Jagat

vṛndāvaneśaika-pada-spṛho’pi mahattamānāṁ śruta-bhāṣito’pi | vidann api svārtha-vighāti sarvaṁ hā dhik na vṛndāvanam āśrayāmi || Alas! How shameful! Although I yearn exclusively for the feet of Vrindavan's Lord and Lady, although I have heard the speeches spoken by the greatest saints, and although I know that everything in this world is an obstacle to my attaining the ultimate good, I still do not take shelter of Sri Vrindavan Dham. (1.99) Commentary Prabodhananda Saraswatipada is now once again talking about the adhikāra for residing in Vrindavan. These are more important than the vairāgya spoken of earlier, even though the spirit of renunciation is present here too. He does this through this dainya-bodhikā vijñapti , or a statement expressing humility and utter dependence on the mercy of the Lord. And that is the point of the verse: despite having all qualifications, without grace of the Dham herself, Vrindavan- vāsa is not possible. And yet, ...

This verse gets bandied about a lot. I noticed something in Jiva's commentary that helps clarify the meaning. śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā aikāntikī harer bhaktir utpātayaiva kalpate Exclusive devotion to Lord Hari which ignores the regulative principles outlined in the Sruti, Smriti, Puranas and Pancharatra scriptures will simply cause a disturbance. ( Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.101) Extended translation : Since the path taken by the great authorities has been canonized in the revealed scriptures, it is a flaw to ignore the edicts found in these texts. Vaishnavas should seek out the scriptures or sections of the scriptures that fit their level of qualification and inclination. If someone out of deliberate faithlessness refuses to accept the scriptural directives, then even if they make a show of exclusive devotion, it will cause a disturbance. If one does not follow these injunctions out of ignorance or laziness, then the same degree of criticism does...

In an earlier article we discussed briefly how the three divisions of sādhāraṇī, samañjasā and samarthā corresponded to actual human relationships, along the axis of kāma to prema , in accordance with Rupa Goswami’s definitions. Indeed, they do constitute a bit of a mystery where the lila is concerned, since Kubjā is described as having lust for Krishna, a lust that is differentiated from that of the gopis, whose love has become undifferentiated from their sensual desire for him. Therefore it was stated that  sādhāraṇī rati's limit where the higher sthāyi-bhāvas are concerned is prema, the first rung on that ladder. ādyā premāntimāṁ tatrānurāgāntāṁ samañjasā | ratir bhāvāntimāṁ sīmāṁ samarthaiva prapadyate || The first ( sādhāraṇī ) only reaches as far as prema (i.e., the sthāyi-bhāva of that name), while samañjasā goes as far as anurāga . Only samarthā reaches the absolute limits of mahā-bhāva . (UN 14.232) This verse makes it clear that there are limits to what can be ac...