© 1999 VNN
|
EDITORIAL October 16, 1999 VNN4949 Comment on this story Sri Bepin Sakhi Vilas BY HRSIKESANANDA DAS   EDITORIAL, Oct 16 (VNN) — Tridandi Swami Lalitananda Vana - Vrindavan U.P., India - ©1970 Dedicated To the KUNDA FLOWER Of VRAJA Named LATIKA HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE BLESSINGS It is pleasing to read the brochure written by my disciple Tridandi Swami Lalitananda Vana Maharaj. He has a good grasp of the basic philosophy of Bengal Vaishnavism as preached by Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It is further very encouraging to note the Sri Lalitananda has imbibed an earnest desire to enter into the esoteric and supra mundane services of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna and His Counter whole Projection Sri Sri Radha and Their transcendental Love dalliances. He was born and brought up in a different environment in his early years being an American by birth, and it is therefore all the more amazing that he has been able to understand the philosophy of Sri Chaitanya, and that the unalloyed sentiments of the services of Sri Radha-Krishna in pure state of awakened and innate nature of his eternal self, has found an expression. Should he be able to develop his spiritual practices without ever being carried by egoism of mundane name and fame, and faithfully tread the path of humbleness and endurance for the sake of the eternal services of Sri Guru and Sri Krishna, the Lord will one day accept him in His eternal services and thus be completely freed from the bondage of this mundane world. Sri Lalitananda has my affectionate blessings. Bhajan Kutir, B.H. Bon Vrindavan, U.P. The 20th of May, 1970 SANSKRIT TEXT "Oh foolish people today or tomorrow will come your unhappy end! At the time of your death your family and relations will not be able to help you. Remembering always that cruel death is hanging over your head ready to strike you down, you should run to Sri Vrindavan!" SANSKRIT TEXT "In the whole universe there is none who is a greater sinner than myself nor will one such ever be born. Therefore, the divine land of Sri Radha Govinda, Sri Vrindavan, is my only shelter, which is ever over-flowing with Divine love." SANSKRIT TEXT "Seated in some lonely bower of Vraja daily meditate and serve mentally the Divine Couple, Sri Sri Radha Krishna, in the Vrindavan in your heart. With eyes over-flowing with the divine tears of Prema (Divine Love), pray always for Their sight and await patiently the shower of Their Grace." From: Sri Prabodanand Saraswati's Sri Vrindavanastaka. All Glory to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga! OBEISANCE'S My real self is the eternal maid of Sri Radha, the Divine Goddess of the eternal land of music and joy, Sri Vraja Dham. But having neglected the divine service of Her Lotus Feet, I am now surrounded on all sides by a temporary material body and an invisible subtle mind, which are both something other than the real me both being the product of a particular External Potency, Maya, of the Moon of Vraja, the Supreme Lord Shyam Sundara. Having fallen into the endless ocean of birth and death and being separated from the Lotus Feet of my Life of Life, Sri Radha, I am now busily engaged in wrong and sinful pursuits in this world of misery. Therefore I seek the soothing shelter of the glorious FIVE: Sri Sri Guru Deva, Sri Sri Gauranga and Nityananda, Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, Sri Sri Vraja Dham, and Sri Sri Vaishnavas, Who are the only shelter for those who have no shelter whatsoever. I prostrate and surrender my very existence to these glorious FIVE and beg a little of Their Mercy, Because then only may my eternal, all spiritual divine mind and body become on with my heart, the eternal play-ground of the Supreme Truth, Sri Sri Radha-Krishna and all Their dearest Sakhis, "Sri Bepin Sakhi Vilas" The glorious FIVE are the ocean of kindness and as They are all glory personified; I bow down to each of Them separately that They may give me the power to write this humble summary of the principle of Sir Sri Radha Krishna Vraja Lila, for the pleasure of all real devotees everywhere, among whom the greatest is my Guru Deva, Sri Bhakti Hridaya Bon,... .... Whose Heart is the eternal playground of Sri Radha Krishna; Whose rose petal Feet ever emit the divine Fragrance of the Glades of Sri Vrindavan; Whose Legs, like the lotus stalk, may keep me afloat in this dark and endless ocean of kama (lust); Whose golden Waist, which attracts Govinda, may be the turning point of my life; Whose Heart, warm with the divine heat of Prema (Holy love) may save me from all severe cold; Whose divine Arms, like the creepers of Vraja, may grace my head with their flower like palms; And at the very height of all, Whose lotus Face is decorated with doe like eyes, the very reflection of the Divine Couple and beautified with the collerium of loving anger (Bamya Madhya), below which shyly resides His budding mouth, the divine fount eternally flowing forth the nectar like love dalliances of Sri Radha and Her Beloved. To this divine Kunda Flower of Vraja, named Latika, the red glow of Whose Body may one-day illuminate for me the way to Sri Radha's Darling, Shyam Sunder, I surrender my life! From the mercy of the first of the glorious FIVE, Sri Guru Deva, comes the ocean of mercy of the second, the Sun and Moon, Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya and Prabhu Nityananda, Who are the same Krishna and Baladeva Who eternally tend cows in Sri Vrindavan. They are the Jewels of the earth and the One Supreme Truth. I shall live at the Feet of Them Both, for They are eternally distributing the sweet Mango fruits of Divine Love (Prema) and even though I am unworthy, still at Their Lotus Feet I may fine a fruit of love which They have dropped in Their over-abundance of joy. If I get the mercy of the Sun and the Moon and happen to taste the sweetness (Rasa) of a fruit of Prema then only I shall get the mercy of the glorious Third, Sri Sri Radha Srila Govinda Deva, Who are the embodiment of all Rasa and the glory of the blue and the gold lotus Personified; the glorious Fourth, Sri Vrajadham, the eternal play-ground of the Divine Couple; and the glorious Fifth, the holy Feet of all Devotees everywhere, Because when the Sun and Moon arise together all can be seen with the removal of all darkness. Hey Gurudev! Hey Gaura Nitai! Hey Sri Radhe! Hey Nanda Kumar! Vrinda Bepin, and all Devotees everywhere, may you all be pleased with this unworthy insect and Sri Bepin Sakhi Vilas. REALITY Before I or anyone can venture into the land of the heart, the divine and eternal Realm of God, Sri Vraja, and fully appreciate the love play of the Supreme Lord with His Own Projected Counter Parts ion Their true light, free from any sensuality, lust, and mundane sex thinking of this material world, he must first take unconditional shelter unto the glorious FIVE! After surrendering to Their Lotus Feet one must then cross the ocean of Sadhana (spiritual practices) until he reaches the opposite shore with the complete destruction of the perverted ego, all sensual desires, and false relationship with the temporary material mind, body, and universe. So, before attempting to give a taste of Sri Bepin Sakhi Vilas I mentally take shelter unto the glorious FIVE mentally take shelter unto the glorious FIVE and place my head on the Lotus Feet of my Dearest in divine love, my Gurudeva Paramahansa Sri Srimad Bhakti Hridaya Bona [Bengali pronunciation of the sannyasa title of "Vana"] Maharaj, along with the source of all His divine power, Om Visnupad Parivrajakacharya Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada, Paramahansa Sri Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj, Paramahansa Sri Bhakti Vinod Thakura, Paramahansa Sri Srila Jagannathdas Babaji Maharaj, and ultimately to the source of all blessedness and the very stream of all Divine Love flowing into this world, Sri Sri Jahnava Devi, Who eternally sports in Vraja at the Lotus Feet of Sri Krishna as Ananga Manjari. So, at the Feet of my Guru Deva and by His power I shall attempt to explain briefly the purely spiritual and most secret nature of the eternal, all conscious love sports of the Supreme Lord Himself with all His Eternal Associates in Vraja. Without the correct comprehension of the purely Suddha Satva Chetan (spiritually pure all conscious) nature of this subject, none can under-stand or even imagine the Vraja love games, so at first I shall attempt here a short explanation of the nature of all realities (spiritual and material) for my own benefit and success in this most misunderstood subject as well as for all sincere readers of this humble booklet. May the glorious FIVE bless all, including my unworthy self, with proper understanding and admission into the Realm of God. Let us first ponder over the word "Reality" and then try to determine its nature. Once during the time of the appearance of the Supreme Person, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, one of His Own Eternal Associates, Sri Sanatana Goswami Prabhu, asked Him these questions for the benefit of the World. Who am I? Where have I come from? What is this world of suffering, and where am I going? So, out of infinite mercy the nature of all realities thus flowed froth from the Lotus Lips of the Supreme Reality Himself. Sri Chaitanya thus answered Sri Sanatana and all mankind: "You, Oh Sanatana, and all living beings, both animate and inanimate, are the eternal servants of Krishna! " "You are now thrown into the ocean of birth and death, the material universe, and you must all go to the eternal Realm of Krishna!" "The material universe is external and the product of a potency of Krishna known as Maya Shakti." ORIGIN OF JIVATMA The spiritual realm of Krishna is internal and the product of a potency of the Lord, known as Antaranga or Yogamaya Shakti; and you are a soul belonging to a potency of Krishna, called Jiva Shakti, which lies in-between. You reside in the all blissful Realm of the Lord or in the material ocean of misery according to the correct or wrong use of your God-given free will. So THREE specific points have been determined in the concept of Reality: (1) The eternal, all blissful, spiritual universe which is the playground of the Lord and lies within. (2) The temporary changeable, material universe, the endless ocean of birth and death, which lies without. (3) All living beings seen or unseen who belong to the Jiva (soul) potency which is all spiritual and blissful by nature and lies in between the external and internal worlds. All beings, as completely different from the temporary changeable material mind and bodies, are souls who belong to the Jiva potency that is all conscious and composed of spiritually pure light (Chetan).....In the beginning God said "let there be light and there was light" (Bible). The Jivas were created by the Lord out of a divine particle of His Own Self.... In the beginning He was all alone. So out of infinite love and with a desire to sport He became many and yet Himself remained unchanged (Upanishad). Jivas are possessed of free will, and all souls have the choice to go to the spiritual Realm of God on one side and experience eternal bliss in the loving service of the Lord, their normal condition, or they can choose the material universe with the desire to be the enjoyer and taste temporary enjoyments, which are really sufferings in disguise. Then, putting on the ever-changing material gross and subtle bodies they enter into this endless ocean of misery passing through 84 lakhs varieties of material bodies from one celled creatures, plants, insects, and animals, to man, rising and falling, until by the mercy of the glorious FIVE they experience devotion to the Lord again. By Their Grace all can once again enter the spiritual all conscious Realm to engage their pure spiritual mind and body of soul [siddha deha] in His loving service, never to return to this material ocean of birth and death again. Although the Jiva Shakti lies in-between the spiritual and material realms still the souls are always engaged in one or the other and do not reside in the middle but only emanate from that position on the whole. [NOTE: So there is a complete difference between the jivatma's making the material choice as opposite to the mundane idea that Jivas can fall (down) from Goloka-dham after already being liberated. It is simply a matter of wrong choice in the beginning and certainly not a fall down from the eternal attainment of svarupa siddhi JIVA POTENCY EMANATES FROM THE "IN BETWEEN" POSITION, not from the spiritual or material energies. Jivatma's are a living potency of Lord Hari that originates from IN BETWEEN the Maha-maya and Yoga-maya potencies. It is only a matter of free will and making the wrong initial choice from time immemorial.] So, Reality is KRISHNA! He has three main points: (1) Maya (2) Yoga Maya (3) Jivas (souls), which are His potencies and rest in Him but are not Him. All are souls belonging to the Jiva Shakti and are His eternal servants, but having turned away from their Lord from time immemorial all are now groping in the dense darkness of this world of misery, trying to find a drop of the happiness which can only be found in the all blissful Realm of God. All souls can be classified into two groups: (1) the deluded and disloyal atheists who are called badha Jivas (those in bondage), and (2) the loyal and enlightened souls who are called mukta Jivas or those who are freed. But the latter are rare, less than one in one million. "Oh Arjuna, know it that of all beings caught in this ocean of time only a few seek for truth and of a million seekers only one finds that truth and of a million seekers only one finds that truth and becomes the devotee of God." (Gita). The devotees appear like people of the world to the eyes blinded by ignorance but they are purely spiritual people. They appear amongst us only by the mercy of the Lord and they will surely leave this world never to return. They are one of the glorious FIVE and all wise people should seek the limitless mercy of their feet. If Reality is KRISHNA, how to approach and return to HIM? Approach to God is called Dharma (religion), and Dharma is a way given by the Lord leading back to Him. But, as all beings on their journey back to Godhead in this world of repeated births ad deaths, are at different stages in this progression (life), the all merciful Lord has so kindly given a divine stairway back to Him and His loving service. Unfortunately the fallen living beings, due to ignorance, have mistaken the different steps to be so many different religions and having accepted one step, they denounce all others and thus fight in the name of god, not knowing that the Lord is One and religion also, is one progressive ladder to be climbed to the top. THE TOP STEP So, what lies at the top step? From the platform of the top step we shall be in a position to know the Personality of Godhead Himself, along with all His Eternal Associates, as also His Divine Realm and the eternal Lilas (pastimes) therein. This most secret knowledge of the Supreme Lord, His sports, and His Associates, has been revealed in this mundane world from the top step, through two divine channels: Sri Guru and the Scriptures. Sri Guru is sent into this Guru and the Scriptures. Sri Guru is sent into this mundane world by the Will of the Lord Himself. He comes from the Spiritual Realm and is not at all a person like us the body, which He appears to be, is only the instrument through which He communicates to us. As our spiritual senses (eyes, ears, etc.) of soul are now lodged within the material coil, the Lord has sent His Own Eternal Associate into this world from the Spiritual Realm as Sri Guru Dev, and He has accepted a material body and senses as a tool in order to communicate to us spiritual truths while in our deplorable state of bondage so, let us cling to the Lotus Feet of Sri Guru Dev forever! The second channel is the sacred self revealed Scriptures, the timeless Vedas of India along with their parts and branches, the Gita, Upanishads, Puranas, etc., among which the most supreme is the Srimad Bhagavatam, which deals exclusively with the Personality of GodHead Himself. The Vedanta was not revealed by man in time, but is older than man and God revealed, and should be accepted as such by all that truly desire their eternal welfare. So in order to learn the secrets of the Realm of God, we must submit in all humility to hear with firm faith the holy Srimad Bhagavatam from the lips of Sri Guru, Who has Himself come from that divine Realm! "Satyam Param Dhimahi" (we meditate on the supreme Truth for realization). The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Krishna! He has many Names and Forms, all being separated from and identical with Him at the same time. But the supreme Original Person is the Lord KRISHNA, also known as GOVINDA. He is the Prime Cause of all causes. He alone was in the beginning, He is the beginning, and I worship Him forever. (Sri Brahma Samhita). The spiritual Realm of Lord Hari is called Vaikuntha (Vai' means without, 'kuntha' means limit). Vaikuntha is described by Sri Guru as a Lotus, which covers all infinite space having an infinite number of petals, all of which are individual Vaikunthas. These Vaikunthas are the sporting grounds of the Lord in His all majestic aspect as Lord Narayana with His eternal Consort Sri Lakshmi. But, the Pod of this divine Lotus is the most secret sporting ground of Lord Krishna Himself, in His most supreme Form as the Divine Lover. This Pod, which also covers all infinite transcendental space, is known as Sri Golok-Vrindaban or Vraja, and this Vraja is located within the heart of every pure soul. Vraja again has four simultaneous levels to suit the different eternal sports of Lord Krishna. These different spiritual levels of Vrajadham are the majestic Sri Mathura-dham, higher than Mathura is the divine Forest of Vrindavan, next and more superior is Sri Govardhan Hill, and the highest and most supreme level of the supra mundane Love sports of the Supreme Lord Govinda, is Sri Radha Kunda, which