Devanagari
भवापवर्गो भ्रमतो यदा भवे-
ज्जनस्य तर्ह्यच्युत सत्समागम: ।
सत्सङ्गमो यर्हि तदैव सद्गतौ
परावरेशे त्वयि जायते मति: ॥ ५३ ॥
Verse text
bhavāpavargo bhramato yadā bhavej
janasya tarhy acyuta sat-samāgamaḥ
sat-saṅgamo yarhi tadaiva sad-gatau
parāvareśe tvayi jāyate matiḥ
Synonyms
bhava
—
of material existence
;
apavargaḥ
—
the cessation
;
bhramataḥ
—
who has been wandering
;
yadā
—
when
;
bhavet
—
occurs
;
janasya
—
for a person
;
tarhi
—
at that time
;
acyuta
—
O infallible Lord
;
sat
—
of saintly devotees
;
samāgamaḥ
—
the association
;
sat
—
saṇgamaḥ — saintly association
;
yarhi
—
when
;
tadā
—
then
;
eva
—
only
;
sat
—
of the saintly
;
gatau
—
who is the goal
;
para
—
of superior (the causes of material creation)
;
avara
—
and inferior (their products)
;
īśe
—
for the Supreme Lord
;
tvayi
—
Yourself
;
jāyate
—
is born
;
matiḥ
—
devotion .
Translation
When the material life of a wandering soul has ceased, O Acyuta, he may attain the association of Your devotees. And when he associates with them, there awakens in him devotion unto You, who are the goal of the devotees and the Lord of all causes and their effects.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
When the material life of a wandering soul has ceased, O Acyuta, he may attain the association of Your devotees. And when he associates with them, there awakens in him devotion unto You, who are the goal of the devotees and the Lord of all causes and their effects.
KB 10.51.53
“It is therefore very difficult to get out of material entanglement, but if one is somehow or other favored by You, by Your mercy alone he is given the opportunity to associate with a pure devotee. That is the beginning of liberation from the entanglement of material, conditioned life. My dear Lord, only by the association of pure devotees is one able to approach Your Lordship, who are the controller of both the material and the spiritual existences. You are the supreme goal of all pure devotees, and by association with pure devotees one can develop his dormant love for You. Therefore, development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the association of pure devotees is the cause of liberation from this material entanglement.
Purport
Ācāryas Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī agree on the following point: Although it is stated here that when material life ceases one attains the association of devotees, in fact it is the association of the Lord’s devotees that enables one to transcend material existence. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains this apparent inversion of sequence by quoting the
Kāvya-prakāśa
(10.153) as follows:
kārya-kāraṇayoś ca paurvāparya-viparyayo vijṣeyātiśayoktiḥ syāt sa.
“A statement in which the logical order of a cause and its effect is reversed should be understood as
atiśayokti,
emphasis by extreme assertion.” Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī cites the following commentary on this statement:
kāraṇasya śīghra-kārītāṁ vaktuṁ kāryasya pūrvam uktau.
“To express the swift action of a cause, one may assert the result before the cause.”
In this connection Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out that the merciful association of the Lord’s devotees makes possible our determination to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. And the
ācārya
agrees with Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī that this verse is an instance of
atiśayokti.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
When will bhakti which destroys all suffering and bestows all bliss appear? That is stated in this verse. When the wandering jiva destroys his bondage of material existence, then he will get association of merciful devotees (sat sangamah). When that happens, then certainly attachment to you will take place. When that association occurs, and nothing else, then attachment to you will take place.
In this verse the words "when" and "then" is used with a broad conception of time. In the concept of more accurate time, however, association of devotees and destruction of material existence are related as cause and effect and should be mentioned in that way, using yarhi and tarhi; that is, when there is association of devotees, then there is destruction of bondage. However, because the effect happens so quickly, the effect is mentioned before the cause, to emphasize the quickness. This is an example of the fourth type of atisaya ukti or extreme statement.
Vaisnava tosani explains the word sad gatau. Unto you the shelter of the devotees. "Without my mercy association does not take place. Therefore my mercy should be the first cause. "
"When there is devotional association, then attachment to you whose shelter is the devotee (who is dependent on the devotee, gives mercy to the devotee) arises. As you yourself say, I am dependent on the devotee, whatever you do is also by the desire of the devotee, it Is not independent. Your mercy is after the mercy of the devotee. You are dependent on the devotee, and not dependent on the non devotee. The later state your mercy arises from the previous state, devotee’s mercy. Therefore your mercy does not arise first. Such mercy of the devotees is shown in the statement 10.23.31. svayam samuttirya...The great devotees who take shelter of your feet cross over the ocean of material existence, and leave here through the line of guru succession the boat of your lotus feet, because they are most affectionate to all living entities."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
When will that person attain auspiciousness? When those with knowledge attain liberation, then the discerning persons attain association. Or it can be the fourth type of literary ornament called atiśayokti. Caturthī sā kāraṇasya gaditam śīghra-kārītāṁ vaktuṁ kāryasya pūrvam uktau: the fourth type is that in order to express the swift action of a cause, one may assert the result before the cause.” Thus the real meaning is “Where there is association with devotees, there is quick release from saṁsāra, because, where there is association, one is able to fix one’s mind on you.” Where one concentrates the mind on you, there will be certain release from samṣāra, at that time only (eva) and no other time. O Lord, you never fail to do this (acyuta)! “Without my mercy there can be no association with devotees. Let my mercy be the first cause.” The Lord takes shelter (gatau) of the devotees (sat). Though he is independent, his mercy occurs by the will of the devotees, not independently. Aham bhakta-parādhinaḥ: I am dependent on my devotees. (SB 9.4. 63) The mercy follows the devotee. You are dependent on the devotees, not on the non-devotees. Only when there is prior association of devotees does mercy occur, and not before that.
svayaṁ samuttīrya sudustaraṁ dyuman
bhavārṇavaṁ bhīmam adabhra-sauhṛdāḥ
bhavat-padāmbhoruha-nāvam atra te
nidhāya yātāḥ sad-anugraho bhavān
O Lord, shining brilliantly! The merciful devotees, easily crossing the insurmountable and terrifying ocean of material life, attain their goal using the boat of your lotus feet. You are merciful to your devotees. SB 10.2.31
Thus by association of devotees alone, the mind concentrates on you. This is because you are not dependent on what higher or lower beings (parāvareśe) know. By association with Garga, I have been able to fix my mind on you. You have said, “Since in the past you repeatedly prayed to me, I have personally come to this cave to show you mercy.” (verse 42) Because of that, I have now attained you, the giver of freedom from saṁsāra. Instead of mati sometimes ratiḥ is seen. The bud of rati, concentration on the Lord, arises by association alone.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
When or if saṁsāra is destroyed, association with your devotees occurs. The potential form (bhavet) expresses possibility. You are unfailing in your persistence. Or when there is rejection of family life association arises. Or when there is liberation in Vaikuṇṭha there is association with the devotees (sat) of you (acyuta) or with devotees who never fall (acyuta). Or there is steady association with devotees. At that time alone, or exactly at that moment, one develops devotion to you. This is because the Lord is attained through the devotees (sad-gatau). Thus the Lord says na rodhayati māṁ yogaḥ: yoga does not attract me. (SB 11.12.1) Why is this? You are the attained by bhakti which derides (avara) liberation (para).
Or though you are the lord of all higher and lower beings (parāvareśe), you take shelter of devotees (sad-gatau). Sometimes rati is seen instead of bhakti. There will occur rati for you by steady association with devotees after destruction of saṁsāra.