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.”
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