is identical with the self of Sri Radha, the Supreme Goddess, and Its glory cannot be described in words or even imagined. Golok-Vrindaban or Vraja has no touch of Maya (material nature), and although it contains all the things found in this changeable universe they are all eternal and made of pure spiritual conscious sentiments (Bhava). There, KRISHNA is the Supreme Lover and only Enjoyer and as the transcendental Autocrat everything else is devoted exclusively to the loving service of His Nama (Name), Dhama (Realm), and Kama (Desire). There all the Denizens of Vraja serve the Lord of their life, Krishna, in five ways according to there own eternal spiritual nature (Sthayi bhava). These five eternal relationships are: (1) Santa rati - indifference as transcendental clouds, grass, flowers, etc., of Vraja, which exist only to be used by the Lord for His pleasure. (2) Dasya Rati - servant hood as servant. (3) Shakya Rati - friendship as friend of Krishna. (4) Vatsalya Rati - parenthood or serving the Lord as the Divine Child. (5) Madhura Rati - conjugal relationship, climaxing in unrestricted mistress hood or maidenhood for Lord Krishna, Who is the supreme and only Object of all divine love (Prema). All souls in their pure all spiritual state, distinct from their temporary material body and subtle mind, possess an all-conscious spiritual body corresponding to any one of these five eternal relationships with Krishna, their own eternal spiritual nature (sthayi bhava). Every eternal Denizen of Vraja, from the flower or bird, to the friend or Mistress of Krishna, is a spiritual part of Vraja itself, and all beings, both in the state of spiritual practices in bondage as well as those who have achieved the state of freedom from bondage and entered into the transcendental Realm of Krishna, must serve the Lord of their life in subservience and under the direct guidance of the Eternal Associates, among whom Sri Guru Dev is the first Link now manifest in this mundane world. (Sri Bhaki-Rasamrita-Sindhu by Sri Rupa Goswami) Among all the five rasas (sweet spiritual sentiments) the most supreme is Madhura, as it possesses all the five rasas in itself; and of all the lovers of Krishna in Madhura rasa, the greatest is Sri Radha, Who is the Supreme Goddess! In spiritually technical terms Sri Radha would be classified as the Counter Whole (Krishna) projecting Himself out into a reciprocal Counter Whole and yet retaining the Original Whole (Upanishad). So, Sri Radha is the other half of Divinity or the Counter Whole Predominated Aspect of the Supreme Lord, and She is the fountain source of all wealth, fame, beauty, power, knowledge, and renunciation, spiritual and material. No soul can ever occupy Her position, and all the divine spiritual Maidens of Vraja find their sole joy in the transcendental love union of Sri Radha with Her Beloved Govinda, and never ever think of themselves being with Krishna. So the highest spiritual body of the pure freed soul is that of a serving maid of the Divine Couple known as MANJARI! The highest Lila (divine sport) is Sri Radha Krishna Vraja Lila, and the highest spiritual seva (service) is the self-less and eternal loving seva of Sri Radha Govinda, in union and separation. I should not speak these most secret and highly spiritual truths out, because most people will misunderstand. They will only confound them with mundane sex thinking, and the perverted love of man and woman in this sinful world. Only the pure soul in the state of divine Grace can realize that this is nothing less than the eternal play of the Supreme Divinity in love sport with His Own Self! So, I humbly ask all who are blessed enough to come in contact with such highly spiritual secrets to have faith and belief in these divine truths, because those who do not believe in these secrets are fit to be punished by the god of death (Yama), for they do not believe in the very existence of the Lord God Himself. If I be guilty of expounding secrets I do so only for my own purification and proper understanding of this most highly spiritual subject, which is not fully understood even by the gods in Heaven (mundane heaven). Also because my Lord of life, Sri Shyam Sundara, Who is the internal Guide of all, is with-in my heart directing me to do so, ad on these grounds I beg the forgiveness of all genuine devotees every where. "NITYA LILA"...to be continued in Part II About the Author  Other Stories by this AuthorComment on this story Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
NEWS DESK | EDITORIALS | TOP |
