VMA 2.7 :: See Vrindavan with the inner eye

Keshighat and Yamuna Maharani (Wikipedia)

 sva-para-sakala-vastuny atra sūryendu-koṭi-
cchavi-vimala-lasac-cid-vigrahe sad-guṇaughe |
bahir-agata-dṛg-antar-dhairyam ālambya nitya-
smṛtir adhivasa vṛndāraṇyam anyānapekṣaḥ ||2.7||

Here in Vrindavan, every thing,
whether belonging to you or to others,
is spiritual, splendid as millions
of spotless suns and moons,
and filled with of scores of good qualities. 
Without looking outward to externals,
keep your inner composure
and always reside in Vrindavan,
fixed in permanent remembrance
and without any expectation from anyone.
Commentary :

After relishing the external forms of Vrindavan's natural beauty and thereby being inspired to see its eternal form as the abode of the Divine Couple and the locus of their divine pastimes, Prabodhananda returns to sādhaka-deha consciousness and instructs his mind once again how to live in Vrindavan Dham.

What he is saying here follows exactly on the descriptions that went before, but has been given added meaning by taking the sādhaka-deha perspective.

Most people living in what they consider the "real" world look upon Radha and Krishna and Vrindavan as a kind of elaborate fairy tale that has no standing in logic or empirical observation. They would say that the Vrindavan we see is more important than the one we don't see. Prabodhananda Saraswati is saying that this is not the case.

Having just returned from a trip to the inner-Vrindavan and regaining external awareness, he sees this Vrindavan before him, and it begins to look to him like the ordinary world again. The leaves are not really made of emeralds and the flowers are not diamonds, the fruits not rubies. So he admonishes his mind to remember that, in Vrindavan, the external world is factually non-different from the internal one. It is all cintāmaṇi.

So he advises his mind to keep that internal awareness with him always and to keep his eyes firmly fixed on the divine Vrindavan, the abode of Radha and Krishna. As such, the objects of this world, whether belonging to him or to someone else, are not seen as worthless, but on the contrary as being of such absolute value that there is no point in coveting anyone else’s property, for whatever one possesses is already greater than any worldly possession attainable.

This is the basis for keeping inner composure and this is what is to be remembered.
Vrindavan is not distinct from Radha and Krishna. The Divine Couple cannot exist without Vrindavan, and Vrindavan does not exist without them.

śrī-rādhā-mādhavayor yathā kadācin na sambhavo virahaḥ |
tad-rasa-vṛndāvanayos tathaiva paramo’vinābhāvaḥ ||

Just as Radha and Krishna cannot ever exist separately from one another, Vrindavan absolutely cannot exist separately from the rasa of the divine lila. (VMA 12.2).


VMA 2.3-6 Meditations on the Eternal Vrindavan
VMA 2.2 The divine natural beauty of Vrindavan
VMA 2.1: Better a worm in Braj than a god elsewhere!
VMA 1.100 : O Mother! You will not neglect me
VMA 1.99 : Without grace, no Brajavasa.
VMA 1.98 : Cutting the chains of false affection
VMA 1.97 : Three levels of renunciation
VMA 1.96 : When will I see the Krishna bumblebee?
VMA 1.95 : Vrindavan bestows a sphurti of its internal svarupa
VMA 1.94 : Three levels of renunciation

Comments

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