Sadhu sadhu
Living in the modern world far away from the easy access to Yogic and devotional association prominent in Vrndavana, Navadvip, or Jagannath Puri, is extremely challenging for the mind and heart of most western Vaishnavas. However, with a trained eye and sense for who is genuinely feeling their connection to their Istadeva and practice, you can find Sadhus anywhere, sometimes they are right in front of us.
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of deepening my association with one such sadhu who I will not name. I know he would not appreciate me doing so.
We sat together on the deck of his house, high up the hills below Mt. warning in NSW as it rained gently. We could nearly see all the way to the ocean. Very quickly he began talking about Krsna, Sadhu, and Vraja. He wasted no time.
I found myself enlivened by his presence and eagerly listening to everything he spoke about. He had a surreal sense of conviction, and trust in Sri Krsna to provide, protect, and be downright naughty to his devotees. He spoke about his time in Vraja, living in forests with other sadhus and the beautiful simplicity of Vrajabhasi devotion.
Laughing heartily whenever he would tell a story about Krsna with his devotees I felt constantly absorbed, immersed, and satisfied. Nothing mattered more than listening to him speak. I felt as If he was completely carefree, knowing full well Krsna watched over him.
He became heavy and Grave when he spoke about Lord Shiva and the mercy of Bholenath(the merciful Lord) expressing the intense compassion that Sadashiva embodies. The tricks of Maya and truth of Shiva's relationship with her as being a clue on how we might best utilize Maya for Krsna's service. We sat in silence, feeling the weight of the knowledge being churned up in this sangha...
"Everything we have is because of Srila Prabhupadaji's Krpa! Everyone no matter what family or lineage bows at his feet. It's a fact!"
Sadhu is not just the man who has a top-knot and performs magical feats. Sadhu is anyone who knows's Krsna to be his/her all and all and knows their life to be constant Lila with him.
Some are naughty, some are nice. Don't judge because they are all equally dear to Krsna.
I left my visit with this modern sadhu feeling recharged and re-invigorated in my quest to understand and learn more and more how to simply live to satisfy Krsna.
This is the secret of life, The magick of all magick, and the honest and most sincere method of finding true happiness.
You will surely find that you are always in relationship with yourself, yet you do not know how to properly behave in order to find fulfilment, excitement, bliss, and satisfaction. Look to the lila of Krsna and he will teach you the way, to relate to the dark lord in the cave of your heart.
Krsna is as real as you are and he is richer than the sheikhs and kings of our generation. Go to him and you will always have what you need.
Krsna is satisfied by cultivating Braja. So do that, sadhus will show the way.
ReplyDeleteYour friend sounds like a worthy associate, but when he says, "Everything we have is because of Srila Prabhupadaji's Krpa! Everyone no matter what family or lineage bows at his feet. It's a fact!", is quite erroneous. Many who are versed in Sanatana Dharma find Prabhupada's teachings to be overly preoccupied with the faults of other lineages/paths, and unnecessarily dogmatic to elicit their warm regard. Devotees who have been encouraged from the Gurukul to dismiss any path outside the ISKCON religio/business model may find this assessment unpalatable, but it's true. This prevailing culture of 'we're better than them' tends to result in devotees whose love extends as far as other devotees, but seldom to the rest of humanity who are also Krishna's dear children.
A true Yogi does not discriminate with his/her outpouring of love, it reaches everyone for we are all Divine.
This theme is repeated where you have written, "with a trained eye and sense for who is genuinely feeling their connection to their Istadeva and practice, you can find Sadhus anywhere, sometimes they are right in front of us." As a true lover of Krishna, your dharma is not to search out other Sadhus, but to be of service and the greatest service is to love HIM. As such, it would have been better to write, "with a trained eye and a genuine connection to YOUR Istadeva and practice, you can find Krishna anywhere. That is how one becomes a Sadhu." For Krishna IS everywhere, and we are encouraged to search for HIM alone, Sadhus - middlemen, unless they are an ascended master, are irrelevant. Whether 'he' sees Krishna or not is beside the point. It is you who must see Krishna everywhere. You are the Sadhu.
I can see where you are coming from especially if you are in fact part of any of the sects that he criticised. But in some ways perhaps a humble attitude towards Srila Prabhupadas criticism of various sects and lineages would be a blessing that helps weed out cheating and duplicitous behaviour within all sects. It is a call to reflection.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that the best way to feel Sri Krsna's presence is in the association of genuine sadhus, so before the possibility of seeing Sri Krsna, the potential for seeing and serving sadhu's is there. After all it is in the heart of a genuine sadhu that Krsna is most manifest. And for the sadhu who has genuinely found and kept Krsna within his heart, Krsna is everywhere!
My Motivation in this blog is to try to point to all the places that Sri Krsna is most palpable, the human heart is #1 on my list.
I hope to show that by turning to the Purna tattva, Sri Krsna, we can become skilled at living in this world, and whatever the next life holds, we continue the same lila.