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PART II - The Teaching of
Shrimad-Bhagavatam:
The Great Divisions: Relationship, Function & Fruit:
1. The teaching of Shrimad-Bhagavatam falls into three distinct
parts according as it treats of: 1)
Sambandha or Relationship; 2) Abhidheya
or the Function or Activity that pertains to the Relationship; and,
3) Prayojana or the Object or Fruit of such Activity.
2. [In the compilation of Vedanta-sutra], the aphorisms of the
Upanishads, which contain the highest teaching of the Vedic literature, are
presented in the form of a systematic body of knowledge under the headings of
Sambandha, Abhidheya and Prayojana. In
his Shat-sandarbha, Shri Jiva Gosvami has applied the same method of treatment
to the contents of the Shrimad-Bhagavatam, which is admitted to be the only
authentic bhasya or exposition of the Vedanta-sutra.
3. The first of the "Six Sandarbhas," the
Tattva-sandarbha, applies itself to the elucidation of the epistemology of
transcendental knowledge.... It has made
possible the comparative study of religion on the only admissible and
scientific basis.
Transcendental
Epistemology - A Summary of the Tattva-sandarbha:
Lord Shri Krishna and His Three Principle Energies -
1. Shri Krishna, the Ultimate Reality, is One without a
second. [He] is distinct from His
energy.... Shri Krishna is the
predominating Absolute. His energy is
the predominated Absolute in the three
positions of antaranga [internal], tatastha [marginal], and bahiranga
[external] respectively.
2. Antaranga is that which pertains to the proper Entity of the
Absolute Person.... The literal meaning
of the word is "that which belongs to the inner body." And the word
shakti is rendered as "power."
3. Tatastha means literally, "that which is on the
border-line as between land and water."
This intermediate power does not belong to any definable region of the
Person of Shri Krishna. It manifests
itself on the border-line between the inner and the outer body of the Absolute.
4. The power that manifests itself on the outer body is
bahiranga-shakti. As there is no
[difference] between the Body and the Entity of the Absolute Person, the
distinctions as between the inner, outer and marginal positions of His Body are
in terms of the realization of thhe individual soul.
5. Although Shri Krishna is One without a second, He has His own
multiple Forms corresponding to the degree and variety of His subjective
manifestations. The subjective entity of
Shri Krishna is not liable to any transformation. His different forms are, therefore, aspects
of the One Form manifesting Themselves to the different aptitudes of His
servitors.
6. But the power of Shri Krishna is transformable by the will of
Shri Krishna. These transformations of
power in the cases of the internal and marginal energies are eternal
processes. In the case of the external
energy the transformations of power are temporary manifestations.
7. The phenomenal worldis the product of the external power of
Shri Krishna. The Absolute Realm is the
transformation of the inner power.
Individual souls are the transformations of the marginal power. [These jivas] are the eternal infinitesimal
emanations of the marginal power, capable of subserviency to the inner power,
but also susceptible to dissociation from the workings of the inner power.
Methods of Approaching the Absolute -
8. Shri Krishna is advaya-jnana, or absolute knowledge. Absolute knowledge cannot be challenged. He can only be approached by the method of
complete self-surrender, by the reciprocal, otherwise ineligible, cognition of
individual souls.
9. Transcendental epistemology is differentiated from empiric
epistemology with respect to relationship (sambandha), function (abhidheya),
and object (prayojana), for the reason that it refers to entities that are
located beyond the [limited] range of the assertive cognitive endeavor normally
practiced by the deluded people of this world for their temporary purposes.
10. By the peculiarities of their
infinitesimality, essentially spiritual nature, and marginal position, all
individual souls have the constitutional option of choice between complete
subservience and active or passive hostility to Shri Krishna. These opposed aptitudes lead them to the
adoption of correspondingly different methods for the realization of the
respective ends.
The Methods of Active
& Passive Hostility:
1. Those methods that are adopted for the practice of active
hostility to the Absolute are termed pratyaksha (direct individual sense
perception) and paroksha (associated collective sense perception by many
persons past and present)....
2. The aparoksha method (the method of cessation from individual
and collective sense perception) leads to the position of neutrality.
3. The pratyaksha and paroksha methods are diametrically opposed
to the methods approved by the Bhagavata for the search of the Truth.
4. The aparoksha method also tends to an unwholesome and negative
result if it seeks to stand on the mere rejection of the pratyaksha and
paroksha methods without trying to progress towards the positive
transcendence. Such inactive policy
would indeed be tantamount to the practice of passive hostility to the Absolute
and as such is even more condemnable than open hostility.
5. No method can be recognized as suitable for the quest of the
Truth that is actuated more or less by the purpose of opposing the Absolute
Supremacy of Shri Krishna. In other
words, individual souls cannot realize the subjective nature of the Absolute
except by the exercise of their fullest subservience to Shri Krishna and His
inner power [internal energy].
6. The failure of the individual souls to find the Truth is
brought about by their own innate perversity.
They possess perfect freedom of choice as between complete subservience
to Shri Krishna and the practice of active or passive hostility to Him. There is no other alternative open to
them. If they chose to refuse to serve
they have to practice hostility or indifference towards the Absolute.
7. The perverse individual soul is not obstructed in the active
exercise of his freedom of choice. He is
enabled to exercise the functions of hostility and indifference within
consistent deterring limits, by the wonderful contrivance of the deluding power
of Shri Krishna.
8. The continued deliberate exercise of such hostility and
indifference towards the Absolute by thhe perverse individual soul results
necessarily in the suicidal abdication of all activities by the deliberate
offender.
The Methods of Active
& Passive Subservience:
1. The methods that are adopted for practicing active and
complete subservience to the Absolute are termed respectively as adhokshaja
(the external or reverential method of serving the Transcendental Object of
worship) and aprakrita (the internal or confidential method of service of the
Absolute).
2. Shrimad-Bhagavatam inculcates and divulges the search of the
Absolute by the adhokshaja and aprakrita methods. It condemns the pratyaksha and paroksha
methods, but recognizes the proper use of the aparoksha method [styled as
passive subservience].
The Ascending and
Descending Processes:
1. The pratyaksha, paroksha and the [improper] passive aparoksha
methods are collectively called the aroha or ascending process. The proper aparoksha, adhokshaja and aprakriti
methods constitute the avaroha or descending process.
2. By adoption of the ascending process the perverse individual
soul strives to realize his suicidal end by the positive and negative perverse
manipulation of mundane experience gained through direct and indirect sense
perception.
3. By the descending process the soul is enabled to strive for
the realization of the unalloyed service of the Absolute by the honest exercise
of his unreserved receptive aptitude to the Initiative of the Absolute when He
is pleased to come down to the plane of his tiny perverse cognition.
The Fruits or Objectives
of the Different Methods:
1. The fruits that are realizable by the different methods of
endeavor correspond to the particular method that is followed.
2. The pratyaksha and paroksha methods aim at dharma (virtue),
artha (utility) and kama (sensuous gratification).
3. The wrong aparoksha method aims at pseudo-moksha
(annihilation).
4. The right aparoksha method aims at positive transcendence.
5. The adhokshaja method aims at bhakti or reverential
transcendental service of the Absolute.
6. The aprakriti method has in view thhe realization of prema or
Divine Love.
The Dawning of Pure
Theism As Opposed to Hostility:
1. Pure Theism begins with the first appearance of the positive
desire for the service of the Absolute, who is located beyond the range of our
sensuous activity. It involves the clear
perception of the fact that all empiric activity is the deliberate practice of
perverse hostility against the Absolute supremacy of Shri Krishna.
2. The word adhokshaja which is applied in Shrimad-Bhagavatam to
the Object of worship refers to the fact that Shri Krishna has reserved the
right of not being exposed to human senses.
3. The theistic methods alone thus apply to the proper Entity of
the Absolute. Those who are in rebellion
against the supremacy of Shri Krishna by the adoption of sensuous activity are
prevented from all access to His presence by the operation of [the Lord's]
deluding power [external energy].
4. The individual soul is always suseptible to being thus deluded
by maya, the limiting or measuring potency.
The conditions for the practice of sensuous activities in this realm of
finite existence are provided by Maya for the correction of the suicidal
perversity of the rebellious souls.
5. It is in this manner that a person who is averse to the service of Shri Krishna is
made to proceed along the tracks of karma and jnana by the ascending process,
[so that he will gain] the bitter experience of the practice of perverse
hostility to Shri Krishna and [to] his own self.
6. This world is inhabited by persons who are deliberately
addicted to this suicidal course. They
are unconditionally committed to the ascending process for sojourning in this
realm of nescience. The method is
further characterized by the hypocritical assumption of the validity of
experience derived through the senses for providing progressive guidance in the
quest [for] a state of perfect felicity.
7. The method of quest in which the Truth Himself takes the
Initiative is termed the avaroha or descending process. The individual soul can have no access to the
Absolute by reason of his infinitesimality, dissociable marginal position, and
his own nature as an emanation of power.
He can, however, have a view of the Truth if the Absolute is pleased to
manifest His descent to the plane of his tiny cognition.
8. Real theism cannot begin till the individual soul is enabled
by the descent of the Absolute to have the opportunity for His service. The Absolute manifests His descent in the
Form of the Name or the Transcendental Divine Sound on the lips of His pure
devotees.
9. Diksha, or the communication of the knowledge of the
Transcendental in the Form of the Sound to the submissive receptive cognition
of the individual soul by authoized agents of the Absolute, is the Vedic mode
of initiation into Transcendental Knowledge.
10. The Name is the Object of worship of all
pure souls. The transcendental service
of the Name, or bhakti, is the proper function of all souls and the only mode
of quest of the Truth. The pursuit of
this right method of quest leads to a growing perfection of bhakti and
progressive realization of the subjective nature of the Object of worship.
Brahman, Paramatma &
Bhagavan:
1. The Ultimate Reality is termed... as brahman, paramatma and
bhagavan. The Brahman conception
stresses the necessity of excluding the deluded, concrete, limited experience
of the followers of apparent truth. The
conception of Paramatma seeks to
establish a tangible connection between this temporal world and the Ultimate
Reality. Both of these conceptions
present not only an imperfect, but also a grossly misleading view of the
Absolute.
2. The conception of Bhavagan as Transcendental Personality who
is approachable by shuddha-bhakti or unalloyed devotion of the soul,
corresponds to the complete realization of the Absolute which necessarily also
accomadates and supplements thhe rival concepts of Brahman and Paramatma.
3. The Brahman conception is misunderstood by exclusive monists
(kevaladvaita of the Shankara school) who quite disingeniously assume that the
conception denied the Transcendental Personality and Figure of the
Absolute.
4. The root of the error lies in the fear of the impersonalists
that if concreteness in the Absolute is admitted, such an admission would lead
to the importation of the undesireable features of apparent truth (experienced
by the methods of sensuous perception) into the transcendental conception of
the Absolute Reality favored by the scriptures.
5. The method of shuddha-bhakti, while recognizing fully the
necessity of admitting the Transcendental Nature of the Ultimate Reality, does
not deny the immanent transcendental connection of the Absolute with manifest
mundane existence (which idea is found in the Yogi's conception of Paramatma,
but in a wrong and offensive formulation).
6. The conception of Bhagavan, realized by the process of
shuddha-bhakti, harmonizes these respective requirements as secondary features
of the Proper Transcendental Personality of the Absolute. The adhokshaja and aprakrita methods of quest,
alone tend to such realization.
Sambandha, Abhidheya, and
Prayojana Defined In Terms of the Bhagavata:
1. Sambandha, or relationship, implies a numerical
reference. The Ultimate Reality is One
without a second, though the aspects of the Absolute may prove different in
different eyes. The unity of the
Ultimate Reality carries a similarity to the integer of mathematical
conception, denoting Himself as the Object of worship (Shri Krishna), and
connoting His shakti in her three aspects and her transformations and products.
2. Under "relationship," therefore, come all those
parts of the teaching of the Bhagavata that reveal the knowledge of the
subjective nature of Shri Krishna, the subjective nature of His shakti, or
power, in all her three aspects, and the subjective nature of the activities of
thhe different aspects of power.
3. Under abhidheya, or function, are included all those parts of
the teaching of Shrimad-Bhagavatam which reveal the nature of transcendental
worship and, negatively, of the activity of aversion to Shri Krishna.
4. Under prayojana, or fruit, are included those portions of the
teaching of Shrimad-Bhagavatam that deal with prema, or spiritual love and,
negatively, with dharma (virtue), artha (material utility), kama (lust), and moksha (merging in the
Absolute).
Sambandha or
Relationship:
1. The worship of Shri Krishna is the only full-fledged,
unadulterated function of all souls--the only complete theistic worship. All other forms of worship represent the
infinity of gradations of approach towards this complete [form of] worship.
2. Pure theism, involving the active reciprocal relationship of
the soul with the Divinity, does not begin until there is actual realization of
the Transcendental Personality of Bhagavan Shri Krishna. The degree of this realization corresponds to
that of the loving aptitude of His worshiper.
(Lord Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead):
3. The Proper Figure of Shri Krishna (Svayam-rupa) is identical
with the Entity of Krishna, and is One without a second. There is an infinity of Aspects of the Divine
Figure that emanate from the Figure-in-Himself (Svayam-rupa). These plural aspects of the Divine Figure are
of the nature of Identities, Manifestations, Expansions, Plenary Parts, Plenary
Parts of Parts, Descending Divinities (avataras), etc. These Divine Aspects, Who are part and parcel
of the Divinity in His fulness, are worshiped by the corresponding aptitudes of
love of Their respective worshipers.
4. [Just as a] relationship of service subsists between Shri
Krishna and His power (shakti) in all her aspects and transformations,
[similarly] [t]he infinite Aspects of the Divine Personality Himself, emanating
from the Figure-in-Himself (Svayam-rupa), are related to Shri Krishna as
Servitor-Divinities Who are possessors
of power.
5. These Divine Persons show an order of classification into the
categories of Svayam-prakasha (Manifestation-in-Himself), Tadekatma-rupa
(Essentially Identical Figure), and Avesha-rupa (The Figure of Divine
Super-imposition). Of these,
Svayam-prakasha is, as it were, the other self of Svayam-rupa, and is also One
without a second. Tadekatma-rupa and
Avesha-rupa are multifarious.
6. Each of these Divine Persons possesses His own absolute realm
(Vaikuntha) where He is served by the infinity of His servitors. These Vaikunthas transcend the countless
worlds of finite existence constituting the realm of the deluding power.
7. Shri Krishna is possessed of 64 Divine Excellences. Shri Narayana, the Supreme Object of
reverential worship, possesses 60 of the full perfections of Divine
Excellence. Brahma and Rudra, who wield
the delegated powers of mundane creation and destruction, possess 55
Excellences, but not in their full divine measure. Individual souls (jivas) possess 50 of the
Excellences of Krishna in an infinitesimal measure.
8. The clue to the Supreme Excellence of the Personality of Shri
Krishna is supplied by the principle of Rasa which is defined by Shri Rupa as
"that ecstatic principle of concentrated deliciousness that is tasted by
Shri Krishna and in sequel reciprocated by the serving individual soul on the
plane that transcends mundane thought."
Shri Krishna is the Figure-in-Himself of the whole compass of the
nectarine principle of Rasa. The Figure
of Krishna excels all His other Aspects of His Divine Personality by being the
Supreme Repository of all the Rasas.
(The Principle of Radha-Krishna):
9. The Supreme Possessor of power, Shri Krishna, is inseparably
coupled with His antaranga-shakti, or power inhering in His Own proper
Figure. Shrimad-Bhagavatam refers to the
service of one particular gopi (lit., one who is fully eligible for the service
of Shri Krishna) being preferred by Shri Krishna above all the other gopis.
10. In other words, antaranga-shakti is one and
all-perfect. She is the
"predominated Absolute." She
has her own specific figure, viz., that of Shri Radhika. The two aspects of the antaranga- or
svarupa-shakti, namely, tatashtha-shakti and maya- or bahiranga-shakti, reveal
themselves in the intermediate and outer regions of the Divine Figure.
(The Individual Jiva Soul):
11. Jivas or individual souls are detachable,
infinitesimal emanations of the tatashtha-shakti, sharing the essence of the
plenary spiritual power. [They] appear
on the border-line between the inner and outer zones of divine power. They have no locus standi in their nascent or
tatashtha state. They are eternally
exposed to the opposite attractions of svarupa-shakti and maya-shakti at the
two poles.
12. Their proper affinity is with
svarupa-shakti, but they are susceptible to be overpowered by maya-shakti, at
their option. If they choose to be the
subservients of maya-shakti, they are subjected to ignorance of their proper
nature which results in confirmed aversion to the service of Shri Krishna. In this manner is brought about the deluded
condition of individual souls who sojourn in the realm of maya.
13. The constitutions of individual souls in
their nascent state, and the realm of maya are comparable to the outer
penumbral and the shadowy zones respectively of the sun, while the position of
antaranga-shakti is like the inner ball of light which is the proper abode of the
Sun-god, who corresponds to Shri Krishna [in this analogy].
14. Individual souls are detachable,
infinitesimal emanations of the marginal power located on the border-line and
exposed to the opposite pulls of the internal and external energies. They are distinct from the plenary
emanations, manifestations and multiples of the internal energy on the one
hand, and from the products of the external energy on the other.
15. The individual soul, in his nascent
marginal position, is confronted with the alternative of choice between
subservience to the plenary power on the one hand and apparent domination over
the deluding power on the other. When he
chooses the latter alternative, he forgets his relationship of subservience to
the inner power and his subservience to Shri Krishna through such subservience.
16. It is never possible for the conditioned
soul to understand the nature of the service of Shri Krishna that is rendered
by His inner power. There is, therefore,
a categorical distinction between the function of individual souls and that of
the inner power, even on the plane of service.
17. In the works of the followers of Shri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who propounded the school of acintya-bhedabheda-tattva
(simultaneous oneness and difference) the subject of the working of the inner
power and individual souls has been treated in all its details. The clue to the comparative study of the
working of power on the transcendental plane is supplied by the account of the
rasa dance in Shrimad-Bhagavatam.
18. When the individual soul chooses unreserved
subservience to the inner power, he has access to the service of the untampered
Personality of the Absolute. The
kaivalya state, mentioned in Shrimad-Bhagavatam, is the state of unalloyed
devotion to the untampered Personality of the Absolute.
(How the Monists Misunderstand Krinsha-lila):
19. Exclusive monists imagine that the figure
of the object of worship exists only in the mundane world and that in the final
position there is also no activity of worship.
In other words, they deny the possibility of the lila, or the eternal
transcendental activities of Shri Krishna.
20. Shrimad-Bhagavatam flatly denies this
groundless contention in the most explicit terms. There is total absence of all mundane
reference in the transcendental activity of shuddha-bhakti.
21. The word activity is not expressive of
lila. It corresponds to kriya or mundane
activity. Transcendental activitiy has
neither beginning or end. There is, of
course, relativity in lila, but it is not the unwholesome relativity of mundane
activity or kriya. The notion that lila
can have an end or termination is due to ignorant confusion between the
conceptions of lila and kriya.
22. Shuddha-bhakti belongs to the category of lila. In Vrindavana the gopis serve Shri Krishna by
unconventional amorous love. The
super-excellence of this service cannot be admitted if the absolutely wholesome
nature of all unalloyed activity on the plane of Vraja is disbelieved, on principle,
by one's ignorant perverse judgement.
(The Transcendental Purpose of Varnashrama):
23. The function of conditioned souls is of two
kinds. The function that is provided by
the varnashrama system for conditioned souls is not opposed to
shuddha-bhakti. Shrimad-Bhagavatam has
treated the varnashrama system from the point of view of unalloyed
devotion. Thereby it has provided an
intelligent way of viewing the situation of conditioned souls during their
sojourn to the mundane world.
24. The spiritual value of the varnashrama
system is due to the fact that it admits the possibility of the activity of
conditioned souls being endowed with reflected spiritual quality by being
directed towards the unalloyed service of the Absolute on the transcendental
plane.
25. It is the purpose of the varnashrama
regulation to impart this direction to the activity of the conditioned
souls. The crucial nature of this
theistic purpose of the varnashrama arrangement is fully treated in Shrimad-Bhagavatam. It is not explicitly treated in any other
shastric work.
Abhidheya or Function:
(Unalloyed, Varnashrama and Ignorant Functions of the
Soul):
1. Shuddha-bhakti is the only proper function of all unalloyed
individual souls and is located on the plane of transcendence. But all animate life forms are potentially
eligible for the transcendental service of the Absolute.
2. Varnashrama life is not the unalloyed spiritual life that is
led by fully liberated souls. It is the
stage preparatory to such life. Neither
is it on a par with the life of unmixed sensuousness that is led by people
outside the varnashrama society.
3. Every form of activity of conditioned souls outside the
varnashrama system is inspired by meaningless malicious hostility to the
Absolute. All such activity is
necessarily atheistical. This mundane
world is the congenial sphere for the practice of the deluded dominating
activity that is coveted by conditioned souls for practicing active aversion
towards the Absolute. The conditions for
such activity are supplied by the deluding power. They constitute the realm of nescience,
spiritual ignorance or acit.
4. But as soon as the activity of cit, or uneclipsed cognition is
aroused in the spiritual essence of the misguided soul, it dissipates by its
appearance such wrong addiction to the ignorant activities of this world and
also the susceptibility of being tempted by the deluding power.
5. There is no common ground between the unalloyed spiritual
function and the activity of conditioned souls in the grip of nescience. The one does not dove-tail into the
other. It is for this reason that the
unalloyed spiritual function can never be understood by the resources of the
archaeologists, historians, allegorists, philosophers, etc., of this world.
6. Such empiric speculations tamper with the transcendental
Personality of the Absolute. They belong
to the realm of nescience and constitute the active denial of the Entity of the
Absolute. By indulging in such
speculations our spiritual nature is deprived of its proper function.
7. Conduct enjoined by the varnashrama system is calculated to
counteract the inherent atheistical trend of all worldly activities which are
unavoidable in the conditioned state.
8. Activities that are prompted by the urge for sensuous
enjoyment create the discordant diversity of this world. One who is addicted to worldly enjoyment has
a deluded way of looking at everything.
When such a person is established in the proper activity of his
unalloyed spiritual nature towards his Transcendental Master, the only
Recipient of all willing service in the eternal world, the true view of
everything is revealed to his serving vision.
There can be no ignorance and misery if the world is viewed aright.
9. The urge for sensuous enjoyment expresses itself in the
institutions of family and society of worldly-minded persons. They are traps of the deluding energy. But these very traps are used as instruments
of service to the ABsolute by the awakened soul.
10. The hymns of the Bhagavata always reveal
the eternal service of the Absolute on the highest plane, identical with the
Personality of Shri Gaurasundara, to the enlightened soul.... The language of Shrimad-Bhagavatam reveals
its true meaning only to the enlightened soul.
That meaning is very different from what even the most renowned
linguists may suppose it to be in their blind empiric vanity.
(The Nature of Transcendental Vraja-lila):
11. The Bhagavata gives the highest position to
the service of Shri Krishna by the gopis of Vrindavana. In its account of the rasa dance, it gives
the clue to the distinctive nature of the services of Shri Radhika and the
other milkmaids.
12. Shri Krishna is served by Shri Radhika by
herself and simultaneously by her multiple bodily forms in the shapes of the
residents of Vraja. The services of the
other milkmaids, of Nanda and Yashoda, of Shridama and Sudama, and of all the
associates and servitors of Krishna in Vraja, are part and parcel of the
service of Shri Radhika.
13. Shri Gurudeva belongs to this inner group
of servitors. He is the divine
manifested entity for disclosing the forms and activities of all eternal
servitors of Shri Krishna. The function of
Shri Gurudeva is a fundamental fact in the lila of Vraja where Shri Krishna is
served as the emporium of all the rasas.
The servitors of Vraja minister to the gratification of the senses of
Krishna in every way. Shri Gurudeva is
the divine exciting agent of the serving activity of Vraja.
14. [The nature of Transcendental Vraja Lila is
liable to be misunderstood by the empiric study of the Bhagavata. The limit of empiric inference is reached by
the speculations of the paroksha method.
