https://www.youtube.com/live/X-6GiPK5oaU?si=zo9WBsDFIJIck1Sz
Seminar on Vipralambha | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | 27 Nov 2016
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-krishna-caitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : So the subject is Vipralambha?
Devotee : Yes, Maharaj.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : How that came about? Why that choice [Laughs]?
Devotee : Because we were reading Caitanya Caritamrta and there this topic came of Vipralambha.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : I see.
Devotee 2 : We also reading Krishna book by Japanese. Yeah, very timely.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Okay.
Devotee : Maharaj, your screen little bit down.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Yeah. In the Nectar of Devotion there, if you look in the southern section and the next section, the northern section, when they analyse rasa and they get to prema, then prema has two parts.That is meeting and separation for each of the rasas. So it’s there in all the rasas, but when it’s in Madhurya rasa, then it’s called Vipralambha. And that’s expressed in the last verse of the Siksastaka. So though meeting is joyful and separation looks like lamentation and painful, separation is considered to be higher than union.So in different rasas, we’ll have separation, we’ll have union, and in Madhurya rasa, the separation becomes very intense. And though it looks painful, within that pain, there’s also bliss.So it seems a little bit contradictory. However, we cannot really understand spiritual rasa, so that is why for us it looks a little strange.
So that separation also has different types. One type is not having met at all before you actually meet. For instance, the gopis don’t talk to Krishna until they’re at certain age, and then finally they meet in the rasa lila. So before that, there’s separation. Or the Pandavas hear about Krishna, about his pastimes in Vrindavan and Mathura, but they never actually meet him until he’s in Dwaraka. So then that’s a type of separation. Then finally, the gopis get to meet Krishna, the rasa lila, and Arjuna and the others meet Krishna also. So after that, then there is separation again sometimes. There are two types. For instance, Krishna is in the rasa lila dance, and then he disappears.But after some hours, they meet Krishna again. So that is short separation. So when the rasa lila is finished, then everyone returns home, so they have to separate. So they don’t meet until the next day, in the afternoon. So there’s separation and then meeting again. Then in the afternoon, they also separate. And then finally, in the late night, they meet again in the rasa lila. So there’s some short separation and then meeting. But these short separations feel very long. And so a moment of separation feels like a yuga [Laughs]. So we have this short separation which takes place on a daily basis. But even these short separations cause very great pain for the gopis and Krishna. But then we have, when Krishna appears on earth, a very long separation when Krishna leaves Vrindavan and goes to Mathura. So this separation is very long, and it causes even more in depth pain. And it appears impossible that the people of Vrindavan will keep living because of this great separation. However, this separation must also end in a union. So this is not described in the Bhagavatam, but in the commentaries our Acharya’s quote from the Padma Purana. So there it’s explained in the Padma Purana that Krishna did return after killing Dantavakra. So he killed Dantavakra in Mathura, and then he went back to Vrindavan, and he met everyone. So in this way, that long separation was again followed by union. So in other words, though there is separation then it is followed by union. So these two aspects of prema, the separation and the union, they follow each other consecutively, one after the other. So as I said, these are part of prema, and prema gives rise to bliss.
So the separation and the union are there in all the different rasas. But as the rasas become more intense, the separation also becomes more intense. So therefore, the friends in separation, like the cowherd boys, they also feel pain when Krishna goes to Mathura and then to Dwaraka, but their pain is not so much as that of Nanda and Yashoda and the gopis. So the separation and the union of the cowherd boys is very strong. The separation in Vatsalya Rasa is very intense, but the separation in Madhurya Rasa is even more intense. This applies not only in Vrindavan, but even in Dwaraka. It’s a whole chapter devoted to describing the queen’s separation from Krishna. So not having or not seeing Krishna for a few hours gives rise to very, very great pain in the queens of Dwaraka. So the feeling of separation is there, not only in Vrindavan, but in Mathura and Dwaraka also. But the Madhurya Rasa in Vrindavan is much more intense than the Madhurya Rasa in Dwaraka. So the separation of the gopis from Krishna in Vrindavan is considered to be the most intense. And that separation expresses the most intense part of Madhurya Rasa.
