SB 07.09.07 astausid dharim ekagra... cited

Expressions researched:
"astausid dharim ekagra-" |"manasa susamahitah" |"prema-gadgadaya vaca" |"tan-nyasta-hrdayeksanah"

SB Canto 7

SB 7.9.7, Translation and Purport:

Prahlāda Mahārāja fixed his mind and sight upon Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva with full attention in complete trance. With a fixed mind, he began to offer prayers in love with a faltering voice.

The word susamāhitaḥ means "very attentive" or "fully fixed." The ability to fix the mind in this way is a result of yoga-siddhi, mystic perfection. As it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.13.1), dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ. One attains yogic perfection when he is freed from all material diversions and his mind is fixed upon the lotus feet of the Lord. This is called samādhi or trance. Prahlāda Mahārāja attained that stage beyond the senses. Because he was engaged in service, he felt transcendentally situated, and naturally his mind and attention became saturated in transcendence. In that condition, he began to offer his prayers as follows.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 14, 1976:

Dayānanda: (chants verse, etc.) "Translation: Prahlāda Mahārāja thus fixed up in his mind with full attention, the mind and sight, everything was placed in complete trance. Thus, on account of love, he began to offer his prayer in faltering voice."

Prabhupāda:

astauṣīd dharim ekāgra-

manasā susamāhitaḥ

prema-gadgadayā vācā

tan-nyasta-hṛdayekṣanaḥ

(SB 7.9.7)

So, this is gradual progress of spiritual mind, and this state is called prema, prema-gadgadayā. So, we have to make progress as it is exemplified by Prahlāda Mahārāja. Ādau gurv-āśrayam sad-dharma-pṛcchā sādhu-mārga-anugamanam. (aside:) Stop that. The first business is ādau, in the beginning, gurv-āśrayam. Gurv-āśrayam means to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, ādau gurv-āśrayam, and this takes place when there is śraddhā. Just like in this meeting, persons who have got little faith, they can sit down and hear. This is called śraddhā. And the higher stage of śraddhā is to completely accept the instruction of Kṛṣṇa. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta that is highest state of śraddhā. In the lower stage, little faith, "So here is something going on about Kṛṣṇa, let us sit down and hear it." This is kaniṣṭha-śraddhā, and this śraddhā, faith, has to be increased. That ultimately, in the mature stage of śraddhā, faith, that is described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta,

śraddhā-śabde viśvāsa (kahe) sudṛḍha niścaya

kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya

(Cc. Madhya 22.62)

This is śraddhā. Śraddha-śabde, this śraddhā, faith, means sudṛḍha niścaya, śraddhā-śabde viśvāsa. Kṛṣṇa says

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi...

(BG 18.66)

This is called faith. Yes, Kṛṣṇa says that simply by surrendering at His lotus feet one becomes immediately a liberated person. Kṛṣṇa says that.

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi...

(BG 18.66)

Just like if I offer you that if you do this work, I shall give you immediately fifty thousand rupees. So, who will believe me? "This man is a beggar, sannyāsī, how he'll give fifty thousand rupees?" So there is no śraddhā. But we cannot do so with reference to Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66), that is a fact. That is not a bogus promise, because Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all-powerful. Whatever He likes, He can do. This is called faith.

Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 14, 1976:

Don't try to understand jugala-pīriti, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa's love, abruptly. It is foolishness. You will misunderstand. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, he said, rūpa-raghunātha-pade hoibe ākuti. Rūpa, beginning from Rūpa Gosvāmī up to Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, six gosvāmīs, Śrī-Rūpa, Sanātana, Bhaṭṭa-Raghunātha, Śrī-Jīva, Gopāla-bhatta, Dāsa-Raghunātha, six gosvāmīs. So, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, rūpa-raghunātha, beginning from Rūpa to Raghunātha dāsa. Rūpa-raghunātha-pade hoibe ākuti kabe hāma bujhabo, don't try to understand Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa love without going through the instruction of Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, (indistinct) Gosvāmī, like, that is the instruction.

