Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam

Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam

BY: SUN STAFF

Jun 18, 2010 — CANADA (SUN) — A commentary on Lord Caitanya’s ‘Siksastakam’ by HDG Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, with a Bengali song for each verse that expands upon Mahaprabhu’s devotional moods (Sanskrit, 1886).

 

cetah – of the heart; darpana – the mirror; marjanam – cleansing; bhava – of material existence; maha-davagni – the blazing forest fire; nivapanam – extinguishing; sreyah – of good fortune; kairava – the white lotus; candrika – the moonshine; vitaranam – spreading; vidya – of all education; vadhu – wife; jivanam – the life; ananda – bliss; ambudhi – the ocean; vardhanam – increasing; prati-padam – at every step; purna-amrta – of the full nectar; asvadanam – giving taste; sarva – for everyone; atma-snapanam – bathing of the self; param – transcendental; vijayate – let there be victory; sri- krsna-sankirtanam – for the congregational chanting of the holy name of Krsna.

 

“Let there be victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Krsna, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Krishna expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.”

 

Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam

 

I begin this Sanmodana Bhasyam commentary on the eight Siksastaka verses written by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by offering my humble obeisance at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and His eternal associates in the Sri Pancatattva, namely Nityananda Avadhuta, Advaita Prabhu, Gadadhara Pandita and Srivasa Thakura.

 

The path of perfection

 

The path of devotional service is the highest perfection of life, and it is sought after in all the Vedic literatures. Applying his superior intelligence to repeated research of the Vedas, Lord Brahma ascertained that the best method of self Hari, who dwells within everyone’s heart.

 

Brahma’s philosophical conclusion unequivocally establishes the supremacy of devotional service over fruitive activities, speculative knowledge, or any other process. However, pure devotional love of God is unattainable without great faith and intense eagerness to relish the nectarean pastimes of the Supreme Lord and without deep understanding of the confidential truths of the scriptures. And even when profound faith has arisen, it is impossible without the association of saintly persons to discuss the transcendental topics of the Supreme Lord. Sadhusangha is integral to the hearing and chanting process of devotional service.

 

Thus the Lord Himself has declared, “It is only in the association of My pure devotees that discussions about My transcendental glory become spiritually potent and arouse loving devotional mellows within the inner core of one’s heart.”

 

The Lord’s holy name, form, qualities and activities are particularly glorified in such company. In Lord Caitanya’s teachings He first discusses these glories. In the fourth line, for example, the word param indicates that chanting Krsna’s all purifying holy name is the very highest benediction. This follows the establishment of proper faith and association with saintly devotees. Thus the process of devotional service begins.

 

This chanting is never to be confused with sentimental and pseudo-devotional chanting, however. In these Siksastaka verses Sri Caitanya explains in His own words the principles of sambandha (our eternal relationship with God), abhidheya (the means by which we can revive that relationship), and prayojana (the ultimate goal of that relationship for every living being). This commentary, then, will briefly examine each of these philosophical principles. As Lord Caitanya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is lovingly served by all pure Vaisnava devotees, says: “Let the congregational chanting of the holy name be especially glorified.”

 

Therefore, please hear just how the chanting of the holy name is victorious in the mundane world, which is a creation of the external energy of the Lord.

 

Scripture certainly evinces the absolute oneness of the Supreme Truth. “Only the one non-dual substance existed before creation”, we read. And in another place, “Other than the one non-dual Brahman no varigatedness exist.” In these statements, the all-pervading impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth is established.

 

Simultaneously, the statement, “Everything is Brahman” [is] eternal and supreme Absolute Truth. Though differentiated personalism and undifferentaied impersonalism coexist in the Absolute Truth, it is the personal feature that is actually perceivable; impersonalism is not. Therefore, the personal feature of the Absolute Truth predominates.

 

Our spiritual master in the matter of scriptural conclusions, Srila Jiva Goswami, has therefore declared that the One Absolute Truth eternally exists in four features: as His original transcendental form, as His ever expanding all-pervasive potency, as the living entities, and as the sum total of all matter. This is analogous to the features of the sun planet: the sun god himself, Surya; the powerful sunglobe; the sunshine; and the reflections of the sun’s rays on other surfaces.

 

The point here is that God alone is the Supreme Absolute Truth, saktiman; He is the only source of all potencies or energies. The Brahma-sutra does argue the essential oneness of the Energetic Source (saktiman) and Energy (sakti), yet the Vedas conclude, “That Supreme Absolute Truth manifests Himself in a variety of forms. His potencies are multifarious.” This proves that there exists an essential and eternal difference between the Energetic and His Energy, and that the inconceivable Absolute Truth acts in ways that are paradoxical and contradictory. The monistic school of Kevaladvaitavada cannot successfully oppose with arguments this scriptural principle of simultaneous oneness and difference.

 

The Absolute Potent Supreme Truth manifests Himself in three categories: as His internal potency, as His marginal potency, and as His external potency.

 

Through the agency of His internal spiritual potency He displays the infinite transcendental realm, and He exists there eternally as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the proprietor of all His energetic expansions. That He may perform various personal pastimes, His internal potency exhibits the spiritual Vaikuntha planets within the transcendental realm.

 

The marginal potency is made up of the eternal living entities (jivasouls) who are like rays or infinitesimal sparks of the sun. They are part and parcel of the Absolute Truth, non-different from Him in quality and different in quantity.

 

The external energy (maya) is but the reflection of the eternal spiritual realm. Maya establishes the hierarchy of various material conditions that the souls in her power become subject to.

 

In each of their own ways, therefore, maya (the material energy), the living entities (the marginal spiritual energy) and Vaikuntha (transcendence) are different and non-different from the Supreme Lord.

(To be continued…)

 

    #Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam