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Part 1: The Union of Paths at Tīrtharāja Prayāg Let go of the shackles of the body. Let go of the shackles of the body. Let go of the shackles of the body. Jhotī sārī duniyā dārī, jhūṭā merā re. Āj ruke, kal chal degā ye, yogī vālā pherā re. Āj ruke, kal chal degā ye, yogī vālā pherā re. Ved bhā paghle mat kar tu parindare. Tan pinjre kajay an parindare. In this life, the buds of happiness and all the thorns of sorrow. In this life, the buds of happiness and all the thorns of sorrow. Sukh mein har koi hissā māṅge, bhī na dukh bāṭe. Sab sāthī hai jhūṭe, jagat ke sachā ek govindā re. Hajrā dhe govindā re pagre, hajrā dhe govindā re pagre. Udha jaye prāṇa parindāre, bhajrādhe joh, bhajrādhe joh. Is chādar ko baḍe jatān se, odhe dās Kabīrāre. Isse pehne vispān kar gayī Mīrāre. Isse pehne vispān kar gayī Mīrāre. Seh seh mat kar tu ab gandhāre. Haj rade ho tan pinjre chhoḍ parindāre. Yatra yatra raghunātha kīrtanam, tatra tatra kṛtamastakāñjanem, vaśpavāriparipūrṇa lochanam, mārutim namat rakṣasāntakam. Natvā mahā munim Gargam, Levar Śrī Nāradam tathā, Śrī Garg Saṁhitām etām, kathayāmi kathām śubham. Nārāyaṇam namaskṛtya naram chaiva narottamam, deve sarasvatam vyāsam, tato jaya mudhīraye. Boli Vṛndāvan Bihārī Lāl Kī, Śrī Rādhā Rāṇī Sarkār Kī, Śrī Garga Saṁhitā Purāṇ Kī, Mahāmuni Gargāchārya Jī Mahārāj Kī, Tīrth Rājprayāg Kī, Śrī Veṇī Mādhava Bhagavān Kī. Sadgurudev Bhagavān Kī Jai. Jaya Śrī Rādhe. Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava kī badī kṛpā aur karuṇā hai ki Tīrtharāja Prayāg kṣetra mein hum sab Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa kī madhūr līlāon kā āsvādan Garga Saṅgīta ke mādhyam se kar rahe hain. Why is Prayag called Tīrtharāj? What is the importance of Prayag? What is the meaning of Prayag? "Yag" means yajña. "Prayag" means a yajña which is very special and the very best. It is a story from when this universe began. There was a demon named Śaṅkhāsura who stole all the Vedas from Brahmā. Brahma prayed to Lord Nārāyaṇa. He defeated Śaṅkhāsura, and the knowledge of the Vedas came back. This time was very delightful, and Brahma organized a holy occupation of Vedic Yajña. This was very big. All demigods, Viṣṇu, Śaṅkar, Devrāj, Indra, all the demigods are invited in this very special Yajña Karma. The place where this yajña was organized is called Prayāg. This is the place where the first yajña of this whole universe was organized. So this place became very important. Our Vedas had three manners of defining the path of spirituality. One is karma, second is devotion, and third is knowledge. The Vedas are also a unity of three things, like Prayag, the unity of three precious rivers: Gaṅgā, Sarasvatī, and Yamunā. We can see the Gaṅgā, we can see the bhakti devotion, we can see the karma like Yamunā, but knowledge is likely covered like Saraswatī. Saras means ras means water, the person who is laying in the water, Nārāyaṇa, called Saraswan, and the holy goddess of knowledge, knowledge of Nārāyaṇa, that is called Saraswati. Knowledge, the thing, knowledge, the eternal experience is always covered. We can’t present it. When knowledge appears, when a person shows knowledge, he is called proud. A knowledgeable person does not reveal himself. He is always hidden. A knowledgeable man is always disguised. He is a power in himself which has to be recognized. Gyānī gyāna kā pradarśana, presentation nahīṁ kartā. Thik isī tarah se Sarasvatī hameshā chhupī rehtī hai. Bhakti rūpī Gaṅgā ko hum dekh sakte haiṁ. Yeh vikti bhakti kar rahā hai. Bhakti means the representation of your love towards God. By chanting his name, by dancing, by kīrtan, by worshipping, we can see the devotion. We can see the bhakti. We can see the karma. Aap kuch bhī acchā kām kar rahe ho. The work is also worship when it is related to all of society, to all of humanity. It is also worship to serve anyone, that is, hospitality. Koi gareeb kī sevā karnā, uskī bhujan karanā, uskī health care karnā, yeh sab bhī pūjā hai, usko bhī ham dekh sakte hai. Rekin iske pīchay chupī huī jo ek emotion hai, ki hum yeh sevā kyūn kar rahe hain. Because everywhere we are realizing our God. That realization is not discovered. It never comes in front of us. Similarly, Sarasvatī is hidden because she is the Goddess of Knowledge. In Prayāg, these three have a union of Bhakti, Knowledge, and Karma. This place was named Prayāg because here, at the beginning of the universe, Brahmājī did a yajña when God returned the Vedas to him. Yagya mein, Vedas mein bhi yeh teen karma hi hain. Gyāna, Bhakti aur Karma. Karma pradhānatā se dikhtā hai. The Vedas have one lakh verses, one lakh mantras. 80,000 mantras related to karma. 16,000 mantras related to devotion and bhakti. Only 4,000 mantras of the Upaniṣads. They are related to knowledge or eternal experience. Karm kī mātrā jyādā hai, 80,000 ślok hai, vṛcchā hai, wo karm kī hai. Aisa isliye kyunki hamare man mein teen prakar ke guṇa hai. There are three main qualities of every human being: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. The tamo guṇa is related to that, humko gussā ānā, anger, hunger, and related to abusing. All the malified qualities, nīnanā, ālasya, tamo-guṇa ko dūr karne kā tarīkā hai karma. Jo man meṅ aṅgar hai, jo bhī bad qualities hai, evils hai, unko miṭāne kā tarīkā hai karma. Karma karte karte vyakti kā tamo-guṇa miṭ jātā hai, bad qualities. Doors ho jati hai, evils door ho jate hai. Then comes restlessness or rajoguṇa. Rajoguṇa mane chanchalta, we can’t sit as to peaceful, to enjoying our internal peace, internal realisation. This is cañcalatā, wandering of mind here and there. Our mind wanders here and there. To remove this chanchalatā, there is devotion, devotion, kīrtan, worship. When chanchalatā is removed, the wandering of the mind—when the mind wanders here and there—it calms down, then it becomes sattva. Sattva means every human being thinks that he is good, he is the best, he is a devotee, he is gathering the knowledge. This also makes us proud, which takes us away from God. Knowledge is the way to erase that. We get that knowledge from the Guru. When we come under the guidance of the Guru, he tells us what is wrong in our mind, what bad qualities we are having, where is pride, where is evil? If we could do everything, then God would have come in front of us. What is it that we cannot find? Our bad qualities or our shortcomings? Who will find out? That work is done by the Guru. The last thing is why there is no difference between Guru and God. Guru is God and God is Guru. That is why it is said about Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is also Jagat Guru. Krishna is Guru, and Guru is Krishna. There is no difference between God and Guru. The Guru is a holy light. In this light, we can see our own reflection, our own personality, and our power. Guru is light. Guru is prakāś. If there is no light, how can we see ourselves? How can we know ourselves? That is why Kṛṣṇa is called Jagadguru. The light of Krishna’s life helps us to understand ourselves. It helps us in self-realization. This is Krishna’s quality. Brahmājī manifested this form of Vedic knowledge in this area, in this Tīrtha. So the God of this Tīrtha said, "God, I have done such a big Yajña here, I should get something." I want to get something from you. If I am Tīrtharāj, then you should always reside here with me. Then on the occasion of Prayāg, when Prayāg said that you have to sit here, you have to stay here. Then Bhagavān became Veṇī Mādhava. Veṇī Mādhava is the lord of this holy region. He is the Lord of this holy region. His name is Veṇī Mādhava. He said that there is a very beautiful temple in the city. The one who comes to the Tīrtharāj Prayāg and does not see Veṇī Mādhava, does not get the result of coming to the Prayāg. Just like we go to the class and put our presence, the presence of Tīrtharāj Prayāg is put here by Veṇī Mādhava. There we have to go and put our presence, we have to register ourselves that we have come to the Tīrtha Kṣetra. The darśana of Veṇī Mādhava is the entry of this reason for us. We have come; its registration is done by Veṇī Mādhava. Veni Madhav appeared in Tīrtharāj Prayāg, and he got the title of Tīrtharāj. This is such an auspicious location. All the great writers, great poets, great devotees of Bhārat are here. Because this is the union of all three. Of karma, of knowledge, of devotion. Here, Bhagavatī Satī had lost her body. So, Bhagavatī Satī is here in the form of Alopīmāiyā. Alop means when God puts his body on his shoulder. Shiva was dancing with the body of Satī, and Lord Viṣṇu divided this body into 52 places, which are called Śakti Pīṭhas. After 52 Śakti Pīṭhas, the body of Satī disappeared here. So this state is called Alopī, the disappearing of Satī’s body. Body. That temple is called Alopī Śaṅkarī. Bhagwati kā Alopī Śaṅkarī temple yahāṁ hai, baḍā divya śakti pīṭha hai. Uske darśan se sārī wishes purī hotī haiṁ aur ek alag sī power miltī hai. Aisa yeh kṣetra hai, jahan par lagbhag jitne sampradāya hai, jitne bhi spiritual path hai to achieve God, us sab kā ek center place hai yeh. Aise kṣetra mein hum sab ko rehne kā mauqā mil rahā hai. Usme bhi yeh samay, yeh Māg māsa. According to Hindi calendar, this is a Māg. Māg kā matlab hotā hai, Māg manāy pāpa, sin. There is no sin in this month. If you want release from all sin, then stay here in Māg māsa. Ese liye Māg kā mahatva hai. Prayāg mein log Māg mein ākar rehtay hain. Maag, ag, ag manay sin. The special astrological form of various planets, Jupiter, Moon, and Sun. Gathered in a special position that lies more powerful positive energy from all the planets, Jupiter and Moon, they will together, that it is called Gajakesarī yoga, Amṛta yoga, immortal yoga. Then the combination of Jupiter, Moon, and Sun in a special, in a special area, that is a torus, the ṛṣi called Taurus, that is a very immortal sign; it is called Amṛta Yuga. In the particular place, longitude and latitude of Allahabad, that acquired more powerful energy from the planets. So it is a time of Kumbh. Kumbh is a very scientific occasion. It is not only a Purāṇic story, it is an astrological or astronomical change. So all the fairs take place. Only the story or the myth is not the reason for acquiring all the use, occupation, or the fair. It is not just an ancient theory. There is a very big scientific concept behind it. Jupiter, Moon, and Sun have this kind of union in Vīrāśrāṣī and Taurus, from which we get a lot of positive energy, especially in this longitude and latitude. In the center of Allahabad, in this longitude and latitude, we get the energy of the Sun, Jupiter, and Moon, which is not found anywhere else in the world. Now, who do these three planets represent? Jupiter is the master of all the Gods. The Guru of all the Gods is Bṛhaspati. He is the God of knowledge. Moon is the demigod of mind. Moon is the God of the mind. And the Sun is the God of the soul. So, the mind and the soul are filled with knowledge at this time. Knowledge comes in the consciousness of the one who lives in the Prayāg. And when a person is filled with knowledge, will he have any pain? There is no sorrow, no grief. At this time, there is no pain in the body, nor in the mind, nor any physical pain. This is such a perfect time. The person who comes here and takes a bath at this time totally experiences happiness: happiness from the body, happiness from the mind, happiness from the soul. That is why crores of people come here, because of this scientific conception. Because the mind becomes pure, the soul becomes pure. Whose mind and soul are pure, the body becomes pure. This is the reason why Kumbh is so important. Kumbh means a pot. You see, Kumbh. That pot is a symbol of this body. The Kumbh represents our body. Our body is also a pot. By coming here, knowledge is filled in the body. Knowledge is filled in the body. Knowledge is knowledge. When knowledge is filled with the grace of Brajapati, then the mind and soul living in this body become happy. So the reason for coming on this occasion, to this Kumbh, is happiness. What do people take with them? Joy, happiness, immortality, Amṛt. This is a scientific definition of this. So during Kumbh, Māgh, and Tīrth Rājprayāg, we are listening to the story of Jagatguru Śrī Kṛṣṇa. We cannot be more fortunate than this. It is a great fate. It is a great destiny. God is very pleased with us. It is a great blessing of God that we are telling our story through our voice, and you are listening to it. Such an opportunity is very rare. When there is a festival in Germany, there is a Kumbh. Goswāmī Tulasīdāsa jī has written this in his Rāmcaritamānasa. This is the Kṣatra where Bharat jī came and asked, "Dharma, nārtha, na kāma ruchi, gati na chāhon nirvāṇa, janma janma rati Rāma pad, yaha vardhana na an." When Bharat came to meet Rama in Chitrakoot and stayed a night here in Prayag, Bharat said to Tīrth Rāj Prayāg, "I don’t want dharma, I don’t want my duties." I don’t want wealth. I don’t want any wishes. And I also don’t want mokṣa. I only want the love in the feet of my beloved God Rām. Bhagavān Rāma’s feet were filled with the prayer of love for Bhārata Jī. It is a love place. The symbol of love is Bharat Jī and Rām Jī. It is a symbol of brotherhood. We are listening to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s līlās in this holy place through Garbha Saṅgīta. We will start with Garga Saṅgīta through Goloka Khaṇḍa. Goloka is the place of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā. A very wonderful look. Many many cows, many many sakhā, many many gopīs. Gargāchārya jī does the prayer of Lord Nārāyaṇa. "Nārāyaṇam namaskṛitya, naram chaiva narottamam, devīm sarasvatīm vyāsam, tato jaya mudire." It is a custom to offer our prayer to Lord Nārāyaṇa. Narāyaṇa is the origin of all the creatures. Narayan Narayan, Ṛṣi, Devī Sarasvatī, the goddess of knowledge, Vyāsa, the holy poet who wrote all the 18 Purāṇas. It is custom, after offering all the namaskāra, we read Purāṇa. After that, Gargāchārya said, "In the season of autumn, the beautiful lotus in a pond is like the feet of my loving Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is a friend of Rādhā." And like bees wandering on a lotus, all the munijan, ṛṣijan, all the devotees want to be at Kṛṣṇa’s feet. Like lotus flowers on the lotus, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet are like lotus flowers in the autumn season. Like lotus flowers on the lotus, the sages and saints of these lotus feet are lotus flowers. Krishna’s feet are so soft, so lovely, that they are like a flower that has blossomed. And on the blossomed flower, the bees graze. Why? To take its juice, to take its nectar. Similarly, saints and sages graze on Krishna’s feet to take the juice of bliss. For constant bliss to enjoy, we want to become a seed. Similarly, Gargāchārya jī says, "I want to become a bee that drinks the nectar of Rādhāpati Śrī Kṛṣṇa." What will happen with that? There will be no pain in life. There are no worries, no worries about our physical body, about our mental tension, or any desire. There are three reasons for worries related to our body: any sickness, which is Daivikta; related to accidental things, which is Ādhibhautika; and related to our physical desires, when we want something and we don’t have it, which is Ādhyātmika. Three types of worries are remedied when we take refuge in the feet of God. This is how I establish the feet of Rādhā Pati in my heart. Gargācārya jī is saying, "I stay Rādhā Pati’s, the husband of Rādhā’s, feet in my heart like an idol. Because when the Lord’s feet are in the heart, whatever will be said, whatever will be said will have the fragrance of those feet." The smell of lotus, and that fragrance will not be words. Those words will connect with the fragrance and smell of the Lord’s feet and reach your ears. And when such words enter through the ears, then all the filth of the heart, all the smell of the heart, will be gone. A breath will fill the heart. You have to enjoy it, that fragrance, that eternity. That is why he meditated on the feet of God. After that, Gargāchārya jī meditated on Maharṣi Vedavyāsa. Because Vedavyāsa jī has written 18 Purāṇas. Satyavati ke kumar hai, Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa ke avatār hai, Vedavyāsa jī is also an incarnation of Lord Nārāyaṇa, it is an incarnation of knowledge. His mother’s name was Satyavati, and his father’s name was Parāśara Ṛṣi. They wrote all the 18 Purāṇas. Unko praṇām kiyā. Then Gargāchārya Jī told the Śoṅkādi Ṛṣis, "How did I write this Purāṇa?" I had this worry in my mind: how do I explain the rules and regulations to people? So Nārada Jī said, "You write the character of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa." Nārad Jī inspires everyone. Nārad Jī is the great Guru. Nārad Jī gave inspiration to Vālmīkī Jī to write Rāmcaritra. Nārad Jī gave inspiration to Vyās Jī to write Bhāgavat. And Nāradajī gave inspiration to Gargāchāryajī to write Gargasam Gītā. Nāradajī inspired all the knowledgeable men. Nāradjī gave the right path to one who is going towards God. Like Dhruva, like Prahlāda, like Candras. Every human being who is doing the efforts to reach towards God, Nāradajī came to him and gave him the right path, where he has to go. Gargācārya jī ko bhī sahī deśa Nārada jī nahī̃ dikhāye. Nārad jī ne kahā, jab tum is kathā ko likhoge, to is kathā ko sabse pahle maiṁ sunāūṅgā. Nārad jī is the main spokesperson of this Garga Saṁhitā, and the main listener is Rājā Bahulāśva, the king of Mithilā. The king of Mithilā called Rājā Bahulāśva Janaka. Mithila is a city of knowledge. You know Mithila, where Sita was born, that city is called the knowledge city, and the king of this city is called Janak. Raja Bahulaswara Janak was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. He is always chanting the name of Kṛṣṇa, worshipping the Lord Kṛṣṇa. One day, he was sitting in his assembly, and he saw a great light coming from the sky. When he saw who was coming from the sky, he saw Saint Nārada with his vīṇā coming from the sky. Nārad jī was playing vīṇā, getting down from the sky and chanting the name of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa,... Bhajman, Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa,... Bhajman, Nārāyaṇa, Bhajman, Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa, Bhajman, Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa,... Mahārāj Jī, Mahārāj Jī,... Mahārāj Jī... Mahārāj. It was milk, curd, and honey. By giving milk, curd, and honey, the person used to get energy; his tiredness used to go away. This was the way of welcome. So, King Bahulāśvara invited Devarṣi Nārada to the Madhuparka, washed his feet, made him sit, gave him a seat, did the Vidi Vat Seva, and then asked him questions. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadiśyanti te jñānaṃ. Jñāninaḥ tattvadarśinaḥ guru se pūchne kā yahī tarīka hai. Pahle un kī sevā karo, unheṃ prasanna karo. Phir wo tattva-darśī lok, wo jñānī lok, āpko tattva kā upadeś denge. Rājā Bahulāśva ne bhī yahī praśna kiyā, Issaare sansār ke niyantā kaun hai? Brahmāṇḍ ke pālak kaun hai? Śrī Kṛṣṇa kā svarūp kyā hai? Unkī lok kī sthiti kyā hai? Avatāra ke kitne bhed hai? Aur Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa kā avatāra kaise huā? Avatār lekar unhonne kaun kaunsi līlā kī? Reason for the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Tell it in a methodical way. Then, Devarṣi Nārada told Rāja Bahulāśvara, "O Rāja Bahulāśvara, there are millions of such universes, billions and billions of universes." Lord Krishna is the owner of all of them. That is why he is called the ultimate God, God ahead. Look, there are six types of God’s incarnation. Ek to hai Bhagvān kā Aṁśa Avatāra. Aṁśa means a part. When God comes in partly, like Kūrma, like Varāha. Yeh Bhagwān kī Anśa Avatāra. Koī ek anśa se, ek part se. Vo to pūrī energy kā ek bahut baḍā source hai. Us energy kā ek part lekar jab Bhagwān āte haiṁ to usse Anśa Avatāra kehte haiṁ. And by taking part of that energy, by taking part of the part, like Lord Śiva is part, and Hanumānjī came from him. That is, Hanumanjī is the part of Śiva, so he became part of the part. Similarly, sometimes they come for knowledge, they come for knowledge, so they are called Kalāvatāras. Like Nāradjī, Kapiljī, Ved Vyāsajī, they came for knowledge. This is called the Kalā Avatāra of God. All the ṛṣis, like we see our Guru, Swami Dev Nārāyaṇ Jī, Swami Dev Purī Jī, all these are the kalā avatāras of God, a wave of God, which came to spread knowledge, to spread knowledge. All these are called Kalā Avatāras. One is Aveyāśāvatāra. When someone does such a work, then God gives His power to someone else. He is not God, but he is given his power, an Āveśa. God’s power comes into him in a way. He is called Āveśa Avatāra, like Paraśurāmajī. When such kings became kings on this earth, who were against Kṛṣṇa, Brahmins, all of them, then God gave them his energy, his power. And when the work was finished, then that power was absorbed in Rāmjī. This is Āveśa Avatāra. Who is the complete God himself? Like Rāma, like Narasiṁha, he is the complete God. And why does he come? What is the reason for the coming of the supreme power? This is only in our Hindu religion. Other religions do not believe that God can ever come. God sent his angels, like Īsā Masīḥ, like Muḥammad Pagambar. God Himself comes; this is only in Hinduism. Why does God himself come? If he wants, he can send an angel or a messenger. What is the reason that Hinduism believes that God comes, that there is incarnation? What is the reason? Simply, the reason is love. No matter how many stories of devotees we read, God comes for Mīrā, God comes for Narsi, God himself comes for the devotees. Because when a child calls, parents don’t send anyone; God himself comes because he loves us. He loves us, that’s why he leaves his superiority, gets simplified, and comes down. What is the difference between incarnation and birth? Our birth is the incarnation of God. What is the difference? Look, a person is standing on a height. He has something in his hand. It fell down. The thing fell down. And to pick it up, the person comes down the stairs. Our birth is falling. We come into the world due to sin and good deeds; we get heaven and hell. And to bear our remaining deeds, we fall on the ground. Our body is called Patañ. And to lift us up, to take us to that higher ladder, God descends. He comes down from the ladder. That is why it is said, to descend down, step by step. When we fall, we forget our form. When something falls down, it breaks. It does not remain the same; it becomes dirty. But when someone descends down, there is no difference in his form. He remains as he was, and picks up things, cleanses them, and takes them with him. This is the difference between birth and incarnation. Birth means to fall, and incarnation means to descend, to take care of those who have fallen. God himself comes because of his love, because of his generosity. Because of his generosity, we cannot love a human being, a living being, with a simple love, an original love. This is the reason why they come on their own and do not send anyone. This Hindu religion believes that God can love so much. He loves, that is why He brings a form. Okay, what is not visible, what is not visible, what you cannot feel, how will you love it? You will love only that which is visible, which can talk to you, which you can touch, which you can get; that is our God. He becomes so simple, becomes like us, that is why we can love Him. We can touch Him, we can talk to Him. There is a hope in our mind that we will meet other devotees, like Mīrā, like Sūr, like Narsī. You will not find this hope anywhere else. If you find God somewhere, you will find Him in India. Part 2: The Heart of the World You will not find God anywhere else, because this India is the heart of the whole world. India is the heart of the whole world. God resides in the heart. This is the specialty of Bhārat Bhūmi. All the places in the world are sacred, but the most important place in it is Bhārat Bhāvan Gyān, which is in knowledge. In every corner of it, there is the experience of God, in every corner, in every place, because it is the heart of the whole world. Sarvatra bhagavān kī harī vyāpaka sarvatra prasamāṇa. God is everywhere. Prema se prakaṭa hoī me jānā. He appears with internal love. Jab hamāre mana meṁ bhagavān ke prati prema jāgṛta hotā... We have heard many stories of devotees. Listen, I will tell you a story from Dakṣiṇa Bhārata, South India. There were two young boys and two young girls. A priest came to their house. He had a statue of Lord Śiva. He was a small, black Śāligrāma Śilā. For example, the Śiva Liṅga is worshipped as a symbol of Lord Śiva, and the Śāligrāma is worshipped as a symbol of Lord Viṣṇu. The Śiva Liṅga is also a symbol of Lord Viṣṇu. So, Vaiṣṇavas worship Śāligrāma and offer sandalwood and tulasī dāla on them. In South India, a saint came to a place. One of them was a princess, and the other was a landlady. That saint came to their house, and they used to worship Śāligrāma. The worship of Śāligrāma is very beneficial. The one who has a Śāligrāma Śilā does not feel any kind of sin. He is free from all bondage. And the worship of Śāligrāma Ṭhākurjī is very easy. You just have to bathe him, apply Gaṅgā water, apply sandalwood, apply tulasī dāla, and offer any kind of food. Śāligrāmajī becomes happy. In this way, he used to do the worship. Seeing him doing the worship—he was a small child—they thought that they should also worship Ṭhākura in the same way. They also wanted Bhagavān. They insisted. They said, "We also want Bhagavān in the same way." After they insisted, that saint said, "How can we give Bhagavān to anyone in this way?" They are small children; they are insisting. They have grown up; they don’t know whether they will keep Bhagavān or not. In childhood, there is a desire to copy a person’s mind, and then when they grow up, they don’t know what to do. What if their mind changes? So that saint gave them two plain stones. They were not the idol of God. They were not Śāligrāma. Similarly, he gave them two plain stones from the river. They were also black in color. He gave them to them and said, "This is your God. It is your God." A simple stone. So the girls asked him, "What is his name? What is the name of that God?" He said, "Śil Pillai." Śil Pillai. Śil means stone, and Pillai means part—the part of a stone. Now they were small children. They had faith in him since their childhood. That belief, that faith, settled. He is our God. He is our everything. And his name is Śil Pillai. So she made a beautiful box for herself. She made a special box, and inside that box, she used to decorate the stone very nicely and worship the stone. She used to chant the name of Śil Pillai, Śil Pillai, Śil Pillai. She fell in love with that God so much that she used to chant Śil Pillai, Śil Pillai, day and night. Once upon a time, her brother stole from the landlord’s house. It happens many times that our own people become enemies. Her brother became her enemy, and her brother stole all the property and wealth from the landlord’s house. In that, the gold box in which her God was kept was also gone, because she had made a box of gold. Now, when her God went away, she was very sad. "Where is my God, my Śil Pillai?" Her father said that her uncle had stolen it. "Go and ask him for it." She went to her uncle and aunt and said, "I don’t want anything else. Give me my God. Return me my God." Now, if he accepts that they have stolen, then the whole society says that they have stolen. When she started crying a lot, her aunt said, "If your God loves you, do you believe that He is your God? Then call him. If God is true, then he will come." And that girl called, "O Śil Pillai God, O Śil Pillai God, if you love me, then come." And everyone saw that the box where it was kept, it picked itself up on its own and came straight into the girl’s lap. How did that stone get the strength to walk, to come on its own? That was the love and affection of that girl, which gave it strength in that stone. Vyāpaka sarvatra samāna, prema te prakaṭa hoī me jānā. If you are so affectionate with a simple stone, then that stone gets the power to become God. So, how much power will there be in the direct God? This is a true incident. That stone has come; it is God’s shield. That is why our love needs a place, a space. For that space, all these forms of God come. God comes because people can love them, can have affection, can connect themselves with them, can think about them. If these are not līlās, if these are not stories, then what should a person think? Who should he talk to, and how should he love? Otherwise, it is the same discussion of the world, the same criticism of each other. God takes many avatāras to save us from all this. Rāja Bahulāśva asked, "God, tell us about the character of Kṛṣṇa." Devarṣi Nārada says, "Who is the full avatāra of Rāma, Narasiṃha, etc., is a complete God." Similarly, the supreme God, who has all these parts, is Śrī Kṛṣṇa. It is a matter of one time; it was the time of Dvāpara. We have four eras here: Satyayuga, Tretāyuga, Dvāparayuga, and Kaliyuga. It was the time of Dvāpara. At that time, the Devāsura Saṅgrāma, which took place earlier when the sea was churned and the nectar was released—all the deities who were killed in the Devāsura Saṅgrāma took birth as different kings in Dvāpara. The most powerful deity in that Devāsura Saṅgrāma was called Kālanemi. Kālanemi also died, so Śukrācāryajī revived him. That deity named Kālanemi did a very hard penance. Penance means to gather our energy. Gathering our energy is called penance, to strengthen the body so much that it does not get affected by the cold, heat, or rain, no effect of any season, and all our energy. Our energy is flowing out from our eyes, ears, mouth, all our senses; our energy goes outwards. If we close all these, if we collect all the energy inside, then we get a lot of power. This is called Yoga. Yogīs who do miracles, we see the divinity in our Gurus. How was the siddhi? They did not let their energy flow outwards in any way. He did not put energy into any kind of lust. And when he gathered that energy within him, he became very strong. That energy, that penance, is also done by the demons. Demons also do it. Siddhas and saints also do it, but the penance done by the demons is not for any good purpose. It is to destroy the world, to harm someone. And the saintly people, the siddhas, they do it to please the people. This is the difference. See, there is atomic energy. So, atomic energy is also used to generate electricity for many good works. But the terrorists, they are demons, they also misuse atomic energy in making weapons. So, the utilization of energy depends on the nature of the person, on how his nature is. The atomic energy that we get from outside—earlier the saints used to call it tapasyā. Tapasyā means gathering of energy. It also contains the atomic energy that is accumulated within our body. The collection of atomic energy was a medium of tapasyā. So Kālanemi took up tapasyā. He asked for a boon. There are stories of curse and boon in all the stories of our Purāṇas. He said, "I will not die from any ordinary person. I will become very powerful. I will have so much power that every person will lose to me." Brahmājī said, "No creature of my creation can kill you. You cannot die from the creation of Brahmā, which Brahmājī created. You can’t die by the creation of Brahmā." And Lord Kṛṣṇa is not the creation of Brahmā. Brahmā is the creation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Brahmājī gave this boon because he wanted the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. If he doesn’t die by the creation of Brahmājī, then who is the person outside the creation of Brahmājī? He is only Bhagavān. When this boon was given to Kālanemi, then this Kālanemi Asura appeared here in the Yadu dynasty under the rule of King Ugrasena. Rāja Ugrasena was a very religious person, and his queen was Padmāvatī. Here, Rāja Bahulāśva asked that when Rāja Ugrasena was such a spiritual person, and his wife was also very spiritual, then why was this demon born to him? What is the reason for this? Here, Nārada tells that, look, this is the dharma: to follow anything, to follow the rules and regulations. Here, Gargī has explained his principle, that it is very difficult to follow the rules and regulations. Even if a small mistake is made, the consequences are very severe. Padmāvatījī, wife of Ugrasenajī, was very religious. Once she went to her mother’s house. We have a system that when we are in our menstrual cycle period, women don’t do much śṛṅgāra. At that time, one should live with purity and tranquility so that the bad energies do not attack us. Here, the same mistake that Padmāvatī did—in the period when she was supposed to live in peace and purity, she failed. She could not live in that state. Because of that, a demon named Hethi, who was the father of Kālanemi, attacked her. And when this kind of attack happens, when they are engulfed in such bad energies, then their children become evil. Look, the mother is very important here. In our India, women are worshipped. We always worship women’s strength. That is why women are considered to be the centre of strength. Think about it: where all our weapons are gathered, the security of our energy centers is the tightest. Every country has its own safety point; the army protects it, where its energy centers are, where its weapons are kept. The security of the power center will also be tight. For us, women are not something to enjoy. For us, women are our mother, the center of our power. This is the reason why women are kept under protection. Protection does not mean breaking their freedom, that we do not give women freedom. If we give freedom, then our land will be ruined. Then the child will be like Kaṁsa. If we want Rāma, if we want Kṛṣṇa, if we want Vivekānanda, then we have to give protection to the mother, we have to give protection to the woman. She has to be in balance; she has to be in a balanced situation. Whenever there is an imbalance, then its effect will be on the child. In today’s age, women have more freedom. You make a woman free, let her do all the work. The result of this is that our children are deteriorating. And there are no such good qualities in them. The biggest role of a woman is motherhood. She is not a woman to do other work. She is a mother to take care of her child, and that is why she is Pūjanīyā. She is Jananī. She is a mother. If we ask the question, then the biggest dharma of a woman is motherhood. A woman is a birth; she is the one who gives birth to the creation. Without her, the creation cannot exist. She is the one who gives birth to the creation. The protection of the birth is important. That is why she is not given much freedom here; her protection has been done. And when there is a mistake in this, there is a saying in the Purāṇas: when Diti gave birth to a baby, then from her womb, a baby was born. Even though she was the wife of a god, the wife of a sage, she gave birth to demons. And there, she was the wife of a demon, Kayādu, but she was in the shelter of God, in the shelter of a saint. She was the wife of Hiraṇyakaśipu, Kayādu. Hiraṇyakaśipu was a demon, a demon; she was his wife. But she always kept her conduct, not in the shelter of Nāradajī, but in the shelter of a Guru. So she gave birth to Bhakta Prahlāda. The mother is very special. How is the mother? If the mother is worthy, then the child is worthy. If the mother is spoiled, then the child is spoiled. She got cheated, Padmāvatījī. She did not follow her dharma. So, even though she was spiritual from the heart, even though he was a king with a religious attitude, an evil like Kaṁsa was born in his house. And he was so powerful, because he was an incarnation of Kālanemi. He conquered the whole of India. He married and gave dowry in the name of Kuvalayāpīḍa. He also got the support of Jarāsandha. Jarāsandha was the king of Magadha, and he was also a very powerful deity. When both of them got together, he gathered all the deities from all over the country. The evils gradually gathered all demons and evils. Gathering of all the demons and evils began in Mathurā. This Kaṁsa traveled to Mahiṣmatī, and from there he gathered all the wrestlers like Bal, Toṣala, Muṣṭika, and Cāṇūra, and boxers. After that, he traveled to the southern countries and brought Aghāsura, Bakāsura, Pūtanā, Ariṣṭāsura, Vyomāsura, and all the demons. Then he won over Śambarasura, he won over Bāṇāsura; he gathered all demons from all over the country. And when his power increased a lot, he attacked the heaven and defeated all the gods as well. He took over the power of the gods. All these demons represent bad qualities, and the gods represent divine qualities. When the power of demons increases, then divinity gets destroyed. Our divine forces become weak. The gods became defeated; the gods became sad. So they went and told Brahmājī that the power of Kaṁsa had increased a lot. The power of all the demons has increased a lot. The earth also became sad due to the terror of those demons. The earth took the form of a cow. Dhartī, this earth, took the shape of a cow. When this earth represented herself, she took the shape of a cow. Gāya ban kar āyī ye earth. Usne Indra aura sabha devatāoṁ ko sātha liyā aura Brahmājī ke pāsa the. Us gau ne kahā, us earth ne kahā ki merī upara asurōṁ kā bhāra has increased. All the demons together are creating terror. Today, the condition of the earth has become such, she says, that there is no Yajña on me because demons do not like Yajña; that is, all the good deeds they do not like, they do not like good deeds. No one is being helped, no one is being served; these demons do not allow any good deed to happen. Yajña has been stopped, divinity has been destroyed, the good people are sad. That is why there are no good crops on the earth. There are no trees and plants. All good deeds have been stopped everywhere. Good work is not happening. That is why I am sad, because the good people who live above me are sad. Now find a solution for the weakness of these gods. Let their strength decrease. Lord Brahmā said, "What solution should I find? Let’s go to Śaṅkarajī." So everyone went to Śivajī. Śivajī means God of welfare. God of welfare is Śivajī. God of welfare is called Śiva. He wants everyone’s welfare. So Śivajī said, "We can’t do anything right now. Let’s all go to Viṣṇu Bhagavān. He is the creator. He is Brahmājī. Śivajī is the destroyer. He is the one who follows everyone. In a way, the operator, the one who operates everyone, the one who drives everyone, that is Viṣṇu Bhagavān. Viṣṇu means an example, a useful vision, a big vision. His name is Viṣṇu Tattva." Everyone went to Nārāyaṇa and prayed to him, "Because you are the bearer of the earth's burden, by taking your incarnation from time to time. The burden of earth is held by you. Whenever the burden of earth increases, then you become an incarnation. You take the incarnation and reduce its burden." Then Lord Viṣṇu said, "I cannot kill all those who live at this time. At this time, we should not only take the burden of Earth. There are many such beings, such sages and ṛṣis who have been meditating since ages. To attain love, he has to give love as well. He has to satisfy the lovers. I cannot do this work alone. Even my Lord will do this work." Then Brahmājī and Śaṅkarajī said, "We used to consider you our Lord. Who is your Lord? We are hearing for the first time that you also have a Lord. You also have a Lord. You also make us see Him." Then Lord Viṣṇu took Brahmājī and Śaṅkarajī and came out of this universe. When Vāmana Bhagavān was incarnated, a hole was formed in this universe through his foot. A huge hole was formed, and the water from outside the universe came in, which was called Gaṅgā. Gaṅgā is not the water of this universe. It is the water from outside the universe. How did the creation of Gaṅgā happen? Let me tell you the story. Lord Śiva, who is also the Lord of Music, also known as Lord Śiva. Once Lord Śiva and Lord Kṛṣṇa had reached Goloka. To please Lord Kṛṣṇa, Lord Śiva played the tānpurā. Lord Śiva loved the tune of Kedāra. That is why he is called Kedāranātha. He praised Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Kedāra Rāga. He sang a very beautiful verse in the Kedāra Rāga. This Kedāra Rāga is also very pleasing to Narasiṃha. And the initiation of this Kedāra Rāga was also given by Lord Śaṅkara to Narasiṃha. In the Kedāra Rāga, Narasiṃha used to call Lord Kṛṣṇa. Darśana do bhara śamānata, morī āṅkhiyāṁ pyāsī re. It is Rāga Kedāra. Jagata ke svāmī, jagata ke svāmī, jagata ke svāmī... Jaba tuma āṅkha kholata ho pañcama śabda guṅgā kā, Jaba tuma āṅkha kholata ho pañcama śabda guṅgā kā, Jaba tuma āṅkha kholata ho pañcama śabda guṅgā kā, Ḍāla ke cala kara pahum̐ce kā śira darśana do, Ghanasyāma Nātha. Priyā āṅkhiyāṁ tiyā śira darśana do Ghanasyāma Nātha. In the rāga Kedāra, when Lord Śiva recited the verse, he sang with so much love, so much love, that all the devatās there, they all flowed away. They all melted away. And because of love, when the devatās melted away, they all melted away. And because of the melting of all those devatās, that love-devotion, her name was Gaṅgā. This story is mentioned in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa. Gaṅgā is made up of love. All the good qualities of everyone, all the deities, they have melted in the name of God. So the name of that stream is Gaṅgā. Gaṅgā means to melt in the form of a song. When one sings in devotion, due to that song, the feeling of a stream in everyone has melted. That is the name of Gaṅgā. That is why it is a symbol of devotion. The one who bathes in it touches love. Love awakens within him. From that hole, from where the holy river Gaṅgā comes, from there all these people—Viṣṇu, Brahmā, Śaṅkarajī, Earth, Indra—all of them went to God. When they came out and saw so many such universes, like a watermelon, watermelon... was seen in the temple, in that grand veneration, nothing else was seen. All the deities bowed there, worshipped the temple, then they saw a divine temple, whose infinite, infinite heads are of such white color, like a lotus stem; the lotus is white, like that of Lord Mahānanda. In the lap of Lord Śaṅkarācārya, there was a divine realm which had eight cities and eight types of doors. It was a very divine city. Its divinity, its light was spreading everywhere. On that door, a friend, whose name was Śatacandra Nanā, she was guarding. She stopped all the Gods and asked, "Where have you come from? Where do you want to go?" They said, "We are Lord Viṣṇu, this is Śaṅkara, this is Brahmājī, I am Indra, and this is the earth. We have come to see Lord Kṛṣṇa." Then Śatacandra Nanājī said, "There are many such worlds. There is not one. Which world are you the God of?" Then he said, "In the world in which God had taken the incarnation in the form of Vāmana, and in which from the foot of Vāmana, the universe in which Gaṅgā flows—this is the introduction of this universe. The universe in which Gaṅgā flows, we are all the gods of that universe. We have all come to see Lord Kṛṣṇa. We bowed to Dhāma, bowed to Goloka." Then Śatacandra Nanājī went inside and came to Svāminījī. Look, in all the other places, it is God’s will. If we go to Vaikuṇṭha, we will go to Lord Viṣṇu. If we go to Kailāśa, we will go to Lord Śiva. But in this Vṛndāvana, in Goloka, we go to Svāminī, Rādhā. If she gives permission, then we will be allowed to enter. Lord Krishna is not here; here is Goddess Rādhā. She is Svāminī, she is the owner of all. If she gives permission, then one will have the darśana of Goloka. She is our Sarkāra. Rādhā Rānī, Sarkāra kī. Rādhā Rānī’s grace alone can see Goloka, Vṛndāvana. Śatacandra Nanājī said, "If you want to see Kṛṣṇa, if you want to see Goloka, then first you have to greet Rādhā. First, greet Rādhā. Call Rādhā’s name. If she does the grace, then Lord Kṛṣṇa’s darśana will be beneficial." Rādhā jukī rāja dhānī lage, Mane karo jīro pānī lage, Mane rasa se bharī oḍī, Rādhā rānī lage, Mahā rānī lage, Mane karo karo, Yamunā jīro pānī lage. Na bhāve mana makkhaṇa miśrī, aba na koī mithāī, Jī bharīyā na bhāve, aba to Rādhā nāma malāī. Jī bharīyā na bhāve, aba to Rādhā nāma malāī. Śubhānu kī lālī to gūḍha dhānī lāge, gūḍha dhānī lāge. Mane karo karo, Yamunā jīro pānī lāge. Mīṭhī rasa se bharī oḍī, Rādhā Rānī lāge, Mahā Rānī lāge. Mane karo karo, Yamunā jīro pānī lāge. Na Rādhā nāma rata hai, jaya nara āṭho yāma dina kī badā dūra karata hai. Rādhā Rādhā nāma, Rādhā nāma meṁ saphala jindagānī lage. Mane karo karo, Yamunā jīro pānī lage. Mīṭhe rasa se bhar oḍhī, Rādhā rānī lage. Mahā rānī lāge, Mane karo karo, Yamunā jīro pānī lāge. Ita muralī meṁ tere sumire bāraṁ bāra. Kāna nita muralī meṁ tere sumire bāraṁ bāra. Rūpa dhare, mana mo aṅkho nā pāve pāra. Koṭi rūpa dhare, mana mo aṅkho nā pāve pāra. Rūpa raṅga kī chhabīlī phaṭa rānī lage. Mane karo karo, Yamunā jīro pānī lage. Mīṭhe rasa se bhar oḍe lage, mahā rānī lage. Mana karo karo, Yamunā jīro pānī la Rādhe Rādhe... Rādhe Rādhe... Śrī Rādhe Śyāma, Śyāma, Śrī Śyāma Rāma, Śyāma, Śyāma, Śrī Śyāma Rādhe, Rādhe,... Śrī Rādhe Rādhe Rādhe, Rādhe,... Śrī Rādhe Rādhe Rādhe... Rādhe. Śrī Rādhārāṇī Sarkāra has blessed everyone because our Kishorī is a band of compassion. She blesses everyone. It is the nature of our Rādhāraṇī to have compassion on the living beings, because she is a mother. A mother has pure compassion. The Great Mṛṣī. This is called compassion. That is why, whenever there is a difficulty in the living beings, Rādhārāṇī herself prays to Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the greatest virtue. That is why here we call Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Lalitā as Ācāryā. What does Ācārya mean? One who teaches his disciples with his own conduct, and on the other hand compels God with his own conduct, that you should have mercy on these people. Those who are Gurus repeatedly pray to God. This is the specialty of a Guru. There is no Guru greater than a mother. Whenever there is any difficulty in life, then Rādhā Rānī prays, "Lord, you bless them." That is why all the gods, all the people call Rādhā Rānī. They go in front of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Brahmājī and Pṛthvī keep all the things in front of them. Part 3: The Primary Purpose of Divine Descent At this time, the terror of demons has increased on earth. The deities whom You had revived in the battle of Devāsura—when You came as Mohinī, fed the deities with nectar, and the deities then killed the demons—all those deities have now been reborn as the sons of kings in this era. All those demons have come as princes and princesses at this time. The earth is very sad. What should we do? You alone must tell me a solution. Then Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "Do not worry. That time has come when I must take incarnation on this earth. I myself will come to this earth. And deities, listen to me carefully." Lord Kṛṣṇa said a very profound thing. Why will I come to earth? Because I could destroy the demons from here as well. I make a decision. I think in my mind. When I contemplate, the thought arises that I must destroy all this. So, the more time it takes to press the button on the remote, the less time it takes to destroy. Therefore, we do not come merely to destroy demons. God wishes to establish Dharma with His will, with His thinking power. God does not need to come to destroy demons or to establish Dharma. Then why does God come? See, Lord Rāma could have killed Rāvaṇa by sitting in Sāket or Vaikuṇṭha and could have also taught him Dharma. But what would have happened to that Śabarī who was waiting for God for many yugas? So God comes to give love to that Jatāyū, that cow, that Śabarī. God could have killed Kaṁsa from somewhere, but what happens to those gopīs who have tried to attain God by meditating from time immemorial? God comes to give love to His lovers. For that, God has to take a form. For the destruction of demons, for the establishment of Dharma, He does not need to take a form. He takes a form to give love to His lovers, whose longing cannot be satisfied without Him. Who can satisfy Śabarī without Rāma? Who can satisfy the gopīs without Lord Kṛṣṇa? How can devotees like Sūdāmā be satisfied without Lord Kṛṣṇa? To satisfy them, to give them love, Lord Kṛṣṇa comes in a form. He comes without any qualities, or with all qualities. Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "I have come to give love to those lovers. They have been waiting for me for ages. Now the time has come for their worship to be completed." The first task is to love the lovers. And when we go out somewhere, we do two extra tasks. So the extra tasks are the destruction of the wicked and the establishment of Dharma. The main task is to love the lovers. Lord Kṛṣṇa says here, "Listen, these Vedas are my words. The Vedas are my words." The Veda is not an ordinary thing written in a simple book form. It is directly My talk. It is My narration. It is My speech. The speech I gave, the knowledge I gave to Brahmā, the whole spiritual knowledge, that is called Veda. Veda is My speech. And the Vedas that I represent, the Vedas that I bring before people, they are expounded by the Brāhmaṇas. Those who are constantly immersed in Brahma, all those blessed people, the sages and seers, they are Brahmins. Those who know the Vedas, they are My face. Because where does speech come from? From our mouth. It is an oral tradition, and the face to speak it: these are Brahmins, these are saints, these are blessed people. Those who have knowledge of the Vedas are called Brahmins. Brahmins are not a caste or a class. There is no classification. The special group who acquired all the knowledge of the Vedas is called Brahmin. Those who have knowledge of the Vedas are called Brahmins. That is the mouth of God Himself, from where the words of God are revealed. That is why they are worshipable. "My entire body is a cow. This cow is my body, and in this cow, all the gods, all the demigods live. The cow is the shelter of all the demigods, and all those demigods are part of my body. All of you who are gods are my body parts. Just as all the parts of our body are important, all the Gods are important. That is why our classes, all four classes—Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, Śūdra—all of them are important. Śūdra does not mean any service class or lower caste, no. It is one such group, which stimulates our society. It keeps the flow of the society. All these artists who belong to this group, the art of our society is represented by the Śūdra caste. And because they are artists, they have to represent their art, they have to do their work, so they don’t have the energy to chant Vedic Mantras; they do Homa. Because of this, they are given a relaxation: that you don’t need to do much Sandhyā or Vedic chanting, because you are artists. It is not that they were deprived of the rights of the Vedas. They were given a relaxation. 'You are artists, you do such beautiful work, you need concentration in it. If you sit for three hours in the evening for chanting, then how will the work be? How will your art be represented? So, take this relaxation.' This is a wrong belief that they were deprived of the rights of the Vedas. This is not the case. How will they make statues? How will they make furniture? How will they sew clothes? It is important to do this work, and when this work is done, then there is a flow in society. When there is work, then only business will run. So, all these castes were meant to give flow to this society. And those who used to buy their things, who used to promote business, they are called Vaiśya. And when business happens, when things are made, then some protective power is also needed, those who managed the administration. So the people with administrative power were called Kṣatriyas. And then there was a group who managed everyone according to their duties. Those managers were called Brahmins, who kept everyone balanced with their knowledge. It was a hierarchical system to keep a society economically and educationally balanced. It wasn’t like there was a classification, some big and some small, not like this. They were all equal. But this classification was done so that the order of society is maintained, its economy is maintained, and its education system is maintained. So all these deities, who are members of this society, together they made this society." God says, "The Vedas are my words, my speech. The Brāhmaṇa is my face. The cow is my body." Ye sab devatā mere aṅga-pratyaṅga hai. Now, all these saints, these sādhus, they are my prāṇa. In the body, what is the most important thing? Our breath. We are breathing, so we are alive. Our prāṇa is most important. And this prāṇa, this oxygen, is our breath. So Bhagavān says, "On account of whom am I alive? I am breathing, so I am alive. What is my breathing? My breathing is the sants. These are our saints, our gurus." Bhagavān says, "I am alive because of them." That is, our breath is more important than us. If our breath is lost, we will be called a dead body. We will not be called alive. So Bhagavān says, "My breathing is more important than me. My breath is my sants. If I am a sādhu, a sannyāsī, then I am alive. If these people don’t live, then I can’t live. Because, look, if anything is going on in the world, then we need people to do its marketing, right? We need people to tell people. If there is something that has no marketing, no one to tell about it, then will anyone reach it? All these saints; they do God’s marketing. God says that if they don’t do my marketing, if they don’t tell people about me, then will anyone ask for me? And when no one will ask for the Lord, then the Lord’s importance will not be known. That is why the Lord says, 'My saints, these are my sages, they are more dear to me than my life.' They are my life because, because of them, my existence is there." God Himself is saying, "My existence is due to my saints. I exist because they are saints, they are gurus. Otherwise, an ordinary person would not have known about the Lord. If the saints had not told us..." God Himself raises the glory of the saints so high. These saints are our life, and these saints love us so much. They chant our name day and night; they worship us. So, just to meet them, I am excited. They are bigger than me whenever they call me. Sant jab jab pukāreṅge, bhagavān ko ānā paḍtā hai. Antaryāmī garbhagat, Sant Sundarī Mātā hai. Ekan ko pūjan calo, doī pūjan jāye. Gosvāmī jī ne kahā hai, jaise koī pregnant lady hai, āp usko agar bhojan karate ho, to uskī bhītar jo ek bachchā hai, uskā apne āp poṣaṇ ho jātā hai. Bhagavān kehte hai, to ye sant hai na, ye pregnant lady kī tarah hai, jinke bhītar main śiśarūp mein rehtā hoon. Just serve the saints, worship the saints, and the worship of God will be done automatically, because these are also the life of God. So God says here that on the call of these saints, for the saints, for the sages, I will come to the earth. Lord Kṛṣṇa said to His friend Uddhava—Uddhava is His very close friend—Lord Kṛṣṇa is saying that the sant is very close to my heart. I always follow the sant from their feet, because the dust of their feet purifies me also. Our Guru’s foot-dust does not only purify us. Kṛṣṇa says, Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "I also purify myself from the foot-dust of the saints. I purify myself with the dust of the Guru’s feet." A very important thing is the Guru’s foot-dust, the dust of His feet which purifies our mind. To worship saints, to love saints, is the easiest way to attain God. This is what God Himself says in the Kapila Gītā. There is no other way, because this world has many ways. If a person tries himself, he can wander. Man himself, if he wants to come near to God, he can wander. He will wander here and there. So what is the right thing? What is the complete path? What is the right path? Who will denote that? The Guru will denote that. That is why the importance of the saints is the highest. So Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, "I want to purify myself. I want to purify myself." "Brahmājī, these Kāmadevas will come as my sons. Brahmājī, you become their son, and Nīrudh is Brahmājī’s avatāra. You become their son. Śaṅkarajī, you also take avatāra. Dharmarāja, you become Yudhiṣṭhira. Vāyu, you become Bhīma. Indra, you become Arjuna. Aśvinī Kumāra, you become Nakula and Sahadeva." All the gods are given different roles. The director of a film gives everyone a part, he gives different roles, so God gave everyone a role. God was talking like this, God gave all these goddesses a role. "Bhoomi, you come as Satyabhāmā; Mahālakṣmī, you come as Rukmiṇī; Pārvatī will come in the form of Jamāvatī; Lakṣmaṇā will come as Tulsī; Lajjā Devī will come as Bhadrā; Gaṅgā will come as Mitravindā; Kālindī will come as Yamunā." He gave everyone a role. This was going on. Like a director, God was telling everyone his part. 'You have to do this part, you have to do this part.' Then Rādhājī became very excited. She was very excited. She was going to faint. She started to faint. God said, "What happened? Why are you so worried? Why are you worrying like that? You are going to faint. What is the reason?" Rādhājī said, "If you leave Goloka and me, how will I live without you? I can’t live even for a moment without you. How will I live?" God said, "Where am I going to leave you? At this time, we have to incarnate in our complete form. You will also have to walk on earth with me." Rādhājī said, "I have a condition. I can only walk on earth when Vṛndāvan goes with me, when Yamunā goes with me, when Girirāj goes with me. I cannot live without Vṛndāvan." That is why Rādhājī did not leave Vṛndāvan. Our Swāminījī loves Vṛndāvan very much. Our Swāminījī loves Yamunā, Girirāj, Lātāns, and Gāns. There is no Rādhā without Vṛndāvan, and there is no Vṛndāvan without Rādhā. When you go to Vṛndāvan, you will hear the same thing everywhere. Radhe! Radhe! When you ride a rickshaw, the rickshaw driver will not ring the horn, he will not ring the bell, he will say Radhe. So in Vṛndāvan there is Rādhā, and in Rādhā there is Vṛndāvan. Both are followers of each other. Without Vṛndāvan, Rādhājī cannot live. And in Vṛndāvan, there is nothing other than Rādhā. No one asks for Kṛṣṇa. Rati Jā Rādhe Rādhe, Dāvan Dham Apar Rati Jā Rādhe Rādhe, Dāvan Dham Apar Rati Jā Rādhe Rādhe, Dāvan Dham Apar Rādhā Rādhā... Rājā Kī Rājā Sundar Hai, Devān Ko Bhī Durlabh Hai, Rājā Kī Rājā Sundar Hai, Devān Ko Bhī Durlabh Hai, Jai Rādhe Rādhe Navadhām Par Rathe, Jai Rādhe Rādhe. Jau Rādha Rādha Ratthe, Dukh Janam Janam Ke Katthe. Rādha Rādhe Ratthe, Dukh Janam Janam Ke Katthe. Jau Rādha Rādha Ratthe, Dukh Janam Janam Ke Katt Te. Ho Jāye Pār Ratte, Jā Rādhe Rādhe. Paar ratte jaa rādhe rādhe, Jaa rādhe rādhe, Ratte jaa rādhe rādhe, Jappe jaa rādhe rādhe, Rādhā Rādhā... Radhe Radhe... God said, "Don’t worry, Rādhā Rāṇī. When you have to go to the earth, then you will have to take Vṛndāvan, Yamunā, and Girirājjī as well." Then God said to His 84 cows, the land of Goloka, that Goloka Dhām, "You also go to the earth." Where many cows live happily, that is called Vraj. At that time, there were billions of cows living there. God said, "Those who have more than a crore cows in this land will be called Nanda Rāī." Those Nanda Rāī were Vasus whose name was Droṇa. Vasu means the ruler of wealth. Kubera ke adhīna rahane vāle ye aṣṭa vasu kehlāte hain. Eight lords of wealth. Among them, one lord of wealth was named Droṇa. Unkī patnī thī Dhārā. Inho ne varṣon tak gai kī sevā kī thī. Brahma lok kī gai thī, uskā nām thā Bahulā. Us Bahulā gai kī inho ne sevā kī thī, uske prabhāv se Brahmājī ne inko varadān diyā. Jab aap gai kī sevā karo, dekho gai. There is no difference between a cow and a saint. If you serve a saint or a cow, then Govinda comes automatically. You don’t have to call Him. He didn’t ask for a drone or a dhārā. But when he served a cow, a Brahmaloka cow, then Brahmājī blessed him with a boon. What else can a cow do? There is no value in serving a cow. There is no value in the service of a cow. The one who serves the village cannot pay any price for it. The only price for it is attaining Govinda, the darśana of Kaniyā. Those who have served the cow without any poison have got Kaniyā in today’s age. And we have seen, in our neighborhood, there is a temple of God. There used to be a very innocent animal; his name was Dhanna. He used to serve cows every day, and he used to serve them in such a way that there was no difference between himself and the cow. He used to feed the cow, and he would eat it himself. He used to say that the cow is our mother, and when we drink its milk, there is a difference between a mother and a child. He used to serve the cow with a lot of love. He used to drink the cow’s milk. We always saw such a wonderful peace and happiness on his face. He himself used to say, when he used to come to our ashram, he used to look at God’s photo and say, "Oh, he is standing here right now, he was playing with me just now." So earlier, when I used to listen to his talks, I used to laugh that he is saying like this. But when I really saw his form, and later when I understood, then while serving the cow, it became so proven that Govinda used to play with him. Kṛṣṇa and Kanhaiyā used to play with him and talk to him. He used to have this kind of experience. So the one who serves the cow, he doesn’t have to call Kānhaiyā. He comes walking on His own. These cowherds and their wives served the cows of Brahmaloka like this. So Brahmājī said, "You people will get the privilege of seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa’s childhood pastimes (bāla-līlās). He will play in your lap, will play in your courtyard." What can be a better result, a greater cause for goosebumps, than this? Nanda Rāī was the one who had more than a crore Padma caste cows. On top of them, there was no Nanda, there was no Upananda. After this, those who followed the Nandi dynasty became Vṛṣabhānu. That is, those who followed Vṛṣabha. Vṛṣabha is Anu. The one who follows Vṛṣabha, Nanda, means the one who makes everyone happy, follows the cows. And Vṛṣabha plus Anu equals Vṛṣabhānu. The one who follows Vṛṣabhas, follows bulls, vīras, sants. The one who follows bulls is called Vṛṣabhānu. So, Rādhārāṇī had millions of Nandī, sants. Unke pālan karne ke kāraṇ Vṛṣabhānu Var, do gāon the, ek thā Gokul jahāṁ gāya rahiti thī, uske Rājā Nandarāyī jī, ek jahāṁ ye sab Nandī rahete the, Vṛṣabha rahete the, wo thā Rawal, uske Rājā Vṛṣabhānu Var. And under their authority, there were these posts, Nanda and Vṛṣabhānu, these were the posts. Nanda, jiske paas gaay jaada ho, Vrishbhanu, jiske paas saand jaada. In Nandav ke adhīna aṣṭa naunand, naupanand. Aur inke adhīnaṣṭa chhe Vṛṣabhānu gaur thī. Bhagavān ne kahā, sabse pahle main gāon mein krīḍā karūṅgā. He Rādhā Rānī, tum Rāval mein avatār lenā. Tum usse pehle avatār logī. Ye Rawal grām Gokul ke paas hi hai. This is Vṛṣabhānu jī and Kīrtī Māiyā. Rādhā Rāṇī was born in their hands. Who were they? Śrī Kṛṣṇa tells His story first. This is Vṛṣabhānu jī. He was a great Dhanavīr king. His son was Suchand. Suchand’s wife’s name was Kalāvatī. She was the daughter of his father. She had three sisters: Sunaina jī, Mainā jī, and Kālavatī jī. Sunaina jī got married to Janaka jī, where Sītā jī appeared. Mainājī got married to Pārvatījī, where Pārvatījī appeared. This Parvatījī’s mother is Rādhājī’s aunt, in a way, of her previous birth. Parvatī jī appeared there. So Kalavati jī felt that in the presence of both of her sisters, Bhagavatī appeared and said, "I also got such an unparalleled beautiful girl." See, in India, it is not that there is always a penance for the achievement of boys. Here, a girl child is also asked for. Kālavatījī had a wish in her mind that my Bhagavatī should perform the kriyā Herself. "I have a very beautiful daughter." When the time came, then Suchandhā jī gave the burden of the kingdom to her sons. And as is our tradition here, first stay in Brahmacarya, do studies, then follow the household life. Then go to the forest, then take Sannyāsa. So, Suchandha jī came to the forest with his wife and started to do penance. Praised by his penance, Brahmājī appeared. Suchandha jī had no desire in his mind, so he said, "I don’t want anything, I want salvation. I want to attain the supreme position, I don’t have any desire in my mind." Brahmājī said, "Okay, you will attain the supreme position, you will attain Brahmaloka." Then Kalāvatījī stopped him. "Even if they don’t have desire in their mind, then are my desires not dead? If you give them salvation, then my wish will remain incomplete. You cannot give them salvation." Brahmājī said, "What is your wish, Devī?" Kalavati jī said, "Just like the beautiful, unique, divine daughters my sister Sunaina got, and Mainā got, the same Bhagavatī Parāmbā, the same Bhagavatī Lalitā, will dwell in my womb. That unique, beautiful, divine girl will also attain me." Brahmājī said, "This is a very beautiful wish. This wish will surely be fulfilled." Then this Suchandjī appeared in the form of Vṛṣabhānu in Vraj. And this Kalāvatījī appeared in Kānyakubja. The king of Kannauj was Bhanandan. In the form of his daughter, this Kānyakubja appeared in the city of Kannauj. He only wanted to get Bhagavatī in his mind. That’s why she was born from the Yajña Kuṇḍa, because after all she is the mother of Bhagavatī. In Kannauj, there was no good place for cows or cattle. This was also a cave, Bhanandanji. So all this is Rādhā Kūṇḍ. Govardhan has a Mukherī village. So he came from Kannauj to that Mukherī. Kīrtimāyā lived here. And Nanda Bābā got Kīrtimāiyā and Vṛṣabhānujī married. Kīrtimāiyā came to Rawal village from Mukheri. He had a son named Śrīdhāma, but he didn’t have much love for sons. He only wanted to have a daughter. He asked his family guru, Bhagurī Ṛṣi, who was his priest. "I want a beautiful daughter. What should I do?" Bhagurī Ṛṣi said, "You should pray to Lord Yamunā daily." Look, both Gaṅgā and Yamunā are great. There is no difference between the two. Gaṅgā is the water of the feet of God. So who is Yamunā? Yamunā is the queen of God. This was once said in the court of Akbar. Is Gaṅgā good or is Yamunā good? Now who will make the decision? There was a lot of debate. Everyone gave an argument. So a great saint from Vṛndāvan was called Jīva Gosvāmī. He described Gaṅgā very well, told a lot of great things, told the stories of many Purāṇas that Gaṅgājī is going to give love and devotion, etc. Everyone said that he is telling the best river to be Gaṅgā. In the end, he asked Akbar, "This is important to Gaṅgā, but King Akbar, tell me one thing. A very close maid of yours, a maid at your feet, is a very faithful maid of yours. So is it important that your wife is important?" Akbar said, "What kind of faithful maid are you? What kind of maid is going to do the best work? She will be a maid, a servant. But my wife is just like me. My wife has all the rights to rule and regulate." Jīva Gosvāmījī said that this is the difference between Gaṅgā and Yamunā. Gaṅgājī is the servant of God’s feet, and Yamunājī is His closest wife. That is why no one else can give what Yamunājī can give. Yamunājī has a lot of power. She is the daughter of Sūrya, then she is the wife of Kṛṣṇa. Then she is the sister of Yamarāja. Look, she is the daughter of Sūrya. So, Sūrya is the witness of all. Yamunā is the daughter of the Sun and the sister of Yamarāja. Everyone is afraid of Yamarāja, that if we commit any sin, then Yamarāja will punish us. And Yamarājī is the sister of Yam, the daughter of Sūrya, and the wife of Kṛṣṇa. That’s why they have a lot of rights. They can intercede with Yamarāja, with Sūrya, with Kṛṣṇa. She said, "I am the queen of Yamunā." So Kīrtī Māiyā, who