Sri Bepin Sakhi Vilas by RSB in Vrindavan - 1970: PART III

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MEANS AND END

 

What is Sri Vraja Lila? Where is It taking place? What is the means to

reach It and the ultimate end?

 

Before anyone or I can ponder over these spiritual questions we must

first realize our own present condition and limitations. All souls

having fallen from their pure state into this miserable ocean of

endless births ad deaths are caught within two types of bondage. The

changeable body and senses made of the five gross elements (earth,

water, fire, air, and ether) which can perceive only gross material

nature; and the changeable subtle mind, intelligence, and perverted

ego, which are capable of conceiving only the non-spiritual changeable

plane. So, while in this deplorable condition we must realize and

accept the fact that we are completely in capable of comprehending the

what, where, and how, of Sri Sri Radha Krishna Vraja Lila! How to

become situated on the spiritual plane of consciousness from which we

may be able to comprehend the true nature of God's greatest secret, Sri

Vraja Lila? By the means of a great process technically called Sadhana

(spiritual practices).

 

Sadhana Bhakti (souls loving, services to God for His pleasure in a way

that is both agreeable and favorable to Him) has many progressive

stages, the first and most important being complete surrender ad

wholehearted submission to the Feet of the transcendental

Representative of Krishna, Sri Gurudev, manifest upon the mundane

plane. Sri Hari Himself is directing us from within as Chaitya Guru

(Internal Guide). And from without a Diksa Guru, Who appears in this

mundane world as Sri Acharyadev (Spiritual Preceptor).

 

Through unalloyed submission to the Feet of Sri Guru one may become the

recipient of a generous portion of Divine Grace, and through a process

of initiation, by which we receive Mantra Shakti (the divine

enlightening potency) and Sri Hari Name (The spiritual selfsame

all-conscious Divine Name of the Supreme Lord, Whose constant

repetition, meditation, and wholehearted service, becomes both the

Means and highest End of pure existence) one may obtain spiritual

rebirth.

 

The important point is the Sri Guru must belong to the bona fide

Guru-Parampara (the spiritual uninterrupted chain of preceptorial Order

originating from the Lord Himself). If this chain has been interrupted

at any place there can be no manifestation of Divine Grace and the

Divine Enlightening Potency, in the disciple. Sri Guru must be a

self-realized and god-realized Paramahansa; otherwise He is not the

eternal spiritual Representative of the lord. One must be very careful

in his search for the genuine spiritual Preceptor!

 

After receiving Diksa (spiritual initiation) from Sri Guru one's

spiritual life begins.

 

From the divine Power instilled by Sri Gurudev all ignorance of looking

upon the temporary material body as one's self is slowly eradicated and

one becomes identified with one's soul as self.

 

From the beginning of Sadhana until all accumulated sins and the dense

darkness of lust and anger are washed off the heart of the pure soul in

God-realization (Prema Bhakti), it is a gradual purifying process of

unfolding of the innate dormant nature of the soul.

 

This gradual process has nine primary stages which are: (I) SRADDHA,

(II) SADHU-SANGA, (III) BHAJANA-KRIYA, (IV) ANARTHA-NIVRTTI, (V)

NISTHA, (VI) RUCI, (VII) ASAKTI, (VIII) BHAVA, and (IX) Prema The steps

from Sraddha to Anartha-nivrtti are from utter material bondage to the

souls freedom from the clutches of Maya, the Deluding Energy of

Godhead.

 

Then, after self-realization the soul develops in her sadhana from

Nistha to Prema of final liberation in God realization, which is

attainable even while not separated from one's gross and subtle

coverings.

 

Prema concerns the Siddha-deha (i.e., the eternal supra-mundane Chit

body of the pure soul) alone, and although outward signs of the

internal bhavas (spiritual feelings) may become manifest on the

external body, they are purely spiritual expressions of the soul's

divine love for the Supreme Lord.

 

These nine stages of gradual spiritual awakening are the stairway to be

climbed by all who truly wish to know the secret to Sri Vraja Lila and

take part therein. So, for my own spiritual benefit as well as others I

shall give here a brief explanation of each stage as revealed on the

mundane plane, through the Six Goswamins, by Lord Chaitanya Himself:

(I) SRADDHA means faith. Faith in the Supreme Lord Krishna as the only

Shelter, Protector, Provider, and Object of loving devotional service

(Bhakti). This faith is the divine seed of Prema-Bhakti. (II)

SADHU-SANGA simply means to live in the company of pure devotees in

order to follow in their faultless footsteps. This stage has unlimited

power, and all those vain and foolish persons who would try not to

tread these steps shall find all the fruits of their spiritual labors

entirely tasteless and without any base. (III) BHAJAN-KRIYA means

spiritual practices in the stage of bondage according to the directions

of Sri Guru and the Scriptures. The different types of spiritual

practices in which to engage oneself are many and varied (vide, Sri

Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu), but there are nine eternal functions which are

primary: sravanam I e., Listening to the glories of the Lord, kirtanam

i.e., Singing the Names of the Lord, Visnu-smaranam i.e., Meditating on

the beauty, pastimes, etc. of Krishna, pada-sevanam i.e., Serving His

Divine Feet, arcanam i. e, Worshipping the Lord, vandanam i.e., bowing

down and supplicating one's self before the Lord, dasyam i.e., Serving

the Lord as a servant, sakyam i.e., Serving Sri Govinda as the Divine

Friend, and atma-nivedanam i.e., complete self-surrender to the Lord,

Who is the only shelter to all.

 

Besides these nine primary functions there are five others which are

most important for those who are interested in the realization of Sri

Vraja Lila: (I) To live always in Sri Vraja Dham both mentally and

physically; (2) To serve Sri Arca-vigraha or the Divine Image of the

Lord, which is the fifth manifestation of the supreme Divinity

graciously manifest to the view of the fallen jivas by the

inconceivable and unlimited spiritual power (Yogamaya) of the Lord.

This is probably the most misunderstood aspect of Vaisnava philosophy

by the ignorant fallen beings who view everything on the surface only.

Let it suffice to say that only the soul in the state of Divine Grace

can comprehend this purely transcendental aspect to the manifested

Supreme Person; (3) To listen to the Srimad Bhagavatam, which is the

sum and substance of all sacred revealed scriptures, from the mouth of

a Vaisnava (pure devotee of the Lord); (4) To live only in the company

of pure Vaisnavas whose divine companionship can purify even the

greatest sinners; (5) To chant always the Divine Names of Krishna

without intermission. It is said by Sri Rupa Goswamipad the even a

short time practice of these Five, while being free from spiritual

offenses, has the power to awaken Prema Bhakti in the heart of a

devotee.

 

(IV) ANARTHA-NIVRTTI, which follows close in the wake of honest and

wholehearted Bhajana-kriya, means the removal of all the obstacles,

offenses, and defects, that cloud pure Bhakti. Such obstacles as

misidentifying one's self with one's temporary material body and mind,

to misconceive one as dead when the body is destroyed, attachment to

material sense enjoyments and anger against any opposition to such

enjoyments. Obstacles caused by offenses against the Holy Name, and

desire for the selfish mundane fruits of one's pious actions (Karma).

Also keeping mundane associations, disinclination, and thinking of

worldly pleasures while meditating on the Lord, as well as being prone

to lust, anger, avarice, vanity, and jealousy, etc. To be completely

freed from all such obstacles is Anartha-Nivritti.

 

Once a soul engaged in spiritual practices has reached the purified

stage of anartha Nivritti through spiritual realization, he may

progress to the next step, (V) NISTHA or firmness and steadfastness,

both physical, mental, and verbal, in striving for the unfolding and

realization of Krishna and Sri Krishna Vraja Lila. (VI) RUCI, which

follows close in the wake of Nistha, is the development of a strong

taste or liking for spiritual life concerning the Lord and a

corresponding dislike for all things on the mundane level.

 

When Ruci for the service of the Supreme Lord develops into full

maturity and Sri Govinda alone becomes the sole Object of one's life,

an intense attachment for the Lord develops, it is called (VII) ASAKTI.

Asakti makes one's heart so transparent that the Lord's Reflection

appears therein as if the Lord had appeared in Person. As one's soul in

the stage of Asakti begins to taste the divine Sweetness and

transcendental Beauty of the Supreme Lord Govinda, all worldly affairs

and talks became unbearable.

 

When this Asakti and Ruci soften the heart, mind, and ego, and one's

soul becomes filled with sublime loving emotions for the Lord, it is

called (VIII) BHAVA.

 

This Bhava, which is the normal innate nature of the soul proceeding

from the Internal Potency of the Lord Himself, is like the Divine Glow

of the rising Sun of Prema

 

When Bhava develops to such a degree that the heart ad entire mental

quantum of the most advanced devotee completely melts in divine loving

emotion, it is called (IX) PREMA, which is the highest ad most complete

stage of God-realization and liberation from bondage.

 

In this stage, Lord Krishna Himself, with all His Eternal Associates

and transcendental Realm, appears before the spiritual vision of the

Prema-bhakta (realized devotee) in his completely transparent heart. To

the self-realized Prema-Bhakta all sense of I and mine is completely

directed to Sri Hari alone, and he feels about his Lord, " Oh my Beloved

Krishna, I am Thine and Thou art mine! "

 

The soul who has fortunately achieved the supreme wealth of Krishna

Prema now beholds the Lord and all this Dear Ones, Face to face, and

experiencing the transcendental Beauty of the Lord ad His realm, the

divine Fragrance of His Supra-mundane (sat-chit-ananda) Body, the

captivating Sound of His Flute, and the sacred Touch and Taste of His

moonlike Person, the freed soul laughs, weeps, and completely melts in

Divine Love. In this stage the devotee, who has become almost unaware

of the material world and even his own existence, practically gives up

eating ad sleeping and remains in constant communion with His Beloved

Krishna and His Nitya-lila completely unmindful of external conditions

whatsoever. With the realization of Krishna and His Associates there is

simultaneous realization of one's own shay behave and eternal spiritual

body. Then, deep in spiritual communion the pure soul enters the divine

transcendental Realm of Lord Hari and in his Siddha-deha (eternal

spiritual body) he joins the Nitya Lila of Sri Sri Radha Krishna and

forever drinks the ever-progressive divine nectar there in. For some

souls whose sthayi bhava is Madhura Rati, it is through spiritual

subservience to the Siddha-deha of one's Guru, Sri Rupa and Rati

Manjaris and others, and Sri Lalita and the Sakhis, that one may

eternally serve the Lotus Feet of the Divine Couple in Vraja.

 

To the common people deluded by Maya into the labyrinth of worldliness

Sri Sri Radha Krishna Vraja Lila may appear like the unwholesome and

perverted love of this sinful world.

 

So long as one's heart is polluted by sense egoism and one

misidentifies one's true self with his gross body and subtle mind, and

so long as one's mind is darkened by the dense quagmire of

sex-mindedness there can be no possibility of entering into the

transcendental nature of the Divine Love Dalliances of Sri Sri Radha

Govinda in Vrajadham.

 

It is only by giving up all sense enjoyments, renouncing completely all

attachments to mundane kith and kin, and leading a lift of extreme

asceticism and intense spiritual practices, that one, through complete

self-effacement, may realize the supreme beauty of the Divine Sex. That

Sri Vraja Lila is the eternal supra-mundane Love-sports of the

counter-Whole Divine Moiety (Sri Radha) with the Predominating Original

Whole Divinity (Krishna)-the Original Whole having projected Itself out

into a reciprocal Counter-Whole, without losing the Original Whole (Ct

Upanishad).

 

The fallen souls deluded by Maya, who see only the gross changeable

opposites of this temporary world, cannot imagine the whereabouts of

Vraja Lila, but those rare and blessed souls, who by sincere spiritual

practices have transcended the mundane plane, realize Sri Vrajadham in

their heart of hearts and attaining a supra-mundane (Chit),

all-conscious body corresponding to their own sthayi-bhava, they may

enter Vraja and forever participate in the Divine Love Sports Therein.

 

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the atheistic fallen souls who

think the world as the only reality and that there is only one life to

be enjoyed like a pig, eating, sleeping and mating until death, will

commit the colossal offense of viewing this divine subject on the

mundane level and rejecting it altogether as being sensual and

imaginary. Although the divine transcendental Beauty and Reality of the

Eternal Lila of the Lord will even remain unaffected by their wrong

ideas, still, for this great sin they shall be thrown by Maya deep into

the depths of delusion and endless sufferings until by the cause-less

mercy of the pure devotees they may be pulled out of the bottomless

well of this world by the rope of Divine Grace.

 

May all truly good people take shelter unto the Glorious FIVE forever,

and by Their mercy cross the impassable ocean of Maya as if it were the

small hoof print of a calf.

 

By writing this small booklet on the principle of Sri Radha-Krishna

Vraja Lila, I have been blessed that my wicked and unruly mind has been

engaged in the purifying thoughts of the Supreme Lord of all, and if

this humble booklet will give any spiritual insight unto the readers of

the English-knowing world, then my efforts shall be doubly rewarded.

 

Hey Sri Sri Hari, Guru, Vaisnava! May you all give me a drop of Your

Limitless Mercy that the eternal Love Games of Sri Sri Radha Krishna

may heart with Their divine splendor, for then only may I one day enter

the all-blissful Realm of Vraja and forever swim ad sink in the

limitless ocean of Bhakti-Rasa (the sweetness of divine service) where

I may eternally drink the nectar of the joy of my dearest in Divine

Love, Sri Kunda Latika Manjari, following in the wake of Sri Rupa

Manjari, being directed by Sri Lalita Sakhi in the Prema-Seva of the

Divine Couple, Sir Sri Radha Srila Govindadeva, Who, seated upon a

magnificent jeweled throne in a lovely bower on the bank of the Yamuna

(the transcendental River of Vraja) are being most lovingly served by

the Dearest Sakhis.

 

 

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

 

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