Lord Krishna, Whose glory is a feast for our ears, is relishing Sri Krishna-Karnamritam, the Nectar-For-Sri Krishna's-Ears
(Preface)
Sri Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam is a divine text composed by the great poet Sri Bilvamangal Thâkur. He was a supreme lover of God. His heart was full of anurâg. In this text he has expressed his heartfelt realizations. Sri Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam is overflowing with prem and ras. It is extremely sweet. It is a beautiful picture of ras-lamentations, musings and conversations arising in the delightful heart of a sâdhak. It is a burning example of how Sri Bhagavân’s excellences can submerge one who is steeped in sense gratification. Sri Krishna-Bhakti is so glorious! It can fill the innermost compartments of our hearts with prem and create a grand feast of ras. It can float us in the milky ocean of bliss and give rise to so many delightful waves of ras-realization.
The poet has composed verses ringing with pain and anxiety. They clearly display the agitation in his heart. The verses are loud and agog with relish. When we hear them, we too are bathed with the kripâ of the Loving One. Therefore, the wise have called him ‘Lilâshuk’. He is a traveller absorbed in singing the glory of Sri Krishna, while his Vaishnav associates are the connoisseurs of ras. They are expert writers who have recorded this nectarine bhâv and golden offering. That is why today we have this invaluable wealth. The devotees of South India regularly meditate upon and relish this text. They are full of joy. Sri Chaitanya Mahâprabhu made a copy of this text and brought it to North India. In this manner, He gifted us this literature, which is like a pitcher full of prem-amrita. Sriman-Mahâprabhu was absorbed in Sri Râdhâ-bhâv. He used to relish this sweetness in the room of Gambhirâ with his rasik devotees Râmânanda Roy and Swarup-Dâmodar. He would submerge his body, mind and speech in this ocean of nectar. Sriman-Mahâprabhu would feel so pleased that His body would reflect golden brilliance even more. When the sweet devotees hear the relish of Sriman-Mahâprabhu they too will bob up and down in the relish of ras – they will swim in the ocean of love, viraha and sambhog. Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam is such an exquisite text – it is overflowing with auspicious remembrance, eagerness and anxiety; it is a myriad of the colourful play of various brilliant and divine rasas. Sri Lilâshuk transmits his own personal realizations of seeing and touching Shyâmsundar and makes us feel as if we too are relishing the same.
Sri Krishna is an ocean of beauty, sweetness, kindness and bhâv. His beautiful kishor-form is the fountainhead of lâvanya. Srila Gopâl Bhattaji, poet Chaitanya dâs and Kavirâj Krishna dâs who has written the exultant Sâranga-rangadâ purport, are all expert relishers of this nectarine Tattva called ‘Sri Krishna’. Therefore, their purports are pregnant with ras-realization. However, each one has relished it differently. We are able to enjoy all three.
Srimad Ananta dâs Bâbâji Mahârâj, who is the Mahant of Sri Radhakund, is a great friend of mine. He is an experienced traveller in the pathways of bhâv and is an expert in the innermost rasas. He is a master in the science of ras knows the condition of our hearts that are extremely hungry for divine ras. He is most magnanimous, full of ras-sanskâr and has immense sukriti. His Âswâd-bindu purport is magnificent indeed. It is enthused with prem. I have no doubt that it will arouse the interest of vidagdha Vaishnavs and make them serious about the study of the scriptures.
Here I would like to mention that Sri Rasik mohan Vidyâbhushan had written a text called ‘Sri-Krishna-Mâdhuri’ about ninety years before and it was very sweet. Besides this Dr. Sushil Kumar Dey, Dr. Bimanbehari Majumdar, Prabhupâd Prânkishor Goswâmi and Haripada Sheel’s translations too are memorable. However, Babaji Maharaj is too much of a specialist in relishing the best of all the compositions. Therefore, like an expert honeybee, he has collected the sweetness from all the fragrant flowers from the garden of perfumed literature and has presented it to us in a beautiful manner. This text is an invaluable gift for humankind. It is a gem that will enhance the magnificence of world literature.
His Grace Sri Lilâshuk Bilvamangal Thâkur’s earlier life was wrought with terrible darkness. He was drowned in the hellish pit of lust. Then Chintâmani showed him the path of enlightenment. This brought the illumination of dawn in his life. She awakened his consciousness and sent him in search of the One Who is eternal, conscious and blissful. He realized that his passion for material beauty was useless and that such pleasure lasted only for a few seconds. Therefore, he pierced his eyes and shut the door to external sense gratification forever. This opened the door of his inner mind and paved the path for him to behold eternal beauty. Now, although he was blind outwardly, he could see Shyâmsundar’s immense splendour. He was floating unhindered in the ocean of beauty in the mood of a sakhi. Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam is the result of such an intimate realisation.
