(13th Volume, Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha, Saturday, 26 Śrāvaṇa, 1341; 11 August, 1934, Second Issue)
In contemplative reasoning, vipralambha and saṁbhoga do not correspond to the achintya vaikuṇṭha conception of union and separation. Thus, contemplative vipralambha is a source of anguish, while achintya vipralambha brings forth supreme bliss. The narratives of separation within union are found in the Maithili songs of Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda, and union within separation is also depicted therein. These ideas are elaborated upon in the Amṛta Pravāha Bhāṣya. Within saṁbhoga, vipralambha is referred to as prema-vaicittya, while in vipralambha, union manifests solely in the form of a remembrance.
In this material realm, within the perception of the corporeal body, the notion of direct realization is often replaced by the experience of mere remembrance. Yet, since the event of realization within this world is bound by limitations of time and space, that remembrance itself is regarded as union (saṁbhoga).
Śrī Gaurasundara is the united form of Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, wherein Kṛṣṇa is adorned with the effulgence of Rādhikā and infused with the mood of Rādhā. Kṛṣṇa, imbued with Rādhā-bhāva, is Śrīman Mahāprabhu. Consequently, in His sannyāsa form, He stands apart from the vision of saṁbhoga-vāda and embodies mūrtimat vipralambha.
Within this manifest līlā of vipralambha, He veiled the dark-hued (śyāma-varṇa) form of His union-imbued (saṁbhoga-mayī) Krishna-mūrti with the golden radiance (campakābha) of Rādhikā. Thus, to the initial perception of the saṁbhoga-oriented observer, this “sannyāsī”-like Krishna appears as the embodiment of renounced enjoyment—a paradigm of relinquished union.
In the realization of her identity as one of Śrī Rādhikā’s intimate companions, the luminous Śrī Rāmānanda perceived Śrī Gaurasundara as none other than Śrī Rādhikā herself. Recognizing his eternal position as a humble pālya-dāsī, he experienced in Gaurasundara both the radiance of Śrī Rādhā and the vision of Śyāmasundara, embraced by Rādhā’s golden effulgence, without perceiving even a trace of any absence.
Upon deeply contemplating the account of Śrī-Gaurāṅga and Śrī-Rāmānanda’s meeting in the eighth chapter of the Madhya-līlā of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, it becomes evident that the eternal maidservant (nitya-sevikā) of Śrī Vārṣabhānavī Rādhā-Govinda, experiences the state of vipralambha not only in union (saṁbhoga) of divine couple but also in independent existence beyond their union.( They experience Vipralambha all states )This sentiment of separation permeates the devotional disposition of the sevikās (maidservants) as well.
In the state of adhirūḍha-mahābhāva, Śrī Vārṣabhānavī, the embodiment of mahābhāva and the essence of the āhlādinī-śakti, becomes the object of Śyāmasundara’s relish. In this mutual exchange of divine rasa, Śrī Rāmānanda’s vision reveals the prominence of sakhī-bhāva—the mood of the intimate companions. Though Rāmānanda did not perceive himself as Śrī Vārṣabhānavī, he unequivocally regarded her as his sevya (worshipable deity), embodying his ultimate devotion.
In Śrī Gaurāvatāra, there exists no narrative of saṁbhoga-kāma-vilāsa, nor could such a narrative ever exist. Here, prema-vilāsa-vivarta ( anti–clockwise love) manifests solely through the medium of divine remembrance (smaraṇa). Whenever the sevika assumes the role of saṁbhoga-bhūmika, the transcendental beauty and sweetness of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are relished in union. Remaining situated within this role, the devotee enters into the līlās of Rādhā-Govinda, wherein the mood of audārya (magnanimity) prevails, allowing no admixture beyond the purity of smṛti (remembrance).
In the hope of attaining the vision that arises from hearing the songs of a devadāsī, the words of Govinda, which evoke vipralambha within the consciousness of Śrī Gaurasundara imbued with the sentiments of Śrī Vāṛṣabhānavī, are worthy of profound discussion. The degraded notion of gaura-nāgarī resides within materialistic, mundane conceptions, born of a corporeal ( carnal mundane) understanding of reality. It is but another form of prākṛta-kāma-vilāsa-vivarta and cannot be equated with the transcendental essence of prema-vilāsa-vivarta.
The discourse on the union of Śrī Kṛṣṇa with Śrī Rādhā, facilitated by the sakhī, is referenced in Śrī Jagannātha-vallabha-nāṭaka. Within it, there is no aspiration on the part of the sakhī for her own union with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Carnal desires born of materialistic, mundane contemplation (prākṛta-sahaja-cintana) only generate gross, material enjoyment, entangling the bound soul in the thought of worldly union. Such a disposition cannot correspond to the liberated soul’s experience of prema-vilāsa-vivarta. From material memory, only material saṁbhoga can manifest.
