Jagat

I may have mentioned before that I am working on Prīti Sandarbha where currently I have been doing the sections on the secondary rasas and the mixing of rasas and rasābhāsa . For that purpose I have been doing a lot of side work like editing the Muktā-phala with its commentaries and also the last section (Part 4 ) of the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu . All this background research will hopefully enrich the Prīti Sandarbha , a lot of it will have to wait for another occasion for its effects to be shown. Understanding rasa is for me the key to understanding bhakti as it is taught in our tradition and I believe the greatest contribution for a psychological approach to the study of religion and religious experience. Haridas Thakur's trial. I will try to share some of this eventually. Here is just one tidbit that I found interesting: Making a display of devotion is rasābhāsa , "a mere semblance of rasa," i,e,, not real rasa. There are three kinds of  rasābhāsa pertaining ...

The bell rings and I go outside to see the sun pouring over the mountains onto dew-filled fields. The colored winter flowers are fading and the white summer ones scattering like snowflakes on the vines. The shukas squawk like beggars in the ancient arjun trees behind the dining hall. (12 years ago, Rishikesh)