The root of the creeper of divine love

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.

suddha-bhakata-carana-renu, bhajana-anukula
bhakata-seva, parama-siddhi, prema-latikare mula

"Dust from the lotus feet of pure devotees is very favorable for bhajana, and service to the vaishnavas is the highest perfection and the very root of the tender creeper of divine love."

I read this quoted in a book this morning, and just had to share it.

Rereading it again, I am thinking, look at the word, "tender". The creeper of divine love is tender. We have to take very special care of it. Any slight move - an animal in the garden, a strong wind - may uproot that small, tender creeper.

We have to water it. And by the mercy of the pure devotees, their divine love floods into our hearts whether we want it or not, and waters that creeper. But we have to work to water it, too, and to not do anything that might hurt it. It is fragile.

And also, that word "root" is very important. The root is how the plant stays grounded, and by watering the root, all the leaves, flowers, and branches of the creeper come. If we just plop the water anywhere, the plant may wilt; it is important that we pay specific attention to the root.

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura is giving us the answer to how our spiritual lives can thrive. By hearing, reading, thinking of, and striving to follow the instructions of the pure devotees, and by honoring and serving the vaishnavas, we can water this root. Thus we can some day get branches and flowers on our creeper, so it can become a grown up plant!

Then, as Gurudeva said, he can offer us as a flower at Srimati Radhika's lotus feet...



Please forgive me if I have made this sound like a class or some such; I am not at all worthy of giving any class, I only mean to share some thoughts on what I read. May all the vaishnavas and vaishnavis bless me so that I may serve my Gurudeva in some way.