lunes, 19 de septiembre de 2011

COUNTER-CLOCKWISE LOVE (Lecture on Prema Vivarta) Mathura, India, April 21, 2000

COUNTER-CLOCKWISE LOVE (Lecture on Prema Vivarta) Mathura, India, April 21, 2000

Oṁ viṣṇupāda paramahaṁsa parivrājakācārya aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja

vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca
kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

gurave gauracandrāya rādhikāyai tadālaye
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-bhaktāya tad-bhaktāya namo namaḥ

        [The following is a translation of Śrīla Mahārāja’s class by Śrīpād Puṇḍarīka das Brahmācāri.]

What is the meaning of prema vivarta?

‘Vivarta śeṣa-rūpe āvarta’ — that love which is moving counter-clockwise in a very special way. Generally love turns clockwise, but here it is experienced in a very special manner. One who has learned the two and a half syllables — prema (pre-ma) has learned everything. All scriptures, especially Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta and all the books of the Gosvāmīs, are based simply on this one word, prema. But this word is very difficult to understand. People generally claim they have love.  They think they love people or animals. They will say, “I love you”, but this is not the symptom of true love. If anyone has true love in his heart, he will never express it outwardly. He will try to conceal it.

We see this concealment in the pastimes of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. She loves Kṛṣṇa so much, more than Her life, but She never says to Him, “I love you.” Even in her heart She never thinks that She has any love for Kṛṣṇa. Rather, She cries that She has not even a drop of love for Him. She sees that the Pulindī girls of Govardhana have so much love for Kṛṣṇa. She also sees that Yamuna has so much love for Him. She considers only Herself to be unfortunate. Similarly, Jagadānanda Prabhu (the author of Prema Vivarta) is always in the association of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, but he never says that he has any love for Him. And outwardly, Mahāprabhu also speaks about him in a very strong manner. He would say:

“Whatever oil has been brought for my use by Jagadānanda should be brought to Lord Jagannātha’s temple and offered for His service.”

So we see that transcendental love has a wonderful speciality, and it appears only in the heart of pure devotees.

There is also an example of this same feeling in Śrī Gadādhara Pundit. He had taken kṣetra-sannyāsa (The grave vow to remain in a certain holy dhāma until the end of life) in Purī. Then, when Mahāprabhu was leaving for Vṛndāvana, Gadādhara Pundit said to Him:

“What is the use of my kṣetra-sannyāsa?

The purpose of my taking sannyāsīs was to be with you.  Now that you are leaving, I have no need for it. I’ll give it up.”

This is very difficult to conceive for anyone in this material world. Similarly, Jagadānanda Pundit is discussing in his Prema Vivarta why he took permission from Mahāprabhu to go to Vṛndāvana. He wanted to go to Vṛndāvana, but his mind would not cooperate with him. He ended up in Navadvīpa, which is real Vṛndāvana, or hidden Vṛndāvana. 

The poetries of Vidyāpati, Caṇḍīdāsa and Jagadānanda Pundit, and also the conversations of Raya Rāmānanda, are all transcendental and invaluable. They are the abodes of love. Only transcendental love has been explained in these books.  Their subject matters are not material affairs. They are not kāma, lust. They are prema. Those who have only a material conception will take these things to be material affairs — affairs between mundane men and women. But they are completely transcendental. The apparent similarity to material affairs gives some hint, some comparison; but actually there is no comparison. No material language and no material idea can express this completely transcendental mood. Only by the grace of the Lord can one understand it.

How can we reconcile Draupadī’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa?

She is the chaste wife of the five Pāṇḍavas.

What is the relationship of the Pāṇḍavas with Kṛṣṇa?

They were cousin-brothers, friends, and Arjuna was Krsna’s brother in law. Yet, Kṛṣṇa addresses Draupadī as ‘sakhī’ and Draupadī addresses Kṛṣṇa as ‘sakhe’ (beloved). 

How is that?

Materially speaking it is very difficult to understand. One can never reconcile their relationship. Similarly, Kuntīdevī is Krsna’s paternal aunt, yet within her heart she has a very special mood towards Him. This is also very difficult to conceive, and it is the same with Parīkṣit Mahārāja’s mother, Uttarā. Outwardly Kṛṣṇa is like her uncle. They were in two different generations. Still, Parīkṣit Mahārāja tells her to have a very special mood for Kṛṣṇa; to consider Him as her beloved. Parīkṣit Mahārāja also. He is in a male body, yet he also has that special mood towards Kṛṣṇa. 

