Ekādaśī and the Harivamsis

This is part 2 of a trilogy of refutations of Hita harivaṁśa, Haridāsi etc followers

Let followers of Harivaṁśa or Haridās Swāmi not take offence. This is a purely philosophical blog. Sādhu Bābā was non-sectarean. He sang songs of Haridās Swāmi and Harivaṁśa and called himself Haridāsi too.

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

Some reasons why Radhavallabhis and Haridasis don't consider Ekadasi as very important in their bhajan marga -

(1) Our nistha in mahaprasad is such that we don't accept that mahaprasad is constituted of grains or any padartha [material ingredient] under any circumstances. When bhoga is offered with love to Shyama Shyam, the bhoga becomes one in nature with them. It becomes Krsnamayi – Radhamayi.

So for us, to accept and promote the idea that mahaprasad is made up of grains or any other material element is not possible. Just as it is not correct [and is offensive] to think that a Thakurji-svarupa is made of metal, clay, wood and so on, similarly we never accept prasad to be anything other than prasad, mercy. So where the Puranas say “do not eat grains on Ekadasi” we aren't actually eating grains, because prasad and grains are never the same and there is just a superficial similarity, like the comparison between a biological eye and the eye on a peacock's feather.

(2) We ask the question, are we focused on following Ekadasi or we are interested in the result/phala of following Ekadasi? Various sastras say that Ekadasi's phala is one of the 4 purusharthas and in some places it says that Krishna-charanarvind-rati is the fruit. Radhavallabhis and Haridasis are instead interested in something we consider even higher than this. Becoming a completely committed sevika/maidservant of Swaminiju Radha. It is not said anywhere that Ekadasi will give us seva of Sri Radha and that's all we really care about. Our conception of Shyamsundar is like this:

japata hari bibasa tava nama pratipada bimala manasi tava dhyana te nimisa nahi taribo

“Helplessly Hari constantly recites your perfect name [Sri Radha's name], his mind straying from contemplation of you not for a second;” - Hit Chaurasi

dekhau māī abalā ke bala rāsi ati gaja matta niraṁkusa moṁhana, 

nirakhi baṁdhe laṭa pāsi

“Oh look Sakhi, at the heaps of power this “powerless” girl [abala] possesses! Mohan Krishna is a drunken elephant that no one can control, but she ties him down with one braid of her hair.” - Hit Chaurasi

So for this reason, we just have full faith in performing ashtayam/astakaliya seva to Shyama Shyam every day and have no special regard or purpose with Ekadasi as it is not particularly helpful for our goal, 'Radha-charan-pradhanya', prominence of love for Sri Radha's lotus feet.

Many of our mahatmas have attained the prayojan, Radha dasyam/sahachari bhava without following Ekadasi. Sri Harivansh himself is famed for not following it [see Nabhadas' bhaktmaal etc] and so we follow his bhajan-path in regards to Ekadasi. The followers of Swami Haridas are the same, they do not give much importance to Ekadasi vrata either.

(3) Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur in Raga-vartma-candrika says how Ekadasi is partially related with one's desired bhava, because it can help in one's Hari smarana. “tatraivaikadasi  vratasyanvaye 'govinda smaranam nrnam yad ekadasyuposanam' iti smrter upadana karana smaranasya labhada amsena bhava sambhanditvam”.

If by our bhajan practises, we are already engaged in smarana [which is a direct cause of attaining one's desired bhava as opposed to Ekadasi which is a partially/indirect cause] of Sri Priya Priyatam and that too focusing on our cherished bhava, then we also see no need to keep Ekadasi as we are already doing what it's fruit is, smaranam. If someone in our sampradaya finds it helpful to keep Ekadasi, then my Gurudev Hit Premananda and other Acharyas/Gurus explain the vidhi to such persons and cater for them in this way. The Haridasis also do the same.

The other comments of Sri VCT about having to keep Ekadasi at all costs are not accepted by us as we feel they don't apply to our one-pointed way of worship. Nor do we accept comments by other saints when they say that there are no atonements mentioned in sastra for the sin of eating grains on Ekadasi and therefore the sin of not following Ekadasi is indestructable. All aparadhas let alone sins/papas are obliterated for those who take to Sri Radha's naam. If the glories of Sri Hari's name should never be considered an exaggeration, then what to speak of the name of She who he runs after?

“O Radha, when a person once tastes the nectar of Your holy name, Lord Krishna becomes filled with love for him, makes no record of his offenses, and considers giving him the greatest gift. Who, then, can touch the pinnacle of the glory possessed by persons whose only thought is to serve You?” - Radha Sudha Nidhi

“Chant the holy name of Radha every day. Reject millions of other great spiritual practices. Millions of the best goals of life perform arati to the nectar at Radha's lotus feet. Millions of noble mandara trees are glorious in the land where Radha's lotus feet enjoy pastimes. Millions of wonderful spiritual perfections roll at the feet of Shri Radha's maidservants.” - Radha Sudha Nidhi

So such bhajan destroys all aparadhas, and using the kaimutya nyaya principle, the “what to speak of principle” (a fortiori principle), if it can destroy the aparadhas, it can surely destroy the less serious papas/sins.

But for who may insist, Gita 18.66 gives the fitting reply regarding papas - sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah. 

