Radha Mayi - a fragment of poetic imagination or a real shakti?

[Guest guest]

My new friend Srinivas Kotekal writes in a private email

 

 

(-The Rasik saint Sri Jayadeva Kaviraja said through

the words of Lord Krishna in the 'Gita Govinda Kavya'-

Dashama Sarga giitam.h 19)

 

Srinivas's response

 

So, it is as per Sri Jayadeva ! and not per Shrutis !

 

Please note that it is just a poetry without any scriptural basis.

First of all, 'Radha' as the "deity" is spurious and has no

attestation in the ancient scriptures and it bears little relation to

serious Vedanta.

 

Now another beloved friend ( the most beloved of them all) comes to

my rescue!!!! Chttia-chora ( Lord Krishna himdself) has manifested in

this beautiful response ....

 

"It was not Jayadeva that wrote that Shri Krishna put

Radha's feet on His head - it was Shri Krishna Himself

that wrote it. Jayadeva was unable to do it. When he

came to that part of Gita Govinda, he could not bring

himself to write that Shri Krishna kept Radha's feet

on his head. Just then he had to go out, and in his

absence, a medicant came begging for food. Jayadeva's

wife made the medicant sit down while she prepared the

food. Later on, after the medicant had had his food

and left the house, Jayadeva returned and found to his

astonishment that those words that he couldn't bring

himself to write had already been written - words

saying that Shri Krishna put Radha's feet on His head.

When he learned from his wife that a medicant had come

begging for food and had spent some his time in the

house, he realised, with tears in his eyes, that the

Lord had himself come to write what Jayadeva could not

bring himself to write! "

 

ON ANOTHER NOTE ,

 

vinA rAdhA-prasAdena kRSNa-prAptir na jAyate |

tataH zrI-rAdhikA-kRSNau smaraNIyau susaMyutau ||

 

Without pleasing Sri Radha, it is impossible to obtain Sri Krishna.

Therefore, we should always remember Radha and Krishna together.

 

 

yathA bhaviSyottare--

 

prema-bhaktau yadi zraddhA mat-prasAdaM yadIcchasi |

tadA nArada bhAvena rAdhAyArAdhako bhava ||

 

In the Bhavisyottara-purana, Sri Krishna says, "O Narada, if you have

strong faith in prema-bhakti and you truly want to satisfy Me and

obtain My mercy, then you please become a loving devotee of Sri

Radha."

 

(http://www.gaudiyadiscussions.com/index.php?showtopic=359 - )

 

and ask professor vkji who posted the Saundaryalahari verses in this

forum!!!

 

The Feet of the Devi are Divine!

 

All women are manifestations of Devi !

 

and Radharani is the divinest of them all!

 

in praise of saundarya lahari

 

"Sister Nivedita was astonished at the wonderful qualities of a poet,

a logician and a mystic in Sri Adi Sankara. She offered her tribute

to him in the following words : "Westerners can hardly imagine a

personality like that of Sankaracharya. We contemplate with wonder

and delight the devotion of Francis of Assisi, the intellect of

Abelard, the virile force and freedom of Martin Luther and the

political efficiency of Ignatius Loyala; but who could imagine all

these united in one person?"

 

Sri Adi Sankara's Saundarya Lahari is an unparalleled masterpiece.

Sankara proves here, the supremacy of Devi, over even the holy

Trinity. Erudite scholars say that mellifluous poetic diction,

melodious style and harmonious rhythm are the hallmarks of this

devotional lyric.

 

Tradition has it that Sankara received from Lord Siva in Kailas the

Saundarya Lahari along with five Sphatika Lingas. When Sankara got

down in a hurry, Nandikeswara, the guardian angel of Kailas, snatched

off a part of the manuscript from Sankara. The part that Sankara

managed to save, comprised the first 41 verses. Later he completed

the hymn by adding 59 verses of his own.

 

The first part of Saundarya Lahari (1-41 verses) is called "Ananda

Lahari". It describes most comprehensively the forms of Devi, the

Divine Mother. She is an incarnation of compassion and forgiveness.

This part offers a complete picture of the Kundalini discipline. The

spiritual power in an individual lies torpid, coiled like a serpent

asleep, and completely motionless. It has to be woken up and taken

step by step to the stage of pure consciousness. Though this part is

full of technical details of a complicated subject, it is in the form

of beautiful poetry. "The poetic glow rises superior to the matter,

and the impression that we form is, that we are reading excellent

poetry and not the details of the technical yoga", says Prof. M.K.

Venkatarama Iyer.

 

The second part containing 59 verses is a wonderful description of

the physical frame of the Goddess from head to foot. It concludes

with a prayer for the grace of Devi. The final stanza shows the

meekness of Adi Sankara. Yoga explains the Six Chakras of the human

body. At the lowest end of the spinal column, there is the Muladhara

Chakra. Slightly higher up, is the Manipura Chakra. Midway between is

the Swadhistana Chakra. In the heart region there is the Anahata

Chakra. At the neck is the Visuddha Chakra. Lastly, between the

eyebrows, there is the Ajna Chakra. It is maintained that the Sri

Chakra is a splendid aid to Sadhana.

 

Saundarya Lahari is justly famous for its detailed portrayal of Sri

Chakra. In stanza 11, Sankara gives us a detailed analysis of the

formation of Sri Chakra. We are told that Nine elements sustain the

human body. They are : Asrj (blood), Tvac (skin), Mamsa (flesh),

Medhas (muscle) and Asthi (bone). These five are the prime elements

that constitute energy (Sakthi). The other four elements are Majja,

Sukla, Prana and Jiva. The five prime elements are depicted in

triangles with apexes pointing downwards and the other four in

triangles with apexes pointing upwards.

 

The Sri Chakra, as pointed by many scholars and sadhakas, is an

accurate mathematical construction on certain principles of the

tantric mode. It is a concrete diagramatic presentation of the body

in its various nuances. At the centre is the Goddess, the Devi, who

is responsible for Generation, Organisation, and Destruction.

 

Devi, according to our mythology manifested herself as Saraswathi,

Lakshmi and Parvathi. But if one goes to the root, Devi is beyond

these three and is transcendent, says Sankara. In fact she is beyond

word and thought, unapproachable and of unparalleled grandeur.

Sankara is aware of the fact and that is why he addresses her "You

Devi, You are the Turiya".

 

The significant truth about Devi is that she is the primeval source

of Sakthi that sustains life on this earth. She is an amalgam of both

energy and consciousness. The portrayal of Devi by Adi Sankara is a

masterpiece. Thus Saundarya Lahari is a poetical treatise with a

difference. It is poetry of the highest order inspired by the divine

presence of the Goddess."

 

(http://www.mihira.com/mihaug00/adi_sankara.htm - 6k - Cached ) from

this site

 

Salutations to devi!

[Guest guest]

Dear AdiMa,

 

Thanks for accepting me as you friend and bringing Radha issue to

this forum.

>Now another beloved friend ( the most beloved of them all) comes to

>my rescue!!!! Chttia-chora ( Lord Krishna himdself) has manifested in

>this beautiful response ....

 

May I humbly ask you for the source of this story ? Is it from any

authentic purANa ? Ney, it can't be, because Jayadeva's era was not

so antiquity to be considered as purANic fact. Then it must, with all

possibility, be some story emotionally written by his followers, I

guess.

>Sri Adi Sankara's Saundarya Lahari is an unparalleled masterpiece.

>Sankara proves here, the supremacy of Devi, over even the holy

>Trinity.

 

Thanks for bringing S.Lahari topic. I always had bunch of questions

about it.

 

Acharya Shankara in # 97 of Soundaryalahari, describes dEvi as queen

consort of parabrahmn;

 

girAm Ahur-devIM druhiNa-gRhiNIM Agamavido

hareH patnIM padmAM hara-saha-carIM adri-tanayAM

turIyA kApi tvaM duradhigama-nissIma-mahimA

mahAmAyA vishvaM bhramayasi para-brahma-mahishhI ||97||

 

My question is, how do I understand the fact that there is no

hierarchy among deities in Advaita Vedanta yet sAkshAt Acharya is

attesting the dEvi is superior to Trinity ? This is possible only if

we assume what S.lahari is describing is the hierarchy of vyavahAra

i.e about saguNa deities. But, the usage 'turIya' and 'mahishhI of

para-brahma' seems to indicate that it is at pAramArthika level.

But, at pAramArthika, since Brahmn is alone, how can there be any

heirarchy at all ?

