Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam, Part 17
BY: SUN STAFF
Jun 14, 2016 — CANADA (SUN) — A commentary on Lord Caitanya’s ‘Siksastakam’ by HDG Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, with a Bengali song for each verse that expands upon Mahaprabhu’s devotional moods (Sanskrit, 1886).
Me; adarsanat – by not being visible; marma-hatam – brokenhearted; karotu – let Him make; va – or; yatha – as (He likes); tatha – so; va – or; vidadhatu – let Him do; lampatah – a debauchee, who mixes with other women; mat-prana-nathah – the Lord of My life; tu – but; sah – He; eva – only; na aparah – not anyone else.
“Let Krishna tightly embrace this servant, who has fallen at His lotus feet. Let Him trample Me or break My heart by not being visible to Me. He is a debauchee, after all, and can do whatever He likes, but He is still no more other than the worshipable Lord of My heart.”
The platform of prema is described in this sloka. “That supreme adulterer and libertine, Krsna, may grant endless bliss to this servant surrendered to His lotus feet; or he may drive me into excruciating depths of despair by not being present before me; He may please to do anything He wants with me – even to the extent of enjoying with another of His beloved gopis in my presence; yet He remains always the Lord of my heart; for me there can never be any other person.”
We find accounts of the incomparable position of such fully surrendered souls in Srimad Bhagavatam: “When the mortal living beings finally decide to relinquish all fruitive activities and totally surrender to Me, I reciprocate by giving them the nectar of immortality, elevating them to become My eternal associates.”
The conclusion is that in Krsnaprema, Krsna becomes the life, soul and the greatest treasure of the devotee. In this mature stage of devotional service the sublime exchanges of mutual attraction between the devotee and the Lord flower into full bloom. This statement demonstrates the truth of the eternal bond between the infinitesimal jiva and infinite Supreme Lord. This relationship becomes obscured when the jiva gives up Krsna consciousness. But when, by good fortune, the living entity’s consciousness becomes purified, then the mutual attraction between the Lord and His part and parcel is revived.
A piece of iron, when clean and shining, is automatically attracted to a magnet; similarly, the consciousness of the spirit soul, when purified, clean and shining, will automatically exhibit attraction to Krsna. Besides facilitating this attraction, self purification has no function. The path of Krsna consciousness is called premadharma, the dharma of loving devotional service; sadhakas of the prema-dharma must know that save and except for prema, this path of religion neglects all results desired by those who pursue dharma, artha, kama and moksa.
Bhagavatam: “My dear gopis! Severing all family attachments for My sake, you have achieved what is very rare even for the great philosophers and yogis. Our meetings with each other are completely pure and unblemished. If I tried to repay My debt to you for your love, devotion, service and renunciation, even if I endeavored with My immortal body throughout all eternity I would be unable to do it. I am obliged to you life after life. Though you may consider Me absolved of any debt out of your natural meekness and loving demeanor, I will nontheless always remain beholden to you.”
As indicated by the Lord’s declaration of indebtedness to the gopis, to please and attract Krsna, one should love and satisfy the devotees whom He holds most dear. In other words, one who desires entrance into Krsna consciousness must have no interest in selfish socalled pleasures. A devotee serves Krsna, has affection for Him, meets Him, or may do anything – the sole intention is to please Krsna and increasing one’s loving service to Him.
Lord Caitanya uses the phrase `deeply afflicted in the heart’ in this sloka; in reality, the devotee does not feel grief but exultation. To confirm this fact, Lord Krsna tells the gopis: “For My sake you disregarded social taboos, Vedic injunctions, and even cut off connection to your relatives and family members. In all this, your meditation on Me was single-minded. You did not even care for your beauty and nuptial happiness. So in order to increase your love for Me I disappeared from your sight. Please do not blame Me for this act of love, because you are extremely dear to Me, as I am to you.”
Another important point in this sloka is that although the Lord speaks of ‘giving Me bliss by Your loving embrace’, there is no trace of self-satisfaction; even here the only thought is of loving Krsna by giving oneself to Him for His pleasure. Lord Caitanya’s statements very much exemplify the true emotions of pure love.
#Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam
