Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 5, pt. 2 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

     Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says prema-bhakti yāṅhā haite, abidyā bināśa yāte, bede gāya yāṅhāra carita. We have said that it is as though the compassion of that boundless ocean of mercy, Śrī Bhagavān, has condensed into the form of Śrī Guru and appeared here for the benefit of all worldly souls. It is through Śrī Gurudeva, the avatāra of Śrī Bhagavān’s compassion, that we experience the Lord’s mercy. Śrī Gurudeva’s heart is the jeweled throne of Śrī Bhakti Mahārāṇī, the quintessence of the hlādinī and samvit śaktis. Residing there, Bhaktirāṇī bestows her mercy upon the people of the world. With Śrī Guru’s compassion as the vehicle, her mercy is set in motion within the sādhaka, and he becomes blessed with the gift of prema. Because of this sambandha-jñāna (knowledge of relationship) gained by the mercy of Śrī Guru, attachment for the body and subject matters not related to Kṛṣṇa is lost, while a deep affection for Kṛṣṇa arises. Prema-bhakti then appears within the sādhaka’s heart, having flowed through the guru-praṇālī like the current of the Mandākinī. This mystical truth can also be known from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.31):

svayṁ samuttīrya sudustaraṁ dyuman bhavārṇavaṁ bhīmam adabhra-sauhṛdāḥ |

bhavat padāmbhoruha-nāvam atra te nidhāya yātāḥ sad-anugraho bhavān ||

 bhavat padāmbhoruha-rūpāṁ nāvam atraiva nidhāya bhakti-mārga-sampradāyaṁ pravartety arthaḥ pāraṁ yātāḥ (Svāmi-ṭīkā)

     While offering prayers to Śrī Kṛṣṇa within the womb of Devakī Devī, Brahmā and the other devas said, “O Self-manifested One! Your compassion for your devotees is boundless. By the strength of that mercy, your devotees accept the shelter of your lotus feet, which are like sturdy boats that carry them across the troublesome ocean of material life. Moreover, by the system of guru-paramparā these devotees give their mercy to the souls of this world by keeping that boat here in the form of the bhakti-mārga-sampradāya.” From this it is clearly understood that without the shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Guru there is no way to attain prema-bhakti and cross the ocean of material life. The direct result of receiving shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Guru is the attainment of prema and sevā at the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān. A secondary result is the destruction of ignorance, the basis of materialistic life. Therefore Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says abidyā bināśa yāte. The forgetful jīva’s beginningless aversion to God has arisen due to Śrī Bhagavān’s external māyā-śakti of avidyā. This avidyā is of five kinds: tamaḥ, moha, mahāmoha, tāmisra and andha-tāmisra. Here tamaḥ indicates ignorance, or lack of knowledge. If one extends his hand while in dense darkness, he is unable to see it or anything else around him. In the same way, if ignorance doesn’t allow the jīva to ascertain his own nature, how in this state of darkness shall he see Śrī Kṛṣṇa? Moha means the state of being unable to discern what should and shouldn’t be done. Mahāmoha indicates desire for sensual enjoyment. Tāmisra means the angry state arising when one’s enjoyment is hindered, and andha-tāmisra denotes being absorbed in guarding one’s enjoyable things from possible loss. These are the functions of avidyā-māyā, and they are removed as a secondary fruit of Śrī Guru’s mercy.

     Those anarthas that disrupt the sādhaka’s bhajana are also known to be avidyā. They are of four kinds: duṣkṛtottha (born of evil deeds), sukṛtottha (born of good deeds), aparādhottha (born of offensive deeds) and bhaktyuttha (born of following the path of bhakti). The anarthas born of wicked acts have been described as comprised of kleśa, or misery and distress. Kleśa is of five kinds: avidyā, asmitā, rāga, dveṣa and abhiniveśa. Here avidyā means considering that which is impermanent to be eternal, that which is impure to be pure, misery to be happiness and that which is not the self to be the self. Asmitā means arrogance, pride, egotism. Rāga means desire or attachment for happiness and comfort. Dveṣa means the desire to remove all misery or its causes. Abhiniveśa means fear of death. Some also consider pious deeds aimed at sense enjoyment as anarthas and are thus included as miseries. By the mercy of Śrī Guru, all these are easily destroyed. By his mercy the sādhaka is also freed from the anarthas born of aparādha, namely the ten offenses against the Holy Name, as well as the anarthas born of following the path of bhakti, such as the desire for profit, adoration and fame. In this way, the sādhaka obtains the treasure of pure bhajana.

     bede gāya yāṅhāra carita: In the Vedas and the religious texts that follow the Vedas the importance of Śrī Guru has been repeatedly described. The Vedas constantly sing of him by whose mercy prema-bhakti is obtained and ignorance is thoroughly destroyed. ācāryavān puruṣo veda (Chāndogya): “Having taken shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Guru, a person devoted to the service of Śrī Guru attains and remains situated in spiritual truth.”

yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau |
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ ||

     “For one who studies the Vedic literature with equal devotion to Śrī Hari and Śrī Guru, the power of that devotion causes the meaning of the Vedas to awaken within him.” (Śvetāśvatara) 

     tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham (Muṇḍaka). In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the cream of all vedānta, Śrī Kṛṣṇa has said, ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyāt: “Śrī Guru shall be understood as My own form.”

     In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad of the Sāmaveda, one story concerning the importance of Śrī Guru is found. Sent by Jābālā, Satyakāma Jābāla approached Maharṣi Gautama to receive spiritual knowledge. When he arrived, Gautama initiated him and engaged him in the work of cow protection and so on. Satisfied by Satyakāma’s devotion and service to his guru, Rṣabha (the bull), Agni (the fire), Haṁsa (the swan) and others blessed him with spiritual knowledge. Gautama, pleased by this, then also gave him instructions. When Upakauśala approached Satyakāma for spiritual knowledge, Satyakāma engaged him in tending the fires and fetching things. Pleased by Upakauśala’s devotion to Śrī Guru, Agni taught spiritual knowledge to him. Then, Satyakāma, being pleased, also enlightened him. In the Veda-following Mahābhārata, there are also many well-known stories about the guru-sevā and guru-niṣṭhā of Upamanyu, Uttaṅka, Uddālaka and others. bede gāya yāṅhāra carita.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 5, pt. 1 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

চক্ষুদান দিল যেই,         জন্মে জন্মে প্রভু সেই,

দিব্যজ্ঞান হৃদে প্রকাশিত ।

প্রেমভক্তি যাঁহা হৈতে,        অবিদ্যা বিনাশ যাতে,

বেদে গায় যাঁহার চরিত ॥ ৫ ||

     “He who gave me the gift of sight is my master in birth after birth. He has awakened spiritual knowledge within my heart. By this prema-bhakti all ignorance is destroyed. The Vedas sing of his character and activities.”

Divine Knowledge

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Though the spiritual nature of the jīva is that he is the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, since immemorial time he has been forgetful of this nature, having been swallowed by the gaping mouth of bahiraṅgā-māyā, the Lord’s external illusory energy.  Thinking in terms of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ concerning his material body and that which is related to it, he wanders from form to form according to his desires and mental impressions, suffering the terrible worldly miseries of birth, death, old age and disease. Taking shelter of Śrī Guru and performing śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana is the only way to be freed from this misery.

কৃষ্ণনিত্যদাস জীব তাহা ভুলি গেল । সেই দোষে মায়া তার গলায় বান্ধিল ॥

তাতে কৃষ্ণভজে করে গুরুর সেবন । মায়াজাল ছুটে পায় কৃষ্ণের চরণ ॥

     “When the jīva forgets that he is the eternal servant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, māyā binds him by the throat. Still, if he worships Kṛṣṇa and serves his guru, the net of māyā releases him and he obtains the Lord’s lotus feet.” (CC.M.22.24-25)

     After rescuing his disciple from the ocean of material life by giving him initiation and instructions, Śrī Gurudeva covers the disciple’s materialistic eyes, which are incapable of seeing God directly, and opens his spiritual eyes, suitable for seeing the supreme truth, as well as causing him to taste the nectar of kṛṣṇa-bhajana. By designating the eyes, it is implied that the sādhaka’s other senses also become spiritualized and thus capable of bhagavad-bhajana. The meaning is that the material body, mind and senses are not capable of performing śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana. When Śrī Gurudeva, overwhelmed by causeless compassion, gives him the dīkṣā-mantras, the disciple exclaims trāyasva bho jagannātha guro saṁsāra-vahninā, dagdhaṁ māṁ kāla-daṣṭaṁ ca tvām ahaṁ śaraṇaṁ gataḥ. “Śrī Guru! You are the embodiment of the Lord’s compassion. Please rescue me from being scorched by the fire of material life and swallowed by death! O Master, I seek your refuge.” When the disciple receives Śrī Gurudeva’s shelter and dedicates his body, mind and soul, then by the touch of the nectarous power of God known as Śrī Gurudeva’s mercy (just as iron is turned to gold by contact with the philosopher’s stone), the disciple is infused with bhakti-śakti. His body and senses become spiritualized and fit for performing bhajana to the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān. The sādhaka’s body, mind and senses obtain that spirituality by assuming the same nature as that of bhagavad-bhajana, and this transformation occurs solely by the mercy of Śrī Guru. In this way, Śrī Guru’s mercy qualifies the disciple to worship the lotus feet of Bhagavān, delivers him at the Lord’s lotus feet and establishes his particular relationship with the Lord. Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says cakṣu-dāna dila yei, janme janme prabhu sei, dibya-jñāna hṛde prakāśita. “Śrī Guru, the giver of love of Kṛṣṇa and knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, is my master birth after birth, and I am his servant birth after birth. Having freed me from materialistic vision, he has opened my spiritual eyes of devotion, smeared with the ointment of love, which are suitable for seeing God. If Śrī Guru is satisfied, he deposits the power of his compassion within one’s heart, and then the divine knowledge embodied in kṛṣṇa-dīkṣā and his instructions is realized.” This clearly indicates the master-servant relationship between Śrī Guru and the disciple, as well as the permanent nature of that relationship. As the result of his past actions, the wandering jīva is born into various wombs, and in each birth he establishes connections with a different mother and father, and with different friends and relatives. But the guru-śiṣya relationship is not like that. At a suitable time after many births, the very same Śrī Guru becomes present before his disciple and causes him to drink the sweet rasa of bhajana, blesses him with the gift of prema and leads him into the kingdom of līlā for the direct sevā of his beloved Lord. Ah! The mercy of Śrī Guru! Nothing compares to this!

(to be continued...)

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 4, pt. 2 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

     It may be asked that since the supreme refuge (uttama-gati) or most cherished attainment of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas is the prema-sevā of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, then why is it mentioned here that devotion to the feet of Śrī Guru is the uttama-gati? The meaning is that since the sādhaka who has attachment for the feet of Śrī Guru certainly obtains the uttama-gati of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s nikuñja-sevā, it indicates in a logical way that the two are identical. For example, the phrase āyur ghṛtam iti literally means ‘ghee is life.’ Ghee is not life, but because by eating ghee one’s life is undoubtedly extended, it is said that ‘ghee is life.’ Therefore, by indicating that devotion to the feet of Śrī Guru and the uttama-gati are not different, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has determined that this attachment to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet is the sādhaka’s sole and most important sādhana and sādhya (means and purpose). The essential meaning is that wherever loving devotion to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet exists, the uttama-gati, or ultimate refuge, should be understood to also always be present. The meaning of ye prasāde pūre sarva āśā is that by the mercy of Śrī Gurudeva, if he is pleased, all the sādhaka’s hopes for the prema-sevā of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in their jeweled cottage within the forest of Śrī Vṛndāvana are fulfilled. ‘All hopes’ means that whenever the sādhaka’s heart is pervaded by constant longing for Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s prema-sevā, by the mercy of Śrī Gurudeva, that cherished desire is fulfilled. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has revealed a similar hope in these verses of his Prārthanā:

