Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

The famous 64 arts and talents, which Krishna and Balarama mastered in two months at Gurukul, are mentioned in many shastras, including Srimad Bhagavatam (10.45.35-36); Brahma-samhita (37 tika); Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (2.1.84); Vrindavan Mahimamrita (11.69,13.4); Govinda-lilamrita (13.1140; and Sadhana Amirta Chandrika (19), catuh-shashthi-kalanvitam.

Srila Prabhupada: “Srimati Radharani makes Krishna happy in so many ways with the sixty-four arts i.e. dancing, cooking, making peace, and smiling in many attractive ways.”

(BBT folio: Discussions, Syamsundar das)

Our Gaudiya Vaisnava Goswamis and acharyas explain how Srimati Radharani’s intimate, sweet and loyal, most loving dasi serving maids, Her dearest kinkaris and manjaris, pleasantly serve Priya-Priyatam with 64 different arts and talents.

The manjaris learn these 64 arts directly from Srimati Radharani and Her sakhis. In the next para, Sri Raghunatha Dasa Goswami mentions a few of the arts that the sadhana siddha manjaris will learn after arriving in Bhauma Vrindavan to serve Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.

  1. Radharani Herself will personally and repeatedly teach (gandharva –asakrt- shikshayati) four arts to the nava dasis: drama/play writing, poetry, riddles and vina, kavyam-nataka-prahelli-vina.
  2. Vishakha will teach the art of telling clever, tasteful and funny jokes, narma.
  3. Champakalata will teach how to cook amazing feasts.
  4. Citra-sakhi will teach painting pictures on Radha-Krishna, citra.
  5. Tungavidya will teach 18 different kinds of knowledge and science, vividha vidya.
  6. Rangadevi will teach how to dance in rasa-lila, natana.
  7. Sudevi will teach the art of playing dice and advising Radha in defeating Krishna. (Stavavali, Sva Sankalpa Prakash Stotram 2-11)

Next we will list the basic 64 arts. For the Sanskrit names and more elaborate descriptions, please refer to KRSNA BOOK or our book “Gayatri Mahima Madhuri” (cp. 7 pg. 100-102).

The most amazing point about the 64 arts is that every Gaudiya Vaisnava following Sri Caitanya’s path of raga bhakti, will some beautiful fine day in the future go directly to Radha-Krishna’s Bhauma Vrndavana lila, and then learn all these wonderful skills and talents DIRECTLY FROM SRI RADHA and Her dearest sakhis.

In a divine passage, Sri Raghunatha Dasa Goswami reveals how one day in Varshana, Sri Radha holds a nava dasi’s hand and takes her alone into a cave in Govardhan to personally teach Her own love poem. Later in the nikunja on Radha’s signal (ingite), the fortunate manjari will recite Radha’s prema-filled poem for the ecstatic pleasure of Her Priyatam.

This is definitely the ultimate Guru/Shishya sambandha!

THE SIXTY-FOUR ARTS

 1-Architecture

2-Arguing with adi-vasis

3-Bed covers, pillow making

4-Bird training for sports

5-Body ornaments, jewellery placing

6-Cakes, bread, salad making

7-Carpentry

8-Children’s games

9-Cloth, hiding quality, cheap look good

10-Conversation

 

11-Costumes, make and store

12 Crossbreeding plants, trees

13-Crossword puzzle solving

14-Dancing

15-Decorating, hanging pictures

16-Dialects, speaking different

17-Dictionary using

18-Disguise

19-Drama writing

20-Drinks, with red color making

 

21-Dyeing cloth

22-Earrings, flowers, leaves making

23-Embroidery

24-Face, body painting

25- Flower asanas, beds making

26-Gemstone dyeing

27-Hair care, dressing

28-Hand, sleight of, magic tricks

29-Hypnosis

30-Jewel testing

 

31-Jokes telling

32-Jugglery, magic

33-Kavaca making

34-Marionettes using

35-Metallurgy

36-Mineralogy

37-Miniture carts making

38-Mystical charms, casting

39-Others, respecting, glorifying

40-Painting, drawing

 

41-Parrots, train to speak

42-Pathways, cover with flowers

43-Perfumes, make and apply

44-Playing musical instruments

45-Plays, acting in

46-Poetry, mentally compose

47-Rangoli making

48- Recite books

49-Riddles, make, solve

50-Rites, rituals performing

 

51-Sign language using

52-Singing

53-Skin care

54-Splashing water

55-Stringing necklaces and flowers

56-Tongue twisters

57-Thread making on spinning wheel

58-Turbans, topknots, crown making

59-Victory, attaining

60-Vina, drum playing

61-Wagering

62-Water music making

63-Weapons, bows, arrows, big sticks making

64-Yantra making

 

Sri Radha teaching arts to manjaris ki jai!

Jai Jai Sri Radhe!

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

The following siddha deha (spiritual form) meditation is presented for the blessed few that are spiritually hankering to become loyal maidservants of Srimati Radharani in the bowers of Vrndavana (radha-pada dasis).

Regardless of how one has attained his/her siddha deha, this is an ideal meditation on manjari svarupa i.e. siddha deha. Daily meditating like this will purify one’s material existence (bhuta-suddhi), produce a dynamic divine mentality (divya abhimana), and permanently fix one in their eternal spiritual body, which will be clearly seen in this life at the stage of bhava bhakti. Jai Jai Sri Radhe!

MANJARI SVARUPA MEDITATION

Raganuga sadhakas worshiping in the mood of Madhuri Radha’s maidservants should always think as follows:

“I am a beautiful youthful Vraja kisori (12-14) with a robust form adorned with varieties of gold and jewel ornaments. I am expert in all the 64 artistic talents. When Sri Govinda perceives the secret love I cherish for Him, He becomes overwhelmed with the bliss of Eros.

I know the art of sweet speech and pleasant conversation. My brilliant golden form, adorned in dazzling blue cloth and lovely ornaments, is full of the mellows of transcendental bliss.

I delight in music and singing, and overflow with a unique form of madhura-rati called bhavollasa [special loving attachment to Sri Radhika].

Throughout the day and night my heart is filled with love for Radha-Govinda Yugala. With all my pleasant qualities and various feminine gestures, I arouse feelings of love [within Radha-Madhava].

I am formed from my Guru’s mercy, and I always follow my beloved Guru-devi. Gandharvika Radha is my group leader, and I serve within the party of Visakha-sakhi. As a follower of Srimati Radhika, I live in Yavata, and always think how to serve Radha like the other sakhis in madhura-rati.

I forever remain beside Radha-Krishna as Their graceful tender maidservant fanning Them, dressing Sri Radha, and rendering all kinds of amazing and tasteful sweet sevas for Their satisfaction.

All glories to my eternal Isvari, Swamini Sri Radha and Her infinitely gorgeous Govinda. May Radha-Govinda Yugala always astonish me with Their Vraja madhurya-lilas, and eternally engage me in Their blissful seva.” (adapted Paddhati [83-91], Sri Dhyanacandra Gosvami)

Manjari svarupa dhyana ki jai! Jai Jai Sri Radhe!

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

The practice of receiving details about one’s eternal, spiritual body or siddha deha i.e. siddha pranali from the spiritual master began 500 years ago in the beginning of the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya.

Sri Caitanya’s eternal associate Vakresvara Pandit gave siddha pranali to Gopala Guru Gosvami who in turn gave it to Dhyanacandra Goswami. (“Dhyanacandra Paddhati”) Sri Gopal Bhatta Gosvami gave siddha pranali to the famous padakarta, Srinivasa Acarya (“Prema Vilasa” chapter 6)

Sri Visvanatha Cakravartipada also accepted siddha-pranali from his Guru. In his book, “Sankalpa Kalpadruma”, Cakravartipada mentions the siddha dehas of his Guru and the other members of his lineage as Tulasi-manjari, Ranga-manjari and Prema-manjari.

The three most prominent acarya Gurus in the parampara of IGM (Iskcon/Gaudiya Math)—Jagannatha das Babaji, Sri Gaura Kishora das Babaji, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and also Sri Vamsi das Babaji—ALL RECEIVED SIDDHA PRANALI from their Gurus.

In fact, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura fully endorsed the system of siddha pranali diksa. He gave it to his youngest son, Sri Lalita Prasada Thakura, who in turn gave it to several western disciples of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura clearly describes the practice of receiving siddha pranali diksa from Guru in three of his most famous books, “Harinama Cintamani”, “Jaiva Dharma, and Gitavali, which are very popular with members of IGM.

So how can anyone say receiving siddha pranali from one’s Guru is “bogus” “unauthorized” or “a practice of sahajiyas”?

The phrase siddha-pranali means “siddha” i.e. the spiritual body or siddha deha, and “pranali” means a lineage, channel or line. Siddha-pranali means the line or list of the Gurus in one’s lineage, along with their siddha dehas in Radha-Krishna’s eternal pastimes in Goloka Vrndavana, beginning with the patriarch or founder of one’s individual parivara, which means family or branch of the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya like Nityananda Parivara, Advaita Parivara, Gadadhara Parivara, Lokanatha (Narottama), Syamananda etc.

For example, in Krishna lila, Sri Nityananda Prabhu’s eternal transcendental form is Srimati Ananga Manjari, the younger sister of Srimati Radharani. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is Kamala Manjari. In a letter to a disciple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said his manjari siddha deha name in Krishna lila is Nayana-mani manjari.

In the siddha-pranali system, the Guru privately tells a qualified disciple the 11 aspects of his siddha deha known as ekadasa-bhava, which include the disciple’s eternal spiritual name in Krishna lila, age, dress, seva, kunja, mood, sakhi group leader like Lalita or Visakha, and so on. As learned from his own Guru, Sri Guru then teaches the disciple the same method to realize his/her eternal spiritual identity, siddha deha.

One’s pranali includes the siddha deha identities of each Guru in one’s individual parivara. The disciple then meditates on one’s own and their forms while mentally serving Radha-Krishna’s eternal asta-kaliya-lilas in Vraja Dhama.

In “Nectar of Devotion” (chapter 16), Srila Prabhupada says, “The so-called siddha-pranali process is followed by the prakrta sahajiya, a pseudo-sect of so-called Vaisnavas.”

However, if one examines all the evidence given above, one might wonder who are these “sahajiyas” that Srila Prabhupada is talking about? Surely, it can’t mean Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Sri Visvanatha Cakravartipada or any of the famous Gaudiya Vaisnava acaryas mentioned above. In fact, the following conversation downloaded from I-net seems to prove that Srila Prabhupada actually approved of the siddha-pranali system, wherein the Guru gives the siddha deha to a qualified disciple.

In 1974, Mayapur ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada had the following most revealing talk with Sri Hrishikesananda das, a scholarly disciple of his who studied Gaudiya Vaisnavism in Vrndavana in the 70s. Today, he lives in Thailand sincerely practicing Krishna consciousness, and lovingly caring for his devotee family.

Srila Prabhupada: What you have learned in Vrndavana?

Hrishikesananda das: Gurudeva, I learned about Krishna’s nitya Vraja lila, siddha-pranali, and asta-kaliya-lila smaranam. Is this alright, Gurudeva?

Srila Prabhupada: YES, but who is siddha?

HD: So, Srila Prabhupada, what about siddha-pranali? How to qualify? Who will give it?

Srila Prabhupada: GURU WILL GIVE [siddha-pranali]. You just chant Hare Krishna.

HD: So how will your disciples receive this eternal information, Gurudeva?

Srila Prabhupada: [repeats] GURU WILL GIVE! There is no material consideration about whether one’s Guru is here or there [in the spiritual sky]. When you reach that level, GURU WILL GIVE.

HD: Gurudeva, manasi-seva, mentally meditating on serving Krishna, is this also bhakti bhajan?

Srila Prabhupada: Krishna makes no distinction [whether you serve in your mind or with your body]. But if you serve Krishna by mind—He will accept. That is sure!

HD: Gurudev, whenever I mention anything about these things to my God brothers, they get angry and say that you never taught that!

Srila Prabhupada: [That’s ok] Everything is coming; they will also know it.

So this is the exact and clear truth about the siddha-pranali process along with supporting facts describing its origin, authenticity and acceptance by all the leading mahajanas of the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya beginning with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s eternal associates, the six Gosvamis and contempory Gurus like Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Prabhupada.

It is hoped that this knowledge will enlighten everyone regarding the truth about siddha-pranali. Henceforward, may no one malign those sincere devotees practicing this traditional method of sadhana bhajan.

It is certainly unbecoming, unfair, immature, and offensive to wrongly tag or label sincere devotees as “sahajiyas” or “bogus” for following a completely bonafide system of spiritual advancement within the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya.

Gaudiya Vaisnava harmony ki jai! Jai Jai Sri Radhe!