Verse 2.1.248

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.1.248:

অহর্-নিশ শ্রবণে শুনযে কৃষ্ণ-নাম বদনে বোলযে ‘কৃষ্ণচন্দ্র’ অবিরাম ॥ ২৪৮ ॥

अहर्-निश श्रवणे शुनये कृष्ण-नाम वदने बोलये ‘कृष्णचन्द्र’ अविराम ॥ २४८ ॥

ahar-niśa śravaṇe śunaye kṛṣṇa-nāma vadane bolaye ‘kṛṣṇacandra’ avirāma || 248 ||

ahar-nisa sravane sunaye krsna-nama vadane bolaye ‘krsnacandra’ avirama (248)

English translation:

(248) He heard the names of Kṛṣṇa both night and day, and He constantly chanted the name of Kṛṣṇacandra.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Śrī Gaurasundara exhibited the pastimes of a mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇava and began to see everything in relation to Kṛṣṇa. Ordinary materialists who have forgotten Kṛṣṇa become bewildered by mundane knowledge, and instead of seeing everything in relation to Kṛṣṇa they see the entire world as a place of enjoyment. Mahāprabhu, however, did not set such an example by identifying Himself as the enjoyer; rather, He saw this animate and inanimate world, which is visible to the conditioned souls who are averse to and forgetful of Kṛṣṇa, through the spiritual vision of a mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇava inclined to the service of Kṛṣṇa. He began to realize the pastimes of omnipotent Kṛṣṇa in the heart of every living entity. Therefore, since He had no temporary material conceptions like

the forgetful materialistic conditioned souls while realizing transcendental Vaikuṇṭha-Goloka everywhere, He was not obstructed by those opulences from seeing Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes of enjoyment and acceptance of service.

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 8.274) it is stated:

sthāvara-jaṅgama dekhe, nā dekhe tāra mūrti sarvatra haya nija iṣṭa-deva-sphūrti

“The mahā-bhāgavata, the advanced devotee, certainly sees everything mobile and immobile, but he does not exactly see their forms. Rather, everywhere he immediately sees manifest the form of the Supreme Lord.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.2.45, 49-54) Śrī Havi, one of the nine Yogendras, speaks to Nimi, the King of Videha, as follows:

śrī-havir uvāca sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ bhūtāni bhagavaty ātmany

eṣa bhāgavatottamaḥ

“The most advanced devotee sees within everything the soul of all souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Consequently he sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord and understands that everything that exists is eternally situated within the Lord.

dehendriya-prāṇa-mano-dhiyāṃ yo janmāpyaya-kṣud-bhaya-tarṣa-kṛcchraiḥ saṃsāra-dharmair avimuhyamānaḥ smṛtyā harer bhāgavata-pradhānaḥ

“Within the material world, one’s material body is always subject to birth and decay. Similarly, the life air [prāṇa] is harassed by hunger and thirst, the mind is always anxious, the intelligence hankers for that which cannot be obtained, and all of the senses are ultimately exhausted by constant

struggle in the material nature. A person who is not bewildered by the inevitable miseries of material existence, and who remains aloof from them simply by remembering the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is to be considered bhāgavata-pradhāna, the foremost devotee of the Lord.

na kāma-karma-bījānāṃ yasya cetasi sambhavaḥ vāsudevaika-nilayaḥ

sa vai bhāgavatottamaḥ

“One who has taken exclusive shelter of the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva, becomes free from fruitive activities, which are based on material lust. In fact, one who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord is freed from even the desire to enjoy material sense gratification. Plans for enjoying sex life, social prestige and money cannot develop within his mind. Thus he is considered bhāgavatottama, a pure devotee of the Lord on the highest platform.

na yasya janma-karmabhyāṃ na varṇāśrama-jātibhiḥ sajjate ‘sminn ahaṃ-bhāvo dehe vai sa hareḥ priyaḥ

“Birth in an aristocratic family and the execution of austere and pious activities certainly cause one to take pride in himself. Similarly, if one enjoys a prestigious position within society because his parents are highly respected members of the varṇāśrama social system, one becomes even more infatuated with himself. But if despite these excellent material qualifications one does not feel even a tinge of pride within himself, he is to be considered the dearmost servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

na yasya svaḥ para iti vitteṣv ātmani vā bhidā

sarva-bhūta-samaḥ śāntaḥ sa vai bhāgavatottamaḥ

“When a devotee gives up the selfish conception by which one thinks ‘This is my property, and that is his,’ and when he is no longer concerned with the pleasures of his own material body or indifferent to the discomforts of others, he becomes fully peaceful and satisfied. He considers himself simply one among all the living beings who are equally part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a satisfied Vaiṣṇava is considered to be at the highest standard of devotional service.

tri-bhuvana-vibhava-hetave ‘py akuṇṭha- smṛtir ajitātma-surādibhir vimṛgyāt

na calati bhagavat-padāravindāl

lava-nimiṣārdham api yaḥ sa vaiṣṇavāgryaḥ

“The lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are sought even by the greatest of demigods, such as Brahmā and Śiva, who have all accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their life and soul. A pure devotee of the Lord can never forget those lotus feet in any circumstance. He will not give up his shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord for a single moment—indeed, not for half a moment—even in exchange for the benediction of ruling and enjoying the opulence of the entire universe. Such a devotee of the Lord is to be considered the best of the Vaiṣṇavas.

bhagavata uru-vikramāṅghri-śākhā- nakha-maṇi-candrikayā nirasta-tāpe hṛdi katham upasīdatāṃ punaḥ sa prabhavati candra ivodite ‘rka-tāpaḥ

“How can the fire of material suffering continue to burn the hearts of those who worship the Supreme Lord? The Lord’s lotus feet have performed innumerable heroic deeds, and the beautiful nails on His toes resemble valuable jewels. The effulgence emanating from those nails

resembles cooling moonshine, for it instantly relieves the suffering within the heart of the pure devotee, just as the appearance of the moon’s cooling light relieves the burning heat of the sun.”