Radha Krishna Consciousness

Lord Krishna is the supreme God & Radha Rani is the devotional energy of Lord Krishna. Radha Rani is not different from Lord Krishna & both are one & the same being.That is the reason that both are also addressed as RadhaKrishna. Lord Krishna is eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful and all-attractive God. He is the seed-giving father of all living beings and is the sustaining energy of all the universe. He is the source of all incarnations of God. So whatever, we eat should first be offered to Lord Krishna with a prayer to Him. In this way Lord Krishna accepts the offering and blesses us. So let’s don’t live in a self-cantered way & let’s do all our acts for the pleasure of Lord Krishna. This is known as Bhakti-Yoga, the science of Devotional service.

As said above that Radha Rani is the devotional energy of Lord Krishna so we should pray her to get the devotion towards Lord Krishna. So let's have our emotions towards God & have Him in our life. Let's understand Him. If we are able to generate feelings or emotions towards the God then such "Spiritual Emotion" is called "Bhaav or भाव". When one is in a state of Spiritual Emotion, one’s sub-conscious mind merges with the God for the time being & experiences communion with God. Spiritual Emotion is a state experienced in the Path of Devotion (Bhaktiyoga). During the state of "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotion" there is an intense awareness about the existence of God while carrying out day-to-day life activities. Spiritual Emotion is also a state of experiencing God’s presence everywhere.

Gopis & Radha's love for Lord Krishna was so strong that in His absence their mind always yearned for Him. Below are described the "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotions" of one Gopi who is yearning to meet God - Lord Krishna :

"O Krishna! You are Lord of my life. You always remain so in my life. O Lord, don't keep me out of your mind. O Lord, pl. don't forget me."

"O Krishna! My heart is crying for you, pl. do come. My soul is crying for you, pl. do come. O God, there is burning desire in my heart to meet you, pl. do come. Now pangs of separation are unbearable. Now even if I die Krishna, but see, even after death, my desire to meet you shall not die, as all my such desires are indestructible like You only. It shall live on forever till You meet me."

Sri Radha Rani is the greatest devotee of Lord Shri Krishna. It is said that Sri Radha is herself the "Devotional energy" of Lord Shri Krishna who is the Lord of the universe. Her name always comes before the name of Lord Krishna that is why God's one name is "Radha Krishna" also. As Sri Radha Rani is always in the thought of Lord Shri Krishna the Supreme God, so her state of "Spiritual Emotion" is called "Maha Bhaav or महाभाव" i.e. the highest state of Spiritual Emotion or Spiritual Ecstasy.

As per the Bhagwat Gita, devotion is the easiest method to develop "Bhaav" & get close to the God. God himself declares about the glory of devotion in Bhagwat Gita:

"man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

"ye tu dharmamritam idam
yathoktam paryupasate
sraddadhana mat-parama
bhaktas te ’tiva me priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: O Arjuna, Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me."

"mayy eva mana adhatsva
mayi buddhim nivesaya
nivasisyasi mayy eva
ata urdhvam na samsayah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just fix your mind upon Me and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt."

So let's have devotion in God. Let's remember God for some time in our daily life so that we too can generate some "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotion" towards the God. Once that is developed, we shall always find God near us & our life shall be filled with joy, love & ecstasy.

Jai Shri Krishna

Radha Ashtami – Birth anniversary of Goddess Radha

Radha Ashtami is commemorated as birth anniversary of Goddess Radha. It falls on Ashtami Tithi during Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada month. Devotees keep fast on Radha Asthami day. Goddess Radha is worshipped during Madhyana Kaal which is noon time according to Hindu division of the day. Currently Radha Ashtami falls in the month of August or September in English calendar. Radha Ashtami is also known as Radhashtami and Radha Jayanti. In this Year – 2014 it is falling on 2nd September. Ashtami Tithi Begins on 05:02 Hrs. on 2/Sep/2014 & Ashtami Tithi Ends on 04:08 Hrs. on 3/Sep/2014.

Here we shall know about Sri Radha Ji & her divine. immortal Love with Lord Sri Krishna. Sri Radharani was a Gopi who was most near to Lord Krishna’s heart. Sri Radha's devotion and dedication towards Lord Sri Krishna was complete, that is the reason that she was most dear to Lord Sri Krishna. Goddess Shri Radha Rani took birth at a place called Barsana in Uttar Pradesh state in India. Goddess Sri Radha was the daughter of Vrishbhanu & her mother was Kirti.

Goddess Sri Radha was not married to Lord Sri Krishna but still she was most dear to Him even more than His wives. It was because, Sri Radha was always full of devotion towards the Lord & never thought of anyone else besides Lord Sri Krishna. In pictures Sri Radha is almost always depicted alongside Sri Krishna.

Sri Radha Rani is considered as the greatest devotee of Lord Sri Krishna. It is said that Sri Radha, herself is the "Devotional energy" of Lord Sri Krishna who is the Lord of the universe. Her name always comes before the name of Lord Sri Krishna that is why God's one name is "Radha Krishna" also. Just take out only one "R" from "Radha Krishna" & it becomes just "aadha Krishna" i.e. "half Krishna" & that is the power of the name "Radha". As Sri Radha Rani is always in the thought of Lord Sri Krishna the Supreme God, so her state of "Spiritual Emotion" is called "Maha Bhaav or महाभाव" i.e. the highest state of Spiritual Emotion or Spiritual Ecstasy.

As per the Bhagwat Gita, devotion is the easiest method to develop "Bhaav" & get close to the God. God himself declares about the glory of devotion in Bhagwat Gita:

"man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

"ye tu dharmamritam idam
yathoktam paryupasate
sraddadhana mat-parama
bhaktas te ’tiva me priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: O Arjuna, Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me."

"mayy eva mana adhatsva
mayi buddhim nivesaya
nivasisyasi mayy eva
ata urdhvam na samsayah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just fix your mind upon Me and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt."

So let's have devotion in God. Let's remember God for some time in our daily life so that we too can generate some "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotion" towards the God. Once that is developed, we shall always find God near us & our life shall be filled with joy, love & ecstasy.

जय राधा रानी!
राधे-राधे
जय राधा कृष्णा.

Jai Shri Krishna

Radha's Devotion to Lord Krishna

Sri Radharani is the Devotional energy of Lord Krishna. Sri Radha Rani is the greatest devotee of Lord Krishna. If any person wants to have devotion in Lord Krishna then that person should first be devoted to Sri Radharani Ji.

Sri Radha Ji & her divine immortal Love with Lord Sri Krishna is well recorded in Srimadbhagvatam & other Puranas. She had incarnated on earth during the time of Lord Krishna. Sri Radharani was a Gopi who was most near to Lord Krishna’s heart. Sri Radha's devotion and dedication towards Lord Sri Krishna was complete, that is the reason that she was most dear to Lord Sri Krishna. Goddess Shri Radha Rani took birth at a place called Barsana in Uttar Pradesh state in India. Goddess Sri Radha was the daughter of Vrishbhanu & her mother was Kirti.

Goddess Sri Radha was not married to Lord Sri Krishna but still she was most dear to Him even more than His wives. It was because, Sri Radha was always full of devotion towards the Lord & never thought of anyone else besides Lord Sri Krishna. In pictures Sri Radha is almost always depicted alongside Sri Krishna.

Sri Radha Rani is considered as the greatest devotee of Lord Sri Krishna. It is said that Sri Radha, herself is the "Devotional energy" of Lord Sri Krishna who is the Lord of the universe. Her name always comes before the name of Lord Sri Krishna that is why God's one name is "Radha Krishna" also. Just take out only one "R" from "Radha Krishna" & it becomes just "aadha Krishna" i.e. "half Krishna" & that is the power of the name "Radha". As Sri Radha Rani is always in the thought of Lord Sri Krishna the Supreme God, so her state of "Spiritual Emotion" is called "Maha Bhaav or महाभाव" i.e. the highest state of Spiritual Emotion or Spiritual Ecstasy.

As per the Bhagwat Gita, devotion is the easiest method to develop "Bhaav" & get close to the God. God himself declares about the glory of devotion in Bhagwat Gita:

"man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

"ye tu dharmamritam idam
yathoktam paryupasate
sraddadhana mat-parama
bhaktas te ’tiva me priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: O Arjuna, Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me."

"mayy eva mana adhatsva
mayi buddhim nivesaya
nivasisyasi mayy eva
ata urdhvam na samsayah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just fix your mind upon Me and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt."

So let's have devotion in God. Let's remember God for some time in our daily life so that we too can generate some "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotion" towards the God. Once that is developed, we shall always find God near us & our life shall be filled with joy, love & ecstasy.

Jai Shri Krishna

Only God Can Save Us

In ancient times in India, there lived a very famous Sculptor. He was very much proud of his achievements and was very ambitious to achieve more. Once an astrologer told him that he would die within few years.

He was very upset and wanted to outsmart God's decision to take away his life. So instead of spending the rest of his precious time in the service of God, he decided to make 10 statues of himself perfectly resembling him in every way, except that they did not have life. On the day he was destined to die, he stood among those statues like a statue. As the astrologer predicted, Yamarâja (Lord of death) came to take him and Yamarâja was very confused to see the eleven statues. He found it hard to differentiate the real sculptor from his perfect statues. Then Yamarâja meditated on Lord Vishnu and a bright idea came to his mind.

Yamarâja said loudly to himself: "One of these statues is defective. Not all of them are equally perfect & same."

The arrogant, real sculptor who was pretending to be a statue jumped out and shouted: "Who is a better sculptor than me to say that one of my statues is defective? All of them are perfect replicas of myself."

Yamarâja confusion was cleared instantly and he took the sculptor away against all his protest. He tried to resist, he cried, he tried to hang on to his beloved statues, but nothing helped him to stay back in the same body.

Yamarâja said: "Nobody can outsmart God. If only you had surrendered to God and spent your remaining life in the service of Him, then end of your life in this body would have been more peaceful and smooth and you would have been experiencing eternal bliss. Arrogance and selfishness destroys one. When I was confused, did you see what I did? I meditated on Lord Vishnu and He persuaded me to say that "one of the statues is defective". Now I have to take you. Please remember Lord in pain and pleasure alike. He is the only one who can change or not change things."

May Lord bless us with an attitude of total surrender!

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which tells that Lord Krishna too loves His devotees & always fulfills their desires & always protect them:

"sannyasas tu maha-baho
duhkham aptum ayogatah
yoga-yukto munir brahma
na cirenadhigacchati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Five verse 6)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Merely renouncing all activities yet not engaging in the devotional service of the Lord cannot make one happy. But a thoughtful human being engaged in devotional service can achieve the God without delay."

"tesam jnani nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir visisyate
priyo hi jnanino ’tyartham
aham sa cha mama priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 17)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Of these, the one who is in full knowledge and who is always engaged in pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me."

"purushah sa parah partha
bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya
yasyantah-sthani bhutani
yena sarvam idam tatam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eight verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: The Lord / God, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him."

So let's have full devotion towards Lord Krishna. As per the "Bhagwat Puran":

"Once the mind of a person is full of surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna & the mind is full of hankering after Lord's qualities, then that person shall never encounter Yamarâja (Lord of death) and his superintendents, or even in one's dreams meet his servants carrying the ropes to bind, because doing such Devotional service to Lord Krishna is the right atonement for all sins."

Jai Sri Krishna

Love Of Radha Krishna

Today is “Radha Ashtmi”, the Birthday of Goddess Sri Radha ji. Here we shall know about Sri Radha Ji & her divine. immortal Love with Lord Sri Krishna. Sri Radharani was a Gopi who was most near to Lord Krishna’s heart. Sri Radha's devotion and dedication towards Lord Sri Krishna was complete, that is the reason that she was most dear to Lord Sri Krishna. Goddess Shri Radha Rani took birth at a place called Barsana in Uttar Pradesh state in India. Goddess Sri Radha was the daughter of Vrishbhanu & her mother was Kirti.

Goddess Sri Radha was not married to Lord Sri Krishna but still she was most dear to Him even more than His wives. It was because, Sri Radha was always full of devotion towards the Lord & never thought of anyone else besides Lord Sri Krishna. In pictures Sri Radha is almost always depicted alongside Sri Krishna.

Sri Radha Rani is considered as the greatest devotee of Lord Sri Krishna. It is said that Sri Radha, herself is the "Devotional energy" of Lord Sri Krishna who is the Lord of the universe. Her name always comes before the name of Lord Sri Krishna that is why God's one name is "Radha Krishna" also. Just take out only one "R" from "Radha Krishna" & it becomes just "aadha Krishna" i.e. "half Krishna" & that is the power of the name "Radha". As Sri Radha Rani is always in the thought of Lord Sri Krishna the Supreme God, so her state of "Spiritual Emotion" is called "Maha Bhaav or महाभाव" i.e. the highest state of Spiritual Emotion or Spiritual Ecstasy.

As per the Bhagwat Gita, devotion is the easiest method to develop "Bhaav" & get close to the God. God himself declares about the glory of devotion in Bhagwat Gita:

"man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

"ye tu dharmamritam idam
yathoktam paryupasate
sraddadhana mat-parama
bhaktas te ’tiva me priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: O Arjuna, Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me."

"mayy eva mana adhatsva
mayi buddhim nivesaya
nivasisyasi mayy eva
ata urdhvam na samsayah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just fix your mind upon Me and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt."

So let's have devotion in God. Let's remember God for some time in our daily life so that we too can generate some "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotion" towards the God. Once that is developed, we shall always find God near us & our life shall be filled with joy, love & ecstasy.

Jai Shri Krishna

Spiritualize Your Life

Today's life is so, that everyone feels to be very busy in this hectic day to day life. We all are very busy at our work place & in our home life also. In this busy life, we face lot of tensions & our mind is full of stress all the time. We forget about the true happiness in life & how it can be attained. For us earning lot's of money in life & enjoying it, is the mantra that can give us happiness in life. In our life we either run after money or we try to make our near & dear one's happy in life. Money & material things may give us joy at present but when these material things are not in our life, due to one reason or the other, much pain comes in our life. Same is the case with human relations. Till the time these relations are with you, they may give you joy for the time being. But in the absence of these relations our mind feels pain & sorrow.

We all know that we have come to this world alone & shall leave this world alone only. Whatever things we acquire or whatever relations we make on this world stage is only in between your birth & death. Some day, these things or relations shall leave you within this lifetime or ultimately you have to leave all these in the end. Any infatuation to material things or relations is going to give you pain only, whenever, separation shall occur from these one day. All material things & human relations are imperfect & any imperfect thing cannot give PERFECT love or joy to you. Unless you find a perfect & permanent thing in life, you shall not be able to find perfect love in life.

So, What is the real truth of life? It is to evolve and manifest the Spiritual principles within ourselves. We need to search the truth, the truth about ourself, our soul, which is a part of that Super Soul called God. We need to seek God who is the Divinity concealed behind different forms of life. We need to see the external world as God. We need to see & worship the sacred, Divine Presence that sanctifies all places and all objects in this world. It is the Divine Spirit that pervades all places around us, we need to feel it's presence around us. We need to see the Lord of the Universe, the hidden God, who pervades His own creation, all around us. This is that we need to Spiritualize our life.

To Spiritualize our life, we need to fill our thoughts & sentiments, every single word and deed of ours with an attitude of intense reverence, devotion, and worshipfulness to that Divine Spirit called God who pervades all the space & is all around us. Let all of our life be pervaded by that Spiritual emotion. Let's live in the awareness of that Divinity all around us. Behold light of God shining all around us & everywhere. Divine Being looks at you through all eyes. Let's feel this truth that all life is spiritual. So Let's endeavour to spiritualize our life. This is the key to devotion & blessedness.

As per Bhagwat Gita:

"ye tu dharmamritam idam
yathoktam paryupasate
sraddadhana mat-parama
bhaktas te ’tiva me priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: O Arjuna, Those who follow this imperishable path of spiritual & devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me."

Bhagwat Gita also teaches us that "we should know ourself to be that immortal soul". Once you are able to do that then we shall feel our SELF to be part & parcel of that Universal Self (GOD) who is infinite love & is pervading all around us. We are a spark of that Universal Soul, who is the source of infinite love. Once we are able to know that, our life too shall be full of love & blessedness.

Jai Shri Krishna

Emotions of a Devotee

It's good to have knowledge of God. It's good to have all the knowledge of Vedas, Puranas & all other religious texts but if there is no Devotion to God, then all this knowledge is of no use. Here below is a small story which shows that just having the knowledge of God is of little meaning, if one is not having Devotion to the God.

"Once upon a time there was a Devotee of Lord Krishna. That Devotee once came across a very Learned man who knew about all the knowledge of Vedas, Puranas & all other religious texts. That Devotee of Lord Krishna was holding a copy of the Bhagwat Gita in his hand, and his eyes were full of tears. The Learned man thought that the Devotee was weeping & having the tears in his eyes, as he is unable to understand some of the teachings of the Bhagwat Gita. He came to the Devotee and told him that he need not weep as now he has come to help him. Now if he likes he can narrate each shaloka of each chapter of Bhagwat Gita to him, if he finds it difficult to understand the Bhagwat Gita.

To this counsel of Learned man, the Devotee of Lord Krishna responded, “Sir, I am not crying because I cannot read & understand Bhagwat Gita but tears are coming into my eyes as I see the Lord Krishna right in front of me. I see Lord Krishna on every page of Bhagwat Gita. Every page I turn to, I see Arjuna’s chariot. I see Arjuna’s charioteer, Lord Krishna. These are my emotions towards Lord Krishna which are coming out as tears in my eyes. At hearing this, the Learned man came to understand that Devotion to God is superior to having just the knowledge of God."

Lord Krishna is also the Lord of Love. He is love infinite. If you shall love Him, then He too shall shower His unconditional love upon you. "Gopis of Vrindavan" fell in deep love with Lord Krishna. Though Lord Krishna is almighty, all powerful God & everyone prays to Him but "Gopis of Vrindavan", including "Radha Rani" fell in deep Love with Lord Krishna & in their case there was a burning desire in their mind to meet Him. In their case too tears of emotions used to come in their eyes due to their Love for Lord Krishna.

So let's also love Lord Krishna like the above mentioned Devotee & like the "Gopis of Vrindavan". If you shall love God a little bit then He shall love you ten folds, as God is hungry of love & devotion only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which tells that Lord Krishna too loves His devotees & always fulfills their desires & always protect them:

"ananya-cetah satatam
yo mam smarati nityasah
tasyaham sulabhah partha
nitya-yuktasya yoginah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eight verse 14)

"Lord Sri Krishna says: Whosoever, always & constantly remembers Me with undivided mind; by that person, I am easy to obtain, O Arjuna, because of his constant engagement in the devotional service to Me."

"samo ’ham sarva-bhutesu
na me dvesyo ’sti na priyah
ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya
mayi te tesu chapy aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 29)

"Sri Krishna said: I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all beings. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is very dear to Me, and I am also very dear to him."

"ananyas cintayanto mam
ye janah paryupasate
tesham nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-ksemam vahamy aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said: But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have."

