Chapter Three – Śrī Gāyatrī Nigūḍhārtha Saṁpada – The Wealth and Glory of Śrī Gāyatrī Nigūḍhārtha

The explanation of brahma-gāyatrī, the mother of all Vedas, signifying devotional worship unto Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī (śrī rādhānudhyāna-parā), which was revealed in the depth of realisation of Pūjyapāda Śrīdhara Deva Goswāmī Mahārāja, possessed with the divine grace of Paramārādhya Śrī Śrīla Prabhupāda (Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura) upon his head – is deeply appreciated by those fortunate, intelligent devotees who are aware of the relishable beauty of pure devotional service.

The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, which is revealed in the transcendental meditation of Śrī Veda Vyāsa, is the quintessential scripture of all the Vedas, Vedānta, Purāṇas and Pañcarātra. Vrajendra Nandana, Śrī Vṛndāvana-candra Kṛṣṇa, has alone been manifested therein as the supreme worshipable non-dual object (the Supreme Personality of Godhead – the summum bonum of our lives) through this following definition:

एते चांशकलाः पुंसः कृष्णस्तु भगवान्स्वयम् ।
इन्द्रारिव्याकुलं लोकं मृडयन्ति युगे युगे॥

ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavan svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge

All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.3.28)

The full-fledged internal potency of that svayam-rūpa, the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the divine embodiment of sat-cit–ānanda, has also been described as the Supreme Worshipper and pleasure-​giving potency through this verse of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam:

अनयाराधितो नूनं भगवान् हरिरीश्वरः ।
यन्नो विहाय गोविन्दः प्रीतोऽयामनयद्रहः॥

anayārādhito nūnaṁ bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
yan no vihāya govindaḥ prīto’yām anayad rahaḥ

Certainly, this particular gopī has perfectly worshiped the all-powerful Personality of Godhead, Govinda, since He was so pleased with Her that He abandoned the rest of us and brought Her to a secluded place.” (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.28)

Thus, both of the Divine Personalities are interrelated as ārādhya and ārādhikā (the Supremely Worshipable and Supreme Worshipper).

This conjugal conception of Godhead is our supreme worshipable goal and it is the final aim and object of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. It is said in the Garuḍa Purāṇa:

अर्थोऽयं ब्रह्मसूत्राणां भारतार्थविनिर्णयः।
गायत्रीभाष्यरूपोऽसौ वेदार्थपरिबृंहितः॥
ग्रन्थाष्टदशसाहस्र श्रीमद्भागवताभिधा ।

artho’yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ
gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo’sau vedārtha-paribṛṁhitaḥ
granthāṣṭa-daśa sāhasra śrīmad-bhāgavatābhidhā

The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is most highly regarded within the meanings of the Brahma Sūtras, the deep significance of Mahābhārata and the profundity of Veda-mātā gāyatrī, and is ultimately the quintessence of all the Vedas.

The king of scriptures, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is naturally full of the most valuable verses:

तदिदं ग्राहयामास सुतमात्मवतां वरम् ।
सर्ववेदेतिहासानां सारं सारं समुद्‍धृतम् ॥

tad idaṁ grāhayām āsa sutam ātmavatāṁ varam
sarva vedetihāsānaṁ sāraṁ sāraṁ samuddhṛtam

Śrī Vyāsadeva delivered it to his son, who is the most respected among the self-realised, after extracting the cream of all Vedic literature and histories of the universe. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.3.41)

सर्ववेदान्तसारं हि श्रीमद्भागवतमिश्यते।
तद्रसामृततृप्तस्य नान्यत्रस्यादृतिः क्वचित्॥

sarva-vedānta-sāram hi śrīmad-bhāgavatam-iśyate
tad-rasāmṛta-tṛptasya nānyatra-syād-ratiḥ kvacit

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is declared to be the essence of all Vedānta philosophy. One who has felt satisfaction from its nectarine mellow will never be attracted to any other literature. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.13.15)

In these verses, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam has been described and defined as the quintessence of all Vedas, Vedānta and Purāṇas. Śrīla Kavirāja Goswāmīpāda also has written:

গায়ত্রীর অর্থে এই গ্রন্থ-আরম্ভন ।
সত্যং পরং সম্বন্ধ ধীমহি সাধন-প্রয়োজন॥

gāyatrīra arthe ei grantha ārambhana
satyaṁ paraṁ sambandha dhīmahi sādhana-prayojana

In the beginning of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam there is an explanation of the brahma-gāyatrī-mantra. ‘The Absolute Truth (satyaṁ-paraṁ)’ indicates the relationship, and ‘we meditate on Him (dhīmahi)’ indicates the execution of devotional service and the ultimate goal of life. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.147)

In his Anubhāsya commentary to these lines, our Paramārādhya Śrīla Prabhupāda has commented:

The meaning or deep significance of the gāyatrī–mantra has been presented in the first verse of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, which is known as maṅgalācaraṇa or the auspicious invocation. All efforts of our wisdom and consciousness to discover and attain our eternal relationship with the Supreme Reality, and consequently to know our properly adjusted or harmonised relationship with all animation through that central relationship with the truth is known as sambandha-jñāna. Following the regulative principles for the attainment of the highest goal of life – the purely blissful devotional service of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa-candra is known as abhidheya. And tasting the supremely blissful nectarine devotional fruits (prema-bhakti) to those genuine devotional practices is known as prayojana.

In Śrīmad Bhāgavad-gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is described as the Supreme Subject known by the transcendental knowledge of the Vedas. He is also the composer of the Vedas and Vedānta in His form of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, and finally, He is the true knower of the real meaning and significance of all the Vedas. Śrīla Kavirāja Goswāmīpāda has written thus:

অতএব ভাগবত সূত্রের অর্থ রূপ ।
নিজ কৃত সূত্রের নিজ ভাষ্য স্বরূপ॥

ataeva bhāgavata sūtrera artha rūpa
nija kṛta sūtrera nija bhāṣya svarūpa

As it is He who is the writer and commentator of the Upaniṣads which are the most essential form of the four Vedas and their profound meanings, and as it is that same great personality, the incarnation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the writer of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, which is regarded as the quintessential commentary and wider, positive explanation of the Vedas, then it is the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam alone which presents to the world the deepest meanings of all Vedas, Vedānta and revealed scriptures. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.142)

কৃষ্ণভক্তি রসস্বরূপ শ্রীভাগবত ।
তাতে বেদশাস্ত্র হয়তে পরম মহত্ত্ব॥

kṛṣṇa-bhakti rasa-svarūpa śrī-bhāgavata
tāte veda śāstra haite parama mahattva

Bhāgavatam is the divine personification of the matchless ecstasies of kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Because of that, she is much more exalted than the Veda śāstras – excelling and transcending them all.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.150)

In the commentary of this verse, Śrīla Prabhupāda has said:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is the ocean of transcendental ecstasy of śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti and the revealed Vedic scriptures. The Vedas, which comprise the transcendental messages of Śrī Bhagavān, are compared to a desire tree, the best ripened fruit of which is Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Therefore, the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is much greater than the Vedas in comparative study.

In the revealed truth of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the sole matchless wealth of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s life, is the Supreme Reality and Supreme Object of all adoration. Śrī Rādhā, the crown jewel of all vraja-devīs, is the full-fledged divine potency and is the exclusive pleasure-giver in all respects to Her dear Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa-candra. Therefore, it is only under submission to Her that glorious, fathomless devotional service to the Lord, that genuine worship and adoration of the Lord, the very means of attaining divine grace, can become a reality. By realising this deep meaning of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and revealing it in his commentary, Parama-pūjyapāda Śrīdhara Deva has presented to the world this most beautiful, full-fledged explanation of gāyatrī, the mother of śruti. He has shown us this treasure of the most beautiful opulent wealth of the Supreme Reality; that the loving adoration of varenya bhargo, who is the Supreme Loving Worshipper, ecstasy-giver and internal potency of the supremely worshipable Śrī Līlā Puruṣottama Deva, is the best way to attain the grace of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. She is the benevolent source of pure devotional inspiration and intelligence required to attain the grace of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Divine Lord of this universe, and that it is the exclusive meaning of the expression: śavalāccyāmani prapadye (Chāndogya Upaniṣad).

Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Goswāmīpāda did not like to accept Śrī Kṛṣṇa merely as Bakārī (the slayer of Bakāsura and other demons), nor the idea of residing in Śrīdhāma Vraja without the grace of Śrīmatī Rādhā Ṭhākurāṇī. One cannot live in Her domain or have the fortune of darśana of the original transcendental form of Vṛndāvana-vihāri Śrī Kṛṣṇa without the grace and sanction of His svarūpa-śakti, Śrīmatī Rādhā Ṭhākurāṇī.

राधया माधवो देवः।

rādhayā mādhavo devaḥ

Mādhava Deva belongs exclusively to Her – Śrīmatī Rādhā Ṭhākurāṇī.

