Expressions of Humility -

In another thread, Sakhicharanji proposed:

QUOTE

You know, since bhakti and humility are so intertwined, I am thinking that a thread composed of verses about humility and a discussion on them would prove valuable subject matter...

I like the idea of such a thread. I think it would be a nice exercise to post, discuss and reflect on various expressions of humility voiced by our acaryas.

To start, I would like to site the prayers of surrender submitted at the feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu spoken by Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis on the occassion of their first meeting, as described in Caitanya Caritamrta. I think these verse are especially relishable because they express the profound depth of humility which is the foundation of Rupanuga Gaudiya Vaisnavism. CC 2.2.188-206:

jaya jaya sri-krsna-caitanya daya-maya
patita-pavana jaya, jaya mahasaya

"All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the most merciful savior of the fallen souls! All glories to the Supreme Personality!

nica-jati, nica-sangi, kari nica kaja
tomara agrete prabhu kahite vasi laja

"Sir, we belong to the lowest class of men, and our associates and employment are also of the lowest type. Therefore we cannot introduce ourselves to You. We feel very much ashamed, standing here before You.

mat-tulyo nasti papatma
naparadhi ca kascana
parihare 'pi lajja me
kim bruve purusottama

"Dear Lord, let us inform you that no one is more sinful than us, nor is there any offender like us. Even if we wanted to mention our sinful activities, we would immediately become ashamed. And what to speak of giving them up!"

patita-pavana-hetu tomara avatara
ama-ba-i jagate, patita nahi ara

Both brothers submitted, "Dear Lord, You have incarnated to deliver the fallen souls. You should consider that in this world there is none so fallen as us.

jagai-madhai dui karile uddhara
tahan uddharite srama nahila tomara

"You have delivered the two brothers Jagai and Madhai, but to deliver them You did not have to exert Yourself very much.

brahmana-jati tara, navadvipe ghara
nica-seva nahi kare, nahe nicera kurpara

"The brothers Jagai and Madhai belonged to the brahmana caste, and their residence was in the holy place of Navadvipa. They never served low-class persons, nor were they instruments to abominable activities.

sabe eka dosa tara, haya papacara
papa-rasi dahe namabhasei tomara

"Jagai and Madhai had but one fault--they were addicted to sinful activity. However, volumes of sinful activity can be burned to ashes simply by a dim reflection of the chanting of Your holy name.

tomara nama lana tomara karila nindana
sei nama ha-ila tara muktira karana

"Jagai and Madhai uttered Your holy name by way of blaspheming You. Fortunately, that holy name became the cause of their deliverance.

jagai-madhai haite koti koti guna
adhama patita papi ami dui jana

"We two are millions and millions of times inferior to Jagai and Madhai. We are more degraded, fallen and sinful than they.

mleccha-jati, mleccha-sevi, kari mleccha-karma
go-brahmana-drohi-sange amara sangama

"Actually we belong to the caste of meat-eaters because we are servants of meat-eaters. Indeed, our activities are exactly like those of the meat-eaters. Because we always associate with such people, we are inimical toward the cows and brahmanas."

mora karma, mora hate-galaya bandhiya
ku-visaya-vistha-garte diyache phelaiya

The two brothers, Sakara Mallika and Dabira Khasa, very humbly submitted that due to their abominable activities they were now bound by the neck and hands and had been thrown into a ditch filled with abominable stoollike objects of material sense enjoyment.

ama uddharite bali nahi tri-bhuvane
patita-pavana tumi----sabe toma vine

"No one within the three worlds is sufficiently powerful to deliver us. You are the only savior of the fallen souls; therefore there is no one but You.

ama uddhariya yadi dekhao nija-bala
'patita-pavana' nama tabe se saphala

"If You simply deliver us by Your transcendental strength, then certainly Your name will be known as Patita-pavana, the savior of the fallen souls.

satya eka bata kahon, suna, daya-maya
mo-vinu dayara patra jagate na haya

"Let us speak one word that is very true. Plainly hear us, O merciful one. There is no other object of mercy within the three worlds but us.

more daya kari' kara sva-daya saphala
akhila brahmanda dekhuka tomara daya-bala

"We are the most fallen; therefore by showing us Your mercy, Your mercy is most successful. Let the power of Your mercy be exhibited throughout the entire universe!

na mrsa paramartham eva me
srnu vijnapanam ekam agratah
yadi me na dayisyase tada
dayaniyas tava natha durlabhah

