Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 70 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

রাজার যে রাজ্য-পাট,        যেন নাটুয়ার নাট,

দেখিতে দেখিতে কিছু নয় ।

হেন মায়া করে যেই,        পরম ঈশ্বর সেই,

তারে মন সদা কর ভয় ॥ ৭০ ॥

rājāra ye rājya-pāṭa,        yena nāṭuyāra nāṭa,

dekhite dekhite kichu naya |

hena māyā kare yei,        parama īśvara sei,

tāre mana sadā kara bhaya || 70 ||

     The royal activities of a king are like the dramatic performance of an actor, but the king is unaware. O mind! You must at all times fear Parameśvara, the lord of māyā.

The Performance of an Actor

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya described the impermanence of the body and related things as well as the unbearable miseries of the various hells after death. Then, under the pretext of instructing his own mind, he gave directions to help the worldly people refrain from misdeeds. In this verse, he states that a king’s attachment for his kingdom and wealth, not to mention that of ordinary people, is like the dramatic performance of an actor and nothing more. Then, under the guise of giving instructions to his own mind, he teaches the misbehaving people to refrain from sinful actions by maintaining fear of Śrī Hari, the lord of māyā. rājāra ye rājya-pāṭa, yena nāṭuyāra nāṭa, dekhite dekhite kichu naya. When an actor plays the part of a king on stage, he wears garments and jewelry like a king, makes statements about the administration of the kingdom or about his wealth and property, and displays the pride and arrogance of a king. He converses with his ministers, gives orders to his generals and so on, but none of it is real. The actors know it and the audience knows it. During the performance, he doesn’t acquire anything like a kingdom or wealth, and at the end, he takes off the garments and leaves them. Then only ordinary people like Rāma, Śyāma and Yadu remain; no one is a king or minister. In the same way, a king, his kingdom and his wealth are all like components of a dramatic performance and nothing more. The only difference is that the performance of an actor lasts for a few hours or one night and the performance of a king lasts for several years. When the play of his life comes to an end and his bodily covering detaches and falls away, all connections with his kingdom and wealth disappear. Taking on his head the burden of the results of his karma, he wanders on a journey through endless wombs and miserable worldly deserts and forests. Everyone can understand that an actor is not a real king, and that his royal activities are merely a dramatic performance. But in the play of māyā, her bewildering power is such that she gives the playactor king or other bewildered jīvas no understanding at all. Perhaps if this knowledge is given, the drama will not unfold in a proper way.

     Alternatively, nāṭuyāra nāṭa can mean ‘only the conjuring of a magician.’ The kingdom and wealth of a monarch are like the conjuring of a magician: momentary and illusory only. The great magician Śrī Bhagavān has cast a splendid spell over the world through his māyā-śakti composed of the three guṇas. The karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs and bhogīs have no means of escape from the bewildering power of the great enchanter’s magic. A magician’s acts of conjuring cannot perplex his close friends, relatives or sheltered servants. In the same way, bhaktas sheltered at Śrī Bhagavān’s feet do not feel the influence of the actions of māyā. In Śrī-Bhagavad-Gītā 7.14, Śrī Bhagavān says, 

daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā |

mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te ||

     “Composed of the three guṇas, this external energy of mine bewilders the jīvas and is very difficult to overcome. Only those who take shelter of me can cross over this ocean of illusion.” The person who renounces everything and takes shelter at Śrī Hari’s lotus feet obtains the treasure of śrī-bhagavad-bhajana and is forever blessed. Therefore, Śrī Bhagavān has taught us in Śrī-Bhagavad-Gītā 18.66 to give up our attachment to all illusory things and take shelter at his lotus feet:

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja |

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ ||

     “O Arjuna, abandon all dharmas, including varṇāśrama, and take refuge in me. I will free you from all sin; do not lament.” Here, the kingdom and wealth of a monarch have been called ‘a dramatic play’ or ‘the conjuring of a magician.’ No one should think that this universe created by māyā is an illusion like magic. This is the conclusion of the māyāvādīs. The universe is the illusory energy of Śrī Bhagavān. Therefore, though being transitory, it is not false. Actually, it is the mentality of ‘I and mine’ regarding the body and related things that is illusory like magic or simply delusion.

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, hena māyā kare yei, parama īśvara sei, tāre mana sadā kara bhaya. Though Śrī Bhagavān is the lord of māyā, or beyond māyā, and is reality composed of existence, consciousness and joy, under his shelter māyā is able to display her power to the jīvas who have turned away from his lotus feet. With the authority gained by taking shelter of Śrī Bhagavān and remaining dependent upon him, māyā performs the work of bewildering the jīvas who are disinterested in Bhagavān. Because of that, he says, hena māyā kare yei, parama īśvara sei. In the discussion of the characteristics of māyā in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.9.33, Śrī Bhagavān personally said,

ṛte’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta na pratīyeta cātmani |

tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ ||

     Śrī Bhagavān said to Brahmā, “O Brahmā, I am the embodiment of the highest truth. The belief that something is outside of me or independent of me is known as my māyā. It is like a reflection, or darkness.” When something is believed to be outside of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-tattva, and at the same time cannot be perceived without svarūpa-tattva, that is māyā. This māyā is understood to be of two kinds: jīva-māyā and guṇa-māyā. By using the two examples of ābhāsa and tamas, Śrī Bhagavān has indicated the actions of jīva-māyā and guṇa-māyā. Jīva-māyā is like an ābhāsa. The radiant reflected image of a luminous object far away is called an ābhāsa. For example, if the sun’s reflection appears in a mirror, that reflection is called an ābhāsa. That reflection or ābhāsa manifests at a great distance from the sun, but if the sun did not exist, it would be impossible for the reflection to exist. In the same way, jīva-māyā is also situated outside of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa. It has authority over the jīvas who have turned away from Śrī Bhagavān, but not over his svarūpa. Still, if Śrī Bhagavān did not exist, neither would māyā.

     If a person happens to see the lustrous mass of splendor of the reflected sun in the mirror, his power of sight is covered, his vision goes black and he sees colors like blue, yellow and so on before him. Moreover, these colors are sometimes seen to appear in various specific shapes. In the same way, jīva-māyā covers the knowledge of the jīva and causes guṇa-māyā, composed of sattva, rajas and tamas, to appear before him. After depositing the ignorance of these three guṇas over the jīva’s intelligence, it creates the vast universe. Although the original light is not situated in a shadow, without its support, darkness cannot exist. In the same way, guṇa-māyā is not perceived without Śrī Bhagavān, the embodiment of ultimate truth. Jīva-māyā has the faculty of being the instrumental or efficient cause while guṇa-māyā is the operative or material cause.

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has therefore said, hena māyā kare yei, parama īśvara sei, tāre mana sadā kara bhaya. “O mind! You must at all times fear Parameśvara, the lord of māyā.” The inclination to perform sinful acts may awaken in those who have no fear of God. The minds of those who fear God can never go to sinful thoughts. The purport is that the all-containing, all-pervading Parameśvara is the seer of everyone’s heart, mind, intellect and soul. No one can perform some misdeed and then avoid his sight. Someone may secretly commit a sinful act, and by avoiding the eyes of the worldly people, he can externally pretend to be a good person. But no one can throw dust in the eyes of the all-seeing Śrī Hari. Therefore, if one maintains this fear of God, it will be impossible for his sinful inclinations to awaken. Actually, God is the object of love, not of fear.