Shri Dham
Vrindavan
vilsatu vilase priyasya |
The Ineffable Beauty of Krishna
“He is very dear to
us” this is sufficient enough as an answer to your question. A repository of
happiness and the alleviator of sorrow, Krishna can never cause pain to us. If
we are feeling so it is the fault of His ineffable beauty, His madhurya, His
infinite affection, His tender age and fresh youthfulness and His being the
Supreme Lover of beautiful cowherdesses, His reddish slanting eyes, the
sweetness of His joyous laughter and lips soaked in rasa, His adeptness in the
art of charming people, the exquisite beauty of His chubby cheeks, His broad
chest adorned with the vanamala, kneelength arms, eagerly desirous of embracing
His beloveds along with beauty pervading every fiber of His being . .Distressed at our inability of gathering
up the ineffable beauty of Krishna, is what makes us feel the anguish of
separation. Actually, He is eternally dear to us and all the activities of
Krishna are also eternal. Transience can’t even touch Him. He simply does not
know how to part from us after being found.
Infinite affection is His very nature. He does not even like listening
to words like separation, parting and so on. Then how can one believe that He
performs the lila of making us suffer the anguish of separation.
How much truth is
there in the anxious sakhi lamenting about the anguish of separation from
Krishna. Dark-hued Krishna’s indestructible entity pervades every thought,
body, mind and fiber of her being.” Hugging Krishna to her heart, she is pining
for Him. The sakhi singing the tale of separation has actually become one with
Krishna,’jit dekhun tit Shyammayi hai’-Wherever
I look I see Krishna, the colour of the condensed sky.” It was then decided
that feeling separation from Krishna is another name for an emotional yearning
for the Supreme Lover/, which seeks fulfillment.
Krishna Pervades every Particle of Braj
Dark –hued Krishna pervades every particle of Braj
then how can the torturous anguish of separation stray there.
We can just not
gather up His beautiful body and sweetness even if we want to that is why it
seems like a state of separation. As far as I can understand He simply does not.
approve of the anguish of separation. In case he does then that Thakur must be
belonging to some realm of opulence.
Supreme Lover Krishna Embraces His Beloved
We can’t forget the fact that He is a premi, a
Lover. When the Premspada, the Supreme Lover, does not want separation and
wants to tightly bind the beloved in the noose of His embrace, constantly
relishing the rasa of her lips, then how can the dear Lover even dream of
forgetting this sweet bond? It is only
the ineffable beauty of Krishna beauty which keeps making us feel a sense of
separation , even on being bound in a tight embrace. The sakhi’s intense love
and an ardent longing for rasa makes her labour under this misapprehension. In
reality she is highly fortunate, and a lovingly passionate amorous woman. This
unfortunate state can’t affect her even in her dreams. The rules of this realm
are confusing. The one who has found Krishna also says she has not attained
him, whereas the one who has not found Him keeps complaining that she have not
got Him. Saying so is a strange custom in this divine realm .They have not
found Krishna is the very nature of those who have attained Krishna and drunk
the rasa of Krishna’s love.
A Sakhi Longs for Krishna
How can she be a
beloved if she hasn’t found the Supreme Lover or is separated from Him.The chakor[1]
has not even dreamt of being separated from the moon.
The large black bee has
not known the anguish of separation from the lotus.
The chakor bird always
longs for and thrives on moonbeams and the moonbeams are linked to him. No one has
ever seen them crying due to separation. But of course, being thirsty and
forever longing for each other is their permanent state. And so this lack of
satisfaction and longing for more seems like separation. Who can possibly
explain this state? That realm is full of crazy sakhis smitten by Krishna, all
of them have drunk bhang. There is no one else there who can make them understand things or admonish them. And
that’s it! All of them are constantly infatuated by Krishna.
Black Bee Sucks Nectar of the Lotus
Night Bird Chakor Thrives on Moonbeams
Dark-hued Krishna with His Beloved in a Kunja
(2)The Supreme Lover
and His beloved are sitting in joyous abandon with their feet dangling in a
water body. That kunja is enclosed by dense creepers and loaded with the
fragrance of khas and rose flowers. The sakhis are attached to creeper thickets
like honey bees. Both Radha-Krishna are engrossed in sweet mutual conversation
and absorbed in the sweetness of their entwined limbs. They are both bound in
a tight embrace during the momentum of their talk, finding an opportunity to
relish the rasa of their lips. The gust of a cool slight breeze makes them
vigilant at times and encourages them to dally romantically once again.
A Bumble Bee Hovers Over Shri Radha's Lotus Face
How were they to know that there were would be a
hindrance even in this? Suddenly a humming black bee, passionate to relish rasa,
got entry into the nikunja along with the gust of wind, guided by the couple’s
exuding bodily fragrance; and ended up breaking the silence of the secluded
ambiance. Beloved Radha’s deep trance was broken. She woke up-and was startled
because of having a timid nature. Though the hindrance by the bumble bee was not
desirable but this would have probably happened to accentuate the speed of this
particular dalliance. Hence beloved Radha, bound in a close embrace, could not
stop the greed of the black bee. He hovered really close to Shri Radha’s lotus
face, sometimes humming over Her braid and coming dangerously close at other
times, drawn by her bodily fragrance and buzzing close to her cheeks.
Beloved Radha Tries to Drive Away the Bumble Bee
Priyaji was so scared
whereas mischievous Supreme Lover Krishna kept sitting indifferently. One
wondered what He was thinking of as he watched that intoxicated black bee? It
seemed that He too was experiencing a new ardent longing. Bewildered Priya ji
was trying to ward off the black bee with both her hands. Afraid of the black
bee, She was taking refuge in the Supreme Lover’s embrace. Sometimes with the
edge of Her saree and at times with the Supreme Lover’s pitambar[2] She was trying to drive off the bee but the
bee did not want to be chased away. When beloved Radha was very exhausted the
Supreme Lover could not tolerate it. Driving away the black bee, He
said,”Priya, Madhusudan[3]
has gone away. Don’t be scared now.” Priyaji had to just hear this sentence and
she fainted in His embrace. Krishna could not understand what had happened. He
tried very hard to bring Her back to consciousness but it did not work.
Sakhi Lalita Helps out Shri Radha-Krishna
Ultimately Krishna
called out to dear sakhi Lalita and she immediately presented herself. On
hearing Him out she grasped the entire situation. Softly she whispered in
beloved Radha’s ears,”Ladli, get up!Dark-hued Krishna has come back and is
sitting right next to you. Keeping your head on His strong soft thigh, He is playfully
caressing your hair.” Beloved Radha opened Her eyes on hearing these words and
saw Krishna bending over Her lotus face. A new wave of love gushed forth,
leading to a fresh romantic dalliance. Observing them with a graceful glance,
Lalita ran out of the kunja, letting them soak in the passionate dalliance of
rasa.
Rasa Pervades the Realm of the Supreme Lover & His Beloved
Such is the rasa of
that realm. Even on being embraced by Krishna’s, just by hearing ‘Madhusudan
has gone away’ Shri Radha fainted, pained by the agony of separation. Now if
that Beloved says,” The Supreme Lover is harsh and torments me, He goes away
after meeting me’ in which way is it a valid complaint. In reality, the anguish
of separation is as depicted in the above episode and it sets the stage for a
more passionate romantic dalliance.
A Cowherdess Bearing the Agony of Separation
How far is some
cowherdess living in this prakritik world and keeping the bond of prakriti
intact, correct in trying to prove that she is suffering the agony of
separation due to some love realization;
without meeting the Supreme Lover, without reaching that divine realm,
without once being bound in that tight embrace.
Taking Refuge in Supreme Lover Krishna's Embrace
By taking absolute
refuge in the embrace of that Supreme Lover once she will become the woman
suffering the anguish of separation in the realm of infinite joy. The one who
is in union with Krishna is the one who suffers the pangs of separation.
Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with Krishna
sangam
virah vikalpe varmih viraho na sangamastasya
ek
ev sange virahe tanmayam jagat ||
There is eternal union in the state of separation says Shri Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Dev .
A River Merging Into the Ocean
Love is the ocean and
love is the river in the realm of prema. Have you ever heard about the anguish
of separation on the river merging into the ocean? Similarly that cowherd
maiden, the river, merged into the broad chest of Krishna, the blue ocean, and
remained there. The merging [4]of
the river and ocean is seen as the great union. There is no question of union
and separation here! The flood and ebb tides of love play began to rise and
fall and continued doing so.
Waves of Union & Separation Coexist in the Divine Realm
Rippling waves of
union and separation kept rising and falling, she had become a beautiful part
of that sweet realm. Romantic Dalliance, dalliance, dalliance. Smitten by
Krishna’s madhurya and sidelong
glance of those moments of sweet union she did not bother about the social
constraints of her household. A traveller of the nikunja path, she kept
beautifying the embrace of the Supreme Lover. Then why are you bent on blaming
Him for no reason or are you putting this allegation on the Supreme Lover so
that He can do something to erase this complaint of yours.
Maan Lila
Supreme Lover Krishna
Jai Radhe
Yours Manohar
Das
[1]
Chakor: ([1]a type
of partridge trad supposed to live on moonbeams)
[2]
Pitambar: yellow coloured garment, worn by Krishna
[3]
Madhusudan: the word madhu has come to
refer to both the bumblebee and Krishna. Just as bees tend to enjoy the honey
of the lotus, Krishna enjoys the honey of His devotees’ love.
[4]
Merging: Just as the river keeps flowing forever
towards the ocean, the devotee’s consciousness keeps flowing forever towards
the Lord. This emphasis on the flow aspect helps us see the union aspect in a
new light. The union is not a merger of beings, but a meeting of hearts. When
two hearts unite in love, they remain two and yet become one. That is the
mystery of love, a mystery that finds expression and resolution in the
teachings of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
[5]
Maan lila: One of the ways in which Radhika pleases Krsna is by entering into
the loving stage called maan, Her sulky mood of affectionate jealous anger
towards Him. Sometimes Her maan has no external cause, and sometimes it has a
cause.
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