Qualities of a Madhyama

īśvare tad adhīneṣu
bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca |
prema maitrī kṛpopekṣā
yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ || Bhag 11.2.46 ||

"He, who has love for the Lord, who is a friend of His devotees, who is merciful to the ignorant and neglects the envious, is a madhyama-bhagavata."

How many times have I come across this verse before? And how many times have I stopped to think of it's full significance? I "found" this verse while thinking of a related issue; how Vaishnavas should act towards different types of people. I'm not too interested in the 'madhyama' part of the equation because, since everyone is trying to be humble, would consider themselves to be 'kanisthas' anyway. And we all know how very few count as 'uttamas'.

So part from this being a definition of a 'madhyama' devotee, I think that the above conduct is approved by Bhagavan since the employment of such conduct defines one as such a madhyama, is it not? This is not to suggest that one should not aspire to be uttamas, but I am just trying to figure out whether the above verse rightly describes a devotee who is discriminating. Of course a devotee needs to emply discrimination in all or most circumstances whether they involve contact with people or not.

To my mind, it parallels with the pada of Sri Narottama das Thakura from PBC:

kāma krodha lobha moha, mada mātsarjya dambha saha,
sthāne sthāne niyukta koribo.
ānanda kori hṛdoy, ripu kori parājoy,
anāyāse govinda bhajibo. (21)

"I will engage lust, anger, greed, illusion, envy and pride all in their proper places. Thus I can defeat these enemies with a blissful heart and easily worship Govinda."

kṛṣṇa sevā kāmārpaṇa, krodha bhakta-dveṣī jane,
lobha sādhu-saṅge hari-kathā.
moha iṣṭa lAbha vine, mada kṛṣṇa guṇa gāṇe,
niyukta koribo yathā tathā. (22)

"I offer my lust to the service of Krishna, my anger towards the enemies of His devotees and my greed towards association with saints and topics of Lord Hari. I am deluded without my beloved Lord, and I am proud when I sing Krishna's glories. Thus I engage all them in Krishna's service!"

And since Sri Narottama is a siddha-guru, it is indeed amazing how he speaks as if he were a sadhaka. Such beloved gurus do great works for mankind by leaving behind indication sof signposts so that we may find the way. Doing this in a practical way simply has to be done in order to be experienced properly and how these ideas are fully transcendental. It cannot be understood on a theoretical level, which would be just like licking a jar of honey from the outside of the bottle as an infuential Gaudiya teacher once said.

I also checked out the definition of that Bhagavata verse in Sri Ananta das Babaji's 'Bhakta-tattva Vijnana' book, only to be slightly disappointed with the translation of madhyama as 'mediocre'. I humbly do not agree with the selection of this word, as current usage of 'mediocre' usually tends to refer to something that is rubbish and not worthy of consideration. This is inapplicable when considering the status of devotees; we all know that the madhyama is betwen the 'low' kanistha' and the 'high' uttama. I thought of using 'middling-devotee' to describe 'madhyama' but that is also olde english which would be hard to understand. 'Intermediate' seems to be a much better choice of word. Yes, the madhyama is certainly an intermediate devotee.

Thoughts On Sadhu-Sanga

A discussion on Vilasa-Kunja about Manindranath Guha's Nectar of the Holy Name is taking place. Minaketan Ramdasji spoke about his experiences with Guhaji:

"One piece of advice he had was that one should stay at home and not mix freely with the Vaishnavas, in order to avoid Vaishnava aparAdha."

To this, I responded:

"I will hold this on my head. This is my feeling too.

"But at the same time I am astounded at the irony. Sadhu-sanga is one of the major principles of our Vaishnavism. Nay, it is one of the top five! And so how ironic it is that sometimes the best way to avoid aparadha is not to associate with Vaishnavas. Oh, the irony!"

Any thoughts?

Guhaji's advice resonates with my own experience; it is sometimes better to avoid Vaishnavas in order not to take the risk of offending them. However there is a marked difference between "avoiding" and "freely mixing", and however you look at it it makes sense in a twisted way.

When this is so, then how to fulfil the principle of sadhu-sanga? This then brings up the topic of who is a sadhu and who is "not".

I will actually want to write my own thoughts on sadhu-sanga later.

Vedanta doubts answered

An interesting question was brought forward by a devotee recently on the Oppiliappan list. I have corrected the formatting to make it easily readable:

I have some basic questions about the date of the Brahma Sutras of Badarayana. Our Sampradaya identifies the identity of Badarayana with Veda Vyasa, the redactor of the Vedas, Itihaasa-s and Purana-s. The latter's age is said to be around the end of the Treta Yuga, i.e around 3100 BCE. If Badarayana is identified with Veda Vyasa, some problems arise.

This is because the Brahma Sutras of Badarayana refer to Buddhist/Jaina/Naasthika doctrines which are known to have historically been existent only after 400 BCE. If such be the case above, how is badarayana the same as Veda Vyasa?

Two main answers were sent in reply:

Answer 1: As adiyEn heard from a scholar during Kalakshepams, the so called doctrines of Buddhism etc. were in existent even before the advent of the Buddha, Mahavir etc. and therefore there need be no doubt about the references to these in the Brahma Sutras of Badarayana who was none other than Veda Vyasa. Such ideas or views get boosted up by some personalities who become attracted by these ideas. Even in Ramayana, atheistic ideas are discussed and rejected.

Answer 2: Buddhists and Jains themselves believe that that there were many Buddhas and Mahavir's prior to those dated to the 4th and 5th centuries. And that the ideas they expressed are also very old. When adiyEn asked a similar question to a scholar regarding Azhvars dates and their references to Buddhist and Jainist philosophies, I was told the same. That there is no need to tie these philosophies only to the most recent known Buddha or Mahavir.

Well, I found that very gratifying. Did you?

Vedic Chanting

I recently purchased a CD entitled 'Panchasuktam'. Funnily enough it has six suktas, unless there is somehting that I don't know. Here's the track listing:

• Purusha Sukta
• Vishnu Sukta
• Narayana Sukta
• Sri Sukta
• Bhu Sukta
• Neela Sukta
• Pancashanthi
• Ghosashanthi
• Mantrapushpam
  

It's quite a good CD, I very much enjoy Vedic chanting. It is true what they say about the efficacy of the chanting as done properly, with attention to proper pronunciation and all of that. You would expect that Vedic chanting of these suktas would comman atention but I like to put on my headphones with the suktas turned up loud, and I feel very peaceful and devotional. And why not? These are Vaishnava suktas after all!

I guess I was lucky. Right now I am surfing the Net for some good CDs of Vedic chanting and almost all of them contain some musical accompaniment. No thanks! I would just like to listen to plain ol' Vedic chanting as should be done properly, just as if we were in an orthodox temple or something. Speaking of which, the pundits who chant the suktas are all Sri Vaishnavas according to their pictures on the CD (I can tell from their tilak) so that is an added bonus, hearing Vaishnava suktas chanted by Vaishnava devotees. Very nice. I like this CD a lot. If anyone knows of any good CDs where I can hear more stotras and things chanted properly and in an orthodox manner, let me know. I'd specifically be interested in Vishnu Sahasranama, and not the one by M.S. Subbulakshmi. A male chanter if preferable.

I also purchased a couple of other CDs. One was a CD of Narasimha mantras from various Vaishnava traditions and the other was of 'Protective Mantras', containing stotras and astakams in praise of Narasimha, Sudarshan and so on. Both CDs were sung by Sri Vidyabhusana, who I think is a Dvaitin and does a lot of service for ISKCON. The problem is that these prayers are sung, although I guessed that already since I have an audio tape of Sri Vidyabhusana singing Brahma-samhita. So I know that he is a singer who sings the prayers on these CDs also. It's not too bad actually, but I tend to find musical accompaniments very distracting (especially when there are lots of musical interludes) and so I prefer just plain chanting. Sure, there can be a mridanga or tabla beat in the background for effect just so long as it doesn't get in the way of chanting.

One of these days I would like to chant Vishnu Sahasranama or Purusha Sukta properly. Since the prayers in the Panchasuktam CD are sung according to the proper 'Vedic' way, I daresay that one can learn from the CD and all you need are the words!!

I love Veda-chanting. Really, it's so nice. I like scripture recitation in general; Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavatam, whatever. It is nice to hear it recited and with minimum musical accompaniment.

Ekadasi Thoughts

Today was Ekadasi (technically yesterday, Sunday), and as I am still ill I employed the illness exemption. Although I am much recovered now, I am teetering on the brink between sickness and health and if I do anything untoward then I will fall back into sickness. As such, I decided against even visiting the temple because my usual prasad-seva would be done outside in the open air, thus exposing myself to the cold and chill.

Also, I am disappointed at the fact that I could not fast. As my parents brought back the "Ekadasi authorised" food for me to eat then at least I can have something to eat. Although it was Indira Ekadashi, I wanted to write much of this stuff last Ekadashi (Parshva Ekadashi). Parshva was a notable occasion, when Sriman Narayana turns over on His right side. It was also the occasion when I decided to perform Ekadashi in earnest. By earnest I mean full fasting. I find it somewhat disappointing that the majority of devotees I know tend to make use of the allowances that Prabhupada gave in order to eat 'authorised food.'

[For those who don't know, Ekadashi is a bi-monthly date where the consumption of grains and beans are strictly forbidden. This includes most foods.]

As far as ISKCON is concerned, Prabhupada made allowances for devotees who went out doing strenuous activity such as preaching, book distribution and general Harinama processions. In this way certain foods are allowed to be eaten that do not consist of grains and beans, such as potatoes and so on. Even as far as the shastras are concerned, they are all unanimous on the point that eating of food - any food - is strictly forbidden. Food? No water either! So over the years I have experienced a mixture of surprise and disappointment that not many seem to be very interested in taking full advantage of the spiritual benefit that this day offers. Or rather, we are not interested in the benefit but we do it out of love for Krishna. But it seems that people are more interested on 'feasting' on the 'fasting' food! Whatever happened to tapasya? Whatever happened to strength and resolution?

I had availed myself of the glories of Ekadashi back when I was still a schoolboy, and I made humble and regular attempts to fast. I wrote about this on Gaudiya Discussions many years ago. A time came when I gave up fasting on Ekadashi. I don't know why, perhaps just pure laziness and lack of will-power, which seems strange compared to when I had enough willpower for not even a drop of water to pass my lips. I used to observe on Pandava-Nirjala Ekadashi (the one full-fast Ekadashi of the year which counts for fasting throughout the whole year) but in the back of my mind I think there was always a twinge of guilt that I should get back to the proper orthodox standard. Speaking of which, I never really saw the big deal about Nirjala Ekadashi. Since every Ekadashi was nir-jala for me, I never understood why it was such a huge deal for some people.

But the real orthodox standard simply cannot be done! It consists of a three-day marathon of fasting! You must fast on Dashami (one 'authorised' meal), Ekadashi (no food or water) and Dvadashi (one 'authorised' meal), not to mention keeping awake the whole time. WHAT??? Yes, this is so. But anyhow, generally speaking the main practice is to observe Ekadshi and break it on Dvadashi. The main point which I am trying to make is that it is evry clearly stated that Ekadashi fasts must be full fasts. Perhaps one can get away with eating 'authorised' food in the event of emergency like preaching and so on as they do in ISKCON, but the standard must be known and observed. Full fasting.

Of course, this is inapplicable to those who are elderly, ill, pregnant women and so on; they are allowed to eat 'authorised food' and perhaps not do it altogether. I've been ill lately so I ate 'authorised' food today, which is called havishyanna. But as I said earlier, I'm disappointed that this happened so soon after I resolved to fast in earnest after Parshva Ekadashi. But oh well, what to do?

The funny thing is that, in my experience as well as the experience of those who make a serious comitment to doing full fasting, it is possible. And with practice, the pangs of hunger and thirst will not announce their presence. The really tough part is staying awake all night. This is also part of the Ekadashi-vrata but, ha ha ha, it really is very tough to do. I can go without food but I need my sleep, lol! But on the other hand, anything can be achieved with practice and with a sincere heart that prays for the capability to carry out all these things.

Fever - A Lovely Way To Burn

I've actually been ill these past few days with a slight fever, so I've been off and taking it easy. I was supposed to go swimming but that is obviously impossible.

Strange as it may sound, I sometimes enjoy having a fever. Of course the suffering in undesirable, but I have noticed that a fevered brain brings surprising moments of clarity. This is especially true in regards to spiritual thoughts; all of a sudden your reading becomes more focused or more impacted depending how meaningful it is to you, your concentration on japa is also notably increased too. Even if you decide to 'take it easy' with japa and do less rounnds than you might normally do, you end up feeling like you want to do more by the time you've reached the end.

How interesting. I 've had these 'moments of clarity' before in previous illnesses but I can't help noticing it happening again. A strange phenomenon, when the most abstract spiritual issue is suddenly crystal clear. And all because of a fevered brain.

Madhava Has Gone!

Looks like Madhava and his wife have left this samsara behind and gone to Vraja, for good! "All glories" to them both, I sincerely hope that they fulfil their cherished ambitions at the feet of their respected guru.

True Gentlemen

One thing that sticks out when I think about Vaishnavas is how a Vaishnava is supposed to be the embodiment of good qualities. I cannot find it right now, but there are sections in BG, SB and CC where the essential qualities of Vaishnavas are listed, and how Vaishnavas should strive to achieve these qualities in order to fulfil the dual purpose of pleasing God and being an example to society. As well as one's own progress, of course!

Something I was reflecting on today was the tumultuous nature of some of the debates we used to have on GD. Typically these arguments revolved around the issue of the diksa-parampara and other issues where ISKCON/Gaudiya Math (IGM) comes into conflict with traditional Gaudiya Vaishnavism. I cannot say that I behaved very well myself during these debates. From an honest viewpoint, if I ever offended anybody in my trenchant expressions of what I considered to be the "truth" then I am deeply sorry. Truth may be truth, but also, 'satyam briyat priyam bruyat' - the truth can also be spoken in a palatable manner to prevent hurt feelings and the like.

And, of course, it is in the nature of human beings to point out faults in other people and ignoring the very same faults within themselves (which we must strive to overcome), and so it always used to surprise me how the other participants in such trenchant debates did not behave in a manner expected of a Vaishnava. At far as my vision was concerned anyway. There is really no need to make people feel bad about which line they're in, what kind of bhava they have, and other issues that may cause friction. I used to talk in private with some of these people, and the pain they felt at having their views largely dismissed as too much to bear at times. It is very important to behave as a proper Vaishnava.

In this vein, I've already said that I would ask representatives of various traditions to recommend editions of Vedanta Sutra. After joining some of their online groups (rather, re-activating my subscriptions), I found that one group in particular continues to poke fun of Gaudiyas at every given opportunity. Even if they believe that they are correct in their evaluations, there is really no need to be so vocal about it. This bad behaviour (unrepresentatives of Vaishnavas who are supposedly in the "proper sampradayas") was most disturbing to see and it is still the same now as it was then. However, it did remind me of an example of Sri Vaishnavas (followers of Ramanuja) and how proper Vaishnavas they are. Truly, I have yet to come across a Sri Vaishnava who pokes fun at other traditions. Sri Vaishnavas are really sweet people and really understand the meaning of Vaishnavism, and what it is to be a Vaishnava.

Here is an example of where Sri Vaishnavas of the famous Bhakti List group had every opportunity to malign the Gaudiyas if they wanted to, but they didn't. I have corrected all spelling errors for easy reading:

"bharathradhekrishna.chennu"
Thu Apr 10, 2003 8:04 am

What is the difference between Gaudiya sampradaya and Ramanuja sampradaya? Which sampradaya is useful in understanding Lord Vishnu in less time?

And the answer follows:

"Mr krishna das"
Fri Apr 11, 2003 6:34 pm

Radhekrishna!

Throughout the Bharatadesa 9 different sampradayas or traditions of Vaishnavism are being followed. They areof :Sri Adisankara, SriRamanuja, Madhva, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Nimbarka, Hitha Harivamsa, Vallabhacharya, Gnaneswara, Ramananda. Out of these the Srivaishnava or Ramanuja cult is oldest to the age of Alwars. The cult based on the life experiences & teachings of 12 alwars as reflected in their divine compositions in praise of Lord Vishnu viz the Divyaprabandams which was nourished by the commentaries of Acharyas of South India & propagated & administered by Acharya SriRamanuja is Ramanuja sampradaya or Srivaishnavacult. The cult gains its status through the bhashyams done by Ramanuja on Brahmasutras, Upanishads, & Bagawat Geeta.

The Gaudiya tradition is that started by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that which is based on the life & teachings of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, commentaries to Vedic & Puranic literatures & compositions of His disciplic successors, viz Brindavana 6 Goswamis 7 others ,all belonging to the regions comprising Bengal, Orissa, Bihar & some parts of U.P, the area called as Gaudiya desa.

The sampradaya gained its religious & social status through the commentaries given for the three Vedantic works prasnotrathrayam by Baladeva Vidhya Bhushana. It was propagated & brought easily to the public of modern age by Bhakthi Vinoda Thakur, Bhakthisiddanda Saraswathi & Srila A.C. Bhaktivedantha Swami Prabhupada (Iskcon founder).

The difference between Ramanuja sampradaya & Gaudiya sampradaya of Mahaprabhu is that in the latter one Lord Krishna is conidered to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead & Lord Vishnu is regarded as His Amsa, whereas in Srivaisnavism Lord Vishnu is supreme & Krishna is one of His avathara. But the significance of Vishnu & Krishna is equally acknowledged in both. There are many philosophical differences between these sampradayas. But devotees may not go for those things. Devotees are free to take the path of any of the sampradayas of proper origin & good leadership Acharyaparampara of their choice since all are equally good and significant ones. Both are simple & essence of both are: true devotion to the Lord, Bhakthas, singing the Glory of the Lord & chanting His name. So both are simple and easy to be followed.

Radhekrishna!

Krishnadas.A.s

Well,.. WOW! Whether this person is/was sympathetic to IGM is unknown since he clearly doesn't know very much about traditional Gaudiya Vaishnavism as a whole, but I find it remarkable that he can casually and plainly list one or two major philosophical differences between the two sampradayas and not say something mean or bitter in the slightest!

At the time I read this, I used this example as a marked contrast of how certain people/schools of Vaishnavism would react if the same question was put to them regarding their differences with other schools. Would they behave as well as this individual, explaining the differences in a calm and dispassionate way and free from any mention whatsoever of any disputes? History has sadly shown the answer to be a shameful 'no'.

There's always something to be learnt from other people. It's about time that conflict resolution (if any still exist) should be undertaken in a calm and diplomatic manner. That applies across the board; from interactions with members of other groups to relationships between individual Vaishnavas.

Great XHK Tool!

[Original time & date of post: 03:12 - Aug 21 2006]

[Moved up to facilitate continuing discussion in comments section.]

If you've spotted my use of diacritics in recent posts and wondering how I've managed it, it's all thanks to friends at Gaudiya Kutir Wiki, who have created this nice tool that enables people to write in XHK (Extended Harvard-Kyoto). I haven't figured out all it's intricacies yet (such as capital lettering) but go ahead and download it, it's well worth the time!

Ohhhhhhh, not again!

As I was busy doing seva by way of serving the prasad today, one of my friends came up to receive a puri and he asked me if I had been to India this year. When I said no, he asked if I would like to join him and a group of about 30 others from the temple on a trip to Vrindavan!!!!

And not just Vrindavan because they would be going on a tour: Vrindavan, Mayapur, Puri, the lot! Anyone who knows me will know that for several years I have been screaming my head off and tearing my hair out about the fact that I have never been to any of the holy dhamas. Here is a perfect opportunity; my first trip would be within a group so I would be "looked after" if I run into any trouble, a responsible devotee will be guiding us around so I can "see the sights" and all, to fulfil a long-cherished ambition of visiting the holy dhamas (especially Navadvip), not to mention coming back with a suitcase full of books! Oh, and the fact that I would get to spend my birthday in the holy dhama.

The trip lasts about 3 weeks and they leave next week. Unfortunately (and yet again!) it was impossible for me to join this group because it would be extremely hard to get a ticket now, most of the people have already had their shots and malaria tablets, what to speak of my own work commitments and so on. Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh! If my friend had informed me earlier about this trip then I could have joined them for sure. This is really a perfect opportunity and I am forced to pass it up. I almost immediately went into a state of gloom.

So I'm really and extremely annoyed about that right now. Very annoyed and completely disappointed.

Radhastami 2006 Cakes and stuff..

As promised, here are the pics that I didn't upload yesterday...

Closeups of Radhe:




























And the cakes:

Zoom up on the white cake and it says, "She has lotus eyes". Zooming up to the green cake (with a golden book made of icing, yum!) we can see that the 'tapta-kañcana-gauraṅgi' has been written there, with it's meaning in English on the other 'page' of the book. The pink cake says, 'She is the abode of love for the residents of Gokula.' :-)

No, you eyes do not deceive you, I deliberately left the best till last. That little Radha and Krishna on the pink cake are so cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!!!!!!!! I just had to take a closeup of that:

Radhastami 2006 Pics!

To say that Radhastami was a "fantastic occasion" is probably the understatement of the year! Next to Janmastami (and Gaura Purnima for me), Radhastami is the most important day of the year given our ambitions for Radha-dasyam. The beauty of it all is that, unlike Janmastami which draws huge crowds, it is a relatively intimate occasion that takes place among a templeful of devotees. It is still crowded, no doubt, but not like Janmastami.

Nothing much to report on my side though. I took a half-day off work in order to go to the temple in time for the Raj-bhog arati and perform some seva by way of serving the feast. Of course I took my camera along! And just 'feast' on the results:

Temple Room:

See how beautifully it was decorated...
































Gaura-Nitai!:


























What you're all waiting for - Sri Sri Radha-Gokulananda in all Their finery!:



































































The Utsav-deities:





















(The third deity in the last pic is that of Smt. Vrinda-devi)


Sri Sri Sita-Rama-Lakshmana-Hanuman (and the Rama-śīla)












I'll post more pics tomorrow of the cakes and closeups.

Mahaprabhu's Dancing On Radhastami

One day, with a smile, the son of Mother Saci told Pundarika Vidyanidhi Prabhu, "Tomorrow we shal observe the birthday ceremony of Sri Radhika in your house." Vidyanidhi was overjoyed hearing this news. He rushed to his house to arrange everything for the festival. The next day, Prabhu came to the house of Vidyanidhi with His associates and followers, sat down in their midst, and performed the janma-abhiṣeka, bathing ceremony of Sri Radhika on Her birthday. What can I say about the emotions Mahaprabhu exhibited at that time?

āju gorācānda gaṇa-saha gopaveśe
tile tile adhika vibhola se nā rase

Today, Goracanda, accompanied by His
associates and donning a cowherd's
dress, gradually became completely
overwhelemed with rasa.

hāṣe laha laha cāhe gadādhara pāne
vahaye ānanda vāri dhāra du' nayane

He laughed and rocked to and fro'
while glancing towards Gadadhara
with tears of bliss streaming
from His two eyes.

mukunda mādhava vāsu ullāsa hiyāya
rādhikā janama carita sabhe gāya

Greatly delighted, Mukunda, Madhava and
Vasu sing the pastimes of Radhika's birth.

bāje khola karatāla bhuvana-maṅgala
nāce paṅhu dharaṇī karaya ṭalamala

The sounds of the khol and the
karatalas filled the world with
auspiciousness, while the dancing of
myriad feet made the earth tremble.

gaurīdāsa ādi nāce bhāra kari' kāndhe
dekhite se gopa-veśa kebā thire bāndhe

Gauridasa and others dance
while carrying pots on their
shoulders. Seeing their cowherd
dress, who can sit quietly?

kata sāthe nāce puṇdarīka vidyānidhi
chaḍāiyā navanī haladī dudha dadhi

Among them, Pundarika Vidyanidhi dances
and snatches away butter, haldi, milk and yoghurt.

nitāi advaita śrīvāsādi raṅga dekhi'
bhāse sukha samudre phirāte nāre āṅkhi

Seeing the playful pastimes of
Nitai, Advaita, Srivasa and the
others, everyone floated in an ocean of
happiness and couldn't take their eyes away.

kī nārī puruṣa dhāya ei raṅge dekhite
dāṇḍāiyā aṅgane cāhaye cāribhite

Whether woman or man, everyone rushed to see
this playfulness and stood inside the courtyard.

dekhi' goparūpera mādhurī anupama
keha kahe, - 'nāce i'ki kanakera kāma'

Seeing the cowherd boy's form
full of matchless sweetness,
someone said, 'What is this
dancing golden treasure?'

deva-gaṇa nācaye kusuma vṛṣṭhi kari'
jaya jaya diyā raṅge nāce narahari

The devas dance and rain down flowers. Rejoicing and
exclaiming 'jaya! jaya!' Narahari dances with sheer delight.

- Adapted from Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu #134, originally from Bhakti-ratnakara 12.3178-3213.