Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Centenary Year Celebration


Sharad Poornima, the full moon night when the gopis danced in the Raas Leela with Shree Krishna, is celebrated in the month of Ashwin (September - October). Drawn by the enchanting music emanating from Shree Krishna's divine flute on the full moon night of Sharad Poornima, the gopis of Braj rushed to him. Many Krishna devotees consider Sharad Poornima as the highest of all festivals, since it was on this day that God showered the highest bliss of divine love on his most loving devotees.

It was on this very night of Sharad Poornima in the year 1922 that our beloved Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj appeared in Mangarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.


Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj, who appeared in this world on the Sharad Poornima night in 1922, is the fifth original Jagadguru in Indian history. He is renowned for his exquisite mastery of the Hindu scriptures. He has composed thousands of bhajans that exude Vedic philosophy in general and love for God in particular. He is lovingly called "Maharajji" by his devotees.

No matter what we say or do, never can we repay Maharajji for the knowledge and Bhakti Yog philosophy he has revealed, or for the soul-stirring kirtans that fill our heart with nectar of divine love.
We remain indebted and celebrate him with gratitude!

Sharad Purnima Message

Of all the festivals that have existed since eternity or will exist in the future, the crest jewel of all these festivals is the festival of Sharad Purnima! Why?
 On the day of Sharat Purnima, lord shri Krishna had performed the maharaas.
One is "ras"
Another is "Raas"
And yet another is "Maharaas"

"Ras" is God himself, Shri Krishna himself is "Ras", रसो वै सः (Sanskrit verse)
And when he gives the essence of all "Ras" to some individual souls, it's called "Raas" and when he does "Raas" with countless Gopis, it's called "Maharaas".

So today's festival that we have got is of great fortune. Let us celebrate this festival in the form of devotion to God, benefit from it and let us examine ourselves every year on sharad purnima to see what we did in the previous year, how much progress we made, how much did our worldly attachment reduce, did our diseases such as lust, anger, greed, illusion, ego, jealousy, hyprocricy, etc. how much did they go away, did we stop committing spiritual transgression? We should examine all this, make improvements and attain our goal.

~ Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj 

Gopis' Selfless Love Binds Shree Krishna

Mādhurya bhāv of the gopis and their divine love for Shree Krishna is universally known. Bound by the love of the gopis, even the Supreme Lord Shree Krishna loses his almightiness. He willingly goes to the houses of gopis so that he can hear them call him a thief. He is always eager to hear their rebukes.
 
The gopis of Vrindavan are a personification of nishkam prem (selfless love). Once, all the wives of Shree Krishna began to wonder why He forgets Himself or swoons just at the thought of these gopis. Shree Krishna, who dwells in everyone's heart, was aware of their thoughts and decided to help them realize the true love of gopis. He feigned a headache and asked His wives for help. All of His queens brought all sorts of medicine to help relieve His headache but nothing seemed to work.

That very day, Sage Narad happened to visit Dwaraka, and much to his dismay, he found out from Rukmini that Shree Krishna had a headache. He went to Shree Krishna and said, "O Leela Purshotam (Lord of pastimes), may we know why you have fabricated this ailment? Since you have created this whole situation, could you please tell us the remedy, too?" With a mischievous smile, Shree Krishna said, "Devarshi Narad, I am in terrible pain, and you say I am feigning it? The only medicine for this pain is to swallow a pinch of dust taken from any of my devotee's feet."

Sage Narad was relieved to hear this, as all the queens of Krishna were great devotees. So, he approached them one by one, asking for the dust of their feet. Every one refused and said, "If we gave our foot dust to our husband, it will slander our good name eternally; besides, we will have to face the adverse consequences of such an act. How about you give your foot dust, as you are an ardent devotee?"

Shree Krishna, taking pity on Sage Narad, who got into a delicate circumstance, suggested he go to Vrindavan and inform the gopis about His pain and the remedy.

When Naradji reached Vrindavan, all the gopis gathered around him. As soon as they heard the reason for his visit, they extended their feet and asked him to take the dust. Surprised, Naradji said, "Do you realize whom you are offering your foot dust? This act of yours is bound to have negative ramifications, you might land in hell." The gopis said, "We do know the repercussions, Maharshi, but we are not concerned about those consequences. We neither desire the heaven nor fear the hell. What we solely care about is the happiness of our beloved."

Having heard about the gopis' response, the queens of Dwarka became curious to meet the gopis. On one of the festival occasions, the queens went to the same river in Kurukshetra wher Shree Radha Rani and the gopis bathed. They invited Shree Radha and offered her a cup of boiling hot milk. 

That night, when the queens sat down to press Shree Krishna's feet, they noticed blisters on his foot. When they enquired the reason for the blisters, Shree Krishna said:

śhrī rādhikāyā hṛidayārvinde pādārvindam hi virājate meṅ 
adyoṣhṇadugdhapratipānatoṅgrā vuchchhālakāste mama prochchhalanti
(Garga Samhita 6.1.17-35)

"My feet are forever present in Shree Radha Rani's heart. Bound by ropes of love and devotion, they cannot leave for a moment or even half a moment."

Such is the divine nature of the selfless mādhurya love of Radha Rani and the gopis, who became the sole recipients of the bliss of mahārās.