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Brahma Samhita (Jiva Goswami commentary)

by Srila Narayana Maharaja | 2003 | 90,927 words | ISBN-10: 8175050063

This page relates ‘Verse 61� of the English translation of the Brahma Samhita including the Tika commentary by Srila Jiva Goswami as well as the Tatparya commentary by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. The Brahma Samhita is a revered Sanskrit Pancharatra text featuring prayers by Brahma that glorify Krishna, highly valued in Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 61:

धर्मान� अन्यान� परित्यज्� माम् एक� भज विश्वसन्
यादृशी यादृशी श्रद्ध� सिद्धिर् भवति तादृशी
कुर्वन� निरन्तरं कर्म लोकोऽयम् अनुवर्तत�
तेनै� कर्मणा ध्यायन� मा� परां भक्तिम� इच्छति

󲹰 Բ parityajya 峾 eka� bhaja ś
yādṛś� yādṛś� ś siddhir bhavati ṛś�
kurvan ԾԳٲ� karma loko'yam anuvartate
tenaiva 첹ṇ� ⲹ mā� 貹� bhaktim icchati

parityajya—completely renouncing; Բ—oٳ; 󲹰—forms of constitutional activity centered around the principles of religious conduct, economic development, sense gratification and liberation, which are practiced out of ignorance; bhaja—render service; —to Me; ekam—e泦ܲ; ś—wٳ faith; yādṛś� yādṛś�—in accordance with the degree; ś—of faith; bhavati—there is achieved; ṛś�—a corresponding; perfection; ayam ǰ첹�—the people of this material world; nirantaram—iԳԳٱ; kurvan—engaging in action; karma anuvartate—follow this process of work; eva—cٲԱ; tena 첹ṇ�—through performing such activities; —while contemplating; ; icchati—one hankers; parām bhaktim—for the supreme stage of bhakti, i.e. prema-bhakti.

“O , abandon all varieties of dharma and engage exclusively in My bhajana with unwavering determination and faith. Perfection is attained according to one’s faith. Human beings in this world are continuously engaged in occupational duties. They should desire to attain prema-bhakti by being absorbed in thoughts of Me through the performance of their respective duties.� (61)

Śīla Jīva Gosvāmī’s Ṭīkā commentary (屹Գܱ岹):

[Sanskrit text for commentary available]

To further fortify the resolve of jī in the practice of śܻ-󲹰پ, Śī 󲹲 said, “O , engage in My service with unflinching faith. Others who desire sense gratification or liberation should also think exclusively of Me and nothing else while carrying out their respective duties. In this way everyone may worship Me, the Supreme Personality, through unalloyed bhakti-yoga.�

This has also been stated in Śī-岵ٲ (2.3.10):

峾� sarva-kāmo vā ǰṣa-峾 ܻ-ī�

tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta ܰṣa� param

Those who are desireless, those who have all desires, those who desire liberation and those who desire unalloyed devotion should all simply worship Me, the Supreme Enjoyer, Śī ṛṣṇa, through the performance of unadulterated bhakti-yoga.

Purport by Śīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura (ٱ貹ⲹ):

Śܻ-bhakti is the only transcendental occupation for the living entities, and is therefore called the eternal constitutional occupation of the living entity (jaiva-dharma). All other constitutional activities apart from this are engagements arising from the influence of material designations. There are many types of such materially designated occupations current in the world, such as the dharma of knowledge of Brahman aimed at attaining impersonal liberation; yoga-dharma such as the eightfold yoga process aimed at oneness with Brahman; the dharma of mundane piety to acquire bodily sense pleasure; the dharma of ñԲ-Dz as a mixture of fruitive activity with the cultivation of intellectual knowledge; and the dharma of dry renunciation

