Krishna And Balarama In Mathura

28 May 1995, Summer Course 1995, Brindavan

Published English.

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is full of Love, the embodiment of Love.

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One who cultivates such selfless, divine Love Becomes worthy of the state of non-duality ().

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Every being, without exception, is a storehouse of . But there is not even one who has recognized this principle of ! It appears as though everyone expresses . Many in the world declare their love for other people, for material objects, for wealth, for sensual pleasures. But if we ask, "For whose sake is this love?" There is no satisfactory answer.

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+ = , selfishness . means self. means "for the sake of". That which is in one’s own interest is . Selfish love has three states: love in the waking state, love in the dream state, and love in the deep sleep state. While awake, one lives in the world and loves with one’s mind and senses. One is able to love only with the combination of mind and senses. Second, the dream state. In this state, senses are forgotten and everything is created by the mind alone. Objects, people, joys and sorrows are all conceived by his mind. He creates even himself by his mind. Next, in deep sleep, one experiences bliss by merging in oneself. If we inquire along the path of , none of these three states provides perception of the .

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Today we undertake many spiritual practices. But we are not able to progress by even a "millimeter." Why? Selfishness. Where is selfishness born? Man is the combination of mind and senses. Without the mind and senses, humanness cannot exist. Humanness is characterized by the three : , , and . is characterized by the rule of the mind and senses, which gives birth to ego and attachment and leads to the joys and sorrows in human life. Next, experiencing and observing the mind and senses and making every effort to limit attachment and ego - this is . Ignoring the prompting of the mind and the senses, with no expectation of the fruits of one’s actions, engaging in activity with the spirit of sacrifice and duty, considering all as God’s work, doing everything with the view to earning God’s Love - these are sathwic traits.

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comes to Such a sathwic person was . had persevered for countless lives to achieve Divinity. He had waited patiently for the right time and the right place to meet God. He knew that had incarnated in and was playing there as a cowherd boy. But for every desired objective, the factors of time, cause, and must unite. It takes time for a fruit to ripen and detach from its branch. was a man of great wisdom and looked forward to the right moment to meet Lord .

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Meanwhile, went to meet and in . ", ! I’ve waited long for Your . - A contorted intellect heralds the doom of man. With a view to destroying You, Your maternal uncle devised various plans. But all his efforts have proved futile. Now his end is imminent."

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said, "’s death is near. You are allknowing, all-powerful. You are , which I recognized long ago. Still, some facts must be protected without being expressed. Men are not able to recognize You. This depends on the and deservedness of each person. With whatever attitude people think of You, You assume that form for them. This is a truth not known to everyone. You fulfill whatever they desire of You. As is a person’s mind, so is the result they experience. So Lord, give me leave now. Tomorrow, Your magnificent power will be known the world over. I will see You again during the coronation of your grandfather, ." With beautiful smiles, and bid farewell.

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The very next day, proceeded to in his chariot. was a great devotee. "No matter how demonic may be, he granted me this chance of meeting the Divine . I am grateful to ," thought to himself. entertained pure feelings even toward demons. He reached at dusk. His chariot came to a halt in front of ’s house. He went inside but found that and were not home. They had gone to the forest with their cows.

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and returned in a few minutes. ’s eyes rested on them. He was spellbound. This was his first time seeing them. He was mesmerized by their brilliance, lotus eyes, and bewitching smiles. He felt an instant attraction to them. He contemplated on within himself and couldn’t find words to greet . , the all-knowing One, asked him many times, ", O ! For what reason have you come?"

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said, "! has initiated a called . He has sent me to fetch You. This is the partial truth. To speak the whole truth in front of God is my bounden duty. is an excuse for to summon You to . plans to kill You there and rule undisputed forever after. Each person has a different feeling toward You."

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The saint sang, - Whatever form and attitude You are pictured with, You assume that form.

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"If people think of You as a man, You behave as a man. If they consider You divine, You appear as God. This multiplicity is not in You but in human attitudes. , get ready to go to ." Then turned to and invited him also. had invited and other village chiefs for the also.

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Some texts say that and were fearful about sending to . This is not true. and had witnessed countless instances of ’s Divinity. They had seen destroy ’s mighty demons. They were present when He danced on the hood of the serpent and subdued it. They knew that and could never face danger. All victories wed only God, and they knew was God.