was a worshipper of Yamunā, would offer milk to Yamunā every day, and offer sandalwood to Yamunā. And due to the blessings of Yamunā Māiyā, there came a time when Kīrtī Māiyā became pregnant. She became pregnant, so she would go every day and worship Yamunā. She would pray with her hands joined together, saying, "Now at least make me see that lovely Lali. Darśan karā do. Ab to mere koī na koī kanyā honī chāhiye. Jaisī kanyā merī behno kī huī thī pūrū janam me." She prayed again and again. And one day arrived. It was the day of Bhadrapada śukla aṣṭamī. Bhadrapada śukla aṣṭamī. On that day Kīrti Māiyā had more pain. She could not go to have darśana of Yamunā. So she said to her husband, "My share of the worship, today you have to do all those observances. Today, I am feeling a little more difficulty." That day, Vṛṣabhanu jī went to see Yamunā. It was morning. It was a very beautiful morning. The sun was rising. It’s Arun Prakash. Its pink light was spreading everywhere. And its reflection was visible in the water of Yamunā. Yamunā was floating on the water of the river Yamunā. He saw a lotus floating on the water of the river Yamunā. He saw a lotus floating on the water of the river Yamunā. He saw a lotus floating on the water of the river Yamunā. It was so beautiful, as if gold was shining, yellowish gold. Let’s melt it. The glory in gold. Its color was so beautiful, like melted gold. Glorified gold. And the little girl closed her eyes. Seeing this, Vṛṣabhanujī was very happy. That girl made him see her true form. A 16-year-old little girl who was wearing a blue sari. Rādhā Rāṇī said that it was Kalavati jī’s wish that I should also get the same daughters as my sisters, to fulfill their wishes. "I, the goddess of Goloka, the goddess of Goloka, Kṛṣṇa’s Pranavallabha, have come to your house today. You were Suchandā, she was Kālavatī. I remind you of your previous birth." Vṛṣabhānu jī was very happy. He saw a small red flower and picked it up in his lap. Part 4: The Divine Arrival of Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa His sharpness left him. He reached home happy, having regained his keenness. He narrated all the incidents to Kīrtī Māiyā, who was overjoyed. "Today, in my womb is the most beautiful woman in the universe," she declared. Her brilliance began to shine. All the gods gathered to praise her—Brahmājī, Śaṅkarajī, and Indra. "Āj Swāminījī āne vālī hai," they said. From afar, from Goloka, Lord Kṛṣṇa was also watching this scene. An ocean of bliss spread everywhere, and the auspicious time of the twelve watches arrived. It was the holy time of Bhadrapada śuklāṣṭamī. In Vṛṣabhānu's courtyard, a sudden, divine sound resonated. The very life and soul of all, the beloved, darling, lālī Rādhā Rānī, was born. They proclaimed, "Rādhā Rānī sarkāī kī, Vrajavānudulārī kī, Śrī Rādhe Śrī Pamāyī. Śrī Pāmāyī Merī Rādhe, Śrī Pāmāyī." The festival of Rādhā Rānī's manifestation was celebrated. All the deities came, and the entire community of Vraja assembled. There had been no celebration before this because Nandraya had no child. People hesitated to celebrate for this reason. "We are kings," they thought, "and there is such unity here. Everyone shares in each other's happiness and sorrow. But we are Nandraya. They have no children. There is no celebration in their house, so how can we celebrate? What if they are in distress?" Vṛṣabhānu jī had been blessed with a girl after years of wishing. Nand Bābā himself brought milk, curd, ghee, and butter from his home and organized the celebration. He said, "Vṛṣabhānu jī, when your wishes are fulfilled, then our wishes can also be fulfilled. See, such a lovely Lālī has come. All this is for this Lālī." A grand celebration took place. The feast consisted of milk, curd, and ghee; there were crores of cows. Milk, curd, and butter were poured over each other in a rite called Dādī Kāṇḍha Vustha. So much milk, curd, and ghee was poured that from Rawal to Vṛndāvana, to Allāhābād, to Prayāg, the entire Yamunā was filled with milk. It was a massive celebration. Everyone saw Rādhā Rānī. Mother Yaśodā said, "This is such a beautiful and precious gemstone. We have no such gem or jewel in our treasury to give to this gem. We will keep this as an example: when we obtain the most beautiful and priceless gem, we will give it to this one. We have nothing like it now. It is such a beautiful gemstone—what can we give it?" The festival in the kingdom continued for a long time. One day in Mathurā, there was a king named Ugrasen. He had a son, Kaṁsa, and a brother named Devak. Devak had seven daughters. The king of Bateshwar, Surasen's son Vasudev jī, married six of them. The youngest daughter, Devakī, was deeply religious and devoted to God, performing bhajan day and night. They asked their Kulguru, Gargācārya jī, "With whom should we marry Devakī? She is so religious. Our daughter's nature is like that of a saintly girl. If she gets a husband of similar disposition, she will live a good life. Our Devakī is completely religious, so her husband should also have such a spiritual mentality. Only if their mentalities match can they live happily. If they do not match, they will face disturbance, divorce, and problems. That is why our father worries that we should find a husband worthy of our daughter's qualities. How can we find such a person, Gargācārya jī?" He was a great astrologer. He said, "Look, you have married your six daughters to Vasudev jī. Vasudev jī is the best person in the entire Yādava family. Though Devakī would be the seventh wife of Vasudev jī and is much younger, you should marry her to him. The marriage of Vasudeva and Devakī will be greatly beneficial for the world. Vasudev jī's first six wives, including the eldest, Rohiṇījī—others being Pulo, Majar, Kirtī, etc.—have no children. When he marries Devakī, they will have a child who will bless the whole world. It is very important that the marriage of Vasudeva and Devakī takes place for the welfare of all. He will be blessed by the whole world. This is not merely because Devakī will get a suitable husband (Yogyavār)." Ugrasen jī had only one son, Kaṁsa, who loved his sister Devakī very much. Kaṁsa became deeply involved in the marriage preparations and performed all the duties with great love. When the marriage was completed, he was to escort Devakī in the chariot to her in-laws' house in Bateshwar. "We have to take birth in the house of Vasudeva and Devakī," the divine plan was set. They were seated in the passenger's chariot, their life together about to begin. And Kaṁsa was driving that chariot. Kaṁsa is a symbol of pride. Ego and pride are things that disrupt married life. There should be no ego between each other; there should be sacrifice and devotion. A curse is a symbol of ego and pride. God thought, "No, this will not destroy our parents' chariot." Another thought came to God's mind: "If we come without warning, Vasudev jī will keep us in Mathurā. How will we go to Braj? Lord Kṛṣṇa wants to go to the village of Braj. How is that possible?" It was not possible without a divine sign. Why would Vasudev jī send them to Gokula without a celestial command? He would have kept them there. Therefore, God sent a message through an Ākāśavāṇī, a voice from the sky. A sky-voice proclaimed, "Hey Kaṁsa, you fool! The eighth child of the one you are taking away will be your Kāla (death). The eighth child of Devakī will kill you." As soon as this voice was heard, Kaṁsa's hands trembled. He caught Devakī by her hair. "If Devakī lives, this eighth child will kill me. I must kill Devakī. If I kill Devakī, where will her children come from?" Vasudev jī protested, "This is wrong. What kind of love is this, Kaṁsa? What kind of love do you have for your sister? Until now, you loved her deeply and were pulling her chariot. But when your own safety is threatened, all that love disappears. Evil people, demons—their love extends only this far. As long as everything is fine, they show love. The moment their own security is at risk, all relationships break; they abandon everything." He was ready to kill the very person for whom he had shown love. "If I kill you, then where will your eighth son come from?" Vasudev jī refused. "No!" "What is a husband? He is like Vasudev. A husband is one who cares and dares for his wife. He should always take care of her, protect her, and be ready to take any dare for her. Caring and daring are the basic nature and qualities of a husband. He should always protect her; that is why he is called a husband. He always gives her shelter. It is not that he will only use her, for a woman is not an object of use. She is an object of worship, of adoration, of love. The relationship between woman and man is based on adoration and love. Our holy Guru represents this relationship." Vasudev said, "No, you are not going to kill Devakī. Devakī is not harmful to you; her children are. Then I will give you all the children. I will give you all the children, but you leave Devakī. There is a danger from the children, so I will give all the children, but spare Devakī." Vasudev jī did not say they would not have a child, for he had faith in the words of God. "Our eighth child will be born, and he will kill Kaṁsa. We have to wait until that time. We have to endure." Waiting is a great virtue for achieving God. One must have the capacity to wait. Without waiting, we do not get God. Wait like Śabarī, wait like Mīrā; be patient, then we get God. Devakī possessed that quality of patience and waiting. When the first child was born, true to his promise, Vasudev jī took him to Kaṁsa. Upon seeing the first child, mercy arose in Kaṁsa's mind. Kaṁsa had no children. He thought, "He is still a small child. A child cannot kill me." So, out of mercy, he released the first child. Nārada jī thought, "If mercy comes to a person like Kaṁsa, let's see how long it lasts." Nārada jī did not go to inspire him to kill; he merely wanted to test his mercy, to examine its endurance. He went to Kaṁsa and said, "Kaṁsa, how are you? Is everything fine? Did Devakī have any child or not?" Kaṁsa replied that Devakī had just had one child, but he felt no danger from the first child, so he had let him go. Nārada jī said, "How foolish you are! You are dealing with the illusion of Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is the God of illusion. Viṣṇu is expert at creating illusion. Do you not know? During the churning for Amṛta, he took the form of Mohinī. He bewildered you all. He did not give you Amṛta; he put you under an illusion in his own form. For the deities, Viṣṇu is the God of Illusion." He began to explain. "The first one could be the eighth one. The eighth one could be the first one. Anything can be the opposite." He had a lotus in his hand with eight branches. He counted them one by one, saying, "This is the first, this is the second... this is the eighth." He also put Kaṁsa into illusion. Kaṁsa said, "Yes, this is right." See, a wicked person, when they feel threatened, abandons all good qualities. Kaṁsa also gave up. He imprisoned Vasudeva and Devakī. With his own hands, he snatched away the first child—a very small, lovely, newborn baby—and dashed it against a wall. The child fell down dead. Devakī kept crying, looking at the dead body. Kaṁsa killed Devakī's six children before her eyes. She kept staring at the wall stained with red blood