Chapter Thirty-nine
Lila-pravesa-vicara
Entering the Lord's Pastimes
Now Vijaya-kumara was always eager to hear about these pastimes. He did not like to hear about anything else. When he went to see Lord Jagannatha, Vijaya-kumara could not remain peaceful and composed. For many days now he had studied the rasas. He had learned about madhura-rasa, sthayi-bhava, vibhava, anubhava, sattvika bhava, and vyabhicari bhava. One by one, the different kinds of ecstatic love entered his heart. They would bring him great delight, and then they would go away. Some days passed in this way. He did not understand how the presence of ecstatic love had changed him. One day, with tears in his eyes, he fell down before His spiritual master's feet and said, "O master, by your mercy I have learned everything. However, I am not able to make spiritual advancement. I have not attained sthayi bhava and I have not entered Lord Krishna's pastimes. Please teach me what I should do." Seeing how his disciple was rapt in ecstatic love, Gopala-guru Gosvami was very pleased. In his heart he thought, "Love for Krishna (Krishna-prema) is such that its happiness brings distress, and its distress brings happiness." Then he openly said, "I will tell you how to enter Lord Krishna's pastimes".
Vijaya-kumara: How can I enter them?
Gosvami: Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami has revealed the way in these words (Manah-siksah 2):
"Mind don't do the pious and impious deeds described in the Vedas. Intently serve Sri Sri Radha-Krishna in Vraja. Always remember that Lord Chaitanya is Lord Krishna, the son of Maharaja Nanda and my spiritual master is most dear to Lord Mukunda."
Don't perform the pious and impious deeds described in the Vedas. Reject this past of the Vedas and instead earnestly engage in raganuga-bhakti. Again and again serve Sri Sri Radha-Krishna in Vraja. Serve the Lord according to the rasas of Vraja. If you ask, "Who will teach me how to serve the Lord according to the rasas of Vraja?", then I will tell you. Please listen. Sridham Nabadwip, where Lord Chaitanya appeared in Saci-devi's womb is a manifestation of Vrindavan. Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, Krishna the son of Nandisvara's king. Lord Chaitanya is not different from Krishna. Thinking that Lord Krishna has descended to Nabadwip to enjoy pastimes as Lord Chaitanya, one should not reject the worship of Lord Krishna as the amorous hero of Vraja and instead worship Lord Chaitanya as the amorous hero of the young girls in Nabadwip. Lord Chaitanya is Lord Krishna Himself. Still, one should not criticise the devotees who worship Him with different mantras and meditate on Him separately. In the path of the rasas one should worship only Krishna, the beloved of Radha, and Lord Chaitanya one should worship as the spiritual master of the rasas of Vraja. One should meditate on Lord Chaitanya's pastimes and on Lord Krishna's asta-kaliya pastimes. One should not think that one's spiritual master is not a sakhi or a yuthesvari in Vraja. By worshipping in this way one will be able to enter Lord Krishna's pastimes in Vraja.
Vijaya-kumara: O master, I understand that one should reject other scriptures and other paths, worship Lord Chaitanya and serve one's spiritual master, aware that the spiritual master is a sakhi in Lord Krishna's pastimes. How can one make his heart steady and determined to follow this path?
Gosvami: Two things should be understood: 1 upasaka-pariskrti (the worshipper) and 2 upasya-pariskrti (the object of worship). You have learned about the rasas. Therefore you have learned about upasya-pariskrti. The upasaka-pariskrti has eleven bhavas. Almost all of them you have already learned. Only one remains for you to learn.
Vijaya-kumara: Please describe these eleven bhavas.
Gosvami: These eleven bhavas are: 1 sambandha (relationship), 2 vayasa (age), 3 nama (name), 4 rupa (form), 5 yutha (group), 6 vesa (garments), 7 ajna (command), 8 vasa (residence), 9 seva (service), 10 parakasthasvasa (highest aspiration) and 11 palya-dasi-bhava (the nature of a maidservant).
Vijaya-kumara: What is sambandha?
