om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah
"O
Gurudeva, you are so merciful. I offer my humble pranama unto you and
am praying from the core of my heart that, with the torchlight of divine
knowledge, you open my eyes which have been blinded by the darkness of
ignorance."
After months of being away, I am so happy to be able to share what I am reading and what is inspiring me once again with you.
Recently we celebrated the holy month of Kartik, the month which Srimati Radhika especially prevails over. Sripad Premananda Prabhu at Radhe Kunj temple in Sri Vrindavana Dham has been giving some very nice classes on the Damodarastakam song.
From the Bhaktabadhava website,here is some commentary on Verse 8 of Damodarastakam:
Sripada Premananda Prabhu: We are going in circles in the cycle of birth and death. We do not
know the way to escape. There is only one door to escape this material
existence. This door brings us to the lotus-feet of God. We have come
here, but we are blind, without faith. The wall is there and the door
will come, and we will achieve everything, but we have no faith. Then,
we go around and around hopelessly.
We can follow all vratas, but if we have no faith, if we do not take
shelter, and if we do not understand anything, then everything is
useless. The result will be zero. We may bind ourselves so tightly in
rules and regulations, but when we open the knot, we will find nothing.
“Namo radhikayai tvadiya-priyayai—I offer pranama to Srimati
Radharani, and to Krsna who is Her beloved. I do not offer pranama to
any other.” Damodara’s servants and devotees in other rasas are not as
close to Krsna’s heart as those in srngara-rasa. Their hearts are shared
with others. But, in srngara-rasa, the gopis hearts are only
one-pointedly devoted to Krsna. Srimati Radharani is the crest-jewel of
all the gopis.
Namo ’nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam. We pray to Damodara, “You have so
many incarnations. I offer them all pranamas. But, I don’t need their
blessings. I am only waiting for the mercy of Your beloveds. Namo
radhikayai tvadiya priyayai. If Her mercy comes to me, that is enough.
You have given me a chance to really follow Your footsteps, O Damodara.
My ultimate welfare lies in giving pleasure to Your beloved gopis.
Please help me. In sastras, many different incarnations are described.
There are the manvantara-avataras, yuga-vataras, avesa-avataras, and
saktyavesa-avataras. They are all glorified extensively by scholars of
many different ideas.”
tarko ‘pratishthah srutayo vibhinna
nasav rishir yasya matam na bhinnam
dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam
mahajano yena gatah sa panthah
—Mahabharata, Vana-parva 313.117
All the different sages establish their different points of view, and
cut their opponents’ points of view, telling different philosophies.
Gautama, Yajnavalka, Javali, Patanjali, Kapila all give different
philosophies. One says, “This is the truth,” and then another says, “No,
that is wrong. This is the truth.” Which one is really right? Who can
tell us this? Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah—follow the footsteps of the
mahajanas.
Who are the mahajanas?
svayambhur naradah sambhuh
kumarah kapilo manuh
prahlado janako bhishmo
balir vaiyasakir vayam
—Srimad Bhagavatam 6.3.20
These are the twelve mahajanas. At the end, Vaiyasaki is mentioned. Vaiyasaki is Sukadeva Gosvami.
Sukadeva Gosvami did not openly describe the glories of Radharani in
the Bhagavatam. He did not say to follow Narayana. He said to follow
Krsna. Prahlada Maharaja and the other mahajanas glorified Krsna
Himself. But, how can we please Krsna, conquer His heart, and do
everything for Him? This is hidden. You must completely take shelter of
Sukadeva Gosvami. In the Bhagavatam, Sukadeva Gosvami does not mention
Radharani’s name directly. Her name is not written. Her name is hidden
because She is very secret and hidden. That Sukadeva Gosvami indicates
that we should go to Vraja-mandala, to the Vrajavasis. Then, we can
cross santa, dasya, sakhya, and vatsalya. We can see that Krsna is
pleased by their service, but not completely. He is pleased with the
sakhas, but only half pleased. He is with them from the morning to the
afternoon. With his mother He is even more pleased, but still not
completely. Only when He is with Srimati Radharani is He fully pleased.
Now, at the end, Satyavrata Muni finally comes to the ultimate
conclusion—the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani. He prostrates at the
lotus-feet of Srimati Radharani and begins a vrata. Which vrata? This is
called Katyayani-vrata and it is to please Srimati Radharani.
Now he is one-pointed, and he follows Srimati Radharani’s vrata.
katyayani maha-maye
maha-yoginy adhisvari
nanda-gopa-sutam devi
patim me kuru te namah
Nanda-gopa-sutam devi—this is direct. This is the vrata we must
follow. The son of Nanda Gopa Himself worships Devi. Which devi? Srimati
Radharani. Who is the priya, or beloved, of Krsna? That is only Srimati
Radharani.
We must take a certificate from this school. We have passed this
school, and now we will go to college and university. Which university
will we go to? There is only one university—the service center, the
Seva-kunja of Srimati Radharani. How can we attain Her service? How can
we please Krsna?
Satyavrata Muni says, “O Radharani, I give up all my pride.” Namo
means, “Giving up my pride, I offer my obeisance and I surrender unto
You.”
“O Srimati, I do not know You,” the sage says. “When the sakhis and
manjaris accept me and make me qualified for Your service, then I can
serve You.” Therefore, namo radhikayai. This means that Radharani has
many groups, or yuthas. There are 108 prominent sakhis and each have
eight prominent manjaris, and all together there are millions and
millions of gopis. Where should we go? Where is our service-post? Who
will teach us and give us shelter?
People chant ‘aham brahmasmi’. They want to become Brahma. They
strive for sahujya-mukti. On the other side, in this line even, some
people chant ‘aham manjari, aham gopi’. They should more accurately say,
“Aham bhogi.”
This behavior will not work. It is not helpful. It is a bogus idea.
We must surrender. Namo radhikayai. “Giving up all pride, I have offered
myself to You, O Radhe, please, whatever service You see beneficial for
me, whether You want me to be a monkey, a cuckoo, a peacock, a deer, or
anything—my own choice is useless. I do not know who I am. I don’t know
where You will send me or into which species. I don’t know where I will
serve. I am completely saranagata to You. If You like, send me to the
sakhas, the servants, those in vatsalya-rasa, or those in madhura-rasa. I
don’t know who will be my guru and guardian. I have no idea of this. I
offer myself. Please, accept me.”
Source link
aspiring for the service of Sri Hari, Guru and Vaisnavas,
Rain-drop
