Verse Five
कृष्णेति यस्य गिरि तं मनसाद्रियेत
दीक्षास्ति चेत्प्रणतिभिश्च भजन्तमीशम् ।
शुश्रूषया भजनविज्ञमनन्यमन्य-
निन्दादिशून्यहृदमीप्सितसङ्गलब्ध्या ॥५॥
krsneti yasya giri tam manasadriyeta
diksasti chet pranatibhis cha bhajantam isam
susrusaya bhajana-vijnam ananyam anya-
nindadi-sunya-hrdam ipsita-sanga-labdhya [5]
adriyeta–Honour manasa–with the mind tam–those yasya–from whose giri–mouth krsna iti–the Name of Krishna [appears]. [adriyeta–Honour them] pranatibhis–with obeisance chet–if asti–they are diksa–initiated cha–and bhajantam–serve isam–the Lord. [adriyeta–Honour] susrusaya–with service vijnam–an expert bhajana–in devotion, [who is] ananyam–exclusive, [whose] hrdam–heart [is] sunya–free ninda–from criticising anya–others adi–and so forth, [and whose] sanga–association [is] ipsita–the most desirable labdhya–to attain. [5]
Honour within the mind
those who chant Krishna’s Name,
honour with obeisance
those who are initiated and serve the Lord,
and honour with service
those who are expert in devotion,
who are exclusively devoted,
whose hearts are free from the duality
of criticising and praising others,
and who are the most desirable association.
Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur
অসৎ লক্ষণহীন গায় কৃষ্ণনাম ।
মনেতে আদর তাঁতে কর অবিশ্রাম ॥১॥
asat laksana-hina gaya krsna-nama
manete adara ta̐te kara avisrama [1]
avisrama–Always adara kara–honour manete–within the mind ta̐te–those [who are] hina–free asat–from bad laksana–qualities [and] gaya–chant nama–the Name krsna–of Krishna. [1]
Translation:
Always honour within the mind those who are free from bad qualities and chant the Name of Krishna.
লব্ধদীক্ষ কৃষ্ণ ভজে যেই মহাজন ।
প্রণমি’ আদর তাঁরে কর সর্ব্বক্ষণ ॥২॥
labdha-diksa krsna bhaje yei mahajana
pranami’ adara ta̐re kara sarva-ksana [2]
sarva–At all ksana–times, adara kara–honour pranami’–by offering obeisance tare mahajana–great souls yei–who [have] labdha–received diksa–initiation [and] bhaje–serve krsna–Krishna. [2]
Translation:
Always honour with obeisance great souls who are initiated and serve Krishna.
ভজনচতুর যেই তাঁরে কর সেবা ।
কৃষ্ণময় সবে দেখে সবৈষ্ণব যেবা ॥৩॥
শত্রু মিত্র সদসৎ কিছু না বিচারে ।
সর্ব্বোত্তম সঙ্গ বলি’ সেবহ তাঁহারে ॥৪॥
bhajana-chatura yei ta̐ra kara seva
krsnamaya sabe dekhe suvaisnava yeba [3] satru mitra sad asat kichhu na vichare
sarvottama sanga bali’ sevaha ta̐hare [4]
seva kara–Serve ta̐ra–those yei–who [are] chatura–expert bhajana–in devotion. bali’–Consider sanga–the association suvaisnava–of [such] great Vaisnavas, yeba–who dekhe–see [that] sabe–everything [is] krsnamaya–full of Krishna [and] vichare na–do not conceive kichhu–at all satru–of enemies [and] mitra–friends [or] sad–good [and] asat–bad, [to be] uttama–the best sarva–of all [and] sevaha–serve ta̐hare–them. [3–4]
Translation:
Serve those who are expert in devotion. Consider the association of such great Vaisnavas, who see Krishna within everything and do not conceive of enemies and friends or good and bad, to be the best of all and serve them.
Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur
isvare tad-adhinesu balisesu dvisatsu cha
prema-maitri-krpopeksa yah karoti sa madhyamah
[«Those who love the Lord, befriend the devotees, are merciful to the innocent, and ignore the inimical are intermediate devotees.»]
