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Upanishads. In these philosophical treaties, the nature of the universe,
the human soul, and the relation to each other has been probed. In the
can Atman, the individual spirit. The Upanishads describe the spirit only
eternal..." It exist, but it cannot be captured ; life proceeds from it, yet it
has no tangible reality. These themes conceived by sages in the Upanshads
were, however, in time expanded. The essential principals laid in these
Uttar-Meemansa. Religious thought became a multifarous and elusive
complex.
From this vast tradition, it took one of no lesser stature then Maharishi
Veda Vyas, who had masterly comprehended the Vedas, the six systems of
philosophy, the Smriti, and all the other existing philosophical scriptures
known to the memory of mankind, to make his knowledge comprehensible
to all. And since nothing then ever needed to be written down, all teachings
were taught by the graceful speech of the Rishis alone. Vyas conceived the
Mahabharat as a vehicle for expounding such lofty themes as Sri Krishna,
an Avatar of Vishnu; dharma; varnashram; valour; love and grief. Despite
its majestic conception, Veda Vyas remained unsatisfied with his efforts,
and only at the intervention of Devrishi Narad was the cause of his
unfulfilment disclosed that the Supreme Lord was not yet satisfied that his
glory had been sufficiently revealed. By Sri Narad's inspiration, Vyas then
turned his efforts from feeding crows the carrion of learning, to extracting
nectar, in the form of stories relating to the Divine Pastimes of Sri Krishna,
for the swans of the Mansarovar Lake to sip.
Taking Sri Ganapati, the remover of obstacles, as his scribe,Veda Vyas
unfolded the mystery of the manifestation of Brahman through the
incarnations of Vishnu. In Srimad Bhagavat is found the description of
these incarnations of the Lord : Sanatkumar, Sanandan, Sanatan and
Sanak ; Varah, the Divine Boar ; Devrishi Narad ; Nara-Narayan ; Swami
Kapil ; Dattatrey ; Yagya ; Rsabhdev ; King Prithu ; Matsya, the Divine
Fish ; Kachhap, the Divine Tortoise ; Dhanvantri, the Celestial Physician ;
Mohini, the Enchantress of the demons ; Narsinha, the Man-Lion ; Vamana,
the Divine Dwarf ; Parashurama ; Rama, Bharata, Lakshman, and
Shatrughna ; Vyas ; Krishna and Balaram ; Buddha ; and Kalki, whom is
yet to come.
While each Avatar was worshiped as the Lord, still, in his fullness, he
was yet in process, finally reaching the descent of Bhagwan Rama, whom is
the Supreme Person in complete form. His descent was to establish
righteousness, (dharma) and to dispel unrighteousness (adharma) ; to
protect the good (sat) and to destroy the evil (asat). Rama is known as
Maryada-Purushottam, whom has lived according to all correct rules and
decorum. But even this incarnation, where the prevailing spirit behind the
universe has embodied Himself to assist man in his course through life,
cannot fulfill declaration of the Upanishads that the Absolute Brahman is
'Raso Vai Sah'. God, remaining one with creation is not impassive ; he
is a personal God who loves man and desires love in return. To demonstrate
this aspect of the nature of the Supreme Being, Sri Krishna manifested
himself, and as Lila-Purushottam performs his pastimes before the eyes of
the world. It is this subject which has been so gracefully expounded by Vyas
in the tenth Skandh of the Srimad Bhagavat, which forms the heart of the
work.
However, philosophic speculation cannot end here, for the question
arises about the nature of the spiritual bliss the realized soul experiences in
merging the trinity in the monad Brahman, whom is said to contain Truth,
Consciousness and Bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda). Brahman has become
personified as Krishna who is defined thus in the Bhagvat :
'Krishnastu
Bhagvan Swayam', (the Absolute of the Absolute), and the static
'anand'
enfolded in the nature of Brahman has become personified as Krishna's
Ahladini Shakti, his blissful potency, who is the source of all joy to the
Supreme Lord. Who can dare to define that delightful beauty who charms
Shyam Sundar and brings him to his knees begging even a glance from her
fascinating eyes? She is the Divine Aspect of his divinity, the Beloved of his
Love, the possessor of that joy which fulfills his desire for joy -
Sri Radha.
SIGNIFICANCE OF RADHA BHAV
The most secret, the most auspicious, and the most divine spiritual
awareness of Radha is projected in the physical manifestation of her village
of Barsana. Here, upon the majestic hill in which Brahma has embodied
himself, stands the abode of Sri Radha, who is the ecstasy and inner
blessedness of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna.
Contained in this mystical image lies the revelation of Radha Bhav.
Within the all-pervading, all-powerful source of Brahma arises the three-
sided manifestation of the cosmos, with Brahma personifying its creative
principal; Vishnu, its maintaining principal; and Shiva, its distructive
principal. By the movement of the creative principal in thought and its
culmination in action, the universal cycle of creation, preservation, and
destruction veils the Supreme from man and holds him within the bondage
of this movement of the world. When he comes to the discovery of that
which has to be dispelled in thought or in action, man lays the foundation
of 'sadhana' which terminates the thought-creation underlying action
carried over from previous actions of the life into the present. Thus, at
last, the full cycle of cause and effect is destroyed and he crosses the
threshold of the effortless 'sadhana' of love (prem). In order to attain this
state based on the establishment of grace, he has to disconnect himself
from the creation of Brahma, diverting all efforts with whatever means
are available and with fervent love to the path of 'sadhana'. Those who
have already traveled this path of the Divine, enlighten the way; until all
the accumulation of past thoughts and actions are effaced, the heart
becomes like a transparent , heavenly-clear crystal, unimaginable in its
purity. From this point, the 'sadhana' of complete unconditional surrender
to the feet of the Lord Supreme begins. Thus, the hill of Barsana contains
the significance of the illumination of Love to the Love-personification
of Sri Radha, the Joy- potency of the Supreme, and the creation of love
leading to the destruction of all desires.
When this love is created in the heart, or in the thoughts, the source
of all inspiration, which was hidden through countless lives in the journey
towards the wondrous Supreme, is disclosed to the person who is
completely dedicated by heart, thought and action, who has given himself
up to the feet of the Supreme from within and without. The most sublime
sentiments of 'bhakti' spontaneously arise in him who walks on this path,
manifesting in him the highest aspects of devotion. The holy scriptures
have described these sentiments which climax the potency of mood and
are the very source of inspiration when they occur by their own Grace.
These sentiments, Bhav, may appear in such ways: by chanting the
sweet names of the Lord in 'sankirtan' the presence of the Divine Glory
is experienced in such a way that the flow of love, which springs from
the heart, comes as an out pour of tears; the devotee cannot speak a
word about worldly relations and the throat is choked; the whole body
is thrilled in ecstatic joy; the body-consciousness may vanish completely;
the enchanting glory of the Lila of Radha-Krishna is fully revealed in the
heart; all the Divinity of their transcendental sport is revealed as ever-new;
every moment is completely recognised in Their Grace; and finally the
epitome of all these various sentiments is when the knowledge of what
They wish to play in Lila sport is spontaneously realized in the heart.
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Baba Sripadji
