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Cowherd Boys Friendship towards Krsna [A]

by bapu71 @ 23:42. Filed in 2 QnA | Replies | End | 0 views | Tags: | | | Reply

bapu71
Dear Gurudeva,

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krsna! All glories to Srilla Prabhupada and Swami Gaurangapada!

I have a three question. It concerns Krsna and his dealings with the cowherd boys in Krsna lila.

In Srila Prabhupada's Krsna Book, in the thirteenth chapter after Krsna has killed Aghasura, the cowherd boys take lunch and "each boy began to manifest different kinds of relations with Krsna, and they enjoyed each other's company with joking words."

I was under the impression that their transcendental relationship was Friendship, so what were the different kinds of relations manifested? and are there different subcategories within the relation of Friendship? Are all the cowherd boys in the same mood of friendship?

Always,

bruce
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10 Responses to “Cowherd Boys Friendship towards Krsna [A] ” Reply Top


  1. Swami says:
    2009-07-20 01:11:54. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    Dear Bruce, Nityananda!! Gauranga!! Hare Krishna!! Jaya Shri Guru Paramparaa! Thank you for the nice question about the divine Sakhaas of Lord Krishna. Here is the answer you seek for:

    The sakhas of Lord Krishna in Vraja are of three constitutional types (1) nitya-siddhas, (2) surachara, and (3) sadhana siddhas, which are divided further into four primary types according to their moods: (1) suhrit-sakhaa, (2) sakhaa, (3) priya-sakhaa and (4) priyanarma-sakhaa.

    (1) Suhrit-sakhaa

    Those whose sakhya is mixed with a scent of vaatsalya, who are slightly older than Lord Krishna, who bear a staff and other weapons and who always protect Lord Krishna from the demons are called suhrit-sakhaas. These include Subhadra, Mandalibhadra, Bhadravardhana, Gobhatta, Yaksha, Indrabhatta, Bhadraanga, Vtrabhadra, Mahaguna, Vijaya and Balabhadra. Of these Mandalibhadra and Balabhadra are the best.

    (2) Sakhaa

    Those who are slightly younger than Lord Krishna, whose sakhya is mixed with a scent of dasya and who are exclusively attached to the happiness of rendering service to Lord Krishna are called sakhaas. These include Vishaala, Vrishabha, Ojasvi, Devaprastha, Varuthapa, Maranda, Kusumapida, Manibandha and Karandhama. Of these Devaprastha is the best.

    (3) Priya-sakhaa

    Those who are the same age as Lord Krishna and who take exclusive shelter of the attitude of sakhya are called priya-sakhaas. These include Shridama, Sudama, Dama, Vasudama, Kinkini, Stoka-krishna, Amshu, Bhadrasena, Vilasi, Pundarika, Vitanka and Kalavinka. They always give pleasure to Lord Krishna by various types of games and by wrestling, stick-fighting and other types of amusement. Of these Shridama is the best.

    In his commentary to Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (3.3.36–8) Shrila Jiva Goswami has said that although the friends known as Dama, Sudama, Vasudama and Kinkini are known as priya-sakhas, they may also be counted as priyanarma-sakhås because they personify Lord Krishna's heart and pervade His entire being. In order to establish this he quotes the following verse from the Gautamiya-tantra (15.38):

    daama-vasudaama-sudaama-kinkinim
    pujayed gandha-pushpakaih
    antahkarana-rupaas te
    krishnasya parikirtitaah
    aatmaabhedena te pujyaa
    yathaa krishnas tathaiva te

    The purport of this statement is that because Dama, Vasudama, Sudama and Kinkini personify Lord Krishna's heart, they are described to be as worshipable as Lord Krishna Himself. Therefore in the ceremony known as aavarana-pujaa, a particular method of worship described in Hari-bhakti-vilasa (7.360–76) and referred to in the above verse from the Gautamîya-tantra, these four personalities are offered the first worship with scented flowers and sandalwood.

    (4) Priyanarma-sakhaa

    The priyanarma-sakhaas are superior in every way to the three other types of sakhaas. They are engaged in extremely confidential services and are possessed of a very special bhåva (sakhi-bhava). In other words they perform confidential services for the preyasis (lovers) of Shri Krishna, they assist Lord Krishna in meeting with the gopi preyasis and they desire to give pleasure to them. These include Subala, Arjuna, Gandharva, Vasanta, Ujjvala and Madhumamgala. Of these Subala and Ujjvala are the best.

    The above four types of sakhaa are of three kinds: nitya-siddha, suracara (those who were previously demigods and who attained to the position of Lord Krishna's friends through the performance of saadhana) and sadhana-siddha. Although the suracaras also attained perfection through sadhana, they are classified separately in order to distinguish them from the general sadhana-siddhas.

    Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.


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  1. JagGaura dasa says:
    2009-07-20 16:57:35. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!
    Dandavats and obeissances.

    Dear Guruji,

    I know from one of your videos that Srila Prabhupada is a Priyanarma-sakhaa devotee. Personally to me he always seemed like a cowherd boy. Would you happen to know his eternal name and other details?

    Your servant
    Jagannatha Gauranga dasa


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  1. Swami says:
    2009-07-21 06:20:27. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    Following is the response I am giving to the discussion on my Facebook about this matter. I am grateful to all devotees who have contributed in this regard.

    First of all, I want to humbly state I am not keen for revealing or discussing Shrila Swami Prabhupada's siddha deha either publicly or privately because he himself has not directly given the eternal name of his siddha deha and thus there will be no direct reference to back up my own realizations. My own internal visions and realizations during Bhajana clearly reveal to me that Shrila Swami Prabhupada is in sakhya bhava but I do not want to impose this on others due to lack of direct proof which I cannot provide to satisfy everyone. So if I discuss this in public and even if I reveal the eternal name of Shrila Swami Prabhupada's siddha deha according to my realizations, many will only brush it aside as speculation and will commit offenses against my own visions and realizations. That is why it is said aapanaara bhajana kathaa, na kaha yathaa tathaa .. "Do not speak here and there about your internal realizations during Bhajana and keep them confidential." Thus, I do not want to discuss it. I will only say the following in this regard.

    Shrila Swami Prabhupada clearly addresses Lord Krishna as his brother in the cowherding pastimes in the following verse which was composed by Shrila Swami Prabhupada on Sep 13, 1965, in a very intimate early song, which describes his own internal Bhajana and his actual relationship and mood with the Lord. There is no other direct reference in his writings to prove otherwise or opposite to what he has revealed in this song. The Gopis in madhurya rasa do not normally address Lord Krishna as a brother nor do they pass the entire day with Lord Krishna while tending the cows. Sakhya rasa is very very sublime. Many of Lord Gauranga's eternal associates are in Sakhya rasa so there is absolutely nothing diminishing about it. Lord Krishna spends a great amount of time with his cowherd friends daily in His eternal pastimes. The Sakhas are worshiped and respected even by the Gopies.

    (8)
    tomaaara milane bhaai aabaar se sukha paai
    gochaarane ghuri din bhor
    kata bane chutaachuti bane khaai lutaaputi
    sei din kabe habe mor

    8) "O my dear brother (BHAAI)! In Your company I will experience great joy once again. Wandering about the pastures and fields, I will pass the entire day with You in tending the cows. Joking with You and frolicking throughout so many forests of Vraja, I will roll upon the ground in spiritual ecstasy. When, oh when will that day be mine?"

    Song Name: Krsna Tava Punya Habe Bhai, Official Name: Bhagavan Krsner Pada, Padme Prarthana (Prayer unto the Lotus
    Feet of Krsna), Author: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (on board the ship Jaladuta, September 13, 1965)

    The mood expressed in this poem is simply inconsistent with the nature of a manjari, despite the fact that sakhya bhava is contained within madhurya. Any sakhya bhava arising in a manjari’s heart would never manifest in a desire to play and frolick directly with Lord Krishna all day since the manjaris never have anga sanga (direct conjugal pastimes) with Lord Krishna. Rather, it would manifest in a desire to facilitate Shrimati Radha's pastimes with Lord Krishna because the visayalambana of the manjari is Shri Radha and Shri Krishna. Furthermore, it is said that when Shrimati Radha desires to taste sakhya rasa she manifests herself as Subala sakha!

    This was also the opinion of the Shiksha Gurudeva of Shrila Swami Prabhupada, Shrila Bhakti Rakshaka Shridhara Goswami, who knew Shrila Swami Prabhupada much much better than anyone else, right from his grihastha days.

    Though I may not agree 100% with everything written in the article, I accept most of the conclusions in the O My Friend pdf article written by Babhru dasa prabhu. It is available at http://nitaai.com/omf.pdf . One will find a lot of clear and unrefutable scriptural proof and reasoning in this article establishing Shrila Swami Prabhupada eternal form as a cowherd boy in Vraja. Please read this article if you want to know more about this matter.

