Sri Upadesamrita, Verse 5

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Sri Upadesamrita of Srila Rupa Gosvami

 

With "Upadesa-Prakasika" commentary of Sri Radha-Ramana dasa Gosvami,

"Piyusa-varsini-vritti" commentary of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura,

and "Anuvritti" commentary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada

 

Verse Five

 

Service Rendered by an Intermediate

Devotee to the Three Kinds of Vaisnavas

 

krsneti yasya giri tam manasadriyeta

diksasti cet pranatibhis ca bhajantam isam

susrusaya bhajana-vijnam ananyam anya-

nindadi-sunya-hrdam ipsita-sanga-labdhya

 

Anvaya

adriyeta--one should respect; manasa--within the mind;

tam--that person (a neophyte devotee); yasya giri--in

whose speech; iti--thus (appears); krsna--one name of

Krsna; (one should offer respect) pranatibhih--by offering

pranama; ca--also; bhajantam--an intermediate devotee

who, being endowed with the correct understanding of

reality and illusion, performs bhajana in accordance

with the Vaisnava conventions; isam--Sri Bhagavan;

cet--if; asti--he has; diksa--accepted initiation from a

qualified guru; (and) labdhya--having obtained; ipsita-

sanga--the association for which one hankers (the asso-

ciation of a topmost devotee whose heart is established

in the particular mood of service to Sri Radha-Krsna for

which one aspires and who is affectionately disposed

towards oneself); susrusaya--with all types of service

(such as offering dandavat-pranama, making relevant

inquiry and rendering service); (one should respect)

bhajana-vijnam--a self-realised, expert maha-bhagavata

Vaisnava who performs bhajana of Sri Radha-Krsna's

eightfold daily pastimes by rendering service mentally;

ananyam-who is an exclusive devotee of Sri Krsna;

anya-nindadi-sunya-hrdam--and whose heart, due to his

undeviating absorption in Krsna, is free from faults such

as the tendency to criticise others

 

Translation

 

One who takes krsna-nama just once by calling out

"O Krsna!" is a neophyte devotee ( kanistha-adhikari).

One should consider him to be his family member and

silently respect him. One who, fully understanding the

principle of diksa, has accepted initiation from a quali-

fied guru and performs bhajana of Bhagavan in accor-

dance with the Vaisnava conventions is an intermediate

devotee ( madhyama-adhikari). One should respect

such a devotee who is endowed with the correct under-

standing of reality and illusion by offering pranama

unto him and so forth. One who is conversant with the

science of bhajana as described in the Srimad-Bhaga-

vatam and other Vaisnava scriptures and who performs

exclusive bhajana of Sri Krsna is a maha-bhagavata

devotee. Due to his undeviating absorption in Krsna,

the pure heart of such a devotee is free from faults such

as the tendency to criticise others. He is expert in bha-

jana, meaning that he mentally renders service ( manasa-

seva) to Sri Radha-Krsna's pastimes which take place

during the eight segments of the day (asta-kaliya-lila).

Knowing him to be a topmost devotee whose heart is

established in the particular mood of service to Sri

Radha-Krsna for which one aspires and who is affec-

tionately disposed towards oneself, one should honour

him by offering dandavat-pranama (pranipata), making

relevant inquiry (pariprasna) and rendering service

(seva) with great love.

 

Upadesa-prakasika-tika

 

This verse gives instruction on svarupa-siddha-bhakti.*

We should respectfully offer pranama to those who have

accepted initiation from a qualified guru. In all ways we

should lovingly serve those who perform exclusive bha-

jana of Sri Krsna by manasa-seva and who are expert in

the procedure of worshipping Krsna's as a-kaliya-lila,

knowing them to be the most desirable association. The

meaning of "exclusive bhajana" is to be solely devoted

to the worship of Sri Radha-Krsna in Vraja, without

attachment for Laksmi-Narayana or other incarnations

of Bhagavan. It says in the Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu

that amongst the exclusive devotees of the many differ-

ent incarnations of Bhagavan, those whose hearts have

been stolen by Sri Nanda-nandana are the best because

even the favour of the master of Laksmi, Sri Narayana,

cannot attract their minds. Because such exclusive

devotees are forever alert to cultivate bhakti in the

company of those topmost devotees who are expert in

relishing devotional mellows (rasika), as well as being

like-minded and affectionate, their hearts are always free

from contaminations such as the tendency to criticise

others. Knowing these topmost devotees to be the most

desirable association, one should respect them mentally,

offer pranama unto them and render service to them

with great love.

 

========

* All favourable endeavours (cesta) such as sravana, kirtana,

smarana and so on, as well as the manifestation of the spiri-

tual sentiments which occur beginning from the stage of

bhava, which are completely devoid of all desires separate

from Sri Krsna and which are freed from the coverings of

jnana and karma, are known as svarupa-siddha-bhakti. In

other words, all endeavours of the body, words and mind

which are related to Sri Krsna and which are performed exclu-

sively and directly for His pleasure without any intervention

are known as svarupa-siddha-bhakti.

========

 

 

Another meaning of this verse can be given. One

should respect within the mind those who have

accepted initiation from a qualified guru and chant

krsna-nama. One should respect those who have

accepted initiation from a bona fide spiritual master

( sad-guru), who have developed an understanding of

sambandha-jnana*

and who perform bhajana purely, by

offering pranama to them and so forth. The best devo-

tees are those who are devoid of the tendency to blas-

pheme others and who, being exclusively devoted to Sri

Radha-Krsna, are forever alert to render service men-

tally to Their as asta-kaliya-liaa. Knowing such devotees to

be established in the particular mood of service to Sri

Radha-Krsna for which one aspires, to be affectionately

disposed towards oneself and to be the topmost associ-

ation, one should honour them in all respects by offer-

ing dandavat-pranama ( pranipata), making relevant

inquiry ( pariprasna) and rendering service ( seva) with

great affection. One should understand the eminence of

Vaisnavas according to this gradation.

