This self-surrender is called ātma-nivedana. According to different authorities, self is differently defined. Self is sometimes considered to refer to the spirit self, or soul, and self is sometimes considered to refer to the mind or to the body. Full self-surrender, therefore, means not only surrendering one's self as spirit soul, but also surrendering one's mind and body to the service of the Lord. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung a nice song in this connection. While offering himself as a fully surrendered soul, he said, "My mind, my household affairs, my body, whatever is in my possession, my dear Lord, I offer to You for Your service. Now You can do with them as You like. You are the supreme possessor of everything, so if You like You can kill me, or if You like You can give me protection. All authority belongs to You. I have nothing to claim as my own."
Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung...(Books)
Expressions researched:
"Bhaktivinoda"
|"sang"
|"sings"
|"sung"
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 4
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings: "My dear Lord, whatever I have—even my mind, the center of all material necessities. namely my home, my body and whatever I have in connection with this body—I now surrender unto You. You are now completely independent to act however You like. If You like, You can kill me, and if You like, You can save me. In any case, I am Your eternal servant, and You have every right to do whatever You like."
Soma, or the predominating deity of the moon, is responsible for the living entity's ability to relish the taste of food through the tongue. Lord Śiva prays to Lord Aniruddha to give him strength so that he will not taste anything but the prasāda of the Lord. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung a verse indicating that the tongue is the most formidable enemy among all the senses. If one can control the tongue, he can easily control the other senses. The tongue can be controlled only by eating prasāda offered to the Deity. Lord Śiva's prayer to Lord Aniruddha is meant for this purpose (tṛpti-dāya); he prays to Lord Aniruddha to help him be satisfied by eating only prasāda offered to the Lord.
The words itihāsam ("history") and purātanam ("old") indicate that although a living entity lives within the material body, the history of the living entity within the material body is very old. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung, anādi karama-phale, padi' bhavārṇava jale, taribāre nā dekhi upāya: "Due to my past fruitive activities I have fallen into the water of material existence, and I cannot find any way to get out of it." Every living entity is suffering in this material existence from past activities; therefore everyone has a very old history. Foolish material scientists have manufactured their own theories of evolution, which are simply concerned with the material body. But actually this is not the real evolution. The real evolution is the history of the living entity, who is purañjana, "living within the body." Śrī Nārada Muni will explain this evolutionary theory in a different way for the understanding of sane persons.
Thus in this verse it is said (na anurūpam) that the King could never find a place suitable for his purposes. This is because in any form of life and on any planet in the material world, a living entity cannot be happy because everything in the material world is unsuitable for the spirit soul. As stated in this verse, the living entity independently wants to become a prabhu, but as soon as he gives up this idea and becomes a servant of God, Kṛṣṇa, his happiness immediately begins. Therefore Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings:
- miche māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese',
- khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi
"My dear living entity, why are you being carried away by the waves of māyā?" As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.61):
- īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
- hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
- bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
- yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy."
The living entity is carried in the machine of the body through so many species of life on so many planets. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura asks the living entity why he is being carried away in these bodily machines to be placed in so many different circumstances. He advises that one surmount the waves of māyā by surrendering unto Kṛṣṇa.
- jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa,
- karle ta' āra duḥkha nāi
The living entity resides within the body and struggles for existence with the limbs of the body, which are referred to here as citizens and friends. One can struggle alone with many soldiers for some time, but not for all time. The living entity within the body can struggle up to the limit of a hundred years with good luck, but after that it is not possible to prolong the struggle. Thus the living entity submits and falls victim. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung: vṛddha kāla āola saba sukha bhāgala. When one becomes old, it becomes impossible to enjoy material happiness. Generally people think that religion and piety come at the end of life, and at this time one generally becomes meditative and takes to some so-called yogic process to relax in the name of meditation. Meditation, however, is simply a farce for those who have enjoyed life in sense gratification. As described in the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, meditation (dhyāna, dhāraṇā) is a difficult subject matter that one has to learn from his very youth. To meditate, one must restrain himself from all kinds of sense gratification. Unfortunately, meditation has now become a fashion for those who are overly addicted to sensual things. Such meditation is defeated by the struggle for existence. Sometimes such meditative processes pass for transcendental meditation. King Purañjana, the living entity, being thus victimized by the hard struggle for existence, took to transcendental meditation with his friends and relatives.
As Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings, saba sukha bhāgala: all kinds of happiness disappear in old age. Consequently, no one likes old age, or jarā. Thus Jarā, as the daughter of Time, is known as a most unfortunate daughter. She was, however, at one time accepted by a great king, Yayāti. Yayāti was cursed by his father-in-law, Śukrācārya, to accept her. When Śukrācārya's daughter was married to King Yayāti, one of her friends named Śarmiṣṭhā went with her. Later King Yayāti became very much attached to Śarmiṣṭhā, and Śukrācārya's daughter complained to her father. Consequently, Śukrācārya cursed King Yayāti to become prematurely old. King Yayāti had five youthful sons, and he begged all his sons to exchange their youth for his old age. No one agreed except the youngest son, whose name was Pūru. Upon accepting Yayāti's old age, Pūru was given the kingdom. It is said that two of Yayāti's other sons, being disobedient to their father, were given kingdoms outside of India, most probably Turkey and Greece. The purport is that one can accumulate wealth and all kinds of material opulences, but during old age one cannot enjoy them. Although Pūru attained his father's kingdom, he could not enjoy all the opulence, for he had sacrificed his youth. One should not wait for old age in order to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Due to the invalidity of old age, one cannot make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however opulent he may be materially.
This is a description of material existence. Material existence is experienced when one becomes attached to a woman and forgets his real identity as the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa (naṣṭa-smṛtiḥ). In this way, in one body after another, the living entity perpetually suffers the threefold miseries of material existence. To save human civilization from the darkness of ignorance, this movement was started. The main purpose of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to enlighten the forgetful living entity and remind him of his original Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In this way the living entity can be saved from the catastrophe of ignorance as well as bodily transmigration. As Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung:
- anādi karama-phale, paḍi' bhavārṇava-jale,
- taribāre nā dekhi upāya
- ei viṣaya-halāhale, divā-niśi hiyā jvale,
- mana kabhu sukha nāhi pāya
"Because of my past fruitive activities, I have now fallen into an ocean of nescience. I cannot find any means to get out of this great ocean, which is indeed like an ocean of poison. We are trying to be happy through sense enjoyment, but actually that so-called enjoyment is like food that is too hot and causes burning in the heart. I feel a burning sensation constantly, day and night, and thus my mind cannot find satisfaction."
In the material world many living entities come into contact with one another and, increasing their attachment to a particular type of body, become related as father, husband, mother, wife, etc. Actually every living entity is a separate individual being, and it is because of his contact with matter that he comes together with other bodies and becomes falsely related. False bodies create various associations in the name of family, community, society and nationality. Actually every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the living entities are overly engrossed in the material body. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, appears and gives instructions in the form of Bhagavad-gītā and Vedic literatures. The Supreme Lord gives these instructions because He is the eternal friend of the living entities. His instructions are important because by them the living entity can obtain liberation from bodily engagement. As water passes down a river, many straws and grasses are carried from the shore. These straws and grasses come together in the river's current, but when the waves toss this way and that, they are separated and carried somewhere else. Similarly, the innumerable living entities within this material world are being carried by the waves of material nature. Sometimes the waves bring them together, and they form friendships and relate to one another on a bodily basis of family, community or nationality. Eventually they are thrown out of association by the waves of material nature. This process has been going on since the creation of material nature. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings:
- miche māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese',
- khāccha hābuḍubu, bhai
- jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa,
- karle ta' āra duḥkha nāi
"My dear living entities, you are being carried away by the waves of material nature. Sometimes you are on the surface, sometimes you are being drowned. In this way your eternal life is being spoiled. If you simply catch hold of Kṛṣṇa and take shelter of His lotus feet, you will once again get free from all the miserable material conditions."
The living entity's position is herein likened to a dog's. By chance a dog may have a very rich owner, and by chance he may become a street dog. As the dog of a rich man, he will live very opulently. Sometimes in Western countries we hear of a master leaving millions of dollars to a dog in his will. Of course, there are many dogs loitering in the street without food. Therefore, to liken the conditional existence of the living entity to that of a dog is very appropriate. An intelligent human being, however, can understand that if he has to live the life of a dog, he had best become Kṛṣṇa's dog. In the material world a dog is sometimes elevated and is sometimes on the street, but in the spiritual world, Kṛṣṇa's dog is perpetually, eternally happy. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore sung: vaiṣṇava ṭhākura tomāra kukura baliyā jānaha more. In this way Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura offers to become a Vaiṣṇava's dog. A dog always keeps himself at his master's door and does not allow any person unfavorable to the master to enter. Similarly, one should engage in the service of a Vaiṣṇava and try to please him in every respect. Unless one does so, he does not make spiritual advancement.
SB Canto 5
The conditioned soul in the material forest is sometimes swallowed by a python or crushed. At such a time he is left lying in the forest like a dead person, devoid of consciousness and knowledge. Sometimes other poisonous snakes bite him. Being blind to his consciousness, he falls down into a dark well of hellish life with no hope of being rescued.
When one becomes unconscious due to being bitten by a snake, one cannot understand what is taking place outside the body. This unconscious condition is the condition of deep sleep. Similarly, the conditioned soul is actually sleeping on the lap of the illusory energy. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung, kota nidrā yāo māyā-piśācīra kole: "O living entity, how long will you sleep in this condition on the lap of the illusory energy?" People do not understand that they are actually sleeping in this material world, being devoid of knowledge of spiritual life. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says:
- enechi auṣadhi māyā nāśibāra lāgi'
- hari-nāma-mahā-mantra lao tumi māgi'
"I have brought medicine to awaken every living being from perpetual sleep. Please receive the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and awaken."
My dear King, as I heard of it from my spiritual master, I have fully described to you the creation of this material world according to the fruitive activities and desires of the conditioned souls. Those conditioned souls, who are full of material desires, achieve various situations in different planetary systems, and in this way they live within this material creation.
In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings,
- anādi karama-phale, paḍi' bhavārṇava-jale,
- taribāre nā dekhi upāya
"My Lord, I do not know when I commenced my material life, but I can certainly experience that I have fallen in the deep ocean of nescience. Now I can also see that there is no other way to get out of it than to take shelter of Your lotus feet." Similarly, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offers the following prayer:
- ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
- patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
- kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
- sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
(Cc. Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5)
"My dear Lord, son of Nanda Mahārāja, I am Your eternal servant. Somehow or other, I have fallen into this ocean of nescience. Kindly, therefore, save me from this horrible condition of materialistic life."
SB Canto 6
People bewildered by material conditions try to be united, but although they strive for unity among men and nations, all their attempts are futile. Everyone must struggle alone for existence with the many elements of nature. Therefore one's only hope, as Kṛṣṇa advises, is to surrender to Him, for He can help one become free from the ocean of nescience. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore prayed:
- ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
- patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
- kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
- sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
(Cc. Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5)
"O Kṛṣṇa, beloved son of Nanda Mahārāja, I am Your eternal servant, but somehow or other I have fallen into this ocean of nescience, and although I am struggling very hard, there is no way I can save myself. If You kindly pick me up and fix me as one of the particles of dust at Your lotus feet, that will save me."
In a similar way, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sang:
- karama-phale, paḍi' bhavārṇava-jale,
- taribāre nā dekhi upāya
"My dear Lord, I cannot remember when I somehow or other fell into this ocean of nescience, and now I can find no way to rescue myself." We should remember that everyone is responsible for his own life. If an individual becomes a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he is then delivered from the ocean of nescience.
The svābhāvika, or one's natural tendency, is the most important factor in action. One's natural tendency is to serve because a living entity is an eternal servant of God. The living entity wants to serve, but because of his forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord, he serves under the modes of material nature and manufactures various modes of service, such as socialism, humanitarianism and altruism. However, one should be enlightened in the tenets of Bhagavad-gītā and accept the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that one give up all natural tendencies for material service under different names and take to the service of the Lord. One's original natural tendency is to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness because one's real nature is spiritual. The duty of a human being is to understand that since he is essentially spirit, he must abide by the spiritual tendency and not be carried away by material tendencies. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore sung:
- (miche) māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese',
- khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi
"My dear brothers, you are being carried away by the waves of material energy and are suffering in many miserable conditions. Sometimes you are drowning in the waves of material nature, and sometimes you are tossed like a swimmer struggling in the ocean." As confirmed by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, this tendency to be battered by the waves of māyā can be changed to one's original, natural tendency, which is spiritual, when the living entity comes to understand that he is eternally kṛṣṇa-dāsa, a servant of God, Kṛṣṇa.
- (jīva) kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa,
- karle ta' āra duḥkha nāi
If instead of serving māyā under different names, one turns his service attitude toward the Supreme Lord, he is then safe, and there is no more difficulty. If one returns to his original, natural tendency in the human form of life by understanding the perfect knowledge given by Kṛṣṇa Himself in the Vedic literature, one's life is successful.
The goodness of the great sage Nārada Muni is described herewith. He always chants about the pastimes of the Lord and delivers the fallen souls back to Godhead. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung:
- nārada-muni, bājāya vīṇā,
- 'rādhikā-ramaṇa'-nāme
- nāma amani, udita haya,
- bhakata-gīta-sāme
- amiya-dhārā, variṣe ghana,
- śravaṇa-yugale giyā
- bhakata-jana, saghane nāce,
- bhariyā āpana hiyā
- mādhurī-pūra, āsaba paśi',
- mātāya jagata-jane
- keha vā kāṅde, keha vā nāce,
- keha māte mane mane
- pañca-vadana, nārade dhari',
- premera saghana rola
- kamalāsana, nāciyā bale,
- 'bola bola hari bola'
- sahasrānana, parama-sukhe,
- 'hari hari' bali' gāya
- nāma-prabhāve, mātila viśva,
- nāma-rasa sabe pāya
- śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāma, rasane sphuri',
- purā'la āmāra āśa
- śrī-rūpa-pade, yācaye ihā,
- bhakativinoda dāsa
The purport of this song is that Nārada Muni, the great soul, plays a stringed instrument called a vīṇā, vibrating the sound rādhikā-ramaṇa, which is another name for Kṛṣṇa. As soon as he strokes the strings, all the devotees begin responding, making a very beautiful vibration. Accompanied by the stringed instrument, the singing seems like a shower of nectar, and all the devotees dance in ecstasy to the fullest extent of their satisfaction. While dancing, they appear madly intoxicated with ecstasy, as if drinking the beverage called mādhurī-pūra. Some of them cry, some of them dance, and some of them, although unable to dance publicly, dance within their hearts. Lord Śiva embraces Nārada Muni and begins talking in an ecstatic voice, and seeing Lord Śiva dancing with Nārada, Lord Brahmā also joins, saying, "All of you kindly chant 'Hari bol! Hari bol!' " The King of heaven, Indra, also gradually joins with great satisfaction and begins dancing and chanting "Hari bol! Hari bol!" In this way, by the influence of the transcendental vibration of the holy name of God, the whole universe becomes ecstatic. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, "When the universe becomes ecstatic, my desire is satisfied. I therefore pray unto the lotus feet of Rūpa Gosvāmī that this chanting of harer nāma (CC Adi 17.21) may go on nicely like this."
The four classes of neophyte devotees who approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead to offer devotional service because of material motives are not pure devotees, but the advantage for such materialistic devotees is that they sometimes give up their material desires and become pure. When the demigods are utterly helpless, they approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead in grief and with tears in their eyes, praying to the Lord, and thus they become almost pure devotees, free from material desires. Admitting that they have forgotten pure devotional service because of extensive material opportunities, they fully surrender to the Lord, leaving to His consideration whether to maintain them or annihilate them. Such surrender is necessary. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings, mārabi rākhabi-yo icchā tohārā: "O Lord, I fully surrender unto Your lotus feet. Now, as You desire, You may protect me or annihilate me. You have the full right to do either."
None of these conditions of the living entities—namely, deep sleep, dreaming and wakefulness—is substantial. They are simply displays of various phases of conditional life. There may be many mountains, rivers, trees, bees, tigers and snakes that are situated far away, but in a dream one may imagine them to be nearby. Similarly, as one has subtle dreams at night, when the living entity is awake he lives in gross dreams of nation, community, society, possessions, skyscrapers, bank balance, position and honor. Under the circumstances, one should know that his position is due to his contact with the material world. One is situated in different positions in various forms of life that are all but creations of the illusory energy, which works under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Supreme Lord is the ultimate actor, and the conditioned living entity should simply remember this original actor, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. As living entities, we are being carried away by the waves of prakṛti, or nature, which works under the Lord's direction (mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram [Bg. 9.10)). Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings, (miche) māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese', khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi: "Why are you being carried away by the waves of the illusory energy in various phases of dreaming and wakefulness? These are all creations of māyā." Our only duty is to remember the supreme director of this illusory energy—Kṛṣṇa. For us to do this, the śāstra advises us, harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21): one should constantly chant the holy name of the Lord—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
This material world resembles the waves of a constantly flowing river. Therefore, what is a curse and what is a favor? What are the heavenly planets, and what are the hellish planets? What is actually happiness, and what is actually distress? Because the waves flow constantly, none of them has an eternal effect.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings, (miche) māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese', khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi: "My dear living entities within this material world, why are you being carried away by the waves of the modes of material nature?" (Jīva) kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa, karle ta' āra duḥkha nāi: "If the living entity tries to understand that he is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, there will no longer be misery for him." Kṛṣṇa wants us to give up all other engagements and surrender unto Him. If we do so, where will the cause and effect of this material world be? There is nothing like cause and effect for the surrendered soul. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says in this regard that being put into this material world is like being thrown into a mine of salt. If one falls into a mine of salt, he tastes only salt wherever he goes. Similarly, this material world is full of miseries. The so-called temporary happiness of the world is also misery, but in ignorance we cannot understand this. That is the actual position. When one comes to his senses—when he becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious—he is no longer concerned with the various conditions of this material world. He is not concerned with happiness or distress, curses or favors, or heavenly or hellish planets. He sees no distinction between them.
SB Canto 7
True oneness, however, is not equivalent to the conception of the Māyāvādīs. The true understanding is that the differences are manifested by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The seed is manifested as a tree, which displays varieties in its trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore sung, keśava tuyā jagata vicitra: "My dear Lord, Your creation is full of varieties." The varieties are one and at the same time different. This is the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. The conclusion given in Brahma-saṁhitā (Bs. 5.1) is this:
- īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
- sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
- anādir ādir govindaḥ
- sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
"Kṛṣṇa, known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes." Because the Lord is the supreme cause, everything is one with Him, but when we consider varieties, we find that one thing is different from another.
The more one becomes the servant of the servant, the more one becomes perfect in devotional service. This is also the injunction of Bhagavad-gītā: evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). One can understand the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by the paramparā system. In this regard, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, tāṅdera caraṇa sevi bhakta-sane vāsa: "Let me serve the lotus feet of the devotees of the Lord, and let me live with devotees." Janame janame haya, ei abhilāṣa. Following Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, one should aspire to be a servant of the Lord's servant, life after life. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura also sings, tumi ta' ṭhākura, tomāra kukura, baliyā jānaha more: "O my Lord, O Vaiṣṇava, please consider me your dog." One must become the dog of a Vaiṣṇava, a pure devotee, for a pure devotee can deliver Kṛṣṇa without difficulty. Kṛṣṇa se tomāra, kṛṣṇa dite pāra. Kṛṣṇa is the property of His pure devotee, and if we take shelter of a pure devotee, he can deliver Kṛṣṇa very easily. Prahlāda wants to engage in the service of a devotee, and therefore he prays to Kṛṣṇa, "My dear Lord, kindly give me the shelter of Your very dear devotee so that I may engage in his service and You may then be pleased." Mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā (SB 11.19.21). The Lord says, "Engaging in the service of My devotee is better than trying to engage in My devotional service."
The living entities in the material world, not only at the present but also in the past, have been involved in trying to solve the problem of birth and death. Some stress death and point to the illusory existence of everything material, whereas others stress life, trying to preserve it perpetually and enjoy it to the best of their ability. Both of them are fools and rascals. It is advised that one observe the eternal time factor, which is the cause of the material body's appearance and disappearance, and that one observe the living entity's entanglement in this time factor. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore sings in his Gītāvalī:
- anādi karama-phale, paḍi' bhavārṇava-jale,
- taribāre nā dekhi upāya
One should observe the activities of eternal time, which is the cause of birth and death. Before the creation of the present millennium, the living entities were under the influence of the time factor, and within the time factor the material world comes into existence and is again annihilated. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Being under the control of the time factor, the living entities appear and die, life after life. This time factor is the impersonal representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who gives the living entities conditioned by material nature a chance to emerge from this nature by surrendering to Him.
The mind is always agitated by acceptance and rejection, which are compared to mental waves that are constantly tossing. The living entity is floating in the waves of material existence because of his forgetfulness. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore sung in his Gītāvalī: miche māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese', khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi. "My dear mind, under the influence of māyā you are being carried away by the waves of rejection and acceptance. Simply take shelter of Kṛṣṇa." Jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa, karle ta' āra duḥkha nāi: if we simply regard the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa as our ultimate shelter, we shall be saved from all these waves of māyā, which are variously exhibited as mental and sensual activities and the agitation of rejection and acceptance.
SB Canto 8
In the higher planetary systems, there are not only different types of human beings, but also animals like lions and elephants. There are trees, and the land is made of emeralds. Such is the creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung in this regard, keśava! tuyā jagata vicitra: "My Lord Keśava, Your creation is colorful and full of varieties." Geologists, botanists and other so-called scientists speculate about other planetary systems, but being unable to estimate the varieties on other planets, they falsely imagine that all planets but this one are vacant, uninhabited, and full of dust. Although they cannot even estimate the varieties existing throughout the universe, they are very proud of their knowledge, and they are accepted as learned by persons of a similar caliber.
