Being a Pilgrim of Divine Love
The Highest Expression of Human Life
It has been rightly observed that everyone in this life begins as a wanderer. A few become seekers. And the only rare ones become pilgrims.
Being a pilgrim of divine love is the greatest blessing and the highest perfection of human life that one has to aspire toward. It is the end of all seeking and the realization of the blessedness of each moment in the journey of life. It is a life of total acceptance of all that unfolds, with discipline and enthusiasm to serve, on the foundation of unconditional divine love — for God as the Divine Source of all and for all beings as manifestations of the Divine.
All spiritual practices are meant to only culminate in this unconditional love. The great devotee Prahlada says in Bhagavatam that all austerities, inquiries, prayers, meditations, yogic techniques, charities, vows, sacrifices are only meant to awaken unalloyed love. Otherwise, they remain as a mere show.
To teach that this is the highest perfection of human life, Bhagavan in His Avatars as Krishna and Ram has Himself demonstrated by personal example how to lead human life, putting love and service above all other considerations.
There are many instances in the divine leela (pastimes) of the Lord that bring out this highest principle of unconditional love and service.
When the righteous Pandavas are denied their due share by their envious Kaurava cousins and war seems inevitable, the Pandavas still want to make a last ditch effort to broker peaceful settlement to avoid a calamitous destruction. Lord Krishna who is the worshippable friend of the Pandavas decides to take the humble position of a messenger of the Pandavas on this peace mission, though knowing full well that it won’t succeed due to the arrogance of Duryodhana.
After taking this humble role to serve the Pandavas, Krishna goes to the palace of Duryodhana with the message. Krishna places before Duryodhana the proposal of the five Pandavas that they were ready to settle for even five small villages (as opposed to half the kingdom that they were promised upon returning from exile in the forest). And yet Duryodhana arrogantly rejects the proposal saying that he wouldn’t part with land worth even five needle tips.
After the discussions get over, Krishna, being the guest of Duryodhana, is invited for a grand dinner made with royal delicacies — a ritualistic invitation devoid of any love.
Meanwhile, nearby lives the saintly uncle Vidura who also always speaks words of wisdom to Duryodhana to no avail. Vidura is not only an epitome of wisdom but also a purely surrendered devotee of the Lord. And Vidura too invites Krishna for a simple dinner, though with pure love. It is well known that Vidura would offer only leafy vegetables and fruits as part of Vidura’s saintly lifestyle whereas Duryodhana’s offering will be the most opulent spread.
And naturally, Krishna didn’t care for the invite of Duryodhana but gladly accepted Vidura’s invite and ate simple leafy vegetables (saag). Not only that, Vidura and his wife were so overwhelmed with love when Krishna visited them that it is said after they peeled bananas, without even realizing due to the intensity of love, they fed Krishna the peels instead of the fruits. And Krishna simply ate those peels offered with such enraptured devotion by Vidura.
This incident is a beautiful validation of the famous verse in Gita where Krishna makes the sweet proclamation that what is offered is not important, how it is offered is what matters.
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति |
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन: ||patraṁ puṣhpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayachchhati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛitam aśhnāmi prayatātmanaḥIf one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I shall accept such an offering made with love by a pure soul.
The same principle is brought out in the pastimes of Ram when during the years spent in the forest, He comes across an old, illiterate woman Shabari waiting to meet Him and eagerly offers Him fruits. She wants to ensure she only gives the sweetest fruits and therefore bites into every fruit in a corner and gives only those that taste best. Though considered impure (like double dipping in a common dish of food), Ram accepted the fruits offered again due to the love and purity of the offering.
There are countless other instances in the pastimes of the Lord that bring out this unconditional love for His devotees that He takes on the role of serving His devotees (as also captured in the prayers of Bhishma). Here are a few more examples.
It is demonstrated in the way Krishna took on the role of a lowly charioteer for Arjuna out of love.
It is demonstrated in the way Krishna served all the saints who came to King Yudhishthira’s royal sacrifice, including washing the feet of the saints, serving them food and picking up their eaten plates.
And at its highest level, it is demonstrated in the way the cowherd girls (gopis) of Vrndavan had Krishna among them to dance with them in the most intimate expression of divine love.
All these pastimes that bring out the mood of unconditional love of the Lord for His devotees have been captured beautifully by the great poet Surdas (the famous 16th century blind saint poet) in a traditional bhajan (devotional song) with a beautiful refrain that the highest way of relating is pure love.
Here are the lyrics and a translation of this famous bhajan:
सबसे ऊँची प्रेम सगाई।
sabse ūńchī prema sagāī
Refrain: Pure love is the highest among all ways of relating.
दुर्योधन की मेवा त्यागी, साग विदुर घर पाई॥
duryodhana ko mevā tyāgo sāga vidura ghara pāī
You gave up the delicacies that Duryodhana offered, and ate simple leafy vegetables at Vidura’s house.
जूठे फल सबरी के खाये बहुबिधि प्रेम लगाई॥
jūṭhe phala sabarī ke khāye bahu vidhi prema lagāī
You ate fruits which were outwardly polluted but offered full of love by Shabari.
प्रेम के बस नृप सेवा कीनी आप बने हरि नाई॥
prema ke bas nṛpa sevā kīnhī āp bane hari nāī
You took on the role of a simple messenger to engage in the service of Yudhishtira.
राजसुयज्ञ युधिष्ठिर कीनो तामैं जूठ उठाई॥
rājasuya yajña yudhiṣṭhira kīno tāmai jūṭha uṭhāī
In Yudhistira’s Rajasuya Yajna sacrifice, You served all the sages and picked their eaten plates.
प्रेम के बस अर्जुन-रथ हाँक्यो भूल गए ठकुराई॥
prema ke basa arjuna ratha hāńkhyo bhūla gaye ṭhakurāī
Out of pure love for Arjuna, You took the position of being the charioteer, and even forgot that You are the Lord.
ऐसी प्रीत बढ़ी बृन्दाबन गोपिन नाच नचाई॥
aisī prīta baḍhī vṛndāvana gopina nācha nachāī
Such love You portrayed in Vrndavan that You danced in whatever way the Gopis made you dance.
सूर क्रूर इस लायक़ नाहीं कहँ लगि करौं बड़ाई॥
sūra krūra is lāyaka nāhī kaha lag karau baḍāī
This heartless Surdas is unworthy to even praise You.
Here is a nice rendition of this bhajan from the famous ’80s TV show Mahabharat that, though with dated visuals, captures the mood: