Guest guest Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 achintya, prayag misra <worldwidetechnologies> wrote: > She met Jiva Goawami in Vrindavan. This story goes > like this:- > When an associate of Mirabai sent a message to Jiva > Goswami that Mirabai has come to Vrindavana, and wants > to see him, Jiva Goswami replied:- he does not meet > any woman. Mirabai sent another message:- that shows > that Jiva Goswami still considers himself as a "man" > while in Gopi-bhaav, only Krishna is sole "purusha" > and every one else is a Gopi! > When Jiva Goswami heard this message- he realized his > mistake, and immediately apologized to Mirabai and > desired to see her. Both had Krishna Katha for few > days! It should be noted that Srila Prabhupada expressed doubt about the validity of this story, on the grounds that sannyaasiis in our tradition do not necessarily refuse to meet women. I don't recall the source however. Traditionally, sannyaasiis do not allow themselves to be associated with women (as the example of Chaitanya Mahaaprabhu and Junior Haridaasa shows). However, there is more to be skeptical about here. Would a great scholar and devotee as Srila Jiva Gosvami make the above mistake? It seems hard to believe. We should be open to the possibility that some well intentioned and possibly devoted follower may have represented the actual story from his own, special perspective. This however does not say anything about Mirabhai's authenticity, which I am unqualified to remark on. Again, perhaps we could see some examples of Mirabhai's compositions, and discuss her life according to the principles of devotional service that we are familiar with and see if they are consistent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 At 07:27 PM 4/8/03 +0000, krishna_susarla wrote: It should be noted that Srila Prabhupada expressed doubt about the validity of this [Mirabai] story, on the grounds that sannyaasiis in our tradition do not necessarily refuse to meet women. I don't recall the source however. Traditionally, sannyaasiis do not allow themselves to be associated with women (as the example of Chaitanya Mahaaprabhu and Junior Haridaasa shows). However, there is more to be skeptical about here. Would a great scholar and devotee as Srila Jiva Gosvami make the above mistake? It seems hard to believe. I believe that Srila Prabhupaa is not the only Gaudiya acharya to cast doubt on this story and on other aspects of Mira's following. However, I'm a little fuzzy (I'm at work taking a break from grading papers). This is something that requires careful discussion. Mukunda--do you know anything about this? Babhru das Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 9, 2003 Report Share Posted April 9, 2003 On Tue, 8 Apr 2003, Bill Reed wrote: > At 07:27 PM 4/8/03 +0000, krishna_susarla wrote: > >However, there is more to be skeptical about here. Would a great > >scholar and devotee as Srila Jiva Gosvami make the above mistake? It > >seems hard to believe. > > I believe that Srila Prabhupaa is not the only Gaudiya acharya to cast > doubt on this story and on other aspects of Mira's following. However, I'm > a little fuzzy (I'm at work taking a break from grading papers). This is > something that requires careful discussion. Mukunda--do you know anything > about this? Srila Prabhupada's doubts aside, I would like to know if any other acaryas in our line said *anything* about Mirabai. My doubt is that not only Mirabai, but a number of other contemporary bhaktas simply seem to have been wholly ignored by the mainstream Gaudiya hagiographers--not only then, but later as well. It's hard to imagine that this consistent pattern was unintentional or merely coincindental. It's not conclusive to argue via negativa, but there seems to be some reason these poets were neglected, especially since some of them also seem to have been pretty popular; at least that's the sense I get. MDd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 9, 2003 Report Share Posted April 9, 2003 >> Srila Prabhupada's doubts aside, I would like to know if any other acaryas in our line said *anything* about Mirabai. << Mirabai has been rejected as a "pure devotee" according to Gaudiya standards. The reason for this is because apparently in several of her bhajans, or popular knowledge attributed to her, she has expressed the desire to merge into the body of the Lord, viz., sayujya-mukti. Thus, according to the considered opinion of His Holiness Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja, "we won't hear all these things." Nityananda-Gauranga bol! Jay. ===== "One who chants Gauranga's name will get the mercy of Krsna, and he will be able to live in Vrndavana. One who worships Krsna without chanting the name of Gauranga will get Krsna only after a long time. But he who takes Gauranga's name quickly gets Krsna, for offenses do not remain within him." - Sri Narada Muni, Navadvipa Dhama-mahatmya, Chapter 7 Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more http://tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 19, 2003 Report Share Posted April 19, 2003 achintya, mpt@u... wrote: >> Srila Prabhupada's doubts aside, I would like to know if any other acaryas in our line said *anything* about Mirabai. << As per my original reply, I managed to find the quote in full. As follows: "Only Mahaprabhu gives prema. Mirabai got sayujya mukti, but we hate it. Gaudiya Vaisnavas hate it. We won't hear all these things. Get out from here! I am so proud, I will crush it with my fist! Entering into the body of the Lord, that was her desire. Jiva Goswami appreciated that she said that Krsna is the only male, but after that finish, chelo! Get out! Do you follow? Only Mahaprabhu gives prema, nobody else. It is a simple fact. Why are you making it complicated? It is very simple. Don't twist it, don't add any deliberation to it. As it is. This is most important." - Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja, 7th April 1992 lecture. The above quote may lead one to wonder why perhaps such fiery language is used. This in fact is actually not the case. Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja was known for his strong preaching, and the above quote appeared in the middle of a lecture in which Maharaja was emphasizing the concept of remaining chaste to the instructions of Sri Guru. In service of Nityananda-Gauranga, Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.