हमारो , दोउ प्यारी -प्यारो !

हमारो , दोउ  प्यारी -प्यारो !

एक गौर-तनु एक नील -तनु , दोउ  नैनन-तारो !

इक धारो नीलाम्बर अरु इक , पीताम्बर धारो !

इक सोरह -श्रृंगारहिं छबि इक , नटवर-छबि वारो !

इक भोरी अति इक अति चंचल , दोउ त्रिभुवन न्यारो !

कह 'कृपालु' जब होती होड़ दोउ , कोउ नहिं कोउ हारो !

भावार्थ ---प्रिय - प्रियतम दोनों ही हमारे सर्वस्व हैं ! एक गौर-वर्ण और एक नील -वर्ण के हैं तथा दोनों ही मेरी आँखों के तारों के समान हैं ! एक नीलाम्बर धारण किये हुए है एवं एक पीताम्बर धारण किये हुए हैं ! एक सोलहों श्रंगार से अलंकृत हैं एवं एक नटवर वेष से अलंकृत हैं ! एक स्वभावतः अत्यन्त भोली हैं , एक स्वभावतः अत्यन्त चंचल हैं ! दोनों ही संसार से निराले है , क्योंकि दिव्य चिन्मय हैं ! 'कृपालु' कहते हैं जब दोनों में किसी प्रकार की रसमयी होड़ हो जाती है तब कोई भी किसी से हार नहीं मानता ! क्योंकि स्वरूपतः परमार्थतःदोनों एक ही हैं ! 

                                                                                                                        प्रेम-रस-मदिरा 

                                                                                                                         युगल -माधुरी  

                                                                                            -----जगद्गुरु श्री कृपालु जी महाराज.

                                                                                                                     

                                                                

कहौं हरि कहा ? कौन मुहँ लाय |

कहौं हरि कहा ? कौन मुहँ लाय |
तुम सों पाय पतित पावन प्रभु, चरन शरन नहिं आय |
पढ्यो सुन्यो सब वेद पुरानन, गुन्यो नाहिं इठलाय |
... नित रह लक्ष्य लोकरंजन को, बातन विविध बनाय |
औरन की झूठी निंदा करि, चाहत रसिक कहाय |

अबहूँ नाथ ! ‘कृपालु’ न चेतत, नर तनु बीत्यो जाय ||

भावार्थ- हे श्यामसुन्दर ! तुमसे कौन सा मुँह लेकर, क्या कहूँ ? तुम सरीखा पतितपावन स्वामी पाकर भी तुम्हारी शरण में नहीं आ सका | वेदों, शास्त्रों एवं पुराणों को भली-भाँति पढ़ा और सुना भी, किन्तु अहंकारवश नहीं माना | प्रतिक्षण अनेक प्रकार की रंग-बिरंगी बातों के द्वारा संसार को ही प्रसन्न करने का लक्ष्य रखा | वास्तविक संतों की भी झूठी निन्दा करके अपने आपको संत कहलवाने का प्रयत्न किया | ‘श्री कृपालु जी’ कहते हैं यह अमूल्य मनुष्य शरीर समाप्त होता जा रहा है, फिर भी चेतना नहीं आ रही है |

अमूल्य तत्वज्ञान - परम वन्दनीय जगद्गुरु श्री कृपालु जी महाराज

प्रश्न - हमारे सेव्य कौन हैं ?

उत्तर (श्री कृपालु जी महाराज) - हमारे सेव्य श्री कृष्ण ही हैं. हमारे माने आत्मा का असली सेव्य कौन है. क्योंकि विश्व का प्रत्येक व्यक्ति एकमात्र आनंद ही चाहता है अतः वह आनंद का दास है. श्री कृष्ण एवं आनंद पर्यायवाची शब्द हैं अतः वह श्री कृष्ण का अनजाने में दास ही है. हम (आत्मा) अंश हैं, वे (श्रीकृष्ण) अं

शी हैं. तो अंश अपने अंशी को ही चाहता है. आग कि लोउ ऊपर को जाती है, सूर्य की अंश है वो, वो अंशी है. पृथ्वी का ढेला पृथ्वी की ओर आता है, पृथ्वी का अंश है. ऐसे ही हर चीज का अंश अपने अंशी की ओर भागता है, ये नेचर है. सब नदियाँ समुद्र की ओर भागती हैं क्योंकि समुद्र उनका अंशी है और समुद्र में लीन हो जाती हैं. ऐसे ही हम जीव हैं, भगवान् के अंश है, इसलिए अंशी को पाना हमारा नेचर है. देखो ये संसार पंचमहाभूत का है, इसलिए सजातीय हैं इनका विषय पंचमहाभूत का शरीर.. हम (आत्मा) दिव्य हैं, भगवान् के अंश हैं. अतः श्रीकृष्ण ही हमारे सेव्य हैं...

जीव कृष्ण नित्य दास गोविन्द राधे |
यही तत्वज्ञान निज बुद्धि में बिठा दे | |

Shree Kripaluji Maharaj On Television

Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj's discourses began airing daily on Indian television in 2001 and quickly became the most watched series on the network. Today, three channels in India and two channels in the U.S. air his speeches each day. Shree Maharajji’s discourses dispel spiritual confusions, elucidate the direct and practical path to God, and transform the lives of the listeners. His spiritual teaching clarifies the purpose of li

fe, details the path of bhakti yog, and outlines the essence of Hindu religion. See below for the television timings of Shree Maharajji's speeches.

U.S. TV Timings:

TV Asia
Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. (EST)
Saturday-Sunday 10:00 a.m. (EST)

Aastha
7 days a week 6:30 p.m. (all time zones)

India TV Timings:
sahara samye-every morning
6:30 AM to 7:00 AM

astha-every evening
6:20 PM to 6:45 PM

sadhna channel every morning
7:10 AM to 7 :40 AM

Gratitude

Bade bhag paeeb satsanga, binuhin prayas hohin bhavbhanga.

“With great fortune one receives the association of a true Saint, and due to that association, one could cross this ocean of Maya with the least effort.” (Goswami Tulsidas)

Sab kar phal Hari bhagati suhaee, so binu santa na kahun paee.

“All spiritual practices culminate in selfless devotion to God. No one has acquired this except through the association of a true Saint.” (Goswami Tulsidas)

Parikshya lokan karmachitan brahmno nirvedamayan nastyakritah kritena.
Tadvigyanartham sa guru mevabhigachhet
samitpaniha shrotiyam brahmanishtham.
Mundaka Upanishad 1/2/12

Those who practiced the worshipping rituals prescribed in the Vedas and who realized the limited and temporary material and celestial consequences of these actions came to the conclusion that the supreme divinity could not be achieved by self-effort. To know God, Gurum eva abhigachhati, one has to completely surrender to a Guru. Such a Guru has two qualities – he has a thorough knowledge of all the scriptures (shtrotriyam) and He is established in supreme divine bliss (brahmnishtham).

DIVINE LOVE – THE GREATEST TREASURE

Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj

The Powers of God

All of us have many powers – the power to see, to hear, to think, and so on.  If a particular power reduces for someone, that person becomes handicapped.  For example, if someone says, “I am blind,” it means that the person’s power to see has finished.  We need multiple powers to accomplish any task.  However, the powers that we souls possess are limited both in number and in quantity.  

God is called Sarva-shaktimaan, which means He is all-powerful.  He possesses innumerable powers, and each is unlimited in quantity.  It is by virtue of these energies that He is full of knowledge, full of Bliss, the Creator of the world, and the accomplisher of humanely impossible tasks.  He creates this world out of His material power, called maya.  He also has a superior spiritual power, which is called Yogamaya.  You can imagine that if God creates such an amazing world out of His material power, how amazing will His spiritual power be?  All the Divine leelas of Shree Krishna and Shree Ram that we read about were accomplished by the spiritual power, Yogamaya.

The Power of Divine Love

Yogamaya has many branches.  The highest of these is the power of Divine love.  This is God’s most extraordinary power.  It is so special that if someone possesses Divine love, God feels obliged to become a servant of that devotee.  The Shreemad Bhagavatam states:

Aham bhaktaha paradheeno hyaswatantra ivadwija

Sadhubhir grasta hridayo bhaktair bhaktajanah priyah

Shree Krishna states: “I am supremely independent, but Divine love is such a power that it binds me.  My devotees who possess it are seated in my heart, and are very dear to me.”

Whenever God descends in this world, He reveals such loving pastimes where He shows how He is bound by the love of His devotees.  There are innumerable verses to this extent:

Vyapaka brahma niranjana, nirguna vigata Vinod

So aja prema bhagati basa kaushalya ke God  (Ramayan)

“We all know that God is all-pervading in this world.  We also know about His formless aspect.  However, look at the power of Kaushalya’s bhakti, under whose spell, the very same Supreme Lord has become a small baby and is lying in her lap.”

Shrutimapare smritimapare bharatamapare bhava bheetah

Ahamivandam nande yasya linde param brahma  (Sukti Sudhakar)

“That God, who is unknowable even through the scriptures, has become the son of Nand Baba.  I offer my obeisance to that great soul Nand Baba, in whose house the Supreme Lord is playing like a child.”

Jo nahin jaata bulaye hu Shuka Sanakadika Dhyan

Binuhin bulaye jaat soi Braj veethina vanitan  (Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj)

“Look at the glory of love. That Supreme Lord, Who hesitates to reveal Himself in the samadhi of great personalities, like Shukadev and Sanat Kumar, goes uninvited to the house of the gopis of Braj.”   The wonderful amazing leelas, or pastimes, revealed in the above verses show that God is Himself under the power of Divine love. A very sweet pastime of the Lord that illustrates this point is described below. 

The Lord Gets Tied by a Rope

The Supreme Lord descended in the world as Shree Krishna, and performed loving pastimes with His devotees.  Although He is the Lord of all the worlds, He became a little child, who played with His cowherd friends and stole butter from the gopis.  

Once when He was small, Mother Yashoda was churning butter in the kitchen.  Although she was pulling the rope with her hands, her mind was absorbed in loving thoughts of Krishna.  She was thinking, “Let me churn very soft and sweet butter, so that I can feed Krishna with it, and give Him much happiness.”

Shree Krishna reached the scene.  Seeing His mother busy with churning butter, He desired her affectionate attention.  So he climbed into her lap, caught her face with his tiny hands, and tried to make her look in His direction.  Seeing her dear Krishna’s naughtiness gave great pleasure to Mother Yashoda.  She began feeding Him milk with great love, and fondling Him affectionately.  Krishna was enjoying His mother’s affection.

In the meantime, the milk in the pot on the fire started boiling and overflowing.  Seeing this, Mother Yashoda hurriedly put Krishna aside and ran to take the milk off the fire.  Krishna was annoyed that His mother had left Him to tend to the milk, as if it were more important than Him.  To let Mother Yashoda know that He was angry, He took the churning rod and smashed the pot of butter.  He also broke some more pots nearby.  Then he carried a small pot of butter out of the house.  He ate some butter Himself and began feeding the rest to the monkeys. 

Having taken care of the milk, Mother Yashoda returned to the butter.  She was shocked to see all the pots smashed.  She decided to teach her little son a lesson, and taking a rod in her hand, she came out of the house.  Finding His mother so angry, Krishna ran to save Himself from a beating.  His four steps were equal to one of Yashoda, as she chased him.  However, He was still quicker than His mother, and she became tired. 

The Lord is faster than the fastest, and so who can catch Him?  However, seeing Yashoda’s tired state, Krishna felt pity on her, and pretended to get exhausted Himself.  He slowed down, and Mother Yashoda caught hold of Him.  God is the Father of all souls, but because of Yashoda’s love, He had subjected Himself to the role of her child.  The mother has the right to punish her child for his betterment, and so Yashoda took a rope to bind Krishna to the grinding wheel.

However, the rope turned out to be two fingers short!  So Yashoda tied a second rope to the first one and again tried to bind Krishna.  But again the rope was two fingers short!  No matter how many ropes Yashoda kept adding, the rope was still not long enough to tie Krishna.God is bigger than the whole universe, which resides inside Him.  Unless He Himself allows it, who can ever tie Him?

Mother Yashoda was bewildered!  Finally, Krishna again felt pity on her and allowed Himself to be tied.   Thus the scriptures state:

Yashodaya samakapi devata nasti bhutale

Ulukhale yaya baddho muktido muktimichchati

“Can any devata be considered as fortunate as Mother Yashoda?  That Lord, who releases the souls from the bonds of maya, has been tied with a rope by her, and He is begging her to release Him.”  This amazing pastime reveals the glory of Divine love, and shows how the devotee can bind the Supreme Lord with his or her love.

Krishna’s Loving Pastimes Confounded Even Brahma

When Shree Krishna was four years old, the Sage Narad went to his father, the celestial god Brahma, and said, “Father, do you know the Supreme Lord has descended in our universe.  He is displaying His Divine pastimes in the land of Braj, in India.” 

Swami Mukundananda

Brahma ji desired to see the Lord, and he went with Narad to Braj.  At that time, Shree Krishna was sitting and eating food with His cowherd friends, while their cows were grazing in the forest.  Astonishingly, Shree Krishna was eating the remnants from the plates of His friends.  Brahma ji was shocked, “How can this be God?  He is eating the food remnants of these little village boys!”

Narad said, “Father, if you do not wish to believe me, I am going.”  Narad Muni went away. 

Brahma ji began thinking, “Narad was so serious about it; can this child be God?  But this kind of behavior is not becoming of God.  He seems to be an ordinary boy.”  Finally, Brahma ji decided to do a test.  By His power, he made all the cowherd boys and the cows disappear from there.  He transferred them to a cave located in the Sumeru Mountain of heaven.  He thought that if this child is God, he will come to know.  But if He is not God, he will start crying, “Where have my friends and cows gone?”

For the all-knowing Lord Shree Krishna, it was not a problem to know what had happened.  He decided to teach Brahma ji a lesson.  So He made His form like Brahma and went to Brahma-lok, the abode of Brahma.  There He told the guard, “A false Brahma will come shortly.  Do not let him into the palace.”  The guard agreed to do as he had been told. 

Then Shree Krishna took on all the forms of His cows and cowherd friends Himself.  In each form, He kept doing all the work as usual.  So neither the mothers of the children, nor anyone else in Braj came to know that the real children had been taken to Sumeru Mountain. 

After hiding the children, Brahma ji returned to his abode.  However, he was stopped by the guard who accused him of being a false Brahma.  Brahma wondered what the matter was, and suspected that it may have to do with the boy in Braj.  He went quickly to Braj on the earth planet.  However, by earthly calculations, one full year had passed.  What Brahma ji saw completely amazed him.  Just as before, Shree Krishna was sitting with his cowherd friends, eating their remnants, while the cows grazed nearby.

Brahma ji was shocked.  He went running back to the Sumeru mountain.  There he found the cowherd boys and cows, just as he had placed them.  Then Brahma ji realized, “Oh my God!  That boy is the Supreme Lord Himself.”  He returned to Braj again to apologize.

This time, Shree Krishna displayed His Divine four-armed Shree Vishnu form in all cowherd boys and cows present.  Brahma ji fell at Shree Krishna’s feet, and greatly praised the good fortune of the boys, whose friend the Lord had Himself become.  Brahma ji prayed:

Tadastu me natha sa bhoori bhagyo bhavetra vanyatra tu vatirascham

Yenaha meko bhavajjanaanaam bhootva nisheva tava pada pallavam  (Bhagavatam)

“My Lord!  In my next life, do not give me the seat of Brahma.  Make me a blade of grass in this land of Braj.  Then I will be able to get the dust of the lotus feet of these cowherd friends of yours, and I too will receive the Divine love that they possess.”

There are hundreds of such pastimes, which reveal how God forgets His Almightiness before His devotees. He becomes their Friend, Child and even Beloved.  These leelas are revealed in the Vedic scriptures, which is one of the many features that make Hinduism so special.

The Greatest Treasure We Can Possess

Divine love is such a power that if someone possesses it, God happily serves that devotee.  That is why in the Mahabharat, Shree Krishna drove the chariot, while Arjun was merrily sitting on it.  Shree Krishna is the Supreme Master of the universe, while Arjun was a mere soul.  However, Arjun was such a soul who possess Divine Love, and hence Shree Krishna took the position of serving Him.

This is the glory of Divine love, in front of which all worldly treasures become tiny.  While other treasures will remain behind when we leave this world, the treasure of Divine love will go with the soul after death. It is the highest treasure that we can possess. The Saint Kabir said:

Kabira saba jaga nirdhana dhanvanta nahin koya

Dhanvanta soi jaaniye jaahi prem dhana hoya

“Nobody in this world is really wealthy, except that person who possesses the treasure of Divine love.” 

However, since it is such an invaluable thing, God does not give Divine love easily.  We must now try to find out how we can receive this priceless treasure.  

---

Shree Ram in the lap of Mother Kaushalya

Shree Krishna holding the padukas of Nand Baba on his head.  Nand Baba sitting on his throne, looking at Krishna with love.

Mother Yashoda trying to tie Shree Krishna to the mortar wheel with a rope.

Brahma ji offering his obeisance to Shree Krishna who is about five years old.

Use a standard photo of Partha Sarthi.  Shree Krishna driving the chariot, while Arjun is sitting on it.

The Art of Managing Your Mind

Swami Mukundananda

Swami Mukundananda is an IIT and IIM alumnus, being an exponent of the Material Managerial skills and having undergone a rigorous internship under the divine guidance of his Guru, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji, Learning the details of The Spiritual Science. By the Grace of Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, Swamiji has been teaching this unique art of managing one’s minds across the globe for more than past twenty-five years.

An uncontrolled mind is the subject for the vagaries such as lust, anger, greed, fear, jealousy, vanity, anxiety etc. that torment a person endlessly. To curb this infirmity, many people practice the art of positive thinking through their will power, not knowing that a human mind is helpless to bear the past karma. The Vedas, however explain that without a proper spiritual insight and proper self-knowledge, all means practiced to conquer the mind are fruitless.

Meaning & Nature of the Mind

It has been revealed in the Vedas, It is the Mind only that is the Root-Cause of Physical-Mental imprisonment and Liberation (Amrit-Bindu-Upanishad Shloka 2). What is this Mind, then? The Scientists fail to penetrate to the subtle mind, as they consider the brain as the mind. Brain is only a central processing unit, hard-wired with the physical organs of the body such as hands and legs. Moreover, while the Psychologists do admit the existence of Mind, they refrain from admitting the existence of Soul, the neutral source of Energy, through which, the mind functions.

Mind has been revealed as a subtle (not abstract) machine, through which a soul experiences and interacts with, the external world. A soul’s likes, dislikes, desires, tendencies, instincts are all stored in a part of our subconscious mind. Mind, however, functions in various modes and stages.

Types of Mind

Primarily, the subtle human mind can be divided into Four Partitions. Mind you, it is the one single mind that enacts four different roles simultaneously, as revealed in Shreemad Bhagavatam Puran (3.26.14).

Mann (The Desire-Weaving Machine)

The mann instinctively makes sankalpas and vikalpas or desires of sense gratification. The mann is heavily affected by the surroundings and past karmas of a soul. This being mind’s inherent function, the mind cannot be deprived of making desires. There is not a single moment, where mind can stop making sankalpas and vikalpas. (Shreemad Bhagavad Geeta 3.5), knowing this well, instead of annulling the mind, the devotees try to diver the thought-flow towards the Spiritual Realm by constant remembrance of the Lord’s Names and Divine Pastimes.

Buddhi (Intelligence)

Once the mann decides a particular thing or hatches a particular desire, the data is further processed to the Intelligence, where it is weighed taking into consideration social viability, status, personal image and other material constraints.

Both Mann and Buddhi carry out their jobs with the alliance of the memory faculty, wherein samskars (neural-images) of past infinite births are stored in the mind.

Chitt (Contemplation)

Once the Buddhi weighs viability and feasibility of a particular desire, the more evolved or status-conscious individuals churn the application furthermore in this highly advanced and subtle machine called chitt. Most of Para-psychologists, yogis and munis fail to breach the code of this subtle organ.

Ahamkar (Ego)

Ahamkar is not ego but the inherent sense of I or ‘I’-ness. It is of two kinds, the unreal and the real. The material Ahamkar, that of considering one to be a body or a sense of belonging to a particular cast, nation, ethnicity, species etc., is false ego. Whereas, considering one to be a Pure Atomic particle of God’s Marginal Potency aka Atma is Real Ego.

Stages of Mind

Human Mind can be divided primarily into three stages based on the level of its consciousness about its own entity.

Conscious Mind: Conscious mind is the mind that one is conscious about. The habits that we know we have, our limitations, vices, infirmities etc.

Subconscious Mind: Subconscious Mind is that sphere of our mind that we know but we cannot express through words or gestures.

Unconscious Mind: This more than 99.99% of our mind. All the material aspects that we do not know are stored in the unconscious mind of a soul.

Super-conscious Mind: This is the mind of a turiyaatita yogi, whose consciousness is able to reflect its optimum capacity, but this also is limited to the relativity of the yogi. It would be indeed very incompetent to conclude that such an individual receives the cosmic consciousness.

Divine Mind: This is a mind of a pure devotee who has been impregnated with Pure Love of God by his/her Guru.

naamapradh

fifth original Jagadguru.

Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj observed that people were misguided and totally ignorant about the actual essence of the scriptures and the true form of devotional practice. To rectify this dismal spiritual state of mankind he organized huge religious conferences in Chitrakoot in 1955 and at Kanpur in 1956. These conferences were attended by the most eminent scholars and Saints of India. It was during these conferences that the scriptural omniscience of Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj was revealed to the world, and even the most learned scholars were lost in amazement.

Impressed by Shri Maharaj Ji’s extraordinarily authoritative knowledge of all the scriptures, the Kashi Vidvat Parishat, a body of 500 topmost scholars who collectively represent the foremost seat of spiritual learning in India, invited him to Kashi (Varanasi).

Shri Maharaj Ji delivered a series of discourses in Sanskrit, which left all of them spellbound and speechless. They were so highly impressed by his unparalleled knowledge of all the scriptures, which far surpassed their combined knowledge, that they honoured him with the title of ‘Jagadguru’, ‘Spiritual Master of the whole world’, on January 14, 1957. He was only 34 years old then. The Kashi Vidvat Parishat honoured Him with the special title of ‘Jagadguruttam’, ‘Supreme amongst Jagadgurus’. They also declared him as ‘Bhakti-yoga-rasavatar’, ‘Descension of Divine Love and Bliss’.

In the history of India only four Saints have so far been honoured with the title of Jagadguru in the last 2500 years – Jagadguru Shankaracharya, Jagadguru Nimbarkacharya, Jagadguru Ramanujacharya and Jagadguru Madhvacharya. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is now the fifth original Jagadguru.

Both Guru and God are standing before me,
To Whom should i pay my respects first,
Glory to my Guru, Glory to my Guru,
Who revealed God to me!

Kripalu Mahila Mahavidyalay

Kripalu Mahila Mahavidyalay was founded in 1998 as a self financed all girls Institute. KMM is affiliated with Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Awadh University, Faizabad and is governed by all the rules and regulations set forth by the University for Self Financed Colleges. The Institute offersM.A, B.Ed, B.Sc and B.A programs at present. The Institute currently runs at an average capacity of 1500 students, adding more every year.

