Brahma-muhurta

by Vishakha dasi

Gurudev has stressed the importance of being awake at the time of brahma-muhurta. He said, "At least you should be awake during the time just before the sun rises. Even if it means that you wake up for those hours and have to sleep again afterwards, no harm if it's necessary". This is the time when Srimati Radhika is waking up with Krsna. She's waking in Krsna's arms, and Their nisanta-lila takes place at that time. When Radhika wakes up, She immediately feels a delicious happiness because She is lying so sleepy in the arms of Krsna. At the same time, She is also anticipating that by the pressing force of time, She will have no option but to leave Him. She has to tear Herself away from Krsna, but that is only possible with the help of Her sakhis and manjaris. In the end, Vrnda-devi actually has to frighten Srimati Radhika into leaving Krsna. Her sakhis and manjaris have to entice Her away from Krsna's arms, because it's actually not possible for Her to leave Him by Herself. Gurudev said that Srimati is feeling so much separation at that time, because She is in Krsna's presence, having His arms around Her and actually looking in His face. Simultaneously, She is feeling the imminence of separation, so it is a very intensely emotional time for Srimati Radhika. Gurudev says that anyone who has any feeling at all for Srimati Radhika, or who has any hope that they will one day be Her dasi, will find it impossible to sleep at that time. If we have anything in our hearts for Srimati Radhika, we can't sleep then because it is such an emotionally intense time for Her. Her manjaris are giving Her so much support, and if we also have an aspiration to be Her manjari, then part of the sadhana to nourish aspiration is to wake up and be conscious at the time when those manjaris are helping Srimati Radhika.

This very especially includes mangala-arati. In brahma-muhurta there is also mangala-arati. It is so auspicious even to be awake at that time and more so to sing Paramgurudeva's song which describes Radha and Krsna's nisanta-lila. They are waking up at this time, and the song is especially for arati. The rati of nisanta-lila will come in our hearts if we sing this song. If possible we should attend or perform arati; if not, at least we should sing this arati song. Kesava Maharaja is praying that that rati may come in his heart, so if also take his words and sing his song, then we are praying for that rati, that particular mood of nisanta-lila come in our hearts by his grace. This is the mood of Radha and Krsna's very intimate meeting and also Their coming separation, and Vrindavan forest waking up.

Nisanta-lila is the time when Radha and Krsna wake up after Their pastimes at night. Gurudev has also explained another meaning of nisanta-bhajan, which relates to the time when the jiva first begins her journey in Krsna consciousness. The dark night of maya is gradually touched by the rising sun of bhakti. When we get the sanga of Guru and Vaishnavas, and begin to hear hari-katha, it appears that the long night of wandering in this world is coming to an end, and sraddha is dawning in the heart. We will make so much advancement in this stage of nisanta-bhajan if we wake before dawn, and as the sky turns reddish remember our Gurudev's mercy and affection, and how he is pulling us out of sleep and waking us by loudly chanting harinam.

*******************************************

Mangala-arati by Vishakha dasi

We can appreciate Srila Bhaktiprajna Kesava Maharaja's mangala-arati song from the point of view of vaidhi-bhakti, but at the same time it is also very rasik in a hidden way. First of all, Paramgurudev offers his pranam to Guru and Mahaprabhu before Radha and Krsna, and then he immediately talks about mangala-murti, the beautiful and auspicious murti of Radha and Krsna's forms entwined together. Mangala means that it is very auspicious. For the manjaris, auspiciousness lies in Radha and Krsna's meeting, so Radha and Krsna's meeting in this murti is very mangala for the manjaris. They become very happy when they see it. Radha and Krsna meet through Their own yugala-piriti, Their conjugal love for each other, so the manjaris say that Sri-Sri Radha-Krsna's yugala-piriti is very auspicious, because it has brought Them to the point of meeting.

Separation and meeting are both there in nisanta-lila, so there is so much sorrow and pain in Srimati Radhika's heart, even though She is in Krsna's arms. Here, the manjaris' service is to say to Radhika, "Quickly get up and come to Yavat. You can quickly take your bath in Yavat, and we will arrange for You to meet again with Krsna very, very soon. It will all take place very quickly, in the twinkling of an eye. You won't even notice". They have to encourage Radhika very expertly to leave Krsna, for She can only leave Him when they assure Her that She will soon be dressed to meet with Krsna again. mangala nisanta-lila. Nisanta-lila is mangala, very auspicious for the manjaris, because they have so much seva for Radha and Krsna in nisanta-lila. Their first, difficult seva is to dispel the sorrow in Srimati Radhika's heart, because She is feeling so sad at the thought of leaving Krsna.

mangala sri radha-krsna yugala piriti. Vinode manjari describes Sri-Sri Radha and Krsna's Yugala-piriti. Piriti means the love of one beloved to another. Gurudev says, "Yugala-piriti means how two Beloveds meet in the night-time. Here, yugala-piriti means how the two Beloveds meet in midnight lila, talking nonsense to each other, whispering and talking nonsense to each other. It's very beautiful. Their chattering in the night-time is very sweet. It makes no sense at all to anybody else, but it is very charming and beautiful to Their ears". At that time of the night, Radha and Krsna forget that They have separate bodies. They think and feel as if they are one person, with no feeling of shame or awkwardness. This is pranaya. They feel no need to make proper sentences or talk sensibly and coherently to each other, because they are like one and the same person. They are just babbling to each other what comes in the heart. They forget who They are. Radha forgets that She is Radha and Krsna forgets He is Krsna. Sometimes Krsna Himself thinks, "I am Radhika" and Srimati feels, "I am Krsna".

Vinode manjari is seeing these talks and activities of Radhik and Krsna, and she is praying mangala-nisanta-lila mangala udaye. She prays to nisanta-lila, "Oh beautiful lila of nisanta, you should rise in my heart. Please stay in my heart continuously, so that I remember it, not just in the morning time, but throughout the day. I don't want to have to begin to remember this lila. It should be within me constantly. I always remember it and never forget it. When nisanta-lila comes my nisanta-seva comes and that seva is my heart's life. And when that remembrance goes, when the lila goes, then also my seva will go as well".

There is so much seva in the time of nisanta. When Radhika goes to Yavat after nisanta-lila, there is also seva in Yavat, but Radhika is separated from Krsna. That seva in Yavat is also so high because She is preparing Her srngar for meeting with Krsna, but She is on Her own; She is separated from Krsna. The manjaris have to do everything so quickly. Radhika takes Her bath quickly and takes a little maha-prasadam. She is not fully happy,

The manjaris sing to Radha and Krsna, tomara nidraya jiva nidrita dharaya: "You should both give up Your sleep. Especially Srimati Radha-ji, You should give up Your sleep". When they say jiva, they are talking to Radhika, who is their very life. "Oh, my life, my Svamini, You should please wake up. Krsna should also wake up, because He is the life of everyone, the life of the universe. Krsna You should give up Your sleep. Why? Because the whole of the universe is waking up now. All the male and female birds and animals are waking up. The flowers are waking up and opening their faces. The sky is waking up and becoming pink". This is an indication that Jotila will also be waking up. They don't say the name Jotila but they implying that everyone is waking up. This is why they are saying, tomara nidraya jiva. "You should wake up now", they are saying. "Give up your sleep, Radhika. Soon Jotila will be awake and her voice will be heard echoing in the whole of Vraja. Her voice will soon be spread throughout the whole of Vraja, calling You, enquiring, 'Why haven't You come down from Your room? Why haven't You woken up yet?' and here You are still out in the forest". When Radha and Krsna wake up, automatically the hearts of all wake up. This is another meaning of jiva, that when Radha and Krsna are awake, the hearts of everyone in the whole universe awaken.

subha drsti kare prabhu. Paramgurudev is praying "All the jivas are suffering, they are beset with so many miseries. Please be merciful". Radha and Krsna have relieved the suffering of jivas by Their waking up. How is that? They have not glanced directly at the jivas with their subha drsti. Their subha drsti is Guru and Vaisnavas. Radha and Krsna's auspicious glance comes to this world in the form of Guru and Vaisnavas, and then we receive lessons and instructions from them. Radha and Krsna's subha drsti is the way that Guru and Vaisnavas engage us in Their devotional service. Gurudeva said that what you hear and learn in the morning time is most auspicious because it stays in you. It stays fresh in your heart for the rest of the day, and our memory is also better at that time. Specifically at this time, Guru and Vaisnavas engage us in this mangala arati so that that auspicious bhava awakens in our heart and stays with us the whole day. Jaguka hrdaye more sumangala rati. Radha and Krsna wake up, and Their auspicious glance comes to this world in the form of Guru. Now, Gurudeva has engaged us in waking Them, in this world, in this mangala-arati, and as we perform this mangala-arati, that sumangala rati, that very auspicious rati, comes in our hearts. That means that this auspicious rati is coming from Radha and Krsna's subha drsti, which reaches us through the instructions of Vaisnavas and Gurudev that we should perform mangala-arati.

This is very sublime logic. The manjaris are praying that Radha and Krsna should wake up, so Radha and Krsna's eyes are opening, and They look at Each Other for the first time that morning, very lovingly. That waking glance is so auspicious. Why? For the manjaris, auspiciousness is the meeting of Radha and Krsna, so Their first glances at each other in the morning are full of auspiciousness. What we see or learn in the morning stays with us all day. Radha-ji's first vision of the day is Krsna, and this is auspicous because They are meeting in this glance, and also because it is an auspicious sign that She will be meeting with Krsna during the day. (For the same reason, when we wake up in the morning, we immediately offer pranams to Gurudev).

Radha and Krsna's subha drsti, Their auspicious glance, comes to this world as well, in the form of Guru and Vaisnavas. As They are opening Their eyes in that world and looking at Each Other, Their glances come here as Gurudeva, and Gurudeva is also engaging us in this world in waking Radha and Krsna and doing mangala-arati. So that sumangala rati, that auspicious rati, will come in our hearts by that subha drsti which has come to us by doing this mangala-arati under Gurudeva's instruction.

That subha drsti may be the manjaris' first sight of Radha and Krsna, or it may be Radha and Krsna's first glances at Each Other. Both are auspicious in nisanta-lila. That rati is in nisanta-lila. In this song we are praying jaguka hrdaya mora sumangala rati. "Radha and Krsna, this lila is so beautiful that I don't want it to leave my heart ever. My taste is based in your lila, my ruci is in your lila, not here and there in this world". This is the prayer that Paramgurudeva is expressing, and this is the prayer of nisanta-lila: that that bhava and rati of nisanta-lila will come in our heart and stay there.

Now Paramgurudeva begins to describe how nisanta-lila involves all the parrots and other birds. Mayura sukadi sari kata pikaraja. Kata means very many, and pikaraj means parrots. Mayura are peacocks, and suka is the male parrot and sari is the female parrot. They are all singing, but they are not making ordinary noises; they are glorifying the qualities of Radha and Krsna. The female parrots are singing "How kind is my Radhika!" The male parrots are singing "How lovely is my Krsna's heart!" Gradually they sing louder and louder, making very auspicious noises. Their singing is so auspicious, but Radha and Krsna are still holding tight to Each Other, not moving. Then the manjaris begin their morning seva and Radha and Krsna hear the sound of the manjaris' bangles, Radhika closes Her eyes more when She hears them. She doesn't want to open Her eyes and see Her manjaris preparing for when She gets up. Vrnda devi sees that the sun is just touching the sky now. Some light is coming, so she becomes afraid and gets Radhika's monkey Kakkhati. Kakkhati makes a sound like "Jatila, Jatila". Jatila means one ray of light, so the monkey is saying, "Look, the sun's coming up, the sun is coming up; light is appearing in the sky". But Radha and Krsna don't take that meaning. They think "Jatila, Jatila". So They become startled and sit up quickly. They look around, exchanging glances, eyes to eyes. The birds have already started singing their morning songs. Vrnda says to Srimati Radhika "Oh Sakhi, why are you so late? The birds have been singing for a long time now. Haven't you heard the kirtan of your parrots?"

sumadhura dhvani kare jata sakhi gana. Sakhi means the female parrots, and it also means the sakhis. The female parrots have been singing songs for a long time to wake Radhika. These songs are sumudhura, very sweet. It also means that Radhika sakhis are waiting to talk with Her. Lalita and Visakha have arrived and they are waiting outside the kunja. They want to speak with Radhika, and find out how Her night passed. As the sakhis wait, they listen to the sumudhura songs of the manjaris. sumudhura dvani kare jata sakhi gana. The sakhis are hearing the sumudhura songs of the manjaris as they describe this nisanta-lila, and how Radha and Krsna passed the night. The manjaris have made beautiful and sumudhura descriptive songs of Radha and Krsna's lila, so the sakhis have come and they are listening to the songs. mangala sravane baje madhura kujane. These songs are very sweet and very auspicious sounds to hear.

Kusumita sarovare kamala hillola. When Radha and Krsna wake up, the manjaris quickly dress Radhika so that She can come out to meet the waiting sakhis. Krsna is also dressing. When Radhika comes out of her kunja nicely dressed and with srngar, She looks fresh and untouched. Lalita and Visakha see this, and they are a little disappointed. "Oh, how have you passed your night?" And Radhika says, "By the grace of God, yes, I passed my night peacefully. But what sort of friends are you anyway? You took Me from My home and brought me to this lonely place, and then left me with this well-known debauchee. This boy has the worst reputation in the whole of Vraja, but you left Me alone with Him in this dark and lonely place, and ran away. How can you be called my friends? Fortunately God was with me. This boy was so exhausted from playing with Candravali and so many other gopis, that when the night came He just rolled over on His side and slept, so I was protected. The goddess of sleep came and embraced him, and He slept with her instead of with Me. I was able to pass my night peacefully without any danger, thank God".

When Radhika comes out looking fresh and talking like that, her sakhis laugh. Lalita especially makes jokes: "Oh, I know that Krsna is very chaste. We know that He never lies in the arms of the goddess of sleep; she can never even touch His body". They are all laughing and joking like that. Then Krsna comes out, and He sees Radhika looking freshly dressed, with Her srngara perfect and undisturbed. His mind becomes bewildered, and He thinks, "Oh, I didn't spend the night with Radhika, then". And Radhika also sees Krsna as He comes out of the kunja and feeling all those nice srngars, She also feels, "Oh, I can't have spent the night with Krsna". They both become bewildered and perplexed, but the morning has come now. Now purva-raga comes in Radhika and She begins to think, "Now it's morning, so we can't have any meeting. But it's not right if all this srngar is done, and there's no meeting". Radhika can't be satisfied, either.

Anyway, They have to begin walking to Their homes, and on the way They pass beautiful lakes, beautiful sarovara, lovely and still with fragrant flowers in the morning time. Radha and Krsna are both feeling the desire to meet each other, because They are can't find any memory of last night's meeting, and They are not satisfied. Radhika decides to take Her bath in that lake, so They both go into the lake, and start to play. kusumita sarovare kamala hillola. Here it says that the lotuses are swaying by the influence of the wind, but another explanation is that Radha and Krsna were walking past this sarovara, and went into the lake to meet each other, and that's why the lotuses are swaying.

There's another explanation again, if we think that Radhika is still asleep, and that the birds and sakhis and manjaris haven't woken Her up yet. The song says that kusumita flowers are blossoming on the sarovara, and the air is thick with the fragrance of that blossom. Lotuses are going side to side, and the air very slowly brings the fragrance of campaka and lotus to Srimati Radhika's nostrils. As the breeze comes and bring this fragrance of mixed flowers to Srimati Radhika's nose, and this fragrance enters Her breathing, it smells like Krsna's body. It smells like the mixing of Their fragrances, so it begins to wake Srimati Radhika up, and She begins to open her eyes.

As this fragrance is waking Srimati Radhika, then Paramgurudeva remembers how Caitanya Mahaprabhu is also woken up in brahma-muhurta and He wants to be awake and awaken Radha and Krsna. Mahaprabhu is awake, and He's doing kirtan with all His associates, singing for Radha and Krsna to wake them up with these big gongs and bells and karatalas and conches, just as the sakhis are doing arati with janjara kamsara ghanta sankha karatala. Lalita is doing arati, Visakha is singing and all the manjaris are there bringing things for arati. At the same time, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Svarupa Damodar and Raya Ramananda are singing to Radha and Krsna. They are all performing kirtan with Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and remembering Radha and Krsna. We are also standing here with sankha and karatala and jhanjhara, gongs and bells, joining that lila of Mahaprabhu with a view to joining the lila of Radha and Krsna.

The manjaris enter the lila-kunja and clean Radhika's body. They see the signs on her body, and they try to clean them off. And the songs that they sing at this time are such that we cannot imagine. They describe Radha and Krsna's night-time activities, knowing everything that has gone on. These moods in mangala-arati are not apparent; they are not written anywhere, but we pray at the lotus feet of mangala-arati that that love should be manifest in our heart. "Oh mangala-arati, please let these loving moods enter my heart. I have no sadhana-bhajan, but I am very hungry and unfortunate. Please give me your blessings". So by singing this mangala-arati, we are aspiring for that manjari mood when Radha and Krsna are waking, and we are meditating on how we want to do seva. Mangala-arati is a protector of bhakti because from the moment of our waking, we put ourselves at the lotus feet of Gurudev, Paramgurudev, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Radha and Krsna. To them we offer our whole day, dedicating it to them by praying for the nisanta-rati to rise in our hearts. We pray for that rati and we pray for the mood and seva of a manjari. That is our aspiration, and mangala-arati nurtures and protects that aspiration. Error! Bookmark not defined. Error! Bookmark not defined.

************************************************

7