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Om Vishnupad 108 Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj ki Jai !!

 

Music is integral to faith; it works its magic over even inanimate things. Our major divinities are usually depicted with musical instruments, such as Lord Shiva with the damaru and Goddess Saraswati with the veena. With Lord Krishna, however, the flute is more than a mere musical instrument. Can anyone imagine Krishna without His bansuri?

In the Srimad Bhagavat Mahapurana there is a whole chapter about Krishna playing His transcendental flute in Vrindavan. People of every age, animals and the trees and shrubs too would stand still to savour the sublime vibration and it seemed they would melt and swoon listening to the melodious note of his flute. It was like casting a magical spell on whosoever it touched.

It is said that His flute vibration used to break the deep meditation of greatest sages and munis. His flute melody broke the pride of penance and meditation of yogis by proclaiming loudly that He is the transcendental Kama Dev - Cupid - whom no one can resist.

Sri Krishna had several flutes as did the other cowherd boys of Vraja. Flutes, bull horn bugles, whistles, ropes etc., were the standard tools of cowherders.

Krishna has three main flutes. One is called Venu, one is called Murali and the third is called Vamsi or bansuri. Venu is very small, not more than six inches long, with six holes producing a high sharp note. Murali  is about 18 inches long with a hole at the end and four holes on the body of the flute. This kind of flute produces a very enchanting sound. The Vamsi is about 15 inches long, with nine holes on its body. Krishna used to play on these three flutes as and when they were needed. He also has a longer bansuri,   called Mahānanda, or Sanmohinī. When it is still longer it is called Akarrshini.  When it is even longer it is called Anandini. The Anandini flute is very pleasing to the cowherd boys and is technically named Vamsuli. These flutes were sometimes bedecked with jewels. Sometimes they were made of marble and sometimes of hollow bamboo. When the flute is made of jewels it is called Sanmohinī. When made of gold, it is called Akarshini.

When Krishna plays different notes of the musical scale

1) On the first note Lord Brahma and Lord Siva’s meditation is broken and they forget everything in astonishment and Lord Anantadeva sways His head in ecstasy
2) The second tune makes the Yamuna flow backwards
3) Third note makes the moon stop moving
4) Fourth note makes the cows run to Krsna and get stunned listening to the flute
5) The 5th note attracts the gopis and make them come running to him
6) 6th Tune makes the stones melt and creates autumn season
7) 7th note manifests all seasons
8) 8th Note is meant exclusively for Srimati Radharani. No one else can hear it. It calls Her name and She goes running to Him without even completing her dress or make up

Krishna's flute named Mahananda is like a fishook that captures the fish of Srimati Radharani’s heart and mind. Another flute, which has six holes is known as Madanajhankrti. Krishna’s flute named Sarala makes a low, soft tone like the sound of a softly singing cuckoo. Krishna is very fond of playing this flute in the ragas Gaudi and Garjari. (Radha-Krishna-ganoddesha-dipika text 122,123).

There are three instances from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya Lila chapter 21 titled `The Opulence and Sweetness of Lord Śrī Krishna. Mahaprabhu is explaining to Sri Sanatana Goswami about the sweetness of Krishna’s face, His smile and then His lips and finally describes … His flute !

"The sound of Krishna's flute spreads in the four directions of the universe. Even though Krishna vibrates His flute within this universe, its sound pierces the universal covering and goes beyond, to the spiritual sky. Thus the vibration enters the ears of all inhabitants. It especially enters Goloka Vrindavan and attracts the minds of the young milk-maids of Vrajabhūmi, bringing them forcibly to Krishna." (CC Madhya 21.141)

“The vibration of Krishna's flute is very intense and it breaks the vows of all chaste women. Indeed, its vibration takes them forcibly from the embrace of their husbands. The vibration of His flute attracts even the Goddess of Fortune in Vaikuntha, to say nothing of the poor damsels of Vrindavan. (CC Madhya 21.142)

“The vibration of His flute is just like a bird that creates a nest within the ears of the gopīs and always remains prominent there, not allowing any other sound to enter their ears. Indeed, the gopīs cannot hear anything else, nor are they able to concentrate on anything else, not even to give a suitable reply. Such are the effects of the vibration of Lord Krishna’s flute.” (CC Madhya 21.142)

The gopis were always jealous of Krishna’s bansuri. It seemed to them as if it was dearer to Him than they were. Many a time they would hide his flute so that He may have time to cast a glimpse at them otherwise it would always stuck to His lips or play in His hands. There are many tales of Krishna’s flute being stolen and how He begged the Gopis to return it. He asked each one-Lalita, Vishakha, Chitra but all denied any knowledge of His bansuri. Lalita said “I don’t know. And why should I tell you where it is even if I do know?’

Krishna began to search for Radha for He knew none but She can dare hide his bansuri. When He confronted her, She said teasingly, ‘Was it for this you wasted all your energy hunting me out? Poor Krishna! Go! I have seen your love for me’ Krishna smiled, ‘Radhe, do you not know that you are the life of my life? My flute only vibrates your sweet name.”

Krishna then elaborated, “I do everything through my bansuri. I pour transcendental joy into the hearts of the rasika bhaktas like Gopis through my flute-song and I assemble the dull bhaktas with the music of my flute. Thus I do my universal supervision only through my Bansuri.” He further tells Her about the symbolism of bansuri, “If anyone wants to taste the nectarine sweetness of my lips, he should empty himself of his egoism like the bansuri empties itself so that I may fill it with my music and keep it always near my lips.” 

The sound of the flute stirs the anahat chakra or the ‘unstruck sound’ in our bodies. That sound made the gopis mad for Lord Krishna. And what is the flute singing? The name of Radharani. No other sound is coming out from the flute, only, "Radhe, Radhe, Radhe, Radhe, Radhe!" Only this sound emanates — in a variety of ways - from the flute of Krishna. The sound manifestation of its divine influence spreads over the entire transcendental and mundane worlds.

This understanding we get from the description of Rasa Lila in Srimad Bhagavatam. Krishna calls all the Gopis to assemble for Rasa by playing his flute. It is the clarion call. The bamboo flute, made of a single length of bamboo, with six or seven holes and with no mechanical parts, is the oldest musical instrument known to man. Its sound vibration is believed to be the closest representation of the mystic syllable “Om” permeating all of creation and transcending it.

Gopala-topani Upanishad also establishes the understanding of Om as non-different from the Supreme Entities Sri Sri Radha-Krishna.  The enlightened sages declare that the Swarupa-shakti of Bhagavan, Srimati Radharani is non-different from Om. Gopala, Sri Krishna who is the Creator, Maintainer and Destroyer of the universes is also non-different from Om.

Srila Jiva Goswami in his description of the alphabetical constituents of the mantra Om gives the following description: 

"Om is a combination of letters, A, U, M.  The letter  'A' refers to Krishna. The Letter  'U' refers to Radha, and the letter 'M' refers to the jeevatma - the individual soul." 

Once, while in Vrindavan, Baba was asked the question, Who does the bansi represent?” He replied that ïn Golok Vrindavan there was a gopi who used to speak and sing very sweetly. Krishna loved her dearly. Once he was dallying with her in a grove of reeds.  Radharani found them together and cursed the gopi to turn into a shrub of reed herself. Actually, She did this to bless her.

Krishna comforted the gopi and said that he would make a flute out of the reed and ever keep her at His lips. In this way, she would continue to produce sweet sound which would charm the entire universe.

 

Jai Guru


Jai Sri Radhey