Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 120 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

শ্রীগৌরাঙ্গ প্রভু মোরে যে বলান বাণী ।

তাহা বিনা ভাল মন্দ কিছুই না জানি ॥

লোকনাথপ্রভু-পদ হৃদয়ে বিলাস ।

প্রেমভক্তিচন্দ্রিকা কহে নরোত্তম দাস ॥ ১২০ ॥

śrī-gaurāṅga prabhu more ye balāna bāṇī |

tāhā binā bhāla manda kichui nā jāni ||

lokanātha-prabhu-pada hṛdaye bilāsa |

prema-bhakti-candrikā kahe narottama dāsa || 120 ||

Other than the words Śrī Gaurāṅga Prabhu caused me to say, I know nothing of what is good or bad, right or wrong. This Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā has been spoken by Narottama Dāsa, in whose heart the lotus feet of Lokanātha Prabhu always shine.

The Actual Author of the Book

Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: At the conclusion of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya now imparts the identity of the book’s true author. śrī-gaurāṅga prabhu more ye balāna bāṇī, tāhā binā bhāla manda kichui nā jāni. The esteemed author is saying, “Actually, the true author of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā is Śrī Gaurāṅga Prabhu. I have only said what he caused me to say; I had nothing to do with it. Therefore, unlike other authors who compose a book using their intellect to consider what is good and bad, what will satisfy everyone and what will be popular, I have not produced this Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā from my intellect. Śrī Gaurāṅga Prabhu sat on my tongue and, like a machine, I spoke whatever he caused me to speak. Thus, after learning that the true author of this Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā is Śrī Gaurāṅga Prabhu, the bhaktas will enjoy its sweet nectar.”

At the beginning of his Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhu (1.1.2), Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda wrote, hṛdi yasya preraṇayā pravartito’haṁ varāka-rūpo’pi. tasya hareḥ pada-kamalaṁ vande caitanya-devasya. “I praise the lotus feet of Bhagavān Śrī Caitanyadeva, by whose inspiration I have been engaged in composing this book, though I am insignificant and unfit to ascertain the unfathomable bhakti-rasa.”

In the context of establishing his reason for writing Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Śrīmat Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda wrote the following in Ādi 8.78-79:

ei grantha lekhāya more madana-mohana |

āmāra likhana yena śukera paṭhana ||

sei likhi, madana-gopāla ye likhāya |

kāṣṭhera puttalī yena kuhake nācāya ||

“Madana-Mohana caused me to write this book. My writing is like the recitation of a parrot. I write whatever Madana-Gopāla inspires me to write. He is like a puppeteer who causes his wooden doll to dance.” Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda composed his books because of Śrī Caitanyadeva’s inspiration. Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda composed Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta because of the direct inspiration of Śrī Madana-Gopāladeva. Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā was also revealed through the inspiration of Śrī Gaurāṅga Prabhu. Therefore, we consider the doctrines of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda, who understood Śrī Caitanya’s inner desire, and the essence of the gosvāmi-śāstras, which are the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, to be contained within Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta and this Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā.

Finally, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya concludes the book by remembering his guru’s lotus feet: lokanātha-prabhu-pada hṛdaye bilāsa, prema-bhakti-candrikā kahe narottama dāsa. “This Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā has been spoken by Narottama Dāsa, in whose heart the lotus feet of Lokanātha Prabhu always shine.” After praising the lotus feet of Śrī Guru in the maṅgalācaraṇa (invocation) at the beginning of the book, he now ends it in the same way. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya carefully preserved in the box of Śrī Guru’s mercy the jewels of prema-bhakti he obtained by Śrī Gaurāṅga Prabhu’s mercy. Just as jewels are kept within a strongbox, the jewels in this book have been kept in the strongbox of guru-kṛpā. Śrī Guru’s compassion is the key to this box. By taking shelter of Śrī Guru’s mercy, the bhakta-sādhaka is blessed to wear a string of these jewels of prema round his neck. jaya śrī-śrī-guru-gaurāṅgadeva! jaya śrī-śrī-rādhā-mādhava! jaya śrī-śrī-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda!

Thus ends the Sudhā-Kaṇikā commentary on Śrī-Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 119 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

আপন ভজন কথা,        না কহিব যথা তথা,

ইহাতে হইব সাবধান ।

না করিহ কেহ রোষ,        না লইহ কেহ দোষ,

প্রণমহ ভক্তের চরণ ॥ ১১৯ ॥

āpana bhajana kathā,        nā kahiba yathā tathā,

ihāte haiba sābadhāna |

nā kariha keha roṣa,        nā laiha keha doṣa,

praṇamaha bhaktera caraṇa || 119 ||

I will not speak indiscriminately of my bhajana. In this, I will be very diligent. Let none be angry; let none take offense. I bow to the feet of the bhaktas.

Keeping Bhajana Realizations Private

Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya concludes this Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā with a discussion of the private nature of a bhakta’s realizations from bhajana. The light from the moon of prema-bhakti must always be kept hidden in one’s heart. It illuminates the heart and makes it cool. It causes the cakora bird of the heart to taste the sweet nectar of prema. The bhakta must be careful not to reveal his bhajana realizations anywhere and everywhere. If necessary, the sādhaka may discuss his or her bhajana experiences with Śrī Gurudeva and trusted rasika-bhaktas, but by no means with anyone else. Otherwise, his humility will be destroyed and his bhajana will inevitably be harmed. Previously, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has repeatedly warned the sādhakas about this in verses such as rākha prema hṛdaye bhariyā (protect the love in your heart), gupate sādhibe siddhi (you will secretly attain success) and so on. We can understand the particular importance of this matter due to its being mentioned again and again. 

Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written the following at the end of Śrī-Bhakti-Sandarbhaḥ (339 Anuḥ): atra ca śrī-guroḥ śrī-bhagavato vā prasāda-labdhaṁ sādhana-sādhya-gataṁ svīya-sarvasva-bhūtaṁ yat kim api rahasyaṁ, tat tu na kasmaicit prakāśanīyam; yathāha (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.17.20) naitat parasmā ākhyeyaṁ pṛṣṭayāpi kathañcana. sarvaṁ sampadyate devi deva-guhyaṁ susaṁvṛtam. “You should not reveal to anyone your confidential realizations about your svarūpa, which is your only possession, and which is obtained by the mercy of Śrī Gurudeva or Śrī Bhagavān through sādhana. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Viṣṇu said to Śrī Aditi Devī, ‘O Goddess! If anyone ever asks about the confidential topics that I have discussed with you, you must not reveal them. The secrets hidden in the Vedas will bear fruit only if kept private.” beda-guhya kathā ei ayogya kahite (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 5.159).

Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, nā kariha keha roṣa, nā laiha keha doṣa, praṇamaha bhaktera caraṇa. In order to establish the doctrine of pure bhakti given in this Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā, many transcendental topics have been discussed that may be objectionable to some people. yemana anya debāśraya nāi; nā pūjiba debī-debā. “Do not take shelter of other gods; do not worship gods and goddesses.” Worshipers of other gods or goddesses may be distressed by this, but it had to be said because this type of worship can cause damage to one’s single-minded bhajana. karmī jñānī bhakti-hīna, ihāke kariba bhina; yogī, nyāsī, karmī, jñānī, anya-deba pūjaka, dhyānī ihaloka dūre parihari; jñāna-kāṇḍa, karma-kāṇḍa, kebali biṣera bhāṇḍa.* Statements such as these may certainly upset the karmī, jñānī, yogī, nyāsī and so forth, but in the context of ascertaining pure bhakti, free from any mixture with jñāna or karma, this also had to be said in an impartial way. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya makes it known here at the end of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā that whatever he has said in this book is in accord with the doctrines of the Vedas, śāstras, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (the essence of all the Vedas), Nārada-Pañcarātra and so on. Let none be offended by this; rather, if they are eager to learn the truth, let them be blessed to inquire into their svarūpas and take shelter on the path of pure kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Then he said, praṇamaha bhaktera caraṇa. Lastly, he offers obeisance at the feet of the bhaktas.  They are the cakora birds who drink this moonlight of loving devotion. If they taste the sweet nectar of this Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā, the true purpose of its revelation will be fulfilled. This is the meaning.

*These statements all basically say to avoid the association of those who are devoid of bhakti.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 118 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

রামচন্দ্র কবিরাজ,        সেই সঙ্গে মোর কাজ,

তার সঙ্গ বিনা সব শূন্য ।

যদি জন্ম হয় পুনঃ,        তার সঙ্গ হয় যেন,

তবে হয় নরোত্তম ধন্য ॥ ১১৮ ॥

rāmacandra kabirāja,        sei saṅge mora kāja,

tāra saṅga binā saba śūnya |

yadi janma haya punaḥ,        tāra saṅga haya yena,

tabe haya narottama dhanya || 118 ||

I perform my service in the company of Rāmacandra Kavirāja; without his friendship, everything is empty. If birth comes again and through it his association, then Narottama will be blessed.

Separation from a Friend

Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Devotees develop friendships with each other, keeping Śrī Bhagavān in the center. These relationships are not perishable or momentary like the relationships with friends in the material world; because they are spiritual, they are eternal and genuine. By the association of a spiritual friend, one’s relationship with Śrī Bhagavān is intimately felt, enjoyed and nourished. He is truly a best friend. Separation from such a friend is experienced as unbearable misery. There is no comparison in the material world to such sadness. Śrīman Mahāprabhu asked Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, “Among the different kinds of misery, is there one more difficult than the others?” Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “There is nothing worse than separation from a bhakta.” We can see an example of separation from such a spiritual friend in Śrīmad Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda, who enjoyed a transcendental friendship with Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda. As a result of Śrī Rūpa’s association and kindness, Raghunātha became extraordinarily devoted to Śrī Vṛndāvaneśvarī Śrī Rādhārāṇī, which he speaks of in Vilāpa-Kusumāñjali 14:

yad-avadhi mama kācin mañjarī-rūpa-pūrvā

vraja-bhuvi bata netra-dvandva-dīptiṁ cakāra |

tad-avadhi tava vṛndāraṇya-rājñi prakāmaṁ

caraṇa-kamala-lākṣā saṁdidṛkṣā mamābhūt ||

“O Queen of Vṛndāvana! Since the day the indescribable Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī opened my eyes by telling me about you, I have developed a great desire to see the red dye on your lotus feet.” By the association of such a spiritual friend, an unprecedented taste of bhagavad-mādhurī and prema-rasa is obtained. In the same way, when his or her death comes, the pain of separation becomes unbearable. Distressed by his separation from Śrī Rūpa, Śrīpāda Dāsa Gosvāmī wrote the following in Stavāvalī 28.10 to express his own heartache:

apūrva-premābdheḥ parimala-payaḥ-phena-nivahaiḥ 

sadā yo jīvātur yam iha kṛpayā-siñcad atulam |

idānīṁ durdaivāt pratipada-vipad-dāva-valito

nirālambaḥ so’yaṁ kam iha tam ṛte yātu śaraṇam ||

“Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, the sustainer of my life, has always mercifully showered me with the foam from the fragrant water of the unprecedented ocean of prema. Now, because of my misfortune (Śrī Rūpa’s passing), I helplessly burn constantly in the forest fire of troubles. Without him, of whom shall I take shelter?”

After Śrī Gaurāṅga’s disappearance, Raghunātha was afflicted by viraha. He resolved to visit Vrajadhāma and then commit suicide by jumping off of Govardhana Hill. When he arrived in Vraja, Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana mercifully showed him Śrī Vrajadhāma, Girirāja Govardhana and Vraja’s crown-jewel, Śrī Rādhā-Kuṇḍa. By seeing them, his viraha for Śrī Gaurāṅga was somewhat allayed. He took shelter of Śrī Rādhā-Kuṇḍa and absorbed himself in bhajana. But when he could no longer see Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda, everything seemed to him to be upside down. Stavāvalī 28.11:

śūnyāyate mahāgoṣṭhaṁ girīndro’jagarāyate |

vyāghra-tuṇḍāyate kuṇḍaṁ jīvātu rahitasya me ||

“In the absence of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda, the support of my life, this great pasturing ground appears empty to me. Śrī Govardhana seems like a python and Śrī Rādhā-Kuṇḍa like the gaping mouth of a tiger.” Agitated by his powerful viraha and afflicted by grief, he said the following in the second half of Stavāvalī 28.4:

gaurāṅga-candram iha rūpa-yugaṁ na paśyan

hā vedanāḥ kati sahe sphuṭa re lalāṭa ||

“Alas! How much more sorrow must I bear from not seeing Śrī Gaurāṅgacandra and Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana? O forehead! You are splitting into a hundred pieces!”

It is known that Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura Mahāśaya had a similar spiritual friendship with Śrīla Rāmacandra Kavirāja. In this verse, Ṭhākura Mahāśaya gives a hint of the intense fire of separation that has been burning in his heart since the loss of Śrī Rāmacandra Kavirāja. rāmacandra kabirāja, sei saṅge mora kāja, tāra saṅga binā saba śūnya. Rāmacandra Kavirāja was the son of Śrī Cirañjīva Sena, one of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s companions. He was the older brother of the poet Śrī Govinda Dāsa and the disciple of Śrī Śrīnivāsācārya Prabhu. He was a great scholar, poet and bhakta. A characteristic of spiritual friendship is that when one relishes bhagavat-kathā with such a friend, Śrī Hari’s forms, qualities and sweet pastimes manifest before one’s eyes. By saying sei saṅge mora kāja, “I perform my service in his company,” Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is alluding to such activities with Rāmacandra Kavirāja. Separation from a friend in the material world usually covers one’s heart with the darkness of lamentation and delusion, but separation from a spiritual friend illuminates one’s heart with the light of prema and pulls him toward the lotus feet of his cherished deity. There is nothing in this world that can comfort one who is suffering from separation. Therefore, he said, tāra saṅga binā saba śūnya. “Without his company, everything is empty.” Nothing in this world can fill such emptiness. It carries the person who feels separation directly to the kingdom of līlā, reunites him with his friend in his siddha-svarūpa and submerges him in the nectarous service of his deity.

