Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam --- Verse Seven
Oṁ viṣṇupāda paramahaṁsa parivrājakācārya aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja
Dig-darśinī-vṛtti
In the previous verse, Śrī Satyavrata Muni performed nāma-saṅkīrtana with a melted heart. By the potency of nāma-saṅkīrtana he received direct darśana of his worshipful Dāmodara for just a moment. It is as if Śrī Kṛṣṇa said to him:
“O sage, I am pleased with you. Request anything you wish”
Satyavrata Muni now says:
“Even though You were Yourself bound, You freed the two sons of Kuvera, Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva, who had been cursed by Śrī Nārada to live as twin arjuna trees and You also delivered them from the repeated cycle of birth and death within material existence. Furthermore, You made them the recipients of the highest form of bhakti to You by granting them prema-bhakti. In the same way, please profusely bestow upon me prema-bhakti for You”
Kuvera is the treasurer of the demigods, and his two sons, because of their vast wealth, became intoxicated by pride. The scriptures describe four characteristics that intoxicate a man who possesses them. Great opulence and wealth is one of these. The other three are beauty, learning and noble birth.
A curse given by a saint is identical to his blessing. Both are meant for our ultimate benefit, but we cannot always understand this. Śrī Nārada apparently cursed the sons of Kuvera, Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva:
“Intoxicated by the pride of wealth, you have become so dull that you are acting like trees. So be it. Become trees!”
The moment these words issued from Śrī Nārada’s mouth, the two sons of Kuvera could feel their bodies turning into trees. They fell at Śrī Nārada’s lotus feet and begged him to arrange for their deliverance. Śrī Nārada consoled them:
“Listen, at the end of Dvāpara-yuga, Svayam Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the original personality of Godhead, will appear in Gokula and deliver you.”
Saying this, Śrī Nārada left that place, and subsequently the two brothers took birth as twin Arjuna trees in the courtyard of Śrī Nanda Mahārāja’s house.
After tying up Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Mother Yaśodā returned to the house to churn yoghurt. At that time Śrī Kṛṣṇa recalled this incident and the statement made by His dear devotee, Śrī Nārada, ordaining the deliverance of the two sons of Kuvera. Pretending that He was simply playing with His friends, He crawled over to the two Arjuna trees to deliver them, pulling the grinding mortar behind Him. When He crawled between the two trees, the grinding mortar became lodged between them and as Śrī Kṛṣṇa pulled it with great force, the massive trees came crashing to the ground, making a tumultuous sound.
From the ancient trees, two heavenly personalities at once emerged, circumambulated Śrī Kṛṣṇa and began offering prayers to Him. Śrī Kṛṣṇa then blessed them both with prema-bhakti. Those two personalities became the famous narrators, Madhu-kaṇṭha and Snigdha-kaṇṭha in aprakaṭa Vraja (the unmanifest Vraja-dhāma situated in the heart of the spiritual sky). There, they eternally recite the sweet pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Śrī Nanda Mahārāja’s assembly.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda explains how one can attain prema-bhakti:
ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā
tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ
athāsaktis tato bhāvas tataḥ premābhyudañcati
sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.15–6)
In the heart of the sādhaka, first śraddhā (faith) develops. After that come sādhu-saṅga (association with saints), bhajana-kriyā (regulated devotional activities) and then anartha-nivṛtti (the clearing of unwanted habits). Next the sādhaka develops niṣṭhā in bhajana (fixed determination in devotional service), followed by ruci (taste). Then he develops āsakti (intense attachment) to bhajana and to the object of bhajana, Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa. After this, śuddha-sattva (pure unalloyed transcendental existence) descends in the heart of the sādhaka in the form of bhāva (spiritual emotions) and finally prema arises. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead.
Prema-bhakti actually develops in many sequences but the most celebrated process and the one that is delineated in the scriptures is described here. From time immemorial, all the souls who are averse to Śrī Bhagavān have been tossed about by the countless waves of misery in the fathomless ocean of material existence. They have simply been wandering aimlessly. However, when, by the special grace of Śrī Bhagavān, the time comes for their worldly entanglement to end, they attain the company of devotees. In the association of saints, a sādhaka obtains the great fortune of hearing the glories of the bhaktas, of bhakti and of Bhagavān, directly from the mouths of exalted personalities.
Next, as a result of bhakti-unmukhī-sukṛti (pious merits related to bhakti), transcendental faith, or parmarthika-śraddhā, arises within the sādhaka’s heart. The indication that this kind of śraddhā has awakened in his heart is that he firmly believes in the statements of the scriptures and longs to hear hari-kathā. Upon the dawning of such faith, in a sincere way, he begins to associate with devotees. At this point he begins to practise bhajana and his anarthas start to vanish. His bhajana soon becomes steadfast (niṣṭhā) and he subsequently acquires a taste (ruci) for the process. Eventually he develops profound attachment (āsakti) for his bhajana and for the object of his bhajana, his worshipful Lord. When this stage matures it becomes bhāva, the sprouting stage of ecstatic loving emotions. Then prema finally arises in his heart. This is the sequence in which prema appears within the heart of a sādhaka.
Hearing the prayers of Satyavrata Muni Śrī Kṛṣṇa says:
“O sage, you should accept liberation, which includes complete freedom from all the miseries of material existence.”
The sage responds:
“O my Lord, I may encounter innumerable troubles in this life, and according to my past deeds and impressions I may have to take birth in any species of life or even in hell, but I have no concern for my material fate. I just beg You to give me abundant prema-bhakti for You. This is my only prayer.”
All of our ācāryas explain that if a sādhaka wants to attain this prema-bhakti, he must always seek the association of those who have prema-bhakti for Śrī Bhagavān in their heart. Vṛtrāsura’s prayer found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.11.27) illustrates such a strong aspiration for this type of association:
mamottamaśloka-janeṣu sakhyaṁ
saṁsāra-cakre bhramataḥ sva-karmabhiḥ
tvan-māyayātmātmaja-dāra-geheṣv-
āsakta-cittasya na nātha bhūyāt
O Master, I do not want liberation. I am not concerned if I must repeatedly roam about in this vicious circle of birth and death as a result of my actions. But I pray that wherever I go, and in whichever species I take birth, may I maintain loving friendships with Your dear devotees who have prema-bhakti for You. O master, I pray that I will not have to maintain any relation with those who are subjected to Your illusory potency and are therefore attached to their bodies, homes, wives, children, families and others.
A genuine sādhaka should aspire to have such lobha (intense greed) to attain prema-bhakti for Śrī Bhagavān. This lobha can appear in anyone in any stage of life. If rāgānuga-bhakti (spontaneous loving devotion), which is characterised by intense greed, arises in someone’s heart, he becomes worshipful for the whole world. Furthermore, by his prema-bhakti, he even brings Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is unconquerable, under his control.
Thus, Śrī Satyavrata Muni prays:
“O master, You are bound by the rope of Your mother’s love. Please profusely bestow upon me prema-bhakti for Your form as Dāmodara who is bound by His devotee.”
~ Thus ends the Dig-Darśinī-Vṛttir on the seventh verse ~
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