Jagat

I left off talking about association with devotees and saying that aṅga-saṅga was an element of service to a devotee. In this case, however, I did mean to place some restrictions: it is not that every bhakta is somehow to receive this kind of intimate service. It is restricted to the most antaraṅga association; and without the central element of love, it will most definitely be counterproductive. Love cannot be reduced to a mere sentiment, nor to the mere mechanics of physical sexuality. To do so is to make the same kind of mistake the beginning devotee makes when he confuses the bliss of first discovery with spiritual perfection. The love between sādhakas is the raw material of their sādhanā . But let us press on with our understanding of the compatibility of the Orthodox tradition with this way of thinking. Actually, no one has contributed to the revival of Sahajiyaism more than Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati himself, who emphasized the concept of yukta-vairāgya . If something c...

In my bouncing ball way, I have been working on Gadadhar Pran's Govinda-līlāmṛta over the past few days. It will never be edited the way it should be, but the idea is to just get it out there. So I have put a one month or so time limit on the project. When we get there, that's it. Off it goes to Ras Bihari Lal and Sons. But let's not minimize the work Gadadhar has done here. It is actually quite exceptional. It is chock full of good stuff, as far as Radha Krishna aṣṭa-kālīya līlā is concerned, supplementing Govinda-līlāmṛta with plenty of material from Bhāvanāmṛta-sāra-saṅgraha, Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta, Kṛṣṇāhnika-kaumudī , the Guṭikā , Nāndīśvara-candrikā and lots of relevant quotes from Caitanya-caritāmṛta , Narottam Das and Bhaktivinoda Thakur as well, not to mention many, many mahājana-padāvalī . And, I may add, lots of samples of his own svārasikī bhajana . I dare you to find anyone else who has dared... For a taste, I give you this brilliant song by Ramananda Basu,...

The following article by Babaji's verdict on Babajis, Sahajiyas and Apasampradayas . I am keeping it here primarily for references. I will make a couple of points below: Another allegation made by the author is that bābājīs are sahajiyās . When we use a word it has a specific meaning but here it is not clear what the word sahajiyā  means for the author. The word sahajiyā is derived from the Sanskrit word sahaja  which literally means ‘born with or natural’ (saha+ja | saha = with; ja = born). The sahajiyā theory consists of two premises, namely: 1. Kṛṣṇa-prema is dormant in the heart and 2. This prema can be awakened by practicing love with a female partner. It should be also noted here that a practicing sahajiyā has only one female partner, not two or three. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava bābājīs do not accept either of these two premises. Associating with women is not part of their practice but is instead warned against. It is considered a deviation from one’s spiritual practi...

I have had a number of inquiries lately from people who have read my old articles related to sexuality and Radha Krishna devotion. Some of my responses are given here. In a recent discussion https://jagadanandadas.blogspot.com/2020/05/priti-sandarbha-5-6-perishable-means.html As you may know from our discussions, I have tried to align my "Sahajiyaism" with the orthodoxy, and it is precisely the area where the battle is drawn. The idea of personal relationships between devotees NOT being material or mundane is precisely what motivated me to investigate the idea of human erotic relations and to try to understand them in a way that made them transformed by devotional consciousness into a positive spiritual action. Now this is not customarily accepted in Vaishnava circles, but if you look at the general argumentation about what lessons we are to take from non-dualistic statements in shastra, it is that they are intended to deny the material side of things without offering...

Some make the unequivocal statement that it is never correct for a guru to sleep with his disciples. I would like to state that in reverse. I say: A woman should only sleep with her guru, and a man should only sleep with his guru. All sexual relationships should be mutual guru-disciple relationships. The guru-disciple relationship is the vātsalya relationship par excellence, in that it selflessly seeks the welfare of the other. Vātsalya , like friendship, service, and admiration, is included in madhura . But in the latter, vātsalya  must be mutual, i.e., felt by both parties. Without mutuality, if vātsalya or, worse, vātsalya-ābhāsa (the mere outward appearance of guru sentiment) is predominant, then sexual relations would be inimical to love, or  rasa-virodha , to use the Sanskrit terminology. Rasa-virodha means "distasteful", which is a rather understated translation. That is why we recoil at these guru-disciple sexual relations and why we intuitively ...

The indirect process: combatting the anarthas Weakness of heart, thirst for the impermanent, and offenses must be overcome through the indirect method. In other words, one must make an effort to avoid unproductive desires and activities. The methods recommended to overcome the first three categories of anartha will now be given, one by one. Rupa Goswami states there are six urges that create obstacles to devotional service: vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha vegaṁ jihvā vegam udaropastha vegam etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind’s demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals can teach the entire world. ( Upadeśāmṛta , 1) Expanded translation: O Lord Hari! I have fallen into this world of five elements where I have no refuge. I see no shelter other than Your feet, which are the only recourse for the helpless, and so I have made You the essential truth in my lif...

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...

Now Sridhar Maharaj evidently reserves a special place in hell for those who imitate Radha and Krishna's pastimes physically. The most heinous thing is that one will play the part of Krishna and a lady will play the part of a gopi and they will unite, and in that way they will enjoy. To think this to be that, it is impossible. Any ordinary moral man will hate this. What to speak of the higher devotees, even an ordinary moral man will hate it. The problem with such statements is that they are so lacking in subtlety or in comprehension, not only of the wide variety of sahajīyā doctrines, or even the distinction between traditional orthodoxy and Sahajiyaism, but of human sexuality itself. We have already been saying repeatedly that sexuality can be analyzed according to the model of the three gunas just like any other material phenomenon. The Gita tells us that goodness, passion or ignorance, all are entangling in the material nature, but that sattva is still better than the oth...

In the conclusion to the previous article ( Part I ), I summarized my objectives there, which was to show that since any activity engaged in with expertise is yoga, or sādhanā , therefore there was no reason to think that sex could not be a part of that. I will continue on the same theme, and in so doing, will counter one or two of Abhaya Mudra's points. First of all, let me remind everyone that we have, after great good fortune, attained the human form of life, which is the plavaṁ sukalpaṁ , the most suitable boat for crossing the ocean of saṁsāra . The guru will do the steering, and the Lord will blow the winds of grace. Why would you not take this opportunity to attain the experience of prema, the summum bonum of human life? nṛ-deham ādyaṁ sulabhaṁ sudurlabhaṁ plavaṁ sukalpaṁ guru-karṇa-dhāram| mayānukūlena nabhasvateritaṁ pumān bhavābdhiṁ na taret sa ātma-hā|| This human body is the original form [for it is God's own svarūpa , and the human being was made in God...