“Due to the everlasting bond, which is present between you and me, I assert over and over again that Samba who insulted venerable Durvasa rishi was your representative. That Samba is hiding within each one of you. You better recognize him in time and obliterate him. Don’t hate each other. Don’t fight with each other falling prey to your egocentric nature. Do not fall prey to addictions like alcohol which incites the pride within. Gluttony, addiction, indulgence, inertia, apathy, dishonesty, corruption are all falsities which were present yesterday, are present today and will be present tomorrow.
“Similarly love, the lust for knowledge, the passion to live and let others live, earnestness towards one’s duty and the urge to study for that, penchant for sincerity and hatred for corruption are the truths existing in the past, present and future.
“The one who considers that he is the doer or undoer of things that are happening around, he makes the sun and the moon shine, makes the rivers, streams and wind flow, makes the ocean roar, causes lightning to flash, makes the farms grow, makes the fruits grow on the trees, makes the flowers breathe fragrance and he is the cause of every such thing, is far removed from the truth.
“No matter how hard we try we cannot create a mere drop of blood or milk at our whim. We cannot even tell how a mother’s body produces blood from the food she eats and how a cow’s body creates milk in its udder from the fodder that she eats. Then why should we indulge in self-conceit?
“I know all your virtues and vices quite well as I grew up among you since my young age. You should renounce your ego which is destructive, let go of your short temper, and keep addiction at bay, like venom.
“I have fulfilled my duty to tell you this assertively in front of Aacharya Sandipani who is present in this assembly hall. Nowadays aacharya frequently expresses his desire to leave Dwaraka and go back to his Ankapada aashrama in the forests of Avanti. I also intuitively feel that this is the right time for him to go there. I announce that Aacharya Sandipani should bless all of us and happily leave for the Ankapada aashrama with his family. Prince Balaramadada should go to his residence later and felicitate him in a way that is befitting the status of the Yadavas.
“Master archer Arjuna should be invited from Hastinapura. He should be also rightfully felicitated on behalf of the Yadavas for the Ashwamedha yajna. Plenty of gifts such as gold, silver, pearls, food grains, domesticated animals, and male and female attendants along with my blessings should be offered to the now established kingdom of Hastinapura.
“What I am going to announce now will be the most difficult thing to digest for my beloved wife Rukminidevi and her seven sisters who are present in this assembly hall.”
A curious buzz of whispers spread through the assembly hall wondering what the Lord of Dwaraka was going to announce now. It kept increasing with every passing moment. Just as it spread inside the assembly hall it also spread outside. Dada threw a deliberate glance at the young Chief Minister. Saying ‘Silence!’ he raised the royal sceptre again and pounded it on the floor. Immediately silence prevailed in the entire assembly hall.
Dada expressed his intention in clear words – “Oh Yadava brothers, from tomorrow I will not accept any services from anyone except my confidant, best friend Avadhuta Uddhava! Not even from my beloved wife Rukmini and the other seven wives! This does not mean that they cannot come to meet me. They can come to my residential chamber any time to see me. The people of Dwaraka should not make any changes in the royal treatment towards them. They are still my wives just like before. But from tomorrow I will not visit the island of the queens’ mansion.
“Just as I won’t go there I won’t come to the Sudharma royal assembly of the Yadavas ever again. Prince Balaramadada will solve all your political, military, social, and individual problems. No one should present them to me anymore. As I knew beforehand that someday I was going to have to take this decision I intentionally did not accept any position in the royal assembly.
“I am saying this in front of my venerable aacharya who is soon going to leave Dwaraka, that this is the beginning of my Vanaprasthashrama, without going to any forest at all. This Vanaprasthashrama is not physical or verbal, it is mental, and spiritual.
“The most important thought that I shared with Arjuna on Kurukshetra was of a stable mind. That of keeping your heart detached while performing the duties of your life. From tomorrow, my mental and spiritual Vanaprasthashrama symbolizing that thought is going to commence. I reside among thousands of you Yadavas, and of course in every one of you, and yet I am not in anything!
From tomorrow, only my most beloved Sakha Uddhava will serve all my needs. Your Avadhuta, my dear brother Udho will be primarily the one who will converse with me.” As soon as he raised his right hand and signalled the Chief Minister he pounded the royal sceptre on the floor. The last Sudharma royal council in dada’s life was over. He politely saluted everyone by joining his palms. He sat down. Benumbed members of the assembly, Yadava men and women began silently leaving the assembly hall one by one with an anxious mind. They knew very well that those were after all Krishna’s words of determination. No one could ever alter them in any way.
Now my life’s important Karmayoga of serving dada began. I stopped going to my residence altogether and began living in dada’s chamber.
To serve dada I determinedly cast aside the ascetic within me in a day or two and replaced him with a humble servant. A guest who was an outsider would not have noticed any change in the daily routine of the Lord of Dwaraka. He would wake up at the Brahma Muhurta to the musical notes being played on the Vina. He would glance at both his palms and then asking for forgiveness of mother earth for stepping on her, he would step on the floor from his bed. After washing his hands and face he would pay obeisance to the sun god. He would do his recitation of mantras, breathing exercises of Pranayama and perform yogasanas. After bathing he would first visit elders such as Vasudevababa, both matas, Balabhadradada and Revativahini. He would take a look at the cows and would give away charities standing on the platform reserved for that purpose, to the guests who came to visit Dwaraka. He would have discussions with many sages and ascetics and would listen to them for hours on end barely asking a question here and there. I devotedly started serving the guest sages and ascetics and arranged a snack of milk and fruits for them. When the sun reached overhead I would sit on a wooden stool in front of him and eat lunch with him in golden plates. As I knew he was fond of milk products, I would make sure that they were served to him daily. When he took the last sip of water indicating the end of his meal, I would do the same. I would pick up the beautifully designed pitcher of fragrant water and follow him to help him wash his hands. While talking to him I would pour water on his hand, holding the pitcher in my left hand. Then quickly washing my right hand I would give him a dry cloth to wipe his hands. When he sat on his bed I would sit down on the rug near his bed and place wedges of seasonal fresh fruits on his rosy palms. Sometimes I would offer him a roll of fragrant betel leaf without him asking for it. When he would lie down for a nap after lunch I would keep talking to him while pressing his legs gently.
Once his breathing got rhythmic, I would spread the blanket on his tall body. While doing that, I would unwittingly remember one of his thoughts strongly. Throughout his life, he had said ‘when all beings go to sleep a composed mind stays awake’ – not only had he said so but he had also practised it in his life. That is why I would spread the blanket on his body gently so as to not disturb his sleep. Sometimes sitting on the rug near his feet, I would fall asleep putting my head on his feet without realizing it. At such times, I would experience the deep love that he had for me. Dada would wake up before me but he would lie still without moving his feet in order to not disturb my sleep.
In the afternoon Daruka would bring dada’s Garudadhwaja chariot in front of dada’s residence. Then sometimes we would visit the Shiva temple near the Bhallata gate on the northern side or sometimes go near the Pushpadanta gate on the southern side. Both dada
and I loved to sit on the stone seats near the Aindra gate on the western side and watch the dancing waves of the ocean along with the roaring sound. We were by now habituated to the loud and continuous music of the roaring ocean. In the evenings, we would sit on the stone seats and speak openly about a lot of things.
Sometimes Balaramadada, Satyaki, young Chief Minister Sukrita or a member of the ministry would accompany us.
One day I got an exceptional experience of dada’s pure and unconditional love for me. That day he told Daruka to steer the Garudadhwaja chariot directly towards my father’s residence. He had never visited anyone like this before, without giving advance notice. As I realized that we were going towards my parental residence, I was lost in thought. My father Devabhagababa was about the same age as Vasudevababa. He was also very aged and weary now. My mother Kansamata was of the same age as both the rajmatas. She also looked old.
Dada directly went to the sleeping chamber. I was right behind him. Seeing him Devabhagababa tried to get up from his bed. Dada forced him to lie down. Father didn’t even realize when dada put father’s feet in his lap and started pressing them gently! When he came to realize it considerable time had passed by.
