Суд над Бхагавад-гитой / Attempt to ban Bhagavad-gita

sweetest ecstasies, which exceed Krishna’s ananda ten million
fold, keeps her always fixed and victorious.

This same parakiya permutation, however, has another
important function. There are many times (perhaps more often
than not) when a manjari must thoroughly resist Krishna’s
advances in order to safeguard her integrity as Radha’s
confidential kinkari. The parakiya sense of belonging to Radha
rather than to Krishna fortunately affords her the necessary
footing and firmness to successfully accomplish the task. This
bears special significance particularly for the sadhana-siddha
manjaris, who are vibhinnamsha-jivatmas possessed of limited
potency. They are anu, very insignificant, whereas Krishna is
vibhu, unlimitedly great and omnipotent. On her own, the
sadhana-siddha manjari could hardly hope to withstand the
onslaught of Krishna’s unlimited attractiveness, sweetness,
beauty, and handsomeness. How could she resist Him? Can a
particle of iron escape the force field of a great magnet? Highly
unlikely. Yet, if there is the influence of a greater magnetism, if
the sadhana-siddha manjari is constantly bound by the force of
greater attraction, greater sweetness, and greater beauty, she
can easily deflect His absolute unlimited wantonness. That is
Shri Radhika. Without Her shelter, who could stand a chance?
Radhika, the supreme svarupa-shakti counterpart of Shri
Krishna, is also vibhu. She too is unlimited, as are Her many
kaya-vyuha confidants. As such, Radhika, on the basis of Her
transcendental preponderance, can effectively ward off the
rapacious cupidity of Her lover, when She deems it necessary to
play hard-to-get. So too, under the auspices of Radha, can Her
privileged vibhinnamsha kinkari, through her bond of affection
to Radha reinforced by her sakhi-guru’s potent directives which
totally accord with Radha’s wishes. On the strength of Radha’s
prevailing influence and her rigid disinclination to breach
Radha’s trust, the manjari boasts the requisite authority and
prerogative to say “no” to Krishna. Resisting, she may address
Krishna in the following words: “Hey, you lampata! Control Your
senses! Forget it! I’m not Yours for the taking. I belong to
Svamini! I’m just Her insignificant messenger. Merciless boy, be
kind to me. Let go of the edge of my sari. Look! The sun is


setting. I have to go to evening arati now. It is not Your fault that
You cannot understand my dear friend's message and You slight
Her valuable gift. You are just too unintelligent to understand.
Krishna, why do You raise the fearsome cupid's bows of Your
eyebrows in that way? O Krishna, O moon of Vraja, if You
neglect my friend and instead try to make advances upon me, I
shall give up my life on the spot!” In this way, the jiva, though
very insignificant, also facilely acquires the power to
purposefully play hard-to-get.

At this juncture, the parakiya influence displays another
noteworthy facet. Unattainability on the basis of Radha’s
dominion appreciably places the sadhana-siddha manjari in a
much fairer light. Due to the inaccessibility of Radha’s
maidservant, which generates an increased fascination within
Krishna’s heart, the value of the infinitesimal becomes greatly
magnified. Something easily obtained can be easily taken for
granted or abandoned. Something rarely gained even after
considerable struggle becomes highly treasured. Krishna can
easily overlook, disregard, or cast aside the minute jiva. What is
the appeal of an insignificant spark compared with that of an
unlimited fire? Radha and Krishna are said to be like a single
ghee lamp with two immaculate, brightly blazing, infinite love-
flames. They are ontologically one soul, yet, inconceivably, They
morphologically manifest as two, differentiated, synergistically
infatuating and infatuated, limitlessly lovable supreme
personalities. In the contest of Their infinitely sublime love-
infatuations, neither admits defeat. Their absolute love-play is
perfect and complete. Yet we see that They, in the course of
Their lilas, from time to time make Themselves scarce, so as to
augment each other’s worth before one another. Sometimes
Krishna disappears to increase the gopis’ love for Himself, or at
other times, when, for instance, She finds that Krishna has
started the rasa-lila before Her arrival to the rasa-mandala,
Radhika, unseen by anyone, indignantly goes into hiding across
the Yamuna to mope a Mana-sarovara lake of tears. No one likes
to be taken cheaply. Everyone likes to be appreciated. Why?
Because the same psychology is originally there in the Absolute.
If the infinite counterpart aspects of the Absolute see the need


to actively expand each other’s estimation of one another’s
worth, then how much more of such necessity exists for the
relatively inconsequential vibhinnamsha-jivas in their approach
to the Lord’s reciprocal relationship. The plight of the jiva is
such that her finitude hardly adds up to very much in face of
the unlimited fancy of the Absolute. Oversimplifying the matter,
some would suggest that the unlimitedness of Krishna’s heart
can certainly accommodate and magnify even the smallest-of-
the-smallest spark of prema. Although that is not incorrect, still,
it may be objectively observed that when the jiva spark
becomes especially splendorous by dancing in proximity to Shri
Radhika’s unlimitedly dazzling love-flame, Krishna’s
appreciation of the jiva becomes extraordinarily enriched and
distinctly sustainable. Do not bother yourself to become too
much infatuated with Krishna. Rather, act in such a way that
Lord Krishna may become ever more infatuated with you.

In the realm of Vraja, parakiya-tattva glistens with yet
another powerful radiance. Manjari-tattva, though commonly
understood to be constituted of a singular mind-set, is in fact
quite bejeweled with diversity. Just as there are left-wing
(vama) and right-wing (daksina) yutheshvari-gopis and sakhis
with many varieties of devotional dispositions, so also there are
many varieties of left- and right-wing manjaris. Rati Manjari is
daksina-mridvi by nature, right wing and very soft and sweet. As
evidenced in Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami’s Vilapa-
kusumanjali, Rati Manjari, from her right-wing vantage point,
stands as perhaps the greatest exemplar of the mood of
belonging to her yutheshvari, Shri Radhika. “I am Yours! I am
Yours! I cannot live without You! O queen, please understand
this and bring me to Your lotus feet.” Among the asta-manjaris,
Shri Lavanga Manjari is also daksina-mridvi, and Shri Rasa
Manjari has qualities similar to hers. However, Shri Rupa
Manjari is vama-madhya (left wing and moderate), Shri Guna
Manjari is daksina-prakhara (right wing and harsh), Shri
Manjulali Manjari is vama-madhya like Rupa, Shri Vilasa Manjari
is vama-mridvi (left wing and sweet), and Shri Kausturi Manjari
is similarly vama-mridvi in nature. The famous Shri Ananga
Manjari is also vama-madhya in temperament. As among


countless snowflakes no two are exactly alike, so too are there
untold varieties of manjari-bhava. It is, therefore, not at all
astonishing that different manjaris are possessed of different
cherished ambitions as well as different feelings toward their
yutheshvari. Just as Radha’s madhu-sneha differs from the ghrita-
sneha of Candravali in terms of owner and owned, as previously
discussed with respect to Shri Krishna’s relationship, so the
sakhi-sneha of the various manjaris also differ. Like Rati Manjari,
many feel within themselves a deep sense of belonging to
Radha. Others, however, boldly embrace the prominent sense
of Radha’s belonging to them. And, as one might surmise, Radha
mercifully reciprocates their feelings. Krishna belongs to Radha,
but to whom does Radha belong? She does not belong to
Krishna. Nor is She self-possessed. She undeniably belongs to
another (parakiya). She belongs to Her manjari maidservant.
Krishna, in response to Radhika’s bhava, again and again runs to
give Himself to Her, but do you think He always finds it so easy?
Certainly not! He’s at the mercy of the manjaris, who may not all
be so kindly disposed toward His unabashed wicked
licentiousness. He often finds Himself futilely begging at the feet
of Radha’s relentless left-wing manjari maidservants who
derisively keep Him at bay, playfully enhancing the
effectiveness of the vipralambha-rasa, which greatly nourishes
the Divine Couple’s mutually intensified emotional ecstasies at
the ripest time of Their imminent union.

Devotees who aspire after the Divine Couple’s eternal,
transcendentally utopian realm of svakiya-mayi sambhoga-lilas
(Ranga Mahal) generally think the parakiya-punctuated
vipralambha-bhava to be antagonistic to the favorable fulfillment
of Radha-Krishna’s desire for continuous relishment of
sambhoga-rasa (nitya-nikunja-vihara). They argue that in the
spiritual world, the ananda savored by the Divine Couple in the
company of Their intimate associates ever-increasingly expands
for eternity anyway, so why wish upon Them the distress of
separation if the intention is to make Them happy? They are
already ever-increasingly happy to be in each other’s company,
so why disturb Them with the aim of increasing Their
happiness? Just let Them be happy. This idea, which does not


accommodate the interplay of the diverse rasas of Vraja Dhama,
is, however, analogous to an immature neophyte disciple’s
inability to understand the positive purpose of the guru’s
chastisement. Shri Guru mercifully punishes a disciple simply to
strengthen, upgrade, and intensify the disciple’s determination
for spiritual progress. Yet the less intelligent neophyte prefers to
be flattered than to bear the weight of the guru’s reprimand,
which seems intolerable. It is certainly a fact that the ananda of
the Lord and His eternal associates eternally expands without
limit. Still, on closer examination it can be clearly observed that,
corresponding to the diverse lila configurations prelimited to
various sectors of Goloka, Krishna and His entourage know
either eternally ever-increasing ananda, eternally ever-
increasing more intensified ananda, or eternally ever-increasing
most intensified ananda. The parakiya element in vraja-lila
certainly intensifies in various ways the priti-bhajana of the
Lord’s ragatmika associates. This enhances the Lord’s ananda-
maya reciprocal dealings with them in a myriad of ways, making
them the objects of His special consideration and affection. As
Krishna becomes mad after the gopis, who are accomplished in
their varieties of parakiya absorption, which overstep the
regulative principles of the shastras, so also, by extension of His
compassionate nature, Lord Krishna becomes very much
inclined toward those sadhakas who, recognizing and aspiring
after the super-excellence of the vraja-gopis’ parakiya loving
sentiments, constantly drink deep of the ambrosial priti-
saturated asta-kaliya-lilas of Vraja. He thus mercifully helps
them by providing necessary intelligence (the ability to see
things in proper perspective) and appropriate knowledge of the
progressive path of madhurya-maya-vraja-bhakti-bhajana (jnana-
dipena bhasvata), by which they themselves may ultimately
achieve the perfectional platform of unalloyed priti for His
absolute pleasure. In this way, Vrajendranandana Krishna
kindly dissipates the darkness of ignorance (ajnana-jam tamah
nashayami) that prompts a sadhaka’s attachment to any other
objective.