At other times he would hug a tree and cry out loudly, “O my Beloved! O my Dearest!” as though he was embracing Shri Krishna. Sometimes he would sing and dance in the midst of wild animals, including tigers, cheetahs, elephants, and other animals.

1. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj: In
the Jungles of Chitrakoot
In 1935, at the tender age of just thirteen years, Shri Chhawani, a
cantonment in the district of Indore, Madhya Pradesh where his eldest
brother was a teacher. He stayed there for nearly three years. One night he
was awake until 3:00 a.m. and his brother all of a sudden entered his room
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2. and told him to stop studying. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj nodded
his head affirmatively and then set out on foot for the dense jungles of
Chitrakoot in a state of trance.
Deep in dense forests, he stayed in Chitrakoot Sati Anusuya Ashram,
Sharbhang Ashram, and elsewhere for about six months in the purna
paramahamsa state, completely absorbed in ecstatic divine bliss. Shedding
tears incessantly, crying piteously, and laughing hysterically in turn was his
external appearance. Sometimes hitting a stone he would fall down and
remain unconscious for hours. At other times he would hug a tree and cry
out loudly, “O my Beloved! O my Dearest!” as though he was embracing
Shri Krishna. Sometimes he would sing and dance in the midst of wild
animals, including tigers, cheetahs, elephants, and other animals. He was
not scared of any of them. To him, the whole world was suffused with
Shyama Shyam. He saw his beloved Shri Krishna in all living beings and
became absorbed fully in the bliss of love. What could be the purpose of his
retreat into that dense forest? Apparently what one found was that there
were some devotees there engaged in arduous sadhana or devotional
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3. practice, but in the absence of bhakti rasa their efforts proved fruitless.
Therefore, he revealed the ocean of love hidden within him in order to
immerse those devotees, and all the other living beings residing there, in
the nectar of divine love. The overflow of all his sattvic emotions at the
same time was a manifestation of his form as Bhaktiyoga-rasavatara which
was declared by Kashi Vidvat Parishat many years later.
https://youtu.be/87_RS40PR-w
His ecstatic states were the same as those explained in Bhakti Rasamrita
Sindhu written by Shri Jiva Goswami and Veda Vyasa’s Bhagavatam, the
crest jewel of all scriptures. This goes to prove that he was the embodiment
of the bhakti of Shri Radha Krishna or the descension of grace, the supreme
power of Shri Radha Rani in personified form.
In the course of delivering his discourses many years later, Jagadguru
Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj referred to some incidents he encountered
during this time. Once he came across a yogi in the forest, who was boastful
of his supernatural powers. He gave the yogi a sermon on bhakti and
dispelled the darkness of his ignorance. During his stay in Sharbhang
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4. Ashram, he met a strange-looking baba, who with a broken mirror and a
comb held in his hands, would keep trying to untangle his matted hair and
uttering, O Beloved! O Beloved! calling Shri Krishna with tears in his eyes.
Being overwhelmed with madhurya bhava, i.e. the intense sentiment of love
for Shri Krishna, as soon as that baba saw Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji
Maharaj he again became overcome with emotions and fell unconscious. By
doing so it appeared as though he had achieved the desired goal of his
sadhana.
The few people who happened to be passing through that area of the forest
were awestruck to see Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj in a trance
or behaving in some inexplicable way. A young man, lean and thin, with
untidy hair and clothes all carelessly worn, unaware of what was happening
in the outer world. “Is he Shukadeva?” people wondered. His eyes looked
like those of an inebriated person, streaming with tears. “He doesn’t look
like a crazy person,” they thought. There was a strange glow emitting from
his body. One’s heart became immersed in the nectar of bhakti the moment
one looked at him. Chitrakoot is the holy land of Lord Rama’s divine
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5. pastimes. Here He spent eleven and a half years of His life during the
period of His exile. They were wondering whether he was a sage of that
hoary past in a new guise. But why is he wailing Ha Radhe! Ha Krishna!
they thought to themselves. In this way, several other questions arose in
their minds.
In fact, this is the state of a lover suffering the pangs of separation, which a
true divine lover alone can understand. In the history of Maharasikas, Shri
Gauranga Mahaprabhu also went through such intensely emotional states
as these.
Conclusion: The young Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj’s
journey into the jungles of Chitrakoot was marked by profound spiritual
experiences and ecstatic states. He immersed himself in intense devotion,
recognizing the need to share the nectar of divine love with fellow seekers
and living beings. His encounters with other yogis and ascetics in the forest
further highlighted the depth of his bhakti and the transformative power of
his presence.
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6. His divine love for Shri Radha Krishna and the ecstatic states he
experienced mirrored those described in sacred texts. In the holy land of
Chitrakoot, where Lord Rama had once spent years in exile, Jagadguru Shri
Kripalu Ji Maharaj’s unconventional appearance and behaviors left
bystanders in awe and wonder, as they tried to fathom the depths of his
spiritual devotion.
Ultimately, his retreat into the wilderness was a testament to the intensity
of a true lover’s longing for the Divine, akin to the experiences of revered
figures like Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji
Maharaj’s journey was a profound manifestation of devotion and boundless
love for Shri Krishna and Shri Radha, enriching the spiritual landscape of
those who had the privilege to witness it. To know more visit our
website.
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