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“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 them with his words.
One who knows all three aspects of Krishna’s Lordship understands that all paths are correct. God is infinite. He has infinite names, forms, qualities and pastimes. A sadhak of formless and attributeless Brahma also follows the correct path because he worships the effulgence of Krishna’s divine form. The great devotee who knows the three aspects of Krishna’s Lordship is not disturbed by sadhaks of formless Brahma.
(Bhagavat Geeta 12.3-4)
Meaning: But those who worship the formless aspect of the Absolute Truth—the imperishable, the indefinable, the unmanifest, the all-pervading, the unthinkable, the unchanging, the eternal, and the immoveable—by restraining their senses and being even-minded everywhere, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all beings, also attain Me.
But this kind of sadhana is very difficult for embodied Jivatmas.
(Bhagavat Geeta 12.5)
Meaning: For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifest, the path of realization is full of tribulations. Worship of the unmanifest is exceedingly difficult for embodied beings.
The path of Bhakti is the easiest and sweetest path to Godhead. Among the different ways of worship within the Bhakti path, Mādhurya Upāsanā path is the sweetest of all. To establish an intimate relationship with God and interact with Him with love and unhesitant intimacy is also the easiest path of all. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has established the supremacy of Mādhurya Upāsanā path among all kinds of Upāsanā paths. In this conversation between Mahaprabhu and Raya Ramananda, Mahaprabhu urges Raya Ramananda to explain the topic of Mādhurya Upāsanā path. Raya Ramananda Prabhu explains Dāsya, Sakhya, Vatsalya and Madhura moods of love. He explains the different kinds of Upāsanā paths from Karma yoga to unmanifest Brahma Upāsana path to, finally, Mādhurya Upāsana path of Vraja Dham in a successive manner.
We have discussed until Sakhya mood of love. I don’t have much knowledge. Neither do I have much understanding of such deep topics of Bhakti. But I try to explain these topics a little, according to what I have heard from the Acharyas and learned from the scriptures. I plead with the experts on these topics to forgive me for my mistakes. These deep Tatvas (concepts) are very difficult to understand and explain.
“Iśvarer tatva jata, tāhā vā kahiba kata,
Ananta apāra keba jāne,
Braja pure prema satya, ei se param tatva,
Bhajo bhajo anurāg mane.”
(Prema Bhakti Chandrika 102)
Meaning: There are so many concepts regarding God. How much can be explained about them? They are infinite and endless, and not fully understood by anyone. But, the divine loving mood of Vraja Dham is the eternal truth and this is the supreme concept (that a sadhak must understand). O my mind, worship Radha and Krishna with such loving attachment (and not bother about anything else).
The sadhak of Mādhurya Upāsanā path must understand that the divine love of Vraja Dham is the only concept he or she must necessarily understand because it is the supreme concept of all. There is no need to dabble in all kinds of concepts regarding God because they only confuse the mind. The sadhak must focus on contemplation of Radha and Krishna, and worship them by fixing their mind on the lotus feet of Yugal Kishor and surrendering themselves completely. Then, Yugal Kishor will give the sadhak an understanding of necessary topics.
What can a Jivatma understand about the divine concepts through his mundane intelligence? Through which kind of sadhana can he independently achieve the understanding of divine topics or relish the divine pastimes of Vraja by attaining Prema? (It is not possible for the sadhak to attain Prema or understand any divine concept regarding God without His mercy.) Through which Upāsanā path can he achieve the Manjari’s mood of loving servanthood and be able to serve Yugal Kishor for an infinite time? It is impossible without the mercy of Yugal Kishor!
That is why it is said to surrender oneself at the lotus feet of Yugal Kishor and worship Them with loving devotion.
In Bhagavat Geeta, when Arjuna’s ego of being the best warrior is diminished by Krishna’s lecture and Vishwarupa darshan, Krishna says:
(Bhagavat Geeta 18.58)
Meaning: If you always remember Me, by My grace you shall overcome all obstacles and difficulties. But if, due to pride, you do not listen to My advice, you will perish (be ridden by obstacles).
Krishna advises Arjuna to just fix his mind on Him in his heart and not think about anything else. In this way, he will overcome all obstacles by Krishna’s mercy. But if he doesn’t do so, no matter how much effort he exerts to overcome his difficulties, it will all be in vain.
(Bhagavat Geeta 18.62)
Meaning: Surrender exclusively unto Him with your whole being, O Bharat. By His grace, you will attain perfect peace and the eternal abode.
“Tam eva śharanam gachchha” means go and take shelter. “Sarva bhavena” implies by all means. Physically, mentally and verbally, take His shelter. “Tat prasadat” means by His mercy. The sadhak can attain eternal peace and the divine abode of God only by His mercy on completely surrendering himself at His lotus feet.
Therefore, the sadhak achieves a deeper understanding of such divine concepts regarding God only when He mercifully lets him to. The less knowledgeable person argues in a biased manner and wants to establish only his Upāsanā path as the correct one and all other paths as wrong. But one who is “Tatvagya” (has deep understanding of God and related concepts by His mercy), sees that all are correct in following their own Upāsanā paths. The sadhak of unmanifest Brahma is correct in worshipping Him because the unmanifest Brahma is none other than the effulgence of our beloved Krishna. The one describing the infinite opulences of Narayan and in awe of His Supreme Lordship as the controller of infinite universes is also correct since He is none other than the Aishwaryamaya manifestation of our beloved Krishna. When they hear the glories of Sri Rāma, they think, ‘Look, our beloved Krishna is performing pastimes as the Maryādā Purushottam (one who is an embodiment of the highest virtues of dignity and exemplary conduct)! In Vrindavan, He is our beloved friend, son or lover, but here He is the awe-inspiring Prabhu! Glories to Sri Rāma, the benevolent Lord of humble Jivatmas!’
Even if someone establishes the supremacy of the Upāsanā path of Rāma, the ‘Tatvagya’ devotee is unperturbed because Rāma and Krishna are not different. Sri Rāma is also a form of our beloved Krishna. But the one who is not ‘Tatvagya’ gets entangled in arguments. That is why, in this conversation between Raya Ramananda and Mahaprabhu, Raya Ramananda Prabhu has explained the different Upāsanā paths to the Supreme Godhead in a successive manner.
We have discussed until Sakhya Prema. Mahaprabhu says, “This is also excellent (Sakhya Prema is indeed an excellent Upāsanā path)! But delve deeper into the aspects of Bhakti.” Then, Raya Ramananda Prabhu says, “Vātsalya Prema is an excellent form of Upāsanā.”
Sakhya Prema includes the mood of servanthood of Dāsya Prema and along with that, the devotee acts unhesitantly and considers Krishna as His equal. In Vātsalya Prema, there is the mood of servanthood (in the form of taking care of their son), unhesitant behaviour as an equal like Sakhya Prema and along with that, the devotees discipline, punish and reprimand Krishna when He is naughty. ‘Krishna is my son. If I don’t discipline and punish Him when He makes trouble, He will go astray and disappoint everyone. Their parental love is so strong that they can never imagine Krishna to be God.
Where there is Aishwarya mood of Bhakti, the pure Mādhurya mood of love cannot stay. For example, mother Devaki and father Vasudeva gave birth to Krishna, but in the prison of Kamsa, Krishna appeared in the form of Narayan with four arms and assured them that they should not be afraid of Kamsa. He showed them His Aishwaryamaya Prakash so that they would not worry about protecting Him from Kamsa. Due to this, Devaki and Vasudeva always regarded Krishna as the Supreme Lord. When mother Devaki requests Krishna to bring back her six children born before Krishna and Balaram, she says:
“Yasy-āmśāmśāmśa bhāgena viśvotpatti-layōdayāh,
bhavanti kila viśvatmams tam tvādyāham gatim gatā.”
(Srimad Bhagavatam 10.85.31)
Meaning: O Soul of all that be, the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe are all carried out by a fraction of an expansion of an expansion of Your expansion. Today I have come to take shelter of You, the Supreme Lord.
When Aishwarya mood of Bhakti prevails, the motherly love for Krishna naturally subsides. The feeling of closeness and belonging cannot remain while regarding Krishna as God. The Vātsalya mood of the mothers of Mathura and Devaki are greatly different from the pure and sweet Vātsalya Prema of Vraja. When Krishna and Balaram went to Mathura from Vraja, mother Devaki and father Vasudeva remembered that Krishna is the Supreme Lord who had given darshan in the prison before. That is why, they could not love Krishna as their son although they addressed Him as their son. Mother Devaki was never able to take Krishna on her lap due to this awe and reverence. (Since Krishna always addresses them as parents and behaves accordingly, they experienced some parental love but they were always aware of Krishna’s Aishwarya).
But in Vraja, it is not like that. Although Krishna revealed His Aishwarya before mother Yashoda and other motherly Gopis, due to the dominance of pure Mādhurya Shakti and Lila Shakti, Aishwarya Shakti could never prevail.
In Mathura, due to the dominance of Aishwarya Shakti, mother Devaki could never experience the pure Vātsalya Prema of Vraja. The parental love subsided due to the awareness of Krishna’s opulences. When she heard that Krishna brought back the dead son of His Guru Sāndipani Muni from Yama loka, she requested to Krishna, “O Krishna, you are omnipotent. Just like you brought back the son of your Guru, Sāndipani Muni, I wish you to bring back my six children whom the cruel Kamsa had killed by throwing upon stones in the prison. I really wish to see them. Will you bring them to me?” This statement signifies that she completely regarded Krishna as the Supreme Lord. There is indeed some amount of Vātsalya mood towards Krishna, but the Aishwarya mood is dominant.
To be continued...
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