হৃষীকে গোবিন্দসেবা, না পূজিব দেবী দেবা,
এইত অনন্যভক্তি কথা ।
আর যত উপালম্ভ, বিশেষ সকলি দম্ভ,
দেখিতে লাগয়ে বড় ব্যথা ॥ ১৯ ॥
hṛṣīke gobinda-sebā, nā pūjiba debī debā,
eita ananya-bhakti kathā |
āra yata upālambha, biśeṣa sakali dambha,
dekhite lāgaye baḍa byathā || 19 ||
I shall serve Śrī Govinda with my senses. I shall not worship other gods or goddesses. I shall only speak of pure devotion. I shall denounce everything else. Whenever I see such vanity in everyone, it gives me great pain.
Serving Hṛṣīkeśa
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has previously discussed ananya-bhajana (exclusive service). Having defined ananya-bhakti, he now ascertains those things that are obstructions to a devotee’s bhajana and must be given up. hṛṣīke gobinda-sebā, nā pūjiba debī debā, eita ananya-bhakti kathā. In Śrī-Nārada-Pañcarātra, while determining the characteristics of pure devotion, it has been said, sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate. “That sevā which is offered with one’s senses to Śrī Hṛṣīkeśa, or Śrī Govinda who controls the senses, which is free from all upādhis (limitations) or all types of desires regarding this world or the next, which is pure and performed only for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure is called bhakti.” One meaning of the name Govinda is ‘the controller or lord of the senses.’ Go means the senses. The implied meaning of the word govinda in this verse is hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses. The eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin are the five jñānendriyas or organs of perception; the organ of speech, the hands, the feet, the anus and the genitals are the five karmendriyas or organs of action; the antarendriya or inner sense is the mind. Service to Śrī Govinda with these eleven senses is called bhakti. Seeing the vigraha (deity form) of Śrī Govinda and seeing the lustrous form of a bhakta are infallible means to obtain prema. In Śrī-Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ 1.2.239, Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written,
smerāṁ bhaṅgi-traya-paricitāṁ sāci-vistīrṇa-dṛṣṭiṁ
vaṁśī-nyastādhara-kiśalayām ujjvalāṁ candrakeṇa |
govindākhyaṁ hari-tanum itaḥ keśi-tīrthopakaṇṭhe
mā prekṣiṣṭhās tava yadi sakhe! bandhu-saṅge’sti raṅgaḥ ||
“O friend! If you want to enjoy with your friends and relatives, don’t look at the radiant, smiling form of Śrī Hari known as Govinda, standing near Keśitīrtha. His body bends gracefully in three places, his large eyes cast a sidelong glance, his lips, tender as fresh leaves, are placed upon his flute, and he bears a peacock feather upon his head.” By the words ‘Don’t look,’ he has expressed great praise for seeing Kṛṣṇa’s form by using an opposite meaning. This indicates that simply by seeing Śrī Govinda, all other attachments are driven from one’s heart, and one’s eyes and mind are colored with love for him. On the other hand, without seeing the form of Śrī Bhagavān, the eyes are thus condemned. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.22 says, barhāyite te nayane narāṇāṁ liṅgāni viṣṇor na nirīkṣato ye. “If the beautiful form of Śrī Viṣṇu is not seen, a man’s eyes are as useless or insensate as the markings on the tail of a peacock.” Just by seeing Śrī Bhagavān’s devotees, bhakti is transmitted into one’s heart. Therefore, in Śrī-Hari-Bhakti-Sudhodaya, the sight of a bhakta has been called the fruit of the eyes. akṣṇoḥ phalaṁ tvādṛśa-darśanaṁ hi, tvādṛśānāṁ kathaṁcit tvad-anukaraṇavatām api darśanam evākṣṇoḥ phalam (commentary in Hari-Bhakti-Vilāsa). “What more can be said about seeing a devotee? By seeing even one who imitates the mood or dress of a bhakta, the fruit of possessing eyes is attained.”
Hearing discussions about Śrī Govinda with one’s ears is called śravaṇa. Because hearing govinda-kathā is the best way to get prema, it has been repeatedly glorified in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other śāstras. If śrī-govinda-kathā somehow enters into one’s ears, all anarthas and so on are destroyed and one gets prema at Śrī Govinda’s lotus feet. yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyāṁ kṛṣṇe parama-pūruṣe, bhaktir utpadyate puṁsaḥ śoka-moha-bhayāpahā (Bhāg. 1.7.7). “If one hears the pāramahaṁsa-saṁhitā Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which contains stories of Śrī Govinda, then devotion to the Supreme Person Śrī Kṛṣṇa is engendered. This bhakti destroys grief, illusion and fear.” Even though the discussion of Śrī Govinda’s stories may take place somewhere far away and one is not able to directly attend, if a person simply desires to hear that govinda-kathā, the Lord is at once captured in his heart and there remains. This is a beginning statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt (Bhāg. 1.1.2). sadya eva hṛdi avarudhyate vaśī-kriyata iti premā sūcitaḥ tasya premaika-vaśyatvāt (Sārārtha-Darśinī commentary). “Śrī Hari is immediately captured or subdued within the heart of one eager to hear his stories. This indicates the appearance of prema, because only by prema is the Lord controlled.” Conversely, the ears that don’t hear śrī-govinda-kathā are like useless, ineffective holes. bile batorukrama-vikramān ye na śṛṇvataḥ karṇa-puṭe narasya (Bhāg. 2.3.20). “The ears of a person who never hears śrī-hari-līlā-kathā are simply useless holes.”
With the tongue, the devotee tastes the offerings made to Śrī Govinda. The nectar from Śrī Govinda’s lips destroys all desires for anything other than Śrī Govinda. itara-rāga-vismāraṇaṁ nṛṇām (Bhāg. 10.31.14). In the words of Śrī Uddhava Mahāśaya, we see that māyā is conquered as a result of drinking the nectar from Śrī Govinda’s lips. tvayopabhukta-srag-gandha-vāso’laṅkāra-carcitāḥ, ucchiṣṭa-bhojino dāsās tava māyāṁ jayemahi (Bhāg. 11.6.46). Śrī Uddhava said to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, “O Lord! By adorning ourselves with the garlands, sandalwood paste, clothing and ornaments that you have enjoyed, and by eating the remnants of your food, we, your servants, can conquer your māyā.” Incapable of abandoning Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Uddhava Mahāśaya has extolled the glories of mahāprasāda. Indeed, the sādhaka not only conquers māyā when he honors the Lord’s mahāprasāda, but he is also blessed with prema. Stories are told of the awakening of an everlasting desire to honor mahāprasāda, even in the hearts of the premikas. In the Utkala-Khaṇḍa of the Brahma-Purāṇa, it has been described that Devarṣi Nārada serves Śrī Lakṣmīdevī because of his eagerness to honor mahāprasāda. When Devī is satisfied, she gives him Śrīman Nārāyaṇa’s prasāda. When he gets that prasāda, Śrī Nārada then goes to Maheśa and sings its praises. Śrīman Mahādeva then honors a tiny particle of prasāda that is stuck on the tip of Śrī Nārada’s fingernail and is overwhelmed with love. Not getting any of the prasāda, Devī Pārvatī becomes very unhappy. She then performs austerities so that mahāprasāda, which is difficult for even the gods to get, can be distributed to all the ordinary people of the world. To fulfill Devī’s prayer, Śrī Bhagavān personally, in the form of Śrī Jagannātha at Puruṣottama-Kṣetra, is eternally eating huge offerings and then distributing the prasāda. On the other hand, if one shuns mahāprasāda, he is deprived of Śrī Hari’s mercy. ucchiṣṭera bale haridāsa bala dhare, prabhu bidyamāne ucchiṣṭera puraskāre. hena mahāprasāda muñi nā bhuñjinu kabhu, antare jānila more bañciyāche prabhu (Śrī-Caitanya-Maṅgala). “By the influence of the Lord’s food remnants, Haridāsa had become powerful and he praised those remnants in the presence of the Lord. I had never tasted such mahāprasāda and in my heart I felt the Lord had deprived me.”
With the nose, one should smell the flowers that have been offered to Śrī Govinda’s lotus feet. Prema has been transferred into the minds of even self-satisfied sages like Sanaka-Sanandana, the mind-born sons of Brahmā, when they got a whiff of the Tulasī leaves placed on the lotus feet of Śrī Nārāyaṇa, the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha. This prema caused the appearance of transformations in their bodies and minds, as has been described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.15.43:
tasyāravinda-nayanasya padāravinda-
kiñjalka-miśra-tulasī-makaranda-vāyuḥ |
antargataḥ svavivareṇa cakāra teṣāṁ
saṁkṣobham akṣara-juṣām api citta-tanvoḥ ||
“When a breeze laden with the nectar of Tulasī blossoms mixed with saffron from the lotus feet of the lotus-eyed Śrī Bhagavān entered the nostrils of Śrī Sanaka and others absorbed in the joy of brahma, their minds and bodies were deeply agitated. Extreme joy arose in their minds and horripilation appeared on their bodies.” Therefore, it is understood that smelling the flowers offered to Śrī Govinda helps one to realize prema. Conversely, a person who does not serve in this way is as good as dead. śrī-viṣṇu-padyā manujas tulasyāḥ śvasañ-chavo yas tu na veda gandham (Bhāg. 2.3.23). “A person who does not smell the Tulasī leaves offered at the lotus feet of Śrī Hari, though breathing, is as good as dead.”
