One step away ....

-The dance of Chandrakanti-

SCS p.103 "A young girl who danced with joy all night invoked the mercy of the Lord." Padma Purana 

"The woman who attained bhava mentioned in the Padma Purana is an example of bhava through Raganuga bhakti."

BRS 1.3.14 "A young girl, having great joy in the heart and being very enthusiastic to dance, spent the whole night dancing in order to please the Lord."

BRS 1.4.7-8 "In this manvantara period, the beautiful faced Chandrakanti observed continuous celibacy, and continuously meditated only on the form of Krsna, [...] She sang songs about Him with hairs standing on end.  She developed complete affection for Krsna by hearing stories about Krsna." (described in Padma Purana)

This poem  was inspired by Chandrakanti who offered to the Lord an all night long dance.  There are few references to this devotee in the Padma Purana and, as per references above, in the Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu. Her level of Bhava, was revealed by Bhaktivinoda Thakura in the chapter about Bhava Bhakti in the Sri Caitanya Sikshamrita.  

The attempt made in the poem was to put in words Chandrakanti's  emotions that I could only fathom through the revelations of the acharya, and experience it in the heart as a meditation while I offered this imaginary dance to Krishna. The symptoms of Bhava bhakti, illustrated in the poem are based on the description in Madhurya Kadambini by Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur : - 

Seventh Shower of Nectar : [...] The sweet far reaching fragrance of the blossoms of bhava sends enchanting invitations to the Supreme Lord, gently inducing Him to appear in person before His devotees. Furthermore, when the soul's natural sentiments are even faintly scented by bhava they melt and flow unrestrained toward the Supreme Lord, bathing His divine form with Love. [..] The devotee's eyes are constantly inebriated from seeing the beauty of Vrajendra-nandana Krishna....His pinkish lips, His compassionate eyes; [...] the devotee's voice chokes up as he perceive the beauty of His Lord and tears flow incessantly saturating his body.  His eager ears strain to hear the haunting melody of Krishna's flute, His captivating honeyed voice; [...] The devotee experiencing bhava-bhakti restlessly move about .... sometimes pauses in one spot, rooted to the ground as if he is trying to hear a faint voice, ...he may suddenly try to imagine how it feels to be touched by the tender palms of the Lord ...sometimes he thinks "Shall I ever be fortunate enough to relish the ambrosia issuing from Krishna's sublime lips?"

Bhava bhakti is "one step away" from Prema.

When the musky fragrance of the earth

melts the emotions of my heart,

and a burning sensation

like a fire, inside,

is this thirst for You,

to be quenched

only by the juicy liquid taste

issuing from your lips;

when the air caressing me becomes

the touch of Your limbs,

and I discover my hand tensed

to reach out for You;

 when the ether becomes filled

with your melodious voice,

and in the stream of my mind

no other desire flows

but You,

then my ego

assumes that of

a passionate cowherd girl,

and my heart becomes

the mandala

of my love dance.

And I dance for You,

gracefully,

 like a hawk across the sky,

and I twirl around excited like a mayfly,

 and I dance,

like a wavering leaf

into the hands of the wind;

  

and like a petal raining from a tree

lulled by the tepid air of Spring ~

I sway with closed eyes,

 imagine falling at your feet;

and I dance ~

 lissome like a flame

flickering in the dark,

and  like a flower when it unfolds,

desirous and ready for the sunrays,

 like a seed

which bends, twists and unfurls

to sprout in the relief of air;

I dance my feelings,

and out of bliss, I sing

to the rhythm of my heart

that laughs and leaps;

I swing around,

choked up I drown

in a blurred sky

of tears.

            I want to call for You aloud,             ⁽¹⁾

but I cannot find my voice,

I am left to wonder ~

is the melody from Your lips

within or without me?

Suddenly I feel your arms around me,

and though I cannot fathom

          if I am dancing, sitting, or lying down,        ⁽²⁾

spontaneously I remember 

where to bury my face ~

in Your chest

               in the refuge of Your embrace.             ⁽³⁾

1) SB 11.14.24 ” A devotee whose speech is sometimes choked up, whose heart melts, who cries continually and sometimes laughs, who feels ashamed and cries out loudly and then dances — a devotee thus fixed in loving service to Me purifies the entire universe.”

2)  SD 7.4.38-40 "Thus being always embraced by Govinda, he was not aware of his actions while sitting, walking, eating, lying down, drinking and talking." 

"When his mind became troubled because of absence of the Lord he would cry, and then he would laugh on seeing him again.  Joyful on thinking of the Lord's mercy, he sang loudly."

"Sometimes in great longing he would cry out or would dance without shame. Sometimes, lost in thoughts of the Lord, identifying with the Lord, he would imitate the Lord's pastimes."

3) The suggestion of "feeling" embraced by Krishna came by the following verse as translated in the Krishna Sandarbha of Jiva Goswami.

SB 10.29.10 "[...] By meditating upon him they [Gopis] realized his embrace and experienced the bliss of a sudden internal realization of meeting him."