Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 86 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

নরোত্তম দাস কহে,        সদা মোর প্রাণ দহে,

হেন ভক্ত-সঙ্গ না পাইয়া ।

অভাগ্যের নাহি ওর,        মিছাই হইনু ভোর,

দুঃখ রহে অন্তরে জাগিয়া ॥ ৮৬ ॥

narottama dāsa kahe,        sadā mora prāṇa dahe,

hena bhakta-saṅga nā pāiyā |

abhāgyera nāhi ora,        michāi hainu bhora,

duḥkha rahe antare jāgiyā || 86 ||

     Narottama Dāsa says, “My heart always burns from the lack of devotee association. There is no limit to my misfortune; I am engrossed in illusion. Misery has awakened within me.”

Desiring the Association of Devotees

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Through his instructions to his mind in the previous verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya revealed his wish to always keep awake in his heart the desire to give up all aspirations but prema and to serve Parama Īśvara Hari Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He further wishes to always long for rasika-vara Śrī Govinda or Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava in Śrī Vṛndāvana. Now, overcome by humility, he is thinking that these qualities which are common to the great devotees have no possibility of appearing in his mind, which is deeply attached to sense objects. But if he could get the association of some great bhakta who possesses such devotional qualities, the power of the bhakta’s association and compassion could cause those qualities to be transmitted into even his mind. Without the association of such a great soul, the fault of being averse to Śrī Bhagavān is not removed, the self-concept of being connected to the body and all related to it is not destroyed, and the powerful desire to attain śrī-kṛṣṇa-prema and taste the Divine Couple’s sweetness is not produced. Śrī Bhagavān’s compassion appears within the jīva through the channel of a great soul’s mercy, not independently. For a jīva afflicted by worldly life, the mercy of a sādhu is paramount; getting Bhagavān’s direct mercy is secondary. Moreover, the mercy of the sādhus is not attainable without getting their association. We therefore see the following in Mahārāja Mucukunda’s words to Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.51.54:

bhavāpavargo bhramato yadā bhavej 

janasya tarhy acyuta sat-samāgamaḥ |

sat-saṅgama yarhi tadaiva sad-gatau 

parāvareśe tvayi jāyate ratiḥ ||

     “O infallible Lord! When the time arrives for a worldly person’s earthly bondage to end, he encounters a sādhu. When this holy association occurs, attachment arises in him for you, the sole refuge of the saintly and ruler of the high and low.” When the jīva repeatedly hears the naturally God-related narrations from the mouths of great souls, faith in Śrī Bhagavān appears in his heart. Gradually some taste develops from hearing these discussions and then the practice of śravaṇa, kīrtana and the rest of the nine kinds of bhakti causes prema, the fifth goal of life, to begin to unfold.

     Feeling very humble, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya laments, narottama dāsa kahe, sadā mora prāṇa dahe, hena bhakta-saṅga nā pāiyā. He feels a powerful burning sensation in his heart due to the lack of devotee association. He thinks that it is very difficult for him to obtain such mahat-saṅga, which is the most desirable of all things. In the Ādi-Purāṇa (as quoted in Śrī-Hari-Bhakti-Vilāsa), Śrī Kṛṣṇa says the following to Śrī Arjuna:

mad-bhakto durlabho yasya sa eva mama durlabhaḥ |

tat-paro durlabho nāsti satyaṁ satyaṁ dhanañjaya ||

----------------------------

ye me bhakta-janāḥ pārtha na me bhaktāś ca te janāḥ |

mad-bhaktānāṁ ca ye bhaktās te me bhaktatamā matāḥ ||

ye kecit prāṇino bhaktā mad-arthe tyakta bāndhavāḥ |

teṣām ahaṁ parikrīto nānya-krīto dhanañjaya ||

     “O Pārtha! One who is dear to my bhakta is very dear to me; truly, no one in the world is more dear to me. Those who are devoted only to me are not my true bhaktas; those who are the bhaktas of my bhaktas are the best of all. I am purchased by those devotees who renounce their friends and relatives for my sake, not by others.” One of the best ways to attain Bhagavān’s mercy is to consider the association of devotees to be precious. This is substantiated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s words above. The mercy of a bhakta is obtained through bhakta-saṅga. The more a great soul’s compassion falls upon a fortunate jīva, the more the jīva becomes qualified to obtain Bhagavān’s mercy and prema.

