Divine Prīti for Bhagavān shines forth

Thank goodness today's post has something more edifying in it. The negative Vrindavan Today memories have been coming back from 2018 and they are here too. I would rather not remember that whole episode, but I am keeping to the discipline of cross-posting the memories being sent daily by Facebook. At the very least, I am finding it interesting to observe. 

There is always something redeeming, however, and the post from last year is one such. I keep talking about Prīti Sandarbha, and the progress is slower than it should be. I am doing practically nothing else for the time being. I was rather surprised to see it had not been posted here before.

And I added some material about Bhagavata Niwas, since there are more memories related to this place, which is just around the corner from Jiva and with which Babaji has been long connected due to his guru's having been intimately involved with the history of that locale. It has a powerful aura.

(Memories from May 20.)

2021

Prīti Sandarbha 78: The essence of all the statements defining prīti to Bhagavān up to this point summarized [using the metaphor of a beautiful, virtuous and loving wife to her most qualified husband]:

Divine Prīti for Bhagavān shines forth majestically while constantly serving Him,

निखिलपरमानन्दचन्द्रिकाचन्द्रमसि
who is the moon that spreads the rays of complete supreme bliss,

सकलभुवनसौभाग्यसारसर्वस्व-
who is the sum total of the good fortune of all the worlds,

सत्त्वगुणोपजीव्यानन्तविलासमय-
the shelter of the sattva guṇa, having unlimited pastimes,

अमायिक-विशुद्धसत्त्वानवरतोल्लासात् असमोर्ध्वमधुरे श्रीभगवति
and whose sweetness is neither equaled nor excelled

because of His continuous relish of the non-illusory pure sattva.

कथमपि चित्तावतारात् अनपेक्षितविधिः
Because she somehow manifests in the citta, she depends on no injunction,

स्वरसत एव समुल्लसन्ती
She shines forth, by her own independent will alone,

विषयान्तरैरनवच्छेद्या
She can never be distracted by any object of love [other than Him],

तात्पर्यान्तरमसहमाना
She is intolerant of any purpose [other than service to Bhagavān].

ह्लादिनीसारवृत्तिविशेषस्वरूपा
She embodies the principal function of the essential hlādinī potency.

भगवदानुकूल्यात्मकतदनुगततत्स्पृहादिमयज्ञानविशेषाकारा
She takes the form of a particular state of consciousness favorable to Bhagavān and the desire to attain and serve Him.

तादृशभक्तमनोवृत्तिविशेषदेहा
Her body consists of the particular mental attitude of devotees who have such consciousness.

पीयूषपूरतोऽपि सरसेन स्वेनैव स्वदेहं सरसयन्ती
She nourishes her body with her own rasa, which is more delectable than the ambrosial food of the gods.

भक्तकृतात्मरहस्य-सङ्गोपन-गुणमय-रसना-बाष्प-मुक्तादि-व्यक्त-परिष्कारा
She covers herself with a cloth of virtue, by which the devotee hides the secrets of his heart,
But she reveals herself by his display by pearl-like tears,

सर्वगुणैकनिधानस्वभावा
Her natural disposition is to be the single reservoir of all virtue.

दासीकृताशेषपुरुषार्थसम्पत्तिका
She possesses such opulence that all other human pursuits are made her maidservants.

भगवत्पातिव्रत्यव्रतवर्यापर्याकुला
She is most fervent about following the vow of wifely fidelity to Bhagavān,
[Commentary below in the comments.]

भगवन्मनोहरणैकोपायहारिरूपा 

Her charm and beauty are the chief means by which His mind is attracted.

भगवति भागवती प्रीतिस्तमुपसेवमाना विराजत इति।
Divine Prīti for Bhagavān shines forth majestically while constantly serving Him.

Commentary

After explaining the various divisions of prīti, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī now summarizes the essence of all the characteristics that have been discussed to this point. The noun prīti is in the feminine gender and he uses this to make a metaphor: prīti is described as a beautiful young bride who is deeply in love with Kṛṣṇa. In this poetic description all the essential features of prīti are compared to the physical and personal characteristics of such a devoted bride. This is in keeping with the general principle of the feminine nature of bhakti in relation to Bhagavān, the ādi-puruṣa.

This whole description is given in one long sentence. This is specific literary style called gadya-kāvya, in prose where the author uses only a single verb (in this case virājate, “shines forth majestically”) and then many long compound words to modify the principal nouns in the sentence (here bhagavati, the object of prīti in the locative, and prīti itself).

In the entire Ṣaṭ Sandarbha this piece of writing by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī is unique. One can see many such descriptions in Gopāla Campū, Jīva Gosvāmī’s poetic tour-de-force written in his latter years, which is a mixed composition of verse and prose of this kind.

The description of prīti metaphorically covers several aspects of its intrinsic nature (svarūpa), form, (ākāra) and body (deha). First of all, it is stated that prīti is for Bhagavān, who is described as the moon. The rays of the moon are the highest bliss, and the moon is its shelter. Just as the moon nourishes the fauna and flora with its rays, Kṛṣṇa nourishes His devotees with His bliss.

His sweetness is unparalleled by any manifestation of the śuddha-sattva, the realm of the Supreme Self, which is the support of material sattva. Advaitavādīs like Madhusūdana Sarasvati describe prīti as a manifestation of material sattva. They confuse viśuddha (lit. pure) sattva to be simply material sattva free of rajas and tamas. Even theoretically such a sattva is not possible. In Bhagavat Sandarbha (10) it was described that the guṇas of prakṛti are always mixed. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī categorically states that prīti is not part of māyā.

This prīti descends into the heart of a qualified devotee by the grace of Bhagavān or His devotee, cittāvatārāt. This uproots the prevalent misconception that prīti lies dormant in the heart of conditioned living being.

Anapekṣita-vidhi means that the descent of prīti is not dependent on any Vedic injunction. It is the intrinsic potency of Bhagavān and thus descends into the heart of a living being only by His will. In Bhakti Sandarbha (179) it was discussed that the prime cause of prīti’s descent is the grace of a bhakta.

Prīti does not tolerate any other object except Bhagavān. This is the real meaning of advaita or non-dualism. The mind of a devotee does not deviate toward any sense object independent of Kṛṣṇa. Prīti flows towards Bhagavān just like the water of the Ganga River flows towards the Bay of Bengal.

The essence of the hlādinī potency constitutes the svarūpa of prīti. Its form, ākāra, is the favorable awareness of Bhagavān combined with the desire to attain Bhagavān for carrying out favorable action for Him.

It is the mental state of the devotee that is prīti's very body, which is full of nectar and yet nourishes itself by that self-same nectar. This means that there is no other goal to be achieved by prīti but prīti itself. Prīti is both the result and further cause of prīti. It is independent and needs no support from anything else.

The dress with which prīti covers her body is the shyness and humility of the devotee, the external virtues that keep her presence a secret, yet her ornaments are the symptoms of love, a necklace of pearls made with her tears of ecstasy. A bhakta who has prīti does not like to reveal it, but keeps it as a secret. However, when the flame is ignited and the genuine effects of prīti are felt, like a great conflagration and ecstatic symptoms overwhelm the devotee’s mind and reveal to the world the truth. All good qualities manifest in a devotee who has prīti (SB 5.18.12 ).

Prīti is like a chaste wife who is very eager to serve and please her husband. Because of her service she attracts the mind of Bhagavān. Thus Bhagavān comes under the control of His devotee (SB 9.4.63 discussed in Anu. 62 and Māṭhara-śruti, quoted in Anu. 65).

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2018

VT still alive. Latest edition.

 Though it is somewhat contrary to good strategy to report on what the breakaway Vrindavan Today is up to, I cannot help but laugh at the latest attempts to undermine our project of service to the Holy Dham that this team of backbiters is working on.

 
The world is ever divided into those who are able to recognize purity of heart and are attracted by it, and those who are attracted by the foul smell of Vaishnava nindā. We will leave it up to the community of devotees and lovers of the Holy Dham to decide which is which.

Satyanarayana Dasaji was coerced into writing a lengthy letter of confession by two of his godbrothers, who it should be noted, were brought to Haridas Shastri by him. Indeed, more than 100 aspirants for devotional service were taken by Babaji to Shastri Maharaj while he was still alive. During that time, Babaji made no disciples of his own, but offered all who came to him to his own guru.

 
But these two godbrothers of his were living in close proximity to Haridas Shastri and filled his ears with blasphemy and put Babaji in a position where his guru himself was questioning his behavior.
Some of Babaji's followers were in the same position as I am now. They love Babaji and see that the activities of these parties were motivated by envy and by ambition -- the fear that Babaji was a competitor to Haridas Shastri's succession. That they acted violently out of love for Babaji and anger at hearing blasphemy. Though regrettable, is not actually a flaw on their part, but a sign of their own purity of heart.

Actually, the fact is that Babaji alone can be said to be a successor to Haridas Shastri. He alone studied daily with Shastriji Maharaj for twelve years and mastered the works of Jiva Goswami. He alone has selflessly built up an institution for disseminating that knowledge. He stayed away from the Goshala because he saw that his guru was being surrounded by ambitious individuals hungry for power and prestige. Like Raghunath Das Goswami, Babaji knows...

pratiṣṭhāśā dhṛṣṭā śvapaca-ramaṇī me hṛdi naṭet
kathaṁ sādhu premā spṛśati śucir etan nanu manaḥ

"The desire for position and power are a brazen low class and unchaste woman who dances in my heart. How can love for Krishna touch it, when such love can only enter a heart that is pure? Oh mind, listen to me and understand this truth."

Read between the lines of Babaji's so-called confession. And compare the faces of Babaji and those of his accusers, and let it sink in whose heart is pure and whose heart is tormented by envy.

Jai Sri Radhe. Purity is the force, said Prabhupada. We have nothing to fear. We serve the Holy Dham and its Divine Couple and the prema-dharma that animates it and we fall down at their feet and the feet of the Vrajavasis and beg for their mercy.

 
This is the example that we wish to emulate.

---

2015. This one is posted on the blog with a more extensive commentary, for those interested.

proktena bhakti-yogena bhajato māsakṛn muneḥ |
kāmā hṛdayyā naśyanti sarve mayi hṛdi sthite ||

"All material desires in the heart of the wise person who constantly worships me through the process of bhakti-yoga as it has been described [here] are destroyed, for I am situated there in his heart." (11.20.29)

 
Comment by Madhusudan Saraswati in Bhakti-rasāyana, 1.1:

By following statements like this by the Lord and having firm faith in the practices by which one attains bhakti, one sends the entirety of the love one has for his objects [of love] and [thus] his mind becomes indifferent to the sense objects.

 
The mental modifications (mano-vṛtti) of such a greatly fortunate person, whoever he is, are imbued with the form of the Lord upon being melted by hearing works of literature that gather together the profound glories of the Lord, and this taking of the Lord’s shape is the goal of all sādhana [whether bhakti or yoga, etc.].

 
This taking on of the Lord’s shape is known as the sthāyi-bhāva of rati [love], and when it is combined with the other ingredients, i.e., vibhāvas, anubhāvas and vyabhicāris, it is manifest as rasa, which is the direct experience of the highest bliss. Those who are in actual knowledge of rasa call such bhakti-yoga the ultimate and supreme goal of human life.

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2014

 
[It is nice to have this follow-up on Bhagavata Niwas post from yesterday.]

 
Just dropped into Bhagavata Niwas for Chaitanya Charitamrita path. Four or five babas scattered in the hall. One babaji on the singhasan reading in Bengali with Hindi translation. He is reading from chapter 4, Adi-lila. He comes to the point where Krishna says Radha's love drives him mad, korāya unmatta. He is overcome and cannot speak for several minutes. It seems I am further from that than I have ever been. 

Here are two pictures of Bhagavata Nivas taken from 2010. Things have changed quite a bit since then. Here you can see a little bit what a traditional bhajananandi environment looked like. Right now, though, they won't let anybody in unless they have the express permission of the mahanta due to an ongoing legal battle. The atmosphere seems to be permeated by anxiety and tension. I talked to the mahanta last time I was here and he seemed worried by the threats to the preservation of the original vocation of the area. But even if preserved, the surrounding rajasika qualities of the development are making it harder to live the simple devotional lifestyle of the past.

Kripasindhu Baba was famous for memorizing the entire Govinda Lilamrita. He would get up at midnight so he could get the whole thing in before noon. So he would recite the verses, chant his japa and do lila smarana. Madan Mohan Das Baba spent many years with him before going on to Radha Kund and associating with Sakhi Charan Dasji, the "keeper of the Gutika." 

Another view of Bhagavata Nivas, taken over the wall. The guard came and chased me away. The thing about Vrindavan in particular and India in general is that beauty is private. It is hidden behind walls and patrolled by guards. The public spaces are generally chaotic and neglected. New development is being done with a look to improving the public appearance of the streets, etc., but far too much of it is being done in the name of the automobile. A parking lot is never a beautifying development.

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2009

Boy, is it ever nice to feel at full strength again!

 
[Funny, I can't even remember what was going on! This may have been something to do with the bicycle accident.]

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2009

yan-nāmāni ca gṛhṇāti loko bhṛtye kṛtāgasi |

so’sādhu-vādas tat-kīrtiṁ hanti tvacam ivāmayaḥ ||

When a servant commits a sin, people in general name his master. Such notoriety ruins the master’s reputation as much as white leprosy does a person’s skin. (SB 3.16.5)