With whom should I talk?

Why? You could talk with me? I call you so often, repeatedly beseech you and you’re saying you’re unable to find someone to talk to? The time is not ripe for what you desire.

You know, I feel very sad hearing this from your mouth.

Are you under the sway of time or is time under thy sway? You are independent. You can do what you wish.

I am aware you can fulfil all the desires of everyone. Why can’t you fulfil mine?

O Mother! Please come! Just grant me thy vision. All this talk is vain. This is just to pose before people. Where is that soulful importunity, where is that unquenchable thirst for thy vision! Where is total renunciation! The desire to continuously wait for you, where is it? There’s none of this in me, but you come nevertheless.

This lifeless, void language, dissolves into nothingness. It does not reach thy feet. You are moksha, only the absolute indubitable truth reaches you – true speech and true desire. Single-minded devotion hasn’t yet awakened in me, there’s much to be desired.

Tell me, how can one develop single-minded devotion to you? I won’t ask you for anything else. I’ll seek you alone, I won’t look at anyone else. I’ll keeping looking at you, never taking my eyes off you. Tell me, how can such a state be reached?

You are Madhava who craves for devotion. Devotion is very dear to you. You love one who has such devotion. What is that bhakti (devotion)? Some say it consists in attachment to divine tales; some say it’s love of worship; some say grace of Krishna results from constant practice, some say it is an intense love for God; it is also said that devotion is self- enquiry, and yet some others say that devotion is about serving you with all the senses. Hearing this, one feels to live with you is devotion.

Bhakti consists in worshipping you in accordance with the state of your mind, be it gross, subtle or causal. When the mind is in realm of the gross, one should worship with flowers, sandal, incense, lamp and food offerings. When the mind is at the subtle level, one must worship with the subtle elements such fragrance of the nature of earth, flower of the nature of ether, incense of the nature of wind, lamp of the nature of fire, and food offering of the nature of taste.

Further, when the mind reaches the causal level, one must worship by offering the letters A, U and M into nada*, nada into the bindu, bindu into the kalaa, kalaa into kalaatita. Am I right?

When one worships you in this manner, you cannot remain still, you are stirred from your seat and you assume the visible form and grant vision in this physical world.

The great devotee, Prahlada has given nine modes of bhakti. They are Shravana, hearing about God; Kirtana, chanting His Name and Glory; Smarana, remembering Him; Pada Sevana, serving His Lotus Feet; Archana, worshipping Him as per the scriptures; Vandana, prostrating before Him; Dasya, being His servant; Sakhya, befriending Him and Atma Nivedana, offering oneself to Him. Whoever inculcates these, becomes worthy of your grace.

As long as the ears have the capacity for audition, it is necessary to hear about your form, your qualities, your sports and your name. It is with talk related to you that the pair of ears are to be kept occupied fully. No other thing should be allowed to enter the ears in any way. Oho! What an incredible state is this! The ear shall not listen to any other talk; even if it is forced, it will stay immersed in the Ram Naam or the unstruck sound resounding in the heart.

This rasana (tongue) has been defiled by speaking so many lowly things. The day it abandons all vain talk and devotes itself to continuous chanting of your name, recital of your sports, and singing your praises, that is the day it will become worthy of its name, ‘rasana’. Ever and always chanting Naam, the throat will lose the words, the tongue will partake of the streams of nectar dripping from the crown chakra, and taste it. There will be no need to voice anything. This will be followed by smaran (remembrance) – whatever can be heard or spoken indeed becomes the subject for recollection. One who always listens to your qualities, your sports and your praise, will not have to make any effort at smaran. It will automatically transport him into the contemplation of his favourite deity. Initially, when one practices listening to the things related to God, and singing His praises, the mind wanders into the impressions of the past. However, when with continued practice of listening to the things related to God, and singing His praises, the impressions of God’s name, form and sports become firm. Then even if one does not make an effort, one recollects divine things.

Shravana (listening) is so powerful that it can attract your grace to even a person who has committed heinous sins.

Extremely malevolent Ajamila too could reach the heavenly region of Vaikunth by remembering his son, Narayana at the moment of his death. Impious robber Ratnakara committed grave sins such as the murder of a woman, slaying a Brahmin and several other atrocious crimes; even then, receiving your holy Naam (Ram), he was inspired to utter your name, but he could not utter it and instead started chanting ‘Mara Mara’, thereby evolving into Brahmarishi Valmiki. Prostitute Gadhra Ganika was redeemed in your refuge, the man-eating demon, the monkeys from the forest, outcaste Kinashad, low-born Shabari, Tara, none of these were denied your grace. Flesh-eating demon Ghantakarna, by continuously chanting all your names Hare Murare! Madhu Kaita Bhare! O Madhava! O Mukunda! O Narayana, attained your vision.

It is this glory when recounted, by way of speaking, hearing or remembering, makes people bow down before this person**. No matter how great an evil-doer I am, there’s someone who has the capacity to sanctify me. But the conch shell, the thunderbolt, the half-moon and the lotus, the auspicious signs on the lotus feet of the Lord which the yogis fail to attain despite their contemplations – how can I serve those lotus feet? Where will I find the fear-dispelling refuge of these feet?

Worry makes a person timid; in such circumstances, the mind dives into the ocean of the heart to fetch that gem in the form of the Lord’s feet. In the milky ocean of the heart, in an island surrounded by the kadamba trees seemingly gem-laden, there’s a garden of flowers; in it is a precious arbour hosting kalpataru, the wish-fulfilling tree; under this tree on a resplendent pulpit, you are seated upon a jewelled throne. Both your feet gracefully rest upon a lotus that is in front of the throne. Hearing the location of thy lotus feet from the lips of holy men, devotees, after overcoming hundreds of difficulties, reach thy feet and tightly clasp them: sometimes they adorn them with flowers, sometimes anoint them with sandal paste, sometimes cover both the feet with the lotus pollen and sometimes gaze at them one-pointedly with longing.

*Nada is unstruck sound; Bindu, the point containing the universe; kalaa, the manifestation of the universe and kalatita, the space beyond the ken of Time and wheel of Time.

** Sitaramdas Omkarnath addressed himself in third person as ‘Sitaram’ or ‘this person’.