Śaraṇāgati (Surrendered to the Lord’s Shelter)

Bhajana Lālasā (Hankering for Divine Service) – Song Ten

(1)
gurudev!
boḍo kṛpā kori’, gauḍa-vana mājhe,
godrume diyācho sthāna
ājñā dila more, ei braje bosi’,
hari-nāma koro gāna

1) O Gurudeva! Because you are so merciful, you gave me a place to live in Godruma amid the woodlands of Gauḍa-deśa, with this order to fulfill: “Dwell here in this sacred place of Vraja and sing the holy name of Hari.”

(2)
kintu kabe prabhu, yogyatā arpibe,
e dāsere doyā kori’
citta sthira habe, sakala sohibo,
ekānte bhajibo hari

2) But when, O master, out of your great mercy, will you bestow upon this servant the spiritual qualification to fulfill that order? My mind will then become tranquil, I will endure all hardships, and I will serve Lord Hari with undivided attention.

(3)
śaiśava-yauvane, jaḍa-sukha-saṅge,
abhyāsa hoilo manda
nija-karma-doṣe, e deho hoilo,
bhajanera pratibandha

3) Due to attachment to worldly pleasures in childhood and youth, I have developed many bad habits. Due to the reaction of these sinful acts my body itself has become an impediment to the service of the Supreme Lord.

(4)
vārdhakye ekhona, pañca-roge hata,
kemone bhojibo bolo’
kāṅdiyā kāṅdiyā, tomāra caraṇe,
poḍiyāchi suvihvala

4) Now, in old age, afflicted by the five-fold illnesses, how will I serve the Lord? O master, please tell me! Weeping and weeping, I have fallen at your feet, overwhelmed with anxiety. *

* Pañca-roga – the five illnesses of old age are described to be the incapacitation of the five principal senses, namely the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and sense of touch. In the Caitanya-Caritāmṛta (Antya 20.93-94), Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Goswāmī humbly states how he is himself afflicted with pañca-roga. In the Brahma-Vaivarta-Purāṇa (1.16.33) it is described how old age personified, in the form of Kāla-kanyā (the daughter of time) wanders over the face of the earth in the company of her brothers, the sixty-four afflictions. Kāla-kanyā is also explained in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.29.22-25.

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