Jagat

There are two models of religious and spiritual life, which appear to be in conflict: pravṛtti and nivṛtti , the path of engagement and the path of renunciation. Most of the commentaries like Shankara, including even Shridhar Swami on the Bhāgavatam, will emphasize the side of renunciation as the path to liberation over that of engagement and taking responsibility in the world. Indeed, since jñāna is the prerequisite for liberation, which have renunciation as the cause and as the effect, it is no surprise that this predominated in monastic-driven Indian intellectual circles for centuries. It is also the cluster of ideas that is at play in Buddhism. And there can be little doubt that it had an influence in Vaishnava circles also, including the Bhāgavata itself. It is not that anyone could possible discount the  pravṛtti-mārga  altogether, the karma-kāṇḍa and karma-yoga are important in the scheme of sanātana-dharma, but it is certainly placed on a lower level than the ide...

saṁkrāntaṁ nija-kānti-maṇḍalam udīkṣyora-sthale tarkayan nīlāṁ kañculikāṁ varām apanayāsaktyā priye vismite | yātāyā nava-keli-kuñja-śayanaṁ śrī-rādhikāyāḥ parī- hāsāḥ santu mude mamātihasitālībhir bahis tad-rasāḥ ||1.95|| Noticing his own blue effulgence reflected on Radha's breasts, the Beloved thought it to be a blue bodice; he tried to remove it, but could not, causing him great wonder.   As Sri Radhika lies on a couch in the freshly decorated kunja, she makes fun of him, while her friends stand outside, bursting with laughter, everyone enjoying the joke. May those joking words bring me joy also. Commentary And with that sudden recollection of Vrindavan's merciful protection, Prabodhananda has a vision of the līlā . The Dham chooses to reveal her inner self to the one who has taken shelter of her. The Dham is the treasure-box in which the jewel of the līlā is hidden by the curtain of Yogamaya. This is the nature of most of Prabodhananda's writing...

rādhā-kṛṣṇa-rahasya-dāsya-rasa eveṣṭaḥ pumartho mama tyaktvā sarvam ahaṁ kadāpi niyataṁ vatsyāmi vṛndāvane | itthaṁ syād api vāci yasya paramāsaktasya gehādike- nāsaktāv api saktatā-parihṛtau taṁ pāti vṛndāṭavī || 1.94|| "The ultimate goal I desire in my life is to relish the taste of Radha and Krishna's most confidential service. When will I ever give up everything and go to live permanently in Vrindavan?"   If such a hope should even appear in the speech of one addicted to the affairs of household life, Vrindavan will save such a person by giving them detachment.

Originally published on Vrindavan Today . The other Cheer Ghat. ṛṇa-grasto yāyāṁ katham ahaha vṛndāvanam ahaṁ tyajeyaṁ vā vṛddhāv agati-pitarau dāra-śiśukān | kathaṁ vā maj-jīvān bata parihareyaṁ nija-janān satāṁ ślāghyo bhūtvātma-phala-kalano muhyati kudhīḥ ||1.92|| "I have so many debts, how can I go to Vrindavan? How can I abandon my helpless parents in their old age, or my wife and little children? How can I leave my community, as dear to me as my own life?" Such a one, who seeks the benefit of the soul, though praised by the good, is bewildered, his intelligence corrupted.

I have received a few private remarks, including the complaint that I seem to be obsessed with sexuality. Do I have no other subject that interests me? Of course, there are plenty of things that interest me, but my principal subject is prema . And because of Rupa Goswami's emphasis on the madhura-rasa , I have expanded my areas of interest to include the sexual, the spiritual and Sahajiyaism, which I understand as the natural way to prema . One of the most often heard criticisms or comments is that I think that sex itself leads to prema . This is of course ridiculous. It is like saying that the reason kirtan is effective is only because of the music. If that were the case, every musician would be enlightened, which is certainly not the case. It is music when used in the service of the Holy Name, like clothes and decorations on the Deity, that it becomes spiritual. In the same way, in a mind that has been properly prepared, sahaja-sādhanā helps propel one into the realm of prem...

I spoke at the meeting of SHEN to a group of about 40-50 people at the University of Waterloo on June 17. I used Powerpoint to help organize my ideas, many of which have previously been jotted down in these blog. It was nice to condense and clarify them in a public setting and the presentation was well received. I have tried to put it down here, but of course, it is still a condensation as many of the ideas are in need of elaboration. 1. Prema Prayojana The inspiration for this talk comes from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the incarnation of divine love, who appeared in Bengal in the 15th century and inspired this movement of bhakti devotion. I have posted a statement attributed to him: সন্ন্যাস মোর কিবা কাজ, আমার প্রেম প্রয়োজন sannyāsa mora kibā kāja ? āmāra prema prayojana ! "What need have I of the renounced order of life? What I need is prema !" The expression prema prayojana really has a double meaning: On the one hand, perhaps Mahaprabhu was channeling ...

