Vyasena Vraja Lilayam Nitya Tattvam

By Vyāsa, the eternal truth regarding Vraja-līlā has been revealed — its own true nature, which knowledge born of the material world (prapañca) cannot attain.

In the perfected existence of the jīva, the supreme truth shines forth — within pure, undifferentiated samādhi that is free from all remoteness.

Because the universe, born of māyā, is but a shadow of consciousness (cit), a resemblance is perceived between that shadow and the effect manifested by the spiritual potency (cit-śakti), present both in samādhi and in the self.

Therefore the moods of Vraja, whose very nature is the name and qualities of Kṛṣṇa, are perceived — through material, inert qualities — as bearing an eternal resemblance to their spiritual counterparts.

This samādhi, self-luminous by nature, is so described by the wise; but because its true form is exceedingly subtle, it is effaced through doubt.

We, however, having cast aside doubt, behold the supreme truth: the beauteous form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa within delightful Vṛndāvana.

This form, though resembling a human form, nourishes the spiritual truth; His complexion, tenderly dark (śyāma), increases the bliss of all.

Standing in the threefold-bending posture, His eyes like lotuses, He wears a peacock feather; glorious, He is adorned with a garland of forest flowers.

Clad in yellow garments and richly adorned, His lotus face set upon the flute, He stands beneath a kadamba tree on the delightful bank of the Yamunā.

By these spiritual characteristics, the Lord of the universe — Kṛṣṇa, son of Nanda — is recognized through Vaiṣṇava samādhi.

The beautiful Lord, whose very nature is to attract, enchants this entire universe with the song of His flute, stealing away the minds of the gopīs.

How can those whose hearts are hardened by the delusion of pride in birth and the like ever attain Kṛṣṇa? It is the gopīs' hearts alone that Kṛṣṇa is capable of drawing to Himself.

Those whose very being consists of the gopīs' mood are the perfected souls; those who cultivate that mood through emulation are the practitioners (sādhakas). Thus the saintly should always be known by knowers of the supreme truth as twofold.

For those wandering in saṁsāra, the song of Kṛṣṇa, once it enters the ear, forcibly draws the mind and indeed elevates them.

When the male disposition swiftly departs, a feminine mood arises in its place; for such devotees there then arises pūrva-rāga, love's dawning stage, marked by symptoms of madness.

Hearing repeatedly of Kṛṣṇa's qualities from one who reveals them, and beholding His form as if painted before the eyes, their longing intensifies greatly.

First comes innate, natural knowledge; second, the description given in scripture; and third, skillful discernment in the world — regarding Kṛṣṇa, who is the Supreme Lord Himself.

Faith in Kṛṣṇa, the very shelter of Vraja's moods, takes the form of rāga, spontaneous loving attachment; from that follows the association of saintly persons, the residents of Vraja.

Sometimes an abhisāra, a secret tryst, occurs near the bank of the Yamunā, where an auspicious meeting takes place with the beloved.

From Kṛṣṇa's association, supreme bliss arises naturally; the happiness once cherished before now appears contemptible, reduced in that instant to the size of a mere cow's hoof-print.

Supreme bliss increases in the heart day by day, as the self delights in the dearmost self, whose form is eternally, ever fresh and new.

That innate, self-established attraction of the jīva — whose nature is consciousness and bliss — toward the Lord whose form is being, consciousness, and bliss (sac-cid-ānanda), is called rati, the seed of prema.

That rati, resting upon rasa, grows and takes the very form of rasa. Rasa is of five primary kinds, and likewise of seven secondary kinds.

Śānta, dāsya, and the rest are the primary rasas, embodying the mood of direct relationship with the Lord; the secondary rasas, beginning with vīra (heroism), likewise arise naturally from relationship.

Having attained the form of rasa, this rati shines forth in its own true nature — through vibhāvas, anubhāvas, sāttvika-bhāvas, and vyabhicārī-bhāvas.

This rati for Kṛṣṇa is the sthāyi-bhāva, the permanent emotion, which becomes bhakti-rasa. In the bound soul it exists in the form of bhakti; in the liberated soul it takes the form of prīti.

In the liberated soul it exists eternally; in the bound soul it must be cultivated through practice. What is to be achieved is the manifestation, in the heart, of this eternally perfect mood.

Attained through perfect, spontaneous samādhi, as if from a mirror reflecting the spiritual universe — this is the teaching held by Vyāsa and other great souls.

The manifestation of mahā-bhāva is the culminating activity, the very limit of the great rasa, experienced by the eternally perfected jīva in relation to the eternally perfect Supreme Self.

This much is the final reach of words born of the material realm. Whatever lies beyond that, let it be seen by us directly in samādhi.