q about anuraga

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

 

TRANSLATION

"Devotees in Vrndavana who are friends of the Lord can increase their ecstatic love to the point of anuraga. Parental affectionate lovers, Krsna's father and mother, can increase their love of Godhead up to the end of anuraga.

Cc.Madhya 24.33

 

whats the bold part mean, anuraga??

[Guest guest]

anuraga:

raga (loving attachment) following in the footsteps of the eternal Vrajabasis such as Yashoda, Nanda, Subal, Sridam, or the supreme devotee, Sri Radha

[raga]

Anuraga in this context does not mean raga following the footsteps of the Vrajavasis as such. All raga in Vraja consists of the moods of the Vrajavasis.

 

The advanced stages of prema are described in a number of gradations. They are enlisted as prema, sneha, mana, pranaya, raga, anuraga and mahabhava. They have subdivisions as well, but those are the general headings. Anuraga is described as that love which is always experienced as ever-new and ever-fresh. All of these divisions are explained in Sri Rupa's Ujjvala-nilamani.

[Guest guest]

The first of these is sneha—

 

Aruhya paramAM kASThAM premA cid-dIpa-dIpanaH

hRdayaM drAvayann eSa sneha ity abhidhIyate

atrodite bhavej jAtu na tRptir darzanAdiSu

 

When prema reaches its supreme limit, it lights the flame of consciousness of the object of love, causing the heart to melt, then this is called sneha. In this state, one is never satiated on perceiving the beloved with any of the senses. (UN 14.79)

 

Next comes mana (mAna)—

 

snehas tUtkRSTatAvAptyA mAdhuryaM mAnayan navam

yo dhArayaty adAkSiNyaM sa mAna iti kIrtyate

 

When sneha becomes superexcellent, causes a new experience of sweet relish, but also makes the lovers act capriciously, it is called mana. (UN 14.96)

 

The next stage is called pranaya—

 

mAno dadhAno vizrambhaM praNayaH procyate budhaiH

 

When mana takes on an added element of intimate trust, it is called pranaya. (UN 14.108)

 

The the word vizrambha means trust, or an absence of fear. The result of this intimacy is that one considers one’s heart, mind, intelligence, body and possessions to be identical with those of the beloved.

 

The next stage is called raga—

 

duHkham apy adhikaM citte sukhatvenaiva rajyate

yatas tu praNayotkarSAt sa rAga iti kIrtyate

 

When pranaya becomes very strong, one considers even the greatest suffering in love to be happiness. This is called raga. (UN 14.126)

 

The next stage is called anuraga—

 

sadAnubhUtam api yaH kuryAn nava-navaM priyam

rAgo bhavan nava-navaH so’nurAga itIryate

 

When raga is renewed at every moment, and one experiences the beloved in an entirely fresh way each time one sees him, this is called anuraga. (UN 14.146)

 

The highest stage of divine love is called mahabhava. It is defined as follows:

 

anurAgaH sva-saMvedya-dazAM prApya prakAzitaH

yAvad-Azraya-vRttiz ced bhAva ity abhidhIyate

 

When anuraga reaches the full limits of its shelter, attains the stage of self-perceptibility, and is revealed externally, it is called bhava. (UN 14.154)

 

[Guest guest]

The meaning of this verse is as follows: Anuraga’s basis (äçraya) is raga (as defined above), because it develops out of it. When it reaches the absolute limit of raga’s characteristics (yävad-äçraya-våttiù), namely experiencing even the greatest distress as happiness due to being imbued with love for Krishna, this is bhava. The meaning of the “stage of self-perceptibility” (sva-saàvedya-daçä) is that it is only known to the Vraja gopis, who alone have ever reached the absolute limit of the characteristics of raga. No other type of devotee has this mahabhava. Indeed, it is not even attained by Rukmini, Satyabhama, or any of Krishna’s other queens. The words “manifest externally” (prakäçita) refer to the most intense ecstatic symptoms or sattvikas in these gopis. (Following Jiva Goswami)