So we see practically how Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately attained the state of prema. Here it is said, prema-gadgadayā vaca. Prema, that prema is not this prema. The lusty desire, that is not prema. Prema, one has to learn, one has to go through the disciplic or discipline to attain the state of prema. As Prahlāda Mahārāja, so he first of all followed the instruction of Brahmā, then immediately he got the favor of Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva, and after getting that he got the prema state. You cannot go immediately to the prema state. That is also rūpa-raghunātha-pade. Rūpa-raghunātha, Rūpa Goswāmī has said (indistinct),

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-

saṅgaḥ atha bhajana-kriyā

tato anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt

tato niṣṭhā tataḥ ruciḥ

athāsaktis tato bhāvas

sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ

prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ

(Cc. Madhya 23.14-15)

These are the kramaḥ. You cannot get prema state artificially, crying, falling down and then smoking bidi, this is not prema. Prema you have to learn by the kramaḥ pantha. That kramaḥ pantha is the same, ādau śraddhā. Ādau śraddhā. Śraddha means faith. "Yes, Kṛṣṇa says that, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66), it is right." This is faith, this is beginning of faith. Now to keep the faith or to increase the faith, you have to live with faithful servants of Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 14, 1976:

Then anartha-nivṛttiḥ. Anartha, these are anartha. There is no need of smoking. It is useless, but we have practiced it. Therefore they are anartha. But if you follow the devotional process, then anartha will be finished very soon. That is the test. Test means, bhakti pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt, if you are actually advancing in bhakti, devotional service, then automatically you don't like these nonsense practices. No illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling, no intoxication, automatically. That is the test how far you are. Anartha-nivṛtti syāt, these are anartha. Then if he is niṣṭhā, firm faith, then ruci, taste then asakti, attraction then bhava, then prema. So Prahlāda Mahārāja, he is on the stage of prema, prema-gadgadayā vācā tan-nyasta-hṛdayekṣaṇaḥ. when you attain the stage of prema, then your core of heart is cleansed for welcoming, He is there, for seeing.

Therefore in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). You can see God within your heart. He is sitting there, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). You get ready, Kṛṣṇa is there within your heart, but you cannot see because you have no prema. You cannot see. Kṛṣṇa does not expose Himself to the non-devotees. He does not, nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). He'll not expose Himself, but if you attain the stage of prema, as Prahlāda Mahārāja attained, then you will see Him. How you will see? Sadaiva, always. Not that for two minutes I see and Kṛṣṇa is no more there. No, not like that. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva. Sadaiva means constant, incessantly. You can see.

Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977:

Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.) "Translation: Prahlāda Mahārāja fixed his mind and sight upon Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva with full attention in complete trance. With a fixed mind, he began to offer prayers in love with a faltering voice."

Prabhupāda:

astauṣīd dharim ekāgra-

manasā susamāhitaḥ

prema-gadgadayā vācā

tan-nyasta-hṛdayekṣanaḥ

(SB 7.9.7)

So this is the process. This process you cannot expect immediately, but if you practice general process, very easily done, as it is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru... (BG 18.65). You cannot get the position of Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately. That is not possible. The process is, first of all, sādhana-bhakti. This Prahlāda Mahārāja's position is different. He is mahā-bhāgavata. In many places we have seen already. He is nitya-siddha. There are two kinds of devotees, three: nitya-siddha, sādhana-siddha, kṛpa-siddha. These things are described in The Nectar of Devotion. Nitya-siddha means they are eternally associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are called nitya-siddha. And sādhana-siddha means one is fallen in this material world, but by practice of devotional service according to the rules and regulation, injunction of the śāstra, direction of guru, in this way, one can reach also the same position as the nitya-siddha. This is sādhana-siddha. And there is another. That is Kṛpa-siddha. Kṛpa-siddha means... Just like Nityānanda Prabhu. He wanted that these Jagāi-Mādhāi must be delivered. There was no sādhana. They never followed any rules and regulation. They were thieves and rogues, very fallen condition. But Nityānanda Prabhu wanted to show an example that "I shall deliver these two brothers. Never mind they are so fallen." That is called kṛpa-siddha. So we should always remember there are three categories: nitya-siddha, sādhana-siddha and kṛpa-siddha. But when they become siddha, perfect, by any process, they are on the same level. There is no distinction.