soul – 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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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 suffering?

Verses 9:26-27

If you offer me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.

Whatever you do, eat, offer or give away, and whatever hardship you suffer—offer it to me.

In Chapter 9 of Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa shares with Arjuna ever deeper knowledge about himself and the nature of the universe. Then in verses 26-27 Kṛṣṇa describes how best to please and honour him.

He says that not only should we offer to Kṛṣṇa the things we cherish in life. We should also offer him what we do in life. We should give not only our possessions but our actions.

Among the many things we do in our lives is to suffer through difficult experiences. To suffer is not to feel something painful or difficult for one moment. It is to live in an experience of pain or difficulty. Suffering is an action—of perseverance, patience, resolve, courage, maybe obstinacy.

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I love therefore I am

One of the most well-known philosophical slogans in the West is ‘I think therefore I am’.

It originates from the French philosopher Descartes, born in 1586. Descartes was trying to answer some of the fundamental questions that face us today: What is real? What is consciousness? What can I know?

Descartes reasoned that there are many things that we are conscious of, but that are not real (white unicorns, castles that float in the air, and so on), but that our mind is capable of doubting the reality of all of them. In fact, he said, everything we are capable of thinking can be put into question except of one: the fact that we are thinking. Thinking, he concluded is the absolute foundation of our being: I think therefore I am.

Through the eyes of Bhakti this conclusion makes no sense for at least two reasons.

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To relish

Verse 1

In his auspicious invocation to Rādhā rāsā sudhānidhi, Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī does not waste a moment before glorifying Caitanya Mahāprabhu as an embodiment of nearly unimaginable emotion. His body is described as studded with goose pimples of ecstasy as he dances and sings, tears running down his face.

Mahāprabhu’s emotion is nearly unimaginable, and yet we imagine it. Our minds recognise his emotion as our own, still hidden and unrealised in our hearts. Mahāprabhu’s appearance on earth lets us understand that to realise this emotion, to make it a reality, is the greatest experience we can want.

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Seeing with spiritual eyes

Verse 11.8

But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give to you divine eyes by which you can behold My mystic opulence.

By Chapter 11 of Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna have deepened their initial friendship to a relationship of devotional intimacy. Arjuna is moved in a life-changing way by what Kṛṣṇa has told him. Now, the new devotee asks of God the privilege to see his ‘universal form’, his viśvarup.

Kṛṣṇa agrees, but warns Arjuna that he will not be able to see his universal form with his present, material eyes. Rather he will need to have divine, spiritual eyes (divya cakṣuṣā).

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