Why The Feet Of Sri Guru Are Compared To A Lotus

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Why The Feet Of Sri Guru Are Compared To A Lotus

 

BY SRI SRIMAD GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI MAHARAJA

 

EDITORIAL, Jan 2 (VNN) — This article appeared in issue number 40 of Sri

Krishna Kathamrita Bindu the free fortnightly email magazine from ISKCON

Gopal Jiu Publications.

 

 

 

One should understand what is sri-guru-carana-padma. The words

"sri-guru" are very significant. "Sri" means sobha, beauty; sampada,

transcendental wealth, or asset; and srestha, the topmost. "Sri-guru" means

that guru who is endowed with sri, with prema-bhakti. The word 'sri' is used

because there is no question of Sri Guru disappearing or not being manifest.

It is only applicable to a guru who is eternally manifest. Otherwise such a

word would not be used.

 

THE ONLY WEALTH

 

In this world, Sri Guru is the only beauty or asset, wealth. There

is nothing else. Carana means feet. Sri-guru-carana-padma-the feet of Sri

Guru are compared to the lotus. This is also very significant. Why are his

feet compared to the lotus and not to anything else? The lotus flower looks

very nice and beautiful, and it also provides very sweet honey, madhu. The

bumblebee collects honey from different flowers, but especially from the

lotus flower. So what sort of special quality is there in the honey

collected from the lotus flower that is not present in the honey collected

from other flowers? It is a special type of honey known as padma-madhu. The

disciple who is like a bumblebee, who is very hungry and greedy for that

honey, relishes it.

 

MELLOW OF BHAKTI

 

Although the lotus flower grows out of the water, it is not touched by it.

 

One of the synonyms for water is rasa, mellow. The feet of Sri Guru

are compared to a lotus, but this lotus grows in the transcendental water of

bhakti-rasa, the mellow of bhakti. Such are the lotus feet of Sri Guru. His

lotus feet are aprakrta, not material, but transcendental. They are

bhakati-sadma, the abode of transcendental bhakti-rasa as well as all

madhuri, beauty. The lotus looks beautiful to the eye and is very attractive

to the heart. Similarly, the shining lotus feet of Sri Guru are very

beautiful in the eyes of the disciple and very attractive to his heart. All

of the activities, form, qualities, and pastimes of Sri Guru are very

beautiful in the eyes of the sadhaka-bhakta. Through the eye of meditation

the sadhaka-bhakta sees the beautiful lotus feet of Sri Guru. Upon seeing

those lotus feet he feels a soothing effect in his afflicted heart. His

heart is afflicted with the three tapas, sufferings: adhyatmika, sufferings

arising from one's own mind and body; adhidaivika, sufferings arising from

nature; and adhibhautika, sufferings arising from other living entities.

 

When the disciple meditates on the beautiful lotus feet of Sri Guru

he feels a soothing effect and his affliction is cooled down. At the same

time he also smells the nice scent that is coming from the lotus feet of Sri

Guru, like the scent that comes from the lotus.

 

COOLING SHADE

 

The bumblebee wanders everywhere, going to various types of flowers.

One type of flower is the ketaki flower. That flower is found in India, but

not in the West. The tree on which the ketaki flower grows, like the rose

plant, has thousands of thorns. The ketaki flower has a nice scent, and a

bumblebee that becomes attracted by the scent from the ketaki flower goes

there. But because of the many thorns on the tree his wings become torn and

he feels so much pain and affliction. The bumblebee thinks, "Where to go

now? Can I get shelter in a place where there is no pain and affliction?

Where can I get peace?" After wandering hither and thither, at last he comes

to the lotus flower and experiences the cooling, soothing effect there. He

takes shelter inside the lotus flower, sucks the sweet honey there, and thus

gets nourishment.

 

Similarly, the jiva who is wandering and wandering through the

innumerable universes and through the innumerable species of life of this

material world - brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva* - gets only more

and more suffering, misery, and torture. There is no cooling effect in the

material world, which is like a blazing forest fire - samsara-davanala.

Nobody starts the forest fire, but automatically by the rubbing of two

pieces of wood the whole forest is burned and the animals that live in the

forest are burned to ashes. They feel the burning heat, which is very

painful. Similarly, the conditioned souls in this material world feel the

burning sensation coming from the three tapas: adhyatmika, adhibhautika, and

adhidaivika. After wandering through innumerable universes and innumerable

species of life, at last the fortunate soul, bhagyavan jiva, comes to the

lotus feet of Sri Guru and takes shelter in the cooling shade there. As the

bumblebee sucks honey from the lotus flower, similarly, the guru-pada-padma,

the lotus feet of Sri Guru, allow that jiva, who is compared to the

bumblebee, to suck the nice honey whereby he gets real nourishment and also

premananda, loving happiness.

 

SPECIAL TYPE OF HONEY

 

Padma-madhu, the honey collected from the lotus flower, is a special

type of honey. The Ayurveda-sastra says that it is a good medicine for the

eye. If someone has some eye disease due to impurities in the eye the

kaviraj, ayurvedic doctor, will advise him to rub some padma-madhu in his

eyes.

 

Because of these impurities one cannot see clearly and feels pain.

Applying some padma-madhu on the eyes will clean out all the impurities and

then one will be able to see clearly. Similarly, the guru-pada-padma-madhu,

the honey emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Guru, is so sweet and

nectarean that if a fortunate disciple gets it and relishes it then the

disciple's eyes will be cleansed of the material conception.

 

EYES OF KNOWLEDGE

 

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya

caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

 

I was born in the dense darkness of ignorance, blind, without real

vision. Sri Guru, by his causeless mercy, has opened my eyes with the

torchlight of knowledge.*

 

For a person who has some painful eye disease, who cannot see well,

the kaviraj will advise him to apply some padma-madhu by which the

drsti-sakti, the power to see clearly, will develop. Then not only will he

get nice eyesight but also he will be able to see even very subtle things

that he would otherwise never have been able to see. Similarly, when one

takes shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Guru and gets the guru's mercy, the

guru allows the surrendered disciple to taste that sweet honey emanating

from the guru's lotus feet. That is the medicine whereby his material eyes

will be cleansed of all material contamination. He develops transcendental

vision.

 

He may have been blinded by the dense darkness of ignorance,

ajnana-andhakara, but that will all be gone now. The darkness is dispelled

and he receives the eyes of knowledge-divya-jnana-caksu. Sri Guru imparts

tattva-jnana, and by his mercy the disciple develops transcendental vision.

 

With that vision he will be able to see the beautiful form of the

Supreme Lord, Syamasundar. This is the honey, or madhu, emanating from the

lotus feet of Sri Guru; it acts in such a wonderful way. Therefore the

phrase, 'sri-guru-carana-padma' is very significant - the lotus feet of Sri

Guru are compared to a lotus. Why is this comparison made and how to explain

it?

 

WONDERFUL CHARACTERISTIC

 

Padma-madhu cures eye disease and clears out all the impurities from

the eye, but it cannot clear the impurities from the heart. However, the

honey emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Guru, guru-pada-padma-madhu, has

such a special and wonderful characteristic that it cures both the eye and

the heart. Sri-guru-carana-padma-madhu cleanses and purifies the heart so

that it will become a suitable place for Govinda, Krishna, to reside.

 

tomara hrdoye sada govinda-visram

govinda kohena - mora vaisnava paran*

 

Narottam Das Thakur sings, "O vaisnava-thakura! Govinda, Krishna,

resides in your heart, which is like Vrindavan, the eternal abode of

Govinda. He stays there very blissfully and peacefully. He never leaves your

heart." The guru makes the heart of his surrendered disciple a suitable

place for Krishna to reside. By giving the disciple shelter at his lotus

feet and allowing him to suck that special type of honey that has that

wonderful characteristic, the heart of the surrendered disciple is cleansed.

 

WANDERING HOPELESSLY

 

The conditioned souls are like a diseased person suffering from

various kinds of material ills-bhava-rogi. Their disease is very chronic.

They have already taken many medicines - allopathic, homeopathic, and

ayurvedic - but the disease is still not cured. The disease is incurable and

has become chronic. They have already lost their vitality, jivana-sakti, and

cannot digest any food. They have taken so many medicines and that has also

produced a bad effect. These days you will find so many strong drugs, but

what is their effect? They simply result in chronic incurable disease.

 

People lose their vitality and they cannot even eat anything because

their digestive fire is very low. How can they survive? They are dying. They

cannot eat or digest anything. The kaviraj will advise, "You should only eat

one thing - madhu. And especially padma-madhu, the special type of honey

from the lotus flower." He prescribes padma-madhu whereby they will regain

their vitality. This honey will give them life. Any other type of food

cannot be given, only padma-madhu is advised. Then they can regain their

vitality. Such jivas, wandering through innumerable universes and

experiencing the miseries of innumerable species of life, have become

completely hopeless. They are only getting suffering, so many material

ills-bhava-roga. If such persons are fortunate, they will come to the lotus

feet of Sri Guru. That guru is like a physician, sadhu-vaidya. He knows the

perfect and unfailing medicine to cure the material disease, bhava-roga. He

knows the cause of the jiva's suffering.

 

There is only one medicine, the honey emanating from the lotus feet

of Sri Guru - guru-pada-padma-madhu. So, as the lotus allows the bumblebee

whose wings are torn by the thorns of the ketaki flower to take shelter

inside the flower, similarly, the guru allows the disciple to take shelter

at his lotus feet. The guru-pada-padma, the lotus feet of Sri Guru, gives

such hopeless wandering souls shelter and allows them to suck honey, whereby

they regain their vitality. The suffering jiva gets nourishment and life

there. That is why we say, 'sri-guru-carana-padma.' The lotus feet of Sri

Guru are compared to a lotus, and not to anything else. This phrase has

great significance.

 

- Originally From "The Worship of Sri Guru". Gopal Jiu Publications.

Bhubaneswar, India. 2000. Continued in part two.