Yearning

 

When the devotee accepts God as the harbinger of life and his very own, the sweet and ambrosial hankering to serve the Lord only as per his wishes spring naturally in his heart. The devotee remembers Him ceaselessly and dreams only of Krishna. The desire to remember the beloved each moment, waking or asleep, to make the beloved appear endearing by dressing Him up, to establish His form in the heart through love and devotion by following different yogic practices of self-control and by associating and serving the wise, courting the Lord by crying out for Him from the depths of the heart, and welcoming His arrival by colourful garlands and worship, to become like Him by serving Him through tranquillity, servility, and love; such wishes overtake the devotees depending on the path they follow of knowledge, devotion or action.

Regardless of a devotee's progress on the path, whether it is slow or fast, his perseverance and undying faith pays off finally and he attains God's love in the end whether it be in this or another life. The moment a devotee's ultimate goal materialises when he sees his beloved's divine form, at the extremely happy and blissful moment the only wish is that of becoming one with God. The devotee becomes complete when the worshipped and the worshipper are united. The material nature (Prakriti) dissolves in the supreme consciousness (Purusha).

Meerabai has related such longing of meeting her Lord in her various verses. In many of her poems, she yearns to go to Dwaraka to meet her beloved. She expresses her wish to melt into the form of her Lord (liberation of form and body, सदेह, सारूप्य मुक्ति ), as:

हांरे चालो डाकोर मां जई बसिये ।
हांरे अंगो अंग जई मलियेरे ॥

It is said that Meera went to Dwarkapuri at the end of her life and her form absorbed into Lord Krishna's idol forever.

Sri Krishna temple in Dwaraka

1.

Attachment to the Form

Nandlal! take abode in my eyes!
You've an attractive and dusky countenance
and stellar eyes.
Flute adorns your ambrosial lips, neck graces
a garland of Vaijyanti flowers.
waist is adorned with bells,
your anklets chime melodies.
Meera's lord blesses the wise ones
and protect His devotees.

2.

I will grow a grove in my eyes
if I win over my Sahib!
My Sahib resides in these orbs, I am afraid to shut the lids.
These are the windows of the palace
I see Him through these.
I meditate in this palace of nothingness
spreading a cot of contentment.
Meera offers herself at the
feet of her Giridhar Nagar!

3.

Prayer to the Formless

I charm my adorable Ram
by singing His sacred glories!
O' I sing about Govind's pastimes!
I live an abstinent life, don't torment even the greens!
My Sahib is in every leaf
I bow down in respect.
I won't go to the Ganges, the Yamuna
or to any other pilgrimage.
Sixty-eight holy places are in this body
I wash myself within.
I don't take any medicines or herbs
and never send for a doctor
Sanvra is Himself a physician
whom I show my pulse.
I tie tightly the sword of wisdom
carrying in the sheath of devotion,
and cut the five sheaths of this body.
I won't be a renunciate, or grow matted hair,
nor be a dusty wanderer.
The colour of Om is twice as strong
in which I live blissfully!
The transcendental Brahm,
the complete, supreme Lord
He is omnipresent.
Meera's Lord is Giridhar Nagar
thus I erase my comings and goings.

4.