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had an announcement made in that evening: "King is conducting a in . Those who wish to witness the festivities may accompany me." Many families got ready with chariots, horses and carts, as per their capacity. It was a joyous occasion for everyone - everyone except the .

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The grief of and Of course, no one can harm , the Lord Himself. This wasn’t the concern of the . Their worry was: Will return to once He leaves? All the and convened a meeting to prevent from leaving! They made a human chain circling ’s house. , and pleaded with them not to obstruct the plans, but the and could only cry piteously in justification. "! ! You cannot go to ! What will become of us? will become a barren wasteland. Everyone here will become lifeless. The green beauty of will be lost forever. Don’t leave!"

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This was also selfishness! In the interest of keeping ’s company, they did not mind foiling ’s plans! and smiled and told them, "We also have some selfishness of our own! Our Will must be fulfilled. The objective for which we assumed human forms must be attained, O and ! It is every man’s duty to fulfill the purpose for which the body is given. We must go to . There is no other way." The and were drowned in sorrow. They had to admit that keeping in was an act of selfishness on their part.

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The said, "We do not desire any worldly ends. We want You for our mental satisfaction. People desire various things from You. We pray to You for You." Then began to teach them . "You say ‘my’ satisfaction. Who is this ‘I’ ? Are you the body? Or the mind? No, no. You are neither the body nor the mind. The body is inert, a collection of the five elements. The mind is fickle. The Indweller, , makes the body and mind function.

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A director pulls on the strings of puppets. He makes the puppets play together for a while and then separates them. Who are these puppets? Mind and senses. The mind and senses function together. Then the mind leaves the senses, and the senses leave the mind. And finally, both of them leave the body. What is that which never leaves, never perishes? The alone. That is the real ‘I’. Man is able to say ‘I’ by the prompting of the , but he identifies it with the body. This submerges him in ego and attachment. Therefore, the One who exists in you is ‘I’. The One in me is ‘I’ also. - The One God exists in all beings. So, do not feel sad. Recognize these truths about the , which will reveal all secrets.

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In this world, results of past actions must be experienced. The body may collapse at any moment. But it is man’s duty to strive for well-being when disease attacks the body. Similarly, the world is plunged in disease today. Men’s bad thoughts and actions are the cause. To destroy this pervasive unrighteousness, we must go to ."

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Explaining to the and in this manner, and entered their house. They collected their luggage for the journey and came out. They had packed all their articles the previous day. sat behind the horses, holding the reins of the chariot. Despite the they had just heard, and could not transcend their ego and attachment. They blocked the path to the chariot. was their elder and elders should not be disrespected. The and knew that. But their love for overpowered such formalities.

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They saw and emerge from the house with luggage. They panicked and cried loudly, "Please don’t leave! How can we live? Take us with You!" They pleaded in many ways, even using harsh words on . and did not want to prolong their agony. They walked slowly to the chariot, smiling, blessing and consoling all the time. This incident caused a few hours of delay. They could not reach at the intended time.

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experiences ’s omnipresence By dusk they reached the banks of River . had to perform . He instructed and to wait in the chariot and went to the river. While praying, when dipped his head into the water, he saw a vision of Lord reclining on . He perceived the forms of and as and . He was confused and lifted his head out of the water. and were in the chariot, conversing animatedly. told himself, "What a fool I am! How can I limit the Lord? Is He not everywhere?" This was the Grace earned by him. Until the devotee reaches a lofty state, he cannot appreciate God’s omnipresence.

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silently returned to the chariot and took his place. asked him most unassumingly, ", your face is so radiant! What happened? Did you see or experience anything extraordinary? Tell us!" said, ", M y Lord, don’t You know? I saw You." casually responded, "I see, you have recognized Me at least now," and instructed that the chariot proceed to .

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On the streets of They reached at night. and told , "Tomorrow is the . So we will not come to your house tonight." pleaded, "Where else will you spend the night, ? Please be gracious enough to accept my invitation." said, "It is not right for us to come now. You are the messenger of today. It is not proper for Me to accept the hospitality of a messenger. This is contrary to the guidelines of diplomacy."

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By that time, all the people had gathered in with and . They wanted to visit the poor couple, and , who were still in jail. and could have gone to see them. But they did not. They had to set an example to the world and teach the ideal: - Mother and father are equal to God. This is God’s primary teaching in all ages. People might wonder: Why did not go to see His parents soon after arriving in ? No. and had resolved to kill and only then see their parents - not just see them, but free them from prison. spent the night in the same house where and others camped.

