Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 4, pt. 1 (comm.
by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)
গর-মখপদব ক, হদ কদ মহ শক,
আ ন কদ হ মনন আশ ।
শগরচ ন দ , এই স উতমগদ ,
স# প ন প%ন র'আশ ॥ ৪ ॥
“The words from Śrī Guru’s lotus mouth have great power. Take them into your heart and rely
upon nothing else. Attachment to his lotus feet is the best way to achieve success. By his mercy, all
your hopes will be fulfilled.”
The Gravity of Śrī Guru’s Words
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: After the sādhaka has taken shelter of the lotus feet of a sad-guru who
understands śrī-kṛṣṇa-tattva, meaning after he has accepted dīkṣā-mantras and so on, Śrī Gurudeva
shall give him instructions in sādhana and bhajana, as well as in śrī-kṛṣṇa-tattva, bhakti-
tattva, prema-tattva and rasa-tattva. The instructions flowing from Śrī Gurudeva’s lotus mouth are
as sweet as honey and are like an elixer for the heart and ears. They have a powerful effect in
establishing the sādhaka on the path of bhajana. In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya introduces
this idea by saying guru-mukha-padma-bākya, hṛdi kari mahāśakya, āra nā kariha mane āśā. The
honey-like words falling from the lotus mouth of Śrī Gurudeva, the embodiment of bhagavad-
bhakti-rasa, are ambrosial as well as intoxicating. There is no comparison anywhere to the
instructions that Śrī Gurudeva speaks, his heart melted with affection and compassion, to his
sheltered disciple. The word mahāśakya means ‘endowed with the power to lead one to God.’ The
word bākya means ‘instructive speech concerning the prema-rasa of devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.’
The sādhaka must hold within his heart the words of Śrī Gurudeva (who is the embodiment of pure
devotion to God) and give up all dependence on anything else. The purport is that when the
merciful Lord sees the sad and miserable condition of the māyā-bound people, his heart melts for
them. In order to teach them about the various tattvas and cause them to personally taste the
sweetness of bhajanānanda-rasa, the bhagavat-svarūpa-samaṣṭi-guru (God as the aggregate guru)
empowers some great soul who has attained bhakti to act as vyaṣṭi-guru (individualized guru). He
alone is to be regarded as the genuine sad-guru. Since Śrī Guru is the embodiment of the Lord’s
mercy, there is no doubt that his instructions have the power to deliver one to the Lord. Therefore,
Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is saying here that for those who are very eager to obtain Śrī Kṛṣṇa, it is
essential that they hold the powerful words of Śrī Guru within their hearts and give up their reliance
on anything else.
The question may arise that if the instructions given by Śrī Gurudeva do not agree with the
opinions of śāstra and the mahājanas, how can the sādhakaestablish trust in those instructions? In
reply, it has been said that the sad-gurucan never give instructions that disagree with
the sādhus and śāstras. If some guru should happen to instruct his śiṣya in a way contrary to the
opinions of sādhu and śāstra, the virtuous śiṣya shall, without showing any disrespect, refuse to
accept that instruction. He should disregard it with the attitude that he is unable to understand its
hidden meaning. Therefore, in the twelfth verse Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says sādhu-śāstra-guru-
bākya, hṛdaye kariyā aikya, satata bhāsiba prema-mājhe. “By making your heart one with the
teachings of sādhu-śāstra-guru, you will always be flooded with divine love.”
After that Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says śrī-guru-caraṇe rati, ei se uttama-gati, ye prasāde pūre
sarva āśā. This means that those who possess some attachment for Śrī Guru’s lotus feet, having
accepted within their hearts his instructions on śrī-kṛṣṇa-tattva, bhakti-tattva, prema-
tattva and rasa-tattva, are blessed because of that sincere devotion to easily obtain the most
precious thing within the kingdom of prema, the service of the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā’s beloved
sweetheart. By ‘devotion to Śrī Guru’s feet,’ it is meant that if the sādhaka’s mind becomes satisfied
by his firm devotional attachment to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet, or if the sādhaka’s mind becomes
absorbed in contemplating the form of Śrī Guru, who is always engaged in bhajana, then he easily
obtains the supreme refuge.
It may be asked that since the supreme refuge (uttama-gati) or most cherished attainment of the
Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas is the prema-sevā of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, then why is it mentioned here that
devotion to the feet of Śrī Guru is the uttama-gati? The meaning is that since the sādhaka who has
attachment for the feet of Śrī Guru certainly obtains the uttama-gati of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s nikuñja-
sevā, it indicates in a logical way that the two are identical. For example, the phrase āyur ghṛtam
iti literally means ‘ghee is life.’ Ghee is not life, but because by eating ghee one’s life is
undoubtedly extended, it is said that ‘ghee is life.’ Therefore, by indicating that devotion to the feet
of Śrī Guru and the uttama-gati are not different, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has determined that this
attachment to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet is the sādhaka’s sole and most
important sādhana and sādhya (means and purpose). The essential meaning is that wherever loving
devotion to Śrī Guru’s lotus feet exists, the uttama-gati, or ultimate refuge, should be understood to
also always be present. The meaning of ye prasāde pūre sarva āśā is that by the mercy of Śrī
Gurudeva, if he is pleased, all the sādhaka’s hopes for the prema-sevā of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in
their jeweled cottage within the forest of Śrī Vṛndāvana are fulfilled. ‘All hopes’ means that
whenever the sādhaka’s heart is pervaded by constant longing for Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s prema-
sevā, by the mercy of Śrī Gurudeva, that cherished desire is fulfilled. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has
revealed a similar hope in these verses of his Prārthanā:
ক দম ব*ন বনন ন চ দশদখগন দপককল ভম ঝঙন ।
দপয হচ ন1 গ ইয # ইনব ন1 মনন হ দনকঞ কট4ন ॥
হদ ! হদ ! মনন থ ফদলনব আম ন ? ।
7 হক মন গদ সক9 : নকসহ ব অদ অ1ভদ পলক অনন ॥
সচ9দ নক খ ম নঝ দ>ক ইদ1ন দচর লইয কন >দ ।
কট4ল কনল ব দবথ দ য আ7চ ব বন ইব দবদচত কব ॥
ম*গম মলযজ ব অন1 সলপব প ইব মনন হ হ ।
চনন কঙBকনম দ লক বন ইব সহ ব মখ- > ক ॥
ন ল পট ম # নন প ইব পনয দ ব ন মঞন ।
ভ*1ন জনল 1 চ স> য ইব মচইব আপন দচকন ॥
ক ম সকমল নলস জ দবছ ইব শযন ক ব স হ 7 কন ।
>বল চ ম আদন ম* ম* ব জব ছ দম 7 হক শ ন ॥
কনক ম4 কদ কপ% ' ম%ল ভদ স# গ ইব স হ 7 ব নন ।
অ> > ন ম%ল ব ন সভখব অদ>ক # নন ॥
শগর কর দ নসল কন থ নবন মই নন ক অব> ন ।
> ক*ষব*ন বন দপ#নর ' খ গ নন তম ম নগ এই ন ॥
“Along with their dear companions, they will sing and joke as they walk among the dancing
peacocks, the cuckoos and buzzing bees to that charming cottage within the blossoming Vṛndāvana
forest. Hari! Hari! Will my heart’s desire ever come true? When I see Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa walking
slowly together, happy in each other’s company, my limbs will erupt in goosebumps from delight.
Surrounded by her sakhīs, Rādhikā will beckon me to dress her hair. With a jeweled comb I shall
spread her curled tresses and braid them into a beautiful plait. I shall anoint her limbs with musk
and sandalwood paste, and adorn her throat with an exquisite necklace. Gazing upon her moonlike
face, I shall decorate her forehead with delicate tilaka made of candana and kuṅkuma. I shall very
carefully clothe her with a blue silken dress and place jeweled anklets upon her feet. I shall bathe
her crimson lotus feet with scented water and dry them with my own hair. Then I shall scatter soft
flower petals upon their bed and ask them both to lie down. I shall fan their tired bodies very gently
with a white cāmara and place camphor-scented tāmbūla from a golden box into their lotus mouths.
Then, with great care, I shall taste the remnants of that fragrant tāmbūla mixed with the nectar of
their lips. Śrī Guru! You are an ocean of mercy. Śrī Lokanātha! You are the friend of the poor. I am
very miserable, so please hear my cry! Narottama begs you for the service of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa with
their priya-narma-sakhīs in the forests of Vṛndāvana.”
