ভাগবত শাস্ত্রমর্ম, নববিধা ভক্তি-ধর্ম,
সদাই করিব সুসেবন |
অন্য দেবাশ্রয় নাই, তোমারে কহিল ভাই,
এই ভক্তি পরম ভজন || ১১ ||
I shall always serve by carefully performing the nine kinds of bhakti-dharma, the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. I say to you, dear brothers, do not take shelter of other gods; this bhakti is the highest worship.
Navavidhā Bhakti
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Even though within the Vaiṣṇava community Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is known as “the mahārāja of prema-bhakti,” meaning that although he has incomparable competency in prema-bhakti, he humbly thinks of himself as an ordinary sādhaka, saying, bhāgabata śāstra-marma, nababidhā bhakti-dharma, sadāi kariba susebana. “I shall always serve by carefully performing the nine kinds of bhakti-dharma, the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.” This can be explained in two ways. “By Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s mercy, the true hidden meanings of the Bhāgavata-śāstra have been revealed in the commentaries of the Gosvāmīs. I shall always study the Vaiṣṇava-Toṣaṇī, Krama-Sandarbha and the other Ṣaṭ-Sandarbha commentaries, which reveal the deepest meanings of the Bhāgavata, along with those of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda and Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Mahodaya, which faithfully follow the teachings of the Gosvāmīs. I shall always serve the nine kinds of bhakti, such as hearing, chanting and so on, the true dharma of the jīva, the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.”
Or, “I shall always serve the nine kinds of bhakti, the true essence of the Bhāgavata-śāstra.” This is known from the words of Śrīla Prahlāda Mahāśaya in Śrī Bhāgavatam (7.5.23-24): śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam. iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye’dhītam uttamam. “Hearing, chanting and remembering Śrī Viṣṇu, serving his lotus feet, worshiping and praising him, thinking of oneself as his servant or friend and devoting one’s entire being to him---if these nine types of bhakti are directly offered to Śrī Bhagavān by the jīva, I consider that to be the highest learning.” Having resolved to carefully serve these nine limbs of bhakti contained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the essence of all the Vedas, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is urging the sādhaka community to also serve them with utmost care. Here Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has not used the word sevana (service), but rather susevana (careful service). The meaning is that the sādhaka who desires his highest welfare must serve or practice the nine kinds of bhakti in the highest way, by which his heart and mind, soiled by desires and longings, quickly become purified and rati or prema are allowed to appear without delay. In what way must hearing, chanting and the other limbs of bhakti be carefully served? With the support of the Gosvāmīs’ words, we shall undertake a small discussion of this matter because in the absence of careful sevā, or because of lack of skill in sevā, the sādhaka’s progress in bhajana and attainment of prema will be much delayed.
First, regarding careful sevā, or sevā done in the highest way, in the limb of bhakti comprised of hearing, or śravaṇa, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, tac ca nāma-rūpa-guṇa-līlāmaya-śabdānāṁ śrotra-sparśaḥ...tatrāpi śravaṇe śrī-bhāgavata-śravaṇaṁ tu parama-śreṣṭhaṁ tasya tādṛśa prabhāvamaya-śabdātmakatvāt parama-rasamayatvāc ca tatra pūrvasmād yathā (Bhāg. 1/1/2) ‘śrīmad-bhāgavate mahāmuni-kṛte kiṁvā parair īśvaraḥ sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt.’ mahāmuniḥ sarva-mahan-mahanīya-caraṇa-paṅkajaḥ śrī-bhagavān. atra kiṁvā parair ityādinā śabda-svābhāvika-māhātmyaṁ darśitam. uttarasmād yathā ‘sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ hi śrī-bhāgavatam iṣyate. tad-rasāmṛta-tṛptasya nānyatra syād ratiḥ kvacit.’ tad-rasa evāmṛtaṁ tena tṛptasya. atraivaṁ vivecanīyam; śrī-bhagavan-nāmādeḥ śravaṇaṁ tāvat paramaḥ śreyaḥ; tatrāpi mahad-āvirbhāvita-prabandhādeḥ, tatra mahat-kīrtyamānasya; tato’pi śrī-bhāgavatasya. tatrāpi mahat-kīrtyamānasyeti. tatrāpi savāsana-mahānubhava-mukhāt sarvasya śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi śravaṇaṁ tu parama-bhāgyād eva sampadyate tasya pūrṇa-bhagavattvād iti (Bhakti-Sandarbhaḥ).
When words describing the name, form, qualities and pastimes of Śrī Bhagavān contact the ear, it is called śravaṇa. Moreover, among things to hear, the hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is considered best because its words are the most powerful and contain the most rasa. It has been described in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that its every word is supremely powerful. ‘That mahāmuni Bhagavān Śrīman Nārāyaṇa, whose lotus feet are worshipped by the greatest sages, has revealed this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.’ Because such powerful words and transcendental enjoyment have been deposited in this book, by the mere desire to hear it, the devotee captures Śrī Bhagavān within his heart. Does one capture Bhagavān in his heart by hearing or following any other śāstra? Never. By this, the inherent glory of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has been clearly shown. In addition to that, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is said to contain the most rasa: ‘One who becomes thoroughly satisfied by tasting the nectar in this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the essence of all vedānta, loses all taste for any other śāstra or sādhana.’ By this, the profound depth of enjoyment found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has been indicated. Here it is to be considered that first of all, the hearing of Śrī Bhagavān’s name, form, qualities, pastimes and so on produces the supreme benefit. Among the various sources, hearing from treatises manifested by great souls produces even more auspiciousness. Moreover, if those books produced by great souls are also sung or narrated by great souls, then the glory of the text becomes even greater. If the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which was produced by the extremely great souls Śrī Vyāsa and Śrī Śuka, is narrated by a great soul, that generates extreme auspiciousness. If the name, qualities and pastimes of Śrī Hari that have been deposited in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are heard from the mouth of a magnanimous soul whose desires are similar to the hearer, then that gives the most enjoyment of all. Moreover, even though the pastimes of various avatāras are narrated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in respect of bringing good fortune, the name, form, qualities and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa are topmost because he is himself Bhagavān and the direct embodiment of mādhurya.
From this siddhānta of Śrīla Gosvāmipāda we have understood the gist to be that hearing about Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities and pastimes from the mouth of a great soul who has similar intentions is extremely powerful and filled with the highest rasa, and that the limb of bhakti composed of hearing is to be carefully served by the sādhaka. Making Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the center, the Gosvāmīs have composed their philosophical and rasa-related books concerning Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. All of those books should also be regarded as of the same status as the Bhāgavatam. The books concerning the līlās of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, who is the combined form of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, such as Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata and Śrī Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, as well as Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā, Prārthanā and so on are also very powerful and filled with rasa. By carefully hearing all these books from a like-minded great soul, all obstacles are quickly removed and the sādhaka who has developed a taste for this subject matter is in a short time blessed with prema. This is how to perform good service of the śravaṇa limb of bhakti.
To be continued...
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