Tag: Caitanya Mahaprabhu

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 hlādinī-śakti?

hlādinī-śakti [energy, ability, strength, effort, power that brings pleasure, bliss, happiness]

The Upaniśads tell us that the divine, the soul, the self (ātma) existed even before the universe. Cosmic creation took place when that divine substance expanded into matter in order to create all existing things. The vehicle for that expansion—which is still going on everywhere and at every moment—is energy (śakti).

Energy is not soul, but without energy the soul has no being, no life, no relation, no attraction, no longing, no desire, no zeal. In short: no love. Energy is not the divine itself; it is what brings the divine into being through potency of love.                           

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What is a līla?

līla [divine activity, sports, play, pastime] 

We cannot know God by his words, only by witnessing his activities. Līla is the name of the activities of God done in order to be understood—and realised—by jīvas 

In Vedic philosophy, God’s līla is the way that the truth about the universe can be communicated, not through high and mighty talk, but by frolicking, loving play. The Truth of the universe is a not a word, it is a feeling: love. It cannot, should not, must not be left to cold and hollow words, it must be seen in action, put into play. That is why stories are told of the pastimes of God. 

Līlas can be found in religious and spiritual traditions throughout the Indian Sub-continent. The Vedas are filled with tales of divine līlas, from the Ramayana to the Puranas. 

Wherever there are līlas, there is a lightness, playfulness, effortless movement, and natural emotion. Līlas are always graceful, joyous, and whimsical. They embody the way that God, the Absolute, effortlessly governs the universe, and the pleasure and happiness he takes in doing so. 

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We too have always been in love

Rādhā has always been in love with Mohan. There has never been a time when her entire being was not driven by a love for him. There has never been a world in which this love was not burning. There has never been a reality where divine love was not the living force.

Rādhā’s love for Mohan is not just an important event in the history of events. It is reality itself.

It’s not something that exists in the world; it is the world. It’s not something that fills our heart; it is our heart. It’s not a simple pleasure for the satisfaction of God; it is divine pleasure itself.

Rādhā’s love is time itself. Rādhā’s love is space itself. It is always and everywhere. Rādhā’s love is reality, truth, beauty and goodness There is nothing more real. There is nothing more true. There is nothing more beautiful, nothing more good. Rādhā’s love is desire that is everywhere desired. 

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Guru-mañjarī: a meditation from the nikunja

Our wish is to regard the world from the nikunja, to experience love and life from the position of mañjarī.

This is the highest goal of devotional service. Every action we take, every word we utter, every thought that crosses or minds, every emotion that traverses our hearts has this goal as its North Star. 

But how do we get there?

The appearance of Caitanya Mahaprabhu gives access to a new experience of God. God is no longer a fixed idea of love. God is now the experience of loving. God now takes the form of RādhāMohan, two forms of one and the same divine soul, God as a relation between lover and beloved, God as the constantly changing experience of loving in all its splendour and intensity, all its loneliness and longing. 

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