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Of late, there has been a rather unappetizing scandal surrounding the sex tapes of a
popular Bhagavata speaker, which raises doubts again about the appropriateness of
discussing or repeating Radha and Krishna's "confidential", i.e., erotic, pastimes.
It seems that such worries are well-founded when such prurient interest in what
appear to be mundane sexuality is dressed up in Vrindavan garb and then marketed
for profit to those who have little or no appreciation for Braja rasa in its purest and
most transcendental form.
Nevertheless, we must, against all criticism, reaffirm our own faith in <i>madhurarasa</i>, the erotic mood of love, as the king of the "mellows" and in Radha and
Krishna, the divine embodiment of that mood, in two moieties as Rasarja and
Mahbhva.
So to honor this commitment to the purest form of divine love, which in reality only
exists in the Yugala Sarkar, Shri Shri Radha Madana Mohan, we offer the Vrindavan
Today community a taste of Ratanlal Beriwala's introduction to the Surata Sukh
chapter of <em>Mahv</em>.
The commentator Ratanlal Mahashaya (1889-1971) has drawn heavily on the works
of the Gaudiyas, and I believe that this is much a result of the ishtagoshtis which
took place in Dauji Bagicha in the early and middle years of the last century. The
society of scholars and bhajananandis who surrounded Ramakrishna Pandit Baba
came from all the Vrindavan rasika sampradayas, one of the most significant of
whom was Priya Sharan Baba. This resulted in debate and a new sharing of ideas,
as well as friendship between the different schools.
The author of <em>Mahv</em> states the following at the end of this chapter:
<blockquote>
nema prema te pare jo ati durlabha adhikra<br />
rjhi deta jihi yugala j sumarita surata vihra ||1||<br />
doh<br />
r ym r yma ko yaha sukha surata vihra |<br />
basahu sad hiya sadana me sakala sra ko sra ||2||<br />
kualiy
mah mdula mah madhura madhu mah rahasi rasa rsi |<br />
mah sukhada sarvesa ko mah manubhava bhsi ||3||
Doha: May Shyama-Shyam's delight in erotic dalliances, the essence of all essences,
always reside in the abode of my heart.
Kundaliya: So soft, so sweet and relishable, that secret ocean of delight which brings
the highest happiness to the Lord of All, which is the explanation of the great
manifestation of the God of Love. (<i>Surata-sukha</i>, 100-101)</blockquote>
<div id="attachment_1577" style="width: 169px" class="wp-caption
alignleft"><a href="http://cdn.vrindavantoday.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/01/Harivyas_devacharya.jpg" onclick="__gaTracker('send',
'event', 'outbound-article', 'http://cdn.vrindavantoday.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/01/Harivyas_devacharya.jpg', '');"><img class="size-medium
wp-image-1577" title="Harivyas_devacharya"
src="http://cdn.vrindavantoday.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/01/Harivyas_devacharya-212x300.jpg" alt="" width="159"
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360w" sizes="(max-width: 159px) 100vw, 159px" /></a><p class="wp-captiontext">Shri Harivyas Devacharya</div>
Nearly all Vaishnava sampradayas accept the idea that prema is the fifth aim of life
or <em>pururtha</em>, greater than <em>dharma, artha, kma</em> or
<em>mok.Sa</em>, and they all make this their <em>sdhya</em>, or goal of
spiritual practices. The author of <em>Mahv</em> uses the word <em>nema,
prema</em> or <em>prema- laka bhakti</em> to designate the goal of
<em>sdhana-bhakti</em>, and yet he says that there is something within
<em>prema bhakti</em> that is an even higher goal to achieve.
Books are unable to seize [Radha and Krishna's] qualities [in the Nitya Vihara]. The
Veda cannot go there, they cannot be found in the Agamas. … Books are
unable to count the qualities, as stated by the Shrutis themselves: <em>yac
chrutayas tvayi hi phalanty atan-nirasanena bhavan-nidhan</em> (BhP
10.87.41).</blockquote>
[Obviously, a proper understanding of the three terms <em>niyama bhakti, premabhakti</em> and <em>par bhakti</em> are needed. Ratanlal Beriwala has given
extensive explanations in other parts of the text, based on primarily Gaudiya
sources like <em>Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu</em> and <em>Bhakti-
So if this supreme truth is not attainable through the Vedas, Puranas and other
shastras, then how can it be attained? In order to counter this doubt, the author
writes: I say that beyond <em>nema</em> (<em>niyama</em>) and
<em>prema</em> lies (<em>par bhakti</em>) the path to the highest truth.
There is the path which lies beyond those of nema and prema. I walk on the
topmost path to the Supreme, that of <em>par bhakti</em>.(siddhanta-sukha
11)</blockquote>
Now, to specify exactly what he means by a state of love that is beyond nema and
prema, Harivyasa Devacharyaji says, "May this happiness of Shri Shri Shym
Shyma's erotic dalliances, the essence of all essences, remain fixed forever in my
heart."
Having stated that Radha and Krishna's erotic dalliances are the essence of all
essences, Harivyasaji goes on to say, " So soft, so sweet and relishable, that secret
ocean of delight which brings the highest happiness to the Lord of All, which is the
explanation of the great manifestation of the God of Love."
