VMA 1.41 :: The treasure house of the flavors of devotion

Parakeets on Vrindavan tree. P.C. Belyaev Viacheslav.

When will I permanently reside with supreme satisfaction
in this Vrindavan, this purifier of all purifiers,
which is filled with the most wondrous creatures, still or moving,
and which is the only treasure house
of the flavors of devotion to the Lover of Shrimati Radhika?

vṛndāvane sakala-pāvana-pāvane’smin
sarvottamottama-cara-sthira-sattva-jātau |
śrī-rādhikā-ramaṇa-bhakti-rasaika-koṣe
toṣeṇa nityaṁ parameṇa kadā vasāmi ||

Commentary:

All the qualities of a sādhu are needed in order to engage in the sādhanā of living in Vrindavan. During the period that one has not yet developed a consistent vision of the transcendent Vrindavan, one needs to develop some stoicism, resistance to the dualities of heat and cold, happiness and distress. One must be ready to be content with whatever comes to one (yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭaḥ), because life in Vrindavan will not necessarily be easy. Then one will see Vrindavan as the treasure house of Radha and Krishna’s rasa.

On the other hand, if we come to Vrindavan Dham with the same mentality of consumerism that drives the consumption culture of capitalism, we will never find satisfaction there. When we can say, "It is my supreme satisfaction to live in Vrindavan, even if I have nothing. Just by being present in Vrindavan Dham, all my desires have been fulfilled," then we have the qualification to stay there permanently because no other temptation will be great enough to draw us away from the Dham.

As we already saw in verse 1.12, the cows in Vrindavan are the Upanishads, the Bhāgavata says the birds in the Vrindavan trees are rishis to whom the Vedas were revealed. All the creatures of Vrindavan, whatever species, whether the trees, even the inanimate objects are devotees of Krishna. This is the way to see the divine Vrindavan.

As Narottam Das prays:

karaṅga kaupīna lañā cheḍā kānthā gāye diyā
teyāgiyā sakala viṣaya |
kṛṣṇe anurāga habe vrajera nikuñje kabe
yāiyā kariba nijālaya ||1||
"Taking a waterpot and wearing a kaupin,
with nothing but a torn shawl to wear on my body,
abandoning all sense enjoyments,
when will I have passion for Krishna
and make my home in the bowers of Braj?

hari hari ! kabe mora haibe sudina |
phala mūla vṛndāvane khāñā divā avasāne
bhramiba haiyā udāsīna ||2||
"O Lord! O Lord! When will that wonderful day be mine,
when I wander through Vrindavan, indifferent to all worldly things,
eating nothing but fruits and roots at the end of the day?

śītala yamunāra jale snāna kari kutūhale
premāveśe ānandita hañā |
bāhura upara bāhu tuli vṛndāvane kuli kuli
kṛṣṇa bali beḍāba kāndiyā ||3||
"Joyfully taking bath in the cooling waters of the Yamuna,
overwhelmed by ecstatic love,
I will raise my arms to the air
and in every corner of the Vrindavan forest,
will wander, crying out the names of Krishna.

dekhiba saṅketa sthāna juḍābe tāpita prāṇa
premāveśe gaḍāgaḍi diba |
kāhā rādhā prāṇeśvari kāhā giri-vara-dhāri
kāhā nātha baliyā ḍākiba ||4||
"When I see the place where Radha and Krishna meet,
my heart, suffering from separation, will be pacified,
and I will roll on the ground calling out,
'Where are you, Radha, divine mistress of my life?
Where are you, O lifter of the best of hills?”

mādhavī kuñjopari sukhe vasi śuka śārī
gāibeka rādhākṛṣṇa rasa |
taru mūle basi tāhā śuni juḍāibe hiyā
kabe sukhe goāba divasa ||5||
"Above the bower of madhavi flowers are the shuka and śārī
who will sing the loving pastimes of Radha and Krishna.
I will sit at the foot of a tree and listen to them,
and my heart will feel fulfilled.
When will I happily pass my days in this way?

śrī-govinda gopīnātha śrīmatī rādhikā sātha
dekhiba ratanasiṁhāsane |
dīna narottama dāsa karaye durlabha āśa
emati haibe kata dine ||6||
"I will go for darshan of Govinda and Gopinath,
who are accompanied by Radhika on the jeweled throne.
This wretched Narottam Das wonders how long
before this unattainable hope is fulfilled." (Prārthanā)

Of all the divine creatures of Vrindavan, the foremost are the śukas (or kīra) and śārīs, who compete in glorifying Radha and Krishna. It was a great personal joy for me one day when I sat in meditation in the Tatia Sthan and listened to the squawking of the parakeets. As I listened, it seemed that they were speaking, discussing among themselves in great joy the glories of the Divine Couple. The birds in Tatia Sthan seemed to have a much wider range of squawks than elsewhere. There in the peaceful environment of the sandy ground and majestic ancient trees, each of which is worshiped as a sakhi to Radha and Krishna, the birds seem to have been freed to speak unlimitedly on topics of their loves.

I thought of Krishnadas Kaviraj writing the debates of the śukas and śārīs in chapter 13 of Govinda-līlāmṛta, where the shukas take Krishna's side and the saris Radha's, competing to show the superiority of the one over the other. Of course, Radha always wins as the saris have a ready answer to one-up their male counterparts. The best examples are also given in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, when Mahaprabhu comes to Vrindavan, he also hears the śukas and śārīs arguing about the glories of the divine nāyaka and nāyikā:

vaṁśī-dhārī jagan-nārī-citta-hārī sa śārike
vihārī gopa-nārībhir jīyān madana-mohanaḥ
The śuka says, “My dear śārīke, Krishna plays his flute and enchants the hearts of all women throughout the universe. He sports with the cowhherd women. May he, the enchanter of Cupid be ever victorious!” (CC 2.17.241)

rādhā-saṅge yadā bhāti tadā madana-mohanaḥ
anyathā viśva-moho’pi svayaṁ madana-mohitaḥ
The śārī answers, “When Krishna appears with Radha, the he enchants the god of love. Otherwise, even though he enchants the entire universe, he himself is bewildered by the same god of love.” (CC 2.17.241)

As we progress through the Vṛndāvana-mahimāmṛtam, we will have much opportunity to discuss the rasas of Vrindavan in more detail.

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VMA 1.40 :: Only after lifetimes of piety can one live in Vrindavan
VMA 1.39 : May Vrindavan protect and transform me.
VMA 1.38 : Vrindavan can destroy the seed of sin.
VMA 1.37 : Vrindavan is the Light of the Self
VMA 1.36 : One speck of Braj dust has such glory
VMA 1.35 : The unlimited mine of nectar
VMA 1.34 : The Vrindavan Desire Tree
VMA 1.33 : The most fortunate person residing in Vrindavan
VMA 1.32 : VMA 1.32 : Meditate on that Eros-addled Couple of colors black and gold
VMA 1.31 : Pull up the root of material hopes.