कथञ्चन स्मारणमेव तेषा-
मवेहि तज्जीवनदानमेव ।
तेषां यतो विस्मरणं कदाचि-
त्प्राणाधिकानां मरणाच्च निन्द्यम् ॥
न सम्भवेदस्मरणं कदापि
स्वजीवनानां यदपि प्रियाणाम् ।
तथापि केनापि विशेषणेन
स्मृतिः प्रहर्षाय यथा सुजीवितम् ॥
kathañcana smāraṇam eva teṣām
avehi taj-jīvana-dānam eva |
teṣāṁ yato vismaraṇaṁ kadācit
prāṇādhikānāṁ maraṇāc ca nindyam ||
na sambhaved asmaraṇaṁ kadāpi
sva-jīvanānāṁ yad api priyāṇām |
tathāpi kenāpi viśeṣaṇena
smṛtiḥ praharṣāya yathā su-jīvitam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.129–130)
“[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Śrī Nārada:]
Somehow specifically causing remembrance of them [i.e., of dear persons]—
One should know this to indeed be life-giving,
Since forgetfulness of them—
They who are greater [i.e., more dear] than [even] one’s prāṇas—
At any time
Is condemnable even more so than death.
Although non-remembrance of dear ones,
Who are one’s own life,
Shall not be possible,
Still remembrance [of them]
By some special means
Leads to great delight,
Like a splendid life.”
Commentary
Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmīpāda states in his commentary on these verses that he explains here by means of positive and negative concomitance the point made in the previous verse (tad evānvaya-vyatirekābhyāṁ bodhayati—katham iti) that someone who causes remembrance of dear ones is regarded by all as being highly supportive (gāḍhopakārī smṛtidaḥ priyāṇām). Forgetfulness of dear ones is said to be “condemnable even more so than death” (maraṇāc ca nindyam—maraṇād api nindyaṁ dhik-kārāspadam) because of its being a cause of the fault of suffering which is more severe than death (maraṇādhikatara-duḥkha-doṣāvahatvāt), or the sense is that death is better than forgetfulness of dear ones because such forgetfulness is an object of the greatest condemnation (yad vā maraṇam eva varaṁ, na tu teṣāṁ vismaraṇaṁ, parama-nindāspadatvād ity arthaḥ).
In response to this mention of forgetfulness of dear ones [in BB 1.7.129], one may raise the following query, “Because forgetfulness of dear ones for even a moment is impossible for those filled with prema, and thus remembrance of them is constant, what even resembling support comes about for those filled with prema as a result of remembering them, meaning, as a result of being caused to remember them by someone else (nanu evaṁ teṣāṁ kṣaṇa-mātram api vismaraṇāsambhavāt sadaiva smaryamāṇānāṁ teṣāṁ smaraṇena ka ivopakāraḥ syāt)? Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa considers in response to this query that as a result of remembrance of dear ones by some special means—means that are most captivating to the mind [i.e., more endearing and beautiful], support indeed of that sort [i.e., support that is also most captivating to the mind—endearing and beautiful] shall occur, and thus he says na … [i.e., he speaks BB 1.7.130] (satyam parama-manohara-prakāra-viśeṣeṇa smāraṇāt tādṛg evopakāraḥ syād ity āha—neti). Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa describes dear ones (priyāṇām) as “one’s own life” (sva-jīvanānāṁ) to convey that forgetfulness of them never occurs just as forgetfulness of one’s own life never occurs (sva-jīvanānāṁ svakīya-jīvana-rūpāṇām iti yathā nija-jīvanasya kadāpi vismṛtir na ghaṭate, tathā priya-janānām apīty arthaḥ). Consequently, although an absence of remembrance of them is not possible, still remembrance of them created by some special means leads to great delight (ato yad api yadyapi kadācid api asmaraṇaṁ smaraṇābhāvo na sambhavet, viśeṣaṇena vaiśiṣṭyena kṛtvā smṛtiḥ prakṛṣṭa-harṣāya parama-sukhāya bhavati). To explain this, he gives an example: as “a splendid life” (sujīvitam), that is, a life with regular and variegated celebration leads to great delight, so does remembrance of dear ones created by special means (tatra dṛṣṭāntaḥ—sujīvitaṁ nitya-vicitra-mahotsavena jīvanaṁ yathā praharṣāya bhavati tatheti). The implied meaning in this regard is that as just living alone without the joy of celebration and the like does not lead to great delight, and rather only to great grief because of the suffering of poverty and so on, so too remembrance of dear ones without prema does not lead to great delight [and rather only to worry, stress, and the like] (tatra yathā mahotsavādi-sukha-rahitaṁ kevalaṁ jīvana-mātraṁ praharṣāya na bhavati, pratyuta dāridryādi-duḥkhena parama-śokāyaiva, tathā premṇā vinā priya-jana-smaraṇam apīti dṛṣṭāntenānena dhvanitam).