Vilapa Kusumanjali, verse 9.2

This lecture has three different topics. So we have divided it in three videos (see below).

Entering the Spiritual Body –
The Secret of Līlā Smaraṇ
 (VK 9.2)

29:10 min.

There is a sacred distinction between the sādhana-deha (the physical body used in practice) and the siddha-deha (the eternal, spiritual body). In līlā-smaraṇ, we enter the pastimes of Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa with the siddha-deha. We forget our physical identity.

As Pratibha explains, we don’t “do” the smaraṇ ourselves. Rather, it is Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa, or the sakhīs who reveal the līlā and invite us in.

🕊 At 18:50, she shares the story of Kṛṣṇa dās Bābājī, who meditated deeply on the daily Holī festival in spiritual Vṛndāvan. When a perfume bottle breaks during the līlā, something miraculous happens—even in the physical world.

This satsang reveals how subtle and real the līlā can become when entered with love and surrender.

Verse no. 9:

»O goddess! I'm helpless and afflicted in the middle of an ocean of sorrow! Please take me to the wonderful abode of Your lotus feet in the powerful boat of Your mercy!«

In his commentary, Ananta das Babaji discusses the spiritual practice of smaranam: remembrance or meditation. We should be aware of the fact that Raghunath das Goswami is doing smaranam when he has the vision of Radha, Krishna and the other gopis like Rupa Manjari. Whenever he looses the sight and falls back in his material body, the feeling of separation appears. So his spiritual practice is smaranam that sometimes is interrupted. When this separation happens »the sadhaka should also feel that the beauty of smarana is his only means of survival«. (VK, p. 39)

Kīrtan vs. Smaraṇam – Which Is More Important?


12:09 min

A devotee asked about the significance of chanting (kīrtanam) compared to meditation (smaraṇam). Both are limbs of nava-aṅga-bhakti, yet their emphasis varies among great teachers.
 Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and followers like A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda highlight kīrtanam as the foremost practice. Meanwhile, Raghunātha dāsa Goswāmī exemplifies leelā-smaraṇam in his writings.
 In this satsang, Pratibha Goswami shares a nuanced perspective based on śāstra and the bhakti tradition.

Uddhava’s Journey to Understand Divine Love


34:17 min

Listen in this part how Uddhava learned prema bhakti from the Brijbasis.

Uddhava, the wise disciple of Bṛhaspati, was dear to Kṛṣṇa—but even he couldn’t grasp the depth of the gopīs’ love or the pain of Kṛṣṇa’s separation from them.

To open his heart, Kṛṣṇa sent him to Vṛndāvana—not to teach, but to learn. There, among the simple village girls, Uddhava encountered the mystery of prema—a love so pure, it silenced all philosophy.

In this satsang, we reflect on this sacred episode from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.47) and what it reveals about the highest path of bhakti.

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