Bhāvas and Rasas

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: What is a māñjarī? We have heard about mango māñjarīs. Any creeper or good flower has māñjarīs. Although the māñjarī appears first and then the flower, the māñjarī is always located above the flower. When a bee comes to sit on the flower and drink its honey, the māñjarīs tremble, being overjoyed.

Similarly, the Kṛṣṇa-bee comes to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, She glances at Him, and They engage in loving pastimes (prema-vilāsa). Although the ‘bee’ does not sit on the māñjarī, the māñjarī trembles, feeling as if the bee is sitting on her. Whatever the ‘flower’ experiences in those pastimes manifests in the māñjarī, so there is no need for the bee to go to her. She automatically feels everything felt by the flower. If the bee kisses the flower, then, seeing this, the māñjarī feels that “the bee has kissed me.”

In fact, the māñjarī tastes something special, which even the flower does not taste, in the sense that the flower does not tremble as the māñjarī does. Similarly the maidservants of Śrīmatī Rādhikā experience a pleasure in being Her maidservant, which She Herself dos not experience, and that pleasure is called bhāva-ullasa rati.

Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī wanted to be a māñjarī, not a flower. In other words he did not want sakhī-bhāva (the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s friends like Lalitā and Viśākhā, who have direct relationships with Śrī Kṛṣṇa). Do you understand? Herein lies the importance of the māñjarīs. In our sampradāya no one wants to be Śrī Rādhā’s sakhī; they only want to be Her kiṅkarī. Are you totally following my words? Do you know the meaning of the word kiṅkarī?

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Servant. Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Maidservant

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: There is no equivalent word in English for kiṅkarī. It is such a beautiful Sanskrit word, which refers to something very soft, very fragrant, and so sweet.

We cannot learn these topics simply by reading books. No book will clarify the truths for you as we are discussing in this conversation. By discussing with me in this way, you can obtain more than what you can obtain by simply reading books.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: These truths come only through realization.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: I do not say that I have any realization, but I have God’s mercy and Gurudeva’s mercy.

In the first śloka of Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī states that although Rūpa Māñjarī’s husband is absent, he sees a mark on her lips. How has this come about? It is not that Kṛṣṇa has kissed Rūpa Māñjarī. He has kissed Śrīmatī Rādhikā and therefore Rādhikā has that mark on Her lips, but the mark at once manifested on the lips of Rūpa Māñjarī.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: I was asking you about that in Bombay.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: The marks on the face or body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī do not come to Lalitā and Viśākhā, but they all come to the māñjarīs. We are followers of Rūpa Gosvāmī, who is Rūpa Māñjarī. I think that in your entire life you will not forget this teaching. A person may have taken only anusthaniki (formal) dīkṣā, thinking, “So many others have taken dīkṣā, so I should also take it.” By a fire yajña he has received a sacred thread, kanti-mala (neck beads), and so on, but he has not been given instructions on the internal mood of dīkṣā, which constitutes real dīkṣā.

Dīkṣā comes gradually, not in a moment; the process of receiving dīkṣā takes place over a long period of time. When one has the advantage of past births’ saṃskārāsa, one will easily accept dīkṣā and the process will be accomplished quickly, but without previous saṃskāras the process will be slow.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Unless one gets the association of rāgānuga Vaiṣṇavas.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: And that disciple must also be qualified. If the disciple does not have sufficient saṃskāras and does not yet possess any greed, he will not be able to properly receive these truths from his dīkṣā-guru, who may be very qualified but may not have sufficient time to train him on this topic. Later on, when greed is meant to come, that disciple does not change his guru deva; he need only accept a śikṣā-guru. Sometimes the disciple will give more preference to his śikṣā-guru, or equally to both gurus, according to their qualification. He will gradually hear all these topics.

If one’s dīkṣā-guru is present, the disciple will receive all these things from him. Or, his guru deva will gladly order him to hear from another person, as in the case of Śrī Śyāmānanda Prabhu, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, and Śrī Śrīnivasa Acarya.

As I mentioned earlier, if a person has greed by dint of his previous births’ saṃskāras or by his present birth’s saṃskāras, he will begin to search through śāstra–by reading and hearing–especially those śāstras or commentaries written by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and his followers, the rūpānuga Vaiṣṇavas.

What is the actual meaning of rūpānuga? In his books, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described, in taṭasthā-bhāva, the various rasas. Do you know the meaning of taṭasthā?

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Marginal.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Neutral.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: He has written from a neutral position about all the rasas–śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, and mādhurya. If one has greed for any of these moods, that person will be a rāgānugā-bhakta but not rūpānuga.

What is rūpānuga? Even if one follows Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, he may be rāgānuga but not rūpānuga. One will be rūpānuga when one especially follows the way in which Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī (in the form of Śrī Rūpa Māñjarī) serves Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, deeply meditating on the qualities and bhāva which Rūpa Māñjarī possesses in serving Them.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: All rūpānuga-bhaktas are rāgānuga, but not all rāgānugas are rūpānugas.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: The sādhaka will have to search through śāstra how to receive these moods. He will hear from a rūpānuga Vaiṣṇava, who will tell him to read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta, Rādhā-Rāsa-Sudha-Nidhi, Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s Gīta-govinda, and the books of Caṇḍīdāsa, Vidyāpati and others.

