Krishna spent his adorable
childhood at Vrindavan with Gopis. As His childhood was over, Krishna had to choose between His duty and His love for Radha. Krishna chose duty over
love.
Krishna decided to go to Mathura
and put an end to the atrocity of Kansa. But Krishna had to leave His soul mate Radha behind.
Krishna says to Radha; "I
should stand for what is right. It is
duty that defines us isn’t it?
Radha replies, "You are right and I also know you
have decided to go to Mathura. You would be worried that I will be very sad when you are gone. But I have full faith in my love and you will return to me before I even think of You. Am I not correct?"
Krishna says, "Radha, I
will not be able to return, neither to Vrindavan, nor to You."
Radha replies, "I will not
hold You back. Why should I hold You inside the miniature closet of My world? I want you to carry on with your voyage. The
world waits for you. Please go. Be
safe in doing your duty."
Krishna thus leaves Radha, the
embodiment of selfless love and devotion.
At Mathura, Uddhav happens to be a close friend and
intimate devotee of Krishna. Uddhav was
a learned man but he had pride deep in his mind. Krishna had sensed the ego of
Uddhav.
One day Uddhav saw Krishna in a deep thought and asked the reason for his sadness.
Krishna says; “The memories
of Vrindavan is painful to me. The people
of Vrindavan would be simply thinking of Me. I am also missing them very much. I am missing the unconditional love of Radha.
Uddhav says; “How can
You, the one who provides salvation, be entangled in Maya -the illusion?
Krishna says; “I am not sad just because I am missing them but because they are in same
condition as I am, which I can’t see.”
Uddhav says; “Why
don't You free them from the pain of separation? Tell them that You are the Supreme Soul and
you reside in everyone’s heart? This
knowledge will relieve them off their pain.”
Krishna tells Uddhav;
“Could you please go to Vrindavan
on my behalf and give them the teaching on divine knowledge.
Tell them to stop
hurting themselves by thinking about Me. Tell them to worship My divine form and do
their Karma wholeheartedly. In doing so;
they will reach My abode and attain Moktsa –liberation.”
Uddhav considered it
a trivial job and left for Vrindavan with his puffed up ego. Before leaving, Uddhav asked about the message to be delivered but Krishna said he had
none.
Uddhav was received at
Vrindavan as a representative of Krishna.
On the first day Uddhav says to
Yasodha and Nanda, the foster parents of Krishna; “You have fixed
your minds solely on Krishna.
Since you are
absorbed in ecstatic thought of Krishna, you have achieved the highest state of being. I therefore request
you both, not to lament on Krishna's absence.
Krishna is supreme divine being, the embodiment of supreme divinity.
We are forced to take birth on account of our Karma but Krishna is not bound by
Karma.
He manifests for protection of His devotees. He is the master and he is not affected by the material modes of nature. He creates, maintains and dissolves the whole
cosmic manifestation.”
Next day, Uddhav met
Gopis who were simply absorbed in the thought of Krishna.
Radha, the embodiment of
love and devotion, was so much absorbed in thought of Krishna that she began to talk with a bumblebee in presence of Uddhav.
To the bumblebee Radha
says; "Bumblebee, you are accustomed to drinking honey from the flowers,
and therefore you have preferred to be a messenger of Krishna, who is of the
same nature as you.
My dear friend, I
welcome you. Krishna is so kind and
affectionate to Me that He has sent you, for carrying My message to Him.
My dear friend, ask Me whatever you want. I
shall speak out of my heart because you are so kind upon Me. You have come to take My message to Krishna because He
is not able to come here.”
Uddhav had come to
pacify Gopis but he ran into trouble.
Nonetheless, he began saying; "My dear Gopis, you are all wonderful
devotees of Krishna.
You have
developed divine relationship with Krishna which is difficult even for great sages.
I understand that transcendental
knowledge of the Absolute is no longer necessary for you. You all have attained the true love for Krishna hence you are already on the platform of liberation.
Anyone engaged in selfless
love and devotion is situated on the transcendental platform of liberation.
Krishna has separated
Himself from you to enable you all to be in constant meditation on Krishna."
In response Radha says;
“Krishna is Param Brahmn Narayan, the husband of the Goddess of fortune, and He
is self-sufficient.
We are constantly
remembering Him. It is impossible for us
to forget Him. We are always simply praying for Him.”
Uddhav then tries to give
them the teaching of Nirgun Brahma.
But Gopis say to Uddhav;
“We don't know, what is Sagun and what is Nirgun.
We only know about our love with Krishna.”
After listening to Gopis,
Uddhav damned his knowledge. He knew
everything but never felt presence of God.
Gopis were experiencing
oneness with God. Uddhav felt, his dry
knowledge is of no use.
On his way to
Vrindavan, Uddhav had written message of Krishna to Radha. Thinking that it would please Radha, he handed over the message to Radha.
Radha read the message and says, “Uddhav, this message says your study
is still not complete.”
Uddhav was stunned. How could she
have known this?’
Radha says to Uddhav, “I love Krishna and trust Him in far beyond you
can imagine. We are two bodies but same
soul. There is nothing to be said in
between us. We have walked the path of
trust, love, devotion and sacrifice for so long that there are no boundaries
in My being and His. He does not need to
send Me messages. He is my message. He is my love letter.
Uddhav, you have not learned yet to trust Krishna. You have not learned to give up your ego, and
cotrol your wondering mind.
Your ego stands between you and supreme awakening.
Erasing the sense of duality and being one with the universe, being one
with the One who beholds universe, is the gist of the Vedas, Upanishads and Sutras.”
Radha explained the deepest mysteries of life to Uddhav and Uddhav found all the answers to his
profound questions in philosophies.
Uddhav asks Radha, “How
can you be in Love with Krishna and still remain free from bonds of life?
How did you get the highest knowledge staying in the village doing household jobs?”
Radha says, “Each moment requires you to take sides. If you always take side of truth and love, you
will gain insights.
Each insight awakens you from the illusion and takes you a step closer
to the supreme awakening.
There is distinction between the love that results from insecurity and
the love that results from faith.
The former results in bond. The
later results in freedom.
The former gets lost. The later
transcends.
The former leads to fear of death. The later leads to enlightenment and Nirvana.”
Uddhav further asks, “How can you be awakened without leaving the
society and becoming a monk?”
Radha says, “Where a man reaches by renouncing the world, a woman
reaches by embracing the world in its wholeness.”
Uddhav asks, “Is there no point in pursuit of knowledge? If it is not, then what is the meaning of life?”
Radha says, “Your ability to give it any meaning is the meaning of life.
The pursuit of money is not the same as pursuit of wealth, pursuit of
sensation is not the pursuit of happiness, pursuit of titles is not the pursuit of
knowledge. These pursuits are in synergy for some time, but they are at
conflict later.
You should wake up, and open your eyes.”
Radha’s answers turned all of Uddhav’s knowledge upside down and inside
out.
Uddhav’s ego surrendered. The
constantly evolving thoughts in his mind stopped. He saw a totally new world, an eternal,
peaceful world where everything seemed in harmony, peace and blissful.
Uddhav applied dust
of Radha's feet all over his face and body and bed farewell to Gopis and started
his return journey.
When Uddhav reached Mathura,
he took refuge at the feet of Krishna. Krishna picked him up and asked about
everybody in Vrindavan and said, "how did you
pacify them? Did you free them from
their painful grief of separation?"
Uddhav got emotional
and says, "Oh
my Lord, why did you send me to teach Gopis? You knew all along how they are and how they
relate to you. No one can teach them;
they not only know about Your being, they are filled with You."
Krishna replies,
"Uddhav, that was what missing in your knowledge. Your spiritual journey is now complete. You shall share the gems of knowledge to
others and hereafter
you shall be known as Maha-Rishi".
Thus Krishna gave his final teaching to Uddhav, which is known as Uddhav Gita.
Thus Krishna gave his final teaching to Uddhav, which is known as Uddhav Gita.
Radhay ! Radhay !
After Uddhav returned to
Mathura, Radha through her devotion merged with Krishna -the Supreme Soul.
Radha visualized Krishna in the darkness of the rain
clouds above the black water of the Yamuna, and entered into that darkness
from where She had come.
RADHAY ! RADHAY !
RADHAY ! RADHAY !
