1. Våndävana is described as the highest spiritual abode or dhäma of Krishna. It is a manifestation of Krishna's intrinsic spiritual energy and is non-different from him.
2. Among Krishna's various abodes, Våndävana is considered the supreme abode due to its unparalleled sweetness. In Våndävana, Krishna appears as a divine cowherd boy rather than a king.
3. There are both celestial and earthly manifestations of Krishna's abodes like Våndävana, Mathura, and Dvaraka. Great devotees can perceive the eternal divine pastimes occurring in these places through deep devotion
1. Våndävana is described as the highest spiritual abode or dhäma of Krishna. It is a manifestation of Krishna's intrinsic spiritual energy and is non-different from him.
2. Among Krishna's various abodes, Våndävana is considered the supreme abode due to its unparalleled sweetness. In Våndävana, Krishna appears as a divine cowherd boy rather than a king.
3. There are both celestial and earthly manifestations of Krishna's abodes like Våndävana, Mathura, and Dvaraka. Great devotees can perceive the eternal divine pastimes occurring in these places through deep devotion
1. Våndävana is described as the highest spiritual abode or dhäma of Krishna. It is a manifestation of Krishna's intrinsic spiritual energy and is non-different from him.
2. Among Krishna's various abodes, Våndävana is considered the supreme abode due to its unparalleled sweetness. In Våndävana, Krishna appears as a divine cowherd boy rather than a king.
3. There are both celestial and earthly manifestations of Krishna's abodes like Våndävana, Mathura, and Dvaraka. Great devotees can perceive the eternal divine pastimes occurring in these places through deep devotion
1. Våndävana is described as the highest spiritual abode or dhäma of Krishna. It is a manifestation of Krishna's intrinsic spiritual energy and is non-different from him.
2. Among Krishna's various abodes, Våndävana is considered the supreme abode due to its unparalleled sweetness. In Våndävana, Krishna appears as a divine cowherd boy rather than a king.
3. There are both celestial and earthly manifestations of Krishna's abodes like Våndävana, Mathura, and Dvaraka. Great devotees can perceive the eternal divine pastimes occurring in these places through deep devotion
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The key takeaways are that Vrindavan is the highest spiritual abode, a manifestation of Krishna's intrinsic energy, and the eternal dwelling place of Krishna and site of his divine pastimes.
The text states that Vrindavan is the highest abode, a spiritual place consisting of existence, intelligence and bliss, inseparably related to Krishna, and that there are infinite manifestations of Vrindavan corresponding to Krishna's manifestations.
The text describes Vrindavan and Krishna as inseparably related, with Krishna eternally residing in Vrindavan and their manifestations being interconnected.
BTG
>>> Ref. VedaBase => The Bhakti Viewpoint
Vndvana, the highest paradise
by O.B.L. Kapoor, Ph.D. O. B. L. Kapoor, Ph.D., has served as Head of the Philosophy Department and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at B.R. College in Agra, India, as Principal and Head of the Philosophy Department at K.N. Government Postgraduate College in Varanasi, as Principal of the Government college in Rampur, and as a member of the Executive Council of Agra University. He has been residing in Vndvana since his retirement in 1967 and is engaged at present in writing books and articles concerning the teachings of Sn Caitanya Mahprabhu and His disciples. He was initiated in 1932 by His Divine Grace r rmad Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat Prabhupda, by whose order Back to Godhead was first established in 1944. VNDVANA is the transcendental dwelling place (dhma) of Ka. Being a manifestation of His intrinsic energy (svarpa-akti), it is a part of Himself.** It consists like Him of the attributes of existence (sat), intelligence (cit) and bliss (nanda) and is different from the phenomenal world, which is a manifestation of His extrinsic energy (my-akti). Also, since it is a manifestation of His intrinsic energy, it is inseparably related to Him. We can think neither of Ka without Vndvana nor of Vndvana without Ka. Ka eternally stays in Vndvana and does not move even a step out of it [vndvana parityajya sa kvacit naiva gacchati).** Just as there are infinite manifestations of Ka, there are infinite manifestations of His abode. For each manifestation of Ka there is a corresponding manifestation of His dwelling place. Since Ka is the highest manifestation of Bhagavn (the Personality of Godhead), His abode, Vndvana, is the highest abode. Just as Ka is Bhagavn Himself (svaya bhagavn) and all other manifestations of Bhagavn are manifestations of Ka, Vndvana is the dhma (supreme abode) itself (svaya dhma), and all other manifestations of dhma are the manifestations of Vndvana.** Vndvana manifests itself partly or fully according to Ka's manifesting Himself partly or fully. Just as each partial manifestation of Ka is transcendental and allpervading (vibhu) even though it appears phenomenal and limited, each partial manifestation of the dhma is transcendental and allpervading, even though it appears phenomenal and limited. Even the
different kinds of objects in the dhma, which look so much like
phenomenal objects, are transcendental (cinmaya).** Santana Gosvm [a great authority on the Vedic scriptures] states that each one of them is concentrated Brahman (spirit).** Even though each dhma is infinite and all-pervading, the dhmas are said to be situated one above another. Situated above the mundane sphere, which is graded into fourteen worldsthe seven Lokas and seven Ptlasand beyond the River Viraj, is the Brahmaloka, or Siddhaloka, which is the residence of all the freed (mukta) souls (Cc. Madhya 19.153). Above the Brahmaloka is the paravyoma, where the infinite avatras, or partial manifestations of Ka, reside, and which is the support of infinite spiritual regions called Vaikuhas (Cc, di 5.15). Above all these dhmas is Kaloka (Ka's abode), which, according to the differences in Ka's pastimes (lls) and associates (parikaras), appears in three different formsas Dvrak, Mathur and Gokula (Cc. di 5.13). Gokula, the highest of the three, is also called Vndvana because Vndvana is the central portion of Gokula. The situation of the dhmas above or below each other should not, however, be taken in its literal sense. It actually implies their gradation according to their excellence (mahim). The excellence of a dhma depends on the degree to which it manifests the highest dhma, Vndvana. Thus the excellence of Siddhaloka is greater than the excellence of the phenomenal world, the excellence of paravyoma is greater than the excellence of Siddhaloka, the excellence of Kaloka is greater than the excellence of paravyoma, and the excellence of Gokula is greater than the excellence of all the rest of Kaloka. The excellence of Vndvana is the greatest of all. In the g Veda (1.154.6) Vndvana is described as the highest dhma (parama padam) of Viu. The Bhgavatam also describes it as the highest dhma. In the Gt Ka Himself describes it as "My highest dhma.''** It is so described because it surpasses all other dhmas in grandeur (aivarya) and sweetness (mdhurya). But its peculiarity is that its sweetness completely eclipses its grandeur, so that everything here assumes a form sweet beyond expression. Ka does not appear here as God or even as a king, but as a cowherd boy with the crest of a peacock feather on His crown and a flute in His hand, eternally engaged in amorous pastimes with His consorts on the bank of the River Yamun underneath the kadamba trees and in the green groves; laden with sweet-smelling flowers, all of which breathe an atmosphere of freedom 'and sweetness most congenial to Him and His consorts. It is therefore not possible to think of Ka's presence anywhere else. Ka in Mathur and Dvrak is not really the Ka of Vndvana but His partial manifestation called Vsudeva. When Ka is said to go out of Vndvana, as, for example, when He goes to Mathur at the invitation of Kasa, it is really His partial manifestation Vsudeva who goes there, not Ka Himself, who remains unmanifest
during that period in His manifest pastimes (prakaa-ll) in
Vndvana.** Indicating how Ka is inseparably connected with Vndvana in His highest aspect, which fully displays His sweetness, Rdh, to whom even a moment's separation from Ka is unbearable, is not satisfied to find Him in Kuruketra, where He appears as a king with His entourage and not as a cowherd with His flute (Cc. Madhya 1.72-73). She is also not satisfied to find Him in Nava-vndvana, a replica of Vndvana specially prepared for Her in Dvrak, because it lacks the atmosphere of freedom and the charm and grace so natural to Vndvana and is therefore not conducive to the highest bliss She is accustomed to experience in the company of Ka in Vndvana. It is not surprising, therefore, that Uddhava, the wisest of Kas associates, Wishes to be a blade of grass or a creeper in Vndvana so that he may be consecrated by the dust of the holy feet of the gops.** Even the great akarcrya, who regards the form and pastimes of Ka as creations of my, reveals a secret desire to be in Vndvana so that he may sit on the bank of the Yamun and pass each long day of his life in the twinkling of an eye, meditating on Ka: kad vndraye tarai-tanay-puya-puline smaran r-gopla nimiam iva nesymi divas an (Abhilaka) The celestial Dvrak, Mathur and Gokula (Vndvana) have their replicas on earth [in India] in the forms of the geographical Dvrak, Mathur and Vndvana, which are known as their prakaa-prakas, or manifest forms. These appear as parts of the phenomenal world to our clouded vision, but are in essence identical with their Celestial counterparts. Here also Ka is eternally present with Nanda, Yaod and His other associates and performs His pastimes with them as in the celestial Dvrak, Mathur and Vndvana. If we could see them with spiritual eyes, they would without a doubt appear in their true form (Cc. di 5.20-21). Even today, while staying in these very abodes and in their very bodies, the devotees who attain accomplishment (siddhvasth) in devotion are blessed with the vision of the divine pastimes of Ka with His associates; such devotees need not be transported to any other abode or level of existence. When Ka descends to these abodes, however, at the time of His manifest pastimes (prakaa-praka), even those who are not devoted can see these pastimes in their true form. Such is the effect of the divine touch of Ka with these abodes, which otherwise appear phenomenal. Besides the manifest forms of Kaloka, there is also an unmanifest form of it on earth that has the peculiar power of always remaining invisible; it remains on earth without touching it. Thus there are two aprakaa-prakas (unmanifest forms) of Kaloka. One is the Kaloka situated above paravyoma, which is called by various names: Goloka, Gokula, vetadvpa, Vrajaloka or Vndvana. The
other is the invisible Kaloka situated on earth, which is different
from the prpacika, the phenomenal Kaloka visible to our material eyes and actually touching the earth. It is also called Gokula or Vraja. Rpa Gosvm states in Laghu-bhgavatmta (1.277.78) that Goloka is a majestic manifestation (vaibhava-praka) of Gokula, which is essentially sweet in appearance and therefore greater in excellence. As an instance of the majesty (vaibhava) of Goloka, he cites the Varha Pura, which says that the kadamba trees of Goloka spread out majestically with their hundreds of branches, which is just in keeping with its aivarya (opulence), while the kadamba trees of Gokula are medium-sized, which is in keeping with its mdhurya (sweetness). A special reason why Gokula excels Goloka in sweetness is that in Goloka Ka is present eternally without birth, on account of which His pastimes in Goloka differ in certain respects from the sweet human aspect in which they reveal themselves in the phenomenal Gokula. Brahma-sahit describes the pastimes of Vndvana as nara-ll (manlike pastimes) and those of Goloka as deva-ll (Godlike pastimes). This theory is supported by the rsa dance in Goloka, which Ka is said in Bhad-bhgavatmta to have performed on the head of Kliya Naga, the thousand-headed cobra, although there is no mention of this in the Bhgavatam. According to Jva Gosvm also (Gopla-camp, Prva-khaa, 19), Goloka is the majestic manifestation of Vndvana. He describes Vndvana as the inner side //(antar-maala) of Goloka, and Goloka as the outer side (bahir-maala) of Vndvana. But they are not the outer and inner side of each other in the physical sense, for it is possible to see Goloka in Vndvana (because Goloka is the majestic manifestation of Vndvana) but not possible to see Vndvana in Goloka (Ka-sandarbha, 116). According to Rpa and Jva, (Bhaktirasmta-sindhu, Tk 1.4), Goloka can be attained by vaidh (ritualistic) bhakti, but Vndvana can be attained only by rgnug bhakti, or bhakti flowing spontaneously like a current, disregarding the rules and regulations of ritualistic bhakti. This is a further indication of the difference between the two abodes. Santana seems to differ from Rpa and Jva in regard to both the relation between Goloka and Vndvana and the means of their realization. According to him, Goloka (or rather the part of Goloka called Gokula) and the phenomenal Gokula or Vndvana are identical.** In his Bhad-bhgavatmta, Gopa Kumra sometimes stays in Goloka and sometimes in Vndvana, without being able to make out any difference between them.** According to him, both abodes can be attained only by spontaneous devotion and not by any other means.** The difference between the two points of view, however, will seem negligible if we take into consideration the following points;
1. Although Santana Gosvm regards Goloka and Vndvana as
identical, it is clear from his k on Bhad-bhgavatmta (2, 5, 7879) that Vndvana is the marma-tara of Goloka, or the part of Goloka that supersedes the whole in excellence. 2. Santana also admits that the excellence of the phenomenal Vraja exceeds the excellence of Goloka at the time of the manifest pastimes (prakaa-ll) of Ka.** 3. Although Rpa and Jva regard Goloka as the majestic manifestation of Vndvana, Jva seems to regard them as essentially identical. He establishes their identity by referring to the "goloka eva nivasati" text of Brahma-sahit and the "tatraiva ramarthe hi nitya-kla sa gacchati" text of the di Pura, one of which says that Ka always stays in Goloka and the other that He always stays in the phenomenal Vndvana, and by saying that the contradiction between them can be resolved only if the two are regarded as actually one and the same. In answer to a question regarding the Hari-vaa's mention of r Ka's lifting Govardhana Hill in Goloka, he clearly states that since Goloka and Gokula are identical, a pastime that took place in Gokula can always be mentioned in reference to Goloka.** 4. Regarding the means of realizing the two abodes, although Santana holds that it is spontaneous devotion for both, he maintains that if an aspiring devotee adopts any other means, he has a vision of Goloka but is not able to see Ka perform His pastimes with His associates, or if he is able to do so, he cannot himself participate in the pastimes.** 5. Vivantha Cakravart states that those who wish to realize the sweetness of Rdh-Ka but practice ritualistic bhakti cannot attain Rdh-Ka in Vndvana because their bhakti is not spontaneous, and they cannot attain Ka in Dvrak because they do not desire to do so. Therefore they attain Rdh-Ka in Goloka, the majestic manifestation of Vndvana.** Thus we may conclude that there is essentially no difference between Goloka and Gokula (Vndvana). Goloka is a particular manifestation of Vndvana in which sweetness predominates, but not to the extent to which it predominates in Vndvana. It is therefore called the majestic manifestation of Vndvana. Vndvana is attained by spontaneous devotion, whereas Goloka is attained by ritualistic devotion. The greater the dominance of spontaneity, the fuller the realization of Goloka's sweetness.** But when spontaneous devotion is pure, Goloka is realized in its highest aspect which displays sweetness fully and is called the inner side (antar-maala) of Goloka. In this aspect Goloka is identical with the phenomenal Vndvana, and the sweetness displayed here is the same as that in the phenomenal Vndvana, except for the difference caused by r Ka's always being present in Goloka as a young boy of tender age (nitya-kiora),
although in the phenomenal Vndvana He takes birth and gradually
attains boyhood. The veracity of the claim that the phenomenal Vndvana, which looks like any other part of the material world to our material eyes, is itself the spiritual Vndvana, the highest abode, surpassing even Goloka in its excellence, may be questioned. But r Caitanya and His followers are ever so emphatic in their statements about its transcendental character. r Rpa Gosvm says that devotees who have ardent love for Ka are even today blessed with a vision of His divine pastimes in this very Vndvana. Santana Gosvm says that Vndvana is here on earth and Ka's unmanifest pastimes are going on in it even now, but none except those to whom He and His devotees are kind can see it. Prabodhnanda Sarasvat describes how he actually sees this Vndvana in its real form with all its transcendent beauty and excellence: aho sarvoparyati vimala-vistra-mdhuryasphurac-candra-prya sphurati mama vndvanam idam "Oh, this Vndvana of mine, stationed above every other abode! How it shines near me like a big moon in all its resplendent beauty!" (Vndvanamahimmta, 4.83) No ground is thus left for any doubt that this very Vndvana is the highest paradise, where Ka eternally revels in His spiritual pastimes. Residing here, therefore, is considered one of the most important aspects of devotional service. Prabodhnanda says that if one takes shelter of Vndvana with faith and devotion, he will be blessed with a vision of the rsa dance of Ka with His consorts even if he does not perform any other regulative worship. He concisely states his entire philosophy of Vndvana in another verse, which says that to reside in Vndvana is to perform the highest worship, to attain Vndvana is to attain the highest end, and to realize Vndvana is to realize the highest truth and the highest bliss. ** The Bhakti Viewpoint