Śrī-Śrī-Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā, verse 6

śrī-guru karuṇā-sindhu, adhama janāra bandhu,

lokanātha lokera jībana |
hā hā! prabhu! kara dayā, deha more pada-chāyā,
ebe yaśaḥ ghuṣuka tribhubana || 6 ||
Śrī Guru, you are an ocean of mercy, the friend of the poor and humble.
O Lokanātha, you are the life of your followers. Master! Please be kind to me; give me the shade of
your lotus feet. May your glory be proclaimed throughout the three worlds.
The Quality of Śrī Guru’s Mercy
Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: After singing the glories of Śrī Gurudeva and describing his qualities of
compassion and kindness, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is himself humbly praying for that compassion.
Śrī Guru is a boundless ocean of mercy: śrī-guru karuṇā-sindhu. We have already characterized Śrī
Guru as the embodiment of the Lord’s concentrated mercy. When one’s heart melts upon seeing
another’s suffering, and one feels anxiety until that other’s misery has been removed, that is
called karuṇā, or compassion. To understand the importance of Śrī Gurudeva’s compassion, it must
first be understood what Bhagavān’s compassion is, because the manifest form of the Lord’s
compassion is Śrī Guru.
In a discussion about determining the nature of the Lord’s compassion, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda
has written about the mercy of Śrī Bhagavān: anukampā ca pūrṇe’pi svasmin sevādyabhilāṣaṁ
sampādya sevakādiṣu sevādi-saubhāgya-sampādikā bhagavac-cittārdratāmayī tad-upakārecchā.
“Though the Lord is complete within himself, because of the softness of his heart, he first
establishes the desire for sevā in the sevaka, and then he wants to help him attain it. This is called
his karuṇā.”
The significance is that even though Śrī Bhagavān is self-pleased, self-satisfied and complete within
himself, due to the pleasure of prema, he cannot under any circumstance be indifferent toward
the bhakta who has taken shelter of his lotus feet. First, he causes the desire for sevā to awaken
within the heart of the bhakta, because without this longing the bhakta’s mind can never become
completely absorbed in serving the Lord. Such longing for sevā is called bhakti. bhaj ityeṣa vai
dhātuḥ sevāyāṁ parikīrtitaḥ.[1]
The Lord’s karuṇā, or compassion, is the yearning in his softened heart to help the bhakta by
awakening the desire for sevā within the bhakta’s mind so he may bless him with that great treasure
of direct service. The manifest form of that compassion is Śrī Gurudeva.
In the Śrī-Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta (2.4.85-86), Śrīman Nārāyaṇa speaks to Gopakumāra:
tat te mayy akṛpāṁ vīkṣya vyagro’nugraha-kātaraḥ | anādiṁ setum ullaṅghya tvaj-janmedam
akārayam ||
śrīmad-govardhane tasmin nija-priyatamāspade | svayam evābhavaṁ tāta jayantākhyaḥ sa te
guruḥ||
“Dear boy, seeing your indifference toward me, I became anxious and wanted to help you. Breaking
my own eternal rules of dharma, I caused you to take birth at my beloved Śrī Govardhana, where I
incarnated as your guru named Jayanta.”
When Śrī Bhagavān sees the miserable state of the jīva, in the form of Śrī Guru he blesses
the jīva by giving him the precious treasure of prema. Because Śrī Bhagavān’s compassion has no
limit in the form of Śrī Guru, Śrī Guru is known as karuṇā-sindhu, an ocean of mercy. The
importance of Śrī Guru’s mercy can also be seen in another way: If Śrī Hari becomes angry, Śrī
Guru can give one protection; but if Śrī Guru becomes angry, no one can give protection! Therefore,
Śrī Guru must be satisfied to the best of one’s ability. harau ruṣṭe gurus trātā gurau ruṣṭe na
kaścana tasmāt sarva-prayatnena gurum eva prasādayet. Among the prayers of Śrī Devahūti Devī
in the Padma-Purāṇa we find bhaktir yathā harau me’sti tad-variṣṭhā gurau yadi mamāsti tena
satyena sandarśayatu me hariḥ. “If there exists within me more devotion to my guru than to Śrī
Hari, on the strength of that virtue please bless me with the vision of Śrī Hari!”
Just as in the above words tad-variṣṭhā the position of guru-bhakti is indicated to be higher than
that of even bhagavad-bhakti, by implication, the mercy embodied within the form of Śrī Guru is
even greater than that within the form of Śrī Bhagavān. Because Śrī Gurudeva is the most
compassionate person, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has described him as an ocean of mercy.
One other quality of Śrī Gurudeva has been mentioned: adhama-janāra bandhu. Though Śrī
Gurudeva is an ocean of mercy, his surrendered bhakta must feel himself lowly, because the guru is
the friend of the poor and humble. This adhama state of mind is a fitting vessel for the compassion
of his guru and other sādhus. Concerning mahat-kṛpā, the mercy of a great person, Śrīmat Jīva
Gosvāmipāda has written, satāṁ kṛpā ca duravasthā-darśana-mātrodbhavā na svopāsanādy
apekṣā, yathā śrī-nāradasya nalakūvara-maṇigrīvayoḥ (Bhakti-Sandarbhaḥ 193 anu).
“When sādhus see the miserable condition of the jīvas, they shower their mercy upon them without
expectation of worship or service, just as Śrī Nārada bestowed his mercy upon Nalakūvara and
Maṇigrīva.”
The mercy of Śrī Guru is also like that. Some people who are intoxicated with pride in their wealth,
followers and noble birth serve Śrī Gurudeva by giving as much as possible of their money and
property. Seeing the natural happiness of Śrī Guru, who is the embodiment of perpetual joy, they
consider themselves to have been amply blessed with his mercy. Therefore, they think, “Why not let
our intoxication with sense enjoyment and wealth continue? Guru-kṛpā will one day carry us to Śrī
Bhagavān’s lotus feet.” These people should give close attention to the great words of Ṭhākura
Mahāśaya: Gurudeva is adhama-janāra bandhu, “the friend of the poor and humble.” This humble,
lowly state of mind is the perfect receptacle for the compassion of Śrī Gurudeva. Guru-kṛpā will
never allow its recipient to remain in the terrible, hellishly fetid pit of worldly life. A person who
has obtained genuine kṛpā repeatedly cries, “How wonderful is my guru’s mercy!” That mercy
causes more humility to surge within his heart, bathes him in a stream of bhakti-rasa nectar, and
keeps him always absorbed in thinking of Śrī Guru’s lotus feet. Therefore it has been said that Śrī
Gurudeva is adhama-janāra bandhu.
Another quality has also been described: lokanātha lokera jībana. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s dīkṣā-
guru is Śrīpāda Lokanātha Gosvāmī, a dear associate of Śrīman Mahāprabhu. By mentioning Śrī
Gurudeva’s holy name, the author is expressing his appreciation for the spiritual treasure, referred to
in previous verses, that he has attained by Śrī Guru’s mercy. He is also implying that even though he
has been Śrī Gurudeva’s servant for many births, carrying his order and serving with both body and
mind, he has yet to repay Śrī Guru for even a tiny amount of that treasure. The meaning of
Lokanātha Prabhu as lokera jībana is that, by his own ideal example, he has introduced the people
of the world to the highest level of bhajana-mārga (bhakti-mārga). For the jīva to be situated in this
path of devotion is jībana, or life; not to be so situated means death.
Another meaning of lokanātha lokera jībana is that Śrī Gurudeva is the master, protector and life of
everyone in the universe. In this interpretation, two other esoteric qualities of Śrī Guru are being
disclosed, specifically referring to the samaṣṭi-guru, or aggregate guru. Śrī Bhagavān is always
present in the eternal realm as the samaṣṭi-guru. This samaṣṭi-guru is a direct incarnation of the
Lord. The worldly-minded jīvas of the universe are covered by ignorance, constantly scorched by
the three kinds of miseries, and bound by the chains of sensual enjoyment. To free them from this
net of illusion and lead them to his own lotus feet, the infinitely and causelessly compassionate Śrī
Bhagavān assumes the form of samaṣṭi-guru. From that most compassionate samaṣṭi-guru,
the guru-śakti appears in this world in the body of the greatest bhakta, who is always deeply
absorbed in bhagavad-bhajana, while also entering into everyone’s individual vyaṣṭi-guru. Śrīmat
Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, ya eva bhagavān atra vyaṣṭi-rūpatayā bhaktāvatāratvena śrī-guru-
rūpo vartate, sa eva tatra samaṣṭi-rūpatayā svavāma-pradeśe sākṣād-avatāratvenāpi tad-rūpo
vartate iti (Bhakti-sandarbhaḥ 286 anuḥ). The samaṣṭi-guru manifests himself in all the vyaṣṭi-
gurus of this world and rescues mankind from the grip of māyā by bestowing the gift of bhagavad-
bhakti. Thus, he remains lokanātha lokera jībana.
After such an expression of Śrī Guru’s great magnanimity, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya prays with
transcendental anguish for the mercy of Śrī Guru: hā hā! prabhu! kara dayā, deha more pada-
chāyā, ebe yaśaḥ ghuṣuka tribhubana. “Master! Please be kind to me; give me the shade of your
lotus feet. May your glory be proclaimed throughout the three worlds.” Ṭhākura Mahāśaya,
considering himself with deep humility to be a person bound to the world, reflects, “How unlimited
Śrī Bhagavān’s compassion is in the form of Śrī Guru! But alas, for a person like me, fettered by
illusion, misfortune is also without limit. How shall I ever be showered with even a drop of his
mercy?” Thinking like this, he has used the words hā hā, conveying a feeling of profound anguish.
Then he considers, “Śrī Guru is most competent; it is his līlā to rescue the fallen. Therefore, in spite
of the countless ways in which I am unworthy, by his power everything is possible.” For this reason,
the word prabhu, or master, has been used, meaning ‘competent.’ “Hā hā Prabhu! Please be
merciful and give me shelter in the shade of your lotus feet!” He is praying for refuge within the
cooling shade of Śrī Guru’s lotus feet, which are like a tree that fulfills all wishes, and which free
one from being burnt again by the agonizing fire of saṁsāra. With great humility welling up within
him he says, “Hā hā Prabhu! If you bless an unworthy and insignificant person like me with the
shelter of your lotus feet, your glory as purifier of the fallen will be proclaimed throughout the three
worlds. ebe yaśaḥ ghuṣuka tribhubana.