Bhakthi
[devotion] is common to all. It has no discrimination. Those who aspire to do
bhakthi [devotion] can realize Bagawan, be it a rich or poor. To prove this to
the entire world, Bagawan Shri Krishna elevated a rich pawnbroker to
purandharadhaasar and low caste businessman to kanagadhaasar. There is a sloka
in Naaradha Bakthi Soothram which describes bakthi has no discriminations.
“ Naasthi
thEshu jaathi vidhyaa kula roopa dHana kriyaadhi bHEdha:”
{Naaradha bakthi soothraam – 71}
"There
is no discrimination among the bakthaas in caste, education, flock, outlook,
wealth and work".
There
are many such illustrations in the history of our Bhaaratha Bhoomi to reveal the
fact that each and every jeevathmaa has the capability to do Bhakthi [devotion].
This
sacred land India is not a Bhaaratha Bhoomi as many say but it is a Bhaagavadha
Bhoomi. The great divine scripts like Raamaayana, Mahaabhaarathaa,
Naaraayaneeyam, hymns and scriptures always resonate in Bhaaratha Bhoomi. Every
single moment somewhere or the other, these divine scripts are recited and
experienced by thousands of devotees and Krishna bhakthaas.
In
a small village a preacher was reciting the divine Srimadh Bhaagawatham in a
house and a big crowd was enjoying the sweet nectar. Today we are blessed with
this great, divine Shrimadh Bhaagawatham only because of the spiritual thirst,
which king Pareekshith had. When king Pareekshith realized that he had only
seven days remaining in his life he decided to spend it in a most effective
manner and went in search of ultimate happiness. This thirst brought the great
Sathguru Sukha Brahma Maharishi in front of king Pareekshith. Sukha Brahma
Maharishi understood the intense thirst of king Pareekshith and recited the
great divine script Shrimadh Bhaagawatham to give Moksha [salvation] to king
Pareekshith. King Pareekshith was so much engrossed in this Srimadh Bhaagawatham
that even hunger and thirst did not disturb him. For the seven whole days this
recitation went on day and night and neither Sukha Brahma Maharishi nor king
Pareekshith was aware about their surroundings. This is the right way of
listening to such divine scripts. Such is the grace of Bagawan Shri Krishna who
pulls and attracts us towards HIM and makes us get engrossed in HIS leelaas with
an intention to bless us with ultimate happiness.
Srimadh
Bhaagawatham is a puraan, which reveals the life history of great bhakthaas like
Prahlaadh, Dhruva and many others, and leelaas performed by Bagawaan Shri
Krishna on this great Bhaaratha Bhoomi. Sapthaaham means seven days. It is
believed that one who attends this sapthaaham and listens to it sincerely,
definitely attains Moksha. By listening to this divine script, one automatically
derives happiness and absolute peace of mind. Listening to the leelaas of
Bagawan Shri Krishna automatically gives the mind total happiness. So, many
villagers had gone to attend the sapthaaham.
At
that time a gang of thieves entered in that village. All of them got scattered
at different places with an intention to loot as much wealth as possible. One of
the thieves was roaming around when suddenly he came near the house where the
recitation of Shrimadh Bhaagawatham was going on. He saw that everyone was
engrossed in listening to somebody's speech but was not aware of what was going
on.
On
seeing the villagers engrossed in this speech, he thought that this was the
right chance and right place to steal. As a huge crowd was present in that
house, he suspected that he could surely gather a good amount of wealth. So he
quietly entered the house and sat amongst the crowd as if listening to the
discourse. After some time the thief went inside some rooms in search of money
and ornaments. But he didn't get
anything. He felt tired and
frustrated. So once again he joined
the crowd and started listening to the preacher's words.
Exactly
at that point of time the preacher was describing the beauty of Bagawan Krishna.
The thief neither knew anything about Shrimadh Baagawatham nor was he aware of
Bagawan Shri Krishna. He was not bothered about what the preacher was saying but
kept on noticing the crowd. Along with the beauty of Bagawan Shri Krishna, the
preacher also started describing the ornaments of Bagawan Shri Krishna. The
preacher was describing the beauty of Lotus like delicate feet of Bagawan Shri
Krishna and the rings that HE wore in each of HIS toes. Fortunately this fell
onto the ears of that thief. When the thief noticed that the preacher was giving
some description about the ornaments he immediately became alert and started
showing interest in the speech of that preacher.
Such
is the Krupai (grace) of Bagawan Shri Krishna. HE knows the right tactics of
attracting each jeevathmaa towards HIM. Once Bagawan Shri Krishna decides to
bless us with eternal happiness then irrespective of what we are, what we do, or
what we think HE will by some way or the other, definitely pull us towards HIM.
This is HIS sole intention. The jeevathmaas have no rights to challenge and
change the decision of Bagawan Shri Krishna. Now Bagawan Shri Krishna has given
an opportunity to that thief to realize HIM, understand HIS grace and enjoy and
experience the eternal happiness. This proves the indiscrimination of Bagawan
Shri Krishna. For Bagawan Shri Krishna all the jeevathmaas are one and the same,
be it a thief or a normal person. Everyone is given an opportunity to realize
Bagawan Shri Krishna at least once in his or her lifetime.
The
preacher continued his description about the beauty of Bagawan Shri Krishna.
After the lotus feet, he described the anklet which Bagawan Shri Krishna was
wearing; the beauty of HIS knees, thighs, the rich silk peethaambar {yellow
cloth}; the belt made up of ruby and pearls on HIS slim waist; HIS wide, broad
shoulders, the kausthuba mani (a kind of stone) on HIS chest; necklace of opal,
gold, emerald, pearls, gems, ruby, which added to HIS beauty; HIS lotus like
lips; beautiful, sharp nose; Lotus like big, wide, attractive eyes which are
always filled with love and mercy; the bow shaped eye-brows, kasthoori thilakam
on HIS fore head; the curly hairs, the crown made up of diamonds on HIS head;
the rich earrings in HIS ears; HIS long hands to lift all the jeevathmaas from
this samsaara saagaram; the bracelet on HIS hand and the rings on all HIS
fingers. Thus the preacher described Bagawan Shri Krishna from toe to head.
While describing each ornament the preacher also simultaneously stated it's
worth. This reveals the interest of the preacher in ornaments and money. This
description of ornaments added to the interest of that thief.
The
thief forgot everything and whole-heartedly started concentrating on the speech
of that preacher. He started calculating the total worth of all the ornaments of
Bagawan Shri Krishna. The imagination of looting the ornaments of Bagawan Shri
Krishna made him feel overjoyed. Finally the greed of that thief led him to make
up his mind to loot Bagawan Shri Krishna. He was totally unaware of the fact
that Shri Krishna is the ultimate creator of this universe. On hearing the
speech of the preacher the thief was of the opinion that Bagawan Shri Krishna is
a small child who wears all this ornaments. The sole intention of him was to
steal the ornaments from that child. He thought it would be very easy to
frighten a child and steal his ornaments. Radhekrishna! What a great faith!
Will
the thief succeed in his plan? Do keep chanting till we come with the rest of
the story in our next issue.
abhilash and anuja
SATHGURU GEETHA 
jay sathguru
maharaj ki jay 
The
great acharya bhaktha of this kaliyuga from thirukoloor (south tamilnadu, south
india) born in dhwaapara yuga.