Prem Prayojan das

Çré Navadvépa Dhäma lies upon the banks of the Bhägérathé- Gaìgä in the district of Nadéyä, West Bengal. Though much of its history remains uncertain, there is a general consensus that the city of Navadvépa was established by King Lakñmaëa Sena in 1063.1 Records show that by 1203, Navadvépa was recognized as the capital of Bengal.2

The Mukti-saìkaliné Tantra proffers the notion that individual térthas take turns to become prominent, exerting their spiritual influence in rotation in each of the four cyclical ages. In the bygone golden era, Satya-yuga, Kurukñetra was the most important tértha. In Tretä-yuga, Puñkara reigned supreme among all places of pilgrimage. Then Ntaimiñäraëya led the way throughout the Dväpara-yuga, before passing the torch to Navadvépa in the present epoch, Kali-yuga.3 Thus, although other térthas have garnered greater recognition in the past, Gauòéya Vaiñëavas consider Navadvépa to be a rising star, destined to eventually outshine all other térthas.

The prominence of individual térthas in correlation to the cycle of ages is also connected with the prominence of particular religious disciplines in each age.4 Meditation, fire sacrifices, and ritual deity worship were respectively the central salvific praxes in the three previous ages. However, numerous references from Vedic literature emphasize that only the congregational singing of God’s names is sufficiently effective to remedy the extreme maladies of the present Kali yuga.5 In accordance with the Bhagavad Gétä, an avatära of Kåñëa personally descends in each age to inaugurate the prescribed discipline for that particular age.6 Gauòéya Vaiñëavas consider Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu (1486 -1533) to be the form of Kåñëa who has appeared in Navadvépa in Kali yuga to freely bestow divine love, even upon the degraded and materialistic populations of the world, through congregational chanting of Kåñëa’s name. Thus, Navadvépa has become synonymous with compassion, redemption, and the popularization of onomatodoxy.

As a place of pilgrimage, Navadvépa comprises nine (nava) islands (dvépa), separated from each other by the flow of the Bhägérathé-Gaìgä and Jaläìgi rivers and their various tributaries. Presently, since some of the tributaries such as the Alakänandä and the Mandäkiné have run dry, the dvépas are no longer literally islands, but peninsular districts.

In Gauòéya Vaiñëava lore, each of the nine islands provides a sanctuary for the performance of one of the celebrated nine forms of bhakti.7 The earliest reference to a sequential pilgrimage through the nine islands of Navadvépa is found in an eighteenth century text, Bhakti-ratnäkara by Narahari Cakravartin. Therein, the author makes a distinction between a superficial worldly vision of Navadvépa, acquired through one’s physical senses, and the factual vision of Navadvépa as a divine realm. In the former case, the subject maintains the egoistic conception of himself as the agent of perception, whereas in the latter, the potency of Navadvépa becomes the agent of revelatory experience to the pilgrim. This echoes the opinion of the earlier biographer of Caitanya Mahäprabhu, Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämin, who proposes that although a divine tértha is none other than the wondrous, transcendental abode of God, it appears just like any other material place to the organs of the flesh.8 Experience of the true nature of the tértha is wholly dependent upon grace, though grace may be solicited through expressions of devotion.

The sanctity of holy places is generally derived from their being the locus of a miraculous event involving a saint or a deity. Although faithful Gauòéya Vaiñëavas recognize Navadvépa as host to numerous supernatural events, its status as a tértha is an attribute of an entirely different order. To formulate an idea of why Navadvépa is held in the highest esteem by Gauòéya Vaiñëavas, it is essential to follow their fascinating trail of theological maneuvers, from its root premise in the nature of divinity itself to its inevitable conclusion, the ontological necessity of Navadvépa.

For Gauòéya Vaiñëavas, the kingdom of God is not exactly conceived of as a place, per se, but rather, as tad-rüpa-vaibhava, the extended splendor of his personal form.9 The ultimate reality in toto is the very form of Çré Kåñëa, which is the concentrated embodiment of three energetic principles, namely, sandhiné (being), saàvit (awareness) and hlädiné (rapture). The combination of awareness and rapture precipitates transcendental emotions. When such emotions find support from sandhiné, they condense to manifest as the spiritual substances, the personalities and objects that comprise the divine realm. This principle is found in the Brahma Saàhitä, which describes the divine realm as the aura of God’s awareness and rapture condensed into a tangible, indeed, relishable form.10 The same idea was expressed more explicitly by the prolific apostle of Caitanya Mahäprabhu, Prabodhänanda Sarasvaté, in his Våndävana Mahimämåta, wherein he compares God’s abode to an island that has condensed from the pure ambrosial ocean of his love.11

Gauòéya theologians have minutely explored the implications of this ontological relationship between spiritual emotion and spiritual form. It will be helpful to become acquainted with some specific instances of this emotion/form dynamic in relation to Kåñëa and Våndävana, before extending the paradigm to encompass the ontology of Navadvépa.

