Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.87.32
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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bhāvam-anuprabhavam
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potent loving service
Compound: bhāva (bhakti-bhāva) + anuprabhava (potent, mighty). Gauḍīyas: bhāva here is the rising-bhāva of pre-prema (BRS 1.3) — at this stage the devotee is functionally immune to māyā's fear-production.
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su-dhiyaḥ
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those who are wise
Compound: su (good) + dhī (intelligence). Wisdom = recognizing māyā for what she is, then taking shelter. Gauḍīyas distinguish sudhī from paṇḍita: a paṇḍita has learning; a sudhī has the right orientation of intelligence (buddhi-yoga).
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tri-nemiḥ
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three-rimmed (the wheel of time)
Compound: tri (three) + nemi (rim). Time as a wheel with three rims — past, present, future. Gauḍīyas: the Lord's eyebrows curve in this same shape; the cosmic wheel is His facial expression. A small play of brow undoes universes.
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śaraṇeṣu
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for those who take shelter
Locative plural of śaraṇa (refuge). Śaraṇāgati — the central Vaiṣṇava act. Gauḍīyas systematize it as six-limbed (ānukūlya, prātikūlya-varjana, rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāsa, goptṛtve varaṇa, ātma-nikṣepa, kārpaṇya).
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abhave
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unto the source of liberation
Locative of abhava (cessation of saṁsāra). Bhagavān is abhava — the end of becoming. Gauḍīyas: yet His devotees do not even desire liberation as such; abhava is the byproduct of bhāva, not its goal.
The Vedas reveal their most cherished secret — devotional service to the Personality of Godhead — only to those who are tired of material illusion, which is based on a false sense of independence from the Lord. The Vājasaneyī-saṁhitā (32.11) of the White Yajur Veda contains the following mantra: parītya bhūtāni parītya lokān parītya sarvāḥ pradiśo diśaś ca upasthāya prathama-jāmṛtasyā- tmanātmānam abhisaṁviveśa “After passing beyond all the species of life, all the planetary systems and all the limits of space in all directions, one approaches the original Soul of immortality. Then one receives the opportunity to enter permanently into His domain and worship Him with personal service.” The proponents of various contending materialistic philosophies may consider themselves very wise, but they are in fact all deluded by the Supreme Lord’s Māyā. Vaiṣṇavas recognize this pattern of general delusion and submit themselves to the Supreme Lord in the devotional moods of servitude, friendship and so on. Instead of the heat and strife of philosophical quarrel, the pure Vaiṣṇavas experience only delight at every moment, because the object of their love is He who brings an end to material entanglement. And the devotees of Lord Viṣṇu enjoy constant pleasure not only in this life but in future lives. In whatever births they take, they enjoy loving reciprocations with the Lord. Thus the sincere Vaiṣṇava prays: nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu bhramāmy aham tatra tatrācyutā bhaktir acyutāstu dṛḍhā tvayi “Wherever I may wander, O master, among thousands of species of life, in each situation may I have firmly fixed devotion to You, O Acyuta.” ( Viṣṇu Purāṇa ) Some philosophers will question how the Vaiṣṇavas can overcome their material entrapment without thorough analytic knowledge of the entities tvam (“you,” the jīva ) and tat (“that,” the Supreme), and without developing a sufficient hatred of material life. The personified Vedas here answer that there is no chance of material illusion continuing to act on devotees of the Lord because even in the earliest stages of devotional service all fear and attachment are removed by the Lord’s grace. Time is the root cause of all fear in this world. Indeed, with its three divisions of past, present and future it creates terror at the prospect of impending disease, death and hellish suffering — but only for those who have failed to obtain shelter at the feet of the Supreme Lord. As the Lord Himself says in the Rāmāyaṇa ( Laṅkā-khaṇḍa 18.33): sakṛd eva prapanno yas tavāsmīti ca yācate abhayaṁ sarvadā tasmai dadāmy etad vrataṁ mama “To whomever even once surrenders to Me, pleading ‘I am Yours,’ I give eternal fearlessness. This is my solemn vow.” Furthermore, in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) the Lord says: daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyāṁ etāṁ taranti te “This divine energy of Mine consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” Vaiṣṇavas do not like to waste their time in prolonged and fruitless wrangling over dry philosophic subjects. They would rather worship the Personality of Godhead than quarrel with philosophical adversaries. The Vaiṣṇavas’ understanding concurs with the essential message of revealed scripture. These devotees’ conception of the Supreme Absolute Truth as the infinite ocean of personality and loving pastimes in His worshipable forms of Kṛṣṇa, Rāma and other divine manifestations, and their conception of themselves as His eternal servants, amount to the perfect conclusion of Vedānta philosophy in terms of the entities tat and tvam. The Personality of Godhead and His emanations, such as the jīva souls, are simultaneously different and nondifferent, just like the sun and its expanding rays. There are more jīvas than anyone can count, and each of them is eternally alive with consciousness, as the śrutis confirm: nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 5.13 and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.13) When they are sent forth from the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu at the beginning of material creation, the jīvas are all equal in the sense that they are all atomic particles of the Lord’s marginal energy. But according to their differing conditions, they divide into four groups: Some are covered by ignorance, which obscures their vision like a cloud. Others become liberated from ignorance through a combination of knowledge and devotion. A third group of souls become endowed with pure devotion, with a slight mixture of desire for speculative knowledge and fruitive activity. Those souls attain purified bodies composed of perfect knowledge and bliss with which they can engage in the Lord’s service. Finally, there are those who are devoid of any connection with ignorance; these are the Lord’s eternal associates. The marginal position of the jīva soul is described in the Nārada Pañcarātra: yat taṭa-sthaṁ tu cid-rūpaṁ sva-saṁvedyād vinirgatam rañjitaṁ guṇa-rāgeṇa sa jīva iti kathyate “The taṭa-stha potency should be understood as emanating from the Lord’s saṁvit [knowledge] energy. This emanation, called the jīva, becomes conditioned by the qualities of material nature.” Because the minute jīva lives within the margin between the Lord’s external, illusory potency, Māyā, and His internal, spiritual potency, cit, the jīva is called taṭa-stha, “marginal.” When he earns liberation by cultivating devotion to the Lord, however, he comes completely under the shelter of the Lord’s internal potency, and at that time he is no longer tainted by the modes of material nature. Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26) : māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate “One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” The object of the soul’s worship is realized in three aspects: Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Impersonal Brahman is like the radiant effulgence of the sun; the Supersoul, or Paramātmā, is like the sun globe; and the Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān, is like the presiding deity within the sun, complemented by his elaborate entourage and paraphernalia. Or, to cite another analogy, travelers approaching a city from a distance cannot at first distinguish its features but rather see something vaguely shining ahead of them. As they come closer, they may discern a few of the taller buildings. Then, when they are sufficiently close, they will see the city as it is — a bustling metropolis with many citizens, residences, public buildings, highways and parks. In the same way, persons inclined to impersonal meditation may at best gain some realization of the Supreme Lord’s effulgence (Brahman), those who approach closer can learn to see Him as the Lord in the heart (Paramātmā), and those who come very close can know Him in His full personality (Bhagavān). In summary, Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī prays: saṁsāra-cakra-krakacair vidīrṇam udīrṇa-nānā-bhava-tāpa-taptam kathañcid āpannam iha prapannaṁ tvam uddhara śrī-nṛhare nṛ-lokam “O Śrī Nṛhari, please deliver those human beings who have suffered all kinds of torments and been ripped apart by the sharp edge of saṁsāra’s wheel but who have now somehow found You and are surrendering themselves unto You.”
Having proposed various philosophies and rejected them, the srutis now establish the Vaisnava philosophy. "Understanding these erroneous opinions of people who think themselves wise mentioned in the previous two verses, the intelligent persons offer love (bhavam) such as dasya or sakhya, filled with continuous bliss (anuprabhavam), or birth after birth, to you who destroy material entanglement." The Visnu Purana says, natha yoni sahasresu yesu yesu bhramamy aham tatra tatracyuta bhaktir acuyastu drdha tvayi Oh Lord, O Acyuta! May I have undeviating devotion to you in all my thousands of births wandering in this world. "But then, with lack of knowledge of tat and tvam, and without hatred of the material world, they should not cease material existence." "How can fear of material existence follow them, because that leaves them even at the beginning of becoming your servant? Only because of extreme desirelessness and feeling of insignificant arising from their cultivation of devotion, they still identify themselves as fallen in the material world. Thus, the moving of your eyebrow in the form of the three fold sharp-bladed time, creates fear of birth and death only for those who fail to worship your feet. For you have said, Sakrd eva prapanno yas tavasmiti ca yacate Abhayam sarvada tasmai dadamy etad vratam mama I vow that whoever even once surrenders to me, saying "I am yours" will be free of fear forever. Ramayana, Yuddha-kanda 18.33 Daivi hy esa guna mayi mama mya duratyaya Mam eva y prapdyante mayam etam tarnti te This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
