Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c11.s4.71

c11.s4.71

¹ With due deference to Vaiṣṇava sentiment, one must say that some of the dubious acts and jests, which are frank expressions of physical passion, appear out of place in what is supposed to be the witty repartee of a polished and cultured society. However esoteric the sense may be, they are presented as literal facts, of which sex, and sex alone, supplies the incentive; but there is no point in going beyond the limits of natural modesty. It is extraordinary that such things should come from the highly pious Gosvāmins. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, who must have known Raghunātha-dāsa quite intimately at Vṛndāvana, speaks of the severely ascetic days and nights the Gosvāmin spent in study and meditation, his dressing himself in rags, avoiding rich food, and spending not even three or four hours in sleep or rest.