যুগল-চরণ সেবা, যুগল-চরণ ধ্যেবা,
যুগলেই মনের পীরিতি ।
যুগল-কিশোর-রূপ, কামরতিগণ-ভূপ,
মনে রহু ও লীলা-কিরীতি ॥ ৪৩ ॥
yugala-caraṇa sebā, yugala-caraṇa dhyebā,
yugalei manera pīriti |
yugala-kiśora-rūpa, kāma-rati-gaṇa-bhūpa,
mane rahu o līlā-kirīti || 43 ||
I shall serve Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, meditate upon their feet and dedicate the love in my heart to them. This youthful form of the Divine Couple is the ruler of countless gods of love and their wives. Please let their charming pastimes flow always in my mind.
The Rulers of the Gods of Love and Their Wives
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, the magnanimous author has discussed the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas’ devotion to their object of worship as well as to the process of worship. In this verse, he describes the method of śrī-śrī-yugala-bhajana. The upāsanā, or worship procedure, of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas is the rāga-mārga attended by vidhis. For their bhajana, the limb of smaraṇa, which is primary in rāga-bhakti, proceeds alongside the limbs of vaidhī-bhakti, meaning śravaṇa, kīrtana, arcana and so on. In Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ 1.2.296, Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written the following: śravaṇotkīrtanādīni vaidha-bhakty-uditāni tu, yāny-aṅgāni ca tāny atra vijñeyāni manīṣibhiḥ. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda comments, śravaṇotkīrtanādīni guru-pādāśrayādīni tvākṣepa-labdhāni. tāni vinā vrajalokānugatyādikaṁ kim api na siddhyed ity arthaḥ. manīṣibhir iti manīṣayā vimṛśyaiva svīya-bhāva-samucitāny eva tāni kāryāṇi; na tu tad-viruddhāni. tāni cārcana-bhaktāv ahaṁgrahopāsana-mudrā-nyāsa-dvārakā-dhyāna-rukmiṇy-ādi-pūjanāni āgama-śāstra-vihitāny api naiva kāryāṇi. bhakti-mārge’smin kiñcit kiñcid aṅga-vaikalye’pi doṣābhāva-śravaṇāt.
“All the sixty-four limbs of vaidhī-bhakti, such as śravaṇa, kīrtana and so on that have been previously described (implying śrī-guru-pādāśraya as well), are also useful and relevant on the rāgānugā-mārga. Without practicing the aṅgas of vaidhī-bhakti such as śravaṇa, kīrtana, arcana and so on, one will have no success on the rāga-mārga in following or becoming familiar with the residents of Vraja. Those who are thoughtful will practice the aṅgas suitable for their own respective bhāvas, but will not practice those that are unsuitable. The meaning is that although ahaṁgrahopāsanā, mudrās, nyāsa (prāṇāyāma), meditation on Dvārakā, worship of Rukmiṇī and so on have been prescribed in the Āgama-śāstras for the arcana-mārga, the sādhakas on the path of rāga will abandon them. It should be understood that on the bhakti-mārga, there is no fault if there is some slight imperfection in the performance of the various aṅgas.”
After mentioning the method for worshiping Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, yugala-caraṇa sebā, yugala-caraṇa dhyebā, yugalei manera pīriti. It should be understood that the word caraṇa (feet) has been used here because of the abundance of his devotion. Indeed, he is praying to perform the sevā or arcanā of Śrī Yugala, to meditate upon them and to repose his heart’s complete affection in them. The bhajana of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas on the path of rāga is not under the control of śāstra like the sacrificial performances of those who follow vaidhī-bhakti. This is the bhajana of eager desire (lobha) or the bhajana of love (anurāga). Therefore, they place their deepest love in their own cherished Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, and the stream of bhajana, consisting of śravaṇa, kīrtana, smaraṇa, arcanā and so on, flows continuously. In this way, each limb of their bhajana becomes sweet and delicious. It should be kept in mind that the sādhaka will not be able to place his love at his beloved Śrī Yugala’s lotus feet by his own effort. This should be understood as something that is dependent only on the mercy of Śrī Guru, the Vaiṣṇavas and Śrī Bhagavān. At the conclusion of his description of the rāga-mārga in his Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhu (1.2.309), Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written the following:
kṛṣṇa-tadbhakta-kāruṇya-mātra-lābhaika-hetukā |
puṣṭi-mārgatayā kaiścid iyaṁ rāgānugocyate ||
“The only cause for one’s engagement on the rāga-mārga is the mercy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and his bhakta. Some (members of the Vallabha Sampradāya) have called this path the puṣṭi-mārga.” mātrapadasya vidhi-mārge kutracit karmādi-samarpaṇam api dvāraṁ bhavatīti tad-vicchedārthaḥ prayogaḥ iti bhāvaḥ (from Śrī Jīvapāda’s commentary). “Sometimes, the dedication of one’s actions and so on are a doorway to the vidhi-mārga, but it should be understood that the sole cause for engagement in rāgānugā-bhakti is mercy.” By the association and compassion of like-minded bhaktas who are devoted to bhajana on the rāga-mārga, the fortunate sādhaka is engaged in rāgānugā-bhajana. As a result of following the example of sevā performed by Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas, the sādhaka’s heart and mind are moistened with love for Śrī Yugala according to the degree of mercy he has received. This is the essential meaning.
Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, “With a mind moistened by love for Śrī Yugala, I shall perform their sevā or arcanā as well as meditate upon them.” He is saying here that externally he will perform sevā with his sādhaka body by offering either sixteen articles of worship or five articles, according to his ability or taste. In his mind, in his bhāva-deha, he will perform sevā with mental articles of worship as well as meditate upon Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. viśeṣato rūpādi cintaṁ dhyānam. “Contemplation of a form and so on in a detailed way is called dhyāna.” The author is describing the sweetness of his object of meditation, the forms of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa: yugala-kiśora-rūpa, kāma-rati-gaṇa-bhūpa. This yugala-kiśora form is the monarch of countless Kandarpas and Ratis (gods of love and their wives). Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the ruler of countless forms of the god of love; millions of Kandarpas are infatuated simply by the luster of his toenails. koṭi-madana-vimohanāśeṣa-cittākarṣaka-sahaja-madhuratara-lāvaṇyāmṛtāpārārṇavena mahānubhāva-cayenānubhūyamāna-tat-tan-mahābhāva-nivahena śrī-madana-gopāla-rūpeṇādhunāpi vṛndāvane virājamānatvāt (Sāraṅga-Raṅgadā). “He who is the enchanter of countless gods of love; who attracts the minds of the entire world; and he who is the boundless, billowy ocean of the sweet nectar of natural charm resides even now in Śrī Vṛndāvana in the form of Śrī Madana-Gopāla. The high-minded ones, the premika-bhaktas, perceive his sweetness according to the depth of their own love. The mādhurya of the transcendental, youthful God of Love, Śrīman Madana-Gopāla, is tasted to the highest degree by the young girls of Vraja, whose love is deeper than all others.” Therefore, millions of Kandarpas are humbled in the presence of this transcendental young God of Love. Moreover, when near his enchantress, Śrī Rādhārāṇī, that vast ocean of beauty heaves with giant, surging waves. His dark form also causes Śrī Rādhā’s ocean of sweetness to churn with great force. The beauty of millions of Ratis is insignificant before Śrī Rādhā’s mādhurī. It is impossible to compare her with anything of this world. Therefore, in Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhi 126, one who experienced her beauty said,
rākāneka-vicitra-candra uditaḥ premāmṛta-jyotiṣāṁ
vīcībhiḥ paripūrayed agaṇita-brahmāṇḍa-koṭiṁ yadi |
vṛndāraṇya-nikuñja-sīmani tad-ābhāsaṁ paraṁ lakṣyase
bhāvenaiva yadā tadaiva tulaye rādhe tava śrī-mukham ||
“O Rādhā! If many joyful, amazing moons all rose simultaneously in the night sky and filled countless universes with moonbeams of love, it would still hardly compare to your moonlike face, which has risen on the horizon of this kuñja. Therefore, out of love only have I compared your face to the moon; in fact, in this world there is no comparison.”
Then the author prayed for constant remembrance of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes: mane rahu o līlā-kirīti. “Please let Yugala-Kiśora’s charming pastimes flow always in my mind.” Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s līlā spontaneously appears within the heart and mind that have been purified by sādhana. The sādhaka’s effort in performing sādhana is the only cause for receiving the compassionate gift of a purified heart and the vision of līlā. This smaraṇāṅga-bhajana of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas on the rāgānugā-mārga is internal bhajana. bāhya antara ihāra duita sādhana, bāhye sādhaka-dehe kare śrabaṇa-kīrtana. mane nija-siddha-deha kariyā bhābana, rātri-dina cinte rādhā-kṛṣṇera sebana (Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 22.156). “On this path, there are two types of sādhana: external and internal. Externally, in the sādhaka body, one performs śravaṇa-kīrtana. In the mind, one meditates on one’s siddha-deha and mentally serves Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa day and night.”