" 'Let us submit one piece of information before You, dear Lord. It is not at all false but is full of meaning. It is this: If You are not merciful upon us, then it will be very, very difficult to find more suitable candidates for Your mercy.'

apane ayogya dekhi' mane pan ksobha
tathapi tomara gune upajaya lobha

"We are very depressed at being unfit candidates for Your mercy. Yet since we have heard of Your transcendental qualities, we are very much attracted to You.

vamana yaiche canda dharite cahe kare
taiche ei vancha mora uthaye antare

"Indeed, we are like a dwarf who wants to capture the moon. Although we are completely unfit, a desire to receive Your mercy is awakening within our minds.

bhavantam evanucaran nirantarah
prasanta-nihsesa-mano-rathantarah
kadaham aikantika-nitya-kinkarah
praharsayisyami sanatha-jivitam

" 'By serving You constantly, one is freed from all material desires and is completely pacified. When shall I engage as Your permanent eternal servant and always feel joyful to have such a fitting master?' "

Thank you. Very heart warming. These expressions expressed before the Lord is proper , real and honest.

There is a difference betwween these and those of self-serving sychophants who push themselves forward by there feigned pseudo humilty.

Here are two verses from zrI-zrI-bRhad-bhAgavatAmRtam on dainya. These two verses provide the essential ingredients in understanding the nature of humility.

dainyaM tu paramaM premNaH paripAkena janyate |
tAsAM gokula-nArINAm iva kRSNa-viyogataH ||2.5.224||

Humility develops as one advances in attainment of prema for Sri Krishna. This is visible from the example of the gokula-nArIs when they were separated from Krishna.

ipAkena dainyasya premAjasraM vitanyate |
parasparaM tayor itthaM kArya-kAraNatekSyate ||2.5.225||

Humility that is mature will at once bring prema for Sri Krishna. It can be seen that humility and prema are in a relationship of cause and effect.

I love the second one.

Humility is also a sancari bhava, that being an ingredient for tasting rasa.

An excerpt from the eighth chapter of Jaiva Dharma from gauDIya vedAnta publications:

NityAnanda dAsa: It seems from this that one cannot be a VaiSNava
without humility and compassion.
BAbAjI: That is quite true.
NityAnanda dAsa: Then does Bhakti-devI depend on humility and
compassion?
BAbAjI: No, bhakti is completely independent. Bhakti is the personification
of beauty and she is the supreme ornament; she does not
depend on any other good quality. Humility and compassion are
not separate qualities, but are included within bhakti. “I am a servant
of KRSNa,” “I am destitute,” “I have nothing,” “KRSNa is my all-in-
all‚” – the bhakti that is expressed in these attitudes is itself
humility (dainya).
The tenderness of heart experienced towards KRSNa is known
as bhakti. All other jIvas are servants of KRSNa, and tenderness of
heart towards them is compassion (dayA). Therefore, compassion
is included within bhakti.
KSamA (forgiveness) is the bhAva situated between humility and
compassion. “When I am so wretched and insignificant myself, how
can I inflict punishment upon others?” – when this attitude is
combined with compassion, forgiveness automatically appears.
Forgiveness is also included in bhakti.
KRSNa is satya, real. The fact that the jIvas are servants of KRSNa
is also real, as is the fact that the material world is only a boarding
house for the jIvas. That means that bhakti is also real, because these
truths are based on the jIvas’ relationship with KRSNa, which is
itself bhakti. Truth, humility, compassion, and forgiveness are four
special qualities that are included in bhakti.

Here's some nectar on " dainya " from Sri Rupa.
atha dainyam -
duhkhatrAsAparAdhAdyiaranaurjityantu dInatA/
cATukRnmAdya-mAlinya-cintAnga-jADimAdikRt//

Now dainya-
Dainya is a lack of strength caused by such things as misery, alarm, and offence. It causes flattery, feebleness, shame, anxiety, and inertia.

Haberman translates dainya as depression, but usually it's rendered as humility. A sense of utter wretchedness and abject misery. There's referance to it in Gita Govinda as in, sA virahe tava dInA She (Radha) is very depressed in your absence.

Sri Rupa cites four slokas, all from the Bhagavat, to illustrate how dainya is caused by duhkha or misery, trAsa or alarm, aparAdha or offence and lajjA or shame.
I'll post them, but I want to find alternative translations.

Dainya arising from duhkha;

ciramiha vRjinArtastapyamAno'nutApair-
avitRSaSaDamitro'labdhazAnti kathancit/
zaraNada amupetastvatpadAbjaM paramAtman-
nabhayamRtamazokaM pAhi mA'pannamIza//

O supreme self! O granter of refuge! reduced
to wretchedness by sin, by triple-afflictions distressed,
and assailed by six foes in the shape of six passions,
I, thy votery, bereft of even an iota of peace,
have sought refuge at thy lotus-feet- the resort
of fearlessness, imortality and naught of grief-
Protect me, O lord from the danger that surrounds me.

Bhag 10/51/57 or in my copy 58

The sloka above is the last of 13 slokas constituting the hymn of Mucukunda addressed to Krsna who stood before him in the cave after the burning down the body of Kalayavana.

Sri Krsna replies;

sArvabhauma mahArAja matiste vimalorjitA/
varaih pralobhitasyApi na kAmairvihitA yatah//

O great king and soveriegn ruler of all the earth!
Yor mind has attained purity and enlightenment.
For, though tempted with many desirable boons,
you were not inclined to such worldly desirable ends.

I guess that shows how such humility is expressed and felt and yet the person may be actually worthy of all praise.

Anyway, dainya arising from trAsa or alarm is illustrated in the words of Uttara;

abhidravati mAmIza zarastaptAyasah prabho/
kAmaM dahatu mAM nAtha mA me garbho nipAtyatAm//

O lord! an arrow of burning steel is rushing toward me.
Let it burn me up, I mind it not; but let it not destroy
the foetus now within my womb.

Bhag 1/8/10

Here is an instance of dainyavodhikA vijJapti from Sri Yamunacarya's Stotraratna.

na ninditaM karma tad asti loke sahasrazo yan na mayA vyadhAyi |
so 'haM vipAka-avasare mukunda krandAmi sampraty agatis tavAgre ||23|

O Mukunda, there is no offense to be found in this world which I have not commited thousands of times. Now, finally, there is no alternative than to simply weep before you.

This verse is very similar to the mat-tulyo nAsti pApAtmA verse attributed to the padma purANa.

Thakura Bhaktivinoda made a tripadi Bengali rendering of that Sloka by Sri Yamunacarya. I don't have it handy, but if anyone has Gitamala, it's in the section called Yamunabhavavali. Anyway, atha dainya arising from aparadha or transgression;

atah kSamasvAcyuta! me rajobhuvo
hyajAnatastvatpRthagIzamAninah/
ajAvalepAndhatamo'ndhacakSuSa
eSo'nukampyo mayi nAthavAniti//

Therefore, O undecaying being, it behoves thee
to pardon what I have done out of ignorance.
A product of raja guna, moved by an ego-sense
of being a master in my own right apart from thee,
and blinded by the blinding pride of being the creator-
I deserve to be pitied by thee upon the consideration
that I am thy servant, and thou art my master.

Bhag 10/14/10

Spoken by Four-faces in his eulogy to Krsna after the abduction of the the cows and cowherds.

I thought the mattulyo nAsti pApAmtA..... was Sri Rupa's own composition, have to check stavamala

sometimes it reads matsamo nAsti pApAtmA as well.

QUOTE(Madanmohan das @ Dec 2 2005, 02:55 PM)

Thakura Bhaktivinoda made a tripadi Bengali rendering of that Sloka by Sri Yamunacarya. I don't have it handy, but if anyone has Gitamala, it's in the section called Yamunabhavavali.

Madanmohan-ji, thanks for directing us to zrI gIta-mAlA...many nice expressions of humility can be found there.

The following is from the yamuna-bhAvAvalI section (the ecstasies of Yamunacarya) by Thakur Bhaktivinod...

hari he!
heno duSTa karma nAi, AhA ami kori nAi,
sahasra sahasra-bAra hari!
sei saba karma-phal, peye abasara bal,
AmAy piziche jantropari

Oh my dear Lord Hari! There are not sinful activities which I have not performed thousands upon thousands of times! And by the fruits of all these sinful actions, I have become robbed of all strength, being helplessly taken for an excruciatingly painful ride on the machine of this material world.

gati nAhi dekhi Ar, kAGde, hari, anibAr,
tomAr agrete ebe Ami
jA' tomAr hoy mane, danda deo akiJcane,
tumi mor daNDa-dhara swAmI

Seeing no other hope for deliverance in sight, I am now continuously crying before You, my Lord. Please punish Your insignificant servant as You see befitting, for You are my Lord and ruling Master.

Numerous thanks to Dasaratha-suta dasji for this translation.

