বিষয় বিষম গতি, নাহি ভজ ব্রজপতি,
কৃষ্ণচন্দ্র-চরণ সুখসার ।
স্বর্গ আর অপবর্গ, সংসার নরক ভোগ,
সর্বনাশ জনম বিকার ॥ ৯২ ॥
biṣaya biṣama gati, nāhi bhaja braja-pati,
kṛṣṇacandra-caraṇa sukha-sāra |
svarga āra apabarga, saṁsāra naraka bhoga,
sarba-nāśa janama bikāra || 92 ||
The consequences of sense enjoyment are severe. Why do you not worship the Lord of Vraja? Kṛṣṇacandra’s lotus feet contain the highest joy. Worldly happiness, heavenly happiness, the happiness of liberation and the suffering of hell involve the jīva in repeated births, deaths and other transformations that bring about his ruin.
The Highest Joy
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Under the guise of instructing his own mind, the venerable author, an embodiment of prema, is giving humanity important guidance regarding śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana. In this verse, he first describes the poisonous fruit of enjoying sense objects such as form, flavor and so on. Then he describes the joy of serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. biṣaya biṣama gati, nāhi bhaja braja-pati, kṛṣṇacandra-caraṇa sukha-sāra. The consequences of sense enjoyment are severe, meaning poisonous or filled with misery. Even though mundane sense objects such as form, flavor and so on seem pleasing at first, the true nature of sense enjoyment is concentrated suffering. For example, if one drinks poison, thinking it to be nectar, his body, mind and life-breath begin to burn and he quickly welcomes death. In the same way, sensual enjoyment causes one to suffer the terrible burning of the three kinds of afflictions and the dreadful miseries of birth, death and hell. One may understand the poisonous consequences of sense enjoyment, but as a result of repeatedly engaging in it such a powerful saṁskāra forms in the heart and mind that there is no way to stop it. Prahlāda Mahāśaya thus instructed the young demon boys in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.9-13:
ko gṛheṣu pumān saktam ātmānam ajitendriyaḥ |
sneha-pāśair dṛḍhair baddham utsaheta vimocitum ||
ko nv artha-tṛṣṇāṁ visṛjet prāṇebhyo’pi ya īpsitaḥ |
yaṁ krīṇāty asubhiḥ preṣṭhais taskaraḥ sevako vaṇik ||
kathaṁ priyāyā anukampitāyāḥ saṅgaṁ rahasyaṁ rucirāṁś ca mantrān |
suhṛtsu tat sneha-sitaḥ śiśūnāṁ kalākṣarāṇām anurakta-cittaḥ ||
putrān smaraṁs tā duhitṝr hṛdayyā bhrātṝn svasṝr vā pitarau ca dīnau |
gṛhān manojñor uparicchadāṁś ca vṛttis tu kulyāḥ paśu-bhṛtya-vargān ||
tyajeta kośas-kṛd ivehamānaḥ karmāṇi lobhād avitṛpta-kāmaḥ |
aupasthya-jaihvyaṁ bahu manyamānaḥ kathaṁ virajyeta duranta-mohaḥ ||
“O friends! If one is attached to his home in youth, he cannot give up that attachment later on. Who can hope to liberate himself if he has no control of his senses and is bound by the strong ropes of property, riches, family and friends? Can anyone give up his thirst for wealth, which is more desirable than life itself? Thieves, merchants and servants remain devoted to gathering wealth even after giving up their attachment to life.* Moreover, who, after reflecting upon his intimate and pleasurable conversations and so on with his compassionate wife, is able to give them up? Which soft-hearted man, bound by ropes of affection for his loved ones, can relinquish kinship with them after hearing the sweet murmurs of his children? Who can abandon his affectionate sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, helpless mother and father, beautiful home, attractive clothing, livelihood, cows and other animals, servants and so on? In truth, just as a silk worm while building her own home blocks the way out and traps herself inside, a worldly person attached to family and so on, with unfulfilled desires and greedy for sense enjoyment, remains continually engaged in worldly pursuits. Regarding highly the pleasures of the tongue and genitals, they become covered by a powerful web of illusion. There is no way for them to become free from the inclination for sense enjoyment.”
Having understood the poisonous effects of sense enjoyment, every intelligent person should serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet in this human body, which is well-suited for bhajana and is difficult for even the gods to attain. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya therefore said, nāhi bhaja braja-pati, kṛṣṇacandra-caraṇa sukha-sāra. “O mind! Though knowing the severe consequences of sense enjoyment, why do you still not serve the lotus feet of Vrajapati Śrī Kṛṣṇa? You are searching for happiness. The source of the highest, most enjoyable happiness is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s two lotus feet.”
A human’s thirst for joy is ancient. He tries to obtain true joy, but he doesn’t know how. Śāstra has shown the path; this is the mystical meaning of the word darśana. Sense enjoyment, which infatuates almost everyone in the world, is a mere particle of the glow of parabrahmānanda (spiritual joy). This vast ānanda sustains the misery-filled creation. If this were not the case, no one would be able to continue living. For this reason, Taittirīyopaniṣad says, ko hy evānyāt kaḥ prāṇyāt yady eṣa ākāśa ānando na syāt eṣa evānandayati. It has also been mentioned in the purāṇas: kas tiṣṭheta jīved vāpi yady ānando na vidyate.
Now, a question naturally arises: What is the source of this vast ānanda? One day, the high-minded Śatakarṇi was meditating in a solitary āśrama. He thought, kuto hy evāyam ānandaḥ: “From where is this stream of joy coming?” Behind this continuously changing universe, Śrī Bhagavān stands eternally as the Supreme Truth. He is madhumaya (charming), ānandamaya (joyful) and rasamaya (full of nectar). The jīva’s sādhanā is to search for that person who always remains situated within his own nature amidst endless change and constant transformation. When she becomes successful through this great and exalted sādhanā, her joy will be everlasting. Chāndogyopaniṣad has therefore said, yo vai bhūmā tat-sukham, nālpe sukham asti. “Joy is present in Śrī Bhagavān, the eternal, infinite, all-pervading spiritual essence. There is no joy in that which is limited, meaning in transitory sense pleasures.” That infinite joy appears before the vraja-bhakta’s love-filled eyes in the form of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra, the embodiment of the nectar contained in all rasas. There are no words to express the joy that fills the premika’s heart. Language thus remains silent, as it has no power to express such a feeling. While the great devotee Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura struggled to find words that would express such unprecedented joy, he arrived at the gate of wonder. Like a person enchanted by magic, he stopped suddenly and said, madhuram madhuram madhuram madhuram (sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet). Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, kṛṣṇacandra-caraṇa sukha-sāra. “Kṛṣṇacandra’s lotus feet are the essence of joy.”
Then he says, svarga āra apabarga, saṁsāra naraka bhoga, sarba-nāśa janama bikāra. It was previously said that true happiness comes only from serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. Someone may say, “But do we not see descriptions of heavenly happiness in the karma-kāṇḍa section of śruti and the happiness of liberation in the jñāna-kāṇḍa section?” The answer to this question has been given in the second half of the verse. Worldly happiness, heavenly happiness, the happiness of liberation and the suffering of hell are all the same for those who have obtained the joy of bhagavad-bhajana. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.17.28 says svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ. “Śrī Bhagavān’s devotees see the heavenly worlds, liberation and hell as equal.” In the happiness of svarga and so on, the purely spiritual jīva, eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, is caught up in repeated births, deaths and other transformations. That is not happiness. In truth, it is a complete loss for the jīva.
*The Sanskrit here literally means they gather wealth at the cost of their precious lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment