Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur’s commentary on the seventh verse of Śrī Upadeśāmṛta.
The following is a translation of Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur’s poetic Bengali translation, Bhāṣā, and Bengali prose commentary, Pīyūṣa-varṣiṇī-vṛtti, on Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī Prabhu’s Śrī Upadeśāmṛta.
These texts were published in Śrī Gauḍīya Darśan, in Volume 2, Issue 11, 10 June 1957, Volume 2, Issue 12, 12 July 1957, and Volume 3, Issue 1, 12 August 1957. In combination with Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur’s Anuvṛtti, they were also published as a book from Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh by Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj in 1970.
“The Upadeśāmṛta of Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī is also extremely good for us; we published Upadeśāmṛta before.”
—Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj,
Affectionate Guidance
Śrī Upadeśāmṛta Verse Seven
syāt kṛṣṇa-nāma-charitādi-sitāpy avidyā-
pittopatapta-rasanasya na rochikā nu
kintv ādarād anudinaṁ khalu saiva juṣṭā
svādvī kramād bhavati tad-gada-mūla-hantrī [7]
nu– Alas! api–Even sitā–the sugar candy kṛṣṇa–of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s nāma–Name, charita–Pastimes, ādi–and so on, na syāt–does not become rochikā–relishable rasanasya–to a tongue [that is] upatapta–is afflicted pitta–by the jaundice avidyā–of ignorance. khalu–Certainly, kintu–however, [when] saḥ eva–it [is] anudinaṁ–constantly juṣṭā–honoured ādarāt–with faith, [then] kramāt–gradually bhavati–this candy becomes svādvī–relishable [and] hantrī–the remover mūla–of the root tad-gada–of the disease. [7]
“Alas! The sugar candy of Kṛṣṇa’s Name, Pastimes, and so forth is not relishable to a tongue severely afflicted by the jaundice of ignorance. Certainly, however, when it is constantly honoured with faith, this candy gradually becomes relishable and eradicates the disease.”
Bhāṣa
avidyā pittera doṣe duṣṭa rasanāya
kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtane ruchi nāhi haya hāya [1]
There is no taste for chanting about Kṛṣṇa on a tongue that is defiled by the jaundice of ignorance. Alas!
sitapala prāya kṛṣṇa-kathā anudina
ādare sevite ruchi dena samīchīna [2]
Like sugar candy, however, constantly engaging in talk of Kṛṣṇa with faith produces natural taste for it.
kṛṣṇa kāmya vismṛti avidyā gada-mūla
kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana krame haya ta nirmūla [3]
The root of the disease—ignorance, forgetfulness that Kṛṣṇa is our beloved—is gradually uprooted by chanting about Kṛṣṇa.
sei krame kṛṣṇa-nāmādite āsvādana
anudina bāḍe ruchi haya anukṣaṇa [4]
By chanting, taste for Kṛṣṇa’s Name, Pastimes, and so on, constantly increases day by day.
Pīyūṣa-varṣinī-vṛtti
In this seventh verse is described the process for serving Kṛṣṇa’s Name, Pastimes, and so on, with knowledge of one’s relationship with the Lord (sambandha-jñān) and the qualities that are nourishing to devotion that were described in the third verse. There is no taste for Kṛṣṇa’s Name, Pastimes, and so forth, on a tongue that is infected with the jaundice of ignorance. If, however, the sugar candy of Kṛṣṇa’s Name, Pastimes, and so on, is honoured constantly with faith, then it cures the disease of ignorance and becomes extremely relishable. Souls, particles within the rays of the sun of the Supreme Conscious Being—Kṛṣṇa, are by nature servants of Kṛṣṇa. Because of the fault of becoming forgetful of Kṛṣṇa‘s service, souls voluntarily embrace ignorance—unconsciousness, abandon their own nature, and lose taste for Kṛṣṇa’s Name, Pastimes, and so on. By constantly chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa’s Name, Pastimes, and so on, with the grace of the sādhus and Śrī Guru, however, souls regain their own nature. To the extent that the soul’s true nature re-emerges, taste for the Name gradually increases. Simultaneously, the soul’s ignorance is destroyed. Here, sugar candy is simply an analogy. Sugar candy is not at first pleasing to a tongue infected with jaundice, but gradually, as it is eaten, the candy becomes tasteful to the extent that the jaundice is cured. Therefore, with great enthusiasm, faith, and perseverance, engage in hearing, chanting, and remembrance of the Form, Pastimes, and so forth, that the Name of Kṛṣṇa reveals.
Reference
Read Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur’s commentary on Śrī Upadeśāmṛta: verses one, two, three, four, five, and six.