The Song of Pingala

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_
continue=54&v=NMrRzDJ3Wuc

Uddhava Gita 2.28 "Now please hear from me the song sung by [Pingala] the prostitute ..."

Pingala is a prostitute.  This might rise the query from the reader how one can gain by hearing a poetry describing the greed and miserable life of a prostitute, but 

Pingala's story is told by Lord Krishna to Uddhava and sastra so instruct about this type of narration : Itihasa-samucchaya [SD 3.5.12 Comm.]  "What result can be attained by describing the lust of lusty men and the greed of greedy men, except to sent them into the darkness of a well? In the Mahabharata, lust and greed are described to purify people's hearts, and are moreover condemned by stories with pure meaning.  Otherwise, why would the most merciful and learned Vyasa describe lust and greed, the cause of bondage to terrible material existence?"

Pingala's is just one of the sixteen stories that an avadhuta brahmana told to King Yadu. Every story is a lesson about material life and Krishna retells the whole narration to Uddhava ~ in the section of the Bhagavatam (11th Canto) called "Uddhava Gita" ~ during His final instructions before closing up His pastimes on Earth.  Therefore so auspicious and beneficial is hearing and learning from this story.

Disturbances in Vraja

SD 10.22.34  "These trees fulfill one's desires with their leaves, flowers and fruits, their shade, roots, bark and wood, and also with their fragrance, sap, ashes, pulp and shoots."

This sloka is spoken by Krishna to the cowherd boys.  He is describing the pleasure that the trees give to him for their nature of using their life and qualities to serve others.

"Disturbances in Vraja" is the way Bhaktivinoda Thakura called the anarthas, which are the greatest impediment for the conditioned jiva to enter the spiritual world. The tree of the ego that we have grown in lifetimes of vicious activities carries the leaves of bad qualities and egotistical mind set.  So the devotee by sadhana bhakti with faith, devotion and concentration, should let all these leaves to go and transform the tree of envy, the anchor to material life, into one of the trees that give happiness to Krishna, because everyone's happiness is in Krishna's happiness.  This realization can start the process for clearing the anarthas (or anartha nivrtti).

Ripe and ready

for the transforming wind

of the autumn season,

that clears the sky, the waters    

            and the mind,         ⁽¹⁾

I let go the leaves

from the tree of my ego,

I'll not feel pain

letting go the dead leaves

of arguments and conflicts,

growing instead a soft smile within,

while the emptiness of my heart

rustles and is blown away like a dry leaf.

I will look at untruthfulness,

false pretense, hypocrisy

and desire for superiority,

as brown parched leaves

releasing them with joy

into the purifying gusts

of this wind,

feeling peaceful and free

as the leaves of deception

and conceit

drop from my tree;

without hesitation

I will look into layers

of memory

       from where unwanted results       ⁽²⁾

life after life have sprouted,

and now are yellow stale leaves

ready to be detached from the tree

by this wind of mercy.

My heart will rejoice

when finally Krishna,

seated in my heart,

crushes with His weight

of sweetness

the remaining hard-shelled

acorns of pride, vanity

and the stardom-me

then with consciousness filled

with devotion,

in bliss and relieved

that I, like the tree,

now denuded of envy,

am ready to sprout anew,

and give happiness to Krishna

               with leaves, shoots,             ⁽³⁾

flowers and fruits.

1) SD 10.20.32-33 "... the fall season arrived, when the sky is cloudless, the water clear and wind gentle.

"The autumn season, which regenerated the lotus flowers, also restored the various bodies of water to their original purity, just as the process of devotional service purifies the minds of the fallen yogis when they return to it."

2) Literal translation of the word "anarthas".

3) CC Adi Lila 3.63 " [...]His smiling glance at once drives away all the bereavements of the world, and His very words enliven the auspicious creepers of devotion by expanding their leaves."

FACING the UNWANTED

GB 1.46 "Speaking in this manner, Arjuna, giving up his bow and arrow, his mind disturbed with lamentation, sat down on his chariot amidst the conflict."

This poetry expresses the feelings and realizations of being  one " Arjuna"  who after hearing the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam (for many years) still is looking at his toes in ignorance. Then someone, a wise seer, speaking to my heart, unveiled the path from where I got stuck, infused me the faith in the scripture, in the process of bhakti, so to rise and combat.

"Facing the unwanted" is the time of introspection when the "unwanted" - the egotistical aspects of the ego - are recognized as the stumbling blocks to firm faith and to steadiness on the path of bhakti.

SD 3.25.33 "Bhakti, devotional service, dissolve the subtle body of the living entity without separate effort, just as fire in the stomach digests all that we eat."

My chariot has stopped

after jolting to and fro,

and I'm aware only of my toes

soaked in tears,

as I sit looking down

as if no sound is around,

and for so long not knowing

where I am.

My chariot has stopped

and with deep sorrow,

my head hanging down,

I sit with pity without piety,

surrounded by a throbbing silence

caused by the emptiness of my heart,

lamenting, unable to look up,  ⁽¹⁾

confused and oblivious to everyone.

Then a hand, a touch,

a benevolent voice,

calls forth 'the Arjuna'

ready to combat,

infuses in me the force

     with care and wise words   ⁽²⁾

to perceive how my chariot

got stuck,

by cumulated layers, life after life

        of unwanted results,     ⁽³⁾

to see that Krishna is in front,

ready to lead,

personal,

with qualities and shining limbs,

friend, well-wisher, eager

for a loving relationship,

and that between two forces,  ⁽⁴⁾

only by mercy, bhakti will appear

like a moon from an eclipse

dissolving the unfavorable duality. ⁽⁵⁾

My chariot has halted

but now I stand up,

without duplicity and ado  ⁽⁶⁾

assessing my heart

start my chariot anew.

1) SD 2.9.34 "One should understand my maya by whose power real objects are perceived through vidya and false objects are perceived through avidya, in relation to the self ..."

Pity for oneself, confusion and lamentation are expansions of the maya sakti through the function of avidya and are perceived as existent by the conditioned soul in ignorance (without piety or sattva).

2) Under the care, benevolence and guidance of guru.

3) "Unwanted results" is the literal translation of  anarthas.  SB 4.29.37 Purport  "Saṁsṛti, or material existence, begins with the illusioned bodily conception of life, and on the basis of this conception there ensues a series of unwanted things (anarthas). These unwanted things are actually mental desires for various types of sense gratification. In this way one accepts different types of bodies within this material world." 

4) Vidya and Avidya which were present in Kurukshetra as the two confronting armies : Yudisthira's  and Duryodhana's respectively. Bhakti is independent from the two and appears only by grace of Krishna, Bhakti-devi and pure bhakta.

5) Maya-sakti involves two functions and one is unfavorable to the jiva (avidya) and the other is favorable for liberation through knowledge (vidya).  Bhakti dissolves both being two aspects of the material energy because the Lord cannot be realized by sattva : SB11.14.21 "I am achieved by bhakti only".

6) Facing the unwanted starts by being truthful firstly to oneself.

ARROWS of LOVE

SD 1.9.38 "O Krishna! Let my only goal be Mukunda, Who, afflicted by my sharp arrows, armor broken, covered in blood, rushed towards me, His enemy, with great force, in order to kill me."

As much as this pastime of Krishna and Bhismadeva is meant to bewilder the mundane minds, it gives great ecstasy and inspiration to the devotees. This poem has been inspired by the prism of rasas in the pages of the Bhagavatam, which, just like those that speak of Arjuna, also expose the devotional sentiments of Bhismadeva. Here he drops the 'adherent-to-dharma' character of the Mahabharata and reveals himself as a pure devotee in a mix of service and chivalry rasas.

This is the moment that Krishna makes Bhismadeva's greatness, glories and devotion known to the world by coming to his side : -

BRS 2.1.134 [Krishna] "...because of Bhisma's remembrance of Him while laying on the bed of sharp arrows, immediately appeared, beyond His own control. He rushed towards Bhisma while forgetting His position as God, His body bathed in a shower of tears." 

WARRIOR for LOVE

SB 1.15.5  "Arjuna said : O King! The Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari, who treated me exactly like an intimate friend, has left me alone.  Thus my astounding power, which astonished even the demigods, is no longer with me."

 

Arjun remembering Krishna after
His departure

When Krishna decides to leave the planet, Arjuna  is left deeply aggrieved by a sentiment of separation.  Coming back from Dvaraka he speaks to Yudhisthira the pains of his heart now that his dearest friend has left.  Krishna has always enhanced the glories of his devotee and friend and now Arjuna reveals how Krishna was glorious in causing and facilitating all his victories, as he had not that power and ability without his friendship.

Four principles of friendship - 1) Trust; 2) knowledge about the friend; 3) to concede, ability to give out one's opinions and position to comply with friend's; 4) Opening one's heart are imbued in this poetry,as Arjuna speaks about his friendship with Krishna so that one can be inspired in cultivating the devotional service's anga -to become friend with Krishna - in the most personal and desirable way that Krishna appreciates and enjoys.

This is independently of the eternal sakhya-rasa, because friendship is developed during sadhana bhakti is based on respect.

The beauty of this passage in the Bhagavatam is the unveiling of the sakhya rasa of Arjuna in a time of separation revealing all the depth of his loving relationship with Krishna, which in Bhagavad Gita is presented veiled by the dasya mood.

WHERE IS SHYAM ?

Sri Lalita Madhava pg42 ~ "My dear friend, where is Krsna, who is like the moon rising from the ocean of Maharaja Nanda's dynasty? Where is Krsna, His head decorated with a peacock feather?  Where is He?  Where is Krishna whose flute produces such a deep sound? [...] Kindly tell me where to find Krsna the treausre of My life and best of My friends.  Feeling separation from Him, I hereby condemn Providence, the shaper of My destiny."

This poem was inspired by an encounter I had in Vraja many many years ago.  It was in the morning and I was walking down a narrow, dirt path when a man dressed only in a loin cloth, very thin and with his skin darkened by the sun, came towards me.  He looked at me without seeing me and was murmuring "Where is Shyam?".

Then suddenly aware of my presence when I was right in front of him he said very loudly but with a choked voice "Where is Shyam?". I said "I do not know" and he became more agitated and in despair repeated several times with an anxious tone in his voice "Where is Shyam, where is Shyam?" Then I answered "I cannot see, I do not see where is He".

I have never forgotten those eyes, that voice, that forlorn heart, that morning light in Vraja ....

No parrot, bird or cuckoo warbles

to awake this dawn,

this daybreak light in Vraja

feebly kisses

the nocturnal pout of the flowers

reluctant now to bloom,

no feet has trampled over them

no pollen hovers the air

no swarm of excited bees

have buzzed after

the honey of His running feet,

forlorn the heart repeats

where is Shyam?

Is this the same wind

that ruffled the curls,

shivered the skin,

that swayed His feather,

and His earrings ?

Stole the scent of the rainy cloud

from His limbs,

and blew words of love

written on kumkum dusted leaves ?

Is this the same wind?

Carrier now of sighs

and a sole pitiful cry ~

where is Shyam?

Will there still be the moon?

with the stars for limbs

and its nectar-like beams

trickling flickering drops

on Radha's petal-like skin ?

Drops which capture her glow

and turn into moonstones

just as raindrops fall

in seashells

and turn into pearls,

but He has left ~

nothing shines now,

neither the moon nor the gems,

the stars nor the sun,

as a pair of unseeing eyes ask ~

Where is Shyam?

Behind the wheels

fell the dust

with the deafening silence

of His absence.

Now will come no dusk

carrying the notes of flutesongs

in clouds of dust.

The love talks,

the sweet words, the poetry,

the laughs ~ all have sunk

into the stillness of time.

The lanes of Vraja

have no more destinations,

the heart, errant of love, pleads

where is Shyam?

“Ve-ry-soon-I-wi-ll-ret-urn”

the syllables of Shyam's promise

barely reach the Gopis' lips

have become their heartbeats,

their only reason to live.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

SD 7.10.10 "I offer respects to the Lord, full of six qualities, the purusa, the great soul, the killer of all miseries, the wonderful lion and man who is Brahman and Paramatma."

Nrsimha-tapani Upanisad ~ rtam satyam param brahma purusam nr-kesari-vigraham
The form of Nrsimha is the Supreme Brahman, the purusa, knowledge and truth.

Aisvarya Kadambini 1.5 "All glories to the most merciful Sri Govinda, the son of Nanda, who appeared from a pillar in the fierce form of Sri Nrsimha to remove the distress of His devotee Prahlada by killing His enemy Hiranyakasipu."

O Lion Lord,

please roar, roar, roar,

very loud,

show your angry eyes

and your ferocious mouth

and with your nails like chisels

cut through those impediments

of evil activities

residue of many lifetimes

inhabiting my mind

causing to the heart

miserliness and weakness

without the qualities

to become a worthy recipient

of the shower of mercy

poured by the saintly teachers.

O Lion Lord,

please roar, roar, roar,

very loud

show your sharp teeth

and  flaring nostrils

with your breath laden

with anger, please blow away

those seeds of aversion

which cause the unwanted

strong pillars of the ego

to boast, ridicule others

harboring the illusions

of superiority, prestige

and power.

O Lion Lord, please let your

deafening laughing roar

reach everywhere, inside and without,

please come, O Killer of miseries,

walk down the road

to the city of dualities,

to scare away the desires,   ⁽¹⁾

the impressions of the subtle body,

that impede me

to give happiness to others

to remove all that is vicious

and to see as You see

with equal vision.

O Lion Lord, please,

as gently as you only can

place your protecting paw

on my head

against the attacks of pretenders,

protect my spiritual and material

achievements

protect the steps of this errant

of karma,

so can walk steadily out

of the dreadful cycle.

1) SD7.10.8 "By the appearance of desire the functions of one's senses, mind, life, body dharma, determination, intelligence, shyness, wealth, strength, memory and truthfulness are destroyed."

In the Sound of a Breath

KS Anu 157 :  "The Supreme Lord beyond the gunas, without fault, the original creator, having many forms, becomes one again and rests."  Sri Madhavacharya

Stavavali pg 223 - Txt 91 : "I pray that Lord Krishna, who also places His lotus feet on the hoods of Ananta Sesa, will permit me to reside in His land of Vraja."

Nothing other than LOVE

Sri Sri Prema Samput p. 52    "Only to increase the love of my devotees for me, do I bestow hardship upon them and in so doing incur my own sorrow, yet I welcome that distress."

Sri Sri Prema Samput p.48 "He is not lacking anything. What do the living entities have to give Him other than their love?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=56&v=-h_9ixUreNI

In the imaginary scene of the poem Krishna is speaking confidentially to a friend sometime after Kurukshetra, in a mixture of reminiscences and emotions,  from Dwarka, to the rasa dance, to the meeting in Kurukshetra.  In doing so Krishna reveals the secret depths of his love. Krishna never puts his devotees through something which He does not take also upon Himself.

SD 32.21 "Even when I removed Myself from your sight by suddenly disappearing, I never stopped loving you."

GC 23.39 "O dearest Gopis!  The first separation has been most difficult for me."

My solitude nestled

in the recesses of the night,

and like shadows that come forth

with brighter light,

its agony too appeared,

by moonlit memories

of their love for Me.

With the ardent desire

for a tidal wave

of this ocean of their love and my love,

to flood the hearts and the stars,

I disappeared,

causing their lamentation,

and thirstily I drank from the same                               ⁽¹⁾

chalice of longing emotions

welling up from purest love.

Spying unseen

upon their absorption and tribulation

while they searched for Me,

with breathless glances,

in incessant meditation

unwavering, on Me only,

I also endured separation,                                     ⁽²⁾

and could wait no more

for their embraces                                        ⁽³⁾

as the tears of love,

furrowing their faces,

were gushing like ecstatic rivers

of their sweetest love.

And impatient,                   

covetous of the mellows

flourishing in their hearts,

in that innermost hollow I stood,

a restless spectator of their total love,

incapable of repaying

the wealth of devotion

of my most beloveds.

In the most famous and also infamous                          ⁽⁴⁾

state of Godhood of being self-satisfied,

no one could fathom why I cried,

why my heart sighed,

breathless from feeling separation,

dragged and dependent on

their selfless adoration.

I smiled anew

to soothe their hearts,

and hiding my anguish,

asked for forgiveness.

They offered their fragrant ghee of love,                          ⁽⁵⁾

and the dense honey

of sulkiness,

thus plundering my love,

so that I, delighted, sold myself.                                    ⁽⁶⁾

1) GC 23.46 "Bhakti to me produces nectar".

2) Sri Sri Prema Samput pg.50 "He is also filled with sadness as he remains hidden from his devotees, [...] on top of that he then has to tolerate the slander that he is indifferent to those who love him."

3) GB 12.7 Comm. "Not after a long time, but very quickly, since I am not able to bear delay in meeting them, I, putting them on the shoulders of Garuda, bring them to My dhama."

4) SD 82.44 Comm. "But my dear girlfriend - Krishna replied - if this is true, I must be God, but still I am conquered by your love and devotion."

Godhood is also infamous to Krishna because in His qualities as the Absolute (Controller, Self-satisfied etc) which are revered but also commonly misunderstood, His sweetness and eagerness to love as Nanda Kishor is thwarted.

5) AVC Pg.279 (Rasa Dance Begins) "He (Krishna) wanted to create unity among the opposing parties of Radha and Candravali."

6) KS Anu 170 "I have come now.  Please experience me directly at every moment."