Bhakti Enchants Shri Krishna

In the last few articles, we discussed five of the six characteristics of Bhakti, namely, kleśaghnīi [1], śubhadāi [2], mokṣalaghutākṛti [3], sudurlabhā i[4], and sāndrānandaviśeṣātmā i[5]. In this publication, we will talk about the sixth quality, śrīkṛṣṇākarṣiṇī, meaning that which can control even Shri Krishna.

All powers remain under the control of the power-holder. Though bhakti is a power of God, yet it does not follow this rule. Bhakti is so powerful that it enchants, enslaves the all-powerful, omnipotent, all-attractive Shri Krishna as well.

God’s bliss-potency is called Hladini Shakti. Essence of Hladini Shakti is bhakti or love. Shri Radha is the embodiment of the apex-of-Bhakti[6]. Shri Krishna is Madan Mohan which means (Enchanter of Kamdev or Cupid) [7]. Kamdev is the God of beauty. In every brahmand [8] there is a Kamdev. Shri Krishna charms all the Kamdevas in all the brahmands.

Once Kamdev decided to put Shri Krishna to test. He chose the scene when Shri Krishna was surrounded by Gopis and blessing them with His intimate pastimes, beauty, rapture etc. As soon as Kamdev cast his eyes on Shri Krishna, Kamdev forgot all about enchanting Him, instead he was enchanted. That is how Shri Krishna got the name Madan (Kamdev) Mohan (enchanter).

Kamdev mesmerized upon witnessing Thakuraji with Gopis

But Shri Radha enchants even Shri Krishna. That is why She is called madana mohana mohinī which literally means the enchantress of the enchanter of Kamdev.

राधा मेरी गति मति, राधा पद मेरी रति ।
राधा पति मेरी गति, वारौं कोटि रति पति ।

ब्रज रस माधुरी-1 (#75)

rādhā merī gati mati, rādhā pada merī rati ।
rādhā pati merī gati, vārauṃ koṭi rati pati ।

braja rasa mādhurī-1 (#75)

According to the perspective of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, the real meaning of bhakti is to follow the ideology of love of Shri Radha for Shri Krishna. The inhabitants of Braj know this secret. That is the reason why they seek shelter only at the lotus feet of Shri Radha Rani. for attaining the purest Bhakti.

In other words, Bhakti is not an ordinary action, it is a secret power of Shri Radha[9]. So, it is solely under Her control. This is the reason why it controls Shri Krishna as well.

Madan Mohan Mohini - Shri Radha Rani

Shri Krishna is the embodiment of love. Hence, God loves “love” the most. The devotees seek nothing except the loving service of Shri Krishna [10] to please Him. Therefore, Shri Krishna loves them and protects them so much that He proclaims -

अहं भक्तपराधीनो ह्यस्वतन्त्र इव द्विज ।
साधुभिर्ग्रस्तहृदयो भक्तैर्भक्तजनप्रिय: ॥

भागवत 9.4.63

ahaṃ bhaktaparādhīno hyasvatantra iva dvija । sādhubhirgrastahṛdayo bhaktairbhaktajanapriya: ॥

bhāgavatam 9.4.63

“I am completely under the control of My devotees. Because My devotees are completely devoid of all desires for self-gratification [11] I reside in the core of their hearts. I love nothing but My devotees and devotees of My devotees.”

It is not surprising that all the Gopis were enchanted by Shri Krishna. Let alone the Gopis, all the sovereign powers like Lakshmi [12], Rudrani, Brahmani, Bhadrakali etc. are also enchanted by Him. Not just women, but also Lord Shiva and Lord Mahavishnu are enchanted by Him. And why wouldn’t They be, as He is the anshi of all living beings.

What is surprising is that Shri Krishna was enchanted by these Gopis. Please pay attention to this fact - He wasn’t fascinated by the physical beauty of these Gopis. His wife Mahalakshmi is so beautiful that countless Rati, wife of Kamdev (Cupid), can be sacrificed on a single pore of Her body. And She gets the privilege to press His feet (padasevanam) [13]. He is NOT infatuated by Her beauty. She does not have the proximity like these Gopis have [14]. Moreover, Shri Krishna is self-complacent (atmaram) [15] which means He has no unfulfilled desires. And even if He were to develop a desire He is Satya-Kamah [16] which means all His desires are immediately effectuated. Then, why is He enchanted by these insignificant jeev?