The rūpānuga Vaiṣṇava will also instruct him to search only that bhāva for which he has greed. He will know about everything (sakhya, vātsalya, mādhurya), but he will have to serve only by one mood, the mood of his sthāyi-bhāva (permanent constitutional mood). One’s sthāyi-bhāva will manifest only when prema is reached, but greed for that sthāyi-bhāva is achieved before that. Genuine greed will not change in this or any future life–this is called garha-saṃskāra. If one has real greed, as Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has, his greed for a particular sthāyi-bhāva will never change in any birth. It will always remain the same.

Bhārata Mahārāja achieved the stage of bhāva, but it is not known in which rasa.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: In Bhagavatamrtam it is given that his is one of Vaikuṇṭha bhāva.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Only dāsya-bhāva.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Yes, dāsya-bhāva.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Sanaka, Sananda, Sanātana, and Sanat Kumāra have their sthāyi-bhāva in śānta-rasa. Yet, they can narrate the entire Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: How is that? I remember asking you that question before.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: They can do so from a neutral position. They know all about the various rasas, but they don’t have direct experience of those rasas.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: What about Śukadeva Gosvāmī?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī has some direct experience, because he is the śuka…

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Parrot…

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: He is the parrot of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, so he posssess the sthāyi-bhāva for Vraja.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: This is a very important thing that you said about Śukadeva Gosvāmī.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: As Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s parrot, he sits on the branches of tamāla or kadamba trees. He watches the confidential pastimes of Rādhikā and Kṛṣṇa, and becomes very, very pleased. Yet, he cannot serve like Rūpa Māñjarī.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: So what kind of bhāva does he have? He is watching everything.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It has been said in śāstra that he has śānta-bhāva.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Because he is neutral.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: But he is in Vraja, and there is no śānta-bhāva in Vraja. We will have to judge what rasa he actually possesses. When Śrīmatī Rādhikā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa are sleeping in the morning, that Śuka parrot says so many things to awaken Them.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: That is not śānta-bhāva…

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Yes, it is not śānta-bhāva.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: He must have everything.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: We will have to consider all these truths.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Why is it said that he has śānta-bhāva?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: For the śāntarasa bhaktas.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Externally it appears like that. Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: But… Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: But it is not actually.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: The cows of Vraja have vātsalya-bhāva, so surely Śuka cannot be of śānta-rasa.

To illustrate how to search out the process in order to attain the fruit of one’s genuine greed, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives the example of a man who is greedy to drink milk. Seeing some milk he wants to taste it, so he must go through a process to get it. He may ask someone who drinks milk how that person acquired it. After questioning him he will purchase a cow, making sure that the cow has a calf, because unless the cow has a calf it cannot give milk. He will then take the cow and calf to his home, where he will apply water or ghee to the udder of the cow and bring the calf to drink. When the calf has taken milk, the man will wash the udder of the cow, after which he milks her. Next, he puts the milk on the fire to boil. Then, if he wants that boiled milk sweetened, he adds sugar, and for extra flavor he adds rose water, kewra (an extract distilled from the Pandanus flower which is used to flavor drinks and desserts in Indian cuisine), camphor, and so on.

Similarly, although a sādhaka with genuine greed does not require the reasoning of śāstra to convince him to do bhakti, he goes through those śāstras that will give him entrance into the process in order to achieve his goal.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura tells us that when a person has actual greed in rāgānuga-bhakti, he will also follow the procedures of vaidhī-bhakti–although his bhakti will not be vaidhī-bhakti. He will engage in the nine processes of bhakti, namely śravaṇam, kīrtanam, viṣṇu smaraṇam, pāda-sevanam and so on. From the very beginning he will carefully perform guru-caraṇāśraya (taking shelter of the lotus feet of śrī guru), and faithfully serve him in visrambha-bhāva.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: What is the meaning of visrambhabhāva?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: It implies ‘giving up all fear.’ Fear caused by the sense of awe and reverence is not present. The disciple will serve his guru as a bosom friend. He will not think, “I am very low and he is very high.” Rather, he will determine, “He is mine and I am his.”

The analogy is given of a young son who, seeing his father sitting above him does not care to sit on the ground. He will at once jump up and sit on his father’s lap. Then he will pat his father’s shoulder, stroke his father’s face, and touch him on his arm or hold his hand, serving him with great love.

Moreover, a person qualified with genuine greed, with even greater love than that young son, will serve his gurudeva from whom he has collected the truths he has grasped and the moods he now possesses. This type of intimate service is essential.

Guru-caraṇāśraya means ‘taking shelter of the self-realized guru.’ This is the first of the sixty-four items of devotional service. Then, following the instruction of the second item, one takes dīkṣā initiation from him. Śrī Bhakti-rāsāmṛta-sindhu lists these sixty-four practices of devotional service, the first five of which are in relationship to guru.

“On the path of regulative devotional service, one must observe the following items: (1) One must accept a bona fide spiritual master. (2) One must accept initiation from him. (3) One must serve him. (4) One must receive instructions from the spiritual master and make inquiries in order to learn devotional service. (5) One must follow in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas and follow the directions given by the spiritual master.”

The rāgānugā-bhakta follows these same procedures, but his bhāva (mood) has changed from that which is found in vaidhī-bhakti. The vaidhī-bhakti disciple will sit lower and pray to his guru deva with folded palms, “Gurudeva, please give me an order. What service shall I do?” Then, when he receives an order, as a servant, that disciple will perform the service. On the other hand, a ‘greedy person’ will serve in the mood I have previously described; with no fear and no sense of difference. He will see resolve that “I am his…”

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: “And he is mine.”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: All the limbs of vaidhī-bhakti are followed by the rāgānuga Vaiṣṇava, but…

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: What is the difference?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: The mood is different.