Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 98 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

পরম-নাগর কৃষ্ণ,        তাহে হও অতিতৃষ্ণ,

ভজ তাঁরে ব্রজভাব লৈয়া ।

রসিক-ভকত-সঙ্গে,        রহিব পীরিতি-রঙ্গে,

ব্রজপুরে বসতি করিয়া ॥ ৯৮ ॥

parama-nāgara kṛṣṇa,        tāhe hao atitṛṣṇa,

bhaja tāṅre braja-bhāba laiyā |

rasika-bhakata-saṅge,        rahiba pīriti-raṅge,

braja-pure basati kariyā || 98 ||

     टीका—ভজ তাঁরে–श्रीकृष्णं भज । পীরিতি-রঙ্গে–युगल-प्रेम-कथा रङ्गेण ।

     O mind, long for the supreme lover Śrī Kṛṣṇa and worship him in the Vraja mood. With joyful love I will dwell among the rasika-bhaktas of Vṛndāvana.

Vraja-Bhāva-Bhajana

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya then gives the gist of vraja-bhajana: parama-nāgara kṛṣṇa, tāhe hao atitṛṣṇa, bhaja tāṅre braja-bhāba laiyā. “O mind, long for the supreme lover Śrī Kṛṣṇa and worship him in vraja-bhāva.” Śrīpāda Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has said that bhakti means longing for Śrī Kṛṣṇa. kṛṣṇa-mātraika tṛṣṇā, kṛṣṇa-vinānya-tṛṣṇā-śūnyā bhaktiḥ. “Bhakti means longing for Śrī Kṛṣṇa and nothing but Śrī Kṛṣṇa.” This is intense longing or thirst. While thirst remains weak, thoughts of water occur alongside thoughts of other matters. But if that thirst is intense, the mind only thinks of water. This intense thirst has been called the natural characteristic of rāga-bhakti. iṣṭe gāḍha-tṛṣṇā ‘rāga’–ei svarūpa-lakṣaṇa, iṣṭe ābiṣṭatā–ei taṭastha-lakṣaṇa (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 22.151). Deep longing for Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the essential quality of rāga. As a result, attachment for Kṛṣṇa is born and attachment for matters other than Kṛṣṇa disappears.

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is saying, “We must long for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the supreme lover.” Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the vraja-sundarīs’ clever hero, for which he is called nāgara (lover, gallant, paramour). When he is the lover of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the crest-jewel of all the vraja-sundarīs, he is the parama-nāgara. Therefore, by saying parama-nāgara kṛṣṇa, tāhe hao atitṛṣṇa, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has given the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas an instruction about the rāga-bhajana of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas who are devotees of mañjarī-bhāva or rādhā-kiṅkarī-bhāva possess bhāvollāsā-rati. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written, sañcārī syāt samonā vā kṛṣṇa-ratyāḥ suhṛd-ratiḥ, adhikā pūṣyamāṇā ced bhāvollāsa itīryate. In madhura-rasa, those among Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s girlfriends who love Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa equally or who love Kṛṣṇa a little more than Rādhā have the sthāyi-bhāva called śrī-kṛṣṇa-rati. Their love for Rādhārāṇī will be a sañcārī or passing sentiment. But if their love for Śrī Rādhārāṇī exceeds that for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, then it is known as bhāvollāsā-rati. Their sthāyi-bhāva is called rādhā-snehādhika, or having more love for Śrī Rādhā. The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas mainly perform śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana under the shelter of Śrī Rādhā. āmāra īśvarī hana bṛndābaneśvarī, tāṅra prāṇanātha bali’ bhaji giridhārī. “My Goddess is Vṛndāvaneśvarī Śrī Rādhā; because Giridhārī is the lord of her life, I also worship him.” tavaivāsmi tavaivāsmi na jīvāmi tvayā vinā, iti vijñāya devi tvaṁ naya māṁ caraṇāntikam. “I am yours! I am yours! I cannot live without you. O Goddess! Now that you know this, please lead me to your lotus feet.” This is the mūla-mantra of those who worship in mañjarī-bhāva. Therefore, why did Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya tell us to long for Śrī Kṛṣṇa instead of Śrī Rādhā? Such a question may arise. The author did not just say kṛṣṇa; he said parama-nāgara kṛṣṇa. Profound meaning lies hidden within the words parama-nāgara kṛṣṇa. In some līlās, for the sake of serving Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the rādhā-snehādhikā-mañjarī-bhāva-sādhaka must meditate on yugala-sevā with a desire for Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

     While contemplating a pastime in his mentally conceived siddha-svarūpa, the sādhaka has taken the anxious Śrī Rādhā to meet with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. After preparing the bower with the help of her maidservant, Śrīmatī fixed her eyes on her lover’s path. The time for their meeting has passed. Śrīmatī became confused and wept in separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa. One of Śrīmatī’s maidservants helped her regain her composure and then left in search of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. She carried a great longing for Kṛṣṇa in her heart. After looking everywhere for him without success, she finally became distressed and began to cry. “Alas, Lord of Rādhā! Alas, Supreme Lover! Show yourself to me. Your beloved Rādhā suffers a terrible burning sensation born of separation from you.” Now, after seeing the strong desire of Śrī Rādhā’s maidservant for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one wonders if such desire is even possible for a worshiper of Kṛṣṇa. Because of the kiṅkarī’s intense desire, parama-nāgara Śrī Kṛṣṇa revealed himself to her. The kiṅkarī brought the king of lovers to the bower and performed her unique service to Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa there. Therefore, it is understood that in a particular type of service to Yugala-Kiśora, Śrī Rādhā’s maidservant must have deep longing for Śrī Kṛṣṇa while maintaining greater affection for Śrī Rādhā.

     Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, bhaja tāṅre braja-bhāba laiyā. “Worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the mood of Vraja.” Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal rāgātmikā companions living in Vraja have forgotten all of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s aiśvarya and serve him through ordinary positive human relationships in vātsalya, sakhya and madhura-rasas. mora putra mora sakhā mora prāṇa-pati. “Kṛṣṇa is my son. Kṛṣṇa is my friend. Kṛṣṇa is the lord of my life.” The sādhaka who follows them also forgets Kṛṣṇa’s aiśvarya and serves him through an ordinary human relationship in his or her own rasa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the object of love; except by love, he cannot be caught. The sentiment of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas toward Śrī Kṛṣṇa is that he is the dear friend of Śrī Rādhā. This is vraja-bhāva. Śrīmad Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda wrote the following in verse nine of his Manaḥ-Śikṣā:

mad-īśā-nāthatve vraja-vipina-candraṁ vraja-vane-

śvarīṁ tan-nāthatve tad-atula-sakhītve tu lalitām |

viśākhāṁ śikṣālī-vitaraṇa-gurutve priya-saro-

girīndrau tat-prekṣā-lalita-ratidatve smara manaḥ ||

     “O mind! Remember Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the moon of Vṛndāvana, as the lord of my queen Śrī Rādhā’s life. Remember Śrī Rādhā, the goddess of the Vraja forest, as the lover of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Remember Śrī Lalitā as her dearest friend and Śrī Viśākhā as the guru who teaches the sakhīs the arts of sevā. Remember their beloved lake Śrī Rādhā-Kuṇḍa and Govardhana, king of mountains, as revealers of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and  givers of innocent love for them.”

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya then describes the sādhana that nourishes the sādhaka’s vraja-bhāva: rasika-bhakata-saṅge, rahiba pīriti-raṅge, braja-pure basati kariyā. Here, rasika-bhakta-saṅga means associating with devotees who are earnest about tasting bhakti-rasa, who are well-established in virtuous practices, are affectionate to you and are more advanced than you: sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅgaḥ svato vare, śrīmad-bhāgavatārthānām āsvādo rasikaiḥ saha. “I shall remain among such bhaktas in joyful love.” In his commentary on this section, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda wrote yugala-prema-kathā-raṅgeṇa, meaning, submerged in the wondrous rasa of stories about Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s mutual love, the sādhaka should take shelter of their transcendental playground Śrī Vṛndāvana, the ultimate place for the illumination of śrī-yugala-līlā, and pass the rest of his life in bhajana. This is the best sādhana for nourishing the vraja-bhāva of the vraja-rasa-sādhaka.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 97 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

জগৎ ব্যাপক হরি,        অজ ভব-আজ্ঞাকারী,

মধুর মূরতি লীলাকথা ।

এই তত্ত্ব জানে যেই,        পরম উত্তম সেই,

তার সঙ্গ করিব সর্বথা ॥ ৯৭ ॥

jagat byāpaka hari,        aja bhaba-ājñākārī,

madhura mūrati līlā-kathā |

ei tattva jāne yei,        parama uttama sei,

tāra saṅga kariba sarbathā || 97 ||

     Śrī Hari pervades the entire world and is its eternal ruler. The stories of his pastimes embody his sweetness. Those who know this are the greatest devotees and I shall always seek their association.

Svarūpa, Aiśvarya and Mādhurya-Tattvas

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Longing for the association of a great bhakta who is devoted to mādhurya and is expert in Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa, aiśvarya and mādhurya-tattvas, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, jagat byāpaka hari, aja bhaba-ājñākārī, madhura mūrati līlā-kathā. Jagat byāpaka hari (Hari pervades the universe) indicates Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa (nature, character); aja bhaba-ājñākārī (he is its eternal ruler) indicates his aiśvarya (power) and madhura mūrati līlā-kathā (his pastimes embody his sweetness) indicates his mādhurya (sweetness or charm). Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, bhagavāṁs tāvad asādhāraṇa-svarūpaiśvarya-mādhuryas tattva-viśeṣaḥ. tatra svarūpaṁ paramānanda aiśvaryam asamordhvānanta-svābhāvika-prabhutā, mādhuryam asamordhvatayā sarva-manoharaṁ svābhāvika-rūpa-guṇa-līlādi sauṣṭhavam (Laghu-Toṣaṇī commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.12.11). Bhagavān is the name of a particular type of tattva composed of extraordinary nature, power and sweetness. Paramānanda or supreme joy is Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa; unequalled, boundless, innate power* is his aiśvarya; the excellence of his incomparable natural beauty, qualities, pastimes and so on, or the quality of being attractive to all, is his mādhurya. By using the word paramānanda, Śrī Jīva has indicated the world-pervading brahma. The svarūpa or nature of brahma is saccidānanda, which has been described in various places in the śruti: saccidānanda-mayaṁ parabrahma; sarva-pūrṇa-rūpo’smi saccidānanda-lakṣaṇaḥ; satyaṁ jñānam ānandaṁ brahma; vijñānam ānandaṁ brahma and so on. Therefore, paramānanda is understood to refer to the omnipresent brahma-tattva. This is Śrī Bhagavān’s nature. By saying jagat byāpaka hari, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has ascertained the svarūpa-tattva of Śrī Hari.

     By the words aja bhaba-ājñākārī, the author refers to Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s aiśvarya, or his incomparable, boundless, natural power. brahmādi-paribhāvaka-prabhāvo hi aiśvaryam (Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa). “The governing power possessed by Brahmā, Śiva and others is called aiśvarya.” 

     According to the statement by Śrī Jīva, the excellence of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s all-alluring natural beauty, qualities, pastimes and so on is his mādhurya, which Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya expresses as madhura mūrati līlā-kathā. Truly, incomparable character and power are present in Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the embodiment of sweetness. Sweetness rests upon a foundation of character and power. Without character and power, the attractiveness of form and pastimes alone is not mādhurya. If it were, even the charm of an ordinary boy restless for play would be called mādhurya.

     Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda wrote the following in his Rāga-Vartma-Candrikā (Dvitīya-Prakāśa): mahaiśvaryasya dyotane vādyotane ca nara-līlatvānatikramo mādhuryam. yathā pūtanā-prāṇa-hāritve’pi stana-cūṣaṇa-lakṣaṇa-nara-bāla-līlatvam eva. mahākaṭhora-śakaṭa-spotane’py ati-sukumāra-caraṇa-traimāsikyottānaśāyi-bāla-līlatvam. mahādīrgha-dāmāśakya-bandhatve’pi mātṛ-bhīti-vaiklavyam. brahma-baladevādi mohane’pi sarva-jñatve’pi vatsa-cāraṇa-līlatvam. tathā aiśvarya-sattva eva tasyādyotane dadhi-paya-cauryaṁ gopa-strī-lāmpaṭyādikam. “Whether his divinity is being manifested or not, as long as the appropriate mood for his human pastimes is not violated, that is called mādhurya. For example, even while Śrī Kṛṣṇa was killing Pūtanā, he sucked her breast like a human child. Although Mother Yaśodā found it impossible to tie him with a rope, he was overwhelmed with fear of her. In the brahma-mohana-līlā, the omniscient Bhagavān of the śruti personally went searching for a calf, as though he were uninformed. While bewildering Brahmā, Baladeva and others, he revealed his sweet pastime of grazing the calves. Moreover, though possessing endless power, without revealing any of it he entered the cowherds’ homes and stole their yogurt, butter and so on. Because of this, he is known in śāstra as navanīta-caura, the butter thief. After attracting the young gopīs with his charming form and the sound of his flute, he became known as gopa-strī-lampaṭa, the gopīs’ debauchee.” By the power of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s acintya-śakti,** omniscience and innocence exist in him simultaneously. This is not surprising because divinity is the shelter of mutually opposed dharmas. Śrīpāda Līlāśuka has written, maugdhye ca sārva-jñe ca sārva-bhaumam idaṁ mahaḥ. “Sovereignty over all, whether in innocence or omniscience: this is power.”

     Regarding the sādhana for realizing svarūpa, aiśvarya and mādhurya, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda wrote, tat-tad-anubhava-sādhanaṁ ca krameṇa jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ bhaktyākhya gaurava-miśrā-prītiḥ śuddha-prītiś ca. Through jñāna-sādhana, svarūpa is realized; through love mixed with the awe and reverence of aiśvarya-bhāva, aiśvarya is realized; and through pure love or vraja-prema, mādhurya is realized. In the absence of these three kinds of sādhanas, the māyā-bound human has no realization of any of the three tattvas. Śrī Bhagavān said, nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ (Śrī-Bhagavad-Gītā 7.25). “O Arjuna, concealed by my yogamāyā, I am not revealed to everyone.” 

     When the bhaktas who possess aiśvarya-jñāna experience Śrī Hari’s majesty, they feel awe and reverence and their relationships with him loosen. But the nature of the Vrajavāsīs’ pure mādhurya-jñāna is such that even though they may witness hundreds of his divine attributes, they will feel no awe or hesitation in their hearts or minds and their relationships with him will not loosen. Rather, their relationships with him become closer. dekhile nā māne aiśvarya kebalāra rīti (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 19.194). “Even if one sees aiśvarya, he does not consider it so. This is the way of pure bhakti.” In Vraja, beginning from Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s childhood pastimes up to the rāsa-līlā, the crown jewel of all pastimes, vast aiśvarya has been manifested; it is inconceivable. But to the Vrajavāsīs, all these appear as though adorned with boundless mādhurya. Glowing testimony has been given of his countless pastimes such as the killing of Pūtanā, Tṛṇāvarta, Bakāsura and Aghāsura; the bewilderment of Brahmā; the subduing of Kāliya; consuming the forest fire; lifting Govardhana and so on. Śrīpāda Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has written the following in his book Siddhānta-Ratna: mādhurya-jñāna-niṣṭhānām aiśvarya-jñānaṁ triveṇyāṁ sarasvatī-pravāhavad-gauṇatayāsti. virahe vismaye vipadi ca tasyodaya-parvaṇi sārasvatasyeva pravāhasya. Like the current of the Sarasvatī in the Triveṇī,*** aiśvarya-jñāna resides secondarily in the vraja-bhaktas who are fixed in mādhurya-jñāna. Just as the current of the Sarasvatī briefly manifests at auspicious times like the full moon day, in the same way, when the Vrajavāsīs experience separation, bewilderment and difficulty, aiśvarya-jñāna manifests for a short time to bless them with the forbearance necessary to sustain their lives. But in this also, there is no awe or hesitation in their minds because Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s aiśvarya vanishes to the unfathomable floor of the Vrajavāsīs’ vast ocean of mādhurya and nourishes it. They continuously enjoy the happiness of swimming in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s immense ocean of sweetness.

