Tag: Rādhārāni

Bhagavad-gītā: What is prema?

Prabhupād’s ‘Introduction’ to his translation and commentary of Bhagavad-gītā, first published in 1972, is a quiet introduction to Bhakti, to the theory and practice of loving devotion. 

Bhagavad-gītā is widely understood both as a masterpiece of Vedic culture and a handbook for Vaishnavism. This has been made clear by countless commentators. But Prabhupād’s ‘Introduction’ and commentary reveals it as much more. In Prabhupād’s reading, Bhagavad-gītā unfolds as an introduction to the eternal truths of Gaudia Vaishanvism, as a pre-history to the life of Caitanya Mahaprabhu who appeared in 1486, and as a key to the understanding of God as prema, as the embodiment of divine loving devotion, in the eternal form of Rādhāmohan.  

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Bhagavad-gītā: An introduction to devotion

Bhagavad-gītā is a conversation between Bhagavān—God in the form of a loving personality—and Arjuna, a noble prince who finds himself in despair. In the course of an exchange that stretches over 18 chapters the seed of friendship in Arjuna’s heart evolves to love for Kṛṣṇa, then beyond, to sweet surrender, a self-less devotion toward God. Despite its title (Song of God), Bhagavad-gītā is not a song about God, but rather about the liberation of the soul through loving devotion.  

A devotee is someone in a mood of devotion to another. Devotion is a special kind of relationship, one we don’t find in our everyday lives. It’s a kind of relationship that is not recognised or valued in modern social relations. In the modern view we would be foolish to look for devotion in public institutions or business practices. And yet if we peel back the false sophistication and pretences of modern life, we will find it there: inspiring, animating, motivating, generating hope, creating trust.   

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The power of divine love

Verse 42

In his commentary to Verse 42 of Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, Ananda Das Babaji describes the different classifications of love. There are four levels of intensity of that love, spanning from the love of ordinary devotees, to the love of the great sages, to the love of the Vrajavāsīs, to the love of Rādhārāni, which is the greatest love of all. 

Kṛṣna, he goes on, ‘is controlled by His devotees according to the amount of love they have for Him, and Śrī Rādhikā has the greatest love for Him (parama mahān), therefore She controls Him to the utmost’. 

Ananta das babaji thus gives us an important lesson about the difference between divine love (prema) and mundane love (kama) 

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