VMA 1.66 : For Braj Rasikas, Mukti is a bitter pill

Crossposted from Vrindavan Today

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For Braj Rasikas, Mukti is a bitter pill

tiktībhūtā vimuktir viṣama-nirayavad bhāti sarvendriyārthaiḥ
sarve bhogā bhavanti prabala-garala-vahny-udbhaṭa-jvāla-kalpāḥ |
kīṭa-prāyāḥ samasta-pravara-sura-gaṇāḥ siddhayaś cendra-jāla
prāyāḥ saṁsvādya vṛndāvana-rasika-rasaṁ mādyate me’dya hṛdyam ||

Now that I have tasted the delights of association
with the rasikas of Vrindavan,
my heart is intoxicated with delight,
so much so that liberation seems bitter to me,
as much as the sufferings of hell,
and the pleasures experienced through sense objects
seem like the fiery suffering
that comes of swallowing a powerful poison;
the greatest of the gods
seem like nothing more than worms or insects,
and the mystic perfections of the yogis
seem like nothing better than magic tricks. (1.66)

Commentary

The glories of the Vrindavan mood and the rasikas who taste it are perhaps the most important theme of VMA. The idea of the horror of liberation is stated more than once by Prabodhananda in all of his works. This verse reminds us in particular of another, one of Prabodhananda’s most quoted:

kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tridaśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate
durdāntendriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate |
viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate
yat-kāruṇya-kaṭākṣa-vaibhavavatāṁ taṁ gauram eva stumaḥ ||

"I glorify Gauranga Mahaprabhu. For those who have been empowered by his merciful glance, the liberation of isolation (kaivalya) seems like hell, the heavenly abodes seem like a sky-flower, something that has no reality, the unconquerable senses become like a nest of poisonous snakes whose fangs have been removed, the entire universe becomes filled with bliss, while great gods like Brahma and Shiva become as insignificant as worms." (Caitanya-candrāmṛta 5)

The idea expressed in the verse, that liberation is bitter, is also found in Caitanya-candrāmṛta:

tāvad brahma-kathā-vimukti-padavī tāvan na tiktī-bhavet
tāvac cāpi viśṛṅkhalatvam ayate no loka-veda-sthitiḥ |
tāvac chāstra-vidāṁ mithaḥ kalakalo nānā-bahir-vartmasu
śrī-caitanya-padāmbuja-priya-jano yāvan na dṛg-gocaraḥ ||

"Until you have seen a beloved devotee who has taken shelter of Chaitanya’s lotus feet, talk of Brahman and impersonal liberation will not taste bitter, the shackles of social and Vedicconvention will not be loosened, nor will the debate among scriptural scholars about the various external paths come to an end." (Caitanya-candrāmṛta 19)

In all these verses, it is through the association of rasika devotees of the Lord that one comes to the understanding that liberation is hellish or bitter. The philosophy of rasa is what makes the devotees abhor the state of brahma-sāyujya.

The rasa of bhakti has two dimensions: that of direct experience of the Supreme Lord and his pastimes, which has infinite varieties but is considered to reach its perfection in the madhura-rasa of the Divine Couple in Vrindavan. The other is the rasa experienced through hearing and chanting those same glories and thereby relishing the aesthetic pleasure that comes through the literary medium. This may be called “indirect” experience, since it is mediated by the arts, but in fact, for the devotees it is experienced directly in the heart. Since love is experienced in the heart, it is never indirect.

Rupa Goswami, when introducing the subject of rasa, exults in the description of the rasa-sādhaka. Although there is no qualification for devotion, there is definitely a qualification for experiencing rasa. That qualification is called bhāva. Without being a bhāvuka, one cannot taste rasa.

bhakti-nirdhūta-doṣāṇāṁ prasannojjvala-cetasām

śrī-bhāgavata-raktānāṁ rasikāsaṅga-raṅgiṇām

jīvanī-bhūta-govinda-pāda-bhakti-sukha-śriyām

premāntaraṅga-bhūtāni kṛtyāny evānutiṣṭhatām

bhaktānāṁ hṛdi rājantī saṁskāra-yugalojjvalā

ratir ānanda-rūpaiva nīyamānā tu rasyatām

"For those whose faults have been entirely removed by the perform ance of devotional practices and whose minds are peaceful [making them suitable for the appearance of pure goodness’s special features] and effulgent [and thus equipped with full knowledge], who are attached to hearing the Bhāgavata-purāṇa, who find happiness in the company of devotees, for whom the joy of bhakti to Govinda has become the raison-d’être of their existence, and who are always engaged in the most confidential processes of developing love for Krishna, have a love (rati or bhāva) for Krishna that is [now] effulgently manifest due to the conditioning coming from both the past and present lives. This love, which is an embodiment of the divine joy, becomes experienced as rasa." (BRS 2.1.79)

No doubt, one becomes a rasika devotee by associating with rasika devotees. And since Vrindavan is the natural gathering place for such devotees, Vrindavan is the ideal place to meet and associate with them.

The infinite variety of God’s lilas–even including those of this world–are the basis for all rasas, even those of the mundane world. When one has tasted that rasa, then the reflected rasas in the material world are felt to be insignificant, like the shadow compared to the original object. But then, even the birth, old age, disease and death of this world are seen as ingredients in the creation of rasa, for which reason the Supreme Lord himself enters this world. The reason is that obstacles and dualities are necessary for drama, without which there can be no rasa at all. Even if in the state of pure love one may feel a kind of undifferentiated oceanic state, the drama that led to that state underly in the way that the various ingredients in a delicious preparation underly its taste.

When one comes to this state, then liberation becomes inconsequential, or worse, because on the one hand it deprives one of the opportunity to serve the Lord and to enjoy his amazing glories, but it also eliminates the ingredients that are necessary for the creation of rasa. It is seen as a bitter pill, a poison, a hellish destination, and certainly nothing to be aimed for or sought after.

Besides, as Bilvamangala Thakur says, the goddess of liberation stands with folded hands to serve the devotee. Whatever benefits that accrue in the liberated state, such as steadiness of mind and freedom from forgetfulness of the Lord, come to a devotee without any extraneous effort.

bhaktis tvayi sthiratarā bhagavan yadi syād

daivena naḥ phalati divya-kiśora-mūrtiḥ

muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjaliḥ sevate’smān

dharmārtha-kāma-gatayaḥ samaya-pratīkṣāḥ

"O Lord! Should we ever attain steady devotion to you, then your divine youthful form will be the reward that we are given by the blessings of Fate. Then Liberation will serve us with hands folded while the other goals of life–dharma, artha and kāma–will stand in line, awaiting their turn." (Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 107)

Bhakti or prema is the fifth and highest puruṣārtha, before which all the other goals of life pale into insignificance.