Verse 38

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 38:

प्रेमाञ्जन-च्छुरित-भक्ति-विलोचनेन
सन्तः सदैव हृदयेषु विलोकयन्ति
यं श्यामसुन्दरम् अचिन्त्य-गुण-स्वरूपं
गोविन्दम् आदि-पुरुषं तम् अहं भजामि

premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
  santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
yaṃ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṃ
  govindam ādi-puruṣaṃ tam ahaṃ bhajāmi

aham bhajāmi—I perform bhajana; tam—of that; ādi-puruṣam govindam—original Supreme Person, Śrī Govinda; yam—whose; svarūpam—original form; acintya-guṇa—which is endowed with inconceivable transcendental qualities; santaḥ—exclusively devoted saints; bhakti-vilocanena—with eyes of devotion; churita—tinged; prema-añjana—with the salve of love; eva vilokayanti—certainly behold; sadā—at all times; hṛdayeṣu—within their purified hearts; śyāmasundaram—as beautiful Śyāma, the dark-hued prince of Vṛndāvana.

“Saintly persons whose eyes of devotion are smeared with the salve of prema always behold Śrī Kṛṣṇa within their hearts as Śyāmasundara, the embodiment of inconceivable qualities. I worship that original personality, Govinda.” (38)

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī’s Ṭīkā commentary (bhāvānuvāda):

[Sanskrit text for commentary available]

Although Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s residence is in Goloka, and His qualities are inconceivable, He can nevertheless be seen by the eyes of devotion that are anointed with the black salve of unconditional love. Therefore not everyone realizes Him in the same way. His darśana is available according to the degree to which one has developed prema. Consequently, the depth of one’s realization of Śrī Kṛṣṇa depends on how much one’s sādhana is infused with bhakti. 

Therefore it is said (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.2.42): 

भक्तिः परेशानुभवो विरक्तिः

bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktiḥ

“Realization of Bhagavān depends on the measure of one’s bhakti.” 

Furthermore, those whose hearts are filled with deep feelings of possessiveness can realize Śrī Kṛṣṇa all the more. Thus the level of perception of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness also depends on the intensity of prema.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura (tātparya):

The śyāmasundara-svarūpa is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal form. It is personal and endowed with all qualities and attributes, and simultaneously impersonal and devoid of qualities and attributes. This is because all compatible and incompatible qualities are exquisitely reconciled within it. Saintly persons can see this form within their hearts in the trance of devotion.

The color of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s form as Śyāmasundara is not the blackish color of this world, but is the form that bestows eternal joy in that transcendental world. It cannot be perceived with material eyes. 

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.4) it is stated: 

{DEV}

bhakti-yogena manasi, samyak praṇihite’male, apaśyat puruṣaṃ pūrṇam

“By practice of bhakti-yoga, Vyāsadeva directly saw in trance within his purified heart the Supreme Personality in His complete and full manifestation.” 

When we consider Śrīla Vyāsadeva’s trance, we find that Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa is complete, and that He is the complete Personality of Godhead. He only appears in the heart that is enthused with bhakti. When Kṛṣṇa displayed His manifest pastimes in Vraja, devotees and non-devotees could see Him, but only the devotees could adore that Kṛṣṇa of Vraja as the greatest treasure of their hearts. This is because they were imbued with a loving disposition. Those whose hearts were devoid of bhakti could not realize His sweetness, even when they saw Him directly. Although devotees cannot see Him directly nowadays, they do see Śrī Kṛṣṇa within their love-laden hearts as He resides radiantly in Vraja-dhāma. The phrase “eyes of devotion” refers to the eyes of the jīva’s pure transcendental form. Those eyes develop according to the advancement of one’s bhakti, and in turn the pure vision of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa is available proportionately.

When sādhana-bhakti attains the stage of bhāva, by Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, the salve of prema is applied to the eyes of that bhāva-bhakta, and direct darśana is possible. This depends on the degree of one’s devotion. The purport of this deliberation is that Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa as the very attractive threefold-bending Śyāmasundara–a fresh youth, the best of dancers, dressed as a cowherd boy and holding a flute (nava-kiśora naṭavara gopa-veśa)–is not an imaginary form. It is His trancendental constitutional form composed of eternal existence, consciousness and bliss. It can only be perceived directly with the eyes of samādhi, full absorption in spiritual trance.