Within the saṁbhoga-vihāra of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, the materialistic, sense-gratifying kāma-vilāsa of the conditioned soul (baddha-jīva) finds no place. No true devotee can designate such endeavors as prema-vilāsa. The union of Rādhā with Kṛṣṇa, or Kṛṣṇa with Rādhā, is not rooted in the intrinsic, self-centered desires (sva-sukha-bhāñchā) of Rādhā’s kāya-vyūha-sakhīs but arises from their eternal dharma of selfless service. Furthermore, through Rādhā’s eternal endeavors, the sakhīs facilitate Kṛṣṇa’s union with Rādhā, and Kṛṣṇa’s with the sakhīs.
Those who fail to grasp the esoteric acintya-bhedābheda principle intrinsic to rasa-tattva become alienated from the true understanding of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s divine nature. They reduce the transcendental truths of their līlā to the materialistic realm of sensory gratification, akin to mundane tales like those of Nala and Damayantī, thus distorting the divine aprakṛta-tattva into profane, sense-driven, prākṛta-kāma narratives.
The ahaṁgrahopāsakas(considering themselves as supreme Brahman)Māyāvādīs, giving undue prominence to materialistic thought (jaḍa-vicāra), rush toward the delusion of self-conceived authorship (ahaṅkāra-vimūḍha-ātma-kartṛtva) through the distortion of kāma-vilāsa-vivarta. This is the essence of mundane philosophy (prākṛta-darśana) or prākṛta-sahajiyā-vāda. However, Kṛṣṇa is Adhokṣaja, beyond the grasp of material senses, and Śrī Rādhikā is the embodiment of Adhokṣaja-śakti, the transcendental potency beyond material comprehension.
In the state of Kṛṣṇa-tanmayatā (complete absorption in Kṛṣṇa) experienced by the Gopī who has been seemingly abandoned at the Rasasthalī, the concept of adhirūḍha mahābhāva is discussed. However, this does not assert the Gopī’s actual, eternal identity as Kṛṣṇa Himself. This is fundamentally distinct from the Māyāvādī ego-centric ideology, where the distinction (bhedāṁśa) between the jīva (individual soul) and Īśvara (Supreme Lord) is disregarded or trivialized.
Śrī Dāmodara Svarūpa and Śrī Rāmānanda, being preṣṭha-jātīya (belonging to the highest order) and devoid of kāma-vilāsa in their relation to Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s milita-tanu Śrī Gaurasundara, must be understood in terms of smaraṇa-janita prema-vilāsa (love-play born of remembrance). That is, as Śrī Vārṣabhānavī’s pālya-dāsī (prāṇa preṣtha sakhis /maidservants), the sakhīs like Lalitā and Viśākhā serve Śrī Rādhā-Govinda. In such a mode of remembrance, one resides in the audārya-līlā (magnanimous pastimes). This remembrance is infused with sphūrtī (spiritual revelation), wherein such recollection is itself a direct realization of the divine.
In the vision of those who have attained vastu-siddhi (realized perfection) and videha-mukti (freedom from the bodily ego), the observer remains situated in the aprakaṭa-līlā (unmanifest pastimes). At Mount Raivataka (modern Girnār), one finds mention of Kṛṣṇa’s association with the Vrajavāsīs through both vision and remembrance. Similarly, the meeting of Kṛṣṇa with the Vrajavāsīs at Vṛndāvana on the banks of the Yamunā, after His return from Syamantapañcaka, exhibits wondrous nuances of saṁbhoga-vicāra (the contemplation of divine union).
Whenever Śrī Dāmodara Svarūpa and others perceive themselves to be situated in Vraja-līlā, they reside within the smaraṇa-saraṇī (pathway of remembrance) of the saṁbhoga-līlā (pastimes of union).
During the unfolding of Śrī Dāmodara Svarūpa’s magnanimous pastimes (audārya-līlā) in Gauralīlā, it is understood as smaraṇodīpana (the kindling of remembrance) through the medium of kīrtana (devotional song).
Thus, Śrī Rāmānanda first beheld Śrī Gaurasundara in His sannyāsī form. Later, upon realizing his eternal self, he perceived Śrī Gaurasundara as Śyāmasundara, embraced by Śrī Rādhā, the very embodiment of divine love.
Translation: Rāya Rāmānanda Dāsa