Mādhurya Kādambinī – Sri Visvanatha Cakravartipada

Commentaries by Śrī Rādhākuṇḍa’s Mahānta Paṇḍita Śrī Ananta Dās Bābājī Mahārāja
Translation by Advaita das

atha saiva bhajana viṣayā ruciḥ prathama prauḍhatamā satī yadā bhajanīyaṁ bhagavantaṁ viṣayīkaroti tadeyam āsaktir ityākhyāyate. yaiva bhakti kalpavallyāḥ stavakībhāvamāsādayantī bhāva premṇi puṣpaphale acirād eva bhāvinī dyotayati. rucir bhajana viṣayā āsaktir bhajanīya viṣayeti bhūmnaiva vyāpadeśaḥ. vastutastūbhe apyubhayaṁ viṣayīkarotyeva. aprauḍhatvaprauḍhatvābhyām eva bhedasya āsaktir evāntaḥ karaṇa mukuraṁ tathā mārjayati yathā tatra sahasā pratibimbito bhagavān avalokyamāna iva bhavati. hanta viṣayair ākramyate madīyaṁ cetas tad idaṁ bhagavati nidadhāmīti bhaktasya vidhitsāstarameva prāyo viṣayebhyo niṣkramya tad rūpa guṇādau yat praveśa śīlaṁ pūrva daśāyām āsīt tad eva cittam āsaktau jātāyāṁ vidhitsātaḥ pūrvam eva svayam eva tathābhūtaṁ bhavet. yathā bhagavad rūpa guṇādibhyo niṣkramya vārtāntare cetaḥ kadā praviṣṭam iti prāpta niṣṭhenāpi bhaktena nānusandhātuṁ śakyate tathaiva vārtāntarato niṣkramya bhagavad rūpa guṇādiṣu kadā praviṣṭaṁ svaceta ityāsaktir anāsaktena na lakṣyate. āsaktimatā bhaktena tu tal lakṣyate ||1||

TRANSLATION:

When ruci related to devotion attains paramount maturity and the worshipable Lord becomes one’s object (viṣaya), then it is known as āsakti, or attachment. This āsakti appears as clusters of buds on the desire creeper of bhakti proclaiming the swift appearance of bhāva-flowers and prema-fruits. ruci has devotion as its object, and āsakti has the worshipable Lord as its object. This characteristic is mentioned just to show the predominance of the respective objects in ruci and āsakti. Indeed, ruci and āsakti both have devotion and the worshipable Lord as their object. There is a difference in being immature or mature. Āsakti cleans the mirror of devotee’s heart in such a way the reflection of the Lord suddenly seems to be almost directly visible there. The devotee vows: “Oh! My mind is afflicted by material desires. Let me fix it on the Lord.” His mind thus ceases from the material affairs and becomes fixed on the Lord’s form, qualities, and so on. On the appearance of āsakti, however, the mind automatically fixes on the Lord before such deliberate efforts. The devotee in the niṣṭhā stage is unable to detect how and when his mind ceases from chanting, hearing, and remembering the Lord, and absorbs in mundane topics. One who has not yet reached āsakti is unable to detect when his mind leaves mundane topics and becomes spontaneously absorbed in Śrī Hari’s form and attributes. On reaching the stage of āsakti, however, he is able to observe the movements of the mind”.

Pīyūṣa kanā explanation—

Now the author describes the symptoms of the stage of āsakti or attachment to Kṛṣṇa. ruci has bhajana consisting of hearing and chanting as its object and when this becomes deep, so that the Lord Himself becomes the object then this is called āsakti. A devotee with ruci has taste for items of bhajana such as hearing and chanting and a devotee with āsakti has attachment to the Lord as its object. When it is time for a vine to bear flowers and fruits, we first see sprouts appearing on its stem. When we see these sprouts we can understand that soon the vine will bear fruits and flowers. Similarly when this āsakti awakens it makes it known that the flowers of bhāva and the fruits of prema will soon appear on the wish-yielding vine of the devotee’s devotion.
ruci has bhajana as its object and āsakti has the Worshipable One as its object — these definitions have been given. Such are known to be the predominating characteristics of these stages. In other words, it is not that the devotee with ruci has gusto but is not attached to the Lord; rather, his ruci for bhajana is more predominant than his attachment to the Lord. And it is also not so that the devotee with āsakti has no more ruci for bhajana when he got attached to the Lord, but his attachment to the Lord is predominant in his stage. Indeed, ruci and āsakti both have devotion and the worshipable Lord as their object. In other words, ruci in devotion nourishes attachment to the Lord and attachment to the Lord nourishes ruci in devotion. Thus there can be no attachment to the Lord without ruci for bhajana and there can be no ruci for bhajana without attachment to the Lord. ruci in its mature stage thus transforms into āsakti. This āsakti makes the mirror of the devotee’s heart so clean that the Lord is reflected in it as if for real. Though the jīva is very close to the Lord, the sweetness of Śrī Hari’s form does not reflect on the mirror of his heart, which is covered by the dust of material desires since beginningless time. āsakti carefully cleanses the mirror of the heart, making it suitable for Śrī Hari to reflect there, as if almost directly visible.
Another difference between ruci and āsakti is that in the stage of ruci the sādhaka must purposefully withdraw his heart from the sense objects and engage it in the Lord’s service, but in the stage of āsakti the sādhaka becomes absorbed in the Lord without personal endeavour. This is a desirable condition of the sādhaka, without any doubt. The devotee in the niṣṭhā stage is unable to detect how and when his mind ceases from chanting, hearing, and remembering the Lord, and absorbs in mundane topics. A devotee at the stage of āsakti, however, is unable to detect when his mind leaves mundane topics and spontaneously absorbs in Śrī Hari’s form, attributes etc. The devotee below this stage is unable to experience this. Only a devotee in āsakti can experience this. The meditation on the Lord’s form, qualities, and so on is intense in the stage of ruci, but becomes even more intense in the āsakti stage. rucir abhilaṣaḥ kintu buddhipūrvikeyaṁ āsaktis tu svārasikī svābhāvikītyarthah (Śrī Jīva’s commentary on Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu 1.4.15-16) “In the stage of ruci the desire to attain the Lord, the desire to be favourable to Him and the desire for affection towards Him are nourished on purpose, but in the stage of āsakti these things take place naturally.”

tataś ca prātaḥ kutastyo’pi bhoḥ kaṇṭhalambita śrī śālagrāma śilā sundara sampuṭo laghu laghūccārita śrī kṛṣṇa nāmāmṛtāsvāda pratikṣaṇa lolitarasanaḥ prekṣyamāṇa eva durbhagaṁ mām ullāsayasi kasmiṁscid arthe. tat kathaya kutra kutra vā tīrthe bhramaṇ keṣāṁ dṛṣṭyā keṣāṁ vā bhagavad anubhavānām āspadībhavann ātmānam anyaṁ cākṛtārthayaḥ. ityudbhāvita saṁlāpāmṛta pāna yāpita katipaya kṣaṇaḥ punar anyato gatvā bhoḥ kakṣa nikṣipta manohara pustaka vilakṣaṇayā śriyā vidvān evānumīyase tad vyācakṣva daśama skandhīyaṁ padyam ekaṁ jīvaya śruticātakīṁ tad arthāmṛta vṛṣṭyā iti tad vyākhyayā romāñcita gātraḥ punar anyato gatvā hantādhunaivāhaṁ kṛtārthī bhaviṣyāmi yad iyaṁ sabhaiva sadya eva mama samasta duṣkṛta dhvaṁsinīti viracita daṇḍavad avani praṇipāta puraḥ sara praṇati vinatikaḥ tat sabhā mukuṭamaṇinā mahābhāgavata varyeṇa parama viduṣā sarasam ādriyamāṇaḥ saṅkucita tanus tad antika kṛtopaveśa eva bhos tribhuvana jīva bhavana mahā bhavaroga bhiṣak śiromaṇe dhṛtvaiva dhamanīm adhamasyāpi me mahādīnasya nirūpaya rujaṁ samādiśasva pathyauṣadhe kenāpi prayuktena mahā rasāyanena mad abhīpsitāṁ puṣṭim api sampādayeti sāsraṁ yācamānas tat kṛpāvaloka madhura vāṅmayāmṛta niṣyanda nanditas taccaraṇa paricaraṇa nīta pañca ṣaḍ vāsaraḥ sarasam aṭann api kadācid aṭavīṁ yadi mayi vartate kṛṣṇasya kṛpāvalokas tadāyaṁ dūrataḥ puro’valokyamānaḥ kṛṣṇasāras tri caturāṇi padāni mad abhimukham āyātu na cen māṁ pṛṣṭhīkarotviti naisargikīr api mṛga paśu pakṣi ceṣṭās tad anugraha nigraha liṅgatayaiva jānan grāmopaśalye’pi khelato vipra bālakān sanakādīniva kim ahaṁ vrajendra kumāraṁ prāpsāmi iti pṛṣṭvā tad dattam uttaraṁ meti mugdhākṣaraṁ durbodhārtahayā subodhārthatayā vā parāmṛṣya sva gṛha madhyamadhyāsyāpi mahādhana gṛdhnuḥ kṛpaṇa vaṇig iva kvāhaṁ yāmi kiṁ karomi kena vyāpāreṇa me tad abhīṣṭa vastujātaṁ hastagataṁ syād iti parimlāna vadana cintayan svapan uttiṣṭhan upaviśan parijanaiḥ kāraṇaṁ pṛcchamāno’pi kadācin mūka iva kadācd avahitthām ālambamānaḥ sāmpratam abhudayaṁ channa buddhir iti bandhubhiḥ svabhāvata evāyaṁ jaḍa iti prativeśibhir ajñair mūrkha iti mīmāṁsakaiḥ bhrānta iti vedāntibhiḥ bhraṣṭa iti karmibhir aho mahāsāraṁ vastu samadhigatam iti bhaktair dāmbhika iti tatrāparādhibhiḥ parāmṛṣyamāṇo mānāpamāna vicāra vidhuro bhagavad āsaktir svardhunī pravāha patita eva ceṣṭate bhakta iti (2)

iti mahāmahopādhyāya śrīmad viśvanātha cakravartiviracitāyāṁ mādhurya kādambinyāṁ manohāriṇīnāma ṣaṣṭyamṛta vṛṣṭiḥ

TRANSLATION:

Seeing another devotee early in the morning, such an āsaktimān devotee tells him, “Where are you coming from? A beautiful box of śālagrāma-śilā is hanging around your neck. As you are softly chanting, your tongue is slightly moving, relishing the nectar of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s name. I don’t know why you’ve come in front of the vision of such an unfortunate person, giving me pleasure. What holy places have you visited? What mahātmās have you had darśana of and how many devotees have you made to relish the Lord, thus becoming successful and making others successful?” He thus spends some time drinking the nectar of spiritual talks. Elsewhere he starts conversing with a lecturer, “Seeing the extraordinary and enchanting beauty of the book under your arm, it appears that you are an expert scholar of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Please recite a verse from the tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavata and bring life to my cātaka-like ears with such a shower of nectar.” Hearing the nectarean explanation of the verse, his hairs stand erect in ecstasy. Going another place, he arrives at an assembly of devotees and says, “Oh! Now I will be successful, because this assembly of devotees will quickly destroy all my sins.” He pays obeisances to them, falling like a stick on the ground. Then he is affectionately welcomed by the most exalted mahā-bhāgavata, the crest jewel of all devotees, and sits beside him in a most humble position. With tears in his eyes, he humbly begs for his mercy and says, “O crest jewel of physicians! You can destroy the grave material bondage of all the jīvas in the three worlds. As I am most fallen and distressed, please take my pulse and diagnose my disease. Prescribe a powerful medicine so that I can fulfill my desires.” On getting the nectarean instructions of that mahā-bhāgavata, he feels overjoyed and spends five or six days serving that mahā-bhāgavata ‘s lotus feet.

Sometimes as he wanders through the forests, in ecstasy he presumes the spontaneous movements of the animals and birds as symptoms of the Lord’s mercy or aversion. He thinks, “If Kṛṣṇa casts His merciful glance at me, then the Kṛṣṇa-sāra deer who is looking at me from a distance will come three or four steps towards me. Otherwise, he’ll turn his back and run away.” When he sees the natural behaviour of the deer, animals and birds he imagines it to be signs of either the Lord’s grace or punishment. Seeing brāhmaṇa boys playing on the outskirts of the village, he thinks them to be Sanaka and other ṛṣis and asks, “Will I able to see Vrajendra-nandana?” He thinks about their indistinct answer “No”, whether to take it on face value or seek a deeper meaning. But if someone says, “Yes, you will see,” then he feels overjoyed. Sometimes like a miserly merchant most greedy for wealth, he gets anxiously absorbed in the thoughts, “Where shall I go? What shall I do? How will I get my hands on my desired object?” He is thus absorbed in thought with a worn face. Sometimes he dreams, sometimes he sleeps, and sometimes he wakes and sits up. When relatives ask about his strange behaviour, he remains silent as if dumb, concealing his emotions. Thus his friends conclude, “He has gone out of his mind.” Ignorant neighbours criticize, “He’s dull by nature.” Followers of mīmāṁsā (the philosophy of Jaiminī related only to matter) say, “He is a fool.” Followers of Vedānta say, “He is in illusion.” The karmīs say, “He’s strayed from the right path.” Devotees say, “He has attained the most precious object.” Offenders say, “He is full of pride.” Such a topmost devotee, unaware of honour and dishonour, falls into the Gaṅgā streams of attachment to the Lord, and continues behaving in the above manner.