Well, He was enchanted by the Bhakti that resides inside of them.

Under the control of Bhakti, God forgets his divinity and the jeev forgets its nature of servitude. It is then that the divine pastimes happen. It is due to Bhakti that -

Even though Lord Ram is the Supreme Master, He sat below the tree while all the monkeys (His servants) sat atop the tree (position of authority). Being under the control of bhakti of Dasya Bhav, there was no consciousness of “I am the master, the jeev is the servant”.

Shri Ram had descended to establish the decorum of Varnashram dharm. But what did He do? He ate the berries tasted by Shabari, a tribal (Bheelni) untouchable woman. Also, while eating those berries, He was so happy as if He had never tasted anything better than those. Under the influence of the bhakti with Dasya Bhav, He behaved in a manner which was opposite of the characteristic of His descension.

He takes the food out of the mouths of the cow-herd boys and eats it. He did this under the influence of bhakti with Sakhya Bhav. The Right Way To Offer Bhog is, first He eats, and then others consume His prasad. Instead He ate the prasad of His devotees.

जाको कह अज सोइ ब्रज, नंदनंदन बनि आय ।
ग्वालन जूठन खात लखि, विधि बुधि गई भरमाय ।

ब्रजरस त्रयोदशी - 9

jāko kaha aja soi braja, naṃdanaṃdana bani āya ।
gvālana jūṭhana khāta lakhi, vidhi budhi gaī bharamāya ।

brajarasa trayodaśī - 9

He carries the slippers of Nand Baba on His head. Being subdued by the love of Vatsalya Bhav, Veda-Krit (One who originated the Vedas), Veda-Vid (One who knows the Vedas), Veda-Vedya (One who is known through the Vedas) God is holding the slippers of a jeev on His head.

When Maiya Yashoda stands tall with a short, thin stick to beat Him, He is so scared that His body trembles, tears flow incessantly from his eyes and He begs the Gopis to save Him from Maiya's wrath. Under the influence of bhakti of Vatsalya Bhav, The Lord of Yamraj (lord of death) was in such a pitiable condition!

Dasya, Sakhya, Vatsalya, Madhurya Leela of Bhagwan with His Bhakts.

He follows the gopis like a paramour, even though the gopis repeatedly call Him ill-names like “dari ke”. The one, for whom no one is an outsider, that Supreme Lord - Brahm got the title of ‘crest jewel of paramours' (Jaara Shikhamani) under the influence of bhakti of Madhurya Bhav.

जाके अगनित गुनन को, गावत वेद ऋचान । 'दारी के' गारी सुनन, सोइ छेड़त सखियान ।

jāke aganita gunana ko, gāvata veda ṛcāna । 'dārī ke' gārī sunana, soi cheड़ta sakhiyāna ।

Bewildering isn’t it!!! Bhakti is so powerful that He is enchanted by each and every one of those bhavs (dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhurya). Regardless of which bhav one adopts while doing bhakti of Shri Krishna, it makes Him forget His Godliness. It is then that He reciprocates every bhav in kind and intensity [17]. It is not that He is forced into feeling this way. Rather, Shri Krishna behaves like this due to being captivated by the charm of bhakti.

Conclusion

Bhakti alone has the ability to make the sovereign Brahma-Supreme God the slave of His devotees. That's why, devotion is called Shri śrīkṛṣṇākarṣiṇī!!!

We wish to reach that level of devotion, which will enchant Shri Krishna. To really attract Shri Krishna, as a sadhak our duty is to purify our mind. For this, we should continuously increase our yearning to meet Him [18]. In other words, we should increase our love for God[19][20]. Then, while doing Roopadhyan - Devotional Remembrance of the form of God and Guru, we should sing God's names, glories, pastimes etc. Thus, strengthen our faith in Guru and do daily sadhana as prescribed by Him. By doing so by-and-by one day the mind will be purified. Then Guru will make it divine using Swaroop Shakti and then we will attain God.

