ব্রজপুর-বনিতার, চরণ-আশ্রয় সার,
কর মন একান্ত করিয়া ।
অন্য বোল গণ্ডগোল, না শুনহ উতরোল,
রাখ প্রেম হৃদয়ে ভরিয়া ॥ ৬৮ ॥
brajapura-banitāra, caraṇa-āśraya sāra,
kara mana ekānta kariyā |
anya bola gaṇḍagola, nā śunaha utarola,
rākha prema hṛdaye bhariyā || 68 ||
O mind! Take exclusive shelter at the feet of the girls of Vrajapura. All other talk is just noise; do not listen to it. Keep the surge of love within your heart.
टीका–उतरोल उत्तरलः ॥
Exclusive Shelter
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is absorbed again in the mood of a sādhaka, his mystic vision having faded. He is giving to his own mind the most essential or most substantial instruction regarding rāgānugā-bhajana: brajapura-banitāra, caraṇa-āśraya sāra, kara mana ekānta kariyā. “O mind! Take exclusive shelter at the feet of the girls of Vrajapura.” We have said that in rāgānugā-bhajana, the sādhaka must contemplate the loving service he performs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa and his companions in his siddha-deha, which has been given by the guru and is suitable for the particular mood of service. During that meditation, the primary focus should be on the bhāva (mood). Without concentrating on the bhāva, a suitable body will be very difficult to attain. The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sādhaka worships in gopī-bhāva; therefore, he is able to progress in bhajana to the extent that his longing for gopī-bhāva grows and to the extent his heart and mind are affected by it. Eagerness for the Vrajadevīs’ sweet bhāva and eagerness to know about their method of tasting Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya are characteristics of rāgānugā-bhajana. The Vrajadevīs’ sweet mood and their way of tasting Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness is their personal treasure. Among countless bhaktas, none but them has this unique wealth of bhāva. Therefore, without their mercy, it is impossible to generate a desire for that treasure. To attain their mercy, the sādhaka must take exclusive shelter at their lotus feet. By doing so, he will also become familiar with their bhāva. What can be said of others who don’t follow this bhāva? Even Svayaṁ Vaikuṇṭheśvarī Śrī Lakṣmīdevī does not get to touch the dust of Śrī Vrajendranandana’s lotus feet. On the other hand, the śrutis followed the gopīs. After attaining gopī-bhāva, they became qualified to perform the rāsa dance with Śrī Kṛṣṇa in their gopī bodies. In Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 9.133-136, Śrīman Mahāprabhu said to Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa,
śruti-saba gopī-gaṇera anugata haiyā |
brajeśvarī-suta bhaje gopī-bhāba laiyā ||
bāhyāntare gopī-deha braje yabe pāila |
sei dehe kṛṣṇa-saṅge rāsa-krīḍā kaila ||
gopa-jāti kṛṣṇa–gopī preyasī tāṅhāra |
debī bā anya strī kṛṣṇa na kare aṅgīkāra ||
lakṣmī cāhe sei dehe kṛṣṇera saṅgama |
gopikā anugā hañā nā kaila bhajana ||
The śrutis performed bhajana in allegiance to the gopīs and obtained gopī forms, along with the right to serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Vraja. This is celebrated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.87.23:
nibhṛta-marun-mano’kṣa-dṛḍha-yoga-yujo hṛdi yan
munaya upāsate tad arayo’pi yayuḥ smaraṇāt |
striya uragendra-bhoga-bhuja-daṇḍa-viṣakta-dhiyo
vayam api te samāḥ sama-dṛśo’ṅghri-saroja-sudhāḥ ||
The śrutis said to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, “O Lord! The spiritual truth that is worshiped in the hearts of great sages who have controlled their breath, mind and senses is attained even by your enemies simply by remembering you. Moreover, your eternally beloved gopīs, who long for your large, serpentine arms, as well as we who have attained equal vision and a bhāva like theirs, have obtained the nectar of your lotus feet. Meaning, just as the gopīs have obtained the right to serve you in the form of Śrī Nandanandana, we also, in allegiance to them, have obtained gopī forms and have been blessed to taste the sweetness of your sevā.” ‘sama-dṛśaḥ’-śabde kahe sei bhābe anugati, ‘samā’-śabde kahe śrutira gopī-deha prāpti (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.225). Therefore, there is no way to taste Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s ujjvala-rasa-mādhurī than by taking shelter at the lotus feet of the gopīs.
Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has instructed his own mind to take exclusive shelter at the feet of the gopikās. Taking exclusive shelter means giving up the mind’s attachment or absorption in any other subject and taking shelter with one’s body, mind and words solely and thoroughly at the feet of the gopīs. Exclusive shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the crown-jewel of all gopikās, is the ultimate goal of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas who are devoted to rādhā-dāsya. Their ekāntitva or deep attachment for their object of devotion is truly amazing. Because the worshipers of Śrī Hari are superior to those worshipers who desire some reward, they are called ekāntī or devoted to one aim. For this reason, they only have faith in spiritual truths. Moreover, those devotees whose hearts and minds are attracted to the form of Śrī Nandanandana are greater than the devotees of any other form of Śrī Hari. Just as Śrī Hari has with deep love accepted exclusive dependence upon them, in the same way, no form of Śrī Hari but Śrī Nandanandana can capture their hearts and minds. Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written the following in Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ 1.2.58:
tatrāpy ekāntināṁ śreṣṭhā govinda-hṛta-mānasāḥ |
yeṣāṁ śrīśa-prasādo’pi mano hartuṁ na śaknuyāt ||
“Among the exclusive devotees of the various forms of Śrī Hari, the bhaktas whose minds and hearts have been stolen by Śrī Nandanandana are the best, because even the graciousness of the great Śrī Nārāyaṇa, the Lord of the spiritual sky, cannot attract them.” Moreover, those bhaktas who have offered their lives at the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the crown-jewel of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s girlfriends, and are devoted to mañjarī-bhāva, have such amazing single-mindedness that without Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the magnanimity of Śrī Vrajendranandana alone cannot steal their minds. When Śrī Rādhārāṇī wanted to give him (in his mañjarī form) to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmad Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda said, tvaṁ cet kṛpāṁ mayi vidhāsyasi naiva kiṁ me, prāṇair vrajena ca varoru bakāriṇāpi (Vilāpa-Kusumāñjali 102). “O Śrī Rādhā! O one with beautiful thighs! If you do not give me your mercy, then what use is my life, my staying in Vraja or even Śrī Kṛṣṇa?” Their faith is only tavaivāsmi tavaivāsmi na jīvāmi tvayā vinā (Vilāpa-Kusumāñjali 96): “O Rādhā! I am yours! I am yours! I cannot live without you!” There is no comparison anywhere to the single-minded devotion in this state of exclusive shelter or highest śaraṇāgati. Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has said, brajapura-banitāra, caraṇa-āśraya sāra, kara mana ekānta kariyā. Those who have accepted engrossment in the body and all related to it, or bear the self-concept of being a physical woman or man, do not take exclusive shelter at Śrī Rādhā’s feet or devote themselves to her. The awakening of one’s own guru-given mañjarī-svarūpa is essential. This svarūpa self-concept does not accept any connection with anyone in the material world. For the sādhaka absorbed in mañjarī-bhāva, the universe is empty without the presence of Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s lotus feet. To the degree of the sādhaka’s devotional practices and mercy from the great souls, his sādhana will be slight, moderate or intense. Accordingly, his eternally perfect, sevā-suitable pārṣada body will at first be indistinct, then gradually somewhat clear and finally very clear. The sādhaka’s self-concept in that pārṣada body also awakens in a similar fashion and he takes shelter at the feet of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the crown-jewel of the Vraja girls, in the same single-minded way.
Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, anya bola gaṇḍagola, nā śunaha utarola, rākha prema hṛdaye bhariyā. “All other talk is just noise; do not listen to it. Keep the surge of love within your heart.” Other than discussions about bhajana in allegiance to the gopīs, all other news is simply useless noise. When we hear and repeat information about some object, it causes our hearts and minds to become absorbed in that object. Thus, for those who practice rāgānugā-bhakti with profound absorption in their cherished object, any discussion about something else is a distraction to their minds. Therefore, after giving up the association of incompatible people and ceasing to hear, speak or think of other news, the mañjarī-bhāva-sādhaka must hear and speak of topics related to his object of desire in the association of affectionate rasika-bhaktas who have similar aspirations.
Moreover, he said, “Keep the surge of love within your heart.” The meaning is that if the love in your heart overflows and is about to manifest externally, you must endeavor to restrain its force within. It is inappropriate to display symptoms of prema like tears, horripilation or other sāttvika-bhāvas, or anubhāvas like dancing, rolling about and so on, in an assembly of worldly-minded people. Intelligent bhaktas should keep their prema hidden like a great treasure when in the presence of worldly people. Furthermore, if a bhakta allows a surge of prema to manifest externally even in an assembly of virtuous people, his humility will be diminished and he will become famous as a respected premika. Therefore, you must keep your prema hidden safely in your heart at all times. It is seen that if steam is confined in some type of apparatus, it builds up powerful pressure and can help move even a very large machine. In the same way, if powerful prema is confined within a bhakta’s heart, it forces the body-machine to move and very soon brings him to the lotus feet of his cherished object. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda has written the following in Prema-Sampuṭa 68 regarding Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s mutual love:
premā dvayo rasikayor ayi dīpa eva
hṛd-veśma bhāsayati niścala eva bhāti |
dvārād ayaṁ vadanatas tu bahis-kṛtaś cet
nirvāti śīghram athavā laghutām upaiti ||
“The lamp of prema illumines the heart abodes of both the charming lovers and shines without flicker. But if it were to escape through the door of the mouth, it would be extinguished quickly or become diminished.” It is understood by this example that prema is also harmed if it is revealed externally. Therefore, thoughtful, magnanimous bhaktas do not expose their prema; they always keep it within their hearts.
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