He also approached my mother Kansamata’s bed and sitting on it he said, “My Vasudevababa and Devakimata endured Kansa’s prison together. The Yadavas have a tradition that a husband and wife should share their joys and sorrows together. I have already pressed Devabhagababa’s feet with love. Now you have no option but to prove that you are his wife and accept my services like he did.” Without giving my mother any chance to speak, he pressed her feet too. Witnessing his humility and deep love for me I was simply stunned. That was because while leaving their room he had said to my parents, “Just as this Avadhuta Uddhava is your son, I, Srikrishna of Vasudevababa am also your son!”
One day while we were chatting in dada’s chamber a guard at the gate brought news that “A guard of the holy land of Prabhasa has come to see the Lord of Dwaraka. He is carrying a bunch of grass blades under his arms and wants to show it to the Lord of Dwaraka in person. He is asking for a meeting with you. He is not listening to us even when we told him that the Lord will not visit anyone. He insists on meeting you.” Hearing that news, a web of wrinkles covered dada’s smooth, wide, blue-complexioned forehead.
After hearing the news dada looked at me intentionally. That look was like an order given with faith and love. I was now used to it. I got up and went outside to meet the guard of Prabhasa. He greeted and implored me – “Oh Avadhuta, do anything, but let me meet the Lord of Dwaraka for a few moments. Take a look at this.”
He pulled some blades of grass out of the bunch he was holding under his arm and handed them to me. They were of an arm’s length just like the ones used for regular religious rituals. But they were not green. They were black, like burnt iron! Their tips were not like those of regular grass blades. They were sharp and triangular like the tip of an arrow!
His eyes dilated, the guard said, “Uddhavadeva, these grass blades are not like the regular ones. See if you can break them. They don’t break, only bend like an iron wire and straighten back to their original shape!”
He bent one of the iron blades and released it. I also tried to break it into two, but couldn’t succeed. Now I too began carefully observing that iron grass blade.
Terrified, the guard continued in broken sentences – “In my entire life – I – I haven’t seen such a terrifying iron glass blade. These are signs of some kind of doom. In the holy land of Prabhasa, near the ocean shore dark black meadows of such iron grass blades have grown. As soon as my servants showed these to me, without a moment’s delay I pulled out a couple of grass blades from each of the meadows as a sample and brought a bunch of them to show the Lord of Dwaraka. Please let me visit him once Avadhuta.”
I realized the gravity of his speech. Holding the bunch of grass blades that he had handed to me I said to him, “Come with me. It is true that dada doesn’t speak much with anybody except for me. Still, seeing this bizarre thing he will speak to you for sure.” I entered dada’s chamber with the guard of Prabhasa and approached dada.
I gave dada all the details, handing a couple of black iron grass blades to him. The moment the blades touched his hands, his wide forehead got creased with a web of wrinkles just like before.
The guard then kept talking. To show the Lord of Dwaraka that the tip of the iron grass blade didn’t break, he forcefully pierced it in the palm of his left hand. Instantly, a drop of blood appeared where the tip had pierced his hand. He anxiously pulled the tip out. Dada moved forward and first he wiped the drop of blood with his orange shawl. Then he pressed the guard’s wound under his lean, blue thumb. The blood stopped in a short time. Dada took an iron grass blade from my hands in his hand. He tried to cut the black roots. They were bending but were inseparable from the grass blade. The web of wrinkles on dada’s forehead had become denser now. He also tried over and over again to see if he could break the iron grass blade. It was not breaking. As soon as the pressure was released it would straighten up. Dada held its triangular sharp tip closer and observed it thoroughly. As if he was talking to himself he spoke loudly so we could hear –
“No…! This is not an iron grass blade! This is an arrow blade! An iron arrow blade! Even more powerful than our regular Suchi arrow – a destructive iron arrow blade!”
He handed the iron grass arrow to me. As dada had described it as destructive, I carefully put all the iron arrows that I had pulled out, back in the bunch and handed over the bunch to the guard. Telling him ‘you may leave now’ I bade farewell to him. He left. Dada who was restlessly moving around in his chamber was chanting only one thing today – ‘Oh Idamata save us, Oh Lord Shambho save us!’
