Yamuna Aroti

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Hare Krsna. Srila Rupa Gosvami glorifies the purifying power of the River in his Yamunastakam:

“May Sri Yamuna, who is the daughter of Suryadeva, who is the famous, splendid, spiritual river flowing through the Bhur, Bhuva, and Sva planets, who burns away the greatest sins, and who is fragrant with scented ointments from Lord Krsna’s transcendental body, always purify me.”

May Sri Yamuna, who is the daughter of Suryadeva, a drop of whose water destroys the sinful reactions of the people, who creates a great flood of confidential pure devotional service to Lord Nandananadana, and who brings auspiciousness to they who desire to live on her shore, always purify me.”

Indeed the Bhagavatam states that the mere sight of the Yamuna River filled Krsna and Balarama with great happiness:

“O King Parkishit, when Rama and Krsna saw Vrindavana, Govardhana, and the banks of the river Yamuna, They both enjoyed great pleasure.”

Who then would not worship with great joy and hope such an appropriate object of devotion as the Yamuna River!

Attracted and Affectionate Calf

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Hare Krsna. A cow bathing in the affection of her calf on the sandy bank of the Yamuna. Here, to the Yamuna, Krsna brings His beloved cows and calves to drink her cool waters. How attractive!

All that Krsna does is attractive, especially to the residents of Vrindaban. He’s so attractive that almost all souls are attracted to him. But why not all?

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to Bhag. 7.5.14: “Just contrary to the affairs of Vrndavana is the material world, where no one is attracted by Krsna and everyone is attracted by Maya. This is the difference between the spiritual and material worlds.”

Due to being embedded within a false ego, Maya attracts me from the all-attractive and fills my heart with unnatural, unfulfillable desires for self-centered happiness.

How selfish. How sad.

On the other hand, Srila Prabhupada in the same purport describes a soul’s natural attraction to Krsna and the full attraction to Krsna possessed by the residents of Vrindaban: “For iron to be attracted by a magnet is natural. Similarly, for all living entities to be attracted toward Krsna is natural, and therefore the Lord’s real name is Krsna, meaning He who attracts everyone and everything. The typical examples of such attraction are found in Vrndavana, where everything and everyone is attracted by Krsna. The elderly persons like Nanda Maharaja and Yasodadevi, the friends like Sridama, Sudama, and the other cowherd boys, the gopis like Srimati Radharani and Her associates, and even the birds, beasts, cows, and calves are attracted. The flowers and fruits in the gardens are attracted, the waves of the Yamuna are attracted, and the land, sky, trees, plants, animals, and all other living beings are attracted by Krsna. This is the natural situation of everything in Vrndavana.”

Isn’t Vrindavana attractive?

Walking Wood by the Yamuna River

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By the Yamuna River, an elderly Vrajavasi lady still follows the ancient system and bears upon her head the burden of a large bundle of wood.

Clearly, she carries her load by the mercy of Krsna, for not a blade of grass moves independently of Him. But yet, also clearly, the ability and strength to carry her bundle is not the full limit of Krsna’s mercy.

Srila Prabhupada told of a distressed yet faithful, wood-carrying lady’s prayers to Krsna in a 1974 Bhagavatam lecture in Bombay. May his clear words purify my heart!

He said:

“Krsna can fulfill any purpose you desire. It is not very difficult for Him, because He is almighty, full of all opulence. So if you want something, material happiness, from Krsna, it is not very difficult for Krsna. He can give you mukti even. But to ask from Krsna anything else than bhakti is foolishness. That is foolishness.

My Guru Maharaja used to give this example: just like if you go to a rich man and he says, “Now whatever you like, you can ask from me. I shall give you,” then if you ask him that “You give me a pinch of ash,” is that very intelligent?

Similarly, there is a story, that one old woman in the forest… I think it is in Aesop’s Fable or somewhere. So she was carrying a big bundle of dry wood, and somehow or other, the bundle fell down. It was very heavy. So the old woman became very much disturbed, “Who will help me to get this bundle on my head?”

So she began to call God, “God, help me.” And God came, “What you want?”Kindly help me to get this bundle on my head.” Just see. God came to give a benediction, and she wanted “Give this bundle again on my head.”

So we are doing the same thing.

When we go to God we ask Him, “Kindly give me the bundle on my head. My family may become happy. I may have a large amount of money to enjoy material things.” We ask that. That is our foolishness.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us, therefore, that actually, if you want something from God, that should be only begging for His service.

This Hare Krsna maha-mantra means addressing God, “Krsna,” “Hari,” and His energy Hara, Srimati Radharani or Laksmiji, Hare: “O this internal potency of Krsna…” ….So this Hare Krsna mantra is first addressing the energy, the internal energy, potency, of Krsna. Hare….”O my Lord,O my Lord’s energy.”So when you address somebody, you want to ask something. So if they reply, “Yes, why you are calling?” then we’re calling, “Please engage me in Your service.” This is the prayer, not that “Give me money” or “Give me beautiful wife” or many followers. This is material hankering.”

Everyone wants some prestigious position, labha puja pratistha, some material profit, labha, and prestigious position so that people will give him salaam, minister, president, and to become very famous, historically very famous. These are material hankerings. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, “No.” Na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam vajagadisa kamaye [Cc. Antya 20.29, Siksastaka 4]. We don’t want to. This is animitta bhakti. Nimitta, for some certain reason. If you become that kind of bhakta, then you are not a suddha-bhakta. You are avrddha-bhakta, a polluted bhakta.

Pure bhakti is anyabhilasita-sunyam [Brs. 1.1.11], zero.”….The Buddha philosophy teaches nirvana, devoid of all material desires, that much. He does not give any more. Sankaracarya gives further, more, that Brahma-nirvana, that “You become desireless of this material world, but you enter, merge into Brahman.” That is called Brahma-nirvana. And the Vaisnava philosopher says that “You make null and void all your material desires, enter into Brahman and be engaged in the service of the Lord. “This is called bhakti….This bhakti-yoga, one who is actually employed, engaged in pure devotional service, animitta, without any motives, without any material purpose, that is real spiritual service.”

Two Peacocks in Bandiravana

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Hare Krsna. Two Peacocks in Bandiravana near the end of winter. They have lost their most prominent feathers during the end of the rainy season, around Radhastami, and now many have grown back.

Peacocks of course figure prominently in Krsna’s pastimes. When Krsna plays His divine flute in a valley and becomes surrounded by peacocks. Krsna’s playing makes them dance in ecstasy and stuns the animals who sit atop the hills to watch. This scene is described in Bhag. 10.21.10:

A Vraja Gopi says, “O friend, Vrndavana is spreading the glory of the earth, having obtained the treasure of the lotus feet of Krsna, the son of Devaki. The peacocks dance madly when they hear Govinda’s flute, and when other creatures see them from the hilltops, they all become stunned.”

Sweet comments from our acaryas are noted in our BBT’s Bhagavatam.

“Srila Sridhara Svami explains that because activities such as those described in this verse do not occur in any other world, the earth is unique. In fact, the earth’s glories are being spread by wonderful Vrndavana because it is the place of Krsna’s pastimes.”

“Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains Krsna-Lila as follows: “In Vrndavana, the peacocks request Krsna, ‘Govinda, please make us dance.’ Thus Krsna plays His flute, and they surround Him in a circle and dance in time with the rhythm of His melody. And while standing in the midst of their dancing, He also sings and dances. Then those peacocks, who are fully satisfied with His musical performance, out of gratitude offer for His pleasure their own divine feathers. In the usual manner of musical performers, Krsna gladly accepts these presentations and places a feather upon the turban atop His head. Gentle animals such as deer and doves greatly relish the transcendental entertainment presented by Krsna, and to get a good view they flock to the peaks of hills. Then, as they watch the breathtaking program, they become stunned in ecstasy.”

“Srila Sanatana Gosvami comments that because in Vrndavana Krsna goes barefoot and can thus directly mark the earth with the symbols of His lotus feet, that transcendental land is even more glorious than Vaikuntha, where Visnu wears slippers.”

Imli-Tala Tentuli Tala

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Hare Krsna. All glories to Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu on His appearance day! During Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s stay in Sri Vrindaban dhama, the Lord would chant japa near the Yamuna River beneath the spreading branches of the tamarind tree known as tentuli-tala, or Amli tala.

Krsna Himself is known to have sat beneath this old tree and lamented in separation from Srimati Radharani.

The tree departed from this world within the past 15 or 20 years, and the Gaudiya Math temple spires in the photograph’s background mark the place where the tree previously grew. Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta describes Mahaprabhu’s pastimes at Imli Tala as follows: “The next morning Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned to Vrndavana and took His bath at Cira-ghata. He then went to Tentuli-tala, where He took The tamarind tree named Tentuli-tala was very old, having been there since the time of Lord Krsna’s pastimes. Beneath the tree was a very shiny platform. Since the river Yamuna flowed near Tentuli-tala, a very cool breeze blew there. While there, the Lord saw the beauty of Vrndavana and the water of the river Yamuna. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to sit beneath the old tamarind tree and chant the holy name of the Lord. At noon He would return to Akrura-tirtha to take lunch. All the people who lived near Akrura-tirtha came to see Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and due to the large crowds, the Lord could not peacefully chant the holy name. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would go to Vrndavana and sit in a solitary place, where He would chant the holy name until noon. In the afternoon, people were able to speak to Him. The Lord told everyone of the importance of chanting the holy name. (CC Madhya 18.75-81)

Glorification of Sri Vrindaban dhama and the Yamuna River

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Hare Krsna. In his own special mood and with his pure spiritual vision, Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati glorifies Sri Vrindaban dharma and the Yamuna River:

“How can a person who has never seen Vrndavana’s Yamuna river, which is filled with eternally blooming indivara, kamala, kahlara, kumuda, and other lotus flowers, all filled with the sweet humming sounds of bumblebees, and which displays the places where Sri Sri Radha-Muralidhara and Their friends enjoyed transcendental pastimes, remain alive?”

“I bow before Vrndavana’s Yamuna river, which is eternally splendid with a lotus of many jewels, which flows from an ocean of bliss, which is delightful with many other colorful splendid flowers, which cannot be approached by the crowns of the three Vedas and which is filled with the sounds of maddened bees and birds.”

“Meditate on Vrndavana’s Yamuna river, which is dear to Lord Hari, which flows with a great flood of transcendental bliss, which has shores studded with jewels, waves chanting the Sama Veda, and swans, cranes, karandavas, datyuhas, and other birds chanting the Rg Veda.”

“May the Yamuna, where waters sweet as grape-sugar milk nectar are filled with golden lotus buds and other flowers, where the shores are made of many jewels, where the water is wonderful with the splashing of playful, splendid jewel fish, where there is a wonder of glistening jewel staircases, where the shores are very beautiful with groves of many kinds of wonderful flower-filled trees and vines and fragrant with camphor and splendid Bakula trees, where along the shores are frightened does with wide-open eyes, where there is the sweet fragrance of many splendid forests of kadamba and campaka trees are everywhere, where there is an abundance of pollen, flying birds, pleasant breezes, and a sweet splendor everywhere, where forests groves are reflected in the deep waters, and where Sri Sri Radha-Krsna’s bliss increases, also increase the happiness of you all.”

Peacefully at the Yamuna Nearing Sunset

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Hare Krsna.

The Yamuna River bank calms the mind and offers peace and shelter to all, including those souls in the attached photo who are sitting peacefully at the bank of the Yamuna as the sun begins to set.

Even when Krsna and Balarama for the first time entered the Vrindaban forest from Gokula, They felt great happiness upon seeing Vrindaban itself, Giriraja Govardhana, and the peaceful bank of the Yamuna River. Srila Prabhupada describes Their festive entrance into Vrindaban in his Krsna Book:

“Everyone then loaded all their household furniture and utensils onto the carts and prepared to go to Vrndavana. All the children, women and old men of the village were arranged on seats, and the cowherd men equipped themselves with bows and arrows to follow the carts. All the cows and bulls were placed in the front along with their calves, and the men, with their bows and arrows, surrounded the herds and carts and began to blow on their horns and bugles. In this way, with tumultuous sound, they started for Vrndavana.

