Nourish Your Soul Book Excerpt: Lessons From Meerabai's Life And Teachings

Even a moment’s association with Saints can bestow seekers with spiritual perfection. The land of Bharat has been blessed by many great Sages. While it is not possible to personally meet them by rewinding history, we can do the next best thing—read about them. Nourish Your Soul: Inspirations from and Lives of Great Saints is a humble tribute to eleven remarkable Saints who embodied the eternal Truths of the scriptures. The stories of their God-intoxicated lives are embedded with numerous pearls of wisdom and gems of inspiration.

Here's an excerpt from Nourish Your Soul

Meera, better known as Meerabai, was a pre-eminent bhakti saint of the sixteenth century. She was a mystic poet and one of the greatest lovers of Bhagavan Shree Krishna. She revered Him as her Beloved and embodied the purest sentiments of selfless love for her Giridhar Gopal. What she taught by her living example cannot be learnt merely by reading books. Episodes from her life so deeply touched people's hearts that they acquired the nature of legends, passed on from generation to generation. 

At a time when women adhered to strict social norms, Meerabai boldly proclaimed her exclusive devotion and fidelity to Shree Krishna. Consequently, her life was fraught with immense opposition and condemnation from both-family and society. Despite this, Meera remained true to her principles and her path. 

In time, she transformed from Meera, the princess, to Meera, the ascetic. She is often depicted in pictures wearing a simple ochre sari, with prayer beads on her wrist and tanpura in hand, absorbed in thoughts of Krishna. This portrayal of hers has become iconic for lady monks. 

Meera's spiritual fervour is profusely evident in her bhajans. Through kirtans, she professed her unyielding devotion and adoration for Shree Krishna. At times, she sang about her Divine Beloved's infinite glories. Sometimes she expressed her frenzied state of longing in separation. And other times, she declared her ecstatic love. 

Since Meera's bhajans were primarily composed in native Rajasthani and Braj bhashas (languages), they were very accessible to the populace. Meera's poetry stirred people's imagination with the noblest bhakti sentiments of faith and yearning for God. They became inseparable from the Bhakti Movement in North India. Amazingly, they have stood the test of time and continue to be held in the highest regard by devotees and scholars alike. 
Meerabai's life is a beautiful treasure chest of inspiration for seekers on the path of prem (divine love). It also presents invaluable ideals to emulate for those who aspire to attain the highest level of communion with God. 

Birth and Early Childhood 

Saint Meerabai was born around the year 1498, in the village of Kudaki, in the Merta district of Rajasthan, to a royal household. Her father, Rao Ratan Singh, was the second son of Rao Duda, the king of Merta. Her great-grandfather, Jodha, established the now-famous city of Jodhpur. 

Meera's birth took place on the auspicious day of Sharad Poornima, at noontime, when the sun was in its full glory overhead. For this reason, she was named Mihir, meaning ‘Sun'. In due course, her name was changed to Meera. Yet, true to its original meaning, she brightened the world with the radiance of her love! 

From childhood itself, Meera's disposition was unmistakably distinct from other children. She was not interested in toys and games. Meera's mother tried hard to get her to play with friends but had no success. It was as if some unknown personality was already attracting her mind and not permitting her to become worldly. 

Meera's grandfather, Rao Duda, had immense faith in saints and profound devotion towards them. He would regularly invite sages to his palace, serve them, and listen to their words of wisdom with great attention. Meera would sit for hours in the satsang of these saintly personalities. This further enriched the inherent devotional sanskars she carried from birth. As a result, from her earliest years, her mind was drawn deeply into spirituality. 

Events in Meera's life unfolded in an astonishing sequence, revealing how God was forging her for the work that lay ahead of her. 

Extracted with permission from Nourish Your Soul by Swami Mukundananda; published by Rupa Publications.