Viviek Dhairyashraya
The Lover's life in action....
12-13
In the creation of false pride.
In the protection and nourishment
of those who need sustenance-
In the violations from those
who are being nourished-
As well as in the
transgressions of students-
Even in the perfection of the
divine heart-mind;
In all situations, alway
take Hari's refuge.
Maintain this sensibility firmly in the mind
and praise it with the voice.
Reflections:
Always and in every way she relies on Him, The Beloved always delivers. During difficult times, in false identification, when people trespass, in accomplishment and failure, in fame and dishonor, the lover beholds all passings of life as gifts of God. Even in the state of perfection, humility is never forsaken, His glance is upon her. She feels His proximity in all things and now fully understands that the Beloved will not forsake her. She revels in her rommance and speaks of it in the circle of His other lovers.
Relationships can turn dark, even between lovers but feelings of regret and woe are overcome with a higher remembrance. When there is true reliance, the Beloved responds by allowing His presence to be felt throughout the lover's world. That cognition, His mere remembrance, sunders useless identifications. Then, in the blessed state, even when the bhakta is treated
improperly by family members, friends, or by those she supports, or during times of injustice, she never resorts to anger. She sees that it would only drag her away from her Beloved's realm.
The lover's mind, her heart, her cognition, both inward and outward is filled with devotion, her world is sacred. She is protected with her Hari bhava, the exalted heart-mind-state, from the forces of non related thought and activities that bring distance and forgetfulness. She removes all spiritual disloyalty and as she soars to her Beloved's realm she is filled with the illumination of His presence. Divine passion rules keeping her refuge firm and enduring, even in perfection.
The blessed experience is occassionaly revealed, sometimes openly at other times in guarded fashions, with those who share in the lover's banquet. When the Beloved is spoken of, He appears. His name and form are inseparable; this is another secret to His presence.
When the lover is not prepared to meet with her Beloved, she reaches out for Him and takes His protective shelter with the calling of His name, with the recitation of mantra. She calls out "Shri Krishna is my refuge, Shri Krishna is my refuge". Her recitations sweeten and prepares her devotional heart. The Beloved's name first arises on the tongue and then goes to the
throat. Then it fills the mind before overflowing into the heart. Finally it sounds in every pore, replete with sublime yearning, "You are mine." It is continuous and a perfect habit. Krishna enjoys it.
As the love's love deepens, she no longer desires to go anywhere else. She feels that not only is her spiritual heart wed to Him, but even the welfare of her material existence is in His hands. Now no other can stand between them.
LOVER'S LIFE CONTINUED
14
To go and worship another-
to pray for your work to be done,
this is forbidden.
Reflections:
Lovers of Hari only resort to the Beloved. To leave Him is to forget one's true Self, it is an act of suspicion. It constitutes a contraction of the devotional heart. It is a move away from His sacred space, a turning away from all forms of perfection. It is illicit. The lover with true abandonment in Him could never do such a thing!
To leave the Beloved and look elsewhere is the result of maya, a deception. It arises when the senses no longer see the true object, when vision is blurred. Faulty cognition poisons devotion. Without bhakti, people wander elsewhere to find satisfaction and hook up with insignificant beloveds who can not provide. When the authentic Beloved is forgotten, the result is bondage. When everything appears from Him, how can there be any question about Hari's integrity? The lover does not water the leaves, she goes directly to the root! Otherwise, desires turn to hankerings and the in the cracks of confidence the devotional essence is lost.
If someone questions, "But it is not right to go to the Beloved for all things. To approach Him for everything would be troublesome. That is why for small things, the lover should go to the lesser forces, to the other devas for their simple needs."
The lover explains, "I am engaged to only Hari, I can have no other romance. My Beloved protectors me in all circumstances. I can't dilute or divide devotion. The nature of nectar is singular and bhakti attains its zenith when it is one pointed."
When the lover adores the Beloved, that adoration, as well His love merge and are felt everywhere. It is a state of Total Love where in all things, at all times and places, Hari's presence is felt. The lover is bathed in a perfect unity and there is no cause great enough to ever justify abandoning that connection for another.
And yet the bhaktas of Braja, the gurus of devotion who had attained love, attachment and addiction have prayed to Hari. But their requests to Krishna were special. Even if they requested their Beloved to remove a forest fire or to have Indra stop showering his rains, their root supplication was to have the continual shelter of His feet. They could withstand the forest
blaze, but were consumed by the fire of separation from His lotus feet.
Prayers for His love, a request for His presence, for His lotus feet are not the same as a prayers for worldly prosperity. The lover can not engage in the world without Him. Her prayers are from her place to His. Her pleas are for the rendezvous. The lover's requests have special meanings.
Bhaktas do not pray for self protection. Their song arises out of a longing for their Beloved. There is never any self gain or worldly design in their supplication. The bhakta's town, the village of Gokul is their reward and Hari arrives there with the sole purpose of lila. He becomes the Award Giver and responds to the bhava of His bhaktas. The Beloved overflows with elixir and according to the vessel fills His loved ones with His essential Being.
The Beloved's play appears to be like the world, but unlike common manifestation, everything with Hari is filled with divine meaning and wonder. When the Beloved decides to create a particular play, to perform a certain lila, then everything necessary occurs. His acts and engagements are for the highest lila purpose, they are filled with incredible dharma. His bhaktas understand this and act accordingly. The Beloved plays in such a way that his Lovers become enveloped in Him. Their prayers and aspiration are all for His benefit and replete with lila meaning.
Even after the lover renounces everything except her Beloved's sanctuary, He still acts according to His own will. There are still honors and complications that can arise in her life.
This was kindly translated by Shyamdas. His numerous books (in English) on Pushti Marg are well worth reading.
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