(4) Lastly, Sri Rupa himself says how even a slight contact with the 5 primary angas of bhakti gives perfection:

sadhu-sanga nama-kirtana, bhagavata-sravana

mathura-vasa sri-murtira sraddhaya sevana

“The quintessential practices of devotion are association with sadhus, chanting the Holy Names, hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam, residing in Mathura-dhama, and faithfully worshiping the Deity.”

In Caitanya Caritamrta, Srila Kaviraja Goswami also says: sakala-sadhana-srestha ei panca anga krsna-prema janmaya ei pancera alpa sanga - “These five limbs of devotional service are the best of all. Even a slight performance of these five awakens love for Krsna.” Therefore sincere performance of any one of these limbs can give prema.

Gauḍīya vaiṣṇava - But doesn't Mahaprabhu insist on following Ekādaśī in the Caitanya Caritāmṛta?

Advaitadās - look in the Haribhakti Vilāsa – there are whole chapters full of Ekādaśī. Rāga vartma candrikā condemns anyone who thinks rāgānugīs don’t have to follow Ekādaśī. That was to prevent such rascaldom, which had been promulgated by Rūpa Kavirāja from Suramya kunja, to spread. Visvanatha Cakravartipada comments on Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu [1.2.295] –

etena vraja-loka-padena vraja-stha-śrī-rādhā-candrāvaly-ādyā eva grāhyāḥ | tāsām anusāreṇaiva sādhaka-dehena kāyiky-ādi-sevāpi kartavyā | evaṁ sati tābhir guru-pādāśrayaṇaikādaśī-vrata-śālagrāma-tulasī-sevādayo na kṛtāḥ | tad-anugatair asmābhir api na kartavyā ity ādhunika-sauramya-matam api nirastam | ata eva śrī-jīva-gosvāmi-caraṇair apy asya granthasya ṭīkāyāṁ durgama-saṅgamanī-nāmnyāṁ tathaivoktam | tad yathā—vraja-lokās tv atra kṛṣṇa-preṣṭha-janās tad-anugatāś ca tad-anusārataḥ ||295||

"By the word vraja-lokā, one should understand persons situated in Vraja — Rādhā, Candrāvalī and others. Following after them, one should perform service using one’s physical body also. Some modern persons following the sauramya-sampradāya think that since persons such as Rādhā did not perform services such as surrendering to guru, following Ekādaśī vows, and serving śālagrāma and tulasī, we also need not do those activities. That idea is defeated here. Jīva Gosvāmī in his commentary has explained this with the words vraja-lokās tv atra kṛṣna-preṣṭha-janās tad-anugatāś ca tad-anusārataḥ: vraja-lokā means those dear to Kṛṣṇa (like Śrī Rādhā etc.) and persons following after them (like Śrī Rūpa etc.); one should follow in their footsteps."

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

So for us, to accept and promote the idea that mahaprasad is made up of grains or any other material element is not possible.

Advaitadās –

Mahāprabhu did mention the ingredients of the mahā-prasāda in Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Antya 16 108-110 -

prabhu kahe,----"ei sab hoy ’prākṛta’ dravya

aikṣava, karpūra, marica, elāica, lavaṅga, gavya

rasavāsa, guṇatvaka-ādi yata sab

’prākṛta’ vastura svāda sabāra anubhav

sei dravye eta āsvāda, gandha lokātīta

āsvāda koriyā dekho,----sobāra pratīta

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "These ingredients, such as sugar, camphor, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, butter, spices and licorice, are all material. Everyone has tasted these material substances before. But in these ingredients there are extraordinary tastes and uncommon fragrances. Just taste them and see the difference in the experience.”

Mādhurya Kādambini condemns deliberate sevā-aparādha (which the breaking of Ekādaśī is) as the nāmāparadha of sinning on strength of the name:

kintu tat tad upaśama sambhava balena tatra sāvadhānatā śaithilye sevāparādhā api nāmāparādhā eva syuḥ. tathā hyuktam - nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa buddhir iti. tatra nāma ityupalakṣaṇaṁ bhakti mātrasyaivopaśamakasya. dharma śāstre'pi prāyaścitta balena pāpācareṇa na tasya pāpasya kṣayaḥ pratyuta gāḍhataiva.

If one is, however, careless about sevā-aparādhas, knowing that by chanting and reciting prayers sevā-aparādhas can be nullified, then all the sevā-aparādhas turn into nāma-aparādha. śāstras thus say, “Committing sins on the strength of nāma is one of the nāma-aparādhas.” In this verse, nāma also refers to other devotional practices. Even dharma-śāstras related to the codes of karma-yoga also say that if one commits sins on the strength of atonement, thinking that it can destroy the evil effects of sins, then those sins become more intense rather than being destroyed.

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

"sadhu-sanga nama-kirtana, bhagavata-sravana

mathura-vasa sri-murtira sraddhaya sevana

“The quintessential practices of devotion are association with sadhus, chanting the Holy Names, hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam, residing in Mathura-dhama, and faithfully worshiping the Deity.”

In Caitanya Caritamrta, Srila Kaviraja Goswami also says: sakala-sadhana-srestha ei panca anga krsna-prema janmaya ei pancera alpa sanga - “"These five limbs of devotional service are the best of all. Even a slight performance of these five awakens love for Krsna.” Therefore sincere performance of any one of these limbs can give prema."

Advaitadās - Caitanya Caritamrta (Ādi 15, 8-9) also says that Nimāi told mother Śacī to follow Ekādaśī –

eka dina mātāra pade kariyā praṇāma

prabhu kahe,----mātā, more deha eka dāna

mātā bole,-- tāi dibo, yā tumi māgibe

prabhu kahe,- ekādaśīte anna nā khāibe

“One day Nimāi offered praṇām to His mother's feet and said 'mother, give me one gift'. Mother said ‘I give you anything you ask.” Prabhu said “don't eat grains on Ekādaśī”.

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

"We aren't actually eating grains, because prasad and grains are never the same and there is just a superficial similarity, like the comparison between a biological eye and the eye on a peacock's feather."

Advaitadās - Where do the 6 Gosvāmīs say that? It's a total speculation

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

"Radhavallabhis and Haridasis are instead interested in something we consider even higher than this. Becoming a completely committed sevika/maidservant of Swaminiju Radha. It is not said anywhere that Ekadasi will give us seva of Sri Radha and that's all we really care about."

Advaitadās – “You risk attracting all the lazy, cheap, insincere and bodily attached devotees from us in this way.”

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

"Many of our mahatmas have attained the prayojan, Radha dasyam/sahachari bhava without following Ekadasi. Sri Harivansh himself is famed for not following it"

Advaitadās – That is why his guru Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī rejected him.

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

"(3) Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur in Raga-vartma-candrika says how Ekadasi is partially related with one's desired bhava, because it can help in one's Hari smarana. “tatraivaikadasi  vratasyanvaye 'govinda smaranam nrnam yad ekadasyuposanam' iti smrter upadana karana smaranasya labhada amsena bhava sambhanditvam”.

If by our bhajan practises, we are already engaged in smarana [which is a direct cause of attaining one's desired bhava as opposed to Ekadasi which is a partially/indirect cause] of Sri Priya Priyatam and that too focusing on our cherished bhava, then we also see no need to keep Ekadasi as we are already doing what it's fruit is, smaranam"

Advaitadās  - They should not quote Gauḍīya ācāryas on the one hand and reject them on the other hand. Ek pathe cholo – follow one path. This is the full text of Raga-vartma-candrika, to understand the whole context –

tapāṁsi śraddhayā kṛtvā premāḍhyā jajñire vraje ity ujjvala nīlamaṇyukter anugamyamānānāṁ śrutīnāṁ premāṇaṁ prati tapasāṁ kāraṇatvāvagamāt kalāvasmin tapo ‘ntarasya vigītatvāt mad arthaṁ yad vrataṁ tapaḥ iti bhagavad ukter ekādaśī janmāṣṭamyādi vratāni tapo rūpāṇi iti nimitta kāraṇāni naimittika kṛtyāni akaraṇe pratyavāya śravaṇān nityāni. tatraivaikādaśī vratasyānvaye govinda smaraṇaṁ nṛṇaṁ yad ekādaśyupoṣaṇam iti smṛter upādāna kāraṇa smaraṇasya lābhād aṁśena bhāva sambandhitvam api vyatireke tu mātṛhā pitṛhā caiva bhrātṛhā guruhā tathā ityādi skāndādi vacanebhyo guruhantṛtvādi śravaṇān nāmāparādha lābhaḥ brahmaghnasya surāpasya steyino gurutalpinaḥ iti viṣṇu-dharmottarokter anapāyi pāpa viśeṣa lābhaś ca iti nindāśravaṇād atyāvaśyaka kṛtyatvam. kiṁ bahunā paramāpadam āpanne harṣe vā samupasthite. naikādaśīṁ tyajed yas tu tasya dīkṣāsti vaiṣṇavī. viṣṇvarpitākhilācārāḥ sa hi vaiṣṇava ucyate. iti skānda vākyābhyām ekādaśī vratasya vaiṣṇava lakṣaṇatvam eva nirdiṣṭam. kiṁ ca vaiṣṇavānāṁ bhagavad anivedita bhojana niṣedhāḥ vaiṣṇavo yadi bhuñjita ekādaśyāṁ pramādataḥ ityatra bhagavan niveditānnasyaiva bhojana niṣedho’vagamyate.

“Having performed austerities with full faith, they attained full prema and took birth in Vraja.” From this evidence of the book Śri Ujjvala Nīlamani it is known that austerity was the cause of the Śrutis’ attaining prema. But in the present Kali-age, the performance of ulterior penance is denounced and the Lord Himself says: “Vows taken for My sake are actually penance.” Hence penances such as fasting on Ekādaśī, Janmāṣṭamī and so forth are indirect causes for attaining bhāva. Neglecting such occasional duties is known to be a cause of regression, therefore they are to be perpetually engaged in.  In the smṛti-śāstra, the effect of observing Ekādaśi-fast is told: “Fasting on Ekādaśī causes the remembrance of Govinda”. From this statement it is understood that it is a cause for attaining one’s desired mood, being a direct cause for the limb of smaraṇa, and therefore Śri Ekādaśī-vrata is said to be partially related with one’s desired mood. On the other hand, it is said about not observing it, “One who does not observe the Ekādaśī-vrata attains the sins of killing his mother, father, brother and guru.” In this way the Skanda Purāṇa says that one who does not fast on Ekādaśī becomes a killer of his guru and commits an offence against the holy name. Again, “Killer of a brāhmaṇa, drunkard, thief, one who has sex in his guru’s bed”, and so forth, thus Viṣṇu-dharmottara describes the specific imperishable sins which the one who eats grains on Ekādaśī acquires. All these denouncing statements prove that vows like Ekādaśī should always be kept. “Anyone who does not give up the vow of Ekādaśī has made his Vaiṣṇava-initiation a success.” “Anyone who offers all his activities unto Lord Viṣṇu, is a successful Vaiṣṇava.” These two statements from the Skanda Purāṇa give a definition of the Vaiṣṇava as one observing the vow of Ekādaśī. It is forbidden for a Vaiṣṇava to eat food which is not offered to the Lord. “If the Vaiṣṇava becomes so bewildered that he eats on the day of Ekādaśī...” These words show that eating of mahā-prasāda-grains is forbidden on the day of Ekādaśī.

Note here that Viśvanātha Cakravarti does mention and consider the different ingredients of mahā-prasāda – niveditānnasyaiva. The topic of Rāga vartma candrikā is rāga mārga, not vidhi mārga. And in any case, Rūpa Gosvāmī says in Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu [1.2.296]

śravaṇotkīrtanādīni vaidha-bhakty-uditāni tu

yāny aṅgāni ca tāny atra vijñeyāni manīṣibhiḥ 

“All the items of devotion that were discussed for vaidhi-bhakti are also practised and depended upon in rāgānugä-bhakti. The wise devotees practise the items that are proper for their own mood, but they do not act contrary to their own mood.”

Among the exceptions to this rule for rāga bhakti, Viśvanātha does not include Ekādaśī-vrata. Only mudra, nyāsa, mahiṣī pūjā and dvārakā dhyāna.

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

"All aparadhas let alone sins/papas are obliterated for those who take to Sri Radha's naam."

Advaitadās - nāmāparādha nr.6 is nāmno balāt yasya hi pāpa-buddhir na vidyate tasya yamair hi śuddhi - “No rules [yamaiḥ, atonement] can purify one who commits sins on strength of the holy name.”

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

(4) Lastly, Sri Rupa himself says how even a slight contact with the 5 primary angas of bhakti gives perfection:

sadhu-sanga nama-kirtana, bhagavata-sravana

mathura-vasa sri-murtira sraddhaya sevana

“The quintessential practices of devotion are association with sadhus, chanting the Holy Names, hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam, residing in Mathura-dhama, and faithfully worshiping the Deity.”

Advaitadās - Here again he selectively quotes Gauḍīya acaryas and elsewhere he rejects them. While that same Rupa Goswami wrote in Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu [1.2.76] that Ekadasi fasting is one of 64 bhakti angas -

vyāvahāreṣu sarveṣu yāvad-arthānuvartitā

hari-vāsara-sammāno dhātry-aśvatthādi-gauravam

Translation: Accepting only what is necessary in dealing with the body; observing the Ekādaśī vrata; giving respect to the āmalakī, aśvattha and other items.

Hita harivaṁśa follower –

In Caitanya Caritamrta, Srila Kaviraja Goswami also says: sakala-sadhana-srestha ei panca anga krsna-prema janmaya ei pancera alpa sanga - “"These five limbs of devotional service are the best of all. Even a slight performance of these five awakens love for Krsna.” Therefore sincere performance of any one of these limbs can give prema.

Advaitadās – It does not mean we should not follow Ekādaśī. You accept this from Rūpa Goswami and not his edict that Ekādaśī is one of the 64 bhakti-items. I call it ‘Picking and choosing what pleases your senses.’

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava - If we offer rice and subji on Ekādaśī to Thakurji, how can then be still any “sins” in the rice grains?

Advaitadas - There are no sins in prasād ever. It is a great aparādha to think so but we are not Thakurji - he can eat grains on Ekādaśī, we not. Look at the story of the sādhus who got a wet dream from eating Rādhā-Govinda's mahā-prasad. The money was given by a prostitute. Rādhā-Govinda told them: “I can digest that but you cannot. There is a papa-puruṣa (sinful energy) active on Ekādaśī.”

Mapping the unlimited, and nitya nikunja-vādīs

Vaisnava - "Radhe Shyam dadaji dandavat pranam. Can you please tell me the below with some references if possible. It is not related only to Gaudiya Siddhanta. 

 -1' difference between sakhi bhava and Gopi bhava as accepted across all sampradayas."

Advaitadās – “There's no consensus about this, otherwise why there are different sampradāyas? There's not even consensus about manjari bhāva. Some say the manjarīs enjoy vilāsa with Kṛṣṇa, others say they don't. It's according to the dṛṣṭikoṇa (angle of vision) of one's own guru varga.

Vaiṣṇava – 2. Many Sampradayas accept the concept of no swakiya (wedding) no parakiya. Just two lovers always in love play with sakhis.

Advaitadās – “Yes, the Nimbārkis and Hita Harivaṁsa devotees have that conception. nitya bihār (Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa non-stop making love). It then makes no difference any more, whether Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are married or not. They never even dress Themselves. The services required then are just fanning, singing, and water sevā.  Their point is - one should concentrate like a yogi on one single līlā. To some extent Sādhu Bābā agreed with that, be it not to such an extreme extent. He said eto porbār poriśrom - “All this studying!’ (‘Don’t study too many books, it will scatter the mind. Concentrate - keep it simple!”). Nevertheless, he did give me a shortlist of līlā-granthas to concentrate on, not just one single līlā. Manjarī sevā is focused on a single service (siddha praṇāli). They (the Nimbārkis and Hita Harivaṁśa-devotees) say separation is not needed to create excitement of union because the ānanda of their līlā is independent and does not depend on stimuli like separation. It is acceptable logic but it is not Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s siddhānta. He said: Na vinā vipralambhena sambhoga puṣṭim aśnute. [Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi 15.3, quoting Bharata Muni] “Without separation the taste of union cannot be nourished.”

Parakīya bhāva ati rasera ullāsa [Caitanya-Caritāmṛta Adi 4.47] “There is greater joy of rasa in parakīya bhāva, extramarital love of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.” parakīya bhāva is not only nourishing our relish but also Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s relish.

Vaiṣṇava – “3. They say the sakhīs have no mothers or fathers, no friends or buddies, nor husbands, nor children.”

Advaitadās – “We Gauḍīyas agree that gopīs have no children - our ācāryas commented like that on the Rāsa-līlā chapters of the Śrīmad Bhāgavat. Mothers, fathers and husbands are given in some siddha-praṇālī systems but not in ours (Advaita vaṁśa) – there is no time for them, and also in Gauḍīya līlā granthas they rarely show up (except in places like Rūpa Gosvāmī’s ‘Vidagdha Mādhava’ drama, or verses 87-88 of Vilāpa Kusumānjali), but they do exist. No Vṛṣabhānu bābā, no Kīrtidā māiyā, no Barsānā, no Śrīdām dādā, no Ananga manjari at all? Awful!”

Vaiṣṇava – “Then there is swakiya (wedded love). Not sure if any paramparā follows that. As far I have understood no paramparā follows swakiya bhav. Then there is parakiya bhava followed only by Gaudiyas. In Goloka Vrindavan I heard parakiya bhav are in petals and swakiya or no parakiya swakiya bhav is in the center. Is it true?"

Advaitadās – “These Goloka-diagrams are not the way it looks when you are there, in Goloka. Look at the map of England. Does it really look like that when you walk around there? The rolling hills, the sweet houses, the cows? Similarly, these maps and diagrams are useless for smaranam. A bird’s eye view is not an on-the-ground experience. And there is also not a single Goloka where we all live together, in separate sectors or so. There are as many Golokas as there are jīvas.”

Vaisnava – “But what about the statement of Goloka of a shape of thousand petalled lotus? I understood what you said. I thought on each petal a different bhav is going on. Though 1000 seems to limit the endless Goloka.”

Advaitadās - "Stop seeing Goloka as an object. It is a world that pervades all. loka means 'world'. These maps facilitate the simple minded. We call it dik darśan – a hint. There is not one Goloka, but innumerable Golokas -

yathā hi bhagavān ekaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇo bahu-mūrtibhiḥ |

bahu-sthāneṣu varteta tathā tat-sevakā vayam ||52||

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.5.52

“Just as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is one but appears in many forms in many places, so do we, His servants.”

Vaiṣṇava - Say by Gurumaharaj’s mercy we follow guru Manjari in Goloka. Who will we see? Only our guruvarga where we are doing most seva?

Advaitadās – “You attain what you contemplate only. See Bhagavad-gītā 8.6 –

yam yam vāpi smaran bhāvan tyajantyante kalevaram

tam tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad bhāva bhāvitaḥ

“Whatever you remember when you leave the body is what you attain in the afterlife, by constantly thinking of it.”

Vaiṣṇava - "Yes but as per gaur Govinda lilamrita gutika there will all 8 sakhis, Ananga manjari, manjaris, cowherds etc. So we will see everyone."

Advaitadās – “Yes of course but if you are at home you're surrounded by what? First your family, then your street, then your neighborhood, then your town etc. There's a focus within the whole picture, in the center. In this we (Advaita-vaṁsa-Gauḍīyas) agree with the nitya-nikunja-vādīs – there must be focus.”

Vaiṣṇava -  “In a specific planet there might be common jivas like in guruvarga?” 

Advaitadās - "Naturally you will all serve together. You should share the same consciousness-space. The Harivaṁśa says -

tasyopari gavāṁ lokaḥ sādhyās taṁ pālayanti hi

sa hi sarva-gataḥ kṛṣṇa mahākāśa-gato mahān

“Kṛṣṇa! Above this lies the cow-world, protected by the sādhyas [siddhas]. It is all-pervading (sarva-gataḥ) and boundless (mahān), and it exists in the great sky (mahākāśa).”

(Quoted in Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s ‘Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha’, anuccheda 106)

Note here the words sarva-gataḥ and mahān - it is a boundless, all-pervading world. Not subject to material limitations."

(another) Vaiṣṇava – “I heard, as per Hit Harivansh philosophy, Radha is vishaya tattva and Krishna is ashraya tattva.  This seems to be a bit unusual, what do you think in the light of gaudiya siddhanta? Kindly answer.”

Advaitadās – “In our līlā-, bhava- and sevā-conception we also think like that, and there are heaps of verses to that extent in Rādhā-rasa-sudhānidhi and Gīta-govinda too, that Kṛṣṇa serves Rādhā, being subdued by Her śuddha prema, and we manjarī bhāva sādhakas also worship Rādhā above Kṛṣṇa, but purely ontologically speaking, jīvera svarūpa hoy kṛṣṇer nitya-dās (C.C.) – The jīva’s svarūpa is Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servant.”

(Same, other) Vaiṣṇava – “Also, I heard Hit Harivansh followers won't do Ekadashi, is it true? Kindly  answer. Hit Harivansh followers justify his eating pan on Ekadashi as he was  completely immersed in Radha so he wasn't worried about external things?  But as per our gaudiya siddhanta Ekadashi is not just external right?  Kindly explain.”

