In the Bhagavat Gita Lord Krishna describes devotion. He says:
“The man who dedicates
his thoughts and deeds to Me,
whose faith is like Gibraltar,
and he the same,
not discontent,
not thinking ‘mine’ and ‘me’
who makes no sore spots in the world,
himself not getting ‘sore’
who goes his way independently,
open-minded, through, prompt,
exulting not and not depressed,
repelled by none, by none possessed,
victorious in his victories,
victorious in defeat,
whom nothing can puff up
and nothing can pull down,
a homeless wanderer,
at home with king or clown:-
The man like this is really Man,
and really dear to me;
Whoever holds himself this way,
believing Me Ideal materialized
is best adhered, O Arjuna,
and best beloved of Me.” (Canto XII)
It is most desirable that a devotee have strong faith. When Lord Krishna speaks of a faith as strong as Gibraltar, does it mean that God does not bestow his love equally on all? The passage seems to mean he who has become godly, having some love for God, and who has the power to know Him a bit, is devoted and faithful. He who has acquired the character to follow the Lord is more devoted to Him. Elsewhere Lord Krishna declares, “He who has taken the means in his character to know Me can enjoy Me better than anyone else.”
If we analyze the passage, someone may argue that what Lord Krishna has said is next to impossible for us. Many of the things we do in this world are only for love of family, wife, children, friends, etc. If we could love God half as well as we do our worldly life, something could be done in the way. If attachment to God can be called devotion, we may possibly become devoted. If perfection of character is devotion, it is not impossible for us to become devoted. A stream gathers more and more water on her way to the sea. So our attachment to God gradually increases until unadulterated love for Him is felt. On the way there are particular deeds to be done and qualities to be characterized.
When Lord Krishna was about to kill Viswadev, Viswadev said delightedly; submissively, and sincerely:
“O Lord, O Creator, You have come!
I bow my head to You.
You are the master of us all.
Now throw me down by force,
from this chariot of war!”
Viswadev had devotion; So he could speak in this manner. He felt it a pleasure to die by Krishna’s hand because of his devotion. He forgot all his duties to the Kouravs; he forgot he was to help them win the war. He could only think it a blessing to die by the hand of Krishna, because Krishna was beloved for him. If some say that Viswadev had no devotion, we may say in reply that they are deceiving themselves.
Lord Chaitanya said concerning devotion to Rup Goswami :
“According to their different temperaments
Men love God in five different ways:
Soberly, slavily, friendlily,
Affectionately, and sweetly.”
Ramprasad wrote in a song:
“When you go to your bed,
Bow your head to Mother,
And think of Her as you sleep.
When you wander about the city,
Think you are circling Her.
Whatever you hear is a version of Hers;
She is of fifty types and has many names.
When you eat,
Think it an offering to Her.
She is everywhere.”
When a man’s devotional spirit rises so high, he can think of the Lord always.
In the light of the full moon, with flower blossoms filling the garden, Lord Krishna was playing with the milkmaids. Then suddenly he disappeared and his friends were in a frenzy to find him. They ran to the trees. “O Banyan Tree!” they exclaimed. “Can you say where our lover has gone? He is the son of Nanda and he has taken away our hearts. We want him so. O Kurubaka, Ashoka, Nag, Punnag, and Champak! Can you tell where our Krishna has gone? We forget ourselves when he laughs with us. O Tulsi ! You always stay at Krishna’s feet; have you seen him? O Flower Bushes! Has our beloved touched all of you with his soft hands and passed this way? O Pial, Ponos, Kobidar, Jambu, Arka, Billa, Bakul, Amra, Kadamba, Nipa, and all you other trees of the Jamuna! You always do good to others. Please tell us where our Krishna has gone. We pine for him.”
Here is pictured the longing of the milkmaids for Krishna. When the heart feels for another, the mind is disturbed and a yearning for the beloved is felt. Separation may bring anguish. In the family life the wife feels lonely without the husband, and vice versa. We feel this anguish in our worldly life, but it does not help much to adjust our complexes. But when the longing is transferred to the Superior Beloved, our faith and reverence help it to adjust our various complexes. Men generally cannot live without their complexes, and they love for the sake of their complexes. But longing for God is a longing for eternity. Gradually the devotee reaches a stage where he cannot be separated from God. Then he feels no more anguish.
Lord Chaitaya’s longing for Krishna was intense, and his expression of it most open and full-hearted. His longing seems more impressive than the milkmaids’. Gobindadas has described of Chaitanya in poem:
“Why again beautiful Gour
your head is bent so low,
Tears mounting in your eyes,
and you writing in the dust?
You are so beautiful to see!
Why rub you then your eyes,
and heave those woeful sighs?*
Jnandas has also written of Chaitanya’s longing:-
“He wailed for Krishna,
And when he heard His name,
His eyes filled with tears,
And his whole body perspired.
Thus the beautiful Gour!
None could say where he would go
Or what he would do.
His yearnings rent him
As if to wreck his flesh.’
Kabir has explained: “When man had no feelings in his heart, his life became useless and barren to him. For feeling is the key to life. It is not by enjoyment and merriment that God can be realized. Whoever has realized Him has wept for Him. If it were possible to get God in an easy way, none would feel for Him at all. Man may be angry, petulant, hurt, etc. over God, but he must feel Him.” Ramprasad sang:
“I will no longer call you Mother.
You’ve made me suffer much,
And still you give me trouble.
I call you now and then,
But you are dumb.
What is the use of a mother
Who leaves her son to suffer alone?”
How did Chaitanya love Lord Krishna and in what condition did the love leave him? It is written in the Madhyalila (2nd chapter) of ‘Chaitanya Charitamrita’:
“Many the thoughts in his mind:
Some gloomy and morose,
Some restless and expectant.
