Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 9 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

প্রেমভক্তি-রীতি যত,        নিজ গ্রন্থে সুবেকত,

লিখিয়াছে দুই মহাশয় ।

যাহার শ্রবণ হৈতে,         প্রেমানন্দে ভাসে চিতে,

যুগল মধুর রসাশ্রয় ॥ ৯ ॥

     These two great souls have written books that clearly reveal all the practices of prema-bhakti. The minds and hearts of those who hear these descriptions float in premānanda and become vessels for yugala-madhura-rasa.

Yugala-Madhura-Rasāśraya

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: After singing the glories of the premamaya books written by Śrī Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana, Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura Mahāśaya then discusses their noble contribution---prema-bhakti-rīti yata, nija granthe subekata, likhiyāche dui mahāśaya. Both Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Sanātana are known as mahāśaya, meaning high-minded or magnanimous. Even though they were always floating in the ocean of divine contemplation and deeply absorbed in tasting rasa, they were still overcome with compassion for the jīvas of the world. Due to their kind and benevolent natures, they stored their most profound feelings and realizations within the books they composed. Or mahāśaya can also mean bhakti-rasa-lampaṭa, always yearning for bhakti-rasa. Just as they tasted bhajana-rasa or bhakti-rasa by hearing, chanting, remembering and meditating, they also tasted it by writing books. Those who are engaged in the work of composing books about bhakti or rasa certainly understand how extraordinarily enjoyable it can be! Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya himself has suggested a very beautiful explanation of the word mahāśaya: rādhikā caraṇāśraya, ye kare se mahāśaya. “One who has taken shelter of Śrī Rādhikā is a great soul.” Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana have earnestly taken shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā, and as her eternal maidservants, they are truly one at heart with their affectionate Śrīmatī. Therefore they are indeed well-qualified for composing such wonderful premamaya books.

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya here alludes to the incomparable quality of Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana’s books: prema-bhakti-rīti yata, nija granthe subekata, likhiyāche dui mahāśaya. There are several types of meanings found in the dictionaries for the word rīti, such as krama, prakāra, svabhāva, paddhati, guṇa, dharma and so on, and the utility of all these meanings has been preserved here. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is so extraordinarily eloquent that with this one small word, rīti, comprised of only two syllables, he has encapsulated the far-reaching subject matters described in Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana’s many books. 

     Concerning the word rīti as meaning krama, or sequence, in his books Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhu and Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi, Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has given very transcendental and thoughtful descriptions of the steps to attaining prema-bhakti. He begins with śraddhā, sādhu-saṅga and bhajana-kriyā, continuing up through the higher levels of sneha, māna, praṇaya and finally mahābhāva. He also discusses the many profound amorous sentiments displayed within mahābhāva, such as rūḍha, adhirūḍha, modana, mohana and mādana. In the first section of his Śrī Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta, Śrīmat Sanātana Gosvāmipāda has given a wonderful description of the gradual development of bhakti within those who are the objects of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s compassion. In the second section he describes the evolution of prema-bhakti in the various dhāmas, such as Vaikuṇṭha, according to the type of rasa.

     Similarly, rīti can mean prakāra, or type. In various books, Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana have skillfully written about the different types of prema-bhakti-rasa, namely śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and madhura, and have given examples of each. They have also given extensive descriptions of the svabhāva, or nature, of prema-bhakti, which is that the mind becomes completely focused on Śrī Kṛṣṇa, with all other thoughts cast away. In the same way, they have provided elaborate descriptions of the paddhati, or system, of prema-bhakti, namely the particular set of rules pertaining to sādhana-bhakti, bhāva-bhakti and prema-bhakti, as well as discussions about its transcendental guṇa (quality) and dharma (virtue). Besides this, Śrīmat Sanātana Gosvāmipāda has written about the practices and various doctrines of bhakti in his Śrī Hari-Bhakti-Vilāsa, Līlā-Stava or Daśama-Carita, and in his Bṛhad-Vaiṣṇava-Toṣaṇī commentary. In Laghu-Bhāgavatāmṛta, Vidagdha-Mādhava, Lalita-Mādhava, Stava-Mālā, Dāna-Keli-Kaumudī and other books, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has described the methods and mysteries of prema-bhakti to make a very difficult subject easily understood by mankind.

     Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana have clearly and in great detail explained the method of prema-bhakti in their books. Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written, śrīmat-prabhupadāmbhojaiḥ sarvā bhāgavatāmṛte, vyaktī-kṛtāsti gūḍhāpi bhakti-siddhānta-mādhurī (Bh. R. 1.4.20). “Although the sweetness of the doctrine of bhakti is a very profound subject matter, my master Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmipāda has described it very clearly in his book Śrī Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta.” This is also the case with Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmipāda’s books. For the benefit of mankind, they openly discussed the tenets of bhakti, and one shining example of this is Śrīmat Sanātana Gosvāmipāda’s commentary on his Śrī Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta. Even though he described the philosophical conclusions of bhakti in great detail by quoting extensive examples from the Purāṇas and other ancient texts,  he also gave a personal commentary to each verse so the doctrines could be easily understood by everyone. Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has appropriately said, prema-bhakti-rīti yata, nija granthe subekata, likhiyāche dui mahāśaya!

     Then he said, yāhāra śrabaṇa haite, premānande bhāse cite, yugala-madhura rasāśraya. “The minds and hearts of those who have heard these descriptions float in premānanda and become vessels for yugala-madhura-rasa.” By hearing the books of Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana (which also implies by chanting and remembering), one’s heart and mind are flooded with premānanda-rasa. The meaning is that in śāstra and the words of the mahājanas it has been stated that association with great souls who are of a similar nature to oneself, affectionate and more spiritually advanced is the topmost sādhana for obtaining śrī-kṛṣṇa-prema or tasting bhakti-rasa. This most desirable type of association is very rare in this world. Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana have fully deposited within their books the sādhana that is the treasure of their hearts, along with their own vast realizations. Secondly, every syllable of these books is filled with prema. Therefore, chanting and hearing the words of these books is a very powerful and unfailing sādhana for obtaining prema and tasting prema-rasa. Moreover, for the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas who worship Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, this collection of books is like a necklace filled with yugala-madhura-rasa. All of Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana’s books are filled with discussions of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s forms, qualities, and līlā-rasa, as well as of the methods of prema-sādhana and compatible philosophical doctrines. Therefore, when the worshipper savors the contents of all these books, his or her heart fills with premānanda-rasa. Another reading, parānanda haya cite, meaning ‘the heart becomes supremely joyful,’ is also sometimes found. The meaning is the same in both readings because premānanda and parānanda are the same. There is no greater joy in the world than prema. On the other hand, it has also been made clear that experiencing or studying these books with an argumentative attitude will never allow one to become a receptacle for Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s madhura-rasa, or even have any realization of it.