The Fence Divine Move in the path that your Sadguru had walked with the protection of His Pãduka. Just chant ‘Rama Nãma’! - Sri Sri Swamiji

Sri Sri Swamiji,

"HARE RÃMA HARE RÃMA RÃMA RÃMA HARE HARE
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE"

" The Lord holds two kinds of wealth with Him. One is the world and the other is Vaikuntam. Human birth with all the comforts in the world has been bestowed by the Lord only to attain Vaikuntam, the Abode of the Lord. If we merely enjoy the comforts of the world without using them for the purpose intended we would waste away the treasure – human birth.

What is the purpose of a tree? Verily to bear fruit. The tree does not bear fruit the very day that it shoots up from the seed. It has to be tended for a long time by a gardener. The tree faces various kinds of dangers. As a small plant it faces the danger of being eaten away by animals. As it grows, it faces the danger of its barks being peeled off or cut down for fuel. And, then is the danger from nature – rain and storm. It might perish if caught in a cyclonic storm. It has to withstand all these trials and tribulations to grow up and finally bear fruit. The tree cannot take care of itself nor can it protect itself from the several threats from all directions during the course of its growth. The gardener takes due care of the tree, helps in its growth and finally in bearing fruits. He places a fence around the small plant so that it is well protected against animals. He waters the plant regularly so that it does not perish due to dearth of nourishment.

This human body is the tree that has to help bear the fruit of Moksha (Liberation).

This body is the tree that faces innumerable trials and tribulations during the course of its growth. We face dangers on various grounds – diseases, mental dispositions [that is internal], natural calamities and troubles that arise from others. We have no strength to protect ourselves physically or mentally. This human tree has a gardener who tends it and gives the highest care. And, who is that gardener? Verily the GURU! This divine gardener, the Guru, builds a fence around the disciple/devotee, which protects him from all kinds of dangers. And, what is that fence? Verily His Pãduka!

The Pãduka of the Guru is verily the dust of the Feet of the Guru. Having protected His Lotus Feet from the thorns, stones and dirt for a long time the Pãduka is smeared with the dust of the Holy Feet of the Guru. The Shastras say, ‘to attain Liberation one should worship the Guru’s Pãduka, offer food (‘anna dãna’) and spread the glory of the Guru!’

The Pãduka of the Guru is verily the Guru Himself. It is not any different from Him. It is verily for this reason that Lord Rama gave away His Pãduka to the grieving Bharata. Bharata sought out Rama not as an elder brother but verily as the Guru. It is only the Guru who can bestow peace of mind. When Rama learnt of the arrival of Bharata in the forest he instructed Sita and Lakshmana to stay away. Rama sat alone on a rock with ‘chinmudra’ (as does the Guru Lord Dakshinamurti) and received Bharata who had rushed to the forest in deep anguish. The very ‘darsan’ of Rama brought immense peace to the grief stricken Bharata. Only the company of the Guru offers the much required cool shade for the ‘jiva’ that has wandered about in the hot sun. Rama gave His Pãduka to Bharata when the latter adamantly refused to return to Ayodhya without him (Rama). What does this mean? Rama had given Himself away to Bharata. Pãduka is verily the Guru ‘swaroopa’ (Form). The whole divinity of the Guru settles down on His Lotus Feet and the Pãduka that carries those Holy Feet is wholly charged with it! The Pãduka is verily the Guru Himself.

Rama used to attend the Court of his father Dasarata. He would leave his palace with the Pãduka on his feet. The Court was filled with great people such as his own father Dasaratha, the family preceptor Sage Vasishta and others. As such the young Rama felt that he could not walk into the Court with his Pãduka on his feet. He would, therefore, leave them at the entrance. But before entering the Court he would look at the Pãduka with eyes brimming with compassion and the mind filled with the thought, ‘oh, this Pãduka protects my feet from thorns and stones and carries me all the way here. Yet, I leave it out unable to carry the Pãduka inside the Court.’ And, what do we find later in the Ramayana? This divine look (‘kataksha’) of Rama transformed even an insentient (‘achetana’) thing such as the ‘footwear’ (‘Pãduka’) into a Divine One, for, this very same Pãduka occupied the throne while Rama was away in the forest; and, the great ones like Sage Vasishta and others sat below worshipping ‘It’!

The Pãduka is certainly greater than the Guru. In the Ramayana it is seen that there were a few mishaps in the kingdom of Ayodhya during the rule of Rama but under the rule of His Pãduka not a single mishap took place. Rama was happy at Ayodhya whence the Pãduka was with him. He was happy even in the forest as long as the Pãduka was with him! But soon after he gave away the Pãduka to Bharata the trouble began. He lost Sita and the troubles that Rama had to face were countless. His troubles ended only on the day of his return to Ayodhya whence he regained his Pãduka!

Uddhava, the beloved devotee of Lord Krishna, had deep devotion for Krishna. He had learnt under the greatest intellectual Brihaspati and before coming to Krishna he used to proudly declare himself as the disciple of Brihaspati (‘Brihaspati sishya’). However, after coming to Krishna he began to call himself as the disciple of Krishna! He was also the minister of Krishna and people envied his position. They looked at him with awe and asked him, “Oh! Uddhav! You are always with Krishna to offer your advice on matters of great importance to Krishna!”

Smiling, Uddhav explained to them, “Is there any in all the three worlds to offer advice to the Supreme One, Krishna? I remain with Krishna so that His ‘divine graceful look’ (‘kataksha’) is not wasted! In my absence his ‘divine graceful look’ would fall only on the insentient things around him! I remain with him so that his ‘divine graceful look’ does not go a waste!”

Though Uddhava had deep affection for Krishna it continued to border on scriptural injunction. The scriptures say that one should have reverential attitude towards one’s Guru – stand up in his presence, walk behind him, prostrate to him on seeing him, prostrate to him from behind when he walks away, place the right hand fingers over your lips while speaking to him, bend low before him when he speaks to you, etc. Having been Brihaspati’s disciple earlier he strictly adhered to the scriptural rules. Krishna desired to teach his beloved disciple ‘prema bhakti’ (devotion which knows only pure love and is beyond all Scriptural injunctions). He, therefore, decided to send him to Gokula to witness it in the Gopis – his Gopis.

One day, Krishna said to Uddhava, “Dear Uddhav! Do you think that I am happy here?”

Uddhava was taken back. He said, “Of course, you are! Can there be any iota of doubt in it? You have a big, beautiful palace with your affectionate parents, wives, relatives and friends. Everybody respects you. You have everything at your command. And, here I am your humble servant to carry out the smallest command!”

Krishna smiled sadly and said, “No, Uddhav! I am not happy here. My mind is filled with the memories of my days at Gokula. The Gopis, the Gopas, the cows and calves, the trees and plants, the birds of Gokula! Oh, Uddhav! The love they have for Me! I was drowned in their love. Every pore in my body was filled with it. Do you believe that out of fear for Kamsa I moved to Gokula from Mathura? Even as a baby I killed the terrifying Putana, Sakatãsura, Trinãvarta, Akãsura, Bakãsura, etc. The terror-stricken Kamsa was but a fly to Me! I went over to Gokula to get drenched and be drowned in the torrential rain of ‘prem’ (love) of the Gopis.”

There were tears in Krishna’s eyes. Uddhava wondered! ‘Oh! How fortunate are those whose memory brings loving tears to Krishna’s eyes.’

After a pause, Krishna said, “Mother Yasoda would call out to Me in love filled voice and feed me with butter, curd and milk. Oh, with what care and love would she bathe me and dress me up! Uddhav! Why don’t you visit the Gopis? They are holding on to their lives only with the one hope that I would return to them one day.”
Uddhava readily agreed to visit them who occupied Krishna’s mind and heart.

On the way to Gokula, Uddhava wondered, ‘there must be some subtle purpose behind Krishna’s decision to send me to Gokula. Krishna does not speak out his thoughts openly.’ Pondering over this he came to the conclusion, ‘well! It must be to teach these Gopis the way of dhyãna!’

On reaching Gokula he went to Nandababa’s palace first. There, he felt deeply touched by the love that Nandababa and Yasoda had for their child Krishna. In the morning the Gopis noticed Uddhava in the same chariot that Akrura had come to take away their Beloved Krishna to Mathura. Their hearts missed a beat! ‘Oh, has our dear Krishna, the stealer of hearts, returned as he had promised us?’ The news spread like wild fire and all the Gopis gathered together. They saw Uddhava drive towards them in the chariot. Uddhava wore only the clothes that had been used by Krishna. There were saffron marks on the upper cloth and the Gopis thought, ‘does Krishna remember us? He has the city maidens to entertain him. Would he care for us uncivilized cowherdesses?’

Eating what remained on the leaf of Krishna, wearing his clothes, always remaining in his physical presence, he had verily acquired deep resemblance of Krishna. One of the Gopis said to another, ‘oh, he looks like Krishna!’ A harsh slap on her cheek was the response! The other Gopi cried out in anger, ‘how dare! Can there be another like him? Never, ever utter such words.’

The Gopis learnt that the chariot was a friend of Krishna. One Gopi said, “Hm! He is the friend of that cheat! I am not going anywhere near him. The stealer of hearts has city maidens to entertain him. Would he care to remember us who were his handmaids? How many promises had he made to us and has now left us in the lurch?”

However, this pledge of hers was short lived. On learning that it was a close friend of Krishna who had come as his messenger one Gopi after the initial hesitancy of speaking to a stranger, became friendly. They shot innumerable questions regarding Krishna.

Uddhava said to them, “I have come to teach you all dhyãna.”
The cowherdesses, smelling of butter and curd, looked at one another.
‘Dhyãna!’ they wondered. ‘What is that? Well! He is from Krishna. It must be Krishna’s instructions. We are then bound by it.’ So, they said in chorus, “What is this ‘dhyãna’ you speak of? What should we do? Please tell us.”
Uddhava said to them, “Come to the banks of the Yamuna tomorrow in the early hours of the morning after taking bath and wearing freshly washed clothes.”

Eyes widening they looked at each other! ‘After a bath’ he says.
One of the Ãazhwãrs sings that the Gopis bathed only once a year – they dipped their heads in the Yamuna and the following year they washed their body!
Thinking it was Krishna’s instruction they agreed to bathe early, wear freshly washed clothes and come to the banks of the Yamuna next morning at three.
All of them arrived in great anxiety. ‘Oh, our Beloved Krishna has sent this great man to teach something to us.’
Uddhava instructed them to sit in an orderly manner and without touching each other. This seemed strange to them, for, they always remained holding each other’s hands!
But they did respect his words and sat as bid.
Uddhava then instructed, “All sit straight and look at the tip of your nose.”
Things were getting stranger and stranger for them. They thought, ‘look at the tip of our nose? Oh, we are used to looking only at the tip of Krishna’s nose!’
Yet, without protesting they began to look at the tip of their nose.
Uddhava continued with his instructions, “Imagine a fully bloomed lotus in your heart and place Krishna on it. Hold your mind on this Form of Krishna!”

Things had gone too far for them! The whole lot of them jumped up laughing aloud.
Uddhava became furious. Here was he trying to teach dhyãna to them irrespective of their lowly state – mere cowherdesses who smelt of butter, curd and milk. He thought, ‘what foolhardiness to try to teach these cowherds?’

The Gopis exclaimed in one voice, “Oh, Uddhav! Is this ‘struggle’ called dhyãna? My Goodness! Should one take such trouble to think of Krishna! Is he not shining within our hearts always? Are we not suffering because of his continued presence in our hearts? We are unable to lead a ‘normal’ life. We have become the target of abuse! He has rendered us useless to the family but has left us in it. With lots of effort when we pull our mind to household chores he flashes his enchanting smile from within and down we go, the world forgotten. Uddhav! If you are really interested in our welfare please teach us the ‘dhyãna’ of forgetting him who has ruined our lives!”

Uddhava stood with eyes wide open. “Krishna! Krishna! My Beloved Krishna! The tears you shed for the Gopis is not enough. Can one possess such Love? Am I dreaming? What a fool I have been. Krishna has sent me here to learn from them and not to teach them!”

He at once fell on the dust of the feet of the Gopis and began to roll, crying out, “Oh! Please bless me with Bhakti – ‘prema bhakti’ – for Krishna!”

Since his meeting with the Gopis, Uddhava began to call himself the disciple of the Gopis. The Gopis were now his Guru! He, therefore, rolled on the dust of their Feet.

Uddhava spent the rest of his stay at Vrindavan with the Gopis. They spoke of the innumerable Lilas that their Krishna had played. They took him around Vrindavan showing the places where Krishna had performed each Lila. They saw, heard, felt, thought and breathed only Krishna. Uddhava returned to Dwaraka a changed man – charged with ‘Prema Bhakti’!

Years passed and Lord Krishna decided to leave the world. He advised Uddhava how he should conduct himself after His departure. The grief stricken Uddhava fell at Krishna’s Feet and wept inconsolably. Lord Krishna gave Uddhava His Pãduka! The dust of the Feet of the Guru is collected in the Pãduka! The divinity of the Guru that fills up His Feet verily enters into His Pãduka. The Pãduka is verily the Guru. Uddhava held the Pãduka on his head and circumambulated Krishna before taking leave. Krishna had given Himself away to His loving devotee.

Shirking family life, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had taken up ‘sanyãas’. His young wife Vishnupriya was inconsolable. One day, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his disciples passed her home. They were performing Nãmasankirtan. The Shãstras forbids the wife from meeting the husband who has taken to ascetic life. Mahaprabhu was now at her doorstep. The virtuous and dutiful Vishnupriya rushed out, unable to control her desire to see Mahaprabhu just once. She rushed out and fell at the feet of Mahaprabhu who moved away at once, leaving His Pãduka! She hugged them to her breast and ran inside her home. It was verily her husband who had returned to her. She worshipped it day and night and finally mingled with ‘It’.

Marudãnallur Sri Sadguru Swamigal was a great Mahatma born in ‘Deshasta’ Brahmin family. The Marudanallur Mutt had a ‘Deshasta’ Brahmin for its head. However,

Sri Sadguru Swamigal had no heir of his own. He knew not the way to choose his heir. One night the Lord appeared in his dream and commanded him, ‘you had left your Pãduka in the home of your devotee who had invited you for lunch. Choose the one who brings the Pãduka to you as the heir to the Mutt Peettah.’ And, the following morning a young man walked in with the Pãduka of Sri Sadguru Swamigal. Sri Sadguru Swamigal appointed him the heir to the throne of the Mutt. This young man happened to be a Smãrtha Brahmin and since that day the Mutt throne has been headed by a Smãrtha Brahmin.

Sri Vedanta Desikan authored ‘Pãduka Sahasram’ in one night. This contains slokas on the glory of the Pãduka of Lord Ranganatha! The God/Guru gives His Pãduka to His devotee who is unable to bear separation from Him. It is verily the fence around the Bhakta. Offer a flower or two to the Pãduka every day. That gives you protection.  That is verily the worship.

The Sadguru has walked all the way wearing this Pãduka. You may now tread on the same path fearlessly with the guidance of this Pãduka. Do not choose a path other than the one tread by your Guru. Yes, all paths are filled with thorns and stones. The Pãduka that had protected the Lotus Feet of your Guru from these thorns and stones would now protect you from the thorns and stones of life. Have no fear. World is not free from problems but move undauntedly, for, you are under the direct protection of the Sadguru’s Pãduka.

A medicine may be highly potent but should it not suit the constitution of your body? It may be poisonous to your body. Instead of curing you, it may bring about your death. The doctor, therefore, prescribes the medicine that would suit the constitution of your body; and, it alleviates your suffering. Likewise, there is no doubt that Karma, Yoga and Jnãna are great paths. But they do not suit your temperament. In this Age of Kali these paths are difficult to tread. Therefore, move in the path that your Sadguru had walked with the protection of His Pãduka. “R A M A!” Just chant ‘Rama Nãma’!

The Pãduka is verily the Sadguru Himself. HAVE NO DOUBT IN THIS MATTER! The Pãduka is verily your Father, too! Does not the father pass on his properties to his son? Is not the son the heir to the father’s property? Here, the Bhakta is verily the ‘Jnãna’ child of the Sadguru/Pãduka. He, therefore, passes on his properties to his child. And, what is this property? It is verily Jnãna! Moksha!

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" GOPIKA JEEVANASMARANAM!
GOVINDA! GOVINDA!”

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