Chapter 5 Sri Bhakta-vacanamrtam - Words of Nectar from the Devotees

Raksisyatiti Visvasah - Confidence in the Lord's Protection

5.1
raksisyati hi mam krsno, bhaktanam bandhavas ca sah
ksemam vidhasyatiti yad, visvaso 'traiva grhyate

        'Certainly Lord Krsna will protect me, because He is the friend of the devotees. He will definitely bless us with all auspiciousness and success.'
        Within this chapter, such faith is sustained.

5.2.
sarva-lokesu sri-krsna-padabjaika-raksakatvam -
        martyo mrtyu-vyala-bhitah palayan
        lokan sarvan nirbhayam nadhyagacchat
        tvat-padabjam prapya yadrcchayadya
        susthah sete mrtyur asmad apaiti

Sri Devakyah

The lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna: the only protection for all planes of life -
"O Supreme Lord, despite fleeing throughout every planet of the universe out of fear of the black snake of death, the mortal being cannot find a place devoid of fear. But when he is blessed with the fortune of coming to the shelter of Your lotus feet, he becomes reposed with a peaceful heart, and death itself flees from his company."

Srimati Devaki

5.3
mayadhisasyaiva bhagavatah ksema-vidhatrtvam -
        visvasya yah sthiti-layodbhava-hetur adyo
        yogesvarair api duratyaya-yoga-mayah
        ksemam vidhasyati sa no bhagavams tryadhisas
        tatrasmadiya-vimrsena kiyan iharthah

Sri Brahmanah

Only the absolute magician, the Supreme Lord, is capable of bestowing all good fortune -
"The Supreme Lord of the three worlds, who is the cause of the universal creation, sustenance, and annihilation, and whose magical potency is insurmountable for even the greatest yogis, will surely bless us with all good fortune. Could we ever doubt this?"

Lord Brahma

5.4
apady api sri-krsna-kathaika-raksana-visvasah -
        tam mopayatam pratiyantu vipra
        ganga ca devi dhrta-cittam ise
        dvijopasrstah kuhakas taksako va
        dasatv alam gayata visnu-gathah

Sri Visnuratasya

Faith, even in the face of impending doom, that tidings of Lord Krsna (Sri Hari-katha) is the only protection -
"O pure brahmanas, may you kindly know me as a surrendered soul, and let Mother Ganges accept me as one whose heart is offered to Lord Krsna. Let the winged serpent Taksaka or whatever magical creation has been incited by the son of the brahmana bite me immediately if it so desires; may you all simply go on singing the glories of the Lord."

Maharaja Pariksit

5.5
hari-dasa harina raksita eva -
        ma bhair mandamano vicintya bahudha yamis ciram yatana
        naivami prabhavanti papa-ripavah svami nanu sridharah
        alasyam vyapaniya bhakti-sulabham dhyayasva narayanam
        lokasya vyasanapanodanakaro dasasya kim na ksamah

Sri Kulasekharasya

The servants of Lord Hari are always protected by Lord Hari -
"O wicked mind, fear not the thought of the multifarious, perpetual tortures that are your due. Your enemies - your sins, have no claim over you because the only actual lord and master is the Supreme Lord, Sridhara. Give up your apathy, and absorb your thoughts in Lord Narayana, who is happily attainable by devotion. Is not He who destroys the calamities of all planets capable of annihilating the defects of His personal servitors?"

Sri Kulasekhara

5.6
samsara-duhkha-klistanam sri-visnoh paramam padam evaikasrayah -         bhava-jaladhi-gatanam dvandva-vatahatanam
        suta-duhitr-kalatra-trana-bharardditanam
        visama-visaya-toye majjatam aplavanam
        bhavati saranam eko visnu-poto naranam

Sri Kulasekharasya

The holy feet of Lord Visnu are the only shelter for persons tormented by the miseries of material existence -
"For those persons who, bereft of a vessel, have fallen into the ocean of mundane existence; who are being lashed by the hurricane of duality based on mundane attraction and aversion; who are crushed by the burden of protecting wife and family, etc.; who are drowning in the ghastly whirlpool of sensual pleasures - the only shelter is the lifeboat of the holy lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, Visnu."

Sri Kulasekhara

5.7
sri-krsna-bhajanam eva martyanam amrta-pradam -
        idam sariram sata-sandhi-jarjaram
        pataty avasyam parinama-pesalam
        kim ausadham prcchasi mudha durmate
        niramayam krsna-rasayanam piba

Sri Kulasekharasya

Only pure devotion for Lord Krsna awards immortality to the mortal -

sata sandhi jara jara, tava ei kalevara,

patana haibe eka-dina

bhasma krmi vistha habe, sakalera ghrnya tabe,

		ihate mamata arvacina
		ore mana suna mora e satya vacana

e rogera mahausadhi, krsna-nama niravadhi,

		niramaya krsna rasayana
			(Bengali verse by Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakura)

"A dancing puppet of a hundred joints, your mortal coil in its last moments:

this physical form is doomed to destruction.

Ashes to ashes, worm and dung, what was beautiful once is a horrible thing;

		to adore it is the gravest misconception.
		My dear mind, hear the truth attentively:

the panacea for this malady - chant Krsna's name constantly;

Krsna is the life of immortality."

5.8
aty-adhamesv api bhagavan-namno 'bhista-datrtvam -
        satyam bravimi manujah svayam urddhva-bahur
        yo yo mukunda narasimha janardaneti
        jivo japaty anudinam marane rane va
        pasana-kastha-sadrsaya dadaty abhistam

Sri Kulasekharasya

The holy name of the Lord bestows the most cherished objective upon even the most fallen -
"O human civilization, with arms upraised I proclaim this truth! The holy name awards all desired success upon even stone or wooden-hearted persons who, in the struggle for existence, constantly chant the Lord's names such as Mukunda, Narasimha, and Janardana."

Sri Kulasekhara

5.9
sva-satrave 'pi sad-gati-dayako harih -
        aho baki yam stana-kala-kutam
        jighamsayapayayad apy asadhvi
        lebhe gatim dhatry-ucitam tato 'nyam
        kam va dayalum saranam vrajema

Srimad Uddhavasya

Sri Hari awards a divine destination to even His enemy -
        "How astonishing! When Putana, the wicked sister of Bakasura, tried to kill child Krsna by offering Him deadly poison on her breast, she reached a position befitting the Lord's nursemaid. Could I ever have as merciful a shelter as that Lord Krsna?"
        Srimad Uddhava

5.10
ayogyanam apy asa-sthalam -
        durantasyanader apariharaniyasya mahato
        vihinacaro 'ham nr-pasur asubhasyaspadam api
        daya-sindho bandho niravadhika-vatsalya-jaladhes
        tava smaram smaram guna-ganam iticchami gatabhih

Sri Yamunacaryasya

The reservoir of hope for even the unqualified -
"O sea of compassion, I am no better than a wicked animal on two feet, the most incorrigible parasite - a beginningless and endless reservoir of the greatest inauspiciousness. Nonetheless, I abide in fearlessness, repeatedly remembering the divine qualities of You - the endless ocean of affection and the supreme friend."

Sri Yamunacarya

5.11
asakrd-aparadhinam api mocakah -
        raghuvara yad abhus tvam tadrso vayasasya
        pranata iti dayalur yasya caidyasya krsna
        pratibhavam aparaddhur mugdha sayujyado 'bhur
        vada kim apadam agas tasya te 'sti ksamayah

Sri Yamunacaryasya

The deliverer of even repeated offenders -
        "O Lord of the Raghu dynasty, just for bowing his head to You, You were merciful upon that crow (who was so offensive that he clawed at the breast of Sita-devi).
        O charming Krsna, You awarded the salvation of merging into Your effulgence (sayujya-mukti) to Sisupala, who was an offender birth after birth.
        Now please tell me, is there any offense that cannot be pardoned by You?"

Sri Yamunacarya

5.12
saranagata-helanam tasminn asambhavam -
        abhuta-purvam mama bhavi kimva
        sarvam sahe me sahajam hi duhkham
        kintu tvad agre saranagatanam
        parabhavo natha na te 'nurupah

Sri Yamunacaryasya

It is impossible for Him to neglect His surrendered devotee -
"O Lord, after all, what unprecedented trials may befall me now? I can tolerate anything and everything; no doubt, unhappiness is my natural companion. Nonetheless, it will not become You to allow the neglect of Your surrendered soul who now stands before You."

Sri Yamunacarya

5.13
bahir anyatha pradarsayato 'pi svarupatah palakatvam -
        nirasakasyapi na tavad utsahe
        mahesa hatum tava pada-pankajam
        rusa nirasto 'pi sisuh stanandhayo
        na jatu matus caranau jihasati

Sri Yamunacaryasya

He is our natural guardian, even if externally He shows otherwise -
"O Almighty Lord, even if You make me hopeless, I can never leave Your lotus feet in any condition. If the mother becomes angry and separates her child from her breast, does the child thereby leave the feet (shelter) of his mother?"

Sri Yamunacarya

5.14
tad itarasrayabhavat tasyaivaika-raksakatvam -
bhumau skhalita-padanam, bhumir evavalambanam
tvayi jataparadhanam, tvam eva saranam prabho

Skande

He is proven to be the only shelter since there is actually no shelter but Him -
"For those who have stumbled and fallen upon the ground, that very ground is the only support by which they can arise once again. Likewise, for those who have offended You, O Lord, You alone are their only refuge."

Skanda Purana

5.15
nirasrayanam evaikasrayah -
        vivrta-vividha-badhe bhranti vegad agadhe
        balavati bhavapure majjato me vidure
        asarana-gana-bandho ha krpa-kaumudindo
        sakrd-akrtavilambam dehi hastavalambam

Sri Rupapadanam

The only shelter for the shelterless -
"I am drowning in some remote region of a fathomless, treacherous ocean - the vast see of frustration, swept by the tide of hallucination. O friend of the shelterless, O benediction moon, please just once now lend me Your helping hand."

Sri Rupa Goswami

5.16
vilambasahanasya bhaktasya tad raksana-visrabdhatvam -
ya draupadi paritrane, ya gajendrasya moksane
mayy arte karuna-murte, sa tvara kva gate hare

Jagannathasya

The devotee who needs immediate protection has full faith that the Lord will come to his aid -
"O compassion incarnate, now I am in danger. O Lord Hari, where is that urgency You showed in delivering Draupadi and liberating Gajendra?"

Jagannatha

5.17
raksisyatiti-visvasasya prakasa-madhuryam -
        tamasi ravir ivodyan majjatam aplavanam
        plava iva trsitanam svadu-varsiva meghah
        nidhir iva nidhananam tivra-duhkhamayanam
        bhisag iva kusalam no datum ayati saurih

Sri Draupadyah

The revealed sweetness of confidence in the Lord's protection -
"Like the sun ascending through the darkness,

like a boat for the helplessly drowning,

like a raincloud of sweet waters for the parched;

like a treasure for the impoverished,

like a physician for the deadly afflicted -

the Lord Sri Krsna is now coming to bless us

with all good fortune."

Srimati Draupadi

5.18
tad raksakatve tat karunyam eva karanam -
        pracinanam bhajanam atulam duskaram srnvato me
        nairasyena jvalati hrdayam bhakh lesalasasya
        visva-dricim aghahara tavakarnya karunya vicim
        asa-binduksitam idam upaity antare hanta saityam

Sri Rupapadanam

The cause of the Lord's protectiveness is His mercy alone -
"O destroyer of sin, my heart is averse to a trace of devotion, and it burns in the fire of hopelessness when I hear about the incomparable, formidable devotional services rendered by the great predecessor devotees. But now that I have heard about the wave of Your mercy which floods the universe, the core of my heart, sprinkled by a drop of hope, is soothed with cooling relief once again."

Sri Rupa Goswami

5.19
bhagavatah sri-caitanya-rupasya param audaryam -
        ha hanta citta-bhuvi me paramosarayam
        sad-bhakti-kalpa-latikankurita katham syat
        hrdy ekam eva paramasvasaniyam asti
        caitanya-nama kalayan na kadapi socyah

Sri Prabodhanandapadanam

The supreme magnanimity of the Supreme Lord Sri Caitanyadeva -
"Alas, alas! How will the charming wish-fulfilling creeper of pure devotion ever sprout from the desperately barren planes of my consciousness?
Despite my predicament, just one great hope awakens in my heart: by chanting the name of Sri Caitanyadeva, nothing can remain to be lamented for by anyone at any time."

Sri Prabodhananda Saraswati

5.20
sri-gaurahareh sarvopaya-vihinesv api raksakatvam -
        jnanadi-vartma-virucim vraja-natha-bhakti-
        ritim na vedmi na ca sad-guravo milanti
        ha hanta hanta mama kah saranam vimudha
        gauro-haris tava na karna-patham gato 'sti

Sri Prabodhanandapadanam

Sri Gaurahari is the savior of even those bereft of any method of approach -
        "I know not the way of love in Sri Vrndavana,
        which breeds disloyalty to wisdom and the world;
        nor do I come to meet with saintly teachers -
        to whom shall I surrender, where shall I go?
        O foolish fellow! You cannot have heard about
        the Golden Lord, Sri Gaura Mahaprabhu."

Sri Prabodhananda Saraswati

iti sri-prapanna-jivanamrte sri-bhakta-vacanamrtantargato
raksisyatiti visvaso nama pancamo 'dhyayah

thus ends the fifth chapter
Confidence in the Lord's Protection - Words of Nectar from the Devotees
in
Life-Nectar of the Surrendered Souls
Positive and Progressive Immortality

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