vá¹›ndÄvane 'aprÄká¹›ta navÄ«na madana'
kÄma-gÄyatrÄ« kÄma-bÄ«je yÄá¹…ra upÄsana

 vá¹›ndÄvane - in Vá¹›ndÄvana; aprÄká¹›ta - spiritual; navÄ«na - new; madana - Cupid; kÄma-gÄyatrÄ« - hymns of desire; kÄma-bÄ«je - by the spiritual seed of desire called klÄ«m; yÄá¹…ra - of whom; upÄsana - the worship.


Text

“In the spiritual realm of Vá¹›ndÄvana, Kṛṣṇa is the spiritual, ever-fresh Cupid. He is worshiped by the chanting of the KÄma-gÄyatrÄ« mantra, with the spiritual seed klÄ«m.

Purport

Vá¹›ndÄvana is described in the Brahma-saá¹hitÄ (5.56) in this way:

Å›riyaḥ kÄntÄḥ kÄntaḥ parama-puruá¹£aḥ kalpa-taravo
 drumÄ bhÅ«miÅ› cintÄmaṇi-gaṇa-mayÄ« toyam amá¹›tam
kathÄ gÄnaá¹ nÄá¹­yaá¹ gamanam api vaá¹Å›Ä« priya-sakhÄ«
 cid-Änandaá¹ jyotiḥ param api tad ÄsvÄdyam api ca
sa yatra kṣīrÄbdhiḥ sravati surabhÄ«bhyaÅ› ca su-mahÄn
 nimeá¹£ÄrdhÄkhyo vÄ vrajati na hi yatrÄpi samayaḥ
bhaje Å›vetadvÄ«paá¹ tam aham iha golokam iti yaá¹
 vidantas te santaḥ ká¹£iti-virala-cÄrÄḥ katipaye

The spiritual realm of Vá¹›ndÄvana is always spiritual. The goddess of fortune and the gopÄ«s are always present there. They are Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds, and all of them are as spiritual as Kṛṣṇa. In Vá¹›ndÄvana, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person and is the husband of all the gopÄ«s and the goddess of fortune. The trees in Vá¹›ndÄvana are wish-fulfilling trees. The land is made of touchstone, and the water is nectar. Words are musical vibrations, and all movements are dancing. The flute is the Lord’s constant companion. The planet Goloka Vá¹›ndÄvana is self-luminous like the sun and is full of spiritual bliss. The perfection of life lies in tasting that spiritual existence; therefore everyone should cultivate its knowledge. In Vá¹›ndÄvana, spiritual cows are always supplying spiritual milk. Not a single moment is wasted there — in other words, there is no past, present or future. Not a single particle of time is wasted. Within this material universe, the devotees worship that transcendental abode as Goloka Vá¹›ndÄvana. Lord BrahmÄ himself said, “Let me worship that spiritual land where Kṛṣṇa is present.†This transcendental Vá¹›ndÄvana is not appreciated by those who are not devotees or self-realized souls because this Vá¹›ndÄvana-dhÄma is all spiritual. The pastimes of the Lord there are also spiritual. None are material. According to a prayer by ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura (PrÄrthanÄ 1):

Ära kabe nitÄi-cÄá¹…dera karuá¹‡Ä karibe
saá¹sÄra-vÄsanÄ mora kabe tuccha ha’be

“When will Lord NityÄnanda have mercy upon me so that I can realize the uselessness of material pleasure?â€

viá¹£aya chÄá¸iyÄ kabe Å›uddha ha’be mana
kabe hÄma heraba Å›rÄ«-vá¹›ndÄvana

“When will my mind be cleansed of all material dirt so that I will be able to feel the presence of spiritual Vá¹›ndÄvana?â€

rÅ«pa-raghunÄtha-pade haibe Äkuti
kabe hÄma bujhaba se yugala-pirÄ«ti

“When will I be attracted to the instructions of the GosvÄmÄ«s so that I will be able to understand what is RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa and what is Vá¹›ndÄvana?â€

These verses indicate that one first has to be purified of all material desires and all attraction for fruitive activity and speculative knowledge if one wishes to understand Vá¹›ndÄvana.

In reference to the words aprÄká¹›ta navÄ«na madana, aprÄká¹›ta refers to that which is the very opposite of the material conception. The MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s consider this to be zero or impersonal, but that is not the case. Everything in the material world is dull, but in the spiritual world everything is alive. The desire for enjoyment is present both in Kṛṣṇa and in His parts and parcels, the living entities. In the spiritual world, such desires are also spiritual. No one should mistakenly consider such desires to be material. In the material world, if one is sexually inclined and enjoys sex life, he enjoys something temporary. His enjoyment vanishes after a few minutes. However, in the spiritual world the same enjoyment may be there, but it never vanishes. It is continuously enjoyed. In the spiritual world such sex pleasure appears to the enjoyer to be more and more relishable with each new feature. In the material world, however, sex enjoyment becomes distasteful after a few minutes only, and it is never permanent. Because Kṛṣṇa appears very much sexually inclined, He is called the new Cupid in the spiritual world. There is no material inebriety in such desire, however.

GÄyantaá¹ trÄyate yasmÄd gÄyatrÄ« tvaá¹ tataḥ smá¹›tÄ: one who chants the GÄyatrÄ« mantra is gradually delivered from the material clutches. In other words, that which delivers one from material entanglement is called GÄyatrÄ«. An explanation of the GÄyatrÄ« mantra can be found in the Madhya-lÄ«lÄ, chapter twenty-one, text 125:

kÄma-gÄyatrÄ«-mantra-rÅ«pa, haya kṛṣṇera svarÅ«pa,
sÄrdha-cabbiÅ›a aká¹£ara tÄra haya
se aká¹£ara ‘candra’ haya, kṛṣṇe kari’ udaya,
trijagat kailÄ kÄmamaya

The KÄma-gÄyatrÄ« mantra is just like a Vedic hymn, but it is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. There is no difference between the KÄma-gÄyatrÄ« and Kṛṣṇa. Both are composed of twenty-four and a half transcendental syllables (see Madhya 21.125-29). The mantra depicted in letters is also Kṛṣṇa, and the mantra rises just like the moon. Due to this, there is a perverted reflection of desire in human society and among all kinds of living entities. In the mantra klÄ«á¹ kÄma-devÄya vidmahe puá¹£pa-bÄṇÄya dhÄ«mahi tan no ’naá¹…gaḥ pracodayÄt, Kṛṣṇa is called KÄma-deva, Puá¹£pa-bÄṇa and Anaá¹…ga. KÄma-deva is Madana-mohana, the Deity who establishes our relationship with Kṛṣṇa; Puá¹£pa-bÄṇa (“He who carries an arrow made of flowersâ€) is Govinda, the Personality of Godhead who accepts our devotional service; and Anaá¹…ga is GopÄ«jana-vallabha, who satisfies all the gopÄ«s and is the ultimate goal of life. This KÄma-gÄyatrÄ« (klÄ«á¹ kÄma-devÄya vidmahe puá¹£pa-bÄṇÄya dhÄ«mahi tan no ’naá¹…gaḥ pracodayÄt) simply does not belong to this material world. When one is advanced in spiritual understanding, he can worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead with his spiritually purified senses and fulfill the desires of the Lord.

man-manÄ bhava mad-bhakto mad-yÄjÄ« mÄá¹ namaskuru
mÄm evaiá¹£yasi satyaá¹ te pratijÄne priyo ’si me

“Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.†(Bg. 18.65)

In the Brahma-saá¹hitÄ (5.27-28) it is stated:

atha veṇu-ninÄdasya trayÄ«-mÅ«rti-mayÄ« gatiḥ
sphurantÄ« praviveÅ›ÄÅ›u mukhÄbjÄni svayambhuvaḥ
gÄyatrÄ«á¹ gÄyatas tasmÄd adhigatya saroja-jaḥ
saá¹ská¹›taÅ› cÄdi-guruṇÄ dvijatÄm agamat tataḥ
trayyÄ prabuddho ’tha vidhir vijñÄta-tattva-sÄgaraḥ
tuṣṭÄva veda-sÄreṇa stotreṇÄnena keÅ›avam

“Then GÄyatrÄ«, mother of the Vedas, having been manifested by the divine sound of ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa’s flute, entered the lotus mouth of BrahmÄ, the self-born, through his eight earholes. Thus the lotus-born BrahmÄ received the GÄyatrÄ« mantra, which had sprung from the song of ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa’s flute. In this way he attained twice-born status, having been initiated by the supreme, primal preceptor, Godhead Himself. Enlightened by the recollection of that GÄyatrÄ«, which embodies the three Vedas, BrahmÄ became acquainted with the expanse of the ocean of truth. Then he worshiped ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, the essence of all the Vedas, with a hymn.â€

The vibration of Kṛṣṇa’s flute is the origin of the Vedic hymns. Lord BrahmÄ, who is seated on a lotus flower, heard the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa’s flute and was thereby initiated by the GÄyatrÄ« mantra.