NBS#222

Çré Ramä Ekädaçé

Issue no: 222

9th Nov 2023

Deep Feelings of Separation The Gopis Sing of Krishna as He Wanders in the Forest Srila Sukadeva Goswami

Twenty-five Subdivisions of Cows

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

The Company of Krishna Srila Santana Gosvami

Deep Feelings of Separation

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur

Issue no 222, Page — 2

The Gopis Sing of Krishna as He Wanders in the Forest Srila Sukadeva Goswami

Sukadeva Gosvami said: Whenever Krishna went to the forest, the minds of the gopis would run after Him, and thus the young girls sadly spent their days singing of His pastimes.

[The gopis said:] When Mukunda vibrates the flute He has placed to His lips, stopping its holes with His tender fingers, He rests His left cheek on His left arm and makes His eyebrows

nityaà bhägavata-sevayä

dance. At that time the demigoddesses traveling in the sky with their husbands, the Siddhas, become amazed. As those ladies listen, they are embarrassed to find their minds yielding to the pursuit of lusty desires, and in their distress they are unaware that the belts of their garments are loosening.

O girls! This son of Nanda, who gives joy to the distressed, bears steady lightning on His chest and has a smile like a jeweled necklace. Now please hear something wonderful. When He vibrates His flute, Vraja’s bulls, deer and cows, standing in groups at a great distance, are all captivated by

Bhāgavata Mahāvidyālaya

www.ibmedu.org

nityaà bhägavata-sevayä the sound, and they stop chewing the food in their mouths and cock their ears. Stunned, they appear as if asleep, or like figures in a painting.

My dear gopi, sometimes Mukunda imitates the appearance of a wrestler by decorating Himself with leaves, peacock feathers and colored minerals. Then, in the company of Balarama and the cowherd boys, He plays His flute to call the cows.

At that time the rivers stop flowing, their water stunned by the ecstasy they feel as they eagerly wait for the wind to bring them the dust of His lotus feet. But like us, the rivers are not very pious, and thus they merely wait with their arms trembling out of love.

Krishna moves about the forest in the company of His friends, who vividly chant the glories of His magnificent deeds. He thus appears just like the Supreme Personality of Godhead exhibiting His inexhaustible opulences. When the cows wander onto the mountainsides and Krishna calls out to them with the sound of His flute, the trees and creepers in the forest respond by becoming so luxuriant with fruits and flowers that they seem to be manifesting Lord Vishnu within their hearts.

As their branches bend low with the weight, the filaments on their trunks and vines stand erect out of the ecstasy of love of God, and both the trees and the creepers pour down a rain of sweet sap.

O goddesses of Vraja, when Krishna is enjoying Himself with Balarama on the mountain slopes, playfully wearing a flower garland on the top of His head, He engladdens all with the resonant vibrations of His flute. Thus He delights the entire world. At that time the nearby cloud, afraid of offending a great personality, thunders very gently in accompaniment. The cloud showers flowers onto his dear friend Krishna and shades Him from the sun like an umbrella.

O pious mother Yashoda, your son, who is expert in all the arts of herding cows, has in- vented many new styles of flute-playing. When He takes His flute to His bimba-red lips and sends forth the tones of the harmonic scale in variegated melodies, Brahma, Shiva, Indra and other chief demigods become confused upon hearing the sound. Although they are the most learned authorities, they cannot ascertain the essence of that music, and thus they bow down their heads and hearts.

As Krishna strolls through Vraja with His lotus-petal-like feet, marking the ground with the www.ibmedu.org

Issue no 222, Page—3 distinctive emblems of flag, thunderbolt, lotus and elephant goad, He relieves the distress the ground feels from the cows’ hooves. As He plays His renowned flute, His body moves with the grace of an elephant. Thus we gopis, who become agitated

by Cupid when Krishna playfully glances at us, stand as still as trees, unaware that our hair and garments are slackening.

Now Krishna is standing somewhere counting His cows on a string of gems. He wears a garland of tulasi flowers that bear the fragrance of His beloved, and He has thrown His arm over the shoulder of an affectionate cowherd boyfriend. As Krishna plays His flute and sings, the music attracts the black deer’s wives, who approach that ocean of transcendental qualities and sit down beside Him. Just like us cowherd girls, they have given up all hope for happiness in family life.

O sinless Yashoda, your darling child, the son of Maharaja Nanda, has festively enhanced His attire with a jasmine garland, and He is now playing along the Yamuna in the company of the cows and cowherd boys, amusing His dear companions.

The gentle breeze honors Him with its soothing fragrance of sandalwood, while the various Upadevas, standing on all sides like panegyrists, offer their music, singing and gifts of tribute.

Out of great affection for the cows of Vraja, Krishna became the lifter of Govardhana Hill. At the end of the day, having rounded up all His own cows, He plays a song on His flute, while exalted demigods standing along the path worship His lotus feet and the cowherd boys accompanying Him chant His glories. His garland is powdered by the dust raised by the cows’ hooves, and His beauty, enhanced by His fatigue, creates an ecstatic festival for everyone’s eyes. Eager to fulfill His friends’ desires, Krishna is the moon arisen from the womb of mother Yashoda.

As Krishna respectfully greets His well-wishing friends, His eyes roll slightly as if from intoxication. He wears a flower garland, and the beauty of His soft cheeks is accentuated by the brilliance of His golden earrings and the whiteness of His face, which has the color of a badara berry. With His cheerful face resembling the moon, lord of the night, the Lord of the Yadus moves with the grace of a regal elephant. Thus He returns in the Bhāgavata Mahāvidyālaya

Issue no 222, Page — 4

nityaà bhägavata-sevayä

Top left 4

evening, delivering the cows of Vraja from the heat of the day.

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, thus during the daytime the women of Vrindavan took pleasure in continuously singing about the pastimes of Krishna, and those ladies’ minds and hearts, absorbed in Him, were filled with great festivity.

— Çrémad-Bhägavatam (Bhägavata Puräëa) » Canto 10: The Summum Bonum » Chapter 35 » Verses 1–26 » Translations by Disciples of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Twenty-five Subdivisions of Cows

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Srila Jiva Gosvami explains that in the afternoon Sri Krishna dressed Himself in a different outfit and then went out to call the cows home.

Srila Vishvanatha Cakravarti gives the following information about the transcendental cows of Vrindavan: "For each of the four colors of cows—white, red, black and yellow—there are twenty-five subdivisions, making a total of one hundred colors. And such qualities as being

colored like sandalwood-pulp tilaka [speckled] or having a head shaped like a mådaìga drum create eight further groups. To count these 108 groups of cows, distinguished by color and form, Krishna is using a string of 108 jewel-beads....

"Thus when Krishna calls out 'Hey Dhavali [the name of a white cow],' a whole group of white cows come forward, and when He calls 'Hamsi, Chandani, Ganga, Mukta' and so on, the twenty-four other groups of white cows come. The reddish cows are called Aruni, Kunkuma, Sarasvati, etc., the blackish ones Shyamala, Dhumala, Yamuna, etc., and the yellowish ones Pita, Pingala, Haritalika, etc. Those in the group with tilaka marks on their foreheads are called Chitrita, Chitra-tilaka, Dirgha-tilaka and Tiryak-tilaka, and there are groups known as Mådaìga-mukhé [mådaìga-head], Siàha-mukhé [lion-head] and so on.

"Thus being called by name, the cows are coming forward, and Krishna, thinking that when it is time to bring them back from the forest none should be forgotten, is counting them on His jewel-beads."

