Many days ago, I spoke on the topic of Saint Kabir dāsa, because an incident similar to what happened to him happened here.
However Kabir dāsa was a Maha-puruṣa, a perfected soul, whereas I am an ordinary living entity. I don’t have any perfection or realization. I am walking towards the Lord only by closing my eyes. On can proceed on this path only by closing the eyes. We cannot see with the eyes.
In front of us is a world, which is false. The truth is only the Lord who is not before us. How can we go towards something that we cannot see?
Brahmaji glorifies the Lord in SB 3.9.11
tvaḿ bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja
āsse śrutekṣita-patho nanu nātha puḿsām
yad-yad-dhiyā ta urugāya vibhāvayanti
tat-tad-vapuḥ praṇayase sad-anugrahāya
O my Lord, Your devotees can see You through the ears by the process of bona fide hearing, and thus their hearts become cleansed, and You take Your seat there. You are so merciful to Your devotees that You manifest Yourself in the particular eternal form of transcendence in which they always think of You.
The Lord is present. He is not seen but we have trust that the Lord exists. When the heart is filled with love for the Lord, then the Lord will come there. How does the heart become filled with devotional emotion? Devotion is obtained through the association of saints.
A saint is not simply one who changes the cloth. A saint means in whose heart there is devotion, emotion for the Lord. By approaching that person we can attain devotion, but not through other austerities and penances:
SB 5.12.12
rahūgaṇaitat tapasā na yāti
na cejyayā nirvapaṇād gṛhād vā
na cchandasā naiva jalāgni-sūryair
vinā mahat-pāda-rajo-‘bhiṣekam
My dear King Rahūgaṇa, unless one has the opportunity to smear his entire body with the dust of the lotus feet of great devotees, one cannot realize the Absolute Truth. One cannot realize the Absolute Truth simply by observing celibacy [brahmacarya], strictly following the rules and regulations of householder life, leaving home as a vānaprastha, accepting sannyāsa, or undergoing severe penances in winter by keeping oneself submerged in water or surrounding oneself in summer by fire and the scorching heat of the sun. There are many other processes to understand the Absolute Truth, but the Absolute Truth is only revealed to one who has attained the mercy of a great devotee.
Jada Bhārataji is explaining to King Rahugana that austerity cannot attain the Lord, performing great sacrifices cannot attain Him and charity cannot obtain Him. Also by following the household principles recommended in the śastra like being loyal to only one wife or chaste to the husband, cannot obtain the Lord.
The householder principles and austerities recommended in the śastra are difficult to follow in Kali-yuga. Chanda means the Vedas. Even by studying the Vedas, the Lord cannot be obtained. Worshiping water means taking bath in Holy waters. Worshiping fire means the performance of sacrifice. Worship of the sun is the chanting the Gāyatrī mantra. However, by these processes, one cannot obtain the Lord.
Then how can the Lord be obtained? vinā mahat-pāda-rajo-‘bhiṣekam: By the association of a great soul, a great saint, a Maha-puruṣa. Approach him and bathe in the dust of his feet. Not in water but in the holy dust of his feet. This means taking shelter of him.
As there is the shelter of the Lord, in the same way there is the shelter of devotees. The difference is that the Lord is not seen but the devotee can be seen.
So how can one identify such a great saint, a Maha-puruṣa? Is it someone who has uncut hair, performs great austerities, is householder, a vānaprastha or a sannyāsī? How can it be known that he is a great soul, a great saint?
The identification of a great Saint is through one quality. It is not dependent on whether one is a householder or sannyāsī, neither on the performance of austerities, nor on studying the Vedas.
Kabirdāsaji was not educated. He was illiterate. He stated that he had never touched pen or paper. He mentioned this in his biography; ‘I never touched pen or ink in my whole life.’
Kabir dāsa did not go to any school to learn reading and writing. He did not learn the language alphabet. But he is recognized as a great saint, a Maha-puruṣa.
He stated, ‘You speak the information that you have studied in the book, but I explain what I have seen with my own eyes and realized.’
The great saint is one who has personally experienced and realized the Truth, the real substance. That substance is far from the Vedas and rare to be found in all religions, but one who has discovered and realized that is a great saint.
His symptoms are described in SB 5.12.13:
yatrottamaśloka-guṇānuvādaḥ
prastūyate grāmya-kathā-vighātaḥ
niṣevyamāṇo ‘nudinaḿ mumukṣor
matiḿ satīḿ yacchati vāsudeve
Who are the pure devotees mentioned here? In an assembly of pure devotees, there is no question of discussing material subjects like politics and sociology. In an assembly of pure devotees, there is discussion only of the qualities, forms and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is praised and worshiped with full attention. In the association of pure devotees, by constantly hearing such topics respectfully, even a person who wants to merge into the existence of the Absolute Truth abandons this idea and gradually becomes attached to the service of Vāsudeva.
Uttamaśloka is a name of the Lord. Śloka means glory. Uttama means exalted. So the Lord has the topmost glories. That is the Lord. Wherever the glory of the Lord is sung, that person who is present in that assembly, even if he is desiring Brahmān liberation, is from a low caste or is a sinner, that person is a great saint and Maha-puruṣa. He is not interested in any other discussion; materialistic talks, grāmya-kathā are of no interest to him.
‘Where do you live? Where have you come from?’ There are no mundane discussions. All over the world we find this grāmya-kathā, mundane gossip: Mother, father, wife, husband, brother, sister son; wherever they sit they discuss mundane topics. This is called grāmya-kathā.
prastūyate grāmya-kathā-vighātaḥ
Never take part in materialistic discussions and do nothing else; neither austerity, religious practice, vānaprastha, nor sannyāsā will do. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam rejects all this. Simply hear Kṛṣṇa-kathā. Go wherever the glory of the Lord is sung. Avoid materialistic talks.
Then what will happen? When simply day and night one listens to the glory of the Lord, each day, not just on Friday or Saturday, then the Lord will come and reside in your intelligence. Automatically your intelligence will become absorbed in the Lord.
This cannot be achieved by austerity, taking bath in a holy place, or chanting the Gāyatrī mantra to worship the sun. By practice of these sādhanas one’s intelligence will not be connected with the Lord.
Ones intelligence will only be engaged in the Lord’s service when 24 hours a day one hears Kṛṣṇa-kathā in the association of devotees; something that is not obtained by millions of years of austerity. Only by living in such a situation can one obtain this, therefore this should definitely be done. Every day, every moment, without any gap one should remember the Lord.
[Real Education, Real Wealth]
A single day, a single moment should not go without remembering the Lord.
SB 4.31.9
nārada uvāca
taj janma tāni karmāṇi
tad āyus tan mano vacaḥ
nṛṇāḿ yena hi viśvātmā
sevyate harir īśvaraḥ
The great sage Nārada said: When a living entity is born to engage in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme controller, his birth, all his fruitive activities, his life-span, his mind and his words are all factually perfect.
Suppose we have become human beings, if we are adverse to kathā and kirtan, hearing about the Lord; there is no benefit.
The great Saint Raskhanji said, ‘Let me take birth in Braja as an animal, a bird or a dog. That would be better. Then as a dog I could take the remnants of food from the devotees.’
Many years ago a girl came here. When she would travel on the Braja yatra she would walk on sharp stones and thorns and not be troubled. Up till this date no boy or girl sādhu has come like her.
At Rāsa Mandir after everyone else had eaten, she would collect all their remnants and honor that as her prasāda. And day and night she would only serve.
Māyā works in very strange ways. As an eagle attacks a bird, so she suffered from many different diseases and when she went for treatment, her life changed. However for as many days that she lived here, she was glorious.
taj janma tāni karmāṇi: That birth is praiseworthy, that age is praiseworthy, up till the time he or she remembers the Lord. That mind is praiseworthy.
So many children are living here and have been caught by the parents, who think that their life is spoilt here not receiving a proper materialistic education in English, mathematics, etc. So many parents took away their children by force.
I cannot do anything because the child is theirs. I have no right upon them. I have no legal right so parents are able to take their children away like this.
Such incidents are so awkward that one child even after a year, ran away from his house and came back here, because here is delight and happiness in the mode of pure goodness. Great delight is found here.
After a year a boy came back here. So why did he come back? It is because here life is filled with the Lord. His house was very far away in Bihar. However he ran away without money or anything. This delight is nowhere in the world. Children here get up early in the morning and go to Śrīji Mandir maṅgala-ārati and morning sankirtana. When they come back their lives are full of peace and happiness.
Five hundred people live here constantly. There is no quarrel, attachment nor hatred. Why is this so? This is because here there is constant absorption and remembrance of the Lord.
Therefore Nāradaji says in SB 4.31.9 that birth and life are
praiseworthy only when engaged in devotion.
I cannot say that all of you will live here permanently, the children being controlled by their parents. Where the children will go I don’t know. In Maan Mandir Gurukula there is no materialistic education and nor do I want this. Here is the education that is helpful in attaining the Lord.
The world considers materialistic goals to be true and values materialistic education; MA, BA; one gets a good job, then people become happy. But my idea is different. I am of an opposite mentality to the world.
Some days ago, my elder sister passed away. Water is offered in the pot. Then the question came, who will offer the water? Then the boy Raghava, he is the son of my sister’s daughter, said, ‘I’ll live here and I will do this.’
I asked, ‘Why do you live here? You do your service. You have a very great job, a fine job. Welfare is not done by your water; welfare is done by emotion.’
Emotion is such a power that the wild fruit, the wild plums of Śabari were relished by Lord Rāma Who said, ‘Never before have I enjoyed such a taste.’
The greatest power is emotion.
Then Raghava said, ‘I’ll stay here.’
I said, ‘If you stay here you will get such satsaṅga.’
Then from my mouth it was uttered, ‘I do not want you to get a job.’
Whereas he has a job and is about to fly to Dubai, but I said, ‘I don’t want you to go to get a job, my love is that all your life, you live here.’
Memory of the Lord is the greatest treasure, the greatest wealth. Money and sense gratification is insignificant.
Listening to this advice, everyone would consider this to be inappropriate. But my idea is that today or tomorrow we have to quit this world. As Gosvāmī Tulsidāsa said, ‘Due to meanness and false ego if we do not give up this world, then time will come and force you to quit this world and its false proprietorship.’
More than 250 children live here. Their parents come and they think that their life is being spoilt here. Because they are not studying education then what job will they get? And many girls are living here.
People come and say that their life is being spoilt here. If they are not educated, it will not be possible to marry them, and then they will simply become neglected homeless orphans.
Then I said, I cannot get them out, because according to me, they are receiving such an education that in no birth can be studied. If up till this point we had received the shelter of the Lord then why would we be wandering in māyā? I don’t bind these children, not can I ask them to leave because this is the real education.
Children of today are studying such education that Kabirdasji said he never touched; ‘I never touched paper and ink. I never studied the alphabet.’
This is such an education. The Lord is real truth; the entire world is false.
The Lord also tested Rukmiṇī: ‘You were about to be married with Śiśupāla, a real King and you selected Me as your husband. Why did you select Me? If you like, right now you can select a great King as your husband. I escaped and I live surrounded by the ocean. I am cursed so that I cannot become King.’
Then Rukmiṇīji replied very excellently. She said: ‘The great Kings Jarasanda and Śiśupāla have great power upon the earth during this time. These Kings will become the husbands of only those woman in whom within the ear Your glories have not entered.’
SB 10.60.44
tasyāḥ syur acyuta nṛpā bhavatopadiṣṭāḥ
strīṇāḿ gṛheṣu khara-go-śva-viḍāla-bhṛtyāḥ
yat-karṇa-mūlam an-karṣaṇa nopayāyād
yuṣmat-kathā mṛḍa-viriñca-sabhāsu gītā
O infallible Kṛṣṇa, let each of the kings You named become the husband of a woman whose ears have never heard Your glories, which are sung in the assemblies of Śiva and Brahmā. After all, in the households of such women these kings live like asses, oxen, dogs, cats and slaves.
‘These Kings will become the husband of those women whose ears Your glories have not entered. Your glories are even sung by Brahmā and Śaṅkara.
Who are these ‘great’ Kings? These Kings rule all over the world. But when they go into the room of their wives, Rukmiṇīji says in this verse, that they become like asses/ donkeys, bulls/oxen, dogs, male cats and servants/slaves.’
Rukmiṇī is describing that there are five kinds of husbands.
1. The donkey is only interested in sexual intercourse.
2. The bull/oxen has sexual intercourse with many cows.
3. The dog during sexual intercourse is humiliated.
4. The male cat even kills the female cat when she does not give him sexual intercourse.
5. Servant/slave: to get sexual intercourse he becomes the degraded servant of his wife.
So Rukiminiji says that such woman who have not heard the glories of the Lord will select these Kings as their husband.
In this way Rukmiṇīji in replying to Lord Kṛṣṇa stated that the whole prosperity of the world based on sense gratification is false prosperity.
There is another śloka in which Rukmiṇīji replies to Sri Kṛṣṇa:
‘When you say that in fear of the Kings you live inside the sea is also true.’
