Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam Verse Two
नाम्नामकारि वहुधा निजसर्व्वशक्ति-
स्तत्रार्पिता नियमितः स्मरणे न कालः ।
एतादृशी तव कृपा भगवन् ममापि
दुर्द्दैवमीदृशमिहाजनि नानुरागः ॥२॥
nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ
etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi
durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ [2]
nāmnām–Names; akāri–manifesting; bahudhā–various; nija–own; sarva–all; śaktiḥ–energy; tatra–there; arpitā–invested; niyamitaḥ–prescribed; smaraṇe–for remembering; na–not; kālaḥ–time; etādṛśī–such; tava–Your; kṛpā–mercy; bhagavan–O Lord; mama–My; api–however; durdaivam–misfortune; īdṛśam–such; iha–here; ajani–developed; na–not; anurāgaḥ–attachment.
bhagavan–O Lord, akāri–You have manifested [Your] bahudhā–various nāmnām–Names, arpitā–invested sarva–all nija–of [Your] own śaktiḥ–power tatra–in Them, [and] na–not niyamitaḥ–prescribed [any] kālaḥ–time smaraṇe–for remembering [Them]. etādṛśī–Such [is] tava–Your kṛpā–mercy. mama–My durdaivam–misfortune [is] īdṛśam–such, api–however, [that my] anurāgaḥ–attachment iha–to Them ajani na–has not developed. [2]
O Bhagavān, You have manifested Your many Names, invested all Your energy in Them, and made no rules regarding the time for remembering Them. Such is Your great mercy. My misfortune, however, is such that I have not developed any attachment to Them.
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The following is an English translation of Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur’s Bengali Vivṛti commentary on the second verse Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam.
At the request of Western devotees in the 1980s, Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj discoursed extensively in English on Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam, and as he concluded his discussion of the first verse, he commented (as recorded in The Golden Volcano of Divine Love): “Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur has given his Sanskrit commentary on the Śikṣāṣṭakam, as well as his Bengali translation, and his is a most original presentation. Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur Prabhupād has also given his commentary on the Śikṣāṣṭakam. They should be carefully studied in order to understand these points more completely.”
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Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam Vivṛti 2
By Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur
“O Bhagavān, bestowing Your causeless mercy, You have revealed Your many Names, You have invested in those Names all the śakti of whom they name [all Your own śakti], and You have not imposed any regulations regarding the time for remembering these Divine Names, that is, You have not created any inconveniences to remembering Your Names while eating, lying down, or sleeping, or at any other time. My great misfortune, however, is that I have not developed any attachment (anurāga) to Your Divine Names.”
‘Many Names’ refers to Bhagavān’s primary and secondary Names. As the embodiment of mādhurya (sweetness), Bhagavān is known as Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā Ramaṇ, and Gopī-jana-vallabha, and as the embodiment of aiśvarya (majesty), Bhagavān is known as Vāsudev, Rāma, and Nṛsiṁha, and by other primary Names. Names such as Brahma and Paramātmā which refer to separate, partial, or incomplete appearances of Bhagavān are His secondary Names. Bhagavān’s primary Names are nondifferent from whom they name [Bhagavān Himself], and all of Bhagavān’s śakti is invested in Them. Various śaktis [of Bhagavān] are also present partially in His secondary Names.
The jīva’s misfortune has occured because of the jīva being averse to the Lord and bound in the transitory environment of māyā. Aversion to service (sevā) is itself misfortune. Trivial desirousness (anyābhilāṣitā), karma, and jñān—the jīva’s plight has occured along these three paths of enjoyment as a result of forgetfulness of the true self (svarūp). Controlled by trivial desirousness, the jīva becomes mad to attain worldly pleasures. By the influnce of sat-karma, the jīva becomes a seeker of the temporary pleasures of Svarga and so forth, and by the desire to renounce enjoyment, the jīva engages in enquiry into undifferentiated Brahma.
Desire to serve Kṛṣṇa is the eternal purpose (dharma) of the jīva’s true self (svarūp). As a result of this being covered over by the rubbish of the three aforementioned paths, the jīva’s good fortune diminishes. Consequently, being sometimes engaged in the pursuit of dharma (piety), artha (wealth), and kāma (enjoyment), and sometimes oppressed by adharma (impiety), anarthas (vices), and unfulfilled desires, the jīva invites in the ten offences [to the Holy Name] and then by going to serve the Name makes offence. At that time, the chanting of the Name which the jīva performs is not chanting of the pure Name; it is rather offence to the Name (Nāmāparādha).
When the jīva is not motivated by thirst for enjoyment but remains indifferent to sambandha-jñān (understanding of their relationship with Bhagavān) and chants the Name for their own benefit with the aim of overcoming their own distress and attaining peace, then only a semblance (ābhās) of service to the Name occurs. At that time, the jīva does not chant the Name; the jīva chants only a semblance of the Name (Nāmābhās). As a result of Nāmābhās, the jīva attains liberation from mundane consciousness (prapañcha-jñān) and ultimately eligibility to serve Hari.
Free from all misfortune, the highest souls attain pure Kṛṣṇa-prema by chanting the pure Name.
Seeing the distress of the conditioned jīvas, Śrī Gaurasundar gave instructions about the process for serving the Divine Name (Śrī Nāma-bhajan) and referred to lacking attachment (anurāga) as misfortune, but even in the midst of such misfortune Bhagavān’s mercy is present. There is a way to become free from the hands of offences to the Name (Nāmāparādha). If the jīva understands the nature of aparādha, does not engage in aparādha, and constantly chants the Name, then there will be no chance for aparādha to occur. By Nāmābhās, liberation occurs, that is, immersion in the mundane is destroyed, and thereafter the jīva attains the eligibility (adhikār) to chant the Divine Name. All these opportunities [afforded by Bhagavān even in the midst of the jīva’s misfortune] are indicative of Bhagavān’s mercy.
By the influence of chanting the primary Names [of Bhagavān], the jīva attains the highest and greatest good fortune. Where there is the desire to attain insignificant, unecessary ends, there there are rules regarding time and strict rules regarding eligibility and other factors. But Bhagavān’s mercy has given those who chant the Name relief from the firm shackles proper and improper timing. Regarding rules pertaining to time in Śrī Chaitanya-bhāgavat (Madhya, 28.27, 23.78) it is said:
ki śayane ki bhojane, ki vā jāgaraṇe
ahar-niśa chinta kṛṣṇa, balaha vadane
sarva-kṣaṇa bala’ ithe vidhi nāhi āra
[“Whether resting, eating, or awake, day and night think of Kṛṣṇa and chant His Name aloud. Chant at all times. There are no rules in this regard.”]
In Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta (Antya, 20.18), it is said:
khāite śuite yathā tathā nāma laya
kāla-deśa-niyama nāhi, sarva-siddhi haya
[“There are no rules regarding time or place. Chant the Name while eating, lying down, or otherwise, and attain everything.”]