Saint Surdas was a saint had Vatsalya Bhav for Shri Krishna. After God-realization he challenged Shri Krishna -

हाथ छुड़ाये जात हो, निर्बल जानिकै मोहिं। हिरदय ते जब जाहुगे, मर्द बदौंगो तोहिं॥

hātha chuḍāye jāta ho, nirbala jānikai mohiṃ। hiradaya te jaba jāhuge, marda badauṃgo tohiṃ ॥

"You freed your hands from mine and are running away. I will consider you capable if you dare to take leave from my heart".

Being under the control of Bhakti, God doesn't have the ability to refrain (or delay for a moment) from giving darshan to a completely surrendered devotee. Thus, after completely surrendering, we too will be able to challenge God, the way Surdas Ji did.

In this article and the past 5 articles we have described the primary “characteristics of Bhakti”. Next article will be the last articles of this series. In the concluding article, all of these 6 characteristics will be summarized and their relationship to various levels of bhakti will be described.

Shri Maharaj Ji has written a wonderful pad that expounds on this attribute of bhakti

कान्ह ! हम सुने तुमहिं भगवान !
सच बताओ मोहिं मनमोहन, कहहुँ न काहुहिं आन ।
मोहिं प्रतीति होति नहिं नेकहूँ, हौं तुम कहँ भल जान ।
षडैश्वर्य परिपूर्ण सुन्यों हौं, है याकी पहिचान ।
तुम्हारे तो एकहुँ नहिं दीखत, पुनि हम लें कत मान ।
मोहिं समझाउ सौंह तोहिं मोरी, सुनु सखी! कह कान्ह ।
होत विभोर ‘कृपालु’ प्रेम लखि, रह न शक्तिहिं भान ॥

kānha ! hama sune tumahiṃ bhagavāna !
saca batāo mohiṃ manamohana, kahahum̐ na kāhuhiṃ āna
mohiṃ pratīti hoti nahiṃ nekahūm̐, hauṃ tuma kaham̐ bhala jāna ।ṣaḍaiśvarya paripūrṇa sunyoṃ hauṃ, hai yākī pahicāna ।
tumhāre to ekahum̐ nahiṃ dīkhata, puni hama leṃ kata māna ।mohiṃ samajhāu sauṃha tohiṃ morī, sunu sakhī! kaha kānha ।hota vibhora ‘kṛpālu' prema lakhi, raha na śaktihiṃ bhāna ॥

- जगद्गुरूत्तम स्वामी श्री कृपालु जी महाराज
प्रेम रस मदिर - श्री कृष्ण बाल लीला माधुरी # 61

जगद्गुरूत्तम स्वामी श्री कृपालु जी महाराज Jagadguruttam Swami Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj

जगद्गुरूत्तम स्वामी श्री कृपालु जी महाराज - Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Maharaj

An innocent Gopi says
“Kanha! I have heard from the great saint Gargacharya that you are the Supreme Lord. Tell me the truth, O Manmohan ! I will not disclose it to anyone else. I personally do not believe this, even slightly, because I know you so well. I've heard that God has six attributes to an infinite degree - majesty, righteousness, prosperity, fame, knowledge and detachment. This is how Saint Parashar says He's identified. Not one of them can be seen in You! How then can I accept you as God? I bind You by my word, tell me the truth”.

Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj says,”ShyamSundar compassionately reveals, ‘O Sakhi! Listen to the truth. I am God and I become overwhelmed by the love of My devotees for Me. In this state I'm not conscious of these Godly qualities and so they remain hidden’”.

- Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Maharaj
Prem Ras Madira Shri Krishna Bal Leela Madhuri # 61

Bibliography - LEARN MORE

[1] Bhakti Ends Misery

[2] Bhakti begets Auspiciousness

[3] Bhakti Trivializes Liberation

[4] Bhakti is Extremely Difficult-to-Attain

[5] Bhakti Grants Intense Ecstasy

[6] Maadan Mahabhav

[7] Mesmerizes Cupid

[8] Lok

[9] Who is Shri Radha?

[10] Why would I want to become God's eternal servant?