Vipralambha

Expressions researched:
"Vipralambha"

SB Canto 9

SB 9.10.11, Purport:

Nārāyaṇaḥ paro 'vyaktāt: Nārāyaṇa is beyond the material creation. Because He is the creator of the material world, He is not subject to the conditions of the material world. The separation of Lord Rāmacandra from Sītā is spiritually understood as vipralambha, which is an activity of the hlādinī potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead belonging to the śṛṅgāra-rasa, the mellow of conjugal love in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world the Supreme Personality of Godhead has all the dealings of love, displaying the symptoms called sāttvika, sañcārī, vilāpa, mūrcchā and unmāda. Thus when Lord Rāmacandra was separated from Sītā, all these spiritual symptoms were manifested. The Lord is neither impersonal nor impotent. Rather, He is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), the eternal form of knowledge and bliss. Thus He has all the symptoms of spiritual bliss. Feeling separation from one's beloved is also an item of spiritual bliss.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 4.41, Purport:

Lord Caitanya is undoubtedly Kṛṣṇa Himself, and He is always nondifferent from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. But the emotion technically called vipralambha-bhāva, which the Lord adopted for confidential reasons, should not be disturbed in the name of service. A mundaner should not unnecessarily intrude into affairs of transcendence and thereby displease the Lord. One must always be on guard against this sort of devotional anomaly. A devotee is not meant to create disturbances to Kṛṣṇa. As Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has explained, devotional service is ānukūlyena, or favorable to Kṛṣṇa. Acting unfavorably toward Kṛṣṇa is not devotion. Kaṁsa was the enemy of Kṛṣṇa. He always thought of Kṛṣṇa, but he thought of Him as an enemy. One should always avoid such unfavorable so-called service.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 23.62, Purport:

Vipralambha is described in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Vipralambha-prakaraṇa 3–4):

CC Madhya 23.62, Purport:

"When the lover and the beloved meet, they are called yukta (connected). Previous to their meeting, they are called ayukta (not connected). Whether connected or not connected, the ecstatic emotion arising due to not being able to embrace and kiss each other as desired is called vipralambha. This vipralambha helps nourish emotions at the time of meeting." Similarly, sambhoga is described in the following verse quoted from the Vedic literature by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura in his Anubhāṣya:

darśanāliṅganādīnām ānukūlyān niṣevayā

yūnor ullāsam ārohan bhāvaḥ sambhoga īryate

"Meeting each other and embracing each other are aimed at bringing about the happiness of the lover and the beloved. When this stage becomes increasingly jubilant, the resultant ecstatic emotion is called sambhoga."

CC Madhya 23.63, Translation and Purport:

“Vipralambha has four divisions—pūrva-rāga, māna, pravāsa and prema-vaicittya.

Pūrva-rāga is described in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Vipralambha-prakaraṇa 5):

CC Madhya 23.63, Purport:

The word māna is also described in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Vipralambha-prakaraṇa 68):

dam-patyor bhāva ekatra sator apy anuraktayoḥ

svābhīṣṭāśleṣa-vīkṣādi-nirodhī māna ucyate

"Māna is a word used to indicate the mood of the lover and the beloved experienced whether they are in one place or in different places. This mood obstructs their looking at each other and embracing each other, despite the fact that they are attached to each other."

CC Madhya 23.63, Purport:

"Pravāsa is a word used to indicate the separation of lovers who were previously intimately associated. This separation is due to their being in different places."

Similarly, prema-vaicittya is also explained in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Vipralambha-prakaraṇa 134):

priyasya sannikarṣe ‘pi premotkarṣa-svabhāvataḥ

yā viśeṣa-dhiyārtis tat prema-vaicittyam ucyate

"Prema-vaicittya is a word used to indicate an abundance of love that brings about grief from fear of separation, although the lover is present."

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 1.141, Purport:

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has explained kāma-likhana in his book Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Vipralambha-prakaraṇa 26):

sa lekhaḥ kāma-lekhaḥ syāt yaḥ sva-prema-prakāśakaḥ

yuvatyā yūni yūnā ca yuvatyāṁ samprahīyate

"Exchanges of letters between a young boy and young girl concerning their awakening of attachment for each other are called kāma-lekha."

CC Antya 14.53, Purport:

This verse is part of a description of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s different traits from Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Vipralambha-prakaraṇa 153), by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. In this book, he elaborately explains the ten symptoms as follows.

Cintā, anxiety. As stated in the Haṁsa-dūta (2):

yadā yāto gopī-hṛdaya-madano nanda-sadanān

mukundo gāndinyās tanayam anurundhan madhu-purīm

tadāmāṅkṣīc cintā-sariti ghana-ghūrṇāparicayair

agādhāyāṁ bādhāmaya-payasi rādhā virahiṇī

“At Akrūra's request, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma left the house of Nanda Mahārāja for Mathurā. At that time the mind of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was disrupted, and She became almost mad because of extreme separation from Kṛṣṇa. She experienced great mental pain and agitation, which caused Her to drown in mental speculation in the river of anxiety. She thought, ‘Now I am going to die, and when I die, Kṛṣṇa will surely come back to see Me again.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 14:

The two divisions of ecstasies experienced in the relationship of conjugal love are sambhoga (meeting) and vipralambha (separation). On the sambhoga platform the ecstasies are unlimited, and on the vipralambha platform they are four in number. The ecstasy exhibited before the lover and beloved meet, the ecstasy experienced between them after meeting, the state of mind experienced by not meeting, and the state of mind experienced after meeting but fearing separation are called vipralambha. That vipralambha serves as a nourishing element for future meetings. When the lover and beloved meet all of a sudden and embrace one another, they feel an ecstasy of happiness, and the state of mind they experience in that ecstasy is called sambhoga.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 44:

This love of Kṛṣṇa for Rādhārāṇī is often compared to a blooming lotus; the only difference is that Kṛṣṇa's love remains ever-increasingly beautiful.

Conjugal love is divided into two portions: vipralambha, or conjugal love in separation, and sambhoga, or conjugal love in direct contact. Vipralambha, separation, has three subdivisions, known as (1) pūrvarāga, or preliminary attraction, (2) māna, or seeming anger, and (3) pravāsa, or separation by distance.

When the lover and the beloved have a distinct feeling of not meeting each other, that stage is called pūrva-rāga, or preliminary attraction. In Padyāvalī Rādhārāṇī told Her companion, "My dear friend, I was just going to the bank of the Yamunā, and all of a sudden a very nice boy whose complexion is like a dark blue cloud became visible in front of My eyes. He glanced over Me in a way that I cannot describe. But since this has occurred, I am sorry that I can no longer engage My mind in the duties of My household affairs."

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 10, Purport:

Nonetheless, they cannot forget Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa left Vṛndāvana for Mathurā, the gopīs became most dejected and spent the rest of their lives simply crying in separation from Kṛṣṇa. This means that in one sense they were never actually separated from Kṛṣṇa. There is no difference between thinking of Kṛṣṇa and associating with Him. Rather, vipralambha-sevā, thinking of Kṛṣṇa in separation, as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did, is far better than serving Kṛṣṇa directly. Thus of all the devotees who have developed unalloyed devotional love for Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs are most exalted, and out of all these exalted gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the highest. No one can excel the devotional service of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Indeed, even Kṛṣṇa cannot understand the attitude of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; therefore He took Her position and appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, just to understand Her transcendental feelings.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 47:

Kṛṣṇa knew very well the psychology of women. When a woman's beloved is away, she thinks of him more in meditation than when he is present before her. Kṛṣṇa wanted to teach through the behavior of the gopīs that one who is constantly in trance like the gopīs surely attains His lotus feet.

Lord Caitanya taught people in general the method of vipralambha-sevā, which is the method of rendering service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the feeling of separation. The six Gosvāmīs also taught worship of Kṛṣṇa in the feeling of the gopīs in separation. The prayers composed by Śrīnivāsācārya about the Gosvāmīs explain these matters very clearly. Śrīnivāsācārya said that the Gosvāmīs were always absorbed in the ocean of transcendental feelings in the mood of the gopīs. When they lived in Vṛndāvana they were searching for Kṛṣṇa, crying, “Where are You, Kṛṣṇa? O gopīs, where are You?

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 7.4 -- Bombay, February 19, 1974:

There is no escape. Similarly, we are illusioned. Illusioned means we accept something for something. Just like you are accepting this body—"I am American," "I am Indian"—but I am neither American nor Indian; I am spirit soul. This is called illusion. Bhrama, pramāda, and vipralambha. Vipralambha means the propensity for cheating others. I do not know exactly what is the cause of life; still, I am theorizing in so many ways. And when I am challenged by other person that "Can you produce, with chemical, life?" "That I cannot say." Then why you are talking nonsense? This is cheating. If you are actually in knowledge that from chemical, life can be produced, then you produce it. I give you chemicals. But when you cannot do, why you are cheating people? But this cheating propensity is there. One is a nonsense number one, but he speaks. "Devils cite scripture." That we do not accept. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement does not accept the scripture cited by the Devil.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.8.39 -- Los Angeles, May 1, 1973:

This is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So here Kuntīdevī is very much anxious that Kṛṣṇa will be absent. But the effect will be, when Kṛṣṇa will be absent physically, He will be more, I mean to say, accurately present within the mind of the devotee. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching is that vipralambha-sevā. By His practical life. He's finding out Kṛṣṇa. Govinda-viraheṇa me. Śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me. What is that verse? Cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam, cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam, śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me. He's crying like torrents of rain coming out of the eyes, and He's feeling everything vacant for want of Kṛṣṇa, separation. Vipralambha. So sambhoga and vipralambha. There are two stages of meeting Kṛṣṇa. Sambhoga means when He's personally present. That is called sambhoga. Personally talking, personally meeting, personally embracing, that is called sambhoga. And there is another, vipralambha. The two ways a devotee can be benefited.

Lecture on SB 1.10.14 -- Mayapura, June 27, 1973:

So these are all symptoms of love for Kṛṣṇa. That is the highest perfection of life, to shed tears for Kṛṣṇa. Yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us this method of worship in separation, vipralambha-sevā. Not that "Oh, I have seen yesterday. Last night, I have seen Kṛṣṇa. He was snatching my cloth." These are sahajiyās. Actually, our worship should be in separation. The Gosvāmīs also taught us like that. He rādhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ. They in the Vṛndāvana remained authorized persons. They were also searching after Kṛṣṇa. They never said that "We have got Kṛṣṇa," never said. He rādhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ śrī-govardhana-kalpa-pādapa-tale kālindī-vane kutaḥ, ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair mahā-vihvalau. Simply khedair mahā-vihvalau. They were lamenting in separation.

Lecture on SB 1.10.14 -- Mayapura, June 27, 1973:

Not sambhoga. Vipralambha. Vipralambha-sevā: "Oh, I am so wretched, I could not serve Kṛṣṇa. How I can see Kṛṣṇa? It is not possible." In this way. That is the teaching of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. "But even though I do not see Him, neither it is possible for me to see Him..." Means: "What I am? I am insignificant person. Why Kṛṣṇa come and see me?" This is right. "Why shall I aspire after seeing Kṛṣṇa? What qualification I have got?" This is bhajana. This is bhajana. Why should I be proud that "Now I shall see Kṛṣṇa"? What I am? That is the teaching of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu māṁ marma-hatāṁ karotu vā adarśanāt (CC Antya 20.47). Adarśana. "Without giving me audience, You kill me, You break my heart; still, You are my Lord, You are my worshipable Lord, nobody else." This is love. This is love. (Bengali:) Asan kṛṣṇa galai diba naiva beja tata(?).

Lecture on SB Questions & Answers -- Hyderabad, April 10, 1975:

One who has seen, one who has heard, he'll become mad—no more interest in this material affairs. That is the sign. We can say. Of course, if you are experienced devotee... But so far we see of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His immediate successors, Gosvāmīs, they are mad after Kṛṣṇa. They never said that "We have seen Kṛṣṇa." This is called bhajana by separation, vipralambha-sevā.

So if we become mad after Kṛṣṇa, that is perfection, not that "We have seen Kṛṣṇa." We may see, but so far the Gosvāmīs are concerned, they are simply seeking. Ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair mahā-vihvalau. Vihvalau means mad—"Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa?" That is self-realization.

Festival Lectures

Radhastami, Srimati Radharani's Appearance Day -- London, August 29, 1971:

So we have to follow the footprints of the Gosvāmīs, how to search out Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī, Vṛndāvana, or within your heart. That is the process of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's bhajana: feeling of separation, vipralambha, vipralambha-sevā. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, feeling the separation of Kṛṣṇa, He was falling down on the sea. He was coming out of His rest room or His bedroom and going out at dead of night. Nobody knew where He has gone. So that was His searching. This process of devotional service is taught by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Not that very easily, "We have seen Kṛṣṇa or seen Rādhārāṇī in rāsa-līlā." No, not like that. Feel the separation. The more you feel separation from Kṛṣṇa, you should understand that you are advancing. Don't try to see Kṛṣṇa artificially. Be advanced in separation feeling, and then it will be perfect.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Los Angeles, February 2, 1968:

Our, this Gauḍīya-sampradāya, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's, in Caitanya Mahāprabhu's descendants, our line of God realization is that separation, feeling of separation. Not that we have got Kṛṣṇa within our hand. No. The feeling of separation, worship of Kṛṣṇa by feeling of separation is better than the worship by directly meeting. Vipralambha-sevā.

So this vairāgya-vidyā, renunciation... Vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga (CC Madhya 6.254). Bhakti-yoga means vairāgya-vidyā. Vairāgya-vidyā means no more attachment for this material world. That is vairāgya. So bhakti-yoga means vairāgya-vidyā. So this Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya said, vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yogam. This vairāgya-vidyā means bhakti-yogam..., śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ. So Kṛṣṇa, the supreme original personality, He has come down to teach us this vairāgya-vidyā.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- July 19, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: No, why not with Viṣṇu. Vaikuṇṭha is Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa. That is also... But there Nārāyaṇa is worshiped with awe and veneration. He is God. No friendship as in Vṛndāvana. That is not possible. Vipralambha-sakhya. Aiśvarya, aiśvarya, opulence. There the Supreme Lord is taken in aiśvarya, opulences. Not aiśvarya-sthiti. In Vṛndāvana the devotees, they practically do not know that Kṛṣṇa is God. "He is our very beloved friend." That's all. They doesn't care to know whether He is God or not. Here the conception of God. Vaikuṇṭha, "Oh, here is God," with awe and veneration, respect.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk Excerpts -- May 1, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: They were searching, search of Rādhā.

Prabhupāda: Search of Rādhā. That is Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava, vipralambha, in separation, feeling "Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa?" Govinda-viraheṇa me. Śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me.

Dr. Patel: "The whole world is śūnya in absence of..."

Prabhupāda: This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching. Govinda-vira...