Posts tagged Vaishnav

The poor Brahmin from Mathura, in the lila is a rajas bhakta named Gopi Rupa Devi and is very beautiful. Once, Shri Krishna desired to meet the lovely Rupa Devi, but when she refused the invitation, Shri Krishna told Gopi Kam Dutika, “Convince Rupa Devi to come and meet Me.”
But when Rupa Devi haughtily told her, “I can’t go to Krishna just now!”

Kama Dutika scolded her, “You are very vain and now you will receive the fruit of your pride. Don’t you know that Shri Krishna has countless bhaktas all dying for His sight!”  When she returned to Shri Krishna, He was disappointed to hear her news. From that fault of pride, Rupa Devi took birth here on earth into a poor Brahmin family from Mathura.

When he was fourteen years old, his father died and the poor Brahmin boy from Mathura had to beg for his substance. Once, while Shri Gusainji was staying in Mathura, the poor boy came upon Shri Gusainji and was given some prasada. From the contact with the holy food, his mind became pure and on the following day he became Shri Gusainji’s disciple. He received the guru’s teachings and later moved to the Govardhan Hill, near to Shri Nathji’s temple. There he attended satsangs whenever he could.

Due to vanity in his previous life, the poor Brahmin developed lepersy. When he prayed to Shri Nathji to remove his leprosy, the Mountain Holder (Giridhar) went to Shri Gusainji and complained, “That poor Brahmin disciple of yours troubles me. Does he think I am a doctor?” Shri Gusainji reproached the poor Brahmin, “Don’t bother Shri Nathji. Take some medicine!” “Maharaja, I only take His shelter. Who else can I go to.” Shri Gusainji then offered him a solution; “There is town nearby. There you will find a bhakta who is living with a prostitute. When you see him, you will be cleansed of all leprosy.”
The poor Brahmin immediately went to that town and found the prostitute and the bhakta just as Shri Gusainji had described, sitting arm and arm. The poor Brahmin greeted his god brother and when he mentioned that Shri Gusainji had remembered him; the bhakta immediately jumped up from the bed and began dancing with joy, “Did he really remembered me!”
“He truly has!” As soon as he heard those words, the bhakta’s life force exited from the top of his head and at that moment the Brahmin’s leprosy disappeared.

In this account the teaching is given that you should never judge a bhakta by their actions. In the Path of Grace, regardless of the soul’s deeds, after the true acceptance, the Blessed Lord will never abandon the soul. It is all through the guru’s grace. In a single moment of intense separation, that bhakta had all of his impurities expunged. His situation was similar to the Gopis who could not make it out of their homes when Shri Krishna invited them to the forest with a call from His flute. They then meditated upon Shri Krishna and found final release in a moment of His supreme separation.

The poor Brahmin sadly reflected, “It would have been better if my leprosy remained and that bhakta lived.” Dejected, he went to Shri Nathji’s temple. There, he was amazed to see the bhakta who was with the prostitute standing just next to him. He greeted him and said, “Lets go somewhere private where we can talk about the mystical lila.”

That bhakta in the lila is a friend of the Rup Devi, the poor Brahmin’s lila form. His lila name is Shri Devi and their bhavas are in harmony. In the lila, Rupa Devi and Shri Devi talk about all sorts of lila events.

After going somewhere secluded, the poor Brahmin asked him, “Who were you in
your previous birth?”
The bhakta explained, “I has born in Sinhanand and became Shri Mahaprabhuji’s disciple. Although I worshipped Shri Krishna, I had poor intelligence and troubled my fellow bhaktas. Due to those actions, you saw where ended up, but once Shri Gusainji grabs hold of your arm, he does not let go.”

In this account the teaching is that while taking the refuge of the Blessed Lord, bhaktas should never trouble Him for their own personal undertakings. Also, contrary feelings and actions towards all beings should be forsaken. The Path of Grace is nondual, where everything is God and nothing but God.

The poor Brahmin was amazed to hear his story. He was a vessel of his guru’s grace, a true bhakta. Shri Gusainji was always pleased with him and revealed to him his true form. He allowed him to realize true greatness. To what extent can we praise him?

This was kindly translated by Shyamdas. His numerous books (in English) on Pushti Marg are well worth reading.