Love in action

Rādhā’s beauty

In Her resides all beauty and brilliance. All the lakṣmīs derive their beauty from Her.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.92

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.92 in the last of a series of verses expressing the idea that the eight lakṣmīs, most beautiful, most splendid, most prosperous and fortunate of all demigods, derive their beauty from Rādhā.

We know Rādhā’s outward appearance to be beautiful. Images of her physical qualities adorn every corner of Vrindavan.

But these verses confirm that Rādhā is not only beautiful, she is also the source of all beauty. She is both beautiful and she bestows beauty on others. If there is beauty, then Rādhā is at its root.

Any object we find beautiful, from the charm of the most delicate flower, to the wonder of the sun-rays at dawn, from the smile of an infant to the glow that flows from the eyes of the wise, traces its beauty back to Rādhā. Any object that gives pleasure, not only to the eyes, but to any of the senses may be called beautiful. The pleasure it brings, the happiness it causes, can be attributed to Rādhā.

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What is abhisāra?

abhisāra [the passionate pursuit by the secret lover of the beloved]

A term borrowed from classical Indian poetry and drama, abhisāra refers to the quest of a heroine to meet against all obstacles, both social and material, her beloved.

Abhi is a prefix meaning ‘toward’, ’to’, or ‘near’ (we think of abhidheya, the process of devotional service that leads to the ultimate goal, dheya, of loving service to RādhāMohan.) Sāra means journey, but also movement or approach.

It is easy to understand that in the tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, abhisāra refers to the journey to the secret, loving meetings of Rādhā and Mohan. Rādhā overcomes all odds to leave her home in search of her lover. Then, with the help of her mañjarīs she must confront the twists and turns of desire that finally unite her with her lover. Love-in-separation (vipralambha), the painful longing that grows in the absence of the beloved, is the fuel of this abhisāra.

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The meaning of life

To love someone is to see the face of God

Victor Hugo

Some truths are so close at hand that we don’t even notice them, so obvious that they are invisible. Some truths are so universally present that they seem to be nowhere at all. Such is the meaning of life:

We are born, we love, and we die.

That’s it. There is literally nothing else but love. The world is merely love’s outer appearance, its playground, the space for its realisation.

There is nothing else that is happening from the moment we open our eyes at birth, to the moment we close our eyes at death.

All of life flows from love because love is its inner energy, its inner force, the soul itself. If the soul is who we are, the essence of what we are made of, then surely the soul is love. A body without a soul is not alive. A body without love cannot live.

Everything we do is derived from love, built upon love, stimulated or inspired by love, energised or motivated by love.

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Why is there illusion?

Why must we live in a world of illusion? Why would the creator of the universe, perfect in all aspects, create a world in which illusion seems to be everywhere?

In Vedic philosophy we come to understand the meaning of illusion through the concept of māyā.

Māyā is a key to understanding the difference between traditional Western dualist thought, and Eastern non-dualist thought. In the West we are taught to understand the world as consisting of two realities: mind (or soul) and body. In Eastern thought we understand reality as being one. Mind, soul and body are understood as part of one and the same reality. If we perceive the body or any material thing to be real, it is because we are under the grip of māyā: illusion.

In both the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-gītā, māyā is described as the power of the divine, the power of Kṛṣṇa. But why would the creator want us to suffer in māyā?

The answer becomes clear when we reflect on the meaning of illusion.

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Advaita after Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Bhakti causes total disregard for liberation.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.33)

On the simplest level, Western and Eastern cosmologies differ on a basic question: is the world one or two?

In Western thought, the question can be traced back to the very first writings of ancient Greek thinkers. They held that there are two completely different realities: the world of spirit and the world of material things. This idea is constant throughout the history of Western thought and has a strong influence on Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

By contrast, many branches of Oriental philosophy, including Hinduism, build upon the notion of advaita, non-dualism. Advaita is the notion that reality is one. In particular, it posits that spirit or soul and material reality are non-different.

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What is guru?

A devotee who is thus attached to the worship of his guru doesn’t need to practice any worship of the Supreme Lord.

Jīva Gosvāmī, Bhakti Sandarbha, 237

What do we see when we see the guru? What do we hear when we hear the guru? What do we feel when we touch the guru?

The Sanskrit syllables gu-ru literally mean ‘remover of darkness’. In other words, the guru is not someone who gives something, some gift of knowledge, of mercy, or enlightenment. The guru is someone who takes something away. The guru is not a source of enlightenment or wisdom but rather one who clears away the blockages to the knowledge or wisdom we already have.

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Love stories about us

In a poignant scene in Verse 89 of Śrī Vilāpa Kusumāñjali, Rādhā leads her maidservant Tulasi mañjarī to a secret cave in Govardhana Hill to teach her songs about divine love. Whose love? Her own.

Rādhā, the embodiment of divine love, knows and feels every emotion available to our mundane hearts, and more. But she is very shy about teaching songs about these emotions.

The mundane mind can understand this. After all, they are songs about Rādhā’s most intimate and confidential pastimes with her divine lover Mohan. The songs are an intimate history of their divine love affair.

The songs, which Rādhā only shares with her dear maidservants, can be used to revive her dear Mohan in case he should faint in the throes of passion. By singing to him the story of his own love, he is brought back to consciousness.

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Surprised by love

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adī-līlā, Chapter 4 describes the ‘confidential’ reasons, for Kṛṣṇa’s decision to take birth as Caitaniya Mahāprabhu. In verse 4.28 Kṛṣṇa declares that he will appear as a pure devotee and carry out pastimes ‘by which even I am amazed’.

It is difficult for us to imagine that God himself should be amazed by anything at all. Isn’t God by nature all-knowing, all-seeing, all-feeling? What could possibly amaze him?

The answer is as miraculous as Bhakti itself: Kṛṣṇa is amazed by his own feelings.

Indeed there is much amazement in the forests of Vṛndavan. The written prayers, poems and dramas of the closest associates of CaitanyaMahāhaprabhu recount often how many the actors in the divine pastimes—but most of all Mohan—experience surprise.

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