Here 󲹲 is saying,

“Reject all these superficial dharmas and engage in My service by taking shelter of bhakti-dharma, which is based on transcendental faith. Exclusive faith in Me is called ś. When that conviction gradually matures, it assumes the form of steadiness (Ծṣṭ), taste (ruci), attachment (پ) and ecstatic transcendental emotion (). The degree of one’s attainment of spiritual perfection depends on the extent to which faith matures or becomes intensified.�

One might raise the question: how will a person protect his body and maintain his life if he always remains absorbed in the constant endeavor for perfection in bhakti? Death is inevitable when activities for physical preservation and maintenance are arrested, and how will it be possible to endeavor for perfection in bhakti when one has died? To dispel this doubt, 󲹲 is saying, “If human beings maintain their lives and protect their bodies with the sole intention of attaining Me, the reactive quality of the activities they perform is eliminated, and these activities become acts of devotion. The survival and sustenance of the human being is accomplished through three types of activity, namely, bodily, mental and social. Bodily activities include eating, drinking, sitting, walking, reclining, dressing and activities for purifying oneself, such as bathing. Mental activities include thinking, remembering, concentrating, realizing and feeling happiness and distress. There are many types of social activities such as marriage, mutual obligations between the king and his subjects, fraternity, assemblies for performing sacrifice, activities related to one’s home and temple, fulfilling desires by constructing hospitals and digging wells for public welfare, maintaining family members, receiving guests, observing customs and honoring others according to their social status. When all these activities are performed for the sake of one’s own enjoyment, they can be called 첹-ṇḍ. When one attempts to accumulate knowledge through the performance of these activities, they can be called karma-yoga or ñԲ-yoga.

But when all such activities are favorable to 󲹲Բ-󲹰پ, they are called the indirect application of bhakti (ṇa-bhakti-yoga).

“Only activities that are purely based on service to Me may be called the direct application of devotion. According to the circumstances, one may sometimes engage in the activities of direct devotion, and at other times, one may be engaged in indirect bhakti while meeting worldly obligations. In either case, every activity is effectively a meditation upon Me. In such a condition, one does not become indifferent to Me, even while being engaged in activities.� 

In this method, although work is performed, one remains internally fixed. Śī Iśopaniṣad (1) states:

ईशावास्यम् इद� सर्व� यत� किञ्चिज् जगत्या� जगत्
ते� त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्य स्विद् धनम्

īś屹ⲹm ida� yat kiñcij jagatyā� jagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdha� kasya svid dhanam

Our revered commentator has stated, tena īśa-tyaktena visṛṣṭena

The essential purport is that whatever one receives should be accepted with the understanding, 

“By good fortune I have attained this mercy personally given by 󲹲.� 

If one accepts everything in this way, the reactive quality of karma is eliminated and the activity takes on the quality of devotion. 

Therefore, the verse beginning with īś屹ⲹ conveys the following sense:

कुर्वन्न� एवेह कर्माण� जिजीविषेच् छत� समाः
एव� त्वय� नान्यथेतोऽस्ति � कर्म लिप्यत� नर�

kurvann eveha karmāṇi jijīviṣec 󲹳ٲ�
eva� tvayi nānyatheto'sti na karma lipyate nare

Śī ĪśDZ貹Ծṣa (2)

By observing this method, a human being may work throughout a life extending over thousands of years, without being tainted by karma.

The ñī interpret both of these mantras as advocating the renunciation of the fruits of work. However, the devotees interpret them to mean that one can attain the mercy of 󲹲 by completely offering everything unto Him. 󲹲 is saying, “Perform your worldly duties along with meditating upon Me and worshiping Me on the path of formal deity ɴǰ󾱱.�

Within ’s heart there is a desire to create. If considers the task of creation to be 󲹲’s order, and carries it out while meditating upon Him, then, because he is surrendered to 󲹲, this may be included within bhakti as a secondary function favorable to the nourishment of devotion. Thus it was appropriate for 󲹲 to instruct in this way, although this type of instruction is not required for a living entity who has attained , because he is naturally detached from any subject other than Śī ṛṣṇa.

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