Translation:
According to this teaching, as long as a practitioner remains in the stage of an intermediate devotee, they should serve the devotees. Because advanced devotees see Krishna’s presence everywhere, they make no distinctions between friends and enemies, devotees and non-devotees, and so on. Intermediate devotees engage in service. In this fifth verse, their behaviour towards devotees has been prescribed. Intermediate devotees should keep away from those who associate with women and other nondevotees, and thus remain free from their faults. But because less intelligent beginners lack understanding of their relationship of the Lord (sambandha-jnan), intermediate devotees should know them to be innocent and be merciful to them. Upon hearing the Name of Krishna from their mouths, intermediate devotees should honour them within the mind according to their relationship with them. If initiated persons (beginners) engage in the service of the Lord, then intermediate devotees should honour them with obeisance. Intermediate devotees should gratefully honour great devotees who are free from the tendency to criticise others, knowing them to be most desirable association. Serving the Vaisnavas in this way is the source of all perfection.
Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur
কৃষ্ণ সহ কৃষ্ণনাম অভিন্ন জানিয়া ।
অপ্রাকৃত একমাত্র সাধন মানিয়া ॥১॥
যেই নাম লয় নামে দীক্ষিত হইয়া ।
আদর করিবে মনে স্বগোষ্ঠী জানিয়া ॥২॥
krsna saha krsna-nama abhinna janiya
aprakrta eka-matra sadhana maniya [1] yei nama laya name diksita ha-iya
adara karibe mane sva-gosthi janiya [2]
[Those] yei–who janiya–know krsna–Krishna [to be] abhinna–nondifferent saha–from nama–the Name krsna–of Krishna, maniya–follow aprakrta–spiritual sadhana–practices eka-matra–exclusively, [and] laya–take nama–the Name, ha-iya–being diksita–initiated name–into the Name — adara karibe–honour [them] mane–within [the] mind, janiya–knowing [them to be] sva-gosthi–members of [your] own family. [1–2]
Translation:
Those who know Krishna and His Name to be nondifferent, follow spiritual practices exclusively, chant the Name, and are initiated — honour them mentally and know them to be members of your own family.
নামের ভজনে যেই কৃষ্ণসেবা করে ।
অপ্রাকৃত ব্রজে বসি’ সর্ব্বদা অন্তরে ॥৩॥
মধ্যম বৈষ্ণব জানি’ ধর তাঁর পায় ।
আনুগত্য কর তাঁঁর মনে আর কায় ॥৪॥
namera bhajane yei krsna-seva kare
aprakrta vraje vasi’ sarvada antare [3] madhyama vaisnava jani’ dhara ta̐ra paya
anugatya kara ta̐ra mane ara kaya [4]
[Those] yei–who seva kare–serve krsna–Krishna bhajane–by serving namera–the Name [and] sarvada–always vasi’–reside [in] aprakrta–supramundane vraje–Vraja antare–within — jani’–know [them to be] madhyama–intermediate vaisnava–devotees [and] dhara–grasp ta̐ra–their paya–feet. anugatya kara–Be subservient ta̐ra–to them mane–with mind ara–and kaya–body. [3–4]
Translation:
Those who serve Krishna by serving the Name and always reside in supramundane Vraja within their heart — know them to be intermediate devotees and grasp their feet. Be subservient to them mentally and physically.
নামের ভজনে যেই স্বরূপ লভিয়া ।
অন্য বস্তু নাহি দেখে কৃষ্ণ তেয়াগিয়া ॥৫॥
কৃষ্ণেতর সম্বন্ধ না পাইয়া জগতে ।
সর্ব্বজনে সমবুদ্ধি করে কৃষ্ণ-ব্রতে ॥৬॥
তাদৃশ ভজনবিজ্ঞে জানিয়া অভীষ্ট ।
কায়মনোবাক্যে সেব’ হইয়া নিবিষ্ট ॥৭॥
namera bhajane yei svarupa labhiya
anya vastu nahi dekhe krsna teyagiya [5] krsnetara sambandha na paiya jagate
sarva-jane sama-buddhi kare krsna-vrate [6] tadrsa bhajana-vijne janiya abhista
kaya-mano-vakye seva’ ha-iya nivista [7]
[Those] yei–who labhiya–have realised [their] svarupa–true self bhajane–by serving namera–the Name, nahi–do not teyagiya–cast aside krsna– Krishna [and] dekhe–see vastu–anything anya–else, paiya na–do not accept [any] sambandha–connection [with anything] jagate–in [this] world [that is] itara–unrelated krsna–to Krishna, buddhi kare–consider sarva-jane–everyone [to be] sama–equally vrate–engaged [in service] krsna–to Krishna — janiya–know tadrsa–such vijne–experts bhajana–in devotion [to be] abhista–desirable [and] nivista ha-iya–intently seva’–serve [them with your] kaya–body, mano–mind, [and] vakye–words. [5–7]
Translation:
Those who have realised their true self by serving the Name, do not see anything other than Krishna in this world, do not accept any connection with anything in this world that is unrelated to Krishna, and consider everyone to be equally engaged in Krishna’s service — know such experts in devotion to be most desirable and intently serve them with your body, mind, and words.
