Two weeks ago, I returned from my pilgrimage to Vrindavan. During my stay, I focused on my sadhana, particularly chanting, reading and prayer.
As I age both physically and as a devotee, I often reflect on my spiritual progress, commitment and quality of my hearing and chanting about Lord Krishna. I’ve noticed that spiritually advanced devotees regularly visit holy places and spend quality time hearing and chanting the Lord’s glories. I tried to do the same during my recent visit to Vrindavan.
Some might say my routine was boring. Every day was the same: I’d wake up, do my sadhana, have breakfast and take a walk to a nearby forest. There, I’d spend most of my day chanting, reading and praying. I’d return for lunch and then spend the rest of the day continuing with the same activity.
During my three weeks in Vrindavan, I only drove once to visit Govardhan. Otherwise, I stayed in Vrindavan and walked everywhere, deliberately avoiding rides in rickshaws and cars. While I’ve visited many holy places in Vrindavan over the years, this time I wanted to experience something deeper.
One afternoon, as I walked towards my usual spot for chanting, I noticed large crowds waiting for their guru to bless them. Curious, I decided to stand and wait with the crowd. Suddenly, a middle-aged saint approached me in a slightly angry and demanding mood. “If you want blessings from our guru, don’t stand here,” he said. “Go on the other side of the road!”
My mind raced. “Don’t listen to him! What kind of sadhu is he? Sadhus shouldn’t be angry!” At the same time, I heard a softer voice, like a whisper in my heart, saying, “Listen to the sadhu. It will be good for you.”
“Which voice should I listen to?” I pondered. Should I heed my mind or my heart? I decided to trust my heart.
As I crossed the road, the guru arrived and stopped beside me to bestow blessings. I barely had time to react; it happened in a flash. He placed his hand on my head, smiled at me and continued walking.
Feeling blessed, I headed to the nearby forest to reflect on this experience. Had I not listened to the sadhu who advised me to cross the road, I wouldn’t have received blessings from his guru. A debate raged between my heart and mind, but my heart prevailed. Somehow, I controlled my ego and agreed to listen to the saint, resulting in multiple blessings. One from the saint, one from his guru and the most important blessing, for once, I didn’t follow the mind’s orders.
Perhaps my investment in sadhana and trying to sincerely chant japa whilst in Vrindavan had yielded some results.
I have a long way to go before I reach the level of spiritual advancement and devotion to Lord Krishna that my spiritual master expects. However, I’m confident that following in his footsteps will reveal what’s the next step I need to take.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.28.52 : A sincere devotee who follows the instructions of the spiritual master certainly gets direct instructions from his heart from the Supersoul. Thus a sincere devotee is always helped directly or indirectly by the spiritual master and the Supersoul.
Ananta Gopal Das
12.01.2026
Bhakti Wisdom 