Surdas

[Guest guest]

Hundreds of years ago, in a little village in north India, Surdas was born

 

into a poor brahmin family. He was born blind, a handicap that was

 

considered to be a great curse for his entire family. Surdas suffered

 

terribly at home, where his parents found him to be a great burden. He

 

couldn’t read his father’s books or even go to school. When he did go out,

 

the children of the village treated him very cruelly. Yet amidst all this

 

unkindness, Surdas found friends in nature. He listened to the music of

 

the wind, felt the embrace of water, and was nourished by the generosity

 

and playfulness of the animals.

 

One day, Surdas heard a sound that would change his life forever – the

 

sound of traveling musicians singing God’s name. He tried to follow their

 

voices, but his mother caught and tied him to a pole so that he could’t

 

escape. It was then that Surdas’ father came home with a few gold coins,

 

which were however taken away by mice during the night. In the morning,

 

Surdas’ father was horrified when he found his gold coins missing. Though

 

Surdas could not see, he knew exactly where the mice dropped the coins. He

 

promised to tell his father where they were, but only if he would set him

 

free. His father promised, then sure enough found the coins in the place

 

that Surdas described.

 

Free at last, Surdas left home, never to return. He followed the path of

 

sound laid by the musicians’ sweet music. He joined their blissful chant

 

to Krishna, and fell asleep with Krishna’s name on his lips. That same

 

night, the musicians left leaving him alone. But they were so struck by

 

Surdas’ soulful voice that they left their ektar (stringed instrument)

 

behind for him. When Surdas woke up the next morning, he became

 

frightened. He called out to Krishna, wondering if He too had deserted

 

him. Krishna was drawn by Surdas’ love and He handed to Surdas the ektar

 

left behind by the musicians. Krishna sat by his side as Surdas tenderly

 

chanted His name.

 

Surdas’ love of Krishna drew him to Vrindavan, the place where Krishna was

 

born. Here, young Surdas became well known for his love for Krishna, his

 

angelic voice, and his magical ability to find lost objects. In fact,

 

Surdas became so popular in Vrindavan that the people built him a hut and

 

filled it with gifts! He began to enjoy this life of abundance – a bit

 

too much! Waking one night from a vivid, heartbreaking dream, Surdas

 

realized that his life of comfort and plenty had distracted him from

 

Krishna. That very night, he took his ektar and headed off to the forest,

 

where he could be alone with God.

 

He wandered through the forest singing to his beloved Krishna, unaware

 

that Krishna was constantly there by his side. After many years, wandering

 

and chanting, chanting and meditating, following in the footsteps of his

 

Lord, Surdas defeated his inner blindness. He started seeing Krishna

 

everywhere. With eyes closed, Surdas watched the play of Krishna within

 

his very self. Hearing of Surdas’ love for Krishna and his ability to

 

awaken this love in the hearts of others, the great Vallabhacharya came to

 

visit Surdas at the temple in Gaughat. Together, they travelled to the top

 

of Govardhan Mountain, where he taught Surdas how to help others live in

 

this state of union with the Lord. Surdas then returned to the temple in

Gaughat,

 

with Krishna so firmly inresidence in his own heart that his songs inspired

Krishna to

 

dance in the hearts of all who hear them. Far far away, in the court of the

great King

 

Akbar, the legendary musician Tansen sang one of Surdas’ songs. So

 

enchanted was he by the music of Surdas that Akbar ordered his attendants

 

to bring Surdas to his palace. But Akbar’s courtiers were unable to

 

persuade Surdas to leave the temple, and were relieved when he invited

 

them to stay on with him. When his attendants didn’t return, Akbar himself

 

travelled all the way across India to find Surdas. Hearing the sound of

 

Surdas’ voice, the mighty king was enfolded by a profound meditation in

 

which Krishna became his very own. Thus, Surdas' chanting of Krishna's

 

name attracted many followers to him, filling in all their hearts the love for

 

Krishna. And after years of inspiring devotion in his followers, Surdas

 

finally merged with Krishna, his Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Wonderful.Thank you for sharing this article.

Rajan

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Thank you for the story of Surdas. I knew his name from a bhajan that Swami

Paramatmananda used to sing ( Sankar ji ka Damaru Bole) but I did not know

the story,

 

-Amalia-

Ôm Amriteswaryai Namah