Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi part 4

This is the fourth blog on my readings of Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmīpāda's Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi and its commentaries -

Chapter 10 deals with uddīpana, or incitements of ecstatic love.

Un 10.28 Viśvanātha Cakravartī's ṭīkā -

chāyāyāḥ kāntes taralatvaṁ taraṅgāyamānatvam - Lābanya is like a wave of luster.

atha abhirūpatā —

yad ātmīya-guṇotkarṣair vastv anyan nikaṭa-sthitam |

sārūpyaṁ nayati prājñair ābhirūpyaṁ tad ucyate ||33||

Abhirūpatā: "When, due to its excellent qualities, an object makes a nearby object assume similar qualities, the wise call it abhirūpatā."

vakṣoje tava campaka-cchavim avaṣṭambhoru-kumbhopame

rādhe kokanada-śriyaḥ karatale sindūrataḥ sundare 

drāg indindira-bandhureṣu cikureṣv indīvarābhāṁ vahann

ekaḥ kairava-korako vitanute puṣpa-trayī-vibhramam ||35||

FOR INSTANCE-

"O Rādhe! When it rests on your golden breasts shaped like large pots, this white lotus bud appears like a golden campaka flower. When you hold it in your beautiful palm it appears like a red lotus because of the hand’s redness, and when it is placed in your locks of hair, black like a bee, it at once appears like a blue lotus. In this way this white lotus bud assumes the beauty of three different flowers."

UN 10.40 Both Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī mention China, showing that the ācāryas were aware of the outside world.

UN 10.41   Viśvanātha Cakravartī's ṭīkā - Discoloring due to separation does not make the gopīs ugly, on the contrary – suffering separation in the spiritual world is the greatest happiness and such happiness enhances the gopīs’ luster.

UN 10.59 Some argue that the gopīs did not cover their heads with their veils, but in his tika Viśvanātha Cakravartī writes keśeṣu vastrācchāditeṣv. Kṛṣṇa says: ‘Her hairs are covered by Her garment’.

UN 11.7  Viśvanātha Cakravartī's ṭīkā - prākṛta-vastunāpy aprākṛta-padārthasyopamā nāsamañjasā. meghādineva śrī-kṛṣṇasya aprākṛta-vastūnāṁ loke sākṣād anupalabdher iti

It is not improper to use a material example for a spiritual subject, since people cannot grasp spiritual objects directly. Thus Kṛṣṇa is compared to a cloud and other material objects.

tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ, tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayaḥ [bhā.pu. 1.1.1] iti | ya ādyasya rasyasya kavayaḥ kāvya-kṛto muhyanti | bhrameṇālakṣye`pi prākṛta-rasa-lakṣaṇasya saṅgamanāt | tatra dṛṣṭāntas tejo-vārīti

Viśvanātha Cakravartī compares the mistaking of spiritual eros for material eros with the phrase in the first verse of the Bhāgavat, tejo vāri mṛdam – mistaking fire or earth for water.

UN 13.96  Viśvanātha Cakravartī's ṭīkā - kiṁ cātra kusuma-padena śleṣeṇānyo bībhatsito`rtho na vyañjitavyaḥ sarvāsām eva vraja-bālānāṁ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nitya-saṅgārthaṁ yogamāyayaiva strī-dharma-rūpasya rajasaḥ sarvathaivānutpāditatvāt | prakṛte`rthe ca rajasvalā kiṁ punaḥ sambhogānukūlā bhavatīti tan-niṣedho`pi nopapadyate svid iti ca vicāryam „The other meaning of the word kusuma, menstruation, can not be used because it is disgusting. So that they can be eternally [always] enjoyed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Yogamāyā has arranged for them never to menstruate, though this is natural for fertile women. Thus, though it is forbidden in the material world to have intercourse during menstruation, this needs not even be considered in relation to the gopīs.”

It makes sense because fertile girls are contaminated about 1/7 part of the time, so if 100 gopis would go out to meet Krishna every day, about 14 of them would be unsuitable for His enjoyment. The babies of the gopīs mentioned in the Bhāgavat are said by our ācāryas to be babies of their sisters and nieces, not their own. Other than that there is no mentioning of the gopīs ever having children, whereas in Vedic culture it is natural that the young bride has a child within a year of marriage.

UN 14.31 nirhetutvam eveti siddhānte vyañjite lokokti-rītyaivaite hetava uktā iti – Though rati has no cause it is said to have a cause for popular understanding, in popular parlance. In other words, causeless matters are explained in causal terms, to make it understandable for the common man. Just as God has never created anything or anyone because both matter and spirit are beginningless (prakṛtaṁ puruṣam caiva viddhy anādi ubhāv api, Gītā 13.19), he is still often called the creator (as in aham sarvasya prabhavo in Gītā 10.8, or agre nārāyaṇam āsīt).

UN 14.32, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī ṭīkā - tathā ca sati bahubhir janmabhiḥ sucira-siddhatvāt. sudṛḍho yo madhuravatyā ābhāsaḥ punaḥ punar ādhikyenodayas tasya janmāntara-bāhulyādinā tirodhāne`pi taj-janyas tadīyo yaḥ saṁskāraḥ sūkṣmatayā sthitaḥ sa nisarga ity arthaḥ „Madhura rati reaches perfection only after many births. Firm practise of madhura rati appears repeatedly with increased intensity. It may disappear for many births but it maintains a subtle saṁskāra (impression). This is called nisarga.”

This statement confirms that bhakti with the quest of prema is not a question of going back to Godhead in this lifetime, for rati or bhāva is just not attainable in a single birth. Śrī Rupa Goswami teaches the same thing in his Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu.

Jīva Goswāmī continues -

yathā suṣuptau śubhāśubha-tat-karmaṇa iti bhāvaḥ. tataś ca tasya saṁskāra-rūpeṇa sthitasya madhura-ratyākhyasya bhāvasyodbodhe vardhamānāvasthatve śrī-kṛṣṇa-guṇa-rūpa-śrutir yad-dhetuḥ syāt tan manāg eva syād anāvaśyakatayaiva syād ity evārthaḥ. bahir-hetv-anapekṣīti sāmānya-lakṣaṇasyāvyāpter iti bhāvaḥ „It is like the impressions of good and bad karma in deep sleep. The awakening and increase of madhura rati, which was situated in the form of saṁskāras [impressions], makes the hearing about Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s form and attributes unnecessary as its cause. It does not depend on external causes.”

Viśvanātha Cakravartī's ṭīkā - nanu bahir-hetavaḥ para-sambandhagā upamā tadīya-janādayaḥ. antar-hetavaś cānuṣaṅgika-tac-chravaṇādayaḥ. ta eva nirhetv-anapekṣīty ukte antar-hetum apekṣata iti labhyate | satyam asya nisarga-rūpe`ntar-hetv-ābhāsasyāpekṣā kvacit syād eva ity ata āha—tad udbodhasyeti | tadīyodbodhasya hetur api tasyāpi hetur ity arthaḥ | sudṛḍhābhyāsa-janya iti | sudṛḍhābhyāso`pi nitya-siddha eva jñeyaḥ | taj-janya-saṁskāro`pi pravāha-paramparayaiva | tathā sa ca līlā-śakti-dvāraiva śrī-kṛṣṇa-rūpa-guṇa-śravaṇam upasthāpayatīti | nāma-mātreṇaiva hetor hetutety arthaḥ | ata eva manāg iti pada-prayogaḥ

“External causes of rati are qualities (sambandha), similar items (upamā) or dear objects of the Lord (tadīya). Internal causes are hearing about the Lord and other processes. Though rati is said to be causeless and independent, it depends on these internal causes. That is true. In the portion called nisarga there is some dependence on a semblance of internal cause. Thus the verse says “the cause of its arousal, the cause of nisarga, is hearing about the Lord. The impression is created by firm practice, but it is actually nitya-siddha.” In Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu (1.2.2) bhāva is said to be nitya siddha.

Viśvanātha continues: “The impressions created by this practice are actually a continuous stream (not created)."

Probably "continuous stream" refers to Jīva's statement on the verse: “That very firm practice of madhura-rati which appears repeatedly with increased strength, and which, though disappearing for many lifetimes, remains as a subtle impression to produce rati later on, is called nisarga.” The impression is actually continuous, though it may appear to disappear at times.

