Hare Krishna
22nd May, 2014, Gurgaon.
vrindayai tulasi-devyai
priyayai keshavasya cha
krishna-bhakti-prade devi
satyavatyai namo namaha
TRANSLATION
I offer my repeated obeisances unto Vrnda, Srimati Tulasi Devi, who is very dear to Lord Kesava. O goddess, you bestow devotional service to Lord Krsna and possess the highest truth.
This is in continuation to my last blog where I mentioned how a broken branch of Tulasi got planted again by her sheer mercy. I wanted to share more on how merciful is Tulasi Maharani and that her causeless mercy has no end.
I came back from my trip on 19th night and the first I did on 20th morning was to take her darshan. I was most amazed and delighted to see that not only has she grown but she has called her friends as well ! There were atleast 10-12 Tulasi plants which manifested in last 4-5 days. To be honest I did put dry manjaris in this planter since last 4-5 months, as this particular planter was lying vacant, but nothing would grow. My wife continuously told me that I am wasting my time as we need to change the complete soil but I won’t listen. And now since we have started proper Arti of Tulasi Devi it is amazing to see suddenly so many Tulasi plants coming out, most amazing. Please see the below picture I clicked today.
All glories to Tulasi maharani.
After my last blog, a close devotee friend wrote back that my continuous blogs on Tulasi Maharani are nice but some people may take them as a kind of self-glorification for my own `sadhna’. I never thought like that but I saw the point prabhuji made. He suggested that I should put some time gap between these blogs or share them only with some selected devotees over mail as I have already made my point earlier. I thanked prabhuji, it is a blessing to have devotee friends who can write back with such candidness. I replied that Tulasi Maharani reciprocated and I simply wrote ! I am sharing my realisations on this blog so that devotees can see that even a fallen and materialistic soul can get her mercy and further, we can all have realisations every week, every day and every minute by the sheer mercy of Vaishnavas. The power is not in my `sadhna’ the power lies in Tulasi Maharani’s causeless mercy, just see how easily, by worshiping her simply with flower, lamp, water and firm faith, she reciprocates in such fascinating ways. We only need to be `tuned in’ to see such benedictions in our daily lives.
Another devotee friend called up some time back and shared that he too had a similar experience with Tulasi Maharani and he was so happy to read what I wrote. My only sincere request to everyone is that please share such realisation with us. Sri Krishna Hari Prabhu told us in a lecture in Gurgaon last year that writing is a way to improve our `sadhna’ as it requires 100% concentration. I, too, have realised that by writing, at first we collect our thoughts and our own conviction increases and secondly whenever we read other devotee’s realisations our faith increases in the process of Krishna consciousness. We understand that this is a scientific process and we are on the right path. If any devotee would like to share his/her realisation I can open a login and password on these pages, please write back to your servant at giriraj.bcs@gmail.com.
Now, for the pleasure of Tulasi Maharani, and her devotees, I am copying below some more glorification
Asta-Nama-Stava from the Padma Purana (The Eight Names of Vrinda-devi)
- Vrindavani– One who first manifested in Vrindavan.
- Vrinda– The goddess of all plant and trees.
- Vishvapujita– One whom the whole universe worships.
- Pushpasara-The topmost of all flowers, without whom Krishna does not like to look upon other flowers.
- Nandini– Seeing whom gives unlimited bliss to the devotees.
- Krishna-Jivani– The life of Sri Krishna.
- Vishva-Pavani– One who purifies the three worlds.
- Tulasi– One who has no comparison.
Anyone while worshiping Tulasi-devi chants these eight names will get the same results as one who performs the Ashvamedha sacrifice. And one who on the full-moon day of Kartika (Tulasi-devi’s appearance day) worships Her with Tulasi Mantra will break free from the bonds of this miserable world of birth and death, and very quickly attains Goloka Vrndavan.
“Tulasi is auspicious in all respects. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply by remembering, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by hearing about, or simply by sowing the tree, there is always auspiciousness. Anyone who comes in touch with the Tulasi tree in the above mentioned ways lives eternally in the Vaikuntha [spiritual] world.” Skanda Purana
As the embodiment of the lila-sakti (pastime potency), Vrinda devi is the organizer of all the transcendental pastimes between Sri Krishna and Srimati Radharani. In Goloka every thing is animate (cit) and only for the pleasure of Sri Krishna. Vrinda devi makes this happen. She is assisted by many confidential associates (which include two parrots) and with their help she makes sure that every thing is pleasing to Sri Krishna. She controls how the wind blows, when and where it rains, how the trees bend, and so many other things for the pleasure of the Divine Couple.
Once Srimati Radharani was so pleased by the service of Vrinda devi that with the help of the other gopis she arranged a magnificent throne and had Krishna and Vrinda devi sit on it. Lalita sakhi acting as the priest recited the mantras and performed the marriage cermony of Krishna and Vrinda devi. Thus by the mercy of Srimati Radharani, Vrinda devi got Krishna.
In another pastime, Vrinda devi offered all the forests of Vrindavana to Srimati Radharani. Thus Radharani is also known as Vrindavaneshwari or the queen of Vrindavana.
Please read more about Tulasi Devi at http://www.vrindavan-dham.com/vrinda/vrinda-devi.php
All glories to Tulasi Maharani.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
