Srila Gurudeva (The Supreme Treasure)
by Swami Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja | 2010 | 179,005 words
This page relates ‘Shrila Gurudeva’s Arati’ of the book dealing with life and teachings of Srila Gurudeva, otherwise known as Shri Shrimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja. Srila Gurudeva is a learned and scholar whose teachings primarily concern the spiritual beauties of Bhakti—devotional service and the qualities and pastimes of Shri Krishna.
Śrīla Gurudeva’s Ārati
Below is a song I composed for the pleasure of Śrīla Gurudeva:
जय जय गुरुदेवेर् आरतीको शोभा
यमुना-तट ब्रज-तीर्थे भक्त-मन लोभाjaya jaya gurudever āratīko śobhā
yamunā-taṭa braja-tīrthe bhakta-mana lobhāAll glories, all glories to the beautiful āratī ceremony of Śrīla Gurudeva, performed on the banks of the Yamunā in the sacred Vraja[1], attracting the minds of the devotees.
राग-मार्ग सिद्धान्तेर मूऋतिमन्त अति
केशवेर प्रिय तुमि नारायण यतिrāga-mārga siddhāntera mūṛtimanta ati
keśavera priya tumi nārāyaṇa yatiO Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, you are the complete embodiment of the conclusive truths (siddhāntas) of the path of rāgānuga-bhakti, and you are the beloved sannyāsī disciple of Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja.
गौर-वाणी धूप तव श्री वेदान्त दीप
पाश्चात्य प्रचारकेर तुमि हओ भूपgaura-vāṇī dhūpa tava śrī vedānta dīpa
pāścātya pracārakera tumi hao bhūpaIn your āratī the message of Śrī Gaurasundara is the incense, and śrī vedānta is the ghee lamp[2]. You are the monarch among those who preached in the West.[3]
सारस्वत-केशव-धारा जल-शङ्ख धार
पाल्य-दासी मधु-स्नेहे मुग्ध चराचरsārasvata-keśava-dhārā jala-śaṅkha dhāra
pālya-dāsī madhu-snehe mugdha carācaraThe water in the conch shell is the current, that is, the line of thought, of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda and Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. By the honey-like affection (madhusneha) of Śrī Rādhā’s maidservants, Her pālya-dāsīs, all beings–moving and non-moving alike–are enchanted.
तिल-फुल जिन्नि नासा श्री अङ्ग सुन्दर
देशी विदेशी भक्त तव पुष्प सम्भारtila-phula jinni nāsā śrī aṅga sundara
deśī videśī bhakta tava puṣpa sambhāraYour beautiful nose defeats the beauty of sesame flower and your limbs are very beautiful. The Indian and foreign devotees are the flowers and other ingredients of your worship.
सेवानन्दे प्रेमानन्द चामर डुलाय
मधुकण्ठे कृष्ण-दास नीराजन गायsevānande premānanda cāmara ḍulāya
madhukaṇṭhe kṛṣṇa-dāsa nīrājana gāyaŚrīpad Premānanda Prabhu waves the cāmara in the bliss of serving you in uncountable ways, while Kṛṣṇa dāsa[4] sings your āratī in a sweet beautiful voice.
महानन्दे भक्त-वृन्द बाजाय मृदङ्ग
माधव वन अकातरे मागे तव सङ्गmahānande bhakta-vṛnda bājāya mṛdaṅga[5]
mādhava vana[6] akātare māge tava saṅgaIn great joy, throngs of devotees are playing the mṛdaṅga. [But,] Mādhava and Vana, fervently beg for your association.
In the eternal pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādhā Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual world, the identity of Śrīla Gurudeva, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja is Śrī Raman Māñjarī. She is Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s eternal loving companion whose identity and service is revealed in the following aṣṭakam. Śrīla Gurudeva mercifully authorized that this aṣṭakam may be released after his disappearance for the benefit of those fortunate devotees who are very serious in their sādhana-bhajana.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Navadvīpa is situated on the western bank of the Gaṅgā, which is where Yamunā flows. So yamunā-taṭa braja-tīrthe, at this Yamunā in Navadvīpa which is non-different from Vraja, Śrīla Gurudeva’s ārati is being performed. Braja-tīrtha can also mean ‘attracting the minds of the devotees headed by Śrīpad Tīrtha Mahārāja and Brajanātha Prabhu’
[2]:
Just as the ghee lamp dispels darkness, the bhaktivedānta sannyāsīs under your shelter dissipate the darkness in the jīvas’ hearts with their hari-kathā.
[3]:
[4]:
[5]: