


Sharanagati
Collected words from talks of Swami Tirtha
Dec
12
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, May 2013, evening, Sofia)
Question of Kripadham: You were telling the story of Dhruva Maharaja and it was said that following some renunciation finally he got the darshan of Vishnu. We know that it’s not something rare in the shastra: if somebody is praying very much, Vishnu is appearing. And if somebody is a demon, he is praying to Brahma and Brahma is appearing. But nowhere is mentioned what we should do to achieve the darshan of Krishna or of Radharani. It’s even not recommended. My question is, is there such a way to provoke Radharani to appear directly, or She is appearing indirectly?
Swami Tirtha: Yes, yes! There is way. Glorify Krishna! She will come and kick you in the ass.
Kripadham: What should we do to have this blessing?
Swami Tirtha: Krishna says in the Gita that “Simply by renunciation you cannot achieve perfection”[1]. Although we know that by renunciation we can achieve moksha; then what is the perfection described by Him, if it is something else than moksha? There must be a higher secret, a higher achievement. The perfection hinted at by Krishna in this verse is something beyond. So, that is devotional fulfillment, devotional meeting. Therefore to meet Krishna, or Radha, or the Divine Couple a very special type of tapasya must be made. Simple torture of the body is not enough. Although don’t forget that Vasudeva and Devaki were performing tapas and meditation also to achieve the blessings that God comes as their son. But have you read, have you ever heard that Yashoda and Nanda Baba were doing any tapasya? So, there are different levels, different layers of reality. There’s one level you can reach by renunciation, but there are certain levels which are beyond the capacity of renunciation.
Then what kind of sacrifice do we have to make in order that Krishna and Radharani appear? This special sacrifice is sanctioned, stressed for the Kali-yuga and this is the sacrifice of the holy name. Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha.[2] No other way to reach your goal. So, sankirtan is yajna, sankirtan is a sacrifice. Just like in the sacrificial fire we burn ghee and grains, and symbolically you burn your karma – in the same way in the flames of sankirtan we also burn up everything that is preventing us from entering. This is the phase of purification, we can say sadhana-bhakti – when you chant like a rule, like a strict given spiritual practice. But when we can bring our loving offerings to this sacrificial fire of the holy name, then this is not the elementary chanting for purification, but a glorification of the Divine Couple.
And how to satisfy this fire, which was lighted by Them? We have to use the best food for this fire. And the best firewood for this is ourselves. And what is the ghee that will help this fire to gain more flames? This is our love. So, your prana is the firewood and your prema is the ghee. And then the real sacrifice of the holy names will manifest. Therefore hundreds of times our acharyas remind us: it’s not the empty words that you should repeat, it’s not a lip-deep transaction. Deeply, deeply we have to dedicate ourselves.
And if we are waiting for entering the next step of our spiritual life – because this is a gradual process of coming closer and closer to some essential points – then my humble suggestion is: try to focus more on your spiritual practices.
1. Bhagavad Gita 3.4
2. Chaitaya Charitamrita, Madhya 6.242
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