Meera also known Mirabai was known for complete and undaunted love for Lord Krishna. Today she is considered a personification of devotion.
Profile
Whatever is known about Mirabai is more what is passed on over the centuries as folklore. Historians have not found much proof to it but great saints of this country tell a story. It is believed saints do have the power to know what is true and untrue. So the story goes that Meera was born in 1498 in a village called Khurki (Kudki) in Rajasthan. Her father was Ratan Singh Ranthor and the whole family were devotees of Lord Vishnu. Meera even at the age of four showed her religious tendencies. A much talked-about incident in her life is, when she saw a marriage procession and asked her mother who would be her husband. To this her mother, in a lighter vein, pointed to the idol of Lord Krishna and said that was her husband. Meera took this very seriously and then all her play was centred on the idol. As she grew, her devotion to the Lord also grew. At the appropriate age she was married off toBhoja Raj. Some say his name was RanaKhumba. She might not have been happy about the marriage but was a dutiful wife and daughter-in-law. She would finish her duties and then sit for her worship and sing the praise of the Lord. Disgusted family members attempted to kill her but failed. Finally her husband asked her to drown herself in the river. She went to the river with the name of the Lord on her lips and was about to enter when a hand caught her and told her that this was the end of her life with her husband and asked her to proceed to Brindavan the abode of Lord Krishna. It was the Lord himself. Wasting no time she proceeded to Brindavan and spent her time there singing the songs of the Lord in gay abandon. She knew no ritual or traditions, she would just sing because she saw the Lord everywhere and in everything.It is said that her husband disguised came to meet her and when she realised that it was her husband she prostrated before him. She then went to Dwaraka. It is believed that her husband chose to follow her and be her devotee. In Dwaraka on Krishna Janmashtami, Meera is believed to have merged with the Lord.
Philosophy Propounded
Meera’s life was her philosophy. She had nothing to teach the world. She was all the time revelling in her love for the Lord. She had the divine vision of seeing the Lord in the trees, stone, bird, everywhere.
Work Done to Spread the Philosophy
We are into the 21st century and Meerabhajans are being sung even to this day. A princess saint who lived in the sixteenth century continues to have a hold over the so called fast paced generation of the 21st century, almost 5 centuries later. Her bhajans and devotion will continue to influence people all over the world in the years to come as well. Swami Shivananda founder of the Divine Life Society had said, “As long as there is the name of Krishna, there will be the name of Meera also.”
