Madhurya-Bhava: What exactly is acceptable?

[ratikala]

I think Madhurya bhava, should be looked at what the words actually mean, I think that Madhurya means sweet, from the roof madhu, also means honey (madh), and bhava means intent behind an action, as in from the word Bhavana,

So i think your intent towards the Lord should be of sweetness. Whatever your intention may be, it should be sweetness in thoughts and deeds in your devotion.

As the Lord is father to all and mother to all, sexual intentions should not come into play, that is what i think.

jai jai

the above feelings seconded !

gaura priya , .....

Such relationships, I ascertain, were never really made to be physically manifest, but internal, within the mind, and the sentiments of such a bhava will be made manifest through one's actions.

vrindarvana das , ...When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Krsna fructifies, the following nine symptoms manifest in one's behavior: forgiveness, concern that time should not be wasted, detachment, absence of false prestige, hope, eagerness, a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord, attachment to descriptions of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and affection for those places where the Lord resides -- that is, a temple or a holy place like Vrndavana. These are all called anubhava, subordinate signs of ecstatic emotion. They are visible in a person in whose heart the seed of love of God has begun to fructify.'CC Madhya 23.18-19

again , to both .......jai jai !

all three posts stress the motivation behind the action .

which in my opinion should be , ... adoration and selfless devotion .

 

[Parsifal]

Thanks for your kind words, Parsifal! It is always delightful to meet fellow lovers of God.

Many's the form beyond the norm
In which God and his love are clothed ~
Through manifestations and incarnations,
So everyone may know'th.
And what a delight are the womanations. . .
In God I place my troth!

By the way, with regard to Iridescence's comment about celibacy, it is certainly possible to be both tantric and celibate. I am a tantrika and was happily celibate for 14 years before I met my partner of the last 7 years.

I was confused until I figured out that you and she were using the word "celibate" just in the sense of not having a partner. As you probably know, in spiritual practice (notably Hindu) there is a whole scale of celibacy, of which the strictest is no stimulation whatsoever in thought, word, or deed. In this usage, most of the millions of unpartnered people today are not celibate at all.

I mentioned that I do a form of spiritual sex praxis similar to tantra but derived from Taoism; I started off with the teachings of Mantak Chia, and still practice what he calls "single cultivation", meaning without a partner. And I don't consider myself "celibate" ~ though I have gone through temporary periods of practicing strict celibacy. This is very useful for building up a charge, which can then be released to great effect, all the way up the shushumna and beyond. The same practice would even be tactically useful for people in a regular carnal relationship, though the burgeon would discharge from the opposite end of the tube.

 

[metalnun]

Many's the form beyond the norm
In which God and his love are clothed ~
Through manifestations and incarnations,
So everyone may know'th.
And what a delight are the womanations. . .
In God I place my troth!



I was confused until I figured out that you and she were using the word "celibate" just in the sense of not having a partner. As you probably know, in spiritual practice (notably Hindu) there is a whole scale of celibacy, of which the strictest is no stimulation whatsoever in thought, word, or deed. In this usage, most of the millions of unpartnered people today are not celibate at all.

I mentioned that I do a form of spiritual sex praxis similar to tantra but derived from Taoism; I started off with the teachings of Mantak Chia, and still practice what he calls "single cultivation", meaning without a partner. And I don't consider myself "celibate" ~ though I have gone through temporary periods of practicing strict celibacy. This is very useful for building up a charge, which can then be released to great effect, all the way up the shushumna and beyond. The same practice would even be tactically useful for people in a regular carnal relationship, though the burgeon would discharge from the opposite end of the tube.

Lovely poem!!

re: celibacy, you raise a very good point. Yes, there are different forms, which is why I specified "tantric." On the one hand there is the type of "celibacy" in which all sexual feelings are repressed and ignored while lifting lots of weights, digging ditches, building houses for the homeless or other activities in order to "sublimate" the energy. That is not my approach. Rather, the sexual energy is embraced and offered up in prayer, where it rises from the root chakra to the heart chakra (or beyond) and is thereby transformed and given to God. This results in love and compassion for all beings. I believe the mechanism of this is similar to what you practice.