Everyone wants to love.
Everyone wants to be loved.

Even here in this world, whenever there is talk about love, the word “relationship” comes into play.

We are related to everything, starting from being in a neutral relationship up to a relationship of husband and wife.

We are related to every living entity at least in a neutral way.
We are related as a  servant by being employed in a job.
We are related as a friend.
We are related as a mother, father or we ourselves are the children.
We are related as conjugal lovers (husband/wife).

Here in this world, these relationships are like a “training ground” for our eternal relationships.

In the spiritual world, where we are persons too, we also have relationships.

Here in this world unfortunately, the relationships are based on the false-ego-concept of “I and mine”, where these relationships have ME in the center of affairs.

In the spiritual world, all relationships have the pleasure of the Divine Couple as the center. They enhance Their pleasure.

Without establishing a relationship with Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, we will never experience REAL love which is then called PREMA.

Love is the topmost manifestation of hladini shakti. Hladini is pure goodness and love is its characteristic. When we perform bhajan and we get Sri Bhagavan’s blessing then our heart becomes clean. It is now ready to receive pure goodness. Then Sri Krishna moves hladini shakti into our heart.

When we put an iron rod in fire, it gains the property of the fire – that is – it becomes red in color and hot to touch. Similarly, our heart becomes one with pure goodness and gets its characteristics. Now pure goodness starts expressing its qualities through our mind. Its main quality is ‘a desire to please Sri Krishna’s senses’. This is love. 

atmendriya-priti-vanchha—tare bali ‘kama’
krishnendriya-priti-ichchha dhare ‘prema’ nama
ataeva kama-preme bahuta antara
kama—andha-tamah, prema—nirmala bhaskara
(Śrī Chaitanya-charitamṛta, ādi-līlā, 4.165 and 4.171) 

“The desire to gratify one’s senses is called kama. The desire to gratify Krishna’s senses is called prema. Thus there is a vast difference between kāma and prema: kāma is like blinding darkness, and prema is like the shining sun.”
(Srila Ananta das Babaji)

When we start our journey through bhakti by the mercy of guru, sadhu and Krishna, we come to the understanding that our essential nature is to be an eternal servant of the Divine Couple.

jīvera svarūpa hoy kṛṣṇera nitya das; 
kṛṣṇera taṭastha śakti bhedābheda prakāśa

“The jīva’s real form is of an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, being Kṛṣṇa’s marginal potency, both different and non different from Him.”

Now, the word svarupa in Sanskrit can mean one’s own form (sva-rupa), or nature.
The first meaning is not applicable here in this verse because the soul (atma) is that of an anu (atomic particle).
Besides, it cannot mean form here, because it is ridiculous to say that the form of jiva is to be an eternal servant. Each soul can attain a particular spiritual form according to their particular relationship they develop.

tvaṁ bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja
āsse śrutekṣita-patho nanu nātha puṁsām
yad-yad-dhiyā ta urugāya vibhāvayanti
tat-tad-vapuḥ praṇayase sad-anugrahāya
(Srimad Bhagavatam 3.9.11)

“O Lord! You, who are approached by being heard about, seen and directly served, enter and remain in the lotus of your devotee’s hearts infused with bhakti-yoga.
Much praised Lord! By your mercy, you bestow to them spiritual bodies appropriate to the mood they cultivate during sādhana.”

Srila Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains – te sādhaka-bhaktāḥ sva sva bhāvānurūpaṁ yad yad dhiyā bhāvayanti tat tad eva vapus teṣāṁ siddha dehaṁ praṇayase prakarṣeṇa tān prāpayasi aho te sva bhakta pāravaśyam iti bhāvaḥ –
“Or your devotees doing sādhana concentrate on their spiritual form according to their mood of love using their minds, and you have them attain (praṇayase) their spiritual bodies. You become dependent on your devotee.”

It is not that some particular form can be servant and others not. It just means that our essential nature (sva-rupa) is that of a servant.

When we progress in our journey through bhakti, we should come more and more to the point of desiring to establish a CERTAIN relationship with the Divine Couple.

sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi |
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā vraja-lokānusārataḥ ||
(Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu 1.2.295)

Following after the inhabitants of Vraja, one should perform service in one’s physical body and in one’s siddha body, with a desire for a particular bhāva.

WITH A DESIRE FOR A PARTICULAR BHAVA.

How can we come from a “generic understanding” of being an eternal servant to being imbibed WITH A DESIRE FOR A PARTICULAR BHAVA?

Only by the mercy of sadhu-sanga.

tat tad bhavadi madhurye srute dhir yad apekshate |
natra sastram na yuktim ca tal lobhotpatti lakshanam ||
(BRS. 1.2.292)

“When one HEARS about the sweetness of their feelings and so forth, and a desire for attaining the same awakens in the consciousness without dependence on scripture and logic, this is a symptom of the awakening of greed (lobha).

“If one thinks: ‘Let me attain such sweet feelings also’, after hearing about feelings such as the transcendental erotic feeling towards Kṛṣṇa of His associates (the gopīs) in Vraja, then one need not wait for favorable sanctions from the revealed scriptures or logical arguments.”
(Srila Vishvanatha Cakravartipada, RVC)

Hearing about the different relationships towards the Divine Couple is essential to establishing our own DESIRED relationship.

By associating with like-minded and more advanced saints and by gaining their grace, these feelings and flavours will gradually be experienced by hearing from them, but the heart must be prepared for these rasa-saṁskāras by giving up all material customs.

When one hears about the loving activities of the people of Vraja (Kṛṣṇa’s servants, friends, elders and lovers) from the mouth of a pure soul who performs bhajana while following the scriptural injunctions and who has thus become immersed in the pure rāga of Vraja, sacred greed will awaken in the heart of the neophyte devotee to attain such a love also.

This is called ‘rāgānugā bhajana’. Of the different kinds of sweet love of Vraja’s consorts Śrīman Mahāprabhu and His dear associates the Gosvāmīs have instructed us in the most excellent worship in the wake of the eternal Vraja-vasis like Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s dear maidservant Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī.

Srila Narottama das Thakur sings:

rupa-raghunatha-pade hoibe akuti
kabe hama bu jhabo se jugala piriti

When shall I be very much eager to study the books left by the Six Gosvami’s, headed by Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami? By their instructions I shall be able to properly understand the loving affairs of Radha and Krsna.

rupa-raghunatha-pade rahu mora asa
prarthana koroye sada narottama-dasa

My only aspiration is to attain the lotus feet of the Six Gosvamis headed by Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Narottama dasa constantly prays to attain their lotus feet.

So, it is very important for us to establish a relationship with the Divine Couple and we should desire to develop our love for Them accordingly.

In this age, we are very fortunate because Sriman Mahaprabhu opened a very wonderful “treasure-box” and gave us mercifully entrance into a most wonderful relationship with Sri Sri Radha and Krishna:

anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam
hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥ
sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ

“He who descends in the Kali Yuga as the avatar of mercy to bestow his most precious treasure, namely the highest aspect of madhura prema rasa, which had not been awarded before, and whose form is dazzling like molten gold, let that Supreme Lord Sri Sachinandan always be manifest in the innermost chamber of your heart.”

“unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam”  here is the specialty: Something never given before…

Madhurya-rasa and all other rasas have been given before…but not this one: sva-bhakti-śriyam (service to the Lotus Feet of Srimati Radharani).

The vine of devotion, which Śrīman Mahāprabhu gave to the people of the world, yields the fruit of brilliant rasa, the amorous love of Vraja, particularly the rasa of the most confidential personal service of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, named mañjarī-bhāva-sādhanā.

This great gift was not given before by any other descension of God; even the wise men who were experts in devotion to God did not know this secret fruit of the vine of devotion. They used to practice vaidhi-bhakti, regulated devotion to God, out of fear and respect for the Supreme Lord, and even if there were any rāga-bhaktas in the Vraja-bhāva before Mahāprabhu’s descension, they all would be serving Krishna in the mood of a servant or a friend. Nobody knew the secret of the sweet devotional love of the gopīs for Krishna, what to speak of the topmost mādana-mahā-bhāva of Śrī Rādhā, the crown jewel of all the gopīs!

In the pre-Caitanya era there was a cult of sakhī-bhāva (love for Krishna as a participating amorous consort) preached by great devotees like the poet Jayadeva, Caṇḍīdāsa, Vidyāpati, Bilvamangala and others, but the mañjarī-bhāva-sādhanā, the personal and exclusive service of Śrī Rādhā, was a new gift, introduced by Śrī Gaurasundara and the ācāryas who took shelter of His lotus feet.

…

This is the premojjvala-rasa-phalām mentioned in the verse starting with anarpita-ciram…”
(Srila Ananta das Babaji)

By the mercy of Sri Gurudeva, the Vaishnavas and the Divine Couple, we can enter into the kingdom of REAL love and REAL relationships by developing and ultimately perfecting our own desired relationship with Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.

Every individual soul is qualified to become Rādhikā’s maidservant; this is the great, rare gift of Śrīman Mahāprabhu.
…
The mahājanas say that each and every soul is eligible for the service of Śrī Rādhā, and by the power of associating with these mahājanas pure God-consciousness spontaneously manifests itself in the pure spirit soul.

sei gopī bhāvāmṛta yāra lobha hoy (C.C.) –
Anyone who becomes greedy for that nectarean mood of the gopīs…]

These people are the fortunate souls who have obtained the grace of like-minded great rasika devotees.

The fullest manifestation of devotion is gopī-bhāva, for the gopīs are exclusively dedicated to the pleasure of Śrī Krishna. This gopī-bhāva is the treasure of the practice of the pure swan-like devotees, and the culmination of this sakhī-bhāva is mañjarī-bhāva.
By following in the footsteps of the eternally perfect devotees, that belong to the Lord’s internal potency, one can attain the confidential nikuñja-sevā of Śrī Rādhā and Mādhava.”
(Radhakunda Mahanta Sri Srimat Ananta das Babaji, tika Vilapa Kusumanjali)

Jay Sri Radhe

DISCLAIMER:

No. I am not a “manjari-bhava-warrior” trying to force anyone to accept a certain RASA.

“Every individual soul is qualified to become Rādhikā’s maidservant; this is the great, rare gift of Śrīman Mahāprabhu.”

Every soul CAN become Rādhikā’s maidservant, not MUST become.

“IT SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE BHĀVA OF PRESENT DAY SĀDHAKAS WILL BEAR RESULTS ACCORDING TO TASTE AND SAMPRADĀYA.”
(Srila Vishvanantha Cakravartipada)