We, Pushti Margiya Vaishnavs, often come across terms like “Maan Bhog” and “Grahan” while performing seva of our Nidhi Swaroop. Let us understand the bhaav of Maan Bhog first.
Maan Bhog: Bhaav in Pushti Marg
Many a times, we get so embroiled in the leela of our Nidhi Swaroops that we fail to realize that our Nidhi Swaroop too goes through a lot of Shram(difficulty) when He engages in His leelas with us. And there are times when we continue to perform our seva mechanically because we find a lot of solace – though our thoughts are elsewhere and/or we are emotionally disturbed.
Sometimes, our Nidhi Swaroop gets annoyed with us for reasons that are beyond our comprehension. And He displays His disapproval subtly. Extremely subtly. That day, our samagri will not turn out well or our Shringar will not drape itself over our Nidhi Swaroop or some such instance will happen when we are performing our seva.
In Pushti Marg, we perform our seva with Bhaav and Bhakti keeping our Lord’s comfort in mind. Always. So, when we sense that our Nidhi Swaroop is upset with with us for some reason, we immediately offer a special bhog called “Maan bhog” to our Nidhi Swaroop.
By offering “Maan Bhog” we acknowledge our Lord’s displeasure, reassure Him and do our best to appease His anger immediately by offering Him His most favourite food, which is usually Sheera and Puri. Basically, “Maan Bhog” is a quick hot and sweet snack to calm down our Lord’s wrath quickly. But we can offer fresh or dried fruits too as “Maan Bhog.” Ah yes, our Thakorji is extremely kind. And forgives us easily. Every. Single. Time. There are no doubts there.
We also offer “Maan bhog” to our Nidhi Swaroops after Grahans (solar or lunar eclipses). Our Lord remains hungry and thirsty for 8 – 10 hours during the Grahan period. He undergoes a lot of Shram(difficulty) during this period. So, the first thing we do after the Grahan ends is to appease His hunger by offering Him “Maan Bhog.” Once we have taken care of our Lord’s needs, we can go about practising our routine seva.
Grahan: Bhaav in Pushti Marg
In Pushti Marg we perceive Grahans uniquely. Shri Gokulnathji, the fourth son of Gusainji explains the Bhaav behind a Grahan very beautifully.
Maan Bhaav of Radha during Grahans
Aeons ago, Radha becomes extremely annoyed with Krishna for some reason. As usual. She refuses to tell Krishna why She is angry and vows not to speak with Him. Krishna tries to cajole and pacify His beloved Radha through various means. But they have no impact on Her.
Finally, Krishna gives up. He cannot bear to live, for even an instant without Radha. So, Krishna removes all His Shringar and Paag, wears the simple robes of a Sanyasi and decides to renounce worldly life. Clad in only a white dhoti and uparna, Krishna goes to a secluded place and sits by Himself. He is completely lost. Without His Radha.
Radha’s sakhis sense the tense mood between the divine couple. And decide to pacify Her wrath by singing Her praises. But Radha remains rooted in anger. The sakhis discuss the matter amongst themselves and find another way of pleasing Radha.
They know their friend; Radha likes to keep things neat and tidy in Her divine realm. So, they clean up the clutter lying around and hope Radha mellows down by a notch at least. From past experience, the sakhis know that like Krishna, Radha too is easy to please and forgive. But the sakhis soon realize that this time round they had a tough task in hand.
So, they do the next best thing that occurs to them. They knew Radha spent hours in the kitchen rustling up delicacies for Krishna with Her own hands. So, they tuck their skirts into their waists and start cleaning the kitchen. They are so engrossed in their deep cleaning spree, that in no time, they remove all the greasy stains in the kitchen, discard the used oil and ghee and the snacks and sweets that Radha had stocked up for Krishna. But Radha continues to look away from them all.
The sakhis then approach Yamunaji with their concern and say, “O Yamuna Maiyya, we do not have the gumption to make any fresh sweets and snacks and offer it to Radha. Sensing Her current mood, we feel our gestures will only anger Her all the more. We are at our wits end. Please tell us how we can make Radha and Krishna patch up.”
Yamunaji, their most sensitive sakhi says, “Let me do what I can. Like Krishna, Radha must be hungry and thirsty too. But Krishna will not eat or drink anything unless Radha does so. So let me first try to quench Radha’s thirst with my cool waters.
But before we do so, I am sure someone has cast an evil eye on the unconditional love that Radha and Krishna share. Let us cleanse our divine realm of all the negative vibrations by giving all the poor and needy people food grains, clothes and money and seek their blessings. After that I am sure, Radha will take a sip on my cool waters.”
Radha has been listening to their dialogue quietly all this while. When She sees the efforts that Yamunaji and Her sakhis are taking to pacify Her, Radha suddenly starts smiling. Her wrath dispels in jiffy. As usual. She hugs Yamunaji warmly, accepts the water that She proffers and walks with great determination towards Krishna.
When Krishna sees Radha coming towards Him, He quickly takes a dip in the waters of Yamunaji, cleanses Himself of all the negative vibrations and runs towards Radha. Radha and Krishna hug each other tightly and promise never to fight again. Yet again.
Yes, Radha’s joy doubles when She sees Her spick and span realm especially when She notices her scrupulously clean kitchen. She quickly prepares “Maan Bhog” of Sheera and Puri. Her lord, Krishna had experienced a lot of Shram due to Her wrath. So, Radha hurriedly offers the “Maan Bhog” to Krishna who accepts it eagerly and eats it with great relish.
All the sakhis happily share the Prasad amongst themselves and are greatly relieved that things have returned to normal again between Radha and Krishna.
Yes, that is why we discard all our unused snacks and sweets, remove all traces of oil, ghee and other stickly substances from our mandir, empty the Jhariji and Buntaji, remove our Nidhi Swaroop’s Shringar and Paag and adorn Him with a new Dhoti and Uparna before doing the extra special Grahan Darshan. As we do so, let us meditate on Bhaav of this Maan leela and then sing the Jaagran keertans with Bhakti.
It does not matter whether these Bhaavs and Leelas have been created to remember our rituals. Our rituals may or may not have a scientific reason behind them. That too is immaterial. What matters the most is that, we keep a firm check on our thoughts and emotions, focus on the fact that a divine presence pervades the cosmos. And surrender to Radha’s and Krishna’s will. At all times. Radhe Radhe. Shree Krishna Sharanam Mama. Radhe Radhe. Shree Krishna Sharanam Mama. Radhe Radhe. Shree Krishna Sharanam Mama.
Thank you Amma and Pappaji for giving me so many details on Maan Bhog and Grahan. I remain indebted to both of you.
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