DIVINE GLIMPSES
1. Witness
Vrindavan is abound with tales of Lord Krishna descending into physical form to help out his beloved devotees. Some of the most famous ones are as follows:
Not so long ago, on outskirts of Vrindavan lived an elderly woman. Those who used to go around on the parikrama of Vrindavan would invariably see her sitting in the small hut, humming some sweet melodies in the praise of lord and engaged in some sort of sewa – devotional act – like making a garland of flowers collected from nearby gardens, or rolling out cotton wicks for aarti or some other similar duties. She had almost nothing in the name of material belonging in the hut other than a few essential utensils, minimal of linen and clothes. In spite of her advanced age she always displayed a childlike smile and innocence, a look of contentment and a divine glow played at her face. She always offered cold sweet water to the travelers and it used to be surprisingly refreshing and rejuvenating. Her daily routine included a visit to Shri Bankey Bihari temple where she would sing, dance or simply sit in a corner with eyes closed and tears rolling down her cheeks. Nobody knew who she was, who were her parents or where from had she come to Vrindavan and how she developed that great sense of devotion.
On a scorching summer afternoon, one of our elder Goswamis who was passing through that path stayed at her hut to quench his thirst. Having quenched his thirst with cold sweet water, Goswamiji just insisted her to relate her story as to who she was, who were her parents or where from had she come to Vrindavan and how she developed that great sense of devotion. What follows is a brief account of the story related by the lady in first person and scripted by our elder.
The story
I originally belonged to Aligarh, the district town in Uttaar Pradesh, around seventy kilometers from Mathura. I am daughter of a simple school teacher by name of Gopal Das. I was the eldest child in the family and had two younger brothers. We were a small, contended and happy family. Though we had limited means, we never felt deprived as my father was a devoted person and sincerely believed that only God’s desire prevails. After schooling, as I grew up my parents started to looking up for a suitable match for me. By the grace of God, they soon came in contact with a reputed and educated family in a nearby place and liked the boy of the family very much and the relationship was finalized. From this moment onwards my father got disturbed as he did not know from where and how to arrange money for solemnizing my marriage.
At last my father naturally went to his friends and acquaintances asking for loans. He was in for a rude shock as all his friends dismissed him outright saying how my father would ever return the money. The day of my marriage was fast approaching and there was no money to organize the wedding. Money is always needed for marriages - for feasts, ceremonies, and dowry and so on. My father became extremely tensed and disturbed. All throughout the day he would wander here and there trying to arrange funds for my marriage but he did not meet any luck. He would often skip his dinner after returning home and would sulk and go straight to sleep. He was also deeply hurt at the behavior of his friends.
Finally only 5 days remained for my marriage. I saw my father coming home with lots of marriage items like bed, clothes, utensils, sweets, jewellery and so on. Both I and my mother was extremely surprised as to how out of the blue my father could arrange all this when just a day before he had virtually no money at all. Upon asking my father replied with quiet confidence that he had mortgaged the house and borrowed money from Seth Lakshmi Chand, the money lender. On hearing this, all hell broke loose on my mother for she had heard several tales about Lakshmi Chand's dishonest ways. Any one who had mortgaged his house or land with Lakshmi Chand was doomed for he could be certain he would never get it back. Lakshmi Chand was a greedy cheat who was adept at juggling account records to dupe poor villagers of their property. He would keep duplicate records, one real and the other fake. He was also well versed in legal matters, had a good hold over hawkish lawyers and so would indulge in brazen manipulations to carry out his misdeeds. My mother rebuked my father sharply and tension prevailed in our home. My mother was certain that we were doomed but my father tried his best to calm my mother, saying her fears were unfounded and after the marriage he would surely pay back the money to Lakshmi Chand and get the house released. My mother doubted father's words for she thought that after my marriage, father would become more carefree and would not take much care to repay the loan.
However, my mother's doubt turned out to be unfounded as after my marriage my father toiled day and night to earn money to repay the loan. After four months of very hard work that took its toll on his health, my father was able to repay the loan. True to his extreme simplicity, my father did not insist for the receipt for payments, cancellation of mortgage deed and returning the papers of the house immediately on making the payment. Rather he took the words of money lender that the formalities would be completed in a couple of days.
In India, Hindus consider it a sacred duty to take a holy dip in the Ganges after one has married off his daughter. Just a few days after my father had repaid the loan, my mother started insisting my father for the Ganges pilgrimage. My father did not have money then so he asked mother to wait a little. But my mother insisted and only God knows from where, she arranged some money to finance the trip. My parents then went on the Ganges pilgrimage. The day they returned, a registered postal letter awaited my father. When he read the letter he collapsed in disbelief! The document was a court notice sent by none other than the wicked Lakshmi Chand. It stated that if by a certain date my father did not repay the loan with interest, the house would be confiscated and my father thrown out.
Upon reading that notice all life seemed to have left my father. He had honestly repaid the loan with full interest so why this notice? He was a simple man who had never been to the court. The court for him seemed to be a dreadful place where the rich and the powerful openly manipulated legalities to twist cases in their favour to cheat the poor and the helpless. The court was a place where truth and honesty was butchered every day and every minute and falsehood reigned supreme. Every brick of the court building was like a snake's bloody fangs ready to strike the helpless and the meek at the slightest chance. My father nevertheless gathered courage to seek the help of his friends. Once again they all cold shouldered him. They refused to help my father saying that as my father had not returned the money to Lakshmi Chand in their presence, how any of them could become a witness to the case. Besides, Lakshmi Chand was a powerful and influential man so nobody wanted to pick up enmity with him.