By the abandonment of empiricism, represented by the aparoksha method,
the Brahman and Paramatma conceptions are realized. But these also are not objects of
worship.]
15. [We have already seen that the activity of
service is possible only on the plane of adhokshaja, which yields the
realization of the Majestic Personality of the Absolute as Shri Narayana. Aprakrita-vraja-lila, the central topic of
the Bhagavata is the highest form of adhokshaja realization.]
(Transcendental and Mundane Sexuality):
16. The dalliances of Shri Krishna in Vraja
have a close resemblance to unconventional mundane amour. Sexuality, in all its forms, is an
essentially repulsive affair on the mundane plane. It is, therefore, impossible to understand
how the corresponding transcendental activity can be the most exquisitely
wholesome service of the Absolute.
17. It is, however, possible to be reconciled,
to some extent, to the truth of the
narrative of the Bhagavata if we are prepared to admit the reasonableness of
the doctrine that the mundane world is the unwholesome reflection of the realm
of the Absolute, and that this world appears in a scale of values that is the
reverse of that which obtains in the reality of which it happens to be the
shadow.
18. In the form of the narrative of the
Bhagavata, the Transcendental Vraja-lila manifests its descent to the plane of
our mundane vision in symbolic shapes resembling those of the corresponding
mundane events.
19. If we are disposed, for any reason, to
underestimate the transcendental symbolism of the narrative of the Bhagavata,
we are unable to avoid unfavorable and hasty conclusions regarding the nature
of the highest, the most perfect and the most charming form of the loving
service of the Divinity to which all other forms of His service are as the
avenues of approach.
20. Sexuality symolizes the highest attraction
and the acme of deliciousness in transcendental service. In the amorous performances of Vraja, the
secrets of the eternal life are exhibited in their uncovered perfection in the
activity of the love of unalloyed souls.
21. We may notice, in passing, certain
significant differences between Shri Krishna's amorous dalliances and mundane
sex activity which should prevent any hasty conclusions: 1) In Vraja-lila,
Shri Krishna is under the age of eleven years; and, 2)
The spiritual milkmaids never conceive and bear children to Shri Krishna
(the children born of Shri Krishna belong to the less perfect lila of Dvaraka).
22. To suppose the Divine lila to be a product
of anthropomorphic speculation is the greatest offense. The Bhagavta declares that the realization of
the true nature of the Vraja-lila, in pursuance of the shrauta method, is the
only remedy for all conditioned souls
afflicted with the disease of mundane sexuality.
23. The conventions of civilized society for
the regulation of sexual relationships attain their ethical perfection in the
varnashrama arrangement. Thus a person
belonging to the varnashrama society can readily appreciate the transparent
moral purity of life on the plane of Vaikuntha and Ayodhya, although he cannot
understand their esoteric nature. In
those realms, the Godhead poses as the ideal monogamous husband.
24. The ethical restrictions of sex
relationships that are imposed at Ayodhya by the form of the monogamous
marriage are relaxed at Dvaraka where the ABsolute manifests His fuller
Personality and appears in the guise of the polygamous husband.
25. The conventions of marriage are abrogated
altogether in Vrindavana where the sanctity of wedlock becomes secondary and a
foil to the amorous exploits of Shri Krishna in His fullest manifestation.
26. The spiritual function in its unalloyed
form has a real correspondence to mundane activity, with the distinction that
its objective, mode of activity and instrumental are unalloyed spirit. This makes the inconceivable difference
between the spiritual function and mundane activity. It also supplies a kind of explanation for
the fact that those activities in Vraja which correspond to the most wholesome
performances on the mundane plane, are comparatively speaking the least
pleasing in the sight of Shri Krishna.
(The Plane of Mundane Enjoyment and the Plane of Spiritual
Service):
27. The sole object of all spiritual activity
is gratification of the senses of Shri Krishna.
When Shri Krishna is pleased, His servitors experience unmixed joy. This is the reverse of what happens in this
world. Activity that yields enjoyment to
the person indulging in the same alone possesses attraction on the mundane
plane. But such selfish pleasure is
never coveted on the plane of spiritual service.