Taking the opportunity from what was previously said how the Lord removes fear of material existence, some other śrutis whose conclusion is bhakti praise Kṛṣṇa. Jīvas who have been wandering in the world because of māyā, becoming spiritually intelligence by association with devotees, cannot give up bhakti because of the sweet experience. They understand that you can stop the fear of material existence which makes one wander about in illusion. They attain a state of constant bliss (anuprabhavam). Or they maintain that state birth after birth. In any case because of the great sweetness they cannot give it up. sā hānis tan mahac-chidraṁ sa mohaḥ sa ca vibhramaḥ | yan muhūrtaṁ kṣaṇaṁ vāpi vāsudevaṁ na cintayet || If even for a moment remembrance of Vāsudeva, the Supreme Lord, is missed, that is the greatest loss, that is the greatest illusion, and that is the greatest anomaly. Viṣṇu Purāṇa nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham | teṣu teṣv acyutā bhaktir acyutāstu sadā tvayi || Wherever I may wander, O master, among thousands of species of life, in each situation may I have firmly fixed devotion to you, O Acyuta. Viṣṇu Purāṇa na vai jano jātu kathañcanāvrajen mukunda-sevy anyavad aṅga saṁsṛtim smaran mukundāṅghry-upagūhanaṁ punar vihātum icchen na rasa-graho janaḥ Oh! The person who serves Mukunda will never under any condition return to the material world, unlike practitioners of other processes. Remembering the embrace of the Lord’s lotus feet, eager for that taste he has experienced, he will not desire to give up those feet again. SB 1.5.19 Do not those who have bhakti desire to give up those feet? No. Those absorbed in bliss pay no attention to the condition in the material world. They have no fear of it. The causes of fear in the world are destroyed by their state of transcendence. This is stated with kaimutya. sakṛd eva prapanno yas tavāsmīti ca yācate abhayaṁ sarvadā tasmai dadāmy etad vrataṁ mama If one surrenders unto me sincerely, saying, ‘My Lord, from this day I am fully surrendered unto you,’ I always give him protection. That is my vow. Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha-kāṇḍa 18.33 Just by surrender one loses all fear. Your frown consisting of time past, present and future gives fear to those who do not surrender. parītya bhūtāni parītya lokān parītya sarvāḥ pradiśo diśaś ca upasthāya prathama-jāmṛtasyāmanātmānam abhisaṁviveśa After passing beyond all the species of life, all the planetary systems and all the limits of space in all directions, one approaches the original soul of immortality. Then one receives the opportunity to enter permanently into his domain and worship him with personal service. The Vājasaneyī-saṁhitā (32.11) of the White Yajur Veda kālena naṣṭā pralaye vāṇīyaṁ veda-saṁjñitā mayādau brahmaṇe proktā dharmo yasyāṁ mad-ātmakaḥ By the influence of time, the Vedic knowledge was lost at the time of annihilation. Therefore, when the subsequent creation took place, I spoke to Brahmā the Vedic knowledge in which bhakti is the essence. SB 11.1.43 Thus the message of bhakti is spoken by the Lord himself. Or the śrutis, unable to tolerant the proposal of liberation, speak this verse. Among those who are not your devotees, those desiring liberation, some wander around by māyā and concentrate on practice devoid of happiness of bhakti. The śrutis supporting this verse have already been given in previous commentaries.
Acceptance of liberation is not attractive for your devotees. Among liberated souls, those who are intelligent, understanding the falsity (bhramam) of thinking knowledge of liberation as the highest by giving up the ocean of bliss of bhakti to you because of your māyā, perform bhakti (bhavam) to you, the ultimate shelter. The happiness of liberation is included in the happiness of bhakti just as the water of a well is included in the water of a lake. (BG 2.46) They do this in every birth (anuprabhavam). They do not accept libration, but accept birth to experience bhakti-rasa. “By experiencing birth and death, there will suffering of saṁsāra.” How can fear of saṁsāra follow them? By bhakti they destroy saṁsāra. How can it affect them? The cause is given. Those who take shelter of your feet do not have fear of time. What to speak of those who have bhāva. By the continuation of impressions of bhakti at all times they are happy and will not experince sufferings like sickness. Or persons of pure intelligence perform bhakti to you. Men like Ṣaṇḍa and Amārka, born in Bhrgu’s dynasty, gave up Viṣṇu and served demons. This is explained by Nārada. Viṣṇuṁ visṛjyānvacarac ca daityaṁ kiṁvā na kuryuḥ bharanāya lubdhāḥ: He gave up Viṣṇu and served the demon. What will the greedy not do for maintaining themselves? Hair-bhakti-sudhodaya Understanding the mistake of such persons, the intelligent, Prahlada and others, show rati (bhāvam) which continually causes clear manifestion of your mercy (anuprabhavam). “Devotees also take birth. Why is it said that they have destroyed saṁsāra?” There is no fear of birth for those who just repeat the acts of bhakti (anuvartatām), what to speak of those who concentrate on bhakti. Thus Prahlāda prays: nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham | teṣu teṣv acyutā bhaktir acyutāstu sadā tvayi || Wherever I may wander, O master, among thousands of species of life, in each situation may I have firmly fixed devotion to you, O Acyuta. Viṣṇu Purāṇa Even those who just surrender are free of fear of time. The movement of your brow gives fear to those who do not surrender. sakṛd eva prapanno yas tavāsmīti ca yācate abhayaṁ sarvadā tasmai dadāmy etad vrataṁ mama If one surrenders unto me sincerely, saying, ‘My Lord, from this day I am fully surrendered unto you,’ I always give him protection. That is my vow. Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha-kāṇḍa 18.33
- Where have I let understanding become the end instead of the fuel for service?
- What act of service today could be powered by what I already understand?
Once a soul understands the māyā-trap, fierce bhakti rises in him like a fire — and the wheel of time, which terrifies others as three-rimmed (past, present, future), becomes harmless. Your eyebrow's furrow is that wheel; for Your devotees it does not turn.
My note
Source: vedabase.io