On Associatingwith Great Ones

On Associatingwith Great Ones

r Kanupriya GoswamiBased on lectures collected and edited in Bengaliby r Gauraraydas Goswami

Introduced, translated, and annotatedbyNeal Delmonico

Blazing Sapphire Press715 E. McPhersonKirksville, Missouri 635012014

Copyright 2014 by Neal Delmonico

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be dupli-cated in any way without the expressed written consent of the pub-lisher, except in the form of brief excerpts or quotations for reviewpurposes.

ISBN 978-0-9817902-9-9 (0-9817902-9-1)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009908627

Published by:Blazing Sapphire Press715 E. McPhersonKirksville, Missouri 63501

Available at:Nitai's Bookstore715 E. McPhersonKirksville, Missouri, 63501Phone: (660) 665-0273http://www.nitaisbookstore.comhttp://www.blazing-sapphire-press.comEmail: neal@blazing-sapphire-press.com

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ContentsPreface ixTranslator's Introduction v

A Short Biography of the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiTheology in the Caitanya Vaiava Context . . . . . . . . xv

The Theologies of Caitanya Vaiavism . . . . . . . xixThe Theology of Kanupriya Goswami . . . . . . . . . xliii

The Power and Provenance of Saga . . . . . . . . . . . . xlivConventions Observed in this Translation . . . . . . . . . xlixWorks Cited and Consulted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lii

Bengali Editor's Introduction lix

I On Associatingwith Great Ones 1Chapter One 3Chapter Two 19Chapter Three 33Chapter Four 41Chapter Five 51

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vi CONTENTSII Appendices 3Appendix 1 67Appendix 2: On the Author (by Rasikamohana arm) 91Appendix 3: The Guru and Divine Name 101

Taking Shelter with a Guru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106The Greatness of the Divine Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Introduction to the Devangar Script 139Vowels: Svara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Consonants: Viu/Vyajana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

The ka-varga (ka-group) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140The ca-varga (ca-group) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141The a-varga (a-group) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141The ta-varga (ta-group) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141The pa-varga (pa-group) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142The Semivowels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142The Sibilants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Combining Vowels and Consonants . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Other Books by Blazing Sapphire Press 147

Coming soon: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Introducing Golden Avatar Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Prabhupda rla Knupriya Gosvm

Translator's IntroductionThe twentieth century was an extraordinary century for writers

writing about Caitanya Vaiavism, the religious tradition that de-veloped around the sixteenth century saint/reformer/ecstatic, rKacaitanya (1486-1533 C.E.). During the final decades of the19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the traditionunderwent an exhubrant literary renaissance and flowering duringwhich it succeeded in bursting out of India and appearing on theworld stage as a religious tradition to be recognized and reckonedwith. While a few of those early works were written in English,1 thevast majority were written in Bengali.2 Bengal, the birth place of rCaitanya, naturally witnessed among its citizens of that period thegreatest share of renewed interest in his life and religious insights.Of the enormous number of works on Caitanya Vaiavism writtenin Bengali during that period, few have ever been translated intoEnglish. Forget about translation, even the scope and contents ofthis vast field of literature have not been surveyed in Bengali, En-glish or any other language that I am aware of. Just the few quickglances at this literature that I have managed over the years suggestthat it is filled with many rich and innovative theological reflectionsthat would be of value to general readers as well as to scholars who

1Some of the English works of note are Premnanda Bhrat's Sree Krishna: theLord of Love (New York, 1904), Shishir Kumar Ghosha's Lord Gouranga, or, Salvationfor All (2 vols., Calcutta, 1923), Bhagavat Kumar str's The Bhakti Cult in AncientIndia (Calcutta, 1924), and Dr. Mahanamabrata Brahmacari's Vaiava Vednta (Dis-sertation, University of Chicago, 1937, and later published separately.).2Writers like Rasikamohana Vidybhaa, Haridsa Gosvm, Haridsa DsaBbj, Dr. Radhagovinda Nath, Sundarnanda (Dsa) Vidyvinoda, and the presentauthor, Kanupriya Gosvm, are some examples of prolific and learned writers whowrote in Bengali on the Caitanya tradition.

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xii On Associating with Great Oneshave an interest in the diverse views and insights of the religions ofIndia and the world.

Why there was such a proliferation of Caitanya Vaiava litera-ture during that period of seventy or so years (roughly 1880-1950C.E.) is hard to say. Certainly, the fact that more printing presseswere in the hands and under the control of affluent Bengalis wasan important factor. The first printing presses in India were estab-lished by the Baptist Mission Press at Shreerampur (Serampur) onthe Ganges north of Calcutta in the last few decades of the 18thcentury. The primary purpose of the Baptist Mission was to spreadthe good news of the Christian gospels among the Indian popu-lace and Sreerampur, as the headquarters of the Baptist Mission inIndia, was an influential part of that program throughout the 19thcentury. But by the second half of that century many Bengalis hadacquired their own presses and were busily publishing Bengali andSanskrit titles and numerous, one might even say countless, periodi-cal journals. It is in the context of this publishing frenzy, sometimesrefered to as the Bengal Renaissance, that the literary flowering andoutput of Caitanya Vaiavism should be seen.

Another factor was the rather forward-looking policy adopted bythe British of educating young Bengalis for posts in the civil service.By encouraging education and creating the facilities for good educa-tions by establishing schools and colleges, a large, highly educatedand widely literate population developed in Bengal by the end ofthe 19th century. Of course, the government-sponsored educationwas largely in English and was highly based on Western models.Nevertheless (despite Macaulay's famous ``minute'' on education),traditional subjects like Sanskrit and Bengali literature were alsotaught at the government-established institutions. Even Christianchurch-established institutions made room for traditional subjects,as was the case at Scottish Churches College, for instance. Thisrather enlightened British policy, it should be noted, was in markedcontrast to the policies of some of the other major colonial powers,such as the Dutch and the Portugese, who prefered to keep the peo-ple of their colonies in the dark, fully dependent, and thoroughlyexploited. Although the British did visit many atrocities on the peo-ple they ruled in India, they were comparatively mild.

Finally, it was not really until the end of the 19th century thatthe Bengalis began to recover some of their self-esteem in the face

Translator's Introduction xiiiof British colonialism and with that strengthening recovery theywere drawn back to the roots of their own traditions with new re-spect. This recovery was no doubt aided by the growing sense ofnationalism and heightened national identity that was the result ofthe events and aftermath of the mutiny of 1857 (the great Indianrebellion). Initially, the Indians, not just the Bengalis, were deeplyimpressed by British power, culture, intellectual life, and religion.This initial impression of the British also provoked at the same timesomething of a sense of shame and embarrassment in the Indians ofsome generations, embarrassment occasioned by viewing, throughdistorting lenses provided by the British, their own culture, intel-lectual history and achievements, and religious beliefs and prac-tices, and comparing them with those of the British or of Europeat large. Over time, however, as the Indian population had moretime to observe the British ubermensch in action, suspicion grewinto fulfledged disillusionment with the enlightened British andtheir plans for India. With the mutiny in 1857, it became clear thatBritish rule was really a threat to the Hindu way of life as well asto that of the Muslims with whom Hindus had lived more or lesspeacefully for many centuries. The Muslims had after all adaptedto and flourished in India and among its native populations sincethe 12th century. The result of this growing disillusionment withand critical outlook towards all things British was a desire amongthe younger generations of the second half of the 19th century toreturn to the roots of their own culture and traditions, to rediscoverthemselves in the beliefs and practices of their ancestors.

Perhaps there is no better example of this process of changingattitudes, first admiration and then rejection, towards British cul-ture and religion than can be found in the life of Raja RammohunRoy (1772?-1833 C.E.) who lived through the early period of Indianengagement with British rule and culture. Rammohun as a youngman became deeply influenced by the criticisms leveled at Hindureligion and culture by the Christian missionaries of the time. Hebecame convinced that the worship of stone and metal images thatwas so much a part of the practice of Hindu piety was indeed idol-atry and moreover that it was a rank misunderstanding of the orig-inal, pure, revelatory insights of the ancient Hindu sages found inthe Vedas and the Upaniads. Even at the age of sixteen he wrotea tract critical of the Hindu tradition called The Idolatrous System

xiv On Associating with Great Onesof the Hindus which managed to anger many conservative membersof Hindu society and effectively ruin his relationship with his highcaste brahmin father.3 He believed and argued that the ancient textstaught a monotheistic faith in the existence of one supreme Goda God endowed with a distinct personality, moral attributes worthyof His nature and an intelligence befitting the Governor of the uni-verse.4 By making such arguments he drew upon himself the ireof the Hindu population of his father's generation, but attracted thesupport and sympathy of many in his own and younger generations.When, however, he turned his attention to Christianity, he foundsigns of a similar corruption by idolatry in Christian belief and prac-tice, a critique of which he expressed in his book The Precepts of Jesusa Sufficient Guide to Peace and Happiness (1820), which contains aselection of passages from the Gospels with his own critical intro-duction. As Stein says, While he praised the morality of Jesus, herejected his divinity and his miracles. Moreover, he took exceptionto all the abstruse and supernatural presentations of his teachings,decrying them as superstition or mythological nonsense.5 To dis-cover the true religion of the Hindus, Rammohun returned to theroots of the tradition, the ancient texts. This became the model forthe later generations of Vaiavas of the Caitanya tradition, thoughthe supreme god that they found there was not the abstract, imper-sonal absolute of Rammohun that was beyond speech and intellect,but the lover god Ka who was regarded as very much embodiedand, as a result, very close and approachable.

Among the Caitanyite writers who participated in the Vaiavarenaissance were r Haridsa Goswami (1867-1946) whose rework-ing of the life of Caitanya in two massive volumes, one for theNavadvpa portion and one for the Jaganntha Pur portion of hislife, was called the r Caitanya-bhrata (1906) because it was enor-mous in size like the great Indian epic, theMahbhrata. Shishirku-mar Ghosh's (1840-1911) Beautiful Life of Nimai (r Caitanya) (Ami-y Nimi Carita, 1904) extended to six volumes in Bengali and twolarge volumes when an abidged version was finally published in En-

3William Bysshe Stein, Two Brahman Sources of Emerson and Thoreau, v.4ibid., vi-vii.5ibid., ix. Rammohun's position was admired and supported by the Unitariansof New England, a reaction that paved the way for Rammohun's later influence,through his translations, on such American savants as Emerson and Thoreau.

Translator's Introduction xvglish (1922). Vipinavihr Goswami (1850-1919) wrote his lengthyThe Delight of the Ten Roots (Daa-mla-rasam, 1898) which presents,in Bengali verse with Sanskrit citations from numerous texts, the en-tire theology of the Caitanya tradition on the basis of ten fundamen-tal principles.6 To these names should be added those of the greattraditional pundits r ymalla Goswami and r Pragopla Go-swami who published great numbers of works belonging to CaitanyaVaiavism around the turn of the 20th century and in that century'stwenties and thirties respectively.

r Surendrantha Goswami, the father of r Kanupriya Goswa-mi, the author of the text translated here, is accredited with somethirty-two works ranging from poetry, plays, and other literary pro-ductions to essays on science, philosophy and, of course, bhakti. To-wards the end of the period, the historian Dr. Radhagovinda Nathproduced his massive five-volume presentation of the philosophyof Caitanya Vaiavism and completed his multivolume editions ofthe major biographies of Caitanya with his notes and commentaries.Prolific writers and scholars like Rasikamohana Vidybhaa andSundarananda Vidyavinoda produced numerous works on varioussubjects relating to the history and philosophy of Caitanya Vaiav-ism. Bimanbihari Majumdar's work, though appearing well towardsthe end of this period or even after it had ended, should also be in-cluded in this company. His seminal study of the materials availablefor constructing the life of r Caitanya is now a classic in Caitanyitestudies. The field is almost too vast to describe, and much of theliterary output remains unknown or has been lost.

Along with the production and publication of new works on Cai-tanya Vaiavism in Bengali and Sanskrit, the period witnessed therepeated, almost periodic, publication of the major scriptural source

6The ten roots are: (1) The statements of accepted scripture are the main sourcesof evidence for knowledge about the divine, (2) Hari, who is Ka, is the highesttruth in the universe, (3) he possesses all powers, (4) he is an ocean of divine savors(rasas), (5) all living beings are his separated parts, (6) because of being a marginalpower (taastha-akti), all living beings in their bound state are imprisioned by mate-rial nature, (7) because of being a marginal power, all living beings in their liberatedstate are freed from material nature, (8) the living beings and material nature aresimultaneously different from and not different from r Hari, (9) pure bhakti is themeans to blessedness for the living beings, and (10) pure love for Ka is the goal forall living beings. These are taken from the work of one of Vipinavihr Goswami's dis-ciples, Bhaktivinoda hkura and confirmed in Bghnp-sampradya o VaiavaShitya, 529-31. More will be said about these in the section of Caitanyite theology.

xvi On Associating with Great Onestexts of Caitanya Vaiavism, beginning in the 1880s with the pub-lications of the works of the Vndvana Gosvmins with major com-mentaries and Bengali translations by Rmanryaa Vidyratna atBarahampura in the Murshidabad District of Bengal. That body ofpublications was reissued in several newer editions by Rmanrya-a's son, Rmadeva Mira, even into the 1930s. The canon wasagain published by Nityasvarpa Brahmacr from Vrindaban in De-vanagari script in the early years of the 20th Century and again inthe 1930s and 1940s by Haridsa Dsa Bbj from Navadvpa inBengali script with Bengali translations. In the 1940s, 1950s, and1960s, Kadsa Bbj began the process all over again publish-ing the whole canon and then some in Devanagari script with Hinditranslations while simultaneously Puridsa Mahaya published thecanon with verse indices and annotations on variant readings andmanuscript sources in Bengali script. Finally, Haridasa Sastri pub-lished the whole canon again in the 1970s and 1980s, also in De-vanagari script with Hindi translations and largely based on theprevious editions of Kadsa Bb whom he, as a young man, hadassisted in the earlier publication work. When I say canon here, Ido not mean to imply that Caitanya Vaiavism has a fixed canonof scriptural texts. Nevertheless, there are seminal works that areconsidered paradigmatic expressions of the theology and practicesof the tradition. That set of works, though not officially codified,is what I am refering here to as the canon. No doubt the repeatedpublication and therefore easy availability of the original scripturaltexts of the Caitanya tradition in all of these editions contributedgreatly to the renaissance of Vaiava literature in the first half ofthe 20th century.

Though he entered the field rather late, his first book entitledThe True Nature and Religion of the Living Being (Jver Svarpa o Sva-dharma) came out in 1934, r Kanupriya Goswami became evenin this field of literati one of the most respected writers of thewriter/theologians of the Caitanyite renaissance. The short workpresented in translation here is based on a series of lectures he gavetowards the end of his life and gives only a brief introduction toaspects of the thought of this master of his tradition. Nevertheless,many of the main themes of his larger body of work can be foundbriefly expressed in this short text.

Translator's Introduction xviiA Short Biography of the Author

r Kanupriya Goswami was born in north Kolkata in 1891 onthe street that is now known as Vivekananda Road. His father'sname was Surendranath Goswami and his mother's name was Vind-hyavasini Devi. He was born into an old, respected Vaiava familythat traces its ancestry back to some of the famous companions andfollowers of r Caitanya.7 Kanupriya was a member of the eleventhgeneration from Knu hkura (16th-17th centuries) who was thegrandson of Sadiva Kavirja, a direct companion of r Caitanya.Sadiva Kavirja and his son and grandson are mentioned in sev-eral of the old hagiographies of r Caitanya, and a short Sanskrithymn praising r Caitanya in fifteen verses survives in Sadiva'sname.8 His son was Puruottama Dsa, another leader and writerof the early movement,9 and Puruottama's son was Knu hkura,another important member of the early Caitanya movement and acomposer of numerous Bengali songs.10 For instance, in the last ofthe biographies of r Caitanya, the Immortal Acts of r Caitanya(rcaitanya-caritmta) (completed in around 1612) by KadsaKavirja we find this:

r Sadiva Kavirja was a very great being.And r Puruottama Dsa was his son.From birth he11 was intent on serving at Nitynanda's

feet.He ceaselessly enacted childhood sports with Ka.His son was the great soul r Knu hkura.

7See the second appendix for a discussion of Kanupriya Goswami's family byRasikamohana Vidybhaa.8The hymn is entitled the Fourteen on the Unusual Son of ac (Caitanya) (rr acnandana-vilakaa-caturdaakam) and is printed in r r CaitanyacandrodayeViia Traktraya by Sundarananda Vidyavinoda, 26-48. It is written using verbsin the present tense indicating that it was written during the lifetime of Caitanya.9Puruottama is best known for his compendium of important verses from theBhgavata Pura strung together with his connecting statements and comments. Itis called the Collection of the Essential Principles of Bhakti for Hari (r Hari-bhakti-tattva-sra-sagraha).10Knu hkura's songs are found scattered throughout the numerous collectionsof Vaiava songs that were created in the 17th and 18th centuries.11Puruottama Dsa.

xviii On Associating with Great OnesIn his body resided the ambrosia of love of Ka.12

Although Kanupriya was thus born in such a distinguished fam-ily in the Vaiava community, it was the quality and depth of hiswriting that brought him the greatest recognition and respect. Itcomes as something of a surprise to learn then that he had no for-mal education.13 He never attended any school or college. Hisnephew, Kishoraray Goswami, whose short essay on Kanupriya'slife is half hagiography, points to this fact as miraculous evidenceof Kanupriya Goswami's high level of religious attainment in hisprevious life. Though it may be true that Kanupriya never went toschool formally and was to a large degree self-taught, it is hard tobelieve that his father did not either teach him himself or hire atutor for him when he was a young boy. Kanupriya's knowledgeof the scriptures of the Caitanya tradition, especially the BhgavataPura, the Bhagavad-gt, and the writings of the Gosvmins ofVndvana, was indeed enormous and his writing style in Bengaliwas complex, sophisticated, and grammatically correct.

His fame became established with the appearance of his firstbook, the True Nature and Function of the Living Being in 1934. It hadbeen published serially in a popular Vaiava journal, r ymasun-dara Patrik (The Journal of ymasundara [Dark-beautiful Ka]),edited by another well known Vaiava savant and writer of therenaissance, r Pragopla Goswami of Navadvpa. His cogentand logical presentation of some of the fundamental beliefs aboutthe nature of human life, on the backdrop of the universal drama ofthe cycle of life, and about the purpose of human life in cultivatingits truer inner nature in relationship with the divine was warmlyreceived by a populace that was troubled by the political unrest

12Kadsa Kavirja, r Caitanya-caritmta, 1.11.38-40: | || | || | ||

13Kishoraray Goswami, r Nmraye jvana theke nitya jvane Jaya r r Gau-raryahari, 6.

Translator's Introduction xixand uncertainty of the struggle for independence, and unsettled bymodern philosophies, theories, and ideologies like historical mate-rialism, evolution, and nihilism. It was his second book, however,that really brought him into prominence. His second book was enti-tled the Thought-jewel of the Holy Name (r Nma-cintmai) (1943)was an even greater success than his first. It was an elaborate apolo-getics on the power of the divine name, an important aspect of Cai-tanya Vaiava theology, again presented in a cogent and logicalway with numerous examples and analogies drawn from the ordi-nary, familiar lives of his Bengali audience. As a result of the successof that book, Kanupriya Goswami was given the title of Teacherof the Science of the Divine Name by other Vaiava writers andgroups of the time. The rest of Kanupriya's books were in some waycentered around his book on the holy name. Two more volumes ofthe Thought-jewel came out eventually and two other books, A SmallPiece of the Mystery of Bhakti and Spotlight on theMystery of PassionateBhakti, both rather large in size, both of which the author introducesas texts meant to be read as introductions to his main work on thedivine name. Thus, Kanupriya produced six major texts in Bengaliwith numerous citations from the Caitanya Vaiava scriptures anda series of essays edited by his nephews that were based on his lec-tures delivered at various times and in various places. In the courseof all these books and lectures, Kanupriya Goswami presents a rea-sonably well-argued and scripturally authenticated theology of theCaitanya tradition. Taken all together, in fact, his books present arelatively complete treatment of the worldview, philosophical ori-entation, and practices of modern Caitanya Vaiavism.

Though Kanupriya Goswami never formally became a renun-ciant, he lived a life of simple renunciation, austerity, and religiouspractice. He never married and instead devoted his full attentionto the service of the sacred image that he worshiped throughouthis life, an ancient painting of r Caitanya inherited from his fa-ther. The image's name is r Gaurarya, another name for r Cai-tanya, and is an image of r Caitanya in the pose of and holdingthe flute of r Ka. It is thus Caitanya but identified as r Ka.For all intents and purposes r Gaurarya was Kanupriya's family.His life was largely devoted to the daily worship and service of rGaurarya, the study of the sacred texts of his tradition, privateworship/practice (bhajana) and the writing of books and giving of

xx On Associating with Great Oneslectures and speeches on holidays and special occasions. He passedaway in 1975.

r GauraryaOn a visit to Navadvpa in the early 1970s, I had the good for-

tune of meeting r Kanupriya Goswami a few years before his pass-ing. We sat and chatted for a few minutes on his veranda and thatwas when I first learned of his published books. He was very impres-sive to behold, the very image of saintliness and gentility. He worea clean, white, cotton dhoti and kurta with an uppercloth or cottonshawl wrapped around his shoulders. His right hand was planted ina cotton bead-bag in which he kept japa beads which always seemedto be gently tapping together in constant motion. His complexionwas a very light brown and his finely chiseled face was quite hand-some. His head was abundantly covered with bright, snowy whitehair and his expression at once very peaceful and benevolent. Heseemed to me at the time to be the perfect gentleman-saint. I do notrecall the subjects of our discussion, but I recall being encouragedto study the languages and the texts of the Caitanya tradition and tomake them available in English for readers in the West. When wewere finished he sent me to the shop of one of his disciples in the

Translator's Introduction xxilocal market place (Rajabazaar) where I was able to pick up manyof his Bengali books.

Theology in the Modern Caitanya VaiavaContext

What does theology mean when applied to the works of writerslike r Kanupriya Goswami in the context of the modern world?Obviously, theology does not mean the academic or systematic studyof theology. Writers like Kanupriya were never trained nor did theystudy in any academic institution or environment. As far as I knowthere are no institutions in existence that do for the Caitanya tradi-tion what seminaries and yeshivas do for the Christian and Jewishtraditions. For writers like him theology was a part of their religiouspractice. One of the forms of practice that is prominent among fol-lowers of the Caitanya tradition, and indeed of many of the bhaktitraditions of North India, is Ka-kath, participating in discourseson, discussions, narrations, textual recitations, and elucidations ofthe mythical story and character of Ka. It is a form of oral andaural meditation and the source of deep emotional and sometimesecstatic responses in the audience. Such experiences are called rasaor bhakti-rasa and are much sought after in the tradition. This prac-tice naturally extends to all of Ka's descents or avatras. Thus,discourses on r Caitanya, who is believed to be a special descentof Ka, are also included in the practice of Ka-kath.

One might expect amateur theologians like Kanupriya Goswamito lack the philosophical sophistication of their counterparts in theWest who were trained in the monasteries and great universities ofEurope and the madrasas of Northen Africa and the Middle East.Just as the great Christian, Jewish, and Muslim theologians drewheavily upon Greek (Plato, Aristotle, etc.) and Roman philosophers(Plotinus, etc.), Hindu theologians had a rich inheritance of tradi-tional Sanskrit learning and philosophical reflection to draw upon.Thus, when discussing epistemology and when framing valid syllo-gisms, writers like Kanupriya could draw upon the discussions of theschools of the ancient logicians (Naiyyikas) and Vedntins (thosewho dealt most directly with the Upaniadic texts), as he does, for

xxii On Associating with Great Onesinstance, in the opening sections of his book, A Small Piece of theMystery of Bhakti.14 When discussing and applying hermeneuticsto various verses of the Upaniads and the Bhgavata Pura suchwriters could also turn to techniques developed in the early schoolof Hindu philosophy called Mms to aid in the interpretation ofVedic texts. When discussing aesthetics, there was the rich traditionof Sanskrit aesthetics stretching back a thousand and a half years todraw on, especially relating to the aesthetic experience (rasa, aes-thetic rapture). It is not even necessary for Kanupriya to be awareof the ultimate sources of or histories of the ideas and methods heuses to be able to apply them properly to the problems at hand.Three thousand years of unbroken and self-reflexive tradition cometo the aid of writers like Kanupriya Goswami much like that extrapair of arms so often included in the iconic images of Viu.

Kanupriya Goswami follows certain conventions in presentinghis theology. Perhaps the most noticeable is that of rigorous citationof scriptural sources or supporting texts for just about everything hesays. This is considered the highest form of theological discoursein the Caitanya tradition. Thus, Kanupriya Goswami's works looklike long garlands of verses which he has strung together in par-ticular ways and orders in order to make the points he wants tomake. The present work is a fine example of that sort of procedure.The primary sources for his citations are naturally the texts con-sidered authoritative for the Caitanya tradition. This amounts pri-marily to the Bhgavata Pura, the Bhagavad-gt, and the Caitanya-caritmtra of Kadsa Kavirja (16th-17th cents. C.E.). Occasion-ally, other highly respected texts are referred to: the Sandarbhas ofr Jva Gosvmin or a commentary on the Bhgavata or perhapseven an Upaniadic passage or two. One of the delightful traitsof Kanupriya's writing arises from the way he sometimes surprisesone with the citations he uses. There are certain well trodden pathsthrough the dense forest of Caitanya Vaiava doctrine and scrip-ture. Once one is familiar with those commonly taken paths onecan almost predict which verses and passages will be cited next.Kanupriya Goswami often manages to avoid those well-beaten trailsand blazes his own new trails through the dense woods. Though he

14Kanupriya Goswami, A Small Piece of the Mystery of Bhakti (r r Bhakti RahasyaKaik), 1-4.

Translator's Introduction xxiiiwas untutored in the usual sense of having a secular education,his knowledge of the Vaiava texts seems to have been enormous.His books, therefore, have a quality of newness or freshness aboutthemwhen viewed against the backdrop of other Caitanya Vaiavawritings in Bengali in the Twentieth Century.

Kanupriya Goswami seems to have in many respects excelled inwhat some scholars of religion have called the religious or theolog-ical imagination. According to Mary Farrell Bednarowski, a scholarof modern American religions:

I define the theological imagination as a creative hu-man capacityand an inclinationto formulate mean-ing systems, models of the universe, by which men andwomen are able to orient and interpret their lives. Broad-ly, the task of the theological imagination is twofold: toarticulate an understanding of our circumstances as hu-man persons in the world, including our relationship towhatever power orders the world, and to formulate theproper response to these circumstances. The constructsthemeaning systemsthat emerge from the creative workof the theological imagination must have the capacity totouch the heart as well as to compel the intellect and tosuggest ways of being in the world.15

This nicely characterizes Kanupriya's work and its reception in hisprojected audience, which was made up of educated, socially con-servative or traditional Bengali men and women. He was in highdemand as a speaker and lecturer during his later days.

In the case of Kanupriya Goswami and others like him whowrite within strongly traditional systems, the meaning systems withwhich they work are inherited from the earlier writers of thosetraditions, that is in Kanupriya's case, primarily the Gosvmins ofVndvana (16th cent.) and a select group of interpreters of the tra-dition who lived between then and Kanupriya's time. Thus, in thecase of Kanupriya Goswami and other Caitanya Vaiava writers inthe twentieth century, we must focus on what may be called the di-alectic of the theological imagination, that is, those conversations

15Mary Farrell Bednarowski, New Religions: the Theological Imagination in America,1. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989)

xxiv On Associating with Great Onesor dialogues between them as members of the modern world andas heirs to the theological imaginations of the previous generationsof their tradition. The belief that the meaning system of a giventradition does not change is, of course, an illusion that can only bemaintained by various interpretive strategies or by not examiningit very closely. This illusion is fostered by that same procedure thatis so highly regarded in traditional forms of religious discourse, theperiodic and faithful reciting of scriptural sources as evidence forone's views. The presence of scriptural citations gives the readerthe impression that the system has remained the same as it has al-ways been when in actuality it has been altered, sometimes subtlyand sometimes quite dramatically. Thus, the theological imagina-tion finds its most creative play in the reinterpretation for modernaudiences of those citations from scripture.

To give an example, r Kanupriya plays with the concept ofnirgua, which means without quality. Quality-less or thread-lessis the way certain Hindu traditions describe the distinctive natureof the absolute. These are generally non-dualistic schools in whichthe absolute is regarded as beyond all plurality, variegation, par-tiality, change and differentiation. To have quality or threads'' isto be changeable and divided between substrate or qualified andquality. This also implies, however, that the quality-less absoluteis impersonal, inactive, undifferentiated, unevolving. Such a con-ception of the absolute is also recognized in Caitanya Vaiavism asBrahman, but it is considered the lowest or least defined manifesta-tion of absolute deity. Deity may be manifest as just consciousness(awareness) and eternal being without any manifestation of its di-vine traits or powers. This unqualified manifestation of deity is be-hind the quality-less absolute of the non-dualistic schools and is usu-ally what is meant by nirgua. In these non-dualistic schools, alongwith the idea that the absolute is without quality goes the idea thatany manifestation of deity that has qualities or powers is a lower,less elevated manifestation of the absolute. Kanupriya Goswami,however, reverses this order and to do so takes without quality,not as absence of any quality whatsoever, but only as absence of thethree material qualites or threads: transparency or clarity (sattva),translucence (rajas), and opaqueness (tamas). One ancient and im-portant line of Hindu thinking called Skhya teaches all things inthe world are made of various combinations of these three qual-

Translator's Introduction xxvitites or threads and thus for something to be beyond the world,transcendent, it must be free of these threads. So instead of ab-solute quality-ness Kanupriya takes nirgua to mean freedom fromthe material qualities, but not absent of quality per se. The absolutemay still have qualities, qualities not connected in any way to thethree qualities that make up the material or mundane world. Thus,the absolute may indeed be endowed with powers and traits, maystill be personal and yet still be absolute. With this understandingin mind, I have often translated nirgua as threadless, that is, notcomposed of the three threads, that are thought, in various mixturesor weaves, to make up the manifest things of this world.

Kanupriya Goswami's work contains a number of creative flour-ishes like the one described above and it is this quality of his reflec-tion on traditional Caitanya Vaiava theology that made his writ-ing and speaking engagements so popular during his active days andthat makes his work in general an interesting study for those whowant to try to understand modern, mainstream Caitanya Vaiav-ism.

The Theologies of Caitanya VaiavismThere is no one, commonly accepted, systematic theology in Cai-

tanya Vaiavism. Theology has tended to vary with almost ev-ery writer on the subject. Moreoever, Caitanya Vaiavism has notfounded any schools or institutions devoted to the study and devel-opment of a comprehensive and systematic theology. Still, thoughthere are many different systems of theology, there is neverthelessan overlapping of much theological terminology and ideology inthem. The only way to survey reliably the various systems of Cai-tanya Vaiava theology is to do the numbers, so to speak, thatis, to count up from one, discussing for each number the system orsystems of theology to which it corresponds. Some numbers indeedpoint to several theological systems and some numbers may haveno theological systemization associated with it. Numbering impor-tant ideas, elements, or categories of things is an ancient practicedating back to Vedic times (2nd millennium BCE) in India. Sincethen just about every philosophical school or religious tradition atsome point has tried to summarize its views by numbering all theimportant or essential elements of its philosophy or belief system.

xxvi On Associating with Great OnesIn this respect, Caitanya Vaiavism is no different. The word the-ology in this discussion refers primarily to a discussion or descrip-tion of the nature of deity or deities in a specific religious tradi-tion. Other related topics often included in theological discussionsin the Westsuch as epistemology, cosmogony, cosmology, ethics,eschatology, soteriology, theodicy, and so forthare also present,in various ways and to varying degrees, sometimes explicitly andsometimes implicitly, in these theologies.

Let us begin, then, with the number one. One points to the mostfundamental belief in Caitanya Vaiavism, that there is but oneabsolute truth, one without a second,16 and that absolute truth,though possessing numerous names, is known most commonly asKa.17 Ka is regarded as the supreme person, but a personunlike any other we ordinarily think of as persons. Persons arenormally thought of as individuals, that is, indivisible. Ka, how-ever, is the supreme dividual;18 that is, he is infinitely divisible.One might say that his greatest divisibilty is what makes him thesupreme being. All other beings, persons and things, divine andordinary are in various diverse ways his partial manifestations. Allare included, even us.19 Moreover, he can divide himself into allthe other gods and all the other beings and yet still remain full andcomplete in himself.20

16Bhgavata Pura, 1.2.11: , Those who knowit call the truth that which is non-dual consciousness.17Bhg., 1.3.28: , But, Ka is the supreme person (Bha-gavn) himself. And, Brahma-sahit, 5.1: | ||

The supreme controller is Ka whose form is being, consciousness, and bliss. Heis beginningless, the beginning, Govinda, the cause of all causes.18The idea of a dividual is one that I owe to Dr. McKim Marriott's interestinganthropological work on Indian society.19Brahma-sahit, 5.57: | ||

The lords of the universes which are born from the pores of his bodily hair live onlyas long as one breath of Great Viu and yet he is but a part of that Govinda [Ka].I honor him, Govinda, the original person.20From an invocation found in the Upaniads, especially the famous invocation of

Translator's Introduction xxviiThe idea of a composite person goes back to very ancient times

in India. One can see it in the thousand-headed giant called Pu-rua of the g Vedic creation myth (10.90). Those thousand heads,and eyes and feet are all beings viewed as part of one super-being.Perhaps, it is also prefigured in the pronounced tendency, in the gVedic hymns, of praising, in almost the exact same words, one deityat a time, one deity after another, implying thereby that they areall ultimately indistinguishable or the same, a tendency for whichMax Muller coined the term henotheism.21 The composite personcombines with the deeply rooted tendency in India to create hier-archies. Only what emerges are rather peculiar hierarchies, hierar-chies in which the fullest being, the being that is the most divisibleand complex, that is, from another perspective, the most inclusive,stands at the top. That person, according to Caitanya Vaiavism,is r Ka. Other traditions may fill that place with some otherbeing: iva, or akti (the Goddess), or Brahman. The being that cansuffer no further division, the atom, so to speak, is at the bottomof the hierarchy. It is the least complete being, the most fragmen-tary, the in-dividual, the being that can do only very limited things,the being that only gains meaningful significance by participating(bhakti as participation) in a more complete being. This leads oc-casionally to some curious and clumsy language. Ka's variousforms are sometimes classified as full (pra), fuller (pratara),and fullest (pratama) in a kind of calculus of qualities that findsthe opaniad:

| ||That world is full; this world is full.From the full the full arises.Removing the full from the full,The full itself remains.

21Another influential hymn of the g Veda envisions one supreme deity as de-scribed by different poets in different ways and with different names. In the AsyaVmasya Hymn (g, 1.164) it is said: | ||

They call him Indra, Mitra, Varua, Agni. Then he is the bird of the heavens pos-sessing wings. Being one, poets describe him in many ways. They call him Agni,Yama, and Mtarivn.

xxviii On Associating with Great Onesthe Ka of Vraja, as opposed to the Ka of Mathur or Dvrak,at the top of the fullness scale.22 The justification for talking aboutfullness and its gradations is perhaps to be found in the idea thatthe distinction between the various grades is a matter of manifesta-tion, not of absence. All the qualities are fully present in all threeforms, but some of those qualities, though present, are not mani-fested or actualized in the full and fuller forms. The form in whichall qualities are manifested is the fullest form.

The other numbers of theological significance in Caitanya Vai-avism involve for the most part an unpacking of this all-inclusivenumber one, the infinitely divisible and inexhaustible one whichcontains all others. The idea of two, for instance, is a recognition ofthe one as fundamentally divisible into power (akti) and the pos-sessor of power (aktimn). Here, too, gender is introduced sincein India power, akti, is understood as a feminine attribute becausethe grammatical gender of the word akti is feminine. The posses-sor of power is male and the power is female. Thus, the two areoften in this tradition visualized as Ka and his female consort orlover Rdhik. Without his power, Ka would be incapacitated,ineffectual. It is the power that gives him not only his godly might,but also distinguishes him as a personal being with personal traitsknown technically in the tradition as Bhagavn, the fortunate oneor supreme person, from the other widely accepted conception ofthe absolute, impersonal Brahman. Both are understood to be one

22Rpa Gosvmin, Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu (2.1.220-3): | || | || | || | ||

Though forest-garlanded Ka, whose qualities are eternal, is the crown-jewel ofheros, his threefold nature, which depends on his different bhaktas, is written about.Hari [Ka] is threefold: fullest, fuller, and full, which corresponds to the wordsbest, middling, and so forth in the field of drama. The one in whom all qualitiesare manifest is recollected as the fullest by the wise. The one in whom all qualitiesare not revealed is fuller and the full is the one in whom only a few are shown.Ka's fullest state is manifested in Gokula [Vraja] and his full and fuller states inDvrak and Mathur, respectively.