For example, it is said that Rädhä, the consort of Sri Kåñëa, is decorated with a variety of garments and ornaments. But her silken garments are not made of silk, as such, and her ornaments are not made of gold, as we know it. Rather, Her divine emotion (saàvit and hlädiné) of intense yearning to hear Kåñëa’s name and virtues, taking support of sandhiné, condenses to become her ‘golden’ earrings.12 Her emotion of shyness, condenses to become the silken cloth that upholds her modesty.13

Conversely, the absence of garments would indicate the melting away of shyness. Her eight prominent attitudes condense to become her eight principal friends and assistants, the divine dairy maidens beginning with Lalita and Visakha.14 Thus, a Gauòéya Vaiñëava conceives of spiritual substances as the extended visible expressions of their corresponding varieties of transcendental emotion.

The divine play of Rädhä and Kåñëa unfolds upon the stage of the forest of Våndävana. Applying the aforementioned principle, we find that Våndävana is not considered a geographical location, but rather, Våndävana is the extended visible expression of Rädhä and Kåñëa’s exchange of unconditional love. The greenery of the forest reflects the merging of their golden and bluish auras. The fair-complexioned kadamba trees embrace the dark-complexioned tamäla trees, a foretoken of their destiny. The gentle breezes presage Rädhä’s deep sighs. The warbling of swans auger the tinkle of her ankle-bells. The cooing of cuckoos echo the joy of her passionate murmuring. Våndävana is literally an emotional landscape, a psychological terrain that provides precisely the perfect atmosphere for the ever-burgeoning romance of the eternal lovers.

Sri Kåñëa is, by nature, the ultimate connoisseur of the relishable flavours of divine love (rasa). Yet there is an experience that lies beyond his comprehension, despite his best efforts to taste it – prema-viläsa-vivarta. Prema-viläsa means ‘loving pastimes’. Vivarta includes the sense of paripäka (fully mature)15, bhrama (bewilderment) and viparéta (reversal). In the full maturity of her love, Rädhä’s awareness of the difference between her and her lover is annihilated. Everything but the euphoria of meeting is forgotten. Sometimes she directly and simultaneously experiences all the countless types of happiness and distress that are experienced both in meeting with Sri Kåñëa and in separation from him. In a state of bewilderment (bhrama), sometimes Çré Rädhä mistakenly considers Herself to be the hero, and Çré Kåñëa, by the influence of Rädhä’s love, thinks Himself to be the heroine.16 Then they begin to enact each other’s roles (viparéta).17 Yet the depths of Rädhä’s experience still remains a mysterious and impenetrable reality for Kåñëa.

Sri Rädhä exists exclusively to fulfill all the desires of Kåñëa. If his desire to experience love from her perspective were to remain unfulfilled, the fault would fall upon her – for Gauòéyas, a theological impossibility. On the one hand, Kåñëa is consumed with greed to taste the highest love, in which Rädhä loses awareness of her individuality. And on the other, Rädhä ardently dreams of fulfilling all of Kåñëa’s desires. Inevitably, their mutual emotions arising from samvit and hlädiné, find the support of sandhiné (being), resulting in the coming into being of a combined form of Rädhä and Kåñëa, in which Kåñëa takes on the golden complexion of Rädhä and experiences her otherwise inaccessible sentiments. This prema-viläsa vivarta mürti, the extraordinary form in which Kåñëa finally fulfills his desire to experience prema-viläsa vivarta, is Sri Chaitanya Mahäprabhu.

Previously we have discussed the principle that Våndävana is no less than the extended visible expression of the emotions of Rädhä and Kåñëa, condensed into the perfect environment to accommodate the drama of their romantic play. Applying this principle in relation to the prema-viläsa vivarta mürti, Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu, it becomes apparent that the identity of Sri Navadvépa Dhäma is none other than that of Våndävana itself, manifested in an alternative form under the influence of prema-viläsa vivarta.

Navadvépa is the extended visible expression of the emotions of Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu, condensed into the perfect environment for the divine adventure in which he explores the depths of Rädhä’s unfathomable love through the media of the nine celebrated modalities of bhakti-yoga. Thus, Navadvépa is manifest in the form of nine islands, each one offering a supporting atmosphere to one of the nine expressions of devotion.

The most valuable contribution of Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu lies in his revelation that the congregational singing (saìkértana) of the Holy Names constitutes the superlative expression of devotion. Saìkértana encompasses all the other eight limbs of devotion and also opens a path to participate in his own exploration of Rädhä’s love. While absorbed in the congregational singing of the mahä-mantra - hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare, hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare - the followers of Caitanya Mahäprabhu enter another

dimension of experience wherein they see Navadvépa as Våndävana, Mahäprabhu as Rädhä and Kåñëa, and themselves as maidservants (maïjarés), forever enthralled by the indescribable sweetness of service to the divine couple.

