eta bali' Äpana-ká¹›ta gÄ«ta eka gÄhila
preme prabhu sva-haste tÄá¹…ra mukha ÄcchÄdila
eta bali' - saying this; Äpana-ká¹›ta - composed by himself; gÄ«ta - song; eka - one; gÄhila - sang; preme - in love of Godhead; prabhu - ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; sva-haste - by His own hand; tÄá¹…ra - his (RÄmÄnanda RÄya's); mukha - mouth; ÄcchÄdila - covered.
Saying this, RÄmÄnanda RÄya began to sing a song he had composed, but ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, out of the ecstasy of love of Godhead, immediately covered RÄmÄnanda’s mouth with His own hand.
The topics that are about to be discussed between Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and RÄmÄnanda RÄya cannot be understood by a materialistic poet, nor by intelligence or material perception. ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura states that the spiritual mellow can be realized only when one is situated on the transcendental platform beyond the material stage of goodness. That platform is called viÅ›uddha-sattva (sattvaá¹ viÅ›uddhaá¹ vasudeva-Å›abditam). Realization of the viÅ›uddha-sattva platform is beyond the pale of the material world and is not perceived by bodily senses or mental speculation. Our identification with the gross body and subtle mind is different from spiritual understanding. Since the intelligence and mind are material, the loving affairs of ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa are beyond their perception. SarvopÄdhi-vinirmuktaá¹ tat-paratvena nirmalam: when we are free from all material designations and our senses are completely purified by the bhakti process, we can understand the sense activities of the Absolute Truth (hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeÅ›a-sevanaá¹ bhaktir ucyate).
The spiritual senses are beyond the material senses. A materialist can think only of the negation of material variety; he cannot understand spiritual variety. He thinks that spiritual variety simply contradicts material variety and is a negation or void, but such conceptions cannot even reach the precincts of spiritual realization. The wonderful activities of the gross body and subtle mind are always imperfect. They are below the degree of spiritual understanding and are ephemeral. The spiritual mellow is eternally wonderful and is described as pÅ«rṇa, Å›uddha, nitya-mukta — that is, complete, perfectly pure and eternally liberated from all material conceptions. When we are unable to fulfill our material desires, there is certainly sorrow and confusion. This may be described as vivarta. But in spiritual life there is no sorrow, inebriety or imperfection. ÅšrÄ«la RÄmÄnanda RÄya was expert in realizing the spiritual activities of ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī and Kṛṣṇa, and RÄmÄnanda’s spiritual experience was placed before ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu as he inquired whether the Lord approved his realization of spiritual truth.
There are three books prominent in this connection. One was written by Bhakta dÄsa BÄula and is called Vivarta-vilÄsa. Another was compiled by JagadÄnanda Paṇá¸ita and is called Prema-vivarta. ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya’s book is called Prema-vilÄsa-vivarta. The Vivarta-vilÄsa by Bhakta dÄsa BÄula is completely different from the other two books. Sometimes a university student or professor tries to study these transcendental literatures and attempts to put forth a critical analysis from the mundane view, with an end to receiving degrees like a Ph.D. Such realization is certainly different from that of RÄmÄnanda RÄya. If one actually wants to take a Ph.D. degree from ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and be approved by RÄmÄnanda RÄya, he must first become free from all material designations (sarvopÄdhi-vinirmuktaá¹ tat-paratvena nirmalam). A person who identifies with his material body cannot understand these talks between ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya and ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. Man-made religious scriptures and transcendental philosophical talks are quite different. Indeed, there is a gulf of difference between the two. This subject matter has been very diligently described by ÅšrÄ«man MadhvÄcÄrya. Since material philosophers are situated in the material conception of life, they are unable to realize the spiritual prema-vilÄsa-vivarta. They cannot accommodate an elephant upon a dish. Similarly, mundane speculators cannot capture the spiritual elephant within their limited conception. It is just like a frog’s trying to measure the Atlantic Ocean by imagining it so many times larger than his well. Materialistic philosophers and sahajiyÄs cannot understand the talks between RÄmÄnanda RÄya and ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu concerning the pastimes of ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa. The only tendency of the impersonalists or the prÄká¹›ta-sahajiyÄs is to face the platform of impersonalism. They cannot understand spiritual variegatedness. Consequently, when RÄmÄnanda RÄya attempted to sing his own verses, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu stopped him by covering his mouth with His own hand.