Sri Bilvamangal Thâkur’s life underwent a series of dramatic changes. His devotional experience too follows suit. His Krishna-experience passes through higher and higher realms and ultimately creates a carnival of ecstasy. The music of the flute has agitated his heart and sent him divinely crazy. It has filled him with an unsatiable thirst for darshan. It has heightenend his eagerness to tread on the sweet path. Sometimes Sri Krishna’s splendour has held him spellbound. Murali-mohan’s wavelets of divine notes has soothened his scorching heart and at the same time enhanced his anxiousness for sâkshâtkâr. Each sphurti drowned him in the ocean of blissful ras. When we read this great text, we remember how Sri Krishna disappeared from the Râs-floor and how the Gpis had lamented in viraha. The verses echo Srimati Râdhârâni’s eagerness for Her Beloved’s darshan and Her pralâp-jalpa-chitrajalpa through Bhramar-giti. Ishwari’s pining for her dearmost Prân-vallabh is beyond our perception and speech. It is supremely sweet and pleasing. Srila Rupa-Goswâmicharan, who is scientist par excellence in the subject of divine ras has expressed the same feelings in Bhakti-rasâmrita-sindhu and Ujjwal-nelmani while describing the different types of lovers and sweethearts. He has unfolded the zenith of exultant Bhakti in these two texts and the pearls of kripâ that he has distributed are nothing but the reflection of Sri Bilvamangal Thâkur’s munificence.
Sri Gourhari is the divine personification of Sri Râdhâ-bhâv. He relished Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam everyday. He enjoyed the most
confidential nectarine bhâv during His Gambhirâ-pastimes. Srila Bâbâji Mahârâj, who is an excellent scholar, has unfolded Sriman-Mahâprabhu’s pleasure as also relevant examples from Matsya-Purân, Sangeet-ratnâkar, Bhakti-rasâmrta-sindhu, Ujjwal-Neelmani, Goutamiya Tantra, Gopâl-Tâpani Shruti, Sri Chaitanya-Charitâmrita and Srimad-Bhâgavatam. He is a specialist in interweaving ras and siddhânta together. Truly, he has enthused us with the thirst to delve deep into the realms of bhâv.
Our life is devoid of ras. Srila Bâbâji Mahârâj has lifted us from the ghetto and played the mellifluous notes of Bilvamangal Thâkur, who is the crest-jewel of all poets. He has revealed to us the grand feast of sweetness that is Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam. He has elevated us from the bazâr of chaos onto the magnificent stage of eternal prem and sâkshâtkâr. We are amazed how much Srila Bâbâji Mahârâj is an expert in discriminating between lust and love. He must be so wise and experienced in ras-realization! Every verse of Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam is a torrent of transcendental sweetness. It is an flawless beautiful garden with fully bloomed choicest flowers from the Nandan-kânan1 of a loving heart.
Srila Bâbâji Mahârâj is a vidagdha and his heart is full of shraddhâ. He is an expert in the Vedic Shâstras, has rich and infinite knowledge, and above all he has immense ras-realization. He has presented the explanation of this grand text in a novel manner. I firmly believe that it will decorated the hearts of rasik devotees with transcendental ornaments. The lucidity and clarity of the explanation only goes to highlight his immense talent. An explanation following completely in the Goswâmis’ footsteps an strictly in accordance with their bhâv is hitherto unseen.
Most reverend Bâbâji Mahârâj has made our auditory sense worthwhile by illumionating Him Who is a “Feast-for-the-ears”. He has picturised Him so well that we feel as if we too are experiencing sâkshâtkâr along with Sri Bilvamangal Thâkur. This makes the devotees’ eyes dance with ecstasy. I hope the good devotees interested in the science of ras will highly appreciate this text. I pray unto the lotus feet of Sri Sri Gour-Govinda and Srimati Râdhârâni that Srila Bâbâji Mahârâj continues to beautify the treasury of Bhakti-literature in this manner with the gems and pearls of bhâv.
Longing to serve Vaishnav literature,
Prabhupâd Sri Binodkishor Goswâmi2.
(to be continued)
1 Celestial garden
2 Prabhupâd Sri Binodkishor Goswâmi is the President of Châltâbâgân Goudiya Vaishnav Association. He is the founder of Sanghati Bhârati Santamandir (Karimganj), Sri Sri Nitâi-Gour Râdhâ-ballabhjiu Mandir (Krishnapur) and Sri Gourânga Mandir (Hâilâkândi). He is the sevak of Sri Gourânga Mandir, Shribhumi on Âchârya Prânkishor road, Kolkata-48.