Saakhi is a compilation of couplets composed by the Rasika saint Shri Nagri Dev in His divine Vani.
21 Articles Found
Śrī Nāgarīdāsa Jī says that he was blessed with the complete and intimate association of Śrī Viṭṭhalavipula Deva Jī and Śrī Bihārin Deva Jī. Through the influence and grace of such exclusive rasika saints, an unwavering love for Śrī Priyā-Priyatama blossomed, and thus his heart remains immersed in bliss.
The divine Couple, Śyāmā-Kuñjabihārī, are engaged in Their eternal nitya vihāra. Their hearts are overflowing with unparalleled bliss, and their mutual love seems to pervade their every limb like a fragrant anointing paste. Beholding this divine love-play, the maidservant, Śrī Nāgarī Dāsī, is unable to contain that bliss, and the influence of that ever-fresh bridal pollen of divine love spreads through every limb and every pore of her being.
O brother! Let people call us cruel, miserly, cunning, lustful, or even mute — we no longer concern ourselves with such worldly opinions. By the divine grace of Shri Swami Haridas Ji, we remain absorbed in lovingly beholding the eternal Nitya-Vihār (love-plays) of the divine couple uninterruptedly, like one who drinks milk straight from the udder of a cow with undivided focus.
Through the company of Shri Beethalvipuldev Ji and Shri Biharindev Ji, my heart remains drenched in streams of rasa. By their grace alone, I constantly behold the sweet and playful lilas of the eternal Bride and Bridegroom, Shri Radha Krishn.
Without comprehending the principle and nature of Swami Sri Haridas, the bestower of supremely divine Nitya Vihara nectar, deceitful people merely sing praises of worldly fame. How can one attain this eternal rasa of the divine couple without firm and exclusive devotion?
In the sacred land of Shri Vrindavan, by the serene banks of the Yamuna, within the enchanting Nikunja groves, the divine couple revels in their eternal, ever-new, wondrous love plays, overflowing with boundless love. O Nagaridas! Alongside the devoted Sahcharis of Sri Bihari Biharin, immerse your heart and mind ceaselessly in the vision of this unparalleled rasa.
Bodily pleasures and pains, illnesses and enjoyments, as well as sensations of cold and heat, are all transient. Therefore, O Nagaridas, let go of these worldly distractions and continually devote your mind to the worship of the divine couple, Sri Shyama Shyam.
O brother, you are spending your time merely eating, drinking, sleeping, and waking up again. Understand this well: without performing the devotion of the Lord exclusively and constantly through the mind, you cannot break free from the entanglements of this worldly existence.
While numerous individuals skilled in debate and argumentation are easy to find, discovering a genuine connoisseur of nectar (a pure rasika) is exceedingly rare. O Nāgarīdāsa! Countless intelligent people have departed without embracing the essence of true nectar, as they failed to perform exclusive and loving devotion in the mode of sahacarī-bhāva.
Becoming completely detached from worldly attachments and the tendency to accumulate possessions, when the sādhaka accepts the rasa of Nitya-Vihāra, as revealed by Svāmī Śrī Haridāsa Jī, as his supreme goal, then, while serving Śrī Bihāriṇī Jū (Priyā Jī) in sakhī-bhāva, his mind becomes qualified to enter that supreme realm of rasa within the secluded nikuñja-mahala.
People place their faith in many different paths and long for the jewel of the supreme Nitya-Vihāra-rasa, yet they do not truly understand its real nature; they do not know the inner essence of exclusive devotion (ananya-dharma). Without embracing this exclusive path, entry into the Nitya-Vihāra-rasa is never possible.
The teachings of this supreme rasa of wondrous nitya-vihāra can be understood solely through the grace of Gurudeva Śrī Bihārina Deva Jī, because no one other than the nitya-siddhas (eternally perfected) and the recipients of their grace can ever comprehend this inner secret.
Many claim to be rasikas, yet their hearts remain bound by narrow-minded doctrines and external formalities. They remain caught in rituals, rules, and injunctions-prohibitions, lacking the courage to renounce material attractions. Like the hypocritical crane that merely pretends to meditate, they wear the outward dress of devotion while remaining untouched by love. Consequently, genuine, unwavering faith in Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa never blossoms within them.
O brother, the very essence of all spiritual endeavors, this extremely rare, unfathomable, and uninterrupted nitya-vihāra-rasa is such that entry into it is reserved solely for those who follow the exclusive path ('ananya-dharma') of selfless devotion to the loving plays of Priyā-Priyatama; indeed, there is absolutely no mention of material, bodily pleasures within it.
Śrī Nāgarīdāsa Jī says that exclusive devotion alone is true wealth. Therefore, firmly establish this principle within your heart. Gather the treasure of exclusive love for the divine Couple, Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, within your heart, and then you may stretch out your feet and rest in the peaceful and carefree sleep of supreme contentment.
With a simple karūvā (water pot) in hand, a kaupīna (loincloth) upon the body, and a kāmarī (blanked) as your only covering — meaning, having truly renounced all worldly desires — when you wander with love through the kuñjas of Vṛndāvana and along the banks of Śrī Yamunā, only then will the rasa-filled divine Couple, Śrī Bihārī-Bihāriṇī Jī, reveal Themselves to you. Śrī Nāgarideva Jī declares that only in such a state does one attain the intimate service of that transcendental couple.
O Nāgarīdāsa! This private palace, known as Śrī Vṛndāvana, is the private fortress of the ananya rasikas. The treasure of the eternal Nitya-Vihāra is the personal wealth of the eternally perfected souls, and it can be attained only through their grace. Merely relying on one's own sādhanā, even if one outwardly adopts the appearance of renunciation or shaves one's head, is of no avail.
The supreme treasure of my body, mind, life, and every pore of my being is none other than the dust of the lotus feet of Śrī Bihārī and Bihāriṇī, that is, the dust of Śrī Vṛndāvana. With my mind, thoughts, and deeds, I yearn to constantly surrender myself and offer my life at that sacred dust, accepting it as the very essence of my existence.
First of all, before I begin my Vāni, I must say that, with all my heart, I wish to serve the sacred dust of Vṛndāvana, dedicating myself constantly in mind, speech, and action to that holy dust which bears the combined footprints of the lotus feet of Śrī Nitya Vihāriṇī (Śrī Rādhā), Śrī Nitya Vihārī (Śrī Kṛṣṇa), Śrī Svāmī Haridāsa Jī, and all the great Rasikas.
Even without complete faith in the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhārānī and firm faith on the path of devotion, people in every home desire to call themselves rasikas. As long as one does not possess exclusive love for Śrī Rādhārānī, the cycle of birth and death in this world will continue, and one will inevitably have to suffer miseries; merely calling oneself a rasika achieves nothing.
