Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi part 1

Ujjvala Nilamani is a sequel of Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu, written by Śrī Rūpa Goswāmī because he found the topic of amorous love of Kṛṣṇa was too extensive to include in it. Naturally this is a confidential item of śāstra, yet it should be discussed, for true devotees will appreciate it in its true value. In his brief commentary Jīva Goswāmī appears to support svakīya vāda (married love of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa) and in his lengthier commentary Srī Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda seems to support parakīya vāda (extramarital love). They only clash in a few places, though, not throughout the book. This scripture shows an almost endless variety of male and female lovers and the situations they may end up in.

Chapter 1 deals with the varieties of Nāyakas (amorous heroes). In his commentary of verse 1.23, Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda argues that, why Kṛṣṇa was named Govinda during His abhisekha by the Surabhi cow after He lifted Mount Govardhan? Is this name not eternal?

anyathā govindābhiṣekāt pūrvam eva pūtanā supayaḥ pānānantaraṁ bīja-nyāsaṁ kurvatyo vraja-vara-vadhvaḥ krīḍantaṁ pātu govindaḥ [ṣ.B. 10.6.25] iti guṇa-gāne ca govinda-veṇum anumatta-mayūra-nṛtyam iti kathaṁ vadeyuḥ -

Previously in the 10th canto, during the narration of the killing of Putanā, the Vrajabāsī women assigned nyāsa [seed-letters] to Kṛṣṇa,  saying ‘may Govinda protect You at play’ (though this is more likely to refer to the Vaikuṇṭha-deity Govinda) and the young gopīs praised Kṛṣṇa's flute long before the abhiṣekha-pastime, in chapter 21’s ‘Veṇu Gīta’ ‘the peacocks dance like mad, when they hear Govinda’s flute’

tena yat-karma-viśiṣṭasya yasya rūpasya yan nāma tat-karma-viśiṣṭaṁ tad-rūpaṁ nityam eva | loke paraṁ teṣāṁ bhaktānāṁ tat-tad-rasānubhavārthaṁ krameṇāvirbhāvaḥ 

“Thus the name related to a form of the Lord performing some action is as eternal as that action. They gradually manifest in the world so the devotees can experience their divine flavours.”

abhimanyu-prabhṛtiṣu pati-bhāvas tu māyika eva | cid-rūpāṇāṁ śrī-rādhādīnāṁ cid-rūpeṣu patiṣv abhimanyu-prabhṛtiṣu sārvakālika-dveṣānyathānupapattyā madhye pati-bhāva-rūpā māyā svāṁśa-bhūtā śrī-yoga-māyayaiva sthāpitā | prākṛtīnāṁ strīṇāṁ pariṇetṛṣu pati-bhāvasya prāpañcikatvād anityatvam | gopīnāṁ tu pariṇetṛṣu patibhāvasya māyā-kalpitatve bhagaval-līlā-tantra-madhya-vartitvāt māyāyāś cāsyā yogamāyānumoditatvāc ca nityatvam eveti viśeṣaḥ | mohanaṁ tu tāsāṁ yogamāyyaiva guṇātīttvān na tu māyayā

“Abhimanyu and other cowherd men’s esteem of being the gopīs’ husbands is false [māyik]. The forms of Śrī Rādhā and other gopīs are transcendental; it would be inappropriate for Abhimanyu and others like him to cherish eternal hatred towards them. Mahāmāyā is an expansion of Yogamāyā and she arranges their husband-esteem. To think of oneself as the husband of a material woman is mundane and temporary. The gopīs’ idea that these men are their husbands is also created by māyā, but since it all takes place in the context of the Lord’s transcendental pastimes it is endorsed by Yogamāyā and thus also eternal.”

Chapter 2 deals with the variety of assistants of the hero. In his commentary on verse 2.15, Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda mentions mañjarī bhāva - 

tāś ca lalitādyāḥ parama-preṣṭha-sakhy-ādaya uttarās tu tad-dvayābhāvāt kadāpi kṛṣṇāṅga-saṅga-spṛhāvatyo na bhavanti | tāś ca kastūryādayo nitya-sakhyas tatra vyākyāta-lakṣaṇaṁ pūrvāsāṁ śrī-kṛṣṇāṅga-saṅga-spṛhā-rūpam aṁśam udāhartum āha yathā veti 

‘There are parama preṣṭha sakhīs like Lalitā and others, and there are nitya sakhīs, like Kasturī Mañjarī, who never ever desire the bodily association of Kṛṣṇa.

Chapter 3 deals with the variety of Hari’s sweethearts.
Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments on UN 3.2 - 


kāminīnāṁ yauvana-mada eva lalitānīti nyāyenoktir vastutas tu tāsāṁ nitya-siddhaiva sarva-vaidagdhī svāvasaraṁ prāpya udayate | dṛṣṭaṁ ca tathā rāsa-krīḍāyāṁ gāna-nṛtyādiṣu prāvīṇyam tat-tac-chāstra-kṛdbhirapi durgamam

“Pride of youth causes the attainment of all cleverness in nitya siddha girls. They learn expertise in the arts of dancing, singing, etc. during the Rāsa-pastimes, that are rarely attained even by the authors of śāstra, just by looking.” So no long studies at Bhārat Nātyam colleges or lengthy mṛdaṅga-lessons in mañjarī svarūpa. Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda writes elsewhere that to attain perfection a devotee needs to take birth first in Kṛṣṇa's earthly pastimes before being promoted to Goloka, but that is not to gain practical skills. Only to develop further prema.

Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments on UN 3.13

tatrāpi paroḍhānāṁ śrī-rādhādīnāṁ dāsyaḥ kāścana śrī-vṛṣabhānv-ādibhir vivāha-kāle dattāḥ kanyakā eva kāścana tad-anyā rūpa-mañjary-ādayaḥ paroḍhā eva jñeyāḥ | bimbādhare kṣatam anāgata bhartṛkāyāḥ [vilāpa-kusumāñjali 1] iti śrī-dāsa-gosvāmy-ukteḥ | arvācīnānāṁ sādhaka-bhaktānāṁ tu bhāvo yathā-ruci yathā-sampradāyaṁ vā phaliṣyatīti boddhavyam

“Some of the maidservants that were given at marriage by the fathers of the brides like Vṛṣabhānu, were not married and some, like Rūpa Mañjarī, were. The evidence for Rūpa Mañjarī being married is found in the opening verse of Śrīla Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī’s Vilāpa Kusumāñjali. The feelings of the contemporary sādhakas will bear fruit according to feeling and sampradāya.” yathā sampradāya cannot mean ‘according to sampradāya like Rāmānuja, Madhva etc.’, because only the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sampradāya has mañjarī-bhāva. Therefore it should mean according to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sub-branch like Advaita- and Nityānanda parivāras. Ironically Sādhu Bābā quoted exactly the same verse to me to prove that Rūpa Mañjarī is not married, as anāgata means ‘not come’; in other words Rūpa Mañjarī’s husband was not yet found. Anyway, Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda reconciles it neatly afterwards by saying yathā ruci yathā sampradāya, it is accomplished according to one’s own taste and lineage.