KMM believes in imparting best qualitative education to the students through an advanced educational system and innovative ideas.

GAHO RE MAN (Prem Ras Madira)

गहो रे मन ! श्याम चरण शरणाई ।
अंत समय कोउ काम न अइहैं मात पिता सुत भाई ।
काम क्रोध अरु लोभ मोह मद इन सों कछु न बसाई ।
यह जग मृग तृष्णा सम दिखत सुख लवलेश न पाई ।
धन यौवन तन छन भंगुर सब ज्यों कपूर उडि जाई ।
बहुरि 'कृपालु' न नर तनु पाइय बिगरी लेहु बनाई ॥


O mind! Take shelter of Shyamsunder's soft Lotus Feet.
Ones you call your own: mother, father, brother and son, will not accompany you after death.
Moreover, there is no other way of escaping from the clutches of demons like Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment and Pride.
This world is like a mirage, containing not even a trace of happiness..
Wealth, youth and life are temporary, disappearing like camphor.
Says Shree ‘Kripalu’, “O mind! You will not be blessed with a human body again and again. Therefore, do not delay in improving your pitiable condition.”

DIVINE EXPERIENCES OF INAUGURATION OF PREM MANDIR,VRIDAVAN

We arrive in Vrindavan, the land where Shri Radha Krishna spent their childhood days, and head over to our ashram. After freshening up, we head directly over to Prem Mandir by pedal cart through the streets of Vrindavan. We finally arrive near Prem Mandir and we can see the beautiful pure white Italian marble structure erected by skilled artisans from across India. From afar, just one glimpse and one would think what is this marvelous structure that is grandeur than the Taj Mahal. It’s when you arrive at Prem Mandir, then you realize the sheer beauty and gift of divine love that is erected on the very ground that Shri Krishna and Radha Rani used as their play ground.

There are so many gates on the main road that one would get confused as to which gate to enter through. Luckily, there were security guards directing traffic and showing the way into the mandir. The first gate is the main entrance and opens to a beautifully landscaped garden thus leading to the main entry of the mandir. The second gate leads to the Jagadguru Dham and Sadhana Hall (the Sadhna Hall is under construction [for the Prem Mandir opening a temporary hall was created which would take a whole page just to describe it which would be fully air-conditioned and would seem to hold more than 1,000 people respectively. The third gate is for vehicle parking. The last two gates lead to the charity hospital which will provide free medical services to all those that need it.

Throughout the entire festival period, Maharaji has fed everyone with three excellent meals and at various times a sweet was also provided. The management was excellent as so many devotees had volunteered to assist with the kitchen and dining areas. There were separate dining quarters for women, for foreigners and disabled people, and for men. This helped alleviate the traffic in a big way and at most times there was very minimal waiting periods to receive the Prasad of Maharaji.

Sitting inside the mandir or even outside one gets a true feeling of divine love that is flowing from within the mandir. With every thought in Radha Krishna, we will be so much closer to reaching our divine destination.

Day 1 – Kalash Yatra & Start of Havan

Our day begins as per Brahma Murat at 4:30 am with Prathna, Aarti, and Sadhna. This is a daily routine which will continue for the next 3 days. Today the hall is full with over 2000 people with almost 1500 of them dressed in a Yellow Saree, Dhoti or Paijama (matching Thakorji). Everyone has wrapped a Radhe Shami around their body to show their love and appreciation of Shri Maharaji. At 5:30 am, the participants of the Kalash Yatra leave the Sadhna hall to prepare. As a dress code was mandatory, Kalash yatra participants were dressed in yellow. As each person scrambles to get their Kalash and form an orderly line, almost 2 hours pass. Now, there are over 2700 Kalash yatra participants lined up to perform Kalash Yatra. Everyone has a nicely decorated copper Kalash filled with the water of River Yamuna. What’s mind boggling is the monstorous task of decorating 3000 Kalash’s for each participant

We sit, wait, and watch in the garden for this long line of Kalash Yatra participants. The Havan has already begun with Maharaji’s immediately family sitting at the head of the Havan. We wait for Maharaji to appear. The weather is quite gloomy and foggy today, with no sun in sight. It’s also very cold outside and we feel for the Kalash Yatra participants as they are only wearing dhotis and sarees to cover themselves and have been standing in line for 3 hours now while either holding the Kalash filled with water on their head. Suddenly, a slight drizzle comes as if Yugal Sarkar is crying to wash Prem Mandir from the outside. As we sit and wait, we see a flock of birds (probably about 20 or so) fly around Prem Mandir and slowly swoop towards the entrance to get a glimpse of Yugal Sarkar. The doors are not open so they get a beautiful darshan of Yugal Sarkar and all of Shree Krishna Leelas from the various 3D plates created and attached to the walls of the mandir. The birds then swoop forward and head on their way, being enlightened by the darshan of Yugal Sarkar.

