Guest guest Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Temple president of the temple where I joined told me that once he read the Gita Govinda and for months afterwards he couldn't get rid of the gross sexual images created in his mind. By that time he was very seriously practicing Krishna consciousness for over 15 years. He was by all of us considered a very advanced devotee. Srila Prabhupada writes about this in CC: A liberated person who hears about the loving affairs of Radha and Krsna is not inclined to have lusty desires. One mundane rogue once said that when the Vaisnavas chant the name "Radha, Radha," he simply remembers a barber's wife named Radha. This is a practical example. Unless one is liberated, he should not try to hear about the loving affairs between Radha and Krsna. If one is not liberated and listens to a relation of the rasa dance, he may remember his own mundane activities and illicit connections with some woman whose name may also be Radha. In the conditioned stage one should not even try to remember such things. By practicing the regulative principles, one should rise to the platform of spontaneous attraction for Krsna. THEN AND ONLY THEN should one hear about radha-krsna-lila. Although these affairs may be very pleasing both to conditioned and to liberated souls, the conditioned soul should not try to hear them. The talks between Ramananda Raya and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are conducted on the platform of liberation. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Madhya 8.255 On another note, I was told by many disciples of Srila Prabhupada that he suggested that devotees first read and study Bhagavad-gita, then the Srimad Bhagavatam (the whole thing including Srila Prabhupada's purports) before they proceed to read the Caitanya Caritamrita. In other words, Krishna consciousness is a scientific process and it should be practiced seriously under the guidance of the spiritual master. Our spiritual master requires us to have his permission prior to reading any book that's not written by Srila Prabhupada. > Hare Krishna, > > Kindly glorify the pastimes of Srila Jayadeva Goswami on his disappearance > day on 13th Jan. Kindly use font type 'Balarama' or 'Sca Goudy' to read > the text below. > > Your servant in mission of Srila Prabhupada > > Nanda Gopal Dasa > > Srila Jayadeva Gosvami > > > > Three hundred years before the appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri > Jayadeva Goswami served as the court Pandita of Sri Laksmana Sena, King of > Bengal. Jayadeva and Pedmavati (his wife and an expert dancer) used to > worship Lord Sri Krishna with single-minded devotion. After some time, he > left the opulent royal life to live peacefully in a grass hut in > Champahatti, Navadvipa. Here Jayadeva wrote Gita Govinda. > > > > One day while working on Gita Govinda Jayadeva felt inspired to write, > "Krishna bows to touch the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani." Jayadeva was > hesitant to say something, which might diminish Lord Krishna's position as > the Supreme Personality of Godhead. > > > > He went to refresh himself with a Ganges bath before honoring > Radha-Madhava's maha-prasadam. In his absence, Krishna Himself, disguised > as Jayadeva, wrote a line in the Gita Govinda: dehi pada pallavam udaram. > The Lord also accepted prasadam from Padmavati. Upon returning, Jayadeva > cried in spiritual joy and said, "Padmavati, we are most fortunate. Sri > krishna Himself has written the line, dehi pada pallavam udaram and taken > prasadam from your hand. > > > > Gita Govinda expresses the intense feelings of separation that Sri Radhika > felt before the rasa dance. It also describes the most intimate pastimes > of Radha-Symasundara. During Lord Caitaya's Gambhira lila in Jagannatha > Puri, He would thoroughly relish hearing the Gita Govinda sung daily by > Svarupa Damodara and Mukunda. > > > > The author Jayadeva Goswami describes Gita Govinda: "Whatever is > delightful in varieties of music, whatever is graceful in fine strains of > poetry, and whatever is exquisite in the sweet art of love-let the happy > and wise learn form the songs of Jayadeva." > > > > After finishing Gita Govinda Jyadeva visited Vrndavana and then lived his > last in Jagannatha Puri. He introduced daily reading of Gita Govinda in > the temple for the pleasure of Lord Jagannatha. His samadhi is in the 64 > Samadhis Area. > > > > CC Adi 13:42 > > TEXT > > vidyäpati, jayadeva, caëòédäsera géta > > äsvädena rämänanda-svarüpa-sahita > > > > TRANSLATION > > The Lord used to read the books of Vidyäpati, Jayadeva and Caëòédäsa, > relishing their songs with His confidential associates like Çré Rämänanda > Räya and Svarüpa Dämodara Gosvämé. > > > > PURPORT > > Vidyäpati was a famous composer of songs about the pastimes of > Rädhä-Kåñëa. He was an inhabitant of Mithilä, born in a brähmaëa family. > It is calculated that he composed his songs during the reign of King > Çivasiàha and Queen Lachimädevé, in the beginning of the fourteenth > century of the Çaka Era, almost one hundred years before the appearance of > Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu. The twelfth generation of Vidyäpati's > descendants is still living. Vidyäpati's songs about the pastimes of Lord > Kåñëa express intense feelings of separation from Kåñëa, and Çré Caitanya > Mahäprabhu relished all those songs in His ecstasy of separation from > Kåñëa. > > Jayadeva was born during the reign of Mahäräja Lakñmaëa Sena of Bengal, in > the eleventh or twelfth century of the Çaka Era. His father was Bhojadeva, > and his mother was Vämädevé. For many years he lived in Navadvépa, then > the capital of Bengal. His birthplace was in the Birbhum district, in the > village Kendubilva. In the opinion of some authorities, however, he was > born in Orissa, and still others say that he was born in southern India. > He passed the last days of his life in Jagannätha Puré. One of his famous > books is Géta-govinda, which is full of transcendental mellow feelings of > separation from Kåñëa. The gopés felt separation from Kåñëa before the > räsa dance, as mentioned in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and the Géta-govinda > expresses such feelings. There are many commentaries on the Géta-govinda > by many Vaiñëavas. > > Caëòédäsa was born in the village of Nännura, which is also in the Birbhum > district of Bengal. He was born of a brähmaëa family, and it is said that > he also took birth in the beginning of the fourteenth century, Çakäbda > Era. It has been suggested that Caëòédäsa and Vidyäpati were great friends > because the writings of both express the transcendental feelings of > separation profusely. The feelings of ecstasy described by Caëòédäsa and > Vidyäpati were actually exhibited by Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. He relished > all those feelings in the role of Çrématé Rädhäräëé, and His appropriate > associates for this purpose were Çré Rämänanda Räya and Çré Svarüpa > Dämodara Gosvämé. These intimate associates of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu > helped the Lord very much in the pastimes in which He felt like Rädhäräëé. > > Çré Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura comments in this connection that > such feelings of separation as Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu enjoyed from the > books of Vidyäpati, Caëòédäsa and Jayadeva are especially reserved for > persons like Çré Rämänanda Räya and Svarüpa Dämodara, who were > paramahaàsas, men of the topmost perfection, because of their advanced > spiritual consciousness. Such topics are not to be discussed by ordinary > persons imitating the activities of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu. For critical > students of mundane poetry and literary men without God consciousness who > are after bodily sense gratification, there is no need to read such a high > standard of transcendental literature. Persons who are after sense > gratification should not try to imitate rägänuga devotional service. The > songs of Caëòédäsa, Vidyäpati and Jayadeva describe the transcendental > activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mundane reviewers of > these songs simply help people in general become debauchees, and this > leads only to social scandals and atheism in the world. One should not > misunderstand the pastimes of Rädhä and Kåñëa to be the activities of a > mundane young boy and girl. The mundane sexual activities of young boys > and girls are most abominable. Therefore, those who are in bodily > consciousness and who desire sense gratification are forbidden to indulge > in discussions of the transcendental pastimes of Çré Rädhä and Kåñëa. > > > > > 64 Samadhis @ Vrndavana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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