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Based
on a series of lectures delivered by
Çré
Çrémad Bhaktivedänta Näräyaëa Gosvämé Mahäräja
on
Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé’s commentary to the final
verse
of
Çré Bhakti-rasäyanain in Çré Båhad-bhägavatämåta
An
Ocean in the Palm of One’s Hand
By
Çréla Bhaktivedänta Näräyaëa Gosvämé Mahäräja
[NOTE: This page uses Balarama font
(available here)
for better transliteration of Sanskrit into English]
jayati
jana-niväso devaké-janma-vado
yadu-vara-pariñat svair dorbhir asyann adharmam
sthira-cara-våjina-ghnaù
su-smita-çré-mukhena
vraja-pura-vanitänäà vardhayan
käma-devam
Çrémad-Bhägavatam
(10.90.48),
Çré
Båhad-bhägavatämåta (2.7.154)
All
glories to Çré Kåñëa who is
known as jana-niväsaù,
He who lives in the hearts of all living entities, or He who is their ultimate
resort. Although He is famous as having taken birth from the womb of Devaké, there is some controversy about this. He is served
by the exalted Yadus, who are His associates. With His
mighty arms, the Päëòavas, He kills the demons; and by
thus destroying irreligion, He dispels the suffering of all living entities,
both moving and inert. His gentle, smiling lotus face always increases the
käma
(prema)
of the gopés
of
Våndävana, as well as the queens of Mathurä and Dvärakä.
Setting
the Scene
As
Çréla Çukadeva Gosvämé spoke this verse, he remembered the sweet pastimes
of Çré Kåñëa – from His
birth to His final days in Dvärakä. This verse not
only encompasses the Mahäbhärata battle, but all
pastimes leading up to it and following it.
After
hearing this verse, Mahäräja Parékñit was about to leave the place where he had been
hearing hari-kathä.
Çré Çukadeva Gosvämé, who was also preparing to depart, said to him,
“Don’t waver or be afraid. Always remember that guru
and
Kåñëa are with you.”
Çréla
Çukadeva Gosvämé gave Mahäräja Parékñit the fruit of
mahat-saìga,
or association with a pure devotee – namely, the paramour mood of a gopé.
This was Çré Parékñit’s
eternal, constitutional position. Çré Parékñit said to Çré Çukadeva Gosvämé, “Now that I have
received what you wanted to give me, I feel fully satisfied.” Çré Parékñit did not think he
would actually
be
fortunate enough to receive this gift, but mahatsaìga
bestows
complete perfection. He never thought
this
highest fruit would come to him, but it did.
If
you are sincere and focused exclusively on Çré Kåñëa, and if you have guru-niñöhä,
unshakable faith in çré
guru,
then your life will very quickly be successful and you will attain this same
goal. Be one-pointed like Parékñit Mahäräja. During Çréla Çukadeva Gosvämé’s
seven-day
narration of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
he asked Parékñit Mahäräja
if he wanted to drink some water, and Parékñit Mahäräja replied, “No, I am satisfied drinking the nectar of
your hari-kathä.”
“Glory
unto Çré Kåñëa!”
jayati
jana-niväso devaké
janma-vado
Çréla
Çukadeva Gosvämé remembered
the entirety of Çré Kåñëa’s
sweet pastimes and said, “Jayati
–
may Çré Kåñëa be glorious.”
What does “glorious” mean here? Why do we pray “Nityänanda Prabhu ki
jaya,
Gauracandra ki
jaya,
Vaiñëava-jana
ki
jaya”?
Jaya,
or glory, means “victory”, the opposite of defeat. By this prayer we mean, “May
the Lord and His associates be victorious over me. May they conquer over all my
anarthas
–
my lust, anger, greed, pride, illusion and envy. May they defeat me. Then I too
will be glorious.”
Çré
Kåñëa: The Shelter of All
Souls
Jana-niväso
means
Çré Kåñëa is everywhere. He
resides within all beings and all beings exist within Him. Niväsa
means
“abode” or “shelter”. Çré Kåñëa is the reservoir and shelter of every living being,
whether demon or demigod, and He supports and nourishes all living
creatures.
The
word jana
has
two meanings. It refers, first, to non-devotees in whose hearts Çré Kåñëa sits as a witness to
their activities. Don’t doubt that Çré Kåñëa sees when we misbehave. He is all-pervading. If you
want to hide your activities from others, it means you are doing
something
crooked.
Çré Kåñëa is everywhere, as
is çré
guru.
You cannot conceal anything from Him.
The
general meaning of jana-niväsa
is
“You are always in the hearts of all beings as the Supersoul”, but Kåñëa cannot
reside in the hearts of His devotees in this form. He can be there only as their
worshipable deity – that is, as their master, friend,
son or lover.
The
second meaning of jana
is
“personal associates”. Here it means “nija-jana”,
the pure Vaiñëavas – that is, His very own devotees.
The Vrajaväsés are this kind of jana.
The residents of Mathurä are also pure devotees, but
they are not as exalted as the Vrajaväsés, for whom
Kåñëa is their very life air. Çré Kåñëa’s nija-jana
include
Yaçodä-maiyä, Nanda Bäbä, the cowherd boys like Çrédäma and Madhumaìgala, and the
gopés.
The Vrajaväsés are His life as much as He is theirs.
The gopés
are
the highest class of jana.
Yaçodä-maiyä is exalted, but the gopés
are
more so; and among all the gopés,
Çrématé Rädhikä is the
highest and the most dear to Kåñëa. If you think Kåñëa is mahat-saìga,
exalted association, then Çrématé Rädhikä is mahéyasé-saìga,
the most exalted association. Her association is even more elevated and
desirable than Çré Kåñëa’s.
Çré
Kåñëa takes shelter in the hearts of His nijajana
and
rests there. In others words, He personally
manifests
there. And to remove the pain of separation
of
His devotees in this world He manifests here as His
many
incarnations.
The
Impartial Lord
Once,
at the time of the Räjasüya-yajïa, Yudhiñöhira Mahäräja asked Çré Närada Åñi a question. This was the same question Parékñit Mahäräja asked Çréla Çukadeva Gosvämé: “Çré Kåñëa is equal to all. Why, then, does He side with the
demigods and fight against the demons to protect them? As Çré Nåsiàhadeva, Çré Räma and other incarnations,
He killed Hiraëyakaçipu, Rävaëa, Kumbhakarëa and other
demons. These activities seem to indicate that the Lord is
partial.”
In
reply, Çré Närada spoke
Canto Seven of Çrémad-
Bhägavatam.
As the Supersoul, Çré Kåñëa lives in the
hearts
of all beings and is therefore equal to all, just as
the
sun shines impartially upon everyone. But if an
owl
shuts its eyes and refuses to come out of its
hideout,
how will it ever be able to see the sun? It will
never
be able to. Demons do not perform bhakti
and
are
like that owl. They don’t believe in God.
Nonetheless,
Çré Kåñëa descends to this
world in His
various
incarnations and bestows His
mercy
upon them.
Çré
Kåñëa, the Son of Yaçodä
Devaké-janma-vado.
The residents of Mathurä and people in general say
that Kåñëa took birth from the womb of Mother Devaké. This statement, however, can be challenged for two
reasons. No one can become the father or mother of the Supreme Lord. Çré Kåñëa is the master and father
of everyone, including Devaké, but He is truly the son
of Çrématé Yaçodä-devé. She
is His real mother. He is partly the son of Devaké and
Vasudeva, but fully the son of Nanda and Yaçodä.
When
Kåñëa released Devaké and
her husband Vasudeva from jail, they returned to their
palace and Devaké wept. She lamented, “How fortunate
Yaçodä is to have directly experienced and relished
Kåñëa’s childhood pastimes. I did not get the chance
to experience this. Çré Kåñëa would beg roöis
and
butter from Yaçodä, but He never once begged anything
from me. He would tell lies to Yaçodä, but He never
once lied to me. Yaçodä is more fortunate than I
am.”
Çré
Kåñëa is para-brahma,
the Supreme Truth. He is the Supersoul, the controller
of everything and the source of all incarnations. His opulence is unsurpassed.
When, as a young boy, Kåñëa put some earth in His
mouth, the gopés
complained
to Yaçodä-maiyä, but Çré
Kåñëa denied what He had done. Yaçodä-maiyä forcibly made Him open His mouth, and there she
beheld His universal form. She saw that He is in fact the Supreme Truth, the
controller of all controllers, the Supersoul, Çré Nåsiàhadeva, etc., and that
all existence lies within Him.
This
verse does not mention Çré Kåñëa’s name directly, but the previous verse does, and this
verse refers to that same Çré Kåñëa. He took birth from the womb of Yaçodä-maiyä, Devaké being but
another name of Yaçodä, and He killed Aghäsura, Bakäsura, Pütanä and other demons, and fought in the Mahäbhärata battle. The context of this verse indicates that
it is referring to Çré Kåñëa. May that Çré Kåñëa be glorious.
