রাধাকৃষ্ণে নাহি রতি, অন্য দেবে বলে পতি,
প্রেমভক্তি-রীতি নাহি জানে ।
নাহি ভক্তির সন্ধান, ভরমে করয়ে ধ্যান,
বৃথা তার এ ছার জীবনে ॥ ৯৫ ॥
rādhā-kṛṣṇe nāhi rati, anya debe bale pati,
prema-bhakti-rīti nāhi jāne |
nāhi bhaktira sandhāna, bharame karaye dhyāna,
bṛthā tāra e chāra jībane || 95 ||
They have no love for Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa; they call other gods Lord; they know nothing of the practices of prema-bhakti. Without inquiring into bhakti, they meditate in illusion. Their lives are useless.
Useless Lives
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya established the insignificance of karma and jñāna. Now, worshipers of other devas and devīs can say that they are also bhaktas, that even though they do not worship Śrī Hari, they will be blessed by worshiping other gods. After observing them, he says, rādhā-kṛṣṇe nāhi rati, anya debe bale pati, prema-bhakti-rīti nāhi jāne. Bhakti is the essential function of the hlādinī (joy) and saṁvit (consciousness) aspects of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti (natural power). Therefore, bhakti is composed of sac-cid-ānanda (existence, consciousness and joy); she is not like the dull mental faculty of a human being. Even for a sādhaka, bhakti’s true nature is not diminished. Though being a function of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti, she mercifully appears in the mind and senses of the bhaktas who have taken shelter at Śrī Hari’s lotus feet and manifests herself in the form of activities like śravaṇa-kīrtana and so on. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda wrote the following in the section of Prīti-Sandarbha* that defines the nature of bhakti: atha śrutau ca ‘bhaktir evainaṁ nayati bhaktir evainaṁ darśayati, bhakti-vaśaḥ puruṣo bhaktir eva bhūyasī’ iti śrūyate. tasmād evaṁ vivicyate. yā caivaṁ bhagavantaṁ svānandena madayati, sā kiṁ lakṣaṇā syād iti. na tāvat sāṁkhyānām iva prākṛta-sattvamaya-māyikānanda-rūpā, bhagavato māyānabhibhāvyatva-śruteḥ, svatas tṛptatvāc ca. na ca nirviśeṣa-vādinām iva bhagavat-svarūpānanda-rūpā, atiśayānupapatteḥ. ato natarāṁ jīvasya svarūpānanda-rūpā, atyanta-kṣudratvāt tasya. tato ‘hlādinī sandhinī saṁvit tvayy ekā sarva-saṁśraye. hlāda-tāpa-karī miśrā tvayi no guṇa-varjite’ iti śrī-viṣṇu-purāṇānusāreṇa hlādinyākhya-tadīya-svarūpa-śaktyānanda-rūpaivety avaśiṣyate, yayā khalu bhagavān svarūpānanda-viśeṣī bhavati… tasyā hlādinyā eva kāpi sarvānandātiśāyinī vṛttir nityaṁ bhakta-vṛndeṣv eva nikṣipyamāṇā bhagavat-prītyākhyayā vartate. atas tad-anubhavena śrī-bhagavān api śrīmad-bhakteṣu prīty-atiśayaṁ bhajata iti. “It has been said in the śruti, ‘Bhakti carries the devotee to the Lord’s abode and gives her darśana of the Lord.’ Śrī Bhagavān is charmed by bhakti. Bhakti is the best sādhana for attaining Bhagavān. Now the consideration is, what is the indication that bhakti’s inherent joy causes Śrī Bhagavān to feel pleasure? Bhakti is not some illusory happiness pervaded by ordinary sattva-guṇa, as the followers of sāṁkhya teach. No one anywhere says that Śrī Bhagavān is controlled by māyā. Bhakti is also not Śrī Bhagavān’s innate joy (svarūpānanda), as the proponents of nirviśeṣa-vāda say. He gets more pleasure from bhakti than he gets from his natural bliss. Bhakti is also not the manifestation of the jīva’s natural joy, because that is insignificant. Therefore, ‘O Lord, your three kinds of innate spiritual powers—hlādinī, sandhinī and saṁvit—dwell in you alone, who govern them all. The mundane energies of goodness, passion and ignorance do not exist in you, who are beyond the modes of nature.’ According to this statement from Śrī-Viṣṇu-Purāṇa, the only thing left is Śrī Bhagavān’s ultimate transcendental energy, called hlādinī, the joyful aspect of his svarūpa-śakti. Its inherent power is bhakti, through which Śrī Bhagavān, though being the embodiment of joy, enjoys a special type of joy and also gives it to others. After being deposited in the bhaktas, this power of hlādinī, which surpasses all in joy, remains eternally as love of God. When Śrī Bhagavān feels the bhaktas’ affection, he also serves them with abundant love.”
It is clear from this statement that the name bhakti is not given to love for a deva or devī other than Śrī Hari. Therefore, those who worship other devatās as Lord and think of themselves as bhaktas know neither the methods nor nature of prema-bhakti. When kṛṣṇa-bhaktas selflessly serve and worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa to give him joy, his svarūpa-śakti faculty hlādinī enters into the bhaktas’ hearts and minds and creates a particular condition called prema that is very pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. Without this, hlādinī’s purpose is not fulfilled because inducing Śrī Kṛṣṇa to relish the bhaktas’ joyful love is her function. Therefore, those who maintain desires and longings for things of this world or the next also worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but hlādinī cannot come to them. Hence, it has been said, bhukti mukti siddhi-bāñchā mane yadi raya, sādhana karileo prema utpanna nā haya (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 19.175). The worshipers of other devas and devīs bear desires for pleasure, wealth and so on in this world and the next. They serve the gods and goddesses, thinking themselves to be bhaktas. Needless to say, they know nothing about the practices or natural dharma of prema-bhakti.
Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya therefore says, nāhi bhaktira sandhāna, bharame karaye dhyāna, bṛthā tāra e chāra jībane. They do not ask, “What is the nature of bhakti? What are its properties?” Still, due to illusion, they meditate on devas and devīs. Like worldly people, karmīs and jñānīs, their lives are also useless.
*Verse 65