Gosvami: Sambandha is the foundation of spiritual attainments. When one has a relationship with Krishna, then the bhavas are manifested. The final goal one attains is based on the relationship. Souls who address Krishna as 'master' become servants of Krishna. Souls who address Krishna as 'friend' become friends of Krishna. Souls who address Krishna as 'son' become the mother or father of Krishna. Souls who address Krishna as 'husband' become queens at Dvaraka. In Vraja there is no santa-rasa and dasya rasa is curtailed. Each devotee attains a relationship according to his own natural inclination. You are naturally attracted to parakiya-rasa. Therefore you are a follower of Vraja's queen. In your relationship you say, "I am a maidservant of Sri Radha's maidservant. She is the controller of my life. Krishna is the controller of Radha's life, and therefore Krishna, the beloved of Radha, is the controller of my life also.
Vijaya-kumara: I have heard that the great acarya Srila Jiva Gosvami preferred svakiya rasa. Is that true?
Gosvami: Not one of the true followers of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu rejected the pure parakiya-rasa. Who can be a better teacher of this rasa than Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami? He taught the truth of the pure parakiya rasa. Srila Jiva Gosvami and Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami all accepted his teachings in this matter. In his own personal devotional service Srila Jiva Gosvami did not accept svakiya rasa. However, he did explain that even in Vraja some devotees manifest a scent of svakiya rasa. When samartha rati carries a scent of samanjasa rati, then svakiya-rasa is present in Vraja. Therefore when a slight sense of svakiya-rasa is present, the devotee may be called a worshipper in svakiya rasa. Srila Jiva Gosvami has two kinds of disciples. One group of his disciples was situated in pure parakiya-rasa. Another group of his disciples were situated in parakiya rasa mixed with svakiya rasa. According to the different inclinations of his different disciples, he gave different appropriate instructions. This he clearly explained when he wrote the words:
"What I have written is appropriate for devotees who are inclined in a certain way."
Vijaya-kumara: Now I clearly understand that the pure Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy teaches the pure parakiya rasa. Now that I understand sambandha, please describe vayasa.
Gosvami: When you attain your relationship with Krishna, you will have a wonderful form. In your case it will be the form of a beautiful girl in Vraja. That form will be manifested in a specific age appropriate to your service. The age from ten to sixteen years is called 'kaisora'. That is generally the appropriate age in this situation. Therefore in your spiritual form your age begins at ten and, as you make advancement in service, increases up to the age of sixteen That is called 'vayah-sandhi'. Balya (childhood), pauganda (pre-adolescence) and vrddha (old age) do not exist among the beautiful girls of Vraja. Therefore you should know that your spiritual form is situated in the kaisora age.
Vijaya-kumara: O master, what is name? I have already received a name. Please clearly explain 'name' to me.
Gosvami: You naturally become the follower of a maidservant-friend of Sri Radha. That friend's name is your name. Examining your nature, your spiritual master gives you a name. Please know that is your name eternally. The beautiful girls of Vraja will delight in addressing you by that name.
Vijaya-kumara: O master, please explain rupa.
Gosvami: Your spiritual master reveals to you the nature of the beautiful and youthful kaisora age form that, according to your own inclination, is your own form. You have an inconceivable beautiful spiritual form. If that were not so, then how could you be a maidservant of Sri Radha?
Vijaya-kumara: Please clearly describe 'yutha'.
Gosvami: Sri Radha is your yuthesvari. You belong to a gana (sub-group) presided over by one of Sri Radha's eight closest friends (asta-sakhi). Your spiritual master has placed you in Lalita's gana. Therefore, following Lalita's orders you will serve your yuthesvari (Sri Radha) and playful Lord Krishna, who enjoys pastimes with Her.
Vijaya-kumara: O master, who are the devotees that follow Candravali as their yuthesvari?
Gosvami: After many births a soul will become a fortunate and desire to be a follower of a yuthesvari. A soul who has all good fortune enters the group led by Sri Radha. The gopis led by Candravali strive to increase the bliss that Sri Radha and Lord Krishna enjoy in Their pastimes. Therefore the rival groups, called paksa, and vipaksa, make the taste of rasa sweeter. In truth Sri Radha is the only real yuthesvari. Because She enjoys wonderful pastimes with Krishna, She is glorious, and a soul who serves Her becomes glorious also.
