कोऽतिप्रयासो’सुरबालका हरे-
रुपासने स्वे हृदि छिद्रवत्सतः ।
स्वस्यात्मनः सख्युरशेषदेहिनां
सामान्यतः किं विषयोपपादनैः ॥
ko’ti-prayāso’sura-bālakā harer
upāsane sve hṛdi chidravat sataḥ |
svasyātmanaḥ sakhyur aśeṣa-dehināṁ
sāmānyataḥ kiṁ viṣayopapādanaiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.38)
[Translated according to Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s commentary:] “O boys of the asuras, what great exertion [i.e., difficulty] is there in worship of Hari, he who is present like space in one’s heart and is the inherent self and common friend of all embodied beings? [Therefore,] What [is the use] of accumulating objects of the senses?”
[Translated according to Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s commentary:] “O boys of the asuras, what great exertion [i.e., difficulty] is there in worship of Hari, he who is present in one’s own heart and the natural friend of the self like space. What [is the use] of accumulating objects of the senses based on the commonality of all embodied beings?”
Commentary
chidravad ākāśavad aliptatvena sadā vartamānasya | nātiprayāse hetuḥ—sarveṣāṁ dehināṁ ya sva ātmā śuddhaṁ svarūpaṁ tasya, sāmānyataḥ sarvatra nirviśeṣatayaiva sakhā | yathāvasaraṁ bahir-antaḥkaraṇa-viṣayādi-lakṣaṇa-māyikyā nija-premādi-lakṣaṇāmāyikyāś ca sampatter dānena hitāśaṁsī yas tasya hareḥ | tasmād āropitānāṁ naśvarāṇāṁ viṣayāṇāṁ jāyāpatyādīnām upārjanaiḥ kim iti || (Bhakti Sandarbha: 306)
“‘Like space’ (chidravat) means always present [in the heart] without being tainted like the sky. The reason in regard to [sakhyam, i.e., friendship with Hari] not [being] a great exertion is that Hari is he who, of all embodied beings (aśeṣa-dehināṁ), is the inherent self (svasyātmanaḥ), that is, the pure essential nature, and the friend (sakhyuḥ) in common (sāmānyataḥ), meaning, [a friend] without any discrimination towards all, that is, he who is a well-wisher [of all] by dispensation of wealth either constituted of māyā in the form of objects and so forth of the external and internal senses, or not constituted of māyā in the form of prema and so forth for himself, as per the occasion [i.e., Hari is the well-wishing friend of all without discrimination against anyone who grants worldly wealth in the form of various sense objects to living beings in saṁsāra who desire such wealth and grants spiritual wealth, such as prema for himself, to living beings who desire that]. Therefore, what [is the use] of accumulating adventitious and perishable objects of the senses, such as a wife and children [when it is not at all difficult to worship one’s true, well-wishing, and capable friend Hari who is present within one’s own heart]?”
sarva-śreṣṭhayāpi bhakteḥ sukha-sādhyatvam āha—ko’tīti | chidravat ākāśavat ātmano jīvasya sakhyuḥ—‘sayujau sakhāyau’ iti śruteḥ | na hi sakhyur upāsane kiñcit kaṣṭam iti bhāvaḥ | upāsyasya svato vidyamānatvāt priyatvāc ca upāsanasya ca śravaṇādi-rūpatvāt tat-sādhanānāṁ śrotrādīnāṁ ca svata eva vidyamānātvān na hi kutaścana kācana tat-sāmagrī ānetavyeti bhāvaḥ | varaṁ naraka-sādhane’pi śramo’stīti vyañjayan vaiṣayika-sukha-pravṛttiṁ nindati | viṣayāṇāṁ srak-candana-vanitādīnām upapādanair dravyādinopārjanaiḥ kim? tatra hetuḥ—sarva-dehināṁ sāmānyataḥ viṣaya-niṣṭhatve śūkarādi-sādhāraṇyāpatter iti bhāvaḥ |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“He [i.e., Prahlāda Mahārāja] states with this verse (ko’ti-prayāso …) the easy practicability of bhakti, even though it is the foremost of all [i.e., although bhakti is the foremost of all paths to higher good, it is also easily practicable]. [Hari is] The friend (sakhyuḥ) of the self (ātmanaḥ), that is, of the living being, ‘like space’ (chidravat), that is, like the sky, as per the Śruti [i.e., MU 3.1.1]: ‘Two birds of beautiful plumage [viz., the jīvātmā and Paramātmā], ever-united in friendship, perch on the same tree [i.e., exist within the same body]. Among them, one eats the tasty berries [of the tree], and the other, not eating, watches over [the first, i.e., remains untainted and uninvolved in the affairs of the first, just as the sky remains untainted and uninvolved in the affairs of those who move within it].’ There is certainly no difficulty at all in worship (upāsana) of a friend [since worship of a friend is something comfortable and joyful]. This is the purport. (1) Because of the object of worship (upāsya) being personally present [within oneself] and being dear, (2) because of the worship (upāsana) being in form hearing and so forth [i.e., praising, remembering, etc., i.e., activities that are not burdensome], and (3) because of the means of [performing] that [worship], the ears and so forth, being naturally present, its [i.e., this worship’s] ingredients do not need to be brought from anywhere by anyone [since they are always naturally present and available to everyone]. This is the purport [i.e., there is no hardship needed to engage in this worship]. [So,] Rather, suggesting that there is exertion even in the process of reaching Naraka [i.e., suggesting that it is actually more troublesome to take up the means to go to Naraka than it is to engage in worship of Bhagavān, who is ever present within oneself and one’s dearmost friend], he condemns the pursuit of happiness based on objects of the senses [which is the means to reach Naraka]. What [is the use] of accumulating objects of the senses, such as garlands, sandalwood, women, and so on, that is, of acquiring [various] substances and so on? The reason for this is because of the commonality of all embodied beings, that is, of the incidence of commonality with hogs and so on in being fixed upon objects of the senses [i.e., if one lives one’s life absorbed in nothing other than enjoying objects suited to one’s senses, then one’s life is no different from that of a hog or any other life form, and the special faculties available only in human life are squandered]. This is the purport.”