Comments on: Gopala-tapani Upanisad: Verse One

By: Brajasundari

Brajasundari — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:07:53 +0000

One devotee told me that personified Upanisads who joined Krishna`s rasa dance were people whose sadhana, spiritual vision and personal character were exactly like the Upanisads. Can it be understood this way?

By: Karuna-sindhu

Karuna-sindhu — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:57:13 +0000

It is great that we have the Harmonist that allows somone like Tripurari Maharaj to be able to impart his scholarship of bhakti to the rest of us scattered around the planet. I remain a fan of Tripurari Maharaj’s writing. Thank goodness for the world wide web.

By: swami bv tripurari

swami bv tripurari — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:42:35 +0000

It’s poetic license, but the word is feminine and hence so to in a sense is revelation. She sheds light on the purusa. If one today was to become a presiding deity of an Upanisad, it wold have to be a new one.

By: Brajasundari

Brajasundari — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:20:32 +0000

I was wondering about identity of Sruti devi… Is she a goddess of this particular Upanisad or all the śrutis? And the term “goddess” implies jiva attaining that position…

By: swami bv tripurari

swami bv tripurari — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:41:36 +0000

The commentary itself answers your question:

The goal to be attained is love of Krishna, or pure devotion, and the person qualified to study the text is one motivated to cultivate such pure devotion. . . . It is signifi cant that there is no mention of any fruit to be attained from studying the text, for this implies that those qualifi ed to study the text are uninterested in acquiring material gain or attaining liberation as a result of their study. Their aim is devotion for its own sake.

Thus those qualified to tread the path of suddha bhakti are qualified to study this text. Vaisnava diksa transcends initiation within the varnasrama. It may be that within varnasrama only brahmanas were qualified to study and teach the Sruti, but qualified Vaisnavas are not barred from doing so. Indeed we should study such texts as Gopala-tapani under their guidance.

By: Damodara dasa

Damodara dasa — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:23:32 +0000

Dear Jnanesh,

Gopala-tapani Upanisad is an esoteric text which makes it only completely accessible to students who are extremely sincere and advanced – not simply due to being born in brahmin families or even having received brahminical initiations from bona fide gurus.

A complete understanding or a rasik understanding requires the direct mercy of Krishna and usually, if not always, through the via medium of gurus and vaisnavas. At least that’s my understanding from the little experience I’ve had in practicing sadhana-bhakti.

In the general sense all who are interested in Gopala-tapani Upanisad are indeed very fortunate and can expect to understand the text at least to some extent through their endeavors in bhakti and ultimately due to Sri Krishna’s causeless mercy.

I don’t think everybody who attempts to understand elevated texts such as this one should expect to fully or completely really understand them. But any endeavor to understand should bear some transcendental fruit or sukriti. So I recommend that you read on, especially if you’re inspired. Haribol!

By: Jnanesh

Jnanesh — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:51:16 +0000

Pranams. Beautiful! I feel very fortunate to be in a position that enables one (to attempt) to understand this esoteric scripture, as explained by a learned Master such as Swami Maharaja, that bestows liberation and more.

May I request someone to please shed light on what is the adhikara (qualifications required “to enter into its mysteries” as explained above) required of the aspiring student of this Upanishad(or shruti in general)? My current understanding is that only initiated Brahmanas are permitted to study Shruti whereas the uninitiated/non-Brahamanas can access only Smriti such as Gita, Bhagavatam, Mahabharat, etc. And if this is correct, does this restriction apply to only studying and/or hearing and/or recitation or all/some of the above?

Thank you very much.