Prema-vivarta, Day 2: The Eternal Present, the Meaning of “Adhunā” and the Sweetness of Caitanya-murati
• Viruddha-dharmāśraya: Continuing from Day 1, Gurudeva explains Rādhā as the shelter of contradictory qualities: Her prema has no room to grow yet keeps growing; She is guru of all yet considers Herself lowly; She is pure yet shows vakratā, as prema at its height moves crookedly like a snake (Prema-vivarta 1.24–25).
• Nitya-vartamāna: In the cid-jagat there is no fault of time, no past or future, no old age or disease, only the eternal present and nava-yauvana (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.33). The one advaya-tattva manifests as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, explained with the sun, its rays and darkness, and with electricity running fan, mike and A.C. (Prema-vivarta 1.26–27).
• Who Can Understand His Līlā?: Countless brahmāṇḍas come and go with His breath, like the seeds in a gūlar fruit; no one understands Him without His mercy (Bhāgavatam 10.14.29). Wherever one is, one should give up the endeavour for jñāna and live by hearing hari-kathā (10.14.3); without a taste for kathā, varṇāśrama is useless labour leading to Raurava (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 22.26).
• Body, Mind and Words in Sevā: Yamarāja tells his messengers to bring those whose tongues do not chant and who neglect Ekādaśī and the other vratas. Gurudeva teaches the identity “I am not brāhmaṇa or sannyāsī, but the servant of the servants of Gopī-bhartā”, and explains with poison, fire and medicine that the holy name acts even unknowingly; hearing with faith and in ānugatya gives parā-bhakti (Bhāgavatam 10.33.39, 1.2.6, 11.2.42).
• The Bathroom Story: A guest in a devotee’s modern bathroom cannot work the geyser buttons or open the door; a two-rupee mug would have been better. Those who live in the house know its switches, just as Bhagavān’s līlā is known only to His own.
• “Adhunā” Is Not Time-bound: Mahāprabhu comes once in a day of Brahmā (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 1.4, 3.6), yet “adhunā” must not be taken as a division of time. Kṛṣṇa-līlā and Gaura-līlā go on simultaneously in different brahmāṇḍas like a whirling firebrand, and fortunate souls see them still (Prema-vivarta 1.28–30). Nitya-līlā and naimittika-līlā are distinguished; Vṛndāvana’s places are visible today, though builders have taken some.
• Not “Modern”: Taking “ekātmā” to mean only Mahāprabhu would make Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa “modern” (Prema-vivarta 1.31–32). Gurudeva contrasts this with modern fashion, laws and gadgets such as video-recording glasses, and with the four defects of aging senses, bhrama, pramāda, vipralipsā and karaṇāpāṭava, absent in the aprākṛta world. He tells how Kṛṣṇa, locked in Rādhā’s room by Jaṭilā, became Kālī with Rādhā at His feet.
• Praṇaya and the Holy Name: The āhlādinī śakti, the vikāra of praṇaya, shows in a pleased face, choked voice and brimming eyes (Prema-vivarta 1.33–35). Rādhā tells Lalitā She has only heard Kṛṣṇa’s name, which entered Her heart through Her ears; like sugar candy curing jaundice, the name cures avidyā when chanted again and again (Upadeśāmṛta 7). At seven o’clock he notes that some must leave.
• Utkaṭa Gaura-līlā: The same Caitanya does saṅkīrtana on the bank of the Gaṅgā, appearing during a lunar eclipse; in His līlā praṇaya-vikāra becomes extreme and instant (Prema-vivarta 1.36–38). Rādhā embraces a tamāla tree as Kṛṣṇa, while Kṛṣṇa is maddened by Her fragrance, blesses the breeze that touches Her veil, wants His cloth washed with Hers, and bows to the direction where She stands (Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi 2).
• Caitanya-murati: Rāya Rāmānanda fainted on seeing rasa-rāja and mahābhāva united; the two forms of hlādinī are sweeter than honey (Prema-vivarta 1.40–42). “Ekātmā” does not mean nirvikāra brahma: the aprākṛta has form and never changes, unlike the body that wrinkles after a nirjalā fast (Prema-vivarta 1.43).