QUOTE(Madanmohan das @ Dec 2 2005, 02:58 PM)

I thought the mattulyo nAsti pApAmtA..... was Sri Rupa's own composition, have to check stavamala

sometimes it reads matsamo nAsti pApAtmA as well.

I am fairly certain that this is not the work of Sri Rupa, let's see if you discover differently...

mattulyo nAsti pApAtmA nAparAdhI ca kashcana |
parihAre ‘pi lajjA me kiM vruve puruSottama ||

There is no comparison to my sinful life. Everything that is considered as bad will be found in this one. O Purusottama, I am too ashamed to even come in front of you to ask for forgiveness. What more can I say?

The first thing I noticed is where the sloka is cited in Bh.R.S no reference is given, at least in Haberman's edition. But I'm sure I've seen it in Stavamala somewhere.
Now the illustration of dainya arising out of lajjA or shame;

mA'nayaM bho! kRtAstvAntu nandagopasutaM priyam/
jAnImo'anga! vrajazlAghyaM dehi vAsAMsi veptAh//

O respected one! Do not in this improper act persist.
Such low behaviour does not befit one who is a son
of Nanda, our chief, and one who is so deeply loved
and held in high esteem in Vraja. We are shivering
with cold, so please, O beloved, give back our clothes.

Bhag 10/22/14

Here's a couple of slokas from Stavamala, the last two from Sri Krsna Pranam PranayAkhya Stava 13 and 14.

dainyArnave nimagno'smi mantugrAvabharArditah/
duSTe kAruNyapAriNa! mayi kRSNa kRpAM kuru//
AdhAro'pyaparAdhAnAmavivekahato'pyaham/
tvatkAruNyapratIkSo'smi prasIda mayi mAdhava//

Where I am right now I've no access to many of my books so can't provide a translation for the above just now.

QUOTE(Madanmohan das @ Dec 3 2005, 06:28 AM)

I located a translation, and I noticed that the first word of verse 13 is given as "daityArNave" in the version I have.

Weighed down by the heavy boulder of my offenses, I am drowning in the ocean of pain. O merciful kRSNa, please be kind to me, a wicked, sinful man.

Although I am a mine of offenses, and although I cannot tell right from wrong, I still hope for Your mercy. O mAdhava, please be merciful to me.

DaityArnave must be an error, that would be the ocean of titans, ie., the sons ot Diti. Whereas dainyArnave would be in the ocean of wretchedness or however dainya might be rendered, arnava being ocean as in KAranArnavazayi Visnu who reclines on the causal ocean.
Anyway, there is a pada from the Thakura's Saranagati which echos the theme of the mattulya....sloka. You can check the original perhaps, but I have a lovely rendering from the old Harmonist magazine. Pada 15

Lord, this I lay at thy feet:
I am fallen and most vile, this the three worlds know.

There is no sinner so base as myself in the whole world,
In the universe there is no one whose offence equals mine.

Those sins and offences as thou knowest
I feel ashamed even to disown.

Wither shall I betake myself for shelter except to thee?
Thou art the ruler of all powers that be, darling of the lord of Vraja.

This world is thine, thou permeatest all things,
Thou wear'st out the offence that is commited towards thyself.

Thou, indeed art the refuge of those whose steps have gone astray.
What else is there beside thyself?

Even so all who offend against thee
Will ever seek thy refuge.

Bhaktivinoda, seeking the shelter of thy feet,
At thy feet surrenders himself this very day.

bhavantam evAnucaran nirantarah
prasanta-nihsesa-mano-rathAntarah
kadAham aikAntika-nitya-kinkarah
praharsayisyAmi sanAtha-jIvitam

" 'By serving You constantly, one is freed from all material desires and is completely pacified. When shall I engage as Your permanent eternal

servant and always feel joyful to have such a fitting master?' "

[/quote]

This sloka from Kovidara's post at the beginning of this thread is really exceptional. Again it is from Yamunacarya's Stotra Ratna and I think there is a padavali in Yamunabhavavali also. There are quite a few references in CC where either Mahaprabhu himself, or Rupa-Sanatan and also Ray Ramananda quote from Stotra Ratna.

Here's an alternative translation of the above from SR 46

Constantly waiting on thee,
with all other desires quenched,
when shall I, thy eternal servant ,
afford thee delight, having thee
alone as the lord of my life?

Here is an alternative for 23 as well, na ninditaM karma....

There is not a single despicable deed in the world
which has not been commited by me a thousand times.
O Mukunda! now, when those deeds are fructifying, I,
the very same person, am crying out helplessly before you.