The Ten Offenses to Love


If Radha is Love, all love her shadow,
no love can be any other.
So the first great sin against Love, my friends,
is not to love the lover.

There is but one object of love,
for Love loves no one but him.
Confused by his many names and forms,
we commit the second great sin.

Love also him who teaches love spells,
or takes you to the trysting place,
or the one who turns your head with wine--
not doing this, the third disgrace.

All revelation leads to Love,
so don’t despise the lover’s song,
nor his poems, nor his books of rules,
to do so is the fourth great wrong.

The fifth is to think they exaggerate
when they say Love conquers all.
Creation comes from Love, in Love it lives,
and into Love will be recalled.

The sixth sin is to distort Love's sense,
its essence not the Divine Yugal.
Love's not formless, it's never divorced
From people and the personal.

Augustine said, “Love and do what you will!”
How easy ‘tis to make the claim
that love justifies everything we do:
Do not do evil in Love’s name.

No religious act stands on its own,
no God, no prayer, no rite;
All things have their end in Love:
Number eight is to lose this sight.

Don’t proclaim Love to those whose ears are tin,
who have no faith, who undermine
your own faith in Love when you speak to them:
This aparadh is number nine.

Those whose hearts don't change, not even when they melt,
after being touched by Love's bright flame,
who remain attached to this, that, I and mine,
make offense ten: to stay the same.

Now dwell a moment, friend, upon this song,
Understand it and you won't go wrong.
The Truth, Radha Shyam, the Holy Name,
and Love are One, the very same.

Jagat - GD (07 Dec 2004)

Comments

Parikshit said…
Thanks for this beautiful Love Song, Babaji. I thoroughly enjoy reading your blogs -- getting educated and relishing at the same time -- a rare combo. Please be writing. Always. Love. Radhe Shyam!
Sunday, 09 December, 2018
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

O Mind! Meditate on Radha's Breasts

Image
Flickr As I go through the dāna-līlā episode of Chandi Das's Śrī Kṛṣṇa Kīrtana , there are many songs in which Krishna describes Radha's beauty, and a regular feature of that includes descriptions of her breasts. In fact, breasts are a subject that is prominent in all Sanskrit poetry, and is even standard in prayers to goddesses. There does not seem to have been any inhibition in talking about breasts in the ancient Indian culture, even though I dare say, there is more of one in the modern society, in spite of Bollywood. There is, however, an apparent restriction in talking about genitals, male or female, in the so-called erotic poetry of India--Sanskrit or vernacular--even when lovemaking etc., is described. Such descriptions would automatically fall into some other genre. In Radha and Krishna descriptions, I cannot recall ever seeing or hearing a passage that mentioned genitals or overt sexual activity. It is nearly always spoken of somewhat euphemistically. I remember
Read more

Swami Vishwananda's Bhakti Marga and Parampara

Image
It has been a little strange here at Jiva these past few days. Swami Vishwananda is here with his troupe of disciples, of whom there are a goodly number, perhaps 80 or so. When I arrived in Vrindavan already a couple of weeks back, almost the first thing I noticed at the corner of Mathura Road and the Parikrama Marg was a big billboard with Swami Vishwananda’s charming smile and glowing tilak staring charismatically out at the world and announcing that he would be giving darshan on March 8 at the Jiva Institute. Below him, in a smaller frame was Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji, who besides being his host will be speaking on the Bhāgavatam at the darshan event. This is not the first time that Vishwananda and his group have been at Jiva. Satyanarayana Dasaji calls Vishwananda a friend, and indeed the relations between the two are very cordial. Vishwananda's group is mostly young and enthusiastic, predominantly European (German and points east), who are very enthusiastic about
Read more

Erotic sculptures on Jagannath temple

Image
This was written on the basis of Sundarananda Vidyavinode's Sri Kshetra and intended for a devotee audience, as it was done on a commission by disciples of Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj. It has never been published. I decided to put this on line since there was a discussion on Facebook on the subject and I thought I would revisit what I wrote here nearly twenty years ago. This is from chapter ten on temple renovations. Please note that I have removed the images that I had found of some of the sculptures. I have been blocked from posting links to this blog on Facebook for some infringement of its "community standards". The only thing I can think of on this blog that might have offended some prudish person in cyberspace is this. I do not have much hope for redemption as it has been over six months since my ban is "under review" and there has been no sign of action. Needless to say, I find this heavy-handed action on the part of Facebook dangerously authoritar
Read more