We find in Śrī Kavirāja Goswāmī’s writings:

হ্লাদিনী করায় কৃষ্ণে আনন্দাস্বাদন।
হ্লাদিনীর দ্বারা করে ভক্তের পোষণ॥

hlādinī karāya kṛṣṇe ānandāsvadana
hlādinīra dvārā kare bhaktera poṣaṇa

The hlādinī-śakti, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, is always engaging Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Her Divine Lord, in tasting and profoundly relishing the divine pleasures and infinite divine ecstasies, and it is through the hlādinī-śakti that Śrī Kṛṣṇa maintains and sustains the devotional life of His devotees” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.60)

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written in his Amṛta Pravāha Bhāṣya as follows:

Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the svarūpa-śakti of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and is known as hlādinī because She always keeps Him merged in the ocean of supreme ecstasy. In addition, She is also defined as the Supreme Maintainer and sustainer of divine devotional life, the Supreme Promoter of śrī-kṛṣṇa-prema within the original selves of all jīva souls, who are the eternal parts and particles of the infinite transcendental potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Kavirāja Goswāmīpāda continues:

সচ্চিদানন্দ পূর্ণ কৃষ্ণের স্বরূপ ।
একই চিচ্ছক্তি তাঁর ধরে তিন রূপ ॥
আনন্দাংশে হ্লাদিনী সদাংশে সন্ধিনী।
চিদাংশে সম্বিত যারে জ্ঞান করি মানি॥

sac-cid-ānanda pūrṇa kṛṣṇera svarūpa
ekaī cic-chakti tāṅra dhare tina rūpa
ānandāṁśe hlādinī sad aṁśe sandhinī
cid aṁśe samvit yāre jñāna kari māni

Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s body is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. His one spiritual energy manifests three forms. Hlādini is His aspect of bliss; sandhīni, of eternal existence; and samvit, of cognisance, which is also accepted as knowledge. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līla 4.61-62)

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura comments on this verse as follows:

The full-fledged reality of the almighty Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the embodiment of eternity, divinity and ecstasy and His conscious potency has threefold manifestations: Sandhinī-śakti is that potency which manifests in the quality of eternity and which connects or relates all jīva souls with the original Absolute Reality, expanding and extending that relationship and which thereby expands, widens and improves the very existence of all jīva souls. Samvit-śakti is the perfect plane of full-fledged knowledge or consciousness through which we can know the original Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Hlādinī-śakti is the potency of supreme transcendental ecstasy which eternally pleases Śrī Kṛṣṇa with limitless beauty and bliss and most graciously distributes that ānandam (pleasure) to be tasted by all other especially fortunate devotees.

Paramārādhya Śrīla Prabhupāda has commented on the same śloka in his Anubhāṣya:

The potency by which the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa maintains and sustains the entire entity, the existence of all, is called sandhinī-śakti, the revealer of time, place, things and circumstances. That potency by which He Himself can know and make others known is called samvit-śakti or jñāna-śakti. That supreme consciousness potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa by which Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī can directly know of the ānandam and most graciously allow others to know, feel and taste the same ānandam is called hlādinī-śakti. That original supreme ecstasy potency, hlādinī-śakti, is always engaged in giving pleasure to Her dear Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the dearmost son of the King of Vraja and the full moon of Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Therefore, essentially, we must do all our devotional duties, services and worship with the acceptance of unconditional surrender at the lotus feet of Śrī Vṛṣabhānu Rādhānandinī, the dearmost daughter of the King Vṛṣabhānu and the crown jewel of all the vraja-devīs. Hence, abhidheya means the profound thinking, feeling and absorption in all respects upon the Supreme Lord and through that process of meditation and absorption, the attainment of that plane of pure devotional consciousness prayojana or premāvastā – the lofty storage of divine love.

Therefore, this pure devotional meditation upon Śrī Rādhārāṇī is the topmost confidential meaning of brahma-gāyatrī. The commentary upon gāyatrī revealed by Pūjyapāda Śrīdhara Mahārāja is known as Śrī Gāyatrī-Nigūḍhārtha. This commentary has been elaborately explained and I am bereft of the proper language to elucidate the profound meaning of gāyatrī revealed by Pūjyapāda Mahārāja, which is that sublime śrī-rādhā-dāsya or śrī-rādhā-pāda-dhyāna – the exclusive devotional servitude to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Therefore, it can only be presented and understood through his own illustrious transcendental language and by his exclusive divine grace. This deepest meaning of gāyatrī has been nobly established by every aspect of the message emanating from his lotus lips and by the jubilant mood radiating from the core of his heart.