vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate
"Those who are seers of the truth speak of the undivided Absolute Truth in three phases – Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan." (Bhag.1.2.11)
All-permeating, all-comprehensive and all-controlling – the three phases of the Absolute. Then Mahaprabhu gave the fourth phase– that is the Krsna conception. Sundaram – that loveliness of the Absolute, to attract everyone for His service towards Him. Neither the controller, nor the accommodator nor the innermost substance is the highest conception of the Absolute, but the capacity of attracting everyone, to concentrate the centre of interest of everyone by beauty and natural love – not by forceful control; to attract every atom towards Him for the fulfillment of our existence. That is the highest aspect of the Absolute and was given by Mahaprabhu – the natural attractor of all, giving them all possible fulfillment. Who can give fulfillment of the inner aspiration of everyone? That aspect is the highest aspect of the Absolute and that fulfillment is possible by anandam, rasam – beauty, love and affection. That aspect is the highest aspect of the Absolute. Neither the controlling, nor accommodating, nor permeating aspects of Paramatma, Brahman and Bhagavan, but Svayam-Bhagavan – the God of God, the God of all gods. His abode is Vrndavana, and He never leaves Vrndavana. Then it is found that there is another similar aspect.
There is an aspect that is drawn to His own beauty and also distributes that beauty. Just as in the heart we find that blood is circulated to every corner and from there, the blood is again drawn towards heart for purification. Giving and taking, all-attracting and distributing to all – that is Sri Caitanyadeva. There the combined effort of the Positive-Negative is together. In Vrndavana, the Positive and Negative are separate with Their own paraphernalia and They are continuing Their pastimes. In Svarupa-damodara's sloka we find:
radha krsna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini saktir asmad
ekatmanav api bhuvi pura deha-bhedam gatau tau
caitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna tad-dvayam caikyam aptam
radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam naumi krsna-svarupam
(Cc. Adi 1.5)
Svarupa-damodara refutes the idea that first there is Krsna, and then Mahaprabhu. Both are eternal. When they are combined – radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtir. Who is Radha? She is not separate from Krsna. Krsna-pranaya – the beauty or the love that is in Krsna – that is Radha and so that cannot exist separately. They are both one but they are separated for a particular practice in Vrndavana. They are one divided into two halves – positive and negative with Their own paraphernalia. They showed Their very beautiful pastimes there. And again, They become one in Sri Caitanya – radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalita – the colour and the mood of Radharani within Krsna. I have mentioned in my Prema-dhama-deva Stotram:
atma-siddha-sava lila puma-saukhya-laksanam
svanubhava-matta-nrtya-kirtanatma-vantanam
advayaika-laksya-puma-tattva-tat-paratparam
prema-dhama-devam-eva naumi gaura-sundaram
"This is the all-conquering conclusion: the highest conception of the Ultimate Reality must also be the highest form of ananda, ecstasy. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna, ecstasy Himself, tasting His own sweetness and dancing in ecstatic joy. His own Holy Name is the cause of His ecstasy, expressed as dancing, and the Holy Name is the effect of His ecstasy, expressed as chanting. The cause is the effect. The dynamo is creating ecstatic energy which makes Him dance, and His chanting distributes that ecstasy to others. I offer my obeisances to that beautiful Golden Lord, Gauranga-sundara, the divine form of krsna-prema." (Prema-dhama-deva Stotram 66)
Matta-nrtya – just as a madman, without any object, dances. This example is given by the philosophers – matta-nrtya. A madman is dancing. What is the cause? He has got no idea, but he is dancing. So the Absolute, in ecstasy of His joyfulness, is dancing. And when He is chanting He distributes Himself to the public. I have pointed out in this verse that dancing is the symptom of the fullness of ecstatic joy and kirtana means to distribute Himself to the outside, to the environment. When these two signs are found in full then He cannot but be the Absolute. The Absolute Truth has got His own fulfillment and He is also dynamic in character, distributing that fulfillment to others. That is found in Sri Caitanyadeva – the highest type of Absolute.
Madhurya in Vrndavana and audarya in Navadvipa – two compartments on the same level. On the highest level of ontological conception there are two compartments – one confined within Himself, and another distributing that to other quarters; attracting everyone towards Them and distributing everything towards all. Two phases of lila are generally found there. To us, gaura-lila is more useful because our prospect is there. Through Mahaprabhu only can we have entrance into the other aspect of His lila – when it is given by Him, by His given method. If we approach Him, we are sure to have entrance into that lila.
yatha yatha gaura-padaravinde
vindeta bhaktim krta punya-rasih
tatha tathot-sarpati hrdya-kasmad
radha-padambhoja-sudhambu rasih
(Caitanya-candramrta 88)
"As devotion unto the lotus feet of Sri Gaurasundara is attained by a greatly pious person, inevitably the ocean of nectar which is the service of the lotus feet of Sri Radha is accordingly born within his heart." (Caitanya-candramrta 88)
As much as we are able to connect ourselves with gaura-lila, automatically we find that without any trouble we are already presented there in krsna-lila. We are carried to the camp of Radharani in Vrndavana. We have to cover this ontological aspect.
Percolated by the mercy of Sri Gauranga, try to approach Srimati Radharani. Then there will be no possibility of any contamination entering our heart and disturbing us in that plane. Sri Gauranga will impede that contamination. If we have the shelter of Gauranga we can be sure that we will very safely, smoothly, and intimately attain the service of Srimati Radharani. Otherwise it is very dangerous, and sometimes suicidal. If we do not approach through Gauranga, the attempt will be reactionary.
It is very dangerous to approach Vrndavana and Srimati Radharani directly. We must approach as commanded by Gauranga. In other words, if we can appreciate the life of Gauranga, the ideal of Gauranga, then kama will be exhaustively eliminated. We will be purified so that we can be accepted in that domain of the highest lila. We shall not approach intellectually, for that will fill us with misconceptions. We will have to expend much energy to do away with that layer of misunderstanding. Therefore, our Srila Prabhupada did not allow these things.
