अज्ञानतिमिरान्धस्य ज्ञानाञ्जन-शलाकया ।
चक्षुरुन्मीलितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ १ ॥
I lie prostrate at the lotus feet of Śrī Gurudeva, who has opened my eyes, once blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the collyrium stick of knowledge.
Maṅgalācaraṇa:
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā:
(Drop of Nectar Commentary)
अद्वैतप्रकटीकृतो नरहरिप्रेष्ठः स्वरूपप्रियो नित्यानन्द-सखः सनातनगतिः श्रीरूप-हृत्केतनः ।
लक्ष्मी-प्राणपतिर्गदाधररसोल्लासी जगन्नाथभूः साङ्गोपाङ्ग-सपार्षदः स दयतां देवः शचीनन्दनः ॥
“May that golden-hued son of Śrī Jagannātha Miśra, Deva Śrī Śacīnandana, who is always attended by his affectionate entourage, please be merciful unto us. He has been revealed to the world by Śrī Advaita Prabhu and is very dear to Śrī Narahari. He is loved by Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara, is the closest friend of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and the refuge of Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmipāda. Śrī Rūpa’s heart dwells in him, he is the husband of Śrī Lakṣmīdevī, and his presence awakens the rapture of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita.”
This book composed by Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is called Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā. Ṭhākura Mahāśaya was the embodiment of love for Śrīla Nitāicānda. The glowing moon of prema was always present in the sky of his heart, and the nectarous effulgence of that moon appeared in the world as this book, blessing mankind by shining the rays of prema-bhakti upon the hearts of those covered by the dense darkness of ignorance.
Bhakti is the essence of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śaktis named hlādinī and samvit. This svarūpa-śakti exists within Śrī Bhagavān as three faculties, namely hlādinī, samvit and sandhinī, but not within the jīva-śakti or bahiraṅgā-māyā-śakti. By God’s mercy, the hlādinī and samvit faculties of this svarūpa-śakti enter into the heart of the jīva, and when his sādhana and bhajana mature, the jīva’s desires and inclinations become one with this energy and prema is attained. Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, “tasyā hlādinyā eva kvāpi sarvānandātiśāyinī vṛttir nityaṁ bhakta-vṛndeṣv eva nikṣipyamāṇā bhagavat-prītyākhyayā vartate. atas tad-anubhavena śrī-bhagavān api śrīmad-bhakteṣu prīty-atiśayaṁ bhajata iti.” (Prīti-Sandarbhaḥ, 65 anuḥ) The meaning is that, in this way, the hlādinī-śakti is always present within Śrī Bhagavān, and whenever that most blissful, eternal faculty is deposited within the devotees, it is called bhagavat-prīti or love of God. Thus, when Śrī Bhagavān experiences the devotee’s love for him, he also feels great love. For example, if sulphur powder is dropped into mercury, even without mixing, just by their contact the forms of mercury and sulphur disappear and a new and different substance called mercury sulphate is created. The mercury and sulphur have united. In the same way, as the result of bhajana such as hearing and chanting, the materialistic mentality of the bhakta-sādhaka joins with the sac-cid-ānanda nature of bhakti and spontaneously acquires a spiritual quality. The fusing of the sādhaka’s mental function and the hlādinī-śakti is called prema. In this book, the crystalline radiance of that prema-sādhana shimmers brightly; thus the name Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā.
Bhakti is the essence of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śaktis named hlādinī and samvit. This svarūpa-śakti exists within Śrī Bhagavān as three faculties, namely hlādinī, samvit and sandhinī, but not within the jīva-śakti or bahiraṅgā-māyā-śakti. By God’s mercy, the hlādinī and samvit faculties of this svarūpa-śakti enter into the heart of the jīva, and when his sādhana and bhajana mature, the jīva’s desires and inclinations become one with this energy and prema is attained. Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, “tasyā hlādinyā eva kvāpi sarvānandātiśāyinī vṛttir nityaṁ bhakta-vṛndeṣv eva nikṣipyamāṇā bhagavat-prītyākhyayā vartate. atas tad-anubhavena śrī-bhagavān api śrīmad-bhakteṣu prīty-atiśayaṁ bhajata iti.” (Prīti-Sandarbhaḥ, 65 anuḥ) The meaning is that, in this way, the hlādinī-śakti is always present within Śrī Bhagavān, and whenever that most blissful, eternal faculty is deposited within the devotees, it is called bhagavat-prīti or love of God. Thus, when Śrī Bhagavān experiences the devotee’s love for him, he also feels great love. For example, if sulphur powder is dropped into mercury, even without mixing, just by their contact the forms of mercury and sulphur disappear and a new and different substance called mercury sulphate is created. The mercury and sulphur have united. In the same way, as the result of bhajana such as hearing and chanting, the materialistic mentality of the bhakta-sādhaka joins with the sac-cid-ānanda nature of bhakti and spontaneously acquires a spiritual quality. The fusing of the sādhaka’s mental function and the hlādinī-śakti is called prema. In this book, the crystalline radiance of that prema-sādhana shimmers brightly; thus the name Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā.
In this Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā, composed of the sublime and enlightened words of Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya, the full potency of divine-love-giving, infallible sādhana and bhajana has been stored. At the same time, incomparably nectarous instructions on how to skillfully perform this bhajana have also been given. The splendor of his words will remove the darkness in the heart of one engaged intensely in śravaṇa and kīrtana and quickly suffuse it with prema-bhakti. It is as though he is gently taken by the hand and brought to the lotus feet of his beloved Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Just as moonlight can illumine the path for a traveller who has lost his way and lead him to his destination, similarly by the radiance of this book, the deluded jīvas who are attached to walking the difficult road of material existence can be shown the true path of bhajana. The blaze of the three types of miseries is extinguished, their spiritual nature as mañjarīs is awakened, and they are delivered to the entrance of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s forest bower. Therefore, the name Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā is quite appropriate.
In this book, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s uniquely profound words reveal through simple Bengali language a summary of the esoteric and complex philosophy of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava bhajana and sādhana. Truly, that which is most precious and most important within the world of Gauḍīya bhajana is present in these instructions. Nevertheless, by resorting to the mercy of great souls and, as much as possible, through my own experience of bhajana, I shall try to explain the inner meaning of his words, which are filled with deep realizations of the practice. It is very difficult to appreciate the inner significance of this work by means of mundane knowledge or intellect. Regarding this, I will relate a true story I heard from my venerable gurudeva. Some years ago, a certain well-educated man from Bengal retired from his vocation and decided he wanted to live in Vraja, so he came here and took shelter at the lotus feet of a great devotee. That devotee gave him a copy of Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and instructed him to read it daily. From time to time the devotee would ask the man whether he was reading the book daily and understanding it. Upon hearing such questions, the highly educated man would think to himself, “Because Śrī Gurudeva is so deeply absorbed in bhajana, he has probably just forgotten that I am such a big scholar. This book is written in simple tripadī Bengali meter. How could he think I wouldn’t be able to understand it?” Thinking like this, he would reply, “Yes; I can understand everything.” One day, the high-minded devotee read one verse and requested the educated gentleman to explain it. The gentleman then explained it to the devotee by the strength of his mundane knowledge. Hearing that interpretation, the devotee smiled slightly and said, “My dear boy, this is not the entire explanation or inner significance of the verse.” Saying this, he then revealed such a wonderful interpretation that it was beyond even the imagination of the learned gentleman. From that day, he began to realize how difficult the subject matter of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā was, so he then diligently studied the meaning of all the verses with his gurudeva. Having taken shelter at the lotus feet of the author Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya, Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas, and depending on their mercy, I shall now try to explain the inner meaning of this book according to my understanding.
In this book, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s uniquely profound words reveal through simple Bengali language a summary of the esoteric and complex philosophy of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava bhajana and sādhana. Truly, that which is most precious and most important within the world of Gauḍīya bhajana is present in these instructions. Nevertheless, by resorting to the mercy of great souls and, as much as possible, through my own experience of bhajana, I shall try to explain the inner meaning of his words, which are filled with deep realizations of the practice. It is very difficult to appreciate the inner significance of this work by means of mundane knowledge or intellect. Regarding this, I will relate a true story I heard from my venerable gurudeva. Some years ago, a certain well-educated man from Bengal retired from his vocation and decided he wanted to live in Vraja, so he came here and took shelter at the lotus feet of a great devotee. That devotee gave him a copy of Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and instructed him to read it daily. From time to time the devotee would ask the man whether he was reading the book daily and understanding it. Upon hearing such questions, the highly educated man would think to himself, “Because Śrī Gurudeva is so deeply absorbed in bhajana, he has probably just forgotten that I am such a big scholar. This book is written in simple tripadī Bengali meter. How could he think I wouldn’t be able to understand it?” Thinking like this, he would reply, “Yes; I can understand everything.” One day, the high-minded devotee read one verse and requested the educated gentleman to explain it. The gentleman then explained it to the devotee by the strength of his mundane knowledge. Hearing that interpretation, the devotee smiled slightly and said, “My dear boy, this is not the entire explanation or inner significance of the verse.” Saying this, he then revealed such a wonderful interpretation that it was beyond even the imagination of the learned gentleman. From that day, he began to realize how difficult the subject matter of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā was, so he then diligently studied the meaning of all the verses with his gurudeva. Having taken shelter at the lotus feet of the author Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya, Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas, and depending on their mercy, I shall now try to explain the inner meaning of this book according to my understanding.
(To be continued...)
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