Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 16 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)


যোগী ন্যাসী কর্মী জ্ঞানী,        অন্য দেব পূজক ধ্যানী,
ইহ লোক দূরে পরিহরি ।
ধর্ম কর্ম দুঃখ শোক,        যেবা থাকে অন্য যোগ,
ছাড়ি ভজ গিরিবরধারী ॥ ১৬ ॥

yogī nyāsī karmī jñānī,        anya deba pūjaka dhyānī,
iha loka dūre parihari |
dharma karma duḥkha śoka,        yebā thāke anya yoga,
chāḍi bhaja giribaradhārī || 16 ||

     Stay away from the yogīs, māyāvādī-sannyāsīs, karmīs, jñānīs and those who worship or meditate on other gods. Give up varṇāśrama-dharma, fruitive activities, sorrow, lamentation and whatever other attachments you may have. Just worship Girivaradhārī.

Giridhārī-Bhajana

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: As in the previous verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is in this verse also determining the rules and regulations regarding that which the bhakta must accept and reject. Along with avoiding asat-saṅga, the bhakta who desires his highest welfare must also stay far away from yogīs, sannyāsīs, karmīs,  jñānīs, those who worship or meditate on other gods and so on. For a bhakta who desires prema and is singularly devoted to bhajana, the mere contact of persons absorbed in matters other than Kṛṣṇa is deemed asat-saṅga. By their association, the bhakta inevitably becomes absorbed in matters other than Kṛṣṇa and deviates from his bhajana. Yogī means one who practices aṣṭāṅga-yoga, which is comprised of yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi. In their doctrine, by the practice of this aṣṭāṅga-yoga, if the five mental faculties of pramāṇa (conviction), viparyaya (misapprehension), vikalpa (indecision), nidrā (sloth) and smṛti (remembrance) are controlled, the sādhaka will attain asamprajñāta-samādhi and oneness with Paramātmā. Nyāsī is understood to mean the māyāvādī-sannyāsīs, who are daśanāmī-sannyāsīs of the tradition coming from the advaitavādī Śaṅkara. In their doctrine, nirviśeṣa (undifferentiated) brahma is beyond māyā, while saviśeṣa (having specific qualities) īśvara is in contact with māyā. They also believe that all of īśvara’s various bodies are phantoms of māyā, or illusory. They consider Bhagavān’s transcendental state, his abodes, devotion and his devotees all to be illusory. The forms of the jīvas are also māyā. Since the universe is composed of māyā, it is therefore false. This type of argument that assumes all existent objects to be illusory is called māyāvāda. In their opinion, everything except the one undivided, non-dual, attribute-less brahma is false or illusory. Māyāvāda is covered Buddhism and asat, a clear reference to which is found in the Uttara-Khaṇḍa of Padma-Purāṇa: māyāvādam asac-chāstraṁ pracchannaṁ bauddham ucyate, mayaiva vihitaṁ devi kalau brāhmaṇa-mūrtinā. Śrī Śaṅkara said to Mahādevī, “Devī! Māyāvāda is an asat-śāstra and covered Buddhist doctrine. In the form of Śaṅkarācārya, I established this philosophy in kali-yuga (to destroy Buddhism or śūnyavāda and to reinstitute vaidika doctrine).”
     Karmī means those who, in hopes of obtaining the happiness of dwelling in svarga (the heavenly worlds), are devoted to performing the yajñas and other rituals mentioned in the Vedas and the daily and occasional activities mentioned in the smṛti-śāstras. Śruti says, kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti, plavā hy ete adṛḍhā yajña-rūpā, tad yatheha karma-jito lokaḥ kṣīyate, evam evāmutra puṇya-jito lokaḥ kṣīyate and so on. The meaning is that after performing many arduous Vedic sacrifices, rituals, vows and so on, the karmī obtains svarga, the heavenly worlds. But when his religious merit is exhausted, he must leave svarga, the place of enjoyment, and be reborn in the mortal world where he suffers repeatedly from birth, old age, disease and death. Therefore, yajñas and so on are not firm rafts for crossing over the ocean of material life. Just as in this world, the stock of rice and other foods acquired by farming decreases as they are eaten, in the same way, svarga also, which has been attained by puṇya, suffers decay as the earned enjoyment is depleted. Therefore, those who are blinded by ignorance and attached only to karma create their own bondage in the net of karma, like a spider who spins his own web.
     Jñānī means a brahma-jñānī, or one who considers the jīva and brahma to be non-different. In his commentary, Śaṅkarācārya has refuted in every way the doctrine of combining jñāna and karma. In his opinion, karma and jñāna are extremely contradictory, like light and dark. They cannot be performed simultaneously. For this reason, in his Śārīraka-Bhāṣya, he has determined that the immediate or direct causes of the inquiry into brahma are deliberation upon both eternal and temporary subjects; renunciation of the enjoyment of the fruits of one’s endeavors in this world and the next; the six virtues, such as tranquility, self-control and so on; and the desire for liberation. By all these practices, the brahma-jñānīs contemplate the non-difference between the nature of brahma and the consciousness of the jīva. Even though those desiring brahma-jñāna are to be respected, the bhaktas reject them because their philosophy is extremely detrimental to bhedavāda or bhakti. Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has said the bhakta-sādhaka must stay far away from them.
     Moreover, the association of those who worship or meditate upon Brahmā, Rudra or other devatās, thinking them to be independent gods, should also be abandoned. Śrī Viṣṇu is the Supreme Lord and Brahmā, Rudra and all others are his devotees. ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa āra saba bhṛtya (CC. Ādi 5.142). “Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is Lord; all others are servants.” By the power of worshiping Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Mahādeva and others sustain their everlasting divinity. Therefore, in the śāstras, those who consider Brahmā, Rudra and other devatās to be equal to Śrī Nārāyaṇa have been called pāṣaṇḍīs or heretics. yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ, samatvenaiva vīkṣeta sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam (Vaiṣṇava-Tantram). “Those who consider Brahmā, Rudra and other devatās to be equal to Śrī Nārāyaṇa are undoubtedly pāṣaṇḍīs.” To see or associate with such a heretic is in every way forbidden. Worship must be performed with the understanding that Brahmā, Mahādeva and so on are the best of Vaiṣṇavas and that Śrī Hari is the Lord of all. It is seen in śāstra that there are many faults in abandoning Viṣṇu and worshiping other devatās. In the conversation between Brahmā and Nārada in the Skanda-Purāṇa we see, vāsudevaṁ parityajya yo’nya-devam upāsate, svamātaraṁ parityajya śvapacīṁ vandate hi saḥ. “For one who abandons Śrī Vāsudeva and takes up the worship of another devatā, it is as though he abandons his own mother and praises a dog-eating caṇḍālī.” In Śrī Mahābhārata also, we find this description: yas tu viṣṇuṁ parityajya mohād anyam upāsate, sa hema-rāśim utsṛjya pāṁśu-rāśiṁ jighṛkṣati. “A person who gives up the worship of Viṣṇu and because of illusion worships another devatā gives up a pile of gold and wants to receive a pile of ashes.” Not only that, but in the Skanda-Purāṇa, it has been described that by giving up Śrī Hari and worshiping another devatā, it is like giving up nectar and drinking deadly poison. vāsudevaṁ parityajya yo’nya-devam upāsate, tyaktvāmṛtaṁ sa mūḍhātmā bhuṅkte halāhalaṁ viṣam. The bhakta who desires his highest welfare must also give up the association of all these people who are unfavorable toward the path of bhakti.
     Then he says, dharma karma duḥkha śoka, yebā thāke anya yoga, chāḍi bhaja giribaradhārī. Dharma means dharma that is suitable for the varṇāśrama system, including the four varṇas of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra along with the four āśramas of brahmacarya, gārhasthya, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. Karma means daily and occasional activities that produce puṇya or virtue. He has given a lesson for the śuddha-bhaktas regarding bhajana after they abandon dharma, karma and so on. In the discussion where Śrī Kṛṣṇa tells Uddhava Mahāśaya to abandon dharma, he says, ājñāyaivaṁ guṇān doṣān mayādiṣṭān api svakān, dharmān santyajya yaḥ sarvān māṁ bhajeta sa sattamaḥ (Bhāg. 11.11.32). “Even though knowing the merits of performing one’s own duties and the faults of not performing one’s duties as taught by my veda-śāstras, he who gives up all dharmas and worships me is regarded as the best of sādhus.” mayā veda-rūpeṇādiṣṭān api svadharmān santyajya yo māṁ bhajeta so’py evaṁ pūrvoktavat sattamaḥ. kim ajñānāt nāstikyād vā. na, dharmācaraṇe sattva-śuddhyādīn guṇān vipakṣe doṣāṁś cājñāya jñātvāpi mad-dhyāna-vikṣepakatayā mad-bhaktyaiva sarvaṁ bhaviṣyatīti dṛḍha-niścayenaiva dharmān santyajya (Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary on the above-mentioned verse). Śrī Bhagavān says, “O Uddhava! After abandoning the duties ordered by me in the Vedas, those who worship me are considered the best of sādhus, as mentioned before. The question may be posed, ‘Do they give up their duties because of ignorance or atheism?’ The answer is, ‘No.’ They understand that by the performance of dharma, one’s nature is purified and that by non-performance, sins or faults will accrue. But they also know that the performance of one’s svadharma may disrupt one’s contemplation of me, so with the firm conviction that ‘by devotion to me, everything is accomplished,’ they completely abandon their dharmas.” In Śrī Gītā also, Śrī Bhagavān said to Arjuna, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. “O Arjuna! Give up all dharmas and take shelter of me alone.”
     Regarding the renunciation of karma, we see Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s words to Uddhava in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta na nirvidyeta yāvatā, mat-kathā-śravaṇādau vā śraddhā yāvan na jāyate (11.20.9). “As long as one feels neither disinterest toward sense objects nor faith in hearing my stories, one must continue to practice his daily and occasional karmas.” In his Sārārtha-Darśinī commentary on this verse, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda has written, nirvede tu jāte ‘nirviṇṇānāṁ jñāna-yoga’ iti mad-ukter jñāna evādhikāro na karmaṇīti bhāvaḥ. tathā ākasmika-mahat-kṛpā-janita-śraddhā vā yāvad iti śraddhātaḥ pūrvam eva karmādhikāraḥ, śraddhāyāṁ jātāyāṁ tu ‘jāta-śraddhas tu yaḥ pumān’ iti mad-ukter bhaktāv eva kevalāyām adhikārā na karmaṇīti bhāvaḥ. śraddhā ceyam ātyantiky eva jñeyā. sā ca bhagavat-kathā-śravaṇādibhir eva kṛtārthī-bhaviṣyāmīti na tu karma-jñānādibhir iti dṛḍhaivāstikya-lakṣaṇaiva. tādṛśa-śuddha-bhakta-saṅgodbhūtaiva jñeyā. The meaning is that Śrī Bhagavān says, “If disinterest in karma has arisen in someone, as I mentioned before (nirviṇṇānāṁ jñāna-yoga), this person has adhikāra (eligibility) for jñāna, not for karma. By the words ‘so long as one does not have faith born of the causeless mercy of saints,’ I mean that before having faith, one has adhikāra for karma. By saying ‘that person in whom faith has arisen,’ I mean that if śraddhā has appeared, this faithful person has adhikāra only for bhakti, not for karma. Such faith should be understood to be uninterrupted. In other words, ‘By hearing bhagavat-kathā and so on, I shall be successful, not by karma or jñāna.’ This symptom of firm belief in God shall be understood as faith born of the association of a pure bhakta.” Therefore, it has been acknowledged that a person with tender faith has a very slight adhikāra for karma. mṛdu-śraddhasya kathitā svalpā karmādhikāritā (BRS. 1.2.186).
     Those who have truly given up varṇāśrama-dharma and their daily and occasional duties, who have accepted the dress of a bhāgavata-paramahaṁsa and are worshiping Śrī Hari have abandoned varṇāśrama-dharma internally and externally and have become completely disinterested in karma and jñāna. But those who remain in varṇāśrama-dharma, namely in gārhasthya-āśrama, who take shelter at Śrī Hari’s lotus feet and perform bhajana with firm faith have also obviously abandoned varṇāśrama-dharma because they have no attachment for it.
     In the same way, the bhakta must also give up worldly sorrow, lamentation and so on because Śrī Kṛṣṇa will never appear in the minds of those stricken with sorrow and regret. The pure bhaktas unwaveringly accept sorrow and lamentation as a gift of Śrī Bhagavān’s mercy; if such miseries do come to them, they patiently endure them and remain deeply engaged in bhajana. Moreover, anya-yoga means that the bhaktas release attachment for their wives, children, sense objects and so on. By his skill in bhajana, the śuddha-bhakta frees his mind from its attachment to all worldly things or subjects and establishes it firmly at Śrī Bhagavān’s lotus feet. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, “In this way, the bhakta-sādhaka must earnestly worship Śrī Śrī Giridhārī with his mind fixed upon the Lord’s lotus feet.”


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