Still, because of Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s extreme humility or because the nature of bhakti is that one feels one never has enough, he thought he might have to take birth again. If so, he hopes to get the association of a great premika or rasika-bhakta like Śrīla Rāmacandra Kavirāja: yadi janma haya punaḥ, tāra saṅga haya yena, tabe haya narottama dhanya.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 117 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

স্ত্রী পুত্র বান্ধব যত,        মরি যায় কত শত,

আপনারে হও সাবধান ।

মুই সে বিষয় হত,        না ভজিনু হরিপদ,

মোর আর নাহি পরিত্রাণ ॥ ১১৭ ॥

strī putra bāndhaba yata,        mari yāya kata śata,

āpanāre hao sābadhāna |

mui se biṣaya hata,        nā bhajinu hari-pada,

mora āra nāhi paritrāṇa || 117 ||

     Countless spouses, children, relatives and friends have passed away. You must be careful. Ruined by sense-enjoyment, I have not worshiped Śrī Hari’s feet. I have no other refuge.

The Author’s Lamentation

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: For those humans who are too attached to sense-enjoyment, the revered author first warns about the extreme transience of their existence: strī putra bāndhaba yata, mari yāya kata śata, āpanāre hao sābadhāna. Even though obtaining this human body, which is the residence of knowledge and intellect, and which is most suitable for śrī-hari-bhajana, those who have fallen into illusion neglect the opportunity for bhajana and spend their rare human life like an animal attached to sense-enjoyment. The power of illusion is so great that the puppets of illusion—countless spouses, children, relatives, friends and so on—are constantly dying in front of them and though they see it, they do not see it. Attached to transitory, illusory things, they lose through neglect the precious opportunity for bhajana provided by a human life. Noting that enjoyable things like a spouse, children, possessions, wealth and so on are transitory and troublesome, Bhagavān Buddhadeva said the following to Chandaka:

     alaṁ chandaka, anityāḥ khalv ete kāmā adhruvā aśāśvatā vipariṇām adharmāṇaḥ pradrutāś capalā giri-nadī-vega-tulyāḥ; avasyāya-binduvad-acira-sthāyina ullāpanāḥ rikta-muṣṭivad asārāḥ kadali-skandhavad durbalā, āma-bhojanavad-vedanātmakaḥ śarad-abhra-nibhāḥ kṣanādbhutā na bhavanti; . . . sāgara iva duṣpurāḥ lavaṇodaka iva tṛṣṇākarāḥ; sarpa-śiro-vastuḥ sparśanīyā mahāprapātavat parivarjitāḥ paṇḍitaiḥ; sabhayāḥ saraṇāḥ sādinavāḥ sadoṣā iti jñātvā vivarjitāḥ prājnair vigarhitā vidvadbhiḥ jugupsitā āryaiḥ vivarjitā budhaiḥ parigṛhītā abudhaiḥ niṣevitāḥ bālaiḥ.

     “O Chandaka! All of these enjoyable sense-objects are transitory; their consequence is extreme misery. They last only for a moment, flowing swiftly by like the current of a mountain stream. They are impermanent like drops of dew and are the cause of intense sorrow. Someone may clinch his fist, pretending to hold something in it. If you see this, you may wonder whether anything is there, but when he opens his hand, you see it is empty. Similarly, these sense-objects are only a deception. They are weak like the trunk of a banana tree; unpleasant like the eating of raw ingredients; momentary like an autumn cloud; like an ocean, difficult to fill; like saltwater, they increase thirst, meaning the more one enjoys sensual pleasures, the more the desire for them increases. Like the heads of snakes, you should not touch them. They are avoided by the paṇḍitas as though terrifying waterfalls. They are rejected by the wise because they are accompanied by fear, grief, pride and sin. They are detested by the learned, scorned by the noble and abandoned by the intelligent. They are embraced by the fools and honored by the childish.”

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya then says, āpanāre hao sābadhāna. An intelligent person earnestly gives up attachment for spouse, children, possessions, wealth and so on. She adopts the path of bhajana, commits all her heart’s addictions to the lotus feet of her ever-beautiful, ever-sweet and everlasting lord Śrī Govinda and worships him with love.

     Though being an embodiment of prema, the revered author was then overcome with humility and felt himself to be devoid of bhajana and sādhana, ruined by sense-enjoyment and extremely unfortunate. He says, mui se biṣaya hata, nā bhajinu hari-pada, mora āra nāhi paritrāṇa. The sādhakas should learn from Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s humble words that there is some difference between ‘attached to sense-enjoyment’ and ‘ruined by sense-enjoyment.’ Those who are attached to sense-enjoyment pass their lives in a mundane state, drunk on earthly pleasures and devoid of bhajana. Still, if they associate with great souls and receive their mercy, they too can be blessed with the bhakti life. However, because of offenses, even those who have taken shelter on the path of bhajana remain attracted or attached to worldly forms, flavors and so on and are unable to maintain mental attachment to their cherished Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They are ‘ruined by sense-enjoyment’ and must understand that even though they are endowed with discernment and intellect, this attachment to sense-pleasures is complex, like a difficult-to-cure disease. They will not without difficulty find a path to their deliverance.

 

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 116 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

এ সংসার বাটোয়ারে,        কামফাঁসি বান্ধি মারে,

ফুকার করহ হরিদাস ।

করহ ভকত সঙ্গ,        প্রেমকথা রসরঙ্গ,

তবে হয় বিপদ-বিনাশ ॥ ১১৬ ॥

e saṁsāra bāṭoyāre,        kāma-phāṅsi bāndhi māre,

phukāra karaha haridāsa |

karaha bhakata saṅga,        prema-kathā rasa-raṅga,

tabe haya bipada-bināśa || 116 ||

     When, like a bandit, this material world binds you with a noose of desire and tries to kill you, call out the name of a Vaiṣṇava. Associate with bhaktas and relish discussions about prema-rasa. Then your troubles will be over.

  टीका—असच्चेष्टा-कष्टप्रद-विकट-पाशालिभिरिह प्रकामं कामादि प्रकट पथपातिव्यतिकरैः । गले बद्ध्वा हन्येऽहमिति बकभिद्वर्त्मपगणे कुरु त्वं फुत्कारानवति स यथा त्वं मन इतः ॥

Removal of Adversity

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya instructed the sādhakas who desire bhakti to abandon attachment to things other than Kṛṣṇa, to practice the nine types of bhakti headed by saṅkīrtana in the sādhaka-deha, and to perform bhajana internally by contemplating one’s sevā and so on in the siddha-deha. It seems that people have an irresistible attraction to material objects such as the body and things related, which is an addiction of the material mind. Can the ordinary sādhaka give these things up and develop exclusive devotion to Kṛṣṇa? In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya teaches the sādhaka how to remove the desire for sense-enjoyment and obtain freedom from it.

     He first says, e saṁsāra bāṭoyāre, kāma-phāṅsi bāndhi māre, phukāra karaha haridāsa. “A bandit in the form of saṁsāra has tied a noose in the form of desire on your neck and is preparing to kill you. If you loudly call out the name of a Vaiṣṇava, this bandit will become fearful and run away.” Saṁsāra means having an attitude of “I and mine” regarding the material body and things related. Although the jīva is naturally cognizant, joyful and eternally existent, he forgets his eternal lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. As a result of the desire for mundane sense-objects, he develops an “I and mine” mentality toward his body and things related, which are gifts of the external energy. He forgets his own blissful spiritual nature and wanders through various wombs while suffering the three kinds of unbearable miseries,* including birth, death, disease, grief and so on. The “I and mine” mentality toward the material body and things related is the root cause of this worldly sickness. This, therefore, is the jīva’s saṁsāra. Like a bandit, it binds the jīva with the rope of material hopes and desires and steals the treasure of virtue from his heart. Just as a bandit, fearful of being caught, kills the travelers after stealing everything from them, this bandit in the form of saṁsāra steals everything from the jīva, ties a rope of desire around his neck and begins to destroy him. If a traveler is about to be robbed of everything by a gang of outlaws, he cries out to the powerful servants of the king for protection. Hearing this, the bandits get scared and run away. In the same way, if sādhakas on the path of bhakti loudly call out the name of a Vaiṣṇava, the saṁsāra-bandit will flee in fear. Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda has written the following in the fifth verse of his Manaḥ-Śikṣā:

asac-ceṣṭā-kaṣṭa-prada-vikaṭa-pāśālibhir iha 

prakāmaṁ kāmādi-prakaṭa-patha-pāti-vyatikaraiḥ |

gale baddhvā hanye’ham iti baka-bhid-vartma-pa-gaṇe 

kuru tvaṁ phutkārān avati sa yathā tvāṁ mana itaḥ ||

     “‘In this world, the bandits of desire have bound my neck with the dreadful, torturous ropes of impure actions and now torment me as they wish.’ Saying this, O mind, you must cry out to the Vaiṣṇavas who guard the path to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, so they may protect you from the grasp of these enemies.” When one calls out to the Vaiṣṇavas, attachment to the saṁsāra, which is the root of sin, will be removed. Moreover, the following is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.19.33:

yeṣāṁ saṁsmaraṇāt puṁsāṁ 

sadyaḥ śuddhyanti vai gṛhāḥ |

kiṁ punar darśana-sparśa-

pāda-śaucāsanādibhiḥ ||

     “If a person merely remembers a Vaiṣṇava, then his body, home and so on are immediately purified. How much more so if one sees, touches and welcomes such a Vaiṣṇava and washes his feet?”

     Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, karaha bhakata saṅga, prema-kathā rasa-raṅga, tabe haya bipada-bināśa. Someone may think that although the saṁsāra-bandit temporarily flees when one calls out a Vaiṣṇava‘s name, he can still attack again at another time. For this reason, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya advises us to continuously hear and sing about the topic of prema in the association of bhaktas. If, instead of walking alone on a forest path, a traveler is in the company of many people, then various kinds of conversations will occur and the bandits cannot come near. In the same way, if a person spends his life engaged in bhajana in the company of Vaiṣṇavas, saṁsāra can no longer exist in his heart. A sādhaka focused on bhagavad-bhajana in the association of bhaktas is gradually elevated to the kingdom of prema. Concomitantly, all the sādhaka’s anarthas are gradually destroyed and qualities such as freedom from desire, disinterest in anything other than Kṛṣṇa, humility, decency and so on manifest in him. By the illuminating association of powerful and merciful mahābhāgavatas, even a heart covered by the darkness of ignorance is brightened by the radiance of bhakti. If even an ordinary person constantly observes the pure, bhajana-filled activities of the devout, clear-minded mahābhāgavatas, the desire for sense-objects is removed from his mind and heart and he is quickly blessed with prema-bhakti. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has also previously said in verse seven, mārjana haya bhajana, sādhu-saṅge anukṣaṇa, ajñāna abidyā parājaya. “By continuously performing bhajana in the association of advanced devotees, one becomes purified and conquers illusion and ignorance.”

*Ādhyātmika—miseries born of one’s own mind and body; ādhibhautika—miseries related to other beings; ādhidaivika—miseries caused by natural events

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 115 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

গুপতে সাধিব সিদ্ধি,        সাধন নবধা-ভক্তি,

প্রার্থনা করিব দৈন্যে সদা ।

করি হরি-সংকীর্তন,        সদাই আনন্দ মন,

কৃষ্ণ বিনা আর সব বাধা ॥ ১১৫ ॥

gupate sādhiba siddhi,        sādhana nabadhā-bhakti,

prārthanā kariba dainye sadā |

kari hari-saṅkīrtana,        sadāi ānanda mana,

kṛṣṇa binā āra saba bādhā || 115 ||

     I will secretly attain success by performing the nine kinds of bhakti. I will always pray with humility. I will chant the holy names of Hari and my mind will always be joyful. Other than Kṛṣṇa, everything is an obstacle.

Internal and External Sādhana

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse the illustrious author summarizes the bhajana of a rāgānugā-sādhaka. First he says, gupate sādhiba siddhi, sādhana nabadhā-bhakti, prārthanā kariba dainye sadā. “I will attain success by secretly contemplating day and night the loving service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in my internally conceived siddha-deha. Along with that, I will externally in my sādhaka-deha perform the nine kinds of bhakti such as hearing, chanting and so on.” Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 22.156-157 says,

bāhya antara ihāra dui ta sādhana
bāhye—sādhaka-dehe kare śrabaṇa-kīrtana ||

mane—nija siddha-deha kariyā bhābana |

rātri-dine kare braje kṛṣṇera sebana ||

     “Of this there are two types of sādhana—external and internal. Externally, in his sādhaka-deha, the  bhakta performs śravaṇa-kīrtana. In his mind, he contemplates his own spiritual form and serves Kṛṣṇa day and night in Vraja.” The ultimate distinction of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas’ rāga-bhajana is that the sādhaka acquires in the sādhana stage all the details of his or her siddha stage. In the sādhana stage, absorption in one’s svarūpa is still mixed with absorption in the body. Because of this, the sādhaka cannot get the amazing experience of his siddha-svarūpa or of the sevā contemplated while absorbed in the siddha-svarūpa. According to the degree of one’s practice of the nine kinds of bhakti in the sādhaka body, the citta (mind, heart) becomes refined and devoid of desires for sense enjoyment and bodily absorption, and absorption in the svarūpa becomes strong. Following that, absorption in bhajana in the siddha-deha also becomes strong and the astonishing nature of the experience is revealed. Therefore Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has discussed contemplating Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s sevā during the eight time periods while identifying with one’s internally-conceived siddha-deha, and externally, in the sādhaka-deha, performance of śravaṇa, kīrtana, arcana and the rest of the nine kinds of bhakti.

     Or, gupate sādhiba siddhi, sādhana nabadhā-bhakti can mean that without revealing his bhajana experiences here and there, the sādhaka privately progresses toward bhāva-siddhi or attainment of his desired state. Previously he said, rākha prema hṛdaye bhariyā. “Protect the love in your heart.” Later he will say, āpana bhajana-kathā, na kahiba yathā tathā. “Do not discuss your bhajana just anywhere and everywhere.” Prema or feelings that arise during bhajana are like steam. If steam is confined in some type of machine, its power is vastly increased. As a result of this, work can be accomplished that is difficult or impossible through the power of even thousands of men. In the same way, if a surge of prema or devotional feelings can be confined or hidden in the heart, its power will increase boundlessly and quickly carry the sādhaka-soul to Bhagavān’s realm. In fact, insatiability is the nature of bhakti. Therefore, the further a sādhaka advances, the more he thinks of himself as very low and fallen, devoid of sādhana-bhajana. He always prays humbly at the feet of his beloved deity to be blessed with bhajana. The sādhaka’s anxious, sorrowful prayer removes any obstacles to Bhagavān’s compassion. Hundreds of streams of the deity’s nectarous mercy then cascade upon the sādhaka. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya wants to explain this through the words prārthanā kariba dainye sadā, “I will always pray with humility.”

     Then he says, kari hari-saṅkīrtana, sadāi ānanda mana, kṛṣṇa binā āra saba bādhā. The kīrtana limb of bhajana is also included in the statement sādhana nabadhā-bhakti, but because in this particular Age of Kali Śrīman Mahāprabhu himself primarily practiced and taught saṅkīrtana to the sādhakas of the world, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya specifically mentioned hari-saṅkīrtana. We see the following in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Antya 4.70-71:

bhajanera madhye śreṣṭha naba-bidhā bhakti |

kṛṣṇa-prema kṛṣṇa dite dhare mahāśakti ||

tāra madhye sarba-śreṣṭha nāma-saṅkīrtana |
niraparādha-nāma haite haya prema-dhana ||

     “Among the processes of bhajana, the nine kinds of bhakti are the best because they have the great power to give Kṛṣṇa and love of Kṛṣṇa. Among those nine, the best of all is nāma-saṅkīrtana. The treasure of prema will come from offenseless chanting of Kṛṣṇa’s names.” Here, saṅkīrtana means many people gathered together to loudly sing nāma-kīrtana along with khola, karatālas and so on. atra ca bahubhir militvā kīrtanaṁ saṅkīrtanam ity ucyate, tat tu camatkāra-viśeṣa-poṣāt pūrvato’py adhikam iti jñeyam (Bhakti-Sandarbha 269). “Many people gathering in one place to perform nāma-kīrtana is called saṅkīrtana. Saṅkīrtana is superior to regular kīrtana because it nourishes a type of wonder. In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sampradāya, kīrtana is performed along with remembrance of Kṛṣṇa’s names, forms, qualities and pastimes. This is also called saṅkīrtana or complete kīrtana. There is a more astonishing experience in this than in kīrtana that lacks concentration of the mind.

     At any rate, because the name and the named are identical, in nāma-saṅkīrtana the bhakta’s mind is always blessed with the experience of nāma-rasa. Just as naturally sweet sugar-candy is perceived as bitter by a tongue tainted with bile, in the same way, the sweetness of nāma-rasa is not perceived by a tongue tainted by offenses. Śrī Nāma bestows endless enjoyment to the tongue of an offenseless bhakta. Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, kari hari-saṅkīrtana, sadāi ānanda mana. “I will perform hari-saṅkīrtana and my mind will always be joyful.” Then he said, kṛṣṇa binā āra saba bādhā. The sādhaka who seeks good fortune considers attachment to anything other than Kṛṣṇa to be an obstacle to bhajana. This attachment to material things causes worldly misery for the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, the always naturally pure, conscious, free and transcendent jīva-soul who has forgotten Kṛṣṇa since beginningless time. The sādhaka must leave behind his attachment for material things, understanding it to be a huge impediment to bhajana. Along with taking powerful, disease-curing medicine, a person who desires good health must conscientiously abandon his harmful diet. In the same way, along with tasting the nectar of the holy name, which is the best medicine for the disease of worldly existence, the sādhaka eager to attain bhakti must abandon his attachment to anything other than Kṛṣṇa. kṛṣṇa binā āra saba bādhā.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 114 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

গৌরহরি অবতরি,        প্রেমের বাদর করি,

সাধিলা মনের নিজ কাজ ।

রাধিকার প্রাণপতি,        কি ভাবে কান্দয়ে নিতি,

ইহা বুঝে ভকত-সমাজ ॥ ১১৪ ॥

gaurahari abatari,        premera bādara kari,

sādhilā manera nija kāja |

rādhikāra prāṇa-pati,        ki bhābe kāndaye niti,

ihā bujhe bhakata-samāja || 114 ||

     Gaurahari incarnated to shower prema and fulfill his heart’s desires. Only the bhaktas understand the constant weeping of Rādhikā’s lover.

Gaurahari’s Accomplishments

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: After stating the cause of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s incarnation, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya now speaks of his actions: gaurahari abatari, premera bādara kari, sādhilā manera nija kāja. Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s mind was occupied in two ways—one primary and the other secondary. In the previous verse, he stated that he intended primarily to enjoy the fulfillment of his three wishes and secondarily to bless the people of the world with prema. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya said the following to Śrīman Mahāprabhu in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.279:

rādhikāra bhāba-kānti kari’ aṅgīkāra | 

nija-rasa āsvādite kariyācha abatāra ||

nija-gūḍha-kārya tomāra prema āsvādana | 

ānuṣaṅge premamaya kaile tribhubana ||

     “You have accepted Rādhikā’s mood and complexion and have descended to relish your own rasa. Your deepest motive is to taste prema and secondarily to fill the three worlds with it.” 

     It is not at all difficult for Śrīman Mahāprabhu to fill the world with prema; he is Gaurahari. hari-śabdera nānā artha, dui mukhyatama, sarba amaṅgala hare, prema diyā hare mana (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 24.59). “The word hari has various meanings, two of which are most important. One is that he destroys all inauspiciousness and the other that he steals one’s mind through love.” Gaurahari displayed Premamayī Śrī Rādhā’s golden complexion on his own body and immediately destroyed the inauspicious desire for sense objects in everyone’s hearts. Then he stole their minds with the gift of prema. In the month of Śrāvaṇa, clouds pour streams of water everywhere, moistening and cooling the heat-afflicted world. In the same way, Premamaya Gaurahari caused a raincloud to appear in the world’s sky that rained down prema on everyone, alleviating their three kinds of suffering and submerging them in a flood of prema. In the teachings of the mahājanas we see the words hema jalada-kāya, prema-dhārā bariṣaya. The flood of prema with which Śrī Gaurahari inundated the world, a type of Vraja’s madhura-rasa consisting of mañjarī-bhāva, is very difficult for even Brahmā and Śiva to obtain. Therefore, a mahājana sang the following in Pada-Kalpa-Taru:

patita heri’ kānde, thira nāhi bāndhe, karuṇa nayāne cāya |

nirupama hema jini’, ujora gorā-tanu, abanī ghana gaḍi’ yāya ||

gaurāṅgera nichani laiyā mari |

o rūpa-mādhurī, pīriti-cāturī, tila-ādha pāsarite nāri ||

baraṇa-āśrama, kiñcana-akiñcana, kāra kona doṣa nāhi māne |

kamalā-śiba-bidhi, dulaha-prema-nidhi, dāna karaye jagajane ||

aichana sadaya, hṛdaya rasamaya, gaura bhela parakāśa |

prema-dhanera dhanī, kayala abanī, bañcita gobinda dāsa ||

     “Seeing the fallen people, he cries, unable to maintain his calm; he looks with compassionate eyes. His fair complexion is more radiant than the finest gold. He sometimes rolls on the ground. I would die for Gaurāṅga! I cannot forget for half a moment his sweet form, joy and intelligence. Regardless of one’s varṇa or āśrama, or whether one is rich or poor, Gaura sees no fault in anyone. He gave the treasure of prema, which is difficult for even Lakṣmī, Śiva and Brahmā to attain, to the people of the world. Kind-hearted, charming Gaurasundara became manifest and made the earth rich with prema. Only Govinda Dāsa was deprived.”

     Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, rādhikāra prāṇa-pati, ki bhābe kāndaye niti, ihā bujhe bhakata-samāja. The embodiment of concentrated joy Svayaṁ Bhagavān Vrajendranandana accepted the bhāva of Śrī Rādhā. Though being the lord of Śrī Rādhā’s life, absorbed in her mood he only cries day and night. kāṅhā karoṅ, kāṅhā pāṅ brajendra-nandana, kāṅhā mora prāṇanātha muralī-badana; kāhāre kahiba, kebā jāne mora duḥkha; brajendra-nandana-binu phāṭe mora buka (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 2.15-16). “Where shall I go? Where will I find Vrajendranandana? Where is the lord of my life, the player of the flute? To whom shall I speak? Who can understand my suffering? My heart breaks without him.” Śrīman Mahāprabhu chiefly relished Śrī Rādhā’s sweet love by adopting her viraha-bhāva, or mood of separation, because the ocean of prema is churned most in viraha; therefore, the experience of it is astonishing.

     Human language cannot express the extraordinary moods that appear in Premamayī Śrī Rādhāraṇī’s heart when she feels separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa. When Śrī Rādhā suffers viraha from Śrī Kṛṣṇa she becomes distraught and filled with Kṛṣṇa inside and out. Kṛṣṇa is all she knows, Kṛṣṇa is all she thinks about, Kṛṣṇa is her life. Kṛṣṇa pervades her entire heart. The external world is hidden to her. She roams about the dense groves of Vraja like a madwoman, crying, “O Kṛṣṇa! O Kṛṣṇa!” She ignores the thorns piercing her flower-soft feet. In front of her a venomous snake expands its hood and hisses. Though seeing it, she does not see it. Eager to find Kṛṣṇa, she thinks only of him. Her sakhīs somehow sustain the life of this girl maddened by love. 

     After accepting Śrī Rādhā’s bhāva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the form of Śrī Gaurāṅga relished the emotional state of this girl possessed by divine madness in the gambhīrā-līlā at Nīlācala. No one can understand this incomprehensible state; pure bhaktas experience it according to their devotion. rādhikāra prāṇa-pati, ki bhābe kāndaye niti, ihā bujhe bhakata-samāja. Never mind others, even Śrī Kṛṣṇa is unable to completely understand the bhakta’s act of seeking prema. Who can understand Mahābhāvamayī Śrī Rādhā’s efforts for the sake of love? To understand this prema-seeking, Śrī Kṛṣṇa assumed Śrī Rādhā’s bhāva and became Gaura. Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Antya 18.15 describes it:

bhaktera prema-bikāra dekhi kṛṣṇera camatkāra |

kṛṣṇa yāra nā pāya anta kebā chāra āra ||

bhakta-premera yata daśā ye gati prakāra |

yata duḥkha yata sukha yateka bikāra ||

kṛṣṇa tāhā samyak nā pāre jānite |

bhakta-bhāba aṅgī kare tāhā āsvādite ||

kṛṣṇere nācāya prema bhaktere nācāya |

āpane nācaye—tine nāce eka-thāñi ||

premera bikāra barṇite cāhe yei-jana |

cānda dharite cāhe yena haiyā bāmana ||

bāyu yaiche sindhu-jalera hare eka kaṇa |

kṛṣṇa-prema-kaṇera taiche jībera sparśana ||

kṣaṇe kṣaṇe uṭhe premāra taraṅga ananta |

jība chāra kāṅhā tāra pāibeka anta ||

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya yāhā kare āsvādana |

sabe eka jāne tāhā svarūpādi gaṇa ||

jība hañā kare yei tāhāra barṇana |

āpanā śodhite tāra choṅya eka kaṇa ||

     “Kṛṣṇa is astonished to see the love-born transformations in his bhaktas. If he cannot fully understand them, who could? Kṛṣṇa could not completely understand the different stages of the bhaktas’ love or the different methods, the miseries, joys and transformations, so he accepted the mood of a bhakta to experience them for himself. Prema makes both Kṛṣṇa and the bhaktas dance, and she herself also dances—the three of them dance in one place. One who wants to describe the transformations born of prema is like a dwarf who wants to capture the moon. As a breeze can carry away a drop of ocean water, so the jīva can touch a drop of kṛṣṇa-prema. Endless waves of prema rise from moment to moment. How can an insignificant jīva find the end of such an ocean? Only Svarūpa-Dāmodara and his associates can understand what Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya experiences. By narrating these pastimes, a jīva can purify himself and touch a drop of that ocean.”

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 113 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

নবদ্বীপে অবতার,        রাধা-ভাব অঙ্গীকার,

তাঁর কান্তি অঙ্গের ভূষণ ।

তিন বাঞ্ছা অভিলাষী,        শচী-গর্ভে পরকাশি,

সঙ্গে সব পারিষদ-গণ ॥ ১১৩ ॥

nabadvīpe abatāra,        rādhā-bhāba aṅgīkāra,

tāṅra kānti aṅgera bhūṣaṇa |

tina-bāñchā-abhilāṣī,        śacī-garbhe parakāśi,

saṅge saba pāriṣada-gaṇa || 113 ||

     After accepting Śrī Rādhā’s mood and adorning his body with her golden luster, Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared in Navadvīpa from within Śacīdevī’s womb. He wished to fulfill three desires in the association of his dear companions.

Three Wishes

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya specifies the principal reason for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s incarnation as Śrīman Mahāprabhu. First he says, nabadvīpe abatāra, rādhā-bhāba aṅgīkāra, tāṅra kānti aṅgera bhūṣaṇa. After accepting Śrī Rādhā’s mood and adorning his body with her golden luster, Śrī Rādhikā’s beloved Vrajendranandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa incarnated in Navadvīpa in the form of Śrī Gaurāṅga. Eager to taste Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s sweet bhāva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa adopted her unique moods like mādana, modana, mohana and so on. He covered his own dark complexion with Śrī Rādhā’s golden hue, as though it were an ornament for his body. He manifested himself as Kṛṣṇa within and Gaura without. No matter which color is mixed with black, it does not have the power to conceal the black. But Rādhārāṇī’s golden luster has such astonishing power that it can fully conceal even Kṛṣṇa’s darkness. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s dark complexion cannot mute Śrī Rādhā’s molten-gold complexion in the slightest. For this reason, it is said that Śrī Kṛṣṇa accepted Śrī Rādhā’s golden color as an ornament on his own body.

