Bhajagovindam (part 26)

[Guest guest]

Bhajagovindam (part 26) Commentary by Gopi Krishna

 

Sloka 21 (Attributed to Nityanaatha)

 

Punarapi Jananam Punarapi Maranam

Punarapi Jananeejathare Sayanam

Iha Samsaare Bahudustaare

Kripayapaare Paahi Murare

 

.... Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam

 

Meaning:

 

Punah api - once again, Jananam - birth, Punah api - once again, Maranam -

death, Punarapi - (and) again, Jananeejathare - in the mother's womb,

Sayanam - lying, Iha - here, Samsaare - in this Samasaare (process),

Bahudustaare - (Samsaara) which is very hard to cross over, Apaare -

(Samsaara) which has no end, Kripayapaare- through Thy Infinite Kindness,

Paahi - save, Murare - O Destroyer of demon Mura.

 

Substance:

 

Undergoing the pangs of birth again and again, passing through the throes of

death again and again, lying in the mother's womb over and over again, this

process of samsaara is very hard to cross over without the Infinite Kindness

of Lord (Murari). O merciful Father, kindly save me.

 

Commentary:

 

As Geetacharya instructed and preached, the only path to get rid of the

vicious cycle of birth-death-birth is to incessantly pray Lord to shower His

bountiful and infinite kindness on us. Our prayers should be so powerful and

strong that they should cross the outer periphery of our being and penetrate

into HIS kingdom in our innermost-self and outside (as one imagines in

Dwaita Bhaava) and melt HIM. Then only HE will bestow on us HIS benign

blessings on us or come down to save us from this Samsaara, as HE saved

Gajendra, Prahlada, Ambarisha and many such great souls, in response to

their sincere prayers. To develop such an intense feeling, one has to resort

to Sadhana and there is no other way out except this. And as Geetachaarya

says, one has to give up all other paths, surrender oneself completely to

Him and then He shall save one from every sin and one does not need to

grieve. This assurance will become true only when our inner-self is free

from all kinds of malice for anything and anybody.

 

The desires give birth to ego and from that stems all problems and karmas,

which bind one to take birth again and again. Once one gets entangled in

this vicious circle, the vasaanas of earlier births will make life difficult

in this birth, unless and until one realises the futility of taking support

assuming that the world of objects and beings will give one permanent

pleasure. So, one has to live upto the sahaja vaasanaas and to exhaust them

through actions undertaken without ego and egocentric desires, so that no

new vaasana may precipitate in us. In other words, all actions should be

done with samarpana bhaava or with an attitude of dedication, in a spirit of

yagna and with an idea to serve for the sake of loka kalyaanam or for the

welfare of the world.

 

When such an attitude is perfected and the thought-disturbances calm down,

then one transcends and experiences the bliss of Infinite Spirit. From that

point onwards, a new life starts, where there is no room for any thoughts.

The soul dictates the brain to act for the sake of society rather than one's

own selfish ends. Thus, one is relieved from the causes of repeated births

totally.

 

Like this, one has to surrender oneself to His grace, imploring and

beseeching for HIS mercy, as He is karunasagara and only He can excuse one,

in spite of all the sins one commits. Only He can destroy the Mura in us to

make us eligible to enter into His kingdom. To become eligible we constantly

invoke godly vaasanaas in us.