Bhāgavata Mahāvidyālaya

www.ibmedu.org

nityaà bhägavata-sevayä — Çrémad-Bhägavatam (Bhägavata Puräëa) » Canto 10: The Summum Bonum » Chapter 35 » Verse 21 » Translations by Disciples of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

The Company of Krishna Srila Santana Gosvami

The slightest touch of pure prema, love for Krishna, destroys all faults in a devotee. It satisfies the devotee so completely that nothing inferior can divert his attention. To outsiders, the effects of prema may seem painful: the devotee seems to burn in torment while separated from the Lord, and even while enjoying the Lord’s company he burns in apprehension of separation to come. But in fact viraha-bhäva, devotional service in separation, is the highest essence of loving ecstasy. The intimate devotees of Krishna in Sri Vrindavan constantly experience viraha-bhäva. As Sukadeva Gosvami says in describing the fall season in Vrindavan [Çrémad-Bhägavatam 10.20.45]: äçliñya sama-çétoñëaà prasüna-vana-märutam janäs täpaà jahur gopyo na kåñëa-håta-cetasaù “Except for the gopis, whose hearts had been stolen by Krishna, the people could forget their suffering by embracing the wind from the flower-filled forest. This wind was neither hot nor cold.”

The gopis of Vrindavan were so intensely absorbed in viraha-bhäva that the cool breezes of autumn only increased the burning in their hearts, because this was the time of year when the fever of their hankering to be with Krishna reached its peak. Hanuman cites the analogy of a man suffering from hunger: The fire of extreme hunger dries up all the elements of his body, so that he can no longer enjoy the pleasure of clothes or other objects of enjoyment or even the association of family and friends. Possessing worldly things merely adds to his frustration. Only when his hunger is removed will he be relieved of anxiety. Similarly, the gopis can be satisfied only by the company of Krishna.

— Çré Båhad Bhägavatämåta » Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé » Text 1.4.117 »

Issue no 222, Page—5 Deep Feelings of Separation

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur

yugäyitaà nimeñeëa cakñuñä prävåñäyitam çünyäyitaà jagat sarvaà govinda-viraheëa me My Lord Govinda, because of separation from You, I consider even a moment a great millennium. Tears flow from My eyes like torrents of rain, and I see the entire world as void.

When rati-bhakti reaches the state of sthayi-bhäva, or constancy in spiritual emotions, then in mixing together with the other four bhävas—vibhäva, anubhäva, sättvika and vyabhicäri—it becomes transformed into bhakti-rasa, or the sweet mellow of devotional service. In this stage, the ecstatic symptoms of anubhäva and sättvika-vikära find their full expression. Srila Rupa Gosvami, in describing prema, writes in the Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu: “Bhäva-bhakti which, from its very first stages, so excessively affects the heart that it melts and becomes a sublime salve of love, bringing the highest feelings of divine bliss within easy reach, and generates an intense desire for Krishna. The fully perfected souls term this over-vaulting ecstasy as prema.”

From this statement it is obvious that extreme attraction, deep affection, and spontaneous dedication to Lord Krishna is synonymous with prema, love of God. Rasa—ecstatic relationship with Krishna The relationship between the viñaya, or object of love (Krishna), and the äçraya, or the abode of that love (the devotee), is exchanged through five principal rasas, or mellows namely, neutral, servitor, friendly, parental and conjugal. When the relationship is cursory, there are seven subsidiary mellows: laughter, wonder, pity, chivalry, anger, fear and ghastliness. Of the principal rasas, the conjugal or mädhurya-rasa is the most excellent.

As madhurya-rasa increases in intensity it becomes prema, praëaya, mäna, sneha, räga, anuraga, bhava and mahä-bhäva, manifesting different features and excellences of divine love one after another.