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At dawn, and roamed around . They looked like lion cubs - beautiful and majestic. The entire city came to know of their presence in a matter of moments. As the two brothers walked the streets of , men, women and children drank their from rooftops, windows - everywhere. Everybody thought, "Our lives are redeemed. What more can we ask for? Since long we desired to behold and . We are indebted to ." and did not even go home till evening.

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The washerman and the perfume woman and reached the main gate of ’s palace. The was to begin the following day. A washerman was about to enter the gate. He had a load of ’s best silks, cleaned specially for the function. asked him, "Hey, what is that bundle you have?" said, "Why ask? Go see for yourself." The washerman said, "These are the King’s costly silks. You seem to be villagers. You are not fit to even touch these clothes! Be gone!" heard this and gave a tight-fisted blow to the washerman. Both the washerman and his bundle fell down. opened the bundle and collected clothes for Himself and for His elder brother. The soldiers at the gate witnessed this scene and informed .

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Meanwhile, as and were about to proceed after adorning themselves in these silks, a lady approached the gate. Her name was . Her face was beautiful but her body was crooked in three places. She was carrying perfumes and pastes. She raised her head and saw the brothers. She thought, "Are these the sons of and ? They appear to be of Lord . Truly, that demon is not worthy of my perfumes. How nice it would be if these children accepted them!"

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With a full heart, she humbly went to , "Son, here are my perfumes and rose water, prepared with care. No one knows the secrets of these preparations besides me. There are many people selling perfumes in but the King accepts only mine. Please accept these perfumes." dipped His hand into her boxes and dabbed His clothes here and there, only for ’s satisfaction. said, "For having lived this long, for having taken up this profession, my life is redeemed today. All these years I offered my perfumes to the demon . Today I served the Lord." Shedding copious tears, expressed gratitude to them. Then she stepped aside with the intention of going her way. stopped her. "You have granted us these perfumes. In return, I am bound to give you something. I never take anything from anyone without reason. But whatever I take, I return a thousand-fold."

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Offer something to God God never asks anything from anyone. But when people give to Him with a full heart, He returns a thousand-fold. You know the story of . For the gift of a fistful of dry rice, granted him lifelong prosperity. was able to win for herself by offering Him just a single leaf. So, whenever God accepts anything from anyone, He grants unending bounty in return.

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That is why it is said, - a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or some water. At least these must be offered to God. Why? Only when we offer, we become eligible to receive. If you go to a bank and simply ask for your money, they will not give it to you although you have every right over it. You need to fill a withdrawal slip and sign it. Only then can you claim your money. So, you must give something first, in order to receive. This is Divine Law. Even if it is tiny or insignificant, it must be offered to God.

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So said, "O ! Wait, wait. For your perfumes gifted to us with a pure heart, I must return the favor." went close to her and she could not fathom His intentions. pressed ’s feet with His tiny Feet. He put His hand under her chin and lifted her. The bends in her body became straight! thought, "He has granted me a beautiful body in keeping with my beautiful face. He is Lord !" She offered all her perfumes to and said, "Lord, please come to my house and let me serve Your Lotus Feet." gave His word, "After I fulfill My task in , I shall certainly visit your house."

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The end of The next day, these two lions strode along the streets. As they approached the , the grandeur of the cosmos seemed to be reflected in their faces. Whoever set their eyes on them could not stop looking at them. People forgot themselves, gazing at the beautiful forms of and .

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and reached the main gate. A mad elephant was stationed there, specially to stop them. All watched with bated breath. They were anxious that the elephant might trample upon the boys any moment. Trumpeting ferociously, the elephant charged at and . It lifted its huge feet off the ground and attempted to crush them. and were tiny, only five years old! They ran between the elephant’s legs and confused it. Then caught one leg and , another. They whirled the elephant around and dashed it against the ground, much like a washerman beats clothes on a rock. The elephant gave up its life. was informed that his most ferocious elephant had failed to stop . His fear increased from moment to moment.

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As and proceeded into the grounds, two men accosted them. They were and , ’s prize wrestlers, under orders to do away with the two boys. and looked at them and said, "Are YOU going to fight us? O foolish men, you are like mosquitoes desiring combat with an elephant! Mosquitoes!" and could not bear this insult. They jumped upon the tiny boys in fury. and gave them just one blow with their fists and the wrestlers were rendered lifeless. However, they recognized the brothers as divine and had Lord ’s just before they died.

