Here I define Universalist Radha Krishnaism using the philosophy developed by followers of Krishna Chaitanya as my starting point.

Universalist Radha Krishnaism 2:
As Derived from the Philosophy of Krishna Chaitanya

In this attempt to define Universalist Radha Krishnaism, I approach it using The Philosophy and Religion of Sri Caitanya by O.B.L. Kapoor. Dr. Kapoor was a dear friend and mentor when I lived in Vrindaban, India in the early 1970s. He was a retired philosophy professor and long time devotee of Radha Krishna. Originally initiated by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, later, he was initiated into the way of natural devotion by Gauranga Das Babaji. Dr. Kapoor was instrumental in leading me to the way of natural devotion and my teacher, Lalita Prasad Thakur. I shall ever be indebted to him and ask his blessings on this undertaking.

The Philosophy and Religion of Sri Caitanya is the best scholarly, academic summary of Chaitanya’s philosophy available. I borrow from it extensively and put the complex, technical philosophy in simple English. I also omit and change certain ideas, extracting the essence and leaving the rest. That is the way of progressive thought. I see Dr. Kapoor as a progressive thinker. I feel he would appreciate my humble attempts to further adapt Chaitanya’s philosophy in a relevant manner for twenty-first century Westerners. May Dr. Kapoor’s blessings along with those of Lalita Prasad and Bhaktivinode Thakurs, and of course, Krishna Chaitanya be upon this work.

Materials for Chaitanya’s Philosphy

Although Chaitanya was a great scholar and philosopher, he left no writings of his own, except possibly the eight verses known as Shikshastaka. Still, “he is the recognized founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Community, and it seems quite natural that he should have formulated the philosophical tenets of his school, which his learned disciples were commissioned to broadcast all over the country...The works of the learned disciples of Sri Chaitanya,... commonly known as the ‘Six Goswamins’ of Vrindaban, who were directly inspired, instructed, and commissioned by him to write, may be regarded as truly representing the doctrine and dogma of his faith.” (54)

The Goswamins lived together in Vrindaban and collaborated on their writings. They were inspired by Chaitanya and dedicated themselves to the task of popularizing his teachings. They were great, learned men who left important positions to live ascetic lives so they could devote all their time and energy to spread Chaitanya’s teachings with single-minded devotion.

Chaitanya declared the Srimad Bhagavat “fully represents his own doctrine.” (56) Therefore, it is the basis for much of the Goswamins’ writings. Just as Socrates and Jesus are known through the writings of their disciples, Chaitanya is known through the writings of his disciples.

There are four important Bengali biographies of Chaitanya as well as three notebooks written on his life by his most intimate disciples. “Of the biographies..., Chaitanya-bhagavat and Chaitanya-charitamrita are the most authoritative. They are huge works, containing exhaustive philosophical discourses given by Sri Chaitanya...Their importance as sources of the philosophy of Sri Chaitanya is, therefore, great and they are held in high esteem by the Vaishnav community.” (58)

Chaitanya-bhagavat was written shortly after the disappearance of Chaitanya. Chaitanya-charitamrita was written some decades later. Both authors had access to first hand accounts of Chaitanya’s life from his intimate associates. They are therefore quite authoritative. However, they were written to popularize the life and teachings of Chaitanya. They cannot be viewed like an objective, modern biography. They create the myth of Chaitanya as we know it. It is a major academic undertaking to separate historical fact from embellishment, and I hope this will be developed soon.

The Chaitanya-bhagavat being earlier and coming out of Bengal is less philosophically developed, focuses more on Chaitanya’s early life and gives more prominence to Nityananda who requested his disciple, Vrindaban Das Thakur, to write it and provided firsthand accounts. Chaitanya-charitamrita comes out of Vrindaban with much influence from the Six Goswamins, is more philosophically developed and gives a fuller account of Chaitanya’s whole life. It is generally considered most authoritative and popular among devotees.

Sources of Knowledge

In Chaitanyaism, “revelation is clearly recognized as the only proper source of knowledge...Chaitanya is represented, in Chaitanya-charitamrita, as saying to Sanatan that the only way to right knowledge is through scriptures...Most philosophers, however, limit themselves to perception and inference as the only sources of knowledge. According to...Chaitanya, perception and inference, as based on our sense organs, are defective and unreliable.” (63)

Certainly, Empiricism and Rationalism have their limits. They are not capable of perceiving or conceiving God-dess. However, scripture also has its limits. Here is where a clash of cultures and worldviews comes into play. Traditional Chaitanyaism takes a literal view of scripture. They believe the Vedic scriptures to be more ancient than they are, written by Vyas, an incarnation of God-dess, and containing the actual, revealed words and deeds of God-dess and demigods from the beginning of creation. Vyas means “author.” Many persons wrote under that name producing scriptures over the centuries.

For example, the Srimad Bhagavat is traditionally believed to date c 3,000 BCE. Contemporary scholars date it c 900 CE. Many devotees deny the reliability of the scholarly date based on arguments as given above. They literally accept a pre-rational, magical-mythical world-view populated by God-dess, gods, goddesses, saints and demons engaged in cosmic battles of good versus evil. They believe this knowledge is perfectly preserved and transmitted unchanged through the ages and contains literal information of life in the spiritual world, beyond the material creation of innumerable universes.

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, who introduced Chaitanyaism to the West, claimed an infallible disciplic succession going back to Krishna teaching Brahma at the beginning of creation. Thus, the infallible teachings of the scriptures are passed on infallibly by a succession of gurus since the beginning of time. These teachings are to be accepted literally, without question, as the Absolute Truth.

I look at books such as the Srimad Bhagavat as superb myths that provide a fantastically beautiful, compelling world-view for this life and the next. They are certainly a high level of spiritual revelation. Yet these books are not to be taken as literal histories of occurrences on this physical plane of existence, although there are some correspondences. They point to unknowable (but transcendentally actual) events in language we can understand but which does not correspond to the events in a literal way. These scriptures contain revealed knowledge of God-dess, but that revelation comes to and through Indian culture at different times in history. They represent how God-dess spoke to Indians in antiquity. What do they have to say to us today? This requires a hermeneutical leap, or radical reinterpretation.

Bhaktivinode Thakur, my grand-guru, began using the Western, critical scholarly approach to scripture in the nineteenth century and wrote for Western educated persons of his day. He saw the introduction of Chaitanyaism to the West as an evolutionary step, entailing the establishment of a rational approach to faith rather than emotionalism and superstition. Therefore, I accept a more academic view of scripture and history. I do not ask persons to believe the unbelievable, deny their innate intelligence or an objective, scientific view of material reality.

I revere the scriptures and love reading them. However, they must be reinterpreted considering today’s understandings and updated for a whole new context. They contain eternal wisdom, the perennial philosophy, but it is sometimes difficult to approach, due to secondary cultural influences. I am an essence seeker whose project is to harmonize revelation with objective reality and a rational approach to spirituality. A holistic, body, mind, intellect, spiritual path is what I offer. Being whole, healthy and holy are closely related. When Truth is our goal, we need to employ all means at our disposal to attain it combining the wisdom of today with the wisdom of antiquity.

“While, however, in the opinion of the relativists, perception and inference, must by their very nature, be always denied access to reality, according to... Chaitanya they can be treated as valid sources of knowledge when purified by” devotion. (64) When engaged in the service of God-dess, our senses, mind and intellect are purified and open us to God-dess. Those who are adverse, will never experience God-dess, but God-dess cannot hide from devotees.

Kapoor says, “the vision of the pure soul is the mystic element in religion.” (65) This mystic vision is the source of revelation. When we look at the mystical teachings of various religions, we find the eternal wisdom of the ages which transcends sectarian boundaries at their center.

Mystic experience transcends the scope of science and psychology, enabling mystics to experience God-dess directly. The spiritual potency of God-dess is able to enter the devotee’s consciousness and enable direct perception of the spiritual dimension of reality beyond the material plane. This is not provable through the senses or reason, but one can see the effects on the mystic’s life and in the philosophy that develops from it.

