“Radharani took him by the hand, and then…” The Story of Vitthal Vipul Dev
Shri Vitthal Vipul Dev ju
Vrindavan, 2017.11.24 (VT): Yesterday was the appearance day of Swami Vitthal Vipul Dev ji.
Vitthal Vipul Dev appeared in Rajpur in Braj Mandal in the year 1532AD. He was a nephew of Swami Haridas and he was also his first disciple. From the age of 30, Vitthal Vipul Dev renounced worldly life and offered himself completely to the worship of Shri Radha and Krishna. About forty beautiful sacred songs (pads) were written by him.
One day in Nidhivan, Vitthal Vipul Dev requested Swami Haridas to reveal the eternal lila of Radha and Krishna to him. Swami Haridas ji told him to look within a nearby enclosure of tangled vines. When Vitthal Vipul Dev looked inside, he saw Shri Radha and Krishna in their eternal lila. Accompanying them was Swami Haridas in his sakhi swaroop.
Overwhelmed with bliss and filled with gratitute, Vitthal Vipul Dev Ji went and bowed in front of his Guru. Swami Haridas smiled and told him to go inside the tangle of vines, adding, “Whatever you find inside, bring it out.”
Banke Bihari’s appearance place in Nidhivan
Vitthal Vipul Dev went inside the vine enclosure. Inside there was a gupha (cave). When he went inside the gupha, he saw Radha and Krishna had joined together to form the black stone deity of Shri Banke Bihariji. He brought Banke Bihari out of the cave and handed him over to his Guru.
When Swami Haridas left this world for the eternal lila, Vitthal Vipul Dev found it hard to go on. From that day forward, he tied a bandage over his eyes. Perhaps, after the divine illuminating form of his Guru had left this world, he did not wish to see anything else.
Soon after, a Raas Lila play was held and Vitthal Vipul Dev was in the audience. At the climax of the play, Shri Radharani came forward and held his hand. She made Vitthal Vipul Dev stand up and asked him to open his eyes.
Removing the bandage, his eyes fell on the lotus face of Radharani. Suddenly there was a flash of light, and Vitthal Vipul Dev was gone. He had entered the eternal lila in his sakhi swaroop. (V)
