Hoshiarpur: At the Radha Krishna Temple, during the ongoing Shrimad Bhagwat Katha held under the guidance of National Saint Baba Bal Ji Maharaj, the highly revered Saint Shri Gaurdas Ji Maharaj (visiting from Vrindavan) explained today that Lord Krishna’s divine pastimes (*leela*) spanning two and a half years took place in Gokul Mahavan. Thereafter, He moved to Vrindavan with Nanda Baba. Here, the Lord bestowed the nectar of love and devotion upon the Gopis and, at the same time, liberated the demons.
When the Lord went into the forests to graze the cows, the demon Vritasura once appeared in the form of a bull—a creature representing ignorance—and the Lord slew him. Similarly, when we sit for devotion, the first obstacle we encounter is ignorance. This obstacle is dispelled through the grace of the Guru and his spiritual discourses (*satsang*).
Next, the demon Bakasura appeared before the Lord; he was the brother of Putana. He came in the guise of a crane, symbolizing pretension or outward show. There should be absolutely no pretension in devotion; if we engage in pretense, our devotion begins to decline. Following this, the demon Aghasura appeared in the form of a python, symbolizing sin.
Maharaj Ji explained that when we begin our devotional journey, we should gradually renounce sin. However, if we are unable to give up sin, we must not abandon the chanting of the Lord's name. If we continuously chant the Lord's name with a spirit of devotion, our sins will gradually fall away, and we will attain the Lord within this very lifetime while fulfilling all our worldly duties related to our jobs, businesses, and family life.