Saparsada-bhagavad-viraha-janita-vilapa (from Prarthana)
Lamentation Due to Separation from the Lord and His Associates
1
je anilo prema-dhana koruna pracurheno prabhu kotha gela acarya-thakur
2
kaha mora swarup rupa kaha sanatankaha dasa raghunatha patita-pavan
3
kaha mora bhatta-juga kaha kavirajeka-kale kotha gela gora nata-raj
4
pasane kutibo matha anale pasibogauranga gunera nidhi kotha gele pabo
5
se-saba sangira sange je koilo bilasse-sanga na paiya kande narottama das
1) He who brought the treasure
of divine love and who was filled with compassion and mercy--where has
such a personality as Srinivasa Acarya gone ?
2) Where are my Svarupa Damodara and Rupa Gosvami? Where is Sanatana? Where is Raghunatha Dasa, the saviour of the fallen?
3) Where are my Raghunatha Bhatta and Gopala Bhatta, and where is Krsnadasa Kaviraja? Where did Lord Gauranga, the great dancer, suddenly go?
4) I will smash my head against the rock and enter into the fire. Where will I find Lord Gauranga, the reservoir of all wonderful qualities?
5) Being unable to obtain the association
of Lord Gauranga accompanied by all of these devotees in whose association
He performed His pastimes, Narottama Dasa simply weeps.
Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.47
ätmänaà çocaté
dénam
abandhuà viklaväçrubhiù
stanäv äsicya vipine
susvaraà praruroda sä
TRANSLATION
Being now alone and a widow in that
forest, the daughter of Vidarbha began to lament, incessantly shedding
tears, which soaked her breasts, and crying very loudly.
PURPORT
Figuratively the queen is supposed
to be the disciple of the king; thus when the mortal body of the spiritual
master expires, his disciples should cry exactly as the queen cries when
the king leaves his body. However, the disciple and spiritual master are
never separated because the spiritual master always keeps company with
the disciple as long as the disciple follows strictly the instructions
of the spiritual master. This is called the association of väëé
(words). physical presence is called vapuù. As long as the spiritual
master is physically present, the disciple should serve the physical body
of the spiritual master, and when the spiritual master is no longer physically
existing, the disciple should serve the instructions of the spiritual master.
Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.48
uttiñöhottiñöha
räjarñe
imäm udadhi-mekhaläm
dasyubhyaù kñatra-bandhubhyo
bibhyatéà pätum
arhasi
TRANSLATION
O best of kings, please get up!
Get up! Just see this world surrounded by water and infested with rogues
and so-called kings. This world is very much afraid, and it is your duty
to protect her.
PURPORT
Whenever an äcärya comes,
following the superior orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or
His representative, he establishes the principles of religion, as enunciated
in Bhagavad-gétä. Religion means abiding by the orders of the
Supreme personality of Godhead. Religious principles begin from the time
one surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the äcärya’s
duty to spread a bona fide religious system and induce everyone to bow
down before the Supreme Lord. One executes the religious principles by
rendering devotional service, specifically the nine items like hearing,
chanting and remembering. Unfortunately, when the äcärya disappears,
rogues and nondevotees take advantage and immediately begin to introduce
unauthorized principles in the name of so-called svämés, yogés,
philanthropists, welfare workers and so on. Actually, human life is meant
for executing the orders of the Supreme Lord, and this is stated in Bhagavad-gétä
(9.34):
“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me and become My devotee. Offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.”man-manä bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yäjé mäà namaskuru
mäm evaiñyasi yuktvaivam
ätmänaà mat-paräyaëaù
Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.49
evaà vilapanté bälä
vipine ’nugatä patim
patitä pädayor bhartü
rudaty açrüëy avartayat
TRANSLATION
That most obedient wife thus fell
down at the feet of her dead husband and began to cry pitifully in that
solitary forest. Thus the tears rolled down from her eyes.
PURPORT
Just as a devoted wife becomes afflicted
at the passing away of her husband, when a spiritual master passes away,
the disciple becomes similarly bereaved.
Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.50
citià därumayéà
citvä
tasyäà patyuù
kalevaram
ädépya cänumaraëe
vilapanté mano dadhe
TRANSLATION
She then prepared a blazing fire
with firewood and placed the dead body of her husband upon it. When this
was finished, she lamented severely and prepared herself to perish in the
fire with her husband.
PURPORT
It is the long-standing tradition
of the Vedic system that a faithful wife dies along with her husband. This
is called saha-maraëa. In India this system was prevalent even to
the date of British occupation. At that time, however, a wife who did not
wish to die with her husband was sometimes forced to do so by her relatives.
Formerly that was not the case. The wife used to enter the fire voluntarily.
The British government stopped this practice, considering it inhuman. However,
from the early history of India we find that when Mahäräja Päëòu
died, he was survived by two wives—Mädré and Kunté.
The question was whether both should die or one should die. After the death
of Mahäräja Päëòu, his wives settled that one
should remain and the other should go. Mädré would perish with
her husband in the fire, and Kunté would remain to take charge of
the five Päëòava children. Even as late as 1936 we saw
a devoted wife voluntarily enter the fire of her husband.
This indicates that a devotee’s
wife must be prepared to act in such a way. Similarly, a devoted disciple
of the spiritual master would rather die with the spiritual master than
fail to execute the spiritual master’s mission. As the Supreme Personality
of Godhead comes down upon this earth to reestablish the principles of
religion, so His representative, the spiritual master, also comes to reestablish
religious principles. It is the duty of the disciples to take charge of
the mission of the spiritual master and execute it properly. Otherwise
the disciple should decide to die along with the spiritual master. In other
words, to execute the will of the spiritual master, the disciple should
be prepared to lay down his life and abandon all personal considerations.
Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.51
tatra pürvataraù kaçcit
sakhä brähmaëa ätmavän
säntvayan valgunä sämnä
täm äha rudatéà
prabho
TRANSLATION
My dear King, one brähmaëa,
who was an old friend of King Puraïjana, came to that place and began
to pacify the Queen with sweet words.
PURPORT
The appearance of an old friend
in the form of a brähmaëa is very significant. In His Paramätmä
feature, Kåñëa is the old friend of everyone. According
to Vedic injunction, Kåñëa is sitting with the living
entity side by side. According to the çruti-mantra (dvä suparëä
sayujä sakhäyäù), the Lord is sitting within the
heart of every living entity as suhåt, the best friend. The Lord
is always eager to have the living entity come home, back to Godhead. Sitting
with the living entity as witness, the Lord gives him all chances to enjoy
himself materially, but whenever there is an opportunity, the Lord gives
good counsel and advises the living entity to abandon trying to become
happy through material adjustment and instead turn his face toward the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him. When one becomes
serious to follow the mission of the spiritual master, his resolution is
tantamount to seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained before,
this means meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the instruction
of the spiritual master. This is technically called väëé-sevä.
Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura
states in his Bhagavad-gétä commentary on the verse vyavasäyätmikä
buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana (Bg. 2.41) that one should serve the words of
the spiritual master. The disciple must stick to whatever the spiritual
master orders. Simply by following on that line, one sees the Supreme Personality
of Godhead.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Paramätmä, appeared before the Queen as a brähmaëa,
but why didn’t He appear in His original form as Çré Kåñëa?
Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura
remarks that unless one is very highly elevated in loving the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, one cannot see Him as He is. Nonetheless, if one sticks to
the principles enunciated by the spiritual master, somehow or other he
is in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since the Lord
is in the heart, He can advise a sincere disciple from within. This is
also confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (10.10):
“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”teñäà satata-yuktänäà
bhajatäà préti-pürvakam
dadämi buddhi-yogaà taà
yena mäm upayänti te
“If I am engaged in devotional service unto You, my dear Lord, then very easily can I perceive Your presence everywhere. And as far as liberation is concerned, I think that liberation stands at my door with folded hands, waiting to serve me—and all material conveniences of dharma [religiosity], artha [economic development] and käma [sense gratification] stand with her.” (Kåñëa-karëämåta 107) If one is very highly advanced in devotional service, he will have no difficulty in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one engages in the service of the spiritual master, he not only sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead but attains liberation. As far as material conveniences are concerned, they automatically come, just as the maidservants of a queen follow the queen wherever she goes. Liberation is no problem for the pure devotee, and all material conveniences are simply awaiting him at all stages of life.bhaktis tvayi sthiratarä bhagavan yadi syäd
daivena naù phalati divya-kiçora-mürtiù
muktiù svayaà mukulitäïjali sevate ’smän
dharmärtha-käma-gatayaù samaya-pratékñäù
Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.52
brähmaëa uväca
kä tvaà kasyäsi
ko väyaà
çayäno yasya çocasi
jänäsi kià sakhäyaà
mäà
yenägre vicacartha ha
TRANSLATION
The brähmaëa inquired
as follows: Who are you? Whose wife or daughter are you? Who is the man
lying here? It appears you are lamenting for this dead body. Don’t you
recognize Me? I am your eternal friend. You may remember that many times
in the past you have consulted Me.
PURPORT
When a person’s relative dies, renunciation
is automatically visible. Consultation with the Supersoul seated within
everyone’s heart is possible only when one is completely free from the
contamination of material attachment. One who is sincere and pure gets
an opportunity to consult with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His
Paramätmä feature sitting within everyone’s heart. The Paramätmä
is always the caitya-guru, the spiritual master within, and He comes before
one externally as the instructor and initiator spiritual master. The Lord
can reside within the heart, and He can also come out before a person and
give him instructions. Thus the spiritual master is not different from
the Supersoul sitting within the heart. An uncontaminated soul or living
entity can get a chance to meet the Paramätmä face to face. Just
as one gets a chance to consult with the Paramätmä within his
heart, one also gets a chance to see Him actually situated before him.
Then one can take instructions from the Supersoul directly. This is the
duty of the pure devotee: to see the bona fide spiritual master and consult
with the Supersoul within the heart.
When the brähmaëa asked
the woman who the man lying on the floor was, she answered that he was
her spiritual master and that she was perplexed about what to do in his
absence. At such a time the Supersoul immediately appears, provided the
devotee is purified in heart by following the directions of the spiritual
master. A sincere devotee who follows the instructions of the spiritual
master certainly gets direct instructions from his heart from the Supersoul.
Thus a sincere devotee is always helped directly or indirectly by the spiritual
master and the Supersoul. This is confirmed in Caitanya-caritämåta:
guru-kåñëa-prasäde päya bhakti-latä-béja.
If the devotee serves his spiritual master sincerely, Kåñëa
automatically becomes pleased. Yasya prasädäd bhagavad-prasädaù.
By satisfying the spiritual master, one automatically satisfies Kåñëa.
Thus the devotee becomes enriched by both the spiritual master and Kåñëa.
The Supersoul is eternally the friend of the living entity and always remains
with him. The Supersoul has always been ready to help the living entity,
even before the creation of this material world. It is therefore stated
here: yenägre vicacartha. The word agre means “before the creation.”
Thus the Supersoul has been accompanying the living entity since before
the creation.