3.19 kanyakāś ca paroḍhāś ca parakīyā dvidhā matāḥ

Verse by Rūpa Goswāmī – “there are two kinds of parakīya relationships – not only of a married girl with another man but also of an unmarried [maiden] with a man.”

Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments on UN 3.19: 
kāścit tadānīṁ deśāntarāt samāgatyāpi samātṛkāḥ sthitā iti jñeyāḥ : 

“Some unmarried gopīs came from outside of Vraja, with their mothers.”

3.21 yatra niṣedha-viśeṣaḥ sudurlabhatvaṁ ca yan mṛgākṣīṇām tatraiva nāgarāṇāṁ nirbharam āsajjate hṛdayam

“When a woman forbids a man to approach her and is hard to attain, it increases the attachment of the heart for the amorous hero (suitor).”

Rūpa Goswāmī condemns sahajīya imitationists in UN 3.24: 
vartitavyaṁ śam icchadbhir bhaktavan na tu kṛṣṇavat -

“Those who desire their own welfare should act as devotees, not as Kṛṣṇa.”

Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments on UN 3.33:

gopīnāṁ gopair vivāhasya māyikatve’pi nitya-satyatvam eva jñeyam | manyamānā ity abhiprāya-mātraṁ na tu māyā-kalpitānām api tāsāṁ patibhiḥ sambhoga iti tāsāṁ tad-ākāra-tulyākārāṇām anya-sambhuktatvasyānaucityāt | ata eva sva-pārśva-sthān iti | na tu talpa-sthān ity uktam | tac ca samādhānaṁ yogamāyayaiva tat-patīnāṁ puṁstve’pi kāma-vikārān udbhāvanāt | ata eva tan-mātrādibhiḥ prārthitānām api teṣāṁ teṣāṁ gopānāṁ gopālānāṁ śālli-kṣetrādāv eva śiśayiṣā prāyo na tu sva-gṛheṣv api svīya-tad-bhāvasya prākaṭyābhāvāyeti jñeyam –

“Though the gopīs’ marriages with the gopas are false they are also eternally real. The cowherds did not enjoy those forms made of māyā as it would be inappropriate to enjoy other forms that looked just like them. Hence it is said (in this Bhāgavat-verse 10.33.38 quoted here) ‘they thought their wives to be by their sides’, not ‘they thought their wives to be in their beds. The solution was provided by Yogamāyā: though the husbands were potent they had no male transformations in the presence of their gopī-wives. Though their mothers asked them (to sleep with their wives) they slept in the cow-barns, because they did not have that bhāva (desire) for their wives.”

3.37 aprasūtitve sati tāsām ālambanatvaṁ vairūpyeṇa dūṣyate

“The gopīs could not have delivered babies because the disfigurement would have polluted them (made them unqualified for enjoyment by Kṛṣṇa).”

ata eva duhantyo’bhiyayuḥ ityādau, pāyayantyaḥ śiśūn payaḥ ity eva śrī-śuka-vākyaṁ na tu pāyayantyaḥ sutān stanam iti | kvacit tad-vidheṣu putrādi-vyapadeśo dṛśyate yathā sāmba-kṛta-lakṣmaṇā-haraṇe śrī-baladevam uddiśya |
pratigṛhya tu tat-sarvaṁ bhagavān sātvatarṣabhaḥ |
sa-sutaḥ sa-snuṣaḥ prāgāt suhṛdbhir abhinanditaḥ || iti ||37||

"Sometimes it is mentioned that the gopīs' abandoned their children to dance with Kṛṣṇa,  but wherever there is any mentioning of them having sons it does not mean their own sons, just as when Lord Baladev rescued Sāmba (Śrīmad Bhāgavat 10.68.52), Sāmba is mentioned as his son though he was not directly his son. Also the Bhāgavat mentions the gopis fed milk to children, but not their breast milk. It is said śiśūn payaḥ, they fed milk to children (cows’ milk), not ‘they breast-fed their own children’ (pāyayantyaḥ sutān stanam)."

Śrīmad Bhāgavat Canto 12, part 2

12.9.25 Kṛṣṇa does not know the limit to the sweetness of His own toes as He sucks them on the Banyan leaf on the ocean of cataclysm. Kavi Karṇapur sucked Mahāprabhu’s toe as a toddler and as a result he wrote so many beautiful books like Caitanya Candrodaya, Gaur Ganoddeśa Deepika and Kṛṣṇāhnika Kaumudī. Viśvanātha’s tika : mac-caraṇāmbuje kīdṛśaṁ madhu vartate yata etad āsvādanārthaṁ bahavo mad-bhaktā yatante tasmād idam aham apy āsvādya pariceṣye - « What honey is there in My lotus-feet? Since many of My devotees try to taste it, so should I. » Though Kṛṣṇa is the vessel of all sweetness He can still not relish it. Whatever or whoever is unlimited can not reach his own limit, and it has been said earlier in the 10th canto, chapter 87, that the Lord does not know His own limits. That is why He became Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to find the limits of His own sweetness and the love that Rādhā feels for Him. Śrī Ānanda Gopāl Goswāmī said in his Vilāpa Kusumāñjali lectures that Mahāprabhu never reached that limit and He never will, and this establishes the eternality of Gaura Līlā. This form of Baṭa Kṛṣṇa,  lying on the Banyan leaf, is also eternal, like all of the Lord’s forms and He also never finds the limit to the sweetness of His own toe. Not only that, Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī even taught ‘vibhur api kalayann sadābhivṛddhim’ – Although the bliss and sweetness of Kṛṣṇa līlā is unlimited, it is still ever-increasing.

12.10.23 In his commentary Jīva Goswāmī explains that the words devāś cetanojjhitā [lifeless statues] do not refer to deities of Lord Viṣṇu, but to statues of Indra and other devatās. Speaking of deities, there is a belief that once the deity is installed, the deity will accept all service from any and every devotee. That is a very bureaucratic vision. Śrīdhar Swāmī comments on Bhagavad Gītā 9.26 tasya prayatātmanaḥ śuddha-cittasya niṣkāma-bhaktasya tat-patra-puṣpādikaṁ bhaktyā tena upahṛtaṁ samarpitam aham aśnāmi ‘prayatātmana means that I [Kṛṣṇa] will eat offerings from a pure-hearted devotee without selfish desires’ and Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments kiṁ ca mad-bhaktasyāpy apavitra-śarīratve sati nāśnāmīty āha prayatātmanaḥ śuddha-śarīrasyeti rajaḥsvalādayo vyāvṛttāḥ ‘Even if one is a devotee, if he/she has an impure body i will not eat the offering. The body must be pure, especially from menstruation.’

12.10.26 Lord Shiva is praising Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, who can not get enough of hearing about it. According to Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda it does not mean Mārkaṇḍeya was so proud or narcistic. Rather he felt like being instructed [and encouraged] as to what type of a person he should actually be.

12.11.20 In his ṭīkā, Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda seems to say that the hlādinī śakti is represented in the happiness of swarg, which would validate the theory that material pleasure is a reflection of the spiritual hlādinī śakti:

anapāyinī eka-rūpā sākṣāt svarūpa-bhūtā śaktiḥ | asyāhlādinī-śakter vibhūtir laukikaḥ svargādy-ānanda ūhyaḥ | tantra-mūrtiḥ pañcarātrādy-āgama-rūpaḥ pañcarātrādy-āgamā viṣvaksenasya vibhūtaya ity arthaḥ | harer dvāḥsthā ye nandādayaḥ, te’pi aṇimādyā guṇā anya-gatā vibhūtayaḥ

However the word used here is vibhūti, not pratibimba or chāyā. vibhuti like in Bhagavad Gītā, chapter 10, representing Kṛṣṇa's prowess and glory only.

12.11.50 lokan avatyaja - the sun is the protector of the world, because crime – mugging, burglary, murder, rape - usually is committed at night. Daylight gives security to mankind, except in times of war or natural disaster of course.

12.12.49 Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda’s tika -
asya śāstrasya kṛṣṇa-kīrtana eva tātparyāt, tad anya-kīrtanam avigītam api na kuryāt | tat kīrtanaṁ yat paśubhir vigītatvenoktaṁ tad api kuryād ity āha—mṛṣeti | tāḥ satyā api giro mithyā eva | priyā api giro’satīr asatyaḥ kaṭūktaya eva | tathā satāṁ viduṣām api kathā asat-kathā eva | kutaḥ ? yad yato bhagavān na kathyate iti | ataḥ sa satyavādy api mithyā-vādī priyaṁvado’pi kaṭu-bhāṣī sat-kathako’py asat-kathaka ucyate iti bhāvaḥ | svakalpitatvād asatyam api bhagavad-yaśaś cet tad eva satyaṁ gṛhāśrama-vidhvaṁsakatvāt amaṅgalam api tad eva maṅgalaṁ nānyat bhagavataḥ para-dāra-haraṇādikam apuṇyatvenādhamair uktam api tad eva puṇyam | yato bhagavato guṇasyaiva na tu doṣasyodayo yasmāt tat

« The purpose of śāstra is to glorify Kṛṣṇa – others’ glorification, even if not done badly, should still not be done. However, even if animals glorify the Lord badly, that should be done. Though the words are true they are also false. Though the words are dear they are still unchaste, false and bitter. Even if the words are uttered by learned persons they are not real. Why? Because they do not describe the Lord. In this way even truthful persons are liars, sweet talkers are bitter speakers etc. If the words are false because they come from one’s imagination, they are still true if they glorify the Lord. »

This last sentence is significant. Even if the great poets who wrote so many volumes of Kṛṣṇa-kathā in the past, have just used their poetic skills of imagination [kavir kalpana], still they are all true because Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth and any story which is projected upon Him will be the Absolute truth too. Mahāprabhu has proclaimed this, adding that the only rules are that there should be no apasiddhānta (wrong philosophy) or rasābhāsa (bad taste). This verse is not a glorification but actual truth.
Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda continues : « If the words are inauspicious because they destroy the householders world they are actually auspicious. »
In India the gṛhasthas invite the sādhu to lecture them and they know they will get the sauce for being materialistic and bodily conscious. They are prepared for that and they humbly accept their verdict without arguing or finding excuses.
Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda continues : « Even if fallen rascals say that the Lord’s eloping with other men’s wives is immoral, still it is virtuous [pure] »
Whatever touches the Cintāmaṇi-gem turns into gold, and similarly whatever act Kṛṣṇa performs is sacred, even if it externally appears to be sinful or immoral.

12.12.52 Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda's ṭīkā - "Just as sacred mantras are starting and ending with a bīja, this Bhāgavatam begins and ends with the same verses. From this it is clear that endings like svāhā and pracodayāt are also considered beejas."
Bhānu Swāmī incorrectly translated the words sthāne sthita in Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda's ṭīkā of SB 10.14.3, as ‘remaining in one’s social status’. Actually Viśvanātha says satāṁ nivāsa eva sthitāḥ – remain in the abode of a saint, na tu tīrthānyapyaṭantaḥ, but do not wander all over the holy places.

12.13.23 the very last verse of the Bhāgavat. In his ṭīkā Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda acknowledges that all kinds of non-dualist philosophies are included in the Bhāgavat -  ārambhe pariṇāme ca vivarte’pi na hi kṣatiḥ śrīmad-bhāgavate bhakteḥ puruṣrtha-śiromaṇeḥ - "ārambha-vāda, pariṇāma-vāda and vivarta-vāda in the Bhagavat do not harm it – it [nonetheless] propounds bhakti as the crown-jewel of life’s goals." Jīva Goswāmī has established our siddhānta as acintya bhedābheda, and abheda is an equal part of that. It is perfectly reflected in the Bhāgavat, though the ācāryas have given a pure devotional slant to the abheda-verses in their commentaries. There is no ancient śāstra which is entirely fixed on one path or the other – though the Upaniṣads stress the path of brahman it has many personalist verses too and though the Bhāgavat obviously stresses bhakti, it has impersonalist verses too. But any honest person would acknowledge that the Bhāgavat is all about bhakti to Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīmad Bhāgavat, 12th canto, part 1

Some interesting verses and commentaries from the 12th Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata -

12.2.4 liṅgam evāśrama khyātā – in Kali-yuga one’s āśram is only shown by external signs. This predicts the current custom of giving and taking sannyāsa for political or economic reasons. Too often we see saintly gṛhasthas [so called fallen souls] and duplicitous sannyāsīs [so-called saints]. Time often shows that the struggling gṛhasthas had the most bhakti and the ‘great’ sannyāsīs fell flat on their faces. Veśa is after all just a few inches of textile. Only God knows what is on our hearts. Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments: prāptau liṅgam eva daṇḍājina-śikhā-tyāgādikam eva kāraṇaṁ na tu jñāna-sad-ācārādikam – “An āśram is seen by shaved heads, sannyāsa-staffs and antelope-skins, but not by knowledge or pure conduct.”
Verse 7 expands on that - ‘yaśo’rthe dharma sevanam – religion is served only for fame. In other words, devotees flag around their beadbags on the streets of holy places, with endlessly long counting-beads, to show off their huge sādhana for fame and, in extension, money.

12.2.14 śūdra prāyeṣu varṇesu - The castes are mostly converted into śūdras. Not all but most [prāyeṣu] castes will behave like śūdras. It means there will be qualified Brahmins too, especially since this verse could apply to the later stages of Kali, not the present stage.

12.2.15 yauna means related to the wife, not as Bhānu Swāmī says related to youth. He may have confused the word yauna for the word yauvana.

12.2.30 In the ṭīkā Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda writes that Kali yuga started on the moment when Duryodhana ordered the disrobing of Draupadī in the Kuru Sabhā.

12.3.20 says that in Kali yuga human qualities – the four legs of dharma – decrease gradually simultaneously, while SB 1.7.2.12, 24 and 25 say the legs of dharma disappear fully one by one in each yuga. I consulted Pandit Satya-nārāyan Dāsjī on this and he replied as follows [June 19, 2011]:

Dear Prabhuji,
Jai Śrī Rādhe Govinda!
In 1.1712 and 1.17.24 the words used for Dharma's legs are avṛścat and bhagnaḥ. Both mean broken and not cut off. The word avṛścat comes from the root ovṛścu means 'to pierce'. The word vṛścika, scorpion, comes from the same root; and you know what a scorpion does - it pierces. The word bhagnaḥ comes from the root bhaji, to break. So what it signifies is that the legs were broken but not completely removed or cut. In this chapter, because dharma is depicted as a bull so there is a little different presentation then in 12th canto where things are stated directly. Dramatic presentations may take a little lee-way to present things to
catch attention. Therfore Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments in line with the 12th canto description.
Hari om
snd

Also the verse and ṭīkās say that cleanliness is destroyed by vigraha, which means ‘discord’, though the tika of SB 1.17.38 says cleanliness is destroyed by strī saṅga. I inquired on this also from Śrī Satya Nārāyanjī –

"My next question is on SB 12.3.20 - both the śloka and the ṭīkās speak of cleanliness being destroyed by vigraha. Vigraha is translated as 'discord' by most translators, but in his ṭīkā of SB 1.17.38, Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda says that cleanliness is destroyed by stri-sanga. I could not find 'stri sanga' in the dictionary as a synonym for vigraha. If vigraha really means just 'discord', then how is it that conflict destroys cleanliness? It is more obvious that cleanliness is destroyed by sexual activities."

Satya Narayan Panditji replied:
Dear Prabhuji
Jai Śrī Rādhe Govinda
Why do you think that stri-sanga should be a synonym for vigraha? Stri-sanga would lead to discord and thus strisanga is the cause of vigraha. So Cakravartipada is going one step deeper. Vigraha means quarrel or fight. This itself is a sign of impurity. The real impurity is not that of body but of the mind. In kali-yuga vigraha is the prominent characteristic and Sri Caitanya said the remedy is sankirtana which removes the impurity of heart – ceto darpan marjanam. So vigraha comes from impurity of heart and also leads to impurity. The most of the wars in the world has been fought because of stri sanga (sanga here means not association but attachment), even Mahabharata was rooted in stri sanga. Duryodhana, Karna, Jayadratha etc have all hankered after Draupadi who was the exquisite beauty of her time.
Satya Narayan das

Duryodhana was not even able to lift the bow during Draupadī’s Swayamvar, and Karṇa was rejected by Draupadī even though he could lift the bow. As this is already a death-blow to the male ego, let alone a Kṣatriya’s male ego, they took revenge on her by trying to strip her in the Kuru assembly and calling her a whore. In return, to revenge that, Draupadī wanted them dead and pushed for war against the Kauravas, whenever even Kṛṣṇa or Yudhisthir wanted peace. So we see that attachment to women lies at the root of conflict, including the biggest war ever fought, the Kurukṣetra war.

12.3.43 – Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments here that trouble in Kali really starts after a sandhya of the yuga has passed. The sandhya or twilight means the first 12th part and a sandhyāṁśa is the last 12th part of a yuga, in the case of Kali that is 36,000 years (see SB 3.11.18-20), so the predictions in this chapter seem to be still relatively far off.

12.3.51 This is a very famous verse – though Kali yuga is an ocean of faults, there is one good quality about it – simply by Kṛṣṇa-kīrtan one attains all perfection. That perfection [param] is glossed by Viśvanātha as prema. Kīrtan does not only mean Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, as the BBT purport claims – there is līlā kīrtan, nāma kīrtan, padya kīrtan and even śāstra pārāyan can be considered kīrtan. Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments that just as a single powerful king can beat off innumerable robbers, similarly the one great quality of Kali, Kṛṣṇa-Kīrtan, can beat off all faults of the Kali age. It does not rely on meditation and other supportive practices, but of course if you meditate along with the kīrtan then so much the better.

12.3.52 Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments that all the sādhanas that are given in the other 3 yugas are covered by the Kali-yuga dharma of harināma. This comment is somehow missing in the edition of Bhānu Swāmījī. Harināma would have the same effect in the other three yugas, due to its timeless nature. In Kali-yuga, however, there is no other possibility (than harināma) because of the moral and mental weakness in this age.

12.5.1 Why Śukadeva spoke Brahma-jñāna as last chapter to Parīkṣit before he died of the snake-bite? Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda explains that it was to prove to the world how fixed Parīkṣit was in Kṛṣṇa consciousness – no jñāna kathā could distract him anymore from his Kṛṣṇa-meditation.

12.6.34 Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda’s tika: imaṁ sādhaka-deham āśrityeti sādhaka-daśāyām api smaryamāṇaṁ svasya siddha-deham āśritya tu smaryamāṇena sva-vipakṣeṇa saha vairaṁ na kuryād iti rāgānugīya-rasika-bhaktā abhiprāyam āhuḥ—kañcana avamantāram api 
"Taking shelter of a sādhaka body, which means taking shelter of a siddha body which is remembered even in the stage of sādhana, one should not have enmity towards even a group of gopīs of an opposing faction by remembering them. The followers of rāgānugā bhakti speak this purport.”
A very rasik purport suddenly. Here Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda acknowledges that meditation on the siddha body can and should be done within the sādhaka body. Though in siddha avasthā there is strong enmity towards the opposing faction [vipakṣa] of sakhīs, as Śrīla Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī showed when a leaf-cup of buttermilk was offered to him from Sakhīsthalī, the village of Candrāvalī, this is not to be imitated in the stage of sādhana, even if sādhana has reached the glorious level of meditation on the siddha body. Abhimanyu, Jaṭilā, Kuṭila are all pure devotees who are merely stage-performing being Kṛṣṇa’s enemies, just as demons like Hiraṇyakaśipu etc. were reincarnations of the pure devotees Jay and Vijay, but opposed Kṛṣṇa just to give Him the enjoyment of combat and adventure.

12.6.74 purport- Bhānu Swāmī mistakes the word sūryāśva to mean the horses of the sun-god, but it means ‘the sun who is [in this case] a horse.’

12.8.22 śoṣaṇa-mohana-sandīpana-tāpana-mādanākhyāni panca-mukhāni yasya tat -Stambhana seems to be missing in this list of 5 arrows by Śrīdhar Swāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda.  Also this verse mentions a five-headed arrow with all five lusty effects fixed on it while generally it is understood that Cupid has 5 separate arrows.

12.8.40- prāṇa-buddhīndriyādibhis tvam eva sva-bhajanaṁ kārayasi punas tādṛśa-bhajanasya pratyupakāre’samartho ṛṇīva bhūtvā tat prema-vaśyo bhavasīty adbhutaṁ tava kṛpā-vaibhavam iti bhāvaḥ - "You [Kṛṣṇa] make us do Your bhajan, directing our life, intelligence and senses, and then again you become unable to reciprocate with such bhajan, having become subdued by our love for You. This is most astonishing – such is the force of Your mercy! »
In the Upaniṣads it is said yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tenaiva labhya – « Only he/she who was elected by the Lord can attain Him. »

Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda's Tika of 12.8.46 - na yatra abhayaṁ pāta-hetuka-bhayābhāvaḥ – In the spiritual world there is no fear of falling »
This is a very clear refutation of fall-vāda, which is akin to māyāvāda, as it claims that something perfect (the sādhana siddha and nitya siddha jīvas in the spiritual sky) can become imperfect, just as the māyāvādīs say that Brahman falls in māyā.

New hagiography Sadhu Baba

A new hagiography of Sādhu Bābā is completed in English today, and posted on my website, alongside my earlier humble effort to glorify Sādhu Bābā. As Satināth Da said in the introduction of his booklet:

"Actually it is not possible for an insignificant soul like me to fully reveal Çré-Çré Bäbä’s full divine form, but I will consider my effort a success if I can show at least a drop of this ocean. His extraordinary life is pervading the knowledge of His innumerable devotees. If they are all published perhaps we can create a garland of His entire life with different flower-like narrations."

Ramacandrapur's Sadhu Baba

Pleasing Kṛṣṇa, Mangal ārati and Rasa-śāstra

Bhakta: "You said one can only please Kṛṣṇa through Rādhā, but this seems to be only in the śṛṅgāra rasa. But the other rasas serve Kṛṣṇa independently."

Advaitadas: "No that is not true. Mother Yaśodā is feeding Kṛṣṇa so He has strength to love Rādhikā, the servants dress Him so He looks nice for  Rādhikā, the cows want Him to herd them in the pastures so He has an excuse to go out to meet  Rādhikā at Radhakund. Same for the cowherd boys. Even the bees, the sun and the moon serve Radha and Kṛṣṇa by creating a romantic atmosphere. The cows of Abhimanyu serve Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa by keeping Abhimanyu so engaged with them that he does not have any time for his so-called wife. They do not serve independently at all, though they may not be aware of it, except for the sakhīs and mañjarīs. Padakarta Jñānadās sings: "tomāri lāgiyā beḍāi bhramiyā giri-nadī vane vane: (Kṛṣṇa sings:) "For Your (Rādhā's) sake I wander through the forest, past the rivers and over the mountains!"

Bhakta: "I heard that in some temples in Vṛndāvana they do not do mangal arati because they say that Kṛṣṇa is still sleeping then."

Advaitadas: 'That would depend on the sampradāya. The temples who hold such philosophies are not Gauḍīya. In Kṛṣṇa Bhāvanāmṛta there is a description of mangal ārati offered by the mañjarīs in the kunja at daybreak [niśānta], and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are wide awake then. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas believe Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are so absorbed in Their loving pastimes that They hardly sleep at any time, perhaps from 1-3 a.m. only."

Bhakta: "Scholars say that the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ācāryas have gleaned rasa tattva from earlier, mundane rasika authors. If this is true then how can rasa be called eternal?"

Advaitadas: "It is true that Rūpa Goswāmī was inspired to write his Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu and Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi by, among others, a book named Rasārṇava Sudhākara, which was written by one of his ancestors, named Siṁha Bhūpāla. But that does not mean there was an historical sequence or a discovery or so. Just see, before Mahāprabhu's advent, the rasika secrets all existed in the 5000-year old Bhāgavatam, but they were not understood and revealed until the Goswāmīs wrote down their books. But that does not mean that the rasika truths did not exist, right?"

Bhakta: "Rūpa Goswāmī taking over the whole rasa-science from previous, mundane writers, does make him seem like an ordinary mundane scholar."

Advaitadas: "Who else is Rūpa Mañjarī? How else is Gaura-līlā meditation transcendental and eternal if Rūpa Gosvāmī was not? Look, the fact that Rāma and Kṛṣṇa took diksa and went to Gurukula (school) does not mean they are not the omniscient Bhagavān, Paramātmā, right? Similarly, Rūpa Gosvāmī taking lessons from previous teachers does not make him a conditioned soul. Lord Viṣṇu got the Kaustubha gem when the milk-ocean was churned, or did He? It is eternally His, and in a pastime He got it again. Similarly the Gosvāmīs knowledge is eternally with them but sometimes they play as if they are learning this."

Śrīmad Bhāgavat, canto 9, part 2

Some interesting comments on Śrīmad Bhāgavat’s canto 9 -

9.11.29 It is mentioned there that the people of Ayodhyā blessed the Lord. How can that be? There is a similar verse in the Stavāvalī, wherein the sakhīs and mañjarīs bless the divine Couple during Their amorous pastimes. This does not mean they feel themselves superior at all. It is like supporters during a sports match, they wish their heroes on the field the best. In fact, such a scene takes place in Rādhākuṇḍa's water-pastimes too - the cowherd boys and gopīs stand on the shores of the Kuṇḍa, cheering for either Rādhā or Kṛṣṇa. If the boss of an employee gets sick the employee can humbly bless him by writing him a get-well card, saying 'Mr Frazer, may you be well again soon.' There is no breach of etiquette there. This has nothing to do with aiśvarya or mādhurya. Just like we say 'Jai Śrī Kṛṣṇa' - may Lord Kṛṣṇa be victorious. It is a humble blessing upon the Lord. It is not a practical matter that anyone will carry out this blessing - it is a matter of attitude only.

9.14.28 Bhānu Swāmī uses the word ‘eunuch’ here for napuṁsaka. Here however napuṁsaka means ‘a fairy’, ‘a fruitcake’ or ‘a sissy’ – a not very masculine man.

9.14.38 Here Bhānu Swāmī says ‘women are prostitutes’ as a blanket statement. The verse, however, clearly speaks about puṁścalya, those among women who are running after one man after the other, not that every woman is like that.

9.19.27 Bhānu Swāmī wrongly translates the word prapāyā as ‘waterhole’, but going through a waterhole makes no sense at all. The word prapāyā means, according to the Motilal- and Gita Press- Bhagavat-editions, a place to drink water. In India in the summertime there are water-booths everywhere so people can drink water to somehow make it through the soaring heat. Meetings there are of course very brief.

9.20 Though neither the Bhāgavat nor the commentators attach a morale to the shocking account of Bṛhaspati, the Guru of the Devatās, raping and impregnating Mamatā, his sister-in-law, and then cursing his brother’s offspring, already in her womb, to become blind, it shows that learning alone is not enough to become a saint (Bṛhaspati is considered the most learned scholar in the universe).

9.23.35 bhojya not only means ‘enjoyable’, it can also mean the name of the girl’s dynasty, Bhoja. It is also funny to see how king Jyāmagha was henpecked by his wife Śaibyā, even in the old days. Both Śrīdhara Swāmī and Viśvanāth Cakravartīpāda describe that he was sweating and shivering out of fear of his wife.

9.23.38 Bhānu Swāmi forgets to include the word bhāryā-vaśa in his translation of the śloka from Viṣṇu Purāṇa, bhāryā-vaśa meaning henpecked, in other words, Jyāmagha was the most henpecked man ever to exist, not the greatest king ever to exist. Arjun single-handedly defeated the Kaurava Army at Virāṭ, but yet he was afraid to present his new co-wife Subhadrā to his first wife Draupadī, because she was so fiery.

Chapter 24 shows that Vasudeva, Kṛṣṇa's father, had an astonishing number of wives and children. As Vasudeva spent approximately 20 years in Kaṁsa’s dungeon, with only one wife, Devakī, one wonders when he created all the other offspring. Perhaps he was already elderly when he was imprisoned and created the offspring before that. Also astonishing that Kṛṣṇa does not have more names in relation to His many brothers and sisters. The only one known are Rāmānuja [younger brother of Balarāma] and Gadāgraja, elder brother of Gada.

9.24.58 Shows that the material world ‘conduces to the birth, continuance and destruction of every embodied soul [body]’, but it also ‘causes liberation if the Lord’s grace is there’ Viśvanāth Cakravartīpāda comments: “The Lord glances over the material energy, saying, ´Let the living beings enjoy here.” One may argue “How can that be mercy? It is full of suffering here.” Answer – he acts so that the jīvas can become detached from this enjoyment through bhakti and vairāgya.” There is some purpose given here to creation, though Viśvanāth Cakravartīpāda earlier in 3.7.10 said there is neither a beginning nor a reason for our conditioning. Of course, no ācārya comments on this verse that the world is a prison-house for rebellious souls that want to imitate Kṛṣṇa by lording it over the material nature out of envy of Kṛṣṇa etc etc, but some reason is given here nonetheless. Viśvanāth Cakravartīpāda also quotes a śloka from the Bhāgavata [10.87.2] to confirm that the world is both a playground for enjoyment and a launching pad for liberation.

9.24.61 shows Kṛṣṇa destroyed the darkness of Kali in advance [as He appeared just before the onset of Kali yuga]. Although Viśvanāth Cakravartīpāda abstains from connecting this verse to the Kali yuga avatāra of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, Kavi Karṇapura does so in his Caitanya Mata Mañjuṣā commentary. There he quotes Queen Kunti [SB 1.8.35], who also speaks of Kṛṣṇa giving bhakti sādhana in the future tense, indicating Kṛṣṇa would come again for this purpose, as Mahāprabhu.

9.24.65 Viśvanāth Cakravartīpāda comments that inability to tolerate even the blinking of the eyes, because then they cannot stare at Kṛṣṇa, is an exclusive symptom of rūḍha mahābhāva, so the words nāryo-narāś ca [both men and women] only applies to the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa's priya narma sakhās such as Subala. He quotes verses from the tail-end of Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi [15.232-3] to prove it. He furthermore explains that Kṛṣṇa's face is the sweetest part of His body, and that His ears and cheeks actually beautify His earrings, as it is said earlier in the Bhāgavat [3rd canto] that Kṛṣṇa beautifies His ornaments, though normally it is the other way around. Also His smile defeated the splendor of His earrings because it was tainted by the color of His chewed betelnuts. The betelnuts caused a slight hump in His cheeks too. Viśvanātha quotes the last verse of chapter 14 of Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi, which says that Subal and other boys possess bhāvānta, which is glossed as rūḍha mahābhāva by Viṣṇudās Goswāmī.

9.24.66 This verse is a summary of Kṛṣṇa’s entire līlā – He showed the limit of perfection in Vraja [vrajam edhita artha], in the form of the Vrajavāsīs’ prema, which is the crown-jewel of human pursuits [puruṣārtha śiromaṇi], and later He showed the path of varṇāśrama by marrying so many ladies and having so many children, all according to religious principles.

Begun Bhājā cleared!

PREFACE - A follower of Srīpāda Hita Harivamsa is regularly making links to this blog in an effort to equate the great sin of eating grains on Ekādasī with the eating of eggplant. That this is like comparing an elephant (eating grains on Ekādasī) with a fly (eating eggplant) should be clear from this blog -

https://madangopal.blogspot.com/2020/03/ekadasi-and-harivamsis.html

Bhakta:
Hare Krsna, prabhu!
I have a question to you if you researched it about eggplants. In Hari Bhakti Vilasa (8.158, 161-162) there are 3 slokas given about that eggplants should not be taken or offered. From Kurma Purana, from Yamala and from Skanda Purana -


athābhakṣyāṇi - kaurme 
vṛntākaṁ jālikāśākaṁ kusumbhāśmantakaṁ tathā 
phalāṇḍuṁ laśunaṁ śuklaṁ niryāsaṁ caiva varjayet

atha-now; abhakṣyāṇi-inedible; kaurme-in the Kūrma Purāṇa; vṛntākam-eggplant; jālikāśākam-plantain; kusumbha-safflower; āśmantakam-aśmantaka; tathā-so; phalāṇḍum-onion; laśunam-garlic; śuklam-sour cereal; niryāsam-tree sap; ca-and; eva-indeed; varjayet-one should avoid.


What Is Inedible (For the Purpose of Offering to the Lord)

In the Kurma Purana it is said: "One should avoid eggplant, plantain, safflower, azmantaka, onion, garlic, sour cereal, and the sap of trees."


skānde - na bhakṣayati vṛntākaṁ tasya dūrataro hariḥ

skānde-in the Skanda Purāṇa; na-not; bhakṣayati-eats; vṛntākam-eggplant; tasya-of him; dūrataraḥ-far away; hariḥ-ḷord ḥari.

In the Skanda Purana it is said: "Lord Kṛṣṇa stays far away from anyone who eats eggplant."

kiṁ cānyatra 
vārtākuṁ bṛhatīṁ caiva dagdham annaṁ masūrakam
yasyodare pravarteta tasya dūrataro hariḥ

kim- ca-furthermore; anyatra-in another place; vārtākum-eggplant; bṛhatīm-eggplant; ca-and; eva-indeed; dagdham-burned; annam-food; masūrakam-masura dal; yasya-of whom; udare-in the stomach; pravarteta-is; tasya-of him; dūrataraḥ-far away; hariḥ-ḷord Kṛṣṇa.

