সাধু-শাস্ত্র-গুরুবাক্য, হৃদয়ে করিয়া ঐক্য,
সতত ভাসিব প্রেমমাঝে |
কর্মী জ্ঞানী ভক্তিহীন, ইহাকে করিব ভিন,
নরোত্তম এই তত্ত্ব গাজে || ১২ ||
12. Uniting my heart with the words of guru, sādhu and śāstra, I shall always float in love of God. I shall remain separate from the karmīs, jñānīs and others who have no bhakti. Narottama shouts this truth at the top of his voice.
The Words of Sādhu, Śāstra and Guru
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has been discussing careful sevā of the nine kinds of bhakti. In the śāstras and the words of the mahājanas, many types of differentiation of the nine kinds of bhakti have been preserved. For example, Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has expanded them into sixty-four limbs in his book Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhu. Moreover, on this path of bhakti, the sādhaka must observe all the virtuous practices (sadācāra) as well as perform all practical bodily activities with the same intention. The sādhakas who desire auspiciousness must act according to the words of guru, sādhu and śāstra. This has been mentioned in the first half of this verse. Previously, in the fourth verse, it was written, guru-mukha-padma bākya, hṛdi kari mahāśakya: “The words from Śrī Guru’s lotus mouth have great power.” By this statement, it is understood that the words of Śrī Guru regarding what should or should not be done among the above-mentioned activities should be firmly held within one’s heart. Now, here the question may be asked, “If Śrī Gurudeva gives some improper order that is incompatible with the words of the sādhus and śāstras, or is unfavorable to bhajana, should that also be indiscriminately followed?” To remove this type of doubt, he says, sādhu-śāstra-guru-bākya hṛdaye kariyā aikya. The meaning is that if the words of Śrī Guru are one with or in agreement with the śāstras that have been produced to help obtain Śrī Bhagavān, and with the words of the sādhus who are firm in sadācāra, then they are to be followed without consideration. If one takes shelter of the lotus feet of a true guru, well-versed in the scriptures and possessing good behavior, his order can never be in opposition to the words of the śāstras and sādhus. For this reason, the direction has been given that one must take shelter of the lotus feet of a guru who is knowledgeable in śabda-brahma such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other scriptures (in other words, he must be competent in the Vedic literatures) and also deeply absorbed in parabrahma, or devoted to Śrī Bhagavān. In this way, there will be no times of great difficulty for a sādhaka in his life of sādhana.
However, if Śrī Gurudeva does give some improper instruction that is incompatible with the words of the sādhus and śāstras, the sādhaka may think he is being tested or that the guru wants to determine his faith in sādhu and śāstra. If that is the case, the sādhaka must humbly present his reason for disregarding that order to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet. Nevertheless, if Śrī Gurudeva repeatedly gives such an improper order to the sādhaka, then, perceiving that to be Śrī Guru’s difficult test, the deep meaning of which he is unable to understand, the sādhaka should remain at a distance and continue his bhajana with faithful adherence to sādhu and śāstra. The teachings of Śrī Guru that are contrary to the teachings of the śāstras and sādhus should not be followed, but no irreverence or disrespect should be shown toward him.
The śruti-śāstras are of many kinds. In some śāstras, karma, jñāna and so on have been described as predominant. Also, in the śāstras that establish the path of bhakti, the various means to attain Śrī Bhagavān have been glorified. It is not possible for any sādhaka to practice all of these. Therefore, if the sādhus of one’s own tradition follow some practice mentioned in the scriptures, which means it is in agreement with the words of śāstra and guru, then only is that practice to be unanimously accepted by the sādhaka who desires auspiciousness. The purport is that if an order given by Śrī Gurudeva is approved by the śāstras and sādhus of one’s own sampradāya, then that order is acceptable. Moreover, only those statements of śāstra are acceptable that are approved by Śrī Gurudeva and the sādhus of one’s own sampradāya. Furthermore, only those statements of the sādhus that agree with the words of Śrī Guru and the śāstras are to be accepted. Only one, meaning either the statement of the sādhus or of śāstra or of guru, is unacceptable if not in agreement with the other two. If there is unity among these three, the statement is to be accepted. Therefore, he has said, sādhu-śāstra-guru-bākya hṛdaye kariyā aikya, satata bhāsiba prema-mājhe. The meaning is that by accepting the words of sādhu, śāstra and guru, all favorable instructions for doing bhajana for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure will be received, and if they are held firmly within one’s heart, all obstacles to bhajana will be removed and prema will appear. At the appearance of prema, the devotee gets an indescribable taste of divine love, of which the essential faculties are hlādinī and samvit. Prema blesses the devotee with a taste of Śrī Bhagavān’s mādhurya and the premika then always floats in the ocean of bhagavad-rasa-mādhurī. satata bhāsiba prema-mājhe.
Then Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, karmī jñānī bhakti-hīna, ihāke kariba bhina, narottama ei tattva gāje. Karmīs, jñānīs and other sādhakas are devoid of bhakti. Service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa or arranging for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s happiness is called bhakti. Karmīs and jñānīs are searching for self-happiness, meaning, in the karmī’s heart there is a desire for reaching the heavenly worlds and so on, and in the jñānī’s heart a desire for mukti exists. Although they perform their various karma and jñāna sādhanas with the hope of getting their respective results, they also perform śravaṇa-kīrtana and so on of Śrī Hari because bhakti binu kona sādhana dite nāre phala, saba phala deya bhakti svatantra prabala (CC. M. 24.92). “Without bhakti, no sādhana can give any result. Bhakti is independent and powerful and gives all success.” Still, since they have desires, they are devoid of bhakti because the longing to serve Śrī Bhagavān never awakens in their hearts. They are only doing bhajana to obtain their desired results. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, ihāke kariba bhina: at the time of satsaṅga, genuine kṛṣṇa-bhaktas must keep themselves separate from these karmīs and jñānīs. In other words, bhaktas must never associate with them at any time. If a sādhaka engaged in pure bhajana observes their practices and then associates with them, it is possible that the desire for something other than Kṛṣṇa that is present in the hearts of the karmīs and jñānīs can be transmitted into the bhakta’s heart. In Hari-Bhakti-Sudhodaya it is seen that, yasya yat-saṅgati puṁso maṇivat syāt sa tad-guṇaḥ. “Whatever the qualities of a person, like a jewel, one who associates with him also acquires those qualities.” Following this convention, the desires of the person with whom one associates are inevitably transferred to the heart of the one associating with him. Even though their association does not cause the desire for something other than Kṛṣṇa to be transferred to the heart of a faithful sādhaka, he still suffers when in contact with karmīs and jñānīs, whose natures are very different from his own. The reason is that they try to diminish the glory of bhakti by extolling the virtues of karma and jñāna as above all. So, for the sādhaka who desires auspiciousness, it is in every way beneficial for him to keep a distance from them. narottama ei tattva gāje means that in this verse, Śrī Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is proclaiming with a strong voice this clear philosophical conclusion.
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