Viśvanātha continues: The impressions bring about hearing of Kṛṣṇa’s form and qualities by means of the līlā-śakti. Thus it is caused in name only. Therefore the word manāg (slight) is added.”

The līlā-śakti is the REAL cause of hearing about the Lord (and even of the impressions), though the impressions are the apparent or visible cause. We could equate  līlā-śakti with mercy in general, but by specifying  līlā-śakti he probably indicates that the Lord (or his pastimes) is eager for us to enter his pastimes.  līlā-śakti causes inclination to hear , as in Bhagavad Gita chapter 6 - pūrvābhyāsena pūrva-dehinam "One is automatically attracted to yoga."

(The commentaries on this verse’s tika are by HH Bhanu Swami)

September 4, 2011 reply from Dr. Satyanārāyan Dās to a query on 14.32-

AD - Prabhuji Radhe Radhe

I have a question about Viśvanāth's ṭīkā of Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi 14.32, dealing with nisarga type of rati. He writes -

nanu bahir-hetavaḥ para-sambandhagā upamā tadīya-janādayaḥ. antar-hetavaś cānuṣaṅgika-tac-chravaṇādayaḥ | ta eva nirhetv-anapekṣīty ukte antar-hetum apekṣata iti labhyate | satyam asya nisarga-rūpe`ntar-hetv-ābhāsasyāpekṣā kvacit syād eva ity ata āha—tad udbodhasyeti | tadīyodbodhasya hetur api tasyāpi hetur ity arthaḥ | sudṛḍhābhyāsa-janya iti | sudṛḍhābhyāso`pi nitya-siddha eva jñeyaḥ | taj-janya-saṁskāro`pi pravāha-paramparayaiva | tathā sa ca līlā-śakti-dvāraiva śrī-kṛṣṇa-rūpa-guṇa-śravaṇam upasthāpayatīti | nāma-mātreṇaiva hetor hetutety arthaḥ | ata eva manāg iti pada-prayogaḥ

“External causes of rati are qualities (sambandha), similar items (upamā) or dear objects of the Lord (tadīya). Internal causes are hearing about the Lord and other processes. Though rati is said to be causeless and independent, it depends on these internal causes. That is true. In the portion called nisarga there is some dependence on a semblance of internal cause. Thus the verse says “the cause of its arousal, the cause of nisarga, is hearing about the Lord. The impression is created by firm practice, but it is actually nitya-siddha. The impressions created by this practice are actually a continuous stream (not created). The impressions bring about hearing of Kṛṣṇa’s form and qualities by means of the līlā-śakti. Thus it is caused in name only. Therefore the word manāg (slight) is added.”

My questions are about the highlighted parts - it is created by firm practise but is actually nitya siddha - does this refer to the BRS 1.2.2 verse and the nitya siddha kṛṣṇa prema-verse, or does it mean something else?

SND - Yes it refers to nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema .... verse

AD - What does he mean with the pravāha paramparā [continuous stream]?

SND - He means that it is nitya like the pravāha of a river, not an outcome of one's practice. In other words there is no cause and effect relation in the ordinary sense.

AD - And how is the  līlā-śakti bringing about the hearing of Kṛṣṇa's attributes?

SND - ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grahyam indriyaiḥ.... You know this verse. It happens by lila-sakti.

AD - What does līlā-śakti mean here?

SND - The antaranga-śakti which manifests Lord's names, attributes, pastimes.

AD - And how is it thus caused in name only?

SND - Well it appears as if it has been caused by the efforts of the devotee but it is nitya-siddha. That is what i said above - there appears to be a cause and effect relation, as in ordinary actions and their results. I make an effort to speak and the sound is produced. The sound is an effect of my effort. In case of chanting the name it appears that i produced the name (in sound) by the movement of my tongue. But in reality it is not so. the name is nitya-siddha, ever-existent. It is not a product of movement of tongue. It becomes manifest when tongue is moved to pronounce it and gives the illusion that the tongue made the sound. sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuratyadaḥ.

Jai radhe