Jagat

viśvaiśvarya-mahā-camatkṛtir iyaṁ kiṁ bhāti sarveśitur brahmānanda-sudhāmbudher anavadheḥ kiṁ vādbhuto’yaṁ rasaḥ | kiṁ vā divya-sukalpa-pādapa-vana-śreṇī-subījaṁ paraṁ kṛṣṇa-prema-nutādbhutā pariṇatir vṛndāṭavī kiṁ nv iyam || Is this Vrindavan the great miracle of the Creator’s worldly opulence? Or is it the wondrous flavor of the boundless nectar ocean of the joy of Brahman? Perhaps it is the supreme seed, from which grow all the heavenly desire-tree forests? Or is it the amazing transformation to which Krishna prema itself gives praise? (1.46) Commentary Here Prabodhananda Saraswatipada responds to the challenges of various people who ask the question, “We see Vrindavan as just another place within the world, so something is making you see Vrindavan as a special place. Can you tell us what is your philosophical position here?” To answer, Prabodhananda proposes four different positions, and though he frames the fourth as just one question among the othe...

P.C. Vrindavan Experience vṛndāvane sakala-pāvana-pāvane’smin sarvojjvalojjvalad-udāra-matiḥ sadāste | sarvottamottama-mahā-mahimany anante sarvādbhutādbhuta-mahā-rasa-rāja-dhāmni || My mind always remains lofty, illuminated by the  ujjvala-rasa here in this Vrindavan, which purifies even the purifiers, which has infinite glories, greater than the greatest of all glories, the abode of the most wondrous manifestation of the supreme king of rasa! Commentary Prabodhananda continues to glorify the Dham with arms upraised and spirits lifting. This is the ecstatic abode of the  ujjvala rasa , which as we will gradually see throughout this book, is meant the very same spirit that is at the heart of the  Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi . kiṁ brūmo’nyatra kuṇṭhīkṛtaka-janapade dhāmny api śrī-vikuṇṭhe rādhā-mādhurya-vettā madhupatir atha tan-mādhurīṁ vetti rādhā | vṛndāraṇya-sthalīyaṁ parama-rasa-sudhā-mādhurīṇāṁ dhurīṇā tad-dvandva-svādanīyaṁ sakalam api dadau rādhikā-k...

soḍhvā pāda-prahārān api ca śata-śataṁ dhik-kṛtīnāṁ ca koṭīḥ kṣut-tṛṭ-śītādi-bādhā-śatam api satataṁ dhairyam ālāmbya soḍhvā muñcan śokāśru-dhārām atikaruṇa-girā rādhikā-kṛṣṇa-nāmāny udgāyan karhi vṛndāvanam ativikalo’kiñcanaḥ sañcarāmi || When will I roam through Vrindavan bereft of all possessions, taking shelter of the virtue of patience bearing hundreds and hundreds of kicks, millions of reproaches, and the countless obstacles that arise from hunger, thirst, heat and cold? When will I roam through Vrindavan, releasing torrents of tears of grief, as I loudly sing the names of Radha and Krishna in a voice that excites their compassion? (1.23) Commentary Perhaps more than any other image coming from those presented by Prabodhananda and his followers is this one, of near madness in absorption in the nitya Vrindavan while living in this world, in the bhauma Vrindavan. This verse illustrates the characteristics of the devotee resident of Vrindavan. There are so many q...

śrī-vṛndāvana-vāsini sthira-care doṣān mama śrāvayed yo’sau kiṁ śatadhā chinatti nahi māṁ śastrair athāstraiḥ śitaiḥ | sarvādhīśitur eva jīvana-vane dveṣan ca mātraṁ cared ekasyāpi tṛṇasya ghora-narakāt taṁ kaḥ kadā voddharet || Do those who recount to me the flaws of the residents of Vrindavan, whether mobile or still, not realize that they cut me into a hundred pieces, as if with sharpened knives and arrows? If one should create enmity with even the tiniest blade of grass in this beloved abode of the Supreme Lord, there is no one, no one who could ever lift him out of the darkest reaches of hell. (1.13) Commentary One of the features of Prabodhananda Saraswati’s writing is that he does not mince words, and often says that people will suffer hellish existence if they commit offenses to the Holy Dham. If the creator god Lord Brahma himself prayed to become a blade of grass in Vrindavan, thereby showing the very purpose of the creation itself, then is not ...