Śrī Vilāpa kusumāñjali of Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī - Volume Two

Volume Two of Śrī Vilāpa-kusumāñjali covers verses 18-32, as we become privy to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s personal quarters, and her morning time duties; bathing, dressing and ornamentation. Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī is absorbed in meditation on how he, as Rati- mañjarī, aspires to serve his mistress in various ways, and pens those meditations in the form of these blooming verses. 

It is an intimate setting, and Rati’s role goes beyond just assisting Rādhārāṇī in getting ready. She provides wit and humour, encouragement and inspiration that she will indeed be pleasing to Kṛṣṇa, and timely reminders of pastimes which took place in days gone by. In this way, the rich moods and sweet services of the spiritual world capture the mind of the reader, and in taking seed in the gradually purified heart, help the formation of specific, spiritual aspirations. 

Śrīla Prabhupāda makes it clear that due to Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s great desire to inundate the world with talks of Kṛṣṇa, it can be said that any interested person may become the beneficiary of such transcendental literature. A hesitancy often arises from a misunderstanding that for conditioned souls to hear topics of mādhurya-līlā is sahajiyāism, and only leads to falling away from the path. The Introduction to this volume warns the result of this misconception to be that even if one has advanced association, devotees will not awaken deep faith in Kṛṣṇa’s gopī pastimes. 

Exquisitely presented with 4-colour, high-quality paper, gilt-edged and with many new pieces of artwork especially commissioned for this series, this book is truly literary and visual art, a unique and beautiful production that takes the reader on a magnificent journey with Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī and Rati-mañjarī into the intimate and longed-for world of service to the lotus feet of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.