VMA 2.16 : Where sin is concerned, be dumb, deaf, blind and inactive
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| Sri Sri Radha Damodar, |
parīhāse'py anyāpriya-kathana-mūko'tivadhiraḥ
pareṣāṁ doṣānuśrutim anu viloke'ndha-nayanaḥ |
śilāvan niśceṣṭaḥ para-vapuṣi bādhā-lava-vidhau
kadā vatsyāmy asmin hari-dayita-vṛndāvana-vane ||
When will I become dumb,
incapable of speaking words that are hurtful to others,
even if only spoken in jest?
When will I become deaf,
incapable of hearing others' faults,
and blind to seeing them?
When will I become as inactive as a clod of earth,
incapable of any movement that brings others
even the slightest pain?
When will I thus reside in this Vrindavan forest,
which is so dear to Hari?
Comment
As if to soften his statements in the previous verse, Prabodhananda turns to the quietism that is more natural to him. The qualities that he speaks of here are those taught by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his famous verse about chanting the Holy Names in humility and tolerance and respect for all creatures. For just as these qualities are necessary in order to chant the Holy Name, how much more they are needed in one who would take shelter of the Holy Dham.
Echoes of that verse are found in another by Prabodha in his Caitanya-candrāmṛta, who there sees these qualities manifest in anyone who has been touched by the grace of Sri Chaitanya.
tṛṇād api sunīcatā sahaja-saumya-mugdhākṛtiḥ
sudhā-madhura-bhāṣitā viṣaya-gandha-thūthūtkṛtiḥ |
hari-praṇaya-vihvalā kim api dhīr anālambitā
bhavanti kila sad-guṇā jagati gaura-bhājām amī ||
"These are the virtuous qualities of one who has been blessed by Lord Gauranga: (1) he thinks of himself as lower than the straw in the street, (2) his appearance is natural, gentle and pleasing; (3) his speech is as sweet as ambrosia; (4) he spits at even the hint of sensual enjoyments; (5) and his intelligence is overwhelmed with love for Lord Hari and not dependent on any other thing." (CCA 85)
If you want to live in Vrindavan, it is because you want to plunge into the ocean of delight that is meditation on the eternal pastimes of the Supreme Divinity in Braj. Why create problems by fighting with others over property and prestige? Everyone in the Dham is here after countless lifetimes of repeated defeat in the endeavor to find happiness from the material senses. Not only do they have the great fortune of a human birth, but they have come into the Dham where they can see lovers of God on the street, every day, going to the temples of Radha Vallabh, Banke Bihari, Radha Damodar and Radha Raman. They can smell the breezes coming from the Yamuna. These are blessings that are only given to the most fortunate. And you will waste your valuable time in the Dham finding fault with them? How can you let yourself be distracted from the prize of Yugal Seva that finally lies within your grasp, O foolish mind!
are cetaḥ prodyat-kapaṭa-kuṭināṭī-bhara-khara-
kṣaran-mūtre snātvā dahasi katham ātmānam api mām |
sadā tvaṁ gāndharvā-giridhara-pada-prema-vilasat-
sudhāmbhodhau snātvā svam api nitarāṁ māṁ ca sukhaya ||
"O Mind of mine! Why do you bathe in the donkey piss that flows from the hypocrisies of envying and faultfinding others? You burn yourself and me too. Please, bathe in the nectar ocean of the loving dalliances of Gandharva and Giridhari. That way you will make yourself happy always, and me too. (Manaḥ-śikṣā 6)
VMA 2.15 : I will do violence to anyone who tries to remove me from Vrindavan
VMA 2.14 : Give up chewing the already chewed
VMA 2.13 : Ananta Vrindavan
VMA 2.12 : Vrindavan's trees, vines and deer fulfill the meaning of their names
VMA 2.11 : We bow to the trees and vines of Vrindavan
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
The Highest Good
सुखाभ्युदयिकं चैव नैःश्रेयसिकमेव च ।
प्रवृत्तं च निवृत्तं च द्विविधं कर्म वैदिकम् ॥ ८८ ॥
The ‘Vedic Act’ is of two kinds—(a) the ‘active,’ which is conducive to happiness and prosperity, and (b) the ‘passive,’ which is conducive to the highest good.—(88)
इह चामुत्र वा काम्यं प्रवृत्तं कर्म कीर्त्यते ।
निष्कामं ज्ञातपूर्वं तु निवृत्तमुपदिश्यते ॥ ८९ ॥
That which is done with knowledge and brings about the fulfilment of desires either in this world, or in the next, is described as ‘active;’ while that which is done with knowledge and without desires, is declared to be ‘passive.’—(89)
प्रवृत्तं कर्म संसेव्यं देवानामेति साम्यताम् ।
निवृत्तं सेवमानस्तु भूतान्यत्येति पञ्च वै ॥ ९० ॥
He who devotes himself to the ‘active’ side, attains equality to the gods; while he who devotes himself to the ‘passive,’ passes beyond the five material substances.—(90)
सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि ।
समं पश्यन्नात्मयाजी स्वाराज्यमधिगच्छति ॥ ९१ ॥
He who perceives the Self in all beings, and all beings in the Self,—and sacrifices to the Self,—attains self-sovereignty.—(91)
यथोक्तान्यपि कर्माणि परिहाय द्विजोत्तमः ।
आत्मज्ञाने शमे च स्याद् वेदाभ्यासे च यत्नवान् ॥ ९२ ॥
Having renounced even the said acts, the Brāhmaṇa shall concentrate his effort on the knowledge of Self, on calmness and on the study of the Veda.—(92)
एतद् हि जन्मसाफल्यं ब्राह्मणस्य विशेषतः ।
प्राप्यैतत् कृतकृत्यो हि द्विजो भवति नान्यथा ॥ ९३ ॥
This represents the fulfilment of the object of one’s existence, especially for the Brāhmaṇa; it is only when he has attained this, and not otherwise, that the twice-born man has accomplished his purpose.—(93)
Chapter X, Manusmrti with the Manubhasya of Medhatithi (1920) by Ganganath Jha (ISBN-10: 8120811550)