Pranams To Krishna ! Pranams To Gurudev

Swami Chinmayananda

oi-Staff

Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 17:27

Call me crazy, if you like, but to me, Krishna and Gurudev are one and the same. Let me illustrate this through a simple Hindi song of four lines.

Aajaa. bansee bajaanewala
Aajaa gavva charaanewala
Aajaa. makhan churaanewala
Aajaa. geetha sunaanewala

Which means:-

Come. Oh player of the flute!
Come. Oh cowherd boy!
Come. Oh stealer of butter!
Come. Oh speaker of Geetha!

To me, the sound of Gurudev's deep voice, even though thundering out like the roar of a lion is like the sweet melody, coming out of the Divine Flute of Krishna. The gopis and cowherds of Brindavan were always craving to listen to it, even if it was only for a minute. So do I crave to listen to dear Gurudev's voice.

Never, ever can I get tired of listening to it.

To me, Gurudev, is the cowherd boy. Just as Krishna lets the cows graze in the green fields and fill their bellies, so does Gurudev let me work in my own field, thus, filling my heart and stomach.

To me, Gurudev is the stealer of butter, with His words of love and looks of compassion, He makes even the hardest of hearts melt like butter. Thus, He steals the heart, or rather, the cream and butter of my heart.

To me, there is no difference between Krishna and Gurudev. Krishna did not take away Arjuna to any secluded cave in the far away mountains, or any God-forsaken wild jungle, in order to give him Geethopadesha. He gave it right in the midst of the battle-field. In the same way, dear Gurudev did not remain in Uttarkashi, in the far away mountains of Himalayas, where he attained gnana at the feet of His Gurudev, Poojya Swami Tapovan Maharaj. Gurudev chose to come down to us, to give Geethopadesha to the whole world. He could have chosen to stay back there in peaceful solitude, and to teach only to a few chosen Shishyas, or fit Adhikaris, who could dare to go to Himalayas out of sheer determination and will power, braving it all out. But he didn't. Like Krishna, Gurudev also moved around in this materialistic world, and yet remained aloof, He continued to go around the world. teaching Geetha.

Thus has he captured me through His sonorous voice or the flute, by allowing me to graze in my own field and fill my heart and stomach, by stealing away the cream and butter of my heart and enlightening me with the most precious and invaluable gnana of Geetha.

To Him, my Gurudev, my Krishna, I bow down and offer kotikoti pranams on the auspicious day of Sri Krishna Janmashtami and every day of the year.

About the author

This article is written by Brni Suneetha Chaitanya for Vedanta Vani of Chinmaya Mission.