Vrindavan
Right from Vedic times, we find many appropriate references to Supreme places or Stations (param-pad and loks) assigned or pertaining to different deified personalities or even personifications of Essential Elements of nature commanding religious worship ability among the masses. Accordingly well planned and elaborate references to “Vishnu – Pad” “Brahma Lok” “Param Vyom” and “Guha” etc. in Vedas and Upanishads occur conspicuously. Similarly, whenever there is any mention of Gop – Vishnu in Rig-Veda and Yajur Veda, there is also a mention of his Lok where cows with long horns keep wandering around. In Chhand yoga Upanishad also, we find a mention of Brahma Lok which, if once attained by any soul, puts full – stop to its further transmigration. In the same way Lok or Places of various Gods such as Agni Lok, Vayu Lok, Varun Lok, Aditya Lok etc. are also specified in ancient scriptures.
With the establishment of various Vaishanav Sampraday, worship of Vishnu and his various incarnations was developed on the basis of Aagams and Purans. Consequently thinking on the existence of Baikuntha and Golok etc. also gathered devotional importance in Vaishnavism on the basis of the said two authorities. Vrindavan is a Pad or Dham which plays a very important role in the Braj Leelas of Krishn. Different notions about Vrindavan are prevalent in different Sampraday and we find it totally out of the scope of this small space to mention all of them.
Despite the fact Radha Vallabh Sampraday’s theory admits that basically all visible and invisible objects in the universe have their origin in love or say they are all manifestations of love, it also holds that love is fully manifest only in its four forms – Radha, Krishn, Sehchari and Vrindavan. These four are held to be love’s original forms that are most perfect and purest in all respects and they play distinct roles collectively in the generation of bliss of the highest order.
We have seen that Radha Vallabhiya doctrine of love is based on three psychological components of love –the fist being ‘Bhokta’ Second being ‘Bhogya’ and the third being the ‘Preraka’ from of love takes part in the eternal love sports of Shyama-Shyam. This ‘Prerak love’ is divided in two forms namely Sakhees and Vrindavan. It should be borne mind that basically Vrindavan, being a form of love, is sentient like Sakhees but for the purpose of Leela of the divine couple, it adopts insentient form also.
Right from Vedic times, we find many appropriate references to Supreme places or Stations (param-pad and loks) assigned or pertaining to different deified personalities or even personifications of Essential Elements of nature commanding religious worship ability among the masses. Accordingly well planned and elaborate references to “Vishnu – Pad” “Brahma Lok” “Param Vyom” and “Guha” etc. in Vedas and Upanishads occur conspicuously. Similarly, whenever there is any mention of Gop – Vishnu in Rig-Veda and Yajur Veda, there is also a mention of his Lok where cows with long horns keep wandering around. In Chhand yoga Upanishad also, we find a mention of Brahma Lok which, if once attained by any soul, puts full – stop to its further transmigration. In the same way Lok or Places of various Gods such as Agni Lok, Vayu Lok, Varun Lok, Aditya Lok etc. are also specified in ancient scriptures.
With the establishment of various Vaishanav Sampraday, worship of Vishnu and his various incarnations was developed on the basis of Aagams and Purans. Consequently thinking on the existence of Baikuntha and Golok etc. also gathered devotional importance in Vaishnavism on the basis of the said two authorities. Vrindavan is a Pad or Dham which plays a very important role in the Braj Leelas of Krishn. Different notions about Vrindavan are prevalent in different Sampraday and we find it totally out of the scope of this small space to mention all of them.
Despite the fact Radha Vallabh Sampraday’s theory admits that basically all visible and invisible objects in the universe have their origin in love or say they are all manifestations of love, it also holds that love is fully manifest only in its four forms – Radha, Krishn, Sehchari and Vrindavan. These four are held to be love’s original forms that are most perfect and purest in all respects and they play distinct roles collectively in the generation of bliss of the highest order.
We have seen that Radha Vallabhiya doctrine of love is based on three psychological components of love –the fist being ‘Bhokta’ Second being ‘Bhogya’ and the third being the ‘Preraka’ from of love takes part in the eternal love sports of Shyama-Shyam. This ‘Prerak love’ is divided in two forms namely Sakhees and Vrindavan. It should be borne mind that basically Vrindavan, being a form of love, is sentient like Sakhees but for the purpose of Leela of the divine couple, it adopts insentient form also.
Vrindavan – A Symbol of Eternal Love :
Vrindavan being one of the four aforesaid manifestations of love, each and every object in it represents one or the other quality of love. For example Yamuna represents the purest form of amorous love (Sringar Ras) existing between Shyama – Shyam. It perennially and most glamorously flows all around Vrindavan watering it at every point. Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprbhu himself is the authority of this concept of Yamuna. Yamuna Pulin (sand bank of Yamuna) is a place which Radha Vallabhiya saints have eulogized most in their writings. It is even said that both the great oceans of love Shyama – Shyam serve perpetually the Yamuna Pulin which in itself is also a great ocean of love. By doing so the divine couple demonstrates the highest quality of service which is inherent in love. We know that the great circular dance (Ras) was performed by Krishn with Cowherd maids (Gopees) of Braj in Vrindavan. It shows that Vrindavan itself is a circular place. We also know that every point in a circle can be said to be its end. It is eternal where the beginning and the end meet. So Vrindavan symbolises the eternity of love of divine couple.
A saint disciple of Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu name Prabodhanand Saraswati in his “Vrindavan Shatak” ( 11-30 ) portrays Krishn as expressing his gratitude to Vrindavan in the following words:-
“Oh Vrindavan! The continuation of our (mine and Radha’s) skilful dalliance, and ever-increasing thirst for love experience and as well as always-getting stronger ties of love between us, are the handiwork of your miraculous powers.”
We know Radha is the supreme object of love in Radha Vallabh Sampraday and she is perceptible only in Vrindavan. Therefore in “Radha Sudha Nidhi Stotram 216” Goswami Shri Hit harivansh Mahaprabhu is seen pinning all his hopes on Vrindavan in the following words:-
“What have we to do with all those Holy Writs? And what have we to gain from the doctrines arising out of them and followed by great person, if they don’t contain the narratives of the glory of the embodiment of love – Shri Radha or the mention of system of devotion to her. Oh! What have we to do even with transcendental glory of ‘Baikunth’ (The seat of Vishnu and his consort Laxmi) where our Radha doesn’t exist? Even in my countless births to come, Let my sweet hope be pinned on the land of Vrindavan!”
Immensely impressed by Vrindavan’s significant role in ‘Ras – Bhakti or Prema Bhakti’ Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu, while paying homage to Vrindavan declares in one of his ‘Hit Chaurasi’ verses that no one can have clear perception of Vrindavan without first evoking the pleasure or grace of Radha i.e. no amount of man’s effort avails in this regard. Prabodhanand Sarswati also realising this relationship between Vrindavan and Radha says that Shri Radha is pleased with and is particularly kind to a person only when he or she has unshakable faith in Vrindavan and is one-minded dedicated to it.
Vrindavan - insentient as well as sentient at the same time:
We have already mentioned that Prerak love (love that incites or prompts) is manifest in two forms i.e. Vrindavan and Sakhees. Both of them, being forms of love, are naturally sentient, but Vrindavan has to assume insanities form also to facilitate the performance of love sports of the divine couple. There are, however, occasions when it has to play both of its roles-insentient as well as sentient – at the same time. In one of the verses of Hit Chaurasi (verse 34), Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprbhu has narrated a leela which would not have been understood in its true sense without Sewak ji offering its explanation in his ‘Sewak Vani’.
In the aforesaid verse of Hit Chaurasi, that sometimes Shayama-Shayam pass through very narrow lanes of Vrindavan with their garments not touching the dense foliage all around them. Sewak ji in his Sewak Vani (chapter 4 verse 10) being his expiation by asking as to how could it be possible in the case of Shayama – Shayam who are love – intoxicated and are unmindful of their bodies ? Another question raised in his verse is that, When the Divine couple, immersed in love, walk off the track a few steps away from each other how could they suddenly stagger back to their previous position? He answers these questions by saying that it is then the sentient Vrindavan who plays its role in giving them way by removing its dense foliage aside.
It is evident from the writings of Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprbhu that Prem Swaroopa Vrindavan is existent on this earth. Then a question arises as to why it is not perceptible to all the people. Saint Dhruv Das answers this question by saying that this non-perceptibility is due to the faulty vision of human beings. In other words, this wrong perception is due to the illusion called “MAYA”. Hari Ram Vyas a contemporary of Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu says that the trees of Vrindavan in the eyes of Rasik Saints are no less than the “All wish-fulfilling heavenly tree” (Kalptaru or Kalp vriksha) but to faithless people they are ordinary trees.
A saint disciple of Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu name Prabodhanand Saraswati in his “Vrindavan Shatak” ( 11-30 ) portrays Krishn as expressing his gratitude to Vrindavan in the following words:-
“Oh Vrindavan! The continuation of our (mine and Radha’s) skilful dalliance, and ever-increasing thirst for love experience and as well as always-getting stronger ties of love between us, are the handiwork of your miraculous powers.”
We know Radha is the supreme object of love in Radha Vallabh Sampraday and she is perceptible only in Vrindavan. Therefore in “Radha Sudha Nidhi Stotram 216” Goswami Shri Hit harivansh Mahaprabhu is seen pinning all his hopes on Vrindavan in the following words:-
“What have we to do with all those Holy Writs? And what have we to gain from the doctrines arising out of them and followed by great person, if they don’t contain the narratives of the glory of the embodiment of love – Shri Radha or the mention of system of devotion to her. Oh! What have we to do even with transcendental glory of ‘Baikunth’ (The seat of Vishnu and his consort Laxmi) where our Radha doesn’t exist? Even in my countless births to come, Let my sweet hope be pinned on the land of Vrindavan!”
Immensely impressed by Vrindavan’s significant role in ‘Ras – Bhakti or Prema Bhakti’ Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu, while paying homage to Vrindavan declares in one of his ‘Hit Chaurasi’ verses that no one can have clear perception of Vrindavan without first evoking the pleasure or grace of Radha i.e. no amount of man’s effort avails in this regard. Prabodhanand Sarswati also realising this relationship between Vrindavan and Radha says that Shri Radha is pleased with and is particularly kind to a person only when he or she has unshakable faith in Vrindavan and is one-minded dedicated to it.
Vrindavan - insentient as well as sentient at the same time:
We have already mentioned that Prerak love (love that incites or prompts) is manifest in two forms i.e. Vrindavan and Sakhees. Both of them, being forms of love, are naturally sentient, but Vrindavan has to assume insanities form also to facilitate the performance of love sports of the divine couple. There are, however, occasions when it has to play both of its roles-insentient as well as sentient – at the same time. In one of the verses of Hit Chaurasi (verse 34), Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprbhu has narrated a leela which would not have been understood in its true sense without Sewak ji offering its explanation in his ‘Sewak Vani’.
In the aforesaid verse of Hit Chaurasi, that sometimes Shayama-Shayam pass through very narrow lanes of Vrindavan with their garments not touching the dense foliage all around them. Sewak ji in his Sewak Vani (chapter 4 verse 10) being his expiation by asking as to how could it be possible in the case of Shayama – Shayam who are love – intoxicated and are unmindful of their bodies ? Another question raised in his verse is that, When the Divine couple, immersed in love, walk off the track a few steps away from each other how could they suddenly stagger back to their previous position? He answers these questions by saying that it is then the sentient Vrindavan who plays its role in giving them way by removing its dense foliage aside.
It is evident from the writings of Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprbhu that Prem Swaroopa Vrindavan is existent on this earth. Then a question arises as to why it is not perceptible to all the people. Saint Dhruv Das answers this question by saying that this non-perceptibility is due to the faulty vision of human beings. In other words, this wrong perception is due to the illusion called “MAYA”. Hari Ram Vyas a contemporary of Goswami Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu says that the trees of Vrindavan in the eyes of Rasik Saints are no less than the “All wish-fulfilling heavenly tree” (Kalptaru or Kalp vriksha) but to faithless people they are ordinary trees.
