My Only One

baṃśī-vibhūṣita-karāt navanīradābhāt 

pītāṃbarād-aruṇa-biṃba-phalādharoṣṭhāt 

pūrṇēndu-sundara-mukhād-aravinda-netrāt

kṛṣṇāt paraṃ kimapi tattvam-ahaṃ na jāne

kimapi tattvam aham na jāne ...

I do not know of any other truth or any other person.

I know only one those hands decorated by a flute or the hands that decorate the flute - bamśī vibhūṣita karāt

I know only that form that has fresh blue hue - navanīradābhāt

I know only that yellowish garment - pītāmbarāt

It is a beautiful contrast.  He is dark and wears a golden yellow garment.  That's gorgeous!!!

I know only those reddish lips of His mouth that have the color of bimba fruits - aruṇabimbaphalādharoṣṭḥāt.  Which girl can go beyond this description?  When He smiles while teasing you, when He wears that naughty smile, when He speaks that lie shamelessly after coming late to meet you, when He kisses you on your lips and does not let go ...  those reddish sweet lips that make you forget yourself.  Those lips purified by coming into contact with the lips of other gopikas ... Sigh! What can we not give to take the place of that flute!

I know only that beautiful face that shines like a full moon - pūrṇēndu-sundara-mukhāt

I know only those lotus eyes - aravinda-netrāt

I know only Krishna - kṛśṇāt

kṛṣṇāt paraṃ kimapi tattvam-ahaṃ na jāne!
This is the version of advaita that works for me. :-)

Krishna's Love

The Kāṭhakopanishad (1.2.23) carries an important message

nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyaḥ
na medhayā na bahunā śṛtena |
yamevaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyaḥ
tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṃ svām ||

Meaning:
ayam ātmā na pravacanena labhyaḥ - This soul (brahman) is not attained by lecturing.
ayam ātmā na medhayā labhyaḥ - This brahman is not attained by mental processes such as analytical thoughts or meditation or even artificial devotion
ayam ātmā na bahunā śṛtena labhyaḥ - This brahman is not attained by listening to/learning various subjects
eṣa ātmā yam vṛṇute tena eva labhyaḥ - Only she attains the brahman whom the brahman loves
eṣa ātmā tasya svām tanum vivṛṇute - To her, the brahman reveals His true transcendental form

(yes, in the english version I converted he/him to she/her :) )

Purport:
Looking around for realization of truth or spiritual comfort?  You will only find people lecturing - this is brahman, that is brahman, etc.  Or you will find them recommending various meditations.  Or you will find people who analyze things "rationally" and "logically".  You will find people reading lots of material dealing with various subjects.  Can the Brahman (Atman/Krishna) be obtained by all this?

The sagacious upanishad says "No! No!".  Svami Alavandar (Yamunacharya), a great acharya and champion of Bhagavata school says, "O Lord! You are beyond the scope of the mind.  (because) Your sovereignty and mastery are limitless."  

Even I am His property.  He owns me, my senses, my mind, my thoughts, my actions, the fruits of my actions. (I can't even say "my".)  Limitless is His sovereign mastery.  It is impossible for us to realize Him.  This is not a negative sentiment.  It is the reality of the world.  We cannot act even on small mundane things as we desire or will.  So, dreaming that I am all powerful and all grasping is nothing more than fooling oneself.  The scripture also says, "From whom the words return along with the mind, unable to grasp!"  A bucket may be of the best design, but you cannot empty the ocean with it. 

Then, is all lost? :(

Can we never know the Brahman?

The upanishad whispers in my ear, "Don't worry.  You shouldn't be worrying at all.  You are part of His glory, and it is His worry, if at all, to rescue you.  You need not struggle through rituals, texts, logic, etc.  If He loves you, He will reveal His transcendental form to you and you can attain Him."

