Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Mukunda-mālā-stotra 25
maj-janmanah phalam idam madhu-kaitabhāre
mat-prārthanīya-mad-anugraha esha eva
tvad-bhritya-bhritya-paricāraka-bhritya-bhritya-
bhrityasya bhritya iti mām smara loka-nātha
SYNONYMS
mat — my; janmanah — of the birth; phalam — the fruit; idam — this; madhu-kaitabha-are — O enemy of Madhu and Kaitabha; mat — by me; prārthanīya — prayed for; mat — to me; anugrahah — mercy; eshah — this; eva — certainly; tvat — Your; bhritya-bhritya — of the servant's servant; paricāraka — of the servant; bhritya-bhritya-bhrityasya — of the servant of the servant of the servant; bhrityah — the servant; iti — so; mām — me; smara — think of; loka — of the world; nātha — O master.
TRANSLATION
O enemy of Madhu and Kaitabha, O Lord of the universe, the perfection of my life and the most cherished mercy You could show me would be for You to consider me the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Your servant.
PURPORT
This verse is startling for its repetition of the word "servant" seven times. One can almost picture all the servants of the Lord whom Kulaśekhara wishes to serve. Direct servants of Lord Krishna are Śrīmatī Rādhārānī or Lord Balarāma and other gopīs and cowherd boys. Some of the gopīs and cowherd boys are assistants to the direct servants. Among these assistants are the mańjarīs, who help Rādhārānī serve Krishna and who, according to Her, experience a happiness even greater than Hers. The Vaishnava spiritual masters, especially those in the mādhurya-rasa, serve the gopīs, and each spiritual master is being served by his disciples. In the modern age Lord Krishna appeared as Lord Caitanya, who was served directly by the six Gosvāmīs of Vrindāvana, and these Gosvāmīs also took disciples, such as Krishnadāsa Kavirāja, who in turn accepted disciples — and His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda is in the eleventh spiritual generation of that Caitanya-sampradāya. So the phrase tvad-bhritya-bhritya-paricāraka-bhritya-bhritya-bhrityasya bhrityah is not only pleasing poetry, but it is an accurate description of the paramparā: each devotee is serving a previous servant of the Lord.
To consider oneself a servant of all the Vaishnavas and to put their foot-dust on one's head is not demeaning; it is the best way to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Prahlāda Mahārāja told his father that unless one humbly serves the Vaishnavas and "bathes" in the dust of their lotus feet, one can never attain devotional service to Krishna.
King Kulaśekhara says that if the Lord grants this prayer it will be the display of His most cherished mercy. But why does he ask to be so many times removed from direct service? Why not ask simply to be the servant of the Lord? One reason is that the Supreme Lord does not accept direct service without service to His servants. As Krishna states in the Ādi Purāna,
ye me bhakta-janāh pārtha na me bhaktāś ca te janāh
mad bhaktānām ca ye bhaktās te me bhaktatamāh matāh
"My dear Pārtha, those who say they are My devotees are not My devotees, but those who claim to be devotees of My devotees are actually My devotees."
The pure devotee's chief aim is to please his worshipable Lord, and a wise Vaishnava knows what will please Him best — becoming the servant, many times removed, of the Lord's bona fide servants. It is because the servants of God are so dear to the Lord that one can please Him best by pleasing them. Śrīla Prabhupāda compared the process to an ordinary person's attempt to please a very great man. Normally an ordinary man cannot even approach the great man, but if by good fortune he is able to please the great man's pet dog, then he can quickly achieve the favor of the celebrated person.
Another reason a devotee wishes to serve through other devotees is that he is naturally humble. He wants to take that place below, rather than push himself forward. He wants to serve all the devotees, or even worship the place where they have walked. The genuine devotee does not rashly presume that he is a member of the inner circle of the Lord's most dear ones. Lord Caitanya has advised us that if we really wish to chant the holy name constantly, we should consider ourselves "lower that the straw in the street, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respects to others." We should serve not only recognized devotees but all living entities, by giving them Krishna consciousness.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari