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TEXT 177
bilvamangala kaila yaiche dasa apanara
ihan dekhi' sei dasa ha-ila amara
SYNONYMS
bilvamangalaBilvamangala; kailadid; yaicheas; dasacondition; apanarahis own; ihanhere; dekhi'I see; sei dasathat condition; ha-ilabecame; amaramine.
TRANSLATION
"Bilvamangala Thakura abandoned his impersonal realization for the realization of the Personality of Godhead. I now see that my condition is similar to his, for it has already changed."
PURPORT
In his early life, Bilvamangala Thakura was an impersonalistic monist, and he used to meditate upon the impersonal Brahman effulgence. Later he became a devotee of Lord Krsna, and his explanation for this change is given in a verse (text 178) that is quoted in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu. Sometimes a devotee gradually comes to the stage of Bhagavan realization, realization of the Supreme Person, after having attained the lower stages of realization-impersonal Brahman realization and localized Paramatma realization. The condition of such a devotee is described in the Caitanya-candramrta (5) by Prabodhananda Sarasvati:
kaivalyam narakayate tri-dasa-pur akasa-puspayate
durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate visvam purna-sukhayate vidhi-mahendradis ca kitayate yat-karunya-kataksa-vaibhavavatam tam gauram eva stumah Kaivalya, oneness in the effulgence of Brahman, appears hellish to the devotee. The heavenly planets, the abodes of the demigods, appear to a devotee like phantasmagoria. The yogis meditate for sense control, but for the devotee the senses appear like serpents with broken teeth. The devotee doesn't have to control his senses, for his senses are already engaged in the Lord's service. Consequently there is no possibility that the senses will act like serpents. In the material condition, the senses are as strong as poisonous snakes. But when the senses are engaged in the Lord's service, they are like poisonous snakes with their fangs removed, and so they are no longer dangerous. The entire world is a replica of Vaikuntha for the devotee because he has no anxiety. He sees that everything belongs to Krsna, and he does not want to enjoy anything for himself. He does not even aspire for the position of Lord Brahma or Indra. He simply wants to engage everything in the service of the Lord; therefore he has no problem. He stands in his original constitutional position. All this is possible when one receives Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's merciful glance.
In the Caitanya-candramrta there are many more verses illustrating this same principle.
dhik kurvanti ca brahma-yoga-vidusas tam gauracandram numah
tavad brahma-katha vimukta-padavi tavan na tikti-bhavet
tavac capi visrnkhalatvam ayate no loka-veda-sthitih tavac chastra-vidam mithah kala-kalo nana-bahir-vartmasu sri-caitanya-padambuja-priya-jano yavan na dig-gocarah gauras caurah sakalamaharat ko 'pi me tivra-viryah
A discussion of the impersonal Brahman is not very palatable to a devotee. The so-called regulations of the sastras also appear null and void to him. There are many people who argue over the sastras, but for a devotee such discussions are but tumultuous roaring. By the influence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all these problems disappear.
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/madhya/10/177 Previous: Madhya 10.176 Next: Madhya 10.178
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