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We have discussed in previous articles that there are three kinds of manifestations of God: Gyānamaya Prakāsh, Aishwaryamaya Prakāsh and Mādhuryamaya Prakāsh. In Gyāna Upāsanā path, the sadhaks worship Brahma, who is nameless, formless, attribute-less and devoid of any pastimes. Due to such a perception of God, they mistakenly think that the pastimes of Shri Ram and Radha Krishna are caused due to Māyā. In their opinion, how can God be hungry, thirsty or be ignorant about the whereabouts of Radharani? These pastimes are produced by Māya in their opinion. They consider their Upāsanā path to attain formless Brahma to be higher and beyond such pastimes. According to them, attaining formless Brahma is the highest achievement in the spiritual world. For such sadhaks, it is impossible to relish the divine pastimes of Radha Krishna. It is mentioned in Vishnu Puran,
“Yasya pada-nakha-jyotsna param-brahmeti shabditam,
sa eva Vrindavan bhur-vihari nandanandanah.”
Meaning: The one whose toenails’ light is known as Param Brahma, He is indeed the son of Nanda Baba and the Lord of the land of Vrindavan.
The sadhaks of Gyāna Upāsanā path become absorbed in the worship of the effulgence of Krishna’s lotus feet and becoming one with the light of Krishna’s lotus feet is their highest achievement. Sadhaks of Aishwarya Upāsanā path consider God as the Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer of the three worlds. They perceive God as infinite, the Lord of Vaikuntha and the Lord of the universe. Who can know the infinite names, forms, attributes and pastimes of the infinite Lord? Then, there is Mādhurya Upāsanā path, in which Radha Krishna is perceived as the most intimate and dearest persons to the sadhak. This Upāsanā path exists only in Vrindavan. One who takes shelter in Vrindavan, the lotus feet of Sadhus of Vrindavan and the lotus feet of Vrindavaneshwari Radharani and tries to engage in devotional practices sincerely, only he or she can get a little insight into the divine pastimes of Vrindavan by Their mercy. Without Their mercy, nobody can relish pastimes of Vrindavan just by their own efforts of devotion.
Although Narayan is a manifestation of Krishna and Goddess Laxmi is a manifestation of Radharani, Goddess Laxmi desires to relish the sweet pastimes of Vraja. One day, She said to Narayan, “Prabhu, I want to enter your Vrindavani pastimes. I am a manifestation of Radharani. I am also a manifestation of Swarupa Shakti. I am not different from Radharani. Therefore, surely, I can relish your sweet Vrindavan pastimes too.” But Narayan said, “No, dear, this is not possible. You are Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of Aishwarya. You can behold and relish my Aishwaryamaya pastimes but not my Mādhuryamaya pastimes.” “Why is it so?” asked Goddess Laxmi. “No one can enter the pastimes of Vrindavan without taking shelter of the lotus feet of Vraja Gopis,” said Narayan. Goddess Laxmi did not believe it and stubbornly went to Bela Van near Vrindavan to perform penance. She is still engaged in penance in order to enter the Vrindavan pastimes. It is true that Goddesses Laxmi, Pārvati, etc are manifestations of Radharani and Krishna’s Swarupa Shakti, but They cannot enter Vrindavan pastimes in Their Goddess forms. One can relish the Vrindavan pastimes only through Mādhuryamaya Swarupas (Gopa-Gopi Deha given by Radharani). But Goddess Laxmi stubbornly wanted to enter the Vrindavan pastimes in Her Aishwaryamaya Goddess form, which is impossible. Hence, She is still engaged in penance at Bela Van now. This is also a pastime to indicate the magnificient glories of Mādhuryamaya pastimes of Vrindavan.
