তুমি ত দয়ার সিন্ধু অধম-জনার বন্ধু
মোরে প্রভো! কর অবধান ।
পড়িনু অসৎ-ভোলে, কাম-তিমিঙ্গিলে গিলে,
ওহে নাথ! কর পরিত্রাণ ॥ ৩৩ ॥
tumi ta dayāra sindhu, adhama-janāra bandhu,
more prabho! kara abadhāna |
paḍinu asat-bhole, kāma-timiṅgile gile,
ohe nātha! kara paritrāṇa || 33 ||
O Master! You are an ocean of mercy, the friend of the fallen. Please hear me! I have fallen into an impure state and have been swallowed by a timiṅgila* in the form of desire. O Lord! Please deliver me.
Mercy toward the Fallen
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Absorbed in the mood of a sādhaka, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has prayed to Śrī Kṛṣṇa for deliverance from his attachment to worldly sense-enjoyment because the Lord is benevolent and compassionate, or mahāśaya. He has addressed Śrī Kṛṣṇa as mahāśaya, as though he were some magnanimous or generous person of this world, but in this verse he now says, tumi ta dayāra sindhu. “You are an ocean of mercy.” Just as an ocean is vast, boundless and unfathomable, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s compassion is also boundless and unfathomable. Never mind the insignificant jīva-śakti, even Brahmā, Maheśvara, Anantadeva and others can never reach the limit of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s qualities of compassion and so on. For the jīva, there is no other means of relief than by touching a drop of that boundless ocean of mercy. We shall now mention a little about that ocean of mercy. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s compassion toward the jīva is described as being of two natures: māyāmayī and svarūpa-śaktimayī. The type of compassion that is manifested through the māyā-śakti is māyāmayī-karuṇā. Even that māyāmayī compassion is not deficient in any respect. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s taṭasthā-śakti (marginal energy) is comprised of innumerable, spirit-particle jīvas of two types: nitya-mukta and nitya-baddha. Since time immemorial, the aggregate of jīvas has remained divided into these two groups. Those who are nitya-mukta (eternally free) have spent eternity in the overwhelming joy of serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa and shall remain so forever. The nitya-baddha (eternally bound) jīvas have remained indifferent to Śrī Kṛṣṇa since time immemorial. The cause of this indifference is that although the jīvas are the eternal servants of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, they have forgotten his sevā and have desired to enjoy independently. Being merciful, Śrī Bhagavān has created through his māyā-śakti the body, which is the abode of enjoyment, and this universe, the field of enjoyment, for the jīva who desires sensual pleasures and has turned away from Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Although sense-enjoyment itself does not cause the desire for enjoyment to cease, still, because of this pleasure-seeking, one suffers the miseries of hell and so on and thus becomes repentant or disinterested in worldly affairs. Then, by the mercy of Śrī Guru and the sādhus, the jīva becomes eager for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, and as a result of bhajana, he is forever blessed with prema-sevā. If Śrī Kṛṣṇa, through his māyā-śakti, had not created this material world as a place of sense-enjoyment for them, they would forever remain indifferent to him. Moreover, for sustaining the lives of the jīvas of this vast universe, he has created water, air, the sun and moon, the planets and stars and many other enjoyable things. All this kindness delivered through his māyā-śakti is not insignificant, but still, the jīva is not liberated from his worldly bondage. The jīva, though getting information about his own svarūpa (true nature) as the eternal servant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, can still not be blessed with the sevā of his eternal master. This is because it is through the hlādinī and samvit faculties of his svarūpa-śakti, along with the merciful help of Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas, that Śrī Kṛṣṇa gives bhakti to the jīvas. After causing his transcendental līlā to descend into this material world, he blesses the jīvas with prema and direct prema-sevā through the components of bhajana, such as his name, qualities and pastimes. Because his compassion is extremely far-reaching, vast and inexhaustible, the words dayāra sindhu (an ocean of mercy) are only an indication. In fact, in the presence of the magnanimity of his mercy, even millions of oceans are insignificant.
