শ্রীগুরু-ভকত-জন, তাহার চরণে মন,
আরোপিয়া কথা-অনুসারে ।
সখীর সর্বথা মত, হইয়া তাহার যূথ,
সদাই বিহরে ব্রজপুরে ॥ ৯৯ ॥
śrī-guru-bhakata-jana, tāhāra caraṇe mana,
āropiyā kathā-anusāre |
sakhīra sarbathā mata, haiyā tāhāra yūtha,
sadāi bihare brajapure || 99 ||
टीका—কথা অনুসারে–शास्त्रकथानुसारेण । হইয়া তাহার যূথ–सखीनां यूथवर्तिनी भूत्वा । বিহরে–विहारं कुर्याम् ॥
According to śāstra, the sādhaka must fix her mind at the lotus feet of Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas. Always following the sentiments of the sakhīs and being part of their group, she will forever sport in Vrajapura.
Devotion to Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Rāga-mārga-sādhana is of two kinds: (1) serving Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas externally, in the sādhaka body, through hearing, chanting and so on, and (2) in the mind by recollecting one’s siddha-svarūpa and then meditating on the service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava during the eight periods of a day. In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has mentioned both kinds of sādhanas. He speaks first of devotion to the lotus feet of Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas. śrī-guru-bhakata-jana, tāhāra caraṇe mana, āropiyā kathā-anusāre. The bhakti-śāstras have stated that devotion to Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas is the only requirement for eliminating one’s anarthas through śravaṇa-kīrtana and then quickly obtaining prema. In accordance with that, the sādhaka must concentrate his or her mind at their lotus feet.
Two streams of Śrī Bhagavān’s compassion flow through the world bearing blessings in the form of Śrī Guru and Śrī Vaiṣṇava. Other than by taking shelter of divine bhakti, there is no way for a jīva with beginningless aversion to Śrī Bhagavān to be freed from the terrible grip of illusion. The function of the bhakti-śakti is to create eagerness in the jīva toward the most merciful Śrī Bhagavān. It manifests in this world through the gateway of Śrī Guru and Śrī Vaiṣṇava’s compassion. By the powerful association and mercy of the distinguished sādhus and guru, a taste for śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana is born. After taking shelter of the path of bhakti, those who have accepted service to the sādhus and guru as the primary limb of bhajana render that service to them in a variety of ways. By the power of their devotion to guru-vaiṣṇava, all anarthas are quickly destroyed and they attain the affectionate Bhagavān. This is the conclusion of all the bhakti-śāstras. The following are statements of evidence from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.15.22-25 regarding the destruction of anarthas through śrī-guru-sevā.
asaṅkalpāj jayet kāmaṁ krodhaṁ kāma-vivarjanāt |
arthānarthekṣayā lobhaṁ bhayaṁ tattvāvamarśanāt ||
ānvīkṣikyā śoka-mohau dambhaṁ mahad-upāsayā |
yogāntarāyān maunena hiṁsāṁ kāmādy-anīhayā ||
kṛpayā bhūta-jaṁ duḥkhaṁ daivaṁ jahyāt samādhinā |
ātma-jaṁ yoga-vīryeṇa nidrāṁ sattva-niṣevayā ||
rajas tamaś ca sattvena sattvaṁ copaśamena ca |
etat sarvaṁ gurau bhaktyā puruṣo hy añjasā jayet ||
etat sarvaṁ gurau bhaktyā puruṣo hy añjasā jayet ||
“If desire is to be conquered, the resolve to enjoy must be abandoned. Anger is conquered by giving up desire. Greed is conquered by seeing the danger in wealth. Fear is conquered by philosophical reflection. Grief and illusion are conquered by distinguishing matter from spirit. Pride is conquered by service to a great soul. Single-mindedness is attained through practicing silence. Violence is conquered by abandoning the quest for sense-enjoyment. Through compassion or forgiveness, the suffering caused by other creatures ceases. Through deep meditation, the suffering caused by natural phenomena is destroyed. Relief from bodily and mental suffering comes through the practice of aṣṭāṅga-yoga. Sleep is conquered by increasing the quality of goodness. Rajas and tamas are overcome by sattva. Sattva is overcome through restraint of the senses. But all these anarthas are easily conquered through śrī-guru-bhakti alone.” In regard to attaining success in bhakti through service to Śrī Guru, śāstra says,
guru-śuśrūṣaṇaṁ nāma
sarva-dharmottamottamam |
tasmād dharmāt paro dharmaḥ
pavitro naiva vidyate ||
“Service to Śrī Guru is the best of all dharmas. There is no purer dharma in the world.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (The devotion of the jīva to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is beyond sense-perception, is called parama-dharma.) and dharmo mad-bhakti-kṛt prokta (Devotion to me is known as parama-dharma). According to these statements, the highest dharma is bhagavad-bhakti and the highest limb of bhakti is śrī-guru-sevā. The following is said in the Āgamas:
yathā siddha-rasa-sparśāt
tāmraṁ bhavati kāñcanam |
sannidhānād guror evaṁ
śiṣyo viṣṇumayo bhavet ||