কুসুমিত বৃন্দাবনে নাচত শিখিগণে পিককুল ভ্রমর ঝঙ্কারে ।

প্রিয় সহচরী সঙ্গে গাইয়া যাইবে রঙ্গে মনোহর নিকুঞ্জ কুটিরে ॥

হরি! হরি! মনোরথ ফলিবে আমারে? ।

দুঁহক মন্থর গতি কৌতুকে হেরব অতি অঙ্গভরি পুলক অন্তরে ॥

চৌদিকে সখীর মাঝে রাধিকার ইঙ্গিতে চিরুণী লইয়া করে ধরি ।

কুটিল কুন্তল সব বিথারিয়া আঁচরব বনাইব বিচিত্র কবরী ॥

মৃগমদ মলয়জ সব অঙ্গে লেপব পরাইব মনোহর হার ।

চন্দন কুঙ্কুমে তিলক বনাইব হেরব মুখ-সুধাকর ॥

নীল পট্টাম্বর যতনে পরাইব পায়ে দিব রতন মঞ্জীরে ।

ভৃঙ্গারের জলে রাঙ্গা চরণ ধোয়াইব মুচ্ছাইব আপন চিকুরে ॥

কুসুম কোমলদলে সেজ বিছাইব শয়ন করাব দোঁহাকারে ।

ধবল চামর আনি মৃদু মৃদু বীজব ছরমিত দুঁহক শরীরে ॥

কনক সম্পুট করি কর্পূর তাম্বূল ভরি যোগাইব দোঁহার বদনে ।

অধর সুধারসে তাম্বূল সুবাসে ভোখব অধিক যতনে ॥

শ্রীগুরু করুণাসিন্ধু লোকনাথ দীনবন্ধু মুই দীনে কর অবধান ।

রাধাকৃষ্ণ বৃন্দাবন প্রিযনর্ম্ম সখীগণ নরোত্তম মাগে এই দান ॥

     “Along with their dear companions, they will sing and joke as they walk among the dancing peacocks, the cuckoos and buzzing bees to that charming cottage within the blossoming Vṛndāvana forest. Hari! Hari! Will my heart’s desire ever come true? When I see Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa walking slowly together, happy in each other’s company, my limbs will erupt in goosebumps from delight. Surrounded by her sakhīs, Rādhikā will beckon me to dress her hair. With a jeweled comb I shall spread her curled tresses and braid them into a beautiful plait. I shall anoint her limbs with musk and sandalwood paste, and adorn her throat with an exquisite necklace. Gazing upon her moonlike face, I shall decorate her forehead with delicate tilaka made of candana and kuṅkuma. I shall very carefully clothe her with a blue silken dress and place jeweled anklets upon her feet. I shall bathe her crimson lotus feet with scented water and dry them with my own hair. Then I shall scatter soft flower petals upon their bed and ask them both to lie down. I shall fan their tired bodies very gently with a white cāmara and place camphor-scented tāmbūla from a golden box into their lotus mouths. Then, with great care, I shall taste the remnants of that fragrant tāmbūla mixed with the nectar of their lips. Śrī Guru! You are an ocean of mercy. Śrī Lokanātha! You are the friend of the poor. I am very miserable, so please hear my cry! Narottama begs you for the service of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa with their priya-narma-sakhīs in the forests of Vṛndāvana.”

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 4, pt. 1 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

গুরু-মুখপদ্মবাক্য,        হৃদি করি মহাশক্য,

আর না করিহ মনে আশা ।

শ্রীগুরুচরণে রতি,        এই সে উত্তমগতি,

যে প্রসাদে পূরে সর্ব্ব আশা ॥ ৪ ॥

     “The words from Śrī Guru’s lotus mouth have great power. Take them into your heart and rely upon nothing else. Attachment to his lotus feet is the best way to achieve success. By his mercy, all your hopes will be fulfilled.”

The Gravity of Śrī Guru’s Words

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: After the sādhaka has taken shelter of the lotus feet of a sad-guru who understands śrī-kṛṣṇa-tattva, meaning after he has accepted dīkṣā-mantras and so on, Śrī Gurudeva shall give him instructions in sādhana and bhajana, as well as in śrī-kṛṣṇa-tattva, bhakti-tattva, prema-tattva and rasa-tattva. The instructions flowing from Śrī Gurudeva’s lotus mouth are as sweet as honey and are like an elixer for the heart and ears. They have a powerful effect in establishing the sādhaka on the path of bhajana. In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya introduces this idea by saying guru-mukha-padma-bākya, hṛdi kari mahāśakya, āra nā kariha mane āśā. The honey-like words falling from the lotus mouth of Śrī Gurudeva, the embodiment of bhagavad-bhakti-rasa, are ambrosial as well as intoxicating. There is no comparison anywhere to the instructions that Śrī Gurudeva speaks, his heart melted with affection and compassion, to his sheltered disciple. The word mahāśakya means ‘endowed with the power to lead one to God.’ The word bākya means ‘instructive speech concerning the prema-rasa of devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.’ The sādhaka must hold within his heart the words of Śrī Gurudeva (who is the embodiment of pure devotion to God) and give up all dependence on anything else. The purport is that when the merciful Lord sees the sad and miserable condition of the māyā-bound people, his heart melts for them. In order to teach them about the various tattvas and cause them to personally taste the sweetness of bhajanānanda-rasa, the bhagavat-svarūpa-samaṣṭi-guru (God as the aggregate guru) empowers some great soul who has attained bhakti to act as vyaṣṭi-guru (individualized guru). He alone is to be regarded as the genuine sad-guru. Since Śrī Guru is the embodiment of the Lord’s mercy, there is no doubt that his instructions have the power to deliver one to the Lord. Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is saying here that for those who are very eager to obtain Śrī Kṛṣṇa, it is essential that they hold the powerful words of Śrī Guru within their hearts and give up their reliance on anything else.

     The question may arise that if the instructions given by Śrī Gurudeva do not agree with the opinions of śāstra and the mahājanas, how can the sādhaka establish trust in those instructions? In reply, it has been said that the sad-guru can never give instructions that disagree with the sādhus and śāstras. If some guru should happen to instruct his śiṣya in a way contrary to the opinions of sādhu and śāstra, the virtuous śiṣya shall, without showing any disrespect, refuse to accept that instruction. He should disregard it with the attitude that he is unable to understand its hidden meaning. Therefore, in the twelfth verse Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says sādhu-śāstra-guru-bākya, hṛdaye kariyā aikya, satata bhāsiba prema-mājhe. “By making your heart one with the teachings of sādhu-śāstra-guru, you will always be flooded with divine love.”

     After that Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says śrī-guru-caraṇe rati, ei se uttama-gati, ye prasāde pūre sarva āśā. This means that those who possess some attachment for Śrī Guru’s lotus feet, having accepted within their hearts his instructions on śrī-kṛṣṇa-tattva, bhakti-tattva, prema-tattva and rasa-tattva, are blessed because of that sincere devotion to easily obtain the most precious thing within the kingdom of prema, the service of the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā’s beloved sweetheart. By ‘devotion to Śrī Guru’s feet,’ it is meant that if the sādhaka’s mind becomes satisfied by his firm devotional attachment to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet, or if the sādhaka’s mind becomes absorbed in contemplating the form of Śrī Guru, who is always engaged in bhajana, then he easily obtains the supreme refuge. 

(to be continued...)