    I also have my own realiztion that Shrila Swami Prabhupada's intimate, blissful and jovial relationship with his Godbrother Shrila Akinchana Krishna dasa Babaji, who is also in Sakhya rasa, is deeply related to both of their eternal forms in Sakhya rasa. And this is the reason why Shrila Swami Prabhupada established the Dieties of Lords Nityananda (Balarama) and Lord Gauranga instead of Shri Gauranga and Shri Shri Radha Krishna as established by his own Gurudeva due to his sakhya rasa connection with Lord Nityaananda Balarama. And also the establishment of Shri Shri Krishna Balarama in the main center altar in Ramana Reti, Vrindavana, which is the place of the cowherding and wrestling pastimes of Lords Krishna Balarama.

    I would like to end this small article with the conversation of Hrishikeshananda dasa prabhu with Shrila Swami Prabhupada:

    HD: So that means that my relationship with you is eternal, that it will continue in nitya-lila?
    ACBSP: Yes.
    HD: As manjaris?
    ACBSP: Down to sakhya.
    HD: But for rupanugas isn’t it always manjari-rasa?
    ACBSP: That is the highest; but in the spiritual world there is no such distinction.

    [Note that here Shrila Prabhupada clearly indicates that a rupanuga does not necessarily have to be in manjari-bhava.]

    Again, this is all that I have to say in this matter publicly and privately since this subject matter is very intimate and has no direct scriptural proof of Shrila Swami Prabhupada revealing his own spiritual identity. If you want to discuss it further, please do so on your own webspages, forums or blogs. Gaurahari bol! All glories to Shri Guru Paramparaa!

    Daaso'smi, Tridandi Bhikshu, Bhaktiratna Sadhu.


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  1. Srinath says:
    2009-07-21 07:48:56. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    Dear devotees,

    Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! My pranams!

    I would like to share with you something that Hadai Nityananda Dasa prabhu shared with me in a talk. Once I did have the curiosity to ask him about high stuff in devotion, "What / who is this ... that?" He told me, "See. Simply becoming a theoretical scholar is no use. Devotion is not about digesting a big volume of facts and books. Simply by studying theory no one can understand all that. If one wants to see it, one should be qualified to go to the spiritual world. We do not want high spiritual matters to be brought down and stripped to mere theory. One should delve into the practice. These things have to be given their due respect. They are sooo much beyond mind and words."

    Swamiji has pointed out clearly that these things are very intimate and totally beyond the realm of theory. The higher aspects of devotion cannot be learned simply by reading books and digesting facts. It is beyond mind and words.

    Theoretically trying to understand through words what is beyond words may not be possible. The intimate realizations of pure devotees -- what will they mean to someone who has not realized them? People will just think its some illogical rambling and it certainly won't fit their present understanding. People will only simply ask, "How do you know its right or not?" How can we make a person understand colour by words when they have been blind all life and have never seen any light? How can one give any logical proof to things that have no logic and simply must be accepted? Ultimately one has to accept that the spiritual world is manasa vaacha agochara -- beyond mind and words.

    Even the forum has its limits and can only help a person upto a point. The rest has to be carried on by YOU and ME. Reading books is only mere scratching the surface and has to be accompanied by realization. One has to do sadhana and make oneself qualified to live in the spiritual world if one wants to realize the Lord.

    Let us dive deep into the practice. These matters are beyond our experience. I have seen this myself. Indeed this is the reason why even the advanced devotees here do not share their realizations, because they cannot be shared just like that.

    Daaso'smi,
    Srinath


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  1. Srinath says:
    2009-07-22 04:52:56. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    Dear devotees,

    Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! To add to the above I would like to point out that in the spiritual world there is really no such thing like inferior and superior. Whatever relationship each of us has with the Lord is the most perfect for us. To minimize devotees in other relationships and declaring one type of devotion alone as topmost is not proper. The behaviour of great devotees cannot be imitated.

    Failure to understand that our own relationship and position is perfect and trying to 'seek' some thing else which we think is more better for us may be a problem. Therefore the importance of devotees in all the relationships with the Lord must never be minimized in any manner.

    Vrindavana Das Thakur has told us in the Chaitanya Bhagavata that he who thinks that one Vaishnava is superior / more perfect and another vaishnava is inferior / less perfect is not thinking properly. It is repeated several times in the book. On what basis can devotees be graded? And by us? Even the dust particle at the feet of the servants of the servants of the Lord is to be treated with the greatest respect, what to speak of all the other devotees.

