Saturday, March 28, 2009

Lila Rasa Madhuri: Preface

We find the handsome Krishna in his revelation as the supreme lover, fluting in the blossoming pastures of his youth in earthly Vrindavan. The enraptured cowherdesses longing for union with their teasing, elusive and insistent paramour, move in a delicious anguish to his side in kunjas-nikunjas, forests, fields, wells and banks of the Yamuna. These village women and the elements of nature are passionately drawn by Krishna's flute-play; the breath of love and a call to eternity.


Shri Radha-Krishna are in essence a single entity, who manifest as two distinct individuals for the sake of interpersonal romantic exchange. The handsome god created Shri Radha for the sake of joy when he longed to relish his own sweet romantic sentiment.


Shri Radha

Aadi purusha,(primeval man) Shri Krishna is resplendent in the rasa mandala of Goloka, the heavenly sphere. A tremor in Krishna's left portion led to the appearance of Shri Radha. Irresistibly attractive, she instantly laid out flowers, offering herself to Krishna as his consort. Krishna also propitiates her daily which led to her being acclaimed as Sri.


Shri Radha-Krishna are not a mere concept of the poets' devotional imagination. Shri Radha above all the other souls of the world ultimately emerges as the supreme object of Krishna's passionate love. If our ardour is sufficient and understanding complete we can identify our passion and the consummation of our love with hers.


Acknowledged as the supreme deity, it is said that Radha controls Krishna with her love and that perfect spiritual life is unattainable without her grace. Shri Radha is Krishna's hladini shakti or blissful energy. She is prakriti (the power of earth, mother nature, physical world) and Shri Krishna is the sole purusha (primeval man, power of heaven, spiritual realm).


For centuries stotras and stutis (hymns of praise or eulogies) propitiating the divine energies of Shri Radha-Krishna, who fulfill mankind's earthly desires with their loving tenderness, abound in several scriptures, Vedas, Puranas and Upanishads.


Shri Radha becomes the supreme nayika in Gita Govinda by Jayadeva, in the literary sphere. The cynosure off our attention, she humanizes Krishna from a devata to a nayaka and in doing so the romantic emotion in the text becomes at once sensual and spiritual. She does not find a mention in the Puranas and Upanishads. Neither does the Shrimad Bhagvatam replete with the divine play of Shri Krishna have any reference to Radha.


Shri Krishna

Shri Krishna's enigmatic persona, is both human and divine at the same time. The idyll of his youth is centered in Vrindavana where he voluntarily gives in to sensual pleasures of the world; delighting the gopas and gopikas with the vatsalya, sakhya, dasya and madhurya rasa. His innocent pranks are interspersed with putting an end to demonic forces which constantly attacked the area.


Ineffably handsome, Krishna bursts forth into the hearts of his devotees with a sudden and mysterious rush of love. The blue-hued god goes on to fulfill his dharma as Vishnu's avatara on earth. He slays the evil Kamsa, reveals the nature of time and duty to Arjuna on the field of Kurukshetra and goes on to rule a kingdom in Dvaraka surrounded by luxury.


Our prime concern is to gather these playful dalliances and relish them, absorbed in the love of Shri Radha-Krishna bestowed by the twin stotras. We find glimpses of their divinity and majestic grandeur in this composition. The creators, preservers and destroyers of creation, Radha and Krishna are adorable in their celestial forms as we seek to please the Yugal and are granted the boon of their grace.


The basic stotra of Shri Radha Kripakataksh is the Shri Radha tantra or incantation, posited on her. In the research institute of Vrindavan the composition is gathered in small handbooks of rasikas, dating back to two hundred years roughly.


Dedicated eminent personages heard the recitation and wrote about it's splendour in their own bhava or love flowing towards the divine. We come across some flaws and lack of clarity but the prime concern of these devotees was attaining the loving grace of Priya-Priyatam and not the presentation of some authentic literary proof.


No clear write-ups apparently endorse the creation of Shri Krishna Kripakatash. Some time back Shri Nishcalanandji Maharaj came to Vrindavan and affirmed that this stotra had been compiled by Shri Shankracharyaji Maharaj.The same viewpoint is confirmed by a hand written copy found in the research institute of Vrindavan marked as written in Dvaraka in the year 1868.


Another highlight of this stotra is its rhythm and speed. The eulogy can be equated to the Shri Radha Kripakataksha, engaging us in the service of Nanda's handsome son Krishna.Though the sequence of reciting both the stotras is different, they have been religiously adopted by practitioners in the prescribed order of devotion.


The superb twin stotras, adorned a great rasika Ushaji and steeped her in the love of Shri Radha-Krishna. This spectral revelation was spurred by Lord Krishna. A sakhi, Shri Sakhaji, belonging to the very intimate nitya parikar (attendants) of Shri Radha-Krishna was clearly signalled to make their eternal divine play easily attainable for the very lovable Boboji (Ushaji).


Relishing these hymns when highly revered Ushaji, imagined, experienced and shared her vision of the terrifying rush of Shri Radha-Krishna's love; her sentiments and convincing fantasies were compiled in a tangible form and presented before the readers in her own words.


Let us savour the distinct flavour of the stotras, their descriptive subject, divine play and the passionate romantic dalliances of Shri Radha-Krishna by way of our individual upasana or propitiation, bhavna or imaginative recollection and chintan or mode of meditation.


Devout Usha Bahinji would urge all close associates to recite these sacred hymns several times over. She had an implicit belief that the twin stotras were excellent contributions in attaining the grace of Shri Radha-Krishna's loving tenderness. In the daily regime of her kirtan seva (singing songs of a devotional nature) chanting of the hymns is a compulsory norm.


Friday, March 27, 2009

Lila-Rasa-Madhuri: Editor's Note

Lila Rasa Madhuri

Shri Radha-Krishna serve as the stimulus of rasa upasana centered in Vraja and Vrindavan. The perennial quest of mankind for their divine and transcendental love has spurred several seekers to attain the ultimate reality by adopting the bhavas of dasya (servitude), sakhya (friend), vatsalya (maternal love)suitable to our particular identity in this world.

Nevertheless all other rasas reside in the madhurya rasa, the sentiment of sweet romance, which takes us to the very heart of the love of Radha and Krishna. The raja rasa or peak of human emotions, it not only celebrates our humanity but equally reaches out to an evocation of divinity.

This metaphorical search of the impassioned soul for union with God becomes possible by the grace of the enraptured cowherdesses with whom Krishna sported in his youth. He is construed as the object of longing and of a love when His hungering devotees do his chintan or sing his glories. Several eminent personages attained oneness with the divine and their experiences elucidate the divine path to earthly devotees.


Shaktiman Krishna & His Hladini Shakti Radha

Shri Krishna in the form of aadi purusha or primeval man, the divine energetic source or shaktimaan, the source of all manifestations of God is revealed as the Supreme Lover and Shri Radha His hladini shakti or blissful energy; is our svamini or devotional ideal. Coming alive in their majestic form, Shri Radha-Krishna preserve and destroy the world since the start of creation. As repositories of madhurya or sweet love they give in to the ardent longing of their close ones.


Supreme Lover Krishna Dallying with Gopis

We come across the Supreme Being, dallying with the enraptured village women as He spreads joy and delight in idyllic Vrindavan. Roaming with Shri Radhika and the gopis, Her replications or kaya-vyuhas, Krishna resides in the hearts of yogis. As Vishnu's avatara, Krishna chose to be born in Vraja and chose it as His playground to relax from protocol. The refuge of various religions, Shri Radha-Krishna are propitiated by sage Narada, Brahmaji and Lord Shankar as well as other deities.

The twin stotras which sing their glories, assist us in sharing their grace and loving tenderness. The fruition of Shri Radha Stora revealed at the end of the text, has been experienced by several noted mahatmas.

Shri Krishna Kripa Kataksha Stotra

On the other hand 'Shri Krishna Kripa Kataksha' composed by Shri Shankracharyaji Maharaj is replete with its own grandeur. The last shloka is differently worded in the recitation but endorses selfless bhakti of Krishna, Nanda's handsome son.


Bhaktimati Usha Bahenji

Highly revered Usha Bahenji's deeper ecstasies of devotion surge towards the sweet divine play of Shri Radha-Krishna. Steeped in the love of the Yugal, her experiences were compiled, becoming the pivotal concept of the text 'Lila-Rasa-Madhuri'.

Now Ushaji's body and mind were fused and focused in pampering Priya-Priyatam and now it was tough to construe the depth of her devotional imagination. Developing an all-consuming intimacy, Shri Radha-Krishna would converse with her, and freely ask her to adorn them with shangar and even demand some particular bhoga or offering of food.

These incidences make us imagine, experience and share the vision of earlier renowned acharyas; of the union and ultimate indivisibility between Krishna and Radha, Purusha (spiritual realm) and Prakriti (physical world), God and devotee.

First of all I am greatly indebted to highly revered Shri Nishchalanandji Maharaj who presides over the Shankracharyaja Goverdhan Peeth, for giving his consent for the text.Shri Satyanandji Maharaj, respected Susheela Bahinji and other eminent personages are responsible for its publication in the Viashnava world; it is a concrete result of their combined efforts.

Here is praying that with energy and joyfulness and love, the stotras become an excellent recourse for love-struck devotees; absorbing them in the loving tenderness of Priya-Priyatam.