Chapter Four: The Perfected Body and Entry into Līlā

Before entering the Vraja disposition or sakhī-bhāva, two things are necessary: complete recollection of the worshipper and complete recollection of the worshipped. The former comprises eleven contemplative identities: (1) relationship, (2) age, (3) name, (4) form, (5) group, (6) dress, (7) command, (8) residence, (9) service, (10) supreme aspiration, and (11) the disposition of a protected maidservant.

Entry into sakhī-bhāva: relationship

Relationship is the foundation of attainment. The ultimate result corresponds to the disposition one bears toward Sri Krishna when the relationship is formed. Relating to Krishna as Lord makes the practitioner his servant; relating as companion makes one his friend; relating as son makes one his mother or father; relating to him as one's wedded husband makes one his wife.

There is no peaceful rasa in Vraja, and even servitude is restricted. Relationship is established according to the worshipper's natural taste. Those drawn to the parakīyā-rasa through a feminine disposition follow the Queen of Vraja and savour rasa. They contemplate: “I am an attendant of Sri Radhika, and Sri Radharani is the sovereign of my life. Radha's Beloved is therefore the Lord of my life.”

Age

Whatever our relationship with Sri Krishna, an unprecedented form arises from it: the form of a young woman of Vraja. A form suited to service is indispensable. Adolescent age alone is therefore the true age. The years from ten through sixteen are adolescence, with sixteen its culminating transition. The women of Vraja are eternally adolescent; childhood, boyhood, and old age never appear in them. The practitioner of this rasa should therefore contemplate herself in the form of an adolescent girl.¹

Name

Once one knows one's relationship as attendant to an attendant of the Queen of Vraja, the name belonging to that sakhī form becomes the practitioner's name. The name bestowed by the guru after discerning the practitioner's taste is the eternal name. Through it the practitioner becomes delightful among the women of Vraja. According to taste, names such as Priya, Lata, Ali, Sakhi, and Kala are received.