Sanatana Shiksa

[madanmohandas]

Sanatana Shiksa


Sri Chaitanya Charitamrta, 2.20.106-115 on Sanatana Siksa

(Chandrasekhara said)
"O Moslem saint, the Master hath said come",
At this Sanatan was with joy o'ercome. 50
........

(Sri Chaitanya to Sanatana)
sad-dharmasyaavabodhaay yesaam nirbandhinee matih/
aciraad-eva sarvaarthah sidhyatyesaam-abhipsitah//

Those who in their mind, eager strive and yearn
The articles of true Dharma to learn;
Make steady progress without let nor stay,
And fulfilment attain without delay. 106
(Bh.R.S. 1.2.47)

You are worthy Bhakti to propagate,
Listen, and I the stages will relate. 107

The soul is Krishna's slave eternally,
His distinct and non-distinct potency. 108

Like sparks to fire or to Sun the rays;
Krishna's nature acts in three potent ways. 109

(And so it is said in Vishnu Purana)
ekedesa-sthitasyaagner-jyotsnaa vistaarinee yathaa/
parasya brahmana shaktis-tathedam-akhikam jagat//

As in one place a fire may be found,
It spreads its heat and radiance around;
On likewise Brahman's power is evolved,
And in the whole wide universe involved. 110
(VP.1.22.54)

Krishna's innate power divides in three,
Consciousness, souls, and Maya potency. 111

(Again in Vishnu Purana)
viṣṇu-śaktiḥ parā proktā
kṣetrajñākhyā tathā parā
avidyā-karma-saṁjñānyā
tṛtīyā śaktir iṣyate

The power of Vishnu is said to be
Constituted of distinct aspects three;
The Supreme power, power of sentience,
The inferior, of works and ignorance. 112
(VP.6.7.61))

(So it is said in the Vishnu)
śaktayaḥ sarva-bhāvānām
acintya-jñāna-gocarāḥ
yato ’to brahmaṇas tās tu
sargādyā bhāva-śaktayaḥ
bhavanti tapatāṁ śreṣṭha
pāvakasya yathoṣṇatā

His powers creative of existence,
Are inconceivable and beyond sense;
Such power whence the creation evolves,
Subsists, and then within itself resolves;
As might be seen, O foremost anchorite,
In generation of the heat and light. 114
(VP.1.3.2)

(And moreover)
yayā kṣetra-jña-śaktiḥ sā
veṣṭitā nṛpa sarva-gā
saṁsāra-tāpān akhilān
avāpnoty atra santatān

The free and conscious sentient being,
When subjected to ignorance, O king,
The pain of transmigration undergoes,
And suffers constant miseries and woes. 115
(VP.6.7.155)

tayā tirohitatvāc ca
śaktiḥ kṣetra-jña-saṁjñitā
sarva-bhūteṣu bhū-pāla
tāratamyena vartate

The sentient soul to ignorance inured,
Its consciousness is covered and obscured;
And thus all forms of living entities,
Remain, O king, in high and low degrees. 116
(VP.6.7.156)

(Also in Bhagavad Gita)
apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat

These constitute my lower nature, know
As superior, O mighty armed hero,
The very life, integral with the whole,
Subsisting in the world as living soul. 113
(Gita.7.5)

114/115/116 to be added

The souls forgetful of Krishna repine;
Have turned away since beginningless time;
And under Maya's potent influence,
Suffer transmigratory existence. 117

Sometimes raised to heaven for piety,
Then cast into hell for iniquity;
As criminals are punished by the king,
By raising from the river and dunking. 118

[madanmohandas]

(And so in Srimad Bhagavatam)
bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād
īśād apetasya viparyayo ’smṛtiḥ
tan-māyayāto budha ābhajet taṁ
bhaktyaikayeśaṁ guru-devatātmā

Fear rises from a differential view,
Whence memory's inversion doth ensue;
The mind is from the Supreme Lord aversed,
And in the sensible objects immersed.
To remedy this vain deluded state,
The wise exclusive worship cultivate;
And see the self, the preceptor and Lord,
In unity with the object adored. 119
(SB.11.2.37)

Occasioned by the saints' and scriptures grace,
Toward Krishna the soul can turn his face;
The soul is then delivered from his woe,
And then Maya willingly lets him go. 120

(As we find in the Gita)
daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te

This nature of three attributes of mine,
Is difficult to overcome; divine;
But whoso themselves to me dedicate,
Can cross beyond this illusory state. 121
(Gita.7.14)

To jiva-souls deluded on their own
The knowledge of Krishna cannot be known;
Thence Krishna, out of pity for their plight,
The Vedas and Puranas did indite. 122

The scripture, preceptor, and self bestow
Wisdom whereby the soul himself can know;
Knowledge thus awakens in him like this,
And thinks, 'the Lord Krishna my saviour is.' 123

The Vedic scriptures teach and have decreed,
The relation, the means and final need;
Relation is that Krishna be attained,
And Bhakti the means whereby he is gained. 124

Bhakti is called 'abhidheya' indeed,
And divine love or prema is the need;
The crest-gem supreme gain rising above
All others, is prema, the wealth of love. 125

[madanmohandas]

Proceeding further with Sanatana Shiksha.

