All varieties of devotional topics that don't fit under the other sections of the forums. However,
devotionally relevant topics, please - there are other boards for other topics.
Rasa-darshan - not-so new book by Srila Ananta das Babaji, but new in English
TarunGovindadas - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 01:11:30 +0530
Radhe!
in this book Srila Panditji mentions the point that it is very good to be a connaisseur and a relisher of mundane rasa-literature, especially poetry, to get a picture of the relish in spiritual RASA.
i found this very encouraging, since there are a lot of "mundane" poets who inspired my tiny spiritual life very much.
and i liked it also because i am sick of hearing how demoniac mundane literature (poetry) is...
of course he is not talking about "trash-literature", LOL.
Tarunji
Advaitadas - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 01:15:20 +0530
I presume you are reading an English version then. Who translated it? I gave it a go 20 years ago (actually it is not new, but the OLDEST book of Ananta Dasji, from 1976) but I gave it up because it was too hard to translate. Which hero managed it then?
TarunGovindadas - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 01:21:23 +0530
Radhe!
sorry, me not known that it is such an old booko.
nevertheless...
an indian lady disciple, teacher from mumbai.
she did also translate some recent lectures, very nicely did she.
adbhuta1 - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 02:22:38 +0530
QUOTE(TarunKishordas @ Feb 9 2004, 07:41 PM)
Radhe!
in this book Srila Panditji mentions the point that it is very good to be a connaisseur and a relisher of mundane rasa-literature, especially poetry, to get a picture of the relish in spiritual RASA.
i found this very encouraging, since there are a lot of "mundane" poets who inspired my tiny spiritual life very much.
and i liked it also because i am sick of hearing how demoniac mundane literature (poetry) is...
of course he is not talking about "trash-literature", LOL.
Tarunji
This maybe true to a point, but then again, na danam na janam na sundarim KAVITAM va.
Madhava - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 04:29:06 +0530
That's got little to do with the point.
adbhuta1 - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 07:12:58 +0530
Attachment to mundane poetry, which Tarun says he has, is not desireable according to Siksatakam. Is that so off the point? He maybe tired of hearing about it but that is another thing.
Madhava - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 07:27:27 +0530
Attachment to wealth is not desirable, but if wealth is accumulated to build a temple, it is not contrary to devotion. Attachment to followers is not desirable, but if followers are recruited to broadcast the message of Bhagavat-seva, it is not contrary to devotion. Similarly, attachment to mundane poetry is not desirable, but if such poetry is employed in understanding the dynamics of bhakti-rasa, it is not contrary to devotion.
Indeed, the very theory of rasa was bred in the minds of men who desired to explain the intricacies of rasa in this world. This very same framework was then applied to the concept of bhakti, and the theology of bhakti-rasa arose.
Do you think Sahitya-darpana is a very spiritual text? Nevertheless Mahaprabhu relished the yaH kaumAra haraH verse at the time of the Ratha-yatra. Mundane poetry became the medium of divine rasa as he recited it with a heart laden with bhava.
adbhuta1 - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 07:40:35 +0530
Yes, I understand that point and agree. My point however, is that Tarun may have gone overboard in seeing his guru's endorsement of poetry to be an endorsement for reading the poetry he used to like reading before he became a devotee. That is what he seems to say. Just adding some balance.
betal_nut - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 07:53:34 +0530
What would be wrong in Tarunji reading poetry he read from before he was a devottee?
adbhuta1 - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 08:04:19 +0530
QUOTE(betal_nut @ Feb 10 2004, 02:23 AM)
What would be wrong in Tarunji reading poetry he read from before he was a devottee?
I think his taste for that is an anartha he needs to overcome to attain nistha. So I doubt that his guru was encouraging it. Maybe he should read Kavya-prakash instead and dovetail his propensity.
betal_nut - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 09:01:57 +0530
You cannot see anything related to bhakti in mundane poetry?
adbhuta1 - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 09:27:09 +0530
QUOTE(betal_nut @ Feb 10 2004, 03:31 AM)
You cannot see anything related to bhakti in mundane poetry?
I can. So can you I suppose and Tarun too. Still why should an initiated sadhaka in raga marg read mundane poetry that previously inspired him in a general way about spiritual life when the path is about hearing transcendental poetry? Tarun's guru has encouraged him to study a specific type of mundane poetry for the express purpose of relishing transcendental poetry.
adiyen - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 10:07:24 +0530
And the ultimate arbiters of what is 'transcendental' versus 'mundane' are...?
adbhuta1 - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 10:19:08 +0530
QUOTE(adiyen @ Feb 10 2004, 04:37 AM)
And the ultimate arbiters of what is 'transcendental' versus 'mundane' are...?
The Goswamis would say bhakti rasa sastra is transcendental. It is literature in which Krsna is the object of love. Bhakti rasa is the fruit of transcendental poetry. Where else will you find it. Don't give me some so called saragrahi Vaisnava line.
TarunGovindadas - Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:17:00 +0530
Hooray!
me no more reading "mundane poetry". i was just making a point which helped me.
sometimes my anarthas overcome my dark heart and i find myself enjoying a brilliant carl hiaasen/ jonathan kellerman/elmore leonard -novel...
yep, me knows that this is NO GOOD FOR MY SADHAKA heart, but... long way to
go ,huh?
i guess i can deal with these walkings in the fields of mundane flowers.
thanks adbhuta for your concern.
better is to swim in the ocean of Babajis wonderful commentaries.
Tarunji
Satyabhama - Mon, 22 Nov 2004 21:42:52 +0530
QUOTE
You cannot see anything related to bhakti in mundane poetry?
This was a fun thread:
Poems Not About Krishna- But Maybe They Are