So, the pecularity about the pastimes of Vrindavan is that they are Kripa Sadhya, meaning, one can enter into these pastimes only through the mercy of Radharani and Vraja Gopis. How does a sadhak beget Their mercy? Through Sharanāgati.Only by taking shelter of the lotus feet of Gurudev and Radharani, the sadhak is able to correctly perform devotional activities physically and mentally that result in attaining entry into Vrindavan pastimes by Radharani’s mercy. Sharanāgati doesn’t mean that the sadhak can just take Mantra Diksha from Gurudev and engage in devotion independently to gain Radharani’s mercy. He can never gain the mercy of Radharani like this. The Vraja Prema Upāsanā path is subject to Guru Kripa. The sadhak needs to perform devotional activities under the guidance of his Gurudev (Guru Ānugatya). He needs to constantly be in his Gurudev’s Ānugatya, perform all activities under His guidance to gain the mercy of Radharani. In Vrindavan pastimes too, the Sadhak Manjari performs all services under the guidance of Guru Manjari. It is Guru Manjari who takes the Sadhak Manjari by hand and presents her to Radharani. At that time, Radharani asks, “Who is this maiden?” Guru Manjari introduces the Sadhak Manjari as, “This is Your Kinkari (maid-servant).” Radharani asks, “Who is she? Where did she come from?” Guru Manjari replies, “She is my Sakhi.” Only then, Radharani accepts her in Her Sewa. Guru Manjari stays near Sadhak Manjari in Vrindavan pastimes. Under Her guidance, she performs all services to Radharani.
In Gyāna Upāsanā path, the sadhaks take shelter of Gurudev and meditate under His guidance. Since God is formless in their perspective, they often meditate on Guru’s form. But on salvation, the sadhak’s Ātma and the Guru become one with the absolute Truth, Brahma. Therefore, upon perfection, “Kaun Guru Kaun chela, mai hu akela!” Meaning, in their perspective, there is only one Truth, Brahma. [Initially, Brahma was manifested in three forms - sadhak, Guru and Ishta. But upon perfection, they became only one Brahma.]
But in Mādhurya Upāsanā path, Guru remains near Sadhak Manjari and she cannot go into Radharani’s Sewa without Guru Ānugatya. The sadhak must take shelter of his Gurudev’s lotus feet and surrender unto Radharani; he must strictly and sincerely follow his Gurudev’s instructions and please his Gurudev through his actions, words and thoughts. Only then can he attain the mercy of Radharani.
In Mādhuryamaya pastimes of Vrindavan, Radharani and Krishna are Mugdha, meaning they are not omniscient. They let Yogamaya veil Their omniscience and perform pastimes as ordinary human beings (although nothing is ordinary in Goloka Dham). They don’t know what is happening in the present or what is going to happen in the future. Radharani and Her associates (Sakhi and Manjaris) are all Mugdha. This quality of being Mugdha is not caused by Mahāmāyā like ordinary Jivatmas. Instead, it is an instrument of relishing Mādhuryamaya pastimes.
Ignorance caused by Mahāmāyā veils the consciousness of a Jivatma. In such a case, he or she doesn’t know who he is, what is his origin and where is his destination. He thinks of himself one with the material body and hence, when asked about himself, he introduces himself as the name given upon the body’s birth, the age and gender of the body, etc. Although he knows that when he will die, he has to leave the body and go, ignorance caused by Maya veils his consciousness and he firmly believes everything happening to the body as happening to himself.
But the Mugdhatā caused by Yogamaya is different. The Swarupa given by Radharani in Goloka Dham is Sacchidānanda Swarupa; there, the body and the Ātma are not different. Both the body and the consciousness within it are Sacchidānandamaya. This Achintya and divine Swarupa is given by Radharani only. When the consciousness of the Jivatma gets enlightened (in Mādhurya Upasnā path), the sadhak attains Prema Bhakti. At that time, his consciousness becomes fully one with the Swarupa given by Radharani. This Manjari (or any other Swarupa given according to sadhak’s Bhava) is not just Shuddha Ātma. Unlike other Upāsanā paths, where the Ātma separates from the material body and dissolves into God, the consciousness of the sadhak separates from material bondage and becomes one with the divine Swarupa in Goloka Dham. It is a special Swarupa mercifully given by Radharani in order to relish Mādhuryamaya pastimes.
There are three kinds of bodies (Sharira) in which the consciousness can exist: Sthula Sharira, Sukshma Sharira and Kāran Sharira.
1. Sthula Sharira is made up of the five elements - air, water, fire, matter and space. [Therefore, we can call it the material body.]
2. Sukshma Sharira is made up of Gunas. It consists of the essence of Shabda (hearing), Sparsha (touch), Rupa (sight), Rasa (taste) and Gandha (smell); eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin; five Prānas (life airs), mind, intellect and ego. All of these are present in the Sukshma Sharira as Gunas, and not made of the five elements. [Therefore, we can call it the subtle body.]
Meaning: As the air carries fragrance from place to place, so does the embodied soul carry the mind and senses with it, when it leaves an old body and enters a new one.
This Gunamaya or subtle body carries the Jivatma, along with its Samskaras, from one body to another body.
3. Kārana Sharira is made up of desires of the Jivatma. This body exists within the subtle body. If the Jivatma wants to enjoy worldly pleasures, the Kārana Sharira keeps wandering in the material world in order to take birth in different bodies according to his Samskaras. When the sadhak is able to destroy his Gunamaya subtle body through his bhajan and mercy of God, the Kārana Sharira remains (even upon Siddhi). This Kārana Sharira is pure and untouched by Maya. If the sadhak wants to become one with Brahma, that is, he becomes desireless, he destroys the Kārana Sharira. But if he wants to attain a divine Swarupa to serve Radha Krishna in Their pastimes (which means he retains the desire to serve Radha Krishna), this Kārana Sharira carries the pure consciousness of the sadhak to the divine Swarupa given by Radharani in Goloka Dham.
Therefore, the sadhak of Mādhurya Upāsanā path does not destroy his desire to serve Radha Krishna. If he becomes desireless, the consciousness cannot remain as a separate entity from God. His Kārana Sharira would get destroyed and the consciousness would dissolve into Sacchidānandamaya God. It is only his divine desire of serving Radharani that saves him from dissolving into Brahma and enables him to attain Manjari Swarupa.
There are two kinds of Icchā (desire): Jada Ichhā (worldly desire) and Chid Icchā (divine desire). The desire to enjoy family life with one’s spouse and children, wealth and ambition, etc are Jada Icchā, while the desire to serve Radharani in Nikunja for eternity by attaing Manjari Swarupa is Chid Icchā. The sadhak needs to retain this Chid Ichhā and destroy only his Jada Ichhā.
[This toipc is very important for sadhaks of Mādhurya Upāsanā path. Although many people speak on pastimes of Radha Krishna or Srimad Bhagavatam, they don’t discuss the most important topic of the main cause of material bondage and how to free oneself from it in order to attain Manjari swarupa.] What is the process of dissolving the Jada-Chetan Granthi, material bondage, and attaining Manjari Swarupa? There are two kinds of Ahankāras (egos) in a Jivatma: Jada Ahankāra and Chid Ahankāra. ‘I am this body and the things/people related to this body also belong to me’ is the Jada Ahankāra (materialistic ego) and it is the root cause of material bondage. This Jada Ahankāra gives birth to Jada Ichhā which binds the Jivatma in Maya and propels him to take birth in different bodies according to his actions and samskaras present in the subtle body. Then, there is Chid Ahankāra, ‘I am not this body and things/people related to it are not related to me; I belong to Radharani and Radharani belongs to me; my Swarupa is divine, Chinmaya (full of divine consciousness), Ānandamaya (blissful), Māyātīta (free from Māyā), Gunātīta (free from the three modes of nature), Indriyātīta (beyond senses), Shuddha (pure), Satya (eternal Truth) and Sanātan (eternal)’. The sadhak should meditate upon this. This Chid Ahankāra gives rise to the Chid Ichhā of serving Radharani.