Advaitadās – “Their idea is that one can eat grains on Ekādaśī to avoid offending the Lord’s mahā-prasāda grains offered that day. Obviously these ideas floated around in the 16^th century already, for Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmīpāda refuted it then in his Bhakti Sandarbha (299) - atra vaiṣṇavānāṁ nirāhāratvaṁ nāma mahā-prasādānna-parityāga eva – “The statements in this section regarding the Vaiṣṇavas’ fasting on the day of  Ekādaśī specifically refer to abstinence from food grains offered to Lord Viṣṇu. There is no need to mention abstinence from food not offered to Viṣṇu because the Vaiṣṇavas are ever-forbidden to partake of such food, as stated in the Nārada-pancarātra:

prasādānnaṁ sadā grāhyam ekādaśyāṁ na nārada;

ramādi-sarva-bhaktānām itareṣāṁ ca kā kathā

“O Nārada, food grains offered to Lord Viṣṇu are always forbidden on Ekādaśī for all devotees, headed by the Goddess Laksmī, so what to speak of others."

anarpita tika reconsidered

In my blog of August 24, 2017 I quoted Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī's ṭīkā to Śrī Rupa Gosvāmī's anarpita cari verse to prove that manjarī-bhāva is Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu's ultimate gift to the fallen souls of Kali-yuga. Since then I learned from 2 scholars that this text is most probably not written by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī. I will quote them here and add my own reasoning to it here too -

Bhrigumuni Das -

(In Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī's ṭīkā to Śrī Rupa Gosvāmī's anarpita cari verse) “There is all the emphasis on Śaci-mātā, etc. (Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī otherwise never wrote about Gaur-līlā - Advaitadas). The decisive proof against this text being authored by Jīva is quoting the advaita-prakaṭīkṛta-verse of Viśvanātha Cakravartī (who lived a century later of course - Advaitadas) which appears in the maṅgalācaraṇa to his commentary to Prema-bhakti-candrikā.”

For the readers' comfort I quote and translate that text of Viśvanātha Cakravartī here —

advaita prakaṭīkṛto narahari preṣṭhaḥ svarūpa priyo

nityānanda sakhaḥ sanātana gatiḥ śrī rūpa hṛt ketanaḥ

lakṣmī prāṇa patir gadādhara rasollāsī jagannātha-bhūḥ

sāṅgopāṅga sapārṣadaḥ sa dayatāṁ devaḥ śacīnandanaḥ

“My that Lord Śacīnandana, who was manifest by Advaita-ācārya, who is dear to Narahari Sarakāra and Svarūpa Dāmodara, who is Nityānanda's friend, the shelter of Sanātana Gosvāmī, who dwells in the heart of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, who is the Lord of Lakṣmīpriyā's life, who delights in the rasa served by Gadādhara, and who was born from Jagannātha Miśrā, along with His associates, be merciful to me.”

Satya-Nārāyaṇa Dāsji had the following to add - 

“I checked the Advaiti-prakaṭī-kṛta verse in the commentary of Prema-bhakti-candrika. It looks to me that this verse is written by VCT himself. It is the mangalācarana verse in his ṭīkā. He would certainly not cite someone else's verse for his mangalācarana. Moreover, if Jīva Gosvāmī has cited it then it could have been composed by Śrī Rupa or Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī. But that possibility is not there because the verse contains the name of both of them. It is highly improbable that Śrī Rupa or Śrī Sanātana will write a verse containing their own names and describing themselves as associates of Caitanya. At best they could call themselves as humble servants. So it may be that this explanation of Anarpita-cari is not by Jīva Gosvāmī.”

I will add my own reasoning too -

1. If this ṭīkā to the anarpita-cari-verse was written by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī it would surely be quoted by Ananta Dās Bābāji, who was the staunchest preacher of manjari bhāva, since it would suit his mission perfectly. But he never quoted it.

2. The list of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmīpāda’s works in Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya 1.43-44, is too summary to rely on, but Narahari Cakravarti’s Bhakti Ratnākara has a very elaborate list of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī's works, mentioning 25 of them, not including this text at all.

3. It seems strange that the ṭīkā to a single verse would appear as a separate book.

4. All the 6 Gosvāmīs as well as all the major Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ācāryas that succeeded them were mañjarīs.

5. Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī’s ‘Vilāpa Kusumānjali’, Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī’s ‘Rādhā-rasa-sudhānidhi’, Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura’s ‘Prema Bhakti Candrikā’  and ‘Prārthanā’, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s ‘Utkalikā Vallari’ and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda’s ‘Sankalpa Kalpadruma’ are clearly showing that manjari bhāva is the prayojana of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sampradāya, even without needing support of such a supposed comment by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī.

The 2017 blog is hereby deleted. 

For the record, the alleged text of Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī ran as follows –

śrī-śrī-rādhā-dāsya-mātra-labhyānanya-labhya-vraja-sumadhura-prema-prakāśanāya tasyāḥ sarva-varīyastva-prakāśanāya ca

"Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to reveal the very sweet prema of Vraja which is only attainable through rādhā-dāsya and through no other means [ananya labhya]. He also came to reveal that this is the greatest thing there is."

3 points about nāmāparādha

Vaiṣṇava: It is said in Caitanya-Caritāmrta [Adi 8. 29-31]  "Gaur-Nitāi don’t take offenses"

hena kṛṣṇa-nāma yadi laya bahu-bāra

tabu yadi prema nahe, nahe aśrudhāra

tabe jāni, aparādha tāhāte pracura

kṛṣṇa-nāma-bija tāhe nā kare ankura

caitanya-nityānande nāhi esaba vicāra

nāma laite prema dena, vahe aśrudhāra

"If one takes [chants] that divine name of Kṛṣṇa many times but still there is no prema, and no stream of tears, then I know there is a lot of aparādha and the seed of kṛṣṇa-nāma does not sprout there. There is none of this consideration in Caitanya and Nityānanda. If you take their names tears will stream."

Advaitadās - This is a glorification, puṣpita vacah, flowery language. Did Gaura forgive Chota Haridās, Gopāl Chāpal, Mukunda? Jagāi and Mādhāi were redeemed by Nitāi, Devānanda Paṇḍit by Vakreśvara Pandit. What means mercy? A blanket pardon? A human right? Mercy means getting what you don't deserve, it is not an automatic hand-out human right. Devānanda and Jagāi and Mādhāi got the mercy (of Mahāprabhu’s associates) - it is rare, occasional and at random.

Exploiting the belief that "Gaura-Nitāi don’t take offenses" is itself a nāmāparādha - namno balāt yasya hi pāpa buddhih - committing sin on strength of the divine name. "Let me torture Vaiṣṇavas and afterwards say Nitāi-Gaura haribolo." Will Gaur forgive it?

******

Vaiṣṇava: "If it were true that everyone chants nāmāparādha in the neophyte stage, no one would ever advance beyond that stage. Rather, everyone would fall down completely because of nāmāparādha.”

Advaitadās -
This is also wrong -

nāmāparādha-yuktānāṁ nāmāny eva haranty agham 

aviśrānta-prayuktāni tāny evārtha-karāṇi ca 

(Hari-bhakti Vilāsa 11.526 )

Constant chanting may dissipate nāmāparādha.

One can chant nāmāparādha (not nāmābhāsa) if you follow an aparādhi guru. That isn't conscious nāmāparādha as long as you are innocently deluded by an aparādhi guru. It is institutionalized nāmāparādha. If you understood that the Guru is an aparādhi but you keep following him because he heads a comfort zone, then it becomes nāmāparādha. How to get rid of it? Reject the aparādhī Guru. How this happens? If Krsna mercifully sends you an offenseless Vaiṣṇava who opens your eyes about the offensiveness of that Guru. As Vakreśvara Pandit enlightened Devānanda Paṇḍit. One gets to the śuddha nāma stage by the kripā of Sādhu, śāstra and Guru (Bhagavān) and it's very rare

******

The 9th offence to the divine  name is generally presented as " To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the divine  name."

But the text extends it to any preaching at all, about anything, to the faithless. The divine  name isn't mentioned in the text.

aśraddadhāne vimukhe’py aśṛṇvati yaś copadeśaḥ śiva nāmāparādhaḥ [Hari-bhakti Vilāsa 11.523].

Sanātan Gosvāmī's dig-darśinī-ṭīkā says -

aśraddadhānādau jane ya upadeśaḥ sa śiva-nāmni aparādhaḥ | śrī-bhagavatā saha śrī-śivasyābhedena śivety uktiḥ

It is an offence to preach to the faithless in general , about anything, not only about harināma. Sanātan Gosvāmī confirms here by the way (“The name Śiva is used here due to Śrī Śiva being non-different from Śrī Bhagavān”), that the 2nd offence to the divine name is not to see Śiva as independent from Viṣṇu but as separate, what to speak of "To consider the names of demigods like Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Viṣṇu."

Sādhu Bābā translated the 9th [8th in his counting] offence as ৮) শ্রদ্ধাবিহীন জনে ও শ্রবণবিমুখ জনে উপদেশ করিলে অপরাধ হয় – “If you instruct a faithless person who is averse to hearing, it is an offense to the divine  name. “ There is no mentioning of the glories of the divine name alone, it says ‘instructing on anything’.

The 10th offense is discussed here -
and the 2nd offence is here and here

Vaiṣṇava-dress, part 4

Vaiṣṇava-dress, part 4

On wearing Vaiṣṇava-dress the post-modern rationalist Vaiṣṇava-lobby may argue:

“The terms "dhoti" or "sari" are not Sanskrit words and not mentioned in scripture.”

Let us have look at the different Sanskrit-dictionaries -

अवगुण्ठन n. avaguNThana
1.the act of covering the head of women;
2.a veil (for the face) (fig. also);

(Apte Dictionary)

धटी f. dhaTI piece of cloth worn over the privities

(Spokensanskrit.org)

Now let's look at scripture -

The word 'dhoti' is mentioned in Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī’s Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu  (2.1.351) -

smerāsyaḥ parihita-pāṭalāmbara-śrīś 

channāṅgaḥ puraṭa-rucoru-kañcukena |

uṣṇīṣaṁ dadhad aruṇaṁ dhaṭīṁ ca citrām 

kaṁsārir vahati mahotsave mudaṁ naḥ ||

Bhānu Swāmi's translation: "The enemy of Kaṁsa, smiling in great joy, and wearing a pink dhoti, orange turban, an excellent vest of shining gold, and multi-color sash, creates joy in us.”

Bhānu Swāmi has the dhoti's color wrong, but does translate dhaṭī as dhoti

Professor David L. Haberman has it right in his Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu translation -

351. The Enemy of Kamsa, dressed in the following manner during the Great Celebration, is our delight. He has a smile on his face, a beautiful pink scarf placed over his shoulders, and a long shirt that glistens like gold covers his body; he wears a red turban on his head and a multi-colored cloth (dhoti) around his waist.

Both translate dhaṭī as dhoti. Bengalis pronounce the short 'a' as 'oh'

Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī’s Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu 3.4.31, describing Kṛṣṇa's śeṣa-kumāra age:

dhaṭī phaṇa-paḍī cātra kiñcid-vanya-vibhūṣaṇam |

laghu-vetraka-ratnādi maṇḍanaṁ parikīrtitam

Bhānu Swāmi's translation: 

“A long narrow cloth wrapped around the waist, cloth folded to resemble a serpent’s hood at the front, flower ornaments and a small stick in His hand are considered the ornaments of the last part of the kaumāra age.”

Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s ṭīkā: 

dhaṭī svalpa-vistara-bahvāyamānaḥ paṭa-viśeṣaḥ. yaḥ khalu vicitra-parivṛtti-bāhulyenādharāṅge vicchittiṁ labhate 

dhaṭī = dhoti; svalpa = little; vistara - wide; bahu = much; āyamānaḥ = stretching; paṭa = cloth; viśeṣaḥ = kind of; yaḥ = who; khalu = surely; vicitra = wonderful; parivṛtti = surrounding; bāhulyena = with an abundance; adharāṅge = on the lower body; vicchitti = cut; labhate = attains

Jīva Gosvāmī’s Commentary, Bhānu Swāmi's translation:

"dhaṭī is a long, narrow cloth. It looks attractive, wrapping the lower half of the body in various ways."

The other 3 Vaiṣṇava-dress blogs from March 2012 and May 2017 are found
here, here and here. The now updated pdf on this topic on my website madangopal.com is here. 

Mahāprabhu’s associates, svakīya-vāda and aiśvarya mixtures

Mahāprabhu’s associates, svakīya-vāda and aiśvarya mixtures

Vaisnava - "At the end of the Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka Mahāprabhu tells Advaita ācārya:

dāsye kecana kecana praṇayinaḥ sakhye ta evobhaye

rādhā-mādhava niṣṭhayā katipaye śrī dvārakādhīśituh

sakhyādāv ubhayatra kecana pare ye vāvatārāntare

mayyābaddha hṛdo'khilān vitanavai vṛndāvanāsaṅginaḥ

“Some devotees are in a mood of servitude, some are fixed in a fraternal mood, some are fixed in the love of Rādhā and Mādhava, others in the Lord of Dvārakā and again others in My different avatāras like Rāma and Nṛsiṁha. I will lock you all in the chains of My love and give You attachment to Vṛndāvana!"

On the surface it seems from this verse that Mahāprabhu's associates are just conditioned souls who are being redeemed by Him, though they are supposed to be nitya siddhas. Plus there seems to be the possibility of being promoted from dāsya rasa, Dwārakā rati whatever, to Rādhā-Mādhava."

Advaitadās – You have to see the context. This verse comes at the end of a drama, which has a happy ending, just like the end of Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Lalita-mādhava drama where Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa get married. As for nitya-siddhas – they all have their sthāyi-bhāvas. Mahāprabhu failed to persuade Jīva Gosvāmī's father Vallabha to switch from Rāma-bhakti to Kṛṣṇa-bhakti.

Vaiṣṇava - Why Jīva Gosvāmī preached svakīya vāda (Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa marrying)?

Advaitadās – Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī writes in his Sādhana Dīpika: 

gopāla-dāsa-nāmā ko’pi vaiśyaḥ śrī-jīva-gosvāmi-pādānāṁ priya-śiṣyaḥ. tat-prārthanā-paravaśena tena svakīyātvaṁ siddhāntitam 

"There was a vaiśya named Gopāla, who was Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī's dear disciple. He established the svakīya siddhānta because he was subdued by his prayer to do so."

Vaiṣṇava - In the Veṇu Gīta in the Śrīmad-bhāgavat the gopīs pray to the clouds, trees, birds etc. Is that just poetry or all they also all sentient beings who can respond?"

Advaitadās – According to Vedic vision even material elements are persons – Indra is rain, Vāyu is wind etc. - what to speak of elements in the all-sentient spiritual sky?

Vaiṣṇava – In his commentary on Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, Śrī Ānanda Gopāl Gosvāmī describes how Rādhākuṇḍa and Rādhārāṇī's sash-of-bells (kāñchi) talk back to Raghunātha Dās Gosvāmī. Is that not aiśvarya? This is not a sign of nara-līlā (human pastimes).

Advaitadas – I still think this is very sweet, but yes it is aiśvarya. Aiśvarya cannot be avoided altogether in Vraja-līlā though. Rādhā-Mādhava cross a distance of 50 kilometers in the evening, walking from Nandagrām and Yāvat to Vṛndāvana to dance the Rāsa at night. It takes them just a few moments to walk 50 km. Kṛṣṇa expands himself during the noon pastimes in Rādhākuṇḍa to enjoy in all eight sakhīs’ kuñjas at the same time. Without some aiśvarya-hocus pocus even sweet Vraja-līlās cannot be accomplished. This aiśvarya drowns in an ocean of mādhurya, though, depending on the mādhurya-capacity and inclination of the sādhaka. The same thing goes for all the marvelous buildings described in the eternal Vraja-līlās.