namas te tu halāgrama namas te muṣalāyudha
namas te revatī-kānta namas te bhakta-vatsala
namas te dharaṇī-dhara namas te balināṁ śreṣṭha
pralambāre namaste tu trāhi māṁ kṛṣṇa pūrvaja
Obeisances to You, O holder of the plow. Obeisances to You, O wielder of the mace. Obeisances to You, O darling of Revati. Obeisances to You, O kind benefactor of Your devotees.
Obeisances to You, O upholder of the earth. Obeisances to You, O best of the strong. Obeisances to You, O enemy of Pralamba. Please deliver me, O older brother of Kṛṣṇa.
The Rasa-līlā of Śrī Baladeva Bhagavān
There is great confusion among devotees and non-devotees about this most vital point of Rasa-līlā by Śrī Baladeva Bhagavān. They think that Rasa-līlā by Balarām is quite impossible, they think that Baladeva has no right to do Rasa-līlā; only Rasa-līlā is possible for Śrī Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān to do. They think that Baladeva-tattva is originally Guru-tattva, so how can He do Rasa-līlā?
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda used to say, “Śrī Balarām is the first expansion of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and He is non-different from Kṛṣṇa. So Baladeva Bhagavān is sevya-tattva (the worshipable principle) and at the same time sevaka-tattva (the principle of the servitor), which is inconceivable. According to acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, Śrī Baladeva Bhagavān is supposed to do no Rasa-līlā, but still, He, the first expansion of Kṛṣṇa, can reserve the right of Rasa-līlā, but of course with His own group (jūtha), not with the group of Kṛṣṇa’s śakti.” It is quite natural that both Kṛṣṇa and Balarām, according to Braja-rasa-bhāva, are always busy to reciprocate rasa-bhāva with all Braja-vāsīs according to their respective demand.
So inside Vṛndāvana some Gopikās wanted to get the association of Śrī Baladeva Bhagavān through Rasa-līlā according to their previous commitment—which is not at all unauthentic. Braja Rasika Bhaktas can get a clear indication about this point from Veṇu-Gītā. But actually, we should understand this secret point: that each and every action by Baladevjī Mahārāja is surely going to get the full approval of the original viṣaya-vigraha Yaśodānandan Kṛṣṇa. To be frank, actually Baldeva Mahārāja is doing everything according to the desire of Svayaṁ Rūpa Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa. We need to go into the deep feeling of bhāva about this point under the guidance of our previous Gauḍīya Guruvarga. Whereas we know there is almost no difference between Nandanandan Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Mūla Saṅkarṣaṇ—Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja, so there cannot be any confusion about Baladeva-Tattva who is Mūla sevaka-tattva, still He is also sevya-tattva. Within Śrī Vṛndāvana-līlā, He is Rohiṇī Nandan, still as per Bhāgavatam we can find His identity as Nandanandan. As per Veṇu-Gītā, Śloka 7:
akṣaṇvatāṁ phalam idaṁ na paraṁ vidāmaḥ
sakhyah paśūn anuviveśayator vayasyaiḥ
vaktraṁ vrajeśa-sutayor anaveṇu-juṣṭam
yair vā nipītam anurakta-kaṭākṣa-mokṣam (ŚB 10.21.7)
The cowherd girls said: “O friends, those eyes that see the beautiful faces of the sons of Mahārāja Nanda are certainly fortunate. As these two sons enter the forest, surrounded by Their friends, driving the cows before Them, They hold Their flutes to Their mouths and glance lovingly upon the residents of Vṛndāvana. For those who have eyes, we think there is no greater object of vision.”
We can find such clear declaration by Paramahaṁsa Ācāryavarya Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Baladev Mahārāja has the right to use the peacock feather inside Vṛndāvana-Līlā. But any other expansions of Śrī Kṛṣṇa cannot use it. Śrī Varāha Deva, Śrī Kūrma Deva, Śrī Nṛsiṅga Deva, Śrī Rāmacandra Bhagavān cannot use peacock feather. The symbol of peacock feather used by both Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Balarām openly declares the total absence of prākṛta-kāma (material lust). Because in the whole creation of the Supreme Lord, only we can find that the she-peacock never gets the direct association of the he-peacock.
Why is Kṛṣṇa going to give so much honor to the peacock feather? What can be the reason? This is because peacocks don’t have any direct kāma. When the he-peacock is vomiting, then the she-peacock eats that vomiting to get pregnancy; there is no direct association. That is why the peacock feather is so pure and gives full pleasure to both Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Balarām. Also, the peacock feather has almost the same body color as Kṛṣṇa, that’s why Kṛṣṇa gives full honor to the peacock feather. On this very special ground, Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja also likes to hold that peacock feather on His head. Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja is almost the same as Kṛṣṇa, only the body color is different. Though He always has sevaka abhimān (positive ego), still nobody can deny that He is the same as Kṛṣṇa inside Vṛndāvana-Līlā.
We know it very well from śāstra-vicāra that Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa—Nanda Nandan—is the original source reason of everything, so He is called Svayaṁ Rūpa Bhagavān, and from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the first expansion comes to us as Bala-Dau Jī Mahārāja. And all other infinite Viṣṇu-tattva Avatāras are coming from Mūla Saṅkarṣaṇ, who is known as Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja inside Goloka Vṛndāvana; even all Sṛṣṭi-tattva Mahā Puruṣas (Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Mahāviṣṇu, also Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu) are coming from the same source.
Bhakta Vātsalya Bhagavān (The Great Merciful Original Guru-tattva)
The holy place Naimiṣāraṇya is there to express the great glory of Śrī Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja. When the Kurukṣetra battle was almost sure to happen between two parties—Kaurava and Pāṇḍava—then Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja was bound to go away for different pilgrimages all over Bhārata Varṣa, because the last effort by Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja to stop Kurukṣetra Battle was not successful.
This holy place, Naimiṣāraṇya, is still existing in India, and in ancient times it was especially used for the meetings of great sages and saintly persons with the aim of understanding spiritual life and self-realization. When Lord Balarāma visited that place, there was a great sacrifice being performed by a great assembly of transcendentalists. Such meetings were planned to continue for thousands of years. When Lord Balarāma arrived, all the participants of the meeting—great sages, ascetics, Brāhmaṇas, and learned scholars—immediately arose from their seats and welcomed Him with great honor and respect. Some offered Him respectful obeisances, and those who were elderly great sages and Brāhmaṇas offered Him blessings by standing up. After this formality, Lord Balarāma was offered a suitable seat, and everyone present worshiped Him. Everyone in the assembly stood up in the presence of Balarāma because they knew Him to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Education or learning means to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore, although Lord Balarāma appeared on the earth as a Kṣatriya, all the Brāhmaṇas and sages stood up because they knew who Lord Balarāma was. Unfortunately, after being worshiped and seated at His place, Lord Balarāma saw Romaharṣaṇa, the disciple of Vyāsadeva (the literary incarnation of Godhead), still sitting on the Vyāsāsana. He was not in the position to stand up from the Vyāsāsana, also he was fostering one great desire to leave his body itself in Vyāsāsana by the mercy of Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja the great. Bhakta Vātsalya Bhagavān (the great merciful original Guru-tattva) Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja was very merciful to fulfill his last desire, so naturally on the pretext of giving punishment for not standing upon his arrival at Naimiṣāraṇya, wanted to deliver him by the help of a straw piece cutter, which is not at all a cutter, but the situation was bound to make us feel that Romaharṣan Sūta was given heavy punishment by Śrīla Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja; actually it was very secretly given heavy kṛpā to Romaharṣaṇa Jī Mahārāja. Also we can find in Gaura-Līlā how secretly Śrīla Śivānanda Sena was given heavy punishment by Śrīman Nityānanda Prabhu, but nobody knows what a great kṛpā was given secretly to him. Only Śivānanda Sena could realize it fully. Even the wife of Śivānanda and his nephew Śrīkanta were bound to misunderstand Śrīman Nityānanda Prabhu.
Guru-tattva is always more and more merciful than Bhagavat-tattva
Actually, the Supreme Lord Himself is coming in this material world to deliver all those fallen souls who are burning day and night, in the form of the most merciful Incarnation of Śrī Gurudeva. Even we cannot have any estimation about his fathomless ocean of kṛpā. Though Guru-tattva is non-different from the Supreme Lord, still a great specialty is there. We can have countless such examples from different śāstras about his inconceivable causeless mercy. Duryodhana was the incarnation of Kali, still he was enjoying so much affection and kṛpā of Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja, but because of his tremendous false ego, he couldn’t digest this kṛpā. Duryodhana took club fighting technique from Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja. Even when we can see that Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is also going to avoid him, still Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja never wanted to avoid that wicked fallen soul Duryodhana. In Bhāgavata Jī Mahāpurāṇa, we can find evidence that Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja was always in favor of that fallen soul to protect him. Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja wanted to arrange the marriage of his own sister Subhadrā Jī with Duryodhana. Also at the time of the last club fighting between Duryodhana and Bhīmsen, Śrīla Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja was in favor of that fallen soul. Not only that but also he was very angry with Bhīmsen when he was bound to ignore some strict rules and regulations of club fighting to strike on the thigh of Duryodhana according to the gesture of Kṛṣṇa.
Baladeva appears to give us knowledge of Bhagavān
The appearance of Baladeva is also transcendental. Baladeva is prakāśa-vigraha – He appears to give us knowledge of Bhagavān and explain who Bhagavān is. Balarāma holds a plough and a mace in His hands. Just as a field is tilled with a plough to sow seeds for the crops to grow, Baladeva ploughs the field of our hearts to prepare it to receive the seed of bhakti, and by His mace He subdues the opposing tendencies to help us surrender unto Bhagavān. That is why He is guru-tattva.
Śrīla Bala Dau Jī Mahārāja kī jaya, Baladeva Pūrṇimā kī jaya!
Gaura Hari Haribol!