 

Considering Acharya's identification of Hari as Brahmn in his Hari

sthuti work ;

 

sattAmAtram kevalavijnAnamajam sat

sUkShmam nityam tattvamasItyAtmasutAya

sAmnAmante prAha pitA yam vibhumAdyam

tam samsAradhvAntavinASam harimIDe || 37 ||

>From this it follows that, Parabrhmn Hari's consort is dEvi or Sri-

tatva. Linking this to various Vedic assertions such as ;

 

1. In ambhraNI-sUkta of RigVeda (X.125-5),

 

yaM kAmaye taM tamugraM kR^iNomi, taM brahmANaM tamR^ishhiM taM

sumedhAm.h

ahaM rudrAya dhanurA tanomi brahmadvishhe sharave hanta vA u

mama yonirapsva.ntaH samudre

 

[the speaker in that instance saying that she makes whomever she

wishes a Rudra, a Brahma, a Rshi, or an accomplished person and that

she causes Rudra to chop off Brahma's head with bow and arrow and

that her Source resides in the ocean] (one of the meanings of

`nArAyaNa' is given as "resident of the ocean").

 

Here, please note a subtle point that, dEvi is highlighting her

powers over Rudra,Brahma(chaturmukHa) and other deties and not on

nArAyaNa, because He is Her source of such power.

This fact is also in agreement with next point.

 

2. 'yata prasUta jagatha prasUti' (From Him born the mother of this

jagat) says MahaNarayaNa Upanishad.

 

Any resolution on dEvi's supermacy on Trinity from learned members of

this forum is appreciated.

 

Regards,

Srinivas.

[Guest guest]

Beloved Srinivas Writes...

 

(Thanks for accepting me as you friend and bringing Radha issue to

this forum.)

 

Of course! why not! any devotee of god/ess ( be it Hari, shiva or

shakti) is automatically my Friend! and i know just by reading your

emails you are a Vaishnava!

 

also, i luv the company of 'good people' here in this great group!

 

Our beloved Shankara Bhagvadapada sings in the Baja Govindam Stotra

 

satsangatve nissangatvam

 

nisangatve nirmohatvam

 

nirmohatve niscala tatvam

 

niscalatatve jivan muktih

 

 

The company of the good leads to detachment, detachment leads to

freedom from delusion, that leads to firmly being established in the

self and that in turn leads to liberation.

 

You write

May I humbly ask you for the source of this story ? Is it from any

authentic purANa ? Ney, it can't be, because Jayadeva's era was not

so antiquity to be considered as purANic fact. Then it must, with

all possibility, be some story emotionally written by his followers,

I guess.

 

well, many posts back, Sri Ramachandranji narrated the following

story

 

( The debate was not decided on the basis of the intellectual

abilities of these two great masters. Instead, the debaters were

garlanded with two identical flower garlands. These two great

intellects had the humility to bow down to faith in the miracle of

whether their respective garlands withered away or not. The debate

continued for several weeks. Sankaracharya was declared the winner

by the adjudicator, the wife of his opponent! (Mandan Mishra) )

 

now, Srinivas-ji this is the first time I heard this story - i have

never read this story in 'Sankara Dig vijayam' - but does that prove

anything?

 

With any story, the Moral is this - you do not really question the

why and how and when of it? you simply see if it has any 'moral' to

it? In the Jayadeva story, the moral is Lord Krishna always sloves

the Dilemma facing his pure devotee - that's all!!!

 

(in tamizh there is a saying -Kathaikku kaalum kidayadi, mukum

kidaithu- a story has no ears or no nose -that is it is just a story)

 

The point is - for you to go and proclaim that Radha is a 'spurious'

deity is blasphemous and will hurt the sentiments of all Vaishnavas (

not just ISKCON devotees) - If Krishna is Real, so are all the gopis

and the leader of those Gopis, srimati Radharani! Krishna is

addressed as Radhakanta, Radharamana, Radhamadanmohana , RADHESHYAM!!!

 

Lord Siva sings thusin the Urdhvamnaya Tantra.

 

 

makhesvari kriyesvari svadhesvari suresvari

triveda-bharatisvari-pramana-sasanesvari

ramesvari ksamesvari pramoda-kananesvari

vrajesvari vrajadhipe sri radhike namo'stu te

 

"O Goddess, Leader of Vedic sacrifices! Oh Goddess leader of pious

activities! Oh Goddess Leader of spontaneous devotional service! Oh

Goddess Leader of all the demigods and Goddesses! O Goddess, leader

of all knowledge in the three Vedas! Oh Goddess leader of enforcing

scriptural principles! Oh Goddess Leader of all Goddesses of fortune!

Oh Goddess Leader of forgiveness! Oh Goddess Leader of the pleasure

forest of Vrindavana! Oh Goddess Leader of Vraja! Oh One and only

authority who regulates entrance into Vraja! Oh Sri Radhika! I offer

my most respectful obeisances unto You!"

