প্রেমভক্তি সুধানিধি, তাহে ডুব নিরবধি,
আর যত ক্ষারনিধি প্রায় ।
নিরন্তর সুখ পাবে, সকল সন্তাপ যাবে,
পরতত্ত্ব কহিনু উপায় ॥ ৭২ ॥
prema-bhakti sudhā-nidhi, tāhe ḍuba nirabadhi,
āra yata kṣāra-nidhi prāya |
nirantara sukha pābe, sakala santāpa yābe,
para-tattva kahinu upāya || 72 ||
Prema-bhakti is like an ocean of nectar; submerge yourself in it continuously. Everything else is like an ocean of salt. You will get endless happiness and all your afflictions will go away. I shall explain the method for attaining the supreme truth.
The Prema-Bhakti Ocean of Nectar
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya rejected everything that covers or opposes bhakti, such as puṇya and mukti. In this verse he urges his mind to taste the blessed sweetness of prema-bhakti-rasa. prema-bhakti sudhā-nidhi, tāhe ḍuba nirabadhi, āra yata kṣāra-nidhi prāya. Prema-bhakti is like an ocean of nectar. Bhakti is a special faculty of the hlādinī-śakti, the essence of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa-śakti, and is therefore naturally most enjoyable. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written the following in his Śrī-Paramātma-Sandarbhaḥ: kiṁca parama-sāra-bhūtāyā api svarūpa-śakteḥ sāra-bhūtā hlādinī nāma yā vṛttis tasyā eva sāra-bhūto vṛtti-viśeṣo bhaktiḥ. “The principal faculty of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti is called hlādinī. The principal faculty of the hlādinī-śakti is called bhakti.”
Echoing this conclusion, Śrīpāda Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has written the following in his book Siddhānta-Ratna: bhagavad-vaśīkāra-hetu bhaktiḥ kiṁ svarūpeti; kiṁ prākṛta-sattva-maya-jñānānanda-rūpā kiṁvā bhagavad-jñānānanda-rūpā athavā jaiva-jñānānanda-rūpā uta hlādinī-sāra-samaveta saṁvit-sāra-rūpeti? nādyaḥ bhagavato māyā-vaśyatvāśravaṇāt, svataḥ pūrṇatvāc ca, na dvitīya atiśayāsiddheḥ nāpi tṛtīya jaivayos tayoḥ kṣodiṣṭatvāt. kintu caturtha evāsau bhaved iti. “What is the nature of bhakti, which is the only cause of Śrī Bhagavān’s subjugation? Is bhakti the prākṛta-sattva-jñānānanda-rūpā, or the bhagavat-jñānānanda-rūpā, or the jaiva-jñānānanda-rūpā or the hlādinī-sāra-samaveta-saṁvit-sāra-rūpā? Meaning, is bhakti the dharma of the heart and mind, or the dharma born of the nature of Paramātmā, or the natural dharma of the jīvātmā, or is it another state wherein the essence of the hlādinī-śakti born of Śrī Bhagavān’s nature is combined with the essence of his saṁvit-śakti? These are four questions produced by doubt regarding bhakti. The cause of the doubt is that while there is joy and realization in bhakti, there is also joy and realization in ordinary sattva-guṇa. Because of this similarity, the question arises as to whether bhakti is the form of happiness coming from awareness of ordinary sattva-guṇa. Or, there is knowledge and joy in Śrī Bhagavān’s form, which is composed of sac-cid-ānanda. When that knowledge and joy are reflected in the heart of the jīva, is it called bhakti? Or is bhakti the happiness of the jīva, whose form is atomic consciousness? Or is bhakti the result of the combined essences of the hlādinī-śakti and the saṁvit-śakti, which are faculties of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti?
If we say that bhakti is the dharma of the heart and mind, which are faculties of sattva-guṇa, one may conclude that Śrī Bhagavān suffers the defect of being enchanted by māyā. In all śāstras it is seen that Bhagavān is submissive to bhakti, but nowhere is it seen or heard that he is controlled by the illusory sattva-guṇa. Therefore, after rejecting the first thesis, he mentions the second. The second thesis is that bhakti is the knowledge and joy born of Śrī Bhagavān’s nature; but how is that possible? In this, the fault of too little proof occurs because there is more ānanda or joy in bhakti than even Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpānanda (natural joy). Abandoning his svarūpānanda, he longs to experience the joy of bhakti. The third thesis is also not reasonable because the knowledge and happiness of the jīva is by nature atomic and therefore insignificant. It is never possible to attract the powerful, sac-cid-ānanda-maya Śrī Bhagavān with such insignificant knowledge and happiness. Thus, after one sees the inconsistencies or improbabilities in these three propositions, he must accept the fourth, based on the evidence. Bhakti is the state wherein the essences of the hlādinī and saṁvit-śaktis, which are born of the essence of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti, have been combined.
eṣā tu bhaktis tan-nitya-parikara-gaṇād-ārabhyedānīṁ taneṣv api tad-bhakteṣu mandākinīva pracarati. atas tad-bhakta-kṛpayaiva labhyeti bhāgavatādi saṁvādaḥ. sā tathābhūtā nitya-dhāmni nitya-pārṣadeṣu nityaṁ cakāsti sura-sarid iva tad-bhakta-praṇālyā prapañce’vatarati (Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa). Prema-bhakti exists within Śrī Bhagavān’s eternal companions. If a sādhaka’s heart is cleansed by hearing, chanting and so on, prema-bhakti descends like the current of the Mandākinī River through the channel of bhaktas (śrī-guru-praṇālī) into the material world. When that eternally perfect kṛṣṇa-prema appears in the sādhaka’s heart and mind, it blesses him with boundless transcendental joy.
There is no comparison anywhere to the taste of prema-bhakti. Still, to give the worldly people a little idea of that spiritual joy, it has been compared to the taste of nectar, which is the most enjoyable thing in this world. But he does not just say sudhā, or nectar; he says, prema-bhakti sudhā-nidhi: the enjoyment of prema-bhakti-rasa is like an ocean of nectar. The taste of one drop makes all other happiness insignificant. Śrīmat Sanātana Gosvāmipāda has written the following in the auspicious invocation of his Dig-Darśinī commentary on Śrī-Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛtam:
bhaktir yā nikhilārtha-varga-jananī yā brahma-sākṣāt-kṛter
ānandātiśaya-pradā viṣaya-jāt saukhyād vimuktir yayā |
śrī-rādhā-ramaṇaṁ padāmbuja-yugaṁ yasyā mahānāśrayo
yā kāryā vrajalokavad-gurutara-premṇaiva tasyai namaḥ ||
“I bow to Śrī Bhakti Devī, the goddess of devotion, who is the mother of virtue, wealth, enjoyment and liberation; who gives joy beyond that of brahman; who makes all sense-enjoyments insignificant; whose great shelter is the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā-Ramaṇa; whose every action is heavy with love like that of the residents of Vraja.” In this verse, the enjoyment of sādhana-bhakti has been discussed. There is no lack of enjoyment even in sādhana-bhakti because of its homogeneity with prema-bhakti. Sādhana-bhakti, bhāva-bhakti and prema-bhakti are the primary, comparative and superlative states of the same condition. The difference is that the enjoyment of sādhana-bhakti is watery whereas the enjoyment of prema-bhakti is very thick. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has instructed his mind to submerge itself in the ocean of the nectar of prema-bhakti. tāhe ḍuba nirabadhi. There is no need for an entire ocean of prema-bhakti in order for one to always be submerged in it; one drop of prema-bhakti can drown the whole world. In Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 2.49, Śrīman Mahāprabhu says, śuddha-prema-sukha-sindhu, pāi tāra eka-bindu, sei bindu jagat ḍubāya. The meaning is that in śuddha-prema (pure love), there is immeasurable rasa or enjoyment. By tasting only one drop of it, one realizes that the happiness derived from worldly sense-pleasures, wealth, accomplishments and so on, as well as the bliss of liberation, are both insignificant. They are not only insignificant; they are considered contemptible and extremely harsh. For this reason, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has said, āra yata kṣāra-nidhi prāya. “Everything else is like an ocean of salt.”
After that, he said, nirantara sukha pābe, sakala santāpa yābe, para-tattva kahinu upāya. The enjoyment of prema-bhakti is everlasting; prema-bhakti keeps the loving devotee submerged in an ocean of unabated delight. Concomitantly, it destroys all kinds of afflictions. This is the only way to thoroughly experience Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, the supreme reality (para-tattva-vastu).
pañcama-puruṣārtha sei prema-mahādhana |
kṛṣṇera mādhurya-rasa karāya āsvādana ||
premā haite kṛṣṇa haya nija-bhakta-baśa |
premā haite pāya kṛṣṇa-sebā-sukha-rasa ||
“The fifth goal of life is the great treasure of prema, which causes one to taste Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya-rasa. Because of prema, Śrī Kṛṣṇa comes under the control of his devotees. Because of prema, the devotees experience the nectarous joy of serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 7.144-145)
Or, para-tattva means the specific svarūpa-śakti called parā which is to be ascertained by the self-evident, unparalleled śruti and smṛti. When the para-tattva is manifested in its preeminent state, it acquires the name puruṣottama or supreme person. When the śakti called parā is manifested in its preeminent state, it bears names like dharma and so on. For example, the parā-śakti is personally revealed in the form of dharma, expressed as knowledge, happiness, compassion and sweetness. If expressed as sound, it is Śrī Bhagavān’s names and statements; if as the earth, it is the dhāma; if as the ideal woman composed of the essence of hlādinī (joy) combined with saṁvit (consciousness), it is Śrī Rādhā and others.* By saying ‘the means of attaining the supreme truth,’ it has also been implied that one who is submerged in prema-bhakti spontaneously enjoys the sweetness of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s forms, names and qualities; the sweetness of the dhāma; the sweetness of compassion and so on.
*The conclusion of Govinda-Bhāṣya on sūtra 3.3.42 of Vedānta-Darśana
*The conclusion of Govinda-Bhāṣya on sūtra 3.3.42 of Vedānta-Darśana
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