VMA 2.52 : Most fortunate is the one who has given up everything to take shelter of Vrindavan
Saraswatipada continues to describe a hierarchy of good fortune, finally arriving at the superlative "one who is most fortunate of the fortunate" (dhanya-dhanyaḥ). It is not easy to renounce, and often it seems unnecessary, especially when one has a wife or husband who is decorated with all the virtues beginning with devotion. But Prabodhananda gives so much importance to the Dham that he would even sacrifice a devotional life outside of Vrindavan for one there, even if it were to be in the company of those speaking mundane subject matters.
sarvatrātyanta-saṁmānanam atha mahataḥ sat-kulācāra-dharmān |
mātā-pitror gurūṇām api ca nahi manāg āgrahaiḥ komalātmā
yo yāyād eva vṛndāvanam ayam akhilaiḥ stūyate dhanya-dhanyaḥ ||2.52||
One who renounces completely hearth and home,to take exclusive shelter of Vrindavan,
and wife, as well as sons and daughters,
though all are decorated with all the virtues,who ignores the highest honors,
though offered him everywhere,who does not become even slightly softened at heart
as well as his great and holy family responsibilities,
despite the repeated entreaties of mother and father,
and even other superiors,
such a person is praised by all
as the most fortunate of all fortunate persons.
Saraswatipada continues to describe a hierarchy of good fortune, finally arriving at the superlative "one who is most fortunate of the fortunate" (dhanya-dhanyaḥ). It is not easy to renounce, and often it seems unnecessary, especially when one has a wife or husband who is decorated with all the virtues beginning with devotion. But Prabodhananda gives so much importance to the Dham that he would even sacrifice a devotional life outside of Vrindavan for one there, even if it were to be in the company of those speaking mundane subject matters. (See VMA 2.1: Better a worm in Braj than a god elsewhere!) This is the power of lobha for the Dham. One may receive the highest honor -- as a guru preaching the message of Lord Chaitanya -- outside of the Dham, but Prabodhananda rejects even that!
But just because one comes to the Dham does not mean that you do not have regrets from time to time.
Every religion has to deal with the problems of sin, guilt and shame on the one hand, and seemingly senseless suffering on the other. As we saw in the previous verse, there are higher and lower levels of truth, even within transcendence. For the Vaishnava, become one with the transcendent, purely spiritual abode of the Divine Couple, is the highest level of Truth, even though for those on lower levels of understanding truth may be perceived as a part of the phenomenal world (vyavahārika-satya) or the world of the imagination, i.e., percepts distorted by subconscious bias (pratibhāsika-satya).
Those who are on lower levels of perception are trained by the Vedic system to accept various duties for the sake of purification so that they can eventually come to the level of pure devotion and to see the phenomenal world as a mere shadow of reality. These duties are known as dharma, and they are all born out of desire. The word dharma can be framed as responsibilities and of course it is a good thing to live up to one's responsibilities. But when we say that the living entity's true nature is to be one with God directly in service, this is in fact the highest duty of the soul, the jaiva-dharma or ātma-dharma. This is the purport of the Gītā and Bhāgavata, and this is exactly what Prabodhananda Saraswatipada is repeatedly pointing us towards.
One who accepts this duty or ātma-dharma as paramount need feel no shame for renouncing other duties which after all are born of temporary conditions and relationships. This is why in the previous verse it was said aśocyaḥ strī-putrādibhiḥ. Family, wife and children need never lament to loss of a husband or father who has given himself to service to Radha and Krishna in Vrindavan, neither should he lament abandoning his duties towards them. Though externally there appears to be a loss, the actions of such a sādhaka are of the ultimate benefit not only to these closest loved ones, but to the whole world. This is why, after explaining many varieties of duty and of sādhana, Krishna tells Arjuna as his ultimate instruction in the Gītā:
sarva-dharmān parityājya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
Give up all religious paths such as the varṇāśrama-dharma and simply take shelter of me. Abandon completely dependence on any means for fulfillment in life other than this, taking exclusive refuge in me. You need have no fear of any ill effects resulting from the non-performance of the permanent and periodical duties enjoined in the Vedic literature, even though these were ultimately dictated by me. I will liberate you from any sins or impediments resulting from such neglect, so do not despair or feel any guilt or shame. I hereby promise that anyone who surrenders to me is freed from sin and will be liberated from the cycle of repeated birth and death, and will be provided all that is needed in order to attain me. (Gītā 18.66).
Krishna also replies to Arjuna when he asks about the possibility of failure in the endeavor to attain the highest perfection. It is true that sometimes old bad habits may revisit one in the Dham, but even that is not an excuse to abandon this ultimate dharma. The power of the Dham, especially the power of devotion association and vigorous attention to sādhana coupled with remorse for the suffering one has caused others and a benevolent attitude towards all living beings who are bereft of this good fortune, is a sufficient prāyascitta for the devotee who has lobha. He need do nothing else, for he is rightly situated (samyag vyavasitaḥ).
na hi kalyāṇa-kṛt kaścid durgatiṁ tāta gacchati ||40||
O Arjuna, there is no destruction for such a one who is rightly situated.
Anyone who strives for the highest auspiciousness will never come to misfortune. (Gita 6.40)
It is true that it is always advisable to act at one's own proper level of understanding (SB 11.21.2, See VMA 1.94), and it is not always advisable to instruct others to exceed their own level (Gītā 3.26, VMA 2.50). For those who hear the exhortations to aim for the highest level of perfection, namely service to the Divine Couple in Vrindavan and strive to exceed their own level by renouncing the duties to which they were committed previously, they are protected even if they fail (SB 1.5.17, See VMA 1.60). One has to sometimes struggle to keep at the highest duty due to remnants of the saṁskāras of one's conditioned state, but if one has been awarded faith after hearing from a pure rasika devotee, one is eligible to follow Krishna's final instruction in the Gītā.
One may ask, What about the perspective of scriptural injunctions? Does Krishna not say that one must follow them?
jïātvā śāstra-vidhānoktaṁ karma kartum ihārhasi
Therefore the scriptures are the ultimate arbiter of how one should or should not act. After studying and learning the injunctions of the scripture, one should determine the proper path of action. (Gita 16.24)
Surely the vows one has taken in keeping with the scripture must be kept or there will be a disturbance in society.
aikāntikī harer bhaktir utpātāyaiva kalpate ||
Even one-pointed devotion to Hari, executed without following the ordinance of the Vedas, the smṛti, the Purāṇas and the Pañcarātra, simply creates disturbance. (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.101)
One must remember that Krishna's verse comes in the context of worldly duties and specifically in the context of the demoniac characteristics described in the 16th chapter. We have to look at what the Lord says elsewhere in the Gita. Not all scriptural injunctions are equal. We have to discriminate among them. Not all are directly part of the path of transcendence. To understand the scripture means to be able to judge, with the help of Sri Guru, to recognize which instructions belong to the pāramārthika realm, and which to the vyāvahārika. From the Second Chapter:
nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho niryoga-kṣema ātmavān ||
The Vedas deal with duties pertaining to the three qualities of nature – sattva, rajas and tamas. Arjuna, rise above these three guṇas. Become free of material dualities and be situated in your true transcendental nature as a servant of God. Give up all concerns for your material condition. (2.45)
Even the Vedic injunctions, which are accepted as the word of God, are not his final word. As long as one is not on the transcendental platform, one will bewildered by them. Not being able to recognize that some that do not directly lead to transcendental service in pure love is the principal characteristic of imperfect intelligence.
tadā gantāsi nirvedaṁ śrotavyasya śrutasya ca
When your intelligence has passed beyond the dense forest of confusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been passed down [in the scriptures], or ever will be so passed down. (Gītā 2.52)
One who is situated in his constitutional position as a servant of the Lord, or as a maidservant of Krishna's svarūpa-śakti, is free of sin, free of lamentation, free of shame or guilt. He need no longer care for the opinions of worldly people, or even of those who insist on the performance of varṇāśrama duties, which were here described as "great and holy family responsibilities" (mahataḥ sat-kulācāra-dharmān.).
The next verse will go on to glorify this most fortunate resident of Vrindavan when he is situated on the transcendental level of prema-bhakti.
VMA 2.51 : The wealth, intelligence and praiseworthiness of the Vrindavan sadhaka
VMA 2.50 : Respect for the residents of Braj, even from afar, leads to the greatest benefit
VMA 2.47-49: May that pair of adolescent lovers manifest before my eyes
VMA 2.44-46: Vrindavan is the celestial stage for the Divine Couple's dance of love
VMA 2.41-43: The service activities of the manjaris.
Comments
यत्र योगेश्वर: कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धर: ।
तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥ ७८ ॥
yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ
tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītir matir mama
Verse 78, Chapter 18, Bhagavad-gītā