Priya Kunj Ras

In Vātsalya Prema, there is the mood of service like Dāsya Prema, unhesitant behaviour like Sakhya Prema and along with that, there is the mood of being Krishna’s guardian. Such devotees of Vātsalya Prema consider themselves elders of Krishna and consider Krishna as their beloved little child who needs their care and guidance. In order to guide Krishna, they discipline, reproach and punish Krishna when He is naughty. In Sakhya Prema, except the older Suhrit Sakhas who have some Vātsalya mixed with Sakhya Prema, the devotees do not discipline or punish Krishna. As equals, they do not have the right to do so. But in Vātsalya Prema, the devotees think that if they do not discipline Krishna, He will go astray or become an insolent person. Therefore, as elders and guardians, it is important to discipline Krishna. We have already discussed how Mother Yashoda never accepted Krishna as God although He showed the infinite universes in His little mouth. Instead, she prayed to Narayan to protec

The Vātsalya Prema of Vraja Dham is pure Mādhurya Rasa, untouched by the Aishwarya mood of Bhakti. One day, the little child Krishna was playing with His Sakhas. Suddenly, He ate a handful of the dust of Vrindavan. The Sakhas saw this and said, “Kanhaiya! We will tell mother Yashoda what you have done! You ate mud!” Kanhaiya was quite afraid that mother Yashoda might beat Him with her stick today. Nonetheless, all the Sakhas took Kanhaiya to mother Yashoda and told her everything. The Sakhas thought that if they didn’t inform this to mother Yashoda, she would reprimand them later when He would fall sick or develop a stomach pain. “Mother Yashoda, Kanhaiya ate mud!” they said. Mother Yashoda became angry. “Kanhaiya! Did you eat mud?” she asked Kanhaiya. But Kanhaiya didn’t say anything since there was mud in His mouth and as soon as He would speak, mother Yashoda would see the mud. He just shook his head to say no. “Why don’t you speak? Say yes or no,” said mother Yashoda. But Kanhaiya

“Jagat vyāpaka hari, aja bhava āgyā-kāri, madhura murati lila kathā, ei tattva jāne yei, parama uttama sei, tāra sańga koribo sarvathā.” (Prema Bhakti Chandrika 97 ) Meaning: Lord Hari is present in every corner of the material world. Brahma and Shiva are His servants. His form and the talk of His pastimes are very sweet. One who knows this is a great person. I always yearn for his association. One who knows all three aspects of Krishna’s Lordship - Gyānamaya Prakāsh, Aishwaryamaya Prakāsh and Mādhuryamaya Prakāsh - is a great devotee. If a person understands only one or two of the three aspects and not the others, then he inevitably commits Aparādha to the sadhaks of other paths by quarrelling and arguing with them. Such a person develops biased opinions about the different paths to Godhead and his heart becomes devoid of happiness. He thinks his path to Godhead is the only correct path while the other paths are not correct. Therefore, he argues with sadhaks of other paths and hurts

  “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

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