Vijaya-kumara: Please explain visesa.
Gosvami: Your spiritual master describes to you your garments, personal qualities, and the skills you have to perform various kinds of service.
Vijaya-kumara: Please describe 'ajna'.
Gosvami: Ajnas are of two kinds: 1 nitya (regular) and 2 naimittika (occasional). A merciful sakhi orders you to engage in a certain regular (nitya) service. This service you should diligently execute during the eight periods of the day. Any other service she may give you is naimittika service. That also you should execute diligently.
Vijaya-kumara: What is vasa?
Gosvami: Your eternal residence in Vraja is called 'vasa'.
Vijaya-kumara: You will take birth as a certain gopi in a certain village within the land of Vraja. Within that village you will be married to a certain gopa. However, you will be attracted by the sound of Krishna's flute. You will be the follower of a certain sakhi. Her cottage at Radha-kunda will be your residence also. In this way your eternal nature is situated in parakiya rasa.
Vijaya-kumara: Please describe 'seva'.
Gosvami: You are a follower of Sri Radha. Your service is to serve Her. If, when she sends you with a message, and you meet Krishna in a secluded place, Krishna expresses His love for you and proposes that you enjoy with Him, you should not accept His proposal. You are Radha's maidservant, and without Her permission you cannot serve Krishna. You are not independent. Although you love Radha and Krishna both, your love and service to Radha is more important to you than your love and service to Krishna. That is the explanation of the word 'seva'. Your service is to serve Sri Radha throughout the eight periods of the day. Following the descriptions in Srila Svarupa Damodara's Kadaca (notebook), Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami describes these services in his poem Vilapa-kusumanjali.
Vijaya-kumara: What is "parakasthavasa"?
Gosvami: In the following two verses (Vilapa-kusumanjali 102 and 100) Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami describes parakasthasvasa:
"O Radha, for me somehow the present moment is flooded by a nectar ocean of many hopes. If You do not give Your mercy, then of what use to me are this life, the land of Vraja, and Sri Krishna, the enemy of Baka?"
"O Lord Krishna, O nectar moon of Gokula, O Lord whose cheerful face is a lotus flower, O sweetly smiling one, O Lord melting with compassion, so I may serve You both with love and please lead me to the place where Your beloved enjoys pastimes with You."
Vijaya-kumara: Please describe 'palya-dasi-bhava'
Gosvami: In the following words of Vraja-vilasa-stava (text 29) Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami describes palya-dasi-bhava:
"Flooded with the nectar of intense love for her two friends (Sri Sri Radha-Krishna), who are more dear to her than her own life, affectionately arrogant in Their presence, and daily arranging for Their rendezvous, Lalita-devi expertly teaches her friend Radha the art of jealous anger. I pray Lalita-devi will one day accept me as one of her associates."
Vijaya-kumara: How should such a palya-dasi (maidservant) act in relation to the other gopis who are companions of Sri Lalita?
Gosvami: Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami studied all the rasa-sastras under Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami. Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami has written (Vraja-vilasa-stava, text 38)
"By offering Her betel nuts, by massaging Her feet, by bringing Her water, by arranging for Her secret meeting with Lord Krishna, and by performing many other services, many gopi maidservants affectionately please Sri Radha, the great queen of Vrindavan forest. When the divine couple enjoy the presence of the great gopis for whom Sri Radha is more dear than life. I take shelter of these gopi maidservants, who have Srimati Rupa-manjari as their leader."
Vijaya-kumara: What is the nature of the other prominent sakhis?
Gosvami: Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami gives this hint about their nature (Vraja-vilasa-stava text 30):
"Visakha-devi is the place where the youthful divine couple enjoys affectionate and playful joking pastimes. Her sweet transcendental singing eclipses the voices of the cuckoos. I pray that Visakha-devi may become pleased with me and accept me as her student."
Vijaya-kumara: What is the nature of the vipaksa (rival) gopis?
Gosvami: Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami describes them. Please hear this description (Vraja-vilasa-stava, text 41):
"In order to increase the splendid and nectarean jealous love of Srimati Radharani, who sometimes becomes proud of Her own good fortune, Lord Krishna briefly enjoys pastimes with other gopis, who blossom with many amorous desires. Let us offer our respectful obeisances to these gopis, who must have performed many great pious activities in their previous births in order to play this role in the Lord's pastimes."
