THE HOMELESS PILGRIM
Though now homeless, Mira was not, however, alone. Such was the power of her wonderful songs steeped in devotion, that crowds would follow her wherever she went. The supernal beauty of her purity, the regal dignity of her person, her infinite humility, her fathomless devotion, her fearlessness, absolute surrender, and her transmuting songs were a new sort of experience even in India.
For even in India, which has produced so many saints, Mira is unique. Such absolute love for God and such absolute renunciation have been seen both before and since. But the outpouring of Mira's divine passion in song has such a special character that even among the melodious mystics Mira stands out as a singular saint, whose very name has become an inspiration to spiritual aspirants for all time.
Nobody knows how many songs Mira sang in the privacy of her soul to her Lord. We have now only five hundred on record. But this is a highly valued treasure in our spiritual lore for it is impossilble to sing or hear Mira's songs without having an influx of Mira's passion for God well up in one's heart.
Wandering and singing on the way, spreading everywhere waves of devotion and yearning for the Lord, Mira came to Vrindavan, the great place of pilgrimage for Vaishnavas.
In his lifetime, Sri Krishna's sport with the Gopis was enacted in the sylvan surroundings of Vrindavan, and the Gopis were the greatest devotees of Krishna, whom they worshipped in the madhura bhava, or the attitude of the beloved to the sweetheart.
That was exactly the attitude of Mira to Krishna. Some even used to hold the view that Mira had herself been a Gopi in her previous life.
You can therefore imagine her joy in being at the place where her beloved had sported in his incarnation as Krishna. It was not all joy however, for the constant remembrance of Krishna agonized her heart beyond description and she pined for the constant vision of the Lord, very often losing outward consciousness and going into samadhi.
When the devotees became aware of her extraordinary love for Krishna, they began to throng around her for inspiration in her bhajan, and so her movements became festivities for people, and again agony for her.
Nor did she lose any opportunity of associating with holy men. At that time Jiva Goswami, the great disciple of Sri Caintanya, was living in Vrindavan. Mira sought an interview with him but the saint, a hyper-rigorous ascetic, refused to see her because she was a woman.
On being refused interview, Mira sent him a note, which brought him new enlightenment. She wrote: 'It is surprising that the revered saint has not yet transcendented the sex-idea; and in holy Vrindavan, Sri Krishna alone is Purusha, all others are Prakriti. If the saint considers himself Purusha, and not as a Gopi, it is better if he leaves the sacred place where Sri Krishna once sported.'
[Note: Purusha is the soul, the Self, pure consciousness, and the only source of consciousness. The word literally means "man." Prakriti is that which is created. It is nature in all her aspects. Prakriti literally means "creatrix," the female creative energy.]
The saint at once recognized that he was encountering a person of higher enlightenment, and deeper realization, and without loss of time, he met Mira, paid her his obeisance, and begged pardon, while Mira paid her respects to him.
Now this requires explanation: Why did Mira say that Krishna was the only male principle, and all other, men and women, represented the female principle?
In short, this idea means that the Creator God alone is the directive, operative and active principle, whereas all created beings, the jivas or embodied souls, are only receptive and responsive principles. The Creator is the source of all energy, and the creation is the vessel and the manifestation of the energy. As such, the mystic looks upon God as the only male principle, and all men and women as representing the female principle.
Moving about in joy from grove to grove, in Vrindavan, the land of Krishna's divine play, Mira sang one of her most moving and famous songs:
"Take me as your servant,
O my Giridhara, my beloved,
Take me as your servant,
I shall work as your gardener-
And in return shall have your vision.
I shall sing of your sport
In the bowers of Vrindavan.
For being your servant,
What a rich return I shall have:
Contemplation of your form,
Remembrance of your name,
Devotion to you-
Ah, what a rich return!
How beautiful is your form
My darling, with the peacock crown,
The garment bright as lightning,
The garland swinging on your breast.
O my cowherd boy,
O my flute player!
Daily I shall plant
New creepers to blossom for you,
And dressed in a yellow sari
I shall obtain the vision of you;
The yogi comes here to practise yoga,
The monk comes to perform austerity,
The mendicant comes to Vrindavan to worship God:
Inscrutable is the nature of Mira's Lord.
O my mind, have patience-
At the dead of night
On the bank of the River of Love
Your Lord will meet you.
Take me as your servant,
O my Giridhara, my beloved,
Take me as your servant."
From Vrindavan, after visiting Mathura and some other places of pilgrimage, Mira at last came to Dwarka and settled down there for the remaining period of her life. Like Vrindavan and Mathura, Dwaraka is also a place associated with Sri Krishna's life, and He is known there by the special name of Sri Rancchorji. At the feet of the Lord, in the temple, Mira passed her days happily singing her songs in that language, and came to be adored by the local people as a saint with deep mystic experiences.