“Just as copper is transformed into gold by the touch of mercury, a disciple becomes viṣṇumaya from the association of Śrī Guru.” The meaning is that mercury, by its own inconceivable power, independently causes copper to transform into gold merely by its touch. In the same way, by the inconceivable power of service to Śrī Guru, the disciple becomes viṣṇumaya, meaning he becomes absorbed in viṣṇu-bhakti or assumes the same nature as Śrī Bhagavān. Brahmā spoke the following in Vāmana-Kalpa:
yo mantraḥ sa guruḥ sākṣāt
yo guruḥ sa hariḥ svayam |
gurur yasya bhavet tuṣṭas
tasya tuṣṭo hariḥ svayam ||
“The mantra is directly the guru and the guru is Hari himself, meaning there is no difference between the guru, the iṣṭa-mantra and Śrī Hari. One who pleases the guru also pleases Śrī Hari.” Devahūti says in Padma-Purāṇa,
bhaktir yathā harau me’sti
tad-variṣṭhā gurau yadi |
mamāsti tena satyena
sandarśayatu me hariḥ ||
“If I have more devotion to Śrī Guru than to Śrī Hari, then for this reason may Śrī Hari reveal himself to me.” By the words tad-variṣṭhā it has been shown that guru-bhakti is even more exalted than bhagavad-bhakti. We see the following in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.80.34:
nāham ijyā-prajātibhyāṁ
tapasopaśamena vā |
tuṣyeyaṁ sarva-bhūtātmā
guru-śuśrūṣayā yathā ||
ijyā pūjā, prajāti vaiṣṇava-dīkṣā, tapaḥ samādhiḥ, upaśamo bhagavan-niṣṭheti (from Śrī Jīvapāda’s commentary). Śrī Bhagavān said to Sudāmā Vipra, “I, the self of all beings, am more satisfied through guru-sevā than by Vaiṣṇava initiation, worship, devotion to me, meditation and so on.”
Various statements have been made in śāstra regarding the necessity of service to the Vaiṣṇavas. In Ādi-Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna,
ye me bhakta-janāḥ pārtha
na me bhaktāś ca te janāḥ |
mad-bhaktānāṁ ca ye bhaktās
te me bhaktatamā matāḥ ||
“O Pārtha! Those who are devoted only to me are not my true bhaktas. Those who are also devoted to my bhaktas are my true bhaktas.” In Skanda-Purāṇa, Śrī Bhagavān said, vaiṣṇavā viṣṇuvat pūjyā mama mānyā viśeṣataḥ. “The Vaiṣṇavas are to be honored like Viṣṇu. I, especially, will always honor them.” In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.19.21, Śrī Kṛṣṇa told Śrī Uddhava that it is more important to worship the bhaktas than to worship him: mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā. “Understanding that I am more satisfied when the bhaktas are worshiped than when I am, you should worship the bhaktas more than you do me.” In Padma-Purāṇa, Śrī Mahādeva said to Devī,
ārādhanānāṁ sarveśāṁ
viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param |
tasmāt parataraṁ devi
tadīyānāṁ samarcanam ||
“O Devī, it is best to worship Śrī Viṣṇu above all other devatās. Even better than that is to worship his bhaktas.” The reason for this is found in the Śāṇḍilya-Smṛti:
siddhir bhavati vā neti
saṁśaye’cyuta-sevinām |
na saṁśayo’tra tad-bhakta-
paricaryā-ratātmanām ||
“There may be some doubt about whether or not prema can be obtained by those who serve Śrī Bhagavān, but there is no doubt that it can be obtained by those who are devoted to serving his bhaktas.” Thus, there are many statements in śāstra regarding the necessity for a bhakta to serve the Vaiṣṇavas.
Then, regarding the internal bhajana of a bhakta who follows rāga-mārga, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, sakhīra sarbathā mata, haiyā tāhāra yūtha, sadāi bihare braja-pure. Following the sentiments of the sakhīs in all respects, the bhakta always sports among them directly in the kingdom of līlā in his internally conceived siddha-deha with the sole intention of serving Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and their friends. The following is written in the Śrī-Sanat-Kumāra-Saṁhitā:
ātmānaṁ cintayet tatra tāsāṁ madhye manoramām |
rūpa-yauvana-sampannāṁ kiśorīṁ pramadākṛtim ||
sakhīnāṁ saṅginī-rūpām ātmānaṁ vāsanāmayīm |
ājñā-sevā-parāṁ tat-tad-rūpālaṅkāra-bhūṣitām ||
A sādhaka following the rāga-mārga should contemplate herself as a charming adolescent girl, endowed with beauty and youth, living among the gopīs in the kingdom of līlā. She should meditate on her desired form as being adorned with Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s prasādī clothing and ornaments. She is a companion to Śrī Lalitā, Śrī Viśākhā, Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī and the other sakhīs. By following their instructions, she will become engaged in the service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava from early morning till the dead of night. After taking shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Guru, a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava learns from him or her about the eleven aspects (ekādaśa-bhāva) of the mañjarī-svarūpa given in her siddha-praṇālī. Establishing her sense of self in that mañjarī-svarūpa, she meditates on serving Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava throughout the eight daily time periods. When she attains siddhi (maturity), she will be blessed with direct sevā in that same form. This was also discussed previously.
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