The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in India on November 17, 1996

 

ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhāva-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ
śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam
ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ prati-padaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁ
sarvātma-snapanaṁ paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam

Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam (1)

[“ ‘Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.’ ”]

I spoke about this verse the previous day. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has not written any book except these eight verses. Certain verses are said to be spoken by Him, but there is doubt about their authenticity. But these eight verses were definitely spoken by Him. These verses are not ordinary verses. They are more important than the Gītā. These eight ślokas are more important than the Vedas and Upaniṣads. The Vedas have come from Garbhodakśayī Viṣṇu and other incarnations. But they haven’t come from Kṛṣṇa directly. Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhagavad-gītā directly to Arjuna. So, the Gītā is very important.

But I think the instructions of the Gītā were spoken by Dvārakādhīśa Kṛṣṇa, who was sitting on the chariot of Arjuna. By speaking these instructions to Arjuna, He instructed all the conditioned souls. All His teachings are like priceless jewels. There is one especially priceless instruction:

man-manā bhāva mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo ’si me

Bhagavad-gītā (18.65)

[“Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.”]

There is also another verse:

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

Bhagavad-gītā (18.66)

[“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”]

These verses are the essence of all the Vedas and Upaniṣads. But these eight verses of Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam are the essence of the Gītā and the Bhāgavatam. Sambandha, abhideya and prayojana have been delineated in these eight verses. During His final pastimes, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was overcome by moods of separation. He would sink and float on the waves because the ocean would remind Him of the river Yamunā. He would also be seen on Caṭaka-parvata (which reminded Him of Girirāja Govardhana) and inside the Jagannātha temple or the Jagannātha-vallabha Vāṭikā (the garden of Śrī Jagannāthadeva). Sometimes, the different parts of His body would be elongated; at other times, His limbs would contract like a tortoise. Such descriptions are not to be found in other scriptures. These descriptions embody the confidential moods of prema. These aṣṭa-sāttvika bhāvas (eightfold transformations of ecstasy) and vyabhicārī-bhāvas (transitory emotions) were never seen in anyone before. Even a scholar like Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya could not understand Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

He said, “I have read in books, but I have never seen the symptoms of aṣṭa-sāttvika-bhāvas and vyabhicārī-bhāvas in anyone in this world.”

All these symptoms have not been disclosed even in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. I think that all these moods were in Śrīmatī Rādhikājī; that is why Caitanya Mahāprabhu descended with Her moods. Only Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāya Rāmānanda would console Mahāprabhu in the Gambhīrā when He experienced these moods. They would console Him as Lalitā and Viśākhā would console Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Once, Mahāprabhu wept bitterly and said, “O Kṛṣṇa! I cannot be saved! O Kṛṣṇa! Come at once! Otherwise, I will die!”

When He would be weeping all night, Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāya Rāmānanda would recite verses that would be helpful for these moods. Śrī Govinda Prabhu (the personal servant of Mahāprabhu) would weep and think, “Why do these two people come here and make Mahāprabhu weep so much? They should go at once.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would relish these verses of Rāsa-pañcādhyāyī, and He would also relish the songs of Caṇḍīdāsa, Vidyāpati, Gītā-govinda, and Jagannātha-vallabha-nāṭaka.

caṇḍīdāsa, vidyāpati, rāyera nāṭaka-gīti,
karṇāmṛta, śrī-gīta-govinda
svarūpa-rāmānanda-sane, mahāprabhu rātri-dine,
gāya, śune — parama ānanda

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 2.77)

[“He also passed His time reading the books and singing the songs of Caṇḍīdāsa and Vidyāpati, and listening to quotations from the Jagannātha-vallabha-nāṭaka, Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta and Gīta-govinda. Thus in the association of Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāya Rāmānanda, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed His days and nights chanting and hearing with great pleasure.”]

One day, Mahāprabhu was feeling so much separation. He repeatedly called out, “Hā Kṛṣṇa! Where are You?”

Seeing Mahāprabhu weep so bitterly, Svarūpa Dāmodara Prabhu said, “Kṛṣṇa is there in Your heart. He cannot go out of Your heart.”

“Kṛṣṇa is in My heart! I want to see Him now!” Saying this, Mahāprabhu began to tear open His chest with His nails. Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāya Rāmānanda immediately caught hold of Mahāprabhu’s hands and tried consoling Him. But they could not console Him. So, Mahāprabhu would relish these eight verses in their association. They would relish the different meanings of these verses, which consisted of sambandha-jñāna and culminated in attaining prema.

āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu mām
adarśanān marma-hatāṁ karotu vā
yathā tathā vā vidadhātu lampaṭo
mat-prāṇa-nāthas tu sa eva nāparaḥ

Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam (8)

[“ ‘Let Kṛṣṇa tightly embrace this maidservant who has fallen at His lotus feet, or let Him trample Me or break My heart by never being visible to Me. He is a debauchee, after all, and can do whatever He likes, but still He alone, and no one else, is the worshipable Lord of My heart.’ ”]

These verses are not ordinary — they embody the meeting and separation of rasa-rāja Kṛṣṇa and mahābhāva–svarūpiṇī Śrīmatī Rādhikā. We should try to hear the explanations of these eight verses beginning with ‘ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ’ and ending with ‘āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu mām.’ All the moods of Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the gopīs are present in these verses. So Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī added these eight verses at the end of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and explained them. I want to explain these verses daily. But we are going here and there; we don’t have much time to explain these verses, and I am also not qualified to explain them. These verses are the essence of the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. They are the essence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes and teachings. Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara has explained these verses in his diary, which he later entrusted to Śrīla Raghunatha Das Gosvāmī. Being inspired by these pastimes and teachings, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī then explained them in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written a commentary on Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta called ‘Sanmodana-bhāṣya,’ which was written to please (modana) those who are ‘sat.’ Sat implies the associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu like Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī and our disciplic ācāryas. We could not have known the intrinsic meanings of Śikṣāṣṭakam if there was no Sanmodana-bhāṣya. These explanations are not given even in the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or even in the books of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. Jīva-tattva has been reconciled in these explanations. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is also an eternal associate of Mahāprabhu; he is not of this material world. He is Kamala Mañjarī — one of the most beloved maidservants of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. It has also been told that Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is a manifestation of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita:

namo bhaktivinodāya
sac-cid-ānanda-nāmine
gaura-śakti-svarūpāya
rūpānuga-varāya te

[“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda, who is the transcendental energy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is a strict follower of the Gosvāmīs, headed by Srīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.”]

The conditioned living entities have come from taṭasthā-śakti (the marginal potency); they are not the inhabitants of Goloka Vṛndāvana or Vaikuṇṭha. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has then quoted the following verse from Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s Bhagavat-sandarbha:

ekam eva parama-tattvaṁ svābhāvikācintya-śaktyā
sarvadaiva svarūpa-tad-rūpa-vaibhava-jīva-pradhāna-rūpeṇa
caturdhāvatiṣṭhate sūryāntar-maṇḍala-stha-teja iva
maṇḍala tad-bahirgata-tad-raśmi-tat-praticchavi-rūpeṇa

(Bhagavat-sandarbha 14)

[“The Absolute Truth is one. His unique characteristic is that He is endowed with inconceivable potency, through which He always manifests in four ways: (1) svarūpa (as His original form), (2) tad-rūpa-vaibhava (as His personal splendour, including His abode and His eternal associates, expansions and avatāras), (3) the jīvas (as individual spirit souls), and (4) pradhāna (as the material energy). These four features are likened to the interior of the sun planet, the surface of the sun, the sun rays emanating from this surface, and a remotely situated reflection, respectively.”]

Kṛṣṇa is one without a second. Parama-tattva is one. Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of inconceivable potencies — such as aghaṭana-ghaṭana-paṭīyasī-śakti (the power which makes the impossible possible). He is not nirviśeṣa or nirākāra; He is not negative. He is full of infinite potencies. But parā-śakti is one, who manifests in innumerable ways (parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate). She is known by Her functions. Hlādinī-śakti, sandhinī-śakti, samvit-śakti, cit-śakti, māyā-śakti, jīva-śakti, kṛpā-śakti, aiśvarya-śakti etc. are some of Her manifestations.

parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate
svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.8)

[“His potencies are multifarious, and thus, His deeds are automatically performed as a natural sequence.”]

Kṛṣṇa has appeared in His selfsame form (svayaṁ-rūpa) in Vṛndāvana. He is the son of Yaśodā and Nanda Bābā. He is the beloved of all the gopīs; He is especially the beloved of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. A peacock feather adorns His crest, and He stands in His threefold bending form (tribhaṅga-lalita) while playing on His flute. He is dhīra-lalita nāyaka (dhīra-lalita nāyaka is that playful person who can always keep his lover subjugated by his different qualities). Dvārakādhīśa, Mathureśa, Baladeva Prabhu and all the other avatāras are tad-rūpa-vaibhava. They are one in tattva. All the living entities are simultaneously different and non-different from Kṛṣṇa. Pradhāna is the material energy (māyā) from whom this material world has manifested. Thus, Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa is like the sun, and tad-rūpa-vaibhava is like the sun disc. The living entities are like the particles in the sun’s rays, while māyā is the reflection.