Once again my father was plunged in gloom. He despaired and seemed to lose his balance completely. He wondered at the ways of the world. How strange this world is. Even after one has repaid the loan with interest he is served a court notice. He shuddered to think what would happen to him if he did not vacate the house. He would be dragged to court; humiliated; made to beg and grovel before the judge, lawyer and Lakshmi Chand; his family honour would bite dust and what not. My mother kept her hand over my father's forehead. My father was burning with high fever.
The next morning my father woke up in the same condition. He decided to visit Lakshmi Chand and ask him why he was doing all this. My mother sensing an altercation decided to accompany my father. When my father reached Lakshmi Chand's house, he was warmly greeted by the latter and was served tea and snacks. Lakshmi Chand even touched my father's feet (as a sign of respect) and enquired after his well being. Upon being asked by my father, Lakshmi Chand admitted that my father had repaid the loan in full along with interest. He said he was primarily interested in my father's house and wanted that house at any cost. He even offered my father all the money my father had repaid him as a price for the house. He said if my father did not accept the offer he would have to face harassment in the court.
My father begged Lakshmi Chand not to do this and said that if he were to vacate the house where he would live with his wife and two sons. Besides, the house was his ancestral property and he could not abandon something so precious. This was of no use as Lakshmi Chand refused to melt. He warned my father not to teach him what was right and what was wrong. He insisted that he had kept a proposal before my father. If my father agreed he would get the money from Lakshmi Chand for his house or else he would have to run from pillar to post to settle the matter in court, where also he would lose the case and finally evicted. At this my mother lost control and warned Lakshmi Chand that it was not proper to harass someone like this and there was a court higher than all the courts in the world and that was God' court and God would surely take Lakshmi Chand to task.
Acutely disappointed, my parents returned home. My father was already disgusted at his friends' indifference and so did not bother to consult anyone. Everyone was your friend as long as you had money. The moment you were penniless and needed help, you were abandoned. My mother kept insisting my father to seek help. Finally he got fed up and left home. Coincidentally that day was 'Hariyali Teej (the swing festival in the month of Shravan, in rainy season) and a bus of devotees was going to Vrindavan from Aligarh. My father lost in thought, absentmindedly boarded the bus. He had no idea where the bus was going, so mired he was in his mental agony. It so happened that the conductor of the bus turned out to be one of father's old students. He offered my father a seat beside his great respect. During their talk, father came to know that on special occasions the bus goes from Aligarh to Vrindavan with devotees of Lord Krishna. Today was one of such days. My father had heard of "Banke Bihari" before also. It was only today that he came to know that several devotees go to Vrindavan just to visit the "Banke Bihari" temple. So endearing was He to his devotees. My father's soul too now yearned for a darshan (devout glimpse) of "Banke Bihari" - the one and only Lord Krishna. The bus conductor narrated several miraculous stories about Lord Krishna to my awe struck father. He had heard several tales from bus passengers. Besides, his own life had been blessed by Krishna. He narrated his own story to my father - how many years ago he had arrived in Vrindavan as a penniless, hungry youth with no dwelling whatsoever; how he had cried and prayed to Krishna and how miraculously he was spotted by his long distant aunt - a rich lady, who adopted him and put him in service in her little transport business. That bus was one of the many buses she owned.
In the meantime the bus arrived at Vrindavan. The passengers alighted from the bus which was supposed to stay in Vrindavan for two hours after which it would go back to Aligarh. The passengers had two hours to stay in Vrindavan. The conductor took my father to the famous "Banke Bihari" temple. My father devoutly offered his soul to Shri Bankey Bihari ji and in a spirit of true devotion, surrendered completely to the Lord. It seemed that the grace of Krishna was beginning to touch my father. His entire mental agony seemed to flow down in the river of his true surrender.
At midnight my father returned home - a different man. He walked with a confident and steady gait. It seemed now, he had no worries; he needed no one's help; he depended on no one; he had no fear whatsoever. He had obtained His assurance - He who was the greatest of all helpers.
The very next day my father confidently sent a bold reply to Lakshmi Chand's lawyer stating clearly that as he had already repaid the loan with interest in full he would not under any circumstances vacate the house. Infuriated at this, Lakshmi Chand filed a legal suit against my father in the local court. The court issued summons to my father asking him to appear in the court on a specified date. The court summon which would ordinarily terrify my father beyond any limits, was today received like a royal invitation by my father.
He did not feel the slightest fear upon receiving the court summons. How could he feel fear when the Lord was with him? On the specified day, my father alone went to the court. There he was asked by the judge about the whereabouts of the payment receipt which Lakshmi Chand must have handed over to my father upon receiving the full payment. Upon this question my father innocently replied that he was not given any receipt nor had he insisted Lakshmi Chand to give him a receipt. There dealings were of mutual faith and trust and a receipt was unnecessary. The judge further asked my father whether he could tell him as to on what dates he had repaid the loan installments and also the amount he had repaid in every installment. My father looked up his diary and readily told everything. Lakshmi Chand kept duplicate records and presented the false records at the court. The false records, quite obviously did not have any trace of the transactions. My father kept insisting that he had seen Lakshmi Chand enter the amounts in his records but today there was no trace of the payments in Lakshmi Chand's records. Lakshmi Chand's lawyer started accusing my father of being a liar. Lakshmi Chand's lawyer further asked my father to present any witness in whose presence my father had given the payment. My father kept quiet as he had no witness- there was in fact no witness. Hope seemed to dim, he could seek help from no one but suddenly he remembered "Banke Bihari" - the saviour behind all saviours. The glorious form of the Lord stood there in my father's vision, with his flute playfully at his beautiful lips, smiling a very familiar and charming smile at my father. Father prayed deeply to Krishna - that ocean of mercy. My father blurted out to the judge,"Banke Bihari,………Banke Bihari .. is my witness. He was there with me every time I went to make a payment".
At this, the lawyer again asked my father to tell the name of the witness. My father said that "Banke Bihari" was the name of the witness. The lawyer growled at my father and asked him the witness's address. My father replied "Vrindavan, district Mathura, Uttar Pradesh". Upon being asked the name of the father of the witness. My father replied after some hesitation "Swami Haridas". (Swami Haridas was a great saint who lived in the sixteenth century, in Vrindavan. It was he to whom Lord appeared in person with His celestial consort and then they left behind the idol of Shri Banke Bihariji which till this day is worshipped in that famous temple of Vrindavan).
Anyway, the court attendent reached Vrindavan to present the court summon to the "witness" Banke Bihari. On reaching there he was accosted by a young beautiful dark skinned lad who offered to take him to Banke Bihari.
Before the attendant could answer, the lad took him by his hand and brought him to the Banke Bihari temple. It was afternoon and the temple was closed. The lad requested the attendant to stick the summons document on the temple door and said Banke Bihari would read it when he returned. He assured the attendant that on the day of the court proceedings, Banke Bihari would surely be present to give witness. Satisfied, the attendant returned to Aligarh.
Some people later told me that Lakshmi Chand's wicked lawyer had gleefully remarked to his client that the latter need not worry as the case would surely be settled in his favour as God would not descend to give witness in favour of the poor Gopal Das (my father). They both had had a hearty laugh at my father.
The judge was in a dilemma. He knew not what to do. Deep down he knew my father was innocent and Lakshmi Chand was fleecing him but then what could he do. My father had no proof, no witness. He wondered at my father's devotion and innocence. This man, he mused, has named Banke Bihari as his witness. Banke Bihari is the judge of all judges, the ruler of all creation, lord of all that lives. Will He have the time to come to give witness in favour of this ordinary fellow?
Just a few days now remained for the court date. My father now decided to go to Vrindavan one more time. Everyone in the household made fun of my father and tried to dissuade him from going but my father did not listen and left for Vrindavan. On reaching the temple he once more prayed fervently for the Lord's help. His surrender was complete. In the afternoon he sat outside the temple and went to sleep. In the dream Lord Krishna appeared to him and promised him that he would come to give witness in his favour. In the evening my father took a dip in the holy Yamuna and returned home.
Except for my father everyone in the household felt sure that the case would be decided in Lakshmi Chand's favour. But my father was supremely confident that he would win the case. My father's faith was dismissed as eccentricity by everyone else.
On the day of the proceeding, the judge asked my father whether his witness was ready. My father said that the witness had indeed arrived. The court attendant shouted out "Banke Bihari, present yourself to the court". There was no response. He called out again “Banke Bihari, present yourself to the court ". No response. He called out the third time “Banke Bihari, present yourself to the court ". This time a voice spoke from outside the room "I am here". Just that instant a man wrapped in a black blanket entered the court room. Everywhere there was exclamation of utter surprise. "Who is this Banke Bihari?" "Are you Gopal Das's witness?” the judge asked the mysterious stranger. The figure nodded. The stranger's blanket covered face was irritating the judge. "Please show your face and reply clearly, what is your name?” asked the judge now getting stern.
The figure slightly removed the blanket from his face and replied to the judge "Banke Bihari". The moment the judge looked at the stranger's face, he was completely awe struck at the divine luster on the stranger's face. This face was unlike that of any other human being the judge had ever seen. It was no human face; it was the face of God himself. The pen dropped out of the judge's hand, his forehead began to sweat profusely and he forgot to ask anything else. The stranger spoke, "Gopal Das has returned each and every pie with interest to Lakshmi Chand. If you want proof of this then it is to be found in a yellow file kept in the topmost partition of the almirah which lies at the right of Lakshmi Chand's office seat. All of Gopal Das's transactions appear under the name of "Das" and are fully recorded in page 2 of the file. I will now even tell you the exact amount and the dates on which Gopal Das made the payments." The witness went on to narrate every detail about the transactions. Everyone in the court was dumbstruck. Lakshmi Chand stood there trembling. His lawyer stood there staring in blank space like an idiot.
After some minutes, the judge regained his composure and asked the witness, "Can you recognize the file?". "Absolutely", replied the witness. The judge adjourned the court and went to Lakshmi Chand's office (a part of his dwelling itself) along with the witness, Gopal Das, Lakshmi Chand, Lakshmi Chand's lawyer and two court attendants. There it turned out to be exactly what the witness had told him in court. Lakshmi Chand was caught red handed.
The judge turned around. The witness had vanished! My father after that day never returned home. He who obtains the Lord makes the whole world his friend. The very next day, the judge resigned from his job and became a renunciate and devoted his remaining life to Krishna.
Not only this. Everyone related to this incident in any way whatsoever soon abandoned their dwellings and vocations and got lost in the divine charm of Vrindavan for the rest of their lives -and why not? They had become useless to the world.
And so am I. I believe, it is me who caused Bihariji to undergo all this trouble as it was for my marriage that my father raised the loan and the entire episode followed. I really do not know how to express my deep regards to Him. I stay at this place always waiting for Him to come to me in the afternoon like this one, tired of chasing cows all day long, asking for water, may be in a disguise like He came to the court in Aligarh.
2.Does he eat? When Bihariji eats sweets.
Vrindavan is abound with tales of Lord Krishna descending into physical form to help out his beloved devotees. Some of the most famous ones are as follows:
As practicing vaishnavas we all have developed a habit of offering to the lord whatever food is prepared in our kitchen. We also solemnly offer bhog in the temples we visit, and partake it as the prasad. Even if we are not at home, may be traveling, or at a friend's place, or in a party we say our silent prayers before we take our meals - Shri Krishnarpanam - whatever I have, is offered to Lord Krishna. The practice has a great practical significance - we shall always be eating healthy, fresh and satvic food as stale or tamsic food can not be offered to the Lord. The important spiritual significance of the practice is derived from the dialogue between sage Valmiki and Lord Rama when latter visited the hermitage during his vanvas (exile in forests) in treta yug. Lord Rama asked the sage -Where should I live? To which the wise sage answered wittily, "You are asking me where should you live? Tell me where you are not and I will show you the place." Further elaborating about Lord's preferred places to live, the sage mentions the heart (or mind) of those who take their food only after offering to you as prasad, is where you reside with devi Sita and brother Laxman.
So we follow the practice. We ritually offer the choicest of food, fruits etc to the lord. Did we ever stopped for a moment to ask ourselves what is the outcome of all this? We are putting in so much of effort, incurring so much of cost; will He really accept our offering? Will He eat? OR more specifically Does He eat? We might have asked the question silently to ourselves and immediately brushed it aside fearing blasphemy, inviting His wrath for asking such questions. So the question never comes out of our lips and naturally we do not get the appropriate answer too.
Gwariya (cowherd) Baba, a saint of yesteryears residing in Vrindavan dared to ask the question loudly and that too in Shri Banke Bihari temple. During the morning Darshan time the saint, who always referred to the lord as his friend (being a fellow cowherd); loudly asked everybody present in the temple “Has any of you seen my friend eating?” So many people were present in the temple courtyard at that time the senior elderly Goswamis, devotees from far and near, ladies, children, sewadars and whomsoever you may think of to be going to the temple. While Baba repeated his question loud and clear to all, nobody came forward. Most of them thought Baba has turned mad. Nobody believed such a question can come from a sane person. Somebody sarcastically remarked, "Arey Baba, lord never eats. Just think, if he starts eating who will offer him Bhog? Everybody knows, He does not eat, therefore everybody offers him so much of Bhog. They are sure they will get everything back to feed themselves and earn punya at the same time by offering Bhog." They just laughed at Baba. True to his saintly nature, Baba ignored all the sarcasm and teasers and kept repeating his question. Now he started cornering senior Goswamis and asked them individually, "Have you ever seen Him eating?" Still nobody dared to answer. As baba repeated his question, a voice came from an elderly Goswami "Yes Baba, I have seen your friend eating." Hearing this Baba's joy knew no bounds. He rushed to Goswamiji, held him strongly from the arms, shaking him vigorously he almost shouted, "Tell me, revered sir, kindly tell me when, how and where did you see him eating? Your words are like nectar to me. Sir kindly tell me urgently when, how and where did you see him eating?" "Baba have patience, I will tell you every thing. Come here, sit with me. I will narrate you what I experienced here, in this very temple itself." said Goswamiji. Everybody in the temple courtyard fell silent. In fact nobody had imagined such an answer could come out for Baba's most unexpected question. Not only Baba, but everybody present was keen to hear what Goswamiji was about to say.
Goswamiji narrates his experience:
A few months ago, I was in the Sewa of Bihariji. I entered the sanctum sanctorum at the appointed hour, performed all my duties right from cleaning the temple, washing the floor, awakening lord from sleep, offering the kalewa, achman, giving bath, adorning with beautiful dress, ornaments, flowers, applying sandalwood paste, itr, snacks and beeri(betel). Having done all this I opened the doors for Darshan. The temple was crowded as usual, devotees were continuously offering their respects and offerings of flowers, Bhog, money etc. Temple was filled with the din of Bolo Shri Banke Bihari Lal Ki Jai! Bolo Swami ji Maharaj ki Jai ! Jai Jai Shri Radhe!! I was continuously on my toes accepting offerings from devotees, distributing prasad, flowers etc. It was all so routine that I had no slightest of hunch that it was going to be very special day for me, that I was about to have a divine glimpse, that Bihariji had chosen me to reveal himself. Such a fool I was. I was engaged in performing all the usual duties of a pujari mechanically. By the time of Bhog I was quite tired, I drew the curtain, closed the doors and cleared the floor of flowers etc to create right clean ambience for offering Bhog. As I was performing my duties, my mind strayed wild. I started thinking how wasteful it all is? We all are putting in so much effort to feed Bihariji, who is nothing but an idol, an inanimate object. How an idol can eat? Knowing it very well, all of us are still repeating the ritual of Bhog several times everyday. How foolish? While my mind was wandering stray and wild, my body was doing its duty lawfully. I do not know as to when I pulled up the tables in front of Bihariji, when I placed the Bhog on those tables, when I placed water etc. My mind being occupied by incoherent thoughts, and my conscious trying to repel those, it was a sort of war going on inside me. In such an unstable mental state I finally put tulsi patra (basil leaves) prayed - Shri Kunj Bihari Deva Arpanam and came out of sanctum sanctorum from the private side door, closing the doors behind me.
Now I had a break of about thirty minutes as singers started to sing Bhog Pad (prayers sung at the time of Bhog). During this time I chatted with some friends sitting in the Jagmohan. I forgot all about my dilemma during chat and became mentally stable.
As the singing came to an end, it was time to enter sanctum again and resume my priestly duties. I went inside unmindful of thoughts I had sometime back. But Bihariji remembered everything and now listen to me more carefully what I saw there. As I pulled the tables away, I noticed one of the besan laddoos was scratched. I did not consider it abnormal as it could have been done due to my own fault in handling the dish or may be the halwai's (cook) fault. After removing tables I lifted the water vessels to offer achman (drinking water). As I lifted water vessel close to the lips of Bihariji, I saw his face first time after Bhog - and I was stunned. I saw a few particles of besan laddoo sticking to his lips! Almost in a trance I went back to the dish and now I saw what I had not seen earlier- the scratch marks on the laddoo were clear imprints of a child's teeth! I again looked at the divine face, yes besan laddoo particles were there and additionally there was that charming, mischievous but reassuring smile as if saying - believe me - I AM.
Baba, I did not exactly see your friend eating but I can tell you He eats and He only can show you that He eats.
What happened after?
As Goswamiji narrated his experience, Baba became highly emotional, tears were rolling down his cheeks and he was almost sobbing like a child. With great patience and mustering all his courage he said, "Goswamiji, you have done a great favor to me by narrating your experience. This my friend Bihariji never eats with me. I always ask him to come to me and share the food but he does not come. I always thought He does not eat, He does not require food like all of us. But now I know He requires food, He eats also. Today I will see how he does not come to me and eats with me. The fellow may be going hungry all these days, I will see that he eats properly." saying so Baba got an earthen vessel full of sweets and stood in the temple courtyard, holding the vessel in his hand he started to coax the Lord to come to him and taste those excellent sweets. Now everybody was sure that Baba has lost his balance, how Bihariji could come out to him? The story narrated by Goswamiji was altogether a different matter. But Baba was determined. He continued his efforts to invite his friend, who was not able to come out of sanctum, He had his own limitations. Finally it was time for Bhog. As usual doors were shut, Bhog placed in front of Bihariji and priests came out of the private side doors.
Disappointed but not defeated, Baba sat in a corner with his vessel of sweets, still he was determined to feed Bihariji by his own hands and waited for Darshan to open again. The temple courtyard was full of devotees and nobody paid any attention to Baba.
A handsome boy, dark complexion, about 8-9 years of age walked down to Baba. In a sweet voice the boy uttered, "Baba, I am hungry. What are you holding in that earthen vessel? Why don't you give it to me?" Without looking at the child , Baba said, "No, No, it is not for you or anybody else, it is for my friend. He will come soon. I am holding it for Him, I can't give it to any body else. Try your luck somewhere else." The child giggled, "Look at me. Who am I? If I am not your friend, who else is your friend?" Baba looked at the boy. It was He! That enchanting smile, those big eyes, that sharp nose, those beautiful locks of hairs and .. and ..Baba was lost. the child lovingly shook him off the trance, "Baba, I am hungry. Feed me please. I am very hungry." And Baba made the child to sit on his lap and started to feed. Baba just kept on feeding the child and looking at His innocent face. Time stood still for him while it passed as usual for the world. It was now time to open the Darshan after Bhog. The priests tried to open the private side door but it did not open. It seemed as if it was locked from inside. They tried again and again but no chance. Confusion prevailed in the temple as how could it happen and what to do now? The child sitting on Baba's lap suddenly became restless, "Baba, I am getting late, I have to rush off." saying so the child jumped off Baba's lap and disappeared in the crowd. Satisfied Baba now came back to his surroundings. As he heard of the prevailing confusion, Baba walked up to the priests and said confidently, "Try to open the doors now, it will open." The doors were again tried and they opened this time effortlessly! On asking how he knew the doors can now be opened, Baba said, "My friend was with me, He sat on my lap and I fed Him with my own hands. As a precaution He might have locked the doors from inside while sneaking out. He got late and therefore all of you were put to inconvenience."
There was great thunder BOLO SHRI BANKE BIHARI LAL KI JAI and darshan were thrown open to the devotees.
3.He was hungry that night
Vrindavan is abound with tales of Lord Krishna descending into physical form to help out his beloved devotees. Some of the most famous ones are as follows:
The tradition of regular bhogs
How many times in a day a child should eat? or, more correctly, how many times and how much each time a child should be fed? The essence of the question lies in the fact children generally do not eat, they are required to be fed. Then it obviously becomes the duty of parents to provide the child with the right amount of nutritious and delicious food at regular intervals round the clock so that the child remains well fed and does not create troubles. What type of troubles a child would create if he is hungry? Well, it depends on age. Infants cry when hungry, toddlers will reach out to kitchen and lay their hands on any eatables they can within the home, children will explore a little more in the house and reach over to fridge and other places, still elder child, particularly boys may move out to market also and buy something of their choice to eat. This is a very normal thing to happen. Nobody takes note of any of such things that keep on happening all around us all the time. Around eighty years back (in 1920's), an ordinary incident of this nature occurred in Vrindavan and it became a memorable tale as the boy involved in the incident was extraordinary, yes, Bihariji Himself came out of the sanctum sanctorum and went to the nearby market to buy something to feed Himself.
Before the referred incident happened, the tradition was to offer six meals in a day to Shri Banke Bihariji Maharaj. That continues to date. Accordingly, in the morning at the time of awakening drinks according to season, fruits and little snacks are offered. At the end of morning rituals and just before the opening of darshan, a sumptuous meal called Balbhog consisting of makhan mishri, variety of sweets and namkeens is offered. Rajbhog time is the time of main meal, the menu for which consists of roti, variety of dals and vegetables, curd, raita, karhi, rice- plain, sweet and namkeen, kheer, doodhbhat, adhota milk, papar, chuteny , pickles other sweets and assorted items. After Rajbhog arti, before putting Him to rest for the afternoon some snacks are offered. Similarly in the evening snacks, fruits and seasonal drinks are offered at the time of awakening while Balbhog is offered before opening the darshan. The menu of main evening meal, shayanbhog, consists of puris, stuffed puris, kachoris, seasonal vegetables, curd, raita, assorted sweets and namkeens, doodhbhat, papar, chuteny etc. After the shayan arti, before retiring for the day warm milk is also offered.
It was considered to be enough and nobody had even wildest imagination that something may be required during the long unattended period of night also, that a child may feel hungry over this time interval of about 9-10 hours. After all, incidents of infants and children getting up during dead of night and asking to be fed are not uncommon, instead a child sleeping for 10 hours without requiring an intermediate feed would be unusual. Now listen to that miraculous incident that happened on that night when Bihariji felt hungry. We are presenting a first person account of the incident from the shopkeeper from whom Bihariji shopped sweets.
The Incident
I own a sweet shop in the street leading to the famous Shri Banke Bihari Mandir in Vrindavan. I am talking of a time when the city was not so well developed and crowded. There were no concrete structures though we had certain two storied houses but most of the houses were single storied. Electricity was yet to become popular in the city. Most places in the market were lit up using kerosene lamps, the humble goosenecks or kuppis. Petromax were used in some big shops and also in temple courtyards and other public places. Influx of tirth yatris(religious tourists) was low and those who came generally stayed for 4-5 days in Vrindavan unlike today's touch and go tourists. The markets of Vrindavan were timed to darshan timings of Bihariji, i.e. markets opened in the morning at the time of opening of darshan and closed in the night (late evening) at the time of shayan arti. Just within a few minutes of shayan arti all the shops were closed and only living beings to be seen in the streets were stray dogs and the night watchman. Locals preferred to go to bed early and would not come out of their houses unless it was very urgent. People, local as well as tourists would get up early in the morning, go for a holy dip in Yamuna and go for Vrindavan Parikrama (circumambulation) or simply go around the temples that open early in the morning for mangla arti. Bihariji has always been a late riser as Mangla Arti is not performed here so the shopkeepers also had lot much of time to complete their morning rounds and open up their shops well in time. That was the simple routine we used to follow.
One afternoon I received a tall order to prepare 40 Kgs of laddoos to be supplied in the next morning. The order was urgent as the laddoos were meant to be prasad of some ceremony to be performed in the morning. I accepted the order and immediately put my boys on the job. By evening we were still half way to complete our job. The work could not be completed even by the shayan arti but it seemed to be under control. Considering the fact that boys stayed at a distant place, while my house was nearby, I let the boys go and sat myself to finish the remaining part of the work.As the fellow shopkeepers closed down their shops, one of the friends joked, "It seems you have got a tall order from a very important customer and probably will be working through the whole night." I just smiled. Little did I realize at that moment what the friend of mine had unknowingly said. Yes it was a tall order but the real customer was not the person who placed the order. Actual customer of that night....well, I never knew Him.
I was working in the shop with my back to the front. My hands rolling out laddoos like a machine. My mind was completely immersed in the job at hand. I did not know whatever might have been going on around me. I was having only one goal - to finish the job as quickly as possible so that I can go home with minimum delay. At last I was able to complete the work and was about to get up when......
Suddenly I heard a sweet voice "Kaka". I turned around and was surprised to see a beautiful, young boy, around 9-10 years of age, standing in front of my shop. The boy was not local. His face was quite charming. Seeing a young boy and that too an outsider in the almost deserted street at that late hour was something unexpected. I was lost in the confusion who he was and forgot to ask him what he wanted. With a sweet smile the boy said," Kaka, I am hungry. Can you give me something to eat?" The hypnotic voice was as if coming from a far off place and so convincing and assuring, there was no question of saying No. As almost in a trance I got up, put four Laddoos in a dona (leaf bowl) and handed over to him.The child took a bangle out of his hand, stretched his hand to me saying,"Please take this bangle as the price of sweets." I was looking at the face of the child and wanted to say,"You please take the sweets, I do not want any price from you." But could not speak as if paralyzed. I do not know when I stretched my hand to the boy and accepted the bangle. The boy smiled at me, took the sweets, turned back and moved away in the street. I kept on watching till he disappeared at the end of the street. As soon as the child disappeared, I came back to my sense as if awaken from a dream. I looked at my stretched out hand - yes the gold bangle was there! So it was not a dream. Now I really started to worry - Who the child was? Where from did he get the gold bangle? If it is his own and his parents note that it is missing they will scold him badly.I may also be implicated in a forgery case, that of cheating a child. I was repenting to have that bangle and wanted to get rid of it as early as possible. But I did not have even slightest of clue where to search for him at that hour? I did not know even the name of child or had any other information to relate to him. Under great tension and worry, I finally decided to keep the bangle in the cash box for the night and resolved to look for the rightful owner of it in the morning and hand it over to him with my apologies. With these thoughts, I closed the shop and went home. I did not talk about the incident to anybody in the house. I was afraid they may label me as insane to have left the boy uncared for at that late hour, or to have taken such an expensive bangle for the price of four laddoos, or for thinking to return the bangle. Therefore I just kept quite about this incident while we talked about everything else.
Next morning, I got up a little early than usual. After completing the morning routine I headed for the shop as I was to give the delivery of laddoos as per the order. On my way to the shop, I went to Bihariji Mandir for dandvat (paying respects to God by prostrating) as a matter of daily practice. It seemed to me that some confusion was prevailing in the temple. The priests, Bhandari, manager and some other officials on duty were talking in a helpless manner. On inquiring about the matter I learnt that a bangle was missing from the jewelery box, though it was verified to be there at the shayan arti last night. The lock, latch etc of the room were untouched and a piece of jewelery was lost. Nobody knew what to do. I also had no clue so moved away chanting the holy names of the God. Whosoever heard about the incidence could only say,"It is all His leela." As I moved a few steps away, as a lightening strikes to me,"What about the bangle the unknown boy gave me last night?" I returned back to the manager, bhandari and priests and requested them to come to my shop. They wanted to know what the matter was , I said, "I do not know, but I have a bangle that I want to show you." Perplexed, as everybody was, they had no choice but to come with me to see and inspect the bangle. Within a few minutes I reached the shop, opened up the cash box, took out the bangle.... and everybody was astonished.........it was the missing bangle of Bihariji.
A New Tradition
Now that the Goswamis of the temple realized the need for feeding Lord during the hours of rest also, it was decided that a box containing four laddoos along with water and beeris (betel leaves) be kept on a side table during the night as well as afternoon when the temple is closed.
4.Itra Sewa
Vrindavan is abound with tales of Lord Krishna descending into physical form to help out his beloved devotees. Some of the most famous ones are as follows:
The extract of flowers, preserved on sandalwood oil as base, is known as Itr (or Attar). Itr is known to have a soothing effect on our nervous system and has been used in aromatherapy since time immemorial. Even otherwise, the pleasing fragrance of Itr enhances the pleasure of the moment and makes everybody around happy. Itr is extensively used in daily sewa in the temples all around and is considered to be a very special offering. A devotee by the name of Vijnanai Khatri from Amritsar visited Vrindavan during the times of Swami Shri Haridasji Maharaj with a container of best Itr. The devotee had a rare experience of divinity of Vrindavan by the grace of Swamiji Maharaj. We are presenting a first person account of the incident as handed down to us by our elders.
My name is Vijnani Khatri and we own a flourishing business of perfumes in Amritsar. Our business is very well established and we are known as manufacturers of best quality of Itr, rosewater and other products. Our customers include the royals at Dilli and other places like Awadh, Jaipur, Nabha, Jammu, Jodhpur etc. Ours is a religious family and by tradition we run certain charities for the service of saints, cows, poor and social service. Saints from all over keep on visiting Amritsar and oblige us by accepting our hospitality and conducting satsang sessions at local temples and prayer halls.
One day when I visited the santniwas, I came across a saint who passed through Amritsar only a few days back on a long pilgrimage to Himalayan shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath and other holy places. I was surprised to see him back from the arduous and time consuming journey. Moreover it is not only the going and coming back from the shrine; saints indulge in conducting satsang sessions at places and are never in hurry to reach back to their kutia (hermitage).
I greeted the saint in his usual style, "Jai Shri Hari".
"Jai Shri Haridas", greeted the saint back.
In a lighter tone I asked, "Revered Sir, what has happened to you? Not only that you are back from your pilgrimage so soon, you have changed your greetings also. Where from this Haridas fellow has come in place of Hari? I am surprised."
The saint laughed heartily, "Yes, you may be surprised, but as you know the universe is full of surprises. Shri Hari threw upon me a pleasant surprise this time in the form of Swami Shri Haridasji at Vrindavan. I stayed at Vrindavan for some time enjoying the divine company and there I realized my goal. I am now so much contented that I need not go anywhere. I just meditate on the Vrindavan Satsang of Swamiji and chant the holy name- Jai Jai Shri Kunj Bihari Shri Haridas, Jai Jai Shri Vrindavan Nidhivan Vas."
I became curious to know about Swami Haridas and his satsang. I had visited many places, met many saints, attended many satsangs even at Vrindavan on several occasions but never knew about this Swamiji. Moreover the glow I saw on the forehead of the saint and shine of his eyes while talking about his Vrindavan visit was unprecedented. If mere remembrance of those moments can make the saint so joyful, how much joyous would be the actual attendance of Swamiji? I wanted to know everything and that too urgently. Seeing my eagerness, the saint smiled, "Be at peace with you. Come, sit with me, I will tell you all about Swamiji I know."
