Third, smaraṇa--when the mind attains union with Śrī Bhagavān’s names, qualities, pastimes and so on, that is called smaraṇa. Remembrance of Śrī Hari is by nature the very life of all sādhana. Still, in practicing the smaraṇa limb of bhakti, concentration of the mind is the absolute necessity. If the mind is not pure, concentration is not possible. The import is that if impurities in the form of the appearance of other things in the mind are not expelled, the heart and mind do not become clear. For this reason, the practice of smaraṇa is not possible for everyone. Therefore, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, atha śaraṇāpattyādibhiḥ śuddhāntaḥkaraṇaś cet...nāmakīrtanāparityāgena smaraṇaṁ kuryāt. “When the heart and mind have been purified by taking shelter of the Lord and other practices, the practice of smaraṇāṅga-bhakti should be performed along with nāma-kīrtana.” The meaning is that as much as the sādhaka’s heart and mind are sanctified or cleansed by practicing the limbs of bhajana, such as having faith, taking shelter, service to Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas, hearing, chanting and so on, to that degree, smaraṇāṅga-bhajana gives happiness or enjoyment to the sādhaka. Gradually, the sādhaka engaged in smaraṇa-sevā with great care and attention passes through several levels and finally arrives in the realm where love is attained. Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has mentioned those levels: tad idaṁ smaraṇaṁ pañca-vidhaṁ, yat-kiñcid anusandhānaṁ smaraṇam. sarvataś cittam ākṛṣya sāmānyākāreṇa manodhāraṇaṁ dhāraṇā. viśeṣato rūpādi-cintanaṁ dhyānam. amṛta-dhārāvad avicchinnaṁ tat dhruvānusmṛtiḥ. dhyeya-mātra-sphuraṇaṁ samādhir iti (Bhakti-Sandarbhaḥ 278 anuḥ). “The aforementioned smaraṇa is of five kinds. Exploration of Śrī Hari’s name, form and so on to a small degree is called smaraṇa. Pulling one’s attention away from all sense objects and holding Śrī Hari’s form, qualities and so on steadily in one’s thoughts is called dhāraṇā. Contemplating his form and so on in a more specific way is called dhyāna. Uninterrupted remembrance, as though it were a stream of nectar, is called dhruvānusmṛti. When only that which is to be meditated upon appears in the mind, that is called samādhi.” As a result of careful sevā of the smaraṇa limb of bhakti, the sādhaka is gradually blessed with the attainment of bhāva-samādhi, complete absorption in divine love.
Then, pāda-sevana--pāda-śabdo bhaktyaiva nirdiṣṭaḥ. tataḥ sevāyāḥ sādaratvaṁ vidhiyate. sevā ca kāla-deśādy ucitā paricaryādi-paryāyā. sā yathā--‘yat-pāda-sevābhirucis tapasvinām aśeṣa-janmopacitaṁ malaṁ dhiyaḥ. sadyaḥ kṣīṇoty anvaham edhatī satī yathā padāṅguṣṭha-viniḥsṛtā sarit.’ The meaning is that in pāda-sevā, or serving the lotus feet, the word pāda has been used to indicate devotion or respect. It is not that only sevā of the lotus feet is to be done, and not of other limbs like the lotus face, lotus hands and so on. Sevā of all limbs must be done with great affection and respect. Service that is appropriate for the time, place and so on is called sevā. The word sevā denotes service. In a discourse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.21.31 concerning having a taste for sevā, Śrīla Pṛthu Mahārāja said to Śrī Viṣṇu, “O Lord! If a fondness for serving your lotus feet arises in a person burnt by the miseries of the material world, the impure desires for sense objects accumulated in his heart and mind from endless births are very quickly destroyed, just as the three worlds are purified by the Gaṅgā flowing from your big toe.” Here, the secondary result of having a taste for, or having done careful service of, this pāda-sevana limb has been described. In truth, as a result of his fondness for pāda-sevana, the bhakta desires only that pāda-sevā and nothing else. For this reason, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.51.55, Śrī Mucukunda Mahārāja says to Śrī Bhagavān,
न कामयेऽन्यं तव पादसेवनादकिञ्चनप्रार्थ्यतमाद्वरं विभो ।
आराध्य कस्त्वां ह्यपवर्गदं हरे वृणीत आर्यो वरमात्मबन्धनम् ॥
“O Lord! I pray for no other blessing than the service of your lotus feet, which is the constant prayer of those humble souls who have given up all desires. O Hari! What wise person, having worshiped you, the bestower of liberation, would accept another boon which may bind his soul?” Regarding the significance of using the word apavargada (giver of liberation), Śrī Jīvapāda has written that though the devotee may pray for a blessing concerning his own bondage, he will still not accept mukti. Within this pāda-sevā form of bhakti, practices such as seeing and touching the Deity, circumambulating and following the Deity, going to Bhagavān’s temples, and bathing and so forth in holy places like the Gaṅgā, Puruṣottama (Jagannātha Purī), Dvārakā and Mathurā are included because all of these generally go along with pāda-sevana.
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