SB Canto 9
Mahārāja Nimi did not want to accept a material body, which would be a cause of bondage; because he was a devotee, he wanted a body by which he could render devotional service to the Lord. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings:
- janmāobi more icchā yadi tora
- bhakta-gṛhe jani janma ha-u mora
- kīṭa-janma ha-u yathā tuyā dāsa
"My Lord, if You want me to take birth and accept a material body again, kindly do me this favor: allow me to take birth in the home of Your servant, Your devotee. I do not mind being born there even as an insignificant creature like an insect." Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also said:
- na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
- kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye
- mama janmani janmanīśvare
- bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukyī tvayi
(Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4)
"O Lord of the universe, I do not desire material wealth, materialistic followers, a beautiful wife or fruitive activities described in flowery language. All I want, life after life, is unmotivated devotional service to You." (Śikṣāṣṭaka 4) By saying "life after life" (janmani janmani), the Lord referred not to an ordinary birth but a birth in which to remember the lotus feet of the Lord. Such a body is desirable. A devotee does not think like yogīs and jñānīs, who want to refuse a material body and become one with the impersonal Brahman effulgence. A devotee does not like this idea. On the contrary, he will accept any body, material or spiritual, for he wants to serve the Lord. This is real liberation.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
My dear King, wherever people in any position perform their occupational duties of devotional service by chanting and hearing (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ SB 7.5.23), there cannot be any danger from bad elements. Therefore there was no need for anxiety about Gokula while the Supreme Personality of Godhead was personally present.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī spoke this verse to mitigate the anxiety of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore when he understood that Pūtanā was causing disturbances in Gokula, he was somewhat perturbed. Śukadeva Gosvāmī therefore assured him that there was no danger in Gokula. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung: nāmāśraya kari' yatane tumi, thākaha āpana kāje. Everyone is thus advised to seek shelter in the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and remain engaged in his own occupational duty. There is no loss in this, and the gain is tremendous. Even from a material point of view, everyone should take to chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to be saved from all kinds of danger. This world is full of danger (padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām [SB 10.14.58)). Therefore we should be encouraged to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra so that in our family, society, neighborhood and nation, everything will be smooth and free from danger.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
"Dear Sir, by Your influence our minds are greatly satisfied, and we believe that Your words will never be unreasonable. Therefore You may speak on the Vedānta-sūtra."
In this verse the words tomāra prabhāve ("Your influence") are very important. Unless one is spiritually advanced he cannot influence an audience. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung, śuddha-bhakata-caraṇa-reṇu, bhajana-anukūla. "Unless one associates with a pure devotee, he cannot be influenced to understand devotional service." These Māyāvādī sannyāsīs were fortunate enough to meet the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of a devotee, and certainly they were greatly influenced by the Lord. They knew that since a perfectly advanced spiritualist never says anything false, all his words are reasonable and agree with the Vedic version. A highly realized person never says anything that has no meaning. Māyāvādī philosophers claim to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and this has no meaning, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu never uttered such nonsense. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs were convinced about His personality, and therefore they wanted to hear the purport of Vedānta philosophy from Him.
"Therefore I order every man within this universe to accept this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and distribute it everywhere.
In this connection there is a song sung by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura:
- enechi auṣadhi māyā nāśibāra lāgi'
- harināma-mahāmantra lao tumi māgi'
- bhakativinoda prabhu-caraṇe paḍiyā
- sei harināma-mantra la-ila māgiyā
The saṅkīrtana movement has been introduced by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu just to dispel the illusion of māyā, by which everyone in this material world thinks himself to be a product of matter and therefore to have many duties pertaining to the body. Actually, the living entity is not his material body: he is a spirit soul. He has a spiritual need to be eternally blissful and full of knowledge, but unfortunately he identifies himself with the body, sometimes as a human being, sometimes as an animal, sometimes a tree, sometimes an aquatic, sometimes a demigod, and so on. Thus with each change of body he develops a different type of consciousness with different types of activities and thus becomes increasingly entangled in material existence, transmigrating perpetually from one body to another. Under the spell of māyā, or illusion, he does not consider the past or future but is simply satisfied with the short life span that he has gotten for the present. To eradicate this illusion, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has brought the saṅkīrtana movement, and He requests everyone to accept and distribute it. A person who is actually a follower of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura must immediately accept the request of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu by offering respectful obeisances unto His lotus feet and thus beg from Him the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. If one is fortunate enough to beg from the Lord this Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, his life is successful.
All these devotees had unlimited strength to deliver unobstructed, unceasing love of Kṛṣṇa. By their own strength they could offer anyone Kṛṣṇa and love of Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung, kṛṣṇa se tomāra, kṛṣṇa dite pāra, tomāra śakati āche. In this song, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura describes that a pure Vaiṣṇava, as the proprietor of Kṛṣṇa and love of Kṛṣṇa, can deliver both to anyone and everyone he likes. Therefore to get Kṛṣṇa and love of Kṛṣṇa one must seek the mercy of pure devotees. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura also says, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ’pi: "By the mercy of the spiritual master one is blessed by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master one cannot make any advancement." By the grace of a Vaiṣṇava or bona fide spiritual master one can get both love of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa Himself.
CC Madhya-lila
Appreciating Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's favor, Bhavānanda Rāya also said, "Along with my home, riches, servants and five sons, I surrender myself at Your lotus feet."
This is the process of surrender. As Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings:
- mānasa, deha, geha, yo kichu mora
- arpiluṅ tuyā pade nanda-kiśora!
- (Śaraṇāgati)
When one surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord, he does so with everything in his possession—his house, his body, his mind and whatever else he possesses. If there is any obstruction to this surrendering process, one should immediately give it up without attachment. If one can surrender with all his family members, there is no need to take sannyāsa. However, if the surrendering process is hampered by so-called family members, one should immediately give them up to complete the surrendering process.
The living entity is entangled in material existence due to his lack of such spiritual vision. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung in his Kalyāṇa-kalpataru: saṁsāre āsiyā prakṛti bhajiyā "puruṣa" abhimāne mari. When the living entity comes to the material world, he thinks himself the enjoyer. Thus he becomes more and more entangled.
CC Antya-lila
As will be evident from the following verses, the dog got the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and was immediately promoted to Vaikuṇṭha to become an eternal devotee. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore sung, tumi ta" ṭhākura, tomāra kukkura, baliyā jānaha more (Śaraṇāgati 19). He thus offers to become the dog of a Vaiṣṇava. There are many other instances in which the pet animal of a Vaiṣṇava was delivered back home to Vaikuṇṭhaloka, back to Godhead. Such is the benefit of somehow or other becoming the favorite of a Vaiṣṇava. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has also sung, kīṭa-janma ha-u yathā tuyā dāsa (Śaraṇāgati 11). There is no harm in taking birth again and again. Our only desire should be to take birth under the care of a Vaiṣṇava. Fortunately we had the opportunity to be born of a Vaiṣṇava father who took care of us very nicely. He prayed to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī that in the future we would become a servant of the eternal consort of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Thus somehow or other we are now engaged in that service. We may conclude that even as dogs we must take shelter of a Vaiṣṇava. The benefit will be the same as that which accrues to an advanced devotee under a Vaiṣṇava's care.
"A devotee on the topmost platform of devotional service always humbly thinks that he is not rendering any devotional service. He thinks that he is poor in devotional service and that his body is material. On the other hand, those known as the sahajiyās foolishly think that their material bodies are transcendental. Because of this, they are always bereft of the association of pure devotees, and thus they cannot behave like Vaiṣṇavas. Observing the defects of the sahajiyās, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung as follows in his book Kalyāṇa-kalpataru:
- āmi ta' vaiṣṇava, e-buddhi ha-ile,
- amānī nā haba āmi
- pratiṣṭhāśā āsi’, hṛdaya dūṣibe,
- ha-iba niraya-gāmī
- nije śreṣṭha jāni’, ucchiṣṭādi-dāne,
- habe abhimāna bhāra
- tāi śiṣya tava, thākiyā sarvadā,
- nā la-iba pūjā kāra
"If I think I am a Vaiṣṇava, I shall look forward to receiving respect from others. And if the desire for fame and reputation pollutes my heart, certainly I shall go to hell. By giving others the remnants of my food, I shall consider myself superior and shall be burdened with the weight of false pride. Therefore, always remaining your surrendered disciple, I shall not accept worship from anyone else."
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
| Page Title: | Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung...(Books) |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika |
| Created: | 15 of Sep, 2009 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=24, CC=7, OB=1, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 32 |