Giridhara: bhava and karma

 Hari Aum.

As our Gurus say, all karmic debts must be paid before we can experience our true divine nature as being one with God.

Sivananda gives the example of the famous Swami Vidyaranya (author of the panchadasi). He performed several purascharanas of the sacred Gayatri mantra of the Vedas and became frustrated that he had not yet obtained the darshan of Divine Mother Gayatri. Later, on completion of no less than 24 purascharanas of the 24 lettered Gayatri mantra, he attained Her darshan. He then discovered that this much mantra japa was required to clear his karmic debt from previous lifetimes (including to erase the effects of past negative karma). He became frustrated at various stages during the long course of sadhana but continued his practice until all karmas was dissolved and he attained Self realisation.

So, the burning of karma requires much patience and many purascharanas based on the lives of our Gurus. 

On this arduous spiritual journey, many difficult karmas have to be experienced. Many challenges will manifest from both within and without. But the one who would attain the Divine must keep going.

The path of bhakti involves cultivation of a relationship with the Divine. This provides grace and protection when handling various challenging karmas.

This relationship with the Divine is based on a bhava or feeling that we experience when we think of Him/Her. There are five bhavas or spiritual emotions/feelings/relationships in spiritual life (I have outlined these in a previous post in October 2016; one can see God as a Master, a child, a friend, one's beloved or simply a peaceful presence).

For those of us who walk the path of bhakti, one of these bhavas will come to us most naturally. And when we cultivate this bhava with the help of spiritual practices, we will find we gradually progress spiritually.

In my case, I feel the sakha bhava, feeling of friendship, comes most naturally when it comes to Krishna. And, as I said in a recent post, He has proven time and again to be a most reliable friend. By His grace alone, my sadhana continues daily. And by His grace alone, it is slowly bearing fruit.

Let me give a recent example. Less than four weeks ago, I was going through a very hectic time (was in the process of finalising new job, organising various family-related celebrations and preparing for upcoming intense dance examination). In the midst of all this (perhaps as a result of overdoing things), I suddenly (literally overnight) developed extremely unpleasant knee pain (that was severe enough to trigger a blackout; and I have a decent pain threshold especially with all the migraines ). 

Anyway, it was terrible timing, not least from the perspective of the dance examination (this is a serious hobby and I had been working towards this patiently for months). I was deeply disappointed at the prospect of not being able to take the exam but felt I had little choice but to accept this. I arranged for some physiotherapy and it seemed likely that I would not be able to dance for weeks (a previous injury many years ago, had taken months to recover from).

However, on this occasion, my recovery was swift. After about ten days of avoiding any strenuous activity and doing physio, I cautiously experimented with some dance practice and found this to be quite ok. I had lost time but not so much that I had to give up all prospects of doing the exam. I put in additional effort and was grateful to be able to do the exam a few days ago {results awaited in a few weeks-- that is another matter altogether (though it seemed to have gone ok)!}.

I had a certain conviction after the sudden appearance of this health issue, and the rapid improvement, that this was an example of the Divine helping me handle my karma.

Health issues, like other challenges in life, are ultimately the result of past karma according to our Gurus. However, they say that worship of the Divine can help to reduce the intensity of suffering and in specific situations, nullify the effects of karma.

I feel that Krishna helped me to recover quickly on this occasion and to take the exam (that some of my fellow students decided to defer to next year due to the intense pressure of preparing three years worth of theory and practical study—all of which was on the syllabus) despite the health and other challenges I experienced.

He is known as 'Giridhara', the mountain-holder. As a child, growing up in Vraja, He is said to have famously lifted the sacred mountain (known as Govardhana) to protect the gopis and gopas from the severe rains inflicted upon them by the proud demi-god, Indra (who later contritely apologised to the Divine for his actions).

It is not only the Govardhana mountain that He lifts. He lifts the mountain of our past karmas, especially the negative ones. Like He protected the people of Vraja a few thousands of years ago, He protects His devotees of the present time too.

To access His grace and protection, the golden key is the recitation of His names and mantras. Despite many flaws in my devotion, I feel I receive His protection for the sole reason that I repeat a few malas of one of His mantras (the ashtakshara of Narayana) daily. I am certain that, on this occasion, the mantra helped me to recover rapidly after my knee injury. 

So, I feel the best 'sakha' (meaning 'friend' in Sanskrit) is Krishna alone. In the sacred scripture known as the Bhagavatam, His wife (and avatar of Lakshmi), Rukmini, famously declared that any woman with even a bit of sense would choose Him over all others. And, many of His devotees will certainly agree.

After no less than sixteen years on the path of being a householder devotee, I can say that, while there may be many excellent 'purushas' (literally 'men' in Sanskrit, but I mean people generally) on this planet, there is only one Purushottama (Supreme Being). 

It is natural for our relationships with family and friends to fluctuate with time; people in our lives may come and go as they please. But, the Purushottama never leaves us. Indeed, our bond with Him only deepens with time. And, difficult life events (such as health issues and so on), provide opportunities to experience His grace and protection and further strengthen this bond.

And no, those of us, who cultivate the 'sakha bhava' with Krishna are not 'just friends' with Him. Of course not! He is Mother, Father, friend, relative, beloved and child, all rolled into One. How could it be otherwise when He is the origin of everyone and everything?

Let us, therefore, cultivate our chosen bhava steadily, day by day, and attain the grace and protection of Giridhara (or our own favourite form of the Divine). 

Om Namo Narayanaya. Sri Krishna sharanam mama.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

P.S. I started my seventh purascharana at the beginning of the month and am carrying on steadily as best as I can based upon my circumstances.