The Power of Prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana
A lecture delivered on Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam Verses 4, 5 and 6
By Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Kārttika 1996
How to Receive the Mercy of Nāma
Śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana is the best means to attain kṛṣṇa-prema. In Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (2.4.7) Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has written the following verse:
śrī-kṛṣṇa gopāla hare mukunda
govinda he nanda-kiśora kṛṣṇa
hā śrī-yaśodā-tanaya prasīda
śrī-ballavī-jīvana rādhikeśa
O Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Gopāla, Hari, Mukunda, Govinda, O son of Nanda, Kṛṣṇa! O son of Śrī Yaśodā! Life of the gopīs! Lord of Rādhikā! May You be pleased with me!
A person who chants the names of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but who is without the guidance of the gopas and gopīs cannot achieve vraja-prema. This is to be remembered and understood. If we do not contemplate the prema of Mother Yaśodā and the vraja-gopīs for Kṛṣṇa and how it controls Him, we will not be able to achieve it. In the words of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī:
“Vraja-prema is very rare.”
In addition, we must try to understand the instruction that can give us the qualification to chant purely, and we must follow it.
tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
Thinking oneself to be even lower and more worthless than insignificant grass which has been trampled beneath everyone’s feet, being more tolerant than a tree, not desiring any respect, and offering respect to all others according to their respective positions, one should continuously chant the holy name of Śrī Hari.
(Śikṣāṣṭaka 3)
Following this instruction is essential in the beginning stages – most essential. We cannot gallop, or successfully practise beyond our qualification. We should try to follow all these guidelines, such as the instructions of Upadeśāmṛta, beginning with vāco vegam.
I recall a pastime of Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā wherein Kṛṣṇa tells His sons and nephews how to behave so that kṛṣṇa-prema may come:
“You should be very polite and humble towards bhaktas,” He said. “Do not anger them. And if by chance you do so and they curse you in some way, you should remain meek and quiet. Do not become angry in return and seek revenge.”
If you want to have these moods, and if you want to stay in Vraja serving Kṛṣṇa forever, you will also have to follow such instructions as:
yadīccher āvāsaṁ vraja-bhuvi sa-rāgaṁ prati-janur
yuva-dvandvaṁ tac cet paricaritum ārād abhilaṣeḥ
svarūpaṁ śrī rūpa sa-gaṇam iha tasyāgrajam api
sphuṭaṁ premṇā nityaṁ smara nāma tadā tvaṁ śṛṇu manaḥ
My dear mind, please hear me. If you are eager to gain residence in Vraja on the platform of rāgātmikā-bhakti, and if you desire to obtain the direct service of nava-yugala-kiśora, Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, then birth after birth always distinctly remember and bow down with great love to Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī and his elder brother Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, and all other associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who are the recipients of His mercy.
(Śrī Manaḥ-śikṣā 3)
Unless we follow such instructions, Nāma Prabhu will not manifest His svarūpa and all rasa in our heart.
Darśana in the Heart
varaṁ deva! mokṣaṁ na mokṣāvadhiṁ vā
na cānyaṁ vṛṇe ’haṁ vareśād apīha
idaṁ te vapur nātha! gopāla-bālaṁ
sadā me manasy āvirāstāṁ kim anyaiḥ
O Deva, although You are capable of granting any boon, I do not pray to You for liberation, eternal life in Vaikuṇṭha, or for any other benediction that may be obtained by executing the nine processes of bhakti. O Nātha, may Your form as Bāla-Gopāla forever remain manifest in my heart. Besides this, what is the use of any other benediction?
(Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam 4)
Satyavrata Muni prays that Kṛṣṇa, as Bāla-Gopāla, should forever remain manifest in his heart. In Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī’s commentary on Dāmodarāṣṭakam, named Dig-darśinī, on this verse, he gives a slight, but not yet conclusive indication that the darśana of Kṛṣṇa in the heart is superior to direct darśana of Him with one’s material eyes. He elaborates on this point in his Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta. My Gurudeva, nitya-līlā praviṣṭa Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, collected this from Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta and included it as a footnote to his publication of the Dig-darśinī ṭīkā.
We want to see Śrī Kṛṣṇa with these eyes, but mortal eyes cannot take darśana of Kṛṣṇa, who is sac-cid-ānanda (eternal, fully cognisant and all blissful). These bodies are made of five material elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether. Our material eyes cannot even see our own souls, what to speak of the Supersoul. The conclusion is that we should try to see Kṛṣṇa not with these eyes but rather with our ears.
Pippalāyana Ṛṣi Instructs Gopa-kumāra
The footnotes taken from Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta explain that Gopa-kumāra was a unique bhakta who desired to see Kṛṣṇa with his very eyes. He journeyed from this earth to Tapoloka, where Pippalāyana and other ṛṣis were performing austerities. Initially he was charmed by their tapasya, but then he began to recall the gopāla-mantra. By the effect of that remembrance, he lost faith in the value of austerity.
Pippalāyana Ṛṣi told him:
“Why are you wandering here and there?
If you stay here with us and perform tapasya, you will receive darśana of Kṛṣṇa within your heart. If you don’t, it will not be possible, for material eyes cannot take darśana of Kṛṣṇa.”
Gopa-kumāra replied:
“I hanker to see Him with these very eyes.
If those who have performed austerities, such as Lord Brahmā and Dhruva Mahārāja, have seen Kṛṣṇa and Lord Nārāyaṇa with their eyes, why can’t I?”
Pippalāyana Ṛṣi answered:
“They have not seen Lord Nārāyaṇa or anyone with their material eyes; they have realised Him within their hearts.”
Sahajiyās desire to become gopīs or other transcendental personalities with their material bodies. They adopt feminine hair-styles and dress, wear ornaments and ‘become’ Lalitā or Viśākhā-sakhī. This is not only incorrect; it is offensive. It is māyāvādism or sahajiyāism. To avoid making such a mistake, we should simply endeavour to follow the teachings of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī. By following in their disciplic line we will receive Kṛṣṇa’s darśana. It is not possible for this material body, which we will be forced to abandon, to become sac-cid-ānanda. We must be prepared to give it up.
Pippalāyana Ṛṣi went on to give several examples from śāstra to prove that we cannot see Śrī Kṛṣṇa or any other transcendental personality with our material eyes. Nevertheless, Gopa-kumāra had vowed to do so.
Gopa-kumāra had taken birth in Govardhana and travelled throughout the universe seeking his inner fulfilment. In the course of his journey, he gradually became purified, and passed through different levels of realisation. By chanting the gopāla-mantra, he was able to pass beyond Brahmaloka and Siddhaloka. Then, by performing nāma-saṅkīrtana (śrī kṛṣṇa-gopāla hare mukunda), he eventually came to Vaikuṇṭha and finally to Goloka Vṛndāvana. Only when he was in Goloka Vṛndāvana could he see Kṛṣṇa directly. Darśana of Him is not possible with these present eyes in this present condition. Pippalāyana Ṛṣi had explained to Gopa-kumāra that it is not possible to see Kṛṣṇa with material eyes because they cannot see spirit. He then instructed him to see Kṛṣṇa within his heart.
“The heart is also material,”
Gopa-kumāra replied:
“So how can I see Kṛṣṇa there?”
Pippalāyana Ṛṣi said:
“If we take a variety of material objects, like iron, wood and a mirror, we will be able to see our face in the mirror, but not in the other objects. Similarly, we can see the Lord within our heart, but we cannot see Him with our eyes. The eye is a separate, localised unit and therefore it is limited. Consequently, it cannot fully perceive the Lord.”
Gopa-kumāra then argued that the heart is also a localised, separate part of the body. Pippalāyana Ṛṣi responded by giving another example, this time using the material objects of iron, wood and rubber. He said that we cannot stretch iron and wood, but rubber, which is also material, can be stretched. Similarly, although the heart is located in just one part of the body, it is flexible and can expand to accommodate perception of the Lord along with His associates, pastimes and so forth. It has the power to see the Lord in full. He said that although it seemed that Dhruva Mahārāja took darśana of the Lord through his eyes, he actually saw Him in his heart.
