Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 24 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

ক্রোধ বা না করে কিবা,        ক্রোধ ত্যাগ সদা দিবা,

লোভ মোহ এইত কথন ।

ছয রিপু সদা হীন,        করিব মনের ভিন,

কৃষ্ণচন্দ্র করিয়া স্মরণ ॥ ২৪ ॥

krodha bā nā kare kibā,        krodha tyāga sadā dibā,

lobha moha eita kathana |

chaya ripu sadā hīna,        kariba manera bhina,

kṛṣṇacandra kariyā smaraṇa || 24 ||

     But what will anger not possibly affect? I vow to give up anger completely, along with greed and illusion. By always remembering Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra, I shall keep these six enemies weak and separate from my mind.

The Effects of Anger and so on and the Remedy

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse, the inauspiciousness of anger, greed, illusion and so on and the way to remedy it is being discussed. krodha bā nā kare kibā, krodha tyāga sadā dibā. The faults of desire (kāma) were described in the previous verse and now the dangers of anger and so on are being delineated. Anger is the great enemy of mankind. In this world, there is no wicked act that anger cannot produce. In the Vana-Parva of the Mahābhārata, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira said to Draupadī about the harmful effects of anger,

krodha-mūlo vināśo hi prajānām iha dṛśyate |

kruddhaḥ pāpaṁ naraḥ kuryāt kruddho hanyād gurūn api ||

kruddhaḥ paruṣayā vācā śreyaso’py avamanyate |

vācyāvācye hi kupito na prajānāti karhicit ||

nākāryam asti kruddhasya nāvācyaṁ vidyate tathā ||

hiṁsāt krodhād avadhyāṁs tu vadhyān sampūjayeta ca |

ātmānam api ca kruddhaḥ preṣayed yama-sādanam ||

kruddho hi kāryaṁ suśroṇi na yathāvat prapaśyati |

na kāryaṁ na ca maryādāṁ naraḥ kruddho’nupaśyati ||

     “O one with lovely hips! Anger is the cause of man’s ruination in this world. An angry person may commit sinful acts, even up to killing his guru. An angry person insults with harsh words even those described as the best of men. If someone is under the control of anger, he doesn’t know what should be said and what should not. In this world, there is no misdeed that an angry person will not perform or nothing unspeakable that he will not say. Due to the arousal of anger, a person may kill someone who should not be killed, or may worship someone who should be killed. An angry person may even send himself to hell. If one is angry, his intellect cannot ascertain the results of his actions. An angry person cannot understand what actions are appropriate or how to observe proper etiquette.”

     Besides this, it has been described in the medical śāstras that in some circumstances anger is the cause of diseases such as epilepsy, insanity, fainting, hemorrhaging from the nose, heart and stomach, vomiting blood and so on. It has occasionally been seen that even death can occur as a result of the incitement of anger. Therefore, krodha bā nā kare kibā, krodha tyāga sadā dibā. One must protect oneself at all times from the influence of anger. yas tu krodhaṁ samutpannaṁ prajñayā pratibādhate, tejasvinaṁ taṁ vidvāṁso manyante tattva-darśinaḥ (Mahābhārata, Vana-Parva). “The learned have given the name tejasvī, meaning powerful and glorious, to a person who by his wisdom has subdued the anger that has risen in him.” The kṛṣṇa-bhaktas, who are adorned with humility and modesty, have forever abandoned this great enemy. Only within the bounds of intolerance toward those who are inimical to Vaiṣṇavas does anger give assistance to their bhajana.

     Then he said, lobha moha eita kathana. The previous statement also applies to greed and illusion. Like anger, they too cause great harm to mankind. Understanding this, one must endeavor to protect oneself from their grip. Regarding the harm that greed can cause, we see the following in Mahābhārata, Udyoga-Parva: lobhaḥ prajñānam āhanti prajñā hanti hatā hriyam, hrīr hatā bādhate dharmaṁ dharmo hanti hataḥ śriyam. “Greed destroys the intellect. If the intellect is destroyed, modesty is also destroyed, meaning that a greedy person will shamelessly try to take the wealth, property and so on of others. If modesty is destroyed, dharma is destroyed; and if dharma is destroyed, everything that is auspicious is destroyed.” We see the following in the Hitopadeśa:

lobhāt krodhaḥ prabhavati lobhāt kāmaḥ prajāyate |

lobhān mohaś ca nāśaś ca lobhaḥ pāpasya kāraṇam ||

lobhena buddhiś calati lobho janayate tṛṣām |

tṛṣṇārto duḥkham āpnoti paratreha ca mānavaḥ ||

     “From greed, anger arises; from greed, desire is born; from greed, illusion and ruination appear. It is only greed that is the cause of sin. By greed, the intellect is agitated; because of greed, longing arises. A person afflicted by longing suffers both in this world and the next.” This greed, or lobha, is extremely difficult to restrain. If one gathered all the rice, barley, gold, animals and women of the world in one place and gave it to a greedy person, his greed would still not end. yat pṛthivyāṁ vrīhi-yavaṁ hiraṇyaṁ paśavaḥ striyaḥ, na duhyanti manaḥ-prītiṁ puṁsaḥ kāma-hatasya te (Bhāg. 9.19.13). The pacification of this greed, which is difficult to be curtailed, is never possible through sense enjoyment. Therefore, in Śrī Gītā 2.71, Śrī Bhagavān said, vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumāṁś carati niḥspṛhaḥ, nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sa śāntim adhigacchati. “A person who gives up all desires and lives his life unattached or free from greed, who is humble and unselfish, devoid of a sense of ownership over material things obtains true peace.” A person attains that incomparable treasure after casting off greed and anger. Though Mahārāja Bhartṛhari was a king, after obtaining through a life of asceticism an experience of happiness greater than royal wealth,  he said,

bhū paryaṅko nija-bhuja-latā kandukaṁ khaṁ vitānaṁ

dīpaś candro virati-vanitā-labdha-saṅga-pramodaḥ |

dik-kāntābhiḥ pavana-camarair vījyamānaḥ samantāt

bhikṣuḥ śete nṛpa iva bhuvi tyakta-sarva-spṛho’pi ||

     “After giving up all desires or greed, a mendicant sleeps like a king. The vast earth is his bed and his own arms his pillow. The sky stretches above his head like a canopy; the moon gives him cooling light like a jeweled lamp. Like a beloved wife, his indifference to the material world is his constant companion. His lovers, in the form of the ten directions, fan his body with a cāmara in the form of the wind.” (Vairāgya-Śatakam)

     Being content with whatever comes of its own accord, the bhaktas engage their greed in hearing hari-kathā in the association of sādhus and forever abandon their desires for worldly things. In this way, they attain the supreme peace. In the same way, the sādhaka must endeavor to give up knowledge-covering illusion, understanding it to also be a powerful impediment to bhajana. mama pitā mama mātā mameyaṁ gṛhiṇī gṛham, evaṁvidhaṁ mamatvaṁ yat sa moha iti kīrtitaḥ (Padma-Purāṇa). “My father, my mother, my wife, my home—this ‘my, my’ mentality toward worldly things at all times is known as moha, or illusion.” Moha is the cause of attachment to all temporary or perishable things. If there is no illusion, a person does not have so much greed or attachment for the fragile, transitory body and things related to it. By inquiring into one’s true nature or by gaining knowledge of the truth about oneself, everyone can attain the highest goal and be blessed with everlasting joy. kā tava kāntā kas te putraḥ saṁsāro’yam atīva vicitraḥ, kasya tvaṁ vā kuta āyātas tattvaṁ cintaya tad idaṁ bhrātaḥ (Moha-Mudgara). “Who is your wife? Who is your child? This material world is extremely strange. Whose son are you? From where have you come? O brother, think about this reality.” In Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha, Maharṣi Vasiṣṭha said to Śrī Rāmacandra,

kṛśo’tiduḥkhī baddho’haṁ hasta-padādimān aham |

iti bhāvānurūpeṇa vyavahāreṇa badhyate ||

nāhaṁ duḥkhī na me deho bandhaḥ kasmān mayi sthitaḥ |

iti bhāvānurūpeṇa vyavahāreṇa mucyate ||

nāhaṁ māṁsaṁ na cāsthīni dehād anyaḥ paro hy aham |

iti niścayavān antaḥ kṣīṇāvidyo vimucyate ||

kalpitaivam avidyeyam anātmany ātma-bhāvanāt |

puruṣeṇāprabuddhena na prabuddhena rāghava ||

     “‘I am weak, I am miserable, I am bound, I am a person with hands, feet and so on.’ By thinking in this way and behaving accordingly, a man is bound by the rope of illusion. ‘I am not miserable, this is not my body. How can I be bound?’ By thinking in this way and behaving accordingly, a man is freed from the rope of illusion. ‘I am not flesh, I am not bone. I am spirit, separate from the body.’ Thus, the ignorance in the heart of one with such firm conviction is destroyed and he is liberated. O Rāghava! By imagining the self to be part of that which is destitute of spirit, the ignorant person invents illusion. A discriminating person does not do this.” The wise devotees consider that their true condition is that they are sheltered at the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and by his mercy they cut the ropes of illusion regarding worldly sense objects. By employing moha or illusion in the form of mental stupefaction caused by separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, they are blessed with a taste of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweet nectar.

     Finally, Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, chaya ripu sadā hīna, kariba manera bhina, kṛṣṇacandra kariyā smaraṇa. The meaning is that the bhaktas who have taken shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet do not conquer the six enemies like the jñānīs and yogīs, whose sādhanas require great endeavor. Due to the power of them having taken shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, the strength of these extremely formidable enemies is spontaneously diminished or weakened. The enemies then have no influence over the bhakta’s mind, which has been made firm by remembrance, meditation and so on. Śrī Bhagavān has said that by the power of taking shelter of him, the bhakta is easily freed from the influence of māyā and its resultant enemies: mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (Gītā 7.14).