শুশ্রুষা করিবে তাঁরে সর্ব্বতোভাবেতে ।
কৃষ্ণের চরণ লাভ হয় তাহা হতে ॥৮॥
susrusa karibe ta̐re sarvatobhavete
krsnera charana labha haya taha hate [8]
susrusa karibe–Serve ta̐re–them sarvatobhavete–in all respects, [and] hate–through taha–that labha haya–reach krsnera–Krishna’s charana–feet. [8]
Translation:
Serve them in all respects and thereby reach Krishna’s feet.
Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur
divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sanksayam
tasmad dikseti sa prokta desikais tattva-kovidaih
According to the purport of this verse, the Vaisnavas say that initiation (diksa) is the process by which desire for material enjoyment is given up and supramundane experience is realised. The Name of Krishna and Krishna are one supramundane truth, and the urge to speak of anything unrelated to Krishna cannot remain within those who exclusively take shelter of Krishna’s Name and chant the Name understanding that the Name, above all else, is the object of service and worship for fortunate souls. We should honour such devotees surrendered exclusively to the Name with the mind. The Name exists within the Pancharatrika mantra, and therein it is prescribed to take shelter of the Name with realisation of the soul’s relationship with the Lord. No one has any chance of becoming a servant of the Lord except those who are surrendered to Krishna’s Name. In the Lord’s instructions to Sri Sanatan in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (Madhya, 22.67–8), we find,
yahara komala sraddha se ‘kanistha’ jana
krame krame te̐ho bhakta ha-ibe ‘uttama’
rati-prema-taratamye bhakta tara-tama
[«Those whose faith is soft are beginners. Gradually, they will become advanced. There is gradation amongst devotees according to the gradation in their attachment and love.»]
satyaraja bale, «vaisnava chiniba kemane?
ke vaisnava, kaha ta̐ra samanya laksane»
prabhu kahe, »ya̐ra mukhe suni eka-bara
krsna-nama, sei pujya, srestha sabakara
ataeva ya̐ra mukhe eka krsna-nama
sei ta’ vaisnava, kariha ta̐hara sammana»
[«Satyaraj Khan asked, ‘How can I recognise a Vaisnava? Who is a Vaisnava? Please tell me their general characteristics.’ The Lord answered, ‘Those from whose mouth we once hear Krishna’s Name are worshippable. They are the best of all. Therefore, those in whose mouth Krishna’s Name has once appeared are Vaisnavas. Honour them.’»]
archayam eva haraye pujam yah sraddhayehate
na tad-bhaktesu chanyesu sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah
[«Those who faithfully worship the Lord in the Deity but not in His devotees or others are beginner devotees.»]
We should honour a devotee who serves Krishna under the shelter of His Name by offering obeisance. Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (Madhya, 16.72):
krsna-nama nirantara ya̐hara vadane
sei vaisnava-srestha, bhaja ta̐hara charane
[«Those in whose mouth the Name of Krishna always appears are great Vaisnavas. You should worship their feet.»]
In the Lord’s teachings to Sri Sanatan (Cc: Madhya, 22.66, 64):
sastra-yukti nahi jane drdha, sraddhavan
‘madhyama-adhikari’ sei mahabhagyavan
[«Those who do not firmly understand scriptural reasoning but have faith are intermediate devotees. They are very fortunate.»]
sraddhavan jana haya bhakti-adhikari
‘uttama’, ‘madhyama’, ‘kanistha’ — sraddha-anusari
[«Those who have faith are qualified for devotion. According to their faith, they are advanced, intermediate, or a beginner.»]
isvare tad-adhinesu balisesu dvisatsu cha
prema-maitri-krpopeksa yah karoti sa madhyamah
[«Those who love the Lord, befriend the devotees, are merciful to the innocent, and ignore the inimical are intermediate devotees.»]