Gauòéya Vaiñëavas hold that both Våndävana, and its alternative manifestation Navadvépa, exist simultaneously and eternally in the transcendental realm. Yet by the inconceivable potency (acintya-çakti) of the Lord, they directly appear upon earth in the locations corresponding to eponymous districts in Uttara Pradeça and West Bengal respectively. The pilgrim, who, by chance, finds himself wandering in terrestrial Navadvépa, has inadvertently stumbled upon the greatest mystery of divine love. Yet the unparalleled glories of this holy place will remain covered by a layer of illusion until he accepts the guidance of a teacher whose cognitive faculties have become illuminated by the eternal reality of Navadvépa.

As evidenced by the testimony of highly qualified demigods and saints repeatedly in the Bhägavata Puräëa, Våndävana is considered to be an extremely difficult abode to attain. The premier demigod, Brahmä, begs for the good fortune to take any birth, even as a stone, in Våndävana.18 And Uddhava, the foremost devotee amongst the residents of the holy city of Mathurä, has prayed for a future birth as an insignificant shrub in Våndävana.19 The difficulty involved in attaining a position among the eternal associates of Kåñëa for aspirants in this present fallen epoch cannot be overstated. This is where the unique significance of Navadvépa rises to the forefront.

Navadvépa is recognized as the selfsame Våndävana, albeit in an infinitely more accessible form. The divine eroticism of Rädhä- Kåñëa is considered to embody two inextricable sentiments, mädhurya and audärya, sweetness and generosity. The abode where the mood of mädhurya predominates over audärya is called Våndävana. Yet the same Våndävana is experienced as Navadvépa when the mood of audärya predominates over mädhurya. Thus, divine generosity in the form of Navadvépa graciously blesses those who are unqualified to attain Våndävana with the necessary spiritual acumen, and then fulfills all their aspirations by revealing to them its own hidden identity. In one sense, Navadvépa is the figurative open backdoor to an otherwise unattainable realm. In that vein, Gauòéya teachers hold that the faithful devotee who submerges himself in the water of the Ganges at Nidayä Ghäöa in Navadvépa, will miraculously emerge from the Yamunä at Keçi Ghäöa in Våndävana.

 

 

1 Hunter's Statistical Account of Bengal, Volume One, page142. Dr. William H. Hunter (1875)

2 Calcutta Review, page 398. (1846)

3 kurukñetraà kåte tértham tretäyäm puñkaraà småtam dväpare naimiñäraëyam nava-khaëòaà kalau kila. Mukti-saìkaliné Tantra cited Çré Navadvépa Dhäma Mähätmya, Pramäëa Khaëòa 4.7

4 The result attained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viñëu, in Tretä-yuga by fire sacrifices, and in Dväpara-yuga by ritual deity worship, can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by articulating the glories of Hari. Bhägavata Puräëa 12.03.52

5 Brhan-näradéya Puräëa 38.126

6 Bhagavad Gétä 4.7-8.

7 The names of the nine islands and their corresponding forms of bhakti are as follows: 1) Antardvépa : ätma-nivedana. 2) Sémantadvépa : çravaëa. 3) Godrumadvépa : kértana. 4) Madhyadvépa : smaraëa. 5) Koladvépa : päda-sevana 6) Åtudvépa : arcana. 7) Jahnudvépa : vandana. 8) Modadrumadvépa : däsya. 9) Rudradvépa : sakhya. The geographical sequence of the islands follows the sequence of the forms of bhakti as they are described in the Bhägavata Puräëa 7.5.23.

8 Caitanya Caritämåta Ādi 5.20 cintāmaṇi-bhūmi, kalpa-vṛkṣa-maya vana

carma-cakṣe dekhe tāre prapancera sama

9 Bhagavat-sandarbha, Anuccheda 16.16. Jîva Gosvämin.

10 cid-anandam jyotih param api tad asvadyam api ca

Brahma Saàhitä 5.56.

11 Våndävana Mahimämåta 17.14. Prabodhänanda Sarasvaté

12 Premämbhoja-maranda-stava-räja verse 7. Raghunätha Däsa Goswämin.

13 Premämbhoja-maranda-stava-räja verse 3. Raghunätha Däsa Goswämin.

14 Caitanya Caritämåta Madhya 8.177. Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämin.

15 Locana Rocané 10.37. Jéva Gosvämin.

16 nä so ramaëa, nä häma ramaëi. Caitanya Caritämrta 2.8.194

17 Utkalikä Vallaré 53. Rüpa Gosvämin.

18 Bhägavata Puräëa 10.14.34

19 Bhägavata Puräëa 10.47.61