28. The plane of mundane sensuous enjoyment is
thereby sharply differentiated from that of spiritual service with respect to
the quality and orientation of their respective activities. Desire for mundane enjoyment is potentially,
but uncongenially, inherent in the soul.
And it can be cultivated at his option.
The practice of it, however, leads to the abeyance of his truly natural
serving function.
29. Modern civilization does not suspect its
own degradation in seeking exclusively for mundane enjoyment. The mind and body of man have a natural
aptitude for sensuous gratification, and all his ordinary mundane activities
are practiced for its realization.
[Thus] few... can grasp [the fact that] the unalloyed essence of the
soul has a natural aptitude for the exclusive service of the Absolute which is
utterly incompatible with mundane sensuous living.
30. In the transcendental service of the
Absolute the aptitude, form, as well as ingredients are uncovered absolutely
wholesome living reality. In this
complete uncovering of the proper nature of a person by the perfection of his
serving function, he is enabled to realize fully the abiding interests of his
real entity [or self]. Such
unconditional submissive activity towards the Absolute is also necessarily
identical with the realization of the perfect freedom of the soul, which
expresses itself in the highest forms of his serving activity.
Prayojana or Fruit:
1. In the position of complete realization of the activity of the
uncovered soul a person becomes eligible for participation in the
Transcendental pastimes or lila of Shri Krishna.... The realization of this all-absorbing love
for Shri Krishna is the FRUIT or prayojana of the eternal spiritual activities
of all pure souls.
2. Shri Krishna is directly served by His plenary inner power as
His only consort. The residents of
Vraja, the plane of this inner service, are extensions of the figure of the
plenary Divine power. They are the
divine participants in the divine pastimes, as all those entities display the
nature of the full servitorship of the Divinity.
3. Not so the souls of men, all of whom are susceptible to the
temptations offered by the deluding face of the plenary power for preventing
the access of the non-residents of Vraja to the arena of the Divine
pastimes. We, the sojourners of this
mundane plane, have been thus kept out of the plane of Vraja by the deluding
face of the Divine Power.
4. Individual souls who are not part and parcel of the inner
plenary power have no automatic access to the plane of Vraja. They are also lacking in spontaneous love for
Shri Krishna. It is possible for them to
attain to the love of Shri Krishna only as accepted subservients of the
inhabitants of Vraja.
5. The first appearance of the spontaneous loving aptitude for
Shri Krishna in an individual soul elevates him to the condition of the madhyam-bhagavata as
distinct from the condition of the maha-bhagavata who possesses love for Shri Krishna in the
plenary measure which makes him eligible for participating as a subservient of
the servitors of Vraja, in the loving activities of the highest sphere of
service.
6. In proportion as the hesitant, reverential serving disposition
of the madhyam-bhagavata is gradually developed, by the practice of pure
service, into one of subserviency to the inhabitants of Vraja in their
unconventional performances of the highest loving services of Shri Krishna,
such hesitation and distance are superseded by growing confidence and proximity
to the Object of one's highest love.
Thereby the spiritual vision is perfected, in conformity with the
natural capacity of an individual, and he is enabled to realize the full
function of his specific spiritual self.
7. Goloka-Vrindavana is realizable in the symbolic Vrindavana
that is open to our view in this world
by all persons whose love has been perfected by the mercy of the inhabitants of
Transcendental Vraja, and not otherwise.
8. The grossest misunderstanding of the subject of the Vraja-lila
of Shri Krishna is inevitable if these considerations are not kept in
view. All persons under the sinister
influence of the deluding power of Nescience are subject to such
misunderstanding in one form or another.
They are fated to see nothing but a mundane tract of country in the
terrestrial (Bhauma) Vrindavana, and the practice of the gossest forms of
debauchery in the Vraja pastimes of Shri Krishna.
9. But the true esoteric vision of the maha-bhagavata is very
different from the realization of deluded humanity. It is described in Shri
Chaitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila, 17-55:
"When Shri Krishna Chaitanya catches
sight of a wood, it appears to Him in the likeness of Vrindavana; and when He
looks at a hill, He mistakes it for Govardhana."