Discovering the pinnacle of love

On one of my visits to Pondicherry, after my mandatory visit to the Aurobindo Ashram, I stepped into their book shop and brought a laminated poster. It was called ‘Radha’s prayer’. It was originally written by The Mother (Mirra Alfassa) in 1932, and this is a version which has been translated from the French by Sri Aurobindo. It reads thus:

Radha’s prayer

O Thou whom at first sight I knew
for the Lord of my being
and my God,
receive my offering.

Thine are all my thoughts,
all my emotions,
all the sentiments of my heart,
all my sensations,
all the movements of my life,
each cell of my body,
each drop of my blood.

I am absolutely and altogether Thine,
Thine without reserve.
What Thou wilt of me, that I shall be.

Whether Thou choosest for me
life or death,
happiness or sorrow,
pleasure or suffering,
all that comes to me from Thee will be welcome.

Each one of Thy gifts will be always for me
a gift divine bringing with it the supreme Felicity.

The prayer stayed on my study table for several years. And at each point in time, it meant something different when I read it. When I first experienced love, it taught me how to give without reserve. When I went through bad patches, it taught me to take suffering as another divine gift. I am not at all a spiritual person, but this kind of love, I completely understood.

The prayer still stays below the glass on my table at work. And I often wonder why I feel so much affinity for its words. Who was the recipient of this love in The Mother’s poem? Who was Krishna? Why did Radha feel that attraction for someone who didn’t even acknowledge her existence? In the same vein, why does Meera lose herself in divine rapture? Does it even matter who the person in question is? Or is love merely the act of giving yourself up?  Of reaching the zenith of knowing how much you are capable of giving the world selflessly?

The magic of Krishna has been narrated through so many beautiful tales. There are so many facets and so many layers of discovering Him. But perhaps discovering yourself through Him is the most wondrous side of His enchanting persona.

Happy Janmashtami!

(The painting of Radha Krishna is by Azim Nida Mansoori)