It seemed as though
Mad he’d be
Only with his thinking.
Excitement..eager longing
Were fighting in his mind,
And all because of love.
His thoughts stampeded in his mind
Like elephants in a field of sugarcane.
He was gone wild with want of Krishna.
Depleted, depressed,
He spoke out now and then erratically.”
While he was in this condition, Chaitanya told Sanatan:
“Krishna is as sweet as an ocean of honey.
My mind is affected;
I see everything dark,
But the physician doesn’t give me medicine.
The body of Krishna is so beautiful,
His loving face so handsome to see,
The glow of every part of him
Sparkles up the world,
His smile so sweet
Like camphor fills the atmosphere,
And the sound of his flute
Reaches to the skies;
It’s melody is always ringing in my ears,
And nothing seems better than it.
Such is the effect of that sweet playing
That when they ask me to bring a sacred thread,
I bring a bangle in its stead !”
Once going towards the sea, Chaitanya saw Chattak Mountain and thought it was Gobardhan Hill which Krishna had held. He at once rushed pell-mell to-wards it.
In the Antyalila of the ‘Chaitanya Charitamrita’ it is written that Chaitanya cries:
“For Krishna my mind is restless,
And never getting rest.
Whoever you may be, my friends,
Tell me where I will find Lord Krishna?
Without him all is nought.
O Krishna ! O Krishna! Honey of my heart!
You with lotus eyes,
And blue complexion, blue attire,
And every earthly beauty,
You are my wine of wines,
…my Love beloved!”
Tulsidas sang:
“When beady rains do fall
And thunder cracks
And lightnings flash,
The thirsty swallow does not care
To go and drink elsewhere!”
If once we are joined with God, nothing can tear us away.
For He is our life’s soul, and all the hardships He bestows are for our good. Ramprasad sang:
“For whom then shall I care in all this world?
Is not my Mother Queen Supreme?
I live in her domain of love
And live most happily.”
Deep attachment to God is devotion; the heart tormented for Him is longing; and pure devotion to God is love. Chaitanya has portrayed these in different ways. In the ‘Chaitanya Charitamrita’ it is written: “On the northern side of the gate there were assembled many people. Chaitanya was lying on the ground. Swarup Goswami and others were happy to see him, but when they saw his condition, they became unnerved. He was unconscious. No breath came from his nostrils. And he was 15 to 18 feet long! His limbs were each 9 feet, and it seemed he was disjointed with only distended skin holding him together; hands, feet, neck, waist, etc. were all separate. All men were sorry to see the Lord in this condition. Foam and phlegm were in the mouth, the eyes were open and fixed, and all became frightened at the sight of him. Swarup Goswami and others loudly chanted the name of Krishna in his ear. After a long time Chaitanya became conscious and also repeated the name of Krishna. He got up, and all his loosened joints were again fixed normally.”
Chaitanya has said, “Longing is sad but sweet. Both are felt. To get him is pleasure, and separation is anguish. Separation pierces the heart, but union is heaven.” Of love he said, “To love Krishna is a pure thing-like gold found in the Jambu River, and it is not to be compared with any worldly love. Once there is union with him, there can be no thought of separation. None can live without him. His love is pure like the purest Ganges water. He is the ocean of the nectar of immortality. Pure devotion to him which never diminishes due to worldly hindrance, like the irremovable black spot on white linen, is love verily and most pleasant. One drop of it can flood the world with happiness. This is the unspeakable love of which the Wanderer speaks, but who will hear him ?”
There were five ways to be devoted to God, Chaitanya told Rup Goswami. When all five were manifest in any one man, the love was true, he said. They who love God want to see themselves godly. It is a sign of true love and devotion. Love has that power to develop and unfold a man. When a man can see his beloved as sweet, as heaven, he cannot be separated from him and becomes like him to be with him. One devotee has said:
“We are the dolls of a puppet show;
We dance as He makes us dance.
When He kills us, we die;
And when He saves us, we are saved.”
It is the state of non-separation.
The holy name creates devotion, longing and love, The Santa Scripture says:
“Drink the juice of name.
Dhruba and Prohlad chanted name
and realized God.
So also the maddened Siv and Shanak,
the woman Ganga,
and the murderer chadan.
So drink the juice of name.
Brahma drank that juice day and night;
so also Mahesh mad with joy.
Ganesh and Vishnu are its roots
and thousands of times they chanted it.
So drink the juice of name.
Nanak and Kabir repeated name,
and the tribal woman Shabari
was so charged with it
that Ramachandra favored her.
So drink the juice of name.
Tulsidas said the name and was inflamed;
The blind saint Suradas got vision in his heart
from only singing name.
O drink the juice of name!
Without the holy name this life is barren.
You will feel it when your time is come.
Life is real and life is precious
And it is God’s will we are born;
O do not miss the name!
Serve your master saying name
and mix with saintly men.
Name is source, name is life;
so drink its juice forever.
The vibration of creation
is the same as that of name
which Master gives.
In the beginning was the name;
the name was with God,
and the name was God.
O drink the juice of name!”
The sound that we generally hear, like the sound of two things striking together, is not like that sound. That sound was not created by anyone or anything. It was the beginning and cause of all manifestations. Its home is Dayaldesh, (purely spiritual region) and in the lower mental regions it has been known by different syllables according to the different stages of the masters who cultured it. He who realizes a certain stage has the power of that stage and can infuse his power and spirit in others through the name he practices. This is what we call initiation. Names from the higher mental stages are more effective. The name coming from Dayaldesh is the most powerful of all.
Without devotion, longing and love this life is meaningless. To keep devotion, longing and love alive concentration of mind and urge is required, and for this concentration the chanting of name is most helpful.
If anyone knows something of devotion, longing and love, he will say this chapter is not enough, that there is more and more to say.