Our daily routine continued as usual. Many sages, wise ascetics and masters of various arts continued visiting Dwaraka. As per tradition they would first meet Prince Balaramadada and express their desire to meet dada. Balaramadada would send them back giving whatever excuses that he could think of. Still a few tenacious people would come to visit dada. They would come to me and implore me to grant them dada’s visit. I also tried to explain to them and convince them to the best of my abilities and send them back. And still there would be a Krishna devotee who would not listen to anything. He would cleverly visit the island of queens’ mansions and declare his intention of holding a fasting protest through days and nights in front of Rukminivahini’s residence. That trick would work on both of us. I would helplessly convey his determination to dada. Dada would then cave in and visit such a determined devotee. He would speak to him openly.
Eventually some other devotees came to know about this trick and they began using the same trick. Dada himself found out a solution for this problem. Nowadays he had stopped giving commands like he used to. He would simply talk to himself and say, ‘What if RukmiNni is told to come and stay here in original Dwaraka-’
I was so attuned to him that I would instantly recognize the intention of such monologues and promptly implement them.
As per my instruction now Rukminivahini had moved from the island of queens’ mansions and was living in the original Dwaraka in the palace built for her as the Maharani. She was no less astute. She gradually brought all her co-wives in her palace one after the other so that her sisters would also be able to have a glimpse of the Lord of Dwaraka at least from a distance every day. Rukminivahini’s palace here had eight–ten windows. From those windows, they could clearly see dada with me from
a distance walking behind Daruka towards Garudadhwaja.
All dada’s wives loved him so much that they would take
turns standing near the window and whenever one of them
got a fleeting glimpse of dada, within moments all the others would get the signal. Then all of them would get a glimpse of dada making sure that they didn’t show up near the window together.
Dada had given full permission to all vahinis to come and visit him any time, but Rukminivahi
ni had conveyed to the others what he meant by Vanaprasthashrama. She had convinced them in various ways how all of them should behave thereafter, without disturbing dada’s daily routine. Bhamavahini, who had transformed her attitude in all other respects, was still not ready to change her attitude regarding proving that she was the one who loved dada the most.
Whenever she had an uncontrollable urge to meet dada she would play a clever trick. First, she would summon me and say, ‘Avadhuta bhauji, I heard that Sri is unwell. How is he doing?’
I would get confused hearing that and promptly say, ‘When I am there to take good care of him what could go wrong with his health? And how come I didn’t notice it? I will go and ask him directly what happened to him.’ Saying thus I would leave Bhamavahini’s chamber in worry.
I would get baffled seeing Rukminivahini and Bhamavahini standing in front of dada’s chamber within a short time and would promptly take them to meet dada. In such a meeting Rukminivahini would keep asking repeatedly in a worried tone, ‘How’s Sri’s health now?’ Dada would smile as usual and say, ‘Nothing has happened to me. I am doing just fine.’ Bhamavahini would barely speak a word and would keep looking at dada, to her heart’s content. Both of them would leave contentedly. Then I would realize exactly what must have happened. Bhamavahini must have been at the root of all this. After meeting me she would go to Rukminivahini and tell her something like, ‘Avadhuta bhauji just told me that Sri is feeling under the weather and we should go see him.’
Hearing that, Rukminivahini would get restless and say, ‘We must go immediately. Bhame, you also come with me!’ Thus, she herself would cause all this, and twisting my words she would come with Rukminivahini to see dada.
Days were passing by leisurely. More than thirty-six years had passed since the Great Yajna of Kurukshetra. Many memories of the Great War were now forgotten. I had also forgotten the meeting with the guard of Prabhasa. One day dada told Daruk to take the Garudadhwaja chariot towards Balaramadada’s palace. We arrived in front of Balabhadradada’s residence. Dada and I waited in the chariot. Daruka went inside to inform the prince of our arrival. He returned after some time with his head hanging low. I asked him, “What is it Daruka? You came back so soon. Is Balidada not at home?”
Srikrishna- the Lord of the Universe Page 103