Finally, Maharaji appears and immediately heads to the Havan area.The band is ordered now to begin their march and slowly everyone proceeds to Prem Mandir. Now each participant places the Kalash on their head and move towards Prem Mandir along with the various orchestras. There is a standing order as follows: The three Didi’s, Maharajji’s Pracharaks, Foreigners – both men and women, then last come Indian Men followed by Indian women. In between each group there are bands and orchestras performing dances, playing loud music on drums, gants, etc, and a beautiful row of children dressed as peacocks. This is one sight to see as the group marches up towards Prem Mandir. The group now moves into the mandir and each participant is given an area of the mandir to wash with Yamuna Jal. Some are fortunate enough to have Maharaji stand next to them and give them clear instructions of scrubbing a little harder to clean the mandir. The mandir is now cleaned by over 2700 people and more than 2000 litres of Yamuna Jal. Surprisingly, Maharaji makes an announcement during the day that there will be another opportunity tomorrow for Kalash Yatra. This is not with new devotees but with existing participants. How lucky the participants are to be able to repeat Kalash Yatra.

The Havan continues throughout the day and all Devotees are led to the sadhna hall to perform sadhna. Sadhna continues throughout the day till evening with the occasional lunch, dinner, and tea breaks. For the next 3 days, there will be continuous sadhna by all devotees.

The evening holds a special event for all devotees.Maharaji has arranged for Vrindavan’s famous Raas Leela performing group to perform for all that have come. Maharaji starts with aarti of Yugal Sarkar, this is the Yugal Sarkar from the Raas Leela. Many devotees felt that it was the real Yugal Sarkar that had appeared for aarti. Then the entertainment begins with the live performance of Raas Leela. What a most enjoyable time everyone had on their first day of Prem Mandir inauguration.

Day 2 – Repeat Kalash Yatra and visit Rangeeli Mahal

Today we repeat the Kalash Yatra but with a different tone. After the aarti is completed, Kalash Yatra participants start the line formation process. It’s the same as the previous day but with a twist. Today, participants have increased to a total of 3,000. In addition to this, Maharaji is also participating by carrying a golden Kalash on his head along with the three Didi’s and various Pracharaks. He starts the march to the mandir with the rest of the pracharak’s and devotees following. As Maharaji and the Pracharaks enter Prem Mandir and perform the ritual, the other devotees encircle prem mandir three times while carrying the Kalash on their heads.

After the Kalash Yatra is completed, then almost 600 foreigner devotees and 400 indian devotees went to Barsana to perform Abhishek, Jagadguru Aarti, as well as Satsung with Maharaji. Fourteen buses were arranged to move devotees from Vrindavan to Barsana. As we arrive in Barsana, Maharaji just announces that Abhishek and Aarti will now commence at 4:30pm. So he says, please enjoy the wonderful lunch and we will meet in the afternoon.

After lunch, we decided that it made sense to see Barsana and Radha Rani mandir. As the ashram is only minutes from Barsana we decide to talk the path most travelled by foot. We arrive within seconds of the mandir closing the curtains and we get the last darshan of Radha Rani. As we still had time we decided that it made sense to see some of the sites like Maan Mandir and Mandir Shri Kushal Bihariji. We then return back to Rangeeli Mahal to await our meeting with Maharaji.

We arrive at Rangeeli Mahal and there is a line queued to enter the main sadhna hall. As each person enters slowly, we find a place to sit as close to Maharaji as possible. The devotees that have signed up to perform Jagadguru aarti are sitting in the front while abhishek devotees are right behind them. Men to the left and women to the right. Maharaji enters the sadhna hall and we immediately start the Jagadguru aarti. After the aarti is finished, Maharaji goes into his private chamber and we proceed to a queue for abhishek. Each devotee is allowed to wash the feet of Maharaji and then receive a gift from him. After abhishek is finished, Maharaji has also provided prashad in the form of Samosas and Soan Papdi. Then we re-enter the hall and Maharaji has now announced a special photo session where one can have his/her picture taken with Maharaji. This photo will be cherished for a life-time. After the photo session, devotees form a queue to receive the Jal of Maharaji’s charan.

We wait now to proceed back to Vrindavan. Maharaji then makes a special announcement that everyone must eat dinner at the ashram and also take part in Kirtan after dinner, afterwards the bus will take everyone back to Vrindavan. We immediately eat dinner and proceed to the small sadhna hall next to Maharaji’s living quarters. Maharaji then appears in a great mood and sings along with us his favorite Kirtan, Topiwala Barsana Wari. Afterwards, we board our respective buses and return back to Vrindavan.

Meanwhile, the entertainment continues in the evening at Prem Mandir with the Raas Leela group and their performance of Dayand avatar. Additionally, the importance of the name of Radha is explained, lucky are those that were able to attend this session.

Day 3 – Opening Day

Today is the big day and thus we again start at 4:30 am with Prathna, Aarti, and Sadhna. There will be a balloon launching, Prem Mandir aarti, as well as the official opening of Prem Mandir to the public. There are over 12,000 devotees present for the opening ceremony of which 600 are foreigner devotees that have flown in from around the world to partake in this unique celebration of divine love.

The food is extra special today with special boondi ladoo prasad being distributed to all that come. Sadhu bhog also takes place with gifts given to all Sadhu’s that have turned up for the Prem Mandir celebration. The Sadhu’s are given food, Prasad, and also gifts such as blankets from Maharaji.

In the evening, the Raas Mandri group continues their performance and plays holi with the Devotees.

The balloon launching begins with all devotees gathered around the Gowardhan sculpture in front of the main entrance of the mandir. Each is a given a balloon to launch. There is chanting of Hare Rama Hare Krishna as there is word that Yugal Sarkar is coming. Maharaji arrives and the fun begins with Maharaji launching the first balloon followed by the rest of the balloons by the devotees. The sky is filled with colorful helium balloons providing for the grand entry of Yugal Sarkar.

Surrounding Prem Mandir, are beautifully landscaped gardens, water falls, laser show water fountains and many different sculpted objects within the gardens. A Kadamb tree sits in the main garden with Radha Krishna sitting on a Jhula hanging beneath the tree. There is a great structure erected in front of the main entry of the mandir. This structure is what looks like a real life-like Govardhan hill with Shree Krishna holding it up with his pinky and the Brajwasi’s all looking for protection from their beloved. What’s amazing about this structure is that it’s Shree Krishna’s pinky that is holding the man-made Govardhan Hill, with no other supports to be seen.

The divine love that is flowing from Prem Mandir is not only captured from the outside but also within the mandir itself. All around the mandir, there are many plates created in white marble using a special 3D engraving machine depicting the various leelas of Shri Krishna. As you enter the mandir, you’ll notice large doors for the entry way and on both sides of the entryway are 3d carvings of Yugal Sarkar thus following around the mandir from birth to full age leelas of Shri Krishna. One that is very memorable is the Maha Raas Leela. There are so many doors all around the mandir giving one a feeling of Radha Krishn calling out to any and all with open arms to experience the bliss of divine love.

The first prem mandir aarti will be performed by devotees. There are so many devotees lined up to perform the aarti. They are all lead in with foreigner devotees standing on the ground floor and Indian devotees on the first floor. Maharaji appears and the Ram Sita “Vigrah” is revealed. Maharaji now start the aarti with the devotees followed by Mahraji’s parivar from the Havan. Afterwards, he heads downstairs and reveals the Yugal Sarkar “Vigrah” and immediately starts the Yugal Sarkar aarti. After the aarti is finished, then the devotees that are present inside the mandir take aarti and view the beauty of the mandir from the inside. The remaining devotees and guests will only be able to visit the inside of the mandir after 2:00 pm when the mandir will be officially open to the public.

Inside the mandir there are two levels. On the ground floor there is a Yugal Sarkar “Vigrah” and on the first floor a Ram Sita “Vigrah”. Words cannot describe the sheer beauty of both Murtis. Yugal Sarkar look as if they are really in front of us and talking to us.

The Shringhar is absolutely beautiful and looks as if it’s radiating from afar. All around the mandir there are so many decorated pillars and 3D carvings everywhere you look. These 3D carvings are once again of Shree Krishna Leela, Maharaji, the four other Jagadguru’s, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and of course the Jagadguru Parivar. There is one beautiful wax figure of Maharaji while he is creating his beautiful padhs. Just looking at this wax figure one would get the feeling that Maharaji is really right in front of you. The ceilings have beautiful chandaliers hanging to provide light and decorative beauty. The internal dome structure is delicately carved and one would have to wonder how the artisans were able to climb so high to carve the designs. Every wall inside and out is filled with Radha Krishna prem. The internal walls have couplets of Radha Govind Geet to once again remind the visitor of the divine love of Radha Krishn. Each 3D carving is so beautifully painted that it gives the feeling that this must be the real Radha or real Krishna performing leelas in front of us.

The first floor also has a structure which has not been revealed. Some say it’s a robotic structure designed by a devotee in the US. The mystery entices us to visit the mandir again to find out what Maharaji will reveal. In my opinion, there is no mandir in the world that displays the clear bliss of divine love of Yugal Sarkar.