Lila Smarana - Now or Later?

[Nityānanda dāsa]

Satyanarayan Babaji has posted a few articles recently. Well, most likely it's his students posting these on Jiva.org. But they are interesting. Here is a segment of one: 

"Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī also singles out the importance of hearing and chanting the name. Hearing and chanting the name are two of the most important spiritual practices in the Gauḍīya School. He recommends that one should first hear the name for purification of the heart. Unless the heart is first purified by hearing and chanting the name, the other practices will not easily yield their result. Oftentimes, a disproportionate amount of stress is placed on līlā-smaraṇam, “recollection of, or meditation on, Bhagavān’s līlās.” But this practice requires the heart to be firmly established in sattva, or purity of being. If the heart is not sāttvika, līlā-smaraṇam becomes an impossibility. Instead of granting the desired result, it leads to degradation."

The article is titled 'Importance of the Holy Name'. 

I know that over time it seems there have been many advocating, "Don't read the rasika texts! You're not advanced enough. It will just make you think of sex and Radha Krishna's love is nothing like material sex. If you equate the two that is an offense and will prevent your progress in Bhakti." Something along those lines. 

On the more personal side I have to say that I almost have to intentionally remind myself that Radha and Krishna are not like us when I read about the beauty of Radha's breasts, or that Krishna is touching them, kissing Radha, that the manjaris watch their 'love' lila, etc. It does seem quite a bit beyond me. I do try to remind myself that my aspiration is to be one of the servants of Sri Radha. But even so, it's somewhat difficult to do so being in a male body. 

Your thoughts? 

[Nityānanda dāsa]

One additional thought that just came to mind in response to the above is that I should go back through the books on Sri Caitanya and Raganuga Bhakti written by OBL Kapoor, Madan Gopal (Mahanidhi) Babaji, and there's a good article about manjari bhava by Gadadhar Pran in Nitai's 'Gifts of Sacred Wonder'.

[Ldd]

I won't say too much here, but manjari bhav is more the mood of intimate service to the divine couple, The goswamis who were ascetics were manjari - Lokanath Goswami (Manjulali manjari) Guna manjari (Gopal Bhatt Goswami) Rasa manjari (Raghunath Bhatt) Lavanga Manjari (Sanatan Goswami) Rupa manjari (Rupa) Vilas Manjari (Narotamma das) but they were not doing manjari all day. I'm sure their days were filled with tons of other seva and chanting. For those disturbed by lust chanting more Names should be done, hearing the pastimes cures it. My guru said it's good to read it, but as you say you have to know the difference. Ultimately my guru said all practices are within the Holy Names... If one has overcome passion he can do like Ramananda Rai who helped bathe the devadasis.. that's the perfect state of being - I know of no one who is like this.

that Jiva.org article sounds ok.

[Nitaidas]

Apr 16, 2021 18:36:21 GMT -6 Nityānanda dāsa said:

One additional thought that just came to mind in response to the above is that I should go back through the books on Sri Caitanya and Raganuga Bhakti written by OBL Kapoor, Madan Gopal (Mahanidhi) Babaji, and there's a good article about manjari bhava by Gadadhar Pran in Nitai's 'Gifts of Sacred Wonder'.

Sounds good, Nilamadhavadasji. One should not think, however, that Smarana replaces the chanting of the Holy Names. It is not a matter of one or the other. Rather, it is both. The practices are complementary. Both are actually forms of smarana.

As for Dr. Kapoor's book, which has come up in another thread, I had intended to publish that again as I did with his Science of Bhakti, but unfortunately I found his account of Raga bhakti to be flawed and misleading. So, rather than contribute to more misunderstanding I decided to not republish it. Sadly, Dr. Kapoor completely misunderstood Sri Rupa's presentation of the two paths of bhakti, Vaidhi and Raga. He represents them as one path with Vaidhi leading to Raga, when they are actually two parallel paths with different results. Anyone who has read Rupa carefully enough knows this. Unfortunately, Bhaktivedanta made the same mistake and perhaps it was widely taught in IGM. Perhaps it is one of the points of apasiddhanta introduced by IGM that traditional CV understands correctly. Or, maybe it is even misunderstood in traditional CV. Just because one is properly initiated in a genuine lineage, does not make one always right. One has to actually read the texts and understand them too.

[Nitaidas]

Manindranath Guha, disciple of Prabhupad Kanupriya Goswami, argues in his Nectar of the Holy Name that one does not need to practice lila-smarana. Instead, simply by focusing one's attention fully on chanting the Holy Names the lila along with one's nitya svarupa (as a manjari or sakha) will become revealed to one in the natural course of things.

The lila-smarana practices are enormously complicated and difficult to maintain. I have heard of novice practitioners going to siksa gurus and studying for years to learn how to properly practice the process. At present I don't know of any adepts in Vraja who are qualified to teach the process, but when I was there many years ago there were several. One in particular comes to mind: Sri Krsnacarana Das Babaji. I notice he wrote the foreword to Pandit Anantadas Babaji's Gutika. I think Panditji learned the process from him. Without such guidance it is difficult to fully engage in the practice. I see no problem, however, in periodically remembering what the Yugal Kishor is doing at various times during the day, even if one does not attempt to do a full visualization of the lila.

On a historical note, I think there is a connection between the smarana practices of CV and the earlier visualization practices relating to mandala visualization in tantric Buddhism, the practices of which were largely centered in Bengali and Mithila. I have been reading the fascinating biography of Marpa the translator who visited India from Tibet three times and stayed for years learning such practices from the likes of Naropa and others. Marpa translated many of the seminal texts into Tibetan from Sanskrit. He was also the guru of the great adept Milarepa.

[Ldd]

To consider the other processes better than the Holy Names is an aparadh. Isn't that?

[Nitaidas]

Apr 20, 2021 7:49:17 GMT -6 Ldd said:

To consider the other processes better than the Holy Names is an aparadh. Isn't that?

I don't really think of lila-smarana and nama-smarana as different practices. They are both forms of smarana and nama-smarana is really the same as lila-smarana because each of Krsna's names embodies a lila. Hari is his lila of removing sin and suffering; Krsna is his lila of attracting one to him; Rama is his feeling joy in Radha's company and sharing that joy his invoker. Sri Sanatana Goswami demonstrated that clearly in his first Caitanyite book the Sri Krsna-lila-stava in which he takes every one of Krsna's lilas in the first forty chapters of the 10th Skandha of the Bhagavata and turns it into a name, a call to Krsna.

I think that if one were recommending performing good deeds or ritual (karma) or cultivating knowledge (jnana) or austerity (tapas) over nama-smarana or lila-smarana that would be aparadha. But the strong desire to remember Krsna's lila with Radhika or his sakhas is substantially the same as the desire to speak, remember, and relish his names. I think all practitioners of lila-smarana also practice nama-smarana as well. That is how Baba did it, I am sure.

[service to Radha's feet]

Lila smaranam is a very high practice, but so is chanting the maha mantra for long periods of time, so is dedicated Thakur (Murti) seva. So is hearing the Bhagavata (Hari katha/Radha Krishna lila) from rasika Vaisnavas. Any of these practices can bestow bhav. All these practices together are a good combinations of bhakti bhajan that create tastes and support for one another. The Nam chanting gives taste for lila smaranam and remembering the mentally imagined manjari siddha deha. The Thakur seva gives support for chanting of Hari Nam, thinking They are non-different. Hearing the Radha Krishna lila gives support for Nam chanting, etc. They are all powerful experiences in bhakti that can create love within ones heart for Radha and Krishna.

I think Jiva Goswamipada may have given this consequential process of Nam chanting leading to rupa, then guna, then lila as a general philosophical idea, but not as a fixed bhajan practice because that is given by the mantra or diksa guru. The diksa guru may give one lila smaranam practice in the beginning and not wait till one goes from one form of remembrance to the next. Why not? Life is short. Why wait if a disciple has some lobha, or eagerness to do smaranam of Radha and Krishna and wants to quickly advance towards developing bhav for Radha and Krishna seva. Whatever bhajan one does in this life is not wasted. I think if one thinks in terms of fearing of failing on the bhakti path by venturing into manjari bhav raganuga sadhana then one really is not quite ready for it. Then more chanting and hearing is recommended till eagerness is established within the heart. The eagerness qualifies one for lila smaranam. Its grace will remove the obstacle of the heart of feeling unqualified and incapable of doing the practice.