In the original verse by Sri Rupa GosvAmi, the word

"Adi", meaning "and so forth", has been used after the

word "ninda", which means to criticise. We should

understand this to indicate envy, aggression and other

faults which generally accompany the tendency to criti-

cise others.

 

==========

*Sambandha-jnana is knowledge regarding sambandha-tattva,

the mutual relationship between the Lord, the living entities

and the material energy. The word sambandha means con-

nection, relationship and binding. The living entities are eter-

nally and inseparably connected to the Supreme Lord. There-

fore, He is the true object of relationship. The general rela-

tionship between the living entities and the Supreme Lord is

one of servant and served. However, in the perfectional stage

of bhakti, one becomes established in a specific relationship

with the Lord either as a servant, friend, parent or lover.

=======

 

In the Srimad-BhAgavatam (3.25.24),

Kapiladeva says:

ta ete sadhavah sadhvi

sarva-sanga-vivarjitah

sangas tesv atha te prarthyah

sanga-dosa-hara hi te

 

"O Sadhvi (virtuous lady)! The only desirable associ-

ation is that of pure-hearted sadhus who always remain

aloof from all varieties of bad association. By the influ-

ence of their association, the contaminations accrued

through bad association can be eradicated."

 

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti

 

According to the instruction given in this verse, as

long as a sadhaka remains within the madhyama-

adhikari stage, he is obliged to render service to

devotees. The topmost devotee ( uttama-bhakta) sees all

living entities with equal vision. Therefore, he doesn't

discriminate between devotees and non-devotees. The

intermediate devotee ( madhyama-bhakta) is one who

sincerely endeavours to perform bhajana. This fifth

verse indicates how madhyama devotees should behave

towards the topmost class of devotees. If one remains

aloof from the association of men who are attached to

women, nondevotees and sense-enjoyers, their faults

will not come within him. Still, understanding neo-

phyte devotees ( kanistha-bhaktas) to be ignorant due to

their lack of knowledge of sambandha-tattva, the mad-

hyama devotee should be merciful to them. Hearing

such neophyte devotees uttering krsna-nama, a mad-

hyama devotee will respect them within his mind. If a

kanis ha devotee accepts initiation and engages in hari-

bhajana, a madhyama devotee will show him respect by

offering pranama to him. Understanding the associa-

tion of maha-bhagavata Vaisnavas who are free from the

tendency to criticise others to be most beneficial, one

should honour them by rendering service to them. This

service alone is the root cause of all spiritual perfections.

 

Anuvrtti

 

In Bhakti-sandarbha (868), Sri Jiva Gosvami defines

the procedure known as vaisnava-diksa in the following

statement:

 

divyam jnanam yato dadyat

kuryat papasya sanksayam

tasmad dikseti sa prokta

desikais tattva-kovidaih

 

"That process which bestows transcendental knowl-

edge ( divya-jnana) and destroys sinful desires for

material sense enjoyment is called diksA by learned

authorities in the absolute truth."

One should silently respect a devotee who, knowing

that Sri Krsna and Sri-krsna-nama are nondifferent and

transcendental and that Sri-nama alone is the supreme

object of worship and bhajana, takes exclusive shelter of

krsna-nama and is devoted to chanting. Although the

mantras which the disciple receives at the time of diksa

consist entirely of Sri-nama, the names which form the

basis of those mantras are endowed with specific

knowledge of the disciple's relationship with the Lord.

Without taking shelter of harinAma, one cannot become

hari-jana or a member of Krsna's family. Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu determined the gradations in Vaisnavas

through showing the gradations in their faith in hari-

nama. One who has chanted krsna-nama just once is a

( kanistha) Vaisnava. One who constantly chants krsna-

nama is a superior ( madhyama) Vaisnava. The topmost

Vaisnava (uttama or maha-bhagavata) is he at the mere

sight of whom others automatically begin chanting

krsna-nama. One should respect the kanistha Vaisnava

within one's mind. One should respect the madhyama

Vaisnava by offering pranama to him and so forth.

Knowing the uttama Vaisnava to be the topmost devo-

tee who is established in the particular mood of service

to Sri Radha-Krsna for which one aspires and to be

affectionately disposed towards oneself, one should

serve him with great love.

(1) Because the maha-bhagavata devotees see every-

thing as being related to Krsna, they see all living

entities with equal vision. Like madhyama-adhikari

devotees, they are intent on performing bhajana, and

like kanistha-adhikari devotees, they are devoted to

chanting harinama.

(2) Madhyama-adhikaris possess prema for Sri Krsna,

and they respect the three levels of Vaisnavas--uttama,

madhyama and kanistha--by rendering service, offering

pranama and offering respect within the mind, respec-

tively. They always endeavour to turn the living entities

who are averse to Krsna towards Him. They are indif-

ferent to those who are inimical to Him. They do not

see all living entities with equal vision as the uttama-

adhikari maha-bhagavata devotees do. If they fraudu-

lently imitate the maha-bhagavata devotee, they will

very quickly fall down from their position.

(3) The kanistha-adhikari devotees take full shelter of

the chanting of Sri-krsna-nama, knowing it to be

supremely beneficial. But they don't realise that the

position of the madhyama-adhikari is above their pres-

ent position and that they should strive to reach that

position at sometime in the future. Sometimes the

kanistha-adhikari falls down due to considering himself

a guru. Therefore, carefully giving appropriate respect

to the uttama devotees, they should take full shelter of

Sri-nama.