Braj

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Braj / ब्रज

Brajati gachchhati iti Brajah– That which moves around is Braj." This is the original understanding of the word Braj. The places where Nand Baba dwelt and moved around with his cows, calves, family and associates are called Braj. "Brajanti gavah yasminnati Brajah – the land where the cows, cowherd men. cowherd boys and cowherd girls wander is known as Braj." Braj particularly denotes the land of the Supreme Person Brajendra-nandan Shri Krishna's pastimes. The flirtatious hero of Braj, Shri Krishna, is Akhil-Rasamritamurti, the embodiment of the nectar of all primary and secondary spiritual tastes, or rasas. In this Braj, He performs His eternal pastimes with Radhika, who is the embodiment of mahabhav (the essence of Shri Krishna's pleasure potency), and His other associates. The most exalted of all nectar-filled pastimes, namely, Shri Krishna's rasa-lila, and His numerous other pastimes, take place here eternally. In this Braj, every glance and gesture is filled with rasa. Here, the original enjoyer, Shri Govind eternally enjoys nectar-filled sports and pastimes with those gopis who have manifested from His own intrinsic form. These pastimes have no beginning and no end. That place where there is nothing but an endless ocean of prem, whose waves of the most elevated, radiant mellow of intimate paramour love are constantly rising up and swelling over, is Braj. That place consisting purely of rasa, that is continuously savoured by those expert in relishing loving mellows, and those who can taste transcendental mellows, is the land of Braj. Shrimad Bhagvat (10.44.13) gives a deeply moving description of Braj:

"O sakhi, the actual truth is that the land of Braj is supremely pure and blessed, because here the Supreme Person is living, disguised as a human being. That same Lord, whose lotus feet are worshipped by the lord of all lords, Mahadev Shankar, and by Shri Rama Devi, wanders about here with His brother Balram and His cowherd boy friends. Adorned with a garland of multicoloured flowers, He grazes the cows and plays the flute sweetly. Absorbed in many kinds of pastimes, He wanders here and there with delight. By the touch of His lotus feet, this land of Braj has become virtuous and successful."

The Skand Purana also presents a beautiful definition of the word Braj: "Parabrahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth, is beyond the three modes – goodness, passion and ignorance – and because He pervades every single particle of the universe, He is called Braj. His place, the embodiment of eternity, knowledge and bliss, is supremely brilliant and indestructible. Residing here are the supreme connoisseurs of ecstatic transcendental mellows, who are liberated from material existence."

Goloka (Gokul) And Braj

Shri Chaitanya Charitamrit (Adi-Lila 5.17) states:

"Shri Gokul, the topmost abode, has many names Braj, Goloka, svetadvipa and Vrindavan."

Thus, these names are all considered synonymous. Shri Rup Goswami, an intimate associate of Shriman Mahaprabhu, resolves any confusion about Gokul and Goloka in his book Shri Laghubhagvatamrit: He states here that the glory of Gokul is identical with the glory of Goloka. In fact, Goloka is merely the glory of Gokul. Similarly, Vrindavan and Gokul are simply different names for Braj. The second verse of Brahma Sanhita describes this Gokul dham:
Shri Bhakti Vinod Thakur has explained the meaning of this verse as follows: "Maha-Vaikunth, or Paravyoma-dhama, is eternally situated beyond the Viraja River. This holy abode is the embodiment of three divine opulences: being imperishable, free from sorrow and free from all types of fear. The extremely sweet Gokul, otherwise known as Goloka, which is full of unlimited transcendental opulence, is situated beyond that Paravyoma-dhama. Sometimes Goloka is also called Gokula, but Goloka is actually the opulence or manifestation of Gokul, the abode of all sweet pastimes. This holy abode, radiant as Goloka or Gokul, appears in the form of Gokul below Vaikunth on the Earth planet."
In Shri Brhad Bhagvatamirta (2.5.168), the quintessence of all scriptures, Shri Sanatan Goswami writes:

"Krishna's pastimes in Gokul, which is situated on the material plane, are the same as those in Goloka. The only difference between Goloka and Gokul is that Goloka is situated in the highest region and Gokul manifests on the Earth planet."

In Krishna Sandarbha, Shri Jiv Goswami has accepted Goloka as the manifestation of Vrindavan.

Mood of Unwedded Amorous Love

In Shri Chaitanya Charitamirt (Adi-lila 4.47) Shri Kaviraj Goswami states: Shri Bhaktivinod Thakur comments in his Amrita Pravaha Bhasya on this verse: "Many people think that Shri Krishna is performing His pastimes eternally in Goloka and appears in Braj for a short time just to perform His pastimes in parakiya-bhava, the mood of unwedded amorous love. This, however, is not the opinion of our Gaudiya gosvamis, who accept also the pastimes in Braj as eternal. Braj is the name of the absolute inner chamber of the transcendental and eternal Goloka-dhama. The same pastimes Shri Krishna performs in Vrindavan on Earth, including those of parakhiya-rasa, transpire eternally in the supremely situated, eternal Braj Dhama."
Shri Kaviraj Goswami states in Shri Chaitanya Charitamrit (Adi Lila 110): Here the words vrajera sanhita, "along with Braj", clarify that also existing in transcendental Goloka Dhama is one inconceivably sweet abode named Braj. Shri Krishna appeared on Earth along with this very abode, with the help of His inconceivable potency. Parakiya-rasa is permanently present only in this eternal Braj, which lies within the inner chambers of Goloka. This is because the supreme mellow, parakiya-rasa, is present there with qualities unlimitedly superior to those found anywhere else in Goloka. Even in the Braj manifest on this Earth planet, living entities have been able to directly witness the variegated nature of the unmanifest Braj in the transcendental realm. Besides prakata prakasha (the manifest appearance) and aprakata-prakasha (the unmanifest appearance) the only remaining mystery is that on Earth there is also a drishyaman-prakash, which is the vision ordinary people have of Vrindavan and other holy abodes when the pastimes are no longer manifest there.

Land of Enchanting Beauty And Sweetness

Brahma Sanhita (5.56) describes Vrindavan Dham, or Goloka, in this way: "I worship that supreme abode of Svetadvipa, where the Supreme Personality Brajendra-nandan Shri Krishna is the only lover; where His svarupabhuta Braj Gopis, the embodiment of all Lakshmis, are the beloveds; where every tree and creeper is a transcendental desire-tree; where the earth is made of spiritual touchstone and the water is nectar; where speech is like melodious song and movements are like dance; where the flute is the dear female companion; where light is full of knowledge and bliss; where each and every supreme, transcendental object is all tasty and delectable; where great divine oceans of milk continually flow from the udders of uncountable surbhi cows; and where transcendental time is eternal, and without past and future, so that even half a moment never slips away. In this material world, only rare, saintly personalities behold this abode as Goloka, and only those who are the objects of Gokulapati Shri Krishna's mercy can understand the nature of this abode."