The Lover's Life - 3a

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"abhimAnazca saMtyAjyaH svAmyadhInatva

bhAvanAt<br>vizeSatazced ajnA syAdantaHkaraNa gocaraH" (3)<br><br>"tadA

vizeSagatyAdi bhAvyaM bhinnaM tu daihikAt<br>ApadgatyAdi

kAryeSu haThasatyAjyazca sarvathA" (4)<br><br>(atha

viveka-dhairy-AzrayaH. 3,4 - Sri Vallabhaacarya)<br><br>CHAPTER

THREE<br><br>From the bhava<br>and realization of<br>being under

Hari's control,<br>The lover becomes cleansed

of<br>false pride.<br>Then, when there is a

special<br>command-<br>the Beloved enters the heart.<br>In that

extraordinary circumstance,<br>the bhava that is

contemplated<br>is never worldly.<br>It is separate from

the<br>concerns of the physical body.<br><br>How pleasant to be

under Hari's total control. In that blessed situation,

the lover becomes spiritually adorned. The lover of

Hari, in this world or anywhere, skilfully and with

grace, maintains her unique grace-filled style. In her

continual remembrance, she remains identified with the lila

form. Each sense is connected and enveloped in the

samadhi of her Beloved. She is under Hari's sway and Hari

falls under hers. The romance is unending. The Beloved

is her lila-master and His response is forever

appropriate and exact.<br><br>In the romance, the Hari one,

the mayic world is forgotten. The force of Hari's

love purifies the lover until everything else is

simply forgotten. This love affair is not made - it

emerges. When a worldly romance cannot be forced to arise,

then what to say of the Hari one! You can only avail

yourself, ready yourself to be enveloped by Him. You can

only prepare yourself by giving everything else up.

Divine romance is not attained with a meditative effort,

it is spontaneous. It is not prolonged by any

practice, but by intention.<br><br>In that blessed Hari

romance, the focus falls effortlessly upon the beautiful

Brahman. What follows is a total forgetfulness of samsara.

For the true lover, renunciation never arises out of

hatred, but from appreciation of a higher taste. When

priorities become refined, defined, and directed to the

Beloved, other unrelated flavors appear spiritless. What

is not connected with her Beloved no longer holds

any interest. She wants to follow Him everywhere. Her

dharma, the devotional one, is to be constantly by His

side. This is wisdom. This is also

insight.<br><br>(continued..)