Among the gopis in Madhurya Rasa, some have more intense love than others. Among all the gopis, Radha has the most intense prema. And consequently, she also shows the most intense separation. And she displays the most extraordinary symptoms. So one example is given in the Bhagavatam. When Uddhava goes to Vrindavan after Krishna’s been absent for a few months, he delivers a message to the gopis. And then he saw one gopi talking to a bumblebee. So the gopi who talked to the bumblebee is Radha. So in the Nectar of Devotion it’s described that within Madhurya Rasa, in the separation, we get some very high states of emotion in separation and it’s Radharani that displays these highest symptoms. So these symptoms and this type of prema are very difficult to understand. However, Caitanya Mahaprabhu also, though he is Krishna, he has the mood of Radha. So in the mood of Radha, he also experiences this Vipralambha. And he displayed the most extraordinary symptoms. While dancing in the Ratha Yatra before Jagannath, he would dance and tears would shoot from his eyes so strongly it was like water coming out of a water gun. So crying is a symptom of Sattvika-bhava. It’s one of the Sattvika-bhavas that manifests in Prema but in Lord Caitanya, that crying was most intense. Perspiration is a Sattvika-bhava.
Devotee : Excuse me?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Perspiration. But in Lord Chaitanya, instead of water coming out, blood came out of his pores. And fainting is a Sattvika-bhava. When Lord Caitanya fainted while dancing in front of the Ratha Yatra, he fell down like a stick on the ground. Plop! And he showed some more extraordinary symptoms. Sometimes the limbs of his body would withdraw into his trunk and his limbs would seem to disappear, his hands and arms would disappear. Like a turtle [Laughs]. And sometimes, instead of shrinking into his body, his arms and legs, the joints would become detached. His arm joints would become detached from his body. So these are symptoms that were never displayed by anybody else. They were displayed in Lord Caitanya because he has the mood of Radha. So it appears that Lord Caitanya was in great pain and lamentation. And he would be feeling great pain of separation. However, that pain of separation can only be experienced because of the great love that is experienced by Radha in relation to Krishna. So only Radharani experiences this intense love. So when Krishna sees Radha and he sees those symptoms, it is impossible for him to understand her experience. So in order to try to understand Radha’s love then he took the form of Caitanya mahaprabhu and he was able to experience like Radha .So that separation is considered to be the most intense form of Madhurya-rasa. And therefore it is glorified. So Radharani has this highest experience. The other devotees have lesser experience, but they still get the experience of Vipralambha. So if we don’t have Prema, we cannot really understand that separation. However, as devotees performing sadhana bhakti, we can also feel a type of separation. We don’t have an experience of Prema, so we really don’t have Vipralambha-rasa. But in sadhana itself, we can feel the separation from the Lord, and therefore we long to meet him.
So in the pastimes of Krishna, when we have the separation between Radha and Krishna, the associates of Radharani, the Sakhis, they pacify Radha. So in that separation, the other Gopis and the Manjaris try to make arrangements so that the separation will end. The separation is part of the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. Though it is followed by union, the feelings of separation are more intense. But because it is the most intense form of Prema, then we celebrate that Vipralambha. In the Brhad Bhagavatamrta there Sanatana Goswami explains that though Vipralambha looks very painful ultimately, within that separation, there is also union. So this is why we see the word Vipralambha in our prayers, etc. Because of the intense feelings that it provoked in the Gopis, and especially Radharani.
Translator : Maharaj can you repeat again.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: This is why we have often the mention of Vipralambha in our prayers and in the scriptures because it is the most intense experience in Prema. Okay, Hare Krishna.
Q & A:
1.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, can I ask one question? You often told about the separation followed by union, that separation is very strong. I thought Is that followed by union, I am anticipating that they can meet Krishna again?
Well, within the separation, they hope they will meet Krishna [Not clear]. Then finally they do [Laughs] meet.
Devotee : So in the separation, they feel so much pain, but they anticipate meeting with Krishna again. Then that is a very strong kind of bliss?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Well, the anticipation of meeting him gives them hope. The pain is caused by Krishna’s absence. When Krishna and Radha meet, or Krishna and the gopis meet, or even the queens and Krishna meet, then within that meeting again there is another type of separation. Although they are with Krishna, they are fearing he is going to leave again [Laughs]. And due to that feeling, even when Krishna is standing right in front of them, suddenly they think, Krishna is not there.
Devotee : [Laughs]. I see.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : And when they are separated from Krishna because of that longing, then internally Krishna appears. So within separation there is meeting, and with meeting there is also separation.
Devotee : [Laughs].
Translator Devotee : And then they keep increasing the prema right?.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Translator Devotee : This way, continuing to increase the prema.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Yes, yes [Laughs].
Translator Devotee : [Laughs]
2.) Maharaj in Dwaraka also, do they have the five rasas there?
Yeah The Queen’s have Madhurya Rasa, the elders and Vasudeva and Devaki have Vatsalya Rasa, we have friends like Pandavas, and then we have a lot of servants. However, the difference from Vrindavan is that in Dwaraka they also see Krishna as Lord, all the people, even the Queens.
3.) Maharaj,On the Gaura–purnima you mentioned that the form of Lord Jagannath is also a form in Vipralambha. Can you please explain a little bit on that?
Well, in Lord Caitanya’s pastimes there during the Ratha Yatra, then we see that Lord Caitanya was trying to bring Krishna back to Vrindavan, Jagannath, in front of the Rath. So in other words, he was in Dwaraka and then in Kurukshetra, and when Krishna was in Kurukshetra, then the people of Vrindavan wanted him to come back. So Lord Caitanya took the Ratha Yatra as an attempt of the people of Vrindavan to bring Krishna back to Vrindavan from Kurukshetra. So it was Vipralambha followed by meeting. It is also said that just as Lord Caitanya showed these forms of great separation in which his limbs would go into his body like a tortoise, so then in Dwaraka also Krishna in separation from the people of Vrindavan also displayed that form. And that is what Jagannath is. He hasn’t got any legs, his arms are very short.
4.) In Caitanya lila will all devotees have Madhurya rasa or any 5 kinds of rasas each devotee has?
Well, different devotees have different Rasas. So there’s Vatsalya Rasa with Jagannath Mishra and Sachi Mathaji, and Srivas Pandit and his wife they have Vatsalya Rasa for Lord Caitanya. A lot of Nityanandas associates were in Sakhya . And then of course we have Srivas Pandit as Narada Muni and also in Dasya Rasa as well. And we have, of course, Madhurya Rasa expressed by Gadadhar. And then of course we have in Puri, we have the Asta-sakhi represented there also by personalities like Ramananda Raya. And we have Manjaris represented by the Goswamis in Vrindavan, so there’s also Madhurya Rasa. So we have all the Rasas displayed but there’s a quite a prominence of Madhurya Rasa [Not clear].
Translator devotee : Is Ramananda Raya manjari?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : No Sakhi.
5.) And another question is, yesterday we were reading a Krishna book and there were sages in King Rama’s period. And those days there were sages and sage was eager to have Madhurya Rasa with Rama. And then next born they got a birth as gopis. It was written like that. But my question is why they had desire for Madhurya Rasa with Lord Rama? Because they were the great sages?
Well [Laughs], it’s not explained but we can understand that they must have cultivated previously some sort of Madhurya Rasa in previous lifetimes. So therefore it manifests. But they could not express that with Ramachandra because he has a vow of only having one wife. So therefore it doesn’t mean they can’t be fulfilled with him but they can fulfill that Madhurya Rasa with Krishna in Vrindavan.
Translator devotee : [Not Clear] they appeared? They cultivate, they are they supposed to cultivate Raganuga.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Who?
Devotee : Those Vedic philosophers.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: The sages?
Devotee : Yes, sages. But somehow they appear, arranged to associate with Ramachandra.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee : It means a little different Rasa, right?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee : They are more like Vaidhi. If we cultivate, practice the Vaidhi then we can become the associate. We can get associated with Ramachandra.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: But they were in Madhurya Rasa so they can’t have any Madhurya Rasa with Ramachandra [Laughs]. They could be queens in Dwarka. That’s also possible. However, maybe they had a Raganuga mood also but it was impossible to fulfill with Ramachandra, therefore they became gopis in Vrindavan. It’s not really clearly mentioned how they ended up with that desire to have Madhurya Rasa with Ramachandra.
Devotee : It means they have the possibility, even some devotees practice, cultivate Madhurya but still we may reach some birth for Aishwarya, associate.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: It’s possible if one cultivates Aishwarya in Madhurya then it is possible but not with Ramachandra and not even with Vishnu because Lakshmi is there. But it is possible in Dwarka. Ramachandra and Sita, they also have Madhurya Rasa but in the case of Rama, only one wife was allowed to have it. So Ramachandra and Sita couldn’t enjoy the love and affection so they became gopis. That’s also possible.
6.) Maharaj, the six Goswamis were, as per instruction of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, went to Vrindavan. But when they went to Vrindavan, was there a type of separation for them from Caitanya Mahaprabhu?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh yeah, from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, yes, they have separation.
Devotee : And we were talking after you went that day that it’s mentioned that the six Goswamis understood heart of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So what does that exactly mean?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, one is that they followed his order. He wanted that the Goswamis excavate the different places in Vrindavan so that people would understand where the pastimes of Krishna took place and also that they write scriptures so they fulfilled those duties for Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The other aspect of course is because they are Manjaris [Laughs], therefore they understand the mood of Radha and Krishna.
7.) What about the Manjaris? Because they are supporting the pacification between Krishna and Gopi’s separation. What about the individual Manjaris, their feelings? Do they also feel the separation?
Oh, definitely, yeah. Well, they identify with the feelings of Radha and Krishna. So if Radha is feeling separation, then the Manjaris will also feel that type of separation.
8.) Earlier, Maharaj said that even at the stage of Sadhana Bhakti, we can connect our feelings of wanting to meet Krishna. You mentioned that even Sadhana Bhakta can cultivate the feeling of Vipralambha, although that is not pure, that is not real Vipralambha, but we can cultivate. But we can do as Sadhana Bhakta from the beginning, just the beginning, we can cultivate the desire to meet Krishna. That is also called some type of Vipralambha.
Well, we don’t call it Vipralambha because that only manifests in Prema, but there is a feeling of separation naturally because as devotees doing Sadhana, we don’t meet Krishna directly. And then if we get Bhava or Prema, then we can actually meet him directly. So before that, we have anticipation or expectation of meeting Krishna. So it’s a type of separation, but it’s not mature because we don’t have Prema.
9.) Maharaj, Lord Ramachandra was separated from Sita Devi. So in Rama lila also we can say that it is a separation of Vipralambha.
Yeah that is a separation of Vipralambha.
10.) Maharaj, I want to confirm that this is true or not true. I hear that before some devotee said in Kurukshetra, Krishna was talking with Arjuna. Krishna was speaking about Bhagavad Gita.Then he spoke about Chapter 9 Mahatma takes shelter of the Daivi Prakriti. In this shloka, Krishna explains, this time Krishna meditates Radharani because Daivi Prakriti means Radharani.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : [Laughs].
Devotee : That’s why Krishna, externally he explains the philosophy, but internally he is remembering Radharani [Laughs]. Is that true?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : I haven’t seen it in the commentaries of our acharyas, but you can take it like that [Laughs] because Prakriti can refer to material or spiritual Prakriti.
Devotee : This is possible. We can say like that.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah and if the devotees are taking shelter of the spiritual Prakriti. At least we can say it’s the internal energy.
Devotee : But that time does Krishna meditate on Radharani?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : I don’t know [Laughs].I don’t think even Vishwanath says that. Maybe some other Acharyas.
11.) I want to confirm something. In the Vedas, what is the percentage of Karma–kanda? In the Vedas, they mostly explain about Karma–kanda. Some say 95% Karma–kanda, 5% Upasana-kanda or some devotees say 70% Karma–kanda.
Meaning what? Number of verses? Number of words [Laughs]? I don’t know [Laughs]. I don’t think so much because Samhita is a considerable section. Brahmanas and Aranyakas are the Karma-kanda section. Upanishads are the Jnana section. Taking all the Upanishads together that’s not so much. But the Samhita section is quite huge. I think that’s the biggest section called the Upasana-kanda. And the Jnana-kanda is quite little compared to either the Karma-kanda or the Upasana-kanda.
Devotee : Does Upasana-kanda means Jnana-kanda? Are both the same?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : No. That’s the Samhita section.That’s all the verses. And the Jnana-kanda is Upanishads.
Devotee : It means mostly the Karma-kanda?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : No.I think probably the Upasana-kanda is bigger.
Devotee : Upasana-kanda means?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: That’s the Samhita. All the verses. All the prayers.
Devotee :Which category? Karma Yoga or Jnana Yoga?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: It’s neither. Upasana-kanda is all the prayers.Jnana-kanda is Upanishads. And the Karma-kanda is the Brahmanas and Aranyakas.
Devotee : Upasana-kanda is mostly prayers.What kind of prayer? This is materialistic?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Hmm. Purusha Shukta. Whatever. Everything.
Devotee : Not necessarily material or spiritual?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Both. Because it’s prayers to Devatas, prayers to Vishnu, prayers to Shiva.
Devotee : All mixed?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Hmm.
Devotee : All kinds?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Hmm.
Devotee : We cannot say 70% or 90%?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : I doubt it. I don’t think so.
Devotee : Can we say the Bhakti Khanda?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: What is it?
Devotee : They have the Bhakti Khanda?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Well, it’s included with the Jnana Khanda. Upanishads.
Devotees : Thank you very much Maharaj! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki Jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!!!