Sharanagati
Collected words from talks of Swami TirthaAug
22
Question of Damodar: If we love Krishna, everything becomes easy. But, as I can say for myself that I don’t love Him, it becomes difficult. What is the first step to love Krishna? What is the first step of this long way?
Tirtha Maharaj: Every long journey starts with the first step. The first step is: we have to believe His words. When you say “no” to Krishna, it comes later. First we should say “yes”. Om. Om is a big “yes”. Om Shri Krishna! Positive mark, exclamation mark. Yes!
The first step can be made due to two reasons: when you are empty or when you are full. When you are empty, when your heart is resounding, echoing from emptiness, then you want to fill it up, because emptiness is not our philosophy. If you see an empty place, you want to fill it up. Especially ladies are very good in this – creating a home. To put a nice carpet here, some beautiful plants there – they fill the space up with so many necessary things. In this way they create beauty. Our heart is also like a desert; we have to fill it up. To make a beautiful garden from our hearts, full of the flowers of love of Godhead, cultivation must be there. Sow the seeds and cultivate; pour water and pluck the weeds. Then it will be a beautifully inhabited garden. This is one reason: if you are empty, if you feel empty, you have to fill it up. And the heart is especially a place for emotions; not for discussions or adjustment, it is for feelings. So to fill the heart with real emotions – this means divine emotions. Because if you give your emotions to humans, you will be frustrated. In this way it is very easy to forget about God, because human connections are so strong, that they capture the whole attention. You become enamored with the person and then you forget everything else, everybody else.
This we should apply to Krishna! To fall in love with Him; then you forget everybody else: “Krishna Krishna…” Later on somebody else will also come: “Radhe Radhe…” But this is the next chapter.
So, the first reason to start to love Krishna is if you feel empty. What is the second reason? When our heart is so full of emotions that we want to share. When we are drowning in our emotions. We have to give our hearts to somebody. Do not waste your high emotions; give your heart only to the most appropriate person. This is God Himself, Supreme Lord. And we have a very dynamic conception of our God. Sometimes He is playing tricks, sometimes He is playing games, sometimes He is cheating – like this. Very dynamic! He is very much vivid, He is not dead. So this is the second reason: when you have so much in your heart that it just overspills. It is said that the cistern is filling up; but the spring overflows. So when our hearts are just like springs – too much emotions are there, we are full of divine love – then we have to give them to somebody. In this way we have to find the most appropriate person, and this is Lord Krishna.
Actually He makes the first step. Just like when you are in a dance hall. Then you approach the ladies to ask them to come with you to dance. Krishna is the only one male dancer in this whole universe. So He makes the first step, He invites you: “Please, come with Me. I will dance with you. I am ready to dance with you; are you ready to dance with Me?” “No. I am waiting for someone else.” “All right,” and He starts to dance with somebody else. And how do you call those ladies, who are waiting to be invited by someone? We say that they are “selling parsley”. You know, old ladies usually sell parsley and wait for some customer, but nobody comes. So if you miss the chance, you will be selling your parsley. Do not miss your chance! If there is an invitation, do not let it go! Do not frustrate Krishna, because He will remember. And He will say: “Hey, I have so many to dance with. If you don’t come, I will find somebody else.” He is especially famous for always trying to find somebody new; get rid of the old and find somebody new. So beware! You should always be fresh and new for Krishna. Ever-fresh!
But invitation comes from Krishna. First impetus comes from Krishna.