So let's have full devotion towards Lord Krishna. As per the "Bhagwat Puran":

"Once the mind of a person is full of surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna & the mind is full of hankering after Lord's qualities, then that person shall never encounter Yamarâja (Lord of death) and his superintendents, or even in one's dreams meet his servants carrying the ropes to bind, because doing such Devotional service to Lord Krishna is the right atonement for all sins."

Jai Sri Krishna

Bhaav (भाव or Spiritual Emotion)

In our routine day to day life, we express emotions toward our children, family members & friends very frequently. But for how many minutes in your daily life, any emotions arouse in your mind for the God? For how much time do we remember Him? Basically we all are worldly people & our emotions, our feelings are all related to our worldly life. For most of us, our worldly life, family life comes first & God comes later. Now, it would be little better if we give little more priority to God who has created us & is maintaining our life & this whole world. Let's have little emotion towards God also in our life. Let's understand Him. If we are able to generate little feeling or emotion towards the God then such "Spiritual Emotion" is called "Bhaav or भाव".

"Bhaav or भाव" is basically a Sanskrit word for "Feeling", "Emotion", "Mood" or "Devotional state of mind". English translation of "Bhaav" is "Spiritual Emotion". When such "Spiritual Emotion" is aroused in one's mind, it replaces the ego or ‘I'-ness in one’s life by the awareness of the existence of God. When one is in a state of Spiritual Emotion, one’s sub-conscious mind merges with the God for the time being & experiences communion with God. Spiritual Emotion is a state experienced in the Path of Devotion (Bhaktiyoga). During the state of "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotion" there is an intense awareness about the existence of God while carrying out day-to-day life activities. Spiritual Emotion is also a state of experiencing God’s presence everywhere.

Devotees of God generally live in the thought of God & live in a mood of ecstasy and self-surrender. Such devotees channel their emotional energies toward the God. Gopis of Vrindavan, including Radha Rani were of that devotional cult, who fell in Love with the God, Lord Krishna. Meerabai in recent times also considered Lord Krishna with such devotion only. Gopis & Radha's love for Lord Krishna was so strong that in His absence their mind always yearned for Him. Below are described the "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotions" of one Gopi who is yearning to meet God - Lord Krishna :

"O Krishna! You are Lord of my life. You always remain so in my life. O Lord, don't keep me out of your mind. O Lord, pl. don't forget me."

"O Krishna! My heart is crying for you, pl. do come. My soul is crying for you, pl. do come. O God, there is burning desire in my heart to meet you, pl. do come. Now pangs of separation are unbearable. Now even if I die Krishna, but see, even after death, my desire to meet you shall not die, as all my such desires are indestructible like You only. It shall live on forever till You meet me."

Sri Radha Rani is the greatest devotee of Lord Shri Krishna. It is said that Sri Radha is herself the "Devotional energy" of Lord Shri Krishna who is the Lord of the universe. Her name always comes before the name of Lord Krishna that is why God's one name is "Radha Krishna" also. As Sri Radha Rani is always in the thought of Lord Shri Krishna the Supreme God, so her state of "Spiritual Emotion" is called "Maha Bhaav or महाभाव" i.e. the highest state of Spiritual Emotion or Spiritual Ecstasy.

As per the Bhagwat Gita, devotion is the easiest method to develop "Bhaav" & get close to the God. God himself declares about the glory of devotion in Bhagwat Gita:

"man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

"ye tu dharmamritam idam
yathoktam paryupasate
sraddadhana mat-parama
bhaktas te ’tiva me priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: O Arjuna, Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me."

"mayy eva mana adhatsva
mayi buddhim nivesaya
nivasisyasi mayy eva
ata urdhvam na samsayah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just fix your mind upon Me and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt."

So let's have devotion in God. Let's remember God for some time in our daily life so that we too can generate some "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotion" towards the God. Once that is developed, we shall always find God near us & our life shall be filled with joy, love & ecstasy.