Here goes the narration of the saint:
“Swami Shri Haridas is the ascetic of highest order staying in Vrindavan at present. His personality is so magnetic – with shaven head, flawless skin, big pinkish eyes, shining teeth in a line, childlike innocence and friendly smile on the face, fair complexion, tall and well build body – that once you see him it is difficult to take your eyes off his face. His way of praying is through music. He himself composes poems in praise of lord in standard classical form and then he sings these in Nidhivan as well as on banks of Yamuna. His followers as well as common folks of Vrindavan believe him to be incarnation of Lalita, the sahchari of Shyama Shyam . According to tradition, Lalita is the in-charge of musical activities in eternal Vrindavan which is the abode of cosmic couple Shyama Shyam. Shri Lalita has appeared on this planet primarily to enlighten the path of Prema bhakti where a devotee is inspired to put all of his/her endeavors for maximizing the pleasure of Shri Shyama Shyam without desiring anything in return. This is the ultimate form of bhakti in contrast with the usual religious practices where the practitioner performs rituals with some expectation of gain either in material form or otherwise. There is a small temple in Nidhivan dedicated to Shri Kunjbihariji, the revered Lord of Swami Haridas. I heard the story from local saints and disciples of Swami Haridas that Shri Shyama Shyam appeared in person in Nidhivan for a very brief period to the presence of a group of saints, enjoyed the music of Swami Haridas for a moment, talked to him and granted a black charming idol before disappearing. This idol is worshipped as Shri Kunjbihari or Bihariji or Banke Bihariji or simply Thakurji in Nidhivan, Vrindavan. The beauty and charm of Thakurji is beyond description. Only those who have darshan in the temple will know about it. I have visited so many places, so many temples – but have no hesitation to say that Bihariji is Bihariji, there is nothing to which He can be compared. After having His darshan, I decided not to go anywhere else but to return to my hermitage and meditate on Him. If any time I feel like to go out I will go to Vrindavan only to see him. So that is my story.”
Hearing the story, I got immensely interested to visit Vrindavan, bow to Swami Haridas and have darshan of his beloved Thakur Shri Bankey Bihari ji Maharaj urgently. As I reached home, my sister could see that I was lost in certain thoughts and gently asked about it. I narrated the entire story as was told to me by the saint in the evening and also mentioned to her that I was inclined to go to Vrindavan as soon as possible. We jointly decided to go to Vrindavan soon, why delay the visit to such a rare personality?
Accordingly, I made alternate arrangements to look after the business in our absence and we left Amritsar for Vrindavan. On the advice of my sister we took a small container of a recently extracted itr to offer to Swamiji. This itr was extracted from a rare variety of exotic flowers and was of a unique fragrance, we had not yet started selling it. After completing a few days journey, we reached Vrindavan and asked for direction to Swami Haridas’s place. It was afternoon and we were directed to bank of Yamuna where we saw Swami Haridas sitting in the sand surrounded by saints and pilgrims.
Swamiji, his eyes closed and fingers moving swiftly on the strings of Tanpura (musical instrument), along with a few of his disciples was singing in the praise of Lord. It was a rare combination of vocal and instrumental music and the voices were so melodious that everyone was lost in it. We too sat through the recitation and were taken over. I do not remember for how long the sitting continued but nobody moved. To me it appeared as if everything around us including birds that continuously chirp in the trees, the monkeys that are always performing aerobatics and even the water of Yamuna, everything and everybody remained stand still at that time. Finally, the recitation session was over. It appeared to me that suddenly everything and everybody came to life. Birds started chirping, monkeys started jumping around and water in Yamuna started flowing. Swamiji moved aside his Tanpura and looked around. Everybody bowed to him, so did we. While bowing, I placed the container of itr at his feet. He looked at me, smiled and said, “Bahot achchhe samay per aye ho” (you have come at a very important moment). Saying this, Swamiji opened the container and emptied it in the sand. I got the shock of a lifetime. What type of swami he was? Did he have even slightest idea of what I offered to him? However exalted a saint may be, he has no right to hurt the sentiments of visitors like this. I was agitated but restrained myself. One thing that surprised me the fragrance of itr was totally missing, though the entire container was emptied.
The saint commanded his principal disciples, “Jao Vitthal, Jagannath jao. Thakurji ki sayan sewa ko samay hai gayo hai. Jake Thakurji ki sewa karo aur sab bhaktan kon Bihariji ke darshan karvao.”(Vitthal and Jagannath go. This is the time to perform evening rituals in the temple. Perform the rituals and let the devotees have darshan). As Vitthalji and Jagannathji proceeded to the temple, everybody followed them. It was a small temple in the place called Nidhivan. The priest entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple through the side door and we all sat in the front verandah singing “Jai jai shyama, Jai jai shyam, Jai jai shri vrindavan dham’ and other melodies. After a few minutes the main door of the sanctum sanctorum was opened and I had the first glance of Thakurji. I was surprised that the temple was undoubtedly filled with the sweet fragrance of the itr I had brought. I was sure nobody else could produce this fragrance as it was the result of my efforts of several months. Swamiji had emptied the container in the sand for all to see. He never gave even a single drop of it or even the empty container to Vitthalji or Jagannathji to bring it to the temple. So how that fragrance which was totally missing at Yamuna bank in spite of the entire content being poured out was so prominent at this place? I looked here and there as if trying to locate the source of fragrance but to no avail. Confused and bewildered I looked at Bihariji again surrendering to Him – I do not what is happening here. I have come to you and you must tell me what is this all about? I felt He was looking straight into my eyes. It seemed as if He was pulling me towards himself through his vision. I thought I would lose my consciousness, so I tried to take my eyes off Him but I could not. During those moments everything around me got blurred and I felt I was migrating to a different plane of consciousness. Then I had a vision of eternal Vrindavan – Shyama Shyam playing holi in the nikunj! And I saw the container I had brought being emptied in the pot of colours that they were spraying on each other!
So that was it!