By reason of this love all is attained,
Sweet joyous service of Krishna is gained;
In Krishna's loving service thence employed,
The sweet humours of Krishna are enjoyed. 126

In this a parable will illustrate;
A poor man once in his unhappy state,
Received a seer as his worthy guest,
Who seeing him asked why he was distressed. 127

"Wherefore do you lament? you are in health;
Your father left behind abundant wealth,
But gave up life elsewhere sometime ago,
And told you not, and so you do not know." 128

Thus as the all-wise seer did relate,
The unknown hidden wealth did indicate,
So the Vedas and Puranas as well,
Krishna's instructions to the jivas tell. 129

Assurance by the seers speech was gained,
Of the great wealth that thence might be attained;
All scriptures in terms of the relation,
Establish with Krishna the connection. 130

'The father left abundant wealth behind',
He knew, but knew not how that wealth to find;
Therefore the seer spoke to him again,
And told him how he might that treasure gain. 131

[madanmohandas]

A little more before bedtime.

"He in this very place the wealth did hide,
But if you excavate the southern side,
A swarm of hornets will rise to attack,
And thus you will not get your treasure back. 132

If you upon the west to dig essay,
A Yaksha spirit guard will bar the way;
And thus by this impediment beset,
You will not your desired treasure get. 133

But if to dig the north attempt you make,
You will arouse a slithering black snake;
Who will bind you and in his coils constrain;
And you will not your treasured wealth attain. 134

Now if you but remove of earth the least,
And dig a very little on the east;
Your effort will be successful and bless'd;
Your hands will lay upon the treasure chest." 135

As such, by metaphor, the scriptures say,
Cast karma, jnana and yoga away;
By devotion Krishna's favour is won,
Therefore the means is ardent devotion. 136

(And so the Bhagavata says)
na sādhayati māṁ yogo
na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo
yathā bhaktir mamorjitā

Nor yoga practice nor analysis,
O Uddhava, nor codes of righteousness;
Nor study, abstinence, austerity,
As much as pure devotion pleases me. 137
(SB. 11.14.20)

bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ
śraddhayātmā priyaḥ satām
bhaktiḥ punāti man-niṣṭhā
śva-pākān api sambhavāt

By singular devotion I am gained,
And faith in the beloved One maintained,
Such firm love effects purity complete,
Of even the base-born who cook dogs' meat. 138
(SB. 11.14.21)

[madanmohandas]

A passage from a later portion of Sanatana Shiksha. Ch.Ch. 2.23.9-13

Some soul by some great fortune and reward,
May gain sraddha or faith, a fond regard;
That soul then with humble sincerity,
Will take resort to holy company. 9

In holy company with faith sincere,
He learns well how to sing and chant and hear;
And by this sadhana or devout way,
All faults and impediments are put away. 10

When such impediments away are cast,
He gains nistha, which means he is steadfast;
By steadfast hearing by degrees is gained
Ruchi, which means a sweet taste is attained. 11

From such ruchi when passion gets intense,
Grows ashakti, attachment sans pretense,
Then sprouts within the conscious faculty,
New shoots of love for Krishna, called preeti. 12

This is rati or attachment sublime,
Which concentrated becomes love divine;
This love divine or prema, is indeed,
All joy, prayojana, the final need. 13

[madanmohandas]

(And so in Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu)

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-
saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā
tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt
tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ

athāsaktis tato bhāvas
tataḥ premābhyudañcati
sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ
prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ

First faith, then follows holy company,
Then worship practiced with sincerity;
When anartha-nivritti is complete,
Then follows steadfastness and relish sweet; 14

Which ashakti, attachment doth augment,
Which generates bhava or sentiment;
At last prema endued with ecstasies;
Thus practise in love groweth by degrees. 15
(Bh.R.S. 1.4.15/16)

(The Bhagavata says)
satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido
bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ
taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani
śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati

In company of devotees proceeds
Fond discourses on my heroic deeds;
Accounts of which are like sweet elixir,
Delightsome to the heart and to the ear.
The path to freedom is traversed with ease,
And in progress, augmented by degrees,
From loving faith to deep affinity,
The aspirant attains loves' ecstasy. 16
(3.25.25)

Whoever's heart with sprouting bhava shines,
All scriptures say, exhibit certain signs. 17

[madanmohandas]

Returning to Ch.20 and continuing from the parable of the seer and the dispossessed.
CC.2.20.139-142

Hence bhakti or devotion as beseems,
To gain Krishna is the unfailing means;
Which scriptures universally acclaim
The best, and call by abhidheya's name. 139

As such when the wealth abundant is gained,
The fruits of joy and pleasure are attained,
And such great pleasure happiness imparts,
And misery of itself thence departs. 140

And so the fruit of devotion sublime,
Is prema for Krishna, the love divine;
As love's relish for Krishna he enjoys,
His bondage to the world it soon destroys. 141

Release from bondage for the destitute,
Is not of prema, divine love, the fruit,
But delectation of prema indeed,
Is the supremest and ultimate need. 142

[madanmohandas]

Here are the citations that were omited from an earlier post of Sanatana Shiksha, where Sriman Mahaprabhu is quoting Vishnu Purana in support of his proposition regarding the soul. I will also insert them in order.

śaktayaḥ sarva-bhāvānām
acintya-jñāna-gocarāḥ
yato ’to brahmaṇas tās tu
sargādyā bhāva-śaktayaḥ
bhavanti tapatāṁ śreṣṭha
pāvakasya yathoṣṇatā

His powers creative of existence,
Are inconceivable and beyond sense;
Such power whence the creation evolves,
Subsists, and then within itself resolves;
As might be seen, O foremost anchorite,
In generation of the heat and light.
(VP.1.3.2)

(And moreover)
yayā kṣetra-jña-śaktiḥ sā
veṣṭitā nṛpa sarva-gā
saṁsāra-tāpān akhilān
avāpnoty atra santatān

The free and conscious sentient being,
When subjected to ignorance, O king,
The pain of transmigration undergoes,
And suffers constant miseries and woes.
(VP.6.7.155)

tayā tirohitatvāc ca
śaktiḥ kṣetra-jña-saṁjñitā
sarva-bhūteṣu bhū-pāla
tāratamyena vartate

The sentient soul to ignorance inured,
Its consciousness is covered and obscured;
And thus all forms of living entities,
Remain, O king, in high and low degrees.
(VP.6.7.156)

[madanmohandas]

Back to chapter 20.

Vedic scriptures have relation decreed,
The means, and the fulfilment of the need;
And that Krishna's self and Krishna bhakti,
And prema are the greatest treasures three. 143

In terms of relation the Vedas say,
That Krishna is the subject they convey;
And knowing him, automatically,
The soul is from the bonds of Maya free. 144

(And so it is said in the Padma)
vyāmohāya carācarasya jagatas te te purāṇāgamās
tāṁ tām eva hi devatāṁ paramikāṁ jalpantu kalpāvadhi
siddhānte punar eka eva bhagavān viṣṇuḥ samastāgama-
vyāpāreṣu vivecana-vyatikaraṁ nīteṣu niścīyate

To keep creatures in bewilderment hurled,
Of all the mobile and immobile world,
The ancient chronicles and scriptures tell
How one or other god doth all excel.
But let them talk and quibble and extol,
Who only see the part and not the whole,
Until the Kalpa's end. All texts agree
There is but one supreme divinity;
And with deep study and diligence due,
Conclude that One is Bhagavan Vishnu. 145
(Padma Purana (?))

One may primary or secondary
Interpretation read and make study,
And analyse, but the Vedas proclaim,
That Krishna is the only end and aim. 146

[madanmohandas]

Proceeding further with Sanatana Shiksha. Now Mahaprabhu cites a statement from Book 11 where Krishna says to Uddhava,
CC Madhya 20.147-150

kiṁ vidhatte kim ācaṣṭe
kim anūdya vikalpayet
ity asyā hṛdayaṁ loke
nānyo mad veda kaścana
māṁ vidhatte ’bhidhatte māṁ
vikalpyāpohyate hy aham
etāvān sarva-vedārthaḥ
śabda āsthāya māṁ bhidām
māyā-mātram anūdyānte
pratiṣidhya prasīdati

What do the scriptures declare and imply?
And what does their reasoning signify?
There are none in this world aside from me,
Who comprehend the scriptures' mystery.
'Tis me the Vedic scriptures indicate,
To gain the revelation of my state;
Both explicitly and implicitly,
The Vedas from all else distinguish me.
By recourse to this comprehensive view,
One reaches the final conclusion true;
As in the Vedic scriptures signified,
Which knowing one is pleased and satisfied. 147/148
(SB.11.21.42/43)

Krishna's inherent nature is boundless,
Unlimited, of grand Lordly prowess;
His power is known under headings three,
Chit-shakti, Maya, and jiva-shakti. 149

Both the divine Vaikuntha realm as well
As all the worlds composed of Brahma's shell;
Exist by operation of the force
Of innate power; Krishna is the source. 150

[madanmohandas]

daśame daśamaṁ lakṣyam
āśritāśraya-vigraham
śrī-kṛṣṇākhyaṁ paraṁ dhāma
jagad-dhāma namāmi tat

The Tenth Book the tenth subject doth inform,
The shelter and the source in his own form;
As the supreme and divine light acclaimed,
And by the epithet Sri Krishna named;
Who doth within himself accommodate
The whole wide world; unto him I prostrate. 151
(Sridhara Swami's Bhavartha Dipika)

Now listen Sanatan as I relate,
And on Krishna's nature expatiate;
That undivided conscious truth, the One,
In Vraja is the cowherd chieftains' son. 152

He is the source of all, the whole, the truth,
The pre-eminent adolescent youth;
His form eternal is made of delight,
The stay of all and fraught with Lordly might. 153

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

The supreme divine ruler Krishna is,
Whose form consists of truth, knowledge and bliss;
Govinda is primal, beginningless;
And of all cause the highest cause, causeless. 154
(Brahma Samhita 1)

Almighty Krishna himself, known to fame,
Is also renowned by Govinda's name;
He is full fraught with Lordly majesty,
And dwells in Goloka eternally. 155

ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
mṛḍayanti yuge yuge

All these are parts and portions and aspects
Of the Almighty, who the world protects
From Indra's foes; but Krishna is the Lord,
From age to age incarnate, and adored. 156
(SB.1.3.28)

[madanmohandas]

The disciplines of sadhana are three;
Jnana and yoga and devout bhakti;
And there are three aspects also acclaimed,
As Brahman, Atma and Bhagavan named. 157

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate

The knowers of the truth such truth express,
As pure indivisible consciousness;
As Brahman and as Paramatma known,
And Bhagavan, the illustrious One. 158
(SB.1.2.11)

Brahman is like his body's shiny glow,
And doth not distinct variety show;
As Surya seen with fleshy naked sight,
Seems no more than a mass of glowing light. 159

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-
koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam
tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

In whom millions of egg-like worlds exist,
In whom diverse distinctive realms subsist;
As emanations of his glowing light,
Brahman of indistinct and endless might.
I worship that Govinda, Lord of kine,
The Purusha primeval and divine. 160
(Brahma Samhita. 40)

The Paramatma subsists as his part,
As the Self of the self in every heart;
And operates in such capacity,
Thus Krishna is the Supreme Deity. 161

kṛṣṇam enam avehi tvam
ātmānam akhilātmanām
jagad-dhitāya so ’py atra
dehīvābhāti māyayā

Now you should know this Lord Krishna to be
Self of the self in every entity,
Who the worlds' ultimate welfare to bring,
Is here revealed as a human being. 162
(SB.10.14.55)

[madanmohandas]

Now, proceeding a little further with Sanatana Shiksha. Taking up the theme with a citation from Bhagavad Gita.

CC Madhya 20.163-170

অথবা বহুনৈতেন কিং জ্ঞাতেন তবার্জুন ।
বিষ্টভ্যাহমিদং কৃৎস্নমেকাংশেন স্থিতো জগৎ ॥ ১৬৩ ॥
atha vā bahunaitena
kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam
ekāṁśena sthito jagat

But what more, Arjuna, should I relate
Or comprehensively expatiate?
Since by one fraction of myself I hold,
And maintain thus all of this wide wayed world. 163
(Gita, 10.42)

By devotion conception doth arise,
Bhagavan in fulness to realise.
Now, though of singular person possessed,
In limitless forms he is manifest. 164

In his subjective person he is named
Svayam-rupa; then Tadekatma famed,
Of the same form; superimposition;
These are the three forms of the Mighty One. 165

With Svayam-rupa is also expressed,
Svayam-prakash another manifest;
Svayam-rupa is Krishna full of joy,
In Vraja in the form of cowherd boy. 166

The Praabhava and Vaibhava ensue,
And manifest under these headings two;
As when he appears of singular form;
Then as many, the Rasa to perform. 167

Or many forms into which he expands,
And taking in marriage princesses hands;
Thus Praabhava-prakash is of this kind,
Praised in the scriptures and also defined. 168

It cannot be compared in that degree,
Like emanated forms of Saubhari;
Since Narada when on his forms he gazed,
In palaces, would not have been amazed. 169

চিত্রং বতৈতদেকেন বপুষা যুগপৎ পৃথক্‌ ।
গৃহেষু দ্ব্যষ্টসাহস্রং স্ত্রিয় এক উদাবহৎ ॥ ১৭০ ॥
citraṁ bataitad ekena
vapuṣā yugapat pṛthak
gṛheṣu dvy-aṣṭa-sāhasraṁ
striya eka udāvahat

Ah me! how wonderful it is to see,
Simultaneously, severally,
In sixteen thousand palaces that shone,
So many dames he married, although One! 170
(SB.10.69.2)