In London, Kathy Smith was feeling depressed. She had just separated from her husband of 20 years. She wanted to kill herself. A worried friend suggested that she attend a talk on Lord Krishna by a Hindu preacher, Yadunath Mahodayshri. So she went. Unfortunately, for her, the talk was in Gujarati. She could not understand a word. Nevertheless, she stayed the whole day, and returned for the next two days.
At the end of the programme, she came up to Yadunathji, tears streaming down her face. “On the first day when I listened to the bhajans, I experienced a force that made me return again and again,” she said. “Krishna has prevented me from committing suicide.”
Later Kathy became a follower of Lord Krishna. “When you connect with Krishna, you will feel that He is there for you,” says Yadunathji, while on a recent visit to Kochi. “He will always show you the right path. But to listen to Him, you must set aside your ego and keep your mind silent.”
Yadunathji is the 17th descendant of Mahaprabhuji, the founder of the Ahmedabad-based Jagadguru Shrimad Vallabhacharya Pith. “My family has been preachers for 500 years,” he says. Yadunathji imbibed the atmosphere of spirituality, bhajans, and talks at home when he was a child. “I grew up listening to the sermons of my father, Vrajeshkumarji,” says Yadunathji. “Thousands of Vaishnavite devotees would come home from all over the world for advice and counselling. Later, they would tell my father that their lives have improved. So I felt inspired to do the same thing.”
Astonishingly, the 37-year-old Yadhunathji gave his first speech when he was only five years old. And the family tradition continues. His son, who is seven, gave his first discourse recently.
Today, the preacher travels all over the globe delivering lectures. During the summer months of July-September, he is usually in Europe and America.
When asked why he only talks about Lord Krishna, Yadunathji says, “Every God holds a weapon in his hand, while Krishna is the only one who holds a flute. He is a dancing God. He is trying to communicate that you should enjoy every moment of your life.”
Unfortunately, most people do not. Yadunathji has an explanation. “Happiness, peace, and joy are feelings,” he says. “You cannot get them by chasing materialistic things. For enduring joy, you have to travel inward.”
One way is through meditation. “Spend some time with yourself,” he says. “All the time we are rushing about. As a result we forget our divine nature and feel unhappy and tense all the time.”
A factor that attracts Yadunathji to Krishna is that he is a modern God. “Just before the Kurukshetra war was to begin, Arjuna was going through a depression,” says Yadunathji. “Many people in this fast-paced world are facing the same situation. So the advice which Krishna gave Arjuna is relevant to us today also.”
Interestingly, the audience reaction is different in India and the West. In India, people are used to reading the scriptures, and have deep faith in the Bhagwad Gita. But, abroad, they don’t have much information about Lord Krishna and Hinduism. On the children studying in Western schools and colleges, Yadunathji says, “They are confused about their faith and don’t have a proper grounding. So, they prefer talks based on reason and logic.”
Yadunathji does that. For example, he has stated that English naturalist Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has already been mentioned in the Scriptures. “Contrary to what we think, more and more people are attracted to Lord Krishna and are coming closer to him,” says Yadunathji.
The mysteries of Krishna has found another prophet.