আন কথা না বলিব, আন কথা না শুনিব,
সকলি করিব পরমার্থ ।
প্রার্থনা করিব সদা, লালসা অভীষ্টকথা,
ইহা বিনা সকলি অনর্থ ॥ ১০১ ॥
āna kathā nā baliba, āna kathā nā śuniba,
sakali kariba paramārtha |
prārthanā kariba sadā, lālasā abhīṣṭa-kathā,
ihā binā sakali anartha || 101 ||
टीका—परमार्थ–श्रीकृष्णभक्तिः
I will neither speak nor hear of any other topic; I will devote everything to the highest truth. I will always pray longingly to hear the stories of my deity. Other than this, all talk is useless.
Longing for One’s Cherished Deity
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya prayed that the sole object of his devotion in life and death would be the lotus feet of Yugala-Kiśora Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava. In this verse, he resolves to dedicate the actions of his external and internal senses to the service of the Supreme Truth Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava and to abandon all concerns other than Kṛṣṇa, considering them to be useless. First, he says, āna kathā nā baliba, āna kathā nā śuniba, sakali kariba paramārtha. Other than discussions about Śrī Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-bhakti and the bhaktas, discussions about things such as karma, jñāna, yoga, wealth, supernatural powers, liberation and so on are all āna kathā or ‘other talk.’ Hearing or speaking about these topics causes the mind to be distracted and keeps it absorbed in matters other than Kṛṣṇa. The jīvas, bound by māyā and indifferent to Śrī Kṛṣṇa since beginningless time, have become worldly-minded and devoid of spiritual knowledge. Because of this, they have obtained this miserable material condition. kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jība anādi-bahirmukha, ataeba māyā tāre deya saṁsāra-duḥkha (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 20.117). The origin of this material disease is forgetfulness of Bhagavān; all the śāstras have declared the remedy for this to be remembrance of him. The following is found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 12.12.55:
avismṛtiḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ
kṣiṇoty abhadrāṇi ca śaṁ tanoti |
sattvasya śuddhiṁ paramātma-bhaktiṁ
jñānaṁ ca vijñāna-virāga-yuktam ||
“Constant remembrance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet destroys inauspicious or worldly desires born of aversion to him and awakens auspiciousness or eagerness for his lotus feet. It creates apathy toward matters other than Kṛṣṇa and increases prema-bhakti and divine realization.” When divine realization and apathy toward matters other than Kṛṣṇa arise in the pure mind devoid of attachment and aversion, then uninterrupted remembrance of Kṛṣṇa occurs. This is called dhruvānusmṛti, which is synonymous with darśana or direct knowledge and which is the immediate and best means to meet Bhagavān. At the beginning of his Śrī-Bhāṣya, Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya said the following about dhruvānusmṛti: bhavati ca smṛter bhāvanā prakarṣād darśana-rūpatā. “When meditation becomes very deep and one’s thoughts are concentrated and harmonious, free from any stream of unrelated ideas, then knowledge having the nature of smaraṇa* is transformed into direct knowledge.”
Śrī Bhagavān has repeatedly described the glories of smaraṇa in Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā. For example, verse 8.14:
ananya-cetāḥ satataṁ yo māṁ smarati nityaśaḥ |
tasyāhaṁ sulabhaḥ pārtha nitya-yuktasya yoginaḥ ||
“O Pārtha! I am easy to obtain for the devoted yogī who constantly remembers me with a concentrated mind.”
And again in verse 9.22:
ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate |
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham ||
“For those who constantly and exclusively think of me and worship me, I provide what they need and protect what they have.” Therefore, he said to Arjuna, tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara (8.7). “Thus, Arjuna, remember me at every moment.” Because speaking and hearing about other topics are invariably impediments to the glorious smaraṇa limb of bhajana, he resolves to abandon them completely.
Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, sakali kariba paramārtha. He vows to devote all efforts of his body and mind to śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti, the highest goal of life. The lesson for the sādhakas in this is that they must try to dedicate all their physical, verbal and mental endeavors to śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana. No action that is unfavorable to bhajana should be done with the body. There should be no words spoken that hinder bhajana and one should not think about anything that is detrimental to bhajana. Regarding the process of śaraṇāgati (taking shelter), the śāstras and great sages have instructed through the analogy of selling a cow that the body and all things related should be employed for Śrī Kṛṣṇa. A person who buys a cow feeds and protects her, and the cow provides a service for him, not for the person who sold her. In the same way, a sheltered sādhaka dedicates his body, mind and soul to Śrī Bhagavān and devotes all of his efforts to śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana. With the help of divine power, nothing is unattainable for someone who in every respect gives up self-reliance and actions born of weakness.** After handing the burden over to God, such a person performs his work in a carefree way, meaning Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the center of inspiration for all action, dwells in his heart and causes him to perform his work. tavāsmīti vadana vācā, tathaiva manasā vidan; tat-sthānam āśritas tanvā, modate śaraṇāgataḥ. “The surrendered sādhaka says, ‘O Bhagavān! I am yours.’ Having said it with his mouth, he also knows it in his mind. With his body he takes shelter of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastime places and remains there in joy.” All of his bodily and mental efforts are paramārtha, meaning they are performed for the sake of śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti. The sādhakas must first put in some effort; after that, everything gradually becomes spontaneous.
After that, he says, prārthanā kariba sadā, lālasā abhīṣṭa-kathā, ihā binā sakali anartha. “I will always pray that a longing to hear the stories of my beloved Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava is born in me. Other than this, all talk is useless for bhajana.” For rāgānugā-sādhakas who are absorbed in līlā-rasa, all discourse other than talk of their cherished deity’s pastimes is worthless. The internal bhajana of rāgānugā-sādhakas is contemplation of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s aṣṭa-kālīya-līlā while conceiving of themselves as residents of Vraja. They meditate on performing their own services within their meditation on the pastimes. At the time of maturity, sādhane bhābiba yāhā, siddha-dehe pāba tāhā. “That which I contemplate in sādhana, I will attain in the siddha-deha.” By following this method, they obtain directly in the kingdom of līlā the service they think about in their internally conceived siddha-svarūpas. Therefore, in rāga-bhajana, it is inappropriate for them to nourish a desire for anything other than the līlā-kathā of their chosen deity. Everything else is useless for their bhajana. Without the mercy of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, the sādhaka is unable to free himself from the influence of anarthas and maintain the desire to hear līlā-kathā. For this reason, they pray constantly at Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s lotus feet. The sādhaka’s plaintive prayer unlocks the deity’s mercy and he or she is blessed to attain the deity without delay.
*Smaraṇa means remembrance, recollection, reflection, meditation, etc.
**An example of this might be the Gajendra story in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 2.
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