When we go from the experience itself to describing the experience, it becomes a whole other thing. Then, we need to consider the qualifications of the mystic and the milieu being addressed. The description becomes part of the accumulated tradition which is subject to objective, psychological and rational, critical scrutiny, especially when approached with a devotional attitude.

God-dess dwelling in the heart of all, is able to completely infuse us with spiritual potency, transforming our entire being to a higher, spiritual nature suitable for self-realization. Establishing a loving relationship with God-dess is a subjective process that must be realized for oneself guided by scripture, tradition and teachers, but we must each find our own unique path that no one else has traveled before.

Different persons have different degrees of openness to God-dess’ persuasive guidance. The more we are surrendered and receptive to God-dess, the more grace we receive. It is a descending, revelatory process initiated by God-dess rather than our ascending to discover God-dess on our own.

“The immediate and intuitive character of mystic experience, no doubt, signifies that the realization of truth cannot come through any conceptual system, however logically articulated, but this does not mean that the mystic experience is of the nature of sensuous experience, or that it is irrational. Intuition gives the soul a new immediacy, whereby the abstract terms of philosophical and theosophical insight are incorporated in a direct apprehension of” God-dess. One’s “philosophical or religious doctrine is no longer a doctrine but a life.” (68)

We should not reject philosophical systems of thought, but use them as jumping off points for our own mystical journey. We must immerse ourselves in the process to such a degree that we live the myth. Myths point to unknowable (but transcendentally actual) events in language we can understand but which does not correspond to the events in a literal way. It is helpful to be able to compartmentalize one’s mind. Yes, the Bhagavat was written around eleven hundred years ago and could not possibly contain literal accounts of everything. Yet, we can develop a second naivete in which we read and meditate on the pastimes as actual events within the narrative world as described. We can also imagine variations on those pastimes in which we involve ourselves, in our spiritual body, as participants.

Also, in our outer body, we see ourselves as part of the living tradition of disciplic succession connected to Chaitanya. We transmit this wisdom to future generations as co-creators and interpreters of the myth through word and deed. Thus, we come to embody the myth and are non-different from it. This is living the myth.

Chaitanya insisted on the rational nature of mystic experience as understood by the sages. God-dess realization is fruitful only for those with this higher understanding. However, “The mere logical intricacy of a system of thought is no proof of its objective reality.” (69) Chaitanyaism is the most logical, intricate system of thought I know. It contains detailed analysis of emotional states, levels of love, spiritual pastimes, descriptions of various forms of God-dess and their interrelationship ad infinitum. It is a great mine of spiritual wisdom developed over millennia by a highly spiritually evolved civilization. Does this make it all objectively real? No. Does it contain a wealth of relevant spiritual insights? Yes.

“Muirhead compares philosophies to ‘the creation of the poet or the artist, embodying his idea, expressing his feeling’ rather than to ‘scientific discoveries or technical inventions, which are not only impersonal but depersonalized and thus in a sense self-explanatory products of intelligence.’” (69)

When we allow God-dess to interpenetrate our life and we enter into God-dess’ life, we can experience the true meaning of Chaitanya’s manifestation revealed in our heart. It is a living faith, and each generation should make a contribution to its development.

God-dess communicates divine knowledge to us in various ways. God-dess lives in our hearts and directs our understanding. God-dess takes the form of the spiritual teacher who guides us through initiation and instruction to realize the divine. God-dess appears as the “heard transcendental word” received through the disciplic succession and embodied in the scriptures.

The teacher is the embodiment of God-dess’ mercy. The teacher may manifest in our heart as the guiding and controlling spiritual principle of our life. The teacher may also manifest as a leading devotee who initiates, inspires and imparts instruction. The teacher is not infallible, and a questioning, philosophical approach is encouraged. There is a give and take, reciprocal relationship between the teacher and disciple. Each should be accountable to the other.

Scriptures are to be studied and revered. We focus on scriptures dealing with Radha Krishna, but recognize divine truth revealed in the great world scriptures as well as ancient and modern spiritual writings. By studying broadly, we get a fuller picture of God-dess than is available in the Vedic literature alone. By engaging esteemed writers in conversation, we are able to realize the common essence of all. We are especially blessed to have a vast knowledge base available right on our desktop computer or at the local bookstore and library. We need not be parochial in our search for unlimited, universal truth. However, it is wise to follow one path with others being supplementary in order to develop depth and focus.

Since the Vedic literature is not consistent or necessarily clear in what it says, Chaitanya and his followers focus on the Srimad Bhagavat as their main scripture. “The Bhagavat is...an exposition of...Om, the transcendental word of eternal harmony.” (73) It deals with the relationship between the living entities, the world and God-dess. It provides knowledge of the personality of God-dess and our true relationship with God-dess. It also describes the way to attain this relationship and the purpose of seeking it. God-dess conceived in full perfection is the relation. Devotion is the way, and pure love is the purpose.

Nature of the Absolute

Chaitanya presents a comprehensive, concrete monism, dipolar monotheism or panentheism. The personal Absolute enfolds even the formless, attributeless Absolute. God-dess’ inconceivable power to reconcile the irreconcilable reconciles our imperfect and contradictory ideas of qualified and unqualified Absolute in a higher synthesis.

The Absolute cannot be completely expressed by words, but this does not mean it cannot be expressed at all. Being infinite and unbounded, the Absolute cannot be limited by words. Chaitanya and his followers reject the idea of the Absolute as a pure, undifferentiated being.

The Absolute must be a positive concept to be intelligible and real. Since nothing positive is without attributes, the Absolute must be qualified. Being infinite, the Absolute must be determined and qualified in endless ways. It is all encompassing and lacks nothing. The idea of personality is both consistent and essential to the infinite Absolute. God-dess has character, which implies something definite and limiting. God-dess is unlimited in the sense of being immeasurable and all encompassing.

Vedic “scriptures describe the Absolute as both qualified and unqualified.” (83) They often clearly describe the Absolute as both qualified and unqualified in the same breath. Those who wish to merge with the unqualified Absolute may do so. Those who wish a relationship with the personal Absolute, God-dess, may do so. The Absolute is both-and. God-dess reciprocates according to our mode of approach.

We are finite, and God-dess is infinite. We cannot delimit the infinite with human thought and words. We do not want to define a God that is too small and fits neatly in our box. God-dess’ inconceivable potency transcends the law of contradiction, blending contradictory ideas or qualities within itself.

“The infinite is infinite because there is nothing that does not fall within it...The infinite logically excludes the possibility of the existence of anything other than itself.” (85-6) Whatever exists is a manifestation of the Absolute and is internally related to it. “Nothing exists apart from it and independent of it...functional differences in the Absolute...naturally follow from its inconceivable potency. Anything that we can speak or think of must in some way be a manifested part of the infinite.” (86)

“The concepts of infinity and personality are both essential to the real nature of the Absolute.” (87) Denial of qualities and attributes to the Absolute is an imperfect, limiting concept. God-dess possesses infinite attributes and forms. “The concept of the inconceivable implies that there are stages of being and intelligence higher than our own.” Naturally, the power of God-dess, “whose dimensions are unlimited, should appear as inconceivable to our finite minds.” (89)

The Concept of the Personal Absolute

God-dess has no second. God-dess is the only reality. God-dess’ form is pure self-luminous consciousness. God-dess is the eternal principle, the highest good and the highest bliss.

God-dess is an essential unity above categorical difference. There is no other being with the same nature as God-dess. The Absolute is one, but different religions call God-dess by different names. Judaism, Christianity and Islam “aim at the same eternal, indivisible, immutable and perfect Being, which is immanent in the hearts of all, but describe it differently in respect of its name, form and attributes.” (90)

The phenomenal world is categorically different from God-dess, but it is not self-existent. It depends on God-dess for its existence. God-dess is the cause of his-her own existence and everything else.

God-dess’ body and its owner are not two different principles, like the difference between body and soul of living entities in the physical world. God-dess’ body and its owner are both constituted of consciousness and bliss. God-dess’ name, attributes, activities and abode are all manifestations of the same eternal spiritual principle. God-dess “is devoid of all kinds of difference whether external or internal.” (91)

God-dess has the inconceivable power to manifest in different forms without losing his-her oneness. God-dess is one and indivisible yet has innumerable forms and manifests in infinite ways to devotees according to their different capacities and the different modes of realization adopted by them.

God-dess manifests in three clear levels, as Undifferentiated Oneness, Cosmic Consciousness and personal God-dess according to the three paths of approach: knowledge, meditation and devotion. Of these three-forms, each succeeding one supersedes and includes the preceding. God-dess, the highest manifestation, supersedes and includes Undifferentiated Oneness and Cosmic Consciousness.

God-dess is identified with the supreme personalities, Radha Krishna, the source of all incarnations, the ultimate ground of all that exists, and in whom are centered infinite grandeur, infinite powers and infinite modes of divine bliss. All scriptures, explicitly or implicitly, speak of God-dess as the Ultimate Reality. God-dess is the only reality that exists without change before, during and after the end of creation.

God-dess, the highest being, perfectly manifests all auspicious qualities. The incomplete manifestation of God-dess, Undifferentiated Oneness is that “in whom all the divine attributes and potencies lie in a dormant state. It is primordial sameness, but not a barren stillness; it is indeterminateness, but not an indeterminateness that totally denies distinctions and definiteness; it has distinctions, but the distinctions are not clearly brought out; it is a creative potentiality, but a potentiality that is eternally actualized in its most perfect state as” God-dess. (92) God-dess’ attributes and potencies inhere in him-her essentially and eternally and are not unreal or superimposed. God-dess and God-dess’ attributes or energies are inseparable.

God-dess indulges in spiritual pastimes eternally. God-dess has a spiritual body, an eternal abode and eternal companions. God-dess’ body is real and consists of eternal consciousness and bliss. God-dess’ highest and most perfect form can only be realized through devotion. Those who follow the path of knowledge realize Undifferentiated Oneness, which is the outward glow or divine luster of God-dess’ spiritual body.

God-dess’ majestic qualities are: the power of supporting and protecting the universe, unfolding and sustaining the natural function of devotion in devotees, leading devotees to attainment of the transcendental realm, all beings lie within God-dess and God-dess lies within them.

Cosmic Consciousness is a step higher than Undifferentiated Oneness in the hierarchy of manifestations of the absolute, personal God-dess. Undifferentiated Oneness is the basic reality underlying all concrete formations. Cosmic Consciousness is the basic principle controlling and regulating concrete formations. Cosmic Consciousness implies a differentiated and qualified state of God-dess. Cosmic Consciousness is qualified in a limited sense and is a partial manifestation of God-dess who is qualified in endless ways. Cosmic Consciousness is immanent in the living beings and material nature and is “the conscious regulative principle of all beings.” (94)

Cosmic Consciousness is God-dess related to living beings and nature. God-dess creates the world and enters into it as Cosmic Consciousness. Cosmic Consciousness is perfect God-dess pervading, sustaining and regulating the living entities and the entire universe collectively and individually.

God-dess has infinite energies, but the most important are the spiritual energy, material energy and the living entities. They are inherent in the nature of God-dess. The spiritual energy constitutes the essence or intrinsic self of God-dess and is the substratum of the entire transcendental world in which the transcendental activities of God-dess are displayed. The material energy is externally related to God-dess and is the cause of the material world. It is related to God-dess in the sense that all energies must ultimately inhere in God-dess. God-dess’ intrinsic and perfect selfhood transcends it and is totally free of its influence.

Material energy does not appear where God-dess is, but appears where God-dess is not. It appears out of God-dess, but not without God-dess, “like the reflection of the sun, which appears in the pond on the earth, away from the sun, but not without the sun, which is its cause. Just as the reflection of the sun does not touch the sun, even though it cannot exist without it.” (95) Material energy does not touch God-dess, even though it cannot exist without God-dess.

God-dess regulates and controls material energy from outside. Material energy, being unconscious, cannot function by itself. The three modes of material energy, goodness, passion and ignorance, are in a state of equilibrium before creation. God-dess starts the process of creation by glancing at material nature, which disturbs its equilibrium and energizes it. This deludes the living entities averse to service of God-dess, but it is powerless over the living entities devoted to God-dess. God-dess rules material nature, but the weak living entities are subject to its control and service. The material creation is neither eternal nor unreal. It is real but subject to change and annihilation, unlike the transcendental abode of God-dess.

The living entities manifest on the borderline between the material and spiritual energies and are related to both. Thus, the living entities have the choice of either serving God-dess and dwelling in the spiritual world or dwelling in the material world and enjoying it. God-dess uses his-her persuasive attractiveness to entice all beings to the spiritual world.

The spiritual energy is subdivided into three other energies corresponding to existence, consciousness and bliss. By the existential energy, God-dess maintains his-her own existence and the existence of other beings. By means of this energy, God-dess exists as an independent substance and forms the ground or support of all other things, which derive their existence from God-dess. The conscious energy makes God-dess omniscient and enables God-dess to impart knowledge to others.

The blissful energy allows God-dess to enjoy bliss and infuses bliss into the hearts of devotees. The essence of the blissful energy is divine love. The fullest manifestation of divine love is Radha, the divine consort or counter-whole of Krishna, the personal absolute. Just as Krishna possesses infinite divine energies in their highest perfection, Radha embodies those divine energies in their most developed form.

“Krishna is the ultimate source of the infinite partial manifestations of the divine personality and Radha is the ultimate source of the endless divine energies of...Krishna. The relationship between Krishna and Radha is that of inconceivable identity in difference. They are, in essence, one and the same entity, which assumes two different forms to enjoy the bliss of divine love sports...The body of Radha, like that of Krishna, is made of bliss and consciousness and the love between the two is spiritual.” (98) To maximize Krishna’s bliss, Radha expands into innumerable partial manifestations as her confidants, the sensuous women of the spiritual abode, who join in Radha Krishna’s amorous pastimes increasing their bliss unlimitedly.

The blissful energy is above all others and is identified with the intrinsic and perfect self of God-dess. The other energies are regarded as subservient to it and are associated with the partial aspects of God-dess. The conscious energy is identified with Cosmic Consciousness and the existential energy with Undifferentiated Oneness. The gradation of energies closely corresponds with the gradation of the three aspects of God-dess. Just as God-dess is the highest manifestation of the Absolute and includes Cosmic Consciousness, and Cosmic Consciousness includes Undifferentiated Oneness, the blissful energy, which is the highest and most perfect energy, includes the conscious energy, and the conscious energy includes the existential energy.

The supreme bliss of the divine sports of Radha Krishna attracts even liberated souls. The highest form of bliss known as “the sweet taste” is enjoyed only by the women of Braj, Radha Krishna’s transcendental abode. They engage in the most confidential, loving service of Radha Krishna. Indeed, the sweet taste is the very essence of Radha Krishna.

Universalist Radha Krishnaism is based on a dynamic conception of reality, which is why I described it in terms of process theology in a previous essay. Since the energies are related either externally or internally to God-dess, God-dess is essentially creative on both the material and spiritual planes. The spiritual energy manifests the eternal sport of God-dess. The eternal sport “is the movement of the absolute spirit within itself. It supersedes the order of values in transcendent beauty and sublimity of spiritual life, in beatitude and in the ease and grace of movement.” (99)

“Since there is no movement, which is not related directly or indirectly to the integrating centre, this introduction of dynamism in the absolute calls for a reorientation of the entire view of life. It leads to an aesthetico-teleological conception of reality, which makes our knowledge and experience concrete and meaningful at every stage.” (100)

God-dess, Radha Krishna

God-dess has infinite forms like parts related to the whole. Since God-dess “has no internal difference, the part is not like a piece of stone chopped off from the whole. The part is...the whole--the same all-knowing and all-pervading being. Still, it is called a part, because the” self energy of God-dess “is not fully manifested in it, and the whole is called the whole, because the” self energy “is fully manifested in it.” (101) It is like a hologram which may be cut in pieces, but each piece contains the whole picture even though they vary in size and quality.

Undifferentiated Oneness is the lowest manifestation of divine self energy and Radha Krishna is its highest manifestation. Radha Krishna are, therefore, identical with God-dess. Between Radha Krishna and Undifferentiated Oneness there is an infinite hierarchy of partial manifestations, each of which has a different form. The differences are due to the different combinations of majesty and sweetness manifest in the various forms of God-dess. Different forms do not imply difference in the identity of God-dess. All forms inhere in God-dess.

Radha Krishna, in their intrinsic form, possess infinite potencies, infinite attributes and all the divine excellences of God-dess. They are the ultimate source of everything, the prime cause of all causes. They have spiritual bodies which are beautiful beyond words. They sometimes manifest “simultaneously in many places and there is no qualitative difference between these manifested forms and the original form.” (102)

They also manifest in different forms with myriad conceits to experience unlimited pastimes. These expansions have their own spiritual abodes where they engage in eternal pastimes with their devotees. The different religions are based on our experience of these various forms which are revealed according to time and circumstance. This accounts for the different descriptions of God-dess. They manifest themselves on the subtle, spiritual level in the phenomenal world to create and maintain the cosmos and impart spiritual wisdom to humanity. They are not subject to material energy. They operate in the realms of consciousness and sometimes manifest on the material plane through highly evolved humans such as Jesus and Chaitanya.

These forms live in the Cosmic Consciousness and appear in the consciousness of humans to communicate with us. Sometimes they possess a human and appear in human form through that person. Chaitanya is considered to be the incarnation of Radha Krishna, who appeared in the guise of a devotee to teach the religion of divine love. Sometimes he was in the mood of a human devotee. At other times, he was completely God-dess possessed. He manifested the moods of Radha Krishna and other divine manifestations. He was seen and acknowledged as God-dess by others. “The belief in the divinity of...Chaitanya was wide spread in his own time and continues to this day to be shared by a large number of his devoted followers, now spread all over the world.” (106)

The innumerable manifestations of God-dess are all perfect, but they manifest different degrees of perfection based on how many divine qualities they manifest fully or partially. God-dess, Radha Krishna, is the source of all manifestations in whom all divine qualities are fully manifest.

Radha Krishna are the supreme reality. They are both concrete and expansive. Their infinite nature encircles the whole universe, but that infinitude is centered in a concrete form. Their being is an all-embracing, organic unity. Their concrete form does not limit or restrict their freedom because the modulations of their being pervade the infinite expanse of existence. They combine “wideness of spirit with intensity of modulations, the eternal peace and calm of perfection with the dynamism of eternally self-revealing and self-fulfilling creative activity, and quickness of movement with intensive harmony and gracefulness.” Radha Krishna awaken “such modulations in our being that our demands for love, knowledge and peace are all satisfied in an integrative synthesis. It provides freedom, elasticity, harmony and everything that makes for the richest and the most complete spiritual life.” (107)

Since we are finite parts of the holographic whole, God-dess is within us. When we attune ourselves to the spiritual level of consciousness, God-dess is awakened within us, and we are able to consciously engage in a loving relationship that is the perfection of spiritual life.

Braj is the spiritual abode of Radha Krishna. Like them, it consists of existence, consciousness and bliss. As such it is different from the material world. Braj and Radha Krishna are inseparably related. We cannot think of Radha Krishna without Braj, nor Braj without Radha Krishna. In their original forms, they eternally stay in Braj and never leave it.

Just as there are infinite manifestations of Radha Krishna, there are infinite manifestations of their abode. For each manifestation of Radha Krishna, there is a corresponding manifestation of their abode. Braj is the original and highest abode, just as Radha Krishna are the original and highest forms of God-dess. Highest means the most excellent, complete or full manifestation.

Radha Krishna and their abode are the highest because their sweetness eclipses their majesty. They do not appear as God-dess, or even sovereigns, but as young lovers eternally engaged in amorous sports with their confidants on the bank of the river, in the green groves, laden with sweet smelling flowers, all of which breathe an atmosphere of freedom and sweetness which is most enjoyable.

All other forms of God-dess and their abodes are partial manifestations. When Radha Krishna manifest to their devotees on earth, they bring their spiritual abode with them. Devotees who perfect their spiritual vision can see Radha Krishna’s sports even today in their manifest abode, Braj, India, as well as in their heart. It is only through the way of the heart that one can enter the spiritual Braj and Radha Krishna’s pastimes. Devotion through regulative principles leads to the more majestic forms of God-dess.

Braj is here on earth, and it is in the heart of the devotee wherever they live. Radha Krishna’s unmanifest pastimes go on there even now. One can only see them by the grace of Radha Krishna or their devotees.

God-dess’ abodes are populated by eternal associates who enrich the pastimes by their participation in different relationships with God-dess. Some are in this role without beginning. Others attained this role through grace and practice of devotion on the material plane.

The associates serve God-dess according to the particular relationship, like servant, friend, parent or lover, which exists between them. This relationship is not due to birth or an external ceremony like adoption or marriage. It is due to the specific emotion or devotional love an associate has for God-dess. Part of devotional practice is to cultivate an emotional, loving relationship with God-dess.

God-dess is perfect, without wants and all his-her “activities are without motive or conscious effort. They spring from exuberance of intrinsic bliss.” (115) They are called sport, play or pastimes. They manifest in the hearts, minds and lives of devotees.

God-dess’ names, forms, abodes, associates and sports exist within us, along with everything else we can imagine. There are different levels of existence and consciousness pervades everything. Devotional practices are meant to help us attain that level of consciousness where God-dess lives and enacts eternal pastimes with the liberated associates.

Radha Krishna are the embodiment of the highest, most concentrated bliss. This bliss is different from ordinary happiness. Ordinary happiness is material, while bliss is spiritual. Ordinary happiness is transient and limited while bliss is eternal and unlimited. Spiritual bliss is quantitatively and qualitatively vastly superior to material happiness. Transcendental bliss is unique and indescribable.

Radha Krishna are not only the embodiment of bliss but of enjoyment. They are both the object that is enjoyed and the person who enjoys. This transcendental enjoyment is astonishingly wonderful, and it totally absorbs the mind and senses. God-dess is full of infinite variety and is therefore ever new. God-dess is the embodiment of all enjoyment.

God-dess’ blissful energy increases a thousand-fold when it is implanted in the heart of a devotee. Devotees have a passionate desire to serve God-dess according to their different moods. The love of devotees who are aware of God-dess’ power and majesty is enjoyable, but divine love is always shy before majesty. The more awareness of majesty, the less intense the love.

Devotees who, unaware of God-dess’ power and majesty, serve Radha Krishna as a sweet, loving couple with ordinary human wants and weaknesses, give them the highest enjoyment. Their divine love is enjoyed by Radha Krishna more than anything else. The highest development of divine love is only possible when neither God-dess nor the devotees are conscious of divinity.

Rupa Goswami was a learned playwright and poet well versed in classical Indian aesthetics. Using the Tenth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, he elaborated the play of Radha Krishna and hierarchically systematized the various forms of God-dess, moods of devotion, devotional symptoms of love, forms of sport and how to enter into those sports. His brother, Sanatan, and nephew, Jiva, philosophically systematized these concepts.

Thus, we arrive at a point where the highest conception of God-dess and the highest service one can render them is for them to be a loving young couple, with us as their friends and lovers, totally unaware of divinity. Deep, intense love is the key element. If we apply the principle “as above, so below,” see ourselves created in the image of God-dess and understand this world to be a temporary, imperfect reflection of the spiritual world, we can understand that God-dess and the transcendental abode must bear some resemblance to the highest, most enjoyable aspects of human life.

Radha Krishna, Braj, the cow-herding pastimes, and so forth are the Indian cultural revelation of that ideal life. Now that Radha Krishnaism has spread throughout the world, we need to divest it of its cultural accretions and re-imagine it in our own indigenous contexts. This process may take generations to complete. God-dess realization is a dynamic process. God-dess and God-dess’ play is ever expanding. God-dess responds according to the mood in which the devotee approaches, therefore, it is not a closed, fixed system.

God-dess craves the love of devotees who are free of all constraints of decorum based on majesty in their talk and behavior. Their divine love is ever fresh and enjoyable. God-dess, though eternally free, is eternally captive in these devotees’ hearts. An extremely intimate, loving relationship exists between God-dess and such devotees.

God-dess and the devotees are united in love, but this does not imply a monistic union in which the devotees completely lose their own identity. “They are so absorbed in each other’s love and lost in each other’s thought that there is hardly any room in their hearts for the thought of anything else.” (121) God-dess and the devotee become mutually subservient to each other surrendering their freedom to each other. God-dess is controlled by the pure divine love of the devotee.

All God-dess’ activities are intended to make the devotees happy. This is natural in love. God-dess loves the devotees as much as they love God-dess. God-dess manifests different forms to satisfy the devotees different tastes for enjoying devotion. God-dess loves the devotees in the same manner in which they love. God-dess lives in the devotee’s heart in the form the devotee meditates upon and bestows divine love. The devotee enjoys the bliss of closeness to God-dess and learns to engage in loving play. These unlimited varieties of loving relationships with innumerable devotees are supremely enjoyable for God-dess. All religions thus contribute to God-dess’ enjoyment through increasing the varieties of relationship.

Radha Krishna are supremely enjoyable due to the sweet taste of their love. Sweetness is the essence of their nature. Scriptures describe both the sweetness and majesty of God-dess, but the sweetness alone is the essence of perfection. God-dess’ sweetness is due to the blissful, loving energy personified as Radha who governs Krishna. A ruler may make a person captive by power, but only their sweet behavior can win the person’s heart and soul. Sweetness is God-dess’ intrinsic quality, and it is most fully manifest in the love of Radha Krishna.

Love is by nature imperfect. “It is never satisfied with itself. The more love one has the more one longs for it. Love is essentially dynamic. It is ever growing, ever trying to overreach itself. This, at any rate, is spiritual love.” (129) Since God-dess’ love is limitless, God-dess’ hunger for love is also limitless. To satisfy this limitless hunger, God-dess bestows devotion to have more persons to love and be loved by, and this is the underlying reason for creation.

God-dess experiences bliss in the act of mercifully imparting devotion like a mother nursing her child. God-dess’ mercy blesses the giver and receiver. God-dess is essentially dynamic. Though perfect in all respects, God-dess always grows and changes through enjoying relationships. God-dess’ every act of mercy is an act of self-fulfillment and self-transcendent bliss.

The Finite Self

The different forms described previously are non-differentiated partial manifestations of God-dess. The living entities are God-dess’ differentiated partial manifestations. The living entities are the marginal energy, distinct from the spiritual and material energies but connected with both just as the shore is distinct from land and sea but connected with both. The living entities are subject to the influence of both the spiritual and material energies just as the shore may be part of the land or the sea depending on the tides. Though the living entities are free to surrender to the spiritual or material energy, their intrinsic nature is to serve God-dess under the guidance of the spiritual energy.

The living entities have a distinct metaphysical reality of their own. Knowledge, action and enjoyment are their attributes. They are self-luminous. “Like the light of a lamp, it reveals itself as well as the objects falling within the focus of its consciousness. Its luminosity, however, is derived from” Cosmic Consciousness, “who alone is self-luminous in the real sense. It is called self-luminous only in contrast with the material objects, which neither reveal themselves nor anything else.” (133)

The living entity is infinitesimal in size, yet it pervades the physical body in which it is temporarily encased. It is like a minute sun whose conscious light pervades the whole body and beyond. It is nonmaterial, so not limited by time-space, although in the conditioned state it thinks it is. It is a discrete entity with a field of consciousness about it. It is able to make dimensional shifts in consciousness.

It is the subject of ego-consciousness, but its ego or self should not be identified with the self of the empirical ego, which is a product of material nature and its modifications--the body and senses. Being the product of material nature, the empirical ego is impermanent, impure and liable to suffering. The pure ego, which is unaffected by material nature, is eternal, of one substance, identical with itself, spiritual, blissful and eternally pure. Birth, death, development and decay, refer to the body in which the living entity is encased under the influence of illusion, and not its intrinsic nature, which is eternally the same. Conscious bliss is explicit in those living entities under the spiritual energy, but implicit for those under the material energy.

The relation between the living entities and Cosmic Consciousness is described as “inconceivable identity-in-difference.” (133) It is identity, because Cosmic Consciousness is the source and ground of existence of the living entities from which they derive their nature as existence, consciousness and bliss. It is difference, because the living entities share the nature of Cosmic Consciousness in very small measure. Their existence, consciousness and bliss are limited, while Cosmic Consciousness’ existence, consciousness and bliss are unlimited. Again, the analogy of a tiny part of a hologram containing the whole is apt. God-dess, the heavens, hells, spiritual abodes and all creation are within us as well as without.

The living entities “are infinite in number, and their intrinsic nature is always the same. But there are differences among them according to their past and present deeds and the different positions occupied by them on the mundane or the spiritual plane.” (133) Devotees of God-dess are happy because they are without desire, realizing they possess the greatest treasure, love of God-dess. The rest are unhappy because they desire either enjoyment or liberation which they do not perfectly possess.

The eternal function of the living entity is to serve God-dess, but it has free choice in this regard. It is free to serve God-dess by submitting to the spiritual energy or material nature. Thus, we have a distinction between these two types of living entities. Those who choose to serve God-dess are eternally liberated beyond the influence of material nature. Those who choose not to serve God-dess remain on the material plane. The liberated entities dwell with God-dess as companions in the spiritual abodes and enjoy the bliss of devotion.

Those on the material plane, undergo a process of conscious evolution as God-dess persuasively tries to attract them while they enjoy the things of the world. Asceticism is of no use. God-dess is more likely to ask why we didn’t enjoy ourselves more, than why we enjoyed this or that pleasure. When we are awakened, we see God-dess in everything and are able to serve him-her accordingly and enjoy a higher level of bliss.

The bound entities forget their real nature as spiritual servants of God-dess. They are covered by subtle and gross bodies which they identify with, rather than the spirit soul. The subtle body consists of mind, intelligence, consciousness and egoism, which are conditioned by nature in the case of the bound entities, but exist in their pure form in the liberated entities. When the spirit soul is further covered by a physical body, its material consciousness is intensified. It then begins the cycle of repeated birth and death. According to its actions, it experiences a wide range of births in heavenly, hellish or middling conditions. In these lives, it unavoidably experiences physical and mental pain along with enjoyment.

Since the living entity is part of God-dess and of the same spiritual nature, perfect eternal happiness is one of its intrinsic qualities which it always seeks to experience. This is not found in the objects of the senses. Their pleasures are short-lived and mixed with pain.

As a result of grace and past good deeds, one gains the company of an advanced devotee who imparts right knowledge and initiates one into devotion. Then one may turn from matter, find God-dess and become established in one’s eternally blissful nature. Our mistaken identity is removed with the appearance of God-dess, just as darkness is removed by the rising sun. Attainment of God-dess is the culmination of life. “There is no real happiness without it.” (135)

In its natural state, the entity is part of God-dess, and its natural function is to serve God-dess. Attainment of this state implies attainment of God-dess and bliss, removal of false ego and the binding of actions, entering a state where there is no return to this world, as well as cessation of pain and suffering.

Liberation may be attained while the entity is in the physical body or after death as a side effect of loving devotion. The later is the real goal, as it implies complete transcendence of the material plane and elimination of all extraneous factors blocking the entity’s inherent capacity to realize the highest bliss.

Cultivation of loving devotion makes intimacy with God-dess possible. Loving devotion “implies both the quality of loving and being loved.” (139) To realize God-dess fully, one must realize loving devotion, which means one must realize God-dess as the subject and object of love in his-her sweet aspect as Radha Krishna. God-dess loves the devotees just as his-her devotees love him-her. They are each others heart and soul and their minds are absorbed in each other. Divine love is not a means to liberation but an end in itself. It is the highest bliss of which liberation is the natural accompaniment.

The Phenomenal World

The world is a manifestation of the material energy of God-dess and is therefore real. God-dess intrinsically transcends matter, but matter depends upon God-dess for its existence. God-dess, the spiritual abodes and eternal associates exist before creation. At creation, the universe is projected out of God-dess in what we now call the big bang. Matter becomes active when energized by God-dess. God-dess is the primary cause of creation, and material nature is the secondary cause.

God-dess impregnates matter with the innumerable living entities and enters creation as the Cosmic Consciousness initiating and regulating the process of creation. Cosmic Consciousness is the soul of the cosmos which is his-her body. Thus, God-dess both transcends and pervades the cosmos in a panentheistic manner. God-dess creates the universe out of his-herself and is both its efficient and material causes. Though God-dess creates the world out of him-herself, God-dess does not undergo modification.

We accept a contemporary scientific view of the world. The big bang, evolution and quantum physics are all acceptable to our world view. We are especially attracted to the holographic paradigm developed by physicist David Bohm and neurophysiologist Karl Pribram, which suggests this world is a multidimensional holographic projection of the spiritual world. We leave deciphering the mysteries of material nature to scientists who specialize in that sort of thing. I stay informed of scientific views but focus on spiritual matters.

Inconceivable Distinction and Non-distinction

Philosophical thought regarding the relation between God-dess and humans, God-dess “and the world of finite experience, the noumena and the phenomena, is directed along two main lines. Some, emphasizing the essential distinction between the infinite and the finite, accept the absolute transcendence of the one over the other, while others, emphasizing the identity between them regard” God-dess “as immanent in the human spirit and the phenomenal world.” (150)

Both lines of thought have their strengths and weaknesses. Both are needed for an adequate full explanation of the situation. By the inconceivable power of God-dess, “the concepts of identity and difference are transcended and reconciled in a higher synthesis. Transcendence and immanence are made the associated aspects of an abiding unity in” God-dess. (152) This is a form of panentheism.

The immanent aspect of God-dess is called Cosmic Consciousness. Simultaneously, God-dess with full splendor of infinite perfection, infinite potencies and infinite attributes transcends all finite things, while Cosmic Consciousness “is the immanent regulator and observer of the actions of the finite souls, and the unifier of all existing things.” (152) God-dess is the blissful, personal absolute above and beyond the world of the senses. God-dess pervades the universe in a hidden form in which all beings exist. God-dess supports all, yet exists beyond all as the source of everything.

Due to God-dess’ inconceivable power, nothing is unimaginable. God-dess can “be both different from the world and identical with it, to create the world out of” him-herself “and remain out of it. This cannot be explained by reasoning.” However, it can be realized by logical implication. “Simultaneous existence of identity and difference is...inconceivable, because it is” (153) paradoxical. “The view relating to absolute identity is as illogical as the one relating to absolute difference.” (154)

We may explain that identity and difference are involved, but not exactly how the two are reconciled. That is inconceivable. Inconceivable identity and difference applies not only to God-dess and his-her energies, but also to material objects and their energies.

God-dess appears in many forms but is one. God-dess’ sport, name and form are at once different and non-different. Even the various parts of God-dess’ “body are different yet non-different, for each part can perform the functions of the other parts and of the whole. The part is...identical with the whole, though still a part, and as such different from the whole.” (155)

God-dess’ inconceivable form “cannot be conceived because it is infinite and immeasurable.” The Vedic scriptures describe God-dess “as ‘the greatest of the great’ and ‘the smallest of the small,’ as ‘one who moves and yet moves not,’ as ‘one who is far as well as near, immanent as well as transcendent,’ and as one who does not have the mind or sense organs like ours and yet performs all the functions of these.” (156) We cannot comprehend these descriptions of God-dess’ inconceivable form. God-dess remains a paradox.

Inconceivable “signifies the marriage of the opposite concepts of ‘difference’ and ‘non-difference’ leading to a higher and fuller unity.” (157) Only God-dess’ inconceivable potency can reconcile transcendence with immanence and maintain God-dess’ purity in relation to the phenomenal world. Inconceivability reconciles real difference with real identity. This pertains to God-dess, the living entities and nature, as well as to all energies and their possessor.

Devotion, the Means

Devotion “cannot, strictly speaking, be defined because it is transcendental.” Sages and scriptures variously described it as: “exclusive and intense loving attachment to” God-dess, “the highest and the most satisfying function of the soul,” “the highest end,” “indescribable love...and the grandest and sublimest of all human experiences” and “the only means for the attainment of” God-dess. (176)

Realization of the supreme end as personal God-dess is present where devotion is present and absent where devotion is absent. Devotion “is possible for everyone...and can be practiced at all times and under all circumstances.” (178) Devotion may be practiced in the conditioned and liberated states. Devotion “is the eternal and the supreme function of the soul...It is both the means and the end.” (178) Devotion is a potency of God-dess which brings the grace of God-dess.

Knowledge and detachment are natural concomitants of devotion. The more intense the love for God-dess, the less the attachment for worldly things. One learns to see worldly things in God-dess and engage them in God-dess’ service. Thus, everything may be spiritualized and used without attachment of the false ego. It is much better to sublimate desires than repress them, which can lead to unhealthy complexes. Asceticism is detrimental to devotion because it hardens the heart, builds up the repressed shadow complex and is generally not sustainable.

As a result of devotion, however, the soul realizes its true nature as an “infinitesimal part of divine consciousness.” (180) Pure devotion is without selfish desire or cause. The devotee serves God-dess solely for God-dess’ pleasure. This is the natural function of the soul and is, therefore, pleasant and satisfying. Though the devotee serves God-dess for God-dess’ pleasure, pleasure comes to the devotee automatically. This is the nature of devotion.

In the spiritual world, where love reigns supreme, to serve is to love. Love is reciprocal. “Each member of the loving relation depends on the other; each feels deficient without the other; each wants to draw close to the other and to win the other by love and service.” (181) God-dess is the other member of this loving relationship. God-dess realizes him-herself through loving service to the devotees. God-dess derives greater pleasure in being controlled by the devotees than in controlling them.

Devotion implies renunciation, “not in the sense of renunciation of the objects of the world, but in the sense of their dedication to the service of” God-dess. “It does not imply complete eradication of cravings and impulses, but complete transformation or purification of them under the subordination of the central impulse of service to” God-dess. In devotion, “the natural conflict between life and spirit is sought to be resolved not by denying life but by making it conform to spirit. The infusion of spirit into life changes the very character of our instincts. The instincts are nature’s urges. The infusion of spirit turns them into spiritual urges.” (181) Universalist Radha Krishnaism “promises a new joy by rejuvenating and reforming life on a spiritual pattern.” (182)

True renunciation “is that in which the worldly objects are enjoyed without any attachment...and with the ultimate aim of realizing” God-dess. (182) One should practice devotion with faith in God-dess and not be too attached nor too indifferent to the world. The spiritual living being should gain conscious control of his or her life and enjoy the gifts of life in moderation and detachment while serving God-dess with full devotion.