iti mahāmahopādhyāya Śrīmad Viśvanātha Cakravartī racitāyāṁ Mādhurya Kādambinyām manohāriṇī nāma sastḥyāmṛta-vṛstīḥ ||6||

Pīyūṣa kaṇā explanation – 

The author describes the activities of a devotee in the āsakti stage using various examples. In this stage a devotee becomes ardently eager to attain the desirable object. He cannot fix himself in one place. He wanders here and there outside of the house and humbly expresses his sentiments to the exalted devotees. When he sees a sādhu he considers himself blessed and asks him different questions about bhajana out of great love and faith.
Sometimes again he sees a lecturer on the Bhāgavata and asks him to recite one verse from the tenth Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavata that describes Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness and he gets goosebumps of topmost ecstasy when he hears its explanation. When ruci becomes deep it turns into āsakti, so the devotee with āsakti awakens deep relish in topics of Śrī Hari.
Because he is disturbed he goes elsewhere, and when he sees a sādhu there he at once considers himself blessed and with anxious heart asks the leader of the assembly of saints for the medicine against the disease of material life, and how he can swiftly attain the fulfillment of his spiritual aspirations. When he receives his compassionate instructions he considers himself blessed and spends some days in his service. However, the āsakti in his heart does not allow him to stay in one place— kāhāṅ karo kāhā jāo kāhā gele kṛṣṇa pāṅ? (Caitanya Caritāmṛta) “Where shall I go, what shall I do? Where can I find Kṛṣṇa?”
Sometimes he wanders from forest to forest in a disturbed mind and, seeing a deer before him, he thinks: “This deer is called a kṛṣṇasāra, one who takes Kṛṣṇa as the essence (sāra); so if he takes three or four steps towards me then I can understand that Kṛṣṇa’s mercy is with me, and if he turns his back on me then I understand that Kṛṣṇa’s mercy is not with me!” In this way he sees the aversion or mercy of the Lord even in the natural activities of the animals and birds.
Sometimes at the outskirts of a village he sees some brāhmaṇa children playing with unclear voices and he imagines them to be the four Kumāras, so he asks them: “Will I attain Kṛṣṇa?” Some of them appear to say unclearly: “No, you won’t.” Hearing this, he cries of sorrow. Seeing him weeping, one boy says: “You will get Him”, which makes Him dance in ecstasy.
Sometimes he also comes to his own house and thinks restlessly like a miserly and greedy merchant: “Where shall I go? What can I do? How can I get my aspirations fulfilled?” His anxious heart and his worries makes his face wilt. All his bodily routines like bathing and eating are contravened. Sometimes he goes to sleep, sometimes he rises, sometimes he sits and when his relatives ask him something he does not reply. Sometimes he also conceals his feelings from them.
His friends think he has gotten a brain disease, ignorant neighbours think he is lazy by nature or bereft of any brains, mimāṁsakas think he is a fool, Vedāntiks say he is in error, fruitive workers call him fallen and the offenders of the devotees say he is puffed up. Thus everyone insults the devotee’s inconceivable behaviour according to their misconception. Only a jeweler can identify a jewel, not an ordinary person. To the ignorant fool the most precious jewel appears simply as an insignificant piece of stone or glass. The activities of a āsaktimān bhakta are identified only by the realized devotees as being the essence of things. Other than the devotee no one can perceive that the āsaktimān bhakta is free from honour or disgrace and has fallen into the celestial Ganges-current of attachment to the Lord and is gradually flowing towards the ocean of prema while manifesting various activities. ||2||

Thus ends the Sixth Shower of Nectar of Mādhurya Kādambinī by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī pāda entitled “Enchantment of the Heart.”