spots. Six sons were killed; the seventh was different. This time, the Lord Mahānanta, Śeṣanāga, came. He said, "We will go as your elder brothers. In the Rāmāvatāra, we came as younger brothers and could not do much for you. This time we will go as elder brothers." Thus, Lord Mahānanta, Śeṣanāga, came in the form of the seventh garbha (embryo). God explained His power, His Yogamāyā. Balabhadra jī is an incarnation of Śeṣanāga. "If he appears before me in the prison, and if Kaṁsa tries to kill him, he will kill Kaṁsa with one blow. Then my birth will occur later, and Kaṁsa will die first. So do this: take him and go to Vraja." See, the concept of a surrogate mother originates here. First, they entered the womb of Devakī Māyā, and from there Yogamāyā performed the Saṅkarṣaṇa, transferring him into the womb of Rohiṇī Māyā. Thus, the original mother was Devakī jī, but he took birth from the womb of Rohiṇī jī. He was implanted in her womb. On the day of Bhadrapada Śukla Ṣaṣṭhī, Dāū Dādā (Balarāma) was born in Vraja. "Dāo Jī Mahārāj Jī Kī," they said. Now it was a time of celebration. First, the birth of Rādhā Rānī was celebrated, then the celebration of Balabhadra jī. Excitement began to grow in the mind of Nandraya. When everyone was receiving divine children, the deities came and told him that this was no ordinary child but an incarnation of Śeṣanāga. Nand Bābā also recognized him as Mahānanta. People saw how he holds the earth within him. They saw the divine form. Now Nandraya felt that his wish would also be fulfilled. "See, Vṛṣabhānu jī's own Yogic Śakti, Rādhā Rānī, came here. Rohiṇī jī, who is my dearest friend, Vasudev jī's wife, her child has appeared here. So now it is my turn. Now, there will be some grace here too. Now, someone will play here too." He remained in this bliss, thinking day and night in this manner. It was Nand Bābā's routine to wake up early and go to the Yamunā for a bath and perform Sandhyā Vandana there. But now a desire had awakened in his mind. A person lives in imagination. He was thinking so deeply that one day he woke up a little late, lost in dreams. After a long delay, he went for his Yamunā snāna, performed his worship, and returned. By then, everyone was busy with their work. All the Brahmins of Vraja were also engaged in their Sandhyā Vandana outside. Nanda Bābā was a great devotee of the brāhmaṇas. He bowed to all of them. The Brahmins blessed him collectively. They said, "Nand Bābā, you will have a very beautiful son. You must have a baby boy." As soon as he received this blessing, Nand Bābā became extremely happy. The words of the Brahmins can never be false. At that time, Nanda Bābā was of advanced age, as was Yaśodā Māiyā. But the Brahmins said, "Something will surely happen." They went and told Yaśodā Māiyā, who was also very pleased. All the Brahmins then went to their priest, Śāṇḍilya Ṛṣi. He said, "Our words have been spoken. Now, what shall we do?" Everyone agreed to perform some anuṣṭhāna, some prayer, so that Nand Bābā might be blessed with a son. They performed the anuṣṭhāna of the Gopāla Mantra. When the anuṣṭhāna of that mantra—the entire ritual involving the chanting of 18 crore Gopāla Mantras—was completed, they performed a Yajña. There were offerings (Āhuti) of the Gopāla Mantra. On the final day of the Yajña, everyone saw many clouds in the sky. It grew dark. Then they saw a divine light, a blue shining radiance. Within that light, they saw a very beautiful form—a little boy of about two or three years, wearing a turban. God is not born like us; God is in the form of light. Lightning is His power, so He comes through lightning. Here, God entered the womb through eye contact. When the form of Nand Bābā came as light, Mother Yaśodā saw it. That light entered through her eyes. God enters in two ways: through the ear or through the eye. God does not enter by any other method. Yaśodā Māiyā conceived. At this same time, Devakī Māiyā also conceived the eighth garbha. The time came; she no longer felt fear of Kaṁsa. Her mind became serene. She constantly took the name of God and remained content. There was no fear in her mind that Kaṁsa would kill this child. She became free from all fear; contentment was visible all around her. She was such a beautiful lady, as if Sarasvatī herself were present. The right time arrived: Bhadrapada Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī, a Wednesday, under the Rohiṇī Nakṣatra. On that day, God first entered the mind of Vasudev jī. Vasudeva jī experienced God's presence. He felt that God was about to appear. He experienced divine glory and lightning in his heart. He was delighted and began to feel the radiance. When Devakī jī saw the form within that radiance, it entered into the luminous Devakī jī. Today, Devakī jī became the living repository of Jagannivāsa Prabhu, the one who holds the entire universe within Himself. All the devatās came to praise Devakī jī, for in her womb was Goloka Vihārī Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They were proud of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and bowed down to God. "God, you take avatāra forms from time to time to remove our troubles. We have seen many of your forms and many of your līlās. We are very fortunate to see many of your sweet līlās in this Kalpa as well. That form which yogīs cannot see in samādhi, which the wise cannot understand through the Vedas—we will see that form in its natural state. We will see it running after cows, playing the flute, making music." The gods departed in praise. It was midnight. The moon had risen, glowing in the sky amidst the darkness. This was Bhadrapada Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī. In the Chandravaṁśa (Lunar Dynasty), God's name was mentioned. Chandra's wife is Rātri, Niśā (Night). That is why God was born at night. It was exactly 12 o'clock. In the prison, God gave a divine darśan to Vasudeva and Devakī in the form of a wonderful child. "Kṛṣṇa Lāl's child," they said. Bhagavān gave darśan in the form of Goloka Bihārī, in a two-armed form playing the muralī. Bhagavān gave darśan as Pītāmbara-dhārī (wearer of yellow garments) and Morāvukata-dhārī (wearer of a peacock feather). Bhagavān told Vasudeva and Devakī, "In your previous birth, you were Praśnī and Sutapā. You prayed to me and asked for the boon of obtaining me as a son. I fulfilled that boon. First I came as the Praśnī garbha. Then you became Kaśyapa and Aditi, and I became Vāmana in your house. Now you have become Vasudeva and Devakī, and I have become Vasudeva Śrī Kṛṣṇa in your house. O my father, Vasudevajī, you are a symbol of a pure sāttvika mind. Devakījī, you are the intellect fixed on God. My nature manifests through you. One whose mind is pure and whose intellect is fixed on God can enable others to attain God. God, Vasudeva and Devakī are present here." God said, "Take me to Gokula and bring the girl born here to Nandabābā." Vasudeva said, "I have kept my promise to Kaṁsa until now; I have given all my sons to him. But now that God has come, I must sacrifice something for Him. I sacrifice my promise. I always speak the truth, but this time I will not keep my promise." By God's grace, a basket (soup) was revealed there, something used for cleaning grains. God was placed in it. Vasudev jī placed it on his head. When God is on one's head, what bondage can remain? All the doors of the prison opened by themselves. All the doors opened on their own, and all the gatekeepers fell asleep by God's grace. Vasudev jī came out. It was raining outside, a gentle drizzle. At that time, Lord Śeṣanāth appeared and held an umbrella over Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Under Śeṣanāth's umbrella was the divine child Kṛṣṇa. Vasudev jī proceeded. The Yamunā was flowing swiftly because her husband, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, had come. She wished to touch the feet of God. God extended one foot from the basket. Yamunā touched the foot and then gave way. Vasudev jī went ahead. In Gokula too, all the people were asleep under the influence of God's grace. No one was aware. "God, have you come or not?" Vasudev jī entered Nanda's palace with God. Yaśodā jī was sleeping, and a girl was sleeping beside her. Vasudev jī placed Bālakṛṣṇa there. He picked up that girl, Ambikā. He saw God. He was leaving his own progeny, placing that Māyā girl, that Śambhika, on his head, and returned. When Māyā (illusion) is on one's head, all bonds are bound. That Māyā arrived at the prison and began to cry loudly. As soon as she cried, Kaṁsa received news that the eighth child had appeared. He came running, stumbling. He opened the door. For the first time, Devakī said, "Hey brother, what are you looking at? This is a little girl, a baby girl, not a boy. What harm can she do to you?" But Kaṁsa did not listen. He pulled her from Devakī's lap, and as he was about to dash her against the wall, she slipped from his hands and appeared in the form of Aṣṭabhujā Devī, Vindhyavāsinī. She said, "Kaṁsa, what will you kill me for? The one who will kill you has reached a safe place. Kaṁsa, who are you to kill me? Who is your Kāla? He is now in a safe place." Kaṁsa was left powerless and confused. Let him be confused, while we all go to Gokula. "Chalo Gokul mein." In Gokula, morning arrived. Yaśodā jī was still asleep, unaware. God thought, "We have come to Gokula and no one knows?" As soon as God began to cry, Nand Bābā's sister, named Sunandā, came first. She saw a little child lying beside her sister-in-law. "A small, lovely child is sleeping next to my bhabhi." Sunandā jī said to Yaśodā jī, "Wake up! Oh, sister-in-law, look!" As soon as Yaśodā jī woke up, she saw the child and took him in her lap—that lovely, lovely child. Sunandā jī was overjoyed. Filled with delight, she ran to the cowshed, for Nand Bābā would first go to see the cows and serve them. She reached where the cows were. "Nand Bābā, what news? There is great news! What is it? The great news is that our child has come! Hamārā bachā āgayā hai. In Nand Mohan, the cry of an infant is heard for the first time." She climbed to a high place, a tall building, and called out, "O Brajvāsīs, O singers, O Gwalas, all of you listen! Our Nand Bābā has been blessed with a Lālā! Congratulations to everyone!" That was the celebration of Lord Kṛṣṇa's birth. Whenever God is born, there is celebration. That celebration took place in Gokula as well. The celebration continues until tomorrow. "Kal bhi Nand Utsav kā ānand lenge, aur bhagavān kī sundar-sundar jo childhood kī līlāyen thīn, bhagavān ne apnī childhood mẽ kyā-kyā—vah stole butter, all the things, and all the demons he killed. All the mystery of these līlās will be present here tomorrow." So this celebration continues in our minds and hearts. We are going with Lord Kṛṣṇa, taking Him with us. Tomorrow, with this celebration, we will begin the story. We will celebrate Nandotsava and discuss the nature of Lord Kṛṣṇa and other līlās. Now Lord Kṛṣṇa's āratī will be performed, after which prasāda will be distributed. So, until tomorrow, we will establish Lord Kṛṣṇa in our hearts and go to our places. We will go to the temple. Śāntidevāḥ asugandhi puṣpāṇi yathākālodbhavāni puṣpāñcalir mayā dattam rahanāpālmeśvara devānti kavākul campakapatrapaiḥ puṇṇāgajāti karvīr rasālpuṣpai vilvapravala tulasī dalamañjari svām pūjayāmi jagadīśvara.