaser of the ticket and the journey. Likewise, he explains that we have to renunciate all our relationships (including the relationship between Arjuna and Lord Krishna) – if we want to be united with the Lord. The relationships are needed only for intermediate stages.
To summarize, our Master has repeatedly asked us to perpetually remember the all-pervading I-Reality in all our actions. Further, he has asked us to strive towards surrendering (completely) our individuality at the feet of that absolute I-Reality. So, let us listen to His words and reflect on them as we go through our life.
Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur!
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