The jīvas are of two kinds — liberated and conditioned. The liberated souls are out of māyā, and they are always serving Kṛṣṇa and His tad-rūpa-vaibhava either in Goloka Vṛndāvana or Vaikuṇṭha. The eternally liberated souls who have been eternally serving Kṛṣṇa in Goloka Vṛndāvana are manifestations of Baladeva Prabhu. The illusory energy can never overcome them. They will only descend into the material world to assist Kṛṣṇa in His pastimes. And they will return when Kṛṣṇa will unmanifest Himself. Unlike conditioned souls, they are not controlled by māyā. They will never return as conditioned souls. The servants of Vaikuṇṭha and tad-rūpa-vaibhava (expansions like Vāmana, Trivikrama, and Nārāyaṇa) are not conditioned souls. They cannot be controlled by māyā. Only the living entities emanating from Kāraṇābdhiśāyī Viṣṇu are prone to be illusioned by māyā. They are originally situated on the marginal line, a demarcation between the spiritual and material worlds. They are manifestations of Kṛṣṇa’s marginal potency (taṭasthā-śakti). We are among them.

The marginal living entities are also classified into two categories. Those who manifest from Kāraṇābdhiśāyī Viṣṇu will be empowered by parā-śakti if they look towards Vaikuṇṭha. In this way, they go to serve Kṛṣṇa. But those living entities who look towards the illusory energy are charmed by her creation, and we are among such conditioned living entities. Although we are conditioned living entities, we have a beautiful form characterised by qualities that enable us to serve Kṛṣṇa. But our form and qualities have been covered by māyā; they are not destroyed. By the causeless mercy of śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas, we receive the seed of pure devotional service (bhakti-latā-bīja). By continuously listening to hari-kathā and by engaging ourselves in nāma-saṅkīrtana and reading scriptures, two kinds of transcendental faith (pāramārthika-śraddhā) will imminently arise:

1) śāstrārtha-avadhāraṇamayī-śraddhā – faith which brings about engagement in the path of bhakti inspired by the governing principles of scripture, and 2) bhāgavata-līlā-mādhurya–lobhamayī–śraddhā – faith which brings about engagement in bhakti due to intense longing, arising out of some extremely good fortune by hearing the sweet pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has clearly described these terms. Such descriptions are rarely found anywhere else. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has also described these terms in his Mādhurya-kādambinī to explain the teachings of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. We cannot advance in bhakti without reading these books. Some people think that Mādhurya-kādambinī and Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu-bindu are rasa-śāstras (scriptures delineating transcendental mellows of pure love); therefore, they do not even touch these books. What to speak of reading them. Our guruvarga have manifested these books to give us a taste and greed for kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Therefore, we should study these books under the guidance of Vaiṣṇavas. Otherwise, we will not be able to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

In any case, we cannot enter the process of devotional service without śraddhā. What is that śraddhā?

‘śraddhā’-śabde — viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya
kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā (22.62)

[“Śraddhā is confident, firm faith that by rendering transcendental loving service to Kṛṣṇa one automatically performs all subsidiary activities. Such faith is favourable to the discharge of devotional service.”]

The guru should also be bona fide. Whatever he says should be true to the highest extent. We should have unflinching faith in the śāstras, Hari, guru and Vaiṣṇava. We should know that whatever a bona fide guru says is true to the highest extent. Whatever he says is not less than the Vedas, Upaniṣads and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The teachings of the Vedic scriptures are the same as the teachings of śrī guru and the Vaiṣṇavas.

sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya

[“One should accept as one’s guide the words of the sādhus, the śāstra and the guru”]

Although the words of the śāstras are the same as the words of śrī guru and the Vaiṣṇavas — we will have to think deeply about certain aspects. If the Vedic scriptures speak of one subject and if the guru and Vaiṣṇavas speak on the same subject, then we will have to give up the words of the śāstras because we will be unable to understand the essence of the Vedas and the Upaniṣads. So, we should try to understand the Vedas and Upaniṣads with the help of the guru and Vaiṣṇava. If the sādhu, Vaiṣṇavas and scriptures speak of one subject and if the guru is speaking of another subject, then we will have to decide whose words are true — even if it impels one to give up the words of his guru. The sādhu and śāstras are like śikṣā-gurus. We should try to understand why our gurudeva is speaking like this; we should ask him why his explanation seems different. It may also be that because he is an uttama-adhikārī, we cannot understand him. Otherwise, he has not become a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī yet; that is why he is speaking such words.

So, we should try to understand these teachings. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains that śraddhā is of two kinds. The first kind of śraddhā is characterised by strong faith in the words of the śāstras, which state that we can never cross the ocean of birth, death, sorrows and sufferings without engaging ourselves in kṛṣṇa-bhajana. So, we must obey the śāstras. They say that if you don’t do bhajana, you will have to suffer in hell for lākhas and lākhas of births. Śāstrārtha-avadhāraṇamayī-śraddhā is characterised by the strong faith that you will have to follow the words of the śāstras. Such śraddhā gives vaidhī-bhakti. As a result of such faith, the sādhaka tends to think, “I should try to do bhajana; otherwise, I will go to hell.”

Another kind of śraddhā develops from the impressions of our previous lives. By such impressions, we can easily have the association of pure devotees. By listening to the nectarean explanations of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from bona fide, rasika, tattva-jña Vaiṣṇavas, a greed to serve Kṛṣṇa like the Vrajavāsīs is bound to come.

The devotee will then think, “I want to serve Kṛṣṇa like the sakhās — as Subala and Śrīdāmā do.”

Those aspiring for dāsya-bhāva will think, “I want to serve Kṛṣṇa like Citraka and Patraka.”

A devotee may also desire to serve Rāma as Hanumān does. A devotee may also desire to serve Kṛṣṇa as Rukmiṇī and Satyabhāmā do. A devotee may also have a greed to serve Kṛṣṇa as Nanda Bābā and Mother Yaśodā do. And sometimes, a devotee may think, “I want to serve Radha-Kṛṣṇa Conjugal as the gopīs do.”

This mood is better — but it is very rare. Even if the tendency to serve has come into our hearts (either from śāstrārtha-avadhāraṇamayī-śraddhā or lobhamayī śraddhā), if there is no association with a pure tattva-jña Vaiṣṇava, this tendency will dry up, and we will become lifeless. Faith will go away. We should always listen to hari-kathā from śrī guru and the Vaiṣṇavas. By listening continuously śraddhā will appear, and all the anarthas will go. We will then realise what anarthas and offences are. We should be very careful to avoid them. The stages of niṣṭhā, ruci, āsakti and bhāva will then appear. Devotees situated in the stage of bhāva (the preliminary stage of kṛṣṇa-prema) are very rare. Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, Bharata Mahārāja, and Ambarīṣa Maharaja had received bhāva in their hearts. There are two kinds of bhāva. The moods of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta (written by Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura) and Śrī Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi (written by Śrī Prabhodānanda Sarasvatī) are the same, but there is some speciality.

Prabhodānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was always inclined towards Śrīmatī Rādhikā. He would always glorify Her.

yat-kiṅkarīṣu bahuśaḥ khalu kāku-vāṇī
nityaṁ parasya puruṣasya śikhaṇḍa-mauleḥ
tasyāḥ kadā rasa-nidher vṛṣabhānu-jāyās
tat-keli-kuñja-bhavanāṅgana-mārjanī syām

Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi (8)

[“O daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, O ocean of rasa! The Supreme Bhagavān, the source of all incarnations who wears a peacock feather in His hair, falls at the feet of Your maidservants and propitiates them with many humble and grief-stricken words to be allowed entrance into Your kuñja where You engage in playful, amorous pastimes. I would consider my life a success if I could become one stick in the broom used by Your maidservants to clean Your delightful grove.”]

He always sees that Kṛṣṇa is always pleasing Śrīmatī Rādhikā. On the other hand, Śrī Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura sees that Śrīmatī Rādhikā is always pleasing Śrī Kṛṣṇa. There is prominence of Kṛṣṇa in his writings and not of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. But there is prominence of Śrīmatī Rādhikā in Prabhodānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s writings. Since prema is the ultimate attainment, he looks to the prema of Śrīmatī Rādhikā because Her prema is the most superior. We will find everything in Śikṣāṣṭakam. Now, we will do parikramā of Gahvaravana (in Varṣāṇā).

Source: Purebhakti.com

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org and/or Bhaktiart.net
Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)