From Swami Tripurari: Gaura-līlā is oceanic. Its sacred wonder is beyond comprehension. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says, śrī gaurāṅga mahāprabhoś caraṇayor yā keṣa śeṣādibhiḥ sevāgamyatayā: the gods, goddesses, and even Ananta Śeṣa cannot comprehend the wonder of gaura-līlā. As Śrī Vyāsarāya has written, this is true for kṛṣṇa-līlā as well, muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. The many līlās of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are comparable to rivers flowing in all directions, but the fountain from which they flow is the līlā of Śrī Gaurāṅga. Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Mahāśaya writes: kṛṣṇa-līlā amṛta-sāra, tāra śata śata dhāra, daśa-dike vahe yāhā haite se caitanya-līlā haya, sarovara akṣaya, mano-haṁsa carāha ’tāhāte “Kṛṣṇa-līlā is the essence of eternal nectar flowing in hundreds of branches in all ten directions from the inexhaustible lake of caitanya-līlā. May the swan of my mind swim in that lake.” How can we approach that lake? It is the property of Gaura’s devotees and they can give it to us, sva-bhakta-vihitā sānyair-yayā labhyate. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has dug a channel from the bottomless lake of gaura-līlā to our ears in the form of his Gaurāṅga-līlā-smaraṇa- stotra, and if we listen to this stotra with faith, it will enter our hearts through our ears and flood any prospect for material enjoyment, drowning our souls in Gaura līlā. Let us offer our obeisances to the endearing character of the Lord who takes birth in Navadvīpa Dhāma and to his daily līlā, naumi pratyāhikaṁ tadīya-caritaṁ śrīman-navadvīpa- jam. In Nadīyā, many perfect devotees reside in their fully spiritualized, perfected sādhaka-dehas. Ever-youthful, surrounded by their disciples, and under the shelter of their gurus, they serve Śrī Gaurāṅga, Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Advaita Acārya, and their pārṣadas. There are innumerable asramas dotting the landscape of Navadvīpa Dhāma. Our guru’s asrama in this world is a particular manifestation of the magnanimous abode of Śrī Gaurāṅga. Sadhakas who think of themselves as servants of Śrī Guru and sevakas of Śrī Guru’s asrama can perfect themselves and enter the eternal līlā of the moon of Gauḍa Maṇḍala in the form of brāhmaṇa- kiśora. Meditating on the daily līlā of Śrī Gauracandra and engaging in nāma-saṅkīrtana, they enter Gaura līlā, and as Nīmāi Paṇḍita in the course of his eightfold daily līlā enters the trance of Kṛṣṇa līlā, they follow him in their self-realized forms as Vraja gopīs or gopas. Gaura-līlā is always tempered by a degree of reverence. Even the most intimate devotees of Śrī Kṛṣṇa show reverence for Śrī Caitanya-deva when they appear in Gaura līlā. However, for the sādhaka, reverence—dāsya-bhakti—for Śrī Gaurāṅga leads naturally to love of God in intimacy—Vraja-bhakti.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 08:37:03 +0000