“And who can describe the damsels of Vraja? They were all seated on the carts and were very beautifully dressed with ornaments and costly saris. They chanted the pastimes of child Krsna as usual. Mother Yasoda and mother Rohini were seated on a separate cart, and Krsna and Balarama were seated on their laps. While mother Rohini and Yasoda were riding on the cart, they talked to Krsna and Balarama, and feeling the pleasure of such talks, they looked very, very beautiful.

“In this way, after reaching Vrndavana, where everyone lives eternally, very peacefully and happily, they encircled Vrndavana, drew all the carts together in a half circle, and in this way constructed a temporary residence.

“When Krsna and Balarama saw the beautiful appearance of Vrndavana, Govardhana Hill and the banks of the river Yamuna, They felt very happy. As They grew up They began talking with Their parents and others in childish language, and thus They gave great pleasure to all the inhabitants of Vrndavana.” (KB 11: Killing the Demons Vatsasura and Bakasura)

When? When?

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Hare Krsna. Sitting by the shore of the Yamuna, praying for mercy, reading of the exalted longings of Srila Narrottama dasa Thakura:

“O Lord Hari, Lord Hari, when will I become a resident of Vrndavana? When with my own eyes, will I see the great beauty of the Divine Couple. When will I renounce very comfortable sleeping arrangements and instead take rest on the ground of Vraja? When will I renounce materially palatable foodstuffs, and simply eat whatever I can obtain by begging in the land of Vraja? When will I circumambulate the land of Vraja, wandering from forest to forest? When becoming fatigued, will I stop to rest on the shore of the Yamuna? When will I find relief from the heat of midday by resting in the cooling shade of Vamsivata? When will I associate with the Vaisnavas in the groves of Vrndavana? Narottama dasa renounces the materialistic way of life and says: “When will I attain this perfection of the spiritual life?” (Prarthana 29)

“When will I renounce everything and go to Vrndavana? When will this be? When in great ecstasy will I roll about on the ground where Lord Krsna performed the rasa-dance? When will I see Govardhana Hill, my eyes filling with tears? When by bathing in Syama-Kunda and Radha-Kunda will I attain the stage of dedicating my entire life and soul to the service of the Divine Couple? When will I become pure at heart by bathing in the waters of the Yamuna River? Narottama dasa hopes that he will be able to reside in Vrndavana in the association of saintly devotees.” (Prarthana 30)

A Cow and Her Calf

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Hare Krsna. A cow and her calf near the Yamuna River, who soothes and sweetens the atmosphere of Vrindaban. Indeed, when Krsna and Balarama along with the Vrajavasis first left Gokula to entered Vrindaban, they too felt the highest satisfaction as They saw her.

vrndavanam govardhanam
yamuna-pulinani ca
viksyasid uttama priti
rama-madhavayor nrpa

O King Parikshit, when Rama and Krsna saw Vrndavana, Govardhana and the banks of the River Yamuna, They both enjoyed great pleasure. (Bhag.10.11.36)

And there, by the sandy banks of Yamuna River, each day Krsna, Balarama, and Their friends would become enchanted as playfully they enjoyed Their cow herding pastimes.

Retraction

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By Bhurijana dasa

Hare Krsna. Years ago I published a book of memories of my association with Srila Prabhupada. It was entitled, “My Glorious Master”. Within that book was a section describing a devotee named Ugrasrava dasa and his offering of a carry case to Srila Prabhupada in Melbourne in 1974.

Contrary to what I wrote, Ugrasrava prabhu remembers offering that carry case to Srila Prabhupada in the middle of Srila Prabhupada’s visit, not at the end. And that the event took place in his home, where Srila Prabhupada was staying, with the only other persons present being Srila Prabhupada and Prabhupada’s secretary, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami. During this exchange Srila Prabhupada graciously and affectionately offered Ugrasrava his own carry bag which he had been using for years.

What I had written contained inaccuracies both in my description of the event and my comment. My comment now clearly seems inappropriate. I apologize to Ugrasrava for this, and I therefore fully retract what I had written in the entirety of the section. If I reprint this book, I’ll remove this section from future printings.