How Balarama reveals Krishna’s heart in Vrindavana Mathura and Dwarka ? – Balarama appearance day

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna I’m not ever behind. Let’s begin with some prayers for Balaramji. This is from the Balram Satsang, Thousand Names of Lord Balaram.
So we’ll recite first set of prayers right now, the start of the talk, and toward the end of the talk, we’ll recite the second part. I’ll explain the meaning, and then you’ll recite it. So namaste is common, I offer my respects, obeisance.
So halagraha. Halagraha refers to one who holds a flower, that is Balaramji’s. Namaste halagraha.
Namaste Balaramji. And then namaste mushalayanda. So ayanda is a paraphernalia.
So he uses akala mushala. It’s a heavy device, you can translate it in different ways. Right? That is his weapon.
So he has one, it’s a claw, and the other is his club like heavy. Namaste mushalayanda. Namaste.
Then namaste revati kanda. So revati is the name of his consort. He’s the lover of his consort.
Namaste revati kanda. Namaste. And then lastly, he loves all those who are devoted to the Lord.
So that is the lover of the devotees. Namaste bhaktavatsara. Namaste halagraha.
Namaste mushalayanda. Namaste revati kanda. Namaste.
Namaste bhaktavatsara. Namaste. Namaste halagraha.
Namaste. Namaste mushalayanda. Namaste.
Namaste revati kanda. Namaste. Namaste bhaktavatsara.
Namaste bhaktavatsara. Together. Namaste halagraha.
Namaste. Namaste revati kanda. Namaste bhaktavatsara.
Together. Namaste. Namaste.
Namaste. Namaste. Namaste.
Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. I’m grateful to be here with all of you today.
let’s auspiciously have Balram’s BNC. I’ll speak about how Lord Balramji is appreciated within the Gaudiya Vaishnav tradition. How he, specifically, how he reveals Krishna’s heart both by supporting him and by opposing him.
Both. So, I’m thinking you have some friend or colleague who doesn’t know much about Maharaj, especially they are from a western tradition. And you tell them, there’s a western matter.
Can you come? What’s the occasion? It’s the birthday of God’s brother. There are a lot of people who have come up with certain current conceptions. Many people don’t even acknowledge whether God exists or not.
Even in common experience. How can God have a brother? And you can actually call God only as a brother. He is the younger brother.
God has a brother who is older than you. And God is eternal. How does he have a brother? So, actually speaking, the Bhakti tradition was like many mystic traditions across the world talk about God and they urge us to spend the rest of our life around God.
It is the Bhakti tradition as we read in the Vedic texts of ancient India, that give us a very vivid picture of God. Very intimate knowledge about the personal life of God. In knowing God, there are broadly two aspects.
There is God’s greatness and there is God’s sweetness. So, these answer to the words are Aishwarya and Madhuri. When we understand God’s greatness, that fosters salvation, humility.
God is so great. I should listen to what they say. And then, when we know God’s sweetness, that fosters intimacy.
That fosters affection. And strong devotion is a combination of both submission and affection. If there is only submission without affection, that is almost like a slave.
If there is only affection without submission, then that is spiritual. It’s God. It’s presumptuous.
So, when there is a proper kind of submission and affection, that is devotion. And Balaramji manifests this. But Balaram is not going to be with me.
The garments I am also carrying, they are not. Blessed by Balaram, even in blessings I am carrying. So now, I will talk about three main incidents from the life of Balaram, in this quick background, which illustrate how Balaram changed.
I will speak about Balaram throughout. Because that is the moment of evolution of tradition. If you look at Jiva Goswami in his Gopal Chakra, this is our Balaram.
Krishna Prabhupada used the word Shri Mati Radha. It is in Shanti Kapil of Jiva Goswami. These are the previous speeches in our tradition.
They instil Siddhartha. It is not a sign of disrespect. It is a sign of intimacy.
So, Siddhartha Rama, here it says, here it says, this is us. So, there are three faces we talk about. Krishna in Vrindavan, Krishna in Mathura, and Krishna in Dwaraka.
These were the three main places where Krishna resided. And how Balaram acted as a complement for Krishna. That is what we will discuss.
So, let’s begin. Now, Krishna in Balaram, there is a great history of Balaram’s birth, that he was for a very prolonged time his mother’s womb. And that’s why, their appearances are just one big difference.
Their age is different. When there are two twins, then one of them might be one minute older than the other. How is it? Older is always older.
I am older. Rama is older. So, it’s like that.
Now, Krishna in Balaram, although there was an age difference because of which Krishna was always differentiable. Respectful Balaram. But still they grew up together.
And they grew up almost seven years. When small babies are growing up, what happens is, one of the phases in their cognitive growth is that they start advancing their meaning. So, their meaning.
When they are born, and say, Krishna said, maybe as an opa, book. Then, it’s just a sound for the child. But after some time the child knows, this is happening to me.
We call it me. They don’t know to talk, but they respond. They look at it, and we call it.
So, what happens is, Krishna and Balaram were always together. So, they used to sleep in similar, same room. And Mother Yashoda and Rohini, their parents were eight years.
But when they started growing, and the naming ceremony was done, and they gave the names, Krishna and Balaram. So, what happened was, when their mother started calling them by their names, they could hear, they started sensing. Okay, we are being called.
Because both of them were called together. Whenever Krishna would be called, both Krishna and Balaram would come. And whenever Balaram would be called, both Krishna and Balaram would come.
And then, when they would be called, Krishna, both Krishna and Balaram would come. And after that, when Mother Yashoda and Rohini would come, and she would come, pick up all the glasses. Krishna, you have been called.
What happened? And then, Mother Yashoda would come, and she would call Krishna, and Balaram would come. Krishna would come. And then, she would come, and Krishna would come.
What happened? So, right from their names, they were very neatly united. As they grew a little older, and they started talking. Krishna is my name, Balaram is his name.
They started understanding that. And then, they started talking. And Krishna was always the naughty one among them.
What happens is, whenever there are two siblings, one is that the older sibling might want to nod it off. I am the older one, I always remember that. But the older sibling, might also feel a sense of responsibility to take care of this younger one.
He was a slightly younger. So, that thought was always with him. So, Rohini and Yashoda, both of them, Balaram and Krishna’s father, they would tell Balaram, you are the younger one.
You have a serious responsibility to take care of him. And Krishna’s father would say to Balaram, so that’s how slowly the differentiation between them started happening. And then, Krishna would do all kinds of mischief.
But generally, he was the most mischievous when Balaram was around. And, different times, Krishna would, Krishna had plans of being mischievous on them. They both would go and steal butter, and eat butter, and that was just fine.
But sometimes, they would do something very, very mischievous. And Krishna would say, Balaram, you are mischievous. So, Krishna would write something, Balaram, I think you are a little bit naive.
Maybe you should say something, maybe you should say something more. And Rohini would always be, mother’s office, and all the children, and he would say, and Krishna would be in the heat. He would then go and do whatever mischief he wanted.
So, Krishna and Balaram were always together otherwise. And, every day, when they would go to follow the cows, and the Gopalashtim was there still, when they got the responsibility to take care of Krishna’s cows, and baby cows, and then after that, when they would go out, what would happen is, both Krishna and Balaram were very diligent. So, there were hundreds and hundreds, countless cows they had.
And, every day, when they would start to go out, all of them down, would come out to see them. And, the Gopalashtim, they would walk in with the cows, and then the Maharaj, Yashodamayi, and all the Lakshmanas would be out there, to come and see. And then, the younger ones, who would later become Krishna’s consorts, they would go on the terraces, and from there they would go out.
And, they would all watch, till, the last trace of the sight of Krishna would disappear. They would be longing for Krishna. That, although Krishna would go out, they would not go out.
But, their hearts would go out to Krishna. Their hearts would go to Krishna. So, just knowing, that his devotees would be looking at them, Krishna and Balaram would go last.
And, all the cows would be again, which I mean, and, Krishna and Balaram would be again. Because, when they are going for herding, at that time, the cows are eager to go. So, at the back, they would guard.
Now, when they would return, they would reach, again, the Gopis, at the end of the day. At the end of the day. All the devotees would feel as if, one moment, Krishna would come and leave them.
And, Krishna would come back. Then, the Vedas would know he is coming back. Then, they would see a dust cloud approaching.
A dust cloud. There are so many cows. And, all the cows would come in the dust cloud.
So, their dust cloud was, like, golden, and, some event is happening, and the light is coming. They would all know. And, the cows would come back.
And, again, Krishna and Balaram would come in the past. They would make sure, that every single cow comes back. Every single cow comes back.
They would not let a single cow be left. They would go away, and go, and love each other again. So, they found a way, that the word, Gop, in Sanskrit, refers, both, to cows, and to senses.
Krishna, my senses, also, they know all of them. Just as you bring all the cows back, please, bring all my senses back with you. And, Krishna, Balaram, in the Gaudiya Vishwa tradition, Balaram is considered to be the Guru.
He is the Adi Guru. And, we know, Guru is guiding us in our lives. That is, actually, from the centre of our heart.
So, Krishna and Balaram would come back. At that time, they were the last to come back. And, all the younger Gopis, they would be on the terrace, eagerly beholding Krishna.
And, Krishna also wanted to reciprocate with them. They would offer the love of their hearts, through their glances, at Krishna. And, Krishna, out of returning their love, offering his love to them, by glancing at them, by the love, of a woman, in many ways, conservative society.
So, because of that, in the presence of his older brother, Krishna felt shy to look at all the Gopis. So, Krishna invented some excuse. As they were going back, Krishna suddenly slowed down.
And, then, Balaram said, come on, go home. There will be food for us. We will take a bath.
We will have food. Let’s go home. Let’s go, after Krishna would say.
We have a long way to go. We have a long way to go. Will you please go ahead, when Krishna comes to? Are you sure? No problem.
Yes, yes, please go ahead. as soon as Balaram walks, there, Krishna, he is intrigued. And, then, he would look at each Gopi.
And, then, he would look at Krishna, Krishna, I would like to look at the Gopis. Now, when there is a deep affection within the people, there does not need to be any infusing display of affection. Krishna and the Gopis were not worried about each other, but, just that glance was completely fulfilling for their hearts.
So, this was Krishna. He, Krishna, and Balaram, so, in Vrindavan. They were brothers and the closest of friends.
And they are dramatic and dramatic in Vrindavan. And that changed the complexion of their lives completely. Kamsa was the king of Mathura, Samandhi, from Mathura to Vrindavan.
So Krishna came there. And Krishna had promised the Gopis that I will come back. And he had full intention of coming back.
But, after he neutralised Kamsa, Kamsa tried to kill him immediately. Krishna decided to end this terror of the world. And after he killed him, then Krishna said, okay, when Yadus, Yadus are the dynasty ruling in Mathura, they offered the crown and throne to Krishna.
Krishna said, I don’t want this crown. I am not giving you the crown. This throne should be given to Ugrasen.
Ugrasen was like the father of the Kamsa. To Kamsa, I take the throne of the world. And who will give? The Yadus said, no.
So you have to stay here, Ugrasen. Kamsa has made all the alliance. And knowing that Kamsa has not killed the Yadus, they will all come to take revenge.
And, if you don’t stay here, you will not have protectors from danger. You will have subjectors to obliteration. Because at least in Kamsa there was a sense of unease in Yadus.
Because they just go, I have to do all this. At least I am Kamsa from their history. Krishna said, no.
I belong to Vrindavan. How can I stay here? No, you don’t belong to Vrindavan, you belong to others. You are Vasudeva’s son.
It was prophesied that Vasudeva’s eight sons will kill Kamsa and you will kill Kamsa. Therefore, you are Vasudeva’s son. Now, in Vrindavan, especially from the Vrajabhasi point of view, you can say they are in denial.
The Vrajabhasi has never accepted that Krishna is actually the son of Vasudeva. In fact, Krishna Chakravarti goes elaborately through lambda analysis, it’s two Krishnas that wanted you. One of the son of Nanda Maharaj and one of the son of Vasudeva.
But at this point, Krishna had to tell Nanda Maharaj, I can’t come back with you. This was a huge burden on a tiny child. Krishna was just around ten.
Sometimes you think of Krishna as God, Krishna performing plays from past times, heroic past times. Krishna is undefeatable. Yes, he is.
But within his leela, he is just a child. And even if there is a ten-year-old child, even if with their parents, that child shifts from one location to another location, this is rough. You go from one school to another school, you have to find a set of friends.
It’s quite difficult to find one’s own friends. But imagine a child has to not only change one school and change one’s friends. A child has to go from one set of parents to another set of parents.
Say maybe they are adopted by their parents, some children are in foster care. They go from one parents to another. It’s very difficult.
The child to wield everything and to accept what is happening. And at that time, it’s very important. One of my friends is in the children’s services.
He says, when these children are in foster care, you take them from one place to another. The news has to be very gently broken to them. And then some of their throat had turned and they have been pacified.
So then they were drenched from their previous house to the next house. But here, but a lot of cases, it is the address responsibility to communicate to the child that you are the one. But in Krishna’s case, it was the opposite.
It was Krishna’s responsibility to tell Andhra Maharaj, to have had, I won’t be coming with you. Man, it was painful for Krishna, it was painful for Andhra Maharaj. And seeing Andhra Maharaj in pain was increasing Krishna’s pain.
Thinking that I am causing the pain to Andhra Maharaj. I was even laughing about it. And there were always the fear in the back of Andhra Maharaj’s mind.
Your will is Krishna getting attracted by God and so on and so forth. Will he stop living there and will he never come back? Will he abandon us? Is he abandoning us right now? So separation from a loved one is bad. But separation with a sad feeling, separation with the feeling that the other is taking So suddenly, Krishna was almost ripped away from the place where he had grown up, the place that was his home.
And he was suddenly in an entirely new place, where he knew practically nobody there. The only person who came with Krishna during this terrible transition, who was that? Balarama. And this adversity brought them even closer to each other, closer than ever before.
Of course, Rukmini was there. Rukmini was also Surya’s wife. And she had come to Vrindavan.
She had been sent by Andhra Maharaj to Vrindavan after Surya came to know that she had become pregnant. She didn’t want her son to be in danger. So to protect her from Kamsa, he had sent her to Vrindavan.
And she had been to Vrindavan and she came back. So actually, initially she didn’t come back. What happened was, from a small child’s perspective, just a 10-year-old child, and it’s just put in a different house.
And he told her, this is your mother, this is your father. The children wanted more from their mother. But Krishna, he was constantly remembering Yashoda.
He just couldn’t bond with Devaki. He was very spiritual. But that spontaneous bond was not there.
And once Surya saw this, Surya said, let’s call Rukmini back. We don’t want her to come back to Vrindavan. He thought that Rukmini was there in Vrindavan and she will be here in Andhra.
That will be a common point. And then Rukmini came back. Krishna and Dalai Lama ran to her and hugged their legs and they bore down their heart.
What happened was, all the Bhadranavas said, they were fearful that Krishna may go back to Vrindavan. And they wanted Krishna to be there. It was, you could say, like a transcendental custody battle.
Why? Without a custody battle between the mother and the father, the custody battle between two sets of parents. The birth of parents and the foster parents. Of course, there is no real battle, there is no harsh way of saying it.
But both of them were trying to pull. So, as soon as he was in Andhra, they wanted him to stay in Andhra. And they wanted him to forgive Vrindavan.
So, when Krishna would speak about Vrindavan, all the Bhadrans would start insulting him. And children are very sensitive to this. If children are naughty, then if they see something annoying or something against the discipline of the Bhadrans, they will do it to all the Bhadrans.
But, what Nanda Maharaj had told him, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Drona, Drona heard their heart being poured out and she felt agonised. But when she started speaking to the Mathura Vasishta, now, do you know how much they love Krishna? How much Krishna love them? What a sweet pastimes they have. The Mathura Vasishta was looking at her and says, On whose side are you? Are you now on Mathura’s side or Allah’s side? What’s going on here? He said, is your faithfulness so cheap? In the nowadays, when you sell milk sweets and you become a Rajasthani? So, so, but Rohini saw that she was a simple princess.
She just raised her hand and said, You should talk to Krishna about the Mahant. So, Krishna came to her and had no one to talk to except the children. Except the children.
And then, what happened? Then came the devotee asking, why did Krishna, Vrindavan is so close? So, the Drajvasis, there is so much separation of Krishna, so why did Krishna not go to Vrindavan? Or why did the Drajvasis not come to meet Krishna? It is a short story. That has to be the shortest story, but there was a big reason. What had happened was, Krishna, although on one side he was a child, Krishna was also a shrewd and romantic.
He used to, he had appeared in the Kshatriya family, not the Kshatriya, but he had appeared in the Kshatriya family and he had the Kshatriya intelligence, even a child. So, he told Nanda Maharaj, when Nanda Maharaj was only five years old, that Nanda Maharaj said that, we will come every week to meet you. He said, no, Krishna said, you can never come to meet me.
He said, why? He said, the enemies, the friends of Kamsa, are now my enemies. They will try to kill me, but they will also try to get back at me, by attacking those who love me, or those who mind me. So, while I am in Mathura, I cannot go to Vrindavan.
