Jagat

Now HLV gives a short analysis of this verse, in particular looking at the meaning of the word tāratamya, listing a number of items that have been analyzed in the Radha-vallabhi doctrine in the comparative or graded approach. With regard to Radha and Krishna, the mutual distinction of who is object and who is subject ( rati-viṣayāśraya-bheda ) and thus who is the attached ( āsakta ) and who is the object of attachment ( āsajya ). This latter is a favored terminology of HLV and used throughout his commentary. Though Radha and Krishna are mutually object and subject, in the end HLV stresses the superiority of seeing Krishna as the lover of Radha and Radha as the object of his love. At In the sakhis, there is a gradation of independence and dependence depending on the distinctions between rasa and bhāva. Where Vrindavan is concerned, in the matter of the Braj and the nikuñja , and so on, there is a gradation of externality and internal, i.e., degrees of confidentiality and intimacy o...

I have been writing about the folk and classical versions of the dāna-keli-līlā , in particular with reference to its classicization in the DKK. My point has been that the difference between the folk tradition and the classical is similar to most low-brow and high-brow culture. In one of my last posts , I gave the analogy of folk music to a symphony, or folk stories to an opera as being the kind of distinction that could be made. There will always be people who favor one or the other, but I think it can be said without too much exaggeration that the latter does require and expect a greater amount of education, or saṁskāra , on the part of the audience. This will, as we have been discussing in the comments on some articles on culture, always be a point of contention: how to popularize something while at the same time making its full power and richenss available; the whole question is one of throwing pearls before swine. I have been reading a couple of nice books that go into many of...

I did not post anything on Radharani's appearance day, and indeed I have been amiss in posting much of late. But I would like to offer my humble obeisances to my parama gurudeva and renew my commitment to what I see as the two poles of his contribution to Vaishnavism: 1. The conviction that the Goswamis' teachings have a place in the modern world, with its accent on rationality. 2. And the Goswami's teachings ultimate goal is Radha dasya. So basically, the mission statement is, "To make Radha-dasya meaningful." Jai Satchidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakur ki jai.

This could be a huge topic, but I am not going to get into it in detail. This is a followup to yesterday's post, Harilal Vyasa, a few observations . HLV (Harilal Vyasa) quotes the following verse from VMA ( Vṛndāvana-mahimāmṛtam ), and there are many similar verses. I will probably add to this post in the course of time, and anyone who has noticed verses of the same genre can add a comment pointing me in that direction. Anyway, the comment about Radha-vallabha and Sphuṭa-vāṇī made in the previous post shows that PS (Prabodhananda Saraswati)/HHV (Hita Harivamsa), i.e., the author of Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi (RRSN), makes a distinction between Radha worship and worship of Krishna, Radha's lover. This point is made in VM as follows: dhanyo loke mumukṣur hari-bhajana-paro dhanya-dhanyas tato’sau dhanyo yaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāmbuja-rati-paramo rukmiṇīśa-priyo’taḥ | yāśodeya-priyo’taḥ subala-suhṛd ato gopa-kāntā-priyo’taḥ śrīmad-vṛndāvaneśvary-atirasa-vivaśā- rādhakaḥ sarva-mūr...

There has been a lot of talk about symbolism of late. Seriously, though, despite the symbolism, which is important no doubt, the real rasa is where it always was—in the Transcendent Divine Couple. The symbolism points both ways: Life in this world is itself merely a symbol for the Divine Transcendent Truth. Whether the Goswamis and Prabodhananda Saraswati and the other rasika gurus of Vrindavan in the 16th century were aware of all the psychological subtleties that we are today is not a reasonable question to ask. I think that they were intuitively more aware than the moderns would give them credit for, but ultimately that does not really matter. My personal attitude is that I have faith in the way the Divine appeared to them. That is revelation, and revelation is a gift that keeps on giving. Its profundity is related to underlying eternal truths that by definition do not change. This is why we should be careful not to say that the Goswamis did not really understand what they were...

For the occasion, and oldy but goldy from Gaudiya Discussions, July 22, 2004: olo ! āmarā rāiera dāsī ! āmarā rāiera dāsī ! āmarā rāiera sevā bhālovāsi Listen everyone! We are Radha's dasis ! We are Radha's dasis, and we love to serve Radharani. rāi jokhon je bhāve thāke, āmarā ghire basi rāi kāndile āmarā kāndi, hāsile āmarā hāsi Wherever Radha is, in whatever mood she is, we gather all around her. If she cries, we cry; and if she laughs, we laugh. rāi śyāmake bhālovāse, tāi āmarā-o bhālovāsi rāi ānugatye śyāma sevā kori, dekhe rāi boṛo ullāsī Radha loves Shyam, so we love Shyam, too. When she sees that we serve him according to her directions, she becomes ebullient. rāi śyāma-nāma bhālovāse, tāi āmarā nāme piyāsī rāi sukhe nāma kori bale, sei bhālovāse kālośaśī Rai loves Shyam's name, so that makes us thirst for it. And because we sing his name for her pleasure, she loves him even more. rāiera mukhe kṛṣṇa-kathā śuni, mora soba divāniśi ...