VMA 1.34 :: The Vrindavan Desire Tree
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| Rudra Kund. |
asulabhām iha loke labdhum icchasy ayatnāt
yadi vipula-dhana-strī-putra-gehottamādi |
kara-nipatita-mukti-kṛṣṇa-bhaktiṁ ca kāṅkṣasy
adhivasa para-dhāmaivādya vṛndāvanākhyam||
If you desire to acquire without effort
the rarest things of this world,
great wealth, wife, children,
or a magnificent home to reside in;
if you yearn to acquire liberation in your hands,
or devotion to Krishna, then from this very day
reside here in this supreme abode named Vrindavan. (1.34)
Commentary
How strange! After all those verses in which he shows his own deep distaste for material life, which no doubt was a part of his makeup from the time he took sannyasa and became a Vedanti, Prabodhananda tells us that the glory of Vrindavan is so great that there is not even any need for renunciation!
Prabodhananda’s message: Be prepared to accept everything, or nothing: Just stay in Vrindavan, by hook or by crook. Trust in the power of Vrindavan to help you transcend the limits placed upon us by our various limitations and imperfections. It is not easy, but when bhakti comes first, when we live in the consciousness of Vrindavan, then whatever our station. Wherever we live, good things will follow. Where there is prema, there is all auspiciousness.
The Bhāgavatam tells us something similar:
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param
All people of expansive intelligence should worship the Supreme Person by the process of intense bhakti-yoga, whether they are pure devotees without any personal desire, or whether they are filled with all kinds of desires, or seek liberation. (SB 2.3.10, CC 2.22.36)
The difference here is that residence in Vrindavan may appear like an external activity and thus not meet the criterion of "intense bhakti-yoga" (tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena). Nevertheless, it is to be understood that even passive residence in the Dham, or meditation on the Dham, or even rolling in its dust once or bathing in its kunds or the Yamuna, of engaging the eyes in gazing upon the deities established by the great saints of yore, has unbounded effects in transforming one's character and bestowing prema.
But of course, the real value of residing in Vrindavan, or meditating on the nitya-Vrindavan is not attaining any of the side-benefits of bhakti. What fool would come to Vrindavan to seek material benefits? But if one is fortunate and free from offenses to the Dham and its residents, Vrindavan Dham will exercise its internal powers and transform the nature and desires of the mixed devotee.
The Lord says:
naivārthado yat punar arthitā yataḥ
svayaṁ vidhatte bhajatām anicchatām
icchā pidhānaṁ nija pāda pallavam
It is true that Bhagavān grants the desires of those who pray to Him for material boons, but He does not award that which will be asked for again and again. Rather, He offers to them His own lotus feet, even when they don’t aspire for them, and this extinguishes all their desires. (5.19.27)
Kaviraj Goswami nicely paraphrases this verse in the Caritāmṛta:
nā māgiteha kṛṣṇa tāre dena sba-caraṇa
kṛṣṇa kahe "āmā bhaje māge viṣaẏa sukha
amṛta chāḏi viṣa māge ei baḏa mūrkha
āmi vijña ei mūrkhe viṣaẏa kene diba
sba-caraṇāmṛta diẏā viṣaẏa bhulāiba"
"If someone engages in Krishna bhajan while still desiring other things, the Lord even so gives him his lotus feet even though he was not asked for it. The Lord thinks, 'He worships me and at the same time asks for sense pleasures in return. He refuses ambrosia and asks for poison to drink instead. What a great fool he is! I am wise, so why should I give sense pleasures to this fool? Instead, I will give him the ambrosia of my feet and make him forget all sensual pleasures.'" (CC 2.22.37-39)
So, even the businessmen and profiteers and carpetbaggers who come to Braj-Vrindavan will ultimately be swept away by the current of pure devotion and prema-bhakti. This is our faith.
The verse prior to the above-quoted verse connects the discussion indirectly to the Dham. What a lovely verse!!
na sādhavo bhāgavatās tad-āśrayāḥ
na yatra yajñeśa-makhā mahotsavāḥ
sureśa-loko’pi na vai sa sevyatām
Even if it be the abode of Brahmā, the chief of the gods,
one should not reside in a place where the nectar rivers
of Bhagavān’s pastimes do not flow,
where no saints fully surrendered to Bhagavān have taken up residence,
and where there are no festivals
in the form of sacrifices for the pleasure of Bhagavān. (5.19.24)
one should not reside in a place where the nectar rivers
of Bhagavān’s pastimes do not flow,
where no saints fully surrendered to Bhagavān have taken up residence,
and where there are no festivals
in the form of sacrifices for the pleasure of Bhagavān. (5.19.24)
So why would anyone live anywhere else but Vrindavan?
Jai Radhe!
VMA 1.33 : The most fortunate person residing in Vrindavan
VMA 1.32 : VMA 1.32 : Meditate on that Eros-addled Couple of colors black and gold
VMA 1.31 : Pull up the root of material hopes.
VMA 1.30 : Know Suffering here to be joy
VMA 1.29 : Real life is to take refuge in Vrindavan
VMA 1.28 : I will raise my ears to hear the sweet flute sounds
VMA 1.27 : …where a swarthy, lusty youth leans on a kadamba and plays the flute
VMA 1.26 : May Vrindavan be like a nourishing mother
VMA 1.25 : What business do we have with kings or gods?
VMA 1.24 : Take pleasure in the eternal joys within Vrindavan
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