Manjari-bhava and sambhoga

The RRSN class yesterday was wide-ranging, but one thing I spoke on was the following verse (Govinda-līlāmṛta 10.16, CC 2.8.209) in glorification of Radha’s dasis. Here it is with Gadadhar Pran’s (orthodox) translation and commentary:

sakhyaḥ śrī-rādhikāyā vraja-kumuda-vidhor hlādinī-nāma-śakteḥ sārāṁśa-prema-vallyāḥ kiśalaya-dala-puṣpādi-tulyāḥ sva-tulyāḥ siktāyāṁ kṛṣṇa-līlāmṛta-rasa-nicayair ullasantyām amuṣyāṁ jātollāsāḥ sva-sekāc chata-guṇam adhikaṁ santi yat tan na citram

Nandimukhi goes on: “And look! As Radha and the sakhis’ pleasure is synonymous, the sakhis are one with Radha. Krishna is like the moon for the ‘lilies of Vraja’ (the gopis), and Srimati Radhika is the essence of his pleasure potency. She is likened to a desire creeper of prema (prema-kalpa-lata) and the sakhis are the leaves, flowers and new buds on this creeper, and as such are non-different from her. So it isn’t surprising that when the Radha creeper is nourished by the shower of Krishna’s lilamrita rasa, the leaves, flowers and buds naturally experience bliss a hundred times more than if they were splashed with this rasa themselves!”

Rasa-tarangini Tika: Although Krishna is Ananda-maya, or pleasure personified, Radha, being the main shelter of his pleasure, is in the best position to relish his infinite madhurya—even more than Krishna himself. Morever, Srimati Radhika is Prema-mayi, or prema personified, and hence, as the counter-whole of the Supreme Divinity, she has her own limitless madhurya. But the sakhis are the topmost relishers of all because their focus is not on Sri Krishna or on Sri Radha alone, but on Sri Sri Radha Krishna combined. Hence the supreme source of Prema and Ananda is at their very fingertips, and this forms the highest relish of all.

GP’s commentary is succinct, but touches all the important bases. It is rather odd, then, that he seems to have abandoned this siddhanta, due to incomprehension of how this oneness with Radharani works. There are many others who are confused about this point as well, and who think that sambhoga with Krishna (or Radharani) is superior to this mystic participation in the sambhoga of the Divine Couple.

This comes from a multiple confusion about the nature of transcendental reality and its essentially advaita nature. The non-duality is the basic characteristic of the spiritual world. Harivamsa’s followers (and other sakhi-sampradayas) say that there are four elements in the Nitya-vihara, which are indispensable: Krishna, Radha, Vrindavan and the sakhis. But they all form one single tattva. True liberation means becoming ONE with that reality.

The idea of being a sambhogi in competition with Radha (or heaven forfend! with Krishna) is giving in (in my humble opinion) to elements of ahankara. It is a shift from the pure samartha rati to samanjasa and sadharani. Samartha rati only really exists in Radha, whose prema is parama mahAn.

The manjaris are part and parcel of Radha. Radha’s lila is their lila. They don’t see themselves as different from Radha. And yet, they are distinct. Therefore Kaviraj Goswami says:

sakhī binu ei līlāra puṣṭi nāhi hoy sakhī līlā vistāriyā sakhī āsvādoy

Without the sakhis, this lila does not find nourishment. The sakhis are the ones who expand this lila, and they are the ones who relish it. (CC 2.8.201)

The verse that is often pointed to is Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 8.88:

rādhā-raṅga-lasat-tvad-ujjvala-kalā-sañcāraṇa-prakriyā cāturyottaram eva sevanam ahaṁ govinda samprārthaye yenāśeṣa-vadhū-janodbhaṭa-mano-rājya-prapañcāvadhau notsukyaṁ bhavad-aṅga-saṅgama-rase'py ālambate man-manaḥ

Govinda, I have only one desire:
to have the ever expanding intelligence
to be able to serve you and Radha
on the field of your ever-expanding, ecstatic romance,
so that you can experience newer and newer bliss;
for by such service, unlimited gopis have attained
the very limits of the fulfillment of their desires.
Therefore, O Lord of Gokula, my mind
never becomes eager for your direct embrace;
it does not crave for such enjoyments,
please just engage me in that service.

The point being that it is simply inconceivable for the manjaris to imagine sambhoga with Krishna. It is entirely beside the point. It is not even a real source of joy to them. It is superfluous, extraneous, contrary to nature.

In my class, I briefly pointed out, and this will develop as we go along, is that this is a direct result of an understanding of rasa-tattva. If you understand the mechanics of experiencing rasa as described by Rupa Goswami, then this becomes rather simplified. Rasa exists in Radha and Krishna, but it exists in the sahṛdaya-sāmājika--the cultivated audience, also. The cultivated audience, in this case, is the pure devotee in mañjarī-bhāva (tad-bhāvecchātmikā).