VMA 2.14 : Give up chewing the already chewed
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| Can't wait to get back to Vrindavan to take my own photos. At least VT needs a good photographer. |
vidyā-dānādhvarādyaiḥ kati kati jagati khyāti-pūjādy-alabdhāḥ |
adyāhāre'pi yādṛcchika uru-guṇavān apy aho saṁvṛtātmā
śrīmad-vṛndāvane'smin satatam aṭa sakhe sarvato mukta-saṅgaḥ ||
O brother! What enjoyments have you not
already fully experienced here in this world?
And what fame and adoration have you not had
in the midst of this repeated birth and death
through your learning, charity and sacrifice?
My friend! From today on,
in matters of eating, accept whatever comes unsought;
even if you have all good qualities, keep yourself hidden
and wander constantly, completely free from all attachments,
in this beautiful forest of Vrindavan.
Commentary
Prabodhananda Saraswatipada returns again from his meditation on the eternal Vrindavan to instruct his mind to adhere to an absolute commitment to the life of Braja vāsa sādhana.
There is an expression, déjà vu, which is the undefinable sense that you have experienced something before, even though there is no distinct memory of having done so. This is because, according to the Sanatan Dharma understanding, every living being has experienced so many births in which he has used the same ten senses to bring himself pleasure in life. The tastes may change slightly, the sexual partners may change, the other sensual experiences may have new variations, but they are but variations on the same theme. Prahlad therefore calls it "chewing the already chewed."
mitho’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
"For those dedicated to pursuing the worldly life, a mind that is turned towards Krishna does not come about spontaneously, nor through the association of others like themselves. Entering the darkness of ignorance through the unbridled senses, they engage in repeatedly chewing that which has already been chewed." (7.5.30)
They say that madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. On attaining the human form of life, one should start to think about turning inward and understanding what is the self and the Supreme Self and coming to full knowledge of one's identity as a spiritual being, looking to find satisfaction in the Self and not in the ephemeral pleasures of the senses and material phenomena.
kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye |
tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ
śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam ||
"This human body is not meant for undertaking all kinds of troublesome activities for the purpose of sense gratification, which are given to the stool-eating hogs also. O my sons! It is meant for divine austerity, by which one's being is purified and one attains the infinite joys of God consciousness." (5.5.1)
VMA 2.12 : Vrindavan's trees, vines and deer fulfill the meaning of their names
VMA 2.11 :
VMA 2.10 : Radha and Krishna pick flowers in their garden
VMA 2.9 : Serve that pair of divine effulgences
VMA 2.8 : Don't identify with the body, but think of it as spiritual
VMA 2.7 : See Vrindavan with the inner eye
VMA 2.3-6 Meditations on the Eternal Vrindavan
Comments
Śrīnātha said:
I have been pierced by you who are power (śakti). I am in distress because of (your) gaze. Deprived of consciousness by sleep and inebriation (ghūrmi), I have not seen your body. Stolen away by another mind, I neither see nor hear (anything). Then, O goddess, I was pierced by you with your gaze. (33-34)
The initiation by piercing into the kulakrama takes place when these signs (pratyaya) obtain namely, (divine) hearing, intuition (mati), mental perception (manodṛṣṭṭi), intelligence (cetas), strength of character (dhṛti) and forbearance (kṣamā). (Thus) the form (of the disciple) present in the mind of another (i.e. the teacher) is pierced by the penetration energy (śaktyāveśa) and the (initiation), which is the command of insight (pratyayājñā), is attained according to its essential nature by means of the scalpel of knowledge. (35-36)
(Bhairava said): “Amongst accomplished yogis (siddha), I am the first to have attained the goal (ādyasiddha) and according to (the worldly way of) naming, I am called Mitra. I am your devotee. (I am your) servant. You are the means of success (gati), the supreme cause. (37)
Verses 33-37, Chapter 5 (Volume 4, page 91), Manthānabhairavatantram Kumārikārikākhaṇḍaḥ (translated to English by Mark Dyczkowski)
Notes
मित्र (mitrá):
http://www.sanskrita.org/scans/visor.html?scan=816.gif
√ मिथ् (mith):
http://www.sanskrita.org/scans/visor.html?scan=816.gif
See also मिद् (mid):
http://www.sanskrita.org/scans/visor.html?scan=817.gif
And also मेदिन् (medín) and bala-vat:
http://www.sanskrita.org/scans/visor.html?scan=832.gif
बल (bala):
http://www.sanskrita.org/scans/visor.html?scan=722.gif
वत् (vat) → वति (vati) → √ वन् (van):
http://www.sanskrita.org/scans/visor.html?scan=917.gif
And of course, the word-play which the word वन (vána) alludes to:
http://www.sanskrita.org/scans/visor.html?scan=917.gif
O mistress of the god of gods, pardon (me and vouchsafe) by (your) grace the Command that has been transmitted (to you) (saṁkrāntājñā). O Varikā, you are the lord (prabhu), the mother, the goddess and the plane of rest. You are the way (gati) and you are my master (svāmin). I have taken refuge in you (tāpanīya). O goddess, you are the mother (of the universe) and the sole source (yoni) (hiraṇya-garbhá) of (both) heaven and liberation. (40-41ab)
Verses 40-41ab, Chapter 5 (Volume 4, page 91), Manthānabhairavatantram Kumārikārikākhaṇḍaḥ (translated to English by Mark Dyczkowski)
(In italicised brackets my own) In the words of Abhinavagupta, "I pray that the learned will not be too angry with me."
Notes
योनि (yóni): “womb, place of birth, source, origin, spring, fountain; place of rest, repository, receptacle, seat, abode, home, lair, nest, stable; part of a fire-pit; water:”