SB 10.16.35
satyaḿ bhayād iva guṇebhya urukramāntaḥ
śete samudra upalambhana-mātra ātmā
nityaḿ kad-indriya-gaṇaiḥ kṛta-vigrahas tvaḿ
tvat-sevakair nṛpa-padaḿ vidhutaḿ tamo ‘ndham
Yes, my Lord Urukrama, You lay down within the ocean as if afraid of the material modes, and thus in pure consciousness You appear within the heart as the Supersoul. You are always battling against the foolish material senses, and indeed even Your servants reject the privilege of royal dominion, which leads to the blindness of ignorance.
The Lord lives in the heart of but He is hidden out of fear of the sense objects, which are filled with the 3 modes of nature. The Lord fears them. He fears them and is hidden in the very deep cave of the heart where there is only realisation of existence. There the Lord lives, because the Lord has enmity with the wicked senses, which always consume sense objects.
The tongue always tastes what is sweet, what is salty. The eyes always look toward the form of māyā, the ears always listen to the sounds of māyā. These wicked senses are always leading us toward the materialistic world. ‘So You have enmity with these wicked senses.’
But the senses of the devotee each time go toward the Lord. They listen to the glory to the Lord with their ears, and with the tongue they chant the name of God. Lord Śiva says this in Rāmacarita mānasa. Lord Śiva said to Pārvatī that all the world is dead. ‘O devi in this world no-one is alive.’
Pārvatī asked, ‘How is this?’
‘People are dead when there is no devotion in people’s hearts. Therefore all this world is dead.’
Bāla-kāṇḍa 113
‘By the tongue, everyone talks uselessly. Their tongues croak like the frog. After death they will become only frogs.’
With their ears they don’t listen to the glories of the Lord, so their ears are like the holes of a snake. In the hole the snake enters and he makes that hole poisonous. In the same way the world enters into these ears and it makes the entire body poisonous.
The Lord does not enter the body of a man who does not listen to His glories. So the ears are like the holes of a snake.
The eyes are like the eyes on a peacock feather.
Having the darśana of saints in which the Lord resides, their darśana is more the darśana of the Lord because the Lord is not seen, but the saint is seen.
So these saints are seen and they sing the glory of the Lord so they are helpful in attaining the Lord. Therefore Gosvāmī Tulsidasji said in Rāmacarita mānasa, ‘Superior to the Lord is the devotee of His because he is helpful in attaining the Lord.’
So this world is dead. Rukmiṇīji says in the Bhāgavata 10.60.35 that Kings like Śiśupāla and Jarasanda are filled with opulences, which make one blind. Such a person can never see the Lord. The Lord is in the heart, but He never realizes this and remembers Him. Only the Lord’s servants avoid such darkness.
Even the Lord’s small servants ignore royalties. If one is collecting opulences pretending to be a servant of the Lord, he is not a real servant of the Lord. A servant of the Lord never collects the clay mud, which is money.
Being a servant of the Lord is a great thing. In Śrīji Mandir, people donate 500 rupees toward the children on Maan Mandir, but no child takes it. Girls go for preaching and people give them money but they don’t touch it.
When children are small, they are not the servants of the God, but still they consider money and prosperity as very mean and insignificant. They consider it to be like clay or mud. Such is the education and atmosphere here.
When these children pass through the streets of Barṣāṇā on prabhāta pherī (morning nāma sankirtan) people give them toffees and so many things, but they don’t take.
Whereas children have such a greed for renunciation they even shook and moved Vṛndāvana.
All of Vṛndāvana was against me last year. Yamuna Yatra became a failure at the end, then people said, ‘Ramesh Bābā ate the money.’
Then separately they made a Yamuna march? But the accusations were false as no one eats up money here.
Yesterday the news came about a rich person who was fighting a case with the people of Maan Garh. We were engaged in protecting the security of hills such as Pahari.
Over a large area of Braja they were using stone pressure (explosives) and because of that a court case was going on. But yesterday we were victorious!
(everyone claps)
The rich person offered 2 crores in bribery so that we would not come there and he could win the case and make his billions and trillions of rupees. But Rādhākantaji did not even spit at the 2 crore rupees. He did not even consider it.
So this is the mercy of the Lord upon the devotees of Maan Garh. Otherwise he belongs to a poor family. They consider money as mud. Otherwise that rich person wanted to use such trickery and win all the court cases and use his stone pressure machines on Braja’s hills. But he did not know that he (Rādhā kanta) is a candidate of Maan Mandir.