All those who are chanting the gopī-jana-vallabha mantra, whether male or female, want to have that special mood for Kṛṣṇa. To achieve this they will have to understand the word ‘pirīti’ (this is the Bengali pronunciation of prīti), and try to enter the same mood as the gopis and Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Actually, the full expression of this prema is only seen in Śrīmatī Rādhikā. It is not manifested in anyone else. After the level of anurāga, all the descriptions given by the Gosvāmīs are especially for Śrīmatī Rādhikā.  Even Kṛṣṇa can only come up to the point of mahābhāva, not above that. He cannot even reach the moods of Lalitā and Viśakhā, what to speak of the moods of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. She alone has the very special mood of madana, mādanākhya mahābhāva. No one else has that mood which Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself wants to understand. 

We must understand that this transcendental love, the higher stages of which are known as modana and mādana, and which are exhibited only in Śrīmatī Rādhikā, is completely transcendental.  The smallest fraction, the smallest degree, of this love, which is called śraddhā, faith, is transcendental as well. From the very beginning, if śraddhā is Pāramārthika, transcendental, then it is completely spiritual. It is not mundane.

There are two symptoms for understanding this transcendental nature: svarūpa-lakṣaṇa and taṭastha-lakṣaṇa, the intrinsic symptoms and external symptoms. One can study the external symptoms, but it is very difficult to explain or understand the intrinsic symptoms. It is very difficult. We can see how, externally, someone is paying obeisances or serving. Based on that, we can assume that he has some śraddhā. However, we cannot understand what kind of service mood he experiences in his heart. Similarly, we have so much information to study about the symptoms of the higher stages of love, like vaibhava, anubhāva, sāttvika, vyabhicārī, and sañcārī bhāvas. There are 33 sañcārī bhāvas and so many other aṣṭa-sāttvika bhāvas. If we observe and then study such symptoms in any person, we may say that person has prema. But it may be that he has no prema at all.

When Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī used to hear the wonderful pastimes of Kṛṣṇa during the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class of Śrīla Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Goswāmī, he would simply sit like a statue; whereas others near him would manifest symptoms of ecstasy. One person was crying, from someone else’s mouth saliva was coming, and others exhibited many other symptoms like hairs standing on end.  But Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was sitting silently and nothing seemed to be happening with him. However, when they tried to understand what was actually happening within his heart, they found it hard to discern whether he was alive or completely dead. It was not known. He had crossed the limits of aṣṭa-sāttvika bhāva. His symptoms were not mentioned anywhere in śāstras. From this we can understand that one cannot understand the intrinsic moods of prema. Only externally can some symptoms be studied and observed.

How can one understand the word ‘mamatā’, mineness, which is the definition of prema?

It cannot be explained. It can only be experienced.  Mahāprabhu gave up Choṭa Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

Is Choṭa Haridāsa not Mahāprabhu’s associate, helping in His pastimes?

Yet we see that Mahāprabhu gave him up. People with external vision might say, “Mahāprabhu is so cruel. He does not have any love and affection for His associates. He gave up Choṭa Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and we see that later on he committed suicide by jumping in the confluence of the Ganges, Yamunā, and Sarasvatī rivers in Prayāg. When someone later gave this news to Mahāprabhu, the Lord said:

“That is good.  He should have done that.  He deserved that.”

No one knew that after his ‘death’ Choṭa Haridāsa was coming every day to Mahāprabhu and singing beautiful gītās, songs, for Him. No one could understand this.

How can one understand that Śrī Rāmacandra gave up Sītā?
Or, perhaps, he did not give up Sītā?

Perhaps Sītā gave up Rāma. No one can understand this.

Actually, He could never give up Sītā, because She is His hlādinī-śakti. As fire and its heat can never be separated, Rāma and Sītā can never be separated. By external view we will only confuse ourselves. However, if we are properly following in the footsteps of those who are pure sādhus, and who worship this wonderful mood of the gopis, then some idea of this can be understood. Not otherwise.

Krsna’s prema is completely pure, and it is completely transcendental.  The symptom of one who has even a small particle of śraddhā is that he will commit himself:

“Now I will never give up chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. I will not give up saying the names of Kṛṣṇa — even if someone cuts my body into a thousand pieces.”

This is the symptom. No matter what, or how many, obstacles come in his path; he will continue his practice of bhakti. On the other hand, some other persons have taken dīkṣā or served their Gurudeva, have taken sannyāsīs and have preached all over the world for 25 years.

But then what happened?

For some time they served so nicely, but then they became attracted to a woman, and then they wanted to completely give up all their devotion. They started eating meat and taking liquor, and they stopped chanting. This means they did not even have śraddhā. 

So there is a big difference between ‘laukika-śraddhā, mundane faith, and Pāramārthika śraddhā, transcendental faith.  Pāramārthika śraddhā means that one has committed himself. Just as the highest stage of prema in Śrīmatī Rādhikā is permanent, the smallest fraction of that transcendental love, Pāramārthika śraddhā, can also never fade. If it has sprouted in anyone’s heart, it will continue to grow, grow, and grow. 