Volume 1 » Translated by Gopiparanadhana Das

www.ibmedu.org

Bhāgavata Mahāvidyālaya

Issue no 222, Page — 6

Development of rasa Çänta-rasa, or neutral love of Godhead, is marked by excessive exultation. Attachment to brahman is quintessential in çänta-rasa, coupled with an air of disregard and unconcern for everything and all other rasas. With the increase of mamatä, or affection, this attraction deepens and is then known as däsya-rasa, or love in servitorship. In awe and reverential worship, there is a lack of praëaya. But such praëaya ecstasy, in a mature state turns mischievous and introduces a crooked mood which, due to a plethora of affection, is very unusual in texture. This is known as mäna. The mood of mäna becomes active when the devotee expresses loving resentment. Even the Supreme Lord, desires to relish this particular emotional exchange, and especially enjoys the mood of reconciliation with His devotee that follows resentment.

The super-abundance of love that completely melts the heart to a state of unimaginable liquidity is known as sneha, which is indicated by profuse, unchecked tears. It is in this stage that the devotee's yearning to see Krishna never admits fulfillment. Although Krishna is admittedly the master of everyone and everything, in vatsa-

nityaà bhägavata-sevayä

lya-rasa or parental love, the devotee anxiously hopes that no harm befall Him. These are the peculiar symptoms of the mellow of parental love.

Sneha supplemented by intense craving becomes raga, and in this stage of pure love, even a moment's separation from the beloved is unbearable, while in union, even extreme grief feels exhilarating. Raga is disposed in such a manner that the object of worship is made to appreciate His own ever-fresh, perennial form. This ever-new raga transforms itself into anuraga, where the sense of lover and beloved enrapturing each other into the state of complete compliance increases. In the rapture of anuraga, there are longings to be born as animals and other lower species that have a direct connection with Krishna. This is known as prema-vaicitra, or varied love. Even in separation, Krishna begins to manifest Himself as only the lover knows and loves Him, giving the lover excessive bliss.

Mahä-bhäva—the last word in ecstasy When anuraga is filled with unsurpassable and matchless magnificence of love, reaching the plateau of madness, it becomes mahä-bhäva. In this stage, even the blinking of an eyelid veiling the view of the beloved for less than a moment,

Bhāgavata Mahāvidyālaya

www.ibmedu.org

nityaà bhägavata-sevayä

Issue no 222, Page—7

becomes intolerable, and seconds stretch to eons.

Separation for even a moment seems to expand to timeless eternity. In mahä-bhäva, both in union and in separation, all the symptoms of sattvika-bhäva and sancari-bhäva find their fullest expression. In this çloka, Lord Chaitanya has very succinctly given us, like an ocean bottled in a pitcher, a synopsis of the elaborate dissertation on the different gradations of the most sublime loving relationship with the Supreme Lord, as found in the Priti-Sandarbha

by Srila Jiva Gosvami.

duces exultant ecstasy even though it seems like acute anguish. Vipralambha nourishes sambhoga, or enjoyment. As a matter of fact in prema-vaicitra, or variegatedness of love within the vipralambha-rasa there is sambhoga, but only externally.

Vipralambha is marked by incessant and intense recollections of Krishna and His pastimes, and in fact one never forgets Krishna. This is the super-excellent stage of bhajana.

Deep feelings of separation

The over-indulgence in sambhoga exhibited by the pretentious group known as the gaura-nagari, who are not actually sincere followers of Lord Krishna, is due to hypocrisy; it simply causes obstacles on the path to pure devotion. Their sambhoga is nothing more than self-aggrandizement and selfserving pleasure. It is bereft of pure devotion to Krishna.

If one inderstands the meaming of the following çloka, then he will not allow himself to be goaded into enjoying his senses, and hereby as an excuse try to present Lord Chaitanya as a pleasure-seekers, or nagari [Caitanya-caritämåta, Adi-lila 4.165]: “The desire to gratify one's own senses is kama (lust), but the desire to please the senses of Lord Krishna is prema (love).”

