Vipralambha is the mood of separation, to understand it we have to know. According to the revealed scriptures, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan Sri Krishna, is eternal and His pure devotees are eternal. But how can the pure devotee in a human body be eternal like the Lord? If we try to find the answer to this question, then naturally, we arrive at the following conclusion – pure devotees live their lives according to the instructions of the Supreme Lord and their words are but the external sound manifestation of the Lord’s internal desire. Therefore, we individuals who are desirous of making this extremely rare human birth brim with loving devotion must renounce our own desires which are inimical to the scriptures and born of the speculative mind; rather, we must live our lives following the instructions of our pure devotee initiating spiritual master (diksha guru) and the instructions of our instructing spiritual masters (siksha gurus). The more the people of this world, indulging in their own independence, give up the path of following in the footsteps of the pure devotees, the greater the chaos that will manifest in society.
The Lord bestows His causeless mercy upon those who are non-duplicitous and completely surrendered unto Him. Those recipients of the Lord’s mercy will never have the fear of losing anything related to this material world. In the realm of pure devotion, the intense desire to achieve material gains, worship, and position are counted amongst the deadly things of the material world. To the extent to which we develop an attachment to material gains, worship, and position, to precisely that extent, we will become confused and doubtful; eventually, we will become totally separated from the Lord and from the association of His pure devotees. The more we get separated from these manifestations of pure devotion, namely the devotees and the spiritual master, the greater we will undergo pain and suffering from the fears of this material world.
The main goal of taking birth in a human body in this material world is to render devotional service imbued with pure love to the Supreme Lord Krishna while being free from material greed and lust. It is precisely this service attitude that is the eternal constitutional position of each and every living entity. The perfection of this human form of life is achieved if one can render such devotional service following in the footsteps of the Lord’s pure devotee.
Gopinath Gaudiya Math’s founder acharya, who has entered the Lord’s eternal pastimes (Nitya-Lila-pravista), 108 Sri Srimad Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Thakur is one such pure devotee of the Lord amongst the pure devotees of all Vaisnava disciplic successions. Throughout his life, Sri Srimad Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Thakur taught us by his personal example to be the living embodiment of the third verse of Sriman Sacinandana Mahaprabhu’s Siksastakam. He lived his life according to the third verse of the Siksastakam and taught through his own example – even in this iron age of quarrel, hypocrisy, and crookedness, by the mercy of guru-Vaisnava-Bhagavan, by becoming humble and tolerant, by giving up material gains, worship and position, by offering appropriate respect to everyone, and by chanting the holy name in a peaceful state of mind, one becomes qualified to achieve pure love of God, Krishna-Prema, which is extremely rare even for the residents of heaven (svarga).
We are publishing this edition of Bhagavat Dharma magazine on the auspicious occasion of my Gurudeva’s disappearance day festival. Actually, on the disappearance day, devotees reflect upon and realize the separation felt from the physical presence of the spiritual master. We can gauge our spiritual progress by measuring the extent to which we feel this separation. Therefore, we cannot ignore the importance of separation. Amongst the whole community of devotees, the realization of separation experienced by three individuals described by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami in the Caitanya Caritamrta is by no means equal or even comparable to the separation we feel from other Vaisnava acharyas. Rather, Gaudiya devotees are eternally longing to taste the separation felt by these three individuals described by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswamipada.
The manifestation of this topmost separation was first experienced by Srimati Radharani who is non-different from Krishna and who is the pleasure-giving potency of the Lord. One time, Krishna and His elder brother, Balarama, were invited by their uncle, Kamsa, to go to Mathura. Krishna and Balarama had mounted the chariot and were going from Vrindavan to Mathura. At that time, Radharani along with her various other associates (sakhis), blocked the path of the chariot and manifested their first expression of separation. At that time, Krishna vowed to Radharani and the sakhis that He would return to Vrindavan very soon. Much time passed but Krishna’s return to Vrindavan, according to His vow, had still not occurred. Separation born from the absence of Krishna’s direct presence and association caused Radharani to lament and say:
Ayi dina-dayardra-natha! he mathura-natha kadavalokyase |
hrdayam tvad-aloka-kataram dayita bhramyati kim karomyaham ||
Ayi – Oh!; dina-dayardra-natha! – master who is compassionate upon the fallen!; he – Oh!; mathuranatha – master of Mathura; kadavalokyase – when will I be able to see you; hrdayam – heart; tvad-aloka-kataram – pain from not seeing you; dayita – Oh my dear; bhramyati – becomes overwhelmed; kim – what; karomyaham – do I do?
Translation:
In other words – “Oh deliverer of the fallen souls! From being the Lord of Vrindavan, now you have become the Lord of Mathura.” Krishna always stays in Vrindavan from the core of His heart. However, due to being extremely afflicted in the pain of separation, Srimati Radharani said, “Oh Lord of Mathura”! But the very next moment, Srimati Radharani said, “My heart is jumping out from my chest desiring to serve You, personally.” This internal expression of deep, intense love coupled with an external expression of anger is termed as maan. Under the influence of this maan, Srimati Radharani continued, “My dear, without this service to You, what will I do”?
Seeing the highest manifestation of these feelings of separation, Srila Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswamipada made the following known to all of us:
ei sloka kahiyachena radha-thakurani।
tanra krpaya sphuriyache madhavendra-vani।।
kiba gauracandra iha kare asvadana।
iha asvadibe ara nahi cautha-jana।।
(Caitanya-Caritamrta)
ei – this; sloka – verse; kahiyachena – has spoken; radha-thakurani – Radharani who is the supreme controller; tanra – Her; krpaya – by the mercy; sphuriyache – has manifested; madhavendra-vani – the words of Madhavendra Puri; kiba – what; gauracandra – Gauracandra; iha – here; kare asvadana – tastes; iha – here; asvadibe – to taste; ara nahi – no other; cautha-jana – fourth person
Translation:
This verse (ayi dinadayardranatha…) was spoken by Srimati Radha Thakurani. By Her mercy, this verse was manifested through the words of Madhavendra Puri. Sri Gauracandra tasted this verse. There is no fourth person who can taste this verse.
By studying the above two verses, we can understand that, firstly, Srimati Radharani uttered this topmost expression of separation, ayi dinadayardranatha, with the objective of getting the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna to return to Vrindavan. After being tasted by Srimati Radharani, this topmost expression of separation was tasted by the acharya of divine love, Madhavendra Puripada, in whom both Advaita Acarya and Nityananda Prabhu placed their utmost respect, reverence, and affection. After being tasted by Madhavendra Puri, this topmost feeling of separation was tasted by Sri Sacinandana Gaurahari who is Sri Krishna, Himself, beautifully ornamented with Radharani’s mood and complexion. He is the form of extreme magnanimity, coming to deliver everyone in this iron age of Kali, and He is the life of the residents of Nadia. At last, Srila Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami has written that other than these three divine personalities – namely Srimati Radharani, Sri Madhavendra Puripada, and Sri Gaurahari – there is not a fourth person to this day in the entire community of devotees who can taste this mood of separation. The main goal of our spiritual lives is to taste a drop of this mood of separation in our own lives. This separation when experienced in the heart is known as vipralambha. To taste the essence of this vipralambha, it is of utmost necessity that we completely surrender ourselves, becoming straightforward and non-duplicitous in our surrender to the spiritual masters, devotees, and the Lord (guru-Vaisnava-Bhagavan). Therefore, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur has made the following known to us through one of his writings:
atmanivedana tuya pade kari, hainu parama-sukhi।
duhkha dure gela, cinta na rahila, caudike ananda dekhi।।
atmanivedana – complete self-surrender; tuya – Your; pade – lotus feet; kari – I do; hainu – I have become; parama-sukhi – most blissful; duhkha – sadness; dure gela – has gone far away; cinta – worries; na rahila – do not exist; caudike – in the four directions; ananda – bliss; dekhi – I see
Translation:
Having completely surrendered at Your lotus feet, my Lord, I have become completely blissful. Sadness has gone far away. I have no more worries. I just see bliss in all four directions.
In order to taste a drop of this vipralambha, the primary need for us is to synthesize together: 1. the acceptance of genuinely following the path shown to us by the spiritual master and, 2. the mercy of the Lord. As discussed earlier, the mercy of the Lord is showered upon us solely through the pure devotees of the Lord. Therefore, it is best for those desirous of the spiritual advancement to completely surrender themselves from the very cores of their hearts in the service of the spiritual master and devotees (guru-Vaisnava). In this way, their extremely rare human lives will be filled with transcendental bliss.
Haribol.
