Verse 2.1.4

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.1.4:

গৌরচন্দ্র জয ধর্ম-সেতু মহা-ধীর জয সঙ্কীর্তন-ময সুন্দর-শরীর ॥ ৪ ॥

गौरचन्द्र जय धर्म-सेतु महा-धीर जय सङ्कीर्तन-मय सुन्दर-शरीर ॥ ४ ॥

gauracandra jaya dharma-setu mahā-dhīra jaya saṅkīrtana-maya sundara-śarīra || 4 ||

gauracandra jaya dharma-setu maha-dhira jaya sankirtana-maya sundara-sarira (4)

English translation:

(4) All glories to the most sober Gauracandra, who is the bridge to religion! All glories to His most attractive form, which is the embodiment of the congregational chanting of the holy names!

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

The word dharma-setu is explained as follows: There is a great difference between worldly or secular duties and transcendental or spiritual duties.

That is why Lord Gaurasundara took the position of the topmost jagad- guru and became the bridge for worldly pious people to enter Vaikuṇṭha. We find that Gaurasundara was the original propounder of the acintya- bhedābheda philosophy, which reconciles the differences between the impersonalists and the Vaiṣṇavas. Gaurahari has not introduced any arrangement for entering the kingdom of religiosity by following any principles that are immoral, concocted, or opposed to one’s constitutional duties. The prākṛta-sahajiyāphilosophy based on maintaining irreligiosity and material sense gratification freely indulged in under the name of religion are both mundane or worldly; in other words, they are both based on materialistic external knowledge. Lord Gaurahari, the protector of sanātana-dharma, taught everyone how to cross beyond worldly considerations and attain the service of Adhokṣaja by building a bridge in the form of preaching the congregational chanting of the holy names of Hari.

The word mahā-dhīra is explained as follows: Gaurasundara did not follow the path of argument; rather, He reestablished the path of the Vedas. He did not preach or display the restlessness of mental speculation based on sense gratification like an ordinary karmi; in other words, He did not instruct anyone to achieve temporary, mundane, perishable happiness. To conquer the urges of one’s tongue, belly, and genitals is called dhṛti, or self-control, or acceptance of tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa. Restless persons devoid of such self-control—in the form of controlling the urges of the body, mind, and speech—cannot understand anything about the transcendental topics of devotional service to Hari. Thus they invite various false arguments through the help of their mundane knowledge.

Since Gaurasundara did not encourage such false arguments, He is most

sober and is worshipable by the sober sannyāsīs. Although attached householders and the immoral gaura-nāgarīs impudently consider that Gaurasundara was an uncontrolled attached householder engaged in amorous affairs, He is situated far beyond their concocted ideas and is therefore called mahā-dhīra.

The word saṅkīrtana-maya is explained as follows: Although Gaurasundara is Himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, He is the personification of chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa, and He has manifested His Gaura pastimes in the role of a mahā-bhāgavata. He is the Supreme Brahman and the personification of worshipable sound in the sacrifice of chanting the holy names.