I do not have experience of after hearing the Radha Krishna lila that it makes one particularly lusty. On the contrary, it makes me feel more ashamed of my own shortcomings because it is like standing next to a radiantly sparkling sun light. The Radha and Krishna lila is generally presented in very beautiful descriptive poetry that is so brilliantly presented, that one can glean from it its uniquely supernatural and aesthetic story. When I hear the Radha and Krishna lila I feel the madhurya power and blissful presence of something extraordinary in the form of spiritual narrative descriptions. I feel similar power when in a kirtan of sincere chanters as the holy name of Krishna seems to make His divine presence felt in the assembly of Vaisnavas within the sound vibrations. There is also an extraordinary experience felt, an inebriated feeling in the heart when one deeply meditates and serves within a timed Vraja lila of the period. By the power of the lila shakti, a jiva graced by Guru and Mahaprabhu can have some mystical happenings in the world of mental imagery of the Vraja lila.

The argument that people hear Radha and Krishna to feel sensually hot in some form or fashion is very poor, at least in our days. There is so much access to very graphic sexuality in the internet and elsewhere that, why choose a poetic book of Radha and Krishna lila for this? Yes, there are many ignorant people who do not understand Radha and Krishna lila and think they are like them. But, they are generally not devotees.

Devotees generally would have an inclination to understand and learn the tattva and the lila to not mistake Them as ordinary people of this world. The power of hearing of Sri Radha's breast is that ordinary breasts of this world becomes increasingly unattractive. And those breast of Sri Radha are generally described in metaphors that give one the impression that this is a description of unearthly divinity. We were hearing the other day, that Sri Krishna worships Sri Radhika's breast and are described to be like a Shiva Linga. The three lines (like the three lined-tilak on a Linga) are Sri Krishna's scratch marks on them and those breast (Linga) bestows auspiciousness (Shiva) on the worshiper (Sri Krishna)! The philosophical gist is Sri Radha (who is non-different from Krishna) gives Sri Krishna auspiciousness because She is the divine power of prema and love makes Krishna happy when He has Her association. His personality in Vrindavan is dhira lalita, controlled by the lady loves (Gopis mahabhav).

Nam meditation and lila meditation go hand and hand. It can be mixed: think of the words of the maha mantra along with the sound, think of the forms of Radha and Krishna along with the sound of maha mantra. Think of Their qualities, their love for one another remember the slokas of the acaryas along with the sound of the holy name. Think of the love of Radha and Krishna gopis/manjari have for them and of their lila - astakaliya lila and or/nikunja seva lila while mentally or verbally chanting the maha mantra.

I remember the Lord's instruction in Gita, 18th Chapter: man manah bhava mad bhakto... - give your mind to Me, become My devotee, worship Me, offer homage to Me; you will come to Me if you do this, I promise. I think this giving one's mind to the Lord, this is a surrender that the Lord feels within His heart for and will melt His heart. Remember, He is sitting there within our hearts. We can think of so many things, and we do. But to dedicate some space of thought for Him, and of all the forms, svayam Bhagavan Sri Krishna in Vrindavan along with Sri Radha and Her gopis associates is topmost. So, why not? It is a win-win.

[service to Radha's feet]

More thoughts on this. There are many aspects of the Radha and Krishna lila and gopi, manjari bhav seva described in the rasa sastra that are not explicit. There are many verses within Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi, Vilap Kusmanjari, lilas written By Sri Rupa, prayers by Sri Raghunath Das Goswami that one can meditate on. In our practice, most of us were taught the Yoga Pith seva smaranam in Navadwip and Vrindavan. That is an excellent intro and mental bhajan seva in worshipping Gauranga and His associates in Navadwip and Radha-Krishna and their associates in Vrindavan. Just the sheer endeavor to remember the names of these eternal devotees, what they look like, where they are standing, what bhav they have, what is my manjari identity, name ect, is very powerful.

I personally was never a fan or felt that the 'work now samadhi later' teaching was valid. We can die any moment and then what?