 

(http://www.dharmakshetra.com/articles/SRI%20SRI%20RADHA%200f%

20Lord%)

 

and I am glad you liked the fact that i brought up the subject of

Saundarya Lahari ....

 

I will request the learned members specially our Beloved Professorji

tackle all the technical questions you have asked ...

 

On this beautiful Friday dedicated to SRI SRI LALITA TRIPURA

SUNDARI , I would like to share about Devi's supremacy From Tripura

Rahasya!

 

(Tripura Rahasya was considered by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi as

one of the greatest works that expounded advaita philosophy. )

 

Devi proclaims...

 

 

"I am the abstract intelligence wherefrom the cosmos originates,

whereon it flourishes, and wherein it resolves, like the images in a

mirror. The ignorant know me as the gross universe, whereas the wise

feel me as their own pure being eternally glowing as 'I-I' within.

This realisation is possible only in the deep stillness of thought-

free consciousness similar to that of the deep sea free from waves.

The most earnest of devotees worship me spontaneously and with the

greatest sincerity which is due to their love of me. Although they

know that I am their own non-dual Self, yet the habit of loving

devotion which is deep-rooted in them makes them conceive their own

Self as ME and worship ME as the life-current pervading their bodies,

senses and mind without which nothing could exist and which forms the

sole purport of the holy scriptures. Such is my Transcendental State.

 

"My concrete form is the eternal couple - the Supreme Lord and

Energy - always in undivided union and abiding as the eternal

consciousness pervading the three phenomenal states of waking, dream

and sleep, and reclining on the cot whose four legs are Brahma (the

Creator), Vishnu (the Protector), Siva (the Destroyer) and Isvara

(Disappearance) and whose surface is Sadasiva (Grace) which is

contained in the mansion known as 'fulfilment of purpose' enclosed by

the garden of 'Kadamba' trees in the jewel island situated in the

wide ocean of nectar surrounding the cosmos and extending beyond.

 

'Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Isvara, Sadasiva, Ganesa, Skanda, the gods of

the eight quarters, their energies of her gods, celestials, serpents

and other superhuman beings all manifestations of myself. However,

people do not know ME because their intellect is shrouded in

ignorance."

 

To READ the entire text of 'vidya gita' in Tripura Rahasya, please

visit ...

 

http://www.vinnica.ua/~sss/tripura1.htm - 224k - Cached

 

And srinivasanji makes a final point...

 

( Here, please note a subtle point that, dEvi is highlighting her

powers over Rudra,Brahma(chaturmukHa) and other deties and not on

nArAyaNa, because He is Her source of such power.)

 

Well, i do not think there is any such power-struggle in Vaikunta as

there is in BHULOKA!!!

 

Without Sridevi's ANUGRAHA , HOW CAN WE APPROACH SRIMAN NARAYANA?

 

Aum Tat Sat!

[Guest guest]

Namaste Shri Srinivasji,

 

 

advaitin, "Srinivas Kotekal" <kots_p>

wrote:

> May I humbly ask you for the source of this story ? Is it from

> any authentic purANa ? Ney, it can't be, because Jayadeva's era

> was not so antiquity to be considered as purANic fact. Then it

> must, with all possibility, be some story emotionally written

> by his followers, I guess.

 

Does it mean that whatever isn't mentioned in the purana is false?

That can't be so because it isn't possible for every incident to be

mentioned in the purana. So, it is Jayadeva's word against

Srinivasji's word. Let us leave it to people to choose.

 

Radha can't be separated from Shri Krishna. Therefore He is called

RadhaKrishna. Radha has no place in the hierarchy because She is not

bound by any norms or hierarchies. She resides in the land of Pure

Love. It is known as Goloka. She is free and She is transgressional.

Her love is Her license. Only the heart with the purest veneer of

love can understand it. So it has been said.

 

> My question is, how do I understand the fact that there is no

> hierarchy among deities in Advaita Vedanta yet sAkshAt Acharya is

> attesting the dEvi is superior to Trinity ?

 

There is no contradiction between Advaita and the hierarchy of gods.

Superimposition is not the world, but the false notion that the world

subsists in-itself. When the superimposition is removed, what you

have is the continuum of Reality. The hierarchy is in the continuum.

 

> Any resolution on dEvi's supermacy on Trinity from learned

> members of this forum is appreciated.

 

The Goddess is dark - She is the Darkness behind Creation. She is

Kali, Time.

 

 

If you don't mind Srinivasji, can we take up this topic later so that

we don't lose focus on the main topic of the discussion.

 

Warm regards,

Chittaranjan