     Then he says, abhāgyera nāhi ora, michāi hainu bhora, duḥkha rahe antare jāgiyā. Though being the embodiment of prema, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya ascertains with deep humility that he has been deprived of the association of devotees because of his own misfortune. He says, abhāgyera nāhi ora, meaning, “There is no limit to my misfortune, yet I madly think I have the good fortune to be a bhakta. In fact, though being unfortunate, I deceive myself by thinking I am fortunate. After awakening in my heart, this misery has remained to sting it.” Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s humble words remind us that we often think of ourselves as actual bhaktas or bhajanānandīs, resulting in self-complacency. In fact, the nature of bhakti is insatiability. premera svabhāva—yāṅhā preme sambandha, sei māne—kṛṣṇe mora nāhi prema-gandha (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Antya 20.28). “The nature of prema is that wherever a relationship of prema occurs, the devotee thinks, ‘I have not even the scent of love for Kṛṣṇa.’” By causing an insatiable desire to awaken within the sādhaka, bhakti ensures that humility, the life of bhajana, remains active in his heart and mind. The sādhaka then reflects upon his wretched condition and prays to Bhagavān with a sorrowful heart:

mat-tulyo nāsti pāpātmā nāparādhī ca kaścana |

parihāre’pi lajjā me kiṁ bruve puruṣottama ||

     “O Puruṣottama! There is no one in the world as sinful and offensive as I. I can only ask that you forgive my transgressions. I feel ashamed to offer such a prayer at your lotus feet.” Because the sādhaka possesses all good qualities, his lamentation causes Śrī Bhagavān’s compassionate heart to tremble and release a ceaseless flow of mercy upon him. After that, nothing is unattainable for the sādhaka.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 85 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

আর সব পরিহরি,        পরম ঈশ্বর হরি,

সেব মন! প্রেম করি আশ ।

এক ব্রজরাজপুরে,        গোবিন্দ রসিকবরে,

করহ সদাই অভিলাষ ॥ ৮৫ ॥

āra saba parihari,        parama īśvara hari,

seba mana! prema kari āśa |

eka braja-rāja-pure,        gobinda rasika-bare,

karaha sadāi abhilāṣa || 85 ||

     O mind! Give up everything else and hope only for the loving service of the Supreme Lord Śrī Hari. Always long for Śrī Govinda, the best of rasikas, in the village of the king of Vraja.

टीका–एक व्रजराजपुरे–मर्त्य व्रजमण्डल इत्यर्थः ।*

Cherishing the Hope for Loving Service

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Through giving instructions to his own mind, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is encouraging the sādhaka-bhaktas of the world to give up all other aspirations and hope only for the loving service of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava. First he says, āra saba parihari, parama īśvara hari, seba mana! prema kari āśa. Bhakti means sevā or service: bhaj ity eṣa vai dhātu sevāyāṁ parikīrtitaḥ (Garuḍa-Purāṇa). Therefore, a bhakta who has firm faith in bhajana has no other desire in his heart than to serve Śrī Bhagavān. As a result of forgetting Śrī Bhagavān from beginningless time, the jīva has become bound to worldly life. From beginningless time, an empire built upon the desire for various kinds of sense enjoyment has continued in the hearts of the jīvas bound by māyā. Consequently, when a sādhaka first enters the path of bhakti, it is natural that some desires other than for service to Bhagavān remain. If other desires remain in the heart, bhakti has only a faint presence and does not produce its fruit of prema. By taking shelter of sādhu and śāstra, one understands the true nature of bhakti, gives up all desires other than for Śrī Kṛṣṇa and performs bhajana. For this reason, in the discussion of the nature of bhakti in the Śāṇḍilya-Bhakti-Sūtra it has been said that sā parānuraktir īśvare. “Bhakti means transcendental love for God.” In his commentary on this sūtra, Śrīpāda Svapneśvarācārya says, anus tu na lakṣaṇāntargataḥ kintu bhagavan-mahimādi-jñānād anu paścāj jāyamānatvād anuraktir ity uktam. “The word anu is not included in the definition, but bhakti is the attachment to Śrī Hari that arises after a person learns of the Lord’s glory and the nature of devotion.” (Anu means after and rakti means attachment or affection.) Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya thus says, āra saba parihari: Understanding that all other desires are impediments to pure bhakti, the sādhaka should just abandon them and perform bhajana.

     Because he is giving instructions about the worship of Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he says parama īśvara hari. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the cream of all vedānta, has described Śrī Kṛṣṇa as sarva-avatārī, the mūla-tattva or fundamental principle of all the forms of Śrī Bhagavān, or as the svayaṁ-rūpa, the natural form. Not only Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but all the śruti-śāstras have confirmed Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord or the source of all incarnations. kṛṣṇa eva paro devas taṁ dhyāyet taṁ raset (Śruti): “Śrī Kṛṣṇa is indeed the Supreme God; meditate upon him, love him.” kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (Bhāgavata): “Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān himself.” mattaḥ parataraṁ nāsti kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (Gītā): “O conqueror of wealth, there is nothing beyond me.” īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Brahma-Saṁhitā): “Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, the embodiment of being, consciousness and joy,” and so on.

     Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s status as Supreme Lord is also known in another way. To give us a hint of the nature of God, the Vedas have said, raso vai saḥ. “Bhagavān’s svarūpa (true form or nature) is rasa,” meaning he is rasamaya, made of nectar. Rasa is Bhagavān’s svarūpa, so manifestations of various rasas are seen in his various avatāras, but in no avatāra do all rasas gather simultaneously. In contrast, Svayaṁ Bhagavān Parameśvara Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrti: all rasas are fully manifested in him. This is because he has so many qualities that nourish rasa. The Gosvāmīs have described those qualities as his mādhurya or sweetness. This extraordinary sweetness is only revealed in his Vraja. Because Śrī Kṛṣṇa completely steals everyone’s heart and mind through this mādhurya, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has described him as parama īśvara hari, the Supreme Lord Hari.**

     Then he says, seba mana! prema kari āśa. As we mentioned, bhakti means sevā or service, so the bhakta’s heart is always filled with the hope or desire for service to his chosen deity. But sevā without love is not pleasing to the deity, so the hope for obtaining love is deeply rooted in the sādhaka’s heart. The hope to attain love is the hope for service. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is not pleased by service devoid of love, so without it, sevā cannot be attained. Therefore, Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 7.145 says, premā haite pāya kṛṣṇera sebā-sukha-rasa. “From prema he gets the nectar of joyful service to Kṛṣṇa.” Previously, in verse 79, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, prema binā āna nāhi cāu. “Desire nothing but prema.”

     Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas are not devoted to Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone; they worship Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa together. Earlier it was said, yugala caraṇa sebā, yugala-caraṇa dhyebā, yugalei manera pirīti (43): “I shall serve Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, meditate upon their feet and dedicate the love in my heart to them.” rādhā-kṛṣṇa sebana, ekānta kariyā mana (76): “O mind! Just worship Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa exclusively.” rādhā-kṛṣṇa kara dhyāna, svapneo nā bala āna (79): “Meditate upon Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa; do not speak of anything else, even in dreams,” and so on. For this reason, in the current verse he says, eka braja-rāja-pure, gobinda rasika-bare, karaha sadāi abhilāṣa. We have said that Śrī Bhagavān is the rasa-svarūpa, the embodiment of rasa. Being the rasa-svarūpa, he is also the enjoyer of rasa. Śrī Bhagavān’s natural enjoyment of prīti-rasa (the joy of love) is his personal treasure. Time, karma, māyā and jīva know nothing of such love. An extraordinary natural quality of Bhagavān is that he is a rasika, a person of taste and feeling, who appreciates excellence and beauty. Without this rasa-relishing nature, Śrī Bhagavān would not be able to perform his līlās. The reason is that it is impossible for any kind of desire to arise in Bhagavān, who is ātmārāma (rejoicing in himself) and āpta-kāma (satisfied). Though Bhagavān is pūrṇa-kāma (one whose wishes have been fulfilled), his self-evident nature is that he wants to taste prīti-rasa. Because other forms of Bhagavān are satisfied by tasting the prīti-rasa mixed with aiśvarya-jñāna*** in a bhakta’s heart, they are known as rasikas. But Svayaṁ Bhagavān Vrajendranandana relishes the prīti-rasa of the residents of Vraja, which is devoid of even the scent of aiśvarya-jñāna. He is therefore known as rasika-śekhara, the chief of all rasikas. Because he above all enjoys the mādanākhya-rasa of Premamayī Śrī Rādhārāṇī, he is called rasika-vara, the greatest of rasikas.

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, “O mind! Always long for that best of rasikas, Śrī Govinda, your long-desired, beloved deity Śrī Govinda, who is devoted to his loving pastimes with Śrī Rādhārāṇī.” The object of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas’ worship is the graceful Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava among their friends. The bhaktas always carry in their hearts the desire to serve Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava directly. At the time of bhajana, along with śravaṇa, kīrtana and so on, they think of their own siddha-svarūpas in Vraja Dhāma. They contemplate their cherished sevās while meditating on Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s aṣṭa-kāla-līlā. Then, at the time of siddhi or complete maturity: sādhane bhābiba yāhā, siddha-dehe pāba tāhā. “Whatever I contemplate during sādhana, I shall attain in my siddha-deha.” By faithfully following this psychological system, the bhakta attains in the siddha-svarūpa the long-desired sevā she contemplated during sādhana and is thus blessed with success.

*Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda notes that this village of the king of Vraja is the earthly one.

**Hari is a name of Kṛṣṇa that means ‘one who takes away or removes evil or sin.’

***Knowledge of God’s majesty