The eyes can see only one part of the Lord at a time; they cannot perceive His whole form. But this is possible for the heart.
And even if the eyes can see the Lord, where does one feel the bliss of beholding His form?
The eyes have no capacity to experience bliss, but the heart does. When the Lord is perceived in the heart, bliss is felt in the heart.
Kṛṣṇa Cannot Bestow Prema
idaṁ te mukhāmbhojam avyakta-nīlair
vṛtaṁ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā
muhuś cumbitaṁ bimba-raktādharaṁ me
manasy āvirāstām alaṁ lakṣa-lābhaiḥ
O Deva! May Your lotus-like face which is framed by Your cascading, glossy black curly locks tinged with red, which is kissed again and again by Mother Yaśodā, and which is beautified by lips as red as ripe bimba fruits, always remain visible in my heart. Millions of other benedictions are of no use to me. (Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam 5)
Satyavrata Muni prayed:
“You can award millions of benedictions as You are the master of all who bestow them. Yet I want nothing from You but that Your lovely face, weeping while You are controlled by Your mother’s prema-bhakti, should manifest in my heart.”
This is the prayer of a vātsalya-rāgānuga bhakta (one who is aspiring to attain spontaneous devotion in the mood of parental love), so it is a very high sentiment. Such bhaktas are extremely rare. This kind of prema can only be achieved by the mercy of Mother Yaśodājī, the original undivided embodiment (akhaṇḍa-mūrti) of vātsalya-rasa. A person may perform sādhana-bhakti in millions of ways, beginning with śravaṇa, kīrtana and viṣṇu-smaraṇam, but if he is not under the guidance of Śrīmatī Yaśodā-devī, he cannot achieve this kind of prema.
Kṛṣṇa cannot bestow this vātsalya-prema because He does not possess it; He simply enjoys receiving it. Mother Yaśodā, however, is the abode of the original, undivided vātsalya-rasa. If we want to have an affection and love like hers, we can get it exclusively from her, not from Kṛṣṇa. He can give His almightiness, but He cannot give such prema. This indicates that there must be some lacking in Him.
It is for this reason that He took Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s mood and appeared in this world in the form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
What need was there for Him to take Her mood?
Kṛṣṇa is the viṣaya (object, or enjoyer) of the devotee’s love for Him. He is not the āśraya, or the abode of that love. He wanted to experience the emotions of one who has that prema. We must take shelter of one who is the abode of prema if we want to attain any rasa – śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya or mādhurya.
That is why Satyavrata Muni prayed to Kṛṣṇa that His form of Bāla-gopāla manifest in his heart. Darśana in the heart depends on the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and also on His devotees’ mercy. Without their grace you cannot achieve this kind of prema.
Kṛṣṇa’s Beauty Defies Description
Avyakta-nīlair, vṛtaṁ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś. Kṛṣṇa’s lotus face is covered by His curling, glossy hair which is avyakta-nīlair. No material word can adequately describe its beauty.
Avyakta-nīlair means parama-śyāmal, or “extremely dark blue”.
Snigdha means “very soft and glossy”.
Raktaś means “reddish”
Kuntala, “curly”.
Bimba-raktādharaṁ – His lips are likened to the bimba fruit. The bimba fruit is very soft. When any pressure is applied to it, juice immediately oozes from under its skin. Similarly when any pressure is applied to Kṛṣṇa’s lips, nectar flows out. His curly black hair, which is very beautiful, appears to be millions of bees hovering around the face of Kṛṣṇa, which is kissed again and again by gopyā – Mother Yaśodā. According to Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, gopyā also means Śrī Rādhā. They both are so fortunate, so fortunate. He explains that the gopīs pray to have the good fortune of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s earrings, which always kiss His cheeks.
Satyavrata Muni prays:
“I want that very face which is kissed again and again by Mother Yaśodā to forever manifest in my heart – not only for this life, but forever.”
Satyavrata Muni thought:
“Mother Yaśodā is so fortunate!
What austerities must she have performed to have the fortune of kissing Kṛṣṇa’s cheeks?
In what holy tīrtha has she taken bath?
To whom has she generously given charity?”
Like a flash of lightening, the form of Kṛṣṇa manifested for a split second in the heart of Satyavrata Muni, and he fainted. Then, overwhelmed by anxiety, he began to weep and describe what he saw in his samādhi darśana – the beauty of Kṛṣṇa. If we tried to describe Him, our description would not be accurate. We can only truly describe Him when we have actually seen Him, even if it is only a glimpse. And even then, no material words suffice.
So Satyavrata Muni is saying:
Lakṣa-lābhaiḥ – “I do not wish for millions of benedictions. I only want that Your exquisitely beautiful face manifest in my heart.”
Nāma-saṅkīrtana is the means to attain direct darśana of Kṛṣṇa
namo deva! dāmodarānanta viṣṇo!
prasīda prabho! duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu
gṛhāṇeśa! mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ
Obeisances O Deva! O Dāmodara! O Ananta, who is endowed with inconceivable potency! O all-pervading Viṣṇu! O my master! O supremely independent controller of all! Be pleased with me. I am deeply sunk in the ocean of sorrow. Please favour me by showering the rain of Your merciful glance upon this surrendered soul, who is so pitifully fallen. Please grant me Your direct darśana.
(Dāmodarāṣṭakam 6)
Absorbed in this prayer, Satyavrata Muni wept in separation and prayed:
“How will I see this exquisitely beautiful, fragrant, soft, sweet face?”
He contemplated this for a moment and concluded that if he did not perform nāma-saṅkīrtana, he would not be able to please Kṛṣṇa. Without pleasing Him, He would not reveal His lovely face. Therefore, Satyavrata Muni offered this prayer. There are so many kinds of sādhana, all of which must be assisted by nāma-saṅkīrtana, especially in Kali-yuga. Any type of bhakti performed without nāma-saṅkīrtana cannot bear fruit.
Kīrtana is of many types:
Nāma-kīrtana (chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names),
Guṇa-kīrtana (chanting about His qualities),
Rūpa-kīrtana (chanting about His form),
Līlā-kīrtana (chanting about His pastimes)
And parikara-kīrtana (glorifying His associates).
Among them, nāma-saṅkīrtana is foremost. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī confirms this in Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (2.3.158)
kṛṣṇasya nānā-vidha-kīrtaneṣu
tan-nāma-saṅkīrtanam eva mukhyam
tat-prema-sampat-janane svayaṁ drāk
śaktaṁ tataḥ śreṣṭha-tamaṁ mataṁ tat
Nāma-saṅkīrtana is primary among the various types of kīrtana of Kṛṣṇa. It is considered superior to all others because it has the power to immediately invoke the wealth of prema for Him.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s names are of two types: primary (mukhya) and secondary (gauṇa). Among His primary names, His Vraja names, such as Yaśodā-nandana, Nanda-nandana, Śyāmasundara, Rādhā-ramaṇa, Rādhā-Govinda, Rādhā-Gopīnātha and Madana-mohana are supreme. By chanting them we can attain all perfection.
Gopa-kumāra thus began to chant:
śrī-kṛṣṇa gopāla hare mukunda
govinda he nanda-kiśora kṛṣṇa
hā śrī-yaśodā-tanaya prasīda
śrī-ballavī-jīvana rādhikeśa
O Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Gopāla, Hari, Mukunda. O Govinda, O son of Nanda, Kṛṣṇa, O son of Śrī Yaśodā, O life of the gopīs, O Lord of Rādhikā, may You be pleased with me.
Gopa-kumāra began his nāma-saṅkīrtana by chanting:
“Śrī Kṛṣṇa”.
But this did not satisfy him because he had not yet addressed Kṛṣṇa by any name associated with His beloved devotees.
He therefore cried out:
“Hari”, “Mukunda”, “Govinda” and other names.
O Nanda-kiśora Kṛṣṇa! Hā Śrī Yaśodā-tanaya (O son of Yaśodā-devī),
Prasīda – be pleased with me.
Śrī-ballavī-jīvana.
Who is superior among all ballavī, or gopī beloveds of Kṛṣṇa?
Śrīmatī Rādhikā.
For this reason he says:
“Ballavī-jīvana!” “Rādhā-jīvana!”
By chanting these names of Kṛṣṇa, Gopa-kumāra passed through all of the Vaikuṇṭha planets and eventually arrived in Vraja.
After catching a glimpse of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus face in his heart, Satyavrata Muni prayed to Śrī Dāmodara to receive His direct darśana. Since this is only granted when one performs saṅkīrtana of Dāmodara’s holy names, Satyavrata Muni started nāma-saṅkīrtana by saying:
“Namo deva – O Deva, obeisances.”
He did not say “tubhyama – unto You’’. In his commentary Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains that the omission of the word tubhyama is like an ellipsis, where a word or phrase necessary to complete a grammatical construction is omitted, but at the same time understood in the context. Here tubhyama has not been used directly by Satyavrata Muni, either due to fear or reverence, or due to losing control of himself from the prema arising within him.
In verses four and five, Satyavrata Muni prayed for Kṛṣṇa to appear in His heart. When Kṛṣṇa mercifully did so, however, Satyavrata Muni remained dissatisfied because he could not talk with Kṛṣṇa or see Him before his eyes, and therefore he could not serve Him. He thus prayed:
“O Deva, O Dāmodara, O Ananta, O Viṣṇu, O Supreme Controller of all, O Prabhu! Please be causelessly merciful to me – causelessly merciful – and appear before me; I yearn to see You.”
The word deva means “playful”, or “sportive”.
Satyavrata Muni prayed:
“O Deva, I want to see You as You play in Vraja, bound by the love of Mother Yaśodā.”
He prayed:
“O Dāmodara, You are causelessly merciful, and You are controlled by Your devotees’ love. I understand that you will become pleased with me if I perform bhakti. The very name ‘Dāmodara’ denotes Your pastime of being tied around the belly by mother Yaśodā. Your being controlled by the love of Mother Yaśodā reveals Your nature of being bhakta-vatsala, or particularly affectionate to Your devotees. If I call out the name ‘Dāmodara’ You will surely be affectionate to me, also.”
Satyavrata Muni then addresses Him as Viṣṇu, which means “all pervading”.
“O Viṣṇu, You reside in the hearts of all living beings. You therefore know my heart and the ocean of suffering and sorrow I am immersed in.”
The Anguish of Satyavrata Muni’s Prayer
What is the nature of the suffering of a bhakta like Satyavrata Muni?
When we pray like this, it is out of desperation for relief from suffering in the ocean of birth and death. His prayer, however, was not motivated by material suffering, but by overwhelming feelings of separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Furthermore, when Satyavrata Muni says;
“Duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam – I am drowning in the ocean of suffering and sorrow”
He means he is alone and without sādhu-saṅga. Satyavrata Muni knows that the association of bona fide Vaiṣṇavas easily affords one Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s darśana. But now he is suffering because he is bereft of sādhu-saṅga, and consequently of Kṛṣṇa’s darśana.
We, however, do not give sādhu-saṅga any importance, even if it is available. But we must. Without the grace of sādhus we cannot achieve kṛṣṇa-prema, especially a calibre of prema like the vātsalya-prema of Mother Yaśodā. We should pray:
“Kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu – kindly cast Your merciful glance upon me. That merciful glance should be causeless because I feel hopeless, having no sādhana-bhajana.”
Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and other exalted Vaiṣṇavas also pray like this.
In his Stava-mala, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī prays:
prācīnānāṁ bhajanam-atulaṁ duṣkaraṁ śṛṇvato me
nairāśyena jvalati hṛdayaṁ bhakti-leśālasasya
viśvadrīcīm-agha-hara tavākarṇya kāruṇya-vīcīm
āśā-bindū kṣitam-idam upaity-antare hanta śaityam
O slayer of Aghāsura, destroyer of sins! When I hear of the extremely rigorous sādhana and bhajana undertaken by great souls like Śrī Śuka and Mahārāja Ambarīṣa in former times, my heart, which is devoid of any trace of bhakti, becomes stricken with remorse and hopelessness. Because I will never be able to perform such difficult bhajana and sādhana, I feel that I will never obtain Your lotus feet. But when I see the waves of mercy You have diffused everywhere – from Brahmā down to the most heinous sinners – my heart is again pacified and instilled with a ray of hope.
(Tri-bhaṅgī-pañcakam 2)
The Intensity of Sādhana-bhajana in Separation
In this prayer, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī is saying:
“I have heard that Droṇa and Dhāra worshipped Lord Nārāyaṇa for four yugas. And I have heard that some of the sādhana-siddha gopīs performed sādhana for countless kalpas. As they practised, many Brahmās came and went. And it was only then that they attained gopī-bhāva.”
This prema is so rare that we will never be able to attain it without the causeless mercy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmyāṣṭakam (6) states:
saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau
nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau cātyanta-dīnau ca yau
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-guṇa-smṛter madhurima ānandena sammohitau
vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau
I worship the six Gosvāmīs, who passed their time by humbly fulfilling their vow to daily complete a fixed amount of harināma and offer daṇḍavat-praṇāma. In this way they utilised their valuable lives and conquered over eating and sleeping. Always seeing themselves as completely worthless, they became enchanted in divine rapture by remembering Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s sweet qualities.
rādhā-kuṇḍa-taṭe kalinda-tanayā-tīre ca vaṁśīvaṭe
premonmāda-vaśād aśeṣa-daśayā grastau pramattau sadā
gāyantau ca kadā harer guṇa-varaṁ bhāvābhibhūtau mudā
vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau
I offer daṇḍavat-praṇāma to the six Gosvāmīs, who became mad in prema (premonmāda) in separation from Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes they went to the banks of Rādhā-kuṇḍa or the Yamunā and sometimes to Vaṁśī-vaṭa. Intoxicated by kṛṣṇa-prema; they were overwhelmed in bhāva and jubilantly sang of Śrī Hari’s most sublime and brilliant mādhurya-rasa.
(Śrī Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmyāṣṭakam 7)
The word aśeṣa in the above-mentioned verse refers to the six Gosvāmīs’ aṣṭa-sāttvika bhāvas, or bodily transformations born from eight types of ecstasy. Some-times in their intense separation their condition almost culminated in the tenth stage of life – death. The six Gosvāmīs were at Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa, rolling on the earth, wandering around Vṛndāvana at Vaṁśi-vaṭa and all other sacred places, weeping and deeply lamenting.
he rādhe braja devike ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ
śrī-govardhana-kalpa-padapa-tale kālindī-vanye kutaḥ
ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedhair mahā-vihvalau
vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau
I offer my obeisances to the six Gosvāmīs, who were always calling out:
“O Rādhā, O Queen of Vṛndāvana, where are You?
O Lalitā, O son of Nanda Mahārāja, where are you?
Are you seated beneath the kalpa-vṛkṣa trees of Śrī Govardhana Hill?
Or are you roaming in all the forests along the soft banks of the Kālindī?”
They were always lamenting, overwhelmed and burning in feelings of great separation as they wandered throughout all Vraja-maṇḍala, searching for Rādhā.
(Śrī Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmyāṣṭakam 8)
The Gosvāmīs ate and drank only enough to maintain their lives, simply taking some dry grains or dry chick peas. Sometimes they ate nothing at all, and sometimes they only took water. If they slept, it was usually for only twenty-four minutes – never more than forty-eight. Never. Sometimes they did not sleep at all – not even for a moment. They spent all their time weeping, lamenting, remembering and discussing the sweet pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs of Vraja. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmīs would associate with each other like this.
Abundant Mercy
Satyavrata Muni felt hopeless, because he could not per-form sādhana-bhajana, and consequently was bereft of Kṛṣṇa’s direct darśana.
“I should die right now,”
He thought. Suddenly a joy entered his heart and he smiled. He prayed:
“Oh, I see that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is causelessly merciful, and that all of His associates are also causelessly merciful. Their mercy showers everywhere.”
Only mountains cannot receive mercy. Rain falls on the head of a mountain, but then it flows down the mountain and collects in a ditch. For one who has the following mood, however, rain (or mercy) can be retained.
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
Thinking oneself to be even lower and more worthless than insignificant grass that has been trampled beneath everyone’s feet, being more tolerant than a tree, being without pride and offering respect to everyone according to their respective positions, one should continuously chant the holy name of Śrī Hari. (Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam 3)
Kṛṣṇa’s mercy falls on the whole world, leaving no place on this earth devoid of it.
saṁsāra-davānala-līḍha-loka-
trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam
prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya
vande guroḥ śrī caraṇāravindam
Just as a rain-cloud extinguishes a blazing forest fire by showering its rain upon it, Śrī Gurudeva, by his rain of divine mercy, delivers the people burning in the fire of material existence, suffering the threefold miseries – ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika, ādhidaivika. I offer prayers unto the lotus feet of Śrī Gurudeva, who manifests when Kṛṣṇa’s mercy becomes very thick and who is an ocean of auspicious qualities.
(Śrī Gurvāṣṭakam 1)
This verse states that Śrīla Gurudeva, who is just like a cloud made of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s grace, sprinkles that mercy everywhere. Those who want to bathe in his mercy may attain prema, yet those who neglect to do so may be deprived of that grace forever. Therefore, Satyavata Muni prays to always have the causeless mercy of Kṛṣṇa.
The Sequence of Prayers in the Development of Sādhana-bhajana
In his commentary Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī states that this āṣṭakam reveals the sequence of Satyavrata Muni’s prayers. In the first and second verses he offers praṇāma to Śrī Hari, who is controlled by the prema of His devotees. In the third verse he offers repeated vandanā, prayers. In the fourth and fifth verses, he condemns all the goals of life beginning with mokṣa, and prays for the Bāla-gopāla form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa to forever manifest in his heart. And in this sixth verse he is praying for the direct darśana of Bhagavān.
Since it is not commonplace to obtain the object of his prayer, it was not appropriate for Satyavrata Muni to request direct darśana of Kṛṣṇa at the beginning of his entreaty. This means that one should not be impatient and neglect the sequence of sādhana-bhajana. One should practise on a level that corresponds to one’s adhikāra. It is also important to know that by performing bhajana-kriya in sādhu-saṅga, one sequentially passes through anartha-nivṛtti and then comes to niṣṭhā, ruci, asakti and then bhāva. At that time one’s stāyī-bhāva, or eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, along with Kṛṣṇa’s form is realised in the heart. This is how rāgānuga-bhakti progresses. And then, in the stage of prema only, one’s hankering becomes so intense one attains direct darśana of Bhagavān.
Satyavrata Muni performed nāma-saṅkīrtana (namo deva dāmodara) with the desire to have the direct darśana of Kṛṣṇa. We should pray to Kṛṣṇa, but more importantly, in our performance of nāma-saṅkīrtana we should also pray to His associates. Without the darśana of Kṛṣṇa, the kaṣāya, or final remaining contamination in the heart, will never go. Only by seeing Kṛṣṇa directly will anartha-nivṛtti be completed. Then, not even a trace of anarthas will exist, nor will there be any chance of them returning. Unless we understand this tattva-siddhānta (conclusive philosophical truth) our bhakti will never develop.
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