Prem Sudha Dhara: Sarojji

(Page137)

Dark-Hued Krishna Confronts the Gopis at Sankari Khor

Sri Hari

Sri Vrindavan Dhaam

12th Februaty 1973

Dear Saroj,

With love, Jai Sri Hari.

Saroj, you should be on guard of ghaats (river banks) or ghaatis (mountain passes.) During the merry festivities of Holi, the maidens of Braj, particularly newly-weds are wary of going to the banks of the Yamuna or wells. But strangely enough it is a mere pretense. On fire with desire for Krishna, the gopis find hundreds of excuses to attend on him.

One of them complained to the other," We will never cross Daanghaati, sakhi. The mischievously insistent Kishore with a lakuti ( a small club held by Krishna) in his hand blocks our path and his rowdy gang of sakhas pester us."

Another feigning fright, remarked with a slight smile,"Frankly speaking, the mere thought of crossing Daanghaati makes me tremble; the tricky stratagems of Chaliya Kishore are truly vexing."

Now a third pitched in,"The added passionate frenzy of Basant (spring) has spirited Rasiya immensely.Sakhi, you can spot him roam around flirtatiously in a notorious fashion at Daanghaati or glimpse him at the banks of the Yamuna. Carrying gulal ( the powder usually red sprinkled by participants in the Holi festival) in his waistband and fervently sprinkling colour, he cheekily shoves us in the process. The bliss is indescribable."

A voluptuous newly-wed,mumbled slightly raising her veil," You are raving about him but I am worried about fetching water. In case I don't, I will be scolded back home and if I do... ". Quiet for a while she spoke again,"How should I go to the Yamuna. Unabashedly, he brings his face close to mine beneath my drawn veil. Sakhis, how should I save myself in such a predicament?"

Someone whined,"Naval Sundar is truly a magician! I wonder what enchanting mantra he knows that casting a spell he lures us with his charm. Abandoning social conventions and family honour, we rush in a delicious anguish to his side. All of you are making up tales but on sighting him you cast off highly restrictive social norms, knowing no other duty,no other loyalty, no other action but to be with him."

"Sakhi I speak the truth. The more I see him the more it makes me exquisitely desirous to be close to him.His winsome manners get rid of any vexation caused by his spirited antics. Once he was passing this way when all of a sudden my eyes fell on him and he saw me; it was sheer ecstasy. The pathos of longing makes me yearn to roam with him forever but social constraints restrains me," taking a deep breath she was quiet.

Another intervened, " All our actions are focused on the charming endeavours of the handsome god. Berated by elders in the family on one hand our helpless state hounds us on the other. We are scared by the very mention of wells. There is no stopping his rowdiness during the lively frolicking of Holi. The instant you step out, the prankster spots you and barges in. He blocks the path so why should I go to fetch water."

One sakhi listening quietly intervened," Inform me of a site where Krishna does not reach out. He is not merely present at the Yamuna banks or wells. Yesterday the youth who abused in our courtyard was none other than him. Now how can we possibly go about deserting our house and stop venturing out!"

The earlier sakhi agreed, "You are absolutely correct. Wherever we look we sight Nandkumar, the supreme lover. I wonder how he knows the situation beforehand."

All of a sudden the sensuous Rasiya sprang up in their midst, enthralling the young beauties engrossed in love-talk with his winsome manners; by giving in to freedom,spontaneity and intense passion. Frolicking with one, plucking a flower from another's tresses,opening the topknot and tugging at the veil of another.

The supreme lover spoke, "Scared of me at the well, banks of the Yamuna, market-places, caves of Giriraj, Daan Ghaati, Sankari Khor and now here. Everywhere you are terrified of me. What about this place...?"

And soon enough the heights of elation and ecstasy were reached. With ardent merriment; a brightly coloured heady mix of gulal (powder) and abeer of Basant rushed forth, delightfully astonishing all. Ah! The enraptured, spirited group of gopis encircling the supreme lover, Krishna. We never know whether they were scared in which fashion and to what extent; the shrewdly clever Kishore frightened them further or got rid of their fear. They alone are aware of the truth.

To sum up, I affirm that one must be on guard of river banks and mountain passes in earthly Vrindavana where the dark-hued god can confront you any second.

Okay then, Jai Sri Hari.

With love,

Yours Bobo.

Prem Sudha Dhara: Santoshji

(Page 118)

The Raas Lila When Kirshna Dances With the Gopis in Madhuvana

Sri Hari

Sri Vrindavan Dhaam

21st November 1970

Dear Santosh,

With love, Jai Sri Hari.

In that magical time of the year which comes with Sharad Ritu, nature is celebrated in her most glorious state. The whole earth rejoices on being cleansed. The days are enchanting and the nights intoxicating. All the elements of nature are instilled with one mood, one emotion which pervades the environs, that of ecstatic devotion or shringara bhakti.

A year back Lord Krishna had made a promise of bathing with the gopis in the flowing waters of the Yamuna on the radiant night of Sharad Poornima. Ever since, the gopis had prayed for this moment to be realized to the goddess Katyayani: they performed vratas and bathed in the icy waters in the coldest month of Hemanta.The time span seemed like ages due to the pathos of longing. Somehow summer passed, the rains were over and the long awaited days of Sharad arrived.

Krishna breathed music into his flute,the breath of love, on such a beaming joyous night of Sharad Poornima. ( A call to eternity, the sound of the flute attracts the cows and draws the gopis, the milkmaids of Vrindavana out of their homes for a romantic dalliance with Krishna.) Delighting rasiks (dedicated devotees), the dark god's amorous frolics and spirited antics fill the atmosphere.

When Krishna played the flute, the beauties could not resist the call and reached the comforting proximity of their supreme lover. The paragon of mischief, initially rebuked them, asking them to return to their respective homes. Because of their egotistical pride he vanished. Soon after, charmed by their ardent entreaties and honoured by their humility he relented, reappearing among them.

During the exquisite spectacle of the raas lila when Krishna's dances with the cowherdesses in the forests of Madhuvana, Sri Radha-Krishna sing mesmerizing the night with their ascending and descending scales. The raas padas (verses) are sung in courtyards bathed in the glimmering moonlight's cool serenity.

Krishna reveals his double identity in the maharasa; now dallying with childlike playfulness and now exhibiting divine majesty. He is very much in and of this world and yet he is above it. A mere mortal, in love with the gopis of Vrindavana but essentially divine; pulsating with earthly romance but also pointing to the spiritual aspect of romantic love.

The rapturous dance becomes an event of primordial belief linking the microcosm to the macrocosm. Imparting to the gopis the naive innocence of the bhakta, the raas makes no distinction between earthly, sensual love and spiritual ecstasy.

May this fiesta of Krishna's dalliance become the focus of our intense longing. If our ardour is sufficient and understanding complete we can acquire such great love by imagining ourselves as women, as the gopis in the rapturous dance. All men and women in the world are spiritually women and the lord alone is male, because a woman's love for her lord or husband is the only greatest possible love.

An ethereal sight! Sri Radha-Krishna in the center surrounded by delicately dancing gopis holding hands and tapping their feet in several circles. Making them reach the heights of elation and ecstasy, Krishna loves by giving in to freedom, spontaneity and intense passion.

The golden sands of the Yamuna eternally resonate with a melee of beauteous forms, expressive dance steps, tinkling anklets, mellifluous flute play amidst lotuses blooming in the waters, exotic environs and melodious musical instruments. Those who sighted the raas sang about its ineffable beauty and effulgence. Let us hear it in their own words and unite with the divine.

Nachat rasmagan Vrashbhanuja Giridharan,

Vadan chavi dekhi sudhi jati rati madan ki.

Mukut ki tharharni,peetpat farharni,

Tatathei thei karni harni sab kadan ki.

Dashan damkani, hasni lasni ang ang ki,

Adhar var arun lakhi upma ko hai.

Drig jalaj chalni dig kutil alakni jhulni

Manhun ali kulni ki panti sohai.

Such an exquisite description of the domain of passion, frolicking with joyous abandon on the ethereal banks. Those who saw the infinite glory of Priya-Priyatam dancing delightfully with their loving sakhis on the banks of the Yamuna's clean sands surrounded by nikunjas bathed in the radiant nights of Sharad Ritu were spellbound.

Endowed with the sakhi bhava, Surdas has etched a beautiful picture of the rapturous raas in his divine voice. The singers did not need to be the women of the world alone. The same fusions of delight and of desire combined within the songs of men. We can acquire such great love only imagining ourselves as sakhis and love the lord calling after him.

Noted devotees and even saints had to undergo a metamorphosis as gopis in order to have access into the celestial paradise of Vishnu. Because of the sakhi bhava, Surdas is part of this delightful rapture and a mere spectator due to his body. He sang with enthused exultation:

Nirtat Shyam nana rang.

Mukut latkani,bhrikuti matkani dhare natwar ang.

Chalni gati kati kunit kinkini ghoongru jhankar.

Mano hans rasaal bani aras paras vihar.

Lasti kar pahunchi upajay mudrika ati jyoti.

Bhav son bhuj phirat jabhin,tabhin,shobha hoti.

Kabhun nirtat nari gati par kabhun nirtat aap.

'Sur' ke prabhu rasik shiromani rachyo raas pratap.

Dark-hued Krishna,the ruler of our hearts, dances with joyous abandon. The swaying extensions of his diadem, the flowing flirtatious curls, and his form of a natwar (skilled dancer) is enchanting. When his waist wiggles with the dancing feet and the bells of his ornaments jingle;it seems as if the environs are ringing with the softly tender notes of swans.

Natwar Pritam is engrossed in various love sports with these love-lorn beauties. The armlet glitters on the soft wrist and the flute sparkles when his tender dark arms move in different dance postures. Enacting melodious emotions Krishna makes hundreds of moonbeams shimmer;outwardly expressing the grand madhurya or sweetness of that moment. At times he picks up the melodious note and the maidens break into a dance and sometimes they sing and he sashays to their pitch.

The cowherdesses seem like flashes of lightning in a black cloud, Krishna. The colour of the condensed sky; Krishna encircled looks like an immense sapphire in a circlet of gold. By assuming the form of the mandala, the gopis circumscribe a space which is sanctified and eternal. We might infer that literally the raas lila takes place in Vrindavana, and metaphorically in a space between heaven and earth. Time stands still, entranced by the dance.The cowherds are fascinated and Krishna duplicates himself through his maya so that between two gopis was found a Krishna.

Santosh,the speaker of the 'Bhagwad Gita' has blessed you with the naive innocence of a bhakta. Implore him to grant, the melody of his flute, his loving entreaties, his mystical inundations and emotionally passionate song which celebrates a love of selfless devotion. May his loving tenderness become the focus of our being. Pray that his discourse in the 'Gita' easily endorses our lifestyles and we attain his close presence.

Centering our attention upon the handsome god, may his passionately playful persona make us his love-struck devotees-his intoxicating smile pierce the core of our heart- his tapping lotus feet enchant every fiber of our being and his ardent touch fill us with frenzied madness.

Look at the amazing revelations I have dwelt upon, which only Krishna, the supreme lover, is aware of or you know because of his loving grace.

Okay, Jai Sri Hari.

With love,

Yours Bobo.

Prem Sudha Dhara: Sumitraji

(Page 102)

The Autumnal Season Celebrates the Love of Shri Radha-Krishna as Gopis Look on
Sri Hari

Sri Vrindavan Dham

9th October 1974

Dear Sumitra,

With love, Jai Sri Hari.

Braj is celebrating nature in her most glorious state-in that magical time of the year which comes with Sharad Ritu, the autumnal season. Vrindavana, that heaven on earth where Krishna plays with the gopis, is rejoicing on being cleansed. The skies are cleared of heavy black clouds, the waters flow clear and sweet and the air is luminous. The bhavan, verdant groves and forest resonate with the sweet soft chirping of birds. There is enthused merriment all around with auspicious songs being sung and melodious flutes resounding. Bustling commotion pervades the ambience.

Clad in multi-coloured muslin lehengas, these beautiful cowherdesses dressed in the best of their finery, loaded with gifts, platters, jars and small boxes, singing in joyous abandon, laughing with enthused exultation are heading somewhere. Nature seems to have laid out a carpet of blossoming pastures with whispering trees and ferns greeting them. The chirping birds add to their mellifluous singing as the gopis move ahead carrying a dream in their darkened shapely eyes.

These enraptured herdswomen captivate everyone with intoxicating enchantment. Why are the cowherds fascinated? Which magical charm in their gait, enigmatic persona, glances and smiles makes the environs, earth, sky, forest, groves, market-places, banks of the Yamuna, wells, ferns and foliage sway with frenzied infatuation. Come let us follow these Braj beauties, see where they go and what they do as we walk along with the herd. Our ears hear their chatter but are restless. The eyes are pleased on seeing their attractive bliss but there is the pathos of some mysterious longing.

Truly splendid is this bhavan! The row of pots nestling fragrant flowers, circled around the white steps is beautiful. Listen to what shuk (parrot) and sarika (mynah) perched on these plants have to say; they seem to be applauding these spirited young girls. Hear carefully their delightful chirping, both rave about the birthday of Kanhaiya. What did they say? It is the birth anniversary of Nandrai's darling, Krishna, the apple of Sri Yashoda's eye. Ah, that sounds great!

Within the huge entrance door there is a terrifying rush of enthusiasm. These Brajbalas now move in delicious anguish for a glimpse of Krishna, the ruler of their lives, souls and hearts.

'Kanchan mani jatith thaar, dadhi-rochan phoolhaar, dekhan chali Nandkumar milibe ko tarsani'. Their eyes yearn to behold him, every fiber of their being is aroused for the touch of their teasing, elusive and insistent paramour. These maidens are intensely desirous to wrap the dark-hued Krishna in their arms, embracing him with an all-consuming intimacy...But what about the land of highly restrictive social conventions of which they are a part.( Divine Krishna is metaphorically conceived as the ideal object of a maiden's love.The sublimation of the gopis' sensual feeling to spiritual desire is hardly surprising due to the burden of social constraints.)

Oh! What is the way out for these Brajbalas, as they step into youth, aware that their childhood play with Krishna is becoming something more elusive. Entering the courtyard they hear the melodious voice of Nandrani, entreating all sakhis to come and sing auspicious songs on his birth anniversary. And Yashoda elated on spotting the attractive beauties intensely desirous of having her lala's ( as Krishna is affectionately called) attention for themselves, warmly greets them.

The delights of Paradise are reflected as if by a cosmic mirror onto the plains of Gokul, Nandgaon, Barsana and Vrindavana all charmed by the birth anniversary of Nandlala. The piles of gifts are virtually spilling out of the bhavan. The festive din of surging crowds pervades the ambience. In the midst someone whispers softly," His birthday is the love-play of Lord Krishna!" An innocent young girl standing nearby asks in amazement," A romantic dalliance?"

"An amorous frolic centered within the birth celebrations," explains the maiden and giggles. "Accompanying us, have a look yourself " she suggests. Come let us also peep into the love-sport of Krishna's birth festivities.

Sakhi, you are now looking at the personal chamber of Nandkunwar. The colour of the condensed sky, Krishna is adorned with added ornamentation today. They see him embracing a radiant Kishori, Krishna's special consort, whom he passionately entreats with side-long glances. Sri Radha-Krishna soon turn to look at the merry festivities, escalating sound of adulated devotion along with the fervent celebrations. Innumerable beauties gather around Kishori and Kishore in their most intimate transcendental exchange. Amidst peals of laughter, Brajraj Kunwar enchants them with a glimpse, a touch as he joyously welcomes the young cowherdesses.

The supreme lover, Krishna can not sport with them in a romantic dalliance today. But the repository of sweetness, delights them with joyous abandon in such a short time span, endearing himself. All of them soon gather within the same courtyard where the abhishek or auspicious ceremonial bathing is on, musical instruments are being played and auspicious songs sung. Their eyes are passionately drawn to Krishna, the focus of the ardour of the gopis, as his cascading laughter mesmerizes the cowherdesses.

What remains imprinted in our memory is that when the god and the gopis are in unison, Krishna is mortalized with an innocence both of the enchanter and the enchanted.

With love,

Yours Bobo.