VMA 2.34 The fortunate, the more fortunate, and the most fortunate of all
dhanyo loke mumukṣur hari-bhajana-paro dhanya-dhanyas tato'sau
dhanyo yaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāmbuja-rati-paramo rukmiṇīśa-priyo'taḥ |
yāśodeya-priyo'taḥ subala-suhṛd ato gopī-kānta-priyo'taḥ
śrīmad-vṛndāvaneśvary-atirasa-vivaśārādhakaḥ sarva-mūrdhni ||
Fortunate in this world are those
who aspire for liberation;
Yet more fortunate are those
who have dedicated themselves to Lord Hari's worship;
More fortunate than they are those
who have become attached to Sri Krishna’s lotus feet.
and those who love Rukmiṇī's king
are above even them,
Those dear to the son of Yashoda,
those who are friends to Subal's friend,
and then those who love the Lord, lover of the gopīs,
are progressively more fortunate.
Yet, standing at the head of all devotees in the creation
are those who worship him,
as one whose thoughts have been washed away
by the flood of sacred rapture emanating
from the daughter of King Vrishabhanu.
This is a verse we have visited on this blog before as we have seen it quoted by Ananta Das Pandit in his commentaries, e.g. VVS 39. See also: Hierarchies of rasa. See also VMA 1.8., VMA 1.9.
In the previous verse, we were given the meditation on a mandala type of image, where Radha and Krishna and their sweet pastimes stand in the middle of Vrindavan, on an island in the ocean of pure spiritual consciousness.
In this followup verse, Prabodhananda Saraswatipada delineates a more subtle inner dimension of this mandala, which can be conceived as circles or layers of consciousness, which lie between the inner and outermost portions of the mandala.
This is presented indeed as a hierarchy, and each stage in the progression inward may be considered either a partial achievement or, in the case of those whose taste for that kind of perfection perfectly satiates them, the ultimate goal.
There are many examples of such mystical hierarchies, or descriptions of the progressive path inwards, indicating what changes are to be expected in perception and behavior in someone who follows that particular path. And each of these is, of course, presenting insights into universal human nature.
Such hierarchies are not found only in Vaishnavism, but in all mystical paths, whether it is Saint Teresa of Avila or St. John of the Cross in Christianity, the mystics of the Zohar or Sufism.
It is not our business here to engage in a comparative study of all these mystic psychologies, we are busy trying to understand our own, though we do take insights from wherever they come.
The kind of mystic psychology that is being followed here is connected to that described in Rupa Goswami's Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu and Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi. Other variations on such hierarchies can also be found Bhakti-sandarbha 188-198 (commenting on SB 11.2.47-58 describing the beginning, middle and advanced devotees of Bhagavan), the entire Laghu- and Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛtas, which both conclude that service to Radha is “the most uncommon and elevated of all spiritual goals” (sarvāsādharaṇa-parama-mahā-sādhya-vastu, BṛBhāg 2.1.21 comm.), the four essential verses of the Sandarbhas, etc.
What distinguishes the bhakti path and analysis of human and spiritual psychology from most of other paths is that it is rasa, a particular kind of jnana, or direct perception of the taste or quality of a loving relationship, that is the central and deciding factor.
This principle is stated by Rupa Goswami himself:
siddhāntatas tv abhede'pi śrīśa-kṛṣṇa-svarūpayoḥ |
rasenotkṛṣyate kṛṣṇa-rūpam eṣā rasa-sthitiḥ ||
Though according to theological doctrine, Krishna and the husband of Lakshmi are identical in essence, the form of Krishna is superior when analyzed from the point of view of divine sentiment (rasa). (BRS 1.2.59)
In other words, as in this verse of the Mahimāmṛta, the object of worship is the definitive factor in determining the level of religious experience. It would take an entire book in itself to detail the characteristics of each step in the above verse and we will develop that as we go through VMA. A study of the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu and Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi will yield the most coherent understanding of the subject. Though Saraswatipada and Sri Rupa may differ slightly here and there, the conclusion of the Vrindavan rasikas always involves Radha.
As in this verse, the sequence begins with the Absolute Truth as liberation, then God understood generically as the Supreme Soul or universal controller, etc., indicated here by the word Hari, then it is Krishna in his more majestic personal forms as Vāsudeva, son of Vasudeva. And even though there is a more intimate side to Krishna's Vāsudeva pastime in his role as the husband of Rukmini, where his royal glory is mixed with the sweetness of the svakīyā bhāva, it is still inferior, in Prabodhananda's view, to the various relations of love in Braj, from vātsalya to sakhya to madhura. But the conclusion everywhere is in that Krishna who represents God as the experience of the greatest excellence of madhura-rasa, Krishna as the lover and beloved of Radha.
In Prabodhananda Saraswatipaada's verse, it will be noted that as the list progresses, the devotee himself is described as the object of Krishna's love, because as one progresses in bhakti, Krishna becomes less the object of love himself and starts responding to the devotee as the subject of love for him. This is why Radha is in the supreme position, because her love for Krishna is so great that she controls him by her love. This is the fundamental insight of the Bhāgavatam.
mayi nirbaddha-hṛdayāḥ sādhavaḥ sama-darśanāḥ
vaśīkurvanti māṁ bhaktyā sat-striyaḥ sat-patiṁ yathā
And from the Māṭhara-śruti,
bhaktir evainaṁ nayati, bhaktir evainaṁ darśayati
bhakti-vaśaḥ puruṣaḥ, bhaktir eva bhūyasī
This then develops into the entire edifice of bhakti, which reaches its apogee in Vrindavan in the Bhakti Revolution that followed the appearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the rasika saints of Vrindavan, of whom Prabodhananda is among the greatest.
Prabodhananda Saraswati is an unalloyed follower of the madhura-rasa and the spirit of service to Radharani. This love is sometimes expressed as devotion to Krishna as the lover of Radha -- as here, sometimes as the Divine Couple taken together -- as is most frequently done in in the Mahimāmṛta, especially as we saw in the last four verses -- and often as devotion to Radha, the beloved who conquers the lover with the power of her own affection. This is the mood most frequently expressed in Sudhā-nidhi, or as in this verse from Svāyambhuva Agama, frequently quoted by Harilal Vyas, the most authoritative commentator on that book from the Radha Vallabha sampradaya:
brahmānanda-rasād ananta-guṇito ramyo raso vaiṣṇavas
tasmāt koṭi-guṇojjvalaś ca madhuraḥ śrī-gokulendro rasaḥ |
tac cānanta-camatkṛti-pratimuhur-varṣad-rasānāṁ param
śrī-rādhā-pada-padmam eva paramaṁ sarvasva-bhūtaṁ mama ||
"Infinitely greater than the taste of joy that comes from oneness with Brahman is the delightful taste of serving Vishnu. Millions of times greater than that is the sweet taste connected to worshiping the Krishna, the prince of Gokula. But for me, the lotus feet of Radharani are my all in all, for they are the supreme locus of all the rasas that are raining down at every moment, displaying infinite dimensions of astonishment."
It should be noted that this is not an arbitrary statement, but is aligned with the nature of love itself and the psychological requirements that accompany progress and maturity in love on the human level, which is then mirrored in deeper spiritual relationships with the Divine Truth.
VMA 2.33 : Vrindavan, on the divine island
VMA 2.30-32 : The ever youthful Divine Couple sport in the kunjas of Vrindavan
VMA 2.29 : Some dark ineffable youth has taken form to play here
VMA 2.28 : If one could constantly sing sweetly of your virtues
VMA 2.27 : Bathe in the dust of the residents of this supremely effulgent realm
VMA 2.26 : Vrindavan, the essence of all things
VMA 2.25 : Vrindavan's divine sylvan virtues
VMA 2.24 : Becoming the crest jewel of the most fortunate
VMA 2.23 : Vrindavan, a most elevated substance, my great good fortune
VMA 2.22 : Remember Radha's kinkaris in Vrindavan
Comments
I regularly ponder these requirements, which seems to bring one back to the question of grace. Do we jivas have some responsibility for the development of this maturity, or is even this a matter of grace? Honestly, I can't tell. Does anyone know?