Krishna destroyed the pride of Cupid, which had become so acute after conquering
over the gods like Brahma. May the Lord of Shri, ornamenting the Rasa circle with
the gopis, be ever glorious.</blockquote>
The essence of all essences means that prema, the fifth goal of life is the essence of
all the other purusharthas, namely <em>dharma, artha, kma</em> and
<em>moksha</em>. But <em>divya-kma</em> is the essence of that essence.
The essence of all spiritual practices and goals.
Now someone may ask, "Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita, <em>kma ea krodha
ea rajogua-samudbhava</em>, kma is a product of the material <em>rajogua</em>. So how can that be the highest of the highest stages of spiritual
perfection?"
In the Prti-sandarbha, Shrila Jiva Goswami quotes from the Brihad Gautamiya Tantra
a series of verses, the essence of [which is here conflated to]:
<blockquote>
prhant-may bhaktis turytt nigadyate
Bhakti is the full manifestation of the sense of self and is said to be beyond even the
fourth stage of consciousness.</blockquote>
Krishna's divine mistresses are situated in prema, the fifth state beyond even the
fourth state of transcendental consciousness (which is beyond waking, dream and
deep sleep). Then how could the dream visions that they have of Krishna possibly
be the products of the material mode of passion? (<em>Ujjvala-nlamai</em>
15.219)</blockquote>
But, one may ask, how can you say that this <em>surata-sukha</em> or
<em>kma-keli</em> is higher than <em>prema</em>?
He is no longer the lover, nor I the beloved. It is as though Eros had merged our
minds [and bodies]. (CC 2.8.194)
Oh friend, there is no more distinction between us: he is not the lover, nor I the
beloved. Through the juices of prema, it is as though Cupid has forcefully ground
both our minds together. (<em>Yugala-tattva-samk</em> 154)</blockquote>
In other words, in erotic love, one body merges with the other, such that the lovers
feel themselves to have become one entity. This state is called <em>prema-vilsavivarta</em>. For this reason, surata-sukha is called the ultimate happiness. The
Radhavallabhi poet Dhruva Das says,
<blockquote>
rasa ko avadhi jah lo m |<br />
vivi tana mila ekahi ho j ||
Be ceratin that this is the highest state of the rasa. Anyone who says that there is
anything beyond this is a great impediment.</blockquote>
Finally, Beriwal cites following important verse from the Bhgavata Pura and its
commentary by Sanatan Goswami as highlighted by 108 Dina Sharan Das Babaji
Maharaj, who indicated it had particular significance in understanding the use of the
word kma in relation to the lila of the Divine Couple:
<blockquote>
jayati jananivso devak-janma-vdo<br />
yadu-vara-pariat svair dorbhir asyann adharmam<br />
sthira-cara-vrijina-ghnam susmita-r-mukhena<br />
vraja-pura-vanitn vardhayan kma-devam
May that Krishna who resides in the hearts of all living beings be ever victorious; for
though he is their resting place, he becomes incarnate in the womb of Devak. [This
is thus generally accepted as being the truth although it is only an appearance.]
That Lord is served by the best of the members of the Yadu dynasty; he removed
the influence of the irreligious with the help of the Pavas and others who are like
his own arms, killing all the demons through them. He removed the sufferings of all
the moving and non-moving creatures and, by the glances from his softly smiling,
beautiful face, caused the quickening of desire (<em>kma</em>) in the hearts
and minds of the womenfolk of the pastures [of Vraja] and the city [of Dvrak],
who thus desired for romantic intrigues with him.</blockquote>
This verse has been elucidated in Santana's commentary on his <em>BhadBhgavatmta</em> (2.7.154). He particularly elaborates at length on the use of
the word <em>kma-devam</em> found in the fourth line.
<blockquote>
[This verse makes three apparently self-contradictory statements. The first of these
is that] he who resides as the Supersoul in the hearts of all living beings has
appeared in the womb of Devak as her son; for others he remains within, unseen.
Though he likewise remains within Devak also, he externalizes himself and walks
and talks with her.
[The next apparent contradiction is that though] the great powerful heroes of the
House of Yadu were all fully dedicated servitors of his and were competent to
destroy any number of unruly opponents, he himself removed the oppressive
irreligious elements by the strength of his own arms.
[The third such statement is that] even though he removes the sins of all creatures,
stationary or moving, he still acts as the paramour of the gops, increasing their
lusty desires (<em>kma</em>), i.e., their "sin."
Thus the meaning reached here is that the Lord is ever glorious because, by
manifesting unlimited amounts of beauty and sweetness, he produces the different
erotic sports and dalliances in the gops. That devotion which has such amorous
amusements as its external form causes the experience of the specific joy that
arises from the direct vision of Krishna's glowing lotus-like face. That joy is the blissgiving potency (<em>hldin akti</em>) emanating from his personal form, which
causes all the other achievements of human life to dwindle into insignificance.
For this reason, this lust-love of the gops is the ultimate perfection of all kinds of
devotion and should be recognized as the highest wealth of divine love. The vision
of Krishna's glowing lotus face, etc., here implies all the glories of his beauty,
sweetness, charm, etc., in short, all of his opulences in their most intense
aspect.</blockquote>