The word yugayitam is simple and direct. The phrase govinda virahena expresses deep feelings of separation. Self-realized rasika devotees have divided vipralambha, or the mood of separation, into purva-raga, mana, pravasa, and so on. Yet the recondite import lodged deep within this çloka composed by Lord Chaitanya is that the devotee living in this world need only relish the separation of purva-raga. The scriptures also say that the mood of viraha, or separation, has ten attendant conditions: pondering, sleeplessness, perturbation, emaciation, pallor, incoherent speech, being stricken, madness, delusion, and death (or unconsciousness). In Caitanya-caritämåta [Antya lila 20.40-41] Lord Chaitanya says, “In My agitation a day never ends, for every moment seems like a millennium. Pouring incessant tears, My eyes are like clouds in the rainy season.

The three worlds have become void because of separation from Govinda. I feel as if I were burning alive in a slow fire.”

Purport by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati “O Govinda, the world is simply an immense void in Your absence. My eyes are raining tears like monsoon-laden clouds, each batting of an eyelid seems to last a millennium.” This is an excellent example of vipralambha-rasa. The çloka intends to point out that for the jata-rati devotee, it is absolutely essential that he seek to experience vipralambha-rasa, and not care for sambhoga, or enjoyment.

Gaura-nagaris are sense enjoyers

Pure devotees take shelter of separation The esoteric import of Lord Chaitanya's pastimes is that although Lord Krishna has accepted the sentiments of an asraya-tattva, or a pure devotee, He is always situated in the mood of vipralambha. Jéva is asraya-tattva; for him to fully relish sambhoga-rasa and give it full expression he must take shelter of vipralambha, or the mood of love in separation. To propagate and exhibit this truth Lord Krishna appeared as Lord Chaitanya who is eternally the embodiment and incarnation vipralambha-rasa. Devotees should discard any notions of endeavoring for sambhoga-rasa, since such an attempt will certainly end in failure.

Spiritual separation causes ecstasy

References and Notes from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur's Çré Bhajana-rahasya

In material life viraha, or separation causes only grief, whereas on the transcendental plane it pro-

Other scriptural statements supporting this çloka: From Kåñëa Karnämåta [41]:

www.ibmedu.org

Bhāgavata Mahāvidyālaya

Issue no 222, Page — 8

amüny adhanyäni dinäntaräëi hare tvad-älokanam antareëa anätha-bandho karuëaika-sindho hä hanta hä hanta kathaà nayämi “O Supreme Shelter of the destitute, Hari, You are an ocean of mercy. Alas, O alas! Without seeing Your lovely, face, how shall I live through these wretched days and nights?”

Sri Madhavendra Puri's words as recorded in Padyävali [400]: ayi déna-dayärdra nätha he mathurä-nätha kadävalokyase hådayaà tvad-aloka-kätaraà dayita bhrämyati kià karomy aham “O compassionate Lord of the helpless, O Lord of Mathura! When will I be able to see You? Your absence has made my stricken heart extremely anxious. O my beloved! What am I to do now?”

From Ujjva1a-nilamani [64]: cintätra jätarodvegau tänavaà malinäìgatä praläpo vyädhir unmädo mohomåtyurdaçä daça

nityaà bhägavata-sevayä

“Srimati Radharani is completely smitten, and She is experiencing a limitless ocean of suffering as the ten conditions of separation wash over Her. She experiences pondering, sleeplessness, perturbations, and grows emaciated and pallid. While speaking incoherently, She is stricken, becomes mad and deluded, and swoons almost to death.”

— Çré Sanmodana Bhäñyam on Çré Çikñäñöaka » Translated by Sarvabhavana das

!! Sri Sri Nitai Gaurchandra Jayati !!

ISKCON Bhägavata Mahävidyalaya is a branch of International Society for Krishna Consciousness Founder-Acarya: His Divine Grace A.C. BhaktiVedanta Swami Prabhupada Quotations from the books, letters, and lectures of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada ©Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. ©All the paintings are copyrights of their respective artists.

Bhāgavata Mahāvidyālaya

www.ibmedu.org