Jagat

r ādh ā -kṛṣṇa-vilāsa-pūrṇa-sucamatkāraṁ mahā-mādhurī- sāra-sphāra-camatkṛtiṁ hari-rasotkarṣasya kāṣṭhāṁ parām| divyaṁ svādya-rasaika-ramya-subhagāśeṣaṁ na śeṣādibhiḥ seśair gamya-guṇaugha-pāram aniśaṁ saṁstaumi vṛndāvanam|| I constantly sing this hymn to Vrindavan wondrous with the fullness of Radha and Krishna's dalliances, ever astonishing due to the expanding essence of their supreme sweetness, the very highest limit of the various rasas Hari enjoys. The divine land of Vrindavan is unlimited in its good fortune, in that it is the only place where can be experienced all the relishable relationships of Love of God, the glories of which are incomprehensible to Shiva or Shesha or any of the other gods of this world. (1.4) Commentary Vrindavan's glory is that it is the Dham of Radha and Krishna, the scene of this vision of the Supreme Truth embodied as the Divine Couple, the idea of perfection of romantic love. The land is imbued with their presenc...

The RRSN class yesterday was wide-ranging, but one thing I spoke on was the following verse ( Govinda- līlāmṛta  10.16, CC 2.8.209) in glorification of Radha’s dasis. Here it is with Gadadhar Pran’s (orthodox) translation and commentary: sakhyaḥ śrī-rādhikāyā vraja-kumuda-vidhor hlādinī-nāma-śakteḥ sārāṁśa-prema-vallyāḥ kiśalaya-dala-puṣpādi-tulyāḥ sva-tulyāḥ siktāyāṁ kṛṣṇa-līlāmṛta-rasa-nicayair ullasantyām amuṣyāṁ jātollāsāḥ sva-sekāc chata-guṇam adhikaṁ santi yat tan na citram Nandimukhi goes on: “And look! As Radha and the sakhis’ pleasure is synonymous, the sakhis are one with Radha. Krishna is like the moon for the ‘lilies of Vraja’ (the gopis), and Srimati Radhika is the essence of his pleasure potency. She is likened to a desire creeper of prema ( prema-kalpa-lata ) and the sakhis are the leaves, flowers and new buds on this creeper, and as such are non-different from her. So it isn’t surprising that when the Radha creeper is nourished by the shower of Krish...

One week to go before I leave. It is a nice day, one of those bright, blinding white, after snowfall days. Did some more shoveling out back; been shoveling for three days. I chanted the gopī-gīta and went for a walk, then I read about 30 pages of my sakhī-bhāva book. On page 155, Sharan Bihari Goswami, whose stated thesis is that Haridas Swami is the originator and main man in advancing the cause of sakhi-bhāva , finally admits that there is no equal to the Gaudiya Sampradaya for an analysis of gopi-bhāva, sakhi-bhāva and madhura-rasa . It had been a bit startling to see him restate his principal idea on page 137, after having quoted two pages earlier Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu about the sambhogecchāmayī and tad-bhāvecchā-mayī moods. If any concept makes a clear and official distinction between nāyikā and sakhī-bhāva , it is there. I found the following verses, which seem worthy of reflection, taken from the Skanda Purāṇa-- līlaiva dvividhā tasya vāstavī vyāvahārikī vāstavī ta...

naivākṣi-lagnaṁ dayitaṁ vilokase chāyāṁ nijāmanya-janīṁ ca manyase | sarvatra candrāvalikāṁ viśaṅkase citraṁ tavedaṁ praṇayākhya-nartanam || Kundalata says, “Sakhi Radhe! You cannot recognize your prāna-priyatama even when he is right before your eyes, and you mistake your own shadow for someone else! You suspect Chandravali's presence everywhere. This dance of yours known as praṇaya is truly amazing! (GLA 14.26) Even though the word praṇaya seems to be being used as a technical term, the prema-vaicittya circumstances do not fit the definition as given in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi , which surprises me a little, as Krishnadas was thoroughly familiar with UN. Praṇaya is, as noted in a recent post , the state of love imbued with trust or viśrambha. Viśrambha is defined by Jiva as "a sense of oneness with the beloved" ( abheda-mananam ), while Vishwanath defines it as belief ( viśvasa ) without fear ( sambhrama ).

Out of a simple need to fix my mind, I am posting some unconnected verses plucked at random from my cards. केचिद्दास्यमवापुरुद्धवमुखाः श्लाघ्यं परे लेभिरे श्रीदामादिपदं व्रजाम्बुजदृशां भावं च भेजुः परे । अन्ये धन्यतमा धयन्ति मधुरं राधारसाम्भोनिधिं श्रीचैतन्यमहाप्रभोः करुणया लोकस्य काः सम्पदः ॥ Some, led by Uddhava, attained the mood of service, others the laudable goal of friendship like that of Sridama. Yet others attained the mood of the lotus-eyed women of Vraja. The most fortunate of all raced towards the ocean of Radha rasa. What wealth came to the world as a result of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy! (Chaitanya Chandramrita) क्वचित्कृष्णावेशान्नटति बहुभंगीमभिनयन् क्वचिद्राधाविष्टो हरि हरि हरीत्यार्तरुदितः । क्वचिद्रिंगन् बालः क्वचिदपि च गोपालचरितो जगद्गौरो विस्मापयति बहुभंगीमधुरिमा ॥ Gaura amazed the universe with his sweet variety of moods. Sometimes he became absorbed in the character of Krishna and would begin dancing with a variety of gestures; sometimes he took on the mood ...

tṛptāv anya-janasya tṛptim ayitā duḥkhe mahā-duḥkitā labdhaiḥ svīya-sukhāli-duḥka-nicayair no harṣa-bādhodayāḥ sveṣṭārādhana-tat-parā iha yathā śrī-vaiṣṇava-śreṇayaḥ kās tā brūhi vicārya candra-vadane tā mad-vayasyā imāḥ Krishna says, “O hey Chandra-vadane Radhe! Just think for a moment, then answer me this: Who are happy on seeing others’ happiness and distressed on seeing their distress? Who are neither elated by personal happiness nor perturbed by their own suffering? And who serve the objects of their love here in Vrindavan with the same steadfast love as the saintly Vaishnavas serving their Lord?” Radhika answers, “Oh! You are surely talking about my dearest sakhis, Lalita, Vishakha and the others!” (13.113) Rasa-tarangini Tika : Vrindavan Chakravarti points out that the reference to devotees indicates that these qualities are present to a greater or lesser degree in all Vaishnavas, from Narada and Prahlada to present-day mahatmas like Sanatan Goswami and other followers of S...

This verse from the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi keeps coming to me— aher iva gatiḥ premṇaḥ svabhāva-kuṭilā bhavet tasmād dhetor ahetoś ca yūnor mānam udañcati The path of love is as naturally crooked at that of a snake. Therefore lovers quarrel, sometimes with good reason, and sometimes for no reason at all. (UN 15.102) This is the difference between Gaudiyas and Nityaviharis. The latter see no usefulness in māna from the point of view of rasa , whereas the Gaudiyas (a pox on them!!) do. Why? Because that is somehow at once an integral part of the essence of loving relationships, which have a permanent, innate dialectic in them. The word māna ("measure, weight" -- "self worth" -- "pride") has two different uses. One is the kind of frustrated anger and displeasure that is half explicable, half not, and seemingly causes a distance to grow between lovers. That is the meaning in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi chapter 15.74-146. The other meaning, from chapter 14, is a st...