Santa Rasa in Goloka Vrindavana

[Guest guest]

The Upadeshamrta verses written by Sri Rupa Goswami are well known among the western born devotees through the beautiful edition "Nectar of Instruction" published by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. There is also the "Anuvrtti" of Upadeshamrtam which was written by Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami.

 

In the commentary to verse eight Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami wrote:

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dasa-sakha-pitradi-preyasira gava

raga-marge nija-nija-bhavera gavana

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta ( Madhya-lila 22.161)

There are four moods of service included in the path of

spontaneous devotion: those of the servants, friends, parents

and conjugal lovers.

Those desiring to serve in the devotional mellow of neutrality

(santa-rasa) should aspire to be like the cows, sticks,

buffalo horns, the flute, kadamba trees and so forth. Those

aspiring to serve in the mellow of servitude (dasya-rasa)

should follow servants in Vraja such as Raktaka and Patraka.

Devotees aspiring to serve in the mellow of fraternity

(sakhya-rasa) should follow Srî Baladeva, Sridama, Sudama

and so forth. Devotees aspiring to serve in the mellow of

parenthood (vatsalya-rasa) should follow Sri Nanda and

Yasoda, and those aspiring to serve in the amorous mellow

(madhurya-rasa) should follow cowherd girls ( gopîs) like

Lalita and Visakha. While residing in Vraja, one should

immerse himself in hearing narrations of the eternal devotees

who serve in the mood for which he aspires.

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Here, and in other places in his writings, Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur stated that the paraphenalia of Bhagavan Sri Krishna such as his flute and his buffalo horn, as well as other things to be found in Vrajabhumi, are living persons; and not only that but these living persons are situated in the mood of santa-rasa.

 

Some persons have proposed that none of the beings living in Vraja are situated in santa rasa. They propose that the residents of Vraja are all situated in the moods of madhura rasa (consorthood), vatasalya (parenthood) or sakhya (friendliness). But this opinion is incorrect. The scriptures confirm the view of Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami: there are beings in Vraja bhumi who are situated in santa rasa.

 

What is more, there are beings in Vraja who are situated in dasya rasa (servitorship) as well.

 

To begin with, it might be pointed out that in his book Sri Bhaktirasamrtasindhu, Sri Rupa Goswami give a number of examples of persons in Vraja-lila who were experiencing the bliss of dasya-rasa in relation to Vrajendranandan Krishna.

 

In his summary of Bhaktirasamrtasindhu, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami writes:

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Those who are constantly engaged in the personal service of the Lord are called anugas, or followers. Examples of such followers are Sucandra, Mandana, Stamba and Sutamba. They are all inhabitants of the city of Dvaraka, and they are dressed and ornamented like the other associates. The specific services entrusted to the anugas are varied. Mandana always bears the umbrella over the head of Lord Kr?s?n?a. Sucandra is engaged in fanning with the white ca-mara bunch of hair, and Sutamba is engaged in supplying betel nuts. All of them are great devotees, and they are always busy in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

 

As there are anugas in Dvaraka, so there are many anugas in Vrndavana also. The names of the anugas in Vrndavana are as follows: Raktaka, Patraka, Patri, Madhukantha, Madhuvrata, Rasala, Suvilasa, Premakanda, Marandaka, Ananda, Candrahasa, Payoda, Bakula, Rasada and Sarada. - Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 36

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The servitors of Krishna in Vrajabhumi such as Raktaka may occasionally feel moods of friendliness with Sri Krishna, but their predominant mood is dasya-rasa, servitorship.

 

In regard to santa-rasa, there is the interesting fact that some of the eternal residents of Vraja wanted to feel the bliss of brahman realization which is attained by the sages and rishis, and Krishna subsequently allowed them to experience that. In the story of Nanda Maharaj being captured by the servants of Varuna, we read that after Nanda was returned from Varuna's world he told the cowherd men that in the world of the god he had seen Krishna being worshipped by Varuna etc. Nanda said that Krishna is directly the Lord Himself (Bhagavan Narayana). The cowherds then asked Krishna to show them the divine realization (darshan) of the brahma effulgence and the Vaikuntha world, so Krishna revealed that brahma-darshan to the cowherds. According to Srimad Bhagavatam, the cowherds experienced the universal conciousness of brahma-darshan. The experience of brahma-darshan is the self-same monistic experience of passivity and universal consciousness that is known as santa-rasa. (bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durlabhah - Bg.7.19) Then after that, the spiritual souls of the cowherds began emerging from the mood of santa-rasa and feeling their intrinsic nature as cowherds and associates of Krishna. The cowherd men came out of that brahma-effulgence and began relating with Krishna as if he were their beloved child. Such are the wonders of rasa and lila. Krishna is far more attractive and wonderful for the cowherds than the beautiful feeling of brahma-darshan.

 

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SB 10.28.10: Nanda Maharaja had been astonished to see for the first time the great opulence of Varuna, the ruler of the ocean planet, and also to see how Varuna and his servants had offered such humble respect to Krsna. Nanda described all this to his fellow cowherd men.

 

SB 10.28.11: [Hearing about Krsna's pastimes with Varuna,] the cowherd men considered that Krsna must be the Supreme Lord, and their minds, O King, were filled with eagerness. They thought, "Will the Supreme Lord bestow upon us His transcendental abode"

 

SB 10.28.12: Because He sees everything, Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, automatically understood what the cowherd men were conjecturing. Wanting to show His compassion to them by fulfilling their desires, the Lord thought as follows.

 

SB 10.28.13: [Lord Krsna thought:] Certainly people in this world are wandering among higher and lower destinations, which they achieve through activities performed according to their desires and without full knowledge. Thus people do not know their real destination.

 

SB 10.28.14: Thus deeply considering the situation, the allmerciful Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari revealed to the cowherd men His abode, which is beyond material darkness.

 

satyam jnanam anantam yad <font color="#ff0000">brahmajyotih sanatanam</font>

yad dhi pas'yanti munayo gunapaye samahitah

SB 10.28.15: Lord Krsna revealed the indestructible spiritual effulgence, which is unlimited, conscious and eternal. Sages see that spiritual existence in trance, when their consciousness is free of the modes of material nature.

 

SB 10.28.16: The cowherd men were brought by Lord Krsna to the Brahmahrada, made to submerge in the water, and then lifted up. From the same vantage point that Akrura saw the spiritual world, the cowherd men saw the planet of the Absolute Truth.

 

SB 10.28.17: Nanda Maharaja and the other cowherd men felt the greatest happiness when they saw that transcendental abode. They were especially amazed to see Krsna Himself there, surrounded by the personified Vedas, who were offering Him prayers.

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From this and from other sources we can see that Vrajendranandan Krishna does have exchanges and with persons who are feeling the mood of santa rasa. It is a fact that there were some sages living in Vraja when Krishna was present there and those sages were deeply absorbed in constant meditation. Some of them sat meditating upon Govardhana, the king of mountains, even in the midst of the in cataclysmic cyclone that was sent by Indra to destroy all of Vrajabhumi. Those sages would sometimes engage in activities in the company of the Vrajavasis, such as when those realized sages came to participate in the Govardhana puja. But at other times those resident rishis living in Vraja would be immersed in seeing the universal presence of their Lord who sometimes manifest as a great, living mountain, and who at other times was showing himself to be Narayana, or again, who was crawling here and there like a little boy with a small dab of butter in his hands.

 

In the case of the Vrajavasi gopas who were shown <font color="#ff0000">brahmajyotih sanatanam</font> by Krishna, those cowherds feelings of bliss and realization of <font color="#ff0000">brahmajyotih sanatanam</font> are a temporary pastime. But there are other beings in different forms in Goloka who enjoy the stunning feeling of bliss and who occasionally will awaken into a real realization of Sri Krishna's direct presence before them, there in the transcendental abode (bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durlabhah - Bg.7.19). Living in the Goloka, they remain stunned and stationary most of the time in the form of trees or reeds growing on the riverside; but then when they get some touch of personal contact with Sri Krishnachandra they feel thrilled and experience so much joy that they may simply melt like water. This does happen sometimes, in Goloka.

 

This is the glory of Goloka of which we have learned from Srila Sridhar Maharaj, Srila B.S. Govinda Maharaj and our Guru-varga.

 

All glory, all glory, to Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur!

[Guest guest]

Someone can argue that nitya siddha devotees of Krishna never have any thought or experience of santa rasa and that it is just the sadhana siddha devotees who are preparing to enter the spiritual world who might have a vision of Brahman. But Nanda Baba was among the Vrajavasi cowherds when Krishna showed his Brahman effulgence to them. Nanda Baba is a nitya siddha. He is an eternal associate of Krishna in Goloka and he has never been in maya. Nanda Maharaj saw the Brahmajyoti and he also experienced the santa-rasa mood that the rishis also experienced.

[Guest guest]

So if we can fall from santa rasa like bhaktisdhanta swami says, so does that mean we can fall from golok vrindavan where there is a santa rasa jiva? A leaf falls from vrindavan?

[Guest guest]

Maharaja Yudisthira does not believe that anyone can fall from Vaikuntha:

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Maharaja Yudhisthira asked Narada:

What kind of great curse could affect even liberated visnu-bhaktas, and what sort of person could curse even the Lord’s associates? For unflinching devotees of the Lord to fall again to this material world is impossible. I cannot believe this."

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Narada explained that the reason Jai and Vijay fell down was that they were coming here to engage in a specific pastime with the Lord. But Goloka servitors will never fall down to the mundane world. Just like what Yudhisthira said here, "For unflinching devotees of the Lord to fall again to this material world is impossible."