    Daaso'smi,
    Srinath


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  1. Ishana Thakura dasa says:
    2009-07-22 14:20:00. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    [quote]Srinath wrote: "The intimate realizations of pure devotees -- what will they mean to someone who has not realized them? People will just think its some illogical rambling and it certainly won't fit their present understanding. People will only simply ask, "How do you know its right or not?"

    "Indeed this is the reason why even the advanced devotees here do not share their realizations, because they cannot be shared just like that."[/quote]
    Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna
    Dear Srinath, please accept my most humble obeisancess. Our Gurudeva said about that topic:

    To share or not to share realizations here.

    Also Srila Prabhupada said:

    "Every one of you. What is your realization? You write your realization ?What you have realized about Krishna. That is required. It is not passive. Always you should be active. Whenever you find time, write. Never mind ?Two lines, four lines, but you write your realizations. Sravanam, kirtanam.
    Writing or offering prayers, glories ?This is one of the functions of a Vaisnava. You are hearing, but you have to write also. Then, writing means smaranam ?Remembering what you have heard from your spiritual master."

    - By Shrila Prabhupada Los Angeles 1970

    Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna
    Yours in service of Swami Gaurangapada,
    Ishana Thakura das


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  1. Swami says:
    2009-07-22 14:33:04. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    [quote]To share or not to share realizations here.[/quote]
    Dear Ishana Thakura dasa, Nityananda!! Gauranga!! Hare Krishna!! Yes, both are true. I think Srinath was talking about revealing the very intimate realizations about the svarupa siddhi etc. General deep realizations about Naama Bhajana etc. can be shared for the benefit of one and all.

    Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.


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  1. Ishana Thakura dasa says:
    2009-07-22 14:39:56. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna
    Thank you dear Gurudeva for pointing that. Sorry dear Srinath if i did not understand well.
    I just thought that Swamis realizations are also very intimate and so high -Naam realizations just to help us to relish Naam. That was point.

    dhana mora nityaanda
    radha krsna sri charana
    sei mora abharana

    fool I am, Ishana Thakura das


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  1. radhika madhav says:
    2009-07-23 07:13:13. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    Hare krishna
    I am new in Bhakti. I am initiated 2 years back. I used to chant my rounds very sincerely and initially realised something good.
    but now I am not able to chant my rounds. I dont feel like chanting. I also want to do sadhana and be a very good devotee. I also want to enter in nitya leela but I feel that this is impossible for me in this lifetime. I am not able to confess to my guru maharaj that I left chanting.
    Please help me. please give me some pratical advice.
    your servant
    radhika d d


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  1. Srinath says:
    2009-07-24 03:17:48. Replies | Top | End | Reply

    Dear devotee,

    Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! My humble obeisances!

    Why not change the thought pattern to -- "I am good at chanting my rounds. I HAVE to chant my rounds. I must become a pure devotee. Our Acharyas have promised that I can attain it in my lifetime." Our thoughts influence our desires. When we keep seeing positive, it inspires us to carry on despite any obstacle in our way.

    But if we say, "It's impossible. I want but I can't...etc.", then we block our full efforts because when we believe that it is impossible, how will we feel like trying. So change it to -- "It is possible. I want AND I can." Our words make our thoughts, our thoughts make our faith. So we should always be very adamant in devotion that we will carry on even if there is no desire in the mind.

    Taste in the name comes only with a lot of determined chanting. Take the best musicians or pilots or scientists or whateve -- they all would have done a lot of hard work for atleast 10-20 years to get where they are. And so we should also work hard in devotion. In this age of Mahaprabhu, it is possible to attain bhakti in a short time.

    Make devotion your goal and if chanting is forced, then tell yourself, "Pain is good." and keep going. First make it your goal. So many people work toward many goals, and so we should also have goals in devotion. You want to be a good devotee and enter into Nitya Lila right, then go ahead, do it! Have faith in the Lord and all obstacles will fall down.

    Be positve and you'll find new doors opening for you. It requires patience. Nothing happens overnight. We must at no point of time, entertain thoughts of failing in devotion. Sometimes people think it is humble to condemn themselves as failures, but we do not advise that because that simply will not work. We need a positive attitude and we can get it if we try. We wish you all the best and we are always here to serve you if you require.

    Daaso'smi,
    Srinath


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