     Not to speak of Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associates in Vraja, his ever-fresh mādhurya appeared in Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, a sādhaka-jīva whose eyes had been smeared with the ointment of devotional love. Even today, his book Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Karṇāmṛta continues to give his glowing testimony; it can be described as an endless fountain of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya-rasa. How can the poet completely express in language the awakening of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness in his heart? Perhaps one percent has been communicated through words. But even language is ultimately brought to a standstill and he can only repeat the words madhuram madhuram madhuram madhuram (sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet). This is the highest stage in the realization of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya. After Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness is revealed to the rasika devotees fixed in mādhurya, for them the whole world becomes beautiful, full of flavor and as mellow as honey. Above, below, in front and behind them—in every direction—endless, billowy waves surge and fall in a great ocean of sweetness. The premika devotees forget about their bodies and homes and dive deeply into the waves of mādhurya. This the highest and final stage of vraja-rasa worship, the last frontier in the realization of Śrī Bhagavān, because mādhurya is the essence of the divine nature. Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 21.110:

mādhurya bhagabattā-sāra, braje kaila paracāra, tāṅhā śuka byāsera nandana |

sthāne sthāne bhāgabate, barṇiyāche nānā-mate, yāhā śuni’ māte bhakta-gaṇa ||

     “Mādhurya is the essence of divinity. It was introduced in Vraja. Śuka, the son of Vyāsa, described it in different places in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in various ways. Hearing this, the devotees are filled with joy.”

     Even though Śrī Śuka Muni has described Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya in various places in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the essence of all the Vedas, until now, the door to that storehouse of mādhurya had been closed to the sādhakas of the world. Wanting to experience his own incomparable sweetness, Vrajendranandana accepted Śrī Rādhā’s mood and complexion and incarnated as Śrī Gaurāṅga. He personally relished as much of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurī as he desired, and after opening the door of that mystical storehouse of sweetness, he freely gave its contents to the jīvas punished by kali-yuga. Moreover, it is through the mercy of Śrī Rūpa, Śrī Sanātana and the other Gosvāmīs sheltered at Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s lotus feet that the experience of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness is possible. They established the jeweled temple of madhura-bhajana on the firm foundation of scriptural logic and their own realizations. Every day they submerged themselves in bhajana-rasa, entered the world of meditation and relished Śrī Bhagavān’s mādhurī-rasa. This they taught to the sādhakas of the world through their own behavior. 

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, ei tattva jāne yei, parama uttama sei, tāra saṅga kariba sarbathā. The rasika-bhaktas, who are expert in all these mystical doctrines, are the greatest devotees and provide  valuable association. Those sādhakas who long to taste Śrī Bhagavān’s mādhurya-rasa must always seek  the company of such great bhaktas.

*Author’s footnote: “The burning capacity of fire is natural or innate. It is not incidental like the burning power of an iron bar that has been in contact with fire.”

**Inconceivable power

***The confluence of the Gaṅgā, Yamunā and Sarasvatī at Allahabad