There is an elderly and a blind devotee named Bilwa Mangal Das, who stays in our temple at ISKCON Belgavi, Karnataka. It's been many years since I have seen him but the memories and impression about him are still fresh and new. Some people with their character and nature tend to make a deep impression in your heart. He is surely one of them.
I remember seeing him for one of our annual pilgrimage to Vrindavan, the holy land of Lord Krishna. He was very old but very enthusiastic like a little boy. He would literally run with excitement as we went to see one holy site after another. I was wondering what this person was so excited about. He couldn't see anything. For him everything and everyplace is the same - all dark. But still he was very excited. I was thinking for myself, "Even though I had the eyes to see and was less than half his age still I didn't have the enthusiasm and excitement that he had." I was convinced that I may have materially eyes but I definitely lack the spiritual eyes this person has. It was as if I was seeing Krishna and His abode and still not seeing it but this person, though he couldn't see the abode of the Lord but still was seeing it. The proof is that one who can see Krishna and His abode will be in ecstasy. Bilwa Mangal Prabhu was definitely in bliss. Krishna was revealing to him, His Dham and Himself.
As Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati told his disciples, "don't try to see Krishna. Just try to serve Him in such a way that He wants to see you." Bilwa Mangal Prabhu had understood this verse and lived by it. His mood in running from one temple to another was, "I want to be seen by Krishna - I want Krishna to take note of me." After all, everything we do or don't do is our message to Krishna. Krishna is keenly noting each of our messages.
Bilwa Mangal Prabhu had pleased the Lord with his message of sincerity. He had converted his "so called" lack into his asset. There is no difficulty in pleasing Krishna and serving Him. In fact, greater the difficulty, greater is the opportunity to please Him if we have the right attitude in life. Blind or not blind, sick or not sick, poor or not poor, surrounded by problems or not surrounded by any - whatever the case may be, let us keep running towards Krishna with full intensity. That should be our sole purpose and goal in life. Somehow or the other, connect ourselves and everything we have to Krishna.
I will end this article by a super excellent example of one disciple of Sripad Ramanujachara called Kuresh. To save the life of his spiritual master, Kuresh volunteered to sacrifice his eyes and became blinded by a cruel and envious King. Even though he became blind, he was very grateful to do this service for his Guru. Ramanuja repeatedly requested Kuresh to pray to the Lord to restore his eyes. Kuresh did pray to the Lord for his vision but only that vision by which he could see the form of the Lord and His Guru. He didn't want to see anything else. It is this kind of uninterrupted and unfocused devotion on the Lord that is needed. Eye for God and His service and blind to everything else.
- Achyut Gopal Das
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