Verse 1.1.78

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.1.78:

বৈষ্ণব-চরণে মোর এই মনস্কাম ভজি যেন জন্মে-জন্মে প্রভু বলরাম ॥ ৭৮ ॥

वैष्णव-चरणे मोर एइ मनस्काम भजि येन जन्मे-जन्मे प्रभु बलराम ॥ ७८ ॥

vaiṣṇava-caraṇe mora ei manaskāma bhaji yena janme-janme prabhu balarāma || 78 ||

vaisnava-carane mora ei manaskama bhaji yena janme-janme prabhu balarama (78)

English translation:

(78) My only desire at the feet of the Vaiṣṇavas is that birth after birth I

may worship the feet of Lord Balarāma.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

The living entities of this material world are busy gratifying their temporary senses. They want to enjoy the objects of the senses through the medium of material knowledge. When one becomes detached from the enjoying mood, he gets the opportunity to approach the Absolute Truth by taking shelter of the spiritual master, who is nondifferent from Lord Nityānanda.

Lord Nityānanda is nondifferent from the worshipable Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. In other words, He is the dearmost servant of svayaṃ-rūpa Lord Śrī Gaura-Kṛṣṇa. Pure devotional service is the propensity of pure liberated souls. A true disciple who is engaged in the unmotivated uninterrupted service of Gaura-Kṛṣṇa is eligible to swim in the ocean of the mellows of devotional service. It is explained in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23):

yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.”

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, the crest jewel of the paramahaṃsas has written in his Prārthanā:

nitāi pada-kamala, koṭī-candra-suśītala, ye chāyāya jagat juḍāya.

hena nitāi vine bhāi, rādhā-kṛṣṇa pāite nāi, dṛḍha kari’ dhara nitāira pāya.

“The lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda are as soothing as the rays of millions of moons. The entire world can be solaced by the shelter of His lotus feet. Dear brother, without the mercy of Lord Nityānanda no one can attain the

lotus feet of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Therefore catch hold of the lotus feet of Nityānanda with firm determination.”

Śrī Nityānanda-Baladeva is the source of all viṣṇu-tattvas and the Lord of the Vaiṣṇavas, or servants of Viṣṇu. In order to serve that Lord, the author offers prayers at the feet of His eternal servants, the Vaiṣṇavas.

The Vaiṣṇavas are eternal, liberated, and always worshipable for the living entities. The author shows that submission to the Vaiṣṇavas is one of the inseparable limbs of pure devotional service. By setting example, he teaches cheaters, wretches, proud persons, and persons bewildered by the influence of false ego that in order to achieve one’s desired goal one should pray at the feet of the devotees.