Prema vivarta is experienced in the association of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees, or in Śrīmatī Rādhikā and Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, the smallest experience of prema vivarta is experienced by those who have Pāramārthika śraddhā. This wonderful śraddhā is developed by the mercy of Vaiṣṇavas.

Of course, without the mercy of Kṛṣṇa one can never have that śraddhā, but we know that Krsna’s mercy is always following the mercy of Vaiṣṇavas.  Therefore, only one who is fortunate to have pure sādhu-saṅga can attain the seed of Pāramārthika śraddhā. Outwardly it may sometimes appear that such a person is not able to properly follow his Gurudeva, or sometimes it may appear that Gurudeva is angry with him, and it may even been seen that they do not have any affection for each other. But no one knows how much prema, love and affection, the disciple has for his Guru, or how much love and affection the Guru has for his disciple. This can never, never change. So many obstacles may come, but this will never stop.

There are some points of consideration, which we should thoughtfully and carefully try to understand.

Do Śrīmatī Lalitā Devī, Viśakhā, and all others like them think at any time that they love Kṛṣṇa more than Mother Yaśodā?
Do they think like this? 

Never.

Although Śrīmatī Yaśodā loves Kṛṣṇa so much and gives all affection to Him, does she think at any time that He is more satisfied to be in the association of the gopis — and especially Śrīmatī Rādhikā? 
Does she think like that? 

Yes.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yaśodā Ma is taking a stick and chastising Kṛṣṇa, saying:

“I will punish you.”

Kṛṣṇa is weeping and she is binding Him.

What is this? 
Is this love? 

(Śrīla Mahārāja continues in Hindi and then Puṇḍarīka prabhu translates :)

Puṇḍarīka: Is this the manifestation of love? 

No one can say:

“This is not love.” 

What is it?

This is vivarta—prema vivarta.  At this time the love has increased so much that it appears to turn around and start moving in a counter-clockwise direction. We see this in a father or mother. When they see their child doing nonsense, they punish him or give him a slap. No one can say, “Oh, this is not love.”

What is it?

It is vivarta. The love has now increased so much that it is turning around, going in the opposite direction. This is the highest expression of love.  

Now we return to our point.

Does Mother Yaśodā sometimes think like that?   

Yes, she does. She understands that Kṛṣṇa is more pleased to be with Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the gopis. She therefore very cleverly gives Kṛṣṇa the chance to be with Them, and They can thus experience Their wonderful love. This is very difficult to conceive with mundane consciousness. One can never conceive of this true conception. Only those who are fortunate and are following the method prescribed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī; tan-nāma-rūpa-caritādi, only they can understand something. Only they can have some idea. Although there are explanations given by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu and other literatures describing the different levels of love, it is very hard to understand.  The terms used there are very specific, and there are no substitutes or translations in any other language — English or any other language. Those who are grave and sincere can experience it in their heart, but it is not possible to explain in any language.

For example, let us take the word “anurāga”. 

How can we understand this word?

In English there are some very limited words, like love, affection, and attachment. But none of these words give the clear meaning or understanding of the term anurāga. I am trying to explain something from whatever I have gathered by reading Jaiva dharma and other books of the Gosvāmīs. 

When prema increases to a point where the heart melts completely, ‘sneha’ is experienced. Then, due to ‘praṇaya’ sometimes ‘māna’ is manifest, and sometimes māna is the cause of praṇaya — both — visa-versa. After this, passing these stages of sneha, māna, and praṇaya, when prema touches the heart, melts it and colours the heart in a very special way, it is called ‘raga’. 

There are two aspects of love: one is called viṣayā and the other is called āśrayā. Viṣayā is the object of love, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. Āśrayā is the abode of love — the gopis and Śrīmatī Rādhikā.  Kṛṣṇa is the enjoyer; He tastes love, and Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the gopis are the abode of love, the shelter of love. Their love increases and comes to such a high stage so high that They forget Their individuality.

“nā so ramaṇa, nā hāma ramaṇī”
(Caitanya caritāmṛta Madhya līlā 8.194).

For example, when Kṛṣṇa disappeared from the rasa dance and the gopis were crying in separation, they forgot that they are gopis. They started acting and behaving as Kṛṣṇa, and they began to enact His pastimes. This is a very, very high stage. When love reaches that stage, this transformation of love is called sva-saṁvedya-daśā. Sva-saṁvedya means that only one who has this love in his heart can understand or realise it. Only Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the gopis themselves can realise it; no one else.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja:  And what about Kṛṣṇa?

Puṇḍarīka prabhu: Even Kṛṣṇa cannot understand.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If He wants to realise this, He will have to come in the shape of Śacīnandana Gaurahari. Otherwise He can never realise it. He cannot relish it.  That is called Sva-saṁvedya. 