 

 

 

 

[Kulapavana]

perhaps some cows, trees, ornaments, etc. in Goloka are living entities in santa rasa, while other cows, trees, ornaments, etc. are situated in dasya rasa or other rasas. I gave this issue a lot of thought.

 

sometimes we artificially try to impose boundaries and restrictions on the infinite spectrum of devotional moods and end up missing important points.

[Guest guest]

quote:

So if we can fall from santa rasa like bhaktisdhanta swami says, so does that mean we can fall from golok vrindavan where there is a santa rasa jiva? A leaf falls from vrindavan?

 

No. The soul falls from its place of origin, the tatastha shakti, which is the effulgence emanating from Narayana.

 

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"The innumerable Jivas as spiritual particles emanating from the oversoul in the form of pencils of rays of effulgence, have no relation with the mundane world when they come to know themselves to be the eternal servants of the Supreme Lord. They are then incorporated into the realm of Vaikuntha. But when they desire to lord it over Maya, forgetting their real identity, the egotistic principle Sambhu entering into their entities makes them identify themselves as separated enjoyers of mundane entities. Hence Sambhu is the primary principle of the egotistic mundane universe and of perverted egotism in jivas that identifies itself with their limited material bodies."</font>

From the commentary to verse 16 of Sri Brahma Samhita,

published by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

http://www.indiadivine.org/brahma-samhita2.htm

 

 

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"Before acquiring material designations, the living entity is supremely pure. Even though he is not engaged in serving the Supreme Lord, he remains situated in the neutral position of santa-rasa due to his marginal nature. Though the living entity born from the marginal potency does not at that time exhibit a taste for serving the Lord due to a lack of knowledge of self-realization, his direct propensity of serving the Supreme Lord nevertheless remains within him in a dormant state. Though the indirect propensity of material enjoyment, which is contrary to the service of the Lord, is not found in him at that time, indifference to the service of Hari and the seed of material enjoyment, which follows that state of indifference, are nevertheless present within him. The living entity, who belongs to the marginal potency, cannot remain indifferent forever by subduing both devotional and non-devotional propensities. He therefore contemplates unconstitutional activities from his marginal position. As a sleeping person dreams that he is active in the physical world without actually being involved in activities, when the dormant indifferent living entity of the marginal potency exhibits even a little apathy to the service of the Supreme Lord and situates himself in a neutral, unchanging condition for even a little time, he is infected by impersonalism. That is why the conditioned soul desires to merge in the impersonal Brahman, thus exhibiting his mind's fickle nature. But due to neglecting the eternal service of the Lord and thereby developing the quality of aversion to the Lord, he cannot remain fixed in that position. In this way aversion to the Lord breaks his concentration of mind and establishes him as the master of this world of enjoyment.

 

"Due to being situated in the marginal position, living entities who are averse to Hari assume the nature of mixed consciousness; in other words, when the marginal energy living entities mix with the external energy, they consider themselves the enjoyers and then enter the material world. The cause of the spirit soul's coming to live in this world in aversion to Krsna is his misuse of his free will. When this aversion becomes strong, the living entities accept a material mind and body in order to enjoy the temporary material world and thus come under the control of fruitive reactions. And when, on the strength of pious activities, they become transcendental to the varnasrama principles, which distinguish superior and inferior behavior in this world, they become paramahamsas by perfecting themselves through sadhana. Those who become paramahamsas are the Hari-janas. And those who fall from the platform of paramahamsa and engage in fruitive activities while associating with matter are situated on the platform of varnasrama."</font>

- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

In his book "Brahmana and Vaisnava" (page 86 in the ISKCON edition from 1999)

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"Jivas are of two kinds - (1) Nitya-Mukta (eternally free), (2) Nitya-Baddha (eternally enslaved). Free jivas are never enslaved. They are serving the Supreme God in five different functions in His eternal blissful abode, where there is no change, no destruction, no misery. Jiva, once entered there never comes back here. The inconceivably narrowest line of demarcation between land and water or the line where land and water meet is called 'tata'; so also the meeting line of the cit world or the eternal abode of the Supreme Lord and the acit world or the tata region of Maya is called tata. The power of the Supreme Lord displayed at the tata is known as the tatastha (lying at the tata) or marginal power. All the jivas being the display of this power, have the inherent oscillating tendency and capability of going to the cit or the acit world. Tata not being a resting place, jivas must go this side or that; those preferring the acit, fell into the clutches of the octopus Maya, when these mortal costumes of mind and body were put on him as a punishment. The satanic frenzy in which the jiva dislikes the blissful and eternal service of his Master and prefers to quench his thirstful desires of enjoying matter, opens before him a perpetual spring of liquid fire and poison at which he begins to drink deep. Thus in going to lord it over Maya, jiva became enslaved by her."</font>

- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

Vaisnavism -Real and Apparent

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