That is how you should think about the rival groups of gopis (paksa and vipaksa). However, when they are serving the Lord directly in the spiritual world, there may be a situation where mocking gopi rivals is appropriate. This direct service in the spiritual world is described in Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami's Sri Vilapa-kusumanjali. The proper way to relate to the other liberated associates of the Lord is described in Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami's Sri Vraja-vilasa-stava. The divine couple's pastimes are seen in Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami's Sri Visakhanandabhidha-stotra and other prayers. You should see the asta-kaliya pastimes in those poems. The proper method of worship (paddhati) is seen in Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami's Sri Manah-siksah. By following that method of worship you will become rapt in meditation on the divine couple's pastimes. Ecstatic love (bhava) is seen in Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami's Sva-niyama-dasaka. You should carefully observe the vows describe in that poem. Srila Rupa Gosvami described the rasas in his books. Lord Chaitanya gave that task to him. However, Srila Rupa Gosvami did not describe how an aspiring devotee can enter into these rasas. That Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, following the teachings in Srila Svarupa Damodara's Kadaca, described. Lord Chaitanya gave these specific tasks to these devotees, and they all followed His order.
Vijaya-kumara: Please describe the tasks Lord Mahaprabhu ordered these devotees to perform.
Gosvami: The Lord ordered Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami to describe the method of worship according to the rasas. Following that order, Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami wrote his Kadaca, which is divided into two parts, one part describing the internal path (antah-pantha) or worship according to the rasas, and the other part describing the external path (bahihi pantha) of worship according to the rasa. The internal path he placed around the neck of Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, who described that path in his writings. The external path Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami gave to Srila Vakresvara Pandita. That teaching is the great treasure of this temple. That treasure I have given to Srila Dhyanacandra Gosvami, and he has written that treasure in a book. You already have a copy of that book. Lord Mahaprabhu ordered Lord Nityananda and Lord Advaita to preach the glories of the holy name, and He also gave Them the power to do it. Lord Mahaprabhu gave Srila Rupa Gosvami the order to write books about the rasas, and He also gave him the power to do it. Lord Mahaprabhu gave Srila Sanatana Gosvami the order to write about vaidhi bhakti and the relationship between vaidhi bhakti and raga bhakti. The Lord also gave Srila Sanatana Gosvami the order to write about the Lord's prakata and aprakata pastimes in Gokula. Lord Nityananda Prabhu and Srila Sanatana Gosvami gave Srila Jiva Gosvami the order to write books about sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana, and they also gave him the power to do it. All of these great devotees fulfilled the orders they were given.
Vijaya-kumara: O master, what task was given to Srila Ramananda Raya?
Gosvami: Lord Mahaprabhu gave Srila Ramananda Raya the task of expanding the rasas. Srila Ramananda Raya used Srila Rupa Gosvami as his instrument in fulfilling this task.
Vijaya-kumara: O master, what task was given to Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya?
Gosvami: To Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya He gave the task of explaining philosophy. Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya executed that task by having one of his disciples teach Srila Jiva Gosvami.
Vijaya-kumara: What task did the Lord give to the great devotees in Bengal;?
Gosvami: To the great devotees in Bengal the Lord gave the task to teaching the truth about Lord Chaitanya and showing the people how to have faith in Lord Chaitanya's descriptions of Krishna-rasa. These devotees fulfilled that order by writing many books glorifying the rasas.
Vijaya-kumara: What task was given to Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami?
Gosvami: To him was given the task of preaching the glories of Srimad Bhagavatam.
Vijaya-kumara: What task was given to Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami?
Gosvami: To Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was given the task of stopping perverted misinterpretations of pure srngara-rasa and also stopping the tendency not to have faith in vaidhi-bhakti.
Vijaya-kumara: Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati was the uncle and spiritual master of Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. What task was given to him?
Gosvami: To Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati was given the task of showing the world that the path of the rasas and anubhavas in Vraja is the highest of all paths.
Hearing all this, Vijaya-kumara thought himself very fortunate.