Verse 2.2.180

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.180:

अतः सान्द्र-सुखं तस्य श्रीमत्-पादाम्बुज-द्वयम् ।
भक्त्यानुभवतां सान्द्रम् सुखं सम्पद्यते ध्रुवम् ॥ १८० ॥

ataḥ sāndra-sukhaṃ tasya śrīmat-pādāmbuja-dvayam |
bhaktyānubhavatāṃ sāndram sukhaṃ sampadyate dhruvam || 180 ||

ataḥ–therefore; sāndra–essence; sukham–of bliss; tasya–His; śrīmat–splendid; pāda–feet; ambuja–lotus; dvayam–pair; bhaktyā–through devotional service; anubhavatām–this is experienced; sāndram–intense; sukham–happiness; sampadyate–is brought forth; dhruvam–factually.

Therefore, the beautiful lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān are the concentrated essence of happiness that is realized by bhakti alone. Those who experience the sweetness of Bhagavān through bhakti surely attain this concentrated transcendental happiness.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

This verse beginning with ataḥ explains that the happiness enjoyed by the Lord’s devotees is much greater than the happiness of brahma-sukha, that experienced by those who have realized impersonal Brahman. The bhakti-śāstras say, “One realizes the concentrated essence of happiness only by experiencing an object that, by its very nature, possesses complete and concentrated bliss. Therefore, the wise have ascertained that Śrī Bhagavān’s two supremely glorious lotus feet, the vessel of that concentrated joy, are the most resplendent forms of spiritual bliss.

“In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.22.53) Śrī Parāśara states:

एक-देश-स्थितस्याग्नेर् ज्योत्स्ना विस्तारिणी यथा
परस्य ब्रह्मणः शक्तिस् तथेदम् अखिलं जगत्

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṃ jagat

Just as a localized fire spreads its rays far and wide, the Supreme Brahman, who is full of attributes, manifests throughout the entire world by His energy, although situated in one place.

“And in Śrī Bhagavad-gītā (14.27), Śrī Bhagavān states: ‘brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhā’ham amṛta-syāvyayasya ca–I alone am the basis and ultimate support of the formless Brahman, everlasting immortality, and unalloyed happiness (bhakti).’”

It is to be understood from the evidence of these two verses that Śrī Bhagavān’s lotus feet are the embodiment of concentrated happiness. His lotus feet radiate Their splendor everywhere like fire, and They are the foundation of even the immortal, inexhaustible Brahman. Therefore, those who realize Them by serving Them with devotion in pure love attain corresponding concentrated happiness.

Thus the happiness experienced in serving Bhagavān’s lotus feet, which are compared with fire itself, cannot be attained in the realization of Brahman, which is like rays emanating from that fire. Explaining this point again with an example, the bhakti-śāstras say, “Bhagavān’s sat-cid-ānanda-ghana lotus feet are the concentrated essence of transcendence, just as the moon and the sun are dense spheres of concentrated brilliance. These transcendental lotus feet are realized through the practice of bhakti-yoga, which bestows an intense happiness that corresponds to that of the source itself.

“On the other hand, the happiness realized from the rays of the moon and sun (as opposed to the brilliant spheres of the planets themselves); or from the cultivation of knowledge of the soul’s position as a part and parcel of Brahman, which is like that of a particle of moonbeam or sunray (as opposed to the cultivation of bhakti, which is the eternal constitutional occupation of the living being, or jīva-svarūpa-bhūta jñāna); or from realization of the all-pervading Brahman (as opposed to realization of the lotus feet of Bhagavān) is indeed, comparatively minuscule. This is because the source and possessor of all qualities and attributes is known as dharmī, whereas dharma refers to the individual qualities of the whole. Here, Bhagavan, who is compared to the moon or sun, is dharmī, and Brahman, the Lord’s effulgence that is compared to the moon or sun’s rays, is dharma. Realization of the possessor of qualities brings complete happiness, but realization of the qualities themselves, which are only a part or effulgence of the whole, does not bestow the same degree of joy.

“Brahma-sukha, the happiness experienced in realizing the impersonal Brahman effulgence, is not born of the illusory material creation, and thus it has been compared to a moonbeam.

“Just as the atomic particles of the rays of the moon and sun have characteristics such as self-radiance like their sources, similarly, the atomic living beings (jīvas), are endowed with qualities such as eternity, knowledge, and bliss like the Lord Himself, but in minute quantity. Therefore, they are called the separated aṃśas (parts) of the Lord. This material world, on the other hand, being devoid of qualities such as eternality, all-cognizance, and supreme pleasure, cannot be regarded as an aṃśa (nondifferent or different portion) of Parabrahman. Therefore, the term śakti (power) is used, meaning this world has been created from the potency of Bhagavān.

“It is also stated in Brahma-saṃhitā (5.40):

यस्य प्रभा प्रभवतो जगद्-अण्ड-कोटि कोटिष्व् अशेष-वसुधादि-विभूति-भिन्नम्
तद् ब्रह्म निष्कलम् अनन्तम् अशेष-भूतं गोविन्दम् आदि-पुरुषं तम् अहं भजामि

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam
tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṃ govindam ādi-puruṣaṃ tam ahaṃ bhajāmi

I worship that Govinda, the primeval Lord, the radiance of whose limbs is the indivisible, infinite, all-encompassing Brahman. That effulgence is distinct from the unlimited opulences, such as the earth and other planets, of the millions of universes.”

This verse establishes that the effulgence of Śrī Bhagavān, which is the formless, all-pervading Brahman that is devoid of attributes, is a plenary portion (kalā or aṃśa) of Śrī Bhagavān.”