Devotion involves our whole personality in a life enhancing way. It takes different forms in knowledge, adoration and service. “In knowledge it is the divine curiosity; in” adoration “it is the integrating force; in service it is the will taking the shape of a cosmic force and fulfilling the divine ends in creation...Devotion presupposes a certain knowledge of the object of devotion...as an integrating force it brings us closer to the object of devotion and leads to greater intimacy with it. Greater intimacy results in higher knowledge, which again is followed by active expression in love and service.” (182)

Devotion is connected to life. Devotees are actively engaged in life, not passive onlookers. “To know is to act. Every fresh acquisition of knowledge makes the movement of life more graceful, for it reveals the love that is at the heart of existence; and the two axes of love are knowledge and service.” (182)

Realization of God-dess is dependent on grace. Devotion is the means by which we open ourselves to grace. Devotion “is a spiritually gravitating force that takes us to the centre. It is a force that works at two ends. In our own hearts it roots out all egoistic impulses that carry us away from the centre and releases the integrating forces leading to complete surrender of all our faculties, so that knowledge, love and will may act in complete harmony with the divine rhythm.” In God-dess, it energizes grace “and releases the forces of redemption, which lead to the final integration of our being with Divine Will.” (183)

Devotion is a function of the blissful energy of God-dess (Radha), which energizes both God-dess and devotee. God-dess, the supreme enjoyer of bliss, enjoys the bliss flowing from the devotee’s heart more than the bliss of God-dess’ inherent nature. The gravitational force of bliss draws the devotee to God-dess and God-dess to the devotee.

“Spiritual life is governed by the Law of Harmony. Love is the Law of Harmony in its highest form. Self-surrender on our part and” grace on God-dess’ part “are the manifestations of the Law of Harmony.” In the union “of self-surrender the soul strikes a divine chord and realizes an inner harmony, which is of the highest order, and a poise and equilibrium, which is much more than intellectual.” (184)

The devotee feels the protection of God-dess and can fearlessly push forward, overcoming all obstacles. Devotion to God-dess “counteracts sinful acts..., whether they have begun to produce effects or not.” Devotion “is not dependent even on the rules and regulations...of devotional practices like” hearing and chanting. “If there be lapses in observing these rules, they do not prevent” devotion “from yielding results quickly.” (185)

Devotion to God-dess severs “the knot of ignorance, which arises from the ‘I’ and ‘My’ consciousness...Just as by watering the roots of a tree we feed its branches and leaves, by practicing devotion to” God-dess, “we satisfy the whole of creation.” Devotion develops all good qualities. Actions performed in the service of God-dess, like hearing or singing the praises of God-dess are transcendental. Devotion is self-manifest and not subject to material conditions. “It is identical with supreme bliss.” (186) It is most enjoyable as an end and a means. Therefore, devotees are often indifferent toward liberation since devotion subjugates God-dess.

Devotion is either developing or perfect. Developing devotion is the means; perfect devotion is the end. Perfect devotion “is the eternally realized but non-manifest function of the soul.” Developing devotion “is the attempt to make this function manifest. Any method or means by which a person can successfully divert” (187) the mind toward God-dess is considered developing devotion.

Some of the main elements of developing devotion are as follows:

1. Accepting what is congenial and rejecting what is not congenial to devotion.
   
2. Choosing God-dess as protector.
   
3. The conviction that the devotee is not the actual doer but is moved by God-dess’ will.
   
4. To be humble and free of self-conceit. Developing the qualities of humility and forbearance opens one to grace and the full effect of devotional practices.
   
5. To reverentially learn from a spiritual teacher and hold him or her in high regard as a representative of God-dess.
   
6. Hearing about the name, form, qualities and sports of Radha Krishna. There are no rules or particular order for hearing these topics, but it is generally considered good to hear the name first since it purifies the heart before hearing the rest.
   
7. Chanting the names, singing God-dess’ praises and relating what one has learned about God-dess to others. Chanting the names is considered most efficacious, and they may be chanted aloud or mentally. Chanting a certain number of names, or mantras, on prayer beads is a common practice. “No restrictions of time, place, person, or states of body and mind apply to it. It can be chanted by any one, in any condition, and at any time or place.” (189) The holy name is inconceivably identical and different from God-dess, “who graciously appears on the tongue of the devotee in the form of the Name...constant repetition of the Name purifies” the heart. Then the pure name manifests fully, and one is able to enter the divine love sports of Radha Krishna because merciful God-dess is committed to respond to us in the manner we approach. All names of God-dess are powerful, but the names of Radha Krishna are most powerful. Congregational chanting of the name or singing the praises of Radha Krishna is especially potent.
   
8. Remembrance “is fixing the mind on the name, form, or sports” (192) of God-dess. One should progressively learn to focus the mind until one becomes totally absorbed in remembrance of Radha Krishna and their pastimes. One also assumes an identity as a participant in those pastimes and enters into them. Remembrance of Radha Krishna is the purpose of all devotional practices.
   
9. “Ceremonial worship of the deity...is not idolatry or the worship of the image, but the worship of” (192) God-dess who out of grace assumes that form. This provides an objective basis for the spiritual orientation of the devotee’s life. Such worship enables one to detach the mind and senses from material objects and engage them in service of Radha Krishna. Sensates may enjoy having statues which they can bathe, dress and offered formal worship. Intuitives may prefer a simpler altar with pictures, flowers, candles and incense to serve as a focus for meditation. One may even focus on a mental image. The point is to fix the mind on God-dess. Even if these forms are considered material representations, or symbols of God-dess, they are inconceivably identical and different from God-dess. What better way to portray God-dess than to employ the highest aesthetic ideas of beauty, truth and love. As above, so below.
   
10. Self surrender is complete dedication of the self, including body, mind, senses and soul to the service of God-dess. God-dess cannot help but be attracted to a surrendered soul.

All these devotional elements are interrelated. “One may practice one or more of these exclusively, or one may practice all...because persons differ in their aptitudes and capacities and the particular element that suits a particular individual is best” for them. There is no one way that is right for everyone.

There are two stages of developing devotion--regulative and spontaneous. Regulative devotion is injunctory and ritualistic, consisting of observing scriptural rules, regulations and rituals. Conditioned by fear of breaking the rules, it is formal and mechanical, thus not very effective or highly recommended.

Natural devotion is not conditioned by fear of breaking rules or scriptural injunctions. There is a continuous flow of attachment to God-dess, which makes it impossible to follow rules and regulations. It is the life of love, and love is blind. “It seeks the object of love regardless of the norms that usually guide the conduct of an individual in society.” (194) Devotees practicing natural devotion have a deep, genuine feeling of attachment to God-dess, and the current of devotion flows from their heart spontaneously and ceaselessly overflowing all limitations.

Devotion is intrinsically different from ordinary religion. It is unconstrained and free of scriptural injunctions. “It springs directly from the intrinsic potency of the name and attributes of the divine being. The devotee is drawn towards” (194) God-dess automatically like the senses are drawn toward their objects.

“Once this spark is lighted the necessity of external observances ceases. For devotion is the function of the soul, not of the body to which the external observances relate. When the function of the soul is roused, the activities of the body and its senses are regulated by the spontaneous activity of the soul.” (195)

In natural devotion, “the hazards and conflicts of moral life and the strain and stress caused by the imperatives of moral sense are completely overcome. It is a life complete in spirit. It enjoys complete freedom from the sense of ‘ought,’ which has necessary reference to an unaccomplished process and calls for striving and accomplishing. It is life fulfilled in love--love, that is released from all fetters and sanctions. Sanctioned love is not true love. It is only training in love. It is love that is conditioned by will and intellect. It is love without the zest of love.” (195)

Natural devotion “is emotional sublimation of intimate human sentiments.” (195) A parent’s love for their children or a person’s love for their spouse or lover is natural and intense. In natural devotion, the same love in all its intensity and spontaneity, is directed toward God-dess. It is supremely effective, but it is still a means of developing devotion and not the end.

Natural devotion follows the line of devotion and attachment of Radha Krishna’s eternal associates described in the devotional writings as paradigmatic individuals. While there are associates in several different broad categories of devotional relationship, we, and most of Chaitanya’s followers, focus on the sweet sentiment of pure love as between lover and beloved. We follow the ideal of Radha’s confidential female associates in Braj. We realize these are dated Indian role models, so, we freely improvise a more contemporary adaptation. Radha Krishna are ever fresh and new, expanding their pastimes unlimitedly and responding according to the devotee’s approach.

Natural devotion is only an imitation of perfect devotion. It is not possible for an ordinary person in a physical body to attain the perfect devotion of the eternal associates, whose bodies are made of divine bliss. Natural devotion prepares one for attaining it ultimately in a transcendental body. As long as one is still in the physical body, one goes on hearing, chanting and performing other devotional practices outwardly, while inwardly imagining oneself to be in the transcendental body serving Radha Krishna constantly. By constant meditation or remembrance, one makes the transcendental love sports come alive. One enters those sports in the imagination, and by serving Radha Krishna in that devotional mode, experiences the ecstasy of vicarious enjoyment.

“The imaginary transcendental body..., however, is not wholly imaginary. It is a mental reflection of the transcendental body” (196-7) God-dess imparts to the devotee out of infinite grace. God-dess imparts to the devotee a transcendental body exactly like the one which is imagined and is essential for the particular mode of devotion practiced. God-dess is bound to do so as a result of always being subservient to the devotees. The imaginary spiritual body which the devotee contemplates, is an imperfect replica of the spiritual body one attains on the fruition of devotion. “The imaginary or contemplated transcendental body, therefore, is just the transcendental body proper in the making.” (197)

One cannot become Radha, Krishna or one of their eternal associates like Lalita or Bishaka, but one can attain a unique, eternal relationship with them similar to that of the eternal associate one emulates. We are eternally our own individual spiritual self and do not become someone else, except in the sense of changing from a material to a spiritual body. Remembrance, or contemplation, and service of Radha Krishna through the medium of the imaginary transcendental body is the very essence of spontaneous devotion.

Divine Love, the End

Divine love implies two things: the feeling of attachment or affection for the beloved and happiness. However, divine love is not synonymous with happiness as a kind of personal satisfaction. Rather than seeking anything for itself, it longs “to contribute to the happiness...of the beloved, even...at the cost of one’s own happiness. It does not desire even the object of love, if such a desire hinders, in any way, the happiness of the beloved.” (199)

Although the devotee does not consciously seek happiness as personal satisfaction, the devotee’s happiness comes “as a natural concomitant of the happiness of the beloved. Whatever contributes to the happiness of the beloved contributes to the happiness of the person loving. Therefore, ”divine love “involves happiness both in union and separation.” (199) The basic element in divine love is selfless service of the beloved.

Divine love directed toward God-dess is an expression of the spiritual energy of God-dess. It is awakened in the devotee through grace. The bliss of divine love intoxicates both the devotee and God-dess, resulting in their becoming completely engrossed in each other. Therefore, it has the power to completely subjugate God-dess.

The most perfect form of divine love is eternally found in Radha Krishna’s female associates in Vrindaban. They are our role models as we progress through the various stages of developing divine love. First, one must have faith in Radha Krishna, the scriptures and saintly persons. Then one associates with saintly persons and has the opportunity to engage in hearing and chanting. This purges the mind of materialistic thoughts. Then one’s reliance on Radha Krishna becomes firm. This “creates a taste or natural liking for devotional activities..., which further develops into a strong inclination...for them.” (201) Then, unalloyed devotion sprouts in the devotee’s heart as spiritual emotion, which ultimately ripens into divine love.

Unalloyed devotion is the beginning of divine love. “It is known by nine ensuing attendant circumstances..., which are enumerated thus: serenity of mind..., which remains undisturbed, whatever be the circumstances; effort not to let a single moment of one’s life pass without remembrance of” (202)God-dess; detachment from sense objects; humility; firm faith that God-dess will be attained; eagerness to attain God-dess; taste for chanting God-dess’ names; natural inclination to speak of God-dess’ attributes; strong desire to live in Radha Krishna’s abode.

When spiritual emotion is intensified and the feeling of attachment for Radha Krishna increases, it is called divine love. Nothing can break this affectionate bond because it is not self serving and the lover is willing to pay any price for the happiness of the beloved. This is a transcendental state that even the wise cannot understand.

Divine love can be realized while in the physical body, but there are higher stages of divine love, which can be realized only after leaving the physical body and attaining the spiritual body.

Glossary

Conditional revelation - God-dess is revealed through human agents. While these persons may have a pure spiritual experience, when they conceptualize and verbalize the revelation, it becomes conditioned by their mental and intellectual capacity as well as their cultural context. Therefore, God-dess self reveals repeatedly to accommodate the understanding of different persons according to time and place. This is how the various spiritual paths develop.

Cosmic Consciousness - paramatma, Super-soul, Supreme-soul, Higher Power, the Guiding-Organizing-Designing principle, Cosmic Christ, Collective Consciousness, the Indwelling Witness-Guide, Higher Consciousness, Universal Guru, the Creator, God-dess’ immanent manifestation which pervades, supports and maintains the entire creation.

Essence seeker - Bhaktivinode Thakur’s saragrahi, a person who sees beyond the externals of religion, is not attached to a particular doctrine or theory but looks for core teachings transcending sectarian boundaries. The essence seeker sees religion related to two different dimensions, this world and the spiritual world. Things of this world are subject to logic and analysis, even if derived from scripture; things of the spiritual world are not.

God-dess - Radha Krishna, Bhagavan, the supreme transcendental, personal form of the Absolute combining masculine and feminine aspects in perfect union where the two are one and yet two, the dipolar monad, the Divine Couple, the Cause of All Causes, the Primal Being.

Hermeneutical leap - the interpretive jump one must make when interpreting a text for a radically new context. This is especially true when dealing with texts that are hundreds or thousands of years old from a foreign culture. One should understand how the author and the original intended audience understood the text, then reinterpret it for today’s audience.

Living the myth - a phrase borrowed from Joseph Campbell. We develop a second naivete in which we read and meditate on Radha Krishna’s pastimes as actual events as described. We also imagine variations on those pastimes which we involve ourselves in as participants in our spiritual body. Also, in our outer body, we see ourselves as part of the living tradition of disciplic succession, connected to Chaitanya, transmitting wisdom to future generations as co-creators and interpreters of the myth through word and deed. Thus, we come to embody the myth and are non-different from it. Chaitanya did this excellently.

Natural devotion - raganuga bhakti, the practice of bringing out the soul’s innate devotional nature through cultivating spontaneous attraction to God-dess. It involves following the example of an eternal associate of God-dess, usually one of Radha’s female companions, adopting their devotional mood and imagining oneself engaged in serving Radha Krishna under their guidance in the spiritual body.

Perennial philosophy - sanatan dharma, the eternal religion, the essence of every religion which accommodates divergent interpretations of ultimate reality. It is universalist, asserting the core truth of all authentic spiritual traditions.

Progressive revelation - God-dess’ revelations to humanity are progressively fuller today than they were in the past. We do not look to a past Golden Age, but rather see our present ideas as more fully enlightened, incorporating ancient and contemporary wisdom. We should build on past revelation, not be stuck in the past. This goes with a progressive view of time rather than the cyclic Vedic view of yugas.

Second naivete’ - a term used by my Old Testament professor, Marvin Chaney, to explain how after thoroughly dissecting the Torah, it is possible to go back to a more unsophisticated understanding, but with the more informed view in the background. Similarly, although we understand Radha Krishna’s sports to be mythological, we meditate on them as revealed symbolic depictions of spiritual reality.

“Teacher" versus "guru" - Guru is a word often heavily laden with the baggage of unrealistic expectations which no one can live up to. A teacher is a person we can relate to in a give and take manner as a spiritual guide. It is like the difference between Protestant and Catholic views of clergy. A teacher is a person called, trained and empowered to provide spiritual leadership connecting persons to their own direct relationship with God-dess. Good teachers do not allow themselves to be put on a pedestal. They are generally more humble and grounded, as well as less authoritarian than gurus. It is a teacher-student relationship rather than master-disciple.

Undifferentiated Oneness - is indescribable, beyond conception, Advaita Brahman, the goal of those who aspire to merge with the One and loose all individuality, the Light, the spiritual effulgence of God-dess.

Universalism - the pluralistic perspective of the essence seeker who finds truth in all authentic spiritual paths, seeing them as manifestations of the perennial philosophy. It is a stance that is open to truth in all its varied forms. It does not claim to be the only way. Rather, it seeks to find common ground with divergent spiritual communities.

Copyright 2003-08 Steve Bohlert