রাধাকৃষ্ণ কর ধ্যান, স্বপ্নেও না বল আন,
প্রেম বিনা আন নাহি চাউ ।
যুগলকিশোর-প্রেম, যেন লক্ষবান-হেম,
আরতি পীরিতি রসে ধ্যাউ ॥ ৭৯ ॥
rādhā-kṛṣṇa kara dhyāna, svapneo nā bala āna,
prema binā āna nāhi cāu |
yugala-kiśora-prema, yena lakṣa-bāna-hema,
ārati pīriti rase dhyāu || 79 ||
Meditate upon Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa; do not speak of anything else, even in dreams. Desire nothing but prema. Yugala-Kiśora’s love is like gold smelted a hundred thousand times. Contemplate them with longing and love.
टीका–आरति पीरिति रसे ध्याउ–आर्त्या प्रीति-सुख-स्वरूपत्वेन ध्यानं कुरु । हे मन! इति शेषः ॥
Meditation Filled with Intense Longing
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is speaking of the internal sādhana of a rāgānugīya-mañjarī-bhāva-sādhaka. First he says, rādhā-kṛṣṇa kara dhyāna, svapneo nā bala āna. We see the following in Śrī-Padma-Purāṇa: dhyāyanti puruṣaṁ divyam acyutaṁ ca smaranti ye, labhante te’cyuta-sthānaṁ śrutir eṣā purātanī. “One who remembers or meditates on the divine person Śrī Acyuta attains the abode of Śrī Acyuta. This is the ancient teaching.” This verse has been quoted in the glorification of meditation in Śrī-Hari-Bhakti-Vilāsa 3.75. Śrīmat Sanātana Gosvāmipāda wrote the following in his commentary: dhyāyanti śrī-pādābja-talam ārabhya śrī-keśāgra saundaryādi-sahitaṁ cintayanti. apy arthe cakāraḥ. dhyāyantīty etad astu ye smaranty api yathākathaṁcit bhagavati manaḥ saṁyojayanti te’pi. evaṁ dhyāne smaraṇayor abhedaḥ kalpanīyaḥ dhyāyantīti smarantīti pṛthak prayogāt. The purport is that dhyāna means the contemplation of Śrī Acyuta’s beauty, from the soles of his lotus feet to the top of his head. In the phrase acyutaṁ ca in the above-mentioned śloka, the word ca is used in the sense of api (also, moreover). By performing smaraṇa, or by concentrating the mind on Śrī Bhagavān through some other means, the abode of Acyuta is attained. There is no particular distinction here between dhyāna and smaraṇa, but because deep smaraṇa becomes dhyāna, they have been differentiated.
Deeply focusing the mind in a specific way is called meditation or dhyāna. This dhyāna is the life force of sādhana. The result of dhyāna or deep concentration is astonishing in that even the shape of the material body undergoes transformation. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.9.23:
kīṭaḥ peśaskṛtaṁ dhyāyan
kuḍyāṁ tena praveśitaḥ |
yāti tat-sātmatāṁ rājan
pūrva-rūpam asantyajan ||
Śrī Avadhūta Mahāśaya said to Yadurāja, “When a wasp or kumārikā insect attacks a worm, it confines it within a hole. Then, because of fear, that weakened worm always meditates upon the wasp. As a result of this, without even dying, the worm obtains a form similar to the wasp’s. In other words, the worm’s body is transformed into the body of a wasp.” The body of a meditator becomes similar in form to the object of meditation. This is the inconceivable power of dhyāna. If this kind of transformation of the material body is possible through dhyāna, is there any doubt that as a result of meditating upon Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the embodiment of condensed sac-cid-ānanda, the body of the sādhaka will attain the state of spiritual cognition and joy? In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it has been described that by the power of continuous meditation on Śrī Bhagavān, Śrīla Dhruva Mahārāja’s sādhaka body attained a state of spiritual bliss.
Undisturbed contemplation of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s forms, qualities, pastimes, sevā and so on is called dhyāna. Therefore, there are four kinds of dhyāna: rūpa-dhyāna, guṇa-dhyāna, līlā-dhyāna and sevā-dhyāna. Rūpa-dhyāna means meditation on the rūpa-mādhurī or boundless beauty of every part of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s bodies, from the tips of their toes to the tops of their heads. For example, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has described Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s rūpa-mādhurī at the end of Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Sandarbha:
gaura-śyāma-rucojjvalābhir amalair akṣṇor vilāsotsavair
nṛtyantībhir aśeṣa-mādana-kalā-vaidagdhya-digdhātmabhiḥ |
anyonya-priyatā-sudhā-parimala-stomonmadābhiḥ sadā
rādhā-mādhava-mādhurībhir abhitaś cittaṁ mamākramyatām ||
“Let my heart and mind be constantly invaded from all sides by Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Madhava’s sweetness. Their fair and dark complexions are radiant; their eyes dance in a festival of pure love-play; their bodies are anointed with infinite expertise in the art of love and they are always intoxicated by the nectarous aroma of their mutual affection.” The purport is that Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are radiantly beautiful, with golden and dark-blue complexions. The horizon is illumined by the molten gold gaura luster of Śrī Rādhā and the sapphire-conquering śyāma luster of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Animated by the wonderful movements of Śrī Rādhā’s right eye and Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s left eye when the two lovers meet, the indescribable beauty of the Divine Couple appears to dance. Their incomparably beautiful bodies are covered with infinite expertise in the pastimes of mādanākhya-mahābhāva, meaning that by the influence of the god of love, their bodies are adorned with endless astonishing sweetness in the form of embraces, kisses and so on. They are intoxicated by the sweet, enchanting fragrance of the kuṅkuma of their mutual love. Let that indescribable united form of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava thus appear in my heart such that no trace of any other manifestation remains. The purport of the root of the word ākramyatām (let it be invaded) above is ‘so that form never leaves my heart or mind by any means.’ By this it is understood that the merciful, self-manifesting rūpa-mādhurī of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava is spontaneously revealed in the citta of the pure-hearted meditating bhakta. Now, guṇa-dhyāna: Even though Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are possessed of endless good qualities, for the bhakta who has taken shelter of madhura-rasa, there are twenty-five qualities of madhura-rasa to be contemplated. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s qualities are as follows: he is delightful, sweet, bears all auspicious characteristics, is powerful, ever-youthful, eloquent, speaks pleasantly, is intelligent, well-educated, talented, calm, witty, skillful, happy, grateful, dextrous, submissive to love, deep, a leader, famous, charming to women, ever-fresh, has incomparable pastimes, is handsome and is the best flutist. Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s qualities are that she is sweet and ever-youthful, has restless eyes, is adorned with a lovely smile, has a beautiful mark of auspiciousness on her forehead, her bodily fragrance is intoxicating to Mādhava, she is expert in music, speaks pleasantly, is skilled in joking, is polite and filled with compassion, is intelligent, dextrous, modest, has a good reputation, is patient, deep, charming and playful, is filled with mahābhāva, is the dwelling place of the Gokulīs’ love, her fame has spread throughout the universe, she is devoted to her elders, is subservient to the love of her sakhīs and is chief among those dear to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is always subservient to her. Deep contemplation of all these qualities is called guṇa-dhyāna. Now, līlā-dhyāna: In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sampradāya, līlā-dhyāna means the process of meditating on the aṣṭa-kālīya pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava. With the help of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda’s brief līlā-sūtras, and after viewing Kavi Karṇapūra’s Kṛṣṇāhnika-Kaumudī, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda composed his book Śrī-Govinda-Līlāmṛtam, wherein he described Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s aṣṭa-kālīya-līlās in a more detailed way. After that, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Ācārya Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda, in his Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Bhāvanāmṛtam, gave expanded descriptions of the abridged parts of Śrī-Govinda-Līlāmṛtam, thus further enriching the storehouse of meditations upon Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. In more recent times, after receiving the direct merciful order of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, Govardhana resident Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Siddha Bābā composed Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta-Guṭikā in which he introduced the method of meditating on the pastimes of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava along with those of Śrī Gaura. After that, he compiled a huge anthology named Śrī-Bhāvanā-Sāra-Saṅgrahaḥ so the līlās described in the Guṭikā could be experienced and enjoyed through the words of the mahājanas. Because the forms, qualities and so on to be contemplated in līlā-dhyāna are also ever connected to sevā-dhyāna, there is a distinct method of līlā meditation for rāgānugīya-sādhakas.
