Rādhā dāsya, blades of grass and siddha praṇālī

Dāmodar Dās

 “One devotee said that qualified devotees do not want to become gopīs - they want to become blade of grass, like Brahmāji and Uddhava”

Advaitadas -

That is daft. These are statements of humility in sādhaka deha. Did the six Goswāmīs want to become blades of grass too? They are our role-models, not Brahmā or Uddhava, who are aiśvarya jñānīs. Look how Rūpa and Raghunātha were craving for Rādhārāṇī’s darśana and service. They who speculate like that have no sat guru. Mahāprabhu said ataev gopī-bhāv koro angīkāra – “Therefore adopt the mood of the gopīs”. But they will not obey.

Dāmodar Das -

Why mañjarī bhāv is not dāsya but mādhurya?

Advaita Das

“It is dāsya within mādhurya. Sādhu Bābā considered it dāsya. When he gave me siddha pranali he revealed that Prabhu Sītānāth is Viśākhā in mādhurya rasa and Rati Mañjarī in dāsya rasa.”

Dāmodar Dās -

So we are serving in the group of Rati Mañjarī? Rati Mañjarī is serving under guidance of Viśākhā and they are both Sītānāth?

Advaita Dās -

No we serve in the group of Viśākhā. Yes they are both Sitanatha.

Dāmodar Dās -

What is then the difference between the dāsya of Citraka Patraka etc and the dāsya of the mañjarīs?

Advaita Dās -

This is rādhā dāsya, whereas Raktaka Patraka is Kṛṣṇa-dāsya. Again, it is actually mādhurya. Look at Vilāpa Kusumānjali verse 16- dasyāya te mama raso'stu raso’stu – “Let me have taste for Your dāsya only.”

Dāmodar Dās -

One devotee does not understand. He says that if it is just dāsya, where is mādhurya?

Advaita Das -

"It is not just dāsya. Look at Vilāpa Kusumānjali verse 16 - “Let me truly have only taste for your dāsya.” Whose dāsya? Not kṛṣṇa dāsya but rādhā dāsya."

Dāmodar Dās -

dāsya for Rādhā means mādhurya for Kṛṣṇa because mañjarīs feel all that Rādhā feels?

Advaita Das

That is one aspect yes, bhāva tādātmya. The bottom line is – this is dāsya as a component of mādhurya. In mādhurya there is sambhogecchātmikā and tad bhāvecchātmikā. The first is desire to enjoy, that is mādhurya within mādhurya. The second is desire to share feelings, that is dāsya within mādhurya -

sakhyāya te mama namo'stu namo'stu nityam

dāsyāya te mama raso'stu raso'stu satyam

This is the mahāmantra for rādhā dāsya.

Dāmodar Dās -

"So dāsya which deals with mādhurya becomes mādhurya also?"

Advaita Dās -

It does not become, it IS. Dās Goswami does not speak of Kṛṣṇa-dasya in Vilāpa Kusumānjali verse 16.”

Another bhakta -

Dear friend, what is your opinion: I read on a Facebook page that the adhikāra for receiving siddha-pranālī is ĀSAKTI... I can find a reference nowhere - others say that it should be given in BHAJANA-KRIYĀ...

Advaita Dās -

“It is hard to say. If they want to do that on that level there is nothing wrong with that. My Guru did not keep a fixed standard on that. It is an individual thing. If someone makes āsakti a default value he is wrong but if they want to keep such standard as their own value [THEIR OWN] there is no fault in that.”

bhakta  3-

I regularly receive a newsletter. Below, I pasted a portion of a recent item from them. What is your opinion on this? Or have you discussed this on your blog?

Sahajiyas Cannot Relish His Sweetness

These demons were against Kṛṣṇa, so instead of experiencing His sweetness, they simply experienced their own enmity. Similarly, if we imagine that we are deeply meditating on Kṛṣṇa’s asta-kaliya-lila, His daily twenty-four hour pastimes with the gopis, but we have not reached the stage of bhava-bhakti, we will also not experience His sweetness. Rather, we will experience our own lusty and other material desires. In this connection, Kamsa and other demons represent our material desires. Kṛṣṇa and the realization of the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa is surely our goal, but do not try to jump up to the top of the tree. Begin from the root of the tree and gradually climb up from there; then you can realize your goal. The sincere devotee engages in the proper process of bhakti from the start. At first he follows the verse beginning with adau sraddha tatah sadhu- sango ‘tha bhajana-kriya. After this, he is able to follow the principles as stated in the verse beginning ksantir avyartha-kalatvam.

Advaita Dās -

The sweetness of Kṛṣṇa is of course also relished in stages before niṣṭhā and ruci, otherwise why would brand new bhaktas give up hearth and home and practise celibacy and so, if there were no higher taste? Of course there are gradations of relish, hence one of the stages of devotional development is called 'ruci'. Also the ācāryas clearly say that even in the bhāva-bhakti stage, which is mentioned here, there are anarthas or unwanted habits, be it subtle.

Finally - ever more Bhāgavat-nectar (2.6.34) -

na bhāratī me’ṅga mṛṣopalakṣyate na vai kvacin me manaso mṛṣā gatiḥ

na me hṛṣīkāṇi patanty asat-pathe yan me hṛdautkaṇṭhyavatā dhṛto hariḥ

Brahmā said: "O Nārada! My words are not false, the faculty of my mind is never false and my senses do not fall onto the wrong path, because I hold Lord Hari in my enthusiastic heart!"