অহঙ্কার অভিমান, অসৎসঙ্গ অসৎজ্ঞান,
ছাড়ি ভজ গুরু-পাদপদ্ম ।
করি আত্ম-নিবেদন, দেহ গেহ পরিজন,
গুরু-বাক্য পরম-মহত্ত্ব ॥ ১১১ ॥
ahaṅkāra abhimāna, asat-saṅga asat-jñāna,
chāḍi bhaja guru-pāda-padma |
kari ātma-nibedana, deha geha parijana,
guru-bākya parama-mahattva || 111 ||
Give up false ego, pride, unwholesome association and false knowledge. Worship the lotus feet of Śrī Guru, offering yourself, your body, home and family. Śrī Guru’s words are most sublime.
टीका—अहङ्कार अभिमान इत्यादि–“विद्याधनागार कुलाभिमानिनो देहादिदायात्मज नित्यबुद्ध्ययः । इष्टान्यदेवान् फलकाङ्क्षिणो ये जीवन्मृतास्ते न लभन्ति केशवम् ।” “ततो दुःसङ्गमुत्सृज्य सत्सु सज्जेत बुद्धिमान्” इति श्रीमद्भागवतोक्तेः ॥
Śrī Guru’s Words Are Most Sublime
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has given another valuable lesson on how to attain one’s desired success. First he says, ahaṅkāra abhimāna, asat-saṅga asat-jñāna, chāḍi bhaja guru-pāda-padma. Here, the words ahaṅkāra and abhimāna are not synonymous. Ahaṅkāra means the pure-souled jīva’s “I and my” psychology regarding the inanimate body and things related. Abhimāna means the self-concept born of that in regard to wealth, people, noble birth and so on. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.11.10 says,
daivādhīne śarīre’smin guṇa-bhāvyena karmaṇā |
vartamāno’budhas tatra kartāsmīti nibadhyate ||
“An ignorant person, situated in a body controlled by its previous karma, thinks ‘I am the doer.’ Because of this ego, he is bound to the body by actions born of the guṇas.” Śrī-Bhagavad-Gītā 3.27 says,
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ |
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate ||
“A person bewildered by ego thinks he performs actions which are actually executed by the constituents of nature.” As a result of this, he becomes intoxicated by the pride of controlling wealth, people and so on. This is the jīva’s state of bondage. Those sādhakas who are awake in knowledge of their svarūpa and who desire their own well-being must abandon this illusory self-concept. There is a śloka in Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda’s commentary on this verse regarding the harmful effects of ahaṅkāra and abhimāna:
vidyā-dhanāgāra-kulābhimānino
dehādidārātmaja-nitya-buddhyayaḥ |
iṣṭānya-devān phala-kāṅkṣiṇo ye
jīvan-mṛtās te na labhante keśavam ||
“Those whose self-concept is rooted in materialistic knowledge, wealth, home, family and so on; whose minds are always fixed on the body and body-related spouses and children; those who desire other devatās and those who desire material success, they are the living dead. They are unable to attain Śrī Keśava.” Previously it was said, abhimānī bhakti-hīna, jaga-mājhe sei dīna, vṛthā tāra aśeṣa bhābanā. “A prideful person, devoid of bhakti, is the most miserable creature in the world. His endless thoughts are useless.”
Just as a sādhaka who desires auspiciousness must give up egotism and false pride, he must also abandon unwholesome company. Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 22.87 says, asat-saṅga tyāga ei baiṣṇaba-ācāra. “A Vaiṣṇava must give up unfavorable association.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.26.26 says, tato duḥsaṅgam utsṛjya satsu sajjeta buddhimān, santa evāsya chindanti mano-vyāsaṅgam uktibhiḥ. “An intelligent person must abandon bad company completely and associate with saintly people, because the sādhus’ teachings sever the adverse attachments of the mind.” santa evety eva-kāreṇa sukṛta-tīrtha-deva-śāstra-jñānādīnāṁ na tādṛśaṁ sāmarthyam iti jñāpitam (from Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda’s commentary). In the phrase santa eva it should be understood by the word eva (indeed, truly) that performing pious deeds, visiting holy places, worshiping gods, learning śāstra and so on do not have such power. Therefore, along with abandoning the association of unwholesome people, the sādhaka must associate with saintly people. Even though giving up asat-saṅga, if one fails to engage in sat-saṅga, there will be neither loss nor gain on the path of bhakti. Incidentally, it should be understood that progress on the path of bhakti is undoubtedly very quick in the association of like-minded sādhus.
In the same way, the bhakta-sādhaka must also give up asat-jñāna, or false knowledge. The word sat is derived from the verbal root as. The root as denotes existence, so whatever is real is called sat. Illusory or māyika things have no existence in the past, present or future without the power of Bhagavān and his cit-śakti, his dhāma, bhakti and bhaktas. Therefore, asat-jñāna is knowledge of transitory things created by māyā. If the mind remains absorbed in this asat-jñāna, it does not become absorbed in sat-jñāna, meaning knowledge related to Bhagavān, bhakti and the bhaktas. Hence, the sādhaka who seeks well-being must also give up the study of asat-jñāna.
Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, chāḍi bhaja guru-pāda-padma, kari ātma-nibedana, deha geha parijana, guru-bākya parama-mahattva. Having abandoned all this, the bhakta-sādhaka will devote himself to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet, the source of all sādhya-sādhana (end and means). In verse four of this book, he said, śrī-guru-caraṇe rati, ei se uttamā-gati, ye prasāde pūre sarba āśā. “Attachment to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet is the best way to achieve success. By his mercy, all your hopes will be fulfilled.” When the sādhaka who is fully devoted to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet awakens to the sublimity of Śrī Guru’s words, he takes complete shelter of Śrī Bhagavān’s lotus feet as instructed by Śrī Guru. He offers his pure soul, body, home and family at Śrī Bhagavān’s feet and constantly worships Śrī Hari without worry.