In another scripture it is said: "Lord Kṛṣṇa stays far away from anyone who places eggplant, burned food, or masūra dāl in his stomach."


But in Caitanya Caritāmṛta we can see what food was offered to Lord Caitanya and there are different places mentioned about fried eggplants and eggplants mixed with nimbu etc. So, it's not clear. "

Advaitadas:
Thank you for reminding me of Prabhu Sītānāth's sweet līlā (Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 3.47) and in extension also Sādhu Bābā's anugamana (allegiance). I was under fire over this issue on Gauḍīya Discussions some 8 years ago, but until now I have not researched this eggplant issue in Caitanya Caritāmṛta. It gives a clear endorsement from Swayaṁ Prabhu Sītānāth- কোমল নিম্বুপত্র সহ ভাজা ৱার্ত্তাকী komala nimbu patra saha bhājā vārtākī - "He offered the Lord soft neem leaves along with fried eggplant." Following in his family- and spiritual succession, Sādhu Bābā too was fond of bhājā vartākī or began bhājā [fried aubergines]. The secret about this is that Haribhakti Vilāsa is a collection of material and spiritual rules. Only a genuine Guru can sort out which rule is to be followed and which one is not. It cannot be sorted out by oneself. In other words, whatever Guru decides is essential of the rules of Haribhakti Vilāsa, these rules apply."

This point is also added to the end of my file "In defense of the advaita vamsh" on madangopal.com. Further references to the offering of begun bhājā are in Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 15, 213 and Antya 10, 135

Attaining the siddha deha

In Śrīmad Bhāgavat 1.6.27 (28 in some editions) it is said - "The spiritual body comes simultaneously with the giving up of the material body, like lightning being accompanied by its splendour. (kālaḥ prādurabhūt kāle taḍit saudāmanī yathā).

Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda's ṭīkā - "At the time of dissolving subtle and gross bodies the time for leaving the body made its appearance. It is like saying "the time when the king went was the time he arrived". Intelligence could not make a distinction here. The disappearance of the material body and the appearance of the spiritual body simultaneously made their appearance, connected closely like subject and predicate. It is like the simultaneity of the lightning with another flash of lightning."

In Śrīmad Bhāgavat 1.6.28 (29 in some editions) Nārada said: “When my prārabdha karma was depleted, my body of five gross elements fell and the Lord brought me a transcendental body of His associate.”

Śrīdhara Swami and Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comment: yā bhāgavatī bhagavat-pārṣada-rūpā śuddhā sattva-mayī tanuḥ pratiśrutā tāṁ prati bhagavatā mayi prayujyamāne nīyamāne – “This body is transcendental, functions as an associate of the Lord and is brought by the Lord.” If it is brought by the Lord it was not dormant but an external gift. This verse clearly shows that the siddha deha is not dormant in the heart of the conditioned soul, as is often believed, but is bestowed newly. See also my blog of August 5, 2006

Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda's tika: The Lord previously promised hitvāvadyam imam lokam ganta maj-janatam asi: "Giving up this low body, you will become My associate." (SB 1.6.23) At the time of being made to accept a body which was śuddha-sattva (śuddham) because it was not a material body and because it belonged to the Lord (bhagavatim), my material body (pañca-bhautikaḥ) fell away. Giving up my material body and attaining a spiritual body were simultaneous, like the expression "I am walking while the cows are being milked." The Lord's own words were hitvāvadyam imam lokam. The use of the verb form hitvā (giving up the material body) in this case indicates simultaneously giving up the material body while receiving the spiritual body. It is said in the Bhāṣa-vṛtti: kvacit tulya-kāle'pi upaviṣya bhunkte ṛṇat-kṛtya patati cakṣuh sammilya hasati mukham vyadāya svapitity adikam upasankhyeyam: "There are examples in which the participles indicate simultaneous actions as in sitting down and eating, assuming debts and falling from esteem, closing the eyes and laughing, lowering the head and falling asleep." Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda quotes Śrīdhara Svāmī's ṭīkā: anena pārṣada-tanunam akarmarābdhatvam suddhatvaṁ nityatvam ity ādi sūcitaṁ bhavati: "What is said in this verse is that the bodies of the associates of the Lord are pure, without prārabdha-karmas, and eternal. The bahu-vrīhi compound ārabdha-karma-nirvānah means that he had destroyed the karmas like fire burning wood. But this means that the prārabdha-karmas were not destroyed just now, but previously for that is accomplished by sādhana. prārabdha-karmas do not remain with the devotees who have developed prema-bhakti. For those practicing pure bhakti, destruction of prārabdha-karmas takes place during sādhana-bhakti. It will be said in the story of Priyavrata:

naivam-vidhaḥ puruṣa-kāra urukramasya
puṁsāṁ tad-aṅghri-rajasā jita-ṣaḍ-guṇānām
citraṁ vidūra-vigataḥ sakṛd ādadīta
yan-nāma dheyam adhunā sajahāti tanvam

"Such power is not surprising from persons who have conquered the six senses by the dust from the lotus feet of the Lord, since even an outcaste becomes immediately free of bondage of karma by chanting the Lord's name once." SB 5.1.35

Here is the meaning of the verse: This is not so amazing for such a type of person. What should be amazing? Even an outcaste (vidūra-vigataḥ) who chants the name of the Lord once, now, at the time of accepting the name, gives up his body. Since we do not see anyone giving up their body simultaneously with chanting, "body" here means his prārabdha-karmas which are being experienced in the present body. This is the opinion of some. Others say by the association of bhakti, like a touchstone, the body made of the three guṇas becomes free of the guṇas, as seen in the case of Dhruva. Thus, giving up the body means giving up the body made of three guṇas. This will be explained later at the beginning of the Rāsa-dance with jahur guṇa-mayaṁ dehaṁ sadyah prakṣīna-bandhanaḥ: "Free of bondage, those gopīs abandoned their gross material bodies made of guṇas." (SB 10.29.11) But others say that sometimes the Lord shows devotees, literally, giving up their bodies in order that the opinion of others not be negated. Thus Nārada, who had developed prema already, gave up his body. However it should be understood that he had already destroyed his prārabdha-karmas during his practice of bhakti. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī explains this:

yad brahma-sākṣāt-kṛti-niṣṭhayāpi

vināśam āyati vinā na bhogaiḥ
apaiti nāma sphuraṇena tat te
prārabdha-karmeti virauti vedaḥ

"The Vedas declare that although meditation on Brahman cannot bring freedom from past karma, O Holy Name, your appearance at once makes all prārabdha-karma disappear." (Nāmāṣṭaka 4)

If the intended meaning was "When Narada's prārabdha-karmas were destroyed, his body fell away" the phrase would be expressed as prārabdha-karma-nirvāṇe nyapatat pañca-bhautika. But this grammatical structure has not been used and instead a bahuvrīhi compound has been used. Thus the meaning is a general statement "For the devotees, the body which has had its prārabhda-karmas destroyed, will fall away."

Tulasi

 Bhakta : 'There is a Vaiṣṇava home guide book which says that Tulasī is offered to the feet of Viṣṇu tattva like Nārāyan, Nṛsiṁha, Kṛṣṇa, Rāma etc. as well as to Gaura, Nityānanda, and Advaita but not to Rādhārāṇī or Gadādhar Pandit."

Advaitadas: "We agree with all of this except for Gaur, Nityānanda and Advaita, on the ground of these quotations from Caitanya Caritamṛta (Adi 1.14)

pancatattvātmakam kṛṣṇaṁ bhakta rūpa svarūpakam
bhaktāvatāraṁ bhaktākhyam namāmi bhakti-śaktikam

The Panca Tattva comes in the form of so many different devotee incarnations though they are Kṛṣṇa [panca-tattvātmakam kṛṣṇam]. So though They are ontologically Viṣṇu-tattva, they are approached as devotees."

And that counts also for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as is narrated in Caitanya Caritāmṛta (Madhya 15,7-9):

ghore āsi prabhu kore nāma sankīrtan;
advaita āsiyā kore prabhura pūjan
sugandhi salile den pādya ācaman;
sarvāṅge lepaye prabhur sugandhi candan
gole mālā dey māthāy tulasī mañjarī

“When Prabhu returned to His abode He performed nām sankIrtan. Advaita then came to offer worship to Him. He offered pādya and ācaman with scented water and anointed Prabhu’s whole body with fragrant sandal paste. He hung a garland around His neck and placed Tulasī-buds on His head.”

Bhakta: 'But you can put Tulasī-Mañjarīs on Rādhā's feet instead of Tulasī-leaves?"

Advaitadas: "That does not make any difference. Manjaris should not be separated from the leaves. Śrīman Mahāprabhu instructed Raghunātha Dāsa Goswāmī: dui-dike dui-patra madhye komala manjari, 'Offer soft manjaris with 2 Tulasi petals on each side of them' (CC Antya 6.297)

Bhakta: "So Tulasī is not so surrendered to Rādhā that she will touch her feet?"

Advaitadas: 'No that is not the point. One cannot just draw a link from the goddess Vṛndā in the spiritual world to the sacred tree in the world of sādhakas, whose leaves are upacāras [ingredients] of pūjā. Just as we are male devotees here in this world but female in the perfected state. It does not mean we should dress like girls in this material male body, right? seva sādhaka rūpena siddha rūpena cātra hi. So the rule of offering Tulasī applies to the sacred tree, not to the goddess above. Also the Tulasī Mañjarī who is identified as Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī in Vilāpa Kusumāñjali has nothing to do with Vṛndā-devi, because Vṛndā-devī is not called Tulasi in Kṛṣṇa līlā but only as she incarnates as the Basilicum species of plants on earth."

Bhakta: "In the Puranas it is said Tulasi is a hair of Lakṣmī-devī and in another Purāṇa she was cursed to come down to the world."

Advaitadas: 'Yes there are so many conceptions, but here we speak just of Tulasī as a pūjopacāra, as a leaf from a small sacred tree."

Guru Pūrṇimā 2011

I phoned Sādhu Bābā's āśram yesterday on the occasion of Guru Purṇimā, the annual festival to worship Śrī Guru, and had a brief talk with my Guru-sister Tulsī Sāhā about the extraordinary position of women in the āśram. This inspired me to add the following paragraph to (p.33-34) Sādhu Bābā's hagiography on my website:

বাবার আশ্রমে মেযেদের বিশেষাধিকার বিষয জিজ্ঞাসা করিলে দিদি বলিল যে "বাবা বলিতেন যে 'ইহাই মেযেদের আশ্রম. ছেলেদের কত ভজন করার স্থান আছে, কিন্তু মেযেদের ভজন করার স্থান কোথায? সেই জন্য এটী মেযেদের আশ্রম হবে. ঠাকুর সেবায, রান্না সেবায ও কীর্তন সেবায মেযেদের এখানে বিশেষাধিকার আছে!"

Advaita Dās: “During my time in Sādhu Bābā’s āśram, I was surprised to see the prominent role given to ladies in the āśram. All kīrtans were led by ladies, all deity worship was performed by them as well as all of the cooking. When I inquired about the reason, my Guru-sister Tulsī explained: ‘Bābā said that there are already so many āśrams where boys and men can perform their sādhana, but where is the place where girls and women can perform sādhana? Hence this will be a ladies' āśram.”

Regulating sleep and work

The Lord says in Bhagavad Gītā [6.17]:

yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu |
yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā ||

"Yoga removes all distress if one is regulated and balanced in eating, moving or mating, working, sleeping and waking."

Though it is glorious to sit down in deep meditation or chant a fabulous number of rounds all day, every day on one's back side, such a lack of physical activities leads to all kinds of physical and mental malfunctions - overweight, heart problems, constipation, lack of sleep or irregular sleep to name but some. Hence it is often seen that the physicians of great sādhus and mahātmās advice them to take a stroll in the afternoon at least. 'Work' need not be in a factory or office among non-devotees necessarily. One can also be physically active in the holy places by doing parikramā or visiting temples, or in the west by going on harinām sankīrtan.

As usual, Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda provides a brilliant commentary to this Gītā verse:

yukto niyata evāhāro bhojanaṁ vihāro gamanaṁ ca "Yukta means disciplined or restrained. It counts for eating as well as gamana [the words vihāra and gamana mean both 'going' and 'sexual intercourse' and the advice applies to both.] yasya tasya karmasu vyavahārika-pāramārthika-kṛtyeṣu yuktā niyatā eva ceṣṭā 'There needs to be discipline too in activities, either material and spiritual.' Here the hint is given that activities can be spiritual too - one can pick flowers for the Lord, circumambulate the temple or a holy place like Rādhākund, or perform harinam sankīrtan. Material activities are things like working on a job, bringing the children to school etc. vāg-vyāpārādyā yasya tasya - also speech must be disciplined. One should avoid discussing gossip, which inevitably leads to some kind of Vaiṣṇava aparādha, or speaking [too much] about the latest news of the world. Even too much Kṛṣṇa-kathā is unnecessary. If a nice topic is briefly discussed it should lead to lengthy meditation on Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa's rūpa-guṇa-līlā, too. Any extremity in either renunciation or sensual indulgence may lead to duḥka, distress, that is the point of the verse - na nirviṇṇo nātisaktis bhakti yogo'sya siddhi-da 'Bhakti yoga which is neither too renounced nor too materially attached, bestows perfection." See also my blog of February 20, 2009.