Darshan On Bhajan The Divine Love Of Bathing The Lord
June 04, 1977 pm
[Murlidas chants “Para Brahma Sadguru,” and “Vitala Jai.”]
[Bapuji chants Snana Shrungar. First line:”Jamuna Jalaman Kesara Gholi snana karavun shamala.”]
The title of this bhajan is “The Divine Love of Bathing the Lord.” This bhajan could be classified as a kirtan. One in which the lila, the divine play of lord, is expressed; it is called kirtan. The specific use of kirtan is to use it as a meditation technique. As you chant the lines about the Lord’s lila means divine play you are beginning to invoke the presence of the Lord. The expression of this particular lila is early morning time.
Mother Jashoda, after finishing her chores, she comes to Lala, which is Lord Krishna, young baby Krishna. Mother looks at her son with eyes full of love. She is enchanted by his beauty. She becomes helpless by looking at his expression full of love. With great love in her heart, she quickly picks him up, takes him to her bosom, and gives him kisses. Then she asks, with great love, “My son, would you like to take a bath?” Children do not know psychology. And yet, the most unique beauty is, they act as if they know psychology.
His one word, his one gesture, and his one expression is so enchanting that another one is almost hypnotized or enchanted. The eyes have the power to bring the split heart into oneness. Words have the power to unite two separated hearts. But if you take love out of it, the united hearts could be separated, too. The mother pleases the child, and the child also pleases mom by smiling sweetly. Again, I am reminding you that this kirtan is supreme, most important, for meditation.
Because with all these different expressions, you can meditate and get into it. Keep your mind and your memory constantly engaged in the word picture that has been created here. By doing so, and while you are doing so, even if your hand moves, your body moves, but if your mind is constantly engaged in it, believe and know that you are in meditation. In this occasion of lila that is expressed here, the mother Jashoda comes from outside, she picks up the baby with love, and then takes the baby towards the bath.
Just as the mother Jashoda is looking so lovingly at the child, if you try to look at the child in the same way, you’ll be looking at the child with Jashoda. Both have their gaze locked into each other, and yet, the mother Jashoda is walking towards the bath, and bringing the child towards the bath. Then sits the baby on the seat made of gold. Says, “My son, I will not only give you bath, but I will also give you a rub with very light hand, and I will also play with you at the same time.”
There are some such mirrors where you see two images of one individual. The mirror of love is somewhat like that. The individual is seen in the eyes, the individual is seen in the heart. There are two reflections at one time. The difficulty is, out of these three, one real, and two reflections, which one is true and which one is untrue is very hard to judge. Here, the mother gives bath to the baby, and then wipes the body with a dry cloth.
Lord Krishna is a very outgoing young man of that time. From the very childhood, his enchanting nature has been growing. He dresses himself unusually, or very differently, than others. This is why one of his names is Chel Cha bilo. That means, one who is outgoing in his dress, in his expression, in his nature, in his dealings. [Bapuji says, “This is the specialty of each language. That it is very difficult to bring the expression of one language into the other. Bapuji is helping me.]
Mother gives him a yellow cloth, yellow garment to wear. In those days, yellow wasn’t that unusual for everyone else, but he was given the most unusual color. “Now you have beautiful clothes on. Now I will put the perfumed oil in your curly hair.” That’s mother looking at the baby. There is uniqueness in the hair also. His hair is curly. He is considered to be all his actions are crooked [vankho vihari]. He wears his headdress crooked. Not straight. Just crooked. When he plays flute, he just is crooked.
Even the way his lip is crooked like that. His hands are curved, bent. His waist is also crooked. His legs are crossed. This is why he is called crooked. But the specialty about it is that even though he is crooked, he is never won by the crooked. You have to be straight to get him. One who is straight means, one who is innocent and pure. We are all crooked, too. If we want to win his love, we must be straight. “Now we have finished your bath. I have put clothing on you. I have put perfumed oil in your hair. Now I am going to put kum kum on your forehead. Tilak.
Then I will put black lining on your most beautiful eyes. Make up. In talking with you, my son, I just begin to dance and my legs are giving the rhythm to it. And at that time, my mouth is smiling. My lips are smiling.” There is a belief in India that if the child is very beautiful, you can get the evil eye on him because he is so beautiful. Sometimes on some very high quality, you may also get the evil eye. This is the belief in India. When little babies get sick, the mothers believe ‘somebody’s evil eye has fallen on the child’.
So mother Jashoda says, “I love my son so much, maybe my eye will affect him negatively. So that somebody’s evil eye will not affect him, make him look a little ugly, put two little black dots on his cheeks.” Bapuji says, if on your little child, you put two little black spots here, you feel like his beauty has increased a lot. “I’ll put the anklets in your legs, so when you walk, it will make the sound, “Shoom, choom, shoom, choom. The same way, I’ll put the bangles in your hand, and they will decorate your hands.”
These are all decorations. “Then I will give you a garland of diamonds and flowers on your neck. Then I will place earrings in your ears. When you walk, at that time, your earrings will begin to swing, and watching your enchanting walk, my heart will be moved.” Then finally, the most symbolic, the peacock feather, mother puts into his headdress, and gives him a flute in his hand. Then mother looks at that beautiful boy.
What happens by looking at that beauty? By watching it, all the desires, for many, many incarnations, is all burned. By the true sight of the Lord, all the sins are burned. This is kirtan, and so there was just a description of Lila, and so there was a description of the Lord’s form, and nothing much included in it. Now I will tell you one very important thing. By waking up early in the morning, you can meditate according to this bhajan, as I tell you.
If you are a sister, meditating on this, then you consider that you are Jashoda. And if you are a brother meditating on this, think that you are Anand. Anand is the father of Krishna. Then you come in your specific meditation room, and feel that you are mother Jashoda. You have finished all your duties, and now you are proceeding towards the bedroom of Krishna, just to bathe him, prepare him for the day. “My son, it is time for you to take a bath, and for your bath, I have prepared for you water mixed with saffron.”
At that time, you can really have a bowl of water, place some saffron in it, mix it in it, and prepare the water, actually, for him. Then, feel actually, that Lord Krishna is the baby Krishna. He is right there in front of you, and you are preparing to bathe him. Visualize this very clearly as if you are right there. In India, there is one religion called Vaishnav, and they have a small statue of Krishna. They keep that with them, and they give it a bath. Then they go on pouring water on this statue, and rubbing very lightly.
At that time, the eyes are trickling the love. This is not a drama of devotion. This is a true devotion. This is how to make a contact with Lord. Then, the body of Krishna is wiped off with the cloth. Then they clothe him with a yellow dress. Then they apply perfumed oil, or put a dot right around, with love. Then they apply a tilak on his forehead. Then take a little anjan, means black make up, and apply it on his eyebrows. Then they go on smiling with the joy of preparing Krishna. They sing some song to the Lord, and also give rhythm to it, as they go perform this puja. In the end, they will put two spots on his cheeks also.
Then put on the two small anklets on his feet, give him the bangles on his wrist. And give him the mala, or the garland, on his neck, give him earrings on his ears. Then they imagine that he walks very gracefully, and beautifully. Then she just goes, run to him, and puts the mukuta means the headdress, on him, and gives him the flute to play. Then by looking at his grace and beauty, she forgets herself. Somebody might question that, “Meditating like this, can there be really a change in his consciousness in his mind?”
The psychology says that there is a definite change in consciousness. When an individual sits in meditation, he begins to think about his business, or his endeavor. It is very difficult to remove those thoughts. Sometimes it so happens, that when you try to remove them, they come more. Under these circumstances, you almost want to get up from the meditation. Then another thought comes, that you should stay in such a condition where there are no thoughts. But that is not possible. It is very difficult.
It is very difficult to press that switch, by which the thoughts stop, you know? Such a switch has not been obtained by anyone, and it is impossible. Then this is the third trick. Start new thought lines so that the old thought line does not disturb you. There there are no thoughts of a worldly nature, and all the thoughts are spiritual, so the mind becomes relaxed and one gets into it readily. This is the highest meditation for bhakti yogi devotees. There is one very important need and that is the mind.
So, this is one of the most important things. There should be mind, totally there, accompanied by the feeling and the love. If there is mind, but there is no love, it doesn’t work. Keep on practicing. The grace of the Lord will be available to you, and you will find the light and progress. Now it is finished.
QUESTION: Someone asks Bapuji a question about Lord Shiva.
BAPUJI: Lord Shiva is a grandfather. He is very, very old. But you can give him a bath, just thinking that he is a little baby, too. When the child is playing with the father, sometimes the child even orders the father. He says, “Father, be my horse.” Same way we can call Brahmeshwar Dada. Say, “Dada, be small for me! And I want to give you a bath. You better be ready.”
[Gurudev says: Murlidas you can chant one bhajan.
[Bapuji says (in response to audience question), “I have a beautiful tamboura, and I haven’t held it in my hands for many years. But ever since I have it, just the way I have become swami, I have put swami cover on it, so he is also; I haven’t taken him in my hand. So he has become swami, and I have become swami. He has stopped being played, and I have stopped playing.
[Gurudev says:”This Dada knows exactly how to please children.”]
[Murlidas chants to Narayana.]