Similarly, with the skin, one should touch the dust from the lotus feet of a bhagavad-bhakta. Without this, there is no way for the inclination to love Śrī Bhagavān to appear. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.32 says, mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo’bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat. On the other hand, without serving the dust from the lotus feet of a mahābhāgavata, one’s body remains useless. jīvañ-chavo bhāgavatāṅghri-reṇuṁ na jātu martyo’bhilabheta yas tu (Bhāg. 2.3.23). “A mortal human who does not accept the dust from the lotus feet of a bhagavad-bhakta is as good as dead.”
With the organ of speech, one should glorify Śrī Govinda’s name, qualities, pastimes and so on. Śrī Bhagavān can never abandon one who speaks his kathā. mat-kathā-vācakaḥ nityaṁ mat-kathā-śravaṇe ratam, mat-kathā-prīta-manasaṁ nāhaṁ tyakṣāmi taṁ naram (Viṣṇu-Dharmottara). Śrī Bhagavān said, “I can never abandon those who speak or hear my kathā, or those whose minds are moistened with love toward my kathā.” Without doing this, a person’s tongue is like the tongue of a frog: jihvāsatī dārdurikeva sūta na copagāyaty urugāya-gāthāḥ (Bhāg. 2.3.20). “The tongue that does not sing the glories of Śrī Hari must be considered to be like the faulty tongue of a frog.” Likewise, the hands should be used to serve Śrī Govinda; otherwise, they are useless. śāvau karau no kurutaḥ saparyāṁ harer lasat kāñcana-kaṅkanau vā (Bhāg. 2.3.21). “If a person’s hands never serve Śrī Hari, those hands, though adorned with radiant, golden bangles, are to be considered like those of a dead man.” The feet are successful when used to travel to the places of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes or his dhāma; otherwise, those feet are no better than some inanimate object. pādau nṛṇāṁ tau druma-janma-bhājau kṣetrāṇi nānuvrajato harer yau (Bhāg. 2.3.22). “Men’s feet that never go to the places of Śrī Hari are like the roots of trees.” Even though one cannot directly serve Śrī Bhagavān with the anus and genitals, in one way they can be utilized in sevā. utsargān mala-mūtrādeś citta-svāsthyaṁ yato bhavet, ataḥ pāyor upasthasya tad-ārādhana-sādhanam. “By the elimination of stool and urine through the anus and genitals, the body and mind, which are the fundamental constituents of bhajana-sādhana, remain healthy. Because of this, even the anus and genitals can indirectly be instruments for worshiping Śrī Bhagavān.
The primary way of worshiping Śrī Bhagavān is through the inner sense, or mind. Even though one performs bhajana with the jñānendriyas (organs of knowledge) and karmendriyas (organs of action), without having a concentrated mind, the attainment of prema by mere mechanical bhajana is hardly possible. Therefore, the diligent sādhaka should specifically be very careful to perform bhajana with his jñānendriyas and karmendriyas, as well as with a concentrated mind. Śrī Govinda gives himself to one who always remembers him. smarataḥ pāda-kamalam ātmānam api yacchati (Bhāg. 10.80.11). “Jagadguru Śrī Kṛṣṇa directly appears and gives himself to one who meditates upon his lotus feet, meaning that he becomes enchanted by and obedient to a person who does smaraṇa.” For this reason, in Padma-Purāṇa, it has been said, smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur vismartavyo na jātucit, sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ. “Śrī Viṣṇu should be remembered at all times and never forgotten. All prescriptions in the śāstras regarding what is to be done are the obedient servants of the rule to always remember Viṣṇu, and all prohibitions regarding what is not to be done are the obedient servants of the rule to never forget Viṣṇu.” The meaning is that by remembering Śrī Viṣṇu, all prescriptions of the śāstras are observed, and by never forgetting Śrī Viṣṇu, all prohibitions are maintained.
Such service of the lord of the senses, Śrī Govinda, with the senses, and the non-worship of other devas and devīs is ananya-bhakti, or exclusive devotion. People who desire various results worship different devatās with faith, but because Kṛṣṇa contains all the devas, they are actually worshiping him. Still, because in that type of worship there is no prescription for obtaining prema, it has been called avidhi-pūrvaka worship, or not according to rule. ye’py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ, te’pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam (Gītā 9.23).
Then Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, āra yata upālambha, biśeṣa sakali dambha, dekhite lāgaye baḍa byathā. All worldly actions related to the body performed by a person devoid of śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana are considered objectionable to the soul. Such actions are not of the soul’s nature; because they are actions of the body, which is created from ignorance, they are nothing more than self-deception. They are merely creations of the vanity or egotism concerning the body and things related to it. When one sees such useless pride in the māyā-bound jīvas, only extreme distress appears in his heart and mind.
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