365bet娱乐

204
basis for it, they had to deal with several important
problems.
How, to begin with, could the devotees enter the
realm of the divine drama? To a certain extent the solution
was obvious: by natural acts of piety such as reciting the
story, meditating on it, acting it out in religious plays,
and even, if possible, taking up residence in the place
where the events took place, where the hallowed landmarks
were yet recognizable and the memory of the divine presence
was still alive. These practices were of course adopted and
no doubt were effective. But theoretical difficulties
remained. How could the bhaktas actually realize the
emotions experienced by other persons who were actors in a
drama that was, whether temporally or metaphysically,
removed from them? And, especially perplexing, how could
men, if they wished to enjoy the bliss of the highest
bhakti, participate in the love of the female gopis for the
male character K峁涐梗峁嘺?
Fortunately, since drama had for many centuries been
regarded in India as the highest, most comprehensive form of
art, almost identical questions had already been explored in
depth by the writers on Sanskrit aesthetics. It was
therefore natural for the Vai峁ａ箛ava theologians to turn to
the theories of these "secular" thinkers for aid in
conceptualizing their particular imaginative and
dramatically-oriented style of devotional sadhana.
12