Sharanagati

Lila Shuka was living for eight or nine hundred years, how can I tell his story? But – to put it short – he was a great lover. Therefore he must have had some Hungarian connection, or may be Bulgarian, because both Hungarians and Bulgarians are known as great lovers. But his love was again a little unusual. He was in love with a prostitute.

He was a very elevated young man, of good family, very bright, everything was perfect around him, but… this attachment to a prostitute was quite unusual. And you know, secret love is usually practiced in the dead of night. So one night he wanted to meet his love. But he was living on the one bank of the river and the lady was living on the other. At midnight there is no boat, so he had to swim. But especially in that night there was a big storm. So he went in the rain and the wind and the lightning to the river, urged by his love jumped into the water and tried to swim. But the waves were very high and although he was a good swimmer, he had to catch to a piece of wood in order to cross the water. At least he thought that this was a piece of wood… But it was a dead body swimming on the waves; he was just catching on the dead body in order to cross the river. Who would like to embrace a dead body during the night in a stormy river? It’s quite unusual, a? But he didn’t even recognized; by the help of this dead body he arrived on the other side. The house of the lady was fenced with high walls. So he had to cross the walls and in the dead of night he thought: “Hey, here is a bush climbing on the wall, I can take use of it and in this way I can cross the walls.” So he grabbed the trunk of this bush and began crossing the wall. At least he thought that this was a bush… although this was a great poisonous snake. But he did not recognized, because he was infatuated by the lady. Finally he came to the lady, entering the room: “O, my secret love will be fulfilled tonight!” The lady was very happy: “O, my lover has come!” But she was very gentle and elevated lady – although very simple practice, very simple living she had. She was spiritually elevated and started to instruct the man, first inquiring about the story; “What was happening to you, how is that in such a stormy night you come to me? How did you cross the river? How did you cross the wall?” He told whole the story and he was very delighted: “O, my queen is inquiring about the troubles I have taken for her. I’m her hero!” But when he finished the story, the lady said: “O my dear, you had taken so much trouble to achieve me, although I’m simply a prostitute. If you had taken the same troubles to achieve God…” And she was so powerful, that she converted the mind of the young man. And he started to become a mendicant – he renounced the world and started to become a devotee.

So, he became a wandering mendicant. But as he was a young men, desire did not finished in his heart. So next time he saw – only saw – a beautiful young lady. And again the desire arose in his heart. Then he said: “O, my eyes will pull me to hell! Better I pull them out.” So he blinded himself – on both eyes – and forcefully made himself to surrender more to Krishna. And he was always chanting the glories of the Lord. And he had one suffering, one pain in his heart – because he was living far away from Vrindavan and as a mendicant he started to go to Vrindavan – but now as he made himself blind “How shall I find the way?” And then he was crying and weeping and chanting and singing and… finally somebody came up to him. A small boy. He could not see, but he could hear. And he heard some melodious sound; the boy was playing a flute. And the boy asked: “Hey, why are you crying?” And he said: “You know, I’m blind, but I want to go to Vrindavan. I’m so far away! And nobody can help me.” Then the boy said: “I will lead you to Vrindavan. Just come with me, follow me.” And took him by the hand and led him to Vrindavan… And he was living his long life on the bank of the Radha Kund.

This is the story of Lila Shuka. We should be ready to sacrifice ourselves. Usually people are so ready to jump after their lovers, but at least we should give the same intensity of feelings to Krishna. Lila Shuka ki jay!