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and proceeded forward. The was in progress. Many kings, chiefs, and citizens had gathered to witness it. was seated on a vast, raised platform built especially for him. and walked to the center of the grounds fearlessly, with the gait of lions. appeared strong outwardly but his heart became weaker as got closer. ’s body began shivering and shaking. Many people thought, "Look at the King! He is so angry that his body shakes in fury!" In reality, ’s body was shaking not out of anger but out of fear! - as is the feeling, so is the result. ’s wickedness alone made him experience fear now. This is also called 'guilty conscience' .

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’s entire army was arrayed around him to guard him against ’s approach. But and ignored . They walked straight towards the - the Divine Bow - kept at the center of the enclosure. No one could budge the Bow, what to talk of lifting it. casually held it with his left hand and lifted it as if it was a feather. As He bent the bow to tie its string, the bow snapped in His arms. The sound was deafening, like a bomb. All were terrified.

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At that time, was approaching to pay taxes collected from . Other village chiefs were doing the same. ’s eyes followed ’s every action. He looked forward to more of His exploits. He was not worried because he knew that the brothers were divine. The divine Bow, the focus of the , was broken. rose from his throne, and the whole assembly rose with him. ordered his army to destroy and .

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was heavily built. and were tiny and agile. Like baby deer, they ran between the legs of the intervening soldiers! Reaching the dais, both of them jumped upon . They caught hold of ’s hair, pulled him to the ground and put an end to him. It was all over in moments. Everyone was stunned speechless. Of course, the heavenly prophecy was bound to come true. They recognized as and bowed down with folded hands.

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The reunion with parents Without wasting any time, and hurried to ’s dungeons. They fell at the feet of and . They freed them from shackles and brought them out into the open. Then they went to the cell where had been imprisoned by . They freed him also and brought him to the hall. With his son’s dead body lying there, was crowned as King of .

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After the coronation, , , , , and - all hugged and . All three mothers were there. All of was there, except the . There was no limit to their happiness and excitement. took and into the palace and said, "Sons, I could not witness Your childhood, but only hear of Your exploits and pranks from others. How unfortunate I am! I could not see You kill the demoness . When wanted to tie You to a rock, no length of rope was enough to go around Your stomach - so I have heard. I gave You birth, but all the fun and frolic with You belonged to . You are called ‘son of ’. How blessed she is! Though I have children, I am as good as childless."

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and consoled their parents and granted them unlimited happiness through loving words. "Past is past. Do not grieve. From now, we are always with you. You will experience all possible bliss in our company. You know we are not ordinary boys. We will bring the whole world within our control. I gave you soon after My birth - Preserve that vision in your heart. Visualize it outside you also. - God is inside, outside, everywhere. Decrease your attachment to the body. Strengthen your bond to the . Attachment is the root cause of sorrow. You suffered in prison because you were attached to your sons. Understand that we are not ordinary, that we are God. Recognize the reality of your sons." In this manner, and consoled their mother tenderly and taught her the Truth.

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’s devotion After ’s death, went to ’s house. He had given His word. The Lord never goes back on His promise. told , "! I doubted if You had pity on me. You killed without any leniency, although he was Your uncle. You have no trace of attachment. We are attached to You, but You are attached to no one. All are equal to You, all are Your relatives. I have recognized this truth about You today.

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You killed , although she was a woman. You asked King for alms. He surrendered everything to You. And look what You did. You pressed him into the nether worlds with Your Feet! My mind was confused. How could such a strict Lord ever feel kindness and pity toward me? After all, who am I?"

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In this manner, ran to and embraced Him tightly as soon as He entered his house. was a highly purified soul. He was completely sathwic in character. also knew this truth. That is why hand-picked for the task of inviting to . realized that and would never come to if they were invited by anyone besides . ’s heart was so pure that God could never refuse him anything.

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People who are not familiar with the consider to be an ordinary man, or a cruel man. No, no. was the embodiment of purity. He had no bodily attachment. He considered everything as God’s property and acted as per the Divine command. He had no trace of attachment, even to his wife and children. He contemplated incessantly on Lord . Understand the character of such pure devotees and acquire their qualities.

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