Krishna is the Lord of the universe.  He is not some mechanical clock or bank to have a  "If I do this, He will give me that" kind of relationship.  Our relationship is much deeper than that.  I may be a miniscule being, a small soul, but He and I have an unbreakable bond.  Goddess/Saintess Andal says, "Govinda! Our relationship can never be destroyed." You cannot remove light from a lamp.  You cannot remove the red from a rose.   

When He pleases so, He will, of His own accord, reveal Himself in all His glory to me.  Neither am I exactly the Brahman Himself nor am I a total stranger to Him.  If I become the object of His love, I will see Him.  Whatever was seen until then will become invisible and what I see then will be seen forever.  The one self of all universe, Vishnu will fill my senses, mind and soul.  He will show His beautiful lotus eyes and win over my heart. 

The same Svami Yamunacharya continues, "O Lord! You are also well within the scope of the mind. (because) You are the ocean of endless mercy."

I am also reminded of the words of Svami Arulala Perumal Emperumanar, "A pure devotee submits to the Lord and await His grace as a cadaka bird abandons all quest for water and awaits the rain."

Until the divine grace of Krishna descends upon a devotee, He cannot be known, He cannot be expressed in simple words.  There is no use arguing and reasoning.  Doing all this will only heighten my arrogance and I will wander confused.  But when I submit to my Lord and await His love, it is certain that the enchanter of Gopikas will come to steal my heart. 

[ The pure monistic interpretation is not very convincing for this verse.  Saying that the soul can be known only by itself does not appear to be the purpose of this verse because it does not suit the choice and use of words in this verse.  Even if it is preached so, in practise we do find the same people recommending various meditations to realize the soul which openly militates against the stated purport of the verse.  Since, the direct meaning respecting the choice and use of words is fulfilling in itself, I have not factored in the interpretation of the monists. ]

Sri Bhagavad Bhakti Rasayana - 1

INTRODUCTION
 
Sri Madhusudana Sarasvati is generally recognized as a great scholar of Advaita of the sixteenth-seventeenth century.  He is known as the second coming of Sri Adi Sankara or as a scholar as great as Sankara or someone even greater, depending on whom you talk to.  He is credited popularly with establishing Advaita on a firm footing through Advaita Siddhi, a response to Nyayamrta of Vyasatirtha, a claim obviously denied by the Dvaitins.  He was skilled in grammar and logic (Navya Nyaya). 

But he is interesting to us because he is a great devotee of Krishna.  He wrote Sribhagavad-bhakti-rasayana, the medicine of Krishna Bhakti.

Sri Lance E Nelson who studied his work says that Sri Madhusudana explains three ideas
1. Bhakti is Krishna (Bhagavan) who appears in the devotional mind of the bhakta
2. Since Krishna is supreme bliss, Bhakti is also supreme bliss
3. Bhakti includes knowledge of the self and is a more blissful experience than even moksha

The third idea is particularly controversial and has led some modern Advaitins to suggest that the Bhakti Rasayana was written under influence of Gaudiya sampradaya, while Sri Madhusudana's final views must be found in works like Advaita Siddhi.  This is a suggestion of convenience to assert the superiority of Advaita, and has no value or basis.  It is equally possible to invert the suggestion and say that after years of studying and arguing Advaita, Sri Madhusudana finally settled for Bhakti.  It would be very difficult to judge which was earlier and adherents of various beliefs might pick the story that suits them.

It is the least of our troubles that we must decide which work was initial and which final.  We are bhaktas and we shall enjoy the sections where bhakti is discussed.  However, it must not be missed that both Sri Sankara and Sri Madhusudana have a special liking for Vaishnavism which is evident from their scholarly works.  This Vaishnava inclination of Advaita acharyas has been overshadowed, especially in the case of Sri Sankara, by attributing books of hymns praising other demigods to them or by taking a distorted view of Advaita, which unfortunately has become the face of neo-advaita today.  Again, none of these is our trouble.  It is up to the Advaitins to decide how honestly they follow the footsteps of their Acharyas, and judging the extent of their adherence is none of my business.


Let us take a peek into SriBhagavad-Bhakti-Rasayana ...