Translator's Introduction xxixand the same absolute truth, but Brahman is a vision of the absolutein which the power, though fully present, is either not grasped bythe perceiver, because of some inadequacy in the perceiver, or is notmanifested or expressed in the absolute.23 Thus, it is the manifes-tation or expression of that power that reveals itself in the absolutepersonal dimensions and traits. The expression of that power makesimpersonal Brahman into personal Bhagavn.24

On the other hand, the power does not, cannot exist apart fromits possessor for without the guidance, control and grounding ofthat possessor it would be chaotic, uncontrolled, and dangerous,incapable of creating an ordered cosmos. Thus, the two are inti-mately connected with each other, indeed inseparable, and it is this

23r Jva Gosvmin, Bhagavat-sandarbha, para 2: - - - , That one truth whose essence is unbro-ken bliss, appearing as characterized in a generic way in minds that are incapableof grasping the variegatedness of its essential power (svarpa-akti), though suchvariegatedness indeed exists, those minds belonging to parama-hasas (the high-est geese, that is, those aspirants who have mastered the distinction between thepermanent and the impermanent) who through their practice have achieved onenesswith that truth and who have rejected the [lesser] pleasures of the demiurge and oth-ers, or, that truth being resorted to by them in that way without clearly discerningthe difference between the power and the possessor of power, is called Brahman.To put it briefly and succinctly, Brahman is the absolute truth as experienced bythose whose minds are not capable of experiencing the variegatedness of that truth'sessential power or in which the difference between the power and the possessor ofpower in that truth is not expressed or manifest.

24ibid., - - |, Thus, to assume some distinctionthrough its essential power, that one truth, which is the fundamental support of thehigher powers, either appears in the internal and external senses, that have beeninfused with bhakti, a particular power consisting of his essential joy and the singlemost effective means of causing perception of him, those senses belonging to theparama-hasas who are his votaries and for whom the joy of Brahman has been sub-sumed into the joy of perceiving him, or, that truth is resorted to in that way witha clearly distinguished differentiation between that sort of power and the possessorof power. It is then called Bhagavn. In other words, that one truth is called Bha-gavn when it appears with distinction in the senses of bhaktas (votaries) for whomthe joy of Brahman has been subsumed in the joy of perceiving Bhagavn or whenit is approached in such a way that the difference between power and possessor ofpower is clearly distinguished.

xxx On Associating with Great Onesthat points to the relationship characteristic of the Vedantic expres-sion of this school, the relationship of difference-in-non-difference(bhedbheda). So under this perspective, the absolute turns out tobe a dual-deity, a male and female deity, sometimes imagined intight embrace, each having a separate realm of influence, and thusseparable from the other and yet inseparable from the other as well.It is this peculiar relationship of separable inseparability or insep-arable separability that is described by one of the leading theolo-gians of the school as unthinkable (acintya) difference and non-difference.25

The number three points to some interesting features of the ab-solute as Caitanya Vaiavas conceive of it. The three major fociiof service, worship and contemplation in the tradition are the di-vine loving couple (the yugala-kiora) already discussed above asthe dual-godhead, the power and possessor of power, or r Rdhand Ka, and the special manifestation of deity embodied in thefounder of the tradition, r Caitanya or r Gaurga (the golden-limbed one). If the first two already represent the whole of godheadwhere does this third one come from? r Gaurga represents thefirst two joined in one form. This understanding of the nature of thefounder of the tradition arose from theological reflections on himby some of his early and close followers who grappled with under-standing his actions, utterings, and ecstacies. An important verseencapsulates this view very nicely:

The transformed love of Rdh and Ka is the pleasure-giving power. Because of it, though they are one theyappeared previously on earth in different bodies. Now,those two have become one and appeared as Caitanya.I bow down to that essential form of Ka decoratedwith the feelings and colorings of Rdh.26

25r Jva Gosvmin, Sarva-savdin, p 22 (Puridsa ed.) on para. 6 (p. 18) ofthe Bhagavat-sandarbha (str ed.): , - , -|, Therefore, difference is recognized because of being unable to conceive ofits [power's] being non-different from the essential nature, and non-difference isrecognized because of being unable to conceive of it as different from the essen-tial nature. Thus, difference and non-difference of power and its possessor are bothaccepted, and those together are inconceivable.26Kadsa Kavirja, Caitanya-caritmta, verse 5:

Translator's Introduction xxxir Caitanya represents, then, the two, Rdh and Ka, joined

together in love, without negating or sublating either of them, with-out their being lost in the oneness of their union. Thus, the theo-logical perspective has shifted dramatically in the move from twotheological categories to three. In the twofold system the focus isprimarily metaphysical, that is, concerned with answering the ques-tion: what aspects of the divine are there? In the threefold system itbecomes fundamentally relational or perhaps better, aesthetic, thatis, concerned with answering the question: how are those aspectsof the divine actively related to each other? Apart from speakingto a concern for the nature of the relationship between power andits possessor, since we are all in some way part of that divine real-ity, it registers a concern for understanding our own parts, howeversmall, in the divine unfoldment or play. So r Caitanya representsthe love, technically called preman, that draws and holds the powerand the possessor of power together. All other beings are similarlybound up in this divine love. the divine embrace, in various ways.

r Caitanya is thus regarded as revealing aspects of that divinelove that have never been revealed before, or at least not for a verylong time. Though that love has many forms and expressions thehighest or most elevated expression is considered erotic or roman-tic love. That is the kind that exists between Ka and his powerRdh and that is the kind r Caitanya revealed the inner workingsof, according to his close companions. One of those close compan-ions, r Rpa Gosvmin, expresses this in an important verse:

May he who descended out of compassion in the Age ofKali in order to offer the good fortune of his own bhakti,comprised of incandescent pleasure (ujjvala-rasa),27 which | ||

Another way of reading this verse separates Rdh from Ka in the first com-pound word of the first quarter. Thus one gets: Rdh is the transformed love ofKa, the pleasure-giving power, from which, though they are one ... . This verseis said to be from the notebook of Svarpa Dmodara, one of r Caitanya's intimatecompanions during the last period of his life at Pur in Orissa.27The enflaming relish. This is one of the many names of the erotic form ofdivine love when tasted or relished in the context of literary or artistic expressions

xxxii On Associating with Great Oneshad not been offered for a long timemay that Hari,who is illuminated by beautiful rays of gold, the Son ofac, always appear in the caves of your hearts.28

r Caitanya is regarded as the embodiment of the love of Rdhand Ka for each other. The tradition recognizes three areas ofdiscovery in this loving relationship the details of which were re-vealed during the descent or avatra of r Caitanya. Those threeareas of revelation are presented in another verse attributed to Cai-tanya's close companion, Svarpa Dmodara, and again cited inthe Immortal Acts of r Caitanya (Caitanya-caritmta) of KadsaKavirja:

What is the nature of the greatness of r Rdh's love?Or, what is my astonishing sweetness, which she tastes,like? Or, what is the joy she feels from perceiving melike? Out of an intense desire to know these things,the moon Hari, putting on her feelings, was born in theocean of the womb of ac.29

Rdh, as the personal embodiment of his power (akti), or morespecifically of his essential or internal power (svarpa-akti), or evenmore specifically of his pleasure-giving power (hldin-akti) whichis the core of that power, is considered the finest example or modelof love for Ka, the possessor of power. Understanding the na-ture of her love for Ka is considered extremely important andor as part of religious practice or cultivation. Madhura-rasa or the sweet relish isanother name for the same.

28r Rpa Gosvmin, Vidagdha-mdhava, verse 2: | ||

29Cc., 1.1.6: - | ||

Translator's Introduction xxxiiiuplifting by those in the tradition. But love is a two-way street andas such the question soon arises: what is it about Ka that drawsRdh's love to him so intensely? Ka's attractiveness or sweet-ness is known only to those who know him best. Not even he canknow this about himself. Thus, he seeks to see himself through theeyes of the one who knows him and loves him the best, Rdh. Thefinal inquiry into the nature of Rdh's love concerns the joy or plea-sure she experiences because of it and that, too, captures Ka'sinterest. Thus, r Caitanya joined the loving couple (Rdha andKa) in the pantheon, making it a triad, as a result of the threewishes or desires of Ka.

r Caitanya is primarily understood, then, by the tradition hefounded or rather that crystallized around him as a descent of Kahimself trying to discover what his own power and greatest lover-devotee Rdh experiences loving him. To do this he borrows orassumes her feelings and her colorings or physical beauty. Hereagain we find that quality of dividuality'' that was noted in thediscussion of the theology of one. Apparently, the feelings and col-orings and probably other traits are detachable and can be taken orborrowed. As we shall see when we discuss the theology of fiveswhat remains of a person after some of those traits are borrowedcan continue on and play a role in the theology as well. This visionof r Caitanya was developed in part out of reflection on the com-plex and subtle nuances of erotic love found in Sanskrit aestheticsand literature, out of ambient Tantric ideas in those days about thegendered nature of reality and the absolute, and out of inferencesbased on observations of the ecstatic trances and utterings of rCaitanya himself.

This is one of the theologies of three found in the Caitanya tra-dition. Another is offered by the author of this book, r KanupriyaGoswami. It is the theology of another three: Bhagavn, the supremeperson; bhakta, the part-taker'' or participant (sometimes called thedevotee, all living beings possessing this potential); and bhakti orthe power or state of participation. These three form a single en-tity: the one who possesses parts (bhaga-vat), the part (bhakta), andthe relationship between them that glues them together (bhakti).All of these words may all have come from the same Sanskrit rootpbhaj meaning to divide, to distribute, to participate, to share.''This triad presents in a sense a complete picture of reality. There

xxxiv On Associating with Great Onesis the whole, represented by Bhagavn (part or share possessor),and the parts (bhaga or bhakta), represented by the bhakta, and therelationship between them. The parts are separable but not sepa-rate. The metaphor usually supplied in this case is that of the fireand its sparks. The fire is the source of and indeed is composed ofmany tiny sparks. The sparks and fire are the same stuff, differingonly in the degree of power and light each has. The relationshipof participation or bhakti is most fully manifest in love or preman.Preman is considered the fullest expression of bhakti. It is defined asthe essence of the consciousness-ehancing power inseparably joinedwith the essence of the pleasure-giving power.30 This theology isthus fully relational and highlights an intimacy, indeed an interpen-etration between deity and its tiny parts or aspects. What interfereswith this relationship, it turns out, is forgetfulness (vismaraa) onthe part of the parts, the forgetfulness, that is, of the part's partici-pation in the whole. The process of restoring this relationship is aprocess of anamnesis, remembering. The relationship is regardedas eternal and unaltered, regardless of whether it is remembered ornot. This theology will be more fully unpacked by the author ofthis book with special emphasis on how the process of anamnesisis initiated (association with the holy) according to the CaitanyaVaiava tradition.

In Caitanya Vaiavism there are theologies of four, five, six,seven, eight, nine, and ten, but full discussions of those should per-haps be reserved for another occasion. Since the theology of theauthor of this book is a theology of three, as briefly outlined above,this might be a good place to discontinue our discussion of Cai-tanyite theology. To continue would increase unnecessarily the sizeand ponderousness of this introduction. Let us instead give just abrief summary of some of the other theologies of number.

A theology of four calls attention to the relationship betweenr Ka (the possessor of power) and his three powers (aspects ofthe one power mentioned earlier): the internal power (antaraga-akti, his intimate realm), the external power (bahiraga-akti, thephenomenal realm), and the liminal or marginal power (taastha-akti, the living beings).31

A theology of five discusses the five tattvas, truths or aspects30, Baladeva, Siddhntaratna, 1.40.31This is based on a hint given in the Svetvatara Upaniad (6.8):

Translator's Introduction xxxv(paca-tattva), of Caitanya's descent and their relationships: Mah-prabhu r Kacaitanya (Ka as his own bhakta), NitynandaPrabhu (the essential form of the bhakta), Advaita Prabhu (descentas a bhakta), Gaddhara Paita (the power of the bhakta) andrvsa (the bhakta).32

Another theology of five focuses on a discussion of the five rasasor emotional experiences enjoyed in the five relationships that thetradition believes are possible between the bhakta and r Ka.33

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The higher power of this one (the supreme person) is heard to be manifold. It isinherent [i.e., natural to him] and features knowledge, strength, and activity.Another passage from the Viu Pura (6.7.61) also describes a threefold divisionof power: | ||

The power of Viu is said to be the higher, another called the knower of thefield and yet a third power, called ignorance and action, is acknowledged.This is summarized by Jva Gosvmin in his Bhagavat-sandarbha (para. 16): , And that power is threefold: internal, external,and marginal.32From a verse found in the Caitanya-caritmta of Kadsa Kavirja (1.1.14):

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I bow to Ka who has five aspects: him as his own bhakta, the essence ortrue form of the bhakta, the descent of the bhakta, the bhakta and the power ofthe bhakta. This in turn is based on a passage from Kavikarapra's (16th century)Gaura-gaoddea-dpik (Light on the Identification of the Followers of Gaura), 6: | ||

As previously the moonlike Ka, though composed of five principles, appeared, sodoes Gaura (Caitanya) now appear. Dr. Radhagovinda Nath in his Bengali commen-tary on this verse in his edition of the Immortal Acts of Caitanya (Caitanya-caritmta),writes: r Ka, in addition to his own true form, manifests himself by the powerof his desire in four other forms: his vilsa or sport form, his descent (avatra) form,his bhakta form, and his power (akti) form.33Based on a verse from the Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu (Ocean of the Nectar of the Rasasof Bhakti) by Rpa Gosvmin: | ||

That [ka-rati] is simple [contemplative appreciation], affection [a servant's loy-alty and love], friendship, parental love, and erotic love. Though self-promoting orother-promoting, that main [form of rati] is again fivefold.

xxxvi On Associating with Great OnesA different theology of five has been developed by an important

later (17th cent.) teacher of the tradition, Rdhdmodara, in awork called the Vednta-syamantaka (Jewel of Vedic Conclusion). Thefive categories of theological reflection in that text are: God, the liv-ing being, nature, time, and action.34 r Jva Gosvmin gives a the-ology of six in the Sa-sandarbha (Six Treatises) in which he devotesa separare treatise to each of the six following topics: fundamentalprinciples or truths (tattva, i.e. the means gaining valid knowledge,the scriptural sources of the tradition, etc.); the supreme person(bhagavat); the Highest Self (paramtman, the supreme person in re-lation to the manifest world and its living beings); Ka (the high-est object of worship); bhakti (the process of worship); and finallydivine love (prti, the ultimate goal or end of worship).

A theology of seven is suggested by the first verse of a set ofeight teaching verses that are considered in the Caitanya traditionto have been composed by r Caitanya himself. These teachingverses are called collectively the ikaka or the Octave of Instruc-tion. They appear scattered throughout the collection of Vaiavapoetry assembled by Rpa Gosvmin called the Padyval (Garlandof Verses). In the case of each of the verses the author is identifiedas r Bhagavn, which was Rpa's way of referring to r Caitanya.The verse that is the source of this theological septet is the twenty-second verse of Rpa's collection:

Cleansing the mirror of the mind,Extinguishing the great forest fireOf mundane existence, spreadingMoonlight on the white lotus, highest good,Bringing to life the wife of knowledge,Increasing the ocean of bliss,Causing one to taste full ambrosiaAt every step, bathing the whole self,This singing in praise of KaIs supremely victorious!35

34Summarized in the following statement (chap. 2): | |, Now the objects of valid knowledge are deter-mined and they are five: God, the living being, nature, time and action. Edited andtranslated into Hindi by Blaka Gosvm. See the bibliography.

35r Caitanya, ikaka 1; Rpa Gosvmin, comp., Padval, 22:

Translator's Introduction xxxviiThe seven adjectives in the verse of singing in praise of Ka (rKa-sakrtana) have been considered by members of the traditionas significant indications of important theological teachings, spe-cially in relationship to the central practice of public performanceof singing songs in praise of Ka. Even the order in which the ad-jectives are placed is considered significant. The first has to do withthe belief that the singing in praise brings about the purification ofthe mind of the practitioners. The mind is compared with a dirty ordusty mirror and the singing cleanses that mirror allowing the par-ticipant to perceive things more clearly. The second provides animage of what the participant will perceive once his mind-mirrorbecomes cleaner. The world is like a raging forest fire which is be-ing extinguished by the same force that is cleaning the participant'smind, the singing in praise of Ka. In other words, the practi-tioner's suffering in worldly existence is expected to decline. Thethird adjective provides the metaphor of the spreading of the cool-ing rays of the moon, causing a white lotus, which stands for ourhighest good, to blossom. To put it differently, the singing in praisecauses our fortunes to change and our welfare to improve.

The fourth adjective gives us the image of bringing back to lifethe wife of knowledge or wisdom. Here knowledge or wisdom isenvisioned as a wife (or a husband, I suppose) suggesting that one'sknowledge is intimately connected and always with one. Its mori-bund state is reversed by the singing in praise. In other words, onegains some special kind of knowledge or awareness by participatingin the practice. Next, the ocean of joy or bliss is increased. That isto say, the singing in praise of Ka not only brings about one's ownjoy, but also that of others, those who hear (whether one is humanor animal or plant, as we shall see). This leads to one's tasting thefullness of ambrosia at every moment. Here, ambrosia is importantfor it means more than joy. It also mean immortality (amta). Onethus gains immortality by participation in singing in praise. Finally,the whole self is bathed or cleansed. Cleansed from what? Fromone's own past karma, or the fruit of one's past actions, whether

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xxxviii On Associating with Great Onesgood or bad, which drive the process of reincarnation. One thusbecomes free, liberated, and no longer has to take another birth.Thus, we see that in these seven statements we have an overviewof the whole process of overcoming our bondage and forgetfulnessof Ka and of finding our way into his presence. Along with thata view of the nature of reality and our place in it as understoodby the Caitanya tradition is communicated to us. This is theologyintimately tied to practice.

A theological octet is suggested by Caitanya's eight verses takenas a whole. Though they appear separately and scattered through-out Rpa's collection of verses, they were gathered together in thetwentieth chapter of Kadsa Kavirja's Immortal Acts of Caitanya(Caitanya-caritmta), apparently in the order that they appearedin in Rpa's work. Together they build upon the seven teachingscontained in the first verse and add a touching emotional and expe-riential dimension to the process of awakening to one's relationshipwith Ka. The first verse features the power and centrality of thesinging in praise of Ka (r Ka-sakrtana) in the Caitanya tra-dition and dwells on the gradual transformation of the participantinto a liberated being. The second verse identifies the source of thepower of that practice in the power of the holy name:

All of your own powers are placedIn your many names; nor is thereAny certain time to remember them.Though so great is your compassion, o Lord,My misfortune is also great,Since I feel no passion for them.36

This verse gives the fundamental teaching of the holy name, thatit is non-different (abhinna) from the holy named, possessing allhis powers.37 Nor are there any restrictions on when it may berepeated or sung, unlike with other mantras or Vedic chants and

36r Caitanya, ikaka, 2: - | ||

37The verse usually cited as evidence of this is said to be from the Padma Pura:

Translator's Introduction xxxixhymns the repetition or recitation of which is regulated by manyrules. Caitanya in the role of the bhakta laments his misfortune atnot being able to appreciate the great gift of the holy name. This ismeant to represent an early stage in the cultivation of divine love(preman) as well as an example of the kind of self-examination andcriticism that is necessary for effective practice.38

The next instruction concerns the proper attitude with whichone should approach the practice of singing in praise of Ka. Thisinstruction may be taken either as advice for the neophyte or as anexpression of a sense of humility that develops over the course of thepractice aimed at cultivating bhakti. The verse may be translated:

By one who regards himself asMore humble than a blade of grassAnd more tolerant than a tree,A giver of respect who expects none,Hari is always to be praised.39

Arrogance and hubris are regarded as impediments to spiritual cul-tivation in the Caitanya tradition. On the other hand, humility isconsidered evidence of advancement in the cultivation of bhakti.

| ||Ka, the embodiment ofThe enjoyment of consciousness,Is a thought-jewel, full, pure, ever free,Since name and possessor of name.Are not different from each other.

A thought-jewel (cintmai) is a mythic jewel by which all one's desires are ful-filled, something like a touch-stone.38According to the Caitanya tradition, bhakti or preman cannot be produced orcreated. They are eternal, uncreated, and uncaused. One can only prepare oneselfto receive them when they are infused into or planted in one. Cultivation here meanssomething like preparing the ground to receive the seed of bhakti. When it comes it isa gift. In this sense, it is much like the idea of akti-pta, the descent of power, in theKamri aivite tradition. There are a number of similarities between the traditions.39ibid., 3: | ||

xl On Associating with Great OnesThe next instruction reveals a change of concerns in the practi-

tioner as a result of engagement in the cultivation of bhakti throughsinging in praise. The common values and attachments drop awayand are replaced by a burning desire for bhakti. Voiced in the com-mon ideology of the Hindu belief in rebirth, the verse points perhapsbeyond it:

Not wealth, not servants, nor fair poetryDo I desire, o lord of the world;Just let there be for me, birth after birth,Uncaused bhakti towards you, my lord.40

The verse implies the overcoming of all mundane desires, since eventhe desire for liberation from the repeating cycle of birth and deathin the world is transcended. Uncaused bhakti means unmotivatedbhakti. If the motivations of wealth and servants or progeny do notattract one, what motivation will drive one to bhakti besides thedesire for bhakti itself?

The fifth instruction teaches what the tradition considers to bethe eternal and natural position and relationship of the living beingwith respect to Ka. The word used in this verse is kikara whichmeans an insignificant servant or slave. This instruction is anotherattack on the hubris with which we usually conduct our lives. Theverse reads:

O Son of Nanda, I am your servant,Fallen into this vexatiousOcean of mundane existence;Please consider me like the dustClinging to your lotus-like feet.41

To place oneself at someone's feet in India means to place oneself ina position of subordination, submission, or surrender towards that

40ibid., 4: | ||

41ibid., 5: | ||

Translator's Introduction xliperson, the feet representing the lowest part of a person. It alsosuggests intimacy, because to be at someone's feet is to be closeto that person.

The next instruction is an instruction through exemplification. Itexpresses the intense longing said to arise in the heart of the bhaktaat a certain point in their development and also describes some ofthe outward signs of advancement in the cultivation of bhakti, re-sults of the powerful emotional responses it invokes:

My eyes with flowing streams of tears,My face with speech blocked by stammers,My body covered with goosebumps,When will those be so when I say your name?42 (6)

The physical symptoms described here are part of a group calledthe sttvika-bhvas or states or manifestations of intense inner emo-tion. The classic list, drawn from the world of dramaturgy, includeseight of them: stupefaction, perspiration, horripilation, cracking ofthe voice (or stuttering), shuddering, changing bodily color, andfainting.43 Besides the canonical eight there are others as well suchas rolling around on the ground and honking. These are believedto be outward signs of powerful inner emotional turmoil.

The seventh instruction also models a state of mind that arisesat an advanced stage in the cultivation of bhakti. It might be com-pared with that famous condition in Christian mysticism called thedark night of the soul, described in St. John of the Cross's 16thcentury poem of that name. In Caitanya Vaiavism, it is referredto as viraha, or love-in-separation, and is experienced as an intensefeeling of emptiness in the absence of the object of one's love, Ka.In Caitanya Vaiavism, however, it is not regarded as a crisis inone's spiritual development or a test in any sense. Instead, it isconsidered clear evidence of the depth and power of one's love for

42 | ||

43Rpa Gosvmin, Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu, 2.3.16: | ||

xlii On Associating with Great OnesKa. It is thought to reflect Rdh's deep feeling of separationfrom Ka when she is separated or about to be separated fromhim. Caitanya's verse is:

A moment for me has become an age,My eyes have become the rainy season,My whole universe has become empty,In my separation from Govinda.44

The final instruction exemplifies the state of total self-surrender,the sort that many would consider pathological today. Neverthe-less, there is a kind of rustic beauty in it, in the complete surrenderof one's own will and desires for the pleasure of another. Perhapsthe survival of the species has depended on it in our evolutionarypast. Caitanya's verse expresses it this way:

Let him squeeze me tightly as his servant;Or, let him strike at my heart through absence;Let that lascivious boy doWhatever it is he wants to.He is still the lord of my lifeAnd not anyone else.45

The adjectives modifying me in this verse are in the grammaticalfeminine gender indicating that the speaker is to be understood asa woman. This sense of the feminine as the most exalted lover ofKa concludes the teachings thought to be Caitanya's own. Thisnaturally refers to the cowherd women or gopswho are for Caitanyaand his tradition the greatest and deepest lovers of Ka. They arethe finest models of that love. Along with the metaphysical teach-ings in them, these eight verses closely track the practical side of the

44ibid., | ||

45ibid.: | ||

Translator's Introduction xliiitradition, that is, the main methods the tradition used to cultivateits sense of intimacy with the divine, or, Ka (the singing in praiseof Ka, etc.). This suggests, especially through this last verse, thatthe goal of cultivation was the practitioner's transformation into afemale lover of Ka. Caitanya models this expectation by speak-ing in the voice of a cowherd woman for whom Ka is the oneand only lord whether he chooses to embrace her or to leave heraside for another. The tradition later worked this expectation outby inventing the persona or identity of themajar, or flower-bud,for the practitioner to adopt in his meditations and visualizations.We will get a glimpse of this identity in action in the fifth chapterof Kanupriya's work.46

There is a theology of nine that is discussed in a work by an18th century Caitanya Vaiava teacher, Baladeva Vidybhaa(d. 1768?), called the Prameya-ratnval (Necklace of Settled Truths).Those truths are: Viu (Ka) is the highest, he is the subject ofthe teachings of all scriptures, the world is real, difference is real,the living beings are servants of Ka, there is a hierarchy among

46Another theology of eight can be drawn from a poem on the holy name by rRpa Gosvmin called the Kanmaka, or Eight Verses on the Name of Ka. Thattext was used as the basis of Kanupriya Goswami's major work on the theology ofthe holy name, r Nma Cintmai (Thought-jewel of the Holy Name). Since I intendto translate that work separately, I will give a short synopsis of the theology of theholy name found in those verses:1. The holy name is more elevated than the Vedas.2. Even if uttered without respect and only a little, it destroys all one's powerfulsufferings.3. Like the sun, even its reflection destroys the darkness of ignorance.4. It destroys one's already fructifying karma (prrabdha-karman) unlike the di-rect experience of Brahman which does not.5. The holy name has many forms and natures according to the many manifes-tations of the lord.6. Between the holy name and the holy named the former is more compassionatebecause one who has committed offenses to the latter is freed from them byrepeating the former.7. The holy name is destroyer of the sufferings of the surrendered, is of the na-ture of condensed joy, and is completely non-different from the holy named.8. The holy name enlivens the finest music and is sweeter than the sweetestthings.

xliv On Associating with Great Onesthem (the living beings), liberation is the attainment of Ka's pres-ence, its cause is his flawless worship, and the sources of knowledgeof this are perception, inference, and verbal testimony.47 A simi-lar, though probably spurious, book called the Nava-ratna (The NineGems) is registered in the name of Harirma Vysa who was a wellknown writer of Braj-bhasha songs on the subject of Ka's Vnd-vana sports. Some of his songs are preserved in the songbooks of theRdhvallabha tradition. The same nine categories as in Baladeva'swork are given.48

Another theology of nine organizes and encapsulates the practi-cal aspects of Caitanya Vaiava practice. It describes nine steps orstages on the road to divine love (preman) and comes from a coupleof verses of Rpa Gosvmin found in his Ocean of the Nectar of De-votion (Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu).49 Though these verses describe thesuccessive stages in the development of divine love, they point be-yond the practical to deep philosophical and theological issues thathave broad applications.50 One could, as has been done in manycases with the other numerical groups, write a whole book exploringthe implications of these nine. Here I will just give a brief accountof them with some hints about possible directions in which a deeperdiscussion might head. One quick note before we begin. It may bethat Rpa Gosvmin in framing these nine stages of bhakti-yoga hadthe eight-limbed yoga (aga-yoga) in mind. There seems to be a

47Baladeva Vidybhaa, Prameyaratnval (1.8): | ||

As the verse attests, these nine objects of theological knowledge were developedunder the influence of the South Indian Vaiava teacher Madhva (12th cent. CE).48The text is included in the edition of Baladeva's Prameya-ratnval by Haridsastr. See the bibliography.49Rpa Gosvmin, Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu, 1.4.15-16.50That this way of viewing the manifestation of bhakti is considered theologicallyimportant is demonstrated by the number of the tradition's books that take thesenine steps either as their organizing principle or as the organizing principle of majorsections of them. The earliest such work is that of Vivantha Cakravartin (1650-1725?) called The Rain Cloud of Sweetness (Mdhurya-kdambin). An example of amodern book in which these nine stages play a major role is theWishing Vine of Bhakti(Bhakti-kalpa-lat) by one of the abbots (mahntas) of the renunciant community atRdhkua (Vraja, UP, India), Kujabihr Dsa Bbj (1976).