     Śrī Kṛṣṇa tastes his own sweetness in the mood of Śrī Rādhā after being adorned with such ornaments as her tears, goosebumps and other sāttvika-bhāvas and amazing anubhāvas like dancing, rolling on the ground, taking the form of a tortoise, the dislocation of his limbs and so on. In his narration of Śrīman Mahāprabhu dancing before the cart in Nīlācala (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 13.101-108), Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda has described Mahāprabhu’s unprecedented ornaments of ecstatic emotion (bhāvālaṅkāra):

uddaṇḍa-nṛtye prabhura adbhuta bikāra | 

aṣṭa-sāttvika-bhābodaya haya sama-kāla ||

māṁsa-braṇa saha roma-bṛnda pulakita |

śimulīra-bṛkṣa yena kaṇṭake beṣṭita ||

ekeka dantera kampa dekhi’ lāge bhaya |

loke jāne—danta saba khasiyā paḍaya ||

sarbāṅge prasveda chuṭe—tāte raktodgama |

jaja gaga jaja gaga-gadgada bacana ||

jala-yantra-dhārā yena bahe aśru-jala |

āśapāśa loka yata bhijila sakala ||

deha-kānti gaura kabhu dekhiye aruṇa |

kabhu kānti dekhi’ yena mallikā-puṣpa-sama ||

kabhu stabdha, kabhu prabhu bhūmite loṭāya |

śuṣka-kāṣṭha-sama hasta-pada nā calaya ||

kabhu bhūmi paḍe, kabhu haya śvāsa-hīna |

yāhā dekhi’ bhakta-gaṇera haya prāṇa-kṣīṇa ||

     “Dancing with his hands lifted, Mahāprabhu experienced the astonishing eight sāttvika-bhāvas or transformations simultaneously. Goosebumps appeared on his body and his hairs stood on end like a silk-cotton tree covered with thorns. When people saw how his teeth chattered, they feared he would lose them. Perspiration mixed with blood poured from his body. He stammered jaja gaga jaja gaga and tears shot from his eyes as though from a syringe, soaking everyone nearby. Sometimes his complexion was seen to be golden, sometimes reddish and sometimes like a jasmine flower. Sometimes Mahāprabhu stood rigidly and sometimes he rolled on the ground. Sometimes his hands and feet would become like dry pieces of wood and he could not walk. Sometimes he fell on the ground; sometimes he was breathless. The bhaktas who saw this felt lifeless.”

     Next Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya gives the reason for Kṛṣṇa’s descent in the form of Gaura, having accepted Rādhā’s mood and complexion: tina-bāñchā-abhilāṣī, śacī-garbhe parakāśi, saṅge saba pāriṣada-gaṇa. Śrīpāda Svarūpa-Dāmodara was Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s second form. In the context of describing in his chronicle the principal reason for Mahāprabhu’s descent, Svarūpa-Dāmodara mentioned three wishes, which are quoted in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 1.6:

śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā kīdṛśo vānayaivā-

svādyo yenādbhuta-madhurimā kīdṛśo vā madīyaḥ |

saukhyaṁ cāsyā mad-anubhavataḥ kīdṛśaṁ veti lobhāt

tad-bhāvāḍhyaḥ samajani śacī-garbha-sindhau harīnduḥ ||

     “What is the greatness of Śrī Rādhā’s love? What is the amazing sweetness that she experiences in me through her love? What is the joy that she feels in tasting my sweetness? Out of eagerness for these three, Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra appeared from the ocean of Śacī’s womb fully in the mood of Śrī Rādhā.” These three desires regarding Śrī Rādhā’s prema caused a deep longing to awaken in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s heart. Even after much endeavor, he was unable to fulfill these three wishes in vraja-līlā. Therefore, he made a firm decision to accept Śrī Rādhā’s mood and complexion and descend in the form of Śrī Gaura. Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.264-272 : 

rasa āsvādite āmi kaila abatāra | prema-rasa āsvādila bibidha prakāra ||

rāga-mārge bhakta bhakti kare ye prakāre | tāhā śikhāila līlā ācaraṇa dvāre ||

ei tina tṛṣṇā mora nahila pūraṇa | bijātīya-bhābe nahe tāhā āsvādana ||

rādhikāra bhāba-kānti aṅgīkāra bine | sei tina sukha kabhu nahe āsvādane ||

rādhā-bhāba aṅgīkari dhari tāra barṇa | tina sukha āsvādite haba abatīrṇa ||

sarba-bhābe kaila kṛṣṇa eita niścaya | hena-kāle āila yugābatāra-samaya ||

sei kāle śrī-advaita karena ārādhana | tāṅhāra huṅkāre kaila kṛṣṇa ākarṣaṇa ||

pitā mātā guru-gaṇa āge abatāri | rādhikāra bhāba-barṇa aṅgīkāra kari ||

nabadvīpe śacī-garbha-śuddha-dugdha-sindhu | tāhāte prakaṭa hailā kṛṣṇa pūrṇa indu ||

     “‘I incarnated to taste rasa. I delighted in various kinds of prema-rasa. Through my pastimes and behavior, I taught the devotees how to perform bhakti on the rāga-mārga. But my three desires had not been fulfilled; I could not taste rasa in the contrasting moods. Without accepting Rādhikā’s mood and complexion, I could never experience those three kinds of happiness. To enjoy them I must accept Rādhā’s mood and complexion and incarnate on earth.’ Kṛṣṇa committed himself wholeheartedly to his decision. The time for his yugāvatāra then arrived. At that time, Śrī Advaita began to pray and his loud cries attracted Kṛṣṇa.  Kṛṣṇa’s father, mother and elders all incarnated before him. Having adopted Rādhikā’s mood and complexion, the full moon Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared in Navadvīpa from the ocean of pure milk that is Śacī’s womb.”

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 112 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্যদেব,        রতি-মতি তারে সেব,

প্রেম-কল্পতরু-দাতা ।

ব্রজরাজ-নন্দন,        রাধিকার প্রাণধন,

অপরূপ এই সব কথা ॥ ১১২ ॥

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-deba,        rati-mati tāre seba,

prema-kalpa-taru-dātā |

 braja-rāja-nandana,        rādhikāra prāṇa-dhana,

aparūpa ei saba kathā || 112 ||

     Serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva with your love and intellect. He bestows the desire tree of prema. He is the son of the king of Vraja and the treasure of Śrī Rādhikā’s life. Everything about this topic is amazing.

The Giver of the Desire Tree of Love

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has described in detail the topic of mañjarī-bhāva-sādhana, a type of bhakti filled with the transcendental, lofty and glorious vraja-rasa. This was the unprecedented gift of compassion from Śrīman Mahāprabhu Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva. Without his mercy or service to him, no one can attain vraja-bhakti. Therefore, the illustrious author has addressed the topic of Śrīman Mahāprabhu in three verses.

     First, he speaks about the worship of Śrīman Mahāprabhu and about his pastimes of bestowing prema. śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-deba, rati-mati tāre seba, prema-kalpa-taru-dātā. Śrīman Mahāprabhu is referred to here as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva because kṛṣṇa jānāiyā yei jagata kaila dhanya, ataeba nāma haila śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 3.34). “Because he blessed the world with knowledge of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he became known as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya.” Although Śrī Vyāsa, Śuka, Nārada and other ācāryas of the bhakti path have no doubt informed us about Śrī Kṛṣṇa, only Śrīman Mahāprabhu is śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya or ‘Śrī Kṛṣṇa-consciousness.’ The reason is that even though other ācāryas have taught about Śrī Kṛṣṇa, their bhaktas only obtain full knowledge when they reach prema through bhajana-sādhana. But if one simply sees Śrīman Mahāprabhu, the observer immediately attains prema and achieves full knowledge without effort. Mahāprabhu is a deva or shining one. His body is covered by Śrī Rādhā’s divine luster.

     The sādhaka must perform sevā or bhajana keeping her love and intellect at the feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva. Otherwise, it is impossible to attain vraja-bhāva: rati-mati tāre seba. In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sampradāya, Śrīman Mahāprabhu and his companions in Navadvīpa are to be worshiped alongside Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava and their companions in Vraja. At the end of Śrīla Kavi Karṇapūra’s Śrī-Caitanya-Candrodaya-Nāṭakam (10.74), Śrīman Mahāprabhu spontaneously said the following to Śrī Advaitācārya in the context of giving a blessing:

vṛndāraṇyāntara-sthaḥ sarasa-vilasitenātmanātmānam uccair

 ānanda-syanda-bandīkṛta-manasam urīkṛtya nitya-pramodaḥ |

vṛndāvanaika-niṣṭhān sva-ruci-sama-tanūn kārayiṣyāmi yuṣmān

ity evāste’viśiṣṭaṁ kim api mama mahat-karma-tac-cātaniṣye ||

     “O Ācārya, I live in Vṛndāvana, where with great pleasure I absorb myself in charming love-sports. My mind is constantly submerged in joy. I shall cause all of you who are devoted to Vṛndāvana to assume a body of your own choice there and taste the sweet nectar of Vraja. This great work remains for me; I will complete it.” Śrīman Mahāprabhu is the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. In Vṛndāvana, he is always submerged in nectarous pastimes in the form of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. In navadvīpa-līlā, he also gives a taste of madhura-rasa to his companions who contemplate themselves as Śrī Rādhā’s maidservants in the bowers of Vraja. This is Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s final work. After hearing Mahāprabhu’s words, Advaitācārya replied, 

nijecchayā prāpaya yad yad eva sthalāntaraṁ no vapur antaraṁ vā |

tavaitad āścarya-caritram eva jāti-smarā eva ciraṁ smarāmaḥ ||

     “O master, you will give us another place or another body by your own free will, but like those who remember their past lives, we will always remember the wonderful pastimes of Śrī Gaura.” Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has also said, mano-bāñchā siddhi tabe haṅ pūrṇa-tṛṣṇa, hethāya caitanya mile sethā rādhā-kṛṣṇa (Prārthanā 43). “My heart’s desire will be attained and my thirst sated. In Vṛndāvana they are Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and they unite in Navadvīpa as Caitanya.”

     Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva is prema-kalpa-taru-dātā, or one who bestows the desire tree of prema. Śrīman Mahāprabhu is himself a desire tree of prema, and through his own acintya-śakti, a gardener of that tree and a giver of its fruit: nijācintya-śaktye mālī haiyā skandha haya (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 9.12). The following is found in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 9.25-30:

uḍumbara-bṛkṣa yaiche phale sarba-aṅge | 

ei mata bhakti-bṛkṣe sarbatra phala lāge ||

mūla-skandhera śākhā upaśākhā-gaṇe | 

lāgila ye prema-phala amṛtake jine ||

pākila ye prema-phala amṛta-madhura | 

bilāya caitanya-mālī nāhi laya mūla ||

trijagate yata āche dhana-ratna-maṇi | 

eka phalera mūlya kari tāhā nāhi gaṇi ||

māge bā nā māge keha pātra bā apātra | 

ihāra bicāra nāhi jāne deya mātra ||

añjali añjali bhari phele catur-diśe | 

daridra kuḍāñā khāya mālākāra hāse ||

     “Just as the fig tree bears fruit on all its limbs, the tree of bhakti bears fruit in all times and places. The fruit called prema, which is more delicious than nectar, forms on all the limbs and branches. When it ripens, this prema-fruit is sweet like ambrosia. Caitanya the gardener then distributes it at no cost. One such fruit is more precious than all the riches in the three worlds, but Caitanya simply gives them away without considering whether someone has asked for or deserves them. He distributes handfuls of fruits in every direction. The poor collect and eat them; the gardener smiles.”

     Not only that, in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 9.34-36, Caitanya the gardener also gave the following order to Śrīman Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Advaita Prabhu and so on, who comprise the tree-trunk, and to the world-wide branches and sub-branches:

ekalā mālākāra āmi kāṅhā kāṅhā yāba | 

ekalā bā kata phala pāḍiyā bilāba ||

ekalā uṭhāñā dite haya pariśrama | 

keha pāya keha nā pāya rahe mane bhrama ||

ataeba āmi ājñā dila sabākāre | 

yāṅhā tāṅhā prema-phala deha yāre tāre ||

    “I am a lone gardener; where shall I go? Alone, how much fruit can I pick and give away? Picking and distributing requires great effort. It is confusing to know who should get it and who should not. Therefore, I order all of you to just give this prema-fruit to everyone, wherever you go.”

     The most wonderful and generous prema-desire-tree and prema-fruit-giver Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya gave madhura-prema, filled with the sweetness of Vraja, or the prema of mañjarī-bhāva in the form of śrī-rādhā-dāsya, to the whole world, regardless of whether the recipients were deserving or not, or performed sādhana or not. Therefore, without worshiping him, no one is able to taste vraja-prema-mādhurī. Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī wrote the following in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Antya 17.67-69:

adbhuta nigūḍha premera mādhurya-mahimā | 

āpani āsvādi prabhu dekhāila sīmā ||

adbhuta dayālu caitanya, adbhuta badānya | 

aiche dayālu dātā loke nāhi śuni anya ||

sarba-bhābe bhaja loka! caitanya-caraṇa | 

yāhā haite pābe kṛṣṇa-premāmṛta-dhana || 

     “Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally experienced the glories of the wondrous, profound sweetness of prema and showed us the limit. He is amazingly compassionate and generous. We have not heard of a more merciful or charitable person in the world. O humanity, worship the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and attain the treasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s nectarous love.”

     Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, braja-rāja-nandana, rādhikāra prāṇa-dhana, aparūpa ei saba kathā. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of the king of Vraja and the treasure of Śrī Rādhikā’s life, incarnated as Śrī Gaurāṅga. In the mood of a bhakta, he personally tasted vraja-prema-mādhurī and then gave it to the world. Everything about this topic is amazing. The following is written in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 17.302-306:

teṅho śyāma baṁśī-mukha gopa-bilāsī | 

iṅho gaura—kabhu dvija kabhu ta sannyāsī ||

ataeba āpane prabhu gopī-bhāba dhari’ | 

brajendra-nandane kahe—‘prāṇa-nātha’ kari’ ||

sei kṛṣṇa sei gopī—parama birodha | 

acintya-caritra prabhura—ati sudurbodha ||

ithe tarka kari’ keho nā kara saṁśaya | 

kṛṣṇera acintya-śakti ei mata haya ||

acintya adbhuta kṛṣṇa-caitanya-bihāra | 

citra bhāba, citra guṇa, citra byabahāra ||

     “There, he has a dark complexion, plays the flute and sports with the cowherds. Here, he is golden. He acts sometimes as a brāhmaṇa and sometimes as a sannyāsī. Therefore, after personally accepting the mood of a gopī, Mahāprabhu called out to Vrajendranandana, ‘O lord of my life!’ He is Kṛṣṇa, but he is also a gopī. It is a great contradiction. Mahāprabhu’s inconceivable nature is difficult to comprehend. We should not argue or entertain doubt about this. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s acintya-śakti is like this. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya’s pastimes are inconceivable and astonishing: amazing moods, amazing qualities and amazing behavior.”