Contents
Gita Govinda -Shri Jayadeva Gosvami
INTRODUCTION
The substance of Shri Gita-govinda
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Shri Jayadeva Gosvämé thoroughly understood the nature of mankind in this present age of dissention (Kali-yuga). He knew how easily they become bewildered by the sight of superficial beauty. If they do not see an external covering of beauty, they can overlook a potent medicinal herb, thinking it to be of no value. The poet Shri Jayadeva was moved by the causeless compassion Vaiñëavas feel towards all fallen souls. Therefore, to make them relish eternal bliss, he wrapped the incomparable shelter of his supremely sweet, ecstatic transcendental emotions in the covering of the worthless sweetness of the mundane erotic mood. By so doing, Shri Jayadeva has mani fested the exclusive antidote for the disease of material existence in the form of this poem. The respected readers can now readily understand that Shri Géta-govinda is not about mundane sexuality. Rather, it pertains to the very same sublime transcendental rasa that has been defined in the Vedas as the cause of lasting joy for every living being. Therefore, although Shri Géta-govinda is a poetic composition, it is simultaneously the embodiment of the essence of all the Vedas. Shri Jayadeva Gosvämé is compared to the sacred decorative marking (tilaka) upon the forehead of the entire dynasty of poets who are conversant with the principles of spiritual mellows. Sometimes he has portrayed Shri Rädhä as a jealous lover, proud of her eminence. Sometimes he has made her weep incessantly in the intolerable pain of separation from Shri Kṛṣṇa, and sometimes he has also put Shri Bhagavän into the intense anxiety of separation from her. Yet he did not stop there. He has manifested the utmost extremity of love of God and the pinnacle of Bhagavän’s affection for his devotee by making Shri Kṛṣṇa catch the lotus feet of Shri Rädhä and beg her, “Kindly accept me as your servant and decorate my brow with the soft buds of your lotus feet.” This love is the essence of all the Vedas. |
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