Mirabai Seeks God: A Journey of Devotional Love and Longing

Abstract

In this paper, I will be discussing, through the lens of this paradox, the experiences of a Hindu devotee of God, the 16th-century poet Mirabai. I will map out some contours of this interaction that seems to be conceptually impossible and yet animates the devotional life. I will explore how Mirabai seeks to transgress, through her poetic expressions alternating with joy and sorrow, the finite realm and somehow contain the divine non-finite reality, namely, Krishna. As we will see, her attempts to engage with Krishna, her non-finite beloved, and generate a loving interaction between herself and Krishna often leads to the disappearance of Krishna which encases her in a spiral of deep suffering and lament. However, it is precisely this agony that enables her to gradually withdraw herself from the finite world and, in turn, immerse herself devotionally in Krishna. I will explore, in the final section, the nature of Mirabai’s devotional victory, and how these moments of suffering, in the experience of separation from Krishna (viraha-bhakti), are yet charged with a liberating power. This spiritual telos allows for a deep devotional connection to be established between her finite self and Krishna, a connection that cannot be articulated straightforwardly on the logical plane.