But while I am in Mathura, I cannot go to Vrindavan. And Krishna knew that Nanda Maharaj would not bother about his own protection. So, what he was telling is, that if my Kamsa’s friends, who are now my enemies, I am not their enemy, but they treat me as their enemy, he says that, if they come to know that we are so close to each other, then they will attack Vrindavan, and they will destroy Vrindavan.
And, he knew that Nanda Maharaj would say, no, but I cannot be separated from you. I don’t mind them coming to destroy, I will come with you. Krishna knew how to persuade Krishna.
He said, Nanda Maharaj, we are all servants of the Kamsa, and we need to protect our Kamsa. They will not just destroy us, they will destroy our Kamsa also. Therefore, he said, once you go to Vrindavan, neither can you come here, nor can I come there.
The world should think that it was just one place, Vrindavan, was just one place where I stayed in the earlier years of my life. But once I came back to Vatsala, I forgot about Vrindavan. And now, when Krishna was speaking those words, I forgot about Vrindavan, his heart was breaking, and so was Nanda Maharaj’s heart.
Will he really forget? Will he forget us? But Krishna had a serious heart to protect his Kamsa. And that’s why the separation of Vrindavan was complete. And as Krishna slowly started neutralising the various elements, there Krishna said, Nanda, you know so much about me, you have been my devotee.
I give up Vrindavan. Why? I do stand out of question. I give up Vrindavan.
You are coming back on track. Now you are not talking about Vrindavan so much. If you go there, you start giving up everything.
You cannot go back. You just have to move on to Vrindavan. At that time, Krishna said, What did I mean in coming? Krishna wanted an enemy who attacked Krishna many times, seventeen times.
Who was that enemy? Krishna’s son. And each time he would come, he would come from the path of Vrindavan. And all the time that he would come, all the Vrajavasis would have taken their cars, and their family, and they would have to go on top of Gopalan Hill and hide in the hills.
When this happened repeatedly, Krishna said, I cannot put my loved ones in danger like this. I cannot put them in danger like this. Therefore, Krishna relocated from Madhura to Dwarka.
Now externally speaking, Krishna relocated to Dwarka so that he could protect the Yadus. The Yadus were being attacked, and Dwarka was like a fortress island. So it was surrounded by water.
And it was very safe. So externally speaking, Krishna moved from Madhura to Dwarka to protect the Yadus. Internally, he moved so that he could protect the Vrajavasis.
Both reasons were there. What this meant, this meant that now Krishna and the Vrajavasis were even further away. Because at this time, the Yadus started to come in.
Now Krishna is far away from them. And then further up, a few days ago, then further down, now they became young. They became of a manageable age.
And then Balarama, the elements had happened for him to migrate away. And then Balarama sent a message to Duryodhana Maharaj. I seek your blessings.
They are very happy to hear this. At this time, there was a question born in their heart. Who will Krishna marry? If Krishna marries a princess, then you implicitly acknowledge that he is a prince.
He belongs to you. If Krishna comes back to Vrindavan and marries a cowgirl, then you acknowledge that he belongs to us. So even if you are Balarama, think of Krishna.
But if Balarama got married, then the Yadus felt, at least he is safe. So Krishna couldn’t go to Vrindavan. And in years, Krishna told Buddha, can you please go to Vrindavan? I want to come.
Why not? Buddha said, you know, my credit reading is zero. He said, last time when I had gone, I told him that Krishna must not come. Krishna will come soon.
And you didn’t go. So he said that. Now if I go, it’s a big thing.
That is fire. I cannot face Krishna. And Krishna said, you must go.
They are tormented in separation from you. Krishna said, I want to go. My heart everyday longs to be in Vrindavan.
I dream about Vrindavan. Every night, I cannot disobey my father. I cannot disobey the Yadus.
So this is the striking similar contrast between Ramlila and Kashmiri. In Lord Ram, Ram had to go away from his father to the forest so that he could honour his father as a father’s love. But Krishna could not go away from the forest because of his father’s love.
Because the Vrindavan was at a fixed location. And as Krishna was thinking, he was trembling. I want to rest in the mind of a child.
I want to be assured that I am not a child. And seeing Krishna in anxiety like this, a thought came to my mind. Because Vrindavan was at a fixed location.
Krishna would not directly ask for Vrindavan. But Ram said, I want to go to Vrindavan. And Krishna said, Oh, yes, I will go.
You can go. But Ram said, I am not going for you. I am going for the Vrindavan.
But Ram said, I want to have Vrindavan. Now how can you go to Vrindavan? Krishna said, You know I don’t want to. I don’t want to.
I want to have Vrindavan. But Ram said, Come with me. Oh, I cannot.
Now Balram was… Because nobody thought that Balram was going to be the son of Sudeva and Rohini. So Balram was clearly alone. But Krishna’s birth, there was some mystery about it.
So Krishna thought, Even if Balram goes to Vrindavan, he will come back. Even if he is in battle also, he has to come back to Vrindavan. So he said, Yes.
So they let him go. And that time, Balram went to Vrindavan. And when Balram came to Vrindavan, that was the time when he actually pacified the Vrajavasis.
So let’s say this. Let me read this verse. So, in the broader time frame, he was also a part of the Kuru.
Kuru and Yadu are wrongly related. And they are inseparated. So Balram was the greatest among that Kuru dynasty.
He is actually his second son. That’s his second son. So then, On the Ratha, on the child, he is his second son.
Then, those who were very close to his heart, those who were always in his heart, Vidrukshu, Vidrukshu means to see, Utkantha, strong longing, a deep aspiration of the heart, So, Vidrukshu, Utkantha, So, Prayayam, or in Arabic it is art, Nanda, Kaukulam, Nanda, Nanda, Prayayam, Nanda, Kaukulam, Prayayam, This particular verse has been immortalised in the paintings in Dwarka, where, I was searching for a pin, I couldn’t find it, which was otherwise. There is Krishna, many of us may have seen the picture of the Gopis watching and Krishna in the middle, and the Gopis are like a statue, motionless, stunned, amazed, shattered, as they are watching Krishna depart. But there is this other picture of Krishna standing outside Dwarka to Balram Guruji, and Krishna is watching, longing to go with Balram, but not able to go.
So, this was like an unfinished mission, the innermost feelings of his heart, that no one else would understand. Krishna was having Balram in the way he does things. So, when Balram was going and Krishna was not going, because Balram was carrying Krishna’s heart, that was the most emotional moment to him.
So, to be to Krishna, he had a very strong desire to be with the Rishis. And then he went and he spent two months in Vrindavan. He fulfilled the heart’s longing for the Rishis.
And now it’s significant that Uddhava comes, Krishna comes. What is Balram Guruji? Balram and Krishna are in one sense one and the same. Balram is understood to be God.
So, he is God, but in a different form. So, Krishna and Balram are one person, but two personalities. Advaitam Chudamanaam Anandam.
One person, two personalities. So, in one sense, when Balram went, Krishna lingo. In another sense, when Balram went, the Brijwasis and Rishis didn’t like to be with Krishna.
And for them, Balram and Krishna were always together. So, they would think, if Balram went, Krishna would come here. What happened? Balram and Krishna didn’t come.
And they felt disappointed. Some guests come to our house, and in one sense, we are happy, but we are expecting someone else to come. But they don’t come.
So, like you said, if somebody walks in, I don’t want to. And we say, oh, it’s only you. It’s only you.
We minimise them. So, they didn’t want anyone. They loved Balram.
But what happened was, they felt disappointed in Krishna. But Balram was in one sense non-different from Krishna. Balram, by his presence, made them feel Krishna’s presence.
And that’s how, in those two months, all the Brijwasis’ hearts were meeting. Because Krishna, in one sense, was non-different from his father. How non-necessarily they were meeting.
Krishna is non-different from his father. And Balram was carrying Krishna’s heart. So, Balram did for Krishna what Krishna would not do for himself.
That was Balram’s love for Krishna. And, just as when Krishna was in Garbha, and the Brijwasis were in Vrindavan, and there was a vague gap between the two of them, it was Balram who acted as the link. Similarly, Balram manifests as a guru, as a not just a spiritual master, but all the spiritual teachers who act as the link between us and Krishna.
Now, we may not be longing for Krishna. Just as the Brijwasis were longing for Krishna. But, we are all separated from Krishna.
Whatever be the various problems in our life, whatever be the various specific causes of those problems, ultimately, our biggest problems are the problems of Krishna. Disconnection from Krishna. And, that problem can be solved only when we connect with Krishna.
And, is the way, is the step that makes a spiritual change. There’s a guru and a guru’s representative and guru’s associates. And, they come in our life as representative of Balram.
