Sri Krishna Tattva Nirdese Krpa
BhajanBhaktivinoda Thakura
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BhajanBhaktivinoda Thakura
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(1) śrī-kṛṣṇa-tattva-nirdeśe kṛpā yasya prayojanam vande taḿ jñānadaḿ kṛṣṇa-caitanyaḿ rasa-vigraham (2) samudra-śoṣaṇaḿ reṇor yathā na ghaṭate kvacit tathā me tattva-nirdeśo mūḍhasya kṣudra-cetasaḥ (3) kintu me hṛdaye ko’pi puruṣaḥ śyāmasundaraḥ sphuran samādiśat kāryam etat-tattva-ni-rūpaṇam (4) āsīd ekaḥ paraḥ kṛṣṇo nitya-līlā-parāyaṇaḥ cic-chaktyāviṣkṛte dhāmni nitya-siddha-gaṇāśrite (5) cid-vilāsa-rase mattaś cid-gaṇair anvitaḥ sadā cid-viśeṣānvite bhāve prasaktaḥ priya-darśanaḥ (6) jīvānāḿ nitya-siddhānāḿ svādhīna-prema-lālasaḥ prādāttebhyaḥ svatantratvaḿ kāryākārya-vicāraṇe (7) yeṣāḿ tu bhagavad-dāsye rucir āsīd balīyasī svādhīna-bhāva-sampannās te dāsā nitya-dhāmani (8) aiśvarya-karṣitā eke nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇāḥ mādhurya-mohitāś cānye kṛṣṇa-dāsāḥ sunirmalāḥ (9) sambhramād dāsya-bodhe hi prītis tu prema-rūpiṇī na tatra praṇayaḥ kaścit viśrambhe rahite sati (10) mādhurya-bhāva-sampattau viśrambho balavān sadā mahā-bhāvāvadhiḥ prīter bhaktānāḿ hṛdaye dhruvam (11) jīvasya nitya-siddhasya sarvam etad anāmayam vikārāś cid-gatāḥ śaśvat kadāpi no jaḍānvitaḥ (12) vaikuṇṭhe śuddha-cid-dhāmni vilāsā nirvikārakāḥ ānandābdhi-tarańgās te sadā doṣa-vivarjitāḥ (13) yam aiśvarya-parā jīvā nārāyaṇaḿ vadanti hi mādhurya-rasa-sampannāḥ kṛṣṇam eva bhajanti tam (14) rasa-bheda-vaśād eko dvidhā bhāti svarūpataḥ advayaḥ sa paraḥ kṛṣṇo vilāsānanda-candramāḥ (15) ādheyādhāra-bhedaś ca deha-dehi-vibhinnatā dharma-dharmi-pṛthag-bhāvā na santi nitya-vastuni (16) viśeṣa eva dharmo'sau yato bhedaḥ pravartate tad-bheda-vaśataḥ prītis tarańga-rūpiṇī sadā (17) prapañca-malato'smākaḿ buddhir duṣṭāsti kevalam viśeṣo nirmalas tasmān na ceha bhāsate'dhunā (18) bhagavaj-jīvayos tatra sambandho vidyate'malaḥ sa tu pañca-vidhaḥ prokto yathātra saḿsṛtau svataḥ (19) śānta-bhāvas tathā dāsyaḿ sakhyaḿ vātsalyam eva ca kānta-bhāva iti jñeyāḥ sambandhāḥ kṛṣṇa-jīvayoḥ (20) bhāvākāra-gatā prītiḥ sambandhe vartate'malā aṣṭa-rūpā kriyā-sārā jīvānām adhikārataḥ (21) śānte tu rati-rūpā sā cittollāsa-vidhāyinī ratiḥ premā dvidhā dāsye mamatā-bhāva-sańgatā (22) sakhye ratis tathā premā praṇayo'pi vicāryate viśvāso balavān tatra na bhayaḿ vartate kvacit (23) vātsalye sneha-paryantā prītir drava-mayī satī kānta-bhāve ca tat sarvaḿ militaḿ vartate kila māna-rāgānurāgaiś ca mahā-bhāvair viśeṣataḥ (24) vaikuṇṭhe bhagavān śyāmaḥ gṛhasthaḥ kula-pālakaḥ yathātra lakṣyate jīvaḥ sva-gaṇaiḥ pariveṣṭitaḥ (25) śāntā dāsāḥ sakhāś caiva pitaro yoṣitas tathā sarve te sevakā jñeyāḥ sevyaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ priyaḥ satām (26) sārvajñya-dhṛti-sāmarthya-vicāra-paṭutā-kṣamāḥ prītāv ekātmatāḿ prāptā vaikuṇṭhe'dvaya-vastuni (27) cid-dravātmā sadā tatra kālindī virajā nadī cid-ādhāra-svarūpā sā bhūmis tatra virājate (28) latā-kuñja-gṛha-dvāra-prāsāda-toraṇāni ca sarvāṇi cid-viśiṣṭāni vaikuṇṭhe doṣa-varjite (29) cic-chakti-nirmitaḿ sarvaḿ yad vaikuṇṭhe sanātanam pratibhātaḿ prapañce'smin jaḍa-rūpa-malānvitam (30) sad-bhāve'pi viśeṣasya sarvaḿ tan nitya-dhāmani akhaṇḍa-sac-cid-ānanda-svarūpaḿ prakṛteḥ param (31) jīvānāḿ siddha-sattvānāḿ nitya-siddhimatām api etan nitya-sukhaḿ śaśvat kṛṣṇa-dāsye niyojitam (32) vākyānāḿ jaḍa-janyatvān na śaktā me sarasvatī varṇane vimalānanda-vilāsasya cid-ātmanaḥ (33) tathāpi sārajuṭ vṛttyā samādhim avalambya vai varṇitā bhagavad-vārtā mayā bodhyā samādhinā (34) yasyeha vartate prītiḥ kṛṣṇe vraja-vilāsini tasyaivātma-samādhau tu vaikuṇṭho lakṣyate svataḥ
(1) I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Krishna Caitanya, who is full of transcendental mellows and the giver of spiritual knowledge. Without His mercy, no one can ascertain the truth about Krishna. (2) Just as it is not possible for a particle of dust to absorb the ocean, it is extremely difficult for a foolish, less-intelligent person like me to ascertain the truth. (3) Although a living entity is never able to ascertain the truth with his small intelligence, a blackish personality with a form of pure consciousness has appeared in my heart and engaged me in the work of ascertaining the truth. For this reason I have boldly taken up this work. (4) Lord Sri Krishna is beyond spirit and matter and has no origin. The name of His abode is Vaikuntha, and it was created by His cit-shakti, or internal potency. Vaikuntha is beyond material time and space, and it is the residence of the eternally liberated souls. All the eternally liberated living entities, who are fragmental parts of the Supreme Lord, emanate from the Lord'sjiva-shakti, or marginal potency, to assist the Lord in His pastimes. Vaikuntha is the abode of eternally liberated souls and the home of Krishnacandra's eternal pastimes. That realm is beyond material time, and therefore past, present, and future do not exist there. In this material creation, however, we must consider past, present, and future, for the living entities here are conditioned by time and space. (5) Lord Sri Krishna is always absorbed in transcendental rasas and surrounded by liberated souls. He is always addicted to the emotions arising from varieties of spiritual activities. He is the cynosure of all eyes. (6) A great, wonderful spiritual relationship is found between the spiritually perfect living entities and Krishnacandra, who is the source of spiritual knowledge. This relationship is called priti, or love. This love is concomitant with the creation of the living entities, so it is the living entities' inherent nature. If there is no independence in this relationship, however, there is no possibility of the living entities attaining higher rasas. Therefore Sri Krishna gives the living entities the power to independently discriminate between proper and improper action, and He awards them the fruits of their independent activities. (7) Among the minutely independent living entities, those who have a strong taste for serving the Lord shall be in servitude to the Lord in the eternal abode. (8) Among them, those who desire to serve the Lord with opulence see their worshipable Lord as Narayana and those who desire to serve the Lord with sweetness see their worshipableLord as Krishna. (9) Those who serve the Lord with opulence have a natural mood of awe and reverence. Therefore their affection ends with prema, or love, for due to insufficient faith there is no pranaya, or intimacy. (10) The faith of those who serve the Lord in the conjugal rasa is extremely strong. Therefore their affection advances up to maha-bhava. (111) Some people say that unless there is oneness between the atma and the Paramatma, there will be a lack of pranaya in spiritual affairs. They further say the concept of mahabhava is the false acceptance of material thoughts as spiritual. Regarding these impure opinions, we say that the living entities' different emotions arising from pranaya are not transformations of material nescience, they are spiritual emotions. (12) The pastimes in the pure spiritual abode of Vaikuntha are all faultless and like waves in the ocean of bliss. The word vikara, or transformation, cannot be applied in those pastimes. (13) There is no difference between Krishna and Narayana. He appears as Narayana to eyes absorbed in opulence, and He appears as Krishna to eyes absorbed in sweetness. Actually there is no difference in the Absolute Truth. A difference is considered only among people who discuss the Absolute Truth and in the discussions of the Absolute Truth. (14) Sri Krishna is the Supreme Absolute Truth without a second. He is the moonlike Lord who is always absorbed in the ecstasy of His pastimes, and He manifests different forms due to the variety of rasas. (15) Actually there is no difference between His various forms, because in the Absolute Truth there is no difference between the container and its contents, the body and its owner, or the occupation and its performer. In the conditioned state, these differences are found in the human body due to the misconception of identifying the body as the self. These differences are natural for material objects. (16) The Vaisesikas say that the quality by which one object is differentiated from another is called variety. Due to variety we find a difference between atoms of water and atoms of air and between atoms of air and atoms of fire. But the Vaisesikas have detected the variegated nature of only the material world; they have no information of the variegated nature of the spiritual world. Nor is there information about this in the scriptures of the jnanis. That is why most jnanis consider liberation to be brahma-nirvana, absorption or merging in the Supreme. According to the Vaisnavas the quality of variegated nature not only exists in the material world, but it eternally exists in the spiritual world. That is why the Supersoul is different from the soul, the soul is different from the material world, and all souls are different from one another. From the quality of variegated nature, love of God takes the form of waves and appears with various emotions. (17) Due to material conditioning our intelligence has become polluted by the dirt of this world. Therefore realizing spiritual variegated nature is extremely difficult. (18) Due to the quality of variegated nature there is not only an eternal difference between the Lord and the pure living entities, there is also an eternal pure relationship between them. Just as conditioned living entities have five types of relationships in the material world, there are also five types of relationships between Krishna and the living entities. (19) The names of these five types of relationships are shanta (neutrality), dasya (servitude), sakhya (friendship), vatsalya (paternal affection), and madhurya (conjugal love). (20) In the Lord's association, the ecstatic love of the pure living entities manifests according to their qualification and relationship in eight different emotions. All those emotions are symptoms of love. They are known as pulaka (standing of hairs on end), ashru (weeping), kampa (trembling), sveda (perspiring), vaivarnya (fading away of color), stambha (being stunned), svara-bheda (choking), and pralaya (devastation). These symptoms manifest in a pure form in pure living entities, but they are materially contaminated in conditioned living entities. (21) The affection of those devotees who are situated in shanta-rasa remains in the form of rati, or attraction, which gives mental happiness. When affection is mixed with attachment indasya-rasa, then it is called attraction in pure love. (22) In sakhya-rasa, this attraction in pure love turns into pranaya, intimacy, which is strengthened by faith and attachment and which destroys fear. (23) In vatsalya-rasa, this affection flows up to sneha-bhava, affection with ecstatic sentiments. But when kanta-bhava, or conjugal rasa, appears, then all the above-mentioned emotions mix with mana (jealous anger), raga (attachment), anuraga (further attachment), and maha-bhava (great ecstasy). (24) Just as the living entities are surrounded by relatives and engaged in household activities in the material world, Lord Krishna is engaged in the same way in Vaikuntha. (25) All the associates in shanta, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and madhurya are servants of the Lord. Sri Krishna is the beloved Lord and object of worship of those devotees. (26) In the affection of the absolute realm of Vaikuntha, all qualities like omniscience, forbearance, ability, consideration, expertness, and forgiveness are in complete harmony. Due to an absence of affection in the material world, those qualities appear distinct. (27) The Viraja River eternally flows through the outer circle of Vaikuntha. The Kalindi River eternally flows through the inner circle. Both rivers are transcendental to the mode of passion. The indescribable land there is the resting place of all pure souls. (28) All the creepers, palaces, houses, and gateways are fully spiritual and free of all fault. The influence of time and place cannot pollute those things. (29) Some people try to impose their material conceptions on the nature of Vaikuntha and thus become overwhelmed by prejudices. Later they try to establish these prejudices by their shrewd arguments. Such descriptions of Vaikuntha and the pastimes of the Lord, however, are actually all material. These types of conclusions arise only due to improper knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Only those who have not deeply discussed spiritual topics will have the propensity to rationalize in this way. The doubtful hearts of the madhyama-adhikaris are always swinging between the material and the spiritual due to their being unable to cross into the realm of the Absolute Truth. Actually the variegated nature seen in the material world is only a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. The difference between the material and spiritual worlds is this: In the spiritual world everything is blissful and faultless, whereas in the material world everything is a temporary mixture of happiness and distress, full of impurities arising from time and place. Therefore the descriptions of the spiritual world are not imitations of those of the material world, rather they are most coveted ideals. (30) The splendor of the spiritual abode is established by the quality of variegated nature. Although that splendor is eternal, Vaikuntha is nevertheless nondual and constitutionally eternal, full of knowledge, and bliss. The material world consists of dualities arising from time, place, and circumstances, yet because Vaikuntha is transcendental to the material creation it is devoid of duality and fault. (31) Eternal servitude of Lord Krishna is the eternal happiness of those who are eternally perfect and those who have achieved perfection. (32) It is beyond my power of speech to describe the pure ecstatic pastimes of the living entities, because the words I would use in such descriptions are products of the material world. (33) Although I am unable to clearly describe this topic by words, by samadhi and the process of sarajut I have described the topics of the Lord to the best of my ability. If one simply takes the insignificant literal meanings of these words, then one will not properly realize the described subject. I therefore request the reader to try and realize these truths throughsamadhi. One should try to understand subtle points from gross statements, as in Arundhati-nyaya [when one points out a faint star with the help of a bright star]. The process of argument is useless, because it cannot lead one to the Absolute Truth. The subtle process of directly perceiving the soul is called samadhi. I have given these descriptions based on this process. The reader should also follow this process to realize the truth. (34) Vaikuntha can be naturally perceived through the samadhi of those uttama-adhikaris who have attained love for Krishna, who performs pastimes in Vraja. The kanistha-adhikaris and themadhyama-adhikaris are not yet qualified in this regard, because such truths cannot be realized by reading or argument. Kanistha-adhikaris who consider the scriptures as the only authority and logicians who consider themselves liberated are both unable to advance.