Posted on: 07 Oct 2021
[Ms Laxmi Thrylokya asked:- Swami, What is the significance of love and lust in sweet devotion or Madhurabhakti? Can You tell me the details of Anaghaa or Madhumati, the wife of God Dattaatreya?]
Swami Replied:- God is unimaginable since He is beyond space and time. As long as He is not mediated, He is not imaginable and not visible. Even as non-mediated unimaginable God, He is possessing awareness due to His unimaginable power even though inert energy and materialised brain-nervous system are absent in Him. Due to this awareness having unimaginable background, auspicious divine qualities are associated with His awareness. In this way, we can say that unimaginable God is associated with divine qualities (Kalyāṇa guṇas), which are called as internal beauty. This internal personality exists even for unimaginable God without having mediation. Therefore, this internal personality touches the root unimaginable God and the word ‘love’ is related to this internal personality of unimaginable God. When the unimaginable God is mediated, the external personality is related to this external beauty of the gross body and the word lust is related to this external personality of the medium, which is perishable especially when the external medium is human body. Hence, love is eternal internal beauty and lust is the temporary external beauty.
Love is theoretical and lust is practical. Love to God is generated by the Spiritual knowledge, which reveals the eternal internal beauty of God. Spiritual knowledge or Jnaanayoga generates love to God, which is called as Bhaktiyoga. Both these are linked to the theoretical phase only. Lust is practical that represents Karmayoga in which service and sacrifice are the two parts. In general devotion, the Spiritual knowledge, love to God and finally the practical service and sacrifice stand as the subsequent steps. In sweet devotion, in the final step called Karmayoga, along with service and sacrifice, surrender of the body to God also exists as an additional step. This means that in sweet devotion apart from the steps of general devotion, in the final stage surrender of body to God exists. But, this sweet devotion is obtained to the soul in the final birth only in which all the other worldly bonds were dropped except the bond with the usual life partner.
Such final female birth is obtained for every soul so that the sweet devotion enters in this final birth only. The best example for this is the case of Sages born as Gopikas. These Sages were liberated from all worldly bonds and were also liberated from the bond with life partner also. These Sages born as Gopikas were once again tested in all the worldly bonds in their final birth as Gopikas. The three strongest worldly bonds were tested by God as the last final annual test. The two strongest worldly bonds (bond with issues and bond with wealth) were jointly tested by God through stealing butter that was preserved by Gopikas for their issues. The third strongest bond (bond with life partner) was tested by God in dancing with Gopikas at Brundaavanam secretly in the midnight. Those Sages who passed in both these tests were granted the highest place called Goloka.
In this way, the bond of Gopikas with God was love based lust. Gopikas had full knowledge of Krishna as God and developed divine love with God through the Spiritual knowledge that projects the internal beauty of internal personality of God. Such knowledge developed unique love to God, which is called as single pointed devotion (Ekabhakti). Such knowledge-based attraction to God is called as true love to God. Based on this love, the final step called Karmayoga was also tested by God. This showed the total liberation from worldly bonds called salvation. But the Sages thought that liberation from bond with body also shall be obtained to get complete salvation. Hence, they thought that they can turn into females by their supernatural power and wanted to hug God Raama in the forest. Raama told that He will test them in the next birth regarding their bonds with their bodies. In this way, the concept of sweet devotion was discovered and developed by the devoted Sages and not by God. God always discouraged that as Raama as well as Krishna.
Gopikas threatened Krishna that they will jump into Yamunaa River if Krishna refused their sweet devotion. Overwhelmed by their divine love to God, Krishna accepted their sweet devotion. In this way, the path of Gopikas was love based lust for God. Sage Naarada told that the lust of Gopikas to Krishna was love based lust because they always had the knowledge about Krishna as God (Jāravat ca etc., in the Bhaktisūtram).
The next way is lust based lust. Lust is based on the external physical body only, which is clearly seen in animals and birds. In this way, there is no knowledge and knowledge generated love. The theoretical lust based on physical body generates the practical lust called as copulation. This way can be seen in the case of Shuurpanakha, who was fascinated to the external beauty of Raama. God never encouraged this lust-based lust, in which true love or devotion is absent. She did lot of penance and got boon from God Shiva for the pacification of her lust by God Raama. Her lust was pacified by Raama, who was reborn as Krishna. This way could not give salvation to Kubjaa (Shuurpanakha reborn) and Kubjaa went to hell only.
Another example of lust-based lust is the case of Madhumati, who was the daughter of a Sage. When God Datta took human incarnation as God Dattaatreya, she was married to Him. God Dattaatreya cursed her to become a demon called Mahishi, who was killed by God Manikantha, the other incarnation of God Datta. By this punishment, Mahishi became purified and developed pure and real love for God Dattaatreya. Her mind became very sweet due to the love for God Dattaatreya and she was called as Madhumati again. Since she got relieved from lust-based lust, which is the sin, she was called as Anaghaa. Anaghaa means sinless. This entire story proves that the transformation of a sinner to become God is possible. To prove this truth only, Goddess Anaghaa played the roles of first Madhumati (lust-based lust) becoming second Madhumati (love-based lust). This shows that realisation and repentance followed by non-repetition of sin can bring tremendous reformation of demon nature to be transformed into divine nature.