(6/6) Esoteric Glory of Rama-Krishna

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Krishna Janmastami Adhivas, Tarakeswar
22 August 2019, evening, part 6
Translated from Bengali

[His Divine Grace reads about Sri Baladev Prabhu and Lord Sri Krishna from a holy scripture.]

I have mentioned Lord Baladev earlier today. He is the alter ego of Lord Krishna. They are one but manifest Themselves as two to perform Their pastimes. Lord Krishna expands Himself into various manifestations and associates to enjoy His pastimes: just as He becomes Balaram, He also becomes Narayan and can also appear as Laksmi, Kali or anybody else. He can do anything. Thus, to nourish His pastimes, Lord Krishna appears as Baladev in Sri Vraja Dham, and They play there as Rama and Kanai. They are always two (yugala). Just as Gaura and Nitai are two in Gauranga Mahaprabhu's pastimes, just as Radha and Krishna, the Divine Couple, are two in Krishna's pastimes, so are Rama and Krishna always two.

Everybody knows about Radha-Krishna, but how many people can understand and know about Rama-Krishna? Just like Radha-Krishna, Rama-Krishna (Balaram and Krishna) are very esoteric and are not easy to understand. Sri Baladev is Lord Krishna Himself, but He appears before Lord Krishna, which is why He is called dauji, elder brother. When we go on the parikrama of Vrindavan, we always go to His temple (dauji-mandir) in Gokula (we go there by bus). His wife, Revati, is also there. We always come and pay our obeisances at that place. When we go to that area, we also visit Gokula Mahavan, the place where Lord Krishna ate soil, where He rolled in the dust and where He was tied to a mortar and later rescued the twin brothers, the Yamalarjuna trees.

So, although Sri Sri Rama-Krishna are two, They are actually one. Just as Sri Sri Radha-Krishna are one but manifest Themselves in two forms, Sri Sri Rama-Krishna are also one but manifest Themselves in two forms. They perform Their pastimes in Vrindavan and never leave it. To expand His pastimes, Lord Krishna went to Dvaraka, but Vraja-Krishna never leaves Vraja. There is Vraja Krishna, Mathuresh Krishna and Dvarakesh Krishna, and each of Them performs separate pastimes. Vraja-Krishna never leaves Vrindavan – He is always there. In the same way, there is also Vraja Balaram, Mathura Balaram and Dvaraka Balaram. Wherever Krishna performs His pastimes, Balaram is always there next to Him. So, when Krishna performed His pastimes in Vraja, Balaram was there, too. When Krishna performed His pastimes in Mathura, Balaram was there, too. And when Sri Krishnachandra performed His pastimes in Dvaraka, Baladev Prabhu was there, too. Krishna is never alone; Baladev is always there with Him. Even when Krishna defeated Kamsa and stayed in Mathura with His queens, Balaram was also there. Just as Balaram assists Krishna in His Mathura pastimes, He also assists Him in His Vrindavan pastimes.

Balaram is known as one who has two mothers, Rohini and Devaki. Although He is originally the son of Devaki, He is actually born from Rohini Devi. Such are His esoteric, inconceivable pastimes. He is born both from Devaki at Kamsa's prison house in Mathura and from Rohini in Vraja. He accepted both Devaki and Rohini as His mothers. Krishna, too, was born from Devaki in Mathura and from Mother Yasoda in Vraja. So, just as Balaram has two mothers, Krishna has two mothers, too. But to nourish Lord Sri Krishna's pastimes, Balaram appears first.

Appearing as the seventh son of Devaki, He bears the Name Balaram. He assists Lord Krishna from His very birth. Whether it is in Dvakara, Mathura or Vraja, Balaram is always there with Krishna, assisting Him at every step. Balaram and Krishna are together in Their infancy, childhood, teenage – They are always together in Vraja. He is Vraja-dulal, a darling of Vraja Dham. He is Vraja-bihari, the relisher of Vraja forests. Just as Krishnachandra is known as Gokula-bihari and Goloka-bihari (the relisher of Gokula and Goloka), Balaram is also known as Gokula-bihari and Goloka-bihari (the relisher of Gokula and Goloka). To enhance the pleasure that He derives from His pastimes, the Lord manifests Himself in these two forms, as Krishna and Balaram.

The two brothers performed Their pastimes together, walking in the forests of Vraja, visiting various houses in Vraja, walking the paths of Vraja. One of Them has dark complexion (Kanai) and the other one white complexion (Balai). They both spent Their childhoods playing at the house of Mother Yasoda. They would carry each other on Their shoulders. They stole buttercream. They played on the bank of the Yamuna in the company of cowherd boys. Even later, when They grew up, They stayed friends. But Baladev is not only Krishna's friend – He is also His dearest servant. Although Baladev is Krishna's elder brother, He serves Krishna: He loves His younger brother and does everything for Him.

When Krishna herded cows in the forest and felt tired, Baladev would let Him sleep on His lap like a baby: He would lie down and serve Krishna as a pillow. One of Baladev's Names is Dharanidhar: He holds Krishna on His lap. Baladev gives happiness to Krishna through His service mood. He embodies santa-rasa (neutral servitude), dasya-rasa (serving the Lord as a servitor), sakhya-rasa (serving the Lord as a friend) and half vatsalya-rasa (parental service to the Lord). Therefore, Balai does not see Krishna only in vatsalya-rasa, like Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaj did – there is also santa-rasa, dasya-rasa and sakhya-rasa within Him. Therefore, He is the embodiment of all these devotional moods, with Sri Krishna being the object of His service and dedication.

Actually, Baladev embodies five devotional moods. There is one more hidden truth about Him. Srimati Radharani embodies conjugal love (madhura-rasa) and performs loving pastimes with Sri Krishna. Their joint pastimes are filled with all five devotional moods: santa-rasa, dasya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vatsalya-rasa and madhura-rasa. Just as Krishna actually encompasses all these moods, so does Balaram. He is full of the highest loving devotion. To serve Lord Sri Krishna during His conjugal pastimes and nourish His pastimes, Baladev assumes the form of Vrisabhanu-nandini's younger sister, Ananga Manjari. Among the devotees in Vraja Dham, some serve the Lord in santa-rasa, some serve in dasya-rasa, some serve in sakhya-rasa, some serve in vatsalya-rasa, and some serve in madhura-rasa, but Baladev Prabhu encompasses all these moods. He nourishes all pastimes.

There is also one amusing thing about Baladev Prabhu. Although He embodies all devotional moods with complete dedication to the Lord, He also poses as the object of service dedication. In other words, He expands Himself into Lord Sri Krishna: when Sri Krishna enjoys His intimate pastimes of rasa-lila, Sri Balaram also performs these pastimes as the object of worship. Therefore, He combines both the worshipper and the worshipped. This is something that has not been seen anywhere else.

Just as Lord Sri Krishna is the worshippable object in all devotional moods, Baladev Prabhu also has this worshippable side in Him. Therefore, He embodies both the worshipper and the worshipped. He is always successful, in every devotional mellow, in every pastime. In Vraja Dham, as Baladev, His main mood is that of Sri Krishna's elder brother. Rama-Krishna are an astonishing phenomenon, just as Radha-Krishna are. Radha-Krishna are present only in Vrindavan, and Srimati Radharani embodies only the worshipper (She is not a complete object of worship), but Balaram performs the pastimes of the object of worship.

The speciality of the pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna is such that to taste those pastimes, Sri Krishna appears assuming the form of Srimati Radharani and Sri Balaram. As Balaram, He relishes His pastimes as the object of worship and as the worshipper.

There is also one more thing that can be said in relation the pastimes of Sri Baladev and Lord Nrisinghadev. Just as Sri Gaurasundar is drawn to Sri Nityananda Prabhu, He is also attracted to Lord Nrisinghadev. How is Balaram related to Nrisinghadev? Just as Lord Nrisinghadev is very affectionate to His devotees, so is Balaram. How much Lord Nrisinghadev did for His devotee Prahlad! In the same way, Balaram can do anything for His devotees and the devotees of Lord Krishna. In fact, when Lord Krishna shows His love to His devotees, He performs these pastimes through Balaram. Just as Nityananda Prabhu shows much more affection to devotees than even Sri Gaurasundar, Baladev also loves devotees many times more than Krishna.

Gurudev is the embodiment of Baladev's power. He is love, he is parental affection. Sri Gurudev is not just merciful – he is loving; therefore, when you take shelter in the guru, the guru not only showers his mercy on you, but he showers you with his love and parental affection. If somebody does not have this kind of parental affection that comes from the power of Lord Baladev, such a person cannot be a guru – they do not have the inherent quality of a guru. If somebody does not have such qualities as mercy, love, compassion and parental affection, then it can be understood that this person does not have the power of Lord Baladev or Lord Nityananda Prabhu in them.

Protecting, nourishing and nurturing Krishna's devotees is the responsibility of Baladev Prabhu. He embodies all these qualities within Himself. Sri Gurudev, who is non-different from Sri Nityananda Prabhu, also steers his devotees down the path of devotion and takes care of them – he never abandons them, never leads them to the downfall. To serve Lord Krishna, Baladev Prabhu protects and takes care of His devotees, and He does this service through the medium of a guru. Sri Gurudev is non-different from Sri Baladev and Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Surcharged with the power of Baladev, Sri Gurudev protects his devotees in the mood of servitude (dasya-rasa) to Lord Krishna. Therefore, the guru always protects his disciples. He is always busily engaged in serving Lord Krishna and always tries to engage his disciples in Lord Krishna's service.

Remember this. Gurudev always protects, nourishes and nurtures Krishna's devotees. There is a similarity between the pastimes of the guru and Baladev. Gurudev can take you to Krishna. If you want to serve Krishna, you must realise the meaning of Baladev's pastimes. Take shelter of a bona fide guru – if you can do that, the guru will give you the right to serve Lord Krishna. Nobody else can give that right to you.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Jay Baladev-tattva ki jay

[His Divine Grace chants, 'Nitai-pada-kamala' and other kirtans, concluding the class.]

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Length: 40 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Lord's Keen Kindness
2) Taste for Service
3) 'I Have an Idea!'
4) Understanding God
5) Lord Krishna's Inconceivable Glory
6) Esoteric Glory of Rama-Krishna