Highest Attainment Of The Soul: Selfless Love For God
Love is one of the strongest forces of human nature. We all wish to give our love to others and receive love from them
Very few people understand the nature of true love. Sant Soordas, the blind poet-saint of medieval India, epitomised luminous love for Radha Krishna—a love so pure and selfless that it blessed him with divine vision of God.
Divine vision—A testament to selfless love
There is an intriguing episode in Soordas’ life that accentuates the nature of selfless love and its genuine expression. One day, after finishing a satsang, Soordas was walking back to his home, using his stick to navigate the path.
While walking, he came dangerously close to a pit; two more steps, and he would have fallen in it. However, Thakurji is always watchful over His devotees and had a special eye on Soordas. He manifested and intervened, preventing Soordas from falling into the pit. Playfully chiding the saint for his absentmindedness, Krishna offered to escort him home.
Shree Krishna held the front of the stick while Soordas held the back-end as they walked along. After a short conversation, Soordas suspected that the Lord had come Himself, as only His voice could be so attractive.
He decided to catch Krishna by slowly extending his hand on the stick. Shyamsundar realized Soordas’ intent and thought, ‘This baba is clever. I gave him one finger, but he wants the whole hand.’
Laughing, Krishna mischievously let go of the stick and ran away. He then stated profoundly, ‘It is not so easy to catch Me. Great yogis and sages practise meditation and still do not get My darshan in their samadhi. How will you catch Me like this?’
Unfazed, Soordas recited a famous doha:
hāth chhuḍāye jāt ho, nibal jānike mohi
hirday te jab jāhuge marda badaungo tohi
‘O Shree Krishna, You may slip from my feeble grasp, considering me weak. But if You are truly heroic, try escaping from my heart, where I have seated You forever. Only then will I consider You a real man.’
Soordas challenged the all-powerful God by boldly declaring, ‘You cannot leave my heart because I love You, and You are bound by that love.’ Such is the power of selfless devotion.
Understand the meaning of love
While we commonly use the word ‘love’ to describe our feelings in worldly relationships, true love is a far more profound emotion. Understand the difference between love, lust, and business.
Lust is driven by the desire for self-pleasure. The dominant thought is ‘take, take, take’. Such lust is as far from love as darkness is from light. Now consider the nature of business. It involves a give-and-take mindset: ‘I did this for you, now you must do this for me. Otherwise, I do not care about you.’
In contrast to both these, love is a deep and noble affection for others’ happiness without seeking personal gain. It is unconditional and selfless. The characteristic of true love is that it remains steadfast even when the beloved behaves poorly. This is because it is selfless; it does not demand reciprocation and willingly overlooks the other’s flaws.
Selfless devotion to God
The same principle applies to nishkām bhakti, or selfless devotion. Even when God behaves adversely, a true lover remains ever happy, perceiving it as His grace. Just as gold is refined by fire, burning away its impurities, likewise, God uses negative behaviour to enhance the purity of the devotee’s love and make it more selfless. Sage Roopa Goswami wrote:
sarvathā dhvaṁsa rahitaṁ satyapi dhvaṁsa kāraṇe
yadbhāva bandhanaṁ yūnoḥ sa premā parikīrtitaḥ (Ujjwal Neelmani verse 14.63)
“Where there is ample reason for love to be devastated, and yet it continues unabated, that is true love.”
Though God distanced himself, Soordas remained unaffected because his love was not tied to Shree Krishna’s behaviour or the need for reciprocation. Later, the divine couple Radha Krishna revealed themselves to the saint. They restored his vision and gave darshan.
On beholding his Lords with his physical eyes for the first time, tears of joy streamed down Soordas’ face. However, when the Lord requested Soordas to ask for a boon, he wished to become blind again, desiring to keep the divine image as his first and last vision in his eyes! Accepting his wish, Shree Krishna made Soordas blind again. This boon proved Soordas' selfless and unalloyed love that forever united him with God.
Bathe your heart in many such gems of wisdom and endearing stories from the lives of Indian saints in Swami Mukundananda’s latest book, Nourish Your Soul–Inspirations from and Lives of Great Saints, published by Rupa Publications India.
