Like a lamp exposed to the wind

Not much in today's memories.
Photo from Rishikesh 2012 

I wish I could post links to my blog on FB and share with you some of the stuff that is there. A lot of it is quite extraordinary as I look back on it. I have to again lament that so little of it was published in hard copy. I am currently bringing my Dāna-keli material together for an article for JVS, and there are just tons of articles on the subject on the blog. I count at least 21 articles with the label dāna-lila, but there are probably more.

Basically, the idea I was working on was the evolution of the lila as described in the Bengali folk traditions when the Bhāgavata exercised an influence on them. Since Rupa Goswami wrote Dāna-keli-kaumudī and since Chandidas's dāna-khaṇḍa was so important, it seemed like a perfect element to study. Anyway I have to get this done, so I will cut this short today.


From Dāna-keli-kaumudī (verse 5): Article published on May 24, 2011.
gabhīro’py aśrāntaṁ duradhigama-pāro’pi nitarām
ahāryāṁ maryādāṁ dadhad api harer āspadam api |
satāṁ stomaḥ premaṇy udayati samagre sthagayituṁ
vikāraṁ na sphāraṁ jala-nidhir ivendau prabhavati ||
Though these saintly lovers of God
are deep and inscrutable like the ocean,
whose other side cannot be seen,
and which never exceed its limits,
and though both they and the ocean are the resting places of Vishnu,
they are unable to resist
the onslaught of ecstasies
when love for Krishna rises,
any more than the ocean
can resist the pull of the risen moon.


2016

Bernie Sanders is the only one of the candidates who makes money in politics a central issue. There is no democracy as long as politicians are bought and sold by vested interests.

Bernie Sanders is the only presidential candidate who treats global warming like a real issue.


2017

premā dvayo rasikayor ayi dīpa eva
hṛd-veśma bhāsayati niścala eva bhāti |
dvārād ayaṁ vadanatas tu bahiṣkṛtaś cet
nirvāti śīghram athavā laghutāṁ upaiti

The Prema of the Rasika pair is a wondrous lamp
that floods the room of the heart with light
and burns bright with a steady flame.
Should the door of the mouth be opened
and the lamp exposed to the wind,
it quickly is extinguished, its brilliance reduced.
(Prema-sampuṭikā 68)


2015

āgamenānumānena dhyānābhyāsa-rasena ca |
tridhā prakalpayan prajñāṁ labhate yogam uttamam ||

 There are three roads to wisdom: hearing from the wise, sharpening one's reasoning skills, and relishing the taste of repeated practice of meditation. One who cultivates this threefold wisdom attains the ultimate yoga.


2015

Motilal Banarsidass put my book on the front cover of their latest newsletter. Thanks to MLBD. (2015)


Motilal Banarsidass put my book on the front cover of their latest newsletter. Thanks to MLBD. (2015)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s verse 68 of the Śrī Prema-sampuṭa is truly beautiful (thank you for re-posting it).

For those interested, the rest of the text may be read here:

https://archive.org/details/premasamputa_201910/page/n27/mode/2up?view=theater


J.D.,

Facebook allows you to transfer a copy of your posts and notes to Google Docs, Daybook, Blogger, or WordPress:

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/done-with-facebook-how-to-transfer-your-posts-to-another-service
Friday, 13 May, 2022
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