As soon as the sadhak is able to relinquish the Jada Ahankāra and be firmly situated in this Chid Ahankāra, he is able to dissolve his Jada-Chetan Granthi and attain Prema Bhakti. (The problem is that) We want to attain Prema Bhakti but we don’t understand this process. We try to do bhajan and achieve spiritual experiences while still indulging in Jada Ahankāra and Jada Ichhā. We want happiness for our children and grand-children, constantly hankering for worldly pleasures and yet, we want to attain Radharani by doing some bhajan. How is this possible?! You are bound by your attachments and desires! You are stuck!
The sadhak must understand that he needs to contemplate on Chid Ahankāra and amplify Chid Icchā. This is not a difficult or painful process at all! You only have to meditate upon Chid Ahankāra as explained above. The more his Chid Ichhā amplifies, the more his Jada Ichhā weakens and his Jada-Chetan Granthi becomes loose. As soon as his Chid Ichhā completely takes over Jada Ichhā, his Jada-Chetan Granthi dissolves and he attains Prema Bhakti. Just like a snake that sheds its skin, the Jivatma becomes completely separated from material bondage and reaches Shuddha Satva (pure Ātma) state.
Once the Jada-Chetan Granthi is dissolved, the question arises that where should the consciousness go? Now, the Kārana Sharira decides where the consciousness should go. According to the Upāsanā path followed by the sadhak, he begets a divine Swarupa in the respective divine abode. If the sadhak becomes desireless, his Kārana Sharira gets destroyed and his consciousness becomes one with God. Those who have worshipped God in Aishwarya Upāsanā path, they attain one of the five kinds of Moksha, that are, Sālokya (attaining residence in Vaikuntha), Sāmipya (attaining close proximity to the Lord), Sārupya (attaining same form as the Lord), Sārshti (attaining powers like God) and Sāyujya (attaining complete dissolution into God). They go to Vaikuntha and attain divine, eternal and blissful state, but they cannot engage in loving service of God in these abodes. In these Aishwaryamaya abodes, God resides in Aishwaryamaya forms. Therefore, he is Sacchidānandamaya, free from hunger, thirst, warmth or coldness. He doesn’t require any service and is eternally situated in a blissful state. Unlike ordinary humans, He doesn’t require anything to be pleased. If the sadhak had worshipped four-armed Nārāyan, he attains a four-armed form like Narayan and goes to Vaikuntha of Narayan. If he had worshipped Lord Shiva (as God, and not a demi-god), he goes to Sadāshiva Loka by attaining Lord Shiva’s associate form. In this way, every sadhak begets a Chid (divine and eternal) form and goes to the respective abode, according to his Upāsanā path.
In Manjari Bhāva Upāsanā path, when the sadhak’s Chid Ichha of serving Radharani amplifies and his Chid Ahankāra as belonging to Radharani and being a maid-servant of Radharani takes over his Jada Ahankāra, Radharani gives him a Manjari Swarupa. He must constantly contemplate upon his Manjari Swarupa and on serving Radharani while performing all activities physically. As soon as his Jada-Chetan Granthi gets destroyed and he becomes firmly situated in Manjari Bhāva, Radharani gives him the divine Manjari Swarupa so that his consciousness becomes one with it.
This Manjari Swarupa is extraordinarily divine. This material body made up of 24 elements is called Ashuddha Satva. The Jivatma, who has forgotten his eternal identity and is afflicted by ignorance, resides in this body. Through sadhana, when the sadhak is able to free oneself from Jada-Chetan Granthi, his consciousness resides in Kārana Sharira called Shuddha Satva. And, the transcendental Swarupa given by Radharani is called Vishuddha Satva. The consciousness of the sadhak who has destroyed Jada-Chetan Granthi goes to this Manjari Swarupa in Golok Dham and becomes one with her. This transcendental Manjari Swarupa is not attainable by sadhana but only through Radharani’s mercy.
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