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Bhajan evening in the Strilky Ashram

The bhajan of the caged bird reflects the soul's entrapment in karmas and qualities. A bird confined in a cave endures great suffering, crying out with pain no one comprehends. This symbolizes the soul still bound. Pain is part of life, yet one day abiding in Sat Chit Ananda is certain. The bird, placed in a cage, lives a life no longer its own. Observers see beauty, but the existence is harsh. Never confine a creature; compassion means letting it remain free. The bhajan conveys unbearable suffering. How to open the cage? Humans are similarly caged, dispersed everywhere yet believing themselves at ease. Preoccupation with money and possessions conceals the inner cage. The bird, if free, would stand in a tree, questioning its placement by God. Another bhajan speaks of a girl locked in a cage for countless lifetimes, seeking her beloved husband. Without shame, she lived as a child unable to walk, unable to find the beloved. Eventually, she found the divine beloved and dissolved into the immortal, unborn one. Through bhajan, liberation is attained.

"The bird is held within, and its life is no longer its own."

"We too are inside a cage. What is that cage?"

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

This bhajan speaks of a bird that is confined within a cave. It endures great suffering and cries out, yet the song tells us that no one can truly comprehend its pain. For me, this is somewhat symbolic, representing the soul still trapped within karmas and qualities. "Purījī, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ,... Śrī Dīp." Sometimes this bhajan resonates with certain states of mind we may pass through. "Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ, Bhagavān, Kī Jai, Śrī Alakhpurījī, Siddha Pīṭh Paramparā, Kī Jai." As I mentioned before, this is about an immense, overwhelming pain, but I feel pain is simply a part of life. One day, we will abide in Ānanda—in Sat Chit Ānanda. I think that once together we will chant, "Om Sat Chit Ānanda," because I sense I have made you all sad. The story involves a bed—someone has taken this bird and placed it inside a cage. You understand that it is held within, and its life is no longer its own. Many people come and look at it, admiring how beautiful it seems, how it transforms into something exquisite. It is a lovely bird, but this existence is very harsh for it. This teaches us that we should never confine a creature indoors. Let them remain free; that is the compassionate way. So, its condition is extremely difficult, and its life is long. They provide it with food and care, but it remains caged. That is what the bhajan conveys. The one who composed it expressed just how great the pain is—an almost unbearable suffering. So, we ought to open the cage and release the bird, but how can I accomplish this? Similarly, all of us sitting here might ask ourselves: what is the problem within me? We too are inside a cage. What is that cage? "I am everywhere, my children. Other than this, everywhere I am going." I am in India, you are in America—you are dispersed everywhere. And yet, no matter where we are, how many people are there? That reality is truly very, very pleasant and relaxed. But what are we actually occupied with? Money, abundant possessions, and countless other things. Yet it is all inside. Oh God, what will become of us? How can they treat my bird, this bird? The bird is sitting there on its perch within the cage. And if it were to come out, it would be standing in a tree, asking itself, "Where will I be? How has God placed me here?" So you have presented me with a very open question. Poletím. That I might go with it, eat well, rest comfortably, and do everything just as all my birds—how I behaved like this. This is what the bhajan is like. Do you understand? Another bhajan. You know that we, as human beings, are many—very many people nowadays. They abandon these birds or other creatures without setting them free. But freedom is not there, and so we are akin to that bird. Wherever we go, we always return home—with your wife, your husband, your children, and so on. What truly exists within all that? So let us come together; this is a day for bhajan. Bhajan is the highest path. He has done it for us: you see, our bird, and he brought it inside. But when they are free, they come, settle, eat, and take flight. So he made this very beautiful. Thank you very much, Vasant. One bhajan—it is not really about the bird, but I was trying to find one that would at least share a similar theme. So this is not a bhajan specifically about birds, yet I attempted to select one with a kindred spirit. "Ghanādina Bhātekirī." Here Mahāprabhujī speaks as a young girl, he says—as if he were this girl locked in a cage for an exceedingly long time. For many lifetimes, she has been searching for her beloved husband. And she says, "I was without my beloved one, yet everyone called me married already." And without him, I lived in such a manner, without any shame in my heart. How I marveled that it was not my beloved. I was like a small child who cannot yet walk. And so I carried on like this, but I could not find my avatār, my beloved Brahmajñānī. And then, Mahāprabhujī says, I found my beloved Śrī Devpurījī. Then, Mahāprabhujī says, "My beloved Śrī Devpurījī," and I have dissolved in him. With one glance upon the divine form, I obtained my beloved husband, who is immortal and unborn. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān, Kī Jai.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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