You cannot even entice any child at Maan Mandir with money, because they a receiving such education automatically by the mercy of the Lord.
Without even studying opulence comes. I have stayed more than 60 years here. My spiritual master said, ‘Don’t keep money.’
Until now I did not keep a single penny, a single coin. And here the expenditure is billions in one month. At least 15 lakh rupees expenditure is made daily at the Gośala. For the previous Yamuna yatra many crores of rupees were raised.
Three days ago Rādhākantaji said to me, ‘The Yamuna Yatra is starting the day after tomorrow and I have no money.’
Upon this very topic I cited the topic about Kabir.
What had happened was that another Yamuna Yatra was started to make Maan Ghar down. And those people were very powerful. They called a famous person of India, Ravi Shankar and he gave a statement, ‘This is my yatra.’
They also called Hema Mālinī and Uma Bhāratī. In one way they won the battle. People asked me, ‘Now what are you going to do?’
I answered, ‘On the power of the Lord I walk, not on the power of human beings.’
One supporter said, ‘Not more than 5,000 people can go.’
I asked him, ‘Did you say this?’
He replied, ‘Yes, I said this.’
At Janta Manta(Political arena for demonstrations) 1 lakh people came.
These children did beat the policemen! All this is the mercy of the Lord; I said, ‘I have no money but a bigger crowd went on. Even yesterday I told this to Rādhākantaji.
The leaders, the ministers did not fulfill their promises. Just like the Congress party also made so many promises, but they did nothing.
I said, ‘Say to them, again the Yamuna Yatra will go.’ So the third Yamuna Yatra will become bigger than the second one because we walk by the power of the Lord, not by the power of limited human beings. No
ordinary human being has power; nor will they ever have.
Just like with the battle to preserve the hills of Braja, by the power of the Lord we won that. Even the brother of Rādhākantaji was kidnapped. Even I was given poison, but nothing happened.
The service, which is done in the belief in the power of the Lord definitely becomes successful.
The same statement was made by the spiritual master, Rāma Kṛṣṇa Bābā:
In 1929 Mahātmā Gandhi came to Braja. He asked the Brajabāsīs, ‘Where is a great Mahatma living here? ‘There was Pandita Rāma Kṛṣṇa Bābā.’
So Gandhiji and Vallabhbhai Patel, the ‘Iron man of India,’ approached him and asked, ‘Before 1857 the freedom movement is going on and it is not successful. Even today why is it not successful?’
Then Pandita Baba replied, ‘In whatever work the Lord is not present, that project cannot have success.’
So since this meeting, Gandhiji took an oath and all his life performed the kirtan, ‘Raghupati Raghava Rāja Rāma, Patita Pavana Sītā Rāma.’
Viṣṇu Digambar Paluskar in Allahabad composed this song.
My father and my uncle were among the officials of Krsna Kunja.
During that time, Viṣṇu Paluskar a world-famous musician made the song Raghupati Raghava Rāja Rama, Patita Pavana Sītā Rāma and he taught this to Mahātmā Gandhi.
Gandhiji also used to go to Allahabad. He would go there to the house of Nehru, next to Allabhad University, where I used to study.
Near my house there was the Congress Party’s office. There was my Uncle, Devi-prasada Advocate. He had correspondence with Gandhiji and Jawalag Neru.
Because of the kirtan of the Lord, India gained freedom.
In whatever work the Lord’s presence is there, that work is successful.
The opposition to Gahvarvan was uprooted after 46 years; we were successful in protecting it. In the struggle to protect the hills of Braja, it was said that I was about to go to jail. From the court people received a warrant to arrest me. This judge is also sitting here? He was a respected judge, and never took a bribe. And then he convinced the people, who thought ‘Ramesh Baba should go to jail’; God made him a medium of protection and because of him nothing happened to me.
People were definitely thinking I was the root of all problems and that I should be sent to prison. But the Lord is also something.
So the education about the Lord is the greatest education.
Therefore when Rādhākantiji said, ‘I have no money,’ on the third day one man said, ‘Can I do some seva? ‘
I said, ‘Do.’
Then he obtained so many vegetables, enough for a million people. Such food was prepared that people saw that. Previously, I had no acquaintance with him.
This mercy was sent by the Lord. Upon this very topic I took the matter of Kabirdasaji. I am not a perfect devotee but the incident that happened with Saint Kabir, a similar incident also happened here.
