SHYAMDAS 1953-2013 IN MEMORIAM

Śrī Govardhan Nāthjī, beloved Kŗšņa deity of the poet Rasakhān, ornamented here in a dancer’s garb
with Śrī Navanita Priyaji, Child Kŗšņa “Who loves fresh butter,” at His lotus feet.
RASAKHĀN
SHYAMDAS
Introduction
It is said that in the state of spiritual
love, one can remain without the
Beloved for up to one day, but when that
love rises to the level of attachment, the
lover can remain apart from the Beloved
for only a few hours. When attachment
matures into divine addiction, that
blessed lover cannot be separated from
the Beloved for even a moment.
These sublime states of being define
the course of blessed devotion and the
poet-saint Rasakhān’s personal path.
Devotion, or more specifically, bhakti,
is nourished by renunciation of what
is unrelated, by listening to devotional
subjects, and by singing your heart out to
God with unconditional devotion. These
are the foundational principles of úràmad
22 Special Issue • Shyamdas ~ In Memoriam
Vallabhacharya’s (ad 1479-1531 ce) Path
of Grace, the Puüôà Márga.
úrà Gusainji (úrà Vitthalnathji), the
son of úrà Vallabhacharya and guru
of Rasakhān, continued his father’s
teachings and also brought forth new
elements in the elaborate mode of divine
service to úrà Käüóa, called sevá. This
form of sevá is dedicated solely to úrà
Käüóa’s pleasure. It was being practiced
in úrà Nathji’s temple on the Govardhan
Hill when Rasakhān arrived there around
ad 1561. Rasakhān (c. 1534-1619) was
among the exalted group of úrà Gusainji’s
252 main disciples, the grace-filled souls
who were the principle recipients of the
Bhakti master’s devotional vision.
According to the Path of Grace, úrà Käüóa
adapts to the nature of His devotees, for it is
too difficult to achieve perfection through
one’s own narrow means. This truth comes
as a relief for the spiritual practitioner, or
bhakta. úrà Käüóa plays with His own souls
in a personal way, so that each is able to
clearly recognize Divinity.
The life story of Rasakhān provides
a convincing example of that profound
process. The divine exchange also allows
the practitioner to truly take refuge, and
then an array of religious experiences
arises. It is not a question of skillful
means, but rather intense yearning,
which brings the Supreme into the
practitioner’s world. This formula
allows true character to develop, often
in unusual ways, as witnessed in the life
of Rasakhān.
The foundations of both lawful and
grace-filled devotion (Maryádá and Puüôi
Bhakti) are found within the Sanskrit
teachings of the Bhagavad Gàtá. These
teachings were then more fully revealed
in the úràmad Bhágavatam. Rasakhān,
a Muslim-born, ecstatic Käüóa follower,
was able to uniquely express through
his poetry the sublime devotional views
found in those texts. Rasakhān’s lyrical
expressions grant us access to his ecstatic
realm: úrà Käüóa’s playground – the sacred
lands of Vraja. His instructional poems
teach us to prioritize our values, making
them devotional and focused on divinity.
Then, there can be transformation and
vision.
In Rasakhān’s world, the Go pàs are
the gurus. They have demonstrated
how to leave everything unnecessary
and move directly toward the Beloved.
The Gopàs provide the best examples
of devotion, because above all else, they
desired the Lord of Sweetness. They
simply forgot all other illusions and
became solely attached to God. They
became recipients of nirodha, the blessed
state of continual God-awareness. Their
every motion and emotion was perfectly
fixated on úrà Käüóa.
Rasakhān entered deeply into the Gopàs’
realizations and sometimes even described
his experiences from their vantage point.
His poems are filled with astounding
sounds, meanings, and unexpected
conclusions, all of which propel the reader
into a “Käüóa awakening.”
Throughout Rasakhān’s work, the
diversity of his beloved Käüóa’s loving
plays and sublime character unfold.
He leads us from Child Käüóa’s
adorable antics to úrà Käüóa’s ultimate
union with the beautiful Rádhá. He