Advaitaji has duly noted my return to active blogging and has immediately taken up his active role as a defender of the pure Goswami siddhanta. I bow down to him and his service to Srimati Radharani. In their commentaries on that Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu verse (3.5.2), Jiva Goswami and Visvanatha Cakravarti clearly say that nivṛtta refers to those who have no taste for madhurya rasa , not to renunciates -  asmād rasād virakteṣv anupayogitvād ayogyatvāt. In the commentaries there is nothing said about renunciates at all. I have made this point earlier, in my blog of December 16, 2006 and perhaps even more often. Perhaps Jagat has overlooked that or perhaps he simply doesn't want to admit it. His interpretation of that verse is not just wrong, it is highly irresponsible because it could lead to the conclusion that the more illicit sex one has, the more one qualifies for madhura rasa . At any rate, if renunciation would disqualify someone from madhura rasa , then why the very autho...

I used the word sahajiya in the previous post, in reference to the idea of doing a Gita commentary from that particular point of view. But I think I need to say a word or two, once again, about the use of the word. First of all, let us remember the saying, "Give a dog a bad name and then hang him." The propaganda against sahajiyaism has been very successful, and though few people have any experience of or understanding of Vaishnava sahajiyaism, which in its pure form is a legitimate and powerful process of experiencing the Divine Truth in its personal form. Actually, I feel somewhat foolish now, thinking about it. It seems a little childish, using a word that presses so many buttons. Let's face it, Gaudiya Vaishnavas already called me a Sahajiya before I declared it myself, they will continue to do so from now to eternity. The only question is whether we can reclaim the term and make it meaningful and worthwhile. So as a deliberate act of self-definition, despite my ...

Well, friends, by Mahaprabhu's grace, I am back. It's not that nothing has been happening, or that I have nothing to say, but somehow the distance between those things and this blog seemed to require a Herculean effort to overcome over the past few weeks. Also by Mahaprabhu's mercy, my ten days in Kathmandu finished with a disappointing result--only a three month tourist visa. Which means that I will have to return to Canada near the end of May. There is a lot to do before I go back, especially in preparing myself to try for a research visa, or some other kind of visa that will let me stay here in a freer and more stable manner. One thing I would like to communicate here to any friends and readers who are interested in what I have to say--if you would like to arrange a program while I am in North America and are willing to arrange travel expenses, I will be more than willing to make the trip. Let me assure you that you will not be disappointed. Yesterday, it being Mah...

I have been giving a weekly class in the Bhagavad-gītā at the ashram. We are currently doing the third chapter. A couple of months ago, one student gave me a Hindi edition of Osho's Karma-yoga , which is a series of lectures on the third chapter. Somewhat to my own surprise I found it not only fairly orthodox philosophically, but insightfully so. In his discussion of 3.3, Osho made much of the introverted and extraverted personality types, which he said were these two-- jñānīs and karmīs . Shankara, as everyone may well know, introduces the Gita with a discussion of karma and jñāna , saying that jñāna or consciousness alone gives liberation and that no amount of "works" will liberate one. Shankara also denies that there is any possibility of liberation by a combination of knowledge and works. Now, devotees know that our acharyas say that bhakti alone grants liberation, or the results of jñāna and karma . But where is bhakti in this verse? So far, in the second...

Historically, is Sahajiyaism not more dependent on Orthodox Vaishnavism than the other way around? This is a good question and I don't know if I can properly answer it. I believe that universally, up until the present day, the major world religions have always had an extremely ambivalent attitude toward sexuality. There are good reasons for this, which need to be explored. In this, Hinduism is no exception. Despite the existence of a Tantrik subculture, the dominant Hindu ethos has been one geared towards either the K ā ma-ś ā stra of unadorned pleasure-seeking through sexuality, in which Woman is the principal instrument for achieving worldly happiness, or towards a misogynistic attitude in which Woman represents the principal danger to the achievement of spiritual beatitude or mokṣa . These are called, respectively, the pravṛtti and nivṛtti m ā rgas . Bhakti is, in my view, the middle course between these two paths. The Tantrik idea that sexuality can be accommodated to s...