Today, as I got up in the morning for chanting, I was trying to beg Lord Shiva for his grace and chant. Lord Shiva is the topmost devotee of Krishna, and we need the grace of all devotees for going deep in our chanting. What can we pray to Lord Shiva?
Eagerness for Darshan:
When Krishna left the rasa dance, the gopis, feeling intense separation from Him began to enact His various pastimes. They cried profusely, and were loudly chanting Krishna’s Holy Names begging Him to appear. They had a deep longing for his darshan.
iti gopyaḥ pragāyantyaḥ
pralapantyaś ca citradhā
ruruduḥ su-svaraṁ rājan
kṛṣṇa-darśana-lālasāḥ
“O King, having thus sung and spoken their hearts out in various charming ways, the gopīs began to weep loudly. They were very eager to see Lord Kṛṣṇa.” SB 10.32.1
At that very time, Krishna appeared in the midst of the gopis to relieve their distress.
Lord Shiva gave a very beautiful prayer to the Pracetas, which also represents the same mood.
darśanaṁ no didṛkṣūṇāṁ
dehi bhāgavatārcitam
rūpaṁ priyatamaṁ svānāṁ
sarvendriya-guṇāñjanam
“My dear Lord, I wish to see You exactly in the form that Your very dear devotees worship. You have many other forms, but I wish to see Your form that is especially liked by the devotees. Please be merciful upon me and show me that form, for only that form worshiped by the devotees can perfectly satisfy all the demands of the senses.” SB 4.24.44
The Pracetas also got the audience of Lord Vishnu after they repeated the prayers chanted by Lord Shiva. If Lord Shiva’s blessings have such potency, why should we desist in praying to him? And why should we not repeat his very exquisite series of prayers, which are mentioned in the 4th Canto 24th Chapter of Srimad Bhagavatam?
Entrance into Rasa Dance:
There is one more interesting fact about Lord Shiva. Shiva desired to take part in the rasa dance. He could not do so without being the form of a gopi. Vrindadevi told him to take bath in the Manasi Ganga, after which he got the body of a gopi by which he was able to witness the rasa dance. He was given the eternal service of guarding the arena of rasa dance and not letting unqualified people enter. The form of Gopishwar Mahadev is worshipped even today in Vrindavan.
The topmost favor Lord Shiva can award us is entrance into Krishna’s divine pastimes. He is the one guarding the entire rasa dance. Can we not beg him to make us qualified to assist and serve Krishna in His eternal pastimes? He possesses the qualification to bestow it, and he manifests a deep compassion for all living entities.
We have a long long way to go before we get a chance to serve and assist the servants of Krishna in His direct service in the spiritual world. We are not qualified to hear and discuss about rasa dance, but by the grace of devotees like Lord Shiva, and devotees dear to him, if Krishna desires, we can go closer to Him, and get an opportunity to serve Him.