Because intermediate devotees have increased affection for the Name, they constantly worship the Name with intense affection through the sacrifice of chanting and develop divine love for the Lord. By chanting with constant affection for the supramundane Name, they can understand that they themselves are supramundane. They help devotees with comparatively less taste understand their supramundane nature, and they avoid the association of persons who have no affection for the Lord, knowing them to be entirely mundane because they have no realisation of their supramundane nature.
Devotees who have attained self-realisation (svarup-siddhi) through service to the Name, who through meditation have become expert in the process of serving within the Lord’s Pastimes during the eight parts of the day, who are unalloyed, who have no experience of anything other than Krishna because they don’t recognise the separate existence of any visible object without its connection to Krishna, and who have no awareness of the duality of praise and criticism — we should know such advanced devotees to be the best association amongst all like-minded and loving devotees and serve them.
ya̐hara darsane mukhe aise krsna-nama
ta̐hare janiha tumi ’vaisnava-pradhana’
[«Know those by whose presence the Name of Krishna appears in the mouths of others to be advanced Vaisnavas.»]
krama kari’ kahe prabhu ’vaisnava’-laksana
’vaisnava’, ’vaisnavatara’, ara ’vaisnavatama’
[«In a gradation, the Lord described the characteristics of Vaisnavas, referring to them as Vaisnavas, intermediate Vaisnavas, and advanced Vaisnavas.»]
sraddhavan jana haya bhakti-adhikari
‘uttama’, ‘madhyama’, ‘kanistha’ — sraddha-anusari
[«Those who have faith are qualified for devotion. According to their faith, they are advanced, intermediate, or a beginner.»]
sastra-yuktye sunipuna, drdha-sraddha ya̐ra
‘uttama-adhikari’ sei taraye samsara
[«Those who are expert in scriptural reasoning and have firm faith are advanced devotees. They liberate the world.»]
sarva-bhutesu yah pasyed bhagavad-bhavam atmanah
bhutani bhagavaty atmany esa bhagavatottamah
[«Those who see the presence of the Supreme Lord within all beings and all beings within the Supreme Lord are advanced devotees.»]
(1) By seeing a connection with Krishna within all objects other than Krishna, advanced devotees have equal vision. Like intermediate devotees, they are devoted to Krishna’s service, and like beginners, they are devoted exclusively to the Name. (2) Intermediate devotees have love for Krishna. They offer service, obeisance, and mental honour to the three classes of devotees. They try to turn conditioned souls towards Krishna, and they ignore those who are inimical to Krishna. Thus, they do not have equal external and internal vision of all things like advanced devotees. If they imaginatively imitate the practices of advanced devotees, then deceitfulness can arise within them, and they can fall down. (3) Beginners, understanding that all good is attained through the Name of Krishna, pursue their own good. They do not, however, fully realise that the seat of an intermediate devotee is higher than theirs and that they need to reach that stage in the future. Intermediate devotees, like beginners, are exclusively devoted to the Name. They constantly chant Krishna’s Name, and gradually attain liberation from the hands of anarthas in the form of their own mundane sentiments simply by chanting the Name instead of performing supramundane service [like advanced devotees]. Beginners with the mentality of being a Guru (Guru-abhiman) often consider themselves advanced devotees and fall down.
Bhajana-lalasa
hari he!
sanga-dosa-sunya diksitadiksita
yadi tava nama gaya
manase adara kariba ta̐hare
jani’ nija-jana taya [1]
O Lord! If those who are free from bad association, be they initiated or yet to be initiated, sing Your Name, I will honour them within my heart, knowing them to be Your own.
diksita ha-iya bhaje tuya pada
ta̐hare pranati kari
ananya-bhajane vijna yei jana
ta̐hare seviba hari! [2]
I will offer obeisance to anyone who has been initiated and serves Your feet, and I will serve anyone who is expert in unalloyed devotion, O Lord!
sarva-bhute sama ye bhaktera mati
ta̐hara darsane mani
apanake dhanya se sanga paiya
charitartha ha-ilu̐ jani [3]
I will consider myself fortunate to meet a devotee who is equally disposed towards all beings. Attaining their association, I will consider myself successful.
niskapata-mati vaisnavera prati
ei dharma kabe paba
kabe e samsara- sindhu-para haye
tava vraja-pure yaba [4]
When will I attain this sincere disposition towards Your devotees? When will I cross over this ocean of material existence and enter Your abode of Vraja?