যুগলচরণে প্রীতি, পরম আনন্দ তথি,
রতি প্রেমময় পরবন্ধে ।
কৃষ্ণনাম রাধানাম, উপায় করোঁ রসধাম,
চরণে পড়িয়া পরানন্দে ॥ ৬০ ॥
yugala-caraṇe prīti, parama ānanda tathi,
rati premamaya parabandhe |
kṛṣṇa-nāma rādhā-nāma, upāya karoṅ rasa-dhāma,
caraṇe paḍiyā parānande || 60 ||
Let me always remain devoted to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s lotus feet, for in that devotion lies the supreme joy. Let me absorb my mind in books filled with love. Falling at their feet in great happiness, I shall chant the names of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, the abode of rasa.
टीका–परबन्धे-प्रबन्धे, श्रीकृष्ण-भक्तिरसविज्ञ-भक्तजनविरचित प्रेममय-कथायां मम रतिर्भवतु । चरणे राधामाधवयोरिति शेषः ॥
Internal Bhajana
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse, Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura Mahāśaya reveals a few things about the internal bhajana of a rāgānugīya-sādhaka by means of a prayer. First he says, yugala-caraṇe prīti, parama ānanda tathi. “Let me always remain devoted to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s lotus feet, for in that devotion lies the supreme joy.” The Taittirīya-Upaniṣad says, saiṣānandasya mīmāṁsā bhavati. After showing that the joy of Prajāpati or Hiraṇyagarbha is a hundred times greater than that of a human being, the author determines that the joy of Parabrahma is a hundred times greater even than that. The boundlessness and diversity of that ānanda-tattva has been shown in verses such as yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha ānandaṁ brahmaṇo vidvan na vibheti kutaścana. Then, by statements such as ko hy evānyāt kaḥ prāṇyād yad eva ākāśa ānando na syāt, it has been shown that joy is the nature of the vibhu-brahma-tattva (all-pervading spiritual truth). In the śrutis, such statements as ānandād dhy eva khalv imāni bhūtāni jāyante proclaim that the entire world has been born from joy, is sustained by joy and will dissolve into joy. Thus, a message of great happiness has been spread throughout the universe. From this we can understand that it is impossible for anything but ānanda or joy to exist in the world. Misery can never exist in a universe created by the joyful, immortal, charming and delightful Śrī Bhagavān: ānanda-rūpam amṛtam, raso vai saḥ, sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ madhu. On the other hand, happiness and distress follow the worldly jīva’s life like light and darkness: this is nothing more than the consequence of the jīva’s actions. Although the jīva is in truth a particle of sac-cid-ānanda, or of the nature of joy, his heart and mind are impure because of his beginningless indifference to Śrī Bhagavān. Due to his lack of tattva-jñāna, he continues to mistakenly identify with his material body and suffers endless material miseries. When by the mercy of great souls the jīva once again turns inward, he will devote himself to the service of Śrī Bhagavān and realize the Lord to be dearer to him than his own life. Knowledge of his true nature will unfold in his heart and mind, and eternally perfect love will begin to appear. Experiencing the sweetness and charm of Śrī Bhagavān, the embodiment of joy, he will be forever immersed in an ocean of happiness. Among the different experiences of Śrī Bhagavān’s mādhurī, the mādhurī of Svayaṁ Bhagavān Vrajendranandana, the direct embodiment of sweetness, surpasses all. In the presence of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the ocean of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurī swells to its highest. Therefore, those who are attached to the lotus feet of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava attain the supreme joy. Nothing else compares to this. Thus he says, yugala-caraṇe prīti, parama ānanda tathi.
After that he says, rati premamaya parabandhe. The mind must be absorbed in the love-filled literature of the great souls from one’s tradition who are experienced in śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa. Books such as Stavamālā, written by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda, Stavāvalī by Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda and Govinda-Līlāmṛtam by Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja are most enjoyable to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava mañjarī-bhāva-sādhakas and are extremely nourishing to their personal bhāvas. Every syllable in the books composed by the mahājanas is filled with love: premamaya akṣara yāhāra. Each syllable is saturated with the rasa of their realizations and is therefore able to purify the heart and bestow prema-bhakti. This Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā by Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is also such a book. I shall relate a true story in regard to this. Once, a high-ranking government official, a judge, spent a few days in Ambikā Kālanā, West Bengal for work-related purposes. At that time, Siddha Śrī Bhagavān Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja was manifest there. One day, after hearing about the siddha-bābā’s glories from the local people, the judge went to take his darśana. When the siddha-bābā saw him, he asked why he had come. The judge said, “Bābā! Please tell me how to attain prema-bhakti.” The siddha-bābā quickly replied, “You can purchase prema-bhakti for two annas.” When the gentleman heard this, he felt a little perplexed and said, “Bābā, why are you teasing me?” The siddha-bābā replied very seriously, “This is not a joke; you can buy Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā for two annas on Grub Street in Kolkata. Study that book daily and you will attain prema-bhakti.”
Following the instructions of the siddha-bābā, the gentleman purchased a copy of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and began to read it daily. Because it was the order and mercy of a great saint, his regular sevā of the love-filled syllables of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā caused him to lose interest in any other employment. He immediately quit his job and, staying home, he began to regularly read Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā with great devotion. By suddenly quitting his job, he upset his friends and relatives. He no longer derived any pleasure from his house, food, sex and so on, so one day he abandoned his home and began to wander here and there like an ascetic. He wore torn, soiled clothing and filled his belly with begged food. Offering whatever love was in his heart to Śrī Hari, he studied Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā daily. Because of this sudden transformation of such a big, high-ranking authority, the worldly people regarded him as having gone insane. A fair amount of time passed in this way.
One day, a group of distinguished Indian paṇḍitas arrived in Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma, having been invited to a meeting of the Vibudha-Jananī Society. At the beginning of the assembly, when that ascetic tried to enter, the doorkeeper chased him away, thinking him to be mentally ill. After a little while, when he tried to enter the meeting again, he was once again expelled by the doorkeeper. When he arrived at the door a third time and tried to enter, the doorman prepared to send him away again, but the chairman of the meeting, the great teacher Paṇḍita Śrī Yukta Ajita Nyāyaratna Mahāśaya, intervened and told him to bring the ascetic into the assembly. Then the paṇḍita inquired, “Why do you want to enter this assembly after being chased away repeatedly; is there something you need here?” In reply to Nyāyaratna’s question, the ascetic told him that he had been studying Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā daily according to the instructions of Siddha Śrīla Bhagavān Dāsa as well as practicing mental detachment and so on at all times. After revealing these matters, he finally asked the paṇḍita if he had not attained the prema-bhakti that the siddha-bābā had described. Hearing his words, Nyāyaratna Mahāśaya, the chairman of the assembly, prostrated himself before the ascetic. Then, desiring his blessing, he stood before him with folded hands and proclaimed to everyone that by the siddha-bābā’s mercy and as a result of studying Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā, the fortunate ascetic had been showered with the clear moonlight of prema-bhakti. He said that today, at the beginning of their Vibudha-Jananī meeting, one unprecedented, delicious fruit had been produced. The meaning is that the function of the assembly was to spread the glory of hearing and chanting the ārya-śāstras and the words of the mahājanas. An ideal example of studying these great teachings was visible before them in embodied form. Because of this, everyone in the assembly considered themselves blessed and everyone offered obeisance at the ascetic guest’s lotus feet. This story was heard from the lotus mouth of the venerable bhajanānandī Śrīmat Jaya Nitāi Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja of Śrī Rādhā-Kuṇḍa. It is also seen in the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-Jīvanī of Śrīla Haridāsa Dāsajī that a similar instruction for studying Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and Prārthanā was given to some faithful person by Śrīla Bhagavān Dāsa Siddha-Bābā’s disciple Siddha Śrī Yukta Jagadīśa Bābā, a resident of Vṛndāvana’s Kālīyadaha. Hearing and reciting the love-filled literature composed by great souls whose hearts and minds have been saturated with śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa will bear fruit. In the phala-śruti of Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta (Madhya 2.87), Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda has written, yebā nāhi bujhe keho, śunite śunite seho, ki adbhuta caitanya-carita; kṛṣṇe upajibe prīti, jānibe rasera rīti, śunilei haibe baḍa hita. “Even though someone may not understand, if he repeatedly hears about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s wonderful pastimes, he will develop love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa. By hearing, he will understand the nature of rasa and derive great benefit.” Needless to say, by repeatedly studying all these love-filled literary works with great delight, the sādhaka will be blessed with prema.
After that, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, kṛṣṇa-nāma rādhā-nāma, upāya karoṅ rasa-dhāma, caraṇe paḍiyā parānande. “After taking shelter at their lotus feet in transcendental joy, I shall chant the holy names of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, the abode of all rasas.” The foundation for the worship of Śrī Bhagavān is to take shelter of his lotus feet. If śaraṇāgati does not occur in the bhakta’s heart and mind, there is no bhagavad-bhajana. A sādhaka progresses in bhajana to the degree that he takes refuge. In Bhakti-Sandarbhaḥ 237 anuḥ, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, asyāś cāpūrvatvaṁ tāṁ vinā tadīyatvāsiddheḥ. “The unprecedented nature of śaraṇāgati is that without it one never fully realizes that he belongs to Bhagavān.” When that relationship is realized the sādhaka becomes completely fearless. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.12.15 Śrī Bhagavān said to Śrī Uddhava Mahāśaya, mām ekam eva śaraṇam ātmānaṁ sarva-dehinām, yāhi sarvātma-bhāvena mayā syā hy akutobhayaḥ. “O Uddhava! By renouncing everything and taking full refuge in me, the self of all embodied beings, you can become completely fearless.” Not only does the sheltered bhakta become fearless; he also becomes free from doubt and anxiety regarding his bhajana-sādhana and attains genuine transcendental joy. tavāsmīti vadan vācā tathaiva manasā vidan, tat-sthānam āśritas tanvā modate śaraṇāgataḥ (Hari-Bhakti-Vilāsa). “The sheltered sādhaka will experience supreme joy by saying, ‘O Bhagavān! I am yours!’ with his mouth, nourishing that conception in his mind and resorting to the places of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes with his body.”
Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has therefore said, “After taking exclusive shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, I shall accept in supreme joy the most enjoyable names of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, the abode of rasa, as the best way to attain prema, or I shall take shelter of the best of all limbs of bhajana.” Śrī Nāma is the abode or shelter of all rasas. Bhagavān’s names are naturally very sweet and relishable. The sweetness of sugar-candy cannot be experienced by one whose tongue is tainted by bile; rather, the candy has a bitter taste. But if he continues to eat the candy, the unwanted bile is removed from the tongue and he tastes the natural sweetness of the candy. In the same way, it is impossible for the tongue defiled by offenses to spontaneously relish Śrī Nāma, the abode of rasa; but by continuously engaging the tongue in chanting Śrī Nāma, the offenses will subside and one will experience the sweetness. Therefore, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, ataevānanda-rūpatvam asya mahad-dhṛdaya-sākṣikaṁ yathā śrī-vigrahasya. “Like the visible form of Śrī Bhagavān, his name is also the embodiment of joy; the realizations of great souls are the best evidence of this.” Even if faithless demons have a direct vision of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the embodiment of sweetness, they derive no joy; rather, their hearts and minds are scorched by malice and envy. In the same way, the tongue of an offensive person gets no taste of rasa-dhāma Śrī Nāma. The bhakta realizes that kṛṣṇa-nāme ye ānanda-sindhu-āsvādana, brahmānanda tāra āge khātodaka sama (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 7.97). “The bliss of brahman is like water in a ditch to those who taste the ocean of joy in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s names.” Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is longing for that sweeter-than-sweet śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-nāma-bhajana. Regarding the sweetness of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s names, Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda has written the following in his Abhīṣṭa-Sūcana-Stava: rādheti nāma nava-sundara-sīdhu-mugdhaṁ, kṛṣṇeti nāma madhurādbhuta-gāḍha-dugdham; sarva-kṣaṇaṁ surabhi-rāga-himena ramyaṁ, kṛtvā tad eva piba me rasane kṣudhārte. “The name ‘Rādhā’ is captivating like fresh, sweet nectar. The name ‘Kṛṣṇa’ is extremely sweet like amazing condensed milk. O my hungry tongue! Always drink these two substances chilled with fragrant ice made of love.” In Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.256, Śrīman Mahāprabhu asked Rāmarāya, upāsyera madhye kon upāsya pradhāna? “Among objects to be worshiped, which is preeminent?” Rāmarāya replied, śreṣṭha upāsya–yugala-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-nāma. “The best object of worship is the name Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.” It should be understood that through this verse Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has shown three kinds of internal sādhana related to rāgānugā-bhajana: affection for Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa; intent absorption of the mind in the books composed by great souls who understand śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa; and kīrtana of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s names.