At
the beginning of Ratha-yäträ, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu chanted this verse in the mood of Çrématé Rädhikä meeting with Çré Kåñëa at Kurukñetra. By their sentiments, the gopés
brought
Kåñëa to Våndävana at that
time and decorated Him with flowers. In their hearts they forcibly handed Him
the flute He left with Yaçodä-maiyä in Våndävana, along with His peacock feather, and they
whispered in His ear, “Don’t think that Your father and mother are Vasudeva and Devaké. Don’t believe
that You have come from the Yadu dynasty and that You
are a Yädava. Consider Yourself to be a gopa
only.”
Çré Kåñëa replied, “Yes, I
will accept what you say.”
Vanquisher
of the Demons
yadu-vara-pariñat
svair dorbhir asyann adharmam
All
members of the Yadu dynasty are the nija-jana
of
Çré Kåñëa who resides in
Dvärakä, for they are His associates. His arms, the
Päëòavas, destroyed all the demons. He did not
vanquish the demons with His own hands, but through the hands of Bhéma, Arjuna and others. Although
He did kill demons personally, in the Mahäbhärata war
it was Arjuna and Bhéma who
annihilated the entire army of the enemy. Out of affection for His devotees, He
gave all the credit for killing wicked kings like Jaräsandha to His devotees, although He could have easily
performed such a feat Himself, simply by desiring it.
This
verse seems to describe Kåñëa’s pastimes in Dvärakä, but in its deeper meaning it in fact glorifies
Vrajendra-nandana Çré Kåñëa. In Våndävana, Kåñëa killed Pütanä and other
demons with his own arms. Moreover, in Våndävana He
killed the greatest of demons – the deep separation experienced by Çrématé Rädhikä and the
gopés.
He
Who Removes All Suffering
Sthira-cara-våjina-ghnaù
means
“He who removes life’s endless pain and suffering”. Çré Kåñëa takes away the suffering
of all moving and nonmoving living entities in the endless cycle of birth and
death. It also means “He whose flute playing removes all suffering”. Çré Kåñëa’s smiling face increases
the love and affection of the gopés
and
relieves them from their pangs of separation from Him. May this Çré Kåñëa be
glorious.
Sthira-cara-våjina-ghnaù
describes
Çré Kåñëa’s supreme
magnanimity in the form of bestowing His prema-bhakti
to
all living beings. Here, sthira
refers
to non-moving entities of Våndävana, like creepers,
grass and bushes, and cara
to
moving living entities, including worms. Çré Kåñëa does not first look for a reason to bestow His
prema-bhakti
–
such as the recipient’s qualification. Through the gift of prema,
He destroys the material miseries of all beings, as well as the suffering that
comes from separation from Him. When one lights a fire for cooking, darkness and
cold are dissipated as a secondary result. Similarly, when one performs
bhakti,
the cycle of birth and death is halted as a secondary result. Thus, He is truly
glorious.
In
Våndävana, Kåñëa’s smiling
face and flute playing remove the suffering of the Vrajaväsés. What distress do they endure? They suffer only
from feelings of separation from Him. They have no other
problem.
“When one lights a fire for
cooking,
Çré
Kåñëa’s Sweet Smile
This
verse contains the pastimes of Gokula,
Våndävana,
Rädhä-kuëòa and Çyäma-kuëòa,
as well as
the
räsa-lélä
and
all the other pastimes of Vraja:
su-smita-çré-mukhena
vraja-pura-vanitänäà
vardhayan käma-devam
The
smile on Kåñëa’s beautiful face always increases the
käma
(prema)
of the damsels of Våndävana and the queens of Dvärakä. Here, käma-devam
does
not refer to material lust, but to prema.
What kind of prema?
Sneha,
mäna,
praëaya,
räga,
anuräga,
bhäva
and mahäbhäva.
The gopés
tell
Kåñëa, “You are the personification of that Kämadeva.”
Käma-devam
refers
to that Çré Kåñëa who causes
the desire to satisfy Him to appear in the hearts of His devotees. It also means
that by increasing the käma
(prema)
of the gopés,
He destroys any remaining attachment they may have for their relatives in this
world. In other words, He cuts their material entanglement. This käma
is
known to vanquish all types of goals. For the gopés,
however, that same käma,
or prema,
uproots their entanglement in family life. The limits of that käma
increase at every moment, assuming ever new forms.
Çré
Kåñëa resides in the hearts of the gopés
as
Kämadeva. The function of käma
acts
everywhere in this world, but Çré Kåñëa Himself performs that function in the gopés’
hearts.
As Kämadeva, He stimulates käma,
and therefore He exists eternally in full splendour.
Here the words çré-mukhena
mean
“whose gentle, smiling lotus face is full of beauty and sweetness”. He expands
the playful activities of käma,
which are characterised by His enjoyment with
the
gopés
of
Vraja, and thus He exists
gloriously.
If
we take the word pura
to
denote Mathurä and Dvärakä
also, the meaning becomes “He who
stimulates
the käma
of
the vraja-gopés
and
the queens of Mathurä and Dvärakä exists in full glory.” The word pura
also
implies Kåñëa’s going to Mathurä, and thus indicates the gopés’
highest
pangs of separation from Him. Therefore His pastime of leaving Gokula and
then
returning manifests the supreme excellence of His prema.
Another
meaning can be taken: “That person who increases the paramour mood of
käma
(prema)
in others’ wives, namely, the gopés,
intensifies the highest level of suffering. But for this He cannot be blamed. It
is the nature of the gentle, sweet smile on His lotus face to burn the hearts of
others.” The gopés
glorify
Çré Kåñëa’s smile, knowing
that it captivates the hearts of all the living entities and destroys the heat
of lust in His devotees. But they also criticise this
same smile, because it has severed their worldly attachments. This severance,
however, is in fact nothing but Çré Kåñëa’s compassion.
“In
The
Essence of All Vedic Scriptures
It
is with this verse that Çréla Çukadeva Gosvämé concluded his
description of Kåñëa’s pastimes in Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
Mahäräja Parékñit later
recited this same verse at the end of Çré
Båhadbhägavatämåta.
With this one verse, Çréla Çukadeva Gosvämé gave Parékñit Mahäräja – in one handful
– the essence of the entire purport of the Vedas, Puräëas, Mahäbhärata,
Bhagavad-gétä and
Rämäyaëa.
This
verse is indeed the essence of the vast
Mahäräja
Parékñit first drank that nectar himself, thus
becoming immortal and rasika,
that is, realized in all transcendental mellows. He thereafter imparted this
essence to his mother, telling her, “Don’t think of Çré Kåñëa as the Supreme Lord and
the knower of all truths. Don’t think of Him as He who has unlimited opulence.
Think of Him only as the gopés’
most
beloved, and remember Him as your most beloved. May that very Çré Kåñëa, the son
of
Yaçodä-maiyä,
be victorious.”
The
Power of the Holy Name
All
the deep purports of this verse can be realised by
taking shelter of Çré Kåñëa’s holy name. Agastya Åñi’s chanting of the holy name was so powerful that he was
able to control the ocean. By sipping a mere palmful
of water from the sea he dried up the entire ocean. Don’t think that your
chanting will not bear fruit. Through continuous chanting, anarthas
will
disappear and rati
(bhävabhakti)
and sthäyibhäva,
your permanent relationship with Kåñëa, will manifest.
You will become more powerful than Agastya Åñi. Chanting the holy name will end your repeated birth and
death in this world:
harer
näma harer näma
harer nämaiva kevalam
kalau
nästy eva nästy eva
nästy eva gatir anyathä
Çré
Caitanya-caritämåta (Ädi-lélä
17.21)
In
this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the sole means of
deliverance
is chanting the holy name of Çré Kåñëa.
There
is no other way. There is no other way. There
is
no other way.
All
of Çré Kåñëa’s sweet
pastimes will enter the heart of the devotees who chant His holy
name:
harinäma
tuwä aneka svarüpa,
yaçodä-nandana,
änanda-vardhana,
nanda-tanaya
rasa-küpa
Harinäma
Tuwä (1)
O
Harinäma, you possess unlimited forms, such
as
Yaçodä’s
beloved son, He who increases the bliss of
Gokula,
the son of Nanda, and the deep well of rasa.
All
the pastimes of Çré Kåñëa
reside in the mahämantra:
Hare Kåñëa Hare Kåñëa Kåñëa Kåñëa Hare Hare / Hare Räma Hare Räma Räma Räma Hare Hare.
Conclusion
In
his Båhad-bhägavatämåta,
Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé quotes this verse from Canto Ten, which has many
profound meanings. Previously, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu had explained
to him sixty-one meanings of the
ätmäräma
verse
(Çrémad-Bhägavatam
1.7.10).
Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé similarly offers numerous explanations for each word
of the verse jayati
jananiväsaù.
His
sole purpose is to convince his readers to enter the line of kåñëa-bhakti.
He and Caitanya
Mahäprabhu
can explain this verse in countless different ways – each meaning being deeper
and more difficult to fathom than the previous one.
Based
on the following lectures:
24–29
September 2004
(Çré Keçavajé Gauòéya Maöha, Mathurä)
Rays
of the Harmonist No. 14 Karttika
2004
·
