Sharanagati

Collected words from talks of Swami Tirtha



May

31


(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 05.01.2018 morning, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Friday)

So, we can be attracted to Krishna in so many ways with a friendly mood.

“How the sons of Pandu, the Pandavas, enjoy Krishna’s association is described as follows: “When Shri Krishna’s arrived in Indraprastha, the capital of the Kurus, Maharaja Yudhishthira immediately came out to smell the flavor of Krishna’s head. It is the Vedic custom that a superior smells the heads of his subordinates when the subordinates offer respect to the superior by touching his feet.”[1]

Have you observed this? Fathers are always doing that; when they have their sons in their lap they immediately, naturally, subconsciously smell their head. And they are not interested in the shampoo, that’s not the case. But there is a very special smell, a very special vibration coming from the top of the scull. Smell is a very basic information. The molecules of the smell directly reach the brain through the olfactory systems.

Do you remember your first day entering the ashram? You were charmed by the smell. ‘Ah, such an incense! Such a prasadam.’ Because smell is a very basic information. And then it is connected to this feeling of returning home.

In the old times people were writing love letters to each other. I know that this is very much outdated, something from the previous century. But, you know, love letters were always with some scent. Why? Because if you open them, immediately you feel the smell of your lover. But just see how degraded our age is! Can you have a 5D SMS? All is very technical these days. Even love is very technical, courting is very technical. No romantic affairs anymore. So, please, don’t come to me with any romantic stories.

So, smelling the head is an exchange of information. Just observe this next time when you see a father with a baby in his lap. Immediately he will do this. When I first read about this I didn’t believe it and I said: “Maybe it’s some strange unknown for me Indian habit.” But then I started to check and it’s always like this, it happens automatically. This is a very subtle loving exchange. Because smell is such a deep-rooted information. And actually on the top of the scull you don’t smell the head, but you smell the crown chakra. So, this is a spiritual connection. So beautiful!

So, Yudhishthira as a superior was smelling Krishna’s head. The other Pandavas similarly “Arjuna and Bhīma embraced Krishna with great jubilation”. This is their exchange on the equal platform.

“The two younger brothers, namely, Nakula and Sahadeva, touched the lotus feet of Krishna with tears in their eyes and offered their respects. In this way all the five Pandava brothers enjoyed the fraternal friendship of Krishna in transcendental mellow.

Of the five Pandavas, Arjuna is the most intimately connected with Krishna. He has a nice bow called Gandiva in his hand. His thighs are compared to the trunks of elephants, and his eyes are always reddish. When Krishna and Arjuna are together on a chariot, they become celestial beauties, pleasing to the eyes of everyone. It is said that once Arjuna was lying on his bed with his head upon Krishna’s lap and was talking and joking with Krishna in great relaxation, enjoying Krishna’ company with smiling and great satisfaction.”[2]

So much for today. Just to get a little introduction, a little glimpse into devotional friendship. Devotional friendship also means – share the possessions and share the ideals.

(to be continued)

 

[1] Nectar of Devotion, Ch 41

[2] Nectar of Devotion, Ch 41



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