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Mādhurya Upāsanā: Sakhya Prema Part 2

  “Yasya padanakha jyotsna param brahmeti sanditam, Sa eva vrindavane bhu bihari nandanandana.” (Vishnu puran) Meaning: One whose toenails’ effulgence is called Param Brahma (the Absolute Truth), he is none other than the son of Nanda, who resides on the land of Vrindavan. Only pure devotees can relish the sweet Mādhurya Rasa pastimes of Vrindavan. Without Prema Bhakti, such pastimes cannot be known or understood by ordinary human beings. “Jñāna-karma-yoga-dharme nahe Krishna vaśa Krishna-vaśa-hetu eka — prema-bhakti-rasa.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 17.75) Meaning: By following the paths of speculative philosophical knowledge, fruitive activity or yogic activities to control the senses, one cannot satisfy Krishna, the Supreme Lord. Unalloyed devotional love for Krishna is the only cause for the Lord’s satisfaction. Knowledge of Param Brahma, fruitive activities, yogic practices or ordinary religious activities cannot control Krishna. Krishna is Vibhu (the greatest of all) a
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Mādhurya Upāsanā: Sakhya Prema Part 1

Raya Ramananda: Dasya Prema is the best form of Bhakti. Mahaprabhu: This is right. But let us discuss about the deeper aspects of Bhakti. Raya Ramananda: Sakhya Prema is the best form of Bhakti. In the previous article, we discussed about Dasya Prema. Now, let us discuss Sakhya Prema where the sadhak considers Krishna as his closest and dearest friend. Dasya, Sakhya, Vatsalya and Madhura moods of love exist in Dvaraka too, but they are mixed with the Aishwarya mood of Bhakti. These moods of love exist in their purest form only in Vraja Dham. The multifaceted beauty and sweetness of these moods are present in their fullest form in Vraja Dham while those moods outside of Vraja are mixed with the Aishwarya mood of Bhakti, accepting Krishna as the Supreme Controller of infinite universes. For example, the five Pandavas were cousins of Krishna and they naturally had friendship towards Krishna. But when Arjuna realized that Krishna is the Supreme Controller of the infinite universes, hi
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Mādhurya Upāsanā: Dāsya Prema Part 2

  Radharani is resting in the Nikunja Temple. What does resting mean for Radharani? She is absorbed in the contemplation of Krishna. Resting means She is so engrossed in Krishna Chintan that She is unaware of Her surroundings. Radharani is “Krishna gata Prānā”, meaning Her life depends on Krishna. She cannot live without Krishna Chintan even for the blink of an eye. When Radharani becomes engrossed in Krishna Chintan, She gets immersed in the ocean of Māhābhāva (the highest form of Bhava) and stays in a kind of trance. In the eyes of other people, it looks like She is sleeping. One Manjari takes Her lotus feet onto her lap and massages them gently. At that very moment, Krishna arrived in the Nikunja Temple and saw the Manjari serving Radharani. He thinks, ‘Aha, this Manjari is very fortunate! My Radharani is the epitome of divine love. This Manjari is able to serve Her lotus feet! Although I am Radharani’s lover and dearest to Her, I usually don’t get a chance to serve Her lotus fee
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Mādhurya Upāsanā: Dāsya Prema Part 1

  [Baba is describing the meeting of Rāya Rāmānanda and Sri Chaitanya Māhāprabhu and the discussion about “Sadhya-Sadhana tatva” (what is the highest form of Bhakti attainable by a sadhak and how can it be attained) that follows. While Sri Chaitanya Māhāprabhu asks him to describe the highest goal of spiritual practice, Rāya Rāmānanda answers in a step-by-step manner and the discussion proceeds towards the highest form of Prema Bhakti, that is, the Bhāvollāsā Rati (Manjari Bhāva). In this series of satsangas on Mādhurya Upāsanā path, I will translate from where Baba discusses the moods of love in divine Vraja.] Sri Chaitanya Māhāprabhu: Rāya Rāmānanda, tell me, what kind of spiritual practice should a sadhak follow to attain the ultimate goal of Prema Bhakti? Rāya Rāmānanda: To follow Sva-dharma (duty according to one’s Varna and Ashram) is Krishna Bhakti. Māhāprabhu: This is an external (or superficial) aspect of Bhakti. Tell me about deeper spiritual practices. Rāya Rāmāna
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Mādhurya Upāsanā: The Divine Quality of Vraja Dham Part 2

  When Radha and Krishna appear on earth to manifest Their Prakat Lila, the divine Goloka Dham appears along with them. At that time, the divine quality of the Drishyamana Vrindavan (Vraja) is unveiled by Yogamaya. This divine abode of Radha and Krishna, which is the platform on which They manifest Their Lilas or pastimes, is made of the Chinmayi Shakti or Swarupa Shakti (internal potency of Krishna, Yogamaya). From the leaves, flowers, trees, etc to people, houses and the ghats around the lakes, everything is made of Chinmayi Shakti. It is untouched by external Maya and its three modes and imperceptible by material senses. When Radha and Krishna disappear from the earth, the divine quality of earthly Vraja Dham gets veiled gradually. The Vraja Dham is the same as that at the time of Krishna’s appearance, but due to the influence of Kaliyuga, Yogamaya veils its divine quality. With the material eyes, people see that this Vraja Dham looks no different from any other place. The peop
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