Sharanagati

Collected words from talks of Swami Tirtha




(from lecture of B.K.Tirtha Maharaj, 3 of September 2006, Sofia)
The perfection of vision should be a beautiful form. So from the cradle somebody is watching and waiting for the most beautiful thing to come to Her. And then She is compensated for the closed eyes, She FEELS: “That is nice, but that is not Beauty Himself.” So She feels when the real Beauty is coming – then She is ready to open the eyes.
So, Beauty is approaching, but who is hiding in the cradle? That is Supreme Love. Love, Divine Love, opens the eyes to Divine Beauty. This is the beginning of bhakti, this is the beginning of the divine love relationship. This is the ontological situation in Vrindavan, so to say. That sounds very dry. Still if this is the beginning, that should be the end also – if you practice bhakti yoga, the same should happen to you. We should practice and we should pray for that  thing happening in our hearts – that Divine Beauty meets Divine Love in our hearts. That is Radha-Krishna worship in your heart. This is the way how to make a temple out of your heart. By purifying, by cleansing the heart. So we should create appropriate and proper situation for Radha and Krishna to meet in our life and in our heart.
And of course later on Their connection was growing. And this divine connection was reaching certain pick points. But then, after fulfillment, separation was also revealed. Although They met, They were separated. Even while they were meeting, They had this fear of being separated again. I think you also had this feeling – when you have some very good time, some very good company, but you have a little fear at the back of your brain that may be it will stop sometime. This very hidden fear is clearly described in the bhakti scriptures. So when They are together, They have the fear of separation. But  when They are separated, They have the feeling of meeting again. Milan, Prabhu milan – meeting the Lord.
Therefore we can say: whether you are together or separated – it’s the same! It’s intensive feelings. And I made an investigation in India last time with two pictures. There was one Radha alone, in a little depressed mood; and the other is Radha and Krishna close to each other. And when I met any devotee there, I asked: “What you prefer, what you like better – sambhoga or vipralambha (union or separation)? And all those who were very educated in the vaishnava etiquette and philosophy, they said: “Vipralambha (separation).” Most of the male devotees said: “Vipralambha.” But whenever we came to Vrindavan and especially when I asked female devotees: “What you prefer, meeting or separation?” they said: “Meeting.”
Anyway, whether They are together or separated, we should glorify this beauty of Their meeting. And if that meeting happens in our heart, in our life, then our life is fulfilled.
You can try to understand the symbolic meaning of the story also. Because Krishna not only represents the ultimate Beauty, but He also represents knowledge. And Radhika is not only Divine Love, but emotions, feelings. So like brain, head – and heart. If they are together, harmony is there. Right? But when the head and the heart are separated, it’s a big problem, some pain will manifest. Therefore the purification process, or self-realization, should aim at the meeting of good head and good heart. And of course, we are speaking about the purest divine connection. We should not mix it with some material, worldly conceptions.


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