Even though Śrī Kṛṣṇa is an ocean of endless compassion, his mercy, which is pervaded by his svarūpa-śakti, never allows the pride of wealth, followers or noble birth to get a place in the recipient’s heart and mind. Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, adhama-janāra bandhu, more prabho! kara abadhāna. “O Master! You are the friend of the fallen, and I am indeed extremely fallen. Therefore, I am a suitable candidate for your mercy. Please hear me just this once!” By this prayer of Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya, the sādhaka is instructed that once situated on the path of bhakti, when one gets the mercy of Śrī Guru, the Vaiṣṇavas and Śrī Bhagavān, he shall abandon all pride in the body and things related to it and feel himself to be adhama. Some of the dictionary meanings of the word adhama are ‘low, poor, inferior, looked down upon, insignificant’ and so on. Though the bhakta is a wellspring of all good qualities, he considers himself to be very poor, lowly and wretched. This state of being a storehouse of all good qualities is a manifestation of bhāgavatī-bhakti. This is because by nature the jīvātmā is not an independent tattva (truth, reality); he is dependent on paramātmā. Moreover, in the illusory world, he is controlled by kāla (time), karma (action), guṇa (qualities) and so on. When, by the mercy of a great soul, the jīva takes shelter of the path of bhakti, he then learns about this mystery through his association with the devotees. By the awakening of this ātma-jñāna, he becomes aware that he is not the performer of action and for this reason considers himself unsuitable for and incapable of engaging in any occupation. Realizing God’s powerful authority in all respects, he completely takes refuge at his lotus feet and immediately thinks of himself as adhama or lowly. This is called dainya (humility) and is the treasure of the bhaktas’ sādhana. This humility very quickly attracts Śrī Bhagavān’s compassion to the sādhaka. Regarding the characteristics of a sādhaka in whom rati (love, attachment) has arisen, it is said in Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 23.26 that sarbottama āpanāke ‘hīna’ kari māne: “Although the devotee is the best among men, he regards himself as lowly.”
Śrī Narottama Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, “O Master! Please, just once consider the words of this fallen, wretched person.” If Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, “What words of yours should I consider?” In reply, he says, paḍinu asat-bhole, kāma-timiṅgile gile, ohe nātha! kara paritrāṇa. “O Lord! I have fallen into a state of illusion and have been swallowed by a great timiṅgila in the form of desire. Please rescue me from his control.” Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya discussed asat-bhola in the previous verse and is once again mentioning it in this one. By seeing the context here, one understands that asat-bhola means falling into illusion by mistaking the asat, meaning the transitory body and all things related to it, to be sat or real. From this type of false notion, people who are deluded regarding their own nature consider the body and things related to be real, and they continue to desire worldly wealth, property and so on. They become absorbed in this delusion to such an extent that though hearing hundreds of good instructions concerning the transient nature of these things and the miseries caused by them, they are still unable to comprehend the truth of the matter by any means and in fact spend their lives in the service of these desires. For example, in the Yogopaniṣad we see a deliberation on the nature of this body, which is the vessel for the enjoyment of one’s desires:
amedhya-pūrṇe kṛmi-jāla-saṅkule
svabhāva-durgandhi-vininditāntare |
kalevare mūtra-purīṣa-bhāvite
ramanti mūḍhā viramanti paṇḍitāḥ ||
“The ignorant continue to long for enjoyment in this body, which is full of impurities, infested with worms and by nature filled with foul-smelling urine and stool. The wise give up their attachment to the repugnant body.” Moreover, it has also been described in this way:
vraṇa-mukham iva dehaṁ pūti-carmāvanaddhaṁ
kṛmi-kula-śata-pūrṇaṁ mūtra-viṣṭhānulepam |
vigata-bahula-rūpaṁ sarva-bhogādivāsaṁ
dhruva-maraṇa-nimittaṁ kintu moha-prasaktyā ||
“This body has acne on its face, is wrapped in foul-smelling skin and filled with hundreds of worms, and is at some ages smeared with urine and stool. The body appears in many different forms, all of which will no doubt be destroyed. In spite of all this, because of its connection with illusion, it has become the origin of the desire for all kinds of enjoyment.” Though hearing and comprehending these very simple, easily understood and correct instructions, ignorant people still consider their bodies to be themselves. This is asat-bhola, or mistaking the unreal to be real, the roots of which are the powerful mental impressions caused by one’s desires. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says that it is as though these powerful desires have swallowed him like a giant timiṅgila. The timi (whale) is a very large aquatic animal that can be swallowed by an even larger kind of aquatic animal called a timiṅgila. He is saying that he has been swallowed by a timiṅgila in the form of desire. By this, the power or danger of desire has been shown. The poor human does not have the innate strength to rescue himself from the grasp of this desire. Therefore Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, ohe nātha! kara paritrāṇa. “O Master, Śrī Kṛṣṇa! Only you can rescue someone from the control of this powerful kāma; therefore, please rescue me.”
* A huge mythological marine animal capable of swallowing a whale