Puṇḍarīka: (translating) When Śrī Kṛṣṇa wants to relish this mood, He has to come in the form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That is called saṁvedya daśā, and that is the highest manifestation of love. If we want to come in the proper line so that we can try to understand and have these moods in our heart, or even some true conception of these moods, then we must properly begin from true and pure śraddhā, niṣṭhā, ruci, etc. Without coming in the proper line, some persons try to achieve this mood of gopī bhāva. Some persons in Rādhā-kuṇḍa claim they have gopī bhāva, and they try to give gopī bhāva. This is all nonsense. They have no clear conception. Only those who come in the association of bona fide sādhus and Vaiṣṇavas, and take shelter of a bona fide guru — only they can understand. No one else has this opportunity.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: We should not try to superimpose on any śuddha Vaiṣṇava or śuddha Guru our bad activities and bad moods. Don’t try to impose these on him. Try to reform all your moods. Don’t try to be independent from Guru and Vaiṣṇava. Don’t think, “I have become something. I can preach and do something independently” That is wrong. You cannot do anything independently. Try to realise this, and try to be very strong — more strong than iron.

Puṇḍarīka:  The fortunate person who has developed Pāramārthika śraddhā, which is a minute expression of anurāga, will only have love for Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. He will never have any affection for anything material, or for anyone else. Also, he will have the same love and dedication for those who have a similar mood for Śrī Rādhā Kṛṣṇa: Their devotee.
In the pastime of Śrī Rāmacandra in Ayodhyā, a washer man doubted Śrīmatī Sītā-devī’s purity because She had been in the possession of Rāvaṇa. His idea was not true. Because his own heart was not feeling any anurāga for Her, he was imposing on Her the contamination of his own heart. Hanumān, Sugrīva, and many other associates of Rāma were present, but at no point did they think that Śrīmatī Sītā-devī was contaminated in any way. They did not even imagine such a thing in their mind. This was because they had that bhakti, that prema by which they could understand the līlā. In the prakāśa (manifested) Vraja pastimes also, there are so many persons who doubted Kṛṣṇa. They saw Śrī Krsna’s pastimes through their own bad motivations. They were thus unable to understand those pastimes — especially those with the gopis. The examples of Kaṁsa or Duryodhana are cited. They always used to call Kṛṣṇa bad names.

Why?

Because their hearts were contaminated. They were not feeling this anurāga, this śuddha mood, this śuddha-bhakti for Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Similarly, there is a word of caution for all sādhakas or disciples who have taken shelter of a bona fide guru or Vaiṣṇavas.  They should be very, very careful.  They should not associate with those who try to say something bad about their Guru, or who try to create some confusion. They should not give their ears to such words. This is for their benefit.  Without sādhu-saṅga they will never be able to reconcile what is the truth.  So we should be very careful. 

We should not try to see faults in others or criticise anyone. Even if someone is really bad or is doing something bad, still we should not criticise him. If we do so, the bad qualities of that person will come into us. They will take our shelter. In order to purify ourselves we should abstain from such attitudes completely. 

Then what should we do?

‘sādhu saṅga sādhu saṅga sarva śāstra kaya’.

If we want our welfare, if we want our well-being, we should try to stay as pure as we can in the association of śuddha bona fide Vaiṣṇavas. That is our only hope.

If we think:

“Now I have learned bhakti; I have achieved some strength in bhakti. I can preach and I can do things on my own”

We have actually cheated ourselves and there is no further chance for our advancing in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.


  • Rama Kānta Dāsa If we want our welfare, if we want our well-being, we should try to stay as pure as we can in the association of śuddha bona fide Vaiṣṇavas. That is our only hope. 

    If we think:

    “Now I have learned bhakti; I have achieved some strength in bhakti. I can preach and I can do things on my own” 

    We have actually cheated ourselves and there is no further chance for our advancing in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.
  • Rama Kānta Dāsa ‘Vivarta śeṣa-rūpe āvarta’ — that love which is moving counter-clockwise in a very special way. Generally love turns clockwise, but here it is experienced in a very special manner. One who has learned the two and a half syllables — prema (pre-ma) haslearned everything. All scriptures, especially Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta and all the books of the Gosvāmīs, are based simply on this one word, prema. But this word is very difficult to understand. People generally claim they have love. They think they love people or animals. They will say, “I love you”, but this is not the symptom of true love. If anyone has true love in his heart, he will never express it outwardly. He will try to conceal it.
  • Janardan Das śuddha bona fide Vaiṣṇavas....WHERE ARE THEY??????????????
  • Rama Kānta Dāsa Śuddha bonefide Vaiṣṇavas are always here but with material vision we cannot recognise, what to say of us even the demigods cannot recognise. We need to cry from the core of the heart and then arrangements will be made for us to get their association and only by their mercy will we be able to recognise them.

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