Hari bol! What a wonderful week it was examining the implications of the first verse of the Siksastakam. Thanks to those who participated in any way this last week. As we transition into the second verse the first verse shall not be forgotten, as all other verses are shedding more light on the first verse. There are still some questions on the verse one thread that have not been answered, if anyone feels inclined, they can give us their insight on these questions, and hopefully Bhakti-Rasa will give us more questions that correspond with the second verse. Here is the verse two:
namnam akari bahudha nija sarva saktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrsam ihajani nanuragah
So many names you've manifested,
and in them invested all your power.
There is no hour, no rule to recall them.
O Bhagavan, your mercy is so great!
But just see my fate, my misfortune:
for your name, I have no attraction.
There are some really nice points in Guru Maharaja's commentary of this verse that resonate with me.
Mahaprabhu expresses a doubt (samsaya) that if Krishna nama is what the scriptures say it is, then why do we not experience all the wonderful effects of nama-sankirtana? The siddhanta is that one must approach nama with the humility cultivated towards he/she who gives nama: Sri Guru. The guru not only gives nama but also corresponding instructions to create a favorable environment for nama to flourish and for the sadhaka to overcome anarthas.
Can someone tell me what the relationship between faith and humility is, in regards to Bhakti?
Can someone tell me what the relationship between faith and humility is, in regards to Bhakti?
A connection that comes to my mind is that saranagati is the expression of sraddha, and dainya is a limb of saranagati. Do you want to develop the question?
This evening we read verse 2 and purport at Audarya, in support of this study group.
I was thinking about Radhe Syama's question.
Faith means faith in revelation, sastriya sraddha. Revelation means that reality can exercise itself in relation to us, to make known what otherwise couldn't be know. Topics such as the relationship between itself and us, us and the world etc. The scripture tells us that we are not on the top rung of the ladder of being, that we are wholly dependent entities, always situated on the circumference. The scripture then give a way to act in relation to the reality it describes in such a way that we will realize it for ourselves. GM says when the finite and the infinite meet a natural humility is born because the jiva realizes what it actually means to be a jiva. So through faith in scripture we can learn and realize that we are not the enjoyer or the center. BSST defined humility as a lack of the enjoying spirit.
GM talks about this in the commentary to the 3rd verse