And, they enable us to feel Krishna’s presence even amid his absence. That is what’s required for our hearts longing for Krishna to awaken. we need to experience Krishna.
We need to feel Krishna’s presence. So, when we come to a beautiful temple like this, we have soul-studying teachers, soul-studying teachers will participate in beautiful puja of the children. Through all these, we can get an experience of Krishna.
As an experience of Krishna comes, then our longing for Krishna increases. And, as a longing for Krishna comes, we move closer and closer to Krishna. So, this experience of Krishna is delivered to us by Narada Nagaram.
Through our spiritual teachings, through our spiritual guides. And, that is why Balram is not just a historical figure, not just an esoteric figure of Krishna Yuga. Balram is a person extremely important for us.
It is him who reminds us of Krishna. The word Balram has three meanings. I’ll conclude with one of the words.
Balram Kriyam. There are two parts. Literally or contextually, Narada Nagaram gave Balram that name because he said that he would delight in exhibition of strength.
Kriyam is to delight. Balram is strength. Narada Nagaram delights in exhibition of strength.
So, Balram can no longer face this promise. While that itself, meaning directly related to Balram, is personal attributes. That is the name which describes his personal attributes.
That name also describes the blessings that he gave to us. He gives us the significant blessings. He gives Balram and he gives us Balram.
Balram also means strength. In this world, there are many temptations and many distractions. They all call us to Krishna.
But it is Balram who gives us the Balram to resist those temptations. To turn away from those temptations. And we can’t keep saying normal things of this world because the negative sets one apart.
You can’t take it apart. You can’t fulfil it. We need something positive.
And that is also the blessing that Balram gives us. The second blessing is Brahman. Brahman is to give us pleasure.
So, he gives us taste in Krishna. He blesses us so that we can find joy in Krishna. And thus, these three blessings the strength to resist those temptations and the taste to delight in Krishna, these can completely transform us.
These can free us from our distractions and distractions in this world. And these can deliver us to be also in Krishna. These can deliver us to completely merge with Krishna.
And that is what we can know the eternal knowledge of God. And that is the main experience that we can see. We can pick it up and go, please give us Balram who has his fire and please give us a Brahman in Krishna.
And we learn that blessing. We all can go on such a relaxed spiritual journey. The foremost manifestation of Balramji in our lives is Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada came to the West. In one sense that’s from Dwarka, Balramji came to Vrindavan. Prabhupada came from Vrindavan to the West of Africa.
And what did he do? He learned completely he could deliver habits. We have the regulative principles to avoid certain activities. But in those days there was like a regulative principle of the Hindus to break all the rules.
And so Prabhupada carried Balram’s blessings to give them the Brahman to just break through all those habits. And Prabhupada gave them the Brahman to Krishna. And even India came to America.
So India came there and they tested which would suit and which would not. But in then, Srila Prabhupada was introduced to Krishna and came to America. He said that this cannot be understood.
So he said that when I came to America and I saw these Muslim people or it is very clear term I actually felt that it was very different. This was not just a boy or a girl. I felt that these people were actually feasting on the holy names.
They were savouring, relishing everything. Even in India I never experienced anything like this. That was Balram, Srila Prabhupada came.
So Balram manifested like Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada used all these qualities. That’s the Brahman in Balram remains accessible to all of us. And it is accessible especially personally from the sacred names.
From Balram, Srila Prabhupada said. So I think some of that is what we are talking about. The intimate bond between Balram and Krishna.
In Madhura, in Vrindavan, in Madhura and Vrindavan. Balram and Krishna were the closest of friends. As they grew up together, they had adventures together, they performed mischief together.
Then when Krishna was traumatised by Sathya Rishabh Rajwa’s hand when he came to Madhura, Balram was his soul spender. He was the only person who could share his thoughts and act with them from his own heart. And then he came to Dwaraka, that was the time when Balram understood Krishna’s heart, took Krishna’s heart and went to Vrindavan.
Thus indirectly fulfilling Krishna’s promise to reunite, to return to Vrindavan, Balram brought Krishna’s heart back. So Balramji is also a saint of Vrindavan and this is the Guru who gives us Balram and Ram. So let’s conclude with one small silence prayer.
I won’t do the rest. So Namaste Allah. Namaste Allah.
Namaste Allah. Namaste Krishna Namaste Kalpa Kalpa Kalpa