Chapter 7

Sri Bhakta-vacanamrtam - Words of Nectar from the Devotees

Atma-niksepah - Full Self-surrender

7.1-3
        harau dehadi-suddhatma-, paryantasya samarpanam
        eva nihsesa-rupena, hy atma-niksepa ucyate
        atmartha-cesta-sunyatvam, krsnarthaika-prayasakam
        api tan nyasta-sadhyatva-, sadhanatvan ca tat phalam
        evam niksipya catmanam, svanatha-caranambujat
        nakarstum sakunyac capi, sada tanmayatam bhajet

        To summarily offer everything - from body and its paraphernalia up to pure soul - unto the lotus feet of Sri Hari, is known as atma-niksepah, or Full Self-surrender. All selfish pursuits are abandoned and every endeavor is for Krsna alone, and that too, up to the point of completely depending on Krsna for one's personal means and ends. Having thus cast oneself unto the holy lotus feet of one's Lord, one can never be swayed from that position, and he engages in pure devotional service with all his heart forever.

7.4
atma-niksepas-catma-nivedana-rupam -
        krsnayarpita-dehasya, nirmamasyanahankrteh
        manasas tat svarupatvam, smrtam atma:nivedanam
              kesancit

Self-dedication as self-sacrifice -
        "Of one who, out of love for Krsna, has 'died to live' exclusively for the Lord's service, who is devoid of attachment for any other objective, and who is free from egotism - his Godly mentality (or absence of pursuit for personal pleasure, in quest of the Lord's pleasure) is known as atma-nivedana, full self-sacrifice."
                  - revered votary

7.5
tatra cesvarati-samarthya-visvasatvam -
        isvarasya tu samarthyan, nalabhyam tasya vidyate
        tasmin nyasta-bharah sete, tat karmaiva samacaret
              Sri Vyasapadanam

Faith in the infinite capacity of the Lord is to be found within such dedication -
        "Due to His unlimited capacity, nothing whatsoever is unattainable for the Supreme Lord. Thus, to be devoid of self-endeavor, by completely depending upon Him, is to factually execute the purpose of the Lord."
              Sri Vyasadeva

7.6
tad yantram evatmanam anubhavati -
        yat krtam yat karisyami, tat sarvam na maya krtam
        tvaya krtam tu phala-bhuk, tvam eva madhusudana
              Sri Kulasekharasya

The dedicated soul perceives that he is merely an instrument in the hands of the Supreme Lord -
        "O Madhusudana, whatever I have done and whatever I will do, nothing is my endeavor. It is all done by You, and You alone are the enjoyer of the fruit."
                  Sri Kulasekhara

7.7
hrdi tan niyuktatvanubhavan na mithyacarah -
        kenapi devena hrdi sthitena
        yatha niyukto 'smi tatha karomi
          Gautamiya tantre

Hypocrisy cannot show its face in the light of such a heart's revelation -
        "As I am engaged by a Deity within my heart, so do I act."
                Gautamiya Tantra

7.8
govindam vine tatra sarvatmana nanya-bhavah -
        govindam paramanandam, mukundam madhusudanam
        tyaktvanyam vai na janami, na bhajami smarami na
            Sri Vyasapadanam

Within such surrender there is no other conception but Govinda in every thought, word, and deed -
        "I know, worship, and remember no one but the Lord Paramananda, Mukunda, Madhusudana, Govinda."
          Sri Vyasadeva

7.9
sarvatraivabhista-deva-darsanam -
        ito nrsimah parato nrsimho
        yato yato yami tato nrsimhah
        bahir nrsimho hrdaye nrsimho
        nrsimham adim saranam prapadye
          kesancit

Indeed, one's worshipful Deity is seen everywhere -
        "Nrsimha is here, Nrsimha is there - Nrsimha is wherever I go. Nrsimha is outside, Nrsimha is within my heart. I am surrendered unto that primeval Lord Nrsimha."
    - revered votary
7.10
anyabhisandhi-varjjita sthayi-ratir eva syat -
        nathe dhatari bhogi-bhoga-sayane narayane madhave
        deve devakinandane suravare cakrayudhe sarngini
        lilasesa-jagat-prapanca-jathare visvesvare sridhare
        govinde kuru citta-vrttim acalam anyais tu kim vartanaih
              Sri Kulasekharasya

Rejection of all spurious motives facilitates continuous attachment for the Lord -
        "He is your Lord, known by His various pastimes as Vidhata, Anantasayana, Narayana, Madhava, Devata, Devakinandana, Surasrestha, Cakrapani, Sarngi, Visvodara, Visvesvara, Sri Krsna, and Govinda. What more could be desired than to offer your unswerving thoughts unto Him?"
            Sri Kulasekhara

7.11
paramatmani svatmarpanam eva sarvatha veda-tatparyam -
        dharmartha-kama iti yo 'bhihitas tri-varga
        iksa trayi naya-damau vividha ca varta
        manye tad etad akhilam nigamasya satyam
        svatmarpanam sva-suhrdah paramasya pumsah
              Sri Prahladasya

Full self-surrender is the whole purport of the Vedas -
        "The pursuits of religiosity, prosperity, and sensual enjoyment have been delineated as the three ends of human existence. They include the sciences of self-knowledge, elevation, and logic, the principles of government, and various methods of livelihood such as farming, etc. All these pursuits are advocated by those sections of the Vedas dealing with trimodal matters, and therefore I consider them to be transient. On the other hand, I know self-dedication unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the dear well-wisher of the soul, to be the only factual reality propounded by the Vedas."
          Sri Prahlada

7.12
atma-niksepa-paddhatih -
aparadha-sahasra-bhajanam, patitam bhima-bhavarnavodare
agatim saranagatam hare, krpaya kevalam atmasat kuru
              Sri Yamunacaryasya

The pathway to self-dedication -
        "The perpetrator of thousands of offenses, fallen into the terrible ocean of material existence, I have no shelter but You. O Lord Hari, please graciously accept this surrendered soul as one of Your own."
            Sri Yamunacarya

7.13
atra kecid deharpanam evatmarpanam iti manyante -
        cintam kuryan na raksayai, vikritasya yatha pasoh
        tatharpayan harau deham, viramed asya raksanat
              kesancit

Some consider bodily dedication to be self-dedication -
        "As one is indifferent to the upkeep of a sold animal, there will similarly be no cause to be concerned for the upkeep of one's body when it has been offered unto the lotus feet of Sri Hari."
        - revered votary

7.14
gunatita suddha-ketrajnasyaiva samarpitatvopalabdhih -
        vapuradisu yo 'pi ko 'pi va
        gunato 'sani yatha-tatha-vidhah
        tad aham tava pada-padmayor
        aham adyaiva maya samarpitah
        Sri Yamunacaryasya

The transcendental, pure soul's realization of his capacity to offer himself unto the Lord -
        "However I may be materially designated, however my character may be known - now, O Lord, this whole sense of ego is offered by me unto Your holy lotus feet."
        Sri Yamunacarya

7.15
atmarpanasya drstantah -
        tan me bhavan khalu vrtah patir anga jayam
        atmarpitas ca bhavato 'tra vibho vidhehi
        ma virabhagam abhimarsatu caidya arad
        gomayuvan-mrga-pater balim ambujaksa
            Sri Rukminidevyah

An example of offering oneself -
        "O lotus-eyed Lord, I have selected You as my husband, and I offer myself unto You. Therefore, please come and take me as Your wife, before Sisupala, like the jackal plundering the lion's prey, suddenly touches me, who am to be enjoyed by You alone."
    Srimati Rukminidevi

7.16
tatra suddhahankarasya paricaya-samrddher-abhivyaktih -
        naham vipro na ca nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro
        naham varni na ca grha-patir no vana-stho yatir va
        kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher
        gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah
          Sri Sri Bhagavatas Caitanyacandrasya

The vivid revelation of the treasure within the identity of pure ego in self-dedication -
        "I am not a priest, a king, a merchant, or a laborer (brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra); nor am I a student, a householder, a retired householder, or a mendicant (brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasi). I identify myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Sri Krsna, the Lord of the Gopis, who is the personification of the fully expanded (eternally self-revealing) nectarean ocean that brims with the totality of divine ecstasy."
            - the Supreme Lord Sri Caitanyacandra

7.17
aupadhika-dharma-sambandha-cchedas ca -
        sandhya-vandana bhadram astu bhavato bho snana tubhyam namo
        bho devah pitaras ca tarpana-vidhau naham ksamah ksamyatam
        yatra kvapi nisadya yadava-kulottamsasya kamsa-dvisah
        smaram smaram agham harami tad alam manye kim anyena me
              Sri Madhavendra Puripadanam

All connection with formal religion is severed -
        "O morning, noon, and evening prayers, may all good be unto you; O daily ablutions, my respects unto you; O demigods, O forefathers, may you forgive me - I cannot follow the injunctions to offer you libations. Wherever I may be, I shall eradicate my sins, constantly contemplating that jewel of the Yadu dynasty, the slayer of Kamsa, and I think this is sufficient for me. What more could I ever want than this?"
    Sri Madhavendra Puri

7.18
alaukika-bhavodaye laukika-vicara-tucchatvam -
        mugdham mam nigadantu niti-nipuna bhrantam muhur vaidika
        mandam bandhava-sancaya jada-dhiyam muktadarah sodarah
        unmattam dhanino viveka-caturah kamam maha-dambhikam
        moktum na ksamate manag api mano govinda-pada-sprham
                Madhavasya

Awakening of divine affection for Krsna proves worldly opinion mere trivia -
        "The expert moralists may say that I am deluded, the Vedic religionists may insist that I am misled, and my associates may condemn me as uncultured. My own brothers may disrespect me and call me an idiot, the wealthy may say I am mad, and the sharp-witted philosophers may severely criticize me as being a great egotist. Nevertheless, my heart cannot budge in the slightest degree from its aspiration to serve the lotus feet of Sri Govinda."
          Madhava

7.19
hari-rasa-pana-mattanam jana-mata-vicare navakasah -
        parivadatu jano yatha tathayam
        nanu mukharo na vayam vicarayamah
        hari-rasa-madira-mad-atimatta
        bhuvi viluthama natama nirvisamah
          Sri Sarvabhaumapadanam

The people's opinion is of no consequence to the devotees absorbed in the ecstasy of service to Lord Hari -
        "The gossipers may slander us, but we shall not heed them. Completely intoxicated by drinking the wine of the ecstasy of Sri Hari's service, we shall dance, roll on the ground, and faint."
        Sri Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya

7.20        
bahu-manitadvaitananda-simhasanat vraja-rasa-ghana-
murttes-carane lunthana-rupam-atma-niksepanam -
        advaita-vithi-pathikair upasyah
        svananda-simhasana-labdha-diksah
        hathena kenapi vayam sathena
        dasi-krta gopa-vadhu-vitena
        Sri Bilvamangalasya

Abdicating the much-vaunted throne of monistic bliss, to cast oneself unto the service of Sri Krsna, the embodiment of the divine ecstasy of Vrndavana, by rolling in the dust of His lotus feet -
        "Although I am worshippable by the wanderers on the path of monism, and although I have received initiation into ascending the great throne of self-satisfaction, I have been forcibly converted into a maidservant by some deceitful paramour of the Gopis."
      Sri Bilvamangala Thakura

7.21
anugraha-nigrahabhedena sevyanuraga eva atma-niksepah -
        viracaya mayi dandam dinabandho dayam va
        gatir iha na bhavatah kacid anya mamasti
        nipatatu sata-kotir nirbharam va navambhas
        tad api kila payodah stuyate catakena
          Sri Rupapadanam

Genuine self-dedication is deep attachment for one's Master, considering reward and punishment equally -
        "O friend of the needy, whether You chastise me or reward me, in the whole wide world I have no other shelter but You. Whether the thunderbolt strikes or torrents of fresh waters shower down, the Cataka bird (who drinks only the falling rainwater) perpetually goes on singing the glories of the raincloud."
                  Sri Rupa Goswami

7.22
vraja-rasa-lampatasya svairacaresv atma-niksepasyaiva paramotkarsah -
        aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam
        adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va
        yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
        mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah
        Sri Sri Bhagavatas Caitanyacandrasya

The acme of self-dedication is surrender to the whim of Sri Krsna, the paramour of Vrndavana -
        "Krsna may warmly embrace this maidservant of His lotus feet, claiming me as His own, or He may break my heart by not appearing before me. He is wayward, and He may exploit me as He wishes, but He will always be the only Lord of my life."
        - the Supreme Lord Sri Caitanyacandra

7.23
mahaudarya-lilamaya sri-caitanya-caranatma-niksepasya paramatvam -
        patrapatra-vicaranam na kurute na svam param viksate
        deyadeya-vimarsako na hi na va kala-pratiksah prabhuh
        sadyo yah sravaneksana-pranamana-dhyanadina durllabham
        datte bhakti-rasam sa eva bhagavan gaurah param me gatih
              Sri Prabodhanandapadanam

The dignity of casting oneself unto the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Hero in the divine pastimes of supreme magnanimity -
        "He makes no distinction between the worthy and the unworthy, and He does not differentiate between Himself and others; He does not consider who should be given to and who should not, and He makes no preparation for an auspicious or inauspicious moment; and He swiftly awards the rarest nectar of pure devotion beginning with hearing about the Lord, beholding Him, making obeisance unto Him, and absorbing one's thoughts in Him - that Supreme Lord Gaurahari is my one and only shelter."
      Sri Prabodhananda Saraswati

iti sri-prapanna-jivanamrte sri-bhakta-vacanamrtantargata
atma-niksepo nama saptamo 'dhyayah

thus ends the seventh chapter
Full Self-surrender - Words of Nectar from the Devotees
in
Life-Nectar of the Surrendered Souls
Positive and Progressive Immortality

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