Translator's Introduction xlvcorrespondence between some of the stages and counterparts in theyoga system, especially in the higher stages. First, let's hear Rpa'sverses:

In the beginning there is faith,Then association with holy ones;Then one learns methods of worship;Cessation of harmful habits follows;Then comes steadiness and after that taste;Next develops attachment, then feeling;Finally divine love appears.Such should be the practitioner's progress.51

The very first stage raises the question of faith, confidence, ortrust, (raddh), in the teachings of the tradition and plunges us intodeep philosophical waters. What is it? Where does it come from?How does one get it? Rpa is mostly silent on these questions. Hisnephew r Jva, however, posits a condition prior to faith in whichone benefits from association with good or holy people (sdhu) andhears from them the words of the sacred texts. From contact withthese arises faith. This entire book by Kanupriya Goswami is aboutthis very power of association with holy people to engender theproper kind of faith in someone, a faith suitable for entering ontothe path leading towards bhakti. It is a discussion immensely im-portant to the Caitanya tradition. The next stage, however, is againassociation with holy ones. This later association, according to rJva, has a different purpose, however. It is now pursued in orderto learn the methods of practicing worship, which constitutes thethird stage. From regular practice comes the gradual destructionor cessation of the misconceptions, inauspicious habits, and obsta-cles referred to as anarthas or unwanted or harmful things.52 Once

51ibid.: | || | ||

52The Rain Cloud of Sweetness (Mdhurya-kdambin) of Vivantha Cakravartinmentions four types of anartha: those arising from misbehavior or bad actions, thosearising from good behavior or good actions (attachment to the pleasures resulting

xlvi On Associating with Great Onesthose are diminished one gains a steadiness or a state of unwaveringregularity in practice called nih.

Taste (ruci) means desire. At a certain point in one's spiritualdevelopment desires for other things subside and one comes to de-sire bhakti) strongly. Though it is not without calculation, it is stillconsidered a positive sign of advancement towards the goal of mani-festing bhakti. Here, on the stage of taste, it is understood that desireis directed primarily at the activity of worship or bhajana. On thenext stage, the stage of attachment (sakti), however, the same de-sire evolves into attachment to the object of worship, that is, to theone who is being worshiped, Ka. On this stage it is thought thatignorance, which is the root of sin, comes to an end and one's mindbecomes firmly fixed on the forms, qualities, and sports of Ka.From the stages of faith to attachment one is engaged in bhakti aspractice or means (sdhana). After attachment one reaches bhaktias goal or achievement (sdhya). One might consider the stages oftaste and attachment as reflecting the early dawning light or influ-ence of bhakti which rises like the sun in the next stage.

The last two stages represent progressive stages of accomplish-ment. Feeling (bhva) and divine love (preman) are bhakti. Thegradual illumination that begins with taste (ruci) and becomesbrighter with attaction becomes fully luminous with the rise of bhaktiin the heart of the bhakta. In naming this stage feeling or bhvaRpa is nodding to the tradition of Sanskrit literary criticism inwhich real feelings are called bhvas. Bhakti itself has often beendescribed in that tradition as bhva by numerous of its leading writ-ers.53 The specific feeling referred to here is love of Ka (ka-rati). In the foundational text of Sanskrit dramaturgy, the Treatiseon Drama (Nya-stra), the feelings are distinguished from the aes-thetic experiences that resemble them, the rasas. So here the feelinglove for Ka is also distinguished from the relishing of that feel-ing which is called divine love (preman). Love for Ka softens thebhakta's heart; divine love completely melts it. Thus, we have RpaGosvmin's nine stages in the unfolding or arising of divine love.Each of those stages has a theological underpinning that revealsthe richness of Caitanyite theological reflection.from past good actions), those arising from bhakti (the desire for fame, respect, ormoney because of one's demonstration of bhakti), and those arising from offences.53nandavardhana, Mammaa, Jaganntha, to name just a few.

Translator's Introduction xlviiAnother theology of nine was inherited by the Caitanya tradition

from earlier Vaiava texts and writers. This is the theology of thenine forms or limbs of bhakti (navavidha-bhakti). It is based on a pairof verses from the Bhgavata Pura and was used as an organizingprinciple in the bhakti text by Vopadeva (13th cent. C.E.), The Pearl(Muktphala). The verse from the Bhgavata is:

Hearing and telling of ViuRemembering him, bowing at his feet,Honoring his image, praising,Servitude, friendship, offering oneself.If bhakti of these nine types isOffered by a person to Lord Viu,Then truly I regard such a personThe best educated of all.54

Here there appears to be a gradual progression of the forms of bhaktifrom the least intimate form (hearing of Viu) to the most intimateform (offering of oneself entirely to Viu). These nine forms ofbhakti are described in this passage as a kind of education in whichthe student becomes transformed from a forgetful, lost, ignorantliving being wandering through repeating cycles of birth and deathto an intimate companion of Viu (Ka). The final form, offeringoneself, is reminiscent of the kind of bhakti practiced by the cowherdgirls, considered the most intimate of Ka's bhaktas.

A theology of ten is found in a more recent tradition of theolog-ical reflection that is traceable to a 19th century Caitanya Vaiavawriter, Vipinavihri Gosvm (1850-1919?). Gosvm wrote a mas-sive work in Bengali, with citations of numerous Sanskrit versesfrom a variety of proof texts, called the Daa-mla-rasa (The Juice[Essence, Flavor, Joy] of the Ten Roots) which was published in 1904.The ten roots are according to a brief summary of the text: deter-mination of the sources of knowledge, the truth of r Ka, hispossession of all powers, the truth of rasa or sacred rapture, the

54Bhg., 7.5.23-4: | || | ||

xlviii On Associating with Great Onesliving being, the difference between the living being and God, theliving being as a separated portion (vibhinna) of God, the causeof the distinction between the living being and God, the definitionof bhakti as practice, and the various kinds of rasa.55

Apart from these there are several other numbered theologiesthat I will not discuss here. There is a theology of eleven elementsinvolving the ten offences to the holy name plus an eleventh addedby Santana Gosvmin (inattentiveness).56 There is a theology offourteen developed by Vivantha Cakravartin which shares manyelements of Rpa Gosvmin's theology of nine, but adds a few newstages. A theology of twenty has been constructed out of the firsttwenty forms or limbs of bhakti described by Rpa Gosvmin in hisOcean of the Nectar of Devotion (Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu). Those firsttwenty beginning with finding shelter at the feet of a guru (guru-pdraya), are regarded as the doorway into the world of bhakti.Moreover, all sixty-four limbs of bhakti discussed in Rpa's textsmight be regarded as a theology of sixty-four. Rpa himself, how-ever, singles out the last five as having special power in facilitatingthe birth of feeling. He says:

There is little need for faith in these five,Which have a hard-to-comprehendAnd amazing power such thatEven small connection with themProduces feeling in the good-hearted.57

Those five are: serving the sacred images, tasting the meaning of theBhgavata, associating with bhaktas who have similar affections for

55Knanavihr Gosvm, Bghnp-sampradya o Baiava Shitya, 530. I havenever seen this text personally.56The ten offences to the holy name have become more important in modern Cai-tanya Vaiava theology, especially for writers like Kanupriya Goswami. They arereferred to numerous times in this book and many more times in his other books.As such, they come to represent a kind of negative theological summary or list ofdon'ts that is influential in modern Caitanya Vaiavism. The ten offences arelisted later in this book in a footnote on page 73.57Rpa Gosvmin, Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu, 1.2.238: |

Translator's Introduction xlixKa, singing the holy names, and residing in the land of Mathur(where Ka is thought to have lived/to live).58

Perhaps the most fascinating, most mysterious, and most pro-found of all the theologies mentioned here is the theology of zero,the theology of absence or abhva. This theology, though hintedat in various passages of the vast Caitanya literature, has yet to befully recognized, recovered, and discussed. This is certainly not theplace for that. If, perhaps, this author is lucky he will get an oppor-tunity in another work to pull together the scattered and multihuedthreads of this vision of ultimate reality and weave them into a co-herent theological/philosophical tapestry.

Suffice it to say that each theology discussed here is, within itsown limitations and from the perspective of its authors, complete.Rather than expressing differing or conflicting views, they are morerepresentative of different ways of slicing up the same theologi-cal pie. These differing divisions bring out diverse aspects of therealm of Caitanya Vaiava theology, belief, and practice, and sug-gest different ways of understanding what the tradition regards asthe fundamental nature of the self-revelation of the divine in thelife of r Caitanya and his immediate followers. Moreover, under-standing the theologies of the numbers in their proper historical andsocial contexts provides a multifaceted and multivalent picture ofCaitanya Vaiava theological reflection as it developed, expanded,and transformed over time.

The Tripartite Theology of Kanupriya GoswamiThe simplified tripartite theology presented here by r Kanupri-

ya Gosvm is, as far as I know, unprecedented, though certai