Excerpts from talks by Sri Ramanujamji, disciple of HH Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, at “Nava Vrindavan” at Richmond Virginia.
Generally, any sampradaya in our Sanatana Dharma will have four aspects. There will be a kshetra (holy place), a Nama (a divine name), a beautiful form of the ishta devata (deity), and a grantha (holy scripture). For example, if we take the kshetra of Pandharpur, the nama is “Ramakrishna Hari”, the form of the deity is Rakhumayi Vittal and the grantha is “Vaishnava Veda”, which is a collection of all the abhangs composed by the great Pandharpur Mahatmas. If we take Srirangam, the deity is Sri Ranganatha Swamy, the divine name is “Narayana” nama and the grantha is the works of all the Azhwars, collectively known as “Naalaayira Divya Prabandham.”
Similarly, if we take our Bhagavata Sampradaya, the main deity is the worship of Sri Radha Krishna Yugalam (the Divine Couple). In one of our Sri Swamiji’s Madhurageethams, he sings, “yugaLa pUjaiyum yugaLa gItamum yuga yugamAi seidha tavattin palanAm”, describing how the fortune of worshiping Sri Radha Krishna yugalam is only bestowed as a result of the tapas (penance) done in the past. Chanting ‘Radhe Krishna’ or the Mahamantra is not just another repetition of the divine name, but rather the fruit of nama japa done in the past. The seva done to the Yugalam is called Nikunja Seva as that is how we can serve the Yugalam. Unlike the Gopas who served Bhagavan Sri Krishna alone, the Gopis of Vrindavan had the unique fortune of serving the Divine Yugalam, Shri Radha and Sri Krishna, together. Hence the Nikunja Seva is done in the Gopi bhAva, within the sacred groves of Srivanam (Vrindavan). For us, the kshetra is Sri Vrindavan, the Nama is Mahamantra, and the grantha is Srimad Bhagavatam. This is the sweetest of all paths having attracted many Mahatmas without exception. Even though we are far away from Bharat, our Swamiji has blessed us with all the four aspects stated above.
This life is meant for us to relish, not merely as a spiritual practice to attain something else. It is a blessing (bhagya) filled with divine enjoyment (bhogya). Many bhaktas in Vrindavan plead to Bhagavan not to give them salvation if it means leaving Vrindavan. They cherish the rasa, the divine joy, of serving the divine couple in Vrindavan. This nectarine form of worship is done through many different bhAvas (ways of emoting with Bhagavan) like vAtsalya bhAva (as a mother/child), sakhya bhAva (as a friend), and dAsya bhAva (as a servitor). While there were many Mahatmas who were enthralled by the first two bhAvAs, the safest approach is dAsya bhAva, the attitude of servitude, which is the default for anyone practicing bhakti to serve Bhagavan. In dAsya bhAva, devotees serve Bhagavan with immense joy in their hearts, longing only to do more service out of pure love for Krishna. They engage in numerous acts of devotion not to receive anything in return but simply out of their love for Bhagavan. They feel proud that they are able to do service to their Lord and naturally dissociate from those who do not understand such bhakti, though they do not show any hatred towards them. This bhAva needs to be learnt from a Guru by looking at how he serves his own Guru. When one is serving a Guru, three things are important: fold your hands, close your mouth and tuck-in your clothes (kai katti, vaai pothi, and madhi odhukki). This signifies that we cannot be casual while serving the Guru. The Vishnu Purana states that Vishnu lives in your bhAva alone. If we see Bhagavan in such bhAva, He will reveal Himself accordingly; otherwise, He remains only as an archavatara samadhi. The more we perform our duties with shraddha, the more Bhagavan reveals Himself in ways beyond our imagination.
It is a fact that when we do dAsya, Guru kripa is always on us. Sri Swamiji once reaffirmed that when someone engages in selfless service, even if the Guru is unaware of this service,
Bhagavan bestows the fruits of that service. This is very well portrayed in the Chandogya Upanishad. Pleased by the selfless seva done by a disciple, the three agnis (fire deities) that the Guru asked the disciple to take care of while he was out of town, themselves started to teach Brahma jnana to the disciple. Thus, whenever a selfless seva is done for a Guru, it is not a burden for the Guru to acknowledge the service but Krishna Himself rushes to fulfill what the Guru’s wishes, blessing the disciple abundantly. In the world, we often need to maneuver smartly, as selfless service doesn’t always yield the desired results. However, when it comes to serving the Guru, one must be selfless. So, our primary focus should be dAsyam.
Sri Swamiji never forces anyone to do dAsyam; it is up to us to offer our kainkaryam willingly. Dasyam is performed with a sense of gratitude and fortune. We don’t use the word puNya (merit) here but rather bhAgya (blessing). This selfless service is what all Gopis did. A great mahatma, Sri Hitaharivansh Maharaj, exemplified dAsya bhakti to the divine Radha Krishna Yugala. In one of his Madhurageethams, Sri Swamiji sings “Madhuri sakhi Maharagni…”, referring to Shri Radha Devi as the Queen and reminding us that we should serve as the subjects of the divine King and Queen. This is the essence of Nikunja seva, which is the celebration of the Radha Krishna Yugalam. Through Guru krupa alone, our bhakti grows, and we slowly begin to relish dAsyam. When this happens, we discover a new purpose in life. At this point, all yogas like Karma yoga and Jnana yoga start to make sense.
Sri Swamiji has given us this wonderful opportunity. He has given us the kshetra, a grantha, a Yugalam and the divine name, Mahamantra. He sings of these four aspects in the Madhurageetham, “Bhagyame Bhagyam.” Guru krupa (grace) is mentioned in the first line, with the rest covered in subsequent charanams. Therefore, there are five charanams, representing the five vital breaths (pancha prANa). The grace of the Guru is the mukhya prANa, and the remaining four are Nama, kshetra, devata, and grantha. These four are inseparable from one another and are crucial to any tradition. For us, Nama is Krishna. Deity is Krishna. Bhagavatam is Krishna. Brindavanam is Krishna. This unity is the beauty of our sampradaya, where everything revolves around the divine presence of Bhagavan Sri Krishna.
Excerpted from talks by Sri Ramanujamji, disciple of HH Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, at “Nava Vrindavan” at Richmond Virginia.
Transcribed by Raman Veezhinathan, Richmond, Virginia
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