মধ্যে মধ্যে আছে দুষ্ট, দৃষ্টি করি হয় রুষ্ট,
গুণ বিগুণ করি মানে ।
গোবিন্দ-বিমুখজন, স্ফূর্তি নহে হেন ধন,
লৌকিক করিয়া সব জানে ॥ ৮৩ ॥
অজ্ঞান-বিমুগ্ধ যত, নাহি লয় সত মত,
অহঙ্কারে না জানে আপনা ।
অভিমানী ভক্তিহীন, জগমাঝে সেই দীন,
বৃথা তার অশেষ ভাবনা ॥ ৮৪ ॥
madhye madhye āche duṣṭa, dṛṣṭi kari haya ruṣṭa,
guṇa biguṇa kari māne |
gobinda-bimukha-jana, sphūrti nahe hena dhana,
laukika kariyā saba jāne || 83 ||
ajñāna-bimugdha yata, nāhi laya sata mata,
ahaṅkāre nā jāne āpanā |
abhimānī bhakti-hīna, jaga-mājhe sei dīna,
bṛthā tāra aśeṣa bhābanā || 84 ||
Occasionally, a malicious person sees the activities of a bhakta and becomes angry. He regards the bhakta’s good qualities as faults. The treasure of bhakti is never revealed to one averse to Śrī Govinda. Such a person considers devotional activities to be worldly. He is so bewildered by ignorance that he does not understand the truth of his own demise. Due to egotism, he has forgotten his true self. A prideful person, devoid of bhakti, is the most miserable creature in the world. His endless thoughts are useless.
टीका–दृष्टि करि–श्रीकृष्णभक्तानां प्रेमाचरणं दृष्ट्वा ।
Words of Caution
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has taught us how to become free from the rasa of material sense enjoyment by tasting the rasa of things related to Śrī Govinda in the association of devotees and by accepting prema-bhakti as genuine. Now he speaks a few words of caution regarding protecting oneself from bad association. First he says, madhye madhye āche duṣṭa, dṛṣṭi kari haya ruṣṭa, guṇa biguṇa kari māne. Besides asat-saṅga, or bad association, sādhakas occasionally encounter another type of sinful person. By exposing the nature of such people, the author urges us to also remain cautious of their association.
Here, the word duṣṭa means an extremely sinful, depraved or wicked person. When these people see the devotional practices of a sādhaka, or even a premika’s loving behavior and anubhāvas* caused by the joy of prema, including tears, goosebumps, dancing and singing, laughing and crying and so on, they become angry or envious. Considering all these great qualities to be faults, they become hostile: guṇa biguṇa kari māne. Those sinful and wicked people consider the sādhaka’s abandonment of varṇāśrama-dharma, or the pursuit of material desires, and his performance of śravaṇa, kīrtana and other types of bhajana as activities of the ignorant or lazy. When they see the loving behavior of a premika, such as dancing, singing, crying and other anubhāvas risen from the joy of love, they regard him as insane and feel angry. The high-minded bhaktas must always protect themselves from the malicious behavior of such people by avoiding their association. All of Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s statements come from his personal experience. He and other devotees of Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda, the embodiments of prema, have been subjected to such hostility many times. This can be seen in his biography in the beginning of this book.
The question arises that if the magnanimous bhaktas avoid all contact with these bad people, and if they do not purify them through spiritual teachings, how will they give up their wickedness? Expecting such a question, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, gobinda-bimukha-jana, sphūrti nahe hena dhana, laukika kariyā saba jāne. These people are averse to Govinda, meaning they are nāstika or atheistic; they do not accept the authority of the Vedas. pālanāc ca trayī-dharmaḥ ‘pā’ śabdena nigadyate; ṣaṇḍayanti tu taṁ yasmāt pāṣaṇḍas tena kīrtitaḥ. “The observance of veda-dharma is called pā; those who have an independent mentality and disregard veda-dharma are called pāṣaṇḍīs. Therefore, giving them scriptural teachings will not be fruitful. They will show contempt for the instructions, and the teacher will attain nothing but suffering and aparādha. For this reason, śāstra forbids us to even see a pāṣaṇḍī. There are stories of bhaktas suffering terribly as a result of doing so.”
The treasure of bhakti is never revealed to sinful, atheistic people who are averse to Govinda. Therefore, this treasure must be kept hidden from them. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written the following in Śrī-Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ 2.5.129-131:
phalgu-vairāgya-nirdagdhāḥ śuṣka-jñānāś ca hetukāḥ |
mīmāṁsakā viśeṣeṇa bhakty-āsvāda-bahirmukhāḥ ||
ity eṣa bhakti-rasikaś caurād iva mahānidhiḥ |
jaran-mīmāṁsakād rakṣyaḥ kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasaḥ sadā ||
sarvathaiva durūho’yam abhaktair bhagavad-rasaḥ |
tat-pādāmbuja-sarvasvair bhakter evānurasyate ||
“Those whose cittas are burnt by useless asceticism or indifference to bhakti; who are seekers of dry jñāna; the logicians; the pūrva (ancient)-mīmāṁsakas or proponents of ritual sacrifice; and the uttara (later)-mīmāṁsakas, who believe that duality is illusion; none of these is interested in tasting bhakti. Like a householder who hides his great treasure from thieves, the bhakti-rasika devotees must also hide the great treasure of śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa from all these types of people. It should in particular be hidden away from the ancient mīmāṁsakas because they are completely averse to tasting bhakti and argue against it with mundane logic. Bhakti-rasa is in every way difficult for non-devotees to comprehend; the only enjoyers of the nectar of devotion are the bhaktas for whom the lotus feet of Śrī Hari are everything.” Therefore, bhakti should be kept well-hidden from people who are wicked and averse to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Of this, there is no doubt. Because these are all worldly people, they consider the transcendental practices of the path of bhakti to also be worldly and materialistic like the actions of jīvas bound by the fruit of karma. They are unable to understand anything about the activities of transcendental devotion.
Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says that it is useless to teach bhakti to those who are bewildered by ignorance. ajñāna-bimugdha yata, nāhi laya sata mata, ahaṅkāre nā jāne āpanā. “Those who are bewildered by ignorance” means that because of their aversion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, they have fallen into illusion and delusion and have entered a state of ignorance. Their hearts and minds are always engrossed in worldly enjoyment. For this reason, people who possess the five faults of ajñāna, viparyāsa, bheda, bhaya and śoka are said to be bewildered by ignorance. Ajñāna: forgetfulness of one’s true nature; viparyāsa: an attitude of “I” and “mine” regarding the body and things related to it; bheda: the desire for sense enjoyment; bhaya: fear of opposition to one’s desire for enjoyment; and śoka: at the loss of the desire for sense enjoyment, one feels like, “I have died.” Therefore, people who are bewildered by ignorance can never understand the mysteries of the teachings given by Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s devotees.
Someone may think that those who are bewildered by ignorance, or attached to the body and other perishable things, are also directly perceiving the transience of it all. So if the devotees always gave them information about Bhagavān or eternal bhakti, why would they not accept it as true? In response, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, ahaṅkāre nā jāne āpanā. Intoxicated by egotism, they have forgotten who they are. They are drunk with pride. Therefore, even though seeing the transience of the body and all related things, they do not see it. Forget about them trying to understand the transience of their bodies or inquiring into their true natures; the hearts of arrogant people are playgrounds for many vile and brutal tendencies. From the Udyoga-Parva of Śrī-Mahābhārata:
mado’ṣṭādaśa-doṣaḥ syāt purā yaḥ sa prakīrtitaḥ |
loka-dveṣyaṁ prātikūlyam abhyasūyā mṛṣā-vacaḥ ||
kāma-krodhau pāratantraṁ parivādo’tha paiśunam |
artha-hāni-vivādaś ca mātsaryaṁ prāṇi-pīḍanam ||
īrṣyā-moho’tivādaś ca saṁjñānāśo’bhyasūyitā |
tasmāt prājño na mādyeta sadā hy etad vigarhitam ||
“Eighteen faults are clearly seen within egotistic people. A person overcome by pride or arrogance is the object of the world’s contempt. He often imagines his dignity has been or will be attacked, so he exhibits hostility toward others in his everyday affairs. Envious of successful people, he continually finds fault with them to establish that no one is as respectable as he. To this end, he has no hesitance in speaking a myriad of lies. He is very proud of whatever object of enjoyment he acquires and he becomes extremely attached to it. If anyone says something against the things he desires, his anger flares up like fire. He becomes subjugated by anyone who stokes his inferno of egotism. A prideful person always comments on others’ faults. He is a vessel of various kinds of hypocrisy and deception. He vainly spends great amounts on lawsuits and such to keep the objects of his pride intact. He always starts arguments with others. His heart is pervaded by envy. His arrogance leads him to torment other creatures. His heart always burns in the fire of envy. His citta is confounded by illusion. A proud person always ignores others’ boundaries and lacks the power to discriminate between propriety and impropriety. Hostility toward others is inherent in him. Intelligent people should always avoid egotism, which is the cause of all these many faults and detestable actions.”
If they consider the above-mentioned eighteen faults of a prideful person, everyone can easily understand that even the scent of bhakti cannot come near such a person. No one in the world is as miserable as he. Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, abhimānī bhakti-hīna, jaga-mājhe sei dīna, bṛthā tāra aśeṣa bhābanā. Because of this pride only, all thoughts of such a person are burned to ashes in the fire of egotism. In Śrī-Bhagavad-Gītā, Śrī Bhagavān has for this reason called an egotistical person a vimūḍhātmā or bewildered soul: ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate. A person bewildered by egotism considers himself the doer of all actions. Therefore this pride is the root of a human being’s downfall.
Through their personal behavior, the mahājanas have taught the worldly people how to give up their egotism. The five Pāṇḍavas were ascending to heaven. First, Sahadeva fell to the earth. When Bhīma asked Yudhiṣṭhira why Sahadeva had fallen, the righteous king replied, ātmanaḥ sadṛśaṁ prājñaṁ naiṣo’manyata kañcana. tena doṣeṇa patitas tasmād eṣa nṛpātmajaḥ.** “This prince fell because he did not consider anyone to be as intelligent as himself.” The remaining four brothers then continued onward. After some time had passed, Nakula fell. When Bhīma inquired about the cause of Nakula’s fall, Yudhiṣṭhira replied, rūpeṇa mat-samo nāsti kaścid ity asya darśanam. adhikaś cāham evaika ity asya manasi sthitam. nakulaḥ patitas tasmād āgaccha tvaṁ vṛkodara. “He thought that no one was as handsome as he; this was the cause of his falldown. O Vṛkodara, you must continue.” When Arjuna fell, Dharmarāja was questioned as before. He replied, ekāhnā nirdaheyaṁ vai śatrūn ity arjuno’bravīt; na ca tat-kṛtavān eṣa śūramānī tato’patat. avamene dhanur-grāhān eṣa sarvāṁś ca phalgunaḥ; tathā caitan na tu kathā*** kartavyaṁ bhūtim icchatā. “Arjuna, who was proud of his strength and courage, once boasted that he would destroy all his enemies within one day, but was unable to do so. As the foremost of bowmen, he insulted the other archers by his remark and thus fell. One who desires auspiciousness for himself should never do this.” Then, after a few more steps, Bhīma also began to succumb. When he asked about the cause of his fall, Yudhiṣṭhira replied, atibhuktaṁ ca bhavatā prāṇena tu vikatthase; anavekṣya paraṁ pārtha tenāsi patitaḥ kṣitau. “O Bhīma, you have fallen to the ground because you ate excessively and praised your own strength while dismissing the strength of others.” Only the humble Yudhiṣṭhira was able to ascend to the heavenly world.
Actually, the five Pāṇḍavas are not just some ordinary karma-bound jīvas; they are companions of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, their pride cannot remain. Still, after observing the downfall of Bhīma and the others, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira has taught the people of the world the valuable lesson that egotism is the root cause of failure. By taking shelter of humility, the bhakta-sādhaka always stays far away from this great enemy in the form of pride.
*Anubhāvas are external manifestations of inner emotions.
**See Mahābhārata, Mahāprasthānika-Parva 10-25.
***Another reading here is yathā coktaṁ tathā caiva.