Sevā-dhyāna is also known as mānasa-sevā. A system has been introduced in the Gauḍīya Sampradāya for serving Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava and their sakhīs within the yoga-pīṭha. Līlā is of two kinds: svārasikī and mantramayī. Svārasikī is like a river and mantramayī is like a lake. There is no difference between a lake and a river, but we see that they still have different natures and names. Aṣṭa-kālīna-līlā is svārasikī; the yoga-pīṭha-milana-līlā is mantramayī. This mantramayī-yoga-pīṭha-milana-līlā consists of contemplating the service of Śrī Yugala using mentally conceived articles of worship while absorbed in one’s siddha-svarūpa. In his commentary on Śrī-Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has related one story from the Brahma-Vaivarta-Purāṇa to demonstrate the glory of mānasa-sevā. A poor brāhmaṇa from Pratiṣṭhānapura intensely desired to perform sevā and pūjā, but because of his poverty, he was unable to collect the materials for pūjā and thus couldn’t do the sevā. One day, as he was listening to a discussion about bhāgavata-dharma in a gathering of Vaiṣṇavas, he heard the statement, “If one serves a mental mūrti of Śrī Hari with mental articles of worship, Śrī Hari becomes pleased.” After hearing this, he resolved to perform mānasa-sevā. One day, after completing his bath and daily prayers in the Godavari River, he sat down in a solitary place. He established an image of Śrī Hari in his mind and mentally served him with kingly articles. This gave the brāhmaṇa great joy, so every day he performed sevā-dhyāna of Śrī Hari with ever-new mental articles and he began to feel extremely happy. Some time passed in this way and then one day he mentally prepared some excellent sweet-rice and placed it in a golden vessel. To cool it, he began to mentally fan it with palmyra leaves. After a little while, the brāhmaṇa stuck his finger into the sweet-rice to test whether it had cooled down yet. When he did this, his finger was burned by the heat of the mental sweet-rice. He considered that since his finger had been burned, the sweet-rice was unsuitable for offering to Śrī Hari. Feeling distressed, he was unable to sustain his samādhi. Then he discovered that externally also his finger had been burned and was now giving him pain. He didn’t mind the pain, but he began to lament that the materials for the Lord’s sevā had been wasted and that he had been unable to complete the sevā. Seeing his misery, Śrī Hari dispatched an aircraft that brought the brāhmaṇa to him in cinmaya-dhāma (the spiritual world).
Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, svapneo nā bala āna, meaning that not only in the awakened state, but even in dreams you must not consider any topic unrelated to Śrī Hari. Hearing or speaking about information regarding something other than Kṛṣṇa causes the citta to be distracted or scattered. Concentrated meditation on Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is never possible if the citta is distracted by other topics. If one is to contemplate the pastimes of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa with a concentrated mind, concern for any other news must be abandoned in every respect and one must become devoid of any desire other than for prema. Prema binā āna nāhi cāu: the sādhaka who wants to attain prema must give up all desires for anything other than prema. Bhakti means service; therefore the bhakta desires nothing more than to serve his or her Deity. Without prema, that sevā is never pleasing to the Deity. Accordingly, the longing for prema awakens in the pure bhakta’s heart and mind. One who desires prema keeps his mind concentrated on sādhana-bhajana, which is the method to attain prema. He rejects things that are antagonistic to attaining prema. Therefore, the sādhaka’s thirst for attaining prema is one cause of his success.
Then he says, yugala-kiśora-prema, yena lakṣa-bāna-hema, ārati pīriti rase dhyāu. After extracting the impurities from gold, goldsmiths heat it in fire for further refinement. In current vernacular, this is called bāna. Gold is graded according to the number of times it is heated in fire. With every bāna, the gold becomes purer and more lustrous. In pañca-bāna gold (heated five times), no more contaminants remain and it is as pure as it will get. So gold is never lakṣa-bāna (heated a hundred thousand times). The term lakṣa-bāna-hema denotes a state of being incomparable. Śrī Yugala-Kiśora’s love is so pure and glorious that it has no comparison. As there is no gold refined a hundred thousand times, so there is nothing comparable to the purity of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s love. Thus, it can easily be deduced that if the desire for anything other than prema still exists in the sādhaka’s heart, there is no worship of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, one must meditate with intense longing upon Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava. The bhakta’s longing causes Śrī Bhagavān’s abundant mercy to flow. Intense yearning or longing for Śrī Bhagavān is called prema. The ultimate state of intense longing occurs in the sādhana of madhura-rasa, the highest vraja-rasa. To make the ocean of longing overflow, Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava have accepted parakīya-